That Will Do

Why DJ Deserves Another Rebound, with Haiku

Stefon's charges dropped
once more his life is a ball
always bouncing back

How is it that we keep thinking of Stefon Jackson as a scorer when clearly he rebounds better than perhaps  any Miner ever?

Of course, we are talking about life, not basketball; although there is less difference for Jackson than for you or me. Which is why it is ultimately a good thing for Jackson that the charges against him for harboring a fugitive have been dropped.

Not because it gives a star jock another chance -- something we're all agreed happens enough to make everyone ill. It's because of that fugitive in Jackson's apartment, Stefon's cousin, Willie Harden, Jr.

Harden faces hard time if he's convicted of attempted murder, as will his friend and fellow fugitive Lamar Reid, accused of murder. How easily did those two just slip into El Paso, bringing with them all the baggage Jackson has said he wants to get rid of? How easily did they slip into Jackson's life?

How easily could Jackson have slipped into that life himself if forced to exchange his orange warm-ups for an orange jumpsuit?

If star jocks given chance after chance makes folks ill, so should yet another kid without a proper family environment made bitter because he can't see past the nose on his face as he sits in prison.

If that kid has made a victim of others, so be it. But Stefon Jackson had no victims and doesn't need jail time, he needs basketball. He needs UTEP basketball.

The Particulars: Our buddy, The Judge, appears to be right on target.

KLAQ Morning Show legal eagle, former judge and current trial lawyer Luis Aguilar, told us he didn't think the District Attorney's office would prosecute Stefon Jackson because procedure dictates that an officer of the law must tell a person thought to be harboring a fugitive that the person they're after is a wanted man for the harborer to be arrested for harboring. (Whew! Clear so far? As much legal muck as there is nowadays, this is why we have lawyers.)

According to the report filed by the deputy to obtain Stefon's arrest warrant, it was not expressed to Stefon that Cousin Willie was a wanted man. Long story short, Judge Aguilar says officers of the law don't usually tell this to someone thought to be harboring a fugitive because that removes all legal options for the harborer. Officers would much rather that person be able to return and tell the fugitive the law is after him hoping the fugitive will run -- flushing him out, if you will. This is apparently what usually happens, though I'm sure there are many procedures and many explanations for these procedures.

But, according to Aguilar, because he wasn't told explicitly that Cousin Willie was a fugitive wanted for attempted murder DA Jaime Esparza's office would be left with no other option except dropping the charges.

That said, kudos to the sheriff's office for getting Harden and Lamar Reid.

The Bigger Picture: Let's not get bogged down in the nuts and bolts of how this or that should have been done. The rivets of an issue do not define it, they just help hold things in place for a closer look.

Say what you will about his decision to give his cousin and his cousin's friend, accused murderer Reid, a place to stay, but Stefon Jackson deserves the opportunity himself to stay out of prison.

Sure, you'd think that if you had gotten out of those bad circumstances you'd be willing to do anything to stay away from what has held you down for so long. Even if that means throwing your own blood relative under the bus.

But could you really? Who has ever even been in a situation like this?

Not many of us.

A guy who goes through the shooting death of his brother then the death of his father from a gunshot wound suffered years earlier deserves to be free from a bad neighborhood's story that usually has an all-too-familiar -- and depressing -- ending. How Stefon Jackson has been so resilient through these and other trials is truly amazing.

There are also those high-minded individuals who would say that using Hoop Dreams to escape the mean streets is not a fantasy that anyone should support. What lesson do we teach youngsters if we hold up as heroes these flawed individuals with athletic genes? If you're that one-in-a-million man fortunate enough to be drafted by the NBA, well, it's not for nothing that you're called a "lottery pick".

But that's not Stefon Jackson's concern.

The odds for basketball success are lottery-like against. But when the odds favor prison or death, what choice does a man have but to play?

Barbee Talks Up New Miners

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An Open Letter to Cinderella

Dear Cinderella,

It's been awhile since we've seen you around, girl. Where have you been?

Sure did miss you this last weekend for the NCAA Championship. Again.

What has it been now, 23 years? Wow. I just remember Rollie Massimino looking so ill up until Villanova finally sealed the deal. An eight seed. Can you imagine? Hasn't been done before or since.

Ah, but that was a different time, wasn't it? Interesting that the last two appearances you made in April were in the real college basketball palaces. Jimmy Valvano ready to mosh with you in The Pit back in '83. Then '85 with Rupp Arena and old Rollie, ready for a Dramamine after just two spins. But he sure hung in there.

I know, I know. Two Italian dance partners and neither came anywhere close to Fabio in the looks department. But you know you couldn't have found better partners on "Dancing With The Stars".

Then the NCAA moved to the football stadiums and we haven't seen you for the biggest dance since. What gives?

Like we don't know.

The NCAA thinks we don't see that they only let you dance through March. You almost snuck through with George Mason a couple of years ago, but like you said, George didn't have the right school tie to crash that party.

The boob tube only serves those with the bloodlines. "North Carolina." becomes "North Carolina!" when Dickie V says it.

In comparison with all that reinforced tradition poor George Mason might as well have been located in a strip mall next to the Ross.

Surprisingly, I was more bummed by Memphis losing to Kansas than I had thought I'd be. Bill Self is a good guy, but the thought of yet another non-BCS school coming up short was upsetting.

Not that you'd be eligible to dance with Calipari. He was coaching a number one seed, after all, but you know what I mean. A win for Conference USA would have been good for us here in El Paso.

I will say Banowsky and the rest of the conference had better step things up before the Tigers decide they have enough jack to buy their way into someone's country club. It's a good thing the Big East is full up these days.

Speaking of the Bowl Championship Series, funny to realize it, but we only get to see you in December and January anymore. And they keep threatening to take that one away from you, too.

Doesn't anybody realize that you only date college guys? That you've never accepted a dance from a team of multi-millionaire professional men, even though they have cooler cars?

You're true to your school, Cindy, even if it's in Boise, Idaho.

You really surprised and hurt me with that Fiesta Bowl last year, Cindy. You knew I grew up in Norman, OK.

But hey, even though I like the Sooners, I appreciate you for you and I enjoyed watching you boogie with Boise State despite myself. You left me shaking my head, but I was grinning the whole time.

You never told me how you thought to dredge up that Statue of Liberty move. It was great! Truly, great.

And it'll all be a memory, too, if the NCAA and the talking/writing heads have their way. I know you get the most mentions come March, but if only they realized with 65 teams in a tournament it's simple math that you'll have lots of dance partners. Until the end, anyway.

Honestly, what do they think will happen to you if they play it off in college football? What are they thinking, wanting to make you go two or three dances before you get to the big one?

Glass slippers are good for one whirl, but three or four? The clock would strike midnight long before you were done. That's what they just don't get, especially in football.

One shot, that's what it has been in the bowls. That's what it should be. Not David vs. Goliath, then Goliath's three equally large brothers.

They can sell the basketball tournament for all it's worth. You do plenty of great dancing in the first couple of weeks there, anyway.

Just watch yourself around these football playoff goons, Cindy. Don't let 'em sell you out. If it's been 23 years in basketball, we both know it'll never ever happen with these big, deep teams on the gridiron.

If they really respect you for who you are, Cinderella, they'll know better.

Yeah, yeah -- "When fairy godmothers take the bus."

Rhinos Beat Dubuque but Will Not Advance

MARLBOROUGH, MA -- The El Paso Rhinos beat the Dubuque Thunderbirds, 3-1, for their second victory at the Junior A Tier III National Championship Tournament.

Despite finishing second in the Third Division to the New Hampshire Monarchs with a 2-1-0 record, El Paso will not advance to the semifinals.

An 11-4 loss to the Monarchs in the Rhinos first game gave El Paso a total goal differential of minus-4 after three games (the loss to New Hampshire, a 5-4 win over Minnesota and the 3-1 win over Dubuque).

Goal differential is the first tie-breaker for teams with equal records, thus, ironically, the team that finished second to the Rhinos in the Western States Hockey League, the Phoenix Polar Bears, will be the wild card, also at 2-1-0.

Nonetheless, El Paso comported themselves well in its second trip to nationals. After winning only one game in the 2007 tournament the Rhinos won two this year.

The victory over Dubuque is another notch in El Paso's belt. The Thunderbirds are perhaps the most tradition-rich program at their level of hockey, and one of the most well-supported. The Rhinos and Dubuque clearly enjoy the two most passionate fan bases in the game at Junior A Tier III, averaging roughly the same number of fans.

El Paso head coach Cory Herman also got his 101st win in just 116 games.

The Rhinos scored a goal in each period Thursday, as Eric LaBounty opened the scoring on the power play in the first period, his 10th goal of the postseason.

Billy Krueger notched his 10th in the second period, followed by Marcus Wilhite with the clincher in the third.

El Paso wraps up its season with 56 wins, two losses and two shootout losses in league play.

Rhinos Edge Owls, 5-4

(MARLBOROUGH, MA) – The El Paso Rhinos got head coach Cory Herman his 100th win in a big setting in one of their biggest games, edging the Minnesota Junior Owls, 5-4, in the Silver Cup tournament Wednesday.

Defenseman Costi Hinn scored twice and the Rhinos went 3-for-7 on the power play to propel themselves back into the thick of the race for a spot in the Tier III Junior A tournament semifinals Friday morning.

Herman earned his 100th win in just 115 games over two seasons – a remarkable and unprecedented run in American junior hockey for a new franchise and its equally new coach.

The game didn’t start well for El Paso, as the Owls’ special teams play got the Minnesotans a 2-0 lead by the first intermission.

A power play goal by Edwin Hudick at 15:33 was followed exactly 1:37 later by Jakub Simicek’s shorthanded strike.

But defensemen Hinn and Tad Norris scored just over two minutes apart to tie the game early in the second period. Hinn blasted a slapshot top shelf past Owls goaltender Phil Poeschl 1:06 into the second frame, followed by Norris’ power play goal delivered from low in the left circle at 3:07.

After the two sides played to a standstill the rest of the period the Rhinos caught fire again to open the third by rattling off three more unanswered goals, as Hinn struck again less than two minutes in with a power play goal at 1:18.

Austin Balko delivered a third score on the man advantage at 4:28, breaking away to beat Poeschl unassisted.

Eric LaBounty notched an unassisted goal at 12:51 for the Western States Hockey League champions to make it 5-2 before Hudick scored two more for the hat trick, making the final five minutes of the game a nail-biter for El Paso’s ever-present fans.

Hudick got a power play goal at 15:12, then scored the game’s last just 34 seconds from the end of regulation.

An empty net in the final half minute did not yield results for Minnesota.

After giving up nine goals in his first game against the New Hampshire Monarchs, Arthur Hollinger was solid in net for the Rhinos, stopping 41 of 45 shots for El Paso and showing no ill effects from Tuesday’s loss.

El Paso is now second in its bracket of four teams – the Third Division – with a 1-1-0 record.

Each of the three division winners moves into the semifinals, along with the team with the next best record.

New Hampshire leads the Third Division at 2-0-0 after beating the Rhinos’ next opponents, the Dubuque Thunderbirds, 3-2, Wednesday.

Both the Owls and Thunderbirds are 0-1-1 after tying in their game Tuesday, 3-3.

El Paso puts itself back into contention for what would be a wild card berth in the semifinals, but needs help because goal differential is the main tie-breaker for teams with like records.

The Rhinos goal differential is minus-6 after their 11-4 loss to New Hampshire, followed by the one-goal win over Minnesota.

Of course, El Paso must first beat Dubuque Thursday afternoon.

The Thunderbirds are defending champions of the Central States Hockey League and have a long tradition of playing tough, physical hockey.

“We’ve got our work cut out for us,” said Herman. “Dubuque plays close games and they love to hit. It sure slowed New Hampshire down.

“But we don’t mind a good, physical game. We just need to take care of the puck and play solid playoff-style hockey.”

A simple message, but it’s also simple math: the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.

Including the line from 0 to 100, with only 15 detours.

The Rhinos and the Thunderbirds will play Thursday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. MDT. B2 Networks (www.b2livetv.com) will once again provide a free audio webcast of the play-by-play with the link provided at www.elpasorhinos.com.

Live game tracking will also be provided at www.pointstreak.com. Just key “USA Hockey” into the hockey searchbar and follow the link to “USA Hockey Junior Hockey Championships” for the latest scores, stats and information.

Rhinos Banished by Monarchs

(MARLBOROUGH, MA) -- The New Hampshire Monarchs gave the El Paso Rhinos a record-tying thrashing in El Paso’s return to the Silver Cup Playoffs, beating the visitors from far west Texas, 11-4, at the New England Sport Center Tuesday afternoon. 

Though the Rhinos had more moral support – even two-thirds the breadth of the country doesn’t seem to extinguish the appearance of Rhinos sweaters at the team’s events – it was, in essence, a home game for the second-place team from the Eastern Junior Hockey League.

The Monarchs migrated a mere 58 miles south of their home in Manchester, NH, for the Tier III, Junior A national championship tournament here.  

Nonetheless, El Paso -- champion of the Western States Hockey League -- was bested by a side that protected the puck better, passed better and shot much better than it. Only one other team has managed to score 11 times on the Rhinos – the Dallas Hawks beat El Paso, 11-7, in the franchise's fourth game ever back in 2006. But only Tulsa got close to sniffing double-digits against them this past season. The Rampage dealt the Rhinos their  last loss, 7-4, on Feb. 1, 2008 -- almost two months ago.

New Hampshire only outshot the Rhinos by five, 41-36; but that just meant the Monarchs scored on better than 25 percent of their shots.

Winger Jeff Hannan started the barrage just 1:34 into the game, followed exactly 46 seconds later by Brian Flynn.

El Paso drew one back as Nick Gorup one-timed Marcus Wilhite’s pass, beating Monarchs goalie James Mello at 4:22. 

But New Hampshire would regain its two-goal lead on Hannan’s second of the contest at 7:34.

Bill Krueger beat Mello on the power play at 8:48, but the Monarchs would answer twice more before first intermission as Jeff Velleca and Ben Ketchum got by Rhinos’ goaltender Arthur Hollinger at 12:39 and 18:37, respectively. 

The second period was more of the same, as El Paso continued to reel with news that defenseman Sean Molina suffered a second degree separation in the first frame, finishing the Californian's season.

Flynn notched his second goal at 9:26 of the second while Greg Burk made it 7-1 Monarchs at 13:36. Eric LaBounty scored on the power play at 16:32 for the Rhinos’ second tally, but Rence Coassin got another for New Hampshire while Hannan earned the hat trick against a too-busy Hollinger, both goals coming in the final two minutes of the period.

Hollinger was then pulled for fellow Chicagoan Anthony Natali, but it was more of the same. Jeff Velleca scored at 3:36 and Adam Kaiser on the power play strike at 18:53 gave the Monarchs an eight-point lead.

El Paso centerman/winger Jeff Schmudlach put in the game’s final goal at 13:08 of the third, but the damage is done. The Rhinos must have superlative efforts against both their Wednesday opponents, the Minnesota Junior Owls, and their Thursday foes, the Dubuque Thunderbirds, if they have any hope of advancing to the semifinals.

Minnesota and Dubuque tied, 3-3, in their opener, but a goal differential of minus-7 will make it tough should El Paso find itself tied, record-wise, with another team for the lone wild-card berth in the Silver Cup’s final four. Goal differential is a tie-breaker in determining which team stays alive Friday. 

The Rhinos and the Owls can be heard free-of-charge at 2:40 p.m. MDT, courtesy of B2 Networks (www.b2livetv.com) and the El Paso Rhinos. Click the link provided at www.elpasorhinos.com. In addition, www.poinstreak.com will be providing live game tracking of the entire tournament. Just key “USA Hockey” into the hockey searchbar and follow the link to “USA Hockey Junior Hockey Championship”.

Rhinos Head to National Championships

Nice Seat Mate
El Paso Rhinos Head Coach Cory Herman rides shotgun with the Thorne Cup on the team bus back from Phoenix, AZ. The Rhinos defeated the defending Western States Hockey League champion Phoenix Polar Bears for the traveling trophy.

So it's off to Massachusetts for the El Paso Rhinos as the new champions of the Western States Hockey League represent the league along with runner-up Phoenix at the Silver Cup Finals.

We'll be in the Boston area bringing you the action online with the free audio webcast at www.elpasorhinos.com as well as blogging about the Rhinos trip to a great area many of us have never had the pleasure of visiting.

The national championship tournament of Tier III, Junior A hockey will be held at the New England Sport Center in Marlborough, MA, beginning Tuesday afternoon at 1 p.m. against the second-place team from the Eastern Junior Hockey League, the New Hampshire Monarchs.

Here's the webcast schedule if you want to listen in...Er-ah -- See you down around Ha-vahd Yahd.

FIRST ROUND (Round Robin)

Tuesday, March 25 -- El Paso Rhinos vs. New Hampshire Monarchs, 3 p.m. EDT (1 p.m. MDT)
Wednesday, March 26 -- El Paso Rhinos vs. Minnesota Owls, 4:40 p.m. EDT (2:40 p.m. MDT)
Thursday, March 27 -- El Paso Rhinos vs. Dubuque Thunderbirds, 3:30 p.m. EDT (1:30 p.m. MDT)

SEMIFINALS (Division champions and wildcard)

Friday, March 28 -- 11:20 a.m. EDT (9:20 a.m. MDT)

FINALS (Semifinal winners)

Saturday, March 29 -- 1:30 p.m. EDT (11:30 a.m. MDT)

Rhinos Road Trip

It has been a whirlwind weekend for a hearty bunch of hockey fans in El Paso.

A couple hundred of them decided to make the trek up I-10 to go watch their local team, the El Paso Rhinos, in the Thorne Cup Finals, the championship series for the Western States Hockey League. Some of those fans decided to come at the last minute.

Not too many El Pasoans would be hardcore enough to travel six hours for a hockey game between teenage teams, but this bunch wouldn't miss it for the world.

It's all part of the special connection they have to a team that founder and head coach Cory Herman has worked hard to build into something more than an excuse to replace the El Paso Buzzards.

That's a comparison some will make, but it's an unfair one -- unfair to the Buzzards, who squandered a good name with rotten ownership and unpaid bills in the team's later existence.

Herman, a former Buzzard who stuck around after his playing days were over, has built a class organization; patiently putting a solid local junior hockey program in place that has turned into a great national team at the Junior A, Tier III level.

All those old Buzzards fans who stuck around easily found roost with this group of kids and their coach. Many of them opened their homes to the players who come from places near and far to play and work and study in El Paso.

Together, they made the Sierra Providence Events Center the toughest, loudest, most fun place to play in the WSHL. Many players say its the best organization in which they've played.

Herman has set the bar with a season ticket base approaching 800 in the 1200-seat SPEC, bringing a professional hockey experience to El Paso for Rhinos fans while teaching a rock-solid work ethic to his Rhinos team.

It hasn't been easy. In each of the Rhinos' two seasons of existence Herman has had to cut talented, popular players for violating team rules. But Herman's tough love is appreciated by his remaining players -- and their parents even moreso.

The fans -- well, many of them are just happy to have hockey played at a decently high level in their hometown. Many of them enjoy the promotions and the atmosphere. Many also enjoy the legendary tailgates thrown before and after Rhinos games at the SPEC.

Yes, tailgating for junior hockey. And they brought the tailgate to Phoenix for the finals...

And they were rewarded...

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Congratulations to Cory Herman, the El Paso Rhinos, and their fans -- Thorne Cup champions for 2008. And thanks for the dogs, Woodsy.

It's Groundhog Day for Rhinos' Davis

(CHANDLER, AZ) – Call March 14, 2008, Groundhog Day for Kevin Davis and the El Paso Rhinos.

As he did December 16th, 2007, in the Rhinos’ last game against the Phoenix Polar Bears, Davis scored El Paso’s fifth – and game-winning – goal.

One notable difference: Davis’ latest game-winner came in Game One of the Thorne Cup Finals, the championship series of the Western States Hockey League.

Also different was that the goal wasn’t the Rhinos’ last, as El Paso won, 6-4, at the Polar Ice Arena in Chandler, AZ.

The Polar Bears’ Patrick Flynn opened the scoring a mere 1:28 into the game, ripping a shot from the point top shelf to beat a screened Arthur Hollinger in net for the Rhinos.

But Eric LaBounty answered under three minutes later, walking a tightrope left-to-right through the Polar Bears’ slot and beating Cameron Gibbar unassisted at 4:24.

The defending champs would retake the lead on Jordon Orosco’s unassisted strike at 3:31 of the second, but again the Rhinos answered as Marcus Wilhite scored on a short-handed breakaway at 8:23, putting in a beautiful five-hole shot past Gibbar, the third short-handed goal of the post-season for the Orange and Black.

El Paso got its first lead just 32 seconds later, as Jeffery Schmudlach one-timed Zach Kohn’s pass from behind the net.

The lead would last into the beginning of the third period when the Polar Bears’ Mike Farrell broke in to tie the game a third time at 2:58.

The relative calm of a 3-3 tie would last for more than 10 minutes, but in a span of under three minutes the game would explode with four more goals, set up by an unsportsmanlike behavior penalty issued by referee Scott Miller at 13:20 after Miller felt he was taking too much abuse from the Phoenix bench.

It proved to be costly for the defending champions, as Bill Krueger got another go-ahead goal on the resulting power play at 14:46.

Just 14 seconds later, though, a costly turnover in the Rhinos’ zone allowed the Western States Hockey League’s leading scorer, Blake Barkwell, to swoop in and fire the puck past a scrambling Hollinger for the game’s fourth tie. It was Barkwell's 11th of the postseason after a team record-setting 74 in the regular season.

However, 36 seconds after that, the alarm clock went off and Sonny & Cher sung “I Got You Babe” – the perpetual beginning to all Bill Murray’s mornings in the 1993 classic “Groundhog Day”, about a man forced to relive the same day over and over again.

Sounds fine to Kevin Davis.

The Rocky Mountain line of Parker Harrison (Colorado Springs, CO) and Tad Norris (Snow Mass, CO) fed Davis (Denver, CO), who split the defense and would not be denied the game-winner at 15:36.

Eric LaBounty finished El Paso’s scoring much as he started it, with another close-in goal near the Polar Bears crease at 17:36 of the third.

The two teams play again Saturday night at 7:45 p.m. MDT in a must-win for the hosts.

Meanwhile, Kevin Davis is setting his hotel alarm clock to the local oldies station.

The game can be heard free of charge at www.elpasorhinos.com.

UTEP Runs the Ponies

UTEP 71, SMU 49, and it was uglier than that. The Ponies did not belong. They haven't for awhile.

Sorry to bag on Matt Doherty so much, but DANG! How in the world did UTEP let the Mustangs within five points in Dallas, much less lose in double-overtime?

(While we're on the subject, my understanding of why Heidi dressed out for a local high school hoops team  on MetroSports Southwest and bumped the Miners while they were still playing that second OT -- the entity putting that game on didn't bother to pay the light bill. As for the problems in the first half? Gnomes.)

You have to question SMU's decision-making in hiring Doherty. The Ponies expectations that his  ACC-pedigreed name was going to lead them to glory appear to be much like his gray hair -- premature.

That said, UTEP handled the pressure well. But you just had a feeling the Miners Memphis Mafia was going to step up to the challenge.

Randy Culpepper was key for that young group. All-Conference USA freshman team and Sixth Man of the Year? Pretty heady stuff, but it didn't slow him. Three-pointers tend to look the same in the highlights, so as you watch below you'll be thinking deja vu all over again. And again (he had seven, for Pete's sake). But watch for that block in the latter third of the highlight package. That was something.

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We'll have the Houston stuff up as it becomes available.