We now have our final 4 teams that have moved up to the NBA Conference Finals. The Miami Heat (my boys!!) played their final game against the Chicago Bulls Wednesday the 15th and won 94-91. Right after, the Memphis Grizzlies played against Oklahoma City Thunder and won 88-84. Making the Miami Heat and Memphis Grizzlies the first 2 teams to move on!

Thursday, May 16th The San Antonio Spurs played with Golden State Warriors and sent them home 94-82. Finally, Friday the 17th, the Indiana Pacers took charge and finished off the New York Knicks 106-99.

Game 1 – Round 3 will be the Memphis Grizzlies against the San Antonio Spurs today at 1:30 PM, so make sure you don’t miss out. Wednesday will be Game 1 – Round 3 for the Miami Heat vs. Indiana Pacers at 6:30 PM. Definitely not gonna miss that!!

This is it, the two teams that win this series (4 games) will head over to the 2013 NBA Finals!! So now that we have reached this point so far (and at last) what teams would you like to make it to the Finals?

How intense!!!

My buddy, UFC Fighter Mike “The Wolverine” Rio will be fighting in Jaragua do Sul, Brazil against Francisco “Massaranduba” Trinaldo  (nickname meaning Brazilian Redwood). Fight will be tomorrow May 18th on Fuel TV at 6pm ET. He will be 2nd to the last fight. (The earlier fights will be aired on Facebook, some on FX and the last ones on Pay Per View).

Mike Rio began training in 2006. His Ranks/Titles consist of 2 time NAIA Champion in wrestling. Rio has been Pro since 2008, right now on a 3-fight winning streak. Has 4 wins by KO, 4 by submission. His record is 9-1-0 (W-L-D).

Trinaldo has been Pro since 2006. His Ranks/Titles consist of 3 time Brasilia Kickboxing Champion and Jungle Fight Lightweight Champion. Has 5 wins by KO, 4 by submission.. His record is 12-2-0 (W-L-D).

Mike Rio is a strong advocate of Autism Awareness. Even created a wristband with his name “Mike Rio – Wolverine” in which he donates all proceeds to “Autism Speaks“. (Apart from him being an amazing friend and person, he is definitely someone to look up to and admire!)

I had a chat with his mother, Annette Rodriguez, whom is very excited and proud of his son. Here’s something she said to me, which I just loved!

“He’s going to show them what this “305 Miami Boy” can do(!!!!), and he’s going to do it all with a SMILE!! I have faith in my son and I know he will make his home town PROUD! YOU GOT THIS MIKE RIO!!! YOU GOT THIS!!!!”

His wonderful mom also says that Rio is confident and on point. Definitely on Fight Mode!

So let’s show our support to my buddy, Mike “The Wolverine” Rio. GO MIKE!!! I have my shirt and wristband ready for tomorrow … do you?!

Seems as if we’re getting closer to the Conference Finals. Right now, there are 4 teams that are one step away from it. Let’s review:

The Miami Heat took on Game 4 against the Chicago Bulls 88-65 yesterday making this series 3-1. Right after the Memphis Grizzlies beat Oklahoma City Thunder 103-97. Giving Memphis the lead 3-1 as well.

Tonight, the Indiana Pacers are staying strong and strutting their stuff taking their series 3-1 also against the New York Knicks. (I honestly thought this series would be done real quick … but not in this direction.) The only game in the Conference Semifinals where both teams have moved up from just 1 win, Golden State Warriors are at 2 as the San Antonio Spurs have untied their series and went up to 3 wins.

So we have Memphis and San Antonio leading in the West as Miami and Indiana on the East. Do you think these teams are gonna keep up their game and move on to the NBA Semifinals? Or do you think OKC, GSW, Chicago and/or New York are gonna step up and surprise us?!

I don’t know about you all, but I am here nail-biting waiting to see who moves on!!

If you’re watching the NBA Playoffs, you know exactly what I’m talking about. But if you’re not … my recommendation is to definitely tune in!!

Let’s see, I last posted on the Heats victory against the Chicago Bulls on Game 2. I think everyone knew of that win (it was by 37 points). Heat 115 Bulls 78. Tying things up 1-1 in this series. That same night (Wednesday), the Golden State Warriors played their Game 2 against the San Antonio Spurs. GSW won 100-91.

Friday, it was Game 3 for the Miami Heat/Chicago Bulls series (which am sure a lot of you were looking forward to). The Miami Heat took this win as well (Yay!) 104-94. Now, is it me or are the Heat/Bulls games getting a little aggressive? Anywho, after the Miami Heats win making it 2-1; the San Antonio Spurs took their own win 102-92 on their Game 3 vs. GSW.

Saturday was Game 3 for the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Memphis Grizzlies series, giving the Grizzlies their 2nd win 87-81. The New York Knicks took another loss against the Indiana Pacers 71-82 with their Game 3 giving the Pacers lead in this series 2-1.

Mother’s Day only had one game, the San Antonio Spurs vs. GSW: Game 4. The Golden State Warriors won 97-87 putting this series tied 2-2.

Tonight is Game 4 of the Miami Heat vs. the Chicago Bulls and also Oklahoma City Thunder vs. the Memphis Grizzles. So tune in because who knows what’s gonna happen now!!

So Round 2 began Cinco de Mayo with two amazing games. Lets review:

Game 1 of Round 2 started with the Memphis Grizzlies vs. Oklahoma City Thunder. The OKC won by a close call 93-91. The Indiana Pacers faced the New York Knicks Sunday as well and showed the Knicks that they weren’t scared; won the game 102-95.

Yesterday Round 2 continued with the Chicago Bulls vs. the Miami Heat. Unfortunately, my team (the Heat) lost 93-86. But I have faith that tomorrow things will be a little different. The San Antonio Spurs came back showing the Golden State Warriors they mean business winning Game 1 129-127.

Today the adventure continued with Game 2 of the Indiana Pacers vs. the New York Knicks. The Knicks came back and showed their fans what they want them to see … them taking a win by 26 points 105-79. Game 2 of the Grizzlies at Thunder was a bit on edge, but the Memphis Grizzlies took charge and won 99-93!! (Alright Memphis!)

Tomorrow night, my boys take on Game 2 against the Chicago Bulls at 5pm … so definitely don’t miss that!! Right after, we have the San Antonio Spurs vs. the Golden State Warriors at 7:30pm.

Don’t you just love the intensity of the NBA Playoffs?!

Here’s a brief rundown of who was honored, and some photos of all the honorees from the night.

2013 Hall of Fame Inductees

• Frank Del Toro, Athlete: a Jefferson HS athlete and local baseball and softball player.
• Natasha Lacy, Athlete: a basketball player at Montwood HS, TCU, UTEP and in the WNBA.
• James Munyala, Athlete: an 11 time All American distance runner at UTEP.
• Bobby Lesley, Coach: basketball coach at Eastwood HS and of 1976 State Champions.
• Jimmy Melendez, Coach: baseball coach at Riverside HS with a Final Four appearance.
• Gary Crossland, Official: football official and founder of the El Paso Chapter SFOA.
• Steve Kaplowitz, Media: television and radio sports announcer.
• Buryl Baty, Posthumous: head football coach at Bowie HS.

Miss and Mr. Athletes of the Year

• Mr. Football – Aaron Jones (Burges)
• Miss Volleyball – Monica Claxton (Franklin)
• Mr. Cross Country – Brian Barraza (Franklin)
• Mr. Basketball – Alvin Jones (Burges)
• Mr. Swimmer – Joe Brown (Eastwood)
• Miss Wrestler – Yvonne Galindo (Jefferson)
• Miss Softball – Julinn Torres (Hanks)
• Mr. Baseball – Eder Erives (Montwood)
• Miss Tennis – Sarah Savedra (El Paso High)
• Miss Soccer – Jenny Chiu (School for Educational Enrichment)
• Mr. Golf – Tanner Gore (Coronado)
• Mr. Track & Field – Annthony Dudley (Parkland)

High School Outstanding Student-Athletes of the Year

EPISD

• Female Athlete of the Year – Sydney Johnson (Hanks)
• Male Athlete of the Year – Aaron Jones (Burges)

YISD

• Female Athlete of the Year – Heather Scheetz (Hanks)
• Male Athlete of the Year – Ivan Rodriguez (Del Valle) / Devin Vasquez (Eastwood)

SISD

• Female Athlete of the Year – Jocelyn Caro (Socorro)
• Male Athlete of the Year – Christian Rodriguez (El Dorado)

County Schools

• Female Athlete of the Year – Cashlee Rayas (Clint)
• Male Athlete of the Year – Patrick Zubia (Fabens)

Private Schools

• Female Athlete of the Year – Kodi Hill (Loretto Academy)
• Male Athlete of the Year – Adrian Lugo (Cathedral)

And the Heat move on to the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Game 4 of the Milwaukee Bucks vs. the Miami Heat was intense. Considering the Bucks were fighting for a home win so they can at least get another shot at another game. Unfortunately, Lebron James was on fire and scored a total of 30 points also having 8 rebounds and 7 assists. Ray Allen was right behind him with 16 points and 7 rebounds (his 3rd game with double digits). The Miami Heat won 88-77 moving them one step up to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. (Woo-Hoo!!)

Dwyane Wade sat out due to his bad knee. He did a few practice shots but since the pain was still there, the team said they got this … and they weren’t kidding.

“We’re a good basketball team. That’s nothing that’s a secret. We’re not a one-man show, a two-man, a three-man (show). We’re a basketball team.” ~ Dwyane Wade

The Miami Heat will not play until Saturday at the earliest facing the winner of the Chicago Bulls / Brooklyn Nets series. Lebron stated that they are hoping for their 16 game win streak, but their next goal is game #5.

Well, so far two teams are out: Milwaukee Bucks and L.A. Lakers and two teams have moved up: The Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are up 3-0 against the Houston Rockets. The Chicago Bulls are also up 3-1 against the Brooklyn Nets. GSW is up 3-1 as well vs. the Denver Nuggets. Memphis and Clippers are tied 2-2 (I think that’s gonna be a bit of an intense series) and as for the Indiana Pacers they are 2-1 vs. the Atlanta Hawks.

New York Knicks are up 3-1 too against the Boston Celtics. (Did you check out Sunday’s game?) Am not really a Boston Celtics fan, but I kinda want them to win (please don’t make me repeat that). Lucky for them, they were not ready to go home and won the game in OT 97-90. (Also, one awesome thing I saw on Facebook was that Danny Ainge, Rajon Rondo and Jared Sullinger  of the Celtics organization made a surprise visit to a Boston hospital and met with victims of the Boston Marathon tragedy.)

Well, that’s the latest update. Hope your team is rockin it!!

Austin Hoff scored twice, including the game-winner, as the El Paso Rhinos swept the Boulder Bison out of the Thorne Cup Playoffs with a 4-1 win Saturday night. El Paso won the first game of the best-of-three Mountain Conference championship series in double overtime, 3-2, Friday night.

Boulder didn’t have quite the same jump Saturday that it did Friday after John Morales’ game-winning gut-punch at 4:10 of the second overtime, and it showed early as Morales opened the scoring Saturday just 2:15 into the game.

Morales lifted in a shot from the blue line over goalie Colin Champine, who was screened on the play.

El Paso made it 2-0 as Hoff’s one-time wrister beat Champine after a draw won by centerman Brenden Gust at 4:03 of the second period.

Rhinos Defenseman Matej Steigauf threw in a blue-line bomb on the power play to make it 3-0 at 11:08 of the second, as again Champine found himself completely screened.

But Ryan Gauthier found the puck at the crease after Deon Kidd and Taylor Porrier each took turns shooting at Alex Palumbo in net for El Paso. Gauthier’s easy rebound goal put the Bison on the board at 12:49 of the second, and Boulder had a life-line.

However, the Rhinos hunkered down in the third frame, finally getting an insurance goal from Hoff, who batted Steigauf’s power play shot from the point down and past Champine for his second of the night at 16:34.

Hoff was named First Star of the Game and now has five goals in the post-season. Steigauf was Second Star with his second goal of the playoffs and Palumbo was Third Star after stopping 30 of 31 Bison shots in the game.

The Rhinos earn the automatic trip to the Thorne Cup Championships, representing the Western States Hockey League’s Mountain Conference as champion in their first year in the conference.

El Paso has won all seven regular season conference titles for which they’ve competed and six of seven conference playoff crowns.

Boulder is the only team to beat the Rhinos in the conference finals (2010).

El Paso will join the two-time defending Thorne Cup Champion Idaho Junior Steelheads, the Dallas Ice Jets and the Southern Oregon Spartans on the Steelheads’ home rink in McCall, ID, for the Thorne Cup Championship Tournament beginning Thursday and culminating with the championship game Easter Sunday. Two championship berths have yet to be determined.

Click the link for the official box score, courtesy of www.pointstreak.com: http://pointstreak.com/prostats/boxscore.html?gameid=2169441

Thanks for partying with this year’s great game, and sorry to those of you who really wanted the 49ers to win.

In general, the words lingerie and football have about as much in common as the words meth addict and day care. Maybe that’s why the all-female Lingerie Football League just changed their brand name to the Legends Football League.  You will be relieved to know that they didn’t change their uniforms very much, and they’re still awesome. The league, which expanded to include Canada in 2012, will swell to 16 teams in 2013 with the addition of the Atlanta Steam and the Omaha Heart. No word on whether the league will continue naming their teams after female soft rock outfits and soap operas when it expands to Europe in 2015.

The uniforms used by the players of the LFL also will change slightly, but, as evidenced by the following picture gallery, the ladies won’t be running around in sweatpants and jorts. The guys who attend these games on the other hand (ahem, us) will remain slobs.

The league has decided to use the term ‘performance wear,’ rather than lingerie, for the new garb, noting that lingerie hurt its credibility (just like J. Edgar Hoover!). If a the woman in our lives told us that she was wearing ‘performance panties,’ we’d ask for a full list of showtimes, and book early and often.

[button href="http://guyspeed.com/female-avengers/" title="Next: Check Out The Female Avengers" align="center"]

Source: Women’s Football League Drops Lingerie For Legends

The 37-year-old cornerback/safety Ronde Barber of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers received a standing ovation as he took the field at Raymond James Stadium in front of his fans and teammates.

It was a divisional rivalry, against their opponent, the Carolina Panthers, that started the 2012 season off to a 16-10 win for the Bucs. They will start week two against the New York Giants who recently lost to
the Dallas Cowboys 24-17 in the regular season opener last Wednesday at MetLife Stadium.

It was also the debut of former Rutgers football coach, Greg Schiano, on the sidelines who very much commanded the the field — a good change for the Bucs. Aside from Barber’s 200th consecutive start there were more numbers that went into the books in the season opener for the veteran player.

According to the stats, in that game Barber recorded his 28th career sack on a big man like Cam Newton and his 44th career interception of which he currently ranks fourth in the league.

One thing that seemed to expose the man’s emotion behind his heavy padding and helmet, were the video boards inside Raymond James Stadium during timeouts that would highlight his career, work ethic and athleticism that Barber has contributed to the Bucs since he was drafted in 1997 and under Coach Jon Gruden, he played a vital role in helping secure the 2002 Super Bowl Championship game against the Oakland Raiders.

As of right now, Barber is longest-tenured member of the team.

1. Brett Favre QB 297

2. Jim Marshall DE 270

3. Mick Tingelhoff C 240

4. Bruce Matthews OL 229

5. Will Shields RG 223

6. Alan Page DT 215

7. Jim Otto C 210

8T. Derrick Brooks LB 208

This past Saturday at the Sun Bowl, The Utep Miners shocked the nation as they gave the Oklahoma Sooners all they could handle.  Nobody thought the Miners were going to be in the game going into the 4th quarter 10-7.

I’ll give you my thoughts on the game in another post but for now check out these pictures I took during a very emotional Saturday night at the Sun Bowl

My personal highlight of the night was meeting and taking a pic with WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross.

No way it was going to happen Wednesday night. Just no way.

US Soccer is light years ahead of where it was when I watched Paul Caligiuri score late against Trinidad & Tobago — back in the stonewashed jeans day — to qualify the United States for Italia ’90, America’s first World Cup in 40 years. It has a first-division league that isn’t even forced to play on old, narrow Astro-Turf fields with football markings anymore. It has some good young players. It has some good old players. It’s usually a shoo-in for the World Cup these days.

Jurgen Klinsmann’s team is good, but not Mexico good. Mexico’s Olympic team just finished winning its first-ever gold medal in the London Games — an Olympiad for which the U.S. didn’t even qualify. El Tri handled Brazil like few teams have ever done to claim gold. And those were the kids!

The U.S. was playing the Mexican national team Wednesday night. The team that had re-established its country’s claim as the power in CONCACAF with victories in the United States, breaking a long string of non-wins, if not outright losses, on American soil.

American soccer writers and broadcasters (yes, there are such creatures here nowadays) were talking about the widening gap between Mexico and a US Soccer movement that had grown stagnant. Other than a disappointing World Cup, Mexico was on a three-year run of playing a flowing, creative style that was not only entertaining, but — more importantly — winning.

And Klinsmann’s team was playing with three brand-new defenders and only a handful of stars while Mexico played most of theirs, and it was at Azteca Stadium, and it’s 8,000-feet high, and the fans aren’t very friendly at all, and Mexico-slayer Landon Donovan had to come out at the half with a muscle strain, and there was just no way the United States was going to claim it’s first-ever win in Mexico Wednesday night, and that’s “ever” as in: Eh-Ver.

But it’s “ever”, nevermore.

No way.

U.S. defender Michael Orozco Fiscal pushed Terrence Boyd’s backheel pass into the net in the 79th minute and pushed the American thorn back into the side of a nation that thought it was moving beyond such demoralizing losses for a 1-0 win Wednesday night.

That makes US Soccer’s all-time record in Mexico 1-23-1.

You can say the win came in a “friendly”, but anyone who knows this rivalry knows it is never, ever friendly. Don’t think for a second that Mexico didn’t want to win the game. Not only was beating Yanquis at home a 75-year-old tradition, this game was expected to showcase that growing gap while Mexico’s gold medal winners took a victory lap in front of the 80,000-plus in the stands.

But all of Mexico’s fireworks came during the halftime show, while the U.S. saved its lone bottle rocket for the last.

Mexico lashed back, pouring waves of attackers at goalkeeper Tim Howard, who saved the American bacon more than once with some incredible acrobatics. In the end, though, the United States held on for a win that Klinsmann has already called one of the most important this country has ever had.

Just four days after Olympic gold and an immense national high, here is the return of Mexico’s Red, White and Blue national headache.

Yes way.

On Saturday morning, I was fortunate to spend two hours at Sisbarro Sunland Park Used Cars with UFC Light Heavyweight Champ Jon “Bones” Jones. The youngest title holder in UFC history was in town to meet fans prior to his September 1st bout against Dan “Hendo” Hederson. The Rochester, New York native spends much of his time training in Albuquerque, and enjoyed meeting many of his fans from El Paso and Ft. Bliss.

He posed for pictures and signed autographs for three hours at Sisbarro Sunland Park. Bones could not  have been a nicer guy to his adoring fanbase. Before I left, I asked Bones for a “staredown” picture of us. I’ve always wanted to find out how these guys can look as nasty as they do without smiling during the posedown.

As soon as we finished, Jones smiled and told me that I have beautiful eyes. “That’s what my wife has said,” I answered.

The council authorized the city manager to sign an agreement with Mountain Star Sports, LLC, to build the stadium.  The estimated cost of the stadium is $50 million dollars.  Mountain Star Sports is a group of private investors looking to secure a team for the stadium.

The council hopes the project will be funded in part by the hotel occupancy tax.  In November, voters will decide if they want to raise the current 15.5% rate by 2%.

For more on the story check out elpasotimes.com.

Here are some pretty sweet artist’s renderings of what the downtown ballpark may look like.

Check out some of the photos that I took of this great event.

NASCAR was in Phoenix for the Subway Fresh Fit 500. On Saturday, March 3rd Sprint Cup Series drivers were getting ready for the qualifying session. I was there for the action and took plenty of pictures!

We had such a great time at the X again this year, and the game was great, too!

We gave away tons of prizes, enough free food to satisfy everyone (and we put that statement to the test, let me tell you!) and partied with great drink specials from King’s X!

We even announced the details on the 2012 600 ESPN El Paso Sports and Health Expo, featuring Dallas Cowboys rising star, Sean Lee! Get all your Sports Expo details here, and we’ll see you at Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino on April 1st!

Thanks to everyone who came out and had fun with us, and everyone who helped out: King’s X, Ruidoso River Resort, Quintero’s Meat Company, Roadrunner Pizza, Wing Daddy’s and more! We can’t wait for NFL season to start up again so we can begin planning our next Super Crunchtime blast!

See you soon!

Here’s a little video of our party so you can see a little of what went on, enjoy!

The Burges Mustangs go into the second game of the season on a high note after beating the Mountain View Lobos last Friday night 28-19.

The Mustangs host Cathedral Friday night. The Irish also won their season opener against Parkland 22-6.

The team is looking for payback after losing to the Irish last season 27-20.

Players admit they took Cathedral too lightly in the last meeting.

“We won’t this year,” center Jorge Cruz said. “They punched us in the face, and we couldn’t recover from that. We are more prepared this year against them and are able to make our calls on the line more effectively.”

New to the coaching staff is Freddy Gonzalez, who is responsible for the linebacking corp. He coached at Cathedral for four years before joining the Mustangs this season.

“I really like the atmosphere here,” he said. “I like the kids, I like the staff. That’s the main reason why I came to Burges. It was a good experience at Cathedral. I actually have family playing on the field there.”

Players said they will be watching out for wide receiver 6’4” Josh Tovar, who has a height advantage over the Mustang secondary.

Adrian Montes, who played wide receiver last year, is now the starting quarterback. He was 4 for 6 last week for 100 yards and one touchdown. He said the team has made strides in knowing what’s important on and off the field.

“This group of seniors has taken a bigger role in leadership than last year’s seniors,” he said. “We mesh together well. We’ve been together since elementary school, so we know not to take any opponent lightly.”

Kick-off is at 7 p.m. at the Burges stadium.

BURGES PLAYER TO WATCH:

Aaron Jones
Junior- Wide receiver, safety, punt and kick returner
5’11, 160 pounds
Wears jersey #2
El Paso Times’ pick as a Pre-season All District and All City athlete

LAST WEEK AGAINST MOUNTAIN VIEW

Rushing- 3 carries for 62 yards for 2 touchdowns
Receiving- 1 reception for 49 yards
Kick-Off Returns- 2 for 135 yards and a touchdown

PRE-GAME RITUAL:

“I like to stay loose in the locker room, laying down, listening to music and a joke here and there helps with the pre-game jitters.”

FAVORITE PLAYER:

Former Dallas Cowboy Emmitt Smith

PASSION:

“It’s between basketball and football. Basketball was my first love, but football is the greatest with energy and intensity.”

When baseball fans watch San Francisco Giants closer Brian Wilson take the mound to close out a game, many of them are drawn to his beard. Wilson is one of the stranger characters in baseball, and you can definitely say the beard fits his personality. Wilson decided to start growing his beard soon after the 2010 All Star Game and kept it during the Giants’ amazing playoff run. Here is a look back at Wilson pre-beard and the chronology of his trademark look.