Hank Aaron’s 715th home run
Photo from ESPN.com

Denver Broncos quarterback and future first-ballot hall of famer Peyton Manning has 506 touchdown passes, three away from passing Brett Favre for the most in NFL history. It’s one of the most beloved records in the NFL because of what the quarterback means to the game of football.

But is it the best individual achievement in all of professional sports? I would have to say no.

It’s so tough to pick one. Some records that come to mind right away are Cal Ripken Jr.’s Major League Baseball streak of 2,362 games, Wilt Chamberlain scoring 100 points in a single game, Barry Bonds hitting 762 home runs, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with 38,387 career points, and Lance Armstrong winning seven straight Tour De France’s after beating testicular cancer.

Yes, I know what you’re thinking. He cheated and took performance enhancing drugs. Yeah, but who didn’t cheat in cycling?

For as long as I can remember though, I always thought Abdul-Jabbar’s career point record was the best achievement in all of professional sports. He was as dominant as anyone was in their respective sports, and he had the most unstoppable move: the skyhook. His opponents knew it was coming, but still couldn’t defend it. He helped lead his teams to six NBA championships, and earned six Most Valuable Player awards.

It’s tough to argue against what Jabbar has done, but Stephen A. Smith, a current ESPN analyst and former journalist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, made his own argument. He said that, even with Barry Bonds being the current all-time home run leader, he believes Hank Aaron passing Babe Ruth’s record to become the all-time home run leader in 1974 was the greatest individual achievement in professional sports.

For Smith, what sets Aaron apart from everyone else are the circumstances that Aaron had to deal with while chasing Ruth’s record. When you look at what Aaron went through in pursuit of that record, Smith is right, Aaron’s accomplishment is far greater than any other.

In 1974, things still weren’t too far removed from the civil rights movement, and racism was a major issue. So when Aaron was closing in on Ruth’s record, some people saw it as an African-American man about to break their beloved hero’s home run record. Even to this day, there may not be a more beloved baseball player than Babe Ruth.

People were furious. They sent nasty letters and death threats to Aaron, calling him all sorts of derogatory names. They said things like, “My gun is watching your every black move.” And “You are (not) going to break this record established by the great Babe Ruth if I can help it.”

Aaron was sent hundreds, sometimes even thousands of similar letters a day, and he visited cities where he would be verbally abused.

So when you look at the records accomplished over the past century and really look at the meaning behind them, the weight Aaron carried on his shoulders and the scrutiny he faced everyday prove that there is no greater accomplishment in the world of sports than when Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s record.

The Thunderbowl was packed for Saturday’s Pink Out game against Adams State.

Colorado State University-Pueblo entered the Thunderbowl for Saturday’s Pink Out game on a 40 game, regular season, winning streak and were expected to beat Adams State University easily, but the Grizzlies, who were 1-3 on the season, were not going out without a fight and made CSU-Pueblo earn its 17-7 win.

For the first 36 minutes of the game, it was a tough night offensively for both squads. The defenses for both sides were swarming the ball and very physical.

Sooner or later someone had to break, and it was the Grizzlies defense when Thunderwolves’ quarterback Chris Bonner hit J.B. Mathews for a 32 yard touchdown pass to take a 7-0 lead with nine minutes left in the third quarter.

The Grizzlies would eventually answer, scoring before the third quarter ended on an Addie Brown, 32 yard touchdown run to tie the game. Along with the touchdown, Brown finished with 78 yards on 12 carries.

The Thunderwolves would take the lead in the 4th quarter when Greg O’Donnell hit a 49 yard field-goal making the score 10-7.

Prior to the field goal, O’Donnell missed his first four kicks. After the game, Head Coach John Wristen said, “I had confidence in him,” referring to O’Donnell.

The Thunderwolves sealed the victory when their workhorse, Cameron McDondle, who had 32 carries and 190 yards, scored on a 1 yard touchdown run to give CSU-Pueblo a 17-7 lead with three minutes left.

The Grizzlies tried to push back, but the Thunderwolves sealed the win with a 40 yard interception from Ben Estica.

CSU-Pueblo moved to 5-0 on the season, and their regular season, winning streak rose to 41 games. The Thunderwolves will hit the road next week and travel to Fort Lewis in Durango, returning to Pueblo for Homecoming against Chadron State on Oct. 18.

The next three home games will be televised live on Altitude Sports.

In 2012, the Colorado State University-Pueblo women’s soccer team carried a record of 2-13-2. In 2013, they went 7-10 under the first year guidance of head coach Paul Regrutto.

So far this season, the Thunderwolves are 2-2-1 with wins over Fort Hays State and St. Mary’s Texas. Part of that success has been attributed to the 13 new freshmen members of the team.

Not just in women’s soccer, but in college sports in general, there has been a common notion that freshmen are at the bottom of the pecking order when it comes to playing. While some coaches still believe in that philosophy, the times are changing, and more coaches are leaning toward playing freshmen.

For Regrutto, it doesn’t matter if you’re a senior or a freshman.

“If you’re good enough, you’re going to get the opportunity to play. I think they all deserve the opportunity, and a lot of them have shown (that) really well,” he said.

When asked what goes into the process, Regrutto said, “I think you have to look at them, even as freshmen; if they’re ready, you give them the chance that’s been the idea behind the process.”

So far, over eight freshmen have already seen the field, and a few have already made their presence felt on the team. Out of the eight, Tanna Duling, Amanda Chase, and Danelle Dondelinger have received a considerable amount of playing time. Chase, a defender from Alburquerque, has been most effective on the defensive side of the field, solidifying the center back spot.

Duling has proved to be a Swiss army knife for the Thunderwolves. In a 2-1 overtime victory over Fort Hays State, Duling assisted on a Shae McNutt goal in the first half, and then in overtime she scored the game winning goal, the first goal of her college career, all while playing left back.

Dondelinger, who’s a midfielder, has been on the attack all season for the Thunderwolves. Finally, against Colorado School of Mines, it paid off when, 85 minutes into the game, she knocked in her first college career goal.

When training camp first opened, the size of the freshmen class was a shock to returning players; there was more of them than there were veterans, but it didn’t take long for them to bond together.

Dondelinger said, “I came in and fell in love with the team right away. We all blend so nicely, and we’re all super sweet, and it’s nice because we don’t have one person on the team; we’re all important. We’re all a part of the team.”

“This is one of the first teams I’ve ever been on that’s completely a family,” she added, and she believes it is going to help them as a team going forward.

Dondelinger gives a lot of credit to senior forward Brittany Kliesen for helping her transition to the college level.

Calling her a mentor, Dondelinger said, “Every day I play with her, she makes me a better player. Honestly, it’s so fun every time I play with Brittany, I learn something. She’s so nice; she wants to help me.”

While these are some of the freshmen who have seen the most playing time, Regrutto said “all of them are doing a really good job.”

Speaking about the team as a whole, he said, “We’re still trying to figure out exactly our best system and who our best players are. Because we have so many new players, that’s made it a bit of a challenge, but that’s a great thing about being a coach; you have to figure those things out.”

graphic courtesy of Pueblo City Schools

The Bell rings red once again as the Centennial Bulldogs took down the Central Wildcats in thrilling fashion Friday at the 2014 Bell Game, with a final score of 28-26.

With just under three minutes left in the fourth quarter, Wildcat’s quarterback Mike Ranson ran 8 yards for a touchdown, bringing the Wildcats back within two points. With the two-point conversion pending, Central left the ball in Ranson’s hands and tried running it to the outside, but the Bulldogs defense was ready, smothering Ranson in what would be the game clinching play of the night.

If there was ever such a thing as a 12 round fight in football, this game would fit the description. For four quarters, the Wildcats and Bulldogs battled back and forth for the lead. Central was able to get on the board first when Demitrius Jackson threw a 32 yard touchdown pass to Daniel Palacio. The Wildcats weren’t able to make the two-point conversion, so that only put them ahead 6-0.

It didn’t take the Bulldogs long to respond, and they countered with two, long touchdown runs by running back Quincy Kindred. Kindred scored with a 32 yard run and then a 74 yarder which was the longest play of the night by either side. Kindred finished the night with 192 yards rushing.

Entering halftime, the Wildcats trailed 14-6, and Centennial had all the momentum. But early in the third quarter, the Wildcats responded with their own one-two punch, putting up two consecutive scoring drives. Ranson ran one in from 14 yards out; then Nikko Valdez punched one in from 20 yards to give the Wildcats a 20-14 lead.

The Bulldogs answered again, scoring on a 7 yard touchdown run by Kindred, which was his third touchdown of the night. The Bulldogs took the lead, 21-20.

Near the end of the tight scoring game, both teams exchanged punts after unsuccessful drives. Then Bulldogs running back Caleb Miranda broke free for a 50 yard touchdown run, which would prove to be the winning play. Miranda finished the game with 106 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries.

Centennial moves to 4-1 on the season and faces Coronado the next week. The 2-4 Wildcats will go on to face the 3-3 East Eagles who lost Friday to Pueblo West.

It was a rough night on the pitch for the CSU-Pueblo women’s soccer team as they lost 4-1 at home against the Orediggers of Colorado School of Mines.

For the first 22 minutes of the game, Mines was the aggressor. They kept attacking the ThunderWolves’ defense, and then 23 minutes in, Mines struck on an unassisted goal from Kendra Bulawa.

From there, it was all downhill for the ThunderWolves in the first-half. Four minutes later, Mines scored again on a goal from Cari Smith, and with eight minutes left in the half they scored again, extending their lead to 3-0 going into the second half.

It seemed like everything was going right for Mines and wrong for the ThunderWolves.

Coming into the second half, the ThunderWolves had much more energy. For the first 20 minutes, the ThunderWolves were able to consistently possess the ball and attack the Mines defense; they just weren’t able to get past the last line of defense, specifically Jayln Yates, goalie for the Orediggers, who had 7 saves on 8 shots-on-goal.

After the push by the ThunderWolves, Mines pushed back and scored their fourth goal of the game off the leg of Kenzie King with eight minutes left.

In garbage time, with five minutes left, the ThunderWolves were finally able put points on the board as freshman mid-fielder Danelle Dondelinger scored the first goal of her college career.

The Orediggers took the win, which was probably no surprise to the ThunderWolves. In their last three games against Mines, two of them going back to last year, the ThunderWolves have been outscored 10-1.

With this loss, the ThunderWolves finish the week 0-1-1. Next week they host Colorado Mesa at the Art and Lorraine Gonzalez Soccer Complex and finish the week at Fort Lewis College in Durango.

Photo from NFL.com

In February, former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice and his fiancé, Janay Palmer, were both arrested for their role in a domestic violence dispute at an Atlantic City hotel. Days later, a video surfaced showing Rice dragging his unconscious fiancé out of an elevator.

For the past seven months, there has been a lot of speculation about what really happened in the elevator that night. But after a new video was released by TMZ Monday showing the sequence of events leading up to the incident, there was no more speculation.

In the new video, Rice is shown striking Palmer in the face with so much force that she falls, hitting her head on the railing, knocking her unconscious. The new video led to the Ravens cutting Rice, and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell suspending Rice indefinitely.  This means Rice will have to apply to the commissioner’s office before being reinstated.

Even with Goodell suspending Rice indefinitely, both he and the NFL are still facing heavy backlash over how they handled the entire situation prior to the release of the new video. Before the new video surfaced, the NFL only suspended Rice for two games, which is two games fewer than a player who tests positive for marijuana a first time.

With the poor handling of the situation, there was an outcry from people across the country, including domestic violence groups who reached out to the NFL.  Realizing they got it wrong, the NFL released a new domestic violence policy less than two weeks ago.  In the new policy, players are suspended for six games for the first offense, and for the second offense they are banned from the league.

When the NFL released the new policy, Goodell was quoted in a press release as saying “he didn’t get it right,” referring to his initial suspension of Rice.

There is no question Goodell got it wrong. The NFL as a whole has been flawed during their entire investigation, and they proved it again Tuesday when Goodell told CBS news, “We (the NFL) had not seen any videotape of what occurred in the elevator. We assumed that there was a video; we asked for video; we asked for anything that was pertinent, but we were never granted that opportunity.”

It is hard to believe that the NFL, a multi-billion dollar company who has numerous former, high-ranking law enforcement officials working on their security team, couldn’t get their hands on a video tape.

How is it that a much smaller organization like TMZ, with less resources, could find access to the tape, but the NFL couldn’t?

It’s an indicator that the NFL didn’t take the incident serious enough and didn’t do their due diligence during the investigation.

Since Goodell took over as commissioner in 2006, one of his main concerns has been protecting the integrity of the game and making it safer.  Goodell has referenced it as “protecting the shield,” meaning protecting the logo.

But where is the NFL’s integrity?

There is none. Besides the domestic violence issue surrounding Rice, there are two other players who have domestic charges pending against them.

Greg Hardy a defensive lineman for the Carolina Panthers was convicted of domestic violence by a district judge in North Carolina, but he appealed the judge’s decision which will now send the case to trial.

Then there’s Ray McDonald, a defensive end for the San Francisco 49ers, who was arrested and charged with suspicion of felony domestic violence Sept. 1, and less than a week later he played in the 49ers season opener against the Dallas Cowboys.

Neither the league office nor those franchises have done a darn thing since the players’ arrests, and the sad thing is, this sort of thing has been going for at least the past 14 years.

Since the year 2000, 77 players have been charged with domestic violence, and only six players have been cut; that’s how much the NFL is concerned about their players involved in domestic violence cases. It took them this long to take any kind of initiative.

Of course, people are innocent until proven guilty, but when a player has been charged with a serious crime such as domestic violence, they should not be allowed to participate in any NFL activities until they are proven innocent and cleared of the charges.

The NFL, along with every other professional sports league, needs to start showing players that it’s a privilege to play professional sports.

If I were the commissioner, Ray Rice would be banned from the NFL, and I’m sure that’s the feeling by most of the general public, but the NFL has a track record of reinstating players who have committed serious crimes.

They’re about to reinstate Josh Brent who was responsible for a person’s death while driving under the influence. So while I expect him to be reinstated a year or two from now, I don’t expect him to ever play in the NFL again. He’s a 27 year old running back, and no team will want to bring him into their organization.

The NFL has ignored incidents of players’ violence against women for too long, but they are finally starting to get the message. While suspending Rice indefinitely was the first step in the right direction, the NFL still has a long way to go toward cleaning up the league and gaining any trust back from women across the country.

The Pueblo East Eagles and the Pueblo South Colts battle to claim the Cannon, Sept. 5, 2014

Coming into the 56^th annual Cannon game, the confidence of both the Pueblo South Colts and Pueblo East Eagles was about as high as it could be for the two teams. Both entered the game without a loss. The Eagles were 2-0 after their first two games, and the Colts were 1-0 after beating Ponderosa 35-0 last Friday.

On Friday they turned their attention to each other with the Colts outlasting the Eagles 34-20 in what felt like a 12 round fight.

For three and a half quarters, the Colts and Eagles battled back and forth until Colts’ senior quarterback Nate Spinuzzi hit junior tight end Isaiah Pannunizo with a 20 yard touchdown pass to extend their lead to 14 points. It was too big a lead for the Eagles to try and overcome.

Spinuzzi, who is known as a throwing quarterback, really struggled on the night, completing only 9 of 21 pass attempts for 107 yards. He had two interceptions and the one, late touchdown pass to Pannunzio. From the start of the game, Spinuzzi and the Colts’ passing game were off.

Colts head coach Ryan Goddard recognized the problem, and as the game went on, he leaned on Spinuzzi’s running game more. Spinuzzi had a 100 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 16 carries, with one touchdown for 21 yards on fourth down. The Colts pushed ahead 14-7 with 58 seconds left in the first half and never looked back.

At halftime, the Colts had all of the momentum, but that didn’t last long. The East Eagles came roaring out to open the half with a 35 yard run by their quarterback Daniel Martin, who also had a big day on the ground, rushing for 135 yards on 16 carries. The run by Martin was all the Eagles needed to get them energized. After the big run, they marched down the field and Martin made another big run with a 16 yard touchdown to cap off the Eagles’ 80 yard drive.

Even with the touchdown, the Eagles still trailed. Instead of electing to go for the extra point, Eagles head coach David Ramirez decided to try carrying that momentum and go for two to taking the lead. Martin kept the ball on a sweep to the right side, but the Colts were ready and stopped him short, giving all the momentum back to the Colts.

Using that momentum, the Colts scored twice in the third quarter to take a 26-13 lead to start the fourth.

Like true east-siders, the Eagles didn’t quit. They charged down the field and scored on a two-yard touchdown run by Martin early in the fourth quarter, cutting the Colts’ lead to six with just over eight minutes left.

The Eagles needed a defensive stop, but the Colts scored again in less than three minutes on Spinuzzi’s best throw of the night to Pannunzio, sealing the victory.

This is the second straight Cannon game victory for the Pueblo South Colts as they handed their archrivals, the Pueblo East Eagles, their first loss of the season.

graphic courtesy of Page Resource

It was the best of times and then the worst of times for the Pueblo County Hornets who lost their seventh straight Pigskin Classic Friday night to their arch rival’s the Pueblo West Cyclones by a score of 13-12.

Entering the fourth quarter, the game was tied at six a piece. It felt like the Hornets were in control and had all of the momentum, and they did, but only until the Cyclones’ senior punt returner, Travis Myers, had a 45 yard return for a touchdown which shifted all of the momentum and changed the game.

Even with the momentum in the Cyclones’ favor, the Hornets were able to maintain their poise and march down the field to score a touchdown on a five yard run by Joey Paradiso. Paradiso finished with six rushes for 26 yards and two touchdowns on the game.

The touchdown brought the Hornets within one, and instead of electing to kick the extra point, Pueblo County elected to go for the lead and went for two.

On the two point conversation, the Hornets drew up a quarterback draw for Troy Keys. Keys tried running up the middle, but Pueblo West’s defense was ready and tackled him at the line of scrimmage leaving the score at 13-12 in favor of the Cyclones with just under six minutes left in the fourth quarter.

With very little time left in the game, the Hornets needed a defensive stop which they achieved. The Hornets got the ball back with two minutes left and showed some promise with solid runs by JJ Muniz and Mason Mooring who combined for 94 yards on 18 carries in the game, but with a minute and a half left Keys threw an interception into the hands of middle linebacker Brandon Summers, sealing the Cyclone’s seventh straight victory over the Hornets and keeping the Pigskin in Pueblo West.

While it was the Hornets’ seventh straight loss in the Pigskin classic and first loss of the season, both teams walked away with their heads held high and experience to build upon for both their respective seasons ahead.