Albuquerque Journal from Albuquerque, New Mexico • Page 23

BY ED JOHNSON ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR A lexis Leyba could not have imagined in 2011, when she first arrived in these parts, that four years later she would be the lone member of her class on the UNM soccer team. And while she would have liked to have had another senior in the program, she is having so much fun with her younger teammates, she mind. are so many different Leyba said. makes it so fun to work with people who go at you with speed, then others come at you with quick passes. really fun.

a good Leyba is not alone in her enthusiasm for this team of seven juniors, eight sopho- mores, 15 freshmen and herself. UNM coach Kit Vela said. athletic. young. going to make mistakes, but young in a good way not, my gosh, we know what to We have high expectations for them, probably higher than we have in a while because they have so many One of the more gifted Lobos is junior goalkeeper Cassie Ulrich of Rio Rancho.

Ulrich, who went from not playing at all in 2012 to playing every minute in 2013, had SECTION FRIDAY, AUGUST 15, 2014 ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL INSIDE: ISOTOPES D2 QUICK HITS D4 OBITUARIES D6 SPORTS THE NEW CHIEF Labor lawyer Manfred to succeed Selig as baseball commissioner. Page D3 SPORTS SPEAK UP! On this day In 1995, Monica Seles returned to the WTA Tour after a 28-month absence after her 1993 stabbing with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Kimberly Po at the Canadian Open in Toronto. HOW SMUG OF Coach Davies to say he allow the arrest of Gongbay and Edwards to be a diversion for the team! Really, they are still under investigation! Glad your daughter the (other) party. M.J. Jones, Chicago romp in LLWS Pierce Jones hit three home runs Thursday, including a first-inning leadoff shot, to lead the Jackie Robinson West team to a 12-2 victory over Lynnwood of Washington state.

The Jackie Robinson West team is composed of all African- American players. The parents got an assist from some major leaguers such as Atlanta Braves Justin and B.J. Upton and Colorado Rockies pitcher LaTroy Hawkins, who chipped in to pay the travel costs to Pennsylvania. Push is on to use marijuana as pain reliever WASHINGTON: Advocates use of medical pot BY EDDIE PELLS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Marijuana is casting an ever- thickening haze across NFL locker rooms, and not simply because more players are using it. As attitudes toward the drug soften, and science slowly teases out possible benefits for concussions and other injuries, the NFL is reaching a critical point in navigating its tenuous relationship with what is recognized as the analgesic of choice for many of its players.

not, go smoke a retired NFL defensive lineman Marvin Washington said. what if you could take something that helps you heal faster from a concussion, that prevents your equilibrium from being off for two weeks and your eyesight for being off for four One challenge the NFL faces is how to bring marijuana into the game as a pain reliever without condoning its use as a recreational drug. And facing a lawsuit filed on behalf of hundreds of former players complaining about the effects of prescription painkillers they say were pushed on them by team trainers and doctors, the NFL is looking for other ways to help players deal with the pain from a violent game. A Gallup poll last year found 58 percent of Americans believe marijuana should be legalized. already happened in Colorado and Washington the states that are home to last Super Bowl teams.

The World Anti-Doping Agency has said it does not need to catch out-of-competition mari- juana users. And at least one high-profile coach, Pete Carroll of the champion Seahawks, publicly said like to see the NFL study whether marijuana can help players. There are no hard numbers on how many NFL players are using marijuana, but anecdotal evidence, including the arrest or league discipline of no fewer than a dozen players for pot over the Some say NFL should consider its use to relieve concussion symptoms See NFL D6 Counting on youth ROBERTO E. Alexis Leyba, shown trapping a pass during practice Wednesday, is the only senior on the UNM soccer team. Lobo soccer team is an energetic bunch No shortage of beef along defensive line Aug.

22 Season opener: New Mexico at Texas Tech poll Lobos picked to finish 4th in MWC D2 See LOBO D2 BY RICK WRIGHT JOURNAL STAFF WRITER RUIDOSO The benefits of artificial turf are many and varied, but another. When Cole Juarez walks on the synthetic carpet at Ruidoso Middle School, the earth does not shake. On natural turf, it just might. Juarez, at 6-foot-2 and 305 pounds, is the biggest man on the 2014 University of New Mexico roster though not by much. Jack Ziltz and Dominic Twitty, fellow defensive linemen, are listed at an even 300.

The signings of Ziltz and Juarez, both junior college transfers, and the growth of Twitty, who weighed 260 pounds as a high school senior, are part of a plan. The Lobos ranked 120th among 123 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision teams last season in rushing defense, giving up an average of 6.17 yards per carry. Having bigger, stronger run-stuffers in the middle of three- man defensive front was made a priority in recruiting and in the weight room. Juarez is quietly confident he can fill the void. know be able to do my position, hold my he said after practice at the middle school field.

be able to help In addition to being the biggest Lobo, Juarez might be the strongest. He has bench-pressed 525 pounds, or approximately three wide receivers. also likely the newest Lobo. Unlike most of his fellow first-year players, Juarez was not enrolled in summer school at UNM. He arrived in Albuquerque just days before the team began training camp.

just had two or three nights at my place back in Albuquerque (before the Aug. 30 Season opener: UTEP at New Mexico, 6 p.m., 770 AM See D-LINE D5 305-pound Juarez heads rebuilt unit Sanchez signs with UFC for a 4-fight deal Local flyweight will make debut on Fight Aug. 23 BY GEOFF GRAMMER JOURNAL STAFF WRITER When Joby Sanchez glanced at his phone after a Tuesday night practice and saw 20 missed calls from his manager, he new it must be something big. He still prepared for what he was about to hear. Just five days after the 23-year-old Albuquerque native improved to 6-0 as a professional mixed-martial artist with a second-round TKO over cage veteran Antonio Banuelos in Lemoore, Sanchez was told the UFC the top fight promotion in MMA was ready to give him his shot, signing the 2009 Valley High School graduate to a four-fight contract.

The catch? His first fight is in eight days, Aug. 23 in Tulsa, on the preliminary card of Fight against Wilson Reis (17-5). called him (his manager) back and he asked me, do you feel about fighting Wilson Sanchez said of the conversation he had with his manager. told him I even know who that is. Then he said it was a fight in the UFC on Aug.

23, a week and a half and said, do you feel about I told him, See SANCHEZ D3 Volcano Vista players face any discipline BY JAMES YODICE JOURNAL STAFF WRITER None of the football players who were at the center of a controversy at Volcano Vista surrounding questions of eligibility will miss any games in 2014, the Journal has learned. The New Mexico Activities Association has completed its investigation of the players. far as concerned, the case is executive director Sally Marquez said. Nine players were investigated by the NMAA over the past few months. It sought to determine whether or not they were eligible to play this fall.

The Journal had previously reported that several players were under suspicion of falsifying addresses to attend Volcano Vista and were facing a possible season-long suspension from See FOOTBALL D5 The NMAA investigated nine athletes in regards to eligibility questions Aug. 23 Fight Joby Sanchez makes his UFC debut at Tulsa, Okla. TV: Prelims 6 p.m., Fox Sports main card 8 p.m., Fox Sports 1 More preps Menaul tries to pick up the pieces after former departure D5.