SPORTS SPEAK UP!

RIP NICK PINO. There is some irony in the record 80 points that Pino scored on El Rito. That El Rito team included sophomore leading scorer Leroy Salazar , first cousin to George Maes who broke Pino’s record the following year with 81 points. Maes also set the single season average record, and would have broken the season scoring mark had there been a 3pt shot. The two cousins were preceded by another first cousin Ralph Martinez the 1959 basketball state tournament MVP for Champs El Rito..PS: RIP Manzano classmate John Haaland.

— Vince Guillen

“LOBOS BOUNCE BACK from slow start to win opener” (for the UNM women in Wednesday’s Journal) was too kind of a headline. It should have read “Lobos bounce back from selfish start to win opener.” Basically there was no sharing of the ball. Whoever brought the ball up court shot it. Only the opponents showed any kind of team play.

— jpb

I REALLY GET TIRED of how the newspaper talks so much about the Cowboys and so little about the Broncos. When I was here in the early 80’s, the Cowboys were disliked by most New Mexicans. The Broncos were our team. Texans who move here ought to realize that, and the Broncos should get at least equal coverage.

— Harvey Eastman

WHO SHOULD Houston Astros fans feel the most sorry for regarding their World Series loss? A.) Alex Bregman possibly read the negative comments about him in Sports Speak Up! but then went out and hit two home runs. He also already has a World Series ring. B.) Justin Verlander is 0-6 in World Series decisions but gets to go home each night to Kate Upton. C.) Houston mattress store owner Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale bet $5 million on the Astros to win the World Series. But, presumably, he has a few more million dollars left in the bank.

— JJ

KATE UPTON is no stranger to sports talk forums. Who can forget her epic twitter rant when her then boyfriend Justin Verlander lost out on the Cy Young award? And we will always remember her 113 or so amazing photos gracing the pages of Sports Illustrated. Boys, I say the more of Kate, the better. Lighten up.

— Uptown “Upton” Ed

RANDY GUTIERREZ: I’m sure Andrew Ortiz is a great kid and an awesome JC Quarterback. But if no other D1 programs in the nation want him, UNM automatically has to offer because he’s a local kid? That makes no sense.

— JRM-Corrales

GIVEN THE LEVEL of UNM football (and attendance) displayed during the Locksley-Davie era, a better use of University Stadium is easy to imagine. One idea is to remake it as the “ABQ Homeless Center.” A development of “tiny homes” could be situated on the playing surface. Mayor Keller, how does that sound to you?

— Steve, Paradise Hills

IF THE (UNM MEN’S) basketball team plays unselfishly, if we get solid point guard play if Coach Weir lets them play (hint: if somebody gets hot it’s OK to let them score 30 points), if all of the above happens, we make the NCAAs. We have that kind of potential.

— Renoski aka dijon in Tijeras