Kappy's Blog

Who's Coming to the Sun Bowl?

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 06:07:00 GMT

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.

Another big win for UTEP

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 04:38:00 GMT

Two weeks ago, many Miner fans were so upset with their team's 9-game losing streak that they had enough of their head coach. "Mike Price isn't doing his job so it's time for a coaching change," these fans said. Since then, the Miners have won two straight games, including a 45-point blowout win against the defending league champs and a double overtime thriller in Hattiesburg tonight. UTEP's resurgence couldn't have come at a better time. The team is 2-0 in conference play and will host Tulane next Saturday night at the Sun Bowl. I hope the fickle UTEP fans will get back on the bandwagon again and support the Miners against the Green Wave. Despite UTEP's defensive shortcomings, Price's team is starting to put things together and still has a chance to contend for a bowl game.

Baseball Playoff Preview

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:05:00 GMT

OK, finally. After 162 games and 6 months, Major League Baseball has finally reached the postseason. Eight teams from both leagues will slug it out (no pun intended) for a World Series crown. Here's my predictions for the first round:

NL Division Series

Cubs over Dodgers in 5 - this one is tough to call. After Ryan Dempster imploded in Game 1, many fans will be ready to write the Cubs off for another season. I'm not one of those fans. Chicago was clearly the best team in the Senior Circuit for most of the season, and they have too many big game players to lose to the relatively inexperienced Dodgers. LA does have two things going for them: Joe Torre and Manny Ramirez. Despite failing to win the big one in NY, Torre has made all the right decisions in his first year in LA and Ramirez was the missing ingredient the Dodgers lacked. If LA's kids show no fear, the "Curse of the Billy Goat" will live on for another season.

Phillies over Brewers in 4 - with the exception of CC Sabathia, Milwaukee was lucky to stumble into the Wild Card spot. Philadelphia has the better pitching depth and the postseason experience they need to advance to the NLCS.

AL Division Series

Red Sox over Angels in 4 - this series has a chance to be a 3-game sweep if the Halos don't win Game 2. Who cares if LA/Anaheim owned Boston during the regular season. The only stat that matters is that the Red Sox have won 10 consecutive playoff games against the Angels. I love the Angels talent and believe they could be the best team in the entire field. It doesn't matter, though. When a team owns you in the playoffs, you're screwed. Sorry Scioscia.

Rays over White Sox in 5 - Another series to keep a close eye on. Tampa reminds me of the 2007 Rockies. Young and unafraid of the postseason. Despite a more experienced veteran opponent from the south side of Chicago, these Rays are on a mission. Longoria, Pena, Upton, Kazmir, and Shields form the nucleus of a perrenial AL contender. It took longer than the D-Backs, Marlins, and Rockies, but Rays find will find out that this postseason was well worht the wait.

Can't wait to see how many series I correctly (or incorrectly) predicted.

Memories of The Bear

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 01:48:00 GMT

Like a lot of people, I can't believe Don Haskins passed away Sunday afternoon from congestive heart failure. If there was ever a person who I thought would live forever, it was Coach Haskins. Although he gave up smoking years ago, The Bear never quit his second love, a shot of tequila. Forget the high-end stuff...Cuervo was Coach's choice. And I was lucky enough to partake in Coach's favorite pasttime over the years.

I'm going to miss the trips in his truck, talking basketball and other sports. I loved getting a ride in the passenger seat of his truck and always paid close attention to the stories. I used to love to ask him about different legends I heard involving The Bear over the years. Like the one about him beating Minnesota Fats in billiards. "Not true," he'd say. Or the one about him outshooting Orsten Artis in free thows to recruit him to Texas Western. That, he'd tell me was true.

I'm going to miss the phone calls I would get from Coach to talk sports, especially UTEP hoops. Even though he was unable to attend a Miner home game this past season, Haskins loved to talk UTEP basketball. It was his life and his passion. The friendships he developed with Billy Gillespie and Doc Sadler will last a lifetime, and both coaches would call Haskins' house often to talk strategy with the Hall of Famer.

Most importantly, I'll miss his freindship. Coach Haskins took an interest in my broadcast career soon after I graduated from UT-Austin and moved back to El Paso. I was working for KLAQ and would attend his practices to watch his coaching techniques. Even though he could no longer walk as fast as he could during his younger years, The Bear's glare still scared the hell out of you. He knew the game better than anyone, and would drill his team until they got the play right. Underneath those intimidating eyes was a man who was as caring, generous, and loyal as anybody you'd ever meet.

Goodbye, Coach. I'll miss you but never forget you.

Viva Las Vegas Day 2

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 21:20:00 GMT

Last night, program director Johnnie Walker and I attended "The Beatle's Love" performance at the Mirage. The show was visually spectacular and the music soundtrack speaks for itself. I was so impressed in the athleticism and choreography of the performance, it's a must-see. Dinner was also memorable, and I think the Bellagio Buffet lived up to its reputation.

Things starting to pick up here at the media room at the MGM Grand. We had a box lunch, which was surprisingly good and then taped a few interviews. Bob Arum and Max Kellerman will be on today's show, and we're hoping to get Jim Lampley from HBO Boxing. The fight weigh-in will be taking place at 3:30p, and we hope to have more guests to announce soon after that.

Viva Las Vegas Day 1

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:00:00 GMT

It's 10am and I'm in the media room at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas preparing for the first of two live broadcasts. Miguel Cotto will try and take Antonio Margarito's IBF Welterweight title on Saturday night, and people are calling this showdown a potential "fight of the year" candidate. Johnnie Walker, my program director is along for the ride and will be assisting me with the technical aspects of the live broadcasts. He's also blogging on krod.com and will have live running commentary and pictures. When we left El Paso, Carol Gutierrez, at the Southwest Airlines checkout counter referred to Johnnie as "Kojak." I had a good laugh and wondered why Johnnie left his cherry lollipop in El Paso. Johnnie actually dressed up for this trip, and is even sporting his blue KROD polo shirt. He's already been approached by ten women in the hotel bar, plus a few of the flight attendants on the plane. I never realized that working for an AM station can be so rewarding.

We are still waiting to check-into our room at the MGM, but the media room is already buzzing with writers and other radio hosts. We are joining stations from all over the country (NY, LA, Boston, Miami, Dallas, Vegas, San Diego, and a few more). We've been told that both Margarito and Cotto will both be here today for interviews, so our show should be a very good one. I'll have updates as more stories develop.

12:50p...Bert Sugar just stopped by for the first time and brought me his own Topps trading card. It's even an error card, since his name is spelled "Burt" on the front of the card, but the correct "Bert" is on the back of the card. He's very excited about getting his mug on a Topps card and promised to sign it for me later today.

1:15p...Harold Lederman, my favorite boxing personality just made his way to the media room. Harold is always full of energy and today is no different. I'm hoping that he can start the show today with us live from radio row.

1:35p...We just taped a satellite phone interview with Miguel Cotto. The sound on his telephone was inaudible and it was so low that we will have a very tough time airing it today. It's unfortunate, but there is the possibility that he might come down to the media room. It he does, we'll be able to bring him on. Just confirmed Harold Lederman at the start of the show.

Back in town

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 16:31:00 GMT

I've had a chance to get over some jetlag and it's good to be back in El Paso. Denmark was amazing! Great people, incredible food, and some beautiful scenery. While I was gone, the Brett Favre soap opera included some new plot twists, a couple of big trades occured in baseball, and Rafael Nadal and Roger Federrer played one of the greatest matches in the history of tennis. Congratulations to "The Monster", Mando Medina for becoming the new host of Crunchtime. Mando's enthusiasm and his desire to return to the KROD airwaves should make for a very entertaining three hours every Saturday morning from King's X.

It's funny how different the sports coverage is in Europe. Soccer is king, and many Danish sports fans root for Liverpool because of Danish star Danny Agger. I must have seen dozens of soccer jerseys while we traveled along the walking streets in Copenhagen. They are also closely following the Tour De France, despite the doping scandal that's resulted in 3 riders being sent home. I was surprised to find out that the NFL is growing in Denmark. Each week three games are shown on cable television, and they are very familiar with Tom Brady, Tony Romo, and the other stars of the NFL.

Sweet Lou's In The House!

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 05:31:00 GMT

I'm beginning a nice vacation tomorrow and will be in experiencing Europe for the first time ever! Denmark and Sweden to be exact. The only thing I'm not looking forward to are the long flights. In the meantime, enjoy KDBC's Lou Romano, who will be filling in for me during the next 7 shows (No show on July 4th). I'll be back on Tuesday, July 15th, and by then we'll know who will be the new host of Crunchtime. We have three strong candidates, so we can't make a bad choice.

Soccer anyone?

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:29:00 GMT

Before I get out of here and hawk beer at the Streetfest for two nights, I need to get in a sports preview for the weekend. There's plenty of interleague baseball on the schedule, including the battle for the Big Apple. Besides watching the Mets-Yanks series, I am actually looking forward to the Euro 2008 Finals on Sunday. I'll admit, I don't know much about soccer, but Germany and Spain interests me. Maybe it's because these teams don't usually play for the Euro Cup Title. Maybe I like watching good soccer in HDTV. Maybe I just don't have a life anymore. Regardless of the reasons why, I will be checking out the match on KVIA this weekend. Also looking forward to Brandon's Crunchtime hosting debut. Brandon promises a lot of shtick and is pumped to host the show, and I can honestly say I don't what the heck he's going to do when he gets on the air. That certain amount of mystery intrigues me and I'll be listening. Good luck B!

Stick a fork in the Lakers!

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 03:52:00 GMT

People will look back at Game 4 of the NBA Finals and wonder how the Lakers blew a 24-point lead to the Celtics. The answer is easy. Boston was able to get their usual production out of their "Big 3", but had a huge game from their bench. Ray Allen kept the Celtics from getting blown out in the first half, and the Paul Pierce helped fuel the 2nd half comeback. Led by James Posey and Eddie House, Boston's bench easily outplayed the Lakers bench and provided the spark they needed to win the game. lamar Odom and Pau Gasol had nice statistical games, but where was LA's defense in the last 18 minutes? Nowehere to be found, which is why Boston is on the verge of winning their first title in more than 20 years.