In The Dig: Still waiting for official word that UTEP will travel to the ABQ to face off with our old WAC rivals the BYU Cougars. This is the 25 Year Reunion of UTEP's Upset of defending national champion BYU at the Sun Bowl. New Orleans is awesome, but a crack at the Cougars is too tempting to resist.....
Chillin' in the 505?
Waiting on the Word: Yesterday, KVIA's Darren Hunt teased the Miner Nation with news that the UTEP Miners would be invited to play in the New Mexico Bowl against a team Miner fans love to watch lose- the BYU Cougars. Hunt's report said that the announcement would be made official today. As of 3:30 pm MST, no official announcement has been made regarding the New Mexico or R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.
UTEP to ABQ Rumor Gains Steam: Several newspapers picked up the UTEP to the New Mexico Bowl story, including the Salt Lake Tribune.
Who to Trust? Sports Illustrated still has UTEP in New Orleans. Stewart Mandel also notes that a MAC team is looking more and more likely to play against Miami in the Sun Bowl..... Yikes.
The Alternative: One FIU blogger sounds excited to play UTEP.
The UTEP Miners Basketball Team
Nice Work: The Prospector's David Acosta has a must-read article on UTEP guard Randy Culpepper who will graduate with his college degree in three and a half years. Incredible considering the amounts of time Randy spends posterizing fools from New Mexico State and other schools.
Finals, Schminals: The team is on a 10 day break for final exams.
The UTEP Miners Football Team
You're Five Foot Nuthin' 100 and Nuthin': UTEP footbal coach Mike Price has nominated El Paso's own Austin Contreras for the "Rudy Award." Its an award that goes to a hard working kid who excels on the field and in the classroom. Read Austin's bio and tell me he's not worth voting for. GO VOTE. And watch the clip above, it will make you want to go run suicides.
Adios, Amigo? Yesterday, I noted that Rivals.com's Brian Perroni reported that UTEP commit Lovett Gibson is reconsidering UTEP for a number of reasons including the fact that he was somewhat worried about the violence in Juares. Here's Perroni's full report- the bad news is that the 3 Star Receiver is looking long and hard at... Rice?
Arkansas State? Yes, the Memphis Tigers were nearly beaten last night by Arkansas State. Josh Pastner was not happy.
"I am extremely upset right now," said Memphis head coach Josh Pastner. "I am so disappointed in our effort because there was no sense of urgency tonight. I have told the guys before our last two or three games that we cannot afford to take any team lightly. We are not good enough to do that. We are not able to just show up and expect to win."
Cue the Price is Right Losing Horn: Our old friend Dustin at SBNation has a stellar writeup summarizing the disappointing season Houston had.
It was a season where nothing went right. UH's most prolific offensive player from last year, running back Charles Sims, was declared academically ineligible before the season began. Heisman hopeful Case Keenum went down, quickly followed by back-up Cotton Turner. The team's leading receiver from a year ago, James Cleveland, missed two games - both Cougar losses - with team-mandated suspensions. A significant percentage of the school's fan base turned against the starting quarterback. The defensive front seven couldn't stay healthy, with Radermon Scypion, Matangi Tonga and Matt Nicholson suffering injuries - Scypion's and Nicholson's were of the season-ending variety.
Our Old Pal: Houston AD Mack Rhoades discussed the state of the UH athletic program with Steve Campbell. Campbell thinks that UH might get Big East consideration. I think UH is at best 4th in the pecking order (UCF, ECU, Memphis).
Random but Noteworthy: Texas Tech running back Baron Batch, from Midland, keeps a blog. The kid can write.
I thought for a minute. Was I the best running back that had played for Texas Tech? No probably not. Was I the fastest? No. Was I the biggest? No. Did I set any records? No. I then asked myself "do I have any regrets?" The answer was no, and this is why. When time expired for my career and the clock struck all zeros, I knew one thing for certain. Every time I walked up the ramp to the locker room I left all of my talents, abilities and effort on the field. I hadn’t wasted anything. I want my legacy to be that of someone that gave all they had to give.
Do You Need a Study to tell you You Need Money? KVIA reports that NMSU is going to study the future of the athletic department.
The New York Times: An El Pasoan had the idea for Cleveland Cavs fans to laugh at Lebron James when he returns to Cleveland tonight as a Heat player, instead of boo. He thought it would rattle him. The idea is picking up steam over twitter and the New York Times and ESPN noticed.
Pardoned: Tulane's Bob Toledo will be back to coach Ryan Griffin and Orleans Darkwa next season. Really, only David Bailiff is still on the hot seat as all signs point to Mike Price returning for another season in El Paso.
Random but Noteworthy
Chuck Norris has been named an honorary Texas Ranger. I love my state.