The New Mexican Sports Den with Will and James

From a men’s basketball team student manager to interim athletic director, Ryan Berryman has made a meteoric rise up the ranks of the University of New Mexico’s athletics department. The 31-year-old has seen Lobo athletics go through some turbulent times, and in 2025 achieve one of the most successful years in its history. In the latest episode of “The Sports Den” podcast,...

It’s the dog days of winter, prep basketball teams are entering district play, and at least one of  The New Mexican’s  sports writers is distracting himself with random bits of news until the blissful arrival of postseason hoops. In the latest episode of “The Sports Den” podcast, Will Webber and James Barron review the latest developments that have caught their ey...

A big week of regular season tournaments is in the books and we’re getting a clearer picture of the contenders as teams head into the second half of the season. In the latest episode of “The Sports Den” podcast,  Santa Fe New Mexican  sports writers Will Webber and James Barron offer their observations of what they’ve seen so far for boys and girls teams across cl...

The high school basketball regular season revs up this week with big tournaments around the region. In the latest episode of “The Sports Den” podcast,  Santa Fe New Mexican  sports writers Will Webber and James Barron offer an overview of the action and highlight the matchups to watch. James discusses the Jason Abeyta Memorial Tournament at Santa Fe Indian School, the St. Mic...

Santa Fe New Mexican  sports scribe James Barron is turning 50 as the calendar turns to 2026 and his birthday wish is to one day see successful coaches and administrators at his alma mater stick around for a while. In the latest episode of “The Sports Den” podcast, Barron and University of New Mexico beat writer Will Webber discuss the latest departure from Albuquerque as 37-...

The Santa Fe High boys basketball team is off to a 6-1 start and showing signs of being a contender in Class 5A. Ahead of the Demons’ trip to The Holiday Classic in San Diego, where they will face off with teams from across the country, head coach Cisco Rivera took some time to chat with  Santa Fe New Mexican  sports writers Will Webber and James Barron about what he’s learne...

Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, an Albuquerque native and former New Mexico State Aggie, wasn’t exactly gracious after his runner-up finish for the Heisman Trophy and had some choice words for voters in a social media post afterward. Will Webber,  Santa Fe New Mexican  sports editor and one of 870 media members with a Heisman vote,  has some words to share on Pavia , too....

The Mesa Vista boys basketball team seized a win heard ’round New Mexico last week when the Class 2A Trojans took down perennial Class 5A powerhouse Hobbs in the Española Shootout. With a school enrollment of 87, Mesa Vista's 60-58 victory over the Hobbs, which has an enrollment of nearly 2,300, caught the attention of prep hoops coaches and fans of teams from all classes. In the late...

It was a big two days for local sports coverage last week as the University of New Mexico football team defeated San Diego State on Friday to finish in a tie for first in the Mountain West Conference and then St. Michael’s football team won another championship game thriller against Dexter for its third straight Class 3A title. In the latest episode of “The Sports Den” podcast,&n...

St. Michael’s powerhouse football program is in the midst of a 32-game winning streak heading into its Class 3A championship game showdown Saturday in Dexter. Senior standouts Kamal Stith and Isaiah Dominguez have had a big hand in the team’s success. In the latest episode of “The Sports Den” podcast, Stith and Dominguez join  Santa Fe New Mexican  sports writers...

Both teams have held up their end of the bargain all year and now the game everyone’s been talking about is almost here. In a rematch of last year’s Class 3A championship game that came down to the wire, St. Michael’s will look to cap off another unbeaten season when the Horsemen take on No. 2 seed Dexter on Saturday in Dexter. In the first of two “Sports Den” podcast...

The state volleyball tournament is a wrap and state football is all that remains of the prep fall sports season. And wouldn’t you know, the University of New Mexico football is still playing meaningful games. In the latest episode of “The Sports Den” podcast,  Santa Fe New Mexican  sports writers Will Webber and James Barron put a bow on the volleyball season and discus...

Several prep sports teams have hoisted a blue trophy to cap their season but there are still plenty more to earn. In the latest episode of “The Sports Den” podcast, Santa Fe New Mexican sports writers Will Webber and James Barron review the success of local teams in cross country and soccer, then preview the week ahead for the state volleyball and football tournaments. James will be ca...

With his development of the Northern New Mexico Youth Sports League, Zeke Villegas was already a well-known name in the regional football community by 2022-2023 when he was applying to various schools in search of his first high school head coaching job. He got his shot at Pojoaque Valley, where he was hired to turn around a program that had gone winless the previous season. Fast forward three yea...

We’re well into fall and the University of New Mexico football team is vying for a bowl bid, the Lobos men’s basketball team has tipped off its exhibition season and prep sports postseason kicks off this week with state soccer. In the latest episode of “The Sports Den,”  Santa Fe New Mexican  sports writers Will Webber and James Barron discuss the UNM football tea...

One of the big stories from last week was the suspension of the Academy for Technology and the Classics girls soccer coach Vilma Ontiveros for violating the school’s social media policy. In the latest episode of “The Sports Den,” Santa Fe New Mexican sports writers Will Webber and James Barron discuss the fallout at the school following the suspension. Will and James also take a...

Adam Diehl is a play-by-play broadcaster for everything from college cross country to prep football and volleyball, to New Mexico United soccer and more. Working for ESPN Radio 101.7, Sports Primo and the Mountain West Network, the New Mexico native is well-versed in the sports scene throughout the state. As high school fall sports head into the home stretch of the regular season, Diehl joins &ldq...

The University of New Mexico football team’s momentum was stopped cold with a disappointing loss against San Jose State last week, but the prep sports storylines keep heating up. In the latest episode of “The Sports Den” podcast, Santa Fe New Mexican sports writers Will Webber and James Barron talk about the Pojoaque football team’s first-ever win over a shorthanded Roberts...

It’s a new day in Loboland. Social media stars and Albuquerque celebrities were part of a rare sellout crowd at University Stadium on Saturday to provide an electric atmosphere for the Lobos’ Rio Grande Rivalry win over New Mexico State.  Santa Fe New Mexican  sports reporters Will Webber and James Barron have seen a lot of UNM games over the years, but it was hard to compare...

What a time to be alive. The University of New Mexico football team dominated a Big Ten team on Friday, defeating UCLA 35-10 at the Rose Bowl for one of the biggest wins in program history. Also on Friday, Santa Fe High’s football team took down Albuquerque High 18-6 for the Demons’ first district win since 2023. On the latest episode of “The Sports Den,” Santa Fe New Mexic...

Santa Fe’s big three football teams have all had a go at each other through the first three weeks of the season and St. Michael’s again has proven to be at the top of the class. On the latest episode of “The Sports Den,” Santa Fe New Mexican sports writers Will Webber and James Barron discuss St. Michael’s dominance of Santa Fe High and Capital, then delve into some o...

The prep football season is heating up and Week 3 brings some big games for area teams. In the latest episode of “The Sports Den,” Santa Fe New Mexican sports writers Will Webber and James Barron discuss their excitement for games between unbeaten teams, including Santa Fe High against St. Michael’s and Pojoaque versus Los Alamos. The guys talk about Kamal Stith growing into his...

We’re in it now. With Week 1 of the prep football season in the books, Santa Fe New Mexican sports writers Will Webber and James Barron have some thoughts to share about what stood out from area teams’ season openers.  James covered Santa Fe High’s win over Capital and offers his insight on what he saw. He thinks the Demons’ Week 2 game at Belen will be a good test to...

The prep football season kicks off this week and  Santa Fe New Mexican  sports writers Will Webber and James Barron are celebrating by providing some bulletin board material for area teams and making their picks for Week 1. The guys start the latest episode of “The Sports Den” by sharing their parting takes from visiting area team practices for their Tour of the North series....

The prep football season is less than 10 days away and Santa Fe New Mexican sports writers Will Webber and James Barron are on the move, checking out the practices of local teams for their Tour of the North series that runs through Aug. 22. The guys spend the latest episode of “The Sports Den” discussing what they’ve seen from the practices they’ve attended so far.  Th...