Calm before storm - final week before prep football begins

  When the Gus Macker 3-on-3 Tournament arrives in Hobbs, as it did Saturday, it tells you two things.
  1. It’s likely going to be the hottest day of the year in the area – or at least feel that way as I was one of hundreds roasting on the frying-pan-like asphalt at New Mexico Junior College.
  2. The fall sports season is just around the corner.
  While the calendar says fall doesn’t begin until late September, the fall prep sports season starts Aug. 5 when football practice officially opens with the rest of the sports starting a week later.
  The summer always seems like a blur. It feels as if summer workouts, the Hobbs Nite League and other summer activities just began.
  All of that is over (or winding down) and there is just over a week until football teams in the area hit the field – starting at midnight on Aug. 5 with Lovington and Eunice’s annual midnight practices.

Hobbs hoops takes lumps, learns from Hobbs Nite League

Clayton Jones/News-Sun

Hobbs' Jordan Chavarria goes up for a shot during

a Hobbs Nite League game at Tasker Arena.

  It’s been an uphill climb for the Hobbs boys basketball program the previous eight weeks in the Hobbs Nite League.
  Almost each time these incoming Hobbs High School seniors, juniors and sophomores stepped on the court for an HNL game, the Eagles were overmatched physically, athletically and/or mentally – as is usually the case when teenagers face grown men in, or close to, their physical prime.
  Against the best teams in the HNL, it was all three aspects giving Hobbs fits – as was the case when the Eagles’ HNL season came to a close Thursday against Who U Wit in the tournament quarterfinals.

Video - Hobbs, Lovington football at ENMU, NMMI 7-on-7 tournaments

  This is video I took of Hobbs and Lovington football at the Eastern New Mexico University 7-on-7 Tournament on Friday and Hobbs at the NMMI 7-on-7 Tournament on July 13.

Hobbs, Lovington football show well at ENMU's 7-on-7 tournament

Clayton Jones/News-Sun

Hobbs' Steven Olivas runs after the catch against Portales during the ENMU

7-on-7 Tournament on Friday in Portales.

  I'm the first to say 7-on-7s aren't the best indication for how a team will do when the regular season hits. No sport decided with a helmet and pads can be decided a month before it starts in shorts and a T-shirt.
  However, when you're a program like Hobbs that has struggled for the better part of the last 30 years (one playoff win since 1982), any indication the program is going in a positive direction and moving toward long-term success is a victory.
  Even if you're a program like Lovington and all its state championships, it's good to see positive results when losing 30-plus seniors from the year before.
  So Hobbs going 5-2 at the Eastern New Mexico University 7-on-7 Tournament on Friday in Portales (getting the No. 2 seed before losing in the semifinals) and showing depth in the program with the JV winning its division (beating the Robertson varsity in the final) and the freshman team making it to the semifinals in its division while Lovington also made it to the semifinals in the large-school division is worth being encouraged about.

The break is over, the blog is back

  With baseball season coming to a close in May, I decided to take a bit of a break from this blog to relax and not worry about giving out extra content (I don't get paid anything extra for doing this blog).
  But with a few months away from the blog and a two-week vacation from the newspaper under my belt this summer, I'm geared up and ready to get this thing rolling again.
  Hopefully this school year I'll add even more photos and videos of where I'm covering games along with more extra content (along with my Sunday columns from the Hobbs News-Sun that I'll post likely on Tuesday or Wednesday - I got to give the subscribers of the News-Sun first crack at that content).
  Please remember, this blog is just a slice of the content myself and News-Sun sportswriter Brad Cox provide at the Hobbs News-Sun. If you're a fan of Hobbs, Lovington, Eunice, Jal or Tatum - you'll want an online subscription to the Hobbs News-Sun (call 575-393-2123 if you're interested).
  While it's a bit slow now, Aug. 5 things will be gearing up as football practices begin and we plan on making it out to each school at least once during that week. Also, the PRCA Lea County Fair and Rodeo begins that week, so if you're a rodeo fan - we'll have you covered.
  Later this week, we'll be at 7-on-7 events in Carlsbad (Thursday - Lovington only) and Portales (Friday - Hobbs and Lovington) along with covering the Hobbs Nite League playoffs (Thursday and Friday) and the Nite League Showcase (Saturday).

Column: Always a Thunderbird

Clayton Jones/News-Sun

NMJC's Luis Hernandez throws to first during
the T-Birds' win against Weatherford on Monday.

(This column ran in Thursday's edition of the Hobbs News-Sun)

  As I walked down to chat with New Mexico Junior College baseball coach Josh Simpson after its season-ending loss to Grayson near midnight Monday in Grand Prairie, Texas, I had my mind set to do a recap this week of NMJC’s time at the regional tournament (including its struggles at the plate) since I had to rush a story out for Tuesday’s paper to beat deadline.

  When I reached field level, I knew I wanted to take a different approach.

  The Thunderbirds were devastated. No, there weren’t tears shed, but it was easy to see their disappointment. You could actually feel the letdown from the players.

  The T-Birds, who had their best season under Simpson at 45-15, were right there during the regional tournament. Their pitching was fantastic (10 runs allowed in four games, including five in the first three games) but they just couldn’t get the timely hitting it desperately needed – losing 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth to Howard and 5-3 on two runs scored in the bottom of the eighth by Grayson.

  But one scene after NMJC’s season came to a close under the lights at QuikTrip Park stood out to me.

NMJC edged by Howard in regional, dropped to loser’s bracket

Clayton Jones/News-Sun

NMJC's Dalton Bowers is tagged out by Howard's Jose Favela during NMJC's

2-1 loss to the Hawks in the Region 5 Tournament.

Clayton Jones

News-Sun

  GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas — The New Mexico Junior College baseball team had its chances against Howard College, but couldn’t come up with the clutch hit it needed as an RBI single by Howard’s Cameron Neal in the bottom of the ninth gave the Hawks a 2-1 win over the Thunderbirds in the winner’s bracket semifinal of the Region 5 Tournament on Sunday at QuikTrip Park.

  NMJC (43-14) left 16 runners on base and went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position as Howard starter David Gates limited the T-Birds to one hit through his seven innings of work – keeping NMJC off the board despite nine walks and two hit batters.

  “The bottom line is David Gates was very good tonight,” NMJC coach Josh Simpson said. “He was throwing hard, busting our guys inside and we couldn’t turn on it. Sometimes you just get beat.”