Kids travel all over for bouts

Joseph Olivas likes being in a corner.

It’s a space where re-engineering and re-evaluating are paramount. During a minute between rounds, he gets to relay a lifetime of advice. Sometimes his words are simple: Lead with your left and keep your chin down and hands up and keep moving.

Olivas, 46, volunteers a few hours an evening to train up-and-coming amateur boxers at the nonprofit Lites Out gymnasium on Gallup’s tough north side.

“Sometimes your reward doesn’t have to be money,” Olivas said. “My payment is when I see a kid develop in the ring from a young prospect to a real good prospect with a future. That’s my payment.”

Olivas, a...

It’s another rough start for the Gallup Amateur Baseball/Softball Association, which directs and organizes the recreational, yet competitive, baseball and softball teams and leagues for the upcoming summer months.

The president of the association, Kevin Menapace, was forced to resign after some parents insisted on appearing at his place of employment to complain about a variety of small items they didn’t like.

These were most likely the same parents who refused to attend any of the meetings where these decisions were discussed and agreed to, and probably in the same social grouping as those parents from last year that used the same tactics.

Some of the rule changes were necessary...

The Miyamura Patriots baseball team lost April 9 home conference game against Aztec by a score of 5-1, but not without giving it all their best. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Ryan Hudgeons of RAH Photography

One of the many things that makes baseball so enjoyable is when Mother Nature cooperates and produces a beautiful day, like the one on Apr. 2 at the Sports Complex. Other factors also contribute to that lazy day feeling, of course: visiting with old friends, and new ones, too; the sense that there is no hurry to the game; the warm sun, not too hot with a slight breeze; watching the younger kids play; and naturally getting to see the home team win.

Conversations ranged from silly to serious reminiscing, with a little teasing thrown in every direction. The warmth of the day and the unhurried atmosphere contributed to a lazy feeling that not even the joy of watching the toddlers could...