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JONFINEPRODUCTIONS.COM NEWSLETTER
3 17 2024
GOD BLESS ISRAEL, UKRAINE AND THE USA!!!!
DSAA MEETING MONDAY NIGHT…The Denham Springs Athletic Association will meet tomorrow night—Monday, March 18, 6:30 pm at Big Mike’s Sports Bar & Grille, Aspen Square, Denham Springs…Sports spotlighted will be boys and girls golf and boys and girls track and field.
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THE WIZARDRY OF OS
By Scott Osborne
No one topic is burning in my soul right now, so I will make a run through Tiger Town.
The spring sports at LSU are once again putting together brilliant seasons. For many years, LSU gymnastics has been knocking on the door of a national championship. LSU has all the components to make it happen this year. Admittedly, they will need Oklahoma to falter. But in a sport like gymnastics, LSU will just need Oklahoma to leave the door cracked slightly. The difference this year is LSU will not need an unprecedented performance to put themselves in that position.
I don’t know what to make of softball, yet. Currently, the Tigers are undefeated and beat the number one team in the country. Still, it is early in the season, LSU has had two major injuries, and the grind of the schedule is still to come. The good news is a start like this one does have the Tiger setup to be a national seed and that always gives the best shot to make the WCWS.
Women’s basketball has once again taken the national spotlight. Last year, there was some good fortune in how things played out for LSU to avoid South Carolina on the way to the national championship. This year, there has been plenty of adversity. From losing two players expected to play significant minutes to Angel Reese missing games to recent injuries to Poa and Williams. Through all of that, this team has improved on defense and they can flat out score. I am very confident in what Morrow, Reese, and Johnson will bring to every game offensively. The wildcards are Van Lith and Williams. If either one, or both, are hot from the outside in the Big Dance, this team will be very tough to beat.
The men’s basketball team was a roller coaster within a roller coaster this year (Inception movie reference). Thankfully, they finished on a high note with fans like me wanting more. It is amazing what you can do in college basketball if you make outside shots, defensive rebound, and take care of the ball. When LSU did those three things they managed to win games nobody expected them to win. There is reason to be optimistic about next year, but in this day and age you have no idea what the roster will actually be until the fall. Hopefully, the Tigers make the NIT and then we will need to be patient and see the talent on the roster when the team starts in October. Tiger fans should be confident that the team will be well coached and develop over the course of the year. They just need to start next year with a little more talent on the roster.
The baseball team is very different from last year, but has the exact same capabilities. Last year, LSU was fortunate to have Skenes carry the load, until the pitching staff developed after incurring many injuries to start the year. This year, LSU’s starters are as good as LSU has had in a while. The staff is very deep and is carrying the team. Of course, the health of a college pitching staff is always precarious.
The offense is what will take a while to develop this year. The talent is there, but the experience is not. Like last year’s pitching staff, what matters the most is how well the offense is humming in June. What LSU needs is for Tommy White and Hayden Travinski to have All-American seasons and carry the load until May and June. The pitching staff should have LSU in every game, and some timely power hitting with runners on base is what LSU will need to win against the top SEC teams.
With spring football under way, LSU fans are very hopeful for year 3 under Brian Kelly. The hope that comes with a new defensive staff, the absence of Nick Saban, and a 12 team playoff is palpable. I believe the offense will be very good despite losing three first round draft picks. Thomas, Nabors, and Daniels could actually be gone before we are halfway through round one. Having the best offensive line in college football, though, along with a veteran quarterback like Nussmeier (even though he has not played much) is why LSU fans can stay optimistic. A couple veteran transfers at wide receiver and the development of some very talented tight ends and running backs makes it easy to imagine another high scoring offense.
Defensively, I have a tough time visualizing how this team will go from one of the worst in LSU history to good enough. The same reason I fully expected the defense to be better last year is why I am very concerned this year. With interior players like Mingo, Smith, and Jefferson the defense should have been mediocre at worst last year. Losing three players of that caliber at defensive line, where it takes time to develop, is concerning.
The secondary was very young, inexperienced, and just not ready last year. LSU has some transfers that could help make this group respectable, but Tiger fans should take a wait and see approach.
The 12 team playoff, and the change in Tuscaloosa certainly makes the path to the playoff more likely. But it is hard to see at this time how this will be a team that can actually compete for a national championship next year. To end on an optimistic note, though, the reality is college football rosters are not complete in the spring. There is one more opening for transfers and a few key additions on defense could change my tune.
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