May 2009 Archives
Gattis said Shields resigned over a month ago and that she has recommended a replacement pending approval. The new hire will become the third AD in three years at PV.
Look for an announcement around midweek.
Stay true and keep pounding,
Christopher
Generally the high school games here seem to produce a hypervigilance among the players and particularly the coaches during the postgame interviews. Today it reminded me of a glorified summer league, which I reckon is what Connie Mack represents.
The Cardinals beat the Yankees 10-2 before losing 7-6 to the Sting, the second loss in three games for the defending league champions.
I attended the first game, and both teams were talking about the novelty of wooden bats, introduced as a league requirement this year.
The first game was 2-2 heading into the bottom of the fourth before the Cards' bats showed some pop, including a home run by former Farmington High catcher Deen Coleman that skirted the top of the wall in left center.
The general feeling is that they'll be more 2-2 games as the season progresses and the starting pitchers build (or rebuild) a bit of arm strength.
"Kids are used to that eight, nine, 10 base hit game. The wood bat, it's going to be more critical each inning to manufacture some runs and play clean defense," Cardinals coach Don Lorett said. "It's going to be a process, but I think it'll be enjoyable. I think everybody will enjoy hearing the wood. It should be good for you guys to be able to write about it during the summer."
Coleman, who played on last year's Cardinals and helped the team win a game in the Connie Mack World Series, said the team's blend of veterans and new members combined with the wooden bats has created a different vibe to start the season.
Coleman said he's trying to hit line drives, not home runs, with his wooden bat, which does not carry as far as aluminum and punishes balls not hit on the barrel more often. As it happens so often at the high school level, Coleman's line drive did turn into a home run. He just finished up his freshman season at Lamar Community College and has a good handle on how to approach wooden bats (which isn't surprising, since he is a member of the club -- Coleman told me he's majoring in journalism).
Here's his take: "With a wood bat, you have to be more disciplined because you can't just fling your bat out there and get a base hit. You've got to watch and make sure you get a 'strike' strike before you go out there and swing away or you're going to waste your at bat," Coleman said. "The defense is going to win games now because if you miss a ground ball a team can just come back with a wood bat and keep getting hits and hits and hits."
Have a good night everyone.
Stay true and keep pounding,
Christopher
School's out, trips to the Grand Canyon are in full swing and afternoon showers are becoming commonplace in the Four Corners.
Yes, as far as local sports are concerned, it's Connie Mack time. As sports editor Darren Vaughan wrote, summer sounds different this year with the league-mandated wooden bats.
Of course, I've never been to a Connie Mack game. Since I arrived here I've been asked probably a dozen times: "Have you been to/Are you going to be here for the Connie Mack World Series?"
I'm sure I'll get to experience the local league shortly. I do know that last year's local representative in the series lost to the Thunder in their first game, which will not count in the final standings. Farmington high coach Don Lorett is coaching the Cardinals this year.
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Other local sports: Connie Mack isn't the only sporting event going on in Farmington. The XTERRA off road triathlon takes off next Saturday and all the entry spots have been filled.
The 4 Corners Roughnecks are coming off their best game of the season, a 27-23 win over the former Lobo-filled roster of the Albuquerque Crush. The Roughnecks (6-3) play their last road game Sunday at the New Mexico Titans.
And of course there's the 2009 Belmont Stakes on June 6, as locally-trained phenom Mine That Bird should be among the race favorites.
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Crazy Cubs: In case you missed this hilarious episode from yesterday's Cubs-Pirates game, Carlos Zambrano went berserk after he thought he tagged out Pittsburgh's Nyjer Morgan at home plate.
First he bumped the home plate umpire, then he ejected the umpire from the game, then he threw the baseball into the outfield, and it culminated with him smacking the dugout drink dispenser with a bat. Definitely the best tirade this year in baseball, although Zambrano and manager Lou Piniella have both dished out some good ones in the past. (Check out this dirt-kicking, hat throwing rant by Piniella in 2007.)
Piniella called himself "the calm one" in the 2009 Cubs clubhouse as Chicago flounders in fourth place in the NL Central.
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Ad infusion: ESPN is subtly, slowly infusing advertisement into content in ways that have been taboo for years, interlacing content with ads in ways that are confusing and misleading to readers that aren't smart.
There was nothing confusing about this comparison between Kobe Bryant and LeBron James earlier this week. The entire front page on ESPN.com was bordered by a Vitamin Water ad featuring the two superstars, including a strip that interjected right through the main window of content. The strip read: "Kobe & LeBron on a collision course? facebook.com/vitaminwater".
There's no doubt even the Worldwide Leader is having to rethink the old rules and ask for pardon from its readership to find new ways to make money as advertisers desperately search every nook and cranny to find ways to keep consumers from tuning out their billion-dollar industry.
Before we as consumers scoff and squawk at the latest development, consider the fact that the story comparing The King and the Black Mamba was in fact interesting and insightful. We're going to have to be more open-minded over the next decade as media companies struggle in the icy Arctic ocean, desperately thrashing for lifeboats. The Titanic has already sunk. Now it's time for survival.
I believe we'll see more and more mixture of content and advertisement in a desperate but necessary move from media corporations to maintain their failing profit margins. I think we should allow advertisement collusion under a few guidelines: Is the content the same quality? Is it objective? Is it relevant? Is it something you would be publishing if you didn't have ulterior financial incentive?
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Links of the week: For your entertainment value, a few humorous links from failblog.org.
* This soccer star and coach put on the worst acting job since Vin Diesel in Fast and Furious when they pretend to headbutt each other and then fall down as if they'd been shot.
* This guy ran into a crowded stadium, some sort of Gladiator/wrestling venue, and he ran straight into the boom camera.
* Whoever designed this faucet was a real genius.
* Here's one coloring book even I could handle.
* I know going green is the trend these days, but some of these people are as ignorant as the rest of us.
Stay true and keep pounding,
Christopher
My cell phone on the fritz, I rigged my laptop into an alarm clock half expecting to wake up with the sun full bore and the race over. Turns out a few repetitive "Cock-A-Doodle-Doo's" at full volume put a halt to REM sleep, no sweat.
Popping in a pair of contacts drier than the Saudi desert, scrounging the floor for a Samford track shirt, I pulled past the dumpster and up to West Aztec Boulevard at 6 a.m. on my way to Diné College in Shiprock (OK, so it still took me 15 minutes and two "snoozes" to get out of bed).
After stopping at a gas station to jam four new AA batteries into the Canon PowerShot S1 IS, I pulled up in time to see race organizer Lenny Esson and his wife slide out of their vehicle and open the gym doors for registration.
The small group that gathered in front of the gym didn't remind me of the Olympic Trials. Making small talk, many of them seemed as sleepy as I was. But once the runners toed the line, a familiar sensation washed over me: adrenaline-laced happiness.
The runners took off down the street and it seemed like anything was possible (except for the two in the back that hesitated for 10 seconds and then started walking). After they disappeared from sight and Esson's Jeep reappeared, my eyes craned for a look at the lead runner as I readied my camera for the finish.
There were no ovations as competitors rolled in at slower-than-record pace. But instead of the familiar look of frustration that accompanies what seems like a majority of faces at the collegiate level, every expression glowed with a sort of Disney-level serendipity.
Whether it was the toddler pushing his own buggy over the curb or the 65-year-old completing the 5K by jogging through the finish, everyone heralded the awards show with a sense of contentment and accomplishment.
Well, there was the one man who showed up nine minutes after the start (he confused the 9 a.m. kid's run with the 5K, which started at 8 a.m.) and proceeded to run a 21:23, which would've won the race had he started with the field.
In any case, you guys reminded me how soothing a 5K road race can be. I'm going to have to enter one in a couple of months if I can continue getting back in shape (but don't expect me to be smiling if I lose).
Happy Memorial Day everybody. You can find my race story in tomorrow's Daily Times.
Stay true and keep pounding,
Christopher
I went to the Aztec Speedway for the first time tonight and wrote a story about how Ryan Bard's death has caused the safety rules to be enforced more closely within dirt track racing.
Rex Higgins, 46, was one of the drivers I talked to. Higgins has several nephews and an in-law that are also drivers. Asked why his family is so taken with the sport, here's what he said:
"Everybody grew up playing sports, football. You don't have to run a 4.3 40 or be seven feet tall and be able to reverse dunk to race. If you've got a brain, common sense and good reflexes, you can do it at some level."
Paul Lapaire agreed. One of the most outspoken safety advocates since Bard's death, Lapaire's daughter Caley was engaged to him and the tragedy has affected his life more than most. He drove Bard's car a few times on the dirt track next to the Bard's shop and spoke wistfully about the horsepower.
"It doesn't look like they're going that fast, 75 mph, but you get that thing in a parking lot and push the pedal and you can really tell," Lapaire said. "I drove that thing enough to realize that this is a drug. It can become so addictive so fast."
He spoke not out of overt criticism (all the articles are framed on the far wall of his gym), but a genuine passion for his sport, and lamented the disparity of wealth between the UFC and the rest of the MMA world, which is probably greater than the acute skewed distribution of wealth in actual society.
"It's a real shame because there's some great fighters, female and male, hat just don't get the exposure, the credit that they deserve because they don't sign a UFC contract," Sword said. "The UFC doesn't carry female fighters yet and that's what everybody bases their opinion of the sport on."
He's coached a few fighters that have cracked the national elite and is respected, at least in local circles, as one of the nation's best. Three of his fighters are competing tomorrow in Towaoc, Colo., and one will qualify for a June 11 world title "King of the Cage" bout with a win.
At 10-3 himself, I found Sword to be a clever and engaging personality. Besides having a terrific name for a fighter, he used a playful, witty banter to "criticize" the athletes, getting his point across while maintaining the professional but cordial atmosphere.
He praised Angela Magana loudly for her solid guard work and upbraided her for complaining about her hair getting in the way and her eye getting poked.
"You're not going to have time to (stop and) say your eye got poked against a high-level opponent," Sword yelled out during the first of six five-minute sparring rounds. (With one minute in between, some of the guys were a little tired despite rotating between four people. Magana worked out at Defined Fitness earlier and then tried to push around with several strong men. Think she's in shape?)
"I try to bring that out in her. Make her face her demons," Sword said. "Obviously her strengths are going to be there."
Two specific points of discussion included the temperature in the gym (he keeps it smoldering) and who would win in a fight between a bear and a lion (he says bear, apparently based on the results of an actual fight).
Magana's daughter: Magana, outgoing and a wonderful interview, had some hilarious anecdotes about her six-year-old daughter Delilah, whom she dotes over.
A single mother, Magana brings Delilah to the gym often and she's grown up around male fighters.
"She's going to have a different upbringing. She's going to have a totally different outlook on men and fighting," Magana said. "She's not going to be shy around men or get pushed around at all. She's like, 'I'll choke you out!'"
A recent trip to the playground led Delilah to see a couple rough kids get into a scrap. She approached them in a huff, telling them in no uncertain terms, "You're not supposed to fight unless you train. You're not allowed to fight unless you train for it!"
Delilah often pours her mother water between sparring rounds or wipes blood off her face, imploring her to keep fighting hard. Check out this video of Magana's win over Tia Castillo in her first professional MMA fight. At the 1:50 mark, seconds after knocking out her opponent, Magana and her daughter exchange 'I love you' hand signals through the linked fence.
In Magana's words: "After I'm done hitting the girl in the face, I try to help her up and she's (still out), and my daughter's on the cage and goes, [makes hand gestures for 'I love you']. We do it back and forth.
"She's feisty. Any time she's around a teenage boy or a grown man she thinks it's playtime, time to talk trash."
Reality show: Magana is scheduled to star in the reality show "Ultimate Women's Combat," projected to air between this fall and sometime in 2010.
Stay true and keep pounding,
Christopher
It took nearly two months to find a replacement after the controversial firing of Rick Hoerner, but PV principal Ann Gattis announced the hiring today.
Shock stressed that he'll miss the girls he's coached at Aztec but that he'll enjoy the opportunity to coach boys again.
I talked to Gattis about her expectations for Shock, a point of contention among some in the community including Hoerner, who said he was told that he didn't win enough games.
Asked point-blank, Gattis said, "To develop his players to their fullest potential."
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Here are some more quotes about Shock's hiring. Check tomorrow's Daily Times for the full story.
Gattis on the factors that went into PV's decision:
"We are committed to excellence in education above everything else. Once you do that, everything else falls into place. We want to be the best there is as a school and develop our young people to the best of their ability. ... I think he's going to be a great addition to us. We have a wonderful faculty and I think he's going to fit right in. We're pleased to have him and look forward to what he's able to accomplish. ... We look(ed) at all aspects. We want to make sure we have the best person in every regard."
FHS coach Kevin Holman, who led the Scorpions to the District 1-4A title and played Los Alamos competitively in the first round of the state tournament, gave me a colorful statement regarding Shock's hiring as well.
Holman on Shock's hiring:
"I'm happy for Brian. It's a catch-22 for me because Rick (Hoerner) is a very good friend of mine. I was a little disappointed in the administration over there at PV for getting rid of him, but I think Brian's going to do a great job. He did an outstanding job for Aztec's girls the last couple years. He's going to bring a new enthusiasm to PV. He's got his work cut out for him because they lost a lot of scoring from this year's squad. He's going to have to rebuild a little bit. I know he'll work hard at it. It's good to have him back on the boys' side of the district.
"I wish him the best of luck 24 games a year. I root for the Panthers except when they're playing the Scorpions. He'll bring enthusiam. He's going to work hard. He's a tireless worker. He's always thinking about basketball."
Shock on the competition level on the boys side of District 1-4A:
"Every year we say it's an even closer race than last year. It's always going to be a tight race with the district teams. Farmington, they've been the perennial powerhouse of late. I've watched the Aztec guys and they've got a lot of returners. It's going to be fun, I'm excited for it."
Shock on his message to his former girls players at Aztec:
"I told them, 'Coaches come and go and they're going to have somebody fill my shoes. Ultimately it's the players who decide the game.'"
*****
Your thoughts on Shock's hiring? How do you think the Panthers will fare within District 1-4A over the next few years?
Stay true and keep pounding,
Christopher
I devised a points system to rank the teams and Farmington beat out Piedra Vista by the smallest possible margin. FHS averaged 7.1667 points per team and PV averaged 7.1578. The result formed the basis for my column.
District 1-4A Results
1. Farmington, 7.17
2. Piedra Vista, 7.16
3. Aztec, 5.60
4. Kirtland Central, 5.25
5. Shiprock, 3.95
District 1-3A Results
1. Bloomfield, 8.62
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You'll notice the Bobcats outperformed all the local 4A teams. I found it hard to compare the two, as the District 1-3A competition doesn't stack up. Also, you'll notice the absence of Navajo Prep. I compiled the results of every sport from a combination of searching our archives, picking the memory of sports editor Darren Vaughan and poking around on the internet. I couldn't find enough data to complete Navajo Prep's result.
*****
Here's a more in-depth look at my system, which I dubbed the Smith Scale of Excellence. There are four different point categories used to evaluate each sport:
1) District Standings
• 5 points for first, 4 for second, 3 for third, 2 for fourth and 1 for fifth.
Example: This is straightforward.
* Note: Aztec's boys soccer team didn't win a district game, but finished third because Kirtland Central and Shiprock didn't field teams. I still awarded them 3 points for third.
2) District Tournament
• 3 points for first, 2 points for second and 1 point for third. If no tournament existed, the district standings doubled as the theoretical results.
Example: The Kirtland Central boys basketball team finished fifth in the district standings, but upset Aztec and Piedra Vista to finish third in the District 1-4A tournament. Therefore I awarded them 1 point for the "district standings" and 1 point for the "district tournament" for a total of 2 points. By contrast, Piedra Vista got 3 points for finishing third in the regular season and 0 for finishing fourth in the district tournament for a total of 3.
* Note: Farmington's softball team finished second during the regular season. There is no District 1-4A tournament in softball, so I assumed that the Lady Scorpions finished second in both. Therefore, they get 4 points for the district standings and 2 points for the "district tournament" category for a total of 6. (In sports like cross country, where there are no district standings but there is a district championship, the championship results dictated the points for the "district standings" category.)
3. Comparative State Tournament Result
• 3 points for advancing further than the other district teams, 2 points for the second-best finisher and 1 point for the third-best finisher.
Example: Piedra Vista got three points for advancing to the 4A baseball championship game, while Farmington lost in the semifinals (2 points) and Aztec lost in the first round (1 point).
* Note: Shiprock and Aztec both lost in the girls basketball quarterfinals. Therefore they split the 3 points for second and third (I awarded each team 1.5 points).
4. State Tournament Success Bonus
• 3 points for state championship teams, 2 points for state runner-ups and 1 point for state semifinalists.
Example: Piedra Vista's softball team earned 3 points for winning the state championship. Aztec's football team earned two points for losing in the state championship. Kirtland Central's girls basketball team earned one point for losing in the state semifinals.
* Note: Some sports do not have "semifinals" or "finals." I awarded a third or fourth place finish as 1 point, a second place finish as 2 points and a first place finish as three points. Aztec's boys track team finished third at state for a 1 point bonus. They also were the district's top finisher (3 points) for a total of 4 points at the state meet.
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After I added up each school's total points, I divided by their number of teams that competed. Piedra Vista scored 136 points from 19 teams and Farmington scored 129 points from 18 teams (the Lady Scorpions didn't field enough golfers to compete in District 1-4A as a team).
I think my system works pretty well. I eyeballed some comparative totals and felt like the results were logical. Here are some examples you can debate:
* Farmington and Piedra Vista's baseball teams both scored 11 points. The Scorpions got 5 and 3 in the "district standings" and "district tournament" categories for winning their ninth straight district title, 2 points in the "comparative state tournament" category for advancing further than everyone but PV, and 1 point in the "state tournament success bonus" category. PV got 4, 2, 2 and 3 in the same categories.
* Aztec's football team totaled 13 points compared to KC (7.5), PV (5.5) and FHS (2).
* Farmington's boys basketball team scored 11 compared to Shiprock (6), PV (3), Aztec (2) and KC (2).
* KC's girls basketball team scored 12 compared to Shiprock (7.5), Aztec (5.5), PV (2) and FHS (1). I feel like Shiprock's girls were closer to KC than that talent-wise, but I guess they did lose all three meetings and didn't advance as far in the state tournament.
* PV's softball team scored 14 compared to FHS (7), Aztec (7), KC (2) and Shiprock (1).
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Cars: I know I called choosing between the Bugatti Veyron and the SSC Ultimate Aero hard in my column, but I live for tough choices like that. I have to go with the latter. What a gorgeous car! Oh, and the 1,287 horsepower doesn't hurt.
Here are the top 10 most expensive cars in the world, in stock form.
BK: All that thinking about Burger King roused my appetite, only to disappoint me yet again this afternoon. I ordered a large No. 5 combo, "an additional large fry" and an apple pie. I throw in the word "additional" because sometimes fast food joints think I'm just clarifying if I leave it at "large No. 5 combo, a large fry..." but really, I want an extra fry.
Somehow the girl translated "large fry" as "large Sprite," so I got two large drinks instead of more food. Really, BK?
Hope you enjoy the column. Any thoughts on my system?
Stay true and keep pounding,
Christopher
Mine That Bird started the race in the same spot as the Kentucky Derby, far in last. Mike Smith had to swing far wide to make his move, and despite an exciting charge down the stretch, ran out of room. The Preakness is 1/16 of a mile shorter, and that combined with Smith's inability to sneak the horse by the field on the inside to end the 2009 Triple Crown bid.
Mine That Bird trainer Bennie "Chip" Woolley Jr. looked disappointed on the live broadcast, but despite the second place finish, the horse proved to skeptics that he belongs in the Triple Crown races and he will have an excellent chance in the final leg, the longer Belmont Stakes.
Calvin Borel, the jockey that led Mine That Bird to an improbable win in the Derby, rode Rachel Alexandra to the win. Musket Man finished a close third.
Oftentimes coaches change their interview demeanor based on their mood -- understandably so -- but credit FHS coach Don Lorett for a polite and classy postgame interview.
I asked him what he told his players after the game and thought his answer was candid and positive:
"Anytime you lose, it's tough to focus on anything other than that. You don't sign up at the beginning of the year only if you can be a state champion and that's all you want to get out of it. It's all about working hard and accepting the outcome and being able to look back and say, 'I gave everything I wanted to give.' It's about relationships and commitment and trying to get the most out of it as a group. These guys went through a lot together and they built some relationships you wouldn't build outside any other activity or event like the game of baseball. You have to realize that the hard work is not a guarantee that you're going to be a winner at the end, it's a guarantee that you can look back on a season and know that you gave it everything you had."
Lorett credited Albuquerque Academy for being the better team. Asked for the keys to tomorrow's game, here's what he said:
"We want to wish PV and Academy best of luck tomorrow. The championship game is a unique experience. Obviously if you have any pitching left at all it's a huge factor. You have to catch a few breaks and I think both teams have the capability of doing that. It should be a good game."
I also talked to PV coach Dick Laughlin earlier. He was getting back to his hotel room and his tone of voice sounded more excited and happy than I've heard it all year.
His answers came through in concise bursts of energy, so they weren't very long.
PV beat No. 1 Artesia 17-14 and will play a team other than FHS in the championship for the first time in history.
"Absolutely we're excited about that. We're a young team and these kids just have fun playing baseball," Laughlin said.
More coverage in tomorrow's Daily Times.
Stay true and keep pounding,
Christopher
Piedra Vista won 17-14 over No. 1 Artesia earlier on the strength of a big inning of their own, and it doesn't look like they'll face the Scorpions in the title game.
Justin Murray started the game for FHS. If I remember right, he threw a one-hitter in his last two starts before today. But FHS coach Don Lorett had already lifted Murray in place of Chandler Joe with one out in the second and the Scorps trailing 4-0.
If the score holds, it would mark the first time in history that PV advances further in the state tournament.
UPDATE: Albuquerque Academy beat Farmington 20-1, the Scorpions' worst loss in postseason baseball history.
Piedra Vista beat Academy 9-4 earlier this year. Another such performance tomorrow would result in the first state championship in team history.
Mine That Bird assistant trainer Bill Woolley sounds confident the horse has a "strong" chance in Saturday's Preakness.
Woolley said Mine That Bird needs the leaders to take off in early fractions of under 23 seconds.
"This should be the telling leg for this horse. I really think he'll love the mile and a half at Belmont," Woolley said. "If there's enough speed up front, he will be tough."
At 9-2, Mine That Bird's odds are significantly better than the 50-1 he overcame at the Derby, despite the 1 3/16-mile track at Pimlico that would seem more difficult for him because of its shorter distance.
One jockey agrees: Calvin Borel decided to ride filly Rachel Alexandra after a much-publicized strategic game of chicken by the owners involved in the Preakness. They finally relented and allowed the filly into the race, and Borel left the Derby winner without hesitation.
But trainer Bennie "Chip" Woolley Jr. said earlier in the week he harbors no resentment toward Borel, and Woolley followed suit yesterday at Chip's Bloomfield home.
"She's the top filly in the world right now and he claims she's the best horse he's ever ridden, and you can't blame him for it," Woolley said.
Rachel Alexandra is the Preakness favorite.
Other tidbits from talking with Woolley:
* He called his brother repeatedly from SunRay Park after the Derby with no success.
"He was getting so many calls that it was impossible to get through. He called maybe five minutes after the race," Woolley said.
* Woolley loves working with horses and talked about his passion at length. Asked what was the most rewarding aspect, Woolley grinned. "Well, winning races," he said in a mock 'what do you think' tone.
"You get the winning picture, it doesn't matter whether it's a $5,000 claimer or the Kentucky Derby, you're proud of every one of them."
*****
Goodbye press box: I've spent a lot of time the past few weeks in press boxes covering baseball and softball games. Working nights and weekends in a place far away from where I grew up, there's not a lot of social time.
The press box was often the closest I got to sitting down and talking about life with someone. Whether it was Ricketts Park, Kirtland Central or Aztec, I enjoyed all the press boxes I experienced.
Each team's scorekeepers and public address announcers had a different culture and feel about them, but baseball is a sport that lends itself to talk. There's not a lot of constant movement and there's a break between innings. I met a lot of interesting and friendly people in the press box, and it's an experience I'll surely miss (until Connie Mack rolls around).
And how many people get to watch a baseball game under beautiful blue skies, break down the area's best hamburgers in a discussion with several other people and listen to good music blaring over the speakers -- and call it work?
It was interesting to feel out the mood in each team's press box. Some were up on all the latest gossip, some knew more about the individual players and teams than anyone in the county, and some were just plain goofy and sociable.
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Track heat sheets: All you track and field fans, if you want to see the heat sheets for this weekend's 3A-5A state meet, you can find them here. Albuquerque Academy's Curtis Beach, who owns the national high school decathlon record, will race against some San Juan County kids, but which events? Check the heat sheets to find out.
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LeBron doing MJ: I know, I know. There was only one Michael Jordan. LeBron James mirrors Magic Johnson's game more than Jordan's. This is true.
But I haven't seen a player so dominant in the playoffs since Jordan retired. Granted, the Cavs are 8-0 so far against teams they should beat, and haven't won a championship. But right now they have to be the favorite.
The Lakers failed to put away a hard-luck Houston Rockets team quickly. The Nuggets have fallen down to earth a bit over the last two games after annihilating their competition early with the league's best bench. The Celtics are too short on firepower to beat Cleveland despite a commendable effort to defend their title.
And LeBron, who won the MVP, finished second for Defensive Player of the Year, and yesterday was a unanimous selection on the All-NBA team, is averaging 32.9 points, 9.8 rebounds and 6.8 assists this postseason shooting 53.2 percent. Oh, and Cleveland's closest win was 84-74 to close out the series in Atlanta against the same Hawks team that beat last year's NBA Champion Celtics three times at home in a first-round series.
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Dallas Dangerous?: If you haven't been following the Kenyon Martin-Martin's mom-Mark Cuban fiasco, I highly suggest you read up on it. It's been an entertaining subplot to a subpar second round of the NBA playoffs.
The most interesting note: Dallas fans turned into beer-dumping, obscenity-yelling, confrontational, out of control bullies during Game 4.
"I probably would use an uglier word than hostile," Karl said of the crowd Monday night. "I don't think it was very classy."
We've all seen what can happen when someone's family gets insulted -- everyone remembers Zidane's infamous headbutt during the 2006 World Cup final -- and that's what happened with Cuban and Martin.
Reminiscent of the tension during the Malice at the Palace, only the NBA has done such a good job -- maybe too good -- of sterilizing the league's aggressive -- shall I say thuggish, or will K-Mart get mad? -- tendencies. But, to their credit, there was no way J.R. Smith or 'Melo would've gone into the crowd Monday, and both have a tendency to make rash, emotional decisions.
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American Idiots: Don't tell the teams winning the American League divisions, but they're making a lot of prognosticators look like idiots nearly a quarter of the way through the season. To think a few years ago the AL East was reserved for the Yankees and Red Sox. Most thought if they were going to be upstaged again, it would be last year's American League champion Rays, but Tampa Bay is in fourth.
The Blue Jays top the division with a plus-48 run differential, best in baseball. Detroit, in the midst of a woeful financial year in a depressing city during a depressing time, is leading the mediocre Central at 17-15. And Texas -- yes, the Rangers -- are getting enough pitching thus far to keep the A's, Angels and Mariners at bay in the West.
The National League is not as crazy, with New York, St. Louis and L.A. leading their respective divisions.
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Link of the Week: Think everyone can pull off the real-life Vin Diesel in "Fast and Furious" car jacking? Check out this feature on the eight dumbest car thieves of all time.
Oh, and don't forget to live your life a quarter mile at a time.
Stay true and keep pounding,
Christopher
I'll be visiting with him soon at the home of Bennie "Chip" Woolley Jr. in Bloomfield. Mine That Bird is preparing to run in Saturday's Preakness Stakes in Baltimore, with the field set to be announced tomorrow.
Here's a snippet from my short interview with Chip today. I asked him about the media maelstrom he's faced since winning the Kentucky Derby.
His response:
"The media's made it fairly easy for me. It's busy, don't get me wrong, I'm pretty busy, but it's not been bad. At first it was a little bit overwhelming, but once I got used to dealing with it, it's not bad. I've actually the last few days enjoyed it. I've had time for this whole thing to sink in and get a grip on it. Once we did it, it's been enjoyable."
I drove out to Aztec's track this afternoon to interview Jake Espinoza for this week's prep newsmaker. I also talked at length with coach Steve Lanier and teammate and close friend Ben Brooks. As I left, I decided to leap over the fence surrounding the track instead of walking through the gate.
I stuck my hand on the fence as I flew over it, but it slipped, and that threw off my balance. My shoes skimmed over the concrete and I fell backwards and caught myself with the fingernails on my left hand as my body crashed. I got up and jogged up the steps, a little embarrassed but no harm done.
"Are you OK?" someone asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. That wasn't a good idea, was it?" I said.
I had no idea how bad it was. I got back to the office and got ready to transcribe the 15 minutes of interviews, and my recorder wouldn't turn on. It was in my left hand when I fell, along with my phone, notebook and pen, which caused my hand to slip off the fence as I lifted my feet over it. I guess something inside my recorder busted when I fell.
I can't think of a worse scenario than losing three great interviews. I called back Jake and Coach Lanier, but instead of an original conversation it was an embarrassing retrace. It's a bit like giving an improv speech and then trying to recreate it in front of the same audience an hour later. It may have flowed the first time. It may have been funny, but it's no longer humorous.
My search for some boyish fun mashed my fingernails, cost me a handful of $20 bills (digital recorders aren't free) and ruined my interviews. Next time I'll go through the gate, or at least avoid falling.
I'm off to see if I can salvage a decent article out of the mess I've made.
Stay true and keep pounding,
Christopher
Many local coaches were upset that District 1-4A's representatives in the tournament weren't seeded higher. They felt this district's strength of schedule trumped schools from other districts with slightly better records.
Hall represented the district at the seeding meeting. Quick to praise the other members who sacrificed part of their Mother's Day for the meeting, Hall said they focused more on which teams to include in the field of 16. After the first six seeds, Hall said "there were people advocating very strongly for two, three, sometimes four teams for most of the positions."
Hall also said that more people affiliated with the New Mexico Activities Association and athletic directors around the state seemed interested in the 4A seedings than any other classification.
"I think 4A softball is the most exciting to people throughout the state," Hall said.
Piedra Vista coach Kevin Werth said earlier this year that District 1-4A is the best in New Mexico regardless of classification. Now, with four teams in the tournament, they'll have a chance to prove it.
Stay true and keep pounding,
Christopher
Calvin Borel agreed to ride Rachel Alexandra for Saturday's 134th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico in Baltimore. Borel rode Rachel Alexandria to a 20 1/4-length win during the Kentucky Oaks, the precursor to the Kentucky Derby reserved for fillies.
Earlier today it appeared Mine That Bird's owners might block Rachel Alexandra's entry. The field for the 1 1/16-mile race is limited to 14 horses with preference given to horses nominated before the Derby. The field will become official on Wednesday, but it appears there will be one spot left for Rachel Alexandra, who was recently purchased by Jess Jackson.
Jackson is willing to pay the $100,000 supplemental fee required to register Rachel Alexandra for the race. The star filly likely will become the race favorite after Wednesday's draw. Mine That Bird's owners said they would consider entering an extra horse in an effort to keep Rachel Alexandra out of the race and free up Borel to ride their horse in a quest to win the second leg of the triple crown.
By late Sunday night, co-owner Mark Brown rescinded his plan to bar Rachel Alexandra.
Mine That Bird, a 50-1 winner in the Derby, is thought to be a longer shot in the Preakness, though the odds likely will be more favorable. Mine That Bird's endurance is better suited for the 1 1/2 mile Belmont Stakes, the third leg of the Triple Crown.
The last horse to win the Triple Crown was Affirmed in 1978.
Stay true and keep pounding,
Christopher
I still had to go for a run and cook dinner. "Nah," I thought. "How bad could it be?"
After spending the day at Aztec's track... really, really bad. My face and arms look foreign. Accounting for the contrast with my lily-white skin, I look like a tomato slathered in mayonnaise.
To prove to the sun that I will not be incinerated, I'm giving you a little extra from today's District 1-4A track meet. In case you missed it, Aztec's boys and girls teams both won.
* Aztec's Jake Espinoza gets my vote for meet MVP, winning three individual events, anchoring the winning 4x400 and finishing third in the high jump. His 100-meter win and 4x400 leg were head to head with Farmington's Josh Newsome. Espinoza won, but some folks insinuated that Newsome was at full strength. That wasn't the case.
Newsome strained his hamstring earlier in the year. He pulled up in his first race back and missed several weeks of training and meets. This wasn't the same Newsome that we saw early in the season. This Newsome faded near the finish and looked out of shape. Espinoza won the 100 in 11.35, nearly a second slower than Newsome's district record set last year. All the competitors looked tense in the shoulder/neck area and needed to run smoother.
Both Espinoza and Newsome will face off again next year assuming both are healthy.
* Farmington's Riley McGovern did not compete in either hurdle event after finishing sixth in the long jump. McGovern is healthy and missed several meets during the season in lieu of his club soccer team. There were rumors Saturday from credible sources that the Scorpions coaches were upset with McGovern, and he may have some explaining to do ahead of next weekend's state meet.
Kirtland Central's Tyrel Long won the 300-meter hurdles in McGovern's absence, running 41.29 seconds. The Broncos took the top two spots in both the boys and girls 300 hurdles.
* The Scorpions' 4x200 team was disqualified after a false start. Coaches have voted three times in recent years to keep the one-and-done rule, which is fairly unusual. The Olympics, for example, assess the first false start to the entire field, and the second false start earns a DQ.
* Farmington's Kenny Howard thinks he can throw the shot put 58 feet at the 4A state meet if he rotates his foot more on his follow through. Howard won the shot put Saturday and finished second in the discus despite lingering foot pain that prevented him from utilizing a full rotation.
"I'm just standing there throwing and seeing how far it goes," Howard said.
* Jon Bindues cruised to a four-second win in the 800-meter dash but still hasn't broken the 2-minute barrier. He'll get one last opportunity next weekend at the University of New Mexico track, where he hopes to walk on next year.
Bindues also won the 1,600 and anchored Piedra Vista's winning sprint medley relay. He ran a 59-second first 400 during the relay, two seconds faster than his open race. He never lost form, but could stand to pick up his leg turnover during his second lap if he wants to break 2:00.
* KC's Kourtni Ashcroft is coming close to mastering the three-step between hurdles. Ashcroft three-stepped the majority of her 100-meter prelim, qualifying first in 16.65 seconds. She struggled with fatigue during Saturday's final, abandoning the three-step. She had to power over the final two hurdles to distance herself from second and third.
"I'm still pretty weak on the three steps and there was a few I would four-step," Ashcroft said. "Hopefully I can have it by state. I feel pretty confident."
* KC's Amanda Kerr now owns the 800 and 1,600-meter school records for the Broncos after her 2:26 in Friday's 800. Kerr said she shortened her stride during the second lap to create faster turnover, but made up the time difference by going out faster.
Someone calling her splits told her she had 40 seconds to run the final 200, but she didn't buy it.
"I was like, 'I don't think that's right,'" Kerr said. "So I just took off hauling butt all the way."
Kerr ran a 33-second 200 to open all three of her races. She won her first 3,200 race of the year, but had trouble settling on the right pace.
"I tried to stay behind as long as possible, but it kept getting slower and slower," Kerr said. "I was afraid I wouldn't have the energy, but I was like, 'I've got to go.' My plan was to leave with two laps to go and I ended up leaving with four."
Kerr believes the 1,600 will be the most difficult event for her at state because it represents a midpoint and includes talented 800 and 3,200-meter runners.
Kerr also said teammate Myka Benally complained of ankle pain about two weeks ago. Benally pulled out of the 3,200 on Friday before being diagnosed with a stress fracture.
* A quote from Aztec coach Steve Lanier on his expectations for the state meet:
"We'll sit down now and look and see who's where. Right now it's kind of a whirlwind," Lanier said.
On winning district:
"You set goals at the beginning of the year and when they come true it's always good. I think it's very important to (my athletes to win district). It gives us momentum. (Now), nothing counts but the next meet. That's what we work for and that's what we train for. District's a sweet spot on the road."
* Many athletes spent too much time standing around waiting for their event to start. The meet didn't include a rolling schedule. I believe there was 10 minutes between the sprinting events. When the girls 100 ended, the boys waited a significant amount of time for the start of their race.
Espinoza, who admitted thinking he ran much faster than 11.35, speculated the standing around time might have played a factor in the slow times.
"It's definitely different because we usually go right away, but it'll be like that at state, so we might as well get used to it," Espinoza said.
Stay true and keep pounding,
Christopher
Wow -- Manny Ramirez just got suspended 50 games for violating Major League Baseball's drug policy. He's one of two players I'd be semishocked if he used steroids, the other being current Seattle Mariner Ken Griffey Jr.
I hope you're enjoying your Thursday. Congratulations to the coaches and athletes that are now able to practice, and good luck getting ready for your state championships.
*****
Top Gun: An Aztec man had a championship last Saturday involving a model 1911 pistol.
Glenn Shelby finished seventh at the 2009 U.S. Practical Shooting Association Single Stack National Championship in Barry, Ill. The competition drew more than 255 of the top 1911 shooters in the country. The gun is referred to as the 'Single Stack' because it holds one column of ammunition.
Shelby finished with 1,088.7948 points, 108 back of first place shooter Rob Leatham of Mesa, Ariz.
The USPSA designated the event as the 1911 national championship in 2006, so congratulations to Mr. Shelby.
*****
No polls: The coaches associations have finished releasing their final top 10 polls of the season for baseball, softball and track, so there are no polls for me to post this week.
*****
Preakness countdown: Mine That Bird's attempt to win the second leg of the triple crown is nine days away. The horse trained by Bloomfield's Bennie "Chip" Woolley Jr. will take out with 13 other horses at Pimlico Raceway in Baltimore, Md., on May 16.
Possibly joining Mine That Bird in the race is Rachel Alexandria, the filly that Calvin Borel rode to a 20-length win Friday in the Kentucky Oaks. She was recently sold to a new owner. The filly could even become the race's favorite, ahead of the horse Borel rode along the rail during one of the most famous Kentucky Derbys ever.
*****
Physical NBA playoffs: Anyone clamoring for the old school NBA playoffs hasn't been watching this year.
Everyone fawns over the physical mentality of Charles Oakley and the mid-90s Knicks or even the 'Bad Boy' Trailblazers and Pistons. Charles Barkley rants about how in his day, nobody would get to the basket for an easy layup. Newsflash: there have been as many flagrant fouls, shoving matches and stitches in this playoffs as any in recent memory.
Here's my unofficial list of incidents:
* Denver's Kenyon Martin was fined $25,000 and assessed a flagrant foul one for his hit on Dirk Nowitzki.
* Orlando's Dwight Howard got a one-game suspension for swinging an elbow at Philadelphia's Samuel Dalembert.
* Boston's Rajon Rondo slapped Chicago's Brad Miller upside the head with two seconds left in overtime. Rondo never got a flagrant, but Miller, visibly shaken, missed both free throws with two seconds left in overtime and the Bulls down two. Then he got stitches in his mouth.
* Rondo did get a flagrant for pushing Chicago's Kirk Hinrich into the scorer's table and starting a shoving match.
* Speaking of stitches, Houston's Shane Battier required four around his left eye after a cut suffered in a scramble for a loose ball against Los Angeles. Workers spent a few minutes wiping blood off the court before play resumed.
* In the same series, Derek Fisher got whistled for a flagrant two for a hard foul on Houston's Luis Scola, earning an automatic ejection. Scola fell to the floor with a cut near his right ear.
* And that's not all -- Ron Artest and Kobe Bryant exchanged pleasantries, with Bryant throwing a few elbows according to Artest. Artest gestured to Bryant after he'd had enough and got ejected. Later Bryant got a technical for taunting after he made a shot.
* Orlando's Rafer Alston slapped Boston's Eddie House in the back of the head last night after House sunk a 3 and bumped him.
* Dallas' Eric Dampier said he would put San Antonio's Tony Parker "on his back" the first time he entered the lane in their first round series, causing the NBA to consider a penalty or suspension.
I'm sure I've missed an incident or two, but I rest my case.
*****
Brett Favre: The Michael Jordan of the NFL (in terms of retirement, not ability) has been meeting with Minnesota Vikings coach Brad Childress about a possible return to the league next year.
Spurned by Green Bay, Favre talked with the Vikings last year but the Packers talked of illegal tampering and scared Minnesota off. After a year with the Jets, Favre may make a return to the NFC North this year.
The Vikings would immediately become a Super Bowl contender. Favre makes my list of most hated athletes, but I'd like to see him in purple. I want to see what Minnesota could do with a quarterback. They have the best defensive line in the NFL with the Williams boys at defensive tackle and Jared Allen at end, and one of the best offensive lines to block for Adrian Peterson. With Favre, they're one of the best teams in the NFL.
Favre has a giant fan base because of his good ole boy persona, gunslinger mentality, good looks and because he played for the beloved Packers. But besides being aloof and almost Barry Bonds-like in the locker room, he's one of the most overrated quarterbacks in history.
The man has thrown 310 interceptions in his career, the most ever. Many of his records are because he's played in more games than any other quarterback. Sure, you say, that's a virtue in itself. Do I need to remind you about his addiction to pain killers? What would the public reaction to that have been if it was Donovan McNabb?
By the way, who's really the better quarterback? McNabb is the most underrated of this generation and Favre the most overrated. But look at their career stats and tell me which player is which:
Player A -- 58.9 completion percentage, 86.4 quarterback rating, 2.16:1 TD to INT ratio.
Player B -- 61.6 completion percentage, 85.4 quarterback rating, 1.5:1 TD to INT ratio.
Surprise: Player A is McNabb. He also has 1,300 more rushing yards. He's been to five NFC championship games and one Super Bowl. Favre has been to four NFC championship games, two Super Bowls and won one.
*****
Pacquiao: Stumbled across this feature article on boxer Manny Pacquiao yesterday.
It's one of the best profiles I've read this year. Tremendous job by Tim Keown of capturing such an interesting character.
One of the reasons it was so compelling is because, as a boxer, Pacquiao is one of the most generous human beings alive. And because, as a boxer, he understands the human spirit better than most anyone I know.
There are far too many topics to touch on, but I'll stick with one. Asked why he keeps over a dozen people living with him as he trains, feeding them and offering them money for things like losing weight, here's what he said: "It is easier if you have friends around, laughing. Always there should be laughing."
I found that statement profound. A man that can have anything in the world wants laughter. So often in sports we become so intense in our focus and emotions that we forget to enjoy our lives. I know I have been guilty of that plenty, whether during my time running track at Samford University or being consumed with trying to be a better journalist.
Pacquio is right. Whatever we do, whoever we're around and wherever we are, always there should be laughing.
Stay true and keep pounding,
Christopher
The NMAA has lifted their suspension of high school athletic events. The NMAA made the decision by unanimous vote in an emergency board meeting this morning after health officials told schools they were allowed to reopen.
This means practices can resume today. Also, much of the craziness induced by the original suspension has been lifted. The NMAA has shown flexibility and I think they've done an excellent job with their decision today. Here's the revised schedule.
Golf and track will have a choice to hold their district tournaments/meets after all, provided they finish by certain deadlines. Tennis will remain the weekend of May 14 to 16 for team and individuals. Softball's season will resume and baseball's round of 16 will return to a best of 3 format starting tomorrow.
Stay true and keep pounding,
Christopher
Beyale, a senior, has won three straight District 1-4A golf tournaments, and won't have a chance at number four. The NMAA canceled the tournament, which was scheduled for Monday.
Beyale said she took a practice round with her teammates Sunday and went home excited.
"We get home and the coach calls us saying it's canceled, and you're like, 'What! Why?' It doesn't hit you at first," Beyale said. "Come Monday, it was such a beautiful day. It was so perfect. I was just bummed. I didn't want to go to school. It was just like, this (stinks)."
Beyale wasn't the only one frustrated with the decision. Piedra Vista girls coach Paul Stewart said Monday that he felt like coaches should never decide who can and can't go to state and that it should be decided on the course.
The Piedra Vista boys team didn't have enough legs to qualify for state, and hoped to upset already-qualified Farmington in the district tournament to qualify automatically. At least two of the district's coaches claimed the Panthers had a legitimate chance.
That chance appears dashed. Stewart said Monday the district coaches would petition the NMAA to expand the field for PV's boys, considering the extenuating circumstances, but KC boys coach Chuck Soria said Tuesday the NMAA has rejected that request.
Is there anyone else frustrated with the chaos?
Stay true and keep pounding,
Christopher
Saying it's unfair to the closed schools to hold competition, the NMAA suspended or canceled events in five spring sports and restricted practice to school hours. That's created drastic changes in every sport as the state championships approach.
I've talked to several athletic directors, coaches and athletes in the area, some of whom disagree with the NMAA's rules and approach. There's no easy solution. I'm not going to defend the NMAA, but I will say they've earned a strong grade in public relations.
Less than a day after making the announcement, NMAA director Gary Tripp and assistant director Robert Zayas hosted a webcast. Both gave out their cell phone numbers and encouraged people to text them questions, which they read and answered live.
They went into detail on every imaginable topic, even outlining the revised state championship schedule for every sport and every classification. That's a monumental turnaround for an organization that bureaucratic.
Their plan isn't perfect -- that may not be possible under the circumstances -- but they came across as human, accessible and personable. They took advantage of technology in a fashion and speed normally reserved for the media or generations my age and younger.
They also plan on holding another webcast within the next few days. Some had trouble accessing it, either because it occurred during school hours or because their computers or servers wouldn't let them access the streaming video.
My counterargument is that the webcast is still available for viewing. Plus, the NMAA hashed out an incredible amount of detail Monday morning and had a scheduled meeting Monday afternoon. They could've kept the public in the dark, but they spilled out all the information in a very public and vulnerable fashion.
Argue with their plan, but don't argue with their attempt to communicate.
Stay true and keep pounding,
Christopher
I asked if he was joking. "I kid you not," he replied back at 4:53.
I walked around the Farmington Sports Complex tennis courts telling people, unable to contain my excitement. I'd just talked to the horse's trainer, Bennie "Chip" Woolley Jr., on the phone Friday for a Kentucky Derby preview article. Local thoroughbred authority Steve Bortstein even told me Mine That Bird 'will not win' the Derby.
Within two hours, Darren called me. I needed to leave the twice-delayed district tennis tournament before it ended and write a story on Mine That Bird for the front page of the paper.
Desperate for sources, the local well ran dry when I couldn't reach SunRay Park's director. I called Woolley Jr. several times Saturday night, and his voicemail was full. Right as I was about to give up on him and keep scrambling elsewhere, Darren said, "Well, just keep calling him."
Woolley Jr. picked up on the third ring. Whether he'd already started celebrating or he was tired or both, he sounded haggard and rushed. He graciously let me ask three questions before practically hanging up on me as four people interrupted to congratulate him during the course of my interview, which lasted 2:21.
It was a thrill to write the article and talk to Woolley Jr., who seems laid back and straightforward. Here's how it works in the newsroom: I had about an hour to write the story, working on two hours of sleep and having been on the job since 8:45 a.m. After I finished, I wrote up the tennis article and finished up the design, leaving the office early at 11:30 p.m. Darren didn't sleep the night before, fearing he wouldn't wake up at 4:30 a.m. to drive to the Shiprock marathon.
That said, I failed as a reporter in that I wrote a one-source article that was also choppy. I feel like a more veteran reporter would've crushed me. Also, reading the Associated Press articles and the national media columns and features, I realize how much better they are and the work I need to do to get to their level. Granted, they have better access, but I'm a competitive person and it frustrates me to not be as good.
The headline "Bloomfield's Mine That Bird" also bothered me. I should've caught that when I checked over my story, but technically, Mine That Bird is from Roswell, where the owners live. "Bloomfield-trained Mine That Bird" would've been more correct.
The story may not have happened at all if a woman hadn't faxed me a tip about Woolley Jr. I didn't realize that we had a local trainer in the Derby until I walked into the office Friday and saw the fax taped to my computer monitor.
"I was wondering why here has not been a single article in the newspaper regarding a local resident who has a horse running in the Kentucky Derby tomorrow. ... Everyone else in the country has written an article and done TV interviews, but even with Sun Ray track right here in Farmington, we still hear nothing from The Daily Times about this horse and his local trainer. The race is tomorrow, so the least you could do is do a write up for tomorrow's paper about Woolley and Mine That Bird."
Kudos to "Concerned Reader" for helping us do our jobs and being a better reporter than I. Here is my Friday preview and my column on why Mine That Bird is worthy of a Hollywood movie.
Incidentally, I wrote my second A1 story in two days tonight. Darren is off on Sundays and Mondays, so when the NMAA suspended all athletic events and I found out 15 minutes before the news deadline of 10:30 p.m., I had to move quickly again (sports deadline is 11:30 p.m.).
In a hurry, I wrote that the suspension includes the state baseball and tennis tournaments and the District 1-4A track meet. There are other district meets that have been suspended, and the district golf tournaments, at least the local one, has also been moved. Why I settled on District 1-4A track in the rush of the moment I do not know.
Needless to say it's been an exciting and busy few days at the Daily Times sports department, but thanks for bearing with my bouts of incompetence.
The big athletic events will likely resume one week after they were originally scheduled. I wonder if this will shift the prep schedule one week into the beginning of summer? I'll try to find out more on this tomorrow (or later today, incidentally). I previously planned to cover the district golf tournament and write the prep newsmaker feature, but I should have some extra time on my hands now.
Well, I'm off to grab some Burger King on my way home. Enjoy your Monday.
Stay true and keep pounding,
Christopher
Originally scheduled for an 8 a.m. start, the individual and doubles semis and finals were pushed to 9 a.m., and then a group of players and coaches spearheaded by Piedra Vista boys coach Richard Yancey took to the courts with about a dozen long-handled rollers.
The rain picked back up after they'd made progress, and the rollers -- and players -- were relegated to huddling on the concrete beneath the overhang in the center of the courts. The coaches met briefly to discuss the options, made more difficult by the inclusion of Grants and Belen in the district this year.
The verdict? The coaches will wait until 3 p.m. hoping to play today. If not, they'll try to secure courts in Albuquerque to play out the matches early tomorrow, or delay until Thursday.
Farmington girls coach Pat McGrath and the selection committee will meet tomorrow to determine seeding for the state tournament, and Thursday creates more complex logistics issues, prompting all the coaches involved to hope the rain passes.
Sitting at my desk inside what we've affectionately dubbed the Sports Cave at the Daily Times office, I can hear the rain coming down steady on the piece of plywood covering a coffin-sized hole in the roof. When I left my apartment this morning, the forecast showed a 10 percent chance of rain before noon. At least I think that's what it said; it's hard to tell on two hours of sleep.
I'm looking at the forecast now and it shows a 0 to 15 percent chance of rain between now and 3 p.m. in the Farmington area, but the rain is starting to come down hard as I'm typing this sentence.
I talked with local handicapper, sports talk radio host and sometimes columnist Steve Bortstein about Mine That Bird's chances as a 50-1 underdog.
"He's not going to win. It would be a miracle if he won the race," Bortstein said. "He's going to be the longest shot in the race."
Bortstein said Woolley Jr. is the first local trainer to have a horse in the Derby since he's lived in New Mexico, and possibly the only one in the history of the area.
"It's uncommon in big thoroughbred races. We've traditionally done very well in quarter-horse races, but I believe this is the first time we've had a local trainer in the Kentucky Derby," Bortstein said.
Tomorrow, Mine That Bird will break from post 8 and hope for a slow pace so he can use his blistering finishing kick. Woolley Jr. told me earlier today that he hopes to keep his horse eight to 10 lengths off the pace.
"He's one of the top trainers here at SunRay over the past two years. He's a really good guy," Bortstein said. "Has a number of good horses. (Mine That Bird) is a good horse, but he's really in over his head."
Other Tidbits:
*Jockey Calvin Borel won today's Kentucky Oaks with Rachel Alexandra by 20 1/4 lengths. Borel will ride Mine That Bird in tomorrow's Derby.
*Mine That Bird's sire Birdstone prevented Smarty Jones from winning the Triple Crown in 2004 by winning the Belmont Stakes.
*Donerail was the biggest longshot winner in Derby history. At odds of 91.45-1, Donerail paid $184.90 to win the 1913 Run for the Roses. You can find the top 10 historic longshots here. Notice that 2005 winner Giacomo won with 50.30-1 odds, about the same as Mine That Bird.
And one last thought from Bortstein: "He'll go the distance because he's got a really good pedigree. He can handle the distance, he's just not nearly fast enough."
Look for a story in Saturday's paper previewing tomorrow's 135th running of the Kentucky Derby, focusing on Woolley Jr. and Mine That Bird.
Stay true and keep pounding,
Christopher
