Winners
Eve Ensler
If there’s one stereotype associated with athletes, it’s testosterone (and not just the East German Women’s Swim Team). A few months ago, a diverse crew of Santa Fe men gave a nod to playwright
Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues
format to perform
to raise money for the Santa Fe Rape Crisis and Trauma Treatment Center. The video version of the performance will screen at the former Jean Cocteau Theatre Aug. 30 and features SFR Talk subject Ray Lopez [May 14: “Male Call”] and state Sen. John Grubesic. We sincerely hope there aren’t faked orgasms.
Democratic voter rolls
If you asked LA Laker Derek Fisher, he might tell you being a point guard is just about setting up your teammates for layups and dunks. Fisher also has his man Barack Obama’s back, touring the country with Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean and actor-writer Kal Penn (Kumar of Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle) to register voters and inspire volunteers. The trio filled the Solana Shopping Center parking lot on Aug. 22, with Fisher warming up the crowd with stories of his Arkansan youth under Gov. Bill Clinton.
US Olympic gymnastics
New Mexico’s great hope at the Beijing Olympics was John Hagerty, a Rio Rancho gymnast. Unfortunately, Hagerty was no Michael Phelps. He had a few slips that brought down the team’s score, including one run on the mat where he stepped out of bounds twice. Nevertheless, Hagerty and his brethren-in-spandex deserve a winner mention because they brought the bronze, which is significantly better than nothing.
Losers
High school hazers
Every few years, New Mexicans are confronted with a horrifying high school or college hazing scandal; this time, the accusations against six Robertson High School football players of broom-stick rape will possibly be the last big case of First Judicial District Attorney Henry Valdez’ prosecutorial career. Vadez inherited the case after Fourth Judicial DA Richard Flores recused himself; the school is in Las Vegas, NM. If Valdez can’t close it before his term ends in January, his successor, Angela “Spence” Pacheco, will take over the disturbing, high-profile case.
Sneaker buyers
So, Gov. Bill Richardson’s oh-so important special legislative session pretty much bombed, with most of his proposals getting nixed or cut to the point of insignificance. Included among the dead ideas was a December tax holiday, which would have specifically provided tax relief for athletic shoes and gear—guess REI, opening next month in the Santa Fe Railyard, will have to survive without it.
Lobos football
And you thought the process to charge Karl Rove with contempt of Congress was slow. According to the Associated Press, the National College Athletic Association took a full four years (yeah, a BA program) to conclude that two University of New Mexico football coaches improperly helped three Lobos recruits gain fraudulent academic cred from correspondence schools. As a result, UNM lost five scholarships and will be on probation for two more years.