Governor Richardson's office recently announced the appointment of Brian O'Neill as executive director for the New Mexico Sports Authority. "I am charging Brian with developing a proposal for a multipurpose arena in Bernilillo County," Richardson said.
My immediate response to that was, "Who will pay for it, if it is built, the citizenry of the state?"
In Pittsburgh a few years ago the powers that be built two new stadiums – one for the Pirates and the other for the Steelers. Guess who paid for them? When they tore down the "old" Three Rivers Stadium they still owed $45 million on it!
WHO DO YOU THINK SHOULD FOOT THE BILL FOR A STADIUM, IF IT IS BUILT, IN THE ALBUQUERQUE AREA?
Friday, February 8, 2008
Thursday, January 31, 2008
A good Super bowl bet?
With the Giants getting 12 against the Pats I sorta like the Giants +12. The over/under is 54. The bet I really like is a teaser with the Giants +18 and over 49. That's if any books down this way book teasers.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
The nature of the beast
Most people are really not aware just how hard it is for a talented athlete to make it to the bigtime – the professional circuit. Playing sports at the college level is a tough enough proposition let alone successfully moving on to the pro ranks.
Many different things have to come together at once – namely, talent, determination and luck. Sometimes the best of the best don’t always make it, instead, others less gifted do. It happens that way for a variety of reasons; drugs take their toll, a lack of fortitude invades other wannabes, loss of focus can occasionally derail a dream, and sometimes, a shortcoming in one’s temperament plays a pivotal role.
As for the latter I knew a guy who qualified for that deficient trait and in the end it cost him dearly. He was drafted high by the Arizona Diamondbacks and was such a talented hitter that the powers that be moved him directly to AAA. On the verge of achieving his and his father’s dreams he foolishly threw it all away because of his temper and bad judgement.
I can’t tell you his full name and shortly you will know why, but for now let’s call him Tommy “K” and let it go at that.
His family originally lived about 60 miles north of Pittsburgh but his dad was obsessed with baseball and when he heard about Frank Porco, one of the great hitting instructors in the U.S. who was teaching in Pittsburgh, he sold his house and immediately leased an apartment in the city. He purposely located he and his family about two miles away from Porco and for the next five or so years Tommy learned the art of hitting from a master.
It was widely reputed, with good reason, that the dad did “outside” work for the “wiseguys” in the Burgh and was not someone to be trifled with. Years before, while in the army, he got into an altercation in the chow line with a big, burley cook when he asked for an extra helping of mashed potatoes.
Tom, Sr., jumped up on the food table, grabbed the cooks head and submersed it into a vat of very hot soup inflicting 2nd degree burns to the unfortunate man.
Sentenced to the stockade he was prematurely released when he agreed to box on the company commander’s boxing team.
My son also took hitting instruction from Porco and as a result I got to know both Toms fairly well on a social basis. Tom, Sr., could go from a pleasant smile on his face to a look of dark anger in his eyes whenever you might innocently say something he would disagree with. Tommy, Jr., possessed that same exact trait, too.
Nonetheless, he was a very accomplished athlete.
One Saturday I took my son to his regularly scheduled hitting lesson and while my boy was in the hitting cage Porco tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Did you hear what happened to Tommy?”
“No Frank, what’s the rumpus?”
“He got into an argument with the trainer of the Triple A team and knocked him out. Initially they thought the guy was dead but he eventually came around.”
“Geez, then what happened Frank?”
“They told him if he wrote a letter of apology to the trainer and the league and got some anger management counseling they would let him come back after a decent interval.”
“So, he wrote the letter, didn’t he?”
“No, he refused to do it, Mike.”
“So, now what?”
“Now, for all intents and purposes, he’s banned from the minor leagues. That’s an unwritten rule, not a legal one.”
“What’s he going to do now, Frank?”
“He got an offer from the University of Pittsburgh to come play football as a wide receiver – a full ride no less.”
“You know the shame of the whole thing, Mike? As you know I also train Sean Casey (with the Reds at the time) and Casey is a legitimate .300 hitter. Well, I’m here to tell you, Tommy is a better hitter than Casey and Sean just signed a $20 million contract.
About a year later Tommy blew out his knee in a game and his football career was now over, too.
I bumped into him down at Porco’s shortly after this and had occasioned to chat with him. Now, besides a look of anger in his eyes there was also one of sadness.
“Have you any plans for the future, Tom?”
“Yeah, I got an offer to be a hitting instructor for some Division II college in Missouri so I guess I’ll go there.”
That was the last time I ever saw, heard of or talked to Tommy K. I saw him hit in the cages many times and he was great. His hitting mechanics were far superior to most of the pros in the game today and his bat speed was outrageously fast.
I liked him and I wish him well wherever he is today. Like I said in the beginning, the best don’t always make it to the top and I guess, in Tommy’s case, it was the nature of the beast.
Many different things have to come together at once – namely, talent, determination and luck. Sometimes the best of the best don’t always make it, instead, others less gifted do. It happens that way for a variety of reasons; drugs take their toll, a lack of fortitude invades other wannabes, loss of focus can occasionally derail a dream, and sometimes, a shortcoming in one’s temperament plays a pivotal role.
As for the latter I knew a guy who qualified for that deficient trait and in the end it cost him dearly. He was drafted high by the Arizona Diamondbacks and was such a talented hitter that the powers that be moved him directly to AAA. On the verge of achieving his and his father’s dreams he foolishly threw it all away because of his temper and bad judgement.
I can’t tell you his full name and shortly you will know why, but for now let’s call him Tommy “K” and let it go at that.
His family originally lived about 60 miles north of Pittsburgh but his dad was obsessed with baseball and when he heard about Frank Porco, one of the great hitting instructors in the U.S. who was teaching in Pittsburgh, he sold his house and immediately leased an apartment in the city. He purposely located he and his family about two miles away from Porco and for the next five or so years Tommy learned the art of hitting from a master.
It was widely reputed, with good reason, that the dad did “outside” work for the “wiseguys” in the Burgh and was not someone to be trifled with. Years before, while in the army, he got into an altercation in the chow line with a big, burley cook when he asked for an extra helping of mashed potatoes.
Tom, Sr., jumped up on the food table, grabbed the cooks head and submersed it into a vat of very hot soup inflicting 2nd degree burns to the unfortunate man.
Sentenced to the stockade he was prematurely released when he agreed to box on the company commander’s boxing team.
My son also took hitting instruction from Porco and as a result I got to know both Toms fairly well on a social basis. Tom, Sr., could go from a pleasant smile on his face to a look of dark anger in his eyes whenever you might innocently say something he would disagree with. Tommy, Jr., possessed that same exact trait, too.
Nonetheless, he was a very accomplished athlete.
One Saturday I took my son to his regularly scheduled hitting lesson and while my boy was in the hitting cage Porco tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Did you hear what happened to Tommy?”
“No Frank, what’s the rumpus?”
“He got into an argument with the trainer of the Triple A team and knocked him out. Initially they thought the guy was dead but he eventually came around.”
“Geez, then what happened Frank?”
“They told him if he wrote a letter of apology to the trainer and the league and got some anger management counseling they would let him come back after a decent interval.”
“So, he wrote the letter, didn’t he?”
“No, he refused to do it, Mike.”
“So, now what?”
“Now, for all intents and purposes, he’s banned from the minor leagues. That’s an unwritten rule, not a legal one.”
“What’s he going to do now, Frank?”
“He got an offer from the University of Pittsburgh to come play football as a wide receiver – a full ride no less.”
“You know the shame of the whole thing, Mike? As you know I also train Sean Casey (with the Reds at the time) and Casey is a legitimate .300 hitter. Well, I’m here to tell you, Tommy is a better hitter than Casey and Sean just signed a $20 million contract.
About a year later Tommy blew out his knee in a game and his football career was now over, too.
I bumped into him down at Porco’s shortly after this and had occasioned to chat with him. Now, besides a look of anger in his eyes there was also one of sadness.
“Have you any plans for the future, Tom?”
“Yeah, I got an offer to be a hitting instructor for some Division II college in Missouri so I guess I’ll go there.”
That was the last time I ever saw, heard of or talked to Tommy K. I saw him hit in the cages many times and he was great. His hitting mechanics were far superior to most of the pros in the game today and his bat speed was outrageously fast.
I liked him and I wish him well wherever he is today. Like I said in the beginning, the best don’t always make it to the top and I guess, in Tommy’s case, it was the nature of the beast.
Friday, November 2, 2007
A question of fairness
Saturday, the New Mexico Activities Association (NMAA) seeding committee voted a No. 8 ranking to the Ruidoso High School boys soccer team. At the same time, the powers that be gave Santa Fe Prep, a team the Warriors had beaten 1-0 earlier in the season, a No. 6 seed.
Three of the top four ranked teams were from the Albuquerque area, while the fourth, Bosque, is from Gallup.
The Warriors finished the regular season with a 15-6 overall mark – the best record the soccer team has had in many years. Santa Fe Prep was handed a gift, especially since that squad could manage no better than a 6-13 win/loss season.
To add insult to insult, the NMAA gave Hatch a No. 9 ranking but let them start the state finals on Friday, a day later than the Ruidoso boys.
The final shovel of dirt heaped upon the village boys was “allowing” them to play Sandia Prep in the first match of the playoffs. Sandia is a great soccer squad, no doubt about it. At 16-3-1, the Demons from the Duke City are a perennial force to be reckoned with. But that’s not the point. This will be the third successive year the Warriors have had to play them.
In 2005, RHS was also ranked eighth but that year the team had a 6-13 record. They played Sandia first that year, too.
There seem to be some inconsistencies with the playoff format that the NMAA uses. And, by the way, this is the third year in a row they have changed that format.
Even if they changed that setup next year, I doubt that would change their predilection for northern New Mexico teams in all sports. That leaves southern area athletes as the odd “men” out.
And before you think this only applies to soccer, consider this. Last season’s Ruidoso baseball team ended up with a 14-10 overall record and were 8-8 in district action.
They had beaten all their district rivals at least once and posted the best record RHS has had in many years.
The year before, with a 5-13 mark, the Warriors made the state playoffs under a 16-team format.
In the 2006-07 season, the process had changed to a 12- team setup, and even though they had earned a “moral” invitation to state, it was not to be.
And, with a few exceptions, no one put up much of a fuss about it. It’s almost as if people from this area are resigned to their fate – getting what leftovers they can.
I’m very familiar with this mentality because I lived it for many years. Back in Pennsyl-vania, those in Philadelphia are known as the “haves,” and the people in Pittsburgh call themselves the “have-nots.”
The state capital, Harrisburg, is located four hours east of Pittsburgh, and Philly is five.
The City of Brotherly Love has a population five times larger than the Steel City, so guess who gets first dibs at the money trough?
For decades, whenever monies were distributed, it always seemed Pittsburgh had to go begging for bones.
Some people in the Burgh would complain for a while, but after a short period of time, the dissenting voices returned to the back of the bus where they knew they belonged.
I figure, after decades of enduring a condescending attitude by the representatives in Harrisburg, it was now in their genes.
I see the same correlation (haves and have-nots) between Philadelphia and the rest of Pa. as I do for Albuquerque and the remainder of New Mexico.
When teams such as the Ruidoso soccer or baseball squads work hard and earn a winning record, they should be recognized at a higher level. It’s something they’ll remember for the rest of their lives.
And it doesn’t matter where the athletes (men and women) are from – Roswell, Capitan or Tularosa – give them their due.
Let them have their de-served 15-minutes of recognition.
With no professional sports within the boundaries of New Mexico, giving due-diligence to amateur athletics is what this state should be about.
New Mexico residents don’t yet have to worry about getting their pockets picked by their friendly representatives to build monumental Taj Mahal stadiums for multi-million-dollar professionals.
There’s no doubt in my mind, when that day comes, the pols will try to fleece one and all for the showcase athletic field they will build in Albuquerque.
In the meantime, the focus should be on non-professional athletics and how best to recognize them.
The NMAA should scrap their current methods of playoff choices and seeding, find a format that is fair for one and all, and stick to it.
Three of the top four ranked teams were from the Albuquerque area, while the fourth, Bosque, is from Gallup.
The Warriors finished the regular season with a 15-6 overall mark – the best record the soccer team has had in many years. Santa Fe Prep was handed a gift, especially since that squad could manage no better than a 6-13 win/loss season.
To add insult to insult, the NMAA gave Hatch a No. 9 ranking but let them start the state finals on Friday, a day later than the Ruidoso boys.
The final shovel of dirt heaped upon the village boys was “allowing” them to play Sandia Prep in the first match of the playoffs. Sandia is a great soccer squad, no doubt about it. At 16-3-1, the Demons from the Duke City are a perennial force to be reckoned with. But that’s not the point. This will be the third successive year the Warriors have had to play them.
In 2005, RHS was also ranked eighth but that year the team had a 6-13 record. They played Sandia first that year, too.
There seem to be some inconsistencies with the playoff format that the NMAA uses. And, by the way, this is the third year in a row they have changed that format.
Even if they changed that setup next year, I doubt that would change their predilection for northern New Mexico teams in all sports. That leaves southern area athletes as the odd “men” out.
And before you think this only applies to soccer, consider this. Last season’s Ruidoso baseball team ended up with a 14-10 overall record and were 8-8 in district action.
They had beaten all their district rivals at least once and posted the best record RHS has had in many years.
The year before, with a 5-13 mark, the Warriors made the state playoffs under a 16-team format.
In the 2006-07 season, the process had changed to a 12- team setup, and even though they had earned a “moral” invitation to state, it was not to be.
And, with a few exceptions, no one put up much of a fuss about it. It’s almost as if people from this area are resigned to their fate – getting what leftovers they can.
I’m very familiar with this mentality because I lived it for many years. Back in Pennsyl-vania, those in Philadelphia are known as the “haves,” and the people in Pittsburgh call themselves the “have-nots.”
The state capital, Harrisburg, is located four hours east of Pittsburgh, and Philly is five.
The City of Brotherly Love has a population five times larger than the Steel City, so guess who gets first dibs at the money trough?
For decades, whenever monies were distributed, it always seemed Pittsburgh had to go begging for bones.
Some people in the Burgh would complain for a while, but after a short period of time, the dissenting voices returned to the back of the bus where they knew they belonged.
I figure, after decades of enduring a condescending attitude by the representatives in Harrisburg, it was now in their genes.
I see the same correlation (haves and have-nots) between Philadelphia and the rest of Pa. as I do for Albuquerque and the remainder of New Mexico.
When teams such as the Ruidoso soccer or baseball squads work hard and earn a winning record, they should be recognized at a higher level. It’s something they’ll remember for the rest of their lives.
And it doesn’t matter where the athletes (men and women) are from – Roswell, Capitan or Tularosa – give them their due.
Let them have their de-served 15-minutes of recognition.
With no professional sports within the boundaries of New Mexico, giving due-diligence to amateur athletics is what this state should be about.
New Mexico residents don’t yet have to worry about getting their pockets picked by their friendly representatives to build monumental Taj Mahal stadiums for multi-million-dollar professionals.
There’s no doubt in my mind, when that day comes, the pols will try to fleece one and all for the showcase athletic field they will build in Albuquerque.
In the meantime, the focus should be on non-professional athletics and how best to recognize them.
The NMAA should scrap their current methods of playoff choices and seeding, find a format that is fair for one and all, and stick to it.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Batter Up!
Welcome to our first edition of the “Batter Up” blog. How do you maintain a winning attitude in the face of multiple losses? How do you adopt a "quit only when you die" attitude? How do you stay positive in the face of adversity? When I went to a Ruidoso Lady Warrior Volleyball game, there were very few fans in attendance, yet they are the number on team in the state, why? Why don’t the parents and fans adequately support our local sports teams? With no major league teams in the New Mexico area, shouldn’t we support our local teams? Please feel free to add your comments and come back often.
Mike Curran
Mike Curran
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)