ABQ Sports May 2011 Issue

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May is a month of great change and excitement, especially in the athletic world. Along with the change of the weather, the beginning of a new sports season gives the sports enthusiast an adrenaline rush, akin to making a touchdown in the waning seconds of a playoff football game. ABQ Sports covers it all, from new inventions to life in the fast lane!!

In this issue, we highlight a local inventor, who has developed a new, time-saving way to measure first downs with a high-tech laser system, a concept he has already presented to the NFL, in hopes of making Albuquerque an integral part of that organization. Read within!

Motorsport racing is in high gear! Street racing is highly illegal and more dangerous than ever, but Albuquerque has its own LEGAL speedways, and motorsport racing is part of the city’s high speed lore.

We covered the No Bull Street Cars Series competition at Albuquerque National Dragway, where you can legally race that guy, whom you might have been tempted to race at the everyday stoplight, once it turned green.

While we are on the subject of green, it is a perfect time to play the golf greens, and ABQ Sports was there as Albuquerque’s first ever Golf Show took place mid-month at New Mexico Expo @ the Fairgrounds. A huge assortment of golf experts and vendors were on hand to introduce the game and new technology to thousands of gleeful enthusiasts.

Baseball at all levels is in full swing, read more inside! Additionally, ABQ Sports Mag has now reached newer and greater levels of exposure to sport loving readers. An intense push into the community has made ABQ Sports the hottest read in the city, as seen on KOAT Morning News, Channel 7. Call now to acquire premium space to advertise your business or product to our ever growing assortment of readers. See you in June!

Coming up next issue...Fitness New Mexico, Volleyball, Soccer, Motorsports and more!

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Cover photo by Carlos Montoya. Isotopes bring in the season!

Albuquerque Isotopes ready for 2011 ....................................................................6

Lobo Baseball ...........................................................................................................8

Sifu Ray Lee: Martial Arts expert ............................................................................12

2011 NM Golf Show .................................................................................................22

No Bull Series: Albuquerque Dragway....................................................................26

Southwest Grapplefest IV ..............................................................................................16

Evolution Combat Sports Championships ...................................................................19

Lets Walk Together Again: A relief effort for Japan ....................................................25

Drifting at Sandia Speedway ........................................................................................28

Features

Sport

Sce

ne

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6

16 2519 28

8 12

22 26

4 May 2011 abqsportsmag.com • 5

Story by Phil Lopez

Photos by Kim Jew Sports Photography & Carlos Montoya

Albuquerque Isotopes ready for 2011!

In this 2011 season, the Albuquerque Isotopes feature a big league- looking lineup, a strong bullpen, and a new manager, Lorenzo Bundy. The newly anointed skipper, with years of experience with the Los Angeles

Dodgers organization, is just perfect for an Isotopes team that includes three young, high-potential prospects who will need Bundy’s tutelage.

Bundy comes to the Isotopes with nine years of minor league managing experience. In 2010, he took charge of the rookie-level Arizona League Dodgers, leading the club to a 30-25 record. Bundy has also had major league coaching experience, with the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Florida Marlins, and the Colorado Rockies. For these organi-zations, he has held positions such as bench coach, outfield/base-running coach, and bullpen coach.

In his first year as manager for the Isotopes, Bundy also takes care of third-base coaching duties. Bundy’s ex-perience also includes eight years of playing professional baseball. Rounding out the Isotopes coaching staff are

pitching coach Glenn Dishman and hitting coach John Val-entin. Dishman has been a part of the Dodgers organiza-tion for six seasons, and he took over the ‘Topes pitching staff in July of 2010. After serving as hitting coach last season for AA Chattanooga, Valentin now plays that same role for the Isotopes.

While there are several new faces at Isotopes Park this year, some of our favorites will be suiting up

again this year for Albuquerque – including fan-favorite John Lindsey. As with the start of any season, there is plenty of optimism surrounding this year’s team and the Dodgers organization it represents. As the season

got underway in early April, the hubbub was all about shortstop Dee Gordon, outfielder/

first baseman Jerry Sands, and outfielder Trayvon Robinson. Those three are among the Dodgers top 10

prospects, with Gordon being the organization’s most ac-claimed young player. This trio has generated a great deal excitement around the Isotopes, not only in Albuquerque, but in Los Angeles as well. The slim and athletic Gordon looks forward to his time in Albuquerque.

“I am very excited. This is a great ball park and I’m surrounded by great guys. I am going to go out every day and play good – play hard,” Gordon said about starting the year with the Isotopes. Gordon is known for his incredible speed, and he is touted as the best hitter for average in the Dodgers organization.

While often demonstrating brilliance on defense with his range and arm, he has also been known to commit too many errors for a big-league shortstop. When asked how much his defensive skills were addressed during spring training, Gordon said, “That is not going to be a problem. I have worked out any kinks I had.”

Coming to Albuquerque, Gordon had played 324 minor league games, holds a career average of .297 and has a very impressive 144 stolen bases. “He can run, he can really run, unlike his father,” Bundy joked when asked about the shortstop. (Gordon’s father pitched in the major leagues for 21 years.) In his first 11 games with the Isotopes, Gordon has achieved a .298 batting average and stolen an impressive 6 bases.

Gordon has the potential to be a face-of the-franchise type of guy, as he possesses all the tools wanted in that kind of player, along with the mental make-up it takes to accept that kind of title. With the current status of the shortstop position for the Dodgers, Gordon likely won’t make a huge impact for the parent club this year. However, with Raphael Furcal now 36 years old, Gordon has a great chance to see the 2012 season as a Los Angeles Dodger. Jerry Sands, a 6’4”, right-handed power batter, was named the 2010 Dodgers Branch Rickey Minor League Player of the Year, as he blasted 35 homeruns with Single-A Great Lakes and Double-A Chattanooga teams a year ago. With 256 career minor league games, he boasts a .290 batting average with 64 homeruns and 184 RBI. Accord-ing to Baseball America, Sands is the sixth best prospect in the Dodger organization and is acclaimed as the best power hitter. Sands came to the ‘Topes as perhaps the most polished of the three prospects, and he has done nothing continue to demon-strate that polish, in his first 10 games with the Isotopes. Now Sands is donning the Dodger blue, as he earned a call-up on April 18 when the Dodgers needed an offensive spark. During his tenure with Albuquerque, Sands hit for a .400 average with five homeruns and drove 7 in 17 runs.

Switch-hitting Trayvon Robinson rounds out these three on Dodgers top-10 prospect list. Along with some impres-sive power potential, he also has speed, as shown last year in Chattanooga as he stole 38 bases. Robinson is slightly better from the right side of the plate (his natural side.) Last year in Double-A, he had 9 homeruns, although in the year before in Single-A, he blasted 15. Look for Robinson to score right around 20 home runs this year, as he calls hitter-friendly Isotopes Park home. He has made strides each year, he

has been a part of the Dodgers organization, and perhaps his most impressive improve-ment has been his plate discipline.

In the 11 games the Isotopes have played this year, Robinson has seen the field in nine of them, hitting two homer-uns, and after a slow start, he raised his batting average to .278. With a stacked lineup, the Isotopes feature several key players, including John Lindsey, Trent Oeltjen, JD Closser, and Justin Sellers. Lindsey is coming off a season where he won the Pacific Coast League batting crown and earned a Septem-ber call-up to the Dodgers. Oeltjen has had a great start to the 2011 season, including the game on April 13 when he went 3-for-5 with two homeruns and four RBIs. In the six games Closser has seen action, he has been extremely consistent, hitting a cool .500. Sellers, a middle infielder, had a tremen-dous spring with the Dodgers, and is looking to contribute both defense and offense to this great lineup that Bundy draws up.

As far as pitching goes, the Isotopes are holding their own in that department as well. Led by Jon Link and Dana Eveland, Albuquerque’s starters will often be put in place to win, with the help of the ‘Topes offense. In two starts, Eveland holds a 3.65 ERA and has won both contests for the Isotopes. Link, on the other hand, has seen action in four games coming out of the bullpen. Starting for the ‘Topes, he has been tremendous, flashing a microscopic 1.86 ERA with nine strikeouts in just 92/3 innings.

The Isotopes have what it takes to sustain their place near or at the top of the Pacific Coast League standings throughout the season. Certainly, there will be multiple moves between the Isotopes and the Dodgers in 2011, but regardless, the core of this team is too good not to bring the competition night-in and night-out. Attendance was slow at first, due in large part to heavy winds during the team’s first home stand. However, Iso-topes Park promises to be booming all summer because this is an incredibly fun team to watch and cheer.


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After coming off their best season in nearly 40 years, the UNM Lobo baseball team has been fighting an uphill battle this season trying to equal 2010. In his fourth year with the Lobos, Coach Ray Birmingham

knew the season would be a challenge. “Coming off the best three years in the history of the program, we knew we’d have to take a bullet this year”, says Birmingham. An impressive five Lobo players were drafted by Major League teams last year, making UNM a rival for nearly every college program in the country. They also won the NCAA batting title in 2010 and had the nation’s top hitter in Justin Howard.

This year’s roster includes only one senior, pitcher Richard Olson, and only one starter from last year’s squad, shortstop Alex Allbritton. To top it off, the Lobo schedule was ranked second in the nation on strength of schedule, with five series against teams ranked in the top 20 in pre-season polls. April marked the halfway point in the season for the Lobos, and they came into the month with a 9-18 record. However, this dismal record doesn’t do justice to the effort put in by the Lobos. Lobo bats kept the team in contention, with many of those losses by three runs or less, the team only falling behind in the late in-nings. While the statistics may point to a gloomy year, it was no surprise that this would be a year needed to rebuild the Lobos baseball team.

Coach Birmingham commented, “Sometimes you gotta go backwards to go forward, we just need to learn to play at a higher level.” There have also been several standout play-ers this year, with sophomore catcher Mitchell Garver and

freshman first baseman D.J. Peterson scoring Mountain West Conference Player-of-the-Week honors and junior pitcher Gera Sanchez picking up Pitcher-of-the-Week.

The Lobos have become known throughout the nation for their aggressiveness and power at the plate. Garver, Peterson, and junior infielder Kyle Stiner have consistently been at the top of all the hitting categories. Junior outfielder Luke Campbell has shown off his power, leading the team

in home runs in his first year as a Lobo. Unfortunately the pitching staff has had trouble this year, with a team-earned run average of just over six. Again, this can be attributed to a very young staff. Nine of the fifteen pitchers listed on the ros-ter are either freshmen or sophomores, indicating amazing promise for Lobo baseball over the next few years.

It will be difficult for the Lobos to finish with a .500 record this 2011 baseball season, but the ex-perience being built for the team is invaluable. Coach Birming-ham has recruited a team with tremendous potential, for these next three to five years. His experience in building great hitters, combined with a group of newly developing pitchers looks to make the Lobo baseball team the future dominant force in the Mountain West Conference as well a force to be reckoned with on the national collegiate baseball scene. Birmingham gave some insight into his future plans, “I’m trying to get to Omaha and do something special for this state”. He says that he has three top goals: 1. Recruit New Mexico kids, 2. Build facilities that are recruitable, and 3. Get the scholarship situation set up correctly. With a team comprised of this much young talent, Lobo players can go into the off season with their heads high, hungry to come out swinging even harder next year.

LOBO BASEBALL A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH

Story and Pictures by Michael McKinney

8 May 2011

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Sifu Ray Yee is an accomplished martial artist who has trained several styles in several countries, under some of the world’s most renowned grandmasters,

throughout a career spanning over three decades. Coach Ray, as he’s affectionately called by hundreds of students, has an encyclopedic knowledge of traditional martial arts as well as mixed martial arts.

The owner of the successful Albuquerque Kickboxing and MMA, Coach Ray began his combative journey at the young age of nine, while spending summers accompanying his Uncle in Asia. His first area of study was Wing Chun Gung Fu, which he studied in Hong Kong. He soon added Tai Chi to his fields of expertise, under the tutelage of his grandfather, who practiced the art until the age of eighty-five.

As an Oregon native and high school student, Ray still spent summers travelling with his uncle, absorbing the cultures of various countries such as Thailand, Singapore, Japan and the Phillipines, where he sampled even more martial arts. Meanwhile, during the school year, he spent time trying Tae-Kwon-Do, Karate, Kempo and Ninjitsu, but it wasn’t until several years later, when a close friend Sifu Christopher Clarke (Ray’s teacher & mentor) introduced him to Inosanto Blend of Martial Arts / Jun Fan-Jeet Kune. Do, that he found a good fit.

In 1993, Ray officially began his study of Filipino Martial Arts, Eskrima and Kali - empty hand and weaponed (best known for stick and knife fighting) styles, in which the weapon is an extension of the fighter’s body - which require precision and lightning-fast hand-eye coordination. At this time, he was also honing his skills in Muay Thai kickboxing & Jeet Kune Do concepts. Ray’s diverse martial arts background and intuitive teaching style have been instrumental in preparing and cornering fighters in the world’s biggest fight promotions, including the UFC, WEC, Bellator, King of the Cage and K-1.

Coach Ray has an impressive array of certifications under numerous martial arts icons, including Dan Inosanto, Surachai Sirisute and Erik Paulson. He holds a fifth degree Black Belt in Doce Pares Eskrima / Eskrido (Eskrima-Aikido-

Story and Photos By Dave Friedlander

Ray YeeSifu

abqsportsmag.com • 13

Some of the best and brightest of New Mexico’s Boxing stars shone at the Rising Stars Battle of the Bosque on April 2, 2011, at the Bosque Event Center at Santa Ana Star Casino. The event, put

on by Santa Ana Star Casino, Crespin’s Promotions, Gary Shaw Productions and Mirabal Boxing, showcased eight pro fights, including two title fights (WIBA Intercontinental and UBO Youth Titles), and two fights featuring boxers who also fight as mixed martial artists. Almost 1500 fans from all over the state and Southwest were there at the first bell, immediately throwing themselves into hearty cheering for their favorite fighters.

For the first fight of the night, Antonio “Tone” Martinez, out of Espanola, and John “Smiley” Herrera, out of Roswell, came together for four rounds of well-matched, energetic athleticism, and at the end of the bout, the decision was appropriately a majority draw. Next on the card was King of the Cage’s Bantamweight World Champion, Donald Sanchez, making his pro boxing debut against Rio Rancho’s Michael Gallegos. Sanchez, who trains at Albuquerque’s FIT NHB for both boxing and cagefighting, looked very comfortable for his first pro boxing match against seasoned boxer Gallegos, and it showed in the judges’ unanimous decision for him. Also making his pro debut was super flyweight Leonardo Sanchez, training out of Bad Boyz in Albuquerque. He met 1-0 Mike Herrera, Taos

fighter with several inches height and reach on him;however, Sanchez seemed to have no difficulty landing multiple overhand-right/left-hook combinations, earning his unanimous decision. Coming into the ring next was Timmy “Dirty Bird” Means, KOTC’s Junior Welterweight World Champion, making his third appearance on the pro boxing scene. His opponent, Adrian Lopez out of Socorro, brought an identical 1-1 record to the match. The match was close, the fighters fairly well-matched, and in the end one of the judges ruled it draw, while the other two decided in Means’ favor, an overall decision which was mildly controversial.

The crowd, already actively participating in each and every round of action, perked up even more when Brandi “Baby Doll” Montoya, out of Rosales in Los Lunas, walked down the aisle to make her pro debut against 2-0 Natalie Roy, out of Santa Fe. The two girls went in hard, immediately setting a fast pace in the first round, but settling down into a slower, working pace for the remaining three. The split decision went to Roy, and that result was the first of several decisions, loudly protested by the crowd. The next fight was for the UBO Youth Title Belt, and Vincent “Li’l Man” Mirabal, 7-0 out of Team Tapia’s Boxing Academy, met Trenton Titsworth of Omaha, NE, 3-10-1. What followed was six rounds of boxing clinic put on Titsworth by Mirabal. Johnny Tapia could be seen bobbing and weaving

RISING STARSBattle at the BosqueStory by Trula Howe Photos by Dave Friedlander

in Mirabal’s corner, shouting advice and encouragement to Mirabal, though it was hardly needed. Mirabal easily claimed the UBO Youth title with the unanimous decision of 60-54, a score which may have been generous to Titsworth.

Co-main event of the evening was Amanda Crespin, out of Las Vegas, NM, challenged by Carla Torres, for the WIBA Intercontinental title belt. Originally scheduled for 8 rounds, the fight reduced to 6, for the consideration that Torres had fought only two four-round fights in her pro career. The girls started out fast and hard, and attitude almost immediately entered the ring. After a quick exchange of blows, Crespin stepped back, gesturing at Torres, who responded by sticking her chin out and inviting Crespin to do her worst. Six rounds of emotionally charged boxing, accompanied by a crowd just as involved as the fighters, came down to a split decision in favor of Torres. The opponents were evenly matched; however, the two of the three judges felt that Torres gained some advantage over Crespin. The audience was extremely vocal in their disapproval of this decision as well. Finally, it was time for the main event of the evening: Archie Ray Marquez, 10-0 in his professional boxing career, and Johnny Frazier of Las Vegas, NM, 3-5-3. This fight was well worth the wait, and the lightweight contenders immediately went to work. Eight rounds of relentless exchanges thrilled onlookers, with coaching tips yelled out from all over the crowd, Marquez’ own son cheering his father on from the audience. Undefeated Marquez nearly suffered his first loss against late substitution Johnny Frazier. Although Marquez was brilliant in delivery of hook combinations, Frazier’s counters were just as hard and precise. Frazier had a clean knockdown of Marquez at the end of the 7th round, and again at the end of the 8th, but the ref called a time-out instead of an 8-count and point deduction, citing a back-of-the-head violation. With only ten seconds left in the final round, this call brought Frazier’s corner to the apron, hotly contesting the call. The fight, until that point, appeared to be slightly in Frazier’s favor, but that last second call pushed that round and final points to Marquez, making him the winner by unanimous decision. For more details and further commentary, you can go to www.nmcombatsports.com or www.newmexicoboxing.com.

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SouthweSt GrapplefeSt IVattracts More than 500 participantsBy Jorge Hernandez Photos by Andrew DeMattos & Shelia Lucero

Rio Rancho’s Cleveland High School played host April 16 to Southwest Grapplefest IV. The event was presented by Combat Sports Club and featured competitors of all ages, skill levels and walks of life, all of whom shared a

passion for submission grappling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Continued on next page

The more than 500 participants included gas station clerks, barbers, local television news reporters, engineers, and combatants from a host of other professions.

“I did submission wrestling for several years. I started Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in January, and I love it so much more,” said Lucas Giron, a 23-year-old Princeton University graduate.

Medals were given to the top four placers in each weight division.

The competition included dozens of organizers, referees and judges, highly educated in the realms of BJJ, wrestling and submission grappling. The success of this event sets up what looks to be the largest combat-sports gathering in New Mexico history: Southwest Grapplefest V and Combat Sports Expo on Saturday, July 30, 2011 at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho.

That tournament and event will feature demonstrations from world-renowned martial artists in Capoeira, Filipino Stick Fighting, Kettle Bells, and Les Mills Combat Fitness. Dozens of professional fighters will be on hand as well as companies exhibiting their products and services relating to MMA and other combat sports. For more information on Southwest Grapplefest V and Combat Sports Expo, please log on to www.combatsportsclub.com.

Continued from previous page


v

• Gi and NoGi Divisions for competitors of all ages and skill levels• Meet your favorite fighters in MMA, Boxing, Jiu-Jitsu and more

• Opening Ceremony with a Chinese Dragon Dance• Vendor booths and exhibits

INfO AND COMpetItOr reGIstrAtION At

www.COMBAtspOrtsCluB.COM

®

Demos throughout

the Day from worlD

renowneD martial artists in

Capoeira, filipino stiCk

fighting, kettle Bells,

ComBat fitness anD more!

Once again, Heather “Hurricane” Clark (2-1 out of Jackson’s/Winkeljohn’s MMA) blew away her audience as well as her opponent, Jennifer “Superstar” Scott (2-0-1 out of 4oz Fight Club),

in Clovis, NM, Friday, April 15, 2011, for the most recent installment of Evolution Combat Sports Championships – Friday Night Fights!! The normally sweet, mild-mannered young lady, who doubles as a studio photographer during the day, takes on a completely different persona once she enters the cage and that door is locked. Once that first bell rang, Clark eagerly whirled in to meet Scott for the main event of the night, on a spectacular card featuring all-female pro bouts and action-packed amateur matches. Contrary to most fighting events, ring announcer Ian Troy boldly told fans NOT to put away their cameras and phones, but to get them out, take pictures, take video, and plaster it all over YouTube, Facebook, the Internet as they wished, stating that they WANT everyone to see what’s happening in a little town called Clovis, NM.

With a flurry of hard jabs and hooks, Clark opened up a golf-ball sized hematoma on Scott’s forehead, early in the first round. Shortly after that first exchange of stand-up, including a few straight kicks to Scott’s chest, Clark took the match to the ground with a text-book leg-hook and mount. From that point, she ground into that goose-egg and worked diligently to secure a submission. However, Scott, though disoriented and in pain, kept her chin down, avoiding the submission attempts, and managed to make it to the end of the first round. After a rather long interlude between rounds, where the medical personnel examined her thoroughly, Scott stood up, with a forehead badly distended in several places, and faced Clark without fear. However, as game as Scott was, Clark dominated her once again, and the referee called a stop to the fight at 2:19 of the second round, due to strikes, as Scott was clearly unable to intelligently defend herself.

For the co-main event of the night, crowd favorite Yadira “Ya Ya” Andaluza (2-2 out of Prime Performance) met Carla Esparza (4-1 of Team Oyama from Irvine, CA). The crowd screamed their approval of this match and their girl from Hart, TX. Andaluza, an Evolution girl through-and-through, even had the organization logo (winged snake on a shield) shaved into the back of her head. She came out very strong

EVOLUTION COMBAT SPORTS CHAMPIONSHIPS FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS

Story by Trula Howe and Photos By RYGAR

Continued on Pg 21 see Evolution


The noise of the crowd was deafening at the beginning of the main event for Jackson’s Series IV, a title fight for the Jackson’s Women’s MMA 135-pound belt.

Julie Kedzie, the favorite with a record of 15-8, met Kaitlin Young for what had promised to be a whirlwind battle between “Fireball” Kedzie and the 25-year-old from Minnesota.

But what followed were five rounds of evenly exchanged stand-up, Young’s clean jabs being answered by several body shots and kicks by Kedzie; a few takedowns with unrecognizable advancement of position; and the majority of the fight in the clinch. Kedzie gained the point advantage with those takedowns, including one narrated by Coach Greg Jackson, who shouted “Leg hook,” then “Mount her” -- advice Kedzie followed perfectly, though she was unable to advance to significant submission attempts.

Although the decision was unanimously in her favor, Kedzie apologized for what she called a difficult fight but not very exciting for the fans.

Isaac Vallie-Flagg took on Danny Rodriguez in the co-main event of the evening, a fight that was considerably more riveting.

Rodriguez put in some good stand-up and fended off a few takedown attempts in the first round, but the second round found him taken down several times, where Flagg softened him up with vicious ground-and-pound. Although Rodriguez was able to gain his feet again, Flagg took him out for a second-round TKO. For more details and pictures from this event, got to www.nmcombatsports.com.

Jackson’s Series IV

Story Trula Howe and Photos By Dave Friedlander

Continued from page 19

EVOLUTIONagainst Esparza, quickly giving her a black-eye, but Esparza, who came with a plan, weathered the early storm, and as soon as the opportunity presented itself, scrambled up on Andaluza’s back, and applied an efficient, deep standing rear-naked choke. Andaluza went to her knees, trying hard to escape the hold, too proudly neglecting to tap-out, and she went to sleep. A very dangerous choice, as the referee cannot always tell when a fighter has lost consciousness. In this case, it did indeed take the referee a few extra seconds to see that Andaluza was no longer conscious, at which point he quickly stopped the fight. It took almost 20 seconds to revive Andaluza, and the crowd breathed an audible sigh of relief.

Margarita Chavez, 0-1 of Chavez Martial Arts Academy in Albuquerque, NM, met Cassie “Sassy-Cassie” Rodish for yet another thrilling match of pro women’s fighting. Early in the first round, Chavez twisted her ankle, though very few even noticed, as she did not limp or wince to indicate that she was hurt. The two met in the most evenly-matched pro fight of the night, exchanged blow for blow, kick for kick, taunting one another at times to “bring-it-on”. Chavez twisted the same ankle in the second round, but once again, gave very little indication that anything was wrong. The fight went the full three rounds, the Chavez won by split decision, after which everyone finally saw that her ankle was badly sprained and swollen, and she had to be carried off the stage.

The amateur fights also had the crowd of almost 1200 at the edge of their seats, screaming encouragement, tips and disagreement. Casey “Sunshine” Clark, another crowd favorite, met Mark Plata for a 125-lb matchup, who took the match by split decision. 160-pounders, Oscar Navarette and Billy Villagran met, and Navarette took the split decision. Justin Campos took on Gerald Brown, and defeated the 170-lb Brown by unanimous decision. In a short bout that thrilled the audiences, Mark Hightower, of Brooklyn, NY, fighting for Force of One, knocked out J.R. Fitzwater at :51 of the first round. Harvey Suarez met Trampas Calloway for a quick bout at the 145-lb weight class, and Suarez earned the TKO due to strikes at 2:22 of the first round. Peter Bouton, 170-lb fighter out of Portales, took on last minute fill-in Rico Urquizo, who looked a lot like Tapia in his look and fighting style. Urquizo gave Bouton three rounds of bloody battle, while seemingly sustaining no damage, and taking the unanimous decision. For more information on Evolution Combat Sports Championships, see their website www.evolutioncombatsports.com.

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The 2011 New Mexico Golf Show, presented by Golf Hub, held at New Mexico Fairgrounds’ New Mexico Expo April 16 and 17, was a hard hitting success, according to Steve Meyer, director of the event. The

event’s sponsor, www.golfhub.com, is an online tee time reser-vation system.

How did the golf show materialize? Meyer is one of the driv-ing forces. He said, “My family has been from NM since 1977, and I waited and I waited for a golf show. There has never been one, and so this is the first annual.”

“I helped put together a team that built the infrastructure, the website and the newsletter,” said Meyer during the second day of the show. “The vendors are saying this is about the best first year show they’ve ever been involved in,” said Meyer.

“There’s never been a golf show in Albuquerque. There are shows in Denver, Chicago and Dallas, but Albuquerque is a wonderful place for golf.” Meyer ran Albuquerque’s Golf Chan-

nel Amateur Tour, and he is an avid competitive amateur golfer. One day, he wondered to himself, “Why can’t the golf commu-nity in New Mexico get together one weekend a year and have the retailers, courses, pros, amateurs associations, and equip-ment manufacturers come together and celebrate New Mexico golf?” This was the beginning of the 2011 New Mexico Golf Show. Attendees had their clubs gripped for free, and received other free accessories. The new products display hyped eleven products, which are not yet available at any shop in the world. There were seminars, in which top teaching pros gave free grip, swing and stance advice to beginner golfers.

The hitting bay was a big hit, and demo techs showed how to hit on the newest equipment. Meyer said the show is planned for a 20-year run, and although the turnout was large, he hopes it grows doubly in 2012. Go play golf, ABQ Sports readers!

2011 New Mexico Golf Show

By Isaiah Montoya Photos by Carlos Montoya

1. Angela & Amber Pohl working the Golfhub booth 2. Lizz Smoak with Tanoan Country Club 3. Bonnie Gomez with the Hispano Chamber of Commerce was on staff 4. Chrissy - Working the ABQ Sports Booth 5. Alexa Paez - Working on the proper swing 6. The Team at Golf Etc - Replacing grips for free all weekend! 7. Rochelle Garcia

1

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ABQ Changing

NFL?Albuquerque, New Mexico, may seem of

little consequence to the National Football League, but if Norman Harty’s invention comes into wide use, our city could poten-

tially change the future of pro football.

One of the most annoying occurrences of a close NFL game is when a player gets near a first down, but the visible eye cannot confirm first down. As has been the case for so many years, the sideline referees drag the measurement chains onto the field and stretch it. Then a first down is called or not.

Harty’s invention speeds up the process con-siderably, and it is as precise as a laser. In fact, the measuring device is a state-of-the-art NST (New Sports Technology) Laser System: the future of marking the first down with the use of a laser. In fact, in October 2010, the first down marking device was used in a real high school game for the first time at Albuquerque’s Milne Stadium. The device was used three times dur-ing the game, with precise results.

“We have it,” exclaims Harty. He has been working on the system for the past 12 years and has met with the NFL on the subject. “They wanted a few changes to the system, which are now in effect.”

The whole concept arose many years ago when Harty had to be at a meeting at a certain time, and yet he was enthralled in a close NFL game. Due to the high number of potential first downs near the end of the game, Harty had to leave and was not able to catch the exciting finish. The NFL has shown interest in potential alternatives to the current first down mark-ing system, and Albuquerque’s Harty is first in line! For more info go to: www.nstlaser.com.

New Sports Technology\first live laser first down in the history of sports

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Japan was struck by a devastating earthquake and an ensuing tsunami on March 11th. Our very own Director of Coaching, Junro Narita, is from Japan and still has family and friends there so we are joining him in raising money for the relief efforts. Junro will be visiting Japan in June and is going to take the money we raise to help out. Please help us help the people in need over in Japan

by donating. You can donate securely through PayPal by clicking the button below or by sending money from your PayPal account to [email protected]. 100% of your donation will go with Junro to Japan You can email Junro directly at [email protected] with specific inquiries, visit redcross-chat.org to see how the Red Cross is helping Japan.

rio rancho soccer club to help in japan relief effortslets Walk together again

Junro Narita RRSC Director of Coaching

[email protected]; [email protected] (505)559-3367.


The No Bull series is a multi-class race, held this year at the Albuquer-que Dragway April 16, which provides for speed, speed and more speed.

Mike Swelby is the new No Bull race director, whose day job is an electrical engineer at Sandia Labs. Racing was a hobby for Swelby, in his 1993 Mustang – before he sold it.

He began racing at the Dragway in 1990 because he had one too many close calls at the wheel, in the streets. He explained why he is new director, although he does not race. “This is a heads up style race, and people are excited to break out against a car that is usually up against them at a stoplight. And thanks to my volunteers Joel, Kimberly, Alyssa and Kyle, we made it happen.”

Jeff Algara was one of the racer’s in this year’s No Bull Series in a NM Imports customized 1993 Nissan 300 ZX Twin Turbo. “NM Im-ports built the bottom manifold, and it has forged pistons, rods, ARP head studs, polished heads, JWT 5000 race cams, a GT2871 RS turbos, with 3-inch exhaust and 850cc injectors,” said Algara. “This is the first time I’ve taken it out, and it felt well. I clocked a 13.3, but I trapped at 116. My launch bogged down.”

Alex Hanhardt, owner of NM Imports, came from a small town where he was making wrong choice after wrong choice. He moved to Albuquerque and got on right path, through fixing cars. “I was a huge fan of Nissan cars, and so I worked at a Nissan dealership. Then I went into customer service, which wasn’t for me. Then I was back to the dealership. Finally I decided to begin my own perfor-mance company, where we do maintenance and performance on the 300 ZX, Nissan and Infiniti.” Hanhardt spearheaded the work on Algara’s 1993 ZX but did not race. He told ABQ Sports how he determines what to make a car do.

“If a person wants strong street car – I like to talk a game plan for vehicle, so in that case we would be going to stick mild and make it dependable and not go overboard.” NM Imports gives free estimates, and as Hanhardt said, “We give average Joes a shot at the big leagues.” According to Jim Riedel, Albuquerque Dragway IS the big leagues. The Dragway now has additional fencing, a cross-walk for safety, and soon, a Monte Carlo Steakhouse Beer Garden will be onsite, thanks to ‘Screwy’ Louie. April 16 winners for each class of the No Bull were Renegade Class winner was Isaac Jara-millo in a 1990 Mustang, who ran an 8.82 time at 159 mph. The 10 and 20 class winner was Anthony Silva in a 1990 Mustang GT.

The 14/50 class winner was Isaac Torres in a 2003 Subaru WRX. The 11/70 class winner was Jaime Munoz in a 1987 Mustang. The 12/50 class winner was Kasey Dean in a 1988 Mustang, and the 13/50 class winner was Eddie Bustillos in a 2000 Camaro SS.

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The first drift competition of the 2011 season is now in the books! We stopped in at Sandia Speedway (West on I-40) to see what all the commotion was about. The competition brought cars from around New Mexico and Arizona. Congratulations to Jeff O. from Albuquerque, NM for winning and Rich S. from Scottsdale, AZ with the runner up. The drift series is promoted and run by the Racing Southwest staff.Upcoming Competitions: June 25th, August 13th, October 1st and 2nd. Practice: May 29th, July 17th and Sept 18th

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ABQ Sports May 2011 Issue

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