By jflynt on 11/27/2008 7:51 AM

Since I have the day off (hey, who knew the news took a day off...in the middle of the week no less), and I've been ill (seriously, not just from watching NMSU and UTEP), some random musings. Call it the Turkey Day Smorgasboard...

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Regarding the Sun Bowl "controversy"...there really isn't one in my opinion. The Sun Bowl Committee (see John Folmer, Bernie Olivas, etc.) want Notre Dame to come to El Paso because it makes the best business sense. Even at 6-6 the Irish will draw in the stands and on TV, which is what counts. The Pac-10 rep whether it's Oregon, Arizona, or Cal, isn't as important as the other choice being Notre Dame. Screw the Big East. Yes I said it. Look, 7-5 teams who don't normally travel well (see Rutgers, UCONN, Pittsburgh, South Florida) won't draw flies. The matchup on the field isn't THAT important at this point in time. We're not arguing over Top-25 teams...and let's not forget that bowl games are BUSINESSES. Not butts ... Read More »

By KRODadmin on 11/24/2008 2:35 PM

And then there was one-Parkland!

The Parkland Matadors football team that is. Jerry Walker’s Parkland football team is the sole survivor of the Texas Playoffs from El Paso going into Week Number 13 of the 2008 season.

Surprised? Not necessarily. Parkland is blessed with some of the top skill position athletes in the City of El Paso and the Matadors are getting tremendous performances from them allowing the Northeast El Pasoschool to win in the 2008 Texas Playoffs.
Parkland stars Darren Mickens, Assad Taylor, Mike Davis, Andrew Rivera, Omar Martinez, Victor Morua, Alex Rodriquez, and Norberto Contreras have all contributed heavily to the Matadors playoff wins against Austin, and San Angelo Lakeview.

The Matadors 49-41 victory over San Angelo Lakeview in the second round of the playoffs was incredible! It was the tale of two football games in one 48 minute contest. The Black and Gold Matadors exploded for 42 points in the first ha ... Read More »

By SteveKaplowitz on 11/23/2008 11:07 PM

When Notre Dame lost to Syracuse this past weekend, most football observers believed the Irish would be headed to the Brut Sun Bowl on December 31st against Cal.  Now, it looks like that scenario is a longshot.  The Big East has 6 bowl partnerships (including the BCS).  With 2 weeks left to go in the regular season, 5 Big East teams have 7 or more wins.  A week from Thursday, Rutgers (6-5) hosts Louisville (5-6).  If the Scarlet Knights are victorious, that would make 6 teams in the Big East with 7 or more wins.  Thus, the Brut Sun Bowl would be forced to take the 2nd place team in the Big East (either West Virginia or Pittsburgh) before a 6-6 Notre Dame team.   If you want the Irish to come to El Paso, root for Louisville on Thursday night, December 5th.   

By KRODadmin on 11/18/2008 2:49 PM

Football is a game filled with incredible highs and is a game that can be filled with unbelievable lows. Take for example, Montwood’s miraculous 24-21 victory over Midland Lee in Round 1 of the Texas State Playoffs! How in the world did Montwood Head Coach Chuck Veliz get his team to play at a championship level against the homestanding Lee Rebels, especially after Socorro upset the Rams 21-12 in the final game of the regular season? It is called motivation and coaching ability!
Veliz can resemble a hurricane of great fury, when he is angry, and angry he was after his team lost to Socorro by nine points. His players felt his disappointment in letting a game get away that it should have won. Starting on the day after the Socorro loss, his players began to absorb his motivational tactics.

Veliz tore his team apart for losing to the Bulldogs for starters, but during most of the practice time the veteran coach began to build his team back up praising good plays.. By the t ... Read More »

By DukeKeith on 11/18/2008 12:20 AM

Miners Coach Mike Price Talks Up UTEP's Second Straight Win

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By jflynt on 11/17/2008 9:39 AM

I was busy this week figuring out that Waco-type situations still exist outside of Texas...to this day. It's a situation which has given me great pause about where we live and who our neighbors are...and so while I haven't been sued (yet), on with the blog...

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Teams at this point in the season have to start making statements about where they stand. Three teams (Packers, Chargers and Saints) needed to win so they're names could stay in the never-ending discussion of who's in the running to make the playoffs. Two of those (not San Diego) won in ways which make you believe they still have a chance. But they also got help in their own divisions...so the timing worked out well.

The Green Bay Packers made a HUGE statement with their 37-3 destruction of 1st-place Chicago at Lambeau Sunday. The offensive line of Chad Clifton, Darren Colledge, Scott Wells, Jason Spitz and Mark Tauscher physically dominated a talented Bears defensive line and ... Read More »

By DukeKeith on 11/16/2008 12:10 AM

UTEP Finds Itself on the Verge of It's Third Bowl in Five Years Under Mike Price

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By KRODadmin on 11/10/2008 10:19 AM

You would think that out of four Class 5A local playoff teams, that the City of El Paso would be lucky enough to win at least one coin toss in order to earn a playoff game. But no! Montwood, Coronado, Franklin, and El Dorado, all struck out batting 0-4 in coin flips. As a result, the very rabid high school football fans in Odessa and Midland will have four first round Class 5A football games to attend this Friday and Saturday.

 

On Friday night the # 4th ranked and undefeated (10-0) Odessa Permian Panthers will host the (6-4) El Dorado Aztecs at 6 PM El Paso time from the 21,000 seat Ratliff Stadium in a Division I, Region I contest. Some 16 miles to the east, (7-3) Midland Lee will welcome (7-3) Montwood to Grande Communications Stadium at 6 PM El Paso time on Friday night in a Division 2, Region I game.

 

Saturday finds (7-3) Franklin invading Ratliff Stadium at 12 noon El Paso time to play the (8-2) O ... Read More »

By jflynt on 11/10/2008 8:41 AM

It was Viking week up this way as townies braced themselves for what some considered the most important game Sunday. Now, there were plenty (the biggest I thought was Philly-Giants, but more on that in a minute) but certainly the hatred between these two states is amazing if you've never seen it. Those of you in El Paso got the game (from what I've been told) and if you took the time...it was a classic Upper Midwest sporting event.

One thing to understand about Wisconsin is the rivalries that are deeply embedded in the fabric of this cheese. From the Big Ten to baseball to football and hockey, it's a BIG deal when a rivalry game happens. When the Cubs and Brewers go at it...it's epic. You'll notice at Miller Park (in Chicago circles known as Wrigley North) a ton of Cubs fans show up....there's usually a fight and a lot of cheering for the enemy. At Sunday's Packers-Vikings game, the Packer fans in attendance were audible on TV at times...especially in the 2nd half. How could that ... Read More »

By jflynt on 11/5/2008 9:04 AM

I've been extremely busy with Election Night last night...the days leading up to it...and the insanity I was a part of covering area Democrats. I feel like I have a hangover, without ever having sipped a drop of alcohol. The reason, I believe, has to do with being surrounded by Dems, liberals, hippies and punk b*tches at their huge blowout in Green Bay.

By all accounts, they were successful as Barack Obama won the Badger state by a lot, and most of the seats in the state Legislature turned Blue. The campaign workers and volunteers really put in a ton of hours making this happen, giving credit where credit is due. However, I hope they're ready. The people, many of them drunk, others in tears, dancing uncontrollably when it was announced Obama had won the election. I just hope they're not crying in six months to a year realizing they bet on the wrong horse in this race. Or that he's just another politician.

I have nicknames for people, mostly put to use when ... Read More »