Notes from the sports desk Powersports

NFL draft  

The NFL draft, starting Thursday, can’t get over fast enough. As a Minnesota Vikings’ fan, I am mock drafted out. When the draft infiltrates your dreams, and it has, it’s time to move on.   

  

High school baseball  

With the regular season wrapping up next week, local teams are very much in the mix for district titles.  

Los Lunas started this week tied with Rio Grande atop District 5-5A at 6-0. Saturday, the two play a doubleheader. Belen needs help at 3-2 to catch unbeaten Grants, 5-0, in District 4-4A, with Valencia 1-4. As a warmup, BHS visited LLHS Wednesday after the News-Bulletin print deadline.    

  

High school softball  

All three county schools continue to chase district titles. 

Los Lunas shared the District 5-5A lead with Albuquerque High at 6-0. It will likely come down to a doubleheader between the two May 4 at LLHS.  

BHS starts the week 4-1, tied atop District 4-5A with St. Pius.  

On Thursday, VHS, 3-2, visits St. Pius and is at Belen May 2.   

  

Caught in the ACT  

When taking the ACT college admissions test in high school, we were allowed to send the results automatically to several universities. I still envision University of Notre Dame officials laughing when they checked out my test scores.  

  

Women’s basketball  

It’s hard to know when we come across a true “watershed” moment or a “tipping” point, but it certainly feels that way with women’s basketball.  

After the NCAA Tournament, women’s basketball is big time “buzz” worthy. There were huge ratings, plus Caitlin Clark’s ground-breaking actions on-and-off the court, including a very funny appearance on “Saturday Night Live.”  

I believe the buzz will carry over into the WNBA and trickle down to high school.    

  

Madison Square Garden memories  

According to reports, the University of New Mexico men’s basketball team will play St. John’s next season, with father and son coaches Rick and Richard Pitino facing off at Madison Square Garden.  

That brings back memories of 1990 with the Lobos’ appearance in the final four of the NIT at the World’s Most Famous arena. UNM lost two close games to St. Louis and Penn State, but most memorable was a performance by the Chaparrals, UNM’s dance team.  

I didn’t know what it was called, but they performed a hip hop routine that brought the biggest roar of the weekend. New Yorkers apparently appreciated the recognition of the home-grown genre from folks in the Southwest.   

  

Cooper follow-up  

Recently, I accurately predicted that former UNM and Los Angeles Lakers standout Michael Cooper would be elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.  

A few days ago, several national radio hosts were criticizing Cooper’s selection, based on his offensive statistics. Their ignorance ticked me off.  

While the current NBA is all about scoring points with little emphasis on defense, Cooper did the dirty work on both sides of the court. Coop played tremendous defense, was a clutch scorer, and is enshrinement-worthy.   

  

NBA play-in tournament  

Speaking of the NBA, let me explain how the play-in tournament works. I’ll be right with you as soon as I figure it out.   

High school powerlifting  

The NMAA Powerlifting State Championships seemed to bring out many positives for the young men and women, including joy, self-esteem and confidence.  

Athletes, some of them as light as 90-pounds, others upwards of more than 400 pounds, battled against themselves and kids of similar size. It was a chance to earn glory and respect while competing on a level-playing field.