Albuquerque Journal from Albuquerque, New Mexico • B1

Combo guard commits to Lobos BY GEOFF GRAMMER JOURNAL STAFF WRITER hard enough to keep up with play- ers committing to basketball programs on social media anymore. Late Wednesday night, Isaiah Marin did it twice in one Instagram post. The 6-foot-5 combo guard from Arizona who played at the College Prep Academy in Sacramento, California, this past season announced he is committing to play bas- ketball for the New Mexico Lobos. Just not yet. Marin posted he is committing for the 2020-21 season to play at South Plains Col- lege in Levelland, Texas, the same junior college that Lobo senior guard Keith McGee played as a freshman in 2017-18.

Marin also posted that he is also com- mitting now for the 2021-22 season to the Lobos, who extended him a scholarship offer earlier this month. After thanking God, his prep school coaches and club team coach, Marin wrote on Instagram: that being said, I will be committing to South Plains College (JUCO) for the upcoming year, but also committing to the University of New Mexico for the following 2021 year. Appre- ciate everyone who rocking with me in this process, we barely getting Players for the 2021 recruiting class can not sign a National Letter of Intent until at least November. UNM coaches can not comment about players not signed, other than to confirm they are recruiting them. Other schools can still recruit Marin while he plays this season in junior college.

CRAZY LOBO LADY: Susan Berg, affec- tionately known on social media and to her fellow Lobo athletics fanatics as Crazy Lobo died this week due to complications with a long battle with cancer. Lobo fans had chipped in this past sea- son on a GoFundMe account with more But got other plans before heading to UNM See LOBO B2 A make-or- break fight for Espinosa BY RICK WRIGHT FOR THE JOURNAL That trip to Kazakhstan never mate- rialized, but Jordan Espinosa is a well- traveled man all the same. one trip, though, that he defi- nitely want to make a one-way ticket out of the UFC. To avoid that unwelcome journey, he believes, he needs to defeat Mark De La Rosa on Saturday on a UFC Fight Night card in Las Vegas, Nevada. After back-to-back losses by first-round submission, the former West Mesa wres- tler believes, his back is to the wall.

not many people in the UFC that lose three in a row and still end up sticking Espinosa said in a recent interview at Lut- trell-Yee gym. De La Rosa is one of the exceptions to that general rule, having lost three in a row and still fighting in the UFC. That, in mind, does not make his need for a victory any less urgent. think both fighting for our spot in the he said, I think that makes for an exciting About travels: After losses to Matt Schnell and Alex Perez, Espinosa (14-7 overall, 2-2 UFC) was to have fought Zhaigas Zhumagulov in the Kazakhstani city of Nur-Saltan. But the coronavirus forced the card to be shifted to Las Vegas, with Zhumagulov, a Kazakhstan native, unable to travel to the U.S.

was Espinosa said of the Kazakhstan cancellation. would have been my first trip out of the country and my first international Even so, within the borders of the U.S., Espinosa has gotten around. Born in Connecticut, he spent most of pre-adolescent years in northwest Indi- ana East Chicago and Gary. After his parents split up, he moved with his moth- er to Memphis, Tennessee, then, when he was 14, to Albuquerque. been here ever since, save for a JEREMY STATE MEDIA Jordan Espinosa works out with coach Ray Yee during a recent practice session at Luttrell-Yee MMA.

Duke City MMA veteran is eager for Saturday bout See ESPINOSA B2 no definitive stand on kneeling ASSOCIATED PRESS NFL players who want to kneel dur- ing the national anthem to protest police brutality and racism have far more support than Colin Kaepernick did four years ago. Still, it might not be widespread for a few reasons. If organizations insist on unity, as some coaches and front-office execu- tives have mentioned, that could be a hurdle. Another potential drawback is the growing belief among some players that kneeling is no longer necessary to raise awareness because George death has ignited nationwide protests over racial injustice and police brutality. Lastly, some owners might still have an issue with it despite the sup- port of the players.

our team ends up doing, gonna support. But gonna do it together as a Colts general manager Chris Ballard said. Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Ste- fanski, Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur and several other coaches also expressed their support of the players, but mentioned they want it to be a team decision. something that I promise you we will spend as much time as neces- sary as an organization listening to each other, understanding each other, As league pledges to support players, other factors in play See NFL B12 DAVID J. PRESS Rickie Fowler hits out of a bunker on the 12th hole during the first round of the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth on Thursday.

Golf makes return in eerie fashion BY DOUG FERGUSON AP GOLF WRITER FORT WORTH The start was even more quiet than usual for a Thursday morning on the PGA Tour, only the silence never left over the next 12 hours as golf was back to business at the Charles Schwab Challenge. Sung Kang made a hole-in-one on the 13th hole and realize it until he was 50 yards from the green. like, in the It really crazy. Nobody was really up there, only a few people out there just clapping a little Kang said. still appreciated it, Phil Mickelson made a birdie and instinctively pinched the brim of his cap to acknowledge a crowd that there.

Ryan Palmer, a Colonial member who raised money for COVID-19 relief efforts during the shutdown, was chosen to hit the first official shot on the PGA Tour in three months. Those gathered around the first tee could barely hear him announced. The starter was wearing a mask, and his voice competed with the hum of a generator behind the ninth green. Quiet as it was, Colonial came to a standstill at 8:46 a.m. when everyone on the course honored a moment of silence for the death of George Floyd and the outrage it has sparked worldwide on racial injustice.

It was a most unusual round of golf. But it was golf. think just being out here is successful, to be hon- est with you, getting Palmer said. see anything holding us back moving forward. I think today was the biggest day, just getting this first day off.

People PGA Tour restarts with no fans but lots of low scores DAVID J. PRESS Rory McIlroy tees off on the 17th hole with only caddies, tourney officials and the media watch- ing up close. But, of course, there was a television audience. See ROSE B2 Saturday UFC Fight Night: Jessica Eye vs. Cynthia Calvillo, Jordan Espinosa vs.

Mark De La Rosa, 7 p.m. ISAIAH MARINS INSTAGRAM PAGE Isaiah Marin, a 6-foot-5 guard, has com- mitted to New Mexico for the 2021-2022 season, but in the meantime will go the JUCO route. PARKER DRAFTED BY SERIES CHAMPS Manzano High alumnus and left-handed pitcher Mitchell wait was rewarded Thursday with a fifth-round selection by the Washington Nationals in the Major League Baseball amateur draft. PAGE B2 SPORTS ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2020 SECTION.