Just When You Think You Have Seen it All

Being a lifelong Boston Red Sox fan I have become accustomed to painful ways to see a promising season go up in flames. People often ask me Red Sox? Why them? My earliest childhood memory is of watching Carl Yaztremski hold the bat way over his head. I loved the character etched in his face. I loved the Green Monster in left field. Hell I had my own green monster in my front yard. Big tall trees, I mean really tall trees. Dont ask me what kind of tree they were but they were tall. And they were skinny. How tall you ask? Taller than telephone poles thats how tall. And as a youngster I peppered those trees with wiffle ball after wiffle ball. I would take that outside pitch over the moster or off it just like Yaz did. Or I would turn around and hit from the right side and imagine myself as Rico Petrocelli launching majestic fly balls over my Green Monster. Now I am too young to remember all the particulars of the '67 series. I knew the Cardinals had some guy named Gibson. And the Sox lost in seven but I remember people saying it was the impossible dream year. Then there was 1972 which by chance was a strike season. Boston went into the final series of the year against Detroit needing to win two out of three from the Tigers to win the pennant. They only got one out of three. Both teams finished with 70 losses. But Detroit finished with 86 wins to Boston's 85. Shouldn't Boston be allowed to make up that one game you ask? Nope. That's the rules they adopted when the 1972 strike ended. 1975 was an awesome season. Chants of Luis, Luis, Luis echoed throughout Red Sox nation for the loveable cuban Luis Tiant and his funky delivery. Who can forget Bernie Carbo's three run blast to tie it in the eighth of game six. Then of course Carlton Fisk standing at home plate directing a ball fair in one of the top five home runs in baseball history to beat the Reds in game six. But of course the Big Red Machine behind Joe Morgan's bloop single would win it all in game seven. 1978 saw Bucky "Freakin" Dent win it with a corked bat hitting one over the Monster in the "extra game" playoff. 1982 Boston raced to seven game lead at the all-star break but saw Milwaukee's Harvey's Wallbangers race from behind to win the pennant. 1986 and Bill Buckner. Enough said. 1988 and 1990 being swept away by the awesome Oakland A's in the League Championship Series. The rest of the 90s are a blur but promising teams turned out to be more bust than promise. 2003 and Aaron Boone hitting it out of the park to win an epic seven-game series for the Yankees. Of course all of this was erased and then some in 2004 with first the magical come from behind LCS win over the Yankees and then sweeping away the Cardinals. 2007 was a walk in the park in destroying the Rockies and provided validation that Boston was no longer that team in baseball lore that couldn't get it done. But that all changed this September. I remember sitting in a bar in Canyon Texas the night before CSU-P's big season opener with West Texas A&M and the Yankees and Red Sox engaged in another epic battle. Boston won that night and had reclaimed first place in the division. It was August 31st. September would be fun watching these two juggernaughts battle it out for the division title. September 1st saw the Thunderwolves win in dramatic fashion. It also saw Boston lose to the Yankees in a 4hr 20 minute epic that saw Boston pitchers deliver over 200 pitches in losing 4-2. The Red Sox never recovered. They never won back to back games in September. They lost on every Wednesday in the month as we did the John Wristen Show. In the span of two pivotal three minute periods the baseball ground shook. The Yankees were somehow ahead 7-0 despite throwing out every single AA and AAA pitching prospect they could find. The Rays were who we thought they were, a team with great young pitching but a suspect lineup that couldnt produce runs on a consistent basis. But then the "vaunted" Yankees farm club pitching imploded as I expected they would do about six innings earlier. In three minutes it went from 7-0 to 7-6. Somehow the Yankees put out the fire and we went to the ninth where a .190 hitter hits one out of the park to tie it....then the tenth....and eleventh. Meanwhile in Baltimore play resumed after a lengthy rain delay. And as they had done all night they couldnt take advantage of a glorious scoring chance in the eighth. Then again in the 9th with runners on 1st and 3rd no outs but failed to score again. No problem right? Johnathan Papelbon would have the ball in the bottom of the 9th. Yankees get lead off man on in Tampa to start the 12th. Papelbon retires first hitter he faces. Yankees now with runners on 1st and 3rd no out. They gotta score right? Papelbon retires second hitter. Two outs. One more out and Red Sox win and the we all watch Yankees score that one run they need then somehow get three outs and we all get ready to face the Rangers. Uh oh. Double down the line for the Orioles while at same time watching on my computer screen the Yankees manage to get runner tagged out at third base on ground ball! Are you kidding me? Last night a triple play with the bases loaded and tonight you do this Yankees? Are you kidding me? Drama building. Hoping against hope you pray Papelbon throws a split finger to end this thing. Dont groove that arrogant fastball thigh high over the middle outside of the plate that has hit me hard to the gap written all over it. No such luck. Papelbon is who he is. Tie game. Yankees make final two outs of 12th. Then came those three minutes that would decide five hours of baseball. Papelbon finally throws a splitter but he leaves it up and its ripped to left field. No problem because Carl Crawford is playing in. He's gonna make the catch..........oh my god he missed it! Game over! Meanwhile while this is happening B.J. Upton strikes out to start the bottom of 12th. But you see it was part of the script. ESPN needed time to switch the national audience over to Tampa. Up steps Evan Longoria. He looks lost on two offspeed pitches and the count runs 2-2. But then on the next pitch Yankees jouneyman 34 year old pitcher Scott Proctor misses his location by at least a foot and Longoria sends the inside fastball that was supposed to be off the plate outside over the fence in left. ( http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2011_09_28_nyamlb_tbamlb_1&mode=gameday ) Oh and did I mention that one of the quirks about Tropicanna Field is the height of the fence down the line in left? Yeah its about four feet high instead of 10feet the rest of the way around the outfield. You cant make up this stuff. Three minutes over....five hour games over.....162 game season over......Red Sox fans nightmare just beginning..........AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Special Special Teams

At first glance for those who weren't there CSU-P's 47-0 thrashing of Fort Lewis probably were left thinking what a great night for the offense finally. Not that they played poorly but this night belonged to the special teams. Former East Eagle standout Josh Sandoval found himself in the doghouse following a first half fumble on an otherwise great punt return. In fact on the next return he was a spectator as Jamaal Johnson got the return assignment. But the sophomore flanker came back strong on his next opportunity late in the third quarter. Taking in the ball around his own 20 (yours truly and joe e cervi not agreeing with the official mark) Sandoval split two would be tacklers right off the bat. Then another elusive move at the 30 and he was off and running toward midfield. Running through heavy traffic at that point he managed to slip another couple of would be tacklers. Thats when the dominoes started to fall as the downfield blocking was textbook and "Beetle" as he is affectionately known as raced in for the at this point official 77 yard punt return touchdown. Sandoval also hauled in six passes for 105 yards to earn Pueblo Bank & Trust player of the game honors on our 590KCSJ-AM broadcast. Another "special" moment was turned in by the punt block unit on the first play of the second quarter. This unit was pivotal in the upset win at West Texas A&M and once again came up big against Fort Lewis. Junior Anthony Marshall has been working hard just to try and earn playing time along side the deep and fast defensive front for the Thunderwolves. But instead of sulk he continues to come up big when called upon playing special teams. Marshall raced in, leaped over the punt protection in the backfield and blocked Skyhawk punter Frank Atherton's attempt. But the California transfer wasn't done. He pounced on the ball in the endzone to score the touchdown to put CSU-P up 17-0. Junior outside linebacker Jason Campbell also joined the block party by dispatching of a late first half field goal attempt to preserve the shutout. Its the second straight game in which a field goal attempt was blocked to help preserve whitewashings. And finally there is senior placekicker Kyle Major who has managed to put the boring back into field goals. The guy is automatic this year with exception to the missed 60 yard attempt in the first quarter at Adams State last week. Major converted on four more field goals to give him 12 makes on the year. He was also stayed perfect on PATs knocking five more home. Here is the value I place on Major. Imagine Adam's State with him on their squad. Yesterday they would have pulled out the win at Chadron State and last week against CSU-P they would have broke on top early 3-0. Who knows what scoring first in that game would have meant for the Grizzlies.
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--------DEFENSE, DEFENSE!-------Besides pitching another shutout the defense scored again with Stephan Dickens picking off a pass at his own 43 yard line and racing 57 yards down the sideline to score. Many thought, including me, that this unit might be the achilles heal of the team but so far the cornerbacks are proving to be a strength. Another player who came up large last night was inside linebacker Damon Schiele put on a hitting clinic with several crushing tackles in the middle of the field.
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--------DOGHOUSE--------Junior quarterback Ross Dausin was having a decent night distributing the ball to several different receivers throughout the first half. But all that good work seemed to come undone late in the first half. While scrambling away from the pass rush he found himself wrapped up by a Skyhawk defender. But instead eating the ball Dausin tried a desperation heave which sailed behind him. It was correctly ruled a backwards pass or lateral and Fort Lewis fell on the live ball at the 19. Special teams bailed out the San Antonio TX native by blocking a field goal attempt. Junior signal caller Troy Graham took over for the final snap of the first half and then played well into the fourth quarter with Dausin on the bench. Make know mistake about it Dausin will be the starter next week at Chadron State. He cant afford to make mistakes like that the rest of the way and expect the Thunderwolves to be successful against the meat of the schedule coming up. I expect him to bounce back nicely.
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-------NO MOVEMENT------Last week was upset Saturday in Division II. Call this past weekend the return to normalcy. The coaches poll (CSU-P 14th) saw nobody ranked above the Thunderwolves lose. In fact only four teams in the top 25 lost yesterday and one of those was number 24 Bemidji State lost 26-23 to number 11 Minnesota Duluth. In a bit of a shocker number 16 Texas A&M -Kingsville lost its second straight this time to Midwestern State 44-38.
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-------CENTRAL COLLAPSE-----Friday night we at CNM Sports witnessed one of the most astonishing turnarounds ever in a high school football contest. Cental raced out to a 28-7 lead over number one ranked Vista Ridge. But that was all she wrote as the Wolves scored late in the first half to cut it to 28-14 at halftime. They then scored 36 more unanswered to stay undefeated and keep rights to their number on ranking. Despite the crushing second half defeat enough good things were displayed by the Wildcats to give hope of a great battle to retake the Victory Bell this week against Centennial who won big 34-0 over Coronado.
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-------SPEAKING OF--------We at CNM Sports will provide live coverage of the Bell Game Friday night with the pregame show starting at 630pm on Comcast 19. Myself along with Joe Cervi and Kevin Millis will bring you the call of the game sure to be sellout with a crowd of around 13000 expected. With that said it is still disturbing to me so see so many empty seats on the edges of the grand old stadium. In years past I have been told this is because the district must factor in all the "free passes" floating around town for teachers, coaches and administration. If this is still the case it is high time something is done about it. My solution is to make this "perk" cost as much as the general public pays. Now I would still provide them with the opportunity to get in on the game. But they would have to pay the admission plus do so a week in advance so that the district can make all potential seats be in play for the big game. This event deserves that slackers shouldnt be expected to be let in free of charge on gameday.
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-------PROGRAM REMINDER------The John Wristen Show presented by Miller Lite will be on as usual this week from Buffalo Wildwings in the Northgate shopping center. We take to the air at 706pm and sign off at 800pm. The show can be heard on the restaurants sound system so make it a point to come on out and join us for dinner and a nice cold beverage. As always the show can be heard on 590KCSJ-AM and on the internet at www.590kcsj.com .
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-------IHeartRadio--------This weekend we will be on the road in Chadron Nebraska for the "next" big game on the Thunderwolves schedule. Kickoff is scheduled for 130pm MST with the pregame show at 100pm on KCSJ. Now if you are not by your computer or listening to the radio you still have a way of hearing the game. Download the IHeartRadio app for your smart phone so you dont miss a minute of the action. It's free and can be found by going to www.iheartradio.com

New Stadium, Same Result

It had all the makings of a wonderful celebration. A brand spanking new stadium with new features that make the Thunderbowl look antiquated. A parade was scheduled to celebrate the brand new opening of Rex Field and the opening of the RMAC season. Even a late afternoon September thunderstorm couldn't dampen the mood of the faithful throng of Adams State fans sporting their newly minted "neuter the dogs" t-shirts. The rain stopped and the clouds parted. Brilliant sunshine bathed the stadium before kickoff. The celebration would be complete with a long fireworks show to follow the planned victory by the home team. It was all in place. So perfect. All that was left was to play and win the game. CSU-Pueblo had other ideas. This group of road warriors had already broken the hearts of close to 9,000 West Texans earlier this young season. On this night they would do the same to close to 4000 San Luis Valley residents. Early on however it looked like it just might be the Grizzlies night after an early Thunderwolves drive stalled and Kyle Major missed a 60-yard field goal attempt. Adams State drove it smartly down the field but CSU-P's defense as it would do most of the night came up big in the redzone. Then what would be a sign of things to come happened for the home crowd as disappointment settled in as Grizzly kicker David Van Voris shanked a 27-yard field goal attempt. Shortly thereafter the Thunderwolves took advantage of a fumbled punt and took over at Adams 40yd line. From there it took CSU-P four plays to score on a beautiful 17-yard fade pass to the left corner from Ross Dausin to Paul Browning. Early in the second quarter the Thunderwolves were poised to extend their lead following a nifty punt return deep into Grizzly territory. On the first play to follow however Dausin was sacked and fumbled. The Grizzlies returned the gift to the Twolves 35 yard line. But as it did so well all night the the defense stiffened in the redzone and Adams State settled for a 21-yard Van Voris field goal. CSU-P responded with a brilliant 90 yard drive highlighted by runs of 29 by Jesse Lewis, 11 by Jamaal Johnson and 21 by freshman J.B. Matthews. Then on 3rd and goal from the four Dausin went into Broncos and former Florida Gator Tim Tebow mode as he executed a play action fake into the line and QB draw fake and executed the copycat jump pass to perfection to TE Roger Phannenschmid to push the lead to 14-3. Adams State responded with a great drive of their own but again stalled out deep inside the redzone late in the first half as twolve corner Mark Sterling picked off Grizzly QB Trevor Eggleston in the endzone. Early in the second half after taking over on downs following another failed drive into Thunderwolves territory by Adams State CSU-P drove smartly down the field aided by two personal foul penalties on the same play by the imploding Grizzlies. Major capped it off the six minute drive with a chip shot 25-yard field goal. Adams State responded with a meat grinder of a drive moving 60 yards in 14 plays capped off by bruiser tailback Terjean Saffold's 5-yard TD run. The Grizzles resorted to some "trickeration" on the extra point as they spread the field instead of lining up in kick formation. A direct snap to the holder James Ackel resulted in him blasting his way into the endzone for the two-point conversion to make it 17-11 with 11:54 still to play. This is the spot in the game where normal teams might fold up and give in to the home teams grand plan of celebrating the inevitable come from behind win. But Lewis and the Thunderwolves line would have none of that as the senior all american candidate ripped off one of his patented sprints down the sideline picking up 45 yards to set up a tough 44 yard field goal that Major drilled to make it 20-11. Safety Jon Bailey snuffed out a Grizzly threat intercepting Eggleston in the endzone with 5:08 to play. Sterling would seal it with his second pick with 2:10 to play. Lewis added insult to injury for the still seated home crowd as he ripped off a 48 yard run to insure the clock would run out. The Thunderwolves celebrated in front of the Adams State faithful who settled in for a painfully long 20 minute plus firewords show.
........................New Diggs----The newly renovated Rex Field is a gem of a small college stadium. One of the features are dorms attached to the stadium pressbox and curving around the northeast corner of the complex. Dean's List and Honor Roll students get first shot each year for a spot in the building. The third floor of the stadium features a restaurant/snackbar open to patrons before the game and students on a regular basis. In the north endzone the scoreboard is complete with a video board. The playing surface is the in vogue field turf similar to the surface at the Neta and Eddie DeRose Thunderbowl. The press box is a beauty with nice open rooms with huge glass windows which make viewing and calling the game as easy as can be. Now it must be pointed out that a combination of private funds, student fees and government grants were used to finance the new digs. The Thunderbowl on the other hand was built with private funds. With that said however with a personal bias calling the games this would be the first thing to change in Pueblo.
.......................Glitch City------The opening of the newly remodeled Rex Field wasnt without major problems. Statistics were slow and in some cases inaccurate due to an unexpected event. The main computer was literally "crushed" at a recent volleyball match on campus. The substitute unit suffered the dreaded "computer glitch" early on. A revised box is now available at the official Adams State athletics web site http://ascgrizzlies.com/stats/fb2011/03ascfb.htm#GAME.PLY . The new third floor restaurant also was plagued by long lines and overwhelmed employees who didn't give the appearance of any sense of urgency. But as usual the sports information department and KSPK's Paul Richards were magnificent in the help they provided.
.........................Burn One Down for Me-------Western New Mexico's trip to Fort Lewis Friday was marred by a fire which incinerated one of the team buses just outside Durango. There were no injuries luckily but all the players equipment went up in flames along with the bus. But the good people of Durango and Fort Lewis College came to the rescue gathering up all the extra equipment they could spare. Also a team van made the return trip to Silver City to bring back everything left behind. RMAC commissioner also chipped in by using a contact in Denver to round of over 60 pairs of cleats for the WNM players. Gametime was pushed back to 230pm. The Mustangs made it a fairy tale ending by defeating the Skyhawks 26-17. In other results around the RMAC New Mexico Highlands went into Golden and upset Mines 40-34. Kearney continued to roll blasting Mesa 52-10. Chadron held on and defeated Western State in Gunnison 15-7.
.........................Upset City-------West Texas A&M bounced back from their opening defeat at home to CSU-P by defeating No. 4 ranked Texas A&M-Kingsville 42-21. The game was played in front of a Lone Star Conference record crowd of 24,000 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. No 1 ranked Minnesota Duluth fell to Wayne State-Nebraska 7-0. No 2 Abilene Christian fell to No 9 North Alabama 23-17. No 7 St Cloud fell to Winona State 29-16. No 8 Albany State fell to No 10 Valdosta State 30-27. No 14 Grand Valley fell to Indianapolis 34-33. No 23 Carson-Newman fell to Lenoir-Rhyne 20-7. Based on these results expect some major reshuffling of the polls this week.
.........................Program Reminders------The John Wristen Show presented by Miller Lite takes place this Wednesday at Buffalo Wild Wings at 7pm. We would love to have you in attendance. The show can be heard over in the restaurant while you enjoy dinner and a cold one. But as always you can tune in on 590KCSJ-AM or www.590kcsj.com . It is Homecoming this week on the CSU-P campus. This weeks opponent is Fort Lewis College with kickoff scheduled for 6pm Saturday night. The new and improved Friends of Football/Alumni Association tailgate starts at 4pm. As always you can choose to get there early and do your own tailgate thing. We will be on the air at 530pm with the pregame show on 590KCSJ-AM and www.590kcsj.com . Be sure to download the IHeartRadio App for your smartphone so you never miss a minute of the action.

Tonight I am gonna record my thoughts on the Broncos-Raiders game. Without further ado lets get this practice of "at the moment" commentary going.........................................................................
Coin Toss----Broncos get first chance to take lead in this game. Figure its gonna be very important to get on top in this game coming off last year's debacle in Denver............Early on Orton looks sharp but then again he is always sharp between the 20s.............The Broncos are struggling running the football. 3rd and 15 is no way to make a living.................Great hit by the rookie Von Miller! Fumble!!!! F*&% the Raiders I utter and Lora Li laughs.........Here we go, Orton in the red zone.........I hate 3-0 leads.............Defense playing fast. I like what I see so far..........Holding? Really? Come on! If you're gonna call that one you gotta call those stiffs in silver and black for the headlocks.............Here we go again, 3rd and 15...........Damn it! I guess the Thunderwolves aren't the only squad that can block punts....................I love refs. Come on guys that's the second time you have called off a penalty...............................Sounds like the Mile High of old plus the Raiders are about as disciplined as the Raiders of old.....................Great play McFadden but only made possible by Champ slipping.................Great time for end of quarter, Broncos defense on its heels with this big man downhill running game...............3rd and six, you gotta stop them here....oh come on thats the only way this stiff of a quarterback can beat you. Where's the spy?................Have another donut you fat ugly Raiders fans celebrating the first touchdown of the game. Okay donkeys down 7-3. Confidence level? About where it was going into the night which is about 30 percent. Raiders defense is young. They dont have that shutdown cornerback Asomugha anymore. Perhaps Orton can hit something down the field. It is obvious the running game wont be there on consistent basis. Still think Moreno can break a big one however...........Run a play QUICK!!!! yep! It's a fumble!. Now have to suffer thru this commercial break knowing the Raiders are gonna be in great shape. So much for that Moreno thought!................Here comes the rain.......Really Dilfer. Was it that great a deal to throw the challenge flag so quickly. Hell I was throwing it in my living room right away!.................Field goal not such an automatic thing with this rain coming down..............Lora Li laughing loudly at Brian Dawkins celebrating that big hit........Wow another 5 yards and that baby hooks out of the uprights. Uh oh here we go. Boys, boys, boys settle down. There is a reason this game has been on Monday night more than any other rivalry in history of the series............NORTH AND SOUTH McGahee!!!!!.......OMG Orton looking like Tebow. 1st Down!!!..............What a little punk arguing that holding call.................First of all Dilfer it was holding or illegal contact but that would have been ticky tack. Secondly when you grab the receivers bicep before the ball gets there that is by definition interference.......Dejavu all over again. 3rd and 15 is no way to make a living...............Shut up Dilfer. God its a good thing this guy had a great defense that moment in time with the Ravens. What do these bigshot network execs see in some of these guys. I mean its Monday Night Football and we are stuck listening to this stiff all night?............Man I thought Champ blew out his groin there................Guy looks like Eddie Mac with speed in that number 87 jersey............Crap! Who's the penalty on? Time to pull up NFL.com......Its against the Broncos. Great bait job by the Raider there..............Brad Nessler great line "of course we have another flag"...........That's a good make-up call. We'll take it!.............Brandon Lloyd is a stud................Nice jinx job by Nessler commenting on how sharp Orton has been on this drive..........No no no! You gotta punt it here. Perhaps the timeout will allow Fox to come to his senses. Play field position here!...........Okay I will give Dilfer credit there. That was a great line about comparing his driver to that ill advised kick........I am resigned now to the fact that decision by Fox to try the field goal is the turning point of this game. I fully believe Raiders will take full advantage of this field position...........Good call. Bronco clearly had his helmut and facemask. McFadden is a stud........Just checked Facebook and see where Thunderwolves QB Ross Dausin is pulling for Raiders. Ross this just in. You gotta know your geography........Defensive holding? Are you kidding me? WTF! Raiders are the most cheating franchise in the history of football and you call us for defensive holding on a running play?............Big 3rd down here. Hold em to field goal and then go down and get one on other end. That would be huge!...............Wow Brian Dawkins can fly! It's only fitting that Dilfer blew the call.......Okay step one complete holding them to field goal. Now to get a score on other end. Tell you what. Plenty of time to get seven if we had those two timeouts Orton burned earlier..........BIFF!!!!! Best ever right there ladies and gentlemen........okay touchdown out of the question now. Still can get three...........Challenge that! he came down on the line! Nope. Wishful thinking..........Record setter coming up. Lets see if they are smart enough to set up for 63 yarder. MONEY!!!! Good news is he is my kicker on my fantasy team!..................It's at this moment in time your mind starts to wander and you break out in a sweat knowing the Red Sox lead is down to three games in the wild card..............Allright 3rd and long, do something Broncos to give us some kind of hope. IN---COM----PLETE!.......YEAH BABY! Love seeing that number 87 Eric Decker. That changes things in a big hurry. But quickly plays tricks on me wondering what will Orton do to screw up this good feeling LOL...............Love the camera shaking like the old days of Mile High Stadium!............You have got to make that tackle!..............Oh god this Raider running game is starting to take its toll...........ah but there is always hope. Coaches at any level will always outsmart themselves with stupid calls like that reverse...............okay. another 3rd and long. gotta stop em here. Nice! Raiders use there second timeout. It goes without saying that could come back to haunt them.......This guy has got to be the greatest punter in the history of the game despite that last return.........Come on Eddie. You're better than that.........See! That's what I'm talking about.......The Raiders and there fans are idiots. Always have been. Always will be. What a dumb play..............Oh come on McGahee. Well so much for this possession. Another drop. Wait are we gonna get another personal foul? Yep! Do I need to say it again.........Nice! Make sure you pick up your lingerie on the field you Raiders defenders.........Oh god. Now comes the realization Orton is in the redzone............I know I am crazy and it makes no sense but I have told people that I would run Tebow out there on any 1st and goal. Orton has got to be one of the worst all-time red zone quarterbacks in the history of the NFL..............16-13 feels like 23-13 to me. They all but gift wrapped that touchdown for the Broncos yet Orton just cannot get it done down there. Never has. Doubt that he ever will on consistent basis.............Dang it! Never a real chance to get that fumble......Tell you what, Broncos are laying the wood here in this second half. 3rd and long, here we go...................Its always a good security blanket knowing Jason Campbell is the Raiders QB.........Gotta luv this Decker kid. But again deep sigh knowing this is all between the 20s. Take a shot right here Orton............OMG!!!!!!! He just has to fulfil his identity doesnt he!...........BALLGAME! And just like that there go our hopes........Cant wait to here this post game presser by Orton.................Raiders version of the Bush push there.............Turn em loose. Raiders defensive front built for this kind of moment............NFL Films moment there. Maybe that turns the tide of this fiasco. Lloyd is a lucky man..........Big time hold there. Can Orton make a play? I think so. It is between the 20s..............Nice pass there on 2nd and 19 Orton. Here come the boo birds.............Most intelligent thing Dilfer has said all night relating to Orton's plight. "I've been there" he said describing his career of always facing adversity because of his poor play. Okay I embellished it a bit there but lets face it. Nobody has profited more from playing QB so bad yet being so lucky to have played for a team with one of the top five defenses of all time.........Did you see that ref there. He was reaching for his flag but couldnt find it. He then realized "I better not throw it"..................Like I said Lechler is the greatest punter of all-time. My apologies to the Ray Guy family...........You know you can complain about the officiating all you want but so far every holding call against the Broncos has been warranted........Thinking the best thing that can happen here is have this drive stall out quickly and get the field goal out of the way.............Check that LOL. But it is the red zone again......3rd and four and I am resigned to the field goal............Oh I feel foolish now. Yes! Orton can produce a touchdown in the red zone..........You have to remember Fox burned that timeout down there when Raiders had first down and goal from the one................Better to gain 10 yards than have 2nd and one.............Ballgame. Okay that might be the third or fourth time I said that tonight.......Victory formation for the Raiders........Okay time to put a bow on this blog. In the final analysis it comes down to turnovers 90 percent of the time it seems in the NFL. When you include the blocked punt the Broncos gave the ball to Oakland four times which produced 20 points. Also the stupid personal foul penalty at end of first half gave Raiders the chance to hit the 63 yard field goal. Kyle Orton as usual had a great statistical night under heavy pressure. But for the exception of the last drive he fails in the red zone all too often. And of course his bonehead fumble with no one around him and a sure touchdown at the end of the pass he didnt get off will forever be remembered as the play that cost the Broncos the ball game. The way this game was lost overshadows the way the Raiders won the game, an old fashioned powerful ground game. That and a powerful defensive front which drew countless holding penalties and put tremendous heat on Orton all night long. In defeat the Broncos do have a new cult hero. Eric Decker's 90 yard punt return for an early 3rd quarter touchdown injected life and hope into an otherwise dreary outlook. Sure its not as brutal as last years 59-14 loss but this game stings just a bit more since it was the home opener and ruins the chance to open the season 2-0 with last years doormat Cincinnati Bengals coming to Mile High next Sunday. Time to hit the shower and try to sleep this one off. Hope you enjoyed this venture into on the spot commentary of Broncos football.

Defense Rules

In the modern game of football everybody it seems loves a sexy offense. Fans love offense. They love the razzle dazzle, the spread offenses and the fireworks that go with them. But make no mistake about it the ticket to wins in the truly big games will come down to the defenses ability to stop people. Last night in their 41-0 pasting of NW Oklahoma the CSU-P Thunderwolves defense took a giant step forward in preparing for RMAC Conference battles which begin next Saturday night at Adams State. All it takes is a glance at the RMAC scoreboard to realize what the unit is up against down the road. Conference favorite Nebraska Kearney put up 65 points and 624 yards in their win yesterday over Northeastern State. This coming after gaining a staggering 700 yards in last week's 41-20 win at Wayne State. Thunderwolves other chief rival Colorado Mines gained 673 yards in their 55-7 walloping of South Dakota Mines. Despite losing 49-42 to Angelo State yesterday Chadron State proved they are also explosive on offense. It must be noted that each of the opponents in these games may be suspect but it still points out the need for a defense capable of slowing down offenses. Last night the Thunderwolves pitched a shutout in relatively easy fashion. Coming off last week's performance it was imperative they do one very important thing.....tackle better! And that they did. One other thing was pretty apparent as the twolves played a step faster on their home turf. Head coach John Wristen wants his teams to fly to the football on every single play. The other key is getting a better push up the field with their interior lineman. Both were visibly better against the youthful Rangers. Defensive end Corey Orth continues to impress applying constant pressure on quarterbacks. I thought his counterpart Grant Jansen played better this week as well. Middle linebacker Lee Meisner got in the act with an interception. Cornerbacks Mark Sterling (interception) and Stephan Dickens are always a threat to take interceptions to the house. Dickens also was used on a rare corner blitz that worked beautifully. Next week it will be imperative for the unit to keep things settled down early against the hungry Grizzlies in Alamosa. Then the offense get back to their roots and run the football to control the game. It is a winning formula for next week as well as in future RMAC battles against their already bitter rivals.........................................
TAILGATE SUCCESS----Friends of Football and the Alumni are to be saluted for the decision to move their combined party closer to the gates and onto the lawn just outside the stadium. It is always better to enjoy lunch and a cold one where its cooler and without dust blowing into your eyes..................................................................................................................................................................
STUDENT SECTION-----Last week at West Texas A&M many of the players took note of the rowdy student section with genuine envy. They challenged their own fellow students at CSU-P to match the Buffalo's student fan intensity thru social media as well as face to face in the dorms and on campus. Mission accomplished! They were rowdy and came "painted and dressed" for the occasion. Also a shout out to the marching band for a good pregame and halftime performance...................................................................................................................................................
BIG RIGS-----Also of note was the number of RV's that made the trip to the upper parking lots at the Neta and Eddie DeRose Thunderbowl. They arrived early and stayed late to enjoy the event. It just feels good pulling into the parking lot two and half hours before kickoff seeing those monsters with bbq's going and big ol' flags waving in the breeze.................................................
PROGRAM REMINDERS-----Take note that next week's kickoff from Adams State is at 7pm. Joe and I will be on the air at 630pm with the pregame on 590KCSJ-AM and www.590kcsj.com . Would also love to see a nice crowd out at Buffalo Wild Wings on Wednesday night at 7pm for The John Wristen Show presented by Miller Lite. The show can be heard throughout the restaurant while you enjoy dinner and a cold one. Show as always heard on KCSJ and www.kcsj.com ................................................................................................................................................
I HEART RADIO-----although we love people in the stands with those big ol' headphones on listening our play-by-play coverage of Thunderwolves action there is another less obvious way. Just download the free app at www.iheartradio.com to your smartphone. Get yourself a little earbud and you will be right there in the booth with us. Also comes in handy when you are anywhere that is not near a radio or computer.

Cannon Fire in the Distance

Well it didn't take long for a few friends of mine to flat out predict this is the year East wins back the Cannon coming off their impressive win Friday night over Central 29-21 in front of a small but vocal crowd at Dutch Clark Stadium. The Eagles wasted little time in making a big statement by running back the opening kickoff for a touchdown. Alex Mestas took the kick up the middle then cut to the right sideline and raced untouched into the endzone. Central did bounce right back on their next possession to draw within one off the first of three touchdown runs by scat back Darrian Hatchett. The other half of the Eagle Mestas two headed monster struck next as Felix Mestas hauled in a 31 yard pass from CNM player of the game Petey Martinez. Felix Mestas added a field goal moments later to push the lead to 17-6. The Wildcats made a game of it late in the first half on another nice drive capped off my Hatchett. In the third quarter Eagle wideout Rico ran one of the prettiest pass routes you will ever see when faked a quick post drawing the safety in before racing down the hashmarks to haul in a picture perfect throw from Martinez to make it 23-14. Again Central would draw close with a beautiful 44yd TD run by Hatchett. The Eagles would put the game away late though with a short drive courtesy of their defense and kicking game. Last year's starting quarterback Corey Laughlin punched one in from his new fullback position from a yard out. Martinez was super efficient going 11-16 for 185 yards and no interceptions. The unconventional lefty doesnt look polished but he has that "it" factor going for him. He plays with super passion, has a bevy of talented receivers and perhaps most importantly the unfailing vote of confidence from the coaching staff. The Eagles were by far the more polished team Friday night and credit for that has to go to first year interim head coach Paul Andrada. The former Eagle QB wears his East High pride on his sleeve and is the first to tell you he is not afraid of big bad South despite the dismal record vs their crosstown rival for the past decade plus. Some would shy away from putting added emphasis on a rivalry that has long since passed the competitive phase. But Andrada is not afraid to address the big game. He has made it one of the three major goals for this years squad. After week one this reporter is not drinking the Kool-aid but has a glass close by ready to pour the elixir and consider the possibility.

Photo credit to Bryan Kelsen of the Pueblo Chieftain

Week in Review

My high school golf coach Rich Riesner had a great saying. "You can't birdie 'em all if you don't birdie the first. CSU-Pueblo has kept alive their dream of running the table by "making birdie" in their first game of the year on the road at West Texas A&M. The victory wasnt a thing of beauty but football is not a game of style points but a game that measures success by the point total on the scoreboard. It's a good think since the Thunderwolves statistics didn't measure up real well against the high powered Buffaloes of West Texas. They were outgained 556-238 in total yards. The defense allowed 8 "explosive" plays (yards gained of over 20 yards) to just three for CSU-P. But those are just two of the statistical categories. You have to dig deeper to find a ray of hope for the otherwise dismal performance by the defense. Defensive coordinator Hunter Hughes charges did pick off Buffalos quarterbacks three times in the game. They held A&M to just four of 14 on third down conversions. In the fourth quarter the defense began to make big play after big play. Defensive ends Corey Orth and Pueblo East freshman Darius Allen put constant pressure on Buffalos quarterback tandem. In the secondary the insertion of Jerrod Lacy at safety/nickel back gave the Thunderwolves a fast bigtime hitter. And cornerback Stephen Dickens picked up right where he left off in last years freshman campaign by leading the team in tackles and nearly snaring a "pick six" late. These positives help to offset the apparent blatant disreguard for the fundamentals of tackling. The Buffalos "yac" (yards after catch) was way too much. Perhaps a new stat would have been more appropriate for this one. Yards after first contact. These issues will surely be addressed. Plus make no mistake about it the Thunderwolves will not face anybody else on their schedule with the array of speedy backs and receivers possessed by the Buffalos. Offensively CSU-P faces bigger challenges in my humble opinion. The Packs two headed running back monster failed to get much going with the exception of one long run by Jamaal Johnson. Preseason All-American Jessie Lewis was ordinary at best before sitting out the fourth quarter with leg cramps. Quarterback fumbled on the first series of the game and at times his internal clock was slow. In his defense the Buffalos defense was big, bad and nasty. But he will be the first to tell you he will have to play better. The glaring difference in this game was on special teams. Kyle Major was spectacular hitting four field goals including a personal best 52 yarder. Punter Brandon Kliesen changed field position on several occasions. Thunderwolves came up with two blocked punts the last of which set up the game winning field goal by Major. Josh Sandoval did fumble once on a return but atoned for that by ripping off a 62 yard return in the fourth quarter to set up a score. All of this leads us back to the top when I stated its not about style points but about the scoreboard. I am sure West Texas feels they are still the better team and perhaps they are right. The Thunderwolves bask in the glow of victory and their newly achieved number 21 ranking in the newly minted national poll. The challenge for them is to get better and get better in a hurry because a football season can get ugly real quick if you rest on your laurels.