Conference USA Basketball Tourney 2011

Weekend Adventures In El Paso

Cesar Chavez Celebration- car and bike show

Dancer at the Franklin Mt. Poppy Festival

El Paso Museum of Archaeology

Kidsapalooza Downtown Street Festival

Lincoln Park Murals

Dancer at Franklin Mt. Poppy Festival

Cesar Chavez Celebration at Lincoln Park

Murals at Lincoln Park

Franklin Mt. Poppy Festival

El Paso Museum of Archaelogy

Cesar Chavez Celebration

The History of Tom Jones Pictures

Devin Miranda as Lady Bellaston David Zambrano as Squire Allworthy Squire Allworthyy and the servants Tom and Western

Riverside High School's production of The History of Tom Jones advanced at the district 2-4a competition last weekend and will compete on April 9th at the Area contest in Midland, Texas.

4-A Area One-Act Play Contest The History of Tom Jones

The Cast and crew of Riverside High School's production of The History of Tom Jones advanced out of the District contest last week and will perform in Midland for the 4a Area contest tomorrow afternoon.

I am very proud of this huge cast and am amazed at how dedicated they are towards their craft.

David Zambrano was awarded the best actor award for his portrayals of Squire Allworthy and Henry Fielding. Galilea Morales and Kevin Estrada both won honorable mention acting awards.

Del Valle High School advanced with us at the district 2-4a competition. They have a great cast and crew and two top notch directors. They are perfoming the play Ana in the Tropics. Their production is impressive and will be tough competition in the Area round.

Austin High School and El Paso are the 1-4a representatives competing with us in Midland.

We had great support from the faculty and the student body at the district competition and look forward to bringing home another Area championship to the Lower Valley.

UT takes on Arizona later tonight.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

Girls Basketball Playoffs Area Round

Good luck to all the remaining El Paso teams still alive in the Girls State Basketball playoffs. Our Riverside girls lost a tough one to Burges in our bi-district game earlier this week (77-79).

Both teams played their hearts out and left everything they had on the floor. Our girls had a great season and we are extremely proud of the way they came together as a team this year.

Here is the schedule for the upcoming Area basketball games.

Thursday 2/17/11

BURGES VS CANYON

FRIDAY 2/18/11

HORIZON VS DENTON RYAN

CHAPIN VS FRENSHIP

CANUTILLO VS PLAINVIEW

FRANKLIN VS ARLINGTON BOWIE

BI-District Playoff Game 2-15-11

The Lady Rangers take on the Burges Mustangs tonight at 5:45 pm in the Ranger Gym for the 2-4a bi-distirct championship.


Our girls lost a tough one last week against the Canutillo Eagles for the District 2-4a Championship. The game was back and forth all night but the Eagles had just enough in the end to pull out the victory.





In other 4-A action Horizon is at Irvin, Canutillo is hosting Andres and Chapin is battling Del Valle at Chapin.

















Class 5-A Games (Tuesday):

Coronado vs Lubbock Monterey in Odessa


Bel Air vs Lubbock Coronado in Pecos


Franklin vs Amarilolo Tascosa in Seminole




I want to wish all the El Paso teams the best of luck tonight. This has been a great season with great displays of talent and teamwork on the hardwood. I will post scores and updates on future games when I get the chance.



For more information on the matchups check out these links:


Meet The Preps

Max Preps

UIL

Big win for the Lady Rangers on Senior Night

We got a huge win against Del Valle last night in the RHS gym 64-52.

Corinna Minjarez led all scorers with 28 and Lakeeyscia Griffin had another solid game with 23.

This win puts us on a collision course with last years district 2-4a champion Canutillo next Tuesday at 7pm in the Canutillo gym.

The game is for the District 2-4a championship.




















The Dad Crew gets into the spirit

Corinna Minjarez looks for an opening

Ashley Escobar takes a shot

Upcoming Utep and NMSU Basketball Games/ February

UTEP Men:

February 2, 2011 UTEP vs UCF

February 5, 2011 UTEP vs Rice

February 12, 2011 UTEP at SMU



February 19, 2011 UTEP vs Houston

February 23, 2011 UTEP at East Carolina


February 26, 2011 UTEP vs Memphis


Utep Women:

February 6, 2011 UTEP vs UAB (Super Bowl Jersey Day at The Don)

February 10, 2011 UTEP at UCF

February 13, 2011 UTEP vs Tulane (Everyone who wears pink gets in free)

February 17, 2011 UTEP at Rice

February 20, 2011 UTEP at Houston

February 24, 2011 UTEP vs Southern Miss (Free admission for the community)

February 27, 2011 UTEP vs SMU (Kids get in free)

NMSU Men:

February 3, 2011 at Fresno State

February 7, 2011 vs Louisiana Tech

February 12, 2011 at Louisiana Tech

February 19, 2011 ESPNU Bracketbuster TBA

February 23, 2011 at San Jose State

February 26, 2011 at Hawaii

Ticket Info: UTEP Athletics
NMSU Athletics

Friday Night Basketball

Our Lady Rangers play the Ysleta Indians tonight at 5:45 pm in the RHS gym. We are currently tied with Canutillo at 8-1 for the District 2-4a lead with Horizon 6-2, a game behind in second. The boys will try to rebound after a tough loss at Parkland last week. The boys battle the Indians at 7pm.

Upcoming Races in February

There are several great races being held in El Paso in February.

It's about time I started to lace up my shoes again and hit the pavement. The plan is to wake up at 5 each morning to get my running in before I head off to school.

I mentioned to the kids in class today that finishing a marathon was on my bucket list so now I have that extra motivation to prove to myself and them that I can do it.

I am aiming to cross marathon off my list in March by running, or crawling, in the El Paso Marathon.

Running does wonders for clearing my head and provides a healthy outlet for all the stress I carry around with me. Hopefully posting to this blog will keep me motivated and focused.

To register for these events or to get more info visit the following websites:


Race Adventures

Run El Paso

Up and Running


February 2011 Races in El Paso:


Nun Run 5k at Loretto - Feb. 5th at 8:00 am


Utep Commitment to Fitness - Feb 6th at 8:00 am UTEP Campus Kidd Field 5 mile run and 3 mile walk



Cupids Chase 5K — Feb. 12th at 8:00 am Ascarate park, 6900 Delta info: 771-7764 (Race benefits Community Options)



11th annual Jackrabbit Classic- Feb 13th at 8:30 am Franklin Mountains State Park- Tom Mays Unit


Race for the Cure 5k — Feb 20th at Cohen Stadium info: 566-9745

Basketball Games 1/25/11

The basketball season has been going great for the Riverside boys in District 2-4a. They are currently undefeated and are set to take on the other big dog in the District, the parkland Matadors. The Rangers beat that Mats in their first meeting and hope to put them away again tonight as they inch close to a District championship.

The Lady Rangers have only one loss in District play and look to continue their push for a District title against the Lady Mats tonight at 7pm at Parkland.

The Horizon and Canutillo girls will battle it out to see who will remain a contender for a district title tonight in Horizon. Both teams are playing well and have hopes of winning a district title. Hoops fans should be in for a real treat.

Riverside Girls Holiday Basketball Tournament

Our Lady Rangers will be hosting the YISD Holiday Basketball Tournament this Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (Dec. 28-30, 2010) at Riverside High School and Riverside Middle.

Seven out of the nine teams that will be playing in the tourney are currently ranked in the El Paso Times Top Ten. This will be a great tourney with some of the best talent in the city.

Here is the Schedule for day one. Would love to hear your predictions and comments. Please feel free to post on this blog.

I will be updating game scores through this blog and also through twitter: @ssolis3

If you want to watch some great hoops action take a drive on over to Riverside and spend your day with us.

*Riverside High School is Located on 301 Midway.

Teams Participating in the Tourney:

Irvin (12-4) Ranked #6*

Ysleta (6-11)

Eastwood (10-7) Ranked #10*

Franklin (15-2) Ranked #2 *

Bel Air (9-6) Ranked #7*

Horizon (14-2) Ranked #5*

El Dorado (3-7)

Chapin (12-3) Ranked #4*

Riverside (11-7) Ranked #8*

(* indicates recent El Paso Times Ranking)


Tuesday Schedule (December 28)

Game 1- Irvin vs Ysleta 10:00 am Riverside High

Game 2- Franklin vs Bel Air 11:30 am Riverside High

Game 3- Eastwood vs Irvin 1:00pm Riverside High

Game 4- Riverside vs El Dorado 1:00pm Riverside Middle

Game 5- Horizon vs Franklin 2:30 pm Riverside High

Game 6- Ysleta vs Eastwood 4:00pm Riverside High

Game 7- El Dorado vs Chapin 4:00 pm Riverside Middle

Game 8- Bel Air vs Horizon 5:30 pm Riverside High

Game 9- Chapin vs Riverside 7:00 pm Riverside High

Bank of The West Don Haskins Invitational

Making plans to take Stevo and Jazz to watch UTEP men take on Air Force and WNM in the Bank of the West Don Haskins Invitational Tournament on December 28th and 29th.

This will be the Miners' first game after losing to BYU last Thursday night.

Sam Houston will round out the tournament field and will meet UTEP on January 2.

A brief stat sheet on each team playing in the tourney:

Western New Mexico Mustangs

Current Record: 3-7

Common opponent with UTEP (NMSU) Lost 95-69

Conference: Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference

Leading Scorers: T.J. Riley 14.2 pts per game

Chad Carter 13.7 pts per game

El Paso Player on Roster: Everett Duis (EL Dorado High School)

Air Force

Current Record: 7-3

Common Opponent with UTEP (Ark. Pine-Bluff) won 63-52

Conference: Mountain West Conference

Players To Watch: Derek Brooks; Michael Lyons; Evan Washington

Sam Houston State Bearkats

Current Record: 6-4

Lost twice to Houston this season: 71-75 (ot) and 73-75

Conference: Southland Conference

Players To Watch: Josten Crow and Gilberto Clavell

Tuesday Schedule:

Utep vs Western New Mexico 7pm

Air Force vs Sam Houston State 9pm


Wednesday Schedule:

Western New Mexico vs Sam Houston State 5:30pm

UTEP vs Air Force 7:30 pm

El Paso Times Top Ten Basketball Rankings

Here are the current rankings for the Boys' and Girls' Basketball teams according to the El Paso Times.

The Riverside teams have had a good couple of weeks heading into the holiday break. The boys' team got a big win over Parkland recently and the girls' have won 4 straight. Both teams play in tournaments next week.




(Rankings posted on Dec. 23)

Boys' Top Ten
1. Franklin 12-4
2. Montwood 11-2
3. Coronado 11-2
4. Austin 11-2
5. Eastwood 15-5
6. Riverside 9-5
7. Parkland 9-5
8. Bowie 9-3
9. Burges 9-3
10. Americas 12-5



















Girls' Top Ten
1. Burges 16-1
2. Franklin 15-2
3. Coronado 15-2
4. Chapin 12-3
5. Horizon 14-2
6. Irvin 12-4
7. Bel Air 9-6
8. Riverside 11-7
9. Canutillo 13-5
10. Eastwood 10-7

Crazy Free Throw

UTEP vs Stephen F Austin

The Utep Men got a big win last night vs. the Stephen F Austin Lumberjacks 61-52. The Lumberjacks slowed the Miners down all night and UTEP just never seemed to be able to get on track. Missed layups, jump shots, and free throws kept the Lumberjacks in the game the whole night.

The Miners woke up (just a little) after the half and finally pulled away from SFA. Utep has got to play a lot better on both ends of the floor if they are going to knock off the #24 ranked BYU Cougars on Thursday.


The Miner alumni pep band had fun all night heckling the female referee during the women's game. The referee had to endure calls of "SHARON" all night long because she looked a little like the wife of Ozzy Osbourne.


Just a thought: The people in charge of the half-time entertainment should have the ball boy playing against other top mascots in a game of one one one during half-time. The kid made halftime entertaining with his nice skills against Paydirt. The Miners might want to start recruiting this kid now.




















Don Haskins Center

Paydirt Pete in the Holiday Spirit

Upcoming Game for the men:


BYU Cougars (ranked #23 in nation)


7pm

Provo, Utah


Listen to the game on KOFX 92.3 FM

Utep Women's Basketball vs New Mexico

I headed over to the Don Haskins center last night to catch both the men and womens' basketball teams in action as part of a double header. The women were playing New Mexico and the men took on the Stephen F Austin Lumberjacks.

The ladies got off to a quick start by hitting some early 3's and taking advantage of a New Mexico club that was cold on both ends of the floor. The Miners soon saw their big lead disappear and held off a big rally by the Lobos to win at the buzzer.

Gloria Brown was dominant in the paint and she seemed unstoppable at times. Brown hit the game winning layup at the buzzer and finally put the Lobos away for good. I have seen Brown in a few games this year and really like her overall game. She is a big body with a nice game around the basket.

I thought UTEP made way too many mistakes down the stretch that probably should have cost them the game. To their credit the ladies battled through and captured a big game at home.


I really like the way this team gets after it and really think it is a shame that more El Pasoans don't go out to support the team. If you get a chance to make a women's game this year you won't leave home disappointed. These ladies have a great chance to make some waves in the Conference.

EL Paso Times Top Ten Rankings Basketball

Here are the recent top ten rankings for the Boys and Girls according to the El Paso Times.


December 16,2010

Boys:
1. Franklin 11-4
2. Montwood 10-2
3. Eastwood 12-4
4. Parkland 9-4
5. Coronado 10-2
6. Austin 10-2
7. Bowie 8-3
8. Americas 9-3
9. Burges 8-3
10. Riverside 8-5

Girls:
1. Burges 15-1
2. Franklin 14-2
3. Coronado 14-2
4. Chapin 10-3
5. Horizon 13-2
6. Irvin 11-4
7. Bel Air 8-6
8. Canutillo 13-2
9. Eastwood 10-6
10. Riverside 9-7

19th Annual Senior All-Star Football Classic

The Senior Football classic will kickoff this Saturday afternoon in the Sun Bowl at 1 p.m.

The Riverside Rangers have three players who made the East roster this year.

#7 Carlos Almanza was a standout receiver for us this year who made huge catches in big games.

#76 Sebastian Perez will help open the holes on the offensive line for the talented East running backs.

On the defensive side of the ball the Rangers will be represented by defensive back Eric Rodriguez.

These guys busted their tails for us all year and deserve this great opportunity to play in the Sun Bowl at the All-Star Classic. Congratulations and good luck to all the players and coaches participating in the game on Saturday.

All-Star Info:

Time: 1p.m. Saturday

Location: Sun Bowl Stadium

Radio: KROD AM-600

Tickets Prices: $6 at all area high schools and at First National Bank Branches; $8 in game day at the stadium.

Website: allstarfootballclassic.com

New Mexico Bowl 2010

Utep takes on old rival BYU in the New Mexico Bowl on Saturday and I am scrambling to see if I can make it up there to catch Buckram and Vittatoe in their last game in Miner Orange.

We have been following the Miners as a family ever since we moved to El Paso and are happy to see them playing in a Bowl game.

The Bowl won't be a sellout by a long shot but Miner fans should try to make the game to support the team if the have the opportunity. The Miner Rush has been doing a great job in covering the Bowl game and the official New Mexico Bowl website has great info about the game and the events. The Mine Shaft is another blog that is covering the Miners as they prepare for the Saturday afternoon kickoff.

I know alot of fans are upset that UTEP is even playing in a Bowl with a 6-6 record but I tend to look at the glass as being half full instead of half empty. I am sure plenty of other schools would love to be playing in a Bowl this time of year. It is a great experience for the players and fans and a reward for all the hard work they have put in throughout the year. Here's hoping that the Miners get a big win in New Mexico and end the year holding up the Clay Pot.

Would like to hear your predictions for the game or comments.

Meet the Preps | All about high school sports in El Paso: Riverside boys basketball team

Meet the Preps All about high school sports in El Paso: Riverside boys basketball team

High School Basketball Week 2 District Play

The Lady Rangers took care of the San Elizario Eagles last Tuesday night to open up District 2-4a play. Our girls played tough and never let the Eagles get into a rhythm on offense. Our Jv and Freshmen teams lost both of their games but continued to show improvement. San Elizario has a nice JV team that should help them on the Varsity level next year.

The Del Valle girls team also opened up the season with a win over the Ysleta Indians. Tonight the schedule includes only one District game that pits Parkland vs Canutillo.


Tonight's Schedule (Girls):
*Parkland vs Canutillo
Clint vs. Riverside
Hanks vs. Horizon
*Burges at Andress
*Irvin at Chapin
Austin at Gadsden

*denotes a district game.

Scores from Tuesday's Games 12/07/10 (Girls):
Frankling 65 Bel Air 63
Americas 37 Hanks 31
Coronado 59 Socorro 28
Horizon 70 Clint 35
Irvin 67 Mt. View 19
Burges 49 Eastwood 48
Austin 47 El Paso 45
Canutillo 36 Andress 31
Bowie 55 Jeff 48
Del Valle 52 Ysleta 34


This Week's El Paso Time's Top Ten: (Girls)
1. Burges 13-1
2. Franklin 12-2
3. Coronado 12-2
4. Chapin 9-3
5. Irvin 10-3
6. Horizon 11-2
7. Bel Air 7-5
8. Canutillo 11-4
9. Eastwood 9-5
10. Andress 9-5

Meet the Preps | All about high school sports in El Paso: Boys, girls basketball schedule for Dec. 7

Meet the Preps All about high school sports in El Paso: Boys, girls basketball schedule for Dec. 7

Riverside Lady Ranger Basketball 2010

The Lady Rangers are off to a great start this year posting a 4-1 record going into tonight's game vs the Irvin Rockets.

The Rangers will be heading to Dripping Springs, Texas to play in their Varsity Showcase Tournament on Wednesday. Riverside will play San Antonio Warren, Killeen Shoemaker and Liberty Hill in pool play before the brackets are set.

El Paso Del Valle will also participate in the tournament and will face Dripping Springs, Round Rock Westwood, and Bandera in pool play.






El Paso Times Girls Top Ten
1. Chapin
2. Irvin
3. Franklin
4. Eastwood
5. Canutillo
6. Horizon
7. Coronado
8. Riverside
9. Burges
10. Austin

Great Tournament coming to El Paso in December.

Third Annual McDonald's Fall Classic Basketball Tournament
December 2-4
Eastwood, Andress, Bowie, Franklin and Faith Gyms will be used for the tourney.
$5 dollars for daily pass and $10 for tournament pass

High School Playoffs Area Championships

These are the schedules for the six El Paso teams in 5A and 4A still alive in the playoffs. The teams will be facing tough competition this week but will be battling to bring home an area championship to the sun city.

I can't be prouder of the Rangers after the tough year they have had. The boys played with heart and determination and put away Irvin last Friday to bring another bi-district championship to the lower valley.


I wish all the best to the remaining teams in the playoffs. Go out their and make El Paso proud.

5A Playoff Matchups:

El Dorado (8-3) vs Midland (10-1) Sat. 2pm Grande Stadium (Midland)

Coronado (8-3) vs Abilene (8-3) Sat. 2pm Lowery Field (Lubbock)

4A Playoff Matchups:

Riverside (6-5) vs Hereford (8-3) Fri. 7:30 pm Grande Stadium (Midland)

Horizon (7-4) vs Canyon Randall (9-2) Fri. 7:30 pm Wigwam Stadium (Seminole)

Andress (10-1) vs WF Rider (7-4) Sat. 1:00 pm Ratliff Stadium (Odessa)

Del Valle (10-1) vs Denton Ryan (11-0) Sat. 5pm Grande Stadium (Midland)

Check out these links for more info on the playoff matchups:

Texas High School Football

Meet The Preps Blog

UTEP Basketball Season Opener 2010

I was glad to see that the UTEP men's basketball home opener vs Pacific will be sold out.

It seems the majority of fans in El Paso are excited about the new era of UTEP basketball under new head coach Tim Floyd.

The orange-out Week activities have been great and it feels good to see that the team is getting some much needed respect.

These are a talented bunch of guys who have the ability to make alot of noise in Conference USA and in the NCAA tourney.

The miners have a big challenge in front of them with a scrappy Pacific team that went 23-12 last year. Pacific plays in the Big West Confernce and is coached by Bob Thomason.

Unfortunately I will have to wait to see the miners in action because of the high school football playoffs but will be looking for tweets updating the game. This is going to be a great year for UTEP basketball! Go Miners!

Game Info:

Utep will host Pacific on Friday at 7:05 pm.

Fans can listen in to the broadcast on 92.3 fm or 1650 in spanish.

The game will also be televised on Time Warner Cable Channel 24.

Any predictions on the score?

2010 Football Playoffs

The final playoff spot in District 1-4a came down to a coin toss and when the smoke cleared Bowie and Irvin were in and El Paso High was sent home empty handed.

Your heart has to go out to the kids at El Paso High. The Tigers had a great season and deserved a chance to respresent their community in the playoffs.

You could hear the sighs of relief all over the lower valley as Bowie fans learned they would not be sitting home this year.

The Riverside Rangers beat out Ysleta and Parkland for the last spot in District 2-4a. We will be facing the Irvin Rockets this Friday night in a re-match of last years Bi-District game.

There should be some great matchups this week so head on out to a stadium and support your team.




Playoff Schedule:

Friday Games 11/12/10

Class 4a


Riverside at Irvin 7pm

Bowie at Horizon 7pm

Canutillo at Andress 7pm

Chapin at Del Valle 7pm

Class 5a

Montwood at Amarillo Tascosa at 6pm Grande Communications Stadium in Midland

Coronado vs Amarillo High at Ratliff Stadium 6pm



Saturday: 11/13/2010

El Dorado vs Lubbock Monterey at 11am Grande Communications Stadium in Midland

Franklin vs San Angelo Central at noon Ratliff Stadium in Odessa


Clink on the links for more Information about the Texas High School Football Playoffs:

UIL Playoff Brackets

Texas High School Football

MaxPreps



Volleyball Note:

The Riverside Volleyball team lost in the Area Championships this past weekend to Dumas. The Riverside girls had a great season winning their third District Championship and Bi-District Championship in a row. The remarkable part is that the girls have not lost a District game in three years. Congrats to coach Heimer and his staff for representing El Paso and the entire Riverside community on the court.