SPORTS SPEAK UP!

LISTENING TO Craig Neal rationalize (Saturday) night’s 25 point meltdown loss in overtime to Nevada in the post-game interview was absolutely painful. This had to be one of the worst coaching debacles I have witnessed at UNM. Over the past 4 years I have given Craig Neal every benefit of the doubt, but it is becoming abundantly clear that he is no Steve Alford. If his job is not in jeopardy, it should be.

— Bob, UNM Area

I WAS THERE at the UNM-Nevada game until the bitter end. Several lessons learned. The Lobo offense can be terrific. The Lobo defense can be atrocious. The team can use a little more practice at the free throw line. I will be back in my seat for the next game and wish the team well.

— Larry of Corrales

ONE OF THE WORST losses ever? Outcoached again!

— da Don, ABQ

THOSE OF US who stayed to the bitter end, nothing can describe the feeling of helplessness, shame and desperation we felt as we watched Elijah Brown laying prostrate on the cold, PIT hardwood floor, in utter submission Saturday night at 11:30 p.m. Coach Neal is fond of saying “coaches coach and players play” and that is correct, but when our players, for whatever reason, stop playing, it is time for the coaches to start coaching.

— A Loyal Neal Supporter, Distressed and in Shock

COACH NEAL regarding the Epic Nevada defeat, I’ll say it for you. “It’s on me, I didn’t have the team ready, it’s my responsibility, I take the blah blah blah ….” — Simo J, Rio Rancho

SO NOODLES says he can’t coach effort. Apparently, based on blowing a 25 point lead, he can’t coach defense either. Pathetic. — ABQ Mike

NEVADA COACH Eric Musselman went from holding his face in his hands as he watched his Wolf Pack team being destroyed by UNM to jumping up and down at the game’s end as though he had won a national championship. A sophomore named Jordan Caroline, averaging 12.7 points per game, went off for 45 points against this fine Lobo defense. Two months from now, UNM will pay Craig Neal $1 million on a buyout and he will be named an assistant coach at UCLA. Do we want Paul Krebs making the new hire? No, no we don’t. — Lobo BB Advisor

IS THERE ANY chance we could get the NCAA to shorten the game to 38 minutes? Oh, never mind the Lobos would figure out a way to blow the lead at 37:50. Saturday’s game came down two things: Staying focused and making your free throws. On a side note, good job by the Journal Sports folks for getting the story in for Sunday’s journal. The presses have to roll and midnight deadlines are pretty late. — ABQ Don

MAILED OUR ticket stubs. They’ll be collectors’ items. They’re in Reno now. — Carlos Jaicú

HAD A GOOD time at the Pit until 7 minutes (remained). Again no 3 point defense. Bright spots: Jalen Harris, Damien Jefferson. — Dennis section R

I GIVE UP, if the players and coaches give up and quit, so do I. — Rotten Rudy

FINALLY, CAN WE put the Craig Neal saga to rest. After Alford’s recruits were gone and the refusal to play his son in a productive role, this has always been a train wreck waiting to happen. Year after year, game after game, media comments that should never have seen the light of day, it’s blatantly obvious this guy is not head coach material. If he was, he would have been one long before Alford left for UCLA. Krebs had no other choice at the time, but as usual an extension “too far”. It’s over. — Mark in Albq

LAWYER R.C. Defend this: The look on “Noodles” face as he’s being outcoached and shown how coaching should be. The total lack of effort by the Lobos to defend the 3 point barrage by Nevada. And the fact that the “blue hairs” in the prime seats think it’s OK to leave in droves with 10 minutes left in the game. Just like the team, even a Homer lawyer can’t defend that implosion. — D.S.

CONGRATULATIONS to the Lady Lobos for accomplishing the 4-0 record in league play for the first time since 1998-99! What a feat, made even more special by all the illness-injury events. AND shame on the Journal for not even noting that on the first page of the sports section. Why are we not surprised by that? — Loyal Lady Lobo Fan

SUNDAY’S JOURNAL had these stories on page C1: NFL playoff game; NMSU plan to raise football revenue (the season is over, by the way); Lobo men’s basketball loses in OT; and an article about college football analysts. Page C5: Lobo women’s basketball wins on the road, MWC record is 4-0. Editors place stories depending on a lot of factors (reader interest, length of story, etc). Why did the Journal editors put Lady Lobo basketball on page C5? — Jeff Baker

SO, THE AD at NMSU doesn’t want Aggie football on TV. Their last home game drew a “whopping” 5K. Then there’s the “beatdown road games” for mega bucks. Go figure. — MHD

UNM, A MEMBER of the lower 64 Division 1, should drop its pathetic football program immediately. A huge drainer of valuable cash. Only less than 20,000 people in the entire state care anything about the UNM football program. And they have now resigned themselves to heralding an appearance in the Insignificant (aka New Mexico) Bowl and a victory against yet another patsy as a successful Monumental achievement. How deluded can they get? Time for the Journal Sports Department to lead the crusade to get the Regents to drop the UNM football program. — Wally Schulz