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2013 MWC all-conference baseball team: New Mexico cleans up awards

2013-05-23T23:03:57Z

New Mexico not only breezed through the Mountain West regular season, but they also made out big in the post season awards.

The Lobos had the co-players of the year in catches Mitch Garver and third baesman DJ Peterson, they also shared co-rookie of the year awards as Lobos second baseman Sam Haggerty and Fresno State pitcher Blake Quinn earned those honors. Of couse, with New Mexico winning the league, it was Ray Birmingham who won coach of the year.

2013 All-Mountain West Baseball Team
FIRST TEAM
Position	Name	Team	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	Hometown
Catcher	Mitch Garver^	New Mexico	6-1	205	Sr.	Albuquerque, N.M.
First Base	Seth Kline^	Air Force	6-1	225	Jr.	Yakima, Wash.
Second Base	Tim Zier	San Diego State	5-10	195	Jr.	Escondido, Calif.
Third Base	DJ Peterson^	New Mexico	6-1	205	Jr.	Gilbert, Ariz.
Shortstop	Alex Allbritton^	New Mexico	6-2	185	Sr.	Aurora, Colo.
Outfielder	Aaron Judge	Fresno State	6-7	255	Jr.	Linden, Calif.
Outfielder	Josh Melendez^	New Mexico	5-11	190	Sr.	Chandler, Ariz.
Outfielder	Brandon Bayardi!^	UNLV	6-2	235	Sr.	Phoenix, Ariz.
DH/Utility	Garrett Custons!^	Air Force	5-11	200	Sr.	Sarasota, Fla.
Pitcher	Braden Shipley	Nevada	6-3	190	Jr.	Medford, Ore.
Pitcher	Sam Wolff	New Mexico	6-1	190	Sr.	Rapid City, S.D.
Pitcher	Ryan Doran	San Diego State	6-1	175	Sr.	Orange, Calif.
Pitcher	Buddy Borden	UNLV	6-3	210	Jr.	Las Vegas, Nev.
Relief Pitcher	Gabe Aguilar	New Mexico	5-8	175	Sr.	El Paso, Texas
SECOND TEAM
Catcher	Jake Romanski	San Diego State	5-10	180	Sr.	Corona, Calif.
First Base	Ryan Muno	San Diego State	6-1	195	So.	La Quinta, Calif.
First Base	Patrick Armstrong	UNLV	6-0	225	Jr.	Woodbridge, Calif.
Second Base	Sam Haggerty	New Mexico	5-11	175	Fr.	Denver, Colo.
Third Base	T.J. White	UNLV	5-11	190	So.	Las Vegas, Nev.
Shortstop	Chris Mariscal	Fresno State	5-11	175	So.	Fresno, Calif.
Outfielder	David Baska	Air Force	6-0	180	Sr.	Overland Park, Kan.
Outfielder	Brooks Klein	Nevada	6-2	190	Sr.	Blue Diamond, Nev.
Outfielder	Luke Campbell	New Mexico	6-0	200	Sr.	Arvada, Colo.
DH/Utility	Alex Real	New Mexico	6-0	215	So.	Anthem, Ariz.
DH/Utility	Mark Shannon	UNLV	6-0	180	Sr.	Littleton, Colo.
Pitcher	Blake Quinn	Fresno State	6-5	210	Fr.	Fresno, Calif.
Pitcher	Michael Cederoth	San Diego State	6-6	210	So.	San Diego, Calif.
Relief Pitcher	Bubba Derby	San Diego State	5-10	185	Fr.	Monrovia, Calif.
Co-Players of the Year - Mitch Garver, New Mexico; DJ Peterson, New Mexico
Co-Pitchers of the Year - Braden Shipley, Nevada; Buddy Borden, UNLV
Co-Freshmen of the Year - Blake Quinn, Fresno State; Sam Haggerty, New Mexico
Coach of the Year - Ray Birmingham, New Mexico
!2011 All-MW selection ^2012 All-MW selection

Brian Urlacher Hangs Up His Cleats

2013-05-23T22:16:12Z

Take a walk anywhere around Albuquerque and you'd be hard-pressed to find a place not infused with Brian Urlacher's image. A handful of game-worn, autographed jerseys greet you at Frontier when cramming for a final and ingesting an unhealthy number of sweet rolls. A monstrous mural of Urlacher in cherry and silver swallows the western end of University Stadium. Rumor has it that Urlacher is in talks to open a sports bar a mere stone's throw away from The Pit to help spearhead new commercial development in the area.

Oh, and that's not even taking into account what he went on to achieve in the NFL with the Chicago Bears.

Urlacher was a New Mexico Lobo first and foremost, and one that is unequivocally revered as the finest athlete to ever come out of the arid high desert.

Urlacher's career with the Lobos saw him arrive as a sort of jack-of-all-trades, having put in time at running back, wide receiver and defensive back for the Lovington High Wildcats of Lovington, New Mexico. It was UNM head coach Rocky Long that later converted Urlacher into a linebacker, coining the term "Lobo-Back" as a type of hybrid linebacker/free safety that took advantage of Urlacher's coverage prowess.

Urlacher's defensive dominance was duly noted after finishing his New Mexico career with 442 tackles--third most in school history--along with three interceptions, 11 sacks and 11 forced fumbles. After being selected ninth overall in the 2000 NFL Draft, Urlacher seamlessly became the vocal, hard-hitting embodiment of the Chicago Bears' dominant defense for more than a decade.

In an era of tight end-centric spread offenses, a talent like Urlacher's is increasingly rare to find. Top-flight cornerbacks may be awarded the headlines after limiting a team's most prolific wide receiver, but Urlacher managed to shut down the entire middle of a football field--an area where the NFL's explosive offenses make their living.

Whether Urlacher's résumé is 'good enough' to secure a bust in Canton will remain to be seen, but a timely end to an illustrious career will be sure to keep his reputation firmly entrenched at the top. It's not often a defensive player manages to become a household name mentioned in the same breath as glamorous rock-slinging quarterbacks, but Urlacher did it. Laying claim to two cities he could realistically be handed the keys to is just the tip of the iceberg; Urlacher, at the University of New Mexico and at the Chicago Bears, was an immense privilege to watch.

2013 NBA Draft: Jamaal Franklin's combine interview

2013-05-23T18:12:08Z

DraftExpress interviews San Diego State's Jamaal Franklin at the NBA Combine.

Craig Thompson: 'I don't know' if playoff will remain at four teams

2013-05-23T13:00:10Z

Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson has almost always gone against the grain compared to other leagues. For example, The Mtn. was the first conference specific network and his want for a college football playoff, or adjustments to the BCS.

Thompson is speaking up once again, this time it is about the upcoming College Football Playoff. So it comes to no shock that Thompson has his doubts that the current format will stay at four teams.

Thompson also obvious likes the playoff since it gives more teams a chance to play for the national title. All of these comments came when he appeared on SiriusXM College Sports Nation (Via Eye on College Football):

"I like it for several reasons," Thompson said. "I've been espousing a playoff (during) the 14-year history of the Mountain West. I testified in Congress. I think it's a great step forward.

"I'm probably in the minority in that I don't know we're going to stay at four [teams] for the next 12 years. I know that's what the contracts say and everybody's following the script these days. We'll see. Who knows where we'll be down the road."

Everyone from ESPN, Bill Hancock and other major conference commissioners are on board for keeping the playoff at four teams for the duration of the 12-year contract. While they want to keep it small to keep it inclusive to the power leagues, plus those in charge now are likely not going to be around for the next rounds of negotiations.

Here is a quote from a higher up at ESPN about the contract length toward the playoff:

"The commissioners and presidents wanted to go long because they wanted to stop further speculation about eight teams and 16 teams," ESPN boss John Skipper said earlier this year.

The four-team playoff is in place through the 2026-27, but things can definetly change. Thompson obviously wants a larger playoff so that his league champion can get into the mix, because right now the Mountain West is on the wrong side of the five power conferences. If a playoff were to be at eight teams then there would be a realistic chance that the league champ could get in most of the time.

As it stands now, a Mountain West team will need an amazing year by, obviously, going 13-0, hope that they are ahead of at least two league champions from the power leagues and a SEC team to just have a chance.

Here is the full interview:

2013 college football bowl schedule announced

2013-05-23T02:30:12Z

The 2013 college football season is just about 100 days away (so long), so the news of the day is that the complete bowl schedule has been set. It includes dates, times and networks. The Mountain West has six bowl slots, and with 12 teams hopefully can fill them all, and maybe more.

Once again, a Mountian West team will help ring in thew which will be played on Saturday Dec. 21 for a 2 p.m. ET. In fact, three Mountain West teams will be in action as the Las Vegas and then Famous Idaho Potato Bowl also are in action on that Saturday.

The only problem is that the bowls overlap each other due to the New Mexico and Idaho Bowl being on ESPN, while the Las Vegas Bowl gets prime location on ABC. By staggering these games, the Mountain West teams take a hit from national exposure, well for those teams not named Boise State. However, if the Mountain West goes 3-0 on the first weekend of the bowls the league will get some good publicity.

The others bowls that the Mountain West are a part of is the Hawaii, Poinsettia and Armed Forces Bowl.

Here is the bowl schedule for the Mountain West:

Gildan New Mexixo Bowl
MWC vs. Pac-12 Albuquerque, N.M.
University Stadium Sat., Dec. 21
2:00 p.m. ET ESPN

Las Vegas Bowl
MWC vs. Pac-12 Las Vegas, Nev.
Sam Boyd Stadium Sat., Dec. 21
3:30 p.m. ET ABC

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
MAC vs. MWC Boise, Idaho
Bronco Stadium Sat., Dec. 21
5:30 p.m. ET ESPN

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
C-USA vs. MWC Honolulu
Aloha Stadium Tue., Dec. 24
8:00 p.m. ET ESPN

San Diego County CU Poinsettia Bowl
Army vs. MWC San Diego, Calif.
Qualcomm Stadium Thu., Dec. 26
9:30 p.m. ET ESPN

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl
MWC vs. Navy Fort Worth, Texas
Amon G. Carter Stadium Mon., Dec. 30
11:45 a.m. ET ESPN

Utah State All Set to Join the Mountain West Conference

2013-05-22T20:00:02Z

When Utah State officially leaves the Western Athletic Conference on July 1, they will join the Mountain West Conference along with San Jose State as their new league's 11th and 12th members. The Utah State Aggies are destined for the Mountain Division to play alongside Air Force, Boise State, Wyoming, Colorado State, and New Mexico, where they already have a history with Boise State as well as with most of the other teams in the West Division. Playing teams in their same geographic region like Wyoming, Colorado State, and Air Force are bound to develop into great rivalries.

Utah State AD Scott Barnes has done all he can to get the school ready for its MWC debut by guiding the university forward with a number of athletic upgrades and building projects. There is a new strength and conditioning center about to open, a new basketball and volleyball facility, a conversion of the old weight room into state-of-the-art locker rooms for women’s sports, and an expansion of the seats in the south end zone of Romney Stadium (25,513 seats). Those seats will be needed because last season the Utah State Aggies (10-2) averaged 20,054 fans per game, an increase of 2,585 over 2011. That growing football attendance ranked them #20 nationally among FBS schools.

Like any good athletic director Barnes wants the Aggies to be competitive in their new conference. Utah State teams have won twelve conference championships in four different conferences during their football history, and last year as WAC champions won the 2012 Idaho Potato Bowl. But Aggie athletics is dominated by the men's basketball team, not football. And those teams are consistently seen as one of the better hoops programs in the nation. The Dee Glen Smith Spectrum has been called one of the nation's top 5 loudest and most difficult places for opposing basketball teams to play.

Besides their football and basketball successes, over the past five years they have won WAC championships in indoor track (2008), outdoor track (2007, 2009) and several times in cross country. Women's teams have also excelled with conference championships in cross country (2006, 2008) and in women's soccer (2008).

In support of those teams Barnes has moved quickly and efficiently to stabilize the Aggies coaching staffs in his programs. In football, offensive coordinator Matt Wells was hired as the school's head coach to replace Gary Andersen who left in December for a gig at Wisconsin. And just a few days ago Sean McInerney was named head women's tennis coach.

"Certainly, when we look in the mirror …,” Barnes told Brad Rock of the Desert News when asked about the move to the MWC, “we’re thankful and excited and can’t wait to have a chance to compete for championships on this new level and platform.”

The Mountain West Conference is glad to have the Aggies with them as well. The Utah State student body of 28,796 students support their sports programs with good turnouts. And MWC teams will be happy to note that Logan, Utah, at 4,534 feet in elevation, adds one other school in the Mountain Division where teams from the West Division won’t need to bring an oxygen mask or find themselves at risk of altitude sickness.

2013 Mountain West Baseball Tournament: Fresno State/Nevada

2013-05-22T19:16:58Z

The Mountain West baseball tournament begins today in Fresno at Beiden Field. Four teams with dreams of Omaha will kick off the double-elimination scrum, and the late game on day one will feature the host Bulldogs and the Nevada Wolf Pack.

Game 2

#4 Fresno State vs. #5 Nevada

Time: 10:00 PM EST/7:00 PM PST

TV: Mountain West Network (click here to watch the game online)

Probable starters:

Fresno State: Blake Quinn (3-3, 2.64 ERA, 31 strikeouts in 47 2/3 innings)

Nevada: Braden Shipley (7-3, 2.81 ERA, 94 strikeouts in 99 1/3 innings)

A team preview for the Bulldogs can be found here, while Wolf Pack fans can find a team preview here.

2013 Mountain West Baseball Tournament: SDSU/Air Force

2013-05-22T19:00:52Z

The Mountain West baseball tournament begins today in Fresno at Beiden Field. Four teams with dreams of Omaha will kick off the double-elimination scrum, starting with the Aztecs and the Falcons.

Game 1

#3 San Diego State vs. #6 Air Force

Time: 6:00 PM EST/3:00 PM PST

TV: Mountain West Network (click here to watch online)

Probable starters:

SDSU: Philip Walby (3-3, 3.60 ERA, 52 strikeouts in 80 innings)

Air Force: Steven Trojan (4-6, 5.62 ERA, 48 strikeouts in 65 2/3 innings)

For a closer look at the Aztecs as they begin the tournament, click here, while Falcons fans can find a team preview here.