Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

23 Sep

The Story Behind the 1966 Miner Maverick

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

Ray Sanchez 02.28.16©palacio-1966

People keep asking why David Palacio doesn’t attend any of the events celebrating Texas Western College’s 1966 NCAA basketball championship. After all, Palacio was an integral part of the team and helped win what coach Don Haskins once called “the greatest game in which he had been involved.” El Pasoans who were at that particular game or watched it on television called it simply the greatest comeback they had ever seen.

Exaggeration? Maybe. But the Miners’ 67-64 overtime victory over University of New Mexico in 1966 certainly ranks as the greatest comeback in the school’s history considering the importance of it.

 

HERE’S HOW the game was described in the book, “Basketball’s Biggest Upset:”

“… The Miners started out colder than a refrigerator in a meat packing plant … They missed jump shots, layups and free throws, partly because of New Mexico’s Mel Daniels, who seemed to be intimidating them … The Miners wound up the first half with a miserable 29 percent field goal shooting percentage and trailing by 16 points.

“… Things didn’t start out much better in the second half. The Miners continued cold and the Lobos led by as much as 20 points twice, the last time with 14 minutes, three seconds remaining in the game.”

 

PALACIO WAS only a sophomore at the time, but Haskins decided to put him in the game at that point. The book describes what happened:

“…Palacio and Hill put on one of the most amazing defensive shows of the season. Palacio quickly stole a ball and went in for a layup. Then Hill stole a ball and went in for a layup. Then Palacio stole a ball, and another. Then Hill stole a couple more.

“The Lobos went into shock and the Miners rallied to win the game.”

Palacio, 6 feet 2, scored only two points in the game but helped to completely change the momentum of the game.

He became a starter the following season (1967) and was a big factor in the Miners’ 22-8 season. He didn’t play his senior year but finished his schooling.

 

FINE, BUT why did Palacio stop attending celebrations of the championship team? When I interviewed him, he made no bones about not liking Haskins’ intimidating style of coaching. But heck, none of the other players liked Haskins’ style either – at least not until he had made them champions.

No, there had to be another reason, so when Moe Iba, Haskins’ assistant coach during the championship season, came to the 50th celebration of the ’66 Miners’ victory this month, I pointedly asked him if there was another reason.

He said yes, and that it had to do with Tony Harper.

 

ACCORDING TO Iba, Palacio and Harper had become close friends while participating in sports at Austin High School. Harper could have been on the championship Texas Western College basketball team in 1966 but opted to play baseball. He did join the team in 1967 and lettered two years.

Moe Iba says Palacio thought Harper should be invited to the festivities following the Miners’ 1966 championship and asked it be so.

It didn’t happen. Palacio allegedly decided that if Harper wouldn’t be invited, he wouldn’t attend either.

It was, according to Iba, a matter of friendship and Palacio to this day has held to his vow.

 

TONY HARPER went on to become one of the most successful high school basketball coaches not only in El Paso, but all of Texas, while Palacio, after graduating from UTEP in 1968 with a business degree, moved to Los Angeles. He worked in the music industry for 36 years before retiring in 2008 as executive vice president for Univision Music Group.

Both Palacio and Harper have had little to say about the incident.

Palacio has missed out on a lot of fun by being a maverick, but no one can question his commitment to friendship.

19 Jun

Richardson Accepts Texas Hall Honor With Grace

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

by Ray Sanchez 04.19.15

Nolan Richardson could have been upset. He could have been unhappy. He could have been bitter. After nolanjayall, even the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inducted him before the Texas Sports Hall of Fame got around to it.

Instead, he was gracious.

And so were Texas Sports Hall of Fame officials. They welcomed Richardson at the reception and induction banquet with open arms and apologized in one way or another for not inducting him sooner. Jay Black, vice president of the Hall, told me he was sorry it took so long. President Jared Mosley and master of ceremonies Brad Shram expressed regret that sometimes it takes a “long” time to induct someone.

For his part, Richardson thanked the Hall for inducting him and mentioned the delay only in passing. He said he had been inducted into 12 previous Halls of Fame which was like having a large cake and now it would have “icing” on it.

 

AND SUPER public speaker that he is, Richardson gave an acceptance speech that those at the induction banquet will long remember. He had the crowd in stitches with jokes one moment, listening with sheer rapture other times.

He introduced those at his table, which included KVIA-TV general manager Kevin Lovell, who was so instrumental in getting him inducted.

I was at his table, too, and Richardson introduced me as the one who gave him his first writeup when he was nine years old and hit a homerun in Little League.

“At first, Ray reported that the homerun went 257 feet,” Richardson said. “But (the distance) grew through the years. It became 300 feet, then 400 feet. Today (at the reception before the banquet), I asked Ray the distance again. He said it was 500 feet.”

The crowd burst into laughter.

 

IN MORE serious moments, he told of how he lost his mother at age 3 and was raised by his grandmother. He called her “the captain of the ship” and said that she told him achieving success would be up to him and him alone. He lived by that philosophy and imparted it to his players.

He praised El Paso, saying that he couldn’t have had the opportunities he had anywhere else in the country. Segregation was still rampant in the country in the 1950s but, he said, the principal at Bowie High School at the time, Frank Pollitt, opened the door for him by hiring him to teach seventh grade.

That’s all he needed, he said, just a crack in the door to success. He went on to coach the Bowie High basketball team with great success, win a junior college championship with Western Texas, win a NIT title with Tulsa and win a NCAA championship at University of Arkansas. He is the only coach in the country to win all three of those national titles at the college level.

 

OTHERS INDUCTED into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame with Richardson were Prairie View A&M and NBA star Zelmo Beaty (deceased), former Dallas Cowboys vice president of Player Personnel Gil Brandt, BYU Heisman Trophy quarterback Ty Detmer, Dallas Cowboys All Pro safety Cliff Harris, former University of Texas swim coach Richard Quick (deceased), Dallas Cowboys All Pro defensive back Everson Walls and Baylor  NCAA and Olympic 400 meter champion Jeremy Wariner.

Richardson was highly sought for interviews by the media and autograph seekers. Perhaps it was because of the long time it took to induct him or because it was the first chance for most of the media in the eastern part of the state to interview him or because of his outgoing personality.

Whatever, it’s no exaggeration to say he was the center of attraction.

 

OH, YES. A special note of thanks to Brad Shram, the legendary sportscaster of Dallas Cowboys games. He is one of the people Lovell contacted for help to get Richardson inducted and, Lovell says, Shram quickly got to work spreading the word throughout the state.

What is that saying? Better late than never?

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.

20 Mar

Put another star on a great El Paso sports year

Posted by EL PASO SPORTS in Uncategorized.

The year 2010 will go down as one of the most memorable in the annals of sports
in El Paso.

UTEP won the Conference USA championship in basketball. The school hired Tim
Floyd as basketball coach. The Miners were invited to a bowl game. The Hyundai
Sun Bowl got Notre Dame. J. P. Hayes and Steve Haskins qualified for the PGA
Tour and Champions Tour respectively
And El Paso had a hometown boy become a starting quarterback in the National
Football League.
As Ralph Kramden used to say on The Honeymooners, “How sweet it is.”
 
JOHN SKELTON, a former Burges High School all-star born in El Paso who later set

records at Fordham University, took over the signal calling reins of the Arizona

Cardinals two weeks ago. And oh, what promise he’s shown.
It’s not only that this 6 feet 5, 245 pound specimen won both his starts for the

Cardinals. It’s the way he won last week. He drove the Cardinals to a last
minute victory over, of all people, the Dallas Cowboys by handling the ticking
clock with the skills of a veteran and passing with the accuracy of a Joe
Montana.
And he’s only 22.
 
TRIVIA QUESTION: A famous Washington Redskins quarterback/tailback better known
for his offense once led the National Football League in interceptions. Who was
he and how many passes did he intercept? Answer at end.
 
TOM CIABURRI, also known as radio and TV sportscaster “Joe Fan,” says he knew
there was no way the Arizona Cardinals were going to lose when he heard the
voice of Bill Macatee doing the CBS TV play-by-play of the game in which El
Paso’s John Skelton got his first start for the Cardinals against Carolina. Tom
writes:
“Macatee is also an El Paso Burges High School graduate and a 1987 El Paso
Athletic Hall of Fame inductee …
“I interviewed Macatee at the airport when he arrived in El Paso in 1987 and he
gave me a BIG scoop since I was working for NBC affiliate KTSM-TV and radio. He
told me he was going to co-host a new weekend edition of the NBC-TV “Today Show”

that would be announced by NBC-TV a couple of days later.”
 
AN APOLOGY is in order. I’ve written several articles about El Paso Times sports

editor Margaret Gallardo. I misspelled her first name in one of them in the
haste of holiday early deadlines. Sorry. But by any name, she’s become a fine
addition to the El Paso sports scene.
 
“FLIP” LYLE, who will take over as president of the El Paso Athletic Hall of
Fame this year, has been elected to the Greater Chattanooga Sports Hall of Fame.
He’s a long time El Pasoan but grew up in that area of Tennessee. The induction
banquet will be held Jan. 11 in the Chattanooga Convention Center.
Lyle is one of El Paso’s greatest runners and is still piling up trophies. He’s
the 2010 champion in the Southwest Challenge Series, a decathlon and triathlon,
in the 65-69 age category. He has been an age champion 16 of the 21 years of the

Southwest Challenge Series.
He has won 10 multi-sports titles this past year in his age category and overall

has now competed in 289 triathlon events and 96 decathlon events.
Congratulations are in order. Needless to say, he’s already been inducted into
our El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame.
(Hmmm. I wonder if he’ll ride the Chattanooga Choo-Choo. That’s the title of one
of my favorite songs growing up.)

20 Mar

El Pasoans Show They’re big Time Once Again

Posted by EL PASO SPORTS in Uncategorized.

Who says El Paso isn’t big time?

During my journalism career I’ve covered Super Bowls, all types of NCAA tournaments, World Series games, Triple Crown races and other national sports and I’ll pit our city against any other in showing how to put on a big event. The Sun Bowl is already known as the Super Bowl of Hospitality. Hundreds of El Pasoans chip in to make it so, from city officials to businessmen to your everyday Juan Smith. They welcome visitors, handle traffic, sell programs, provide services for the media and do the countless other things necessary to
make things go smoothly. And they do it with a smile.
 
ONE CAN SAY all that about the recent Conference USA Men and Women Basketball Tournaments held here this month, too. I was popping my shirt buttons with pride again when I attended the games at the Don Haskins Center and Memorial Gym. Teams were feasted, visitors were embraced, members of the media were provided with everything from gifts to food to outstanding facilities. Extra press rows were even provided at the Don Haskins Center and I could almost imagine myself at the NCAA Finals. Speaking of which, I even overheard some folks talking about how El Paso could indeed hold an NCAA tournament.
 
I MARVEL at all those who make El Paso shine so brightly, but let me single out a couple of unheralded heroes who, perhaps, work harder than anyone else. They’re media relations directors Jeff Darby of UTEP and Trent Hilburn of the Sun Bowl. How in the world they can handle such big numbers of gruff, demanding, harried,
deadline-frenzied folks without losing their sanity is beyond me. They have to coordinate seating, print programs, approve credentials, provide statistics, give running accounts of each game during and after the game, even write stories for general release. I asked Darby if a tournament game is twice as hard to handle as a regular season game. “No,” he said, “it’s five times harder.”
 
ONE OF THE biggest problems is deciding who gets press credentials. Hilburn’s task at the Sun Bowl was even harder than usual this past season. “We usually get 200 or so requests for media credentials,” he says, “but because of Notre Dame we received 500 this year.” Not all requests can be satisfied, of course, so they’re filled by size of circulation or viewership or listening audience plus connections with the participating teams. For example, newspaper-wise in El Paso, the El Paso Times gets first seating choice because it has the highest paid circulation. El Paso Inc. goes second because it ranks second in paid circulation.

There are many other local print publications but most of them are free of charge. The most notable is What’s Up and it is usually third in the pecking order.
 
THE REST? It’s a battle. Some are distributed citywide but some are just of the neighborhood variety. Nearly all believe they should be given credentials. Both Hilburn and Darby have to turn away quite at few of them and oh, the angry replies. The editor of one of them even threatened to sue the Sun Bowl this past season
because it was turned down for pressbox seating, claiming it would hurt it’s publication by not allowing it to cover the game. Both Hilburn and Darby realize it’s all part of the job and take the gripes in stride.
And they help each other. Among other things, UTEP provides its football stadium for the Sun Bowl and this year the Sun Bowl provided 75 of its own volunteers to help with the C-USA meet. Hilburn and Darby keep doing what seems an impossible job with incredible skill.

Hats off to them.