Lady Miners Undefeated!

At the final buzzer the scoreboard at the Don Haskins Center read UTEP 65 the University of Tulsa 50. This season has marked many a historic first for the UTEP Miners women’s basketball program. This was the Miners first undefeated conference regular season EVER for the program, set a new school record for consecutive victories currently at nineteen, the first time the women’s basketball program has been nationally ranked in the top twenty teams in the nation, the first undefeated regular season for any Conference USA women's basketball team, a school record setting twenty third victory in a single season, and the second consecutive year the program has won at least twenty games.

Next for the Miners it was on to the Conference USA tournament where after a first round by they played Rice University. The Miners won their opening tournament game 80 to 71. Next the Miners would take on Southern Mississippi winning 86 to 69 for a spot in the tournament championship game. In the Conference USA tournament final the Miners would take on the Mustangs of Southern Methodist University. Although the Miners won both regular season games against the Mustangs in the championship game it was not to be. The Mustangs won the conference tournament 73 to 57 and received the automatic bid for Conference USA to the NCAA Championship tournament. UTEP will have to wait till March 17th to see if they get an at-large berth to the big dance.

This season has to be recognized as a truly remarkable season. Coach Keitha Adams should feel very proud of what she, her staff, and the student athletes have accomplished this year.

The Coaches:
Keitha Adams - Head Coach
Darren Brunson - Assistant Coach
Ewa Laskowska - Assistant Coach


The Players:
Ilda Chambe, Alyssa Faubion, Jareica Hughes, Brittnay Jones, Kasia Krezel, Natasha Lacy, Tasha Marisett, Izabela Piekarska, Claudia Porras, Christina Ray, Stephanie Rosado, Sviatlana Trukshanina, Timik Williams, and Joanna Zalesiak.

Hall of Shame

The President of the Baseball Hall of Fame, Dale Petroskey, has decided to accept for entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame a modified graffiti version of Barry Bonds record breaking 756th home run ball.

This is wrong on so many levels I don't know where to begin. The FIRST thing that should be said whenever anyone wants to talk about steroids and Bonds is that Bonds has NOT tested positive for ANYTHING. Suspicions are just that suspicions and you either believe in innocent until proven guilty or you don't. Being a believer in the Constitution I cannot and will not smear someone just because I don't like them. Does the acceptance of the ball in its modified condition mean that from now on anyone with a baseball artifact can modify that artifact to express some point of view and the Hall of Fame will accept it? Or going ahead will acceptance be decided by a so-called "public" vote.

Looking at the players who HAVE tested positive it is never said that more pitchers have tested positive than hitters. No matter how one looks at the controversy Bonds was not the only player who may have used what are now banned substances. Baseball, the reporters, and the fans all looked the other way when baseballs were leaving the yard in record numbers. Back then no one wanted or cared to know. The rumors of drug use were there, but not investigated.

In accepting the modified baseball the President of the Baseball Hall of Fame said the ball, " …represents one of the game's most historic records." Petroskey went on to say " …Our responsibility as a history museum is to present every story in proper context, and this ball allows us to do that." I couldn't disagree more. If the Hall of Fame wanted to present every record in context it will have to go back and differentiate between the segregated and integrated eras, between hitting records set in small ball parks versus large, pitching records set when the pitching mounds were 18 inches higher than they are now, and single season hitting and pitching records set when the baseball season was less than the 162 games we have today.

The Baseball Hall of Fame doesn't make a "context" distinction on any other record and should not do it with the home run record. I can't understand what it is about Barry Bonds that makes people lose their sense of right and wrong, actually I can, but that is an argument for another day.

Football In C-USA

Football in Conference-USA consists of 12 teams divided up into two divisions. The Eastern Division consists of East Carolina Univ., Marshall University, the Univ. of Memphis, Southern Mississippi, Univ. of Alabama Birmingham and the Univ. of Central Florida. In the Western Division you'll find the Univ. of Houston, Rice University, Southern Methodist Univ., the Univ. of Tulane, Tulsa University, and the Univ. of Texas at El Paso. The first year of this new alignment was 2005 and Tulsa was the first champion under the new format.

Under the new conference alignment schedule each school will play eight games against conference opponents. Five games will be against division foes with the rest of the conference schedule being games against three schools from the other division. The three non-division teams are played on a two-year home and away rotation switching every two years to the three teams not played.

The Conference USA Championship Game is televised by ESPN 2 in December hosted by the school with best record against conference foes.