Category Archives: Sports news

local news, Sports news

Baseball team needs new place ID

baseball

The decision has been made to combine the Amarillo Thunderheads baseball franchise with the Grand Prairie AirHogs.

They’ll split their 2016 season between the locales: one here on the Texas Tundra, and one in Dallas-Forth Worth Metroplex.

I’ve decided the new team nickname should be the Air Heads, given that it looks like a dorky decision to combine the teams in that fashion.

The more problematic issue, though, might be how to identify the location name.

Every sports franchise has a place named in front of the nickname. Houston Astros, Denver Broncos, Houston Texans …

I’d have mentioned the Dallas Cowboys, but that pro football team hasn’t played home games in Big D since the early 1970s, when it moved from the Cotton Bowl to Irving; the Cowboys now play way over yonder in Arlington, which is closer to Fort Worth than it is to Dallas, which gives Cowtown residents fits. But that’s another story.

Will the Amarillo-Grand Prairie team be able to identify its location in a manner suitable to each city’s rabid fan base?

Let’s all stay tuned to this one.

 

local news, Sports news

Play ball … in two cities next year

ama thunderheads

Amarillo’s minor-league baseball fortunes have taken a bizarre turn.

I cannot yet tell if it’s for the better or the worse. Let’s just call it bizarre. Weird too. Strange? You bet.

The Amarillo Thunderheads have merged with the Grand Prairie AirHogs, according to the American Association of Independent Baseball, the league to which both teams belong.

What does it mean? Well, the team will play 25 of its “home” games in Amarillo and 25 in Grand Prairie (a Dallas-Fort Worth suburb) for the 2016 season.

There’s more strangeness. According to a league statement: “We appreciate that Southern Independent Baseball, owner of the Amarillo and Grand Prairie clubs, agreed to the league’s request to operate its two teams as one in 2016. We fully expect that both teams will return in 2017 as individual entities with a full schedule in their respective markets.”

The league had 13 teams. It wanted to pare it to 12 to provide a more even schedule for everyone concerned. So, the league decided to combine the Amarillo and Grand Prairie franchises for the upcoming season. Is this a one-season gig? Time will tell.

OK. I know what you’re thinking. What does this mean for the future of the multipurpose event venue that many of us — yours truly included — hope will be built in downtown Amarillo?

To be honest, at this very moment I have no earthly idea what this means. Here, though, is my hope.

It is that the $32 million MPEV construction will proceed and that marketing gurus here will be able to locate a first-cabin minor-league franchise — say a AA outfit affiliated with a major-league team — to bring their organization to Amarillo. Here, the theory goes, the baseball team will play ball in a gleaming new sports venue, fill the 4,500 or so seats on most days or nights with fans — and the enterprise will be deemed a success.

I have to say, though, that this merging of two teams into one for the 2016 season seems a bit fraught with peril for those who’ve been hoping that the Thunderheads could make a go of it in Amarillo.

The Dillas became the Sox and then the Thunderheads, all in the span of just a few years.

What now? The Thunder Hogs? The Air Heads?

How about we just get this new baseball venue built and then bring in an outfit that can lend some stability for those who want to cheer for their very own minor-league baseball team?

 

national news, political news, Sports news

Ratings tank for Democratic debate … who knew?

debate stage

Why is anyone surprised that the TV ratings for the Democratic Party presidential debate headed for the tank?

Hillary Rodham Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley duked it out in Des Moines, Iowa. CBS carried it and by many accounts, the big winner of the event was John Dickerson, host of “Face the Nation” and the moderator of the debate.

I’ll offer a couple of theories on the ratings tumble.

First, the identity of the eventual Democratic nominee is pretty well known. It’s likely to be Clinton, the former first lady/U.S. senator/secretary of state. She stumbled a couple of times in Des Moines, but she did very little to harm her status as the prohibitive favorite to face whomever the Republicans nominate next summer.

Second, and this is probably the more telling reason, the debate was up against some late-night college football games.

I hate to acknowledge this, but a football game between two competitive teams is far more exciting than watching three politicians try to out-insult each other.

(A point of personal privilege here: I was in and out of the debate, tuning in finally to the final quarter of the Oregon-Stanford game that Fox was broadcasting. Oh yeah: the Ducks won it with a last-second defensive play in their own end zone. Go Ducks!)

Sure, the debate shed some light on important policy positions.

But there were no surprises. There was even less drama.

Hey, if it had been Republicans debating opposite those football games — even with their carnival atmosphere — I’m pretty sure football would have won those ratings, too.

 

 

 

 

Sports news, State news

Texas HS says ‘no’ to name-change offer

indians

A story from my old stomping grounds in the opposite corner of Texas caught my eye.

But not for the reason you might think.

Port Neches-Groves High School is in an area between Beaumont and Port Arthur, in what’s called Mid-Jefferson County. Its team nickname is “Indians.” The athletic shoe manufacturer Adidas has offered free design resources and other financial aid to any U.S. high school that drops a nickname relating to Native Americans.

PN-G said “no thanks.”

Indian name to stay

In truth, I don’t really object to the name “Indians.” I do not find the term offensive the way some folk believe it is. Then again, it’s easy for me to say such a thing, since I’m not Indian.

I do object to the term “Redskins,” which is the name of the Washington, D.C., professional football team. The term was used commonly in films to refer to Native Americans in a sort of derisive fashion.

But here’s the rub regarding Port-Neches Groves High School. I remember, from the time I spent in Beaumont working (from 1984 until 1995) as editorial page editor of the Beaumont Enterprise, that the high school referred to its high school football venue as The Reservation.

Now … when I think of the term “Reservation” in the context of Indians, I think of another term. I think of “concentration camp.”

That’s what Indian reservations became for Indians who had witnessed their homeland taken from them by white settlers and military forces. Reservations became places where Native Americans were confined, where they had to remain for fear of being punished.

Should the Indians continue to identify teams competing for a Texas high school? Well, only if school officials can find another name to identify the place where its students play football.

 

 

local news, Sports news

MPEV suites sold out … already

amarillo MPEV

Let’s hang a proverbial “No Vacancy” sign on what supporters hope will be a multipurpose event venue to be built in downtown Amarillo.

You see, it’s been reported that all 12 luxury suites designed for the MPEV have been sold. None left.

Interesting, yes? Absolutely.

It’s that ballpark element that’s drawn all the attention from the buyers. They want to enjoy minor-league baseball in the relative comfort of the suites. Wow! Imagine that. Customers jumping at the chance to watch a little baseball in a shiny new sports venue.

Who knew?

No money has been laid out yet for the suites, but Advance Amarillo — a group supporting the MPEV — says without equivocation that enough buyers are waiting in the wings that the suites will be sold out when then project is built.

Gosh, isn’t that what proponents have been saying all along would happen?

Naturally, not everyone is on board. David Kossey speaks for a group that oppose the MPEV. He issued this statement this evening: “We are interested to know who authorized the sale, negotiation, or procurement of any transactions related to a not-yet-built ballpark. Is the Vote For Amarillo crowd pre-selecting an operator of the MPEV without consent of the voters in November, and superseding the authority of the city council? The media campaign by the ‘VoteFor’ group saying ‘all suites are spoken for’ appears to be a continuation of a ‘we will tell Amarillo what they want and who will receive it’ mentality voters removed by the results of the May election. After their attempt to confuse the elderly voters earlier in this election, this attempt to precursor the election with an idea that ‘this is a done deal,’ raises even more questions.”

Well, I don’t know what the verb “precursor” is meant to convey. But what the heck.

There is no effort being made to “tell Amarillo what they want.” The news is merely intended to report that the suites are being claimed by those who want in.

I believe that the MPEV — if it’s allowed to move forward — will produce significant interest among those who want to sit in a nice venue to watch an athletic event. It beats the daylights out of the dump — Potter County Memorial Stadium — that serves currently as Amarillo’s baseball venue.

 

Sports news

What if the Cubs win the Series?

bos_g_wrigley1x_576

Baseball fans everywhere — and I include myself in that category of Americans — have taken note that the Chicago Cubs are going to participate in Major League Baseball’s playoffs.

Eventually, they’ll get down to two teams — one from the National League and one from the American League.

I guess there’s a fascination with the Cubs’ chances of making it to the Big Show.

I’m not a big Cubs fan. Indeed, it seems that whenever the Cubs get close to taking part in the World Series, their fan base seems to grow by many times. Baseball fans who didn’t care a bit about the Cubs then start rooting for them.

Why is that? Well, it’s been 70 years since the Cubs last played in the World Series; they lost the Series in 1945 to the Detroit Tigers.

Moreover, it’s been 117 since the Cubs won the World Series; they beat those Detroit Tigers in 1908. It’s the longest-lasting frustration streak in the history of professional sports, I reckon.

I believe it was a Cubs follower who coined the phrase “Wait’ll next year” because of the Cubs’ inability to win, let alone win the World Series.

I fear what might happen if the Cubs actually win the 2015 World Series. Hell will freeze over, Earth will spin off its axis, the sun will rise in the West and Martians will actually land at Area 51.

If only Mr. Cub, the great Ernie Banks, could be around to see it.

 

Sports news

For Yogi … it’s over

IMG_7781

Yogi Berra once reportedly said, “It ain’t over till it’s over.”

Indeed, the New York Yankees legend said a lot of interesting things during his long and colorful life. Well, for the great Yankees catcher, it’s over.

Yogi died today at age 90.

50 greatest quotes

Whether he said all those goofy thing, muttered those mangled malaprops, it doesn’t really matter. He once said he didn’t say “most of the things I said.”

But let’s put this man’s life and ability into a bit of perspective, shall we?

Berra served in the Navy during World War II. One of his tours was at a place called Normandy Beach, France, where he served as a gunner’s mate on an attack transport during the invasion.

One does not draw that kind of assignment by being a numbskull.

A dozen years later, Berra was the catcher while his teammate — pitcher Don Larsen — threw a perfect game in the 1956 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Berra’s task in that historic game was to call the pitches that Larsen would throw.

Catchers generally serve as a sort of surrogate manager on the field of play. They are the only position players who can see the entire field on every play.

One doesn’t draw that assignment, either, by being a dummy.

Yogi Berra made a name for himself first and foremost by being a great baseball player. The other stuff, the goofy statements? He might have said some of those things.

It was part of his shtick.

Sports news, State news

Coach told ’em to hit the ref

moreno and rojas

Michael Moreno and Victor Rojas are two young men who’ve decided to tell the nation what has been suspected all along.

One of their football coaches told them to blindside a football official near the end of their game.

The official, Robert Watts, was hit from behind by the two San Antonio John Jay High School athletes in the waning moments of their game with Marble Falls HS.

Why did they do it?

An assistant coach has some explaining to do … more than likely.

Coach on the hot seat

If what the boys said is true, and we still need to hear from the coach — Mack Breed — has to face a serious reckoning.

The young players shouldn’t be excused for what they did to Watts. Breed, on the other hand, needs to come clean and either confirm or deny categorically any suggestion that he incited the act of violence.

The two boys — who’ve been suspended from the team for the rest of the year — said Watts reportedly tossed a racial slur at an African-American teammate and allegedly said something of a racist nature at some Hispanic players. That drew the coach’s ire, according to the boys.

Let’s get a reality check here. We’re talking about two young, and impressionable, boys. Who in their right mind — if that’s what happened — would plant any kind of mayhem-related idea in their minds while they’re in the middle of an athletic event involving full contact?

Moreno said this morning on “Good Morning America”: “You put your trust into a grown-up, your coach who’s been there since my freshman year. I trusted him that he wants the best for me and did what was I as told.”

Rojas added: “I wasn’t thinking. I was doing what I was told.”

OK, coach. It’s your turn.

You’d better be able to explain yourself.

 

legal news, Sports news, State news

This ref’s story becomes bigger than the game

referee-powerpoint-slide-template-for-microsoft-powerpoint-21668881

Robert Watts no doubt doesn’t want to be remembered this way.

It’s out of his hands now.

He’s the high school football referee who was pummeled late in a game the other evening by two San Antonio Jay High School players. They blindsided him with a hit in the backfield late in a game against Marble Falls.

Watts says he’s going to press charges against the players, who’ve been suspended from school. What’s more, an assistant Jay HS coach, Mack Breed, also has been suspended.

Coach’s conduct in question

Indeed, the focus now is turning to the coach.

Did he encourage the young men to hit the official? Did he actually give them permission to do this deed?

If the answer is yes to either, then the coach needs to face charge of conspiring to commit assault and battery.

It’s been reported that Watts reportedly made some bad calls on the field that went against Jay … and that he allegedly uttered a racial slur in the direction of one, or maybe both, of the players who hit him from behind.

Suppose he did make some bad calls. And let’s suppose further that he said something offensive to the players. Is that how they should respond? By hitting a ref — while wearing body armor — so hard as to potentially inflict permanent injury?

The University Interscholastic League, which governs high school extracurricular activities in Texas, needs to spare no effort in finding out what happened on that field.

That the young men would do such a thing by itself is inexcusable. They must not play football again in Texas.

The coach’s actions also require a thorough investigation.

To say this kind of conduct is inexcusable doesn’t do justice to what these young men did.

 

legal news, Sports news

HS football players face serious trouble

2 Comments

football-sideline-with-ref

I marvel occasionally at the ability of football referees and umpires to stay out of the way of the action as it unfolds before them on the field.

One usually doesn’t worry, though, about players deliberately targeting officials for seriously vicious hits.

Perhaps we ought to worry now.

Two San Antonio-area high school football players have been suspended from school after they pile-drived an official during a game this past week.

See video here

John Jay High School was playing Marble Falls High School. The game was nearing the end. The ref was blindsided by the players. The video, which has gone viral, looks — to me at least — as if it was deliberate and malicious.

The John Jay head coach has apologized for his team. The Marble Falls coach said he’s never seen anything like what happened in his 14 years coaching high school sports.

The question now being floated is: Should the players be prosecuted for committing a crime?

The ref is so upset at what happened he’s considering pressing charges. If it were me and I was threatened with potential permanent injury as a result of two football players wearing body armor, well, I believe I’d file charges.

Poor sportsmanship happens. You see kids taunting other kids on occasion. They get reprimanded for losing their cool.

The video, though, suggests to me something considerably worse.

I agree with the school officials: Let’s let “due process” play out.

I believe the process is going to produce a criminal prosecution.

Take a look at the video. Your thoughts?