In a bar that I owned in Downtown El Paso, Don Haskins once walked in to enjoy a cold beer. Sitting at the end of the bar we’re two Anglo men having a cold one as well. Minutes after sitting at the bar, one of the Anglo men asked Don Haskins what prompted him to have started five N****** (N word) during the national championship game.

Don never looked up at them or gave them an answer. He drank his beer in one swallow, threw a couple of bucks on the bar and started to walk out. He suddenly stopped at the door and turned back towards those two guys. He walked over to the loud mouth and threw a heck of a right-handed punch knocking him to the ground. He looked up at the other guy, smiled and walked out without ever saying a word.

His actions were much louder than words, but his message was loud and clear. This man stood up for what he believed in; even though sometimes he stood alone. El Paso lost its most famous and favorite son and he will be missed and mourned by many. Our loss is Heaven’s gain! (via In Memoriam - Perspectives)

There’s only one basketball team in the entire world that I care about — the University of Texas at El Paso Miners. I state this much in the same way that I definiantly declare that Texas high school football — especially six-man — pretty much trumps all sports EVER.

Don Haskins, former UTEP (a/k/a Texas Western & Texas College of Mines) basketball coach, best known for having played the first all-black starting lineup in an NCAA championship game in 1966, passed away last week, aged 78. “The John Wayne of basketball” will definitely be missed in my hometown, where he will live on in our collective memory as one of El Paso’s greatest legendary and revolutionary figures.