Your Undocumented Pipeline to Collegiate Athletics
As I get older and rounder, events such as this weekend give me more pause, more pause to be thankful. Memorial Day leaves me grateful for our armed service men and women, all those nameless people who stood up for me, for America and for the freedom we hold dear today.
Once in a great while, a UTEP post strikes home, triggering unpredictable reader reaction. It recently happened, not once, but twice — with a flurry of comments on former Miners track coach Wayne Vandenburg and the late trainer, Ross Moore.
Sixty years of living and football, plus two years of research and writing, just washed up on my doorstep today. A 5,213-pound package containing 1,500 copies of my baby. You may recognize it as my new release: Beyond The Big Shootout – 50 Years of Football’s Life Lessons, a historical account of the Arkansas – Texas game for football's national title, and what happened afterwards. Answer: Plenty.
It’s been awhile since long-suffering UTEP basketball and football fans have had much to celebrate. Perhaps we could take a lesson from our neighbors in Lubbock.
That time in 2011 in which a rogue mountain lion was shot twice with tranquilizer darts, with plans to remove it to the nearby Franklin Mountains.
My associations with Hall of Fame basketball coach Don Haskins consisted mostly of watching his practice sessions. At Memorial Gym on campus where the Miners practiced, I once sat with (Western Athletic Conference basketball official) Moose Stubing.
We lost a good one when former wide receiver Ed Puishes died late this week in his Central Texas home after a long illness. He was 69. A three-year letterman at UTEP and one of the conference leaders in pass receptions, Puishes (rhymes with “bushes”) still ranks No. 8 in school history for total receptions … Continue reading RIP. A Light Goes Out in Texas: Ed Puishes (January 2019)
If UTEP football schedules had you wincing and peering between your fingers, take heart. The 2019 slate just released late last week is the most equitable, even-handed slate in years. The schedule features six home games, six road trips, with no meat grinder at Oklahoma for a quick payday. Look within the line items and … Continue reading Looking for Love – UTEP’s 2019 Football Sked (January 2019)
The future of UTEP big three sports … indeed, all sports, is directly linked to the next University president, and how much importance he or she places on intercollegiate athletics. With continued (or expanded) support, especially in fund-raising, I believe UTEP sports will not only survive, but prosper.
If UTEP coaches could sprinkle poofy dust over the current roster, they would instantly add two ingredients, both related – explosive, big-play pass rushers, and difference-maker ball-carriers and receivers who can change a game with one long gain. In recruiting, the staff will be looking for these rare animals. They will have company, as every … Continue reading Talent Search — UTEP Staff Seeks Big-Play Recruits (August 2018)
Miners Are Forever 