Longtime El Paso sports writer Ray Sanchez remembers the laughs and the tears

By |

EL PASO — Ray Sanchez, considered the first Hispanic sports writer in El Paso, has a long view of local sports history and he remembers the stories that made him laugh and cry in his latest book. “I had a lot of happy parts in my book that I enjoyed. There were so many games, so many great ones,” said Sanchez about his latest book The Good, The Bad, And the Funny of El Paso Sports History, “But I guess the biggest thrill I got, and it was so emotional that I almost cried when I would write it, was when the Miners won this 1966 championship.”

He has written seven books, all of them about sports. He was a sports writer for the El Paso Herald-Post from 1950 to 1990. He was a columnist for the El Paso Times, and currently writes for El Paso, Inc. He has won numerous awards for his coverage.

Ebenezer Anom is one of about just one hundred students from Africa at UTEP. (Vianey Alderete/Borderzine.com)

Overcoming obstacles is a constant part of life for international students

By |

EL PASO – Ebenezer Anom’s passion for nursing developed when he was a child in Ghana from a visit to a hospital where he was impressed by the activity of the nurses. Despite his parents’ disapproval because nursing is seen as woman’s work in his native country, he is now finalizing his senior year in pre-nursing at the University of Texas at El Paso. He came to UTEP after acquiring a bachelor’s degree in computer science and communication at the University of Duisburg, in Germany. “After my first degree I worked for about three years and then I realized my passion in nursing was stolen from me. So this was the point where I asked myself if I wanted to continue what I was doing or go into what I am passionate about,” said Anom.

Terr'l Mark. (Courtesy of UTEP Athletics)

Overcoming self-doubt and perfecting my skills led me to play college football

By |

EL PASO – At 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighing in at 125 pounds the main obstacle to fulfilling my dream of playing football was my own fear that I was just too small, but with the encouragement from family and coaches I focused on technical skills and I made varsity in my senior year in high school. Born in the small town of Lufkin, TX as a young boy one of three kids, I dreamed of playing football as every other child did and I started early. My mom who worked in a hospital and my father, who works as a truck driver, gave me the opportunity to play football at the age of 7. Not knowing what to expect come from this sport. I was pretty excited to go up against kids who had been in this game far longer than I had.

Ray Malooly, 2013 Gold Nugget recipient. (Audrey Wescott/Borderzine.com)

UTEP award goes to Ray Malooly, El Paso real estate and investment CEO

By |

EL PASO – With downtown in the throes of redevelopment, entrepreneurs are more motivated to stay here instead of taking their business elsewhere, but Ray Malooly credits his success with staying in the Sun City. Malooly was born and raised here and after graduating from UTEP he became a prominent real estate and investment CEO. A graduate of Austin High School, he attended UTEP in the late 1950s when the university was known as Texas Western College. He had originally set his sights on becoming a doctor but instead decided on a business career. Malooly’s success garnered him UTEP’s 2013 Gold Nugget Award, which he received during UTEP’s 99th homecoming celebration in October.

Bob Stull, UTEP's Athletics director, presents The Mike Price Era timeline at the Don Haskins Center. (Hector Escobedo/Borderzine.com)

Mike Price Era

By |

EL PASO – As the football season ended, UTEP Miners head coach Mike Price made one last appearance at the Don Haskins Center. He was the main event in the halftime show for the Men’s Basketball Battle of I-10. The crowd was roaring as he gave his final “spell out” cheer for the Miners. Athletics director Bob Stull gave him an emotional timeline titled ‘’The Mike Price Era.’’ Price’s era began on December 21, 2003. He resurrected the program, bringing two 8-4 seasons in his first two years.

Brazilian studies add a dash of samba to the salsa

By |

EL PASO — With the sexy swaying of samba rhythms and outrageously mechanical capoeira moves, Brazilians and El Pasoans took over the dance floor while others enjoyed the taste of typical Brazilian meals. Green, blue, and yellow Brazilian colors were displayed in flags, T-shirts, and balloons, splashing the spirit of Brazil onto the Mexican-American border city. The University of Texas at El Paso is known as a very cultural university that celebrates different ethnicities. With Ciudad Juarez as a neighbor, most of the students at UTEP have Mexican backgrounds. But UTEP has a wide variety of international student organizations and study programs like the Brazilian studies program that was implemented three years ago.

100,000 Graduates

By |

Teaching and Learning and Caring Blog

EL PASO — They gave medallions to graduating students and faculty in honor of the 100,000th student to graduate from UTEP. Medallions are available for sale every year, and the proceeds go to a scholarship fund, but this 100,000th was a big deal. When you think about it, it is a big deal. I arrive at the designated time to wait in the women’s basketball practice gym with other faculty members. It’s nice to see them.

Juarez coach now trains long-distance runners at UTEP

By |

EL PASO – The violence that overwhelms daily life in Ciudad Juarez didn’t stop Pedro Lopez from helping others pursue the dream of becoming world-class runners. But now he dreams of the American dream. “The violence in Juarez is crazy. It became a crazy city. I remember when I was young and I could go out at whatever time and come back home late and not have any problem.

The Miner Movie Makers

By |

EL PASO — At the beginning of the school year in the fall semester of 2009, Bobby Gutierrez had an ambitious group of students in his Intro to Video class. Among those students were Stephanie Soto, Joel Gannon, and myself, Michael Huante. Through the course of the semester, the three of us worked on projects together and with other students, and forged a friendship that holds strong to this day. Stephanie Soto, a senior Digital Media major, came up with an idea by the end of the semester, and told Joel and I about it. She expressed her thoughts on the fact that UTEP didn’t have much going in the area of film, and that something had to be done about it.

El Paso goes orange for a day

By |

EL PASO, Texas — A proclamation by the city of El Paso named Friday, November 12 as El Paso “Miner Orangeville” day to mark the basketball season opener against Pacific with Coach Tim Floyd. Coach Floyd was assistant to Hall of Fame coach Don Haskins from 1978-1986.  The team will wear Texas Western uniforms for the first game.  The University of Texas at El Paso was formerly Texas Western College, from 1949 to 1967. It was in 1966, under Coach Haskins, that Texas Western College fielded the first-ever all black starting team in a NCAA Championship game and then won the championship. Just as Coach Haskins broke barriers with the 1966 team, Borderzine.com breaks through borders of all kinds with journalism.  Join us in the celebration by wearing UTEP orange on that day and in continuing to overcome barriers. Go Miners!

UTEP’s Randy Culpepper Can Fly on the Court and in the Classroom

By |

EL PASO, Texas — Dribble, swish, slam, fly and dunk. That describes Randy Culpepper —Conference USA’s 2010 Player of the Year. Although the junior shooting guard at the University of Texas at El Paso didn’t start out wanting to play basketball, Culpepper has turned into one of the best players ever to don a Miner uniform. That is a great accomplishment in itself since an array of great talent has played at the school, including Nate Archibald, Bobby Joe Hill and Tim Hardaway. Growing up in Memphis, Tenn., Culpepper originally started training as a gymnast long before touching a basketball.

Miner Fans — Show Pride in the Orange and Blue and Support Your Teams

By |

EL PASO, Texas — Taking a page out of Peter Griffin’s book of “you know what grinds my gears?” is our fan base here at UTEP. Our fan base has to be one of the worst fan bases in all of sports! You ask why? Well it’s because we have a fan base that is made up of a bunch of complainers and fair weather fans. We have the only fan base that I know of, that calls into a sports show and complains about an extra surcharge on tickets.

A Miners Season to Remember

By |

EL PASO, Tex. — As a student at UTEP for almost three years, I have never witnessed a basketball season as successful as the one this year’s UTEP team accomplished. For the first time in five years, the Miners’ regular season victories earned them an NCAA tournament bid. This season was a wild ride for the team as well as the fans. The Miners closed out the regular season with an impressive (15-2) record at home this year and an impressive (24-5) overall.