The New Mexican Sports Den with Will and James

They’re young and they don’t have the largest roster, but Capital head football coach John Michael Salazar has liked what he’s seen from his Jaguars in the early days of practice for the 2025 football season. Coming off a 2-7 year, the Jaguars bring back some strong athletes at their skill positions and an improved culture in the locker room, which gives Salazar hope for the team...

Bored with the limited summer sports offerings, Santa Fe New Mexican sports reporters Will Webber and James Barron decide to dive into prep football talk for the latest episode of “The Sports Den.” The football season starts in just under a month, with Santa Fe Indian School facing Cuba on Thursday, Aug. 21, to kick off the slate of games for local teams. Will and James discuss the pro...

August 1 will mark five years since the death of JB White, but the legacy of former Santa Fe High basketball standout lives on. The JB White Foundation was founded in 2021 to raise gun violence awareness among the region’s youth, to provide academic scholarships to high school seniors and to support children in sports through assisting with registration fees and shoe apparel.  The found...

Carl Vigil has been officiating games in New Mexico for two decades and is now the New Mexico Activities Association’s commissioner of officials. He’s witnessed a decline in referee staffing, which has become a problem nationwide in part because of the abuse officials endure from fans.  Vigil joins the latest episode of “The Sports Den” with Santa Fe New Mexican sports...

It’s media day on “The Sports Den” as Santa Fe New Mexican sports writers Will Webber and James Barron welcome Ryan Tomari of The Pit Press to the show. Tomari discusses the origins and growth of the media outlet that focuses on University of New Mexico athletics, and the team that churns out podcasts and content at thepitpressnm.com .  The guys talk to Tomari about his infa...

It’s the dog days of summer for sports coverage and  Santa Fe New Mexican  sports writers Will Webber and James Barron are talking hoops in the latest episode of “The Sports Den.” Will attended last week’s 30-minute University of New Mexico men’s basketball practice to check out the new-look Lobos under their new head coach, Eric Olen. He shares his imp...

There’s no guest on the “Sports Den” this week, and maybe that’s for the best after the disorder of last week’s episode. Santa Fe New Mexican sports writers Will Webber and James Barron begin their latest episode by reminiscing about their memorable interview with Pecos League president Andrew Dunn and also talk some Santa Fe Fuego baseball before diving into prep and...

Pecos League founder and president Andrew Dunn surely has many great stories about the independent baseball league that is home to the Santa Fe Fuego. Unfortunately, Santa Fe New Mexican sports writers Will Webber and James Barron will have to wait to hear them.  In the latest episode of “The New Mexican Sports Den,” Dunn struggles to communicate his Pecos League stories and knowl...

Santa Fe New Mexican  sports writers Will Webber and James Barron discuss their most memorable moments from the 2024-25 high school sports seasons, including the good and the bad. They also discuss some of the changes they’d like the New Mexico Activities Association to implement in coming years. Back from his Indy 500 birthday weekend, Barron shares a bit about his experience at the Gr...

The 2024-25 prep sports season came to an end last weekend with champions crowned at state competitions for track, baseball and softball. Santa Fe New Mexican sports writers Will Webber and James Barron put a bow on the academic year by chatting with graduating multi-sport standouts Raylee Hunt of St. Michael’s and Cy Anderson of Santa Fe High. Both athletes took home hardware at the state t...

Joey Fernandez said when he started coaching at St. Michael’s in the early 1990s his dream was to bring a state championship to the school because he never won one as an athlete. The St. Mike’s alum has been living the dream for more than two decades while leading the football and track programs to a combined 20 state titles since 2003. Fresh off watching his boys and girls track teams...

At long last, Eric Olen makes his ‘Sports Den’ debut as he chats with the Santa Fe New Mexican’s Will Webber and James Barron about his first month-and-change in the most high-profile coaching job in the state. The new University of New Mexico men’s basketball coach talks about hitting the ground running to construct a staff and completely retool the roster after the depart...

Well looky here. After securing one guest interview over their first twelve episodes,  Santa Fe New Mexican  sports guys Will Webber and James Barron cram two interviews into their latest offering. Will and James first bring on former St. Michael's track and field standout and current University of New Mexico pole vaulter Jacquelyn Gorman before chatting with Santa Fe Prep tennis star an...

After poking fun at University of New Mexico men’s basketball coach Eric Olen for missing his scheduled podcast appearance, Santa Fe New Mexican sports writers Will Webber and James Barron change their tone as they share their memories of brothers Jason and Nathan Abeyta. The two were killed in a car crash near Abiquiú on the morning of April 17, sending a shock wave of grief across t...

He’s been a team manager for Jim Boeheim at Syracuse, an assistant coach under Billy Gillispie at Tarleton State, and got his first college basketball head coaching job at age 27. Now, Zach Settembre is in the Land of Enchantment looking to make his mark as the new men’s basketball coach at New Mexico Highlands.  Settembre, 34, was hired as coach of the Cowboys on April 8 and has...

Spring sports are well underway, but Santa Fe New Mexican sports writers Will Webber and James Barron have some winter sports items to wrap up. The guys discuss who they selected as the winter’s NorthStars — the top prep athletes in the area in winter sports. They also talk about the Final Four, which featured some screen time for former University of New Mexico Athletic Director Eddie...

On a blustery spring day in Albuquerque, where dust storms obscured views of the Sandia Mountains, Eric Olen was introduced Tuesday as the University of New Mexico’s head men’s basketball coach to mark the beginning of a new era after a whirlwind end to March for the program. Santa Fe New Mexican  sports writers Will Webber and James Barron share their initial impressions of the n...

The University of New Mexico men's basketball team's NCAA Tournament run ended Sunday in the second round with a loss to Michigan State, but the Lobos will remain in the news cycle for the foreseeable future. In the latest episode of The New Mexican Sports Den, sports writers Will Webber and James Barron talk about the rumors surrounding Richard Pitino, whose name has been linked to jobs at Villan...

Like a kid in a candy store as he takes in the sights and sounds of media day at Rocket Arena, University of New Mexico beat writer Will Webber shares his impressions of what he’s seen so far in Cleveland ahead of first-round action of the NCAA Tournament. Will and fellow New Mexican sports writer James Barron talk about what they think it will take for the No. 10 seed Lobos to take down No....

Exhausted after a grueling week of state high school basketball coverage, sports writers Will Webber and James Barron reminisce about what they witnessed in Rio Rancho and Albuquerque before getting into the University of New Mexico’s first-round matchup with Marquette.  The guys share their most memorable moments from the state tournament, talk about how they think live broadcasts of t...

Recording on location at the Rio Rancho Events Center for the New Mexico high school state basketball tournament, New Mexican sports writers Will Webber and James Barron share what they've seen in early action and preview the matchups they're looking forward to as the week plays out. Could the Taos Tigers boys play the role of cinderella in Class 4A? Will the St. Michael's boys reclaim the 3A crow...

It’s the most wonderful time of the year in New Mexico. The high school basketball state tournament is about to begin and the Lobo men are looking to raise their profile for the NCAA Tournament.  In the latest episode of the “The New Mexican Sports Den,” sports writers Will Webber and James Barron pick their winners in all 10 brackets of the high school state tournament and...

Santa Fe New Mexican sports writers Will Webber and James Barron start the third episode of “The New Mexican Sports Den” by discussing the recent arrest of Robertson boys basketball coach James Branch, who was charged with criminal sexual contact with a minor on Friday. Barron shares his reporting on the story and the implications for a Robertson team that is a contender in Class 3A. T...

Santa Fe New Mexican sports writers Will Webber and James Barron open the second episode of “The New Mexican Sports Den” by gloating about the viewership numbers for their first episode, then get right into Lobos chatter.  The guys discuss the University of New Mexico men’s basketball team’s big win over Utah State that put the Lobos in the driver’s seat in the M...

After a five-year hiatus, Santa Fe New Mexican sports writers Will Webber and James Barron are back on the mic for the rebirth and rebrand of their podcast. In their first episode of “The New Mexican Sports Den,” Will and James give an overview of the prep basketball scene, touching on which Northern New Mexico teams could be a factor as we approach tournament time.  In the second...