Archive for the ‘Ray Sanchez’ Category

29 Dec

Here are the Best in Sports in El Paso in 2014

Posted by EL PASO SPORTS in El Paso Sports, Ray Sanchez. Tagged: , , .

chihuahuaslogoby Ray Sanchez 12.28.14

SPORTS FIGURE OF THE YEAR – Usually it’s a person. This year, it’s a little dog. The Chihuahua. There was much consternation and befuddlement when El Paso’s Triple A team officials announced the little mutt was going to be the team’s nickname. The selection was so unusual, so unique that it rattled people’s brains. Many complained. But the lovable little pup quickly won the hearts of El Pasoans, as well as those of others around the country. Items with his logo sold in bunches and now folks are strolling around with caps and shirts and other clothes showing his image happily, even proudly. In short, he has become a symbol of one of the greatest additions ever to the El Paso sports scene: A Triple A baseball team.

 

(Note: The above selection was made by El Paso Inc. The following selections were made with the help of Steve Kaplowitz of KROD, Ruben Ramirez of the El Paso Times, Beau Bagley of KTSM-TV, Wayne Thornton of the Parks and Recreation Department, sports media executive Bob Nitzburg and El Paso historian C.H. Hill).

 

College Male Coach of the Year – Sean Kugler, who, to the surprise of many folks, turned the UTEP football team from a loser to a winner. He won seven games and earned a bid to the Gildan New Mexico Bow.

 

College Female Coach of the Year – Keitha Adams, who coached UTEP to the finals of the NIT tournament last season, something many fans of the women’s team never thought would happen.

 

High School Male Coach of the Year – Scott Brooks, who took Canutillo High School to the semifinals of the state playoffs, the furthest any 11-man high school football team from El Paso Country had gone before.

 

High School Female Coach of the Year — Cynthia Hernandez, Burges High girls basketball coach who dominated District 1-4A with a sparkling 14-0 record.

 

College Male Athlete of the Year – Araron Jones, UTEP football back who helped the Miners to their sterling season, and Anthony Rotich, UTEP cross country runner who earned national accolades throughout the country (tie).

 

College Female Athlete of the Year – Kayla Thornton, UTEP basketball star, who led the Miners to the finals of the NIT last season.

 

High School Male Athlete of the Year — KeAndre Bates, Burges High triple jump State champ and football player.

 

High School Females Athlete of the Year — Adrienne Holguin and Daniela Flores of Hanks High School, both state wrestling champions.

 

HONORABLE MENTION – Other vote getters were UTEP cross country coach Paul Ereng, El Paso High swimmer Victoria Garcia, Andress High basketball coach James Forbes, Hanks High wrestling coach Tony Carter, Cathedral High basketball coach Tony Harper and swimming coach Jack White, Del Valle High quarterback Steven Montes, Eastwood High swimmer Leonardo Sanchez, Parkland High track star Anthony Dudley, Franklin High pole vaulter Paulo Benavidez, San Elizario cross country runner Michael Johnson, Cathedral High swimmer Roberto Pinedo, El Dorado High runner Olamide Olowe.

 

Note: The following selections were made by El Paso Inc

Sports Writer of the Year – Bill Knight of the El Paso Times, who ventured all the way to Massachusetts to bring El Paso coverage of Nolan Richardson’s induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. His vivid stories added much to the event.

 

Sports Photographer of the Year — Ruben Ramirez of the El Paso Times, who accompanied Knight to Massachusetts to cover Nolan Richardson’s induction into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame. Their combined efforts resulted in a spectacular section in Times.

 

Sportscaster of the Year – Tim Hagerty, the voice of the El Paso Chihuahuas, who provided El Pasoans not only with play by play broadcasts of the team’s games but delighted folks with his deep knowledge of what was going on with other teams in the Pacific Coast League. What a great addition he is to El Paso’s sports scene.

29 Dec

What Santa Should Not Bring El Pasoans

Posted by EL PASO SPORTS in El Paso Sports, Ray Sanchez, Uncategorized. Tagged: .

by Ray Sanchez 12.21.14happysanta

As readers of this column know, some columnists ask Santa Claus to bring certain things to people. I do it differently. I ask Santa what NOT to bring. Why bring something a person already has?

So here’s what I’m asking St. Nick not to bring, sports-wise, to El Pasoans Wednesday night:

 

BASEBALL FANS – A Triple A stadium. We got one this year, Santa, and the stadium is so alluring it drew thousands of fans and broke attendance records left and right. It’s so awesome it won accolades around the country. Can you believe no bleachers but separate seats throughout?

 

BASEBALL FANS – I hate to ask for two non-gifts for anyone, Santa, but this is connected with the first non-gift. Please don’t bring a Triple A team. We got that with the stadium and what a show it put on. The opening of the stadium was delayed, Santa, and our team had to play weeks on end on the road. Still, the team was so good it won 11 of its last 14 games to finish the season with a .500 record.

 

HYUNDAI SUN BOWL – New officials. Santa, we have some of the best in the country. Year after year executive director Bernie Olivas, football chairman John Folmer, chair emeritus Jimmy Rogers and Company have brought us outstanding teams. Even Notre Dame!  This year is no exception. How in the world they got us two teams with sparkling 9-3 records like Arizona State and Duke University for this year’s game on Dec. 27 boggles the mind. But how sweet it is.

 

UTEP FOOTBALL – A new football coach. The Miners got a dilly in Sean Kugler, Santa.  It took him a year to get things going but, goodness gracious, did he turn things around quickly. In this, only his second year at the helm, he won seven games. He lost five, Santa, but two of those were “money games” he had no chance of winning so he really finished 7-3.

 

UTEP BASKETBALL – New men and women coaches. Keitha Adams got the women’s team all the way to the NIT finals last season, Santa, and Tim Floyd has come up with a men’s team that’s showing a lot of promise.

 

UTEP TRACK – A star runner. The Miners had one of the best in the country this year, Santa, in cross-country runner Anthony Rotich. He’s so good he was named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association National Athlete of the Week twice this year.

 

CANUTILLO HIGH SCHOOL – A super football team. Boy, did it have one this year, Santa. The Eagles won more games and went further in the state playoffs than any other high school team from El Paso County. That hadn’t happened in 94 years (Texas began high school football playoffs in 1920). The Eagles had size on the line, speed and a great coach in Scott Brooks and they didn’t find their match in their division until their 15th game, finishing with a 13-2 mark.

 

EL PASO SPORTS – A new media. Santa, do we have dedicated sports writers, sportscasters and sports photographers, or what? The Times’ Bret Bloomquist covered UTEP football, Bill Knight covered UTEP basketball and Felix Chavez covered the Canutillo Eagles not only in depth but with passion. The same can be said about our sportscasters. And then there’s the El Paso Times photo staff, headed by Ruben Ramirez. They brought us images that make our eyes pop out. The same can be said about Melody Parra of El Paso Inc., who can shoot with the best of ‘em. And special bouquets to KVIA-TV general manager Kevin Lovell and Times editor Bob Moore. It cost money, but KVIA-TV showed us Canutillo’s semi-final game and the Times sent Knight and Ramirez all the way to Massachusetts to cover Nolan Richardson’s induction into the Naismith Hall of Fame.

And people wonder why I love El Paso.

29 Dec

It’s a Great Time For El Paso Sports Fans

Posted by EL PASO SPORTS in El Paso Sports, Ray Sanchez. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

by Ray Sanchez 12.14.14

KEVIN LOVELL, general manager of KVIA-TV, commenting on last week’s column wherehappyminers I told how much I love El Paso, said I should also have pointed out what a great time it is to be an El Paso sports fan right now. He’s right, what with:

  • UTEP going to play Utah State in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl on Dec. 20,
  • Our Sun Bowl coming up with two fine teams with sparkling 9-3 records, Duke and Arizona State, on Dec. 27,
  • Canutillo High School becoming the first El Paso County high school to make it to the semi-finals of the state football playoffs,
  • Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino which started live horse racing last week expecting a grand season
  • And, heavens to betsy, El Paso now having a Triple A baseball team and stadium.

 

Our cup runeth over.

 

TRIVIA QUESTION: Can you name an athlete who played both in the National Basketball Association and Major League baseball in the 1980s? Answer at end of column.

 

CHARLES HILL, El Paso historian who works as a football and basketball statistician at UTEP, also commented on last week’s column: “The best reason for living in El Paso is the people of El Paso. Visitors to our city always comment on how warm and welcoming the people of El Paso are. It’s true. We may not have the best economy, or beaches or other great tourist attractions but we do have the best people in the country.”

 

ERIC ALWAN, publicity director at Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino, has become quite an orator. He is so excited about the 2014-15 live horse racing season which opened last week that he went into mythology at a pre-season press conference last week. He said Sunland horse racing has grown so much in stature throughout the industry that it is “like a rising Phoenix.” And he added that the Grade III $800,000 Sunland Derby on March 22 has become so popular that he expects not one, but two, airplanes full of horses to come from out of town for the big race. Now that’s what I call colorful talk.

 

DID YOU KNOW? Department: Bob Stull, UTEP athletic director, has had a hand either as a coach or in his present position in the last six bowls the Miners have participated in. He coached the Miners to the Independence Bowl in 1988 then hired Gary Nord who took the Miners to the 2000 Humanitarian Bowl, Mike Price who took the Miners to three bowls (Houston in 2004, GMAC in 2005 and New Mexico in 2010) and now Sean Kugler who is taking the Miners to the Gildan New Mexico Bowl Dec. 20.

 

FRED ALBERS, sports director at KTSM-TV, came up with a great idea while covering PGA tournaments for NBC Radio. He picked up a flag at each of the four Majors (the Masters, British Open, U.S. Open and PGA) and had each one signed by the winner of each tournament. Then he had the flags auctioned off at the banquet preceding the Western Refining College All-America Golf Classic in November. They brought in a nifty $20,000 for the First Tee of El Paso program run by his wife, Kristi.

 

.AND YES, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. If you want to watch UTEP play University of Arizona in basketball next Friday night then go watch UTEP play Utah State in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl the next day there’s a charter bus that’ll fit your needs for a mere $100. The price includes bus ride, a bowl game ticket and a tailgate party. The bus will leave El Paso at 6 a.m. on Saturday and return after the bowl game. Interested? Call the UTEP Alumni Association at 915-747-8600.

 

ANSWER to trivia question: Danny Ainge, who played basketball for the Boston Celtics and Sacramento Kings and baseball for the Toronto Blue Jays

23 Nov

College Football This Year A Feast Of Goodies

Posted by EL PASO SPORTS in El Paso Sports, Ray Sanchez. Tagged: , , , , , .

By Ray Sanchez 11.23.14

Has 2014 been a great college football season or what? It’s been a delicious smorgasbord of close games, upsets and improbable utep logocomebacks. Former major powerhouses like Alabama, Texas, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Florida State have had to share the spotlight with lesser lights like TCU, Mississippi State, Baylor and even Arizona State

Florida State has remained undefeated but it’s been frightened so often it’s a miracle its fans haven’t suffered heart attacks.

All season any number of teams could claim they’re No. 1. All of which will make for one of the most exciting finishes to the season ever.

 

AND THEN there are the UTEP Miners. Many people, including me, scoffed when my crystal ball predicted they would win six games this year, but there they are today with six wins and bowl eligible.

That makes the 2014 season even more thrilling. Now, people are asking which bowl will pick the Miners. The best bet is the New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque. That would be neat what with a nifty payoff of $456,250 and close enough for El Pasoans to drive to.

But wait a minute. If the Miners can win their final two regular season games against Rice and Middle Tennessee they could go to an even bigger, richer bowl.

Either way, things are rosy.

 

TRIVIA QUESTION: Which professional team was the first to put emblems on the helmets? Answer at end of column.

 

SPEAKING OF trivia questions, ours have become quite popular among some readers. A pretty young lady came up to me the other day and said she looks forward to the trivia question in my column every week. However, she confessed that she cheats. “I look at the answer at the end of the column right away after I read the question,” she said with a big smile, “I can’t wait.”

 

PICKING AN all-star team in any sport is a tricky thing. There’s no way you can please everyone. I know. I’ve been picking such teams for more than 50 years.

So it was no surprise to me that there were a few complaints that some players were left off UTEP’s Centennial All-Star teams. The most complaints I heard in football concerned Harvey “Pug” Gabrel, who would have set a national single game rushing record in 1949 but for a great act of sportsmanship. When coach Jack Curtice offered to give him the ball often in the second half against New Mexico State so he could set the record he turned it down, saying he didn’t want to pile up the score on the hapless Aggies. It cost him the title.

 

BUT OVERALL, the folks that picked the Centennial all-stars, and they did it without the help of the media, did a fine job. The all-stars were embraced and highly applauded when they were introduced at last week’s football and basketball games.

Personally, the selection that warmed my heart most was that of Ernest Keily. He was the pulling guard on the Miners’ great teams of the late 1940s. He’s the one who cleared the way for Fred Wendt’s national rushing title in 1948 and would have paved the way for Gabrel the next year. Pulling guards so seldom get attention. What’s more, Keily and I were schoolmates at El Paso High School in the early 1940s.

 

THE RESPONSE to the offer by Mesa Publishing to hand deliver my latest book, “The Good, the Bad and the Funny of El Paso Sports History,” to anyone within the El Paso city limits was surprisingly good. Most of those who ordered by calling me at 915-584-0626 or emailing me at rayf358@yahoo.com got autographed books within 24 hours. The offer still stands, Mesa Publishing says.

 

ANSWER to trivia question: The Los Angeles Rams in 1948.

 

23 Nov

Here Are Other Former UTEP Football Greats

Posted by EL PASO SPORTS in El Paso Sports, Ray Sanchez. Tagged: , , , , .

by Ray Sanchez 11.09.14

My selection of Jesse Whittenton as UTEP’s best football player ever drew quite a few comments from readers — and not a singleutep logo one disagreed with the selection.

C.J. Hill, a statistician at UTEP football and basketball games and longtime follower of the Miners, did point out some other outstanding players, however. Here’s what he wrote:

 

“THANKS FOR the article on Jesse Whittenton. I defer to your wisdom about Whittenton being UTEP’s all-time greatest player as I never got to see him play in person. I do remember seeing him play for the Packers in the early 60’s and he was a great player. I can’t say that I remember all that much as I was only 7 or 10 years old at the time.

“UTEP has certainly had its share of great players. Fred Carr was probably the best that I have seen and he was also a gifted basketball player that played for the Bear in the year following the NCAA championship.

“Other great Miners that I have seen were George Daney, Thomas Howard, Seth Joyner, Quintin Demps, Chuck Hughes, Don Maynard, Charlie West, Johnnie Lee Higgins, Bob Wallace, Billy Stevens and many others. I would say that Fred Carr and Charlie West were the best Miners that I have ever seen in person. I didn’t get to see Don Maynard in person but of course I remember his great career with the (New York) Jets.”

 

ANOTHER READER, Alton Setliff, wrote, “He (Whittenton) was an absolute stud!  He had great presence about him as well, but not the arrogant type; he was just a plain ol’ great athlete.”

Jose L. Torres, who inspired my column on Whittenton, wrote, “Ray:  That was a superb story on Mr. Whittenton. The things I learn about El Paso sports from you are great. That is why I always sat next to you while we both were covering Miner games.  I’m so glad you are still writing books.” He added that he rates Chris Jacke as the best field goal kicker the Miners ever had and Tony Tolbert as the best defensive end.

 

THE MOST touching email came from Whittenton’s wife, Barbara:

“I just came across the article you did about Jesse in El Paso Inc. I can’t thank you enough for remembering him.  He was such a special person who I still miss every day.  He always said you were one person who supported him throughout his career.  Again, thank you so very much.”

Jesse Whittenton passed away two years ago.

 

TRIVIA QUESTION: With this year’s World Series just over, this is timely. Can you tell me who was the winning pitcher in the longest World Series game ever? Answer at end.

 

WAYNE KNOX, 76, a well known bowler from El Paso, passed away in Temple, Texas, on October 22 of pancreatic cancer. Wayne was the son of Jo and Leonard Knox and was an outstanding bowler who during his career bowled four perfect games of 300. He is survived by his wife, two sons, five grandchildren and his sister, Evelyn George Seybold of El Paso.

 

GOOD NEWS concerning my latest book, “The Good, the Bad and the Funny of El Paso Sports History.” People still tell me they want to buy a copy, especially with Christmas coming soon. You can still get the book on Amazon.com or at Barnes and Noble Booksellers but it’ll take a while.

However, Mesa Publishing, located in El Paso, is now offering to hand deliver an autographed copy to your door anywhere within the El Paso city limits. You can call me at 584-0626 or email me at rayf358@yahoo.com, and I’ll sign it, tell Mesa Publishing and you’ll have it in a day or two.

Now that’s what I call service.

 

ANSWER to trivia question: Believe it or not, it was the immortal Babe Ruth. He pitched a 14-inning complete game for the Boston Red Sox and beat the Brooklyn Dodgers, 2-1, in 1916.

23 Nov

Crystal Ball: UTEP Basketball to Make NCAA

Posted by EL PASO SPORTS in El Paso Sports, Ray Sanchez. Tagged: , , , , , , .

by Ray Sanchez  11.02.14

Everywhere I go these days, El Pasoans are coming up to me, smiling and saying, “How ‘bout them Miners?”ray's crystal ball

For good reason. The UTEP football team, which many fans expected to do little this season, is off to a stunning start. Not counting the two “money” games they played against Texas Tech and Kansas State, the Miners were 4-1 going into this weekend. (Okay, okay, if you count the “money” games they were really 4-3).

Still, the Miners have been a big surprise to almost everyone – except my crystal ball. It predicted the Miners would win at least six games this football season. I had been hesitating to take my crystal ball out of its drawer and ask it about the upcoming UTEP basketball season because it’s so obnoxious I knew it would start bragging about its football prediction. It always brags when it’s right and makes excuses when it isn’t.

BUT WHAT could I do? The Miners open the basketball campaign in a couple of weeks against Washington State and readers are already asking me for its pick. So I opened the crystal ball’s drawer, held my nose and took it out.

As expected, it jumped out hollering, “I told you so, I told you so. You doubted me about the UTEP football team, didn’t you? Admit, admit it.”

I felt like punching it in the nose – if it only had a nose. I said, “Wait a minute. The Miners haven’t won six games yet. Anything could happen.”

It replied, “Yeah, but you know it’s all but a cinch now, don’t you?”

“Okay, okay,” I said. “I admit I doubted you, but can you just settle down and give me your thoughts about how the Miners will do in basketball this coming season? They open on Nov. 14 against Washington State.”

IT STILL HAD an obnoxious smirk on its fact but it did quiet down a bit. It cleared its throat with that disgusting officious tone it always uses when predicting, and said:

“You think the Miner football team is good? Wait ‘til you see the basketball team. The Miners are not only going to have a winning season, they’re going to the NCAA tournament.

“Coach Tim Floyd is loaded. He not only has two of the best players in Conference USA returning in Julian Washburn and Vince Hunter, both 6 feet 8, but he has 7-1 Matt Wilms, 6-10 Cedric Lang and 6-11 Hooper Vint back to handle the boards.

“Guards? C. J. Cooper will be in his senior year and the Miners have reportedly rounded up some fine young recruits. I don’t put much stock in recruits because one can’t tell how newcomers will do. Some will flop and some will surprise and become stars.

“BUT THE POINT is the Miners have the nucleus of an outstanding team. So-called experts have picked the Miners to finish second behind Louisiana Tech in the conference, but the Miners could very well finish on top. Either way, I’m picking the Miners to make the NCAA tournament.

“Now can I go back to sleep? You make me work so hard and give me so little credit. I don’t know why I even talk to you.”

I scoffed, “Work hard? My God, you’re in your drawer sleeping all year except for the few times I ask for you predictions.”

That got the crystal ball’s dander up. “Sleeping? I’m in there thinking, idiot. Why do you think I give you such good information?”

I laughed, picked it up and put it back in its drawer. “Go back to sleep,” I said, emphasizing the word sleep.

6 Sep

More Than Baseball Made The Chihuahuas A Big Hit

Posted by EL PASO SPORTS in El Paso Sports, Ray Sanchez. Tagged: .

by Ray Sanchez 08.31.14

The El Paso Chihuahuas have been such a big hit I hate to see the season end Monday. I mean, Paul Foster and Co. have brought so much joy, funchihuahuaslogobat and excitement to the El Paso scene it gives you goose bumps.

And it isn’t just because of baseball. Oh, the quality of the Chihuahuas players and others in the Pacific Coast League is like nothing we in El Paso had ever seen before. The players are so close to Major League quality that they move up and down from the big leagues. We have seen better hitting, better pitching, better fielding than ever before.

Oh, and better arms. I’ve covered baseball in El Paso for decades and the thing that impressed me most this year about Triple A players was their arms — from pitchers to fielders to catchers. With such strong throwing arms, players have to think twice before taking an extra base on a hit or stealing a base.

 

BUT IT WAS more than baseball that made the team such a big hit. Southwest University Stadium was a place to go, a place to mingle, a place to sit under the sun or stars. In short, it was fun and entertainment.

More than half a million people streamed through the gates. They watched and they cheered when the Chihuahuas won and groaned when they lost but, oh, what fun they had.

And they spent money. They bought tickets and peanuts and hotdogs and beverages and caps and shirts and other souvenirs. That the owners got some of their investment back, I say good for them.

 

AN EXTRA blessing for baseball nuts is that if you couldn’t attend every Chihuahuas game, like most of us, you could enjoy them on radio. The Chihuahuas have a young play by play announcer that is an absolute delight: Tim Hagerty.

He had been the voice of the Tucson Padres and the Chihuahuas wisely brought him to El Paso.

Tommy Johnson, a good friend of mine and an all-around sports enthusiast, points out that Hagerty is not only an outstanding play by play announcer but is extremely knowledgeable not only about the Chihuahuas but about all teams in the Pacific Coast League. Hagerty tells you who’s going where and who’s doing what throughout the league.

The Chihuahuas have already announced their schedule for next year. They’ll open the home season on April 9 against the Tacoma Rainiers.

I can hardly wait.

 

TRIVIA QUESTION: Who holds the Major League pitching record for most wins in a season, and what is the record? Answer at end.

 

RESPONSES to my crystal ball’s prediction that UTEP will win six game this season were quick. Following are three:

Charles Hill, Miners’ statistician – “I like the crystal ball’s optimism but I am not quite that optimistic. I see a slight improvement with maybe a 3-5 conference record and a 4-8 record overall. The Miners might win 5 games if they can beat New Mexico on Saturday. I see possible wins against NMSU, Old Dominion, Southern Miss, and maybe either Western Kentucky or North Texas.”

Alton Setliff, longtime El Paso sports fan — “Six games max. A lot depends on how much Coach (Sean) Kugler lets (quarterback Jameill) Showers throw the ball.  I hope last year’s game vs. UNM was not a preview.  No passes during that last drive, including down near the goal line.  Best receiver saw that and said ‘I’m outta here.’  I’ll be a doubting Thomas until Coach proves me wrong.”

Julius Lowenberg, outstanding former high school coach, stating it short and simply – “The Miners will go to a bowl this season.”

 

ANSWER to trivia question: Cy Young with 511 victories between 1890 and 1911. That record will probably never be broken. A player would have to average 25 wins in 20 seasons just to get to 500.

4 Aug

Wimbledon Champ El Paso High’s 2014 ‘Ex’ But …

Posted by EL PASO SPORTS in El Paso Sports, Ray Sanchez.

by Ray Sanchez 08.03.14

dicksavittIt’s official. Dick Savitt has been named El Paso High School’s Outstanding Ex for 2014. The former Wimbledon and Australian Open tennis champion will be honored at festivities during Homecoming at the school this coming fall.

Mr. Savitt is alive and well and living in New York. I had the pleasure of talking to the 87-year-old by phone this past week and he was as sharp and chipper as a 27-year-old.

And happy about the honor – with a “but.”

He said he appreciated the award but it would be difficult for him to attend all the festivities planned by the El Paso High School Alumni Association because of his age and the distance he would have to travel. There are quite a few of those festivities. There’s a football game and an assembly and a tour of the school and a parade and, of course, a banquet.

What’s more, flying to El Paso from New York usually entails several changes of airplanes.

BEING AN El Paso High alumnus and a former Outstanding Ex myself, I tried to convince Savitt that it was all worth the trouble. I told him what a great honor it was and how wonderfully the alumni association, headed by president Michael Montes, would treat him.

He finally agreed to attend at least the banquet if the alumni association can find him a direct flight from New York to El Paso and back.

There are many El Paso High graduates who would love to meet Savitt, including some who attended El Paso High School in the early 1940s and were schoolmates of his.

And what a feather in the cap it would be for El Paso High School. Hey, how many high schools in El Paso can boast a former Wimbledon champion?

TRIVIA QUESTON: The Bruins of UCLA hold the major college basketball record for most consecutive wins. What is the record and who ended the streak?

THE TEXAS SPORTS Hall of Fame (TSHOF) has announced Nolan Richardson of El Paso is among nine new members into its 2014 class of inductees for the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame. The Southwest Conference (SWC) Hall of Fame is sponsored by the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, which has turned down Richardson for induction on previous occasions. El Pasoans are hoping Richardson’s latest honor is a good omen that he’ll be inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame next year. He will be inducted into the national Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame later this month.

OUR MOYE’S BOYS column last week was well received, which shows how much the late former Jefferson High School coach/teacher, counselor H. R. Moye is still beloved.

Frank Maldonado, chairman of the annual Moye’s Boys Jefferson Foxes Golf Tournament, pointed out a couple of errors, however. The tournament will be held at Painted Dunes Golf Course on Friday, Sept. 26, not as listed last week. And Capt. Roberto “Chito” Samaniego was killed during the Vietnam War, not the Korean War.

Happy to set the record straight. It’s an outstanding tournament and raises funds to help needy students.

SPEAKING OF outstanding golf tournaments, here are some others that are coming up.

One is the El Paso Ford Dealers Golf Classic which will be held Aug. 18 at Coronado Country Club.

Another is the Price’s “Give ‘Em Five” Invitational on Oct. 24, 25 and 26 at Butterfield Trail Golf Club.

Both of those tournaments raise money for the UTEP Century Club which uses the funds for the Miners’ golf team recruiting, equipment, travel, etc.

 

AND THEN there’s The First Tee Desert Classic sponsored by the Rotary Club of West El Paso which will be held at Sunrise Course in Fort Bliss on Sept. 20 and is presented by West Star Bank in memory of Jonathan Rogers. Proceeds from that will benefit the First Tee of Greater El Paso along with other community projects of the club.

Kristi Albers, our only LPGA Tour winner, started the First Tee program several years ago and has continued to give so much of her time and effort that it warms my heart just thinking about it. She is truly the Grand Lady of El Paso Golf.

 

ANSWER to trivia question. UCLA won 88 consecutive games. Notre Dame ended the streak

1 Aug

Here Are Some, Uh, “Rules” For Senior Golfers

Posted by EL PASO SPORTS in El Paso Sports, Ray Sanchez.

by Ray Sanchez 07.27.14
old_golferDid you watch 25-year-old Rory McIlroy win the British Open? What a joy watching a young man swinging away with such gusto. It made my mouth water with envy.
I took golf up when I was 21 or 22 years old. I like to think I could swing like that then, although with nowhere near the accuracy or length. I’m sure many other senior golfers feet the same.
Ah, age. It’s a different game when you get older. Your drives get shorter, your chips go astray, three-foot putts give you the shakes. But many of us keep trying, always hoping, always hoping to find the old magic.
In fact, I would say senior golfers are the lifeblood of some courses. They have the time and the resources to play on a regular basis.

BUT WHY am I telling you all this? Because one of my senior golfing buddies, Matt Sloan, sent me a set of “rules for senior golfers” that has been making the rounds on the Internet. He says he got them from a friend named Marv Lute, who is the secretary for the local senior group that goes by the name of Prime of Life Players (POLP). I got a kick out of the “rules.” I hope you do, too.
Following are “RCGA Changes in Golf Rules for Senior Golfers Aged 50+:”

Rule 1.a.5 — A ball sliced or hooked into the rough shall be lifted and placed on the fairway at a point equal to the distance it carried or rolled into the rough with no penalty. The senior player should not be penalized for tall grass which ground keepers failed to mow.
Rule 2.d.6 (B) — A ball hitting a tree shall be deemed NOT to have hit the tree. This is simply bad luck and luck has no place in a scientific game. The senior player must estimate the distance the ball would have traveled if it had not hit the tree, and play the ball from there.
Rule 3.B.3(G) — There shall be no such thing as a lost ball. The missing ball is on or near the course, and will eventually be found and pocketed by someone else, thereby making it a stolen ball. The senior player is not to compound the felony by charging himself with a penalty.
Rule 4.c.7(h) — If a putt passes over a hole without dropping, it is deemed to have dropped. The Law of Gravity supersedes the Rules of Golf.
Rule 5 — Putts that stop close enough to the cup that they could be blown in, may be blown in. This does, however, not apply to balls more than three inches from the hole. No one wants to make a mockery of the game.
Rule 6.a.9(k) — There is no penalty for so-called “out of bounds.” If penny-pinching golf course owners bought sufficient land, this would not occur. The senior player deserves an apology, not a penalty.
Rule 7.G.15(z) — There is no penalty for a ball in a water hazard, as golf balls should float. Senior players should not be penalized for any shortcomings of the manufacturers.
Rule 8.k.9(S) — Advertisements claim that golf scores can be improved by purchasing new golf equipment. Since this is financially impractical for many senior players, one-half stroke per hole may be subtracted for using old equipment.
Please advise all your senior friends of these important rule changes and keep multiple copies in your golf bag. Those not following the rules need to be provided a copy. Golf is a game of integrity. End of rules.

OF COURSE, this is all in fun, and most seniors try to follow the real rules. Yet both Sloan and I have seen some fellow golfers “forgetting” or simply, uh, “absent mindedly,” not following them exactly.
Hey, getting old has its benefits.

28 Jun

Baffert, ‘Prime Time’ Wow at Sunland Gala

Posted by EL PASO SPORTS in El Paso Sports, Ray Sanchez. Tagged: , .

by Ray Sanchez 03.30.14
dsanders,jpgTHE SUNLAND Gala, the elegant party held each year on the eve of the $800,000 Grade III Sunland Derby, has had some great public speakers.

This year’s speaker, former Dallas Cowboy Deion Sanders, was one of the best. He enthralled the audience March 22 with his lively ways as we learned that:

• He was a four-sport star in school – football, basketball, baseball and track.

• His incentive to succeed was to make a better life for his mother, who worked two jobs while he was growing up. He said his father was a drug addict and his stepfather a drunkard. They both left his mom.

• He has never smoked, tried alcohol or used drugs.

• He got his nickname of “Prime Time” while playing basketball, not football. He averaged more than 20 points a game in high school before the 3-point line was used and could dunk.

• He said the trouble with the Dallas Cowboys these days is that everyone stands around waiting for someone else to make a play.

• As for Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, he said that we should all pray for him.

• He said growing up he never dreamed that we would some day have a black president but that he was happy because it shows that anyone can be president in this country, regardless or race or ethnicity – even a woman. That reference to a possible woman president drew huge whoops and cheers from the ladies in the audience.

NEEDLESS to say, Sanders got a standing ovation. In fact, his speech was so well received that items like jerseys and balls with his signature sold at handsome prices in the auction that followed. All of which was much to the delight of United Blood Services, which does do much good for the community and is the main beneficiary of the event.

bbaffertAs for the Sunland Derby last Sunday, it drew one of the biggest and strongest fields – and the largest crowd – in the history of the event.

Since one of our Sunland-based trainers couldn’t win, it was good to see Bob Baffert of California take the first two places with Chitu and Midnight Hawk.

Baffert has been one of the Sunland Derby’s biggest supporters since the Sunland Derby became a big-time affair.

We’ll be rooting for him in the upcoming Kentucky Derby the first Saturday in May!

TRIVIA QUESTION: In what year was the first World Series game played? Answer at end.

IT’S TIME to take out your golf clubs, sharpen your swing and practice your chipping and putting so you can have some fun and help the UTEP men’s golf team. Miner men’s golf coach Scott Lieberwirth writes:

“We cordially invite you to participate in the 2014 Western Refining Miner Day fundraiser. The event will take place on May 12 at El Paso Country Club. We will have morning and afternoon shotgun starts and many great prices to give away!

“The event is the lifeblood of our program, raising a majority of the operating budget for the UTEP men’s golf team. One hundred percent of all funds raised will go toward recruiting, team travel, equipment and other miscellaneous team expenses.”

THERE WILL be two other fundraisers for the team this year. The second will be held Aug. 18 at Coronado Country Club and the third will be at Butterfield Trail Golf Club in October.

I’ve played in some of those tournaments. They’re a lot of fun and you get to mingle with members of the team and some very fine folks. And not only will you be helping the team and can win some nice prizes – but they even feed you!

How can you beat that?

For further information, contact coach Lieberwirth at (915) 747-5396 or email him at smlieberwirth@utep.edu.

ANSWER to trivia question: 1903.

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