“What?” the crystal ball said. “You think I’m some kind of tea leaves reader? I’m a crystal ball. I study, I digest information, I analyze the opposition. It’s much too early to come up with my usually brilliant prediction.”
I FELT LIKE asking “Brilliant?” It has blown some of its picks pretty badly in the past. However, it has been hot the past year so I held my tongue.
“Well,” I said, “you must have some idea after spring training.”
It shook its head. “How many times have I told you that spring training is great for getting players into condition and learning plays and great for coaches in evaluating players but means nothing in figuring how they’re going to do in the fall.”
I interrupted. “But it must give you some kind of idea. After all, the Miners looked pretty good in their annual spring game with the Blue team beating the White team 29-0.”
“Yeah, yeah,” it said, “but that was against players playing against themselves. I’m sure other teams are also looking great in spring games.”
THEN IT SHOOK its head. “But I’ll admit I’ve been thinking a little about next fall. I thought the Miners did pretty well winning five games last year with such a young team and I was looking forward to their doing even better with more experience and going to a bowl game this year. Then the schedule came out and it shows the Miners have three sure losses already in the bag. That’s against Oklahoma, Mississippi and Wisconsin. So that means that to qualify for a bowl game they’ll have to win six of their other nine games. That’s a tall order.”
I gulped and admitted the crystal ball had a point. “Maybe the Miners can pull a miracle,” I said.
Surprisingly, the crystal ball said, “We can hope.”
Gee, I didn’t know it was a Miners fan. Maybe there’s hope for the orb. I picked it up and gently put it back in its drawer.
TRIVIA QUESTION: Willie Mays hit his first Major League homerun in 1951 against a future Hall of Fame pitcher. Can you name him? Answer at end.
WHAT A WAY to celebrate a birthday. El Paso’s Phil Prieto turned 69 the day he won his first senior professional bowling tournament.
It happened in the 60 and Over Classic in Las Vegas last week. He defeated Curtis Dornath of Maricopa, Arizona, in the finals with a 233 game to his opponent’s 192 and took home the top prize of $10,000.
He’ll soon be leaving to bowl in the U.S. Bowing Congress national tournament in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
It’s been quite a year for Prieto, one of El Paso’s all-time greatest bowlers and former owner of Bowl El Paso. He was inducted into the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame last year.
SPEAKING OF the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame. Have you bought your tickets for this year’s induction banquet? It’ll be held April 25 at UTEP. Eight of El Paso’s great sports figures will be inducted.
For tickets, call either Bruce Reichman at 584-4187, Dennis Devine at 562-5831, Alvis Glidewell at 598-7535 or Margarito Banales at 598-8419.
ANSWER to trivia question: Warren Spahn