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Flagged
Let’s start with a prediction. In the next three years, flag football for girls will be a high school emerging sport in New Mexico.
The National Football League has been pushing to make that happen and is now allowing NFL players to participate in the inaugural flag football competition at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Another sign that the sport is on the way to the prep level is that the NFHS, which writes the guidelines for most high school sports, has just published a rule book for flag football.
NBA Finals
For me, the most enduring, and endearing, moment of the NBA Finals came when it was over.
Tyrese Haliburton waiting in the tunnel, on crutches, to console his Indiana Pacers’ teammates after losing to Oklahoma City. Haliburton ruptured his Achilles tendon in the first half of game seven.
I’ll have a few thoughts on another talented Pacer, ex-Aggie standout Pascal Siakam, in the future.
A fly on the wall
One has to wonder, although we can probably guess, what prompted the New Mexico High School Coaches Association to post a warning to its website about the All-State Basketball selection process.
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It read, in part, “The confidentiality of the nomination process is integral to maintaining the trust and integrity of our relationships with member coaches … we will not compromise this relationship by discussing confidential matters with parents.”
Apparently, parents were trying to twist arms to help little Johnny or Susie get selected. Shocking.
Upset City
Los Lunas High School had the distinction of pulling off two of the biggest upsets of the prep sports calendar.
In wrestling, James Bachicha won a state title by pinning a heavy favorite. In the quarterfinals of the 5A State Baseball Championship, the Tigers knocked off top-seeded La Cueva, the defending champion.
That’s why you play the game.
Pinning the competition
A belated congratulations to Ahren Griego, the Los Lunas graduate and Volcano Vista wrestling coach.
In March, Griego led the Hawks to a third straight 5A boys title. Throw in the championship the VHS girls won in 2023, and that’s four titles in three years. Wow.
Top of the class
High fives are also in order for those honored as high school Athletes of the Year at Belen, Los Lunas and Valencia.
There were Co-Athletes of the Year at BHS: Sara Martinez and Lisette Sanchez for the girls; and Damien Avila and Brady Aragon for the boys.
At LLHS, McKaylee Burt and Ty Gould were selected, while Chiara Perez and Aiden Gonzalez received the recognition at VHS.
All are seniors; all were excellent.
“Super Looper” ropes in HOF honor, finally
When I interviewed Hobbs native Roy Cooper in the early 1990s, he was already an inductee into both the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame and the National Rodeo Hall of Fame.
Cooper, known as the “Super Looper” for his unparalleled skill as a roper, was inducted June 29 into the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame. His selection was a little late “out of the gate,” but better late than never. Cooper died in April in a house fire.
Under the radar
One of the hidden gems in the sports world is college softball. If you landed on a game during the Women’s College World Series while flipping around the television, it was hard to turn away.
How can a batter see the ball let alone hit it? The end of the Tennessee-UCLA game, when a player missed touching the plate on a home run, had added drama and controversy.
Am I nuts?
High school softball pitchers can really bring it, too, so why do I have this crazy idea in the back of my head? What if I got in the batters box, put on a helmet and challenged one of the top hurlers in Valencia County to a mano a mujer contest?
Give me three strikes to put some wood on the ball, try to hit it out of the infield. Who would your money be on?
Time warp
It’s interesting that whenever “Jeopardy” announcer Johnny Olson says, “And now the host of Jeopardy …” I expect him to say Alex Trebek, not Ken Jennings. Never fails.
And, during the open for “60 Minutes,” when the reporter declares, “Those stories and more, next on 60 Minutes,” I anticipate the phrase to be, “Those stories and Andy Rooney …,” every single time, even though Rooney died in 2011.
I also expect to go outside every Saturday morning to pick up my weekend edition of the News-Bulletin. What a great memory!
