Posts Tagged ‘El Paso Inc.’

2 Jan

UTEP Basketball Has the Talent to Make Playoffs

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

By Ray Sanchez 11.08.15

UTEP officially opens its 2015-16 basketball season next Saturday at Loyola ray's crystal ballUniversity in New Orleans, so it was time last week to take my obnoxious crystal ball out of its drawer and ask how the Miners will fare this season.

It’s not a pleasant task because it always brags when it’s right and makes excuses when it’s wrong, but everywhere I go people keep asking for its predictions.

So I gingerly opened the drawer and, as usual, was met with sarcasm. “Where in the #$%$#! world have you been?” it snarled. “Don’t you know the basketball season is almost upon us? What a slacker.”

I retorted, “Slacker? Man, you know how many sports I have to keep up with and write about? But never mind that, just give me your thoughts on the Miners this basketball season.”

Then I added, “Please.”

THE ORB snickered but straightened up, cleared its throat in its customary obnoxious way and replied, “Well, since you said please.

“The Miners seem to have plenty of firepower this season. Did you see the Orange vs. White scrimmage? Man, four players scored more than 20 points. Center Hooper Vint, 6 feet 11, looked much improved. And then there’s 7 feet 1 Matt Willms. Wow, if a team has a great big man under the bucket and guards breaking through defenses to feed him the ball, that’s a big, big advantage. May I point out Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul Jabbar?

“The Miners seem to have other good scorers, too, like newcomer Lee Moore and returnee Omega Harris. And then there’s Dominic Artis, a transfer from University of Oregon. From what I hear, he’s been the most impressive of all in practice.

 

“AS FOR OUTSIDE shooters, can you believe freshman Trey Touchet hit 28 out of 30 to win a three point shootout in scrimmage?

“And as far as guard play, even coach Tim Floyd is impressed. He said he liked the guard play, especially of Artis and Moore. And there’s another good guard that will be joining the action. That’s Josh McSwiggan, who’s out with a knee injury.”

I shook my head in wonder. “Gee,” I said, “you’re really optimistic.”

The crystal ball just smiled.

 

“BUT WAIT,” I said, “don’t forget that other teams in Conference USA will have outstanding players, too. You’re just focusing on the Miners.”

It answered, “True. And anything can happen, like dissension or eligibility problems or injuries or who knows what but the Miners have coach Floyd. He’s been in the big time. And he’s never sounded so optimistic. I think he’ll have a big season and has a good chance of making the NCAA playoffs.”

I must admit I was impressed. I picked up the crystal ball and, for a change, put it back in its drawer gently.

 

TRIVIA QUESTION:  What are the first and second names of the three DiMaggio brothers? Answer at end of column.

 

BOUQUETS to UTEP for scheduling a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the 1966 NCAA men’s basketball championship. It’ll be celebrated at the men’s basketball game against Western Kentucky on Feb. 6 and will be nationally televised on FOX Sports 1 with a tip-off time of 3 p.m.

As UTEP sports information director Jeff Darby points out, “The significance of Western Kentucky as the opponent for the anniversary game is great, as the Hilltoppers also participated in the 1966 NCAA Tournament and started two African American players, including Clem Haskins, who was selected third in the 1967 NBA Draft.  Clem Haskins and Dwight Smith became the first African-American players to join the WKU basketball program in the fall of 1963, putting the school at the forefront of integrating college basketball in the South.”

More Details coming.

 

ANSWER to trivia question. Joseph Paul, Dominic Paul and Vincent Paul.

8 Jul

Remembering the 1966 Miners on Facebook

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

by Ray Sanchez 07.05.15

There’s an exciting new network on Facebook. And when I say exciting, I mean exciting.

It’s called “Texas Western (UTEP) Road to Glory” where anyone can go and re-live and comment on the Miners who changed basketball with a victory over University of Kentucky in 1966.

To say the network is a big hit would be an understatement. Scores of fans who lived through that wonderful year have already commented and even posted photos of the Miners. In fact, one person, Ellington Ellis, even put up a video of the championship game.

Following are some of the comments from present and former El Pasoans I found especially interesting:

 

Raúl Enrique Burciaga, now living in Albuquerque — I saw every home game that season thanks to my sister Margarita and her husband, who had season tickets. Plus, I watched every game that was televised and heard the games broadcast by radio only. I was 10 years old but I remember the entire season so vividly. I had a basketball signed by several of the players just a few days before they went to the Final Four. Later my niece, who was assistant location manager for “Glory Road”, was able to get the rest of the players’ signatures including Coach (Don) Haskins and most of the actors who portrayed the players. I will forever be a Miner Basketball fan.

 

Brian Phillips — Some of y’all know this, but when I was attending UTEP I worked for AM 690 KHEY (before the format flip) and I was asked to cover the press conference where Haskins formally announced his retirement. Back then, I knew of the TWC team but nothing more than that. Well, fast forward nearly 20 years later, I cannot be more proud to call myself a UTEP Miner and to have walked the same halls as those amazing guys. Once a Miner, Always a Miner!

 

Eddie Mullens — If The Shadow (Nevil Shed) had been as large then as today, he would have been dangerous … I still get a chuckle each time I think about how excited, clapping his hands, running in front of the TWC bench when he had a great play but running down the opposite sideline with his head down when he didn’t do well.

 

Ellington Ellis – I love this man (Shed)!  Full of humility and love … No wonder God chose him for this game.

 

Richard Glancey — I’ve always said, “when he (Shed) came to TWC, he was so skinny he could hide behind a telephone pole.” Retired, he did a tremendous job at UTSA. I used to see him at UTSA basketball games.

 

Charles Hill — Shed could hide behind a telephone pole and according to Haskins, he couldn’t guard a telephone pole.

 

Margarita Kanavy of El Paso posted a photo (shown here) from the movie Glory Road which showed haskinspumpingasHaskins pumping gas, which led Charles Hill to comment that “Coach said he would have said more lines if he knew what they were paying for his one line.”

 

AND SO IT GOES on Facebook. What fun.

 

TRIVIA QUESTION: In 1963, The Dodgers swept the Yankees using only four pitchers.  Can you name them? Answer at end.

 

SPEAKING OF Charles Hill, he’s turned into quite an asset to sports in El Paso. He’s a statistician at UTEP football and basketball games, serves on the board of directors of the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame and the UTEP Athletic Hall of Fame and has written a book on sports.

He says he got the idea of a book after he read my latest book, “The Good, the Bad and the Funny of El Paso Sports History.”

My book included high school champions from El Paso only in the major sports so he decided to research state high school champions from El Paso in all sports. You can see the book now on KVIA-TV.com. For more information contact Hill at 590-4024 or email him at chill@elp.rr.com

 

ANSWER to trivia question: Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Johnny Podres and Ron Perranoski.

 

25 Nov

Induction of UTEP Star Athletes Brought Thrills

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

I’ve always believed that besides one’s job or business one should contribute to his community in other ways. Like helping others, joining civic organizations and the like.
In that respect I’ve served one time or another on the board of the UTEP Library, County Golf Association, the Downtown Lions, the Sunturians and just about every sports hall of fame ever created in El Paso.
I like to kid that I’ve served on so many boards I’ve got splinters in my behind.
 
BOARD MEETINGS     can be long and boring. Sometimes I’ve sat there wondering if I was wasting my time.
But those doubts disappear when I see the results.
Take this year’s UTEP Athletic Hall of Fame banquet. I can’t tell you what a thrill it was to be there and watch some of the Miners’ greatest athletes we board members selected receive their just rewards on Oct. 28. For example:
 
THERE WAS Andy Everest, one of inductee football coach Jack Curtice’s finest linemen, telling of what a great job Curtice did of putting together battle-scarred veterans returning from World War II and young recruits just out of high school to turn out winning teams “He was not only a great coach but a great human being who cared about his players,” Everest said.
Curtice’s .638 won-lost-tied percentage of 24 wins, 13 losses and three ties from 1946 through 1949 ranks second only to Mike Brumbelow’s .651 in UTEP history.
 
OTHER INDUCTEES besides Curtice in order of appearance were Soma Dutta-Williams, Jim Forbes, Thad Steele and Obadele Thompson.
We learned that Soma grew up in India wanting to be a tiger hunter, moved to the United States when she was 12 and used her talent to become one of the best rifle shooters in the nation. She won All-American honors in smallbore competition from 1990 through 1992 and represented India in the Olympics. Graceful and soft spoken, she absolutely delighted the crowd.
 
JIM FORBES, all 6-feet-7 inches of him, was impressive as he walked up to the podium next to accept his induction. He played basketball four years for the Miners in the early 1970s and represented the school in the 1972 Olympics. His career would have been even greater had he not suffered an injury but he said he has no regrets. He’s now a high school basketball coach and, he added, “I’m doing what I want to do and I’m doing it on my terms.”
 
THEN CAME Thad Steele Jr. to accept induction of his late father, Thad Steele Sr. who is rated one of the greatest linemen in the annals of UTEP football. He played center and middle linebacker when the Miners won seven games and lost only one each season from 1929 through 1931.
The younger Steele got a big laugh from the audience when he spoke of his father’s philosophy. “Dad used to say that if something didn’t happen the way it should it should have happened that way anyway,” Steele Jr. said.  The elder Steele wasn’t as big as his son, who’s 6 feet 4, but, says his son, he was broad of shoulder and very powerful.
 
THE FINAL inductee to speak was track and field star Obadele Thompson, whose accomplishments were detailed by his coach, Bob Kitchens. The coach said he had to do a double take when Thompson was clocked in 9.5 in the 100 meters when Thompson was a junior. It was a hint of what was to come. Thompson went on to win countless NCAA titles, set records right and left and still holds the world record in the 55-meter dash (5.99),
It was so great seeing and recounting the feats of these outstanding athletes I’m looking forward to the next board meeting, boring or not.