One would think that 22 wins and a second place in Conference USA would be considered a good 
basketball season.
Not in El Paso. For a lot of UTEP fans, anything short of a NCAA bid is considered a failure. You should hear the complaints about the players this year. They had no heart, they gave up, they’re terrible shooters, one player complained too much and on and on.
Coach Tim Floyd had plenty of detractors, too. His handling of the players, his strategy, even his demeanor were questioned.
This is not meant as an argument with fans. Heck, I love hearing from them – both the good and the bad. It shows they care.
But, boy, are we spoiled.
IN DEFENSE of the players, I go back to when I was covering the Dallas Cowboys. Tom Landry was the coach then. I loved the man. He was the same when he won as when he lost.
After a key game, I asked him why the Cowboys were beaten. Without changing expression, he simply said, “The other team was better.”
That’s what happened with the Miners in basketball this season. They lost a few games to lesser teams but that happens. However, at the end the only team that finished ahead of the Miners in conference, Louisiana Tech, was simply better.
AS FOR COACH Floyd, I’ll let Charles Hill, a statistician at UTEP games and a member of the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame board of directors, do the talking. I quote, in part:
“Quit blaming coach Floyd and the other coaches for the disappointing season … Coach Floyd doesn’t need anyone to defend him … He is one of the best coaches in NCAA basketball and certainly one of the best defensive minds in the game.
“Who do you suggest that UTEP should hire? Please don’t say Nolan Richardson. He is 70 years old. James Forbes might be a popular candidate but he is in his 60s and has never had to recruit players. Stop and think about what you are saying. The Miners will be just fine under the leadership of Coach Floyd and his staff.”
TRIVIA QUESTION: Who was the first high school runner to break the 4-minute mile? Answer at end.
WHAT A THRILL watching greatness. Firing Line was a marvel of effortless speed as he left six good horses 14 1/4 lengths behind in the $800,000 Sunland Derby last Sunday. “Breathtaking,” one spectator remarked. We now have someone to root for in the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday of May. The Sunland victory made Firing Line, ridden by Gary Stevens and trained by Simon Callaghan, eligible.
There were other outstanding races on the card. The favorite in the Sunland Oaks, Callback, trained by Bob Baffert, was disqualified and placed fourth. “Bridge jumpers” (people who like to bet heavily on favorites — one Sunland patron bet $2000 to win on Callback), were devastated but Baffert still came up with an entry for the Kentucky Oaks. His other entry, Maybellene, finished second and was moved up to first.
ALL IN ALL, it was quite a weekend at Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino. Thousands of spectators overflowed the stands and the parking lot was so packed people had to park on side streets.
Another big winner was United Blood Services. The exotic Sunland Park Gala that’s held the night before the Sunland Derby benefits that organization, and is that heart-warming or what?. United Blood Services has saved countless lives through the years.
One particular example presented last Saturday included a young girl who was born premature and weighed only a little over two pounds at birth. Thanks to United Blood Services she survived and there she was on the Sunland Gala stage last Saturday – pretty as a picture, fully grown and celebrating her 16th birthday.
It brought a tear of joy to more than one attendee.
ANSWER to trivia question: Jim Ryun.