January 30, 2014
THE DRU NETTLES SHOW
The Dru Nettles Show airs tonight, 6pm—7pm, on Cox 4 Television, Baton Rouge. Replays air Friday at 11am and Saturday at 1pm. The program is co-hosted by Denham Springs HS Athletic Director/Head Football Coach Dru Nettles and yours truly, Jon Fine.
Chad Mahaffey, Head Football Coach of University HS, will be a featered guest this Thursday night on The Dru Nettles Show. On Friday night, University HS will be hosting the Denham Springs HS Yellow Jackets.
In addition to Coach Mahaffey, scheduled guests include DSHS assistant coach Al Hebert and Senior Defensive Back Josh Baker. The academic segment guest is Gracie Chapman, representing JADD. Chapman is also the Denham Springs HS Homecoming Queen. Northside Family Pharmacy, represented by owner Gary Maples, is the sponsor of the week. There will be highlights of the Jackets win over Scotlandville HS and an extensive interview of Coach Nettles.
For more information, please visit The Dru Nettles Show page on JonFineProductions.com.
SPORTSCENTRAL
Join Hosts Sid Edwards and Steve Johnson on SportsCentral, tonight, 5pm—6pm, on WUBR, 910AM (CBS Sports Radio) Baton Rouge… on the net at PelicanSportsTV.com… and the Tune In App: search WUBR… from Coach’s
Guests include Assistant Coach Frank Fresina and players Leo Brownfield, Taft Kirby and Justin Vessel.
BATON ROUGE AREA BROADCASTING SCHEDULE:
Thursday, October 23: 5pm—6pm: SportsCentral… with Sid Edwards and Steve Johnson
WUBR, 910AM (CBS Sports Radio) Baton Rouge
PelicanSportsTV.com
App: search WUBR… from Coach’s
Thursday, October 23: 6pm—7pm: The Dru Nettles Show… with Dru Nettles and Jon Fine
Cox 4 Television
Baton Rouge… note new replay times: Friday, September 26 at 11am and Saturday, September 27 at 1 pm
Friday, October 24: 6pm: Denham Springs HS at University HS
Jon Fine, Brian Abels, Nathan Landry
Fox Sports Radio, 1210AM, Baton Rouge… and on the net at JonFineProductions.com
SportsRadio 1310 Radio, Lake Charles Programming of Interest (also heard on KEZMOnLine.com):
Friday, October 24: 6:45pm: Sulphur HS at Lafayette HS
Bruce Merchant, Clopha Boudreaux
Saturday, October 25: 9AM—10AM: All Things Football with Scott Holtzman
Monday, October 27: 8AM—10AM: The Locker Room with John Goodman and Jim Gazzolo
WE THANK YOU FOR DOING YOUR UTMOST TO PATRONIZE SPONSORS OF OUR PROGRAMMING. THIS HELPS US TREMENDOUSLY IN SUSTAINING OUR WEEKLY LINE-UP AND WILL ASSIST US IN ADDING MORE PROGRAMS IN THE FUTURE. KINDLY MAKE AN EFFORT TO LET SPONSORS KNOW YOU HEARD THEIR BUSINESS MENTIONED ON OUR BROADCAST(S).
THE WIZARDRY OF OS
Assistant Basketball Coach and Head Swimming Coach at Central High
I don't know what is worse. The Saints falling apart and blowing a game they dominated for 85% of the game or having that happen and then the focus get shifted away from what really matters to silliness.
Sean Payton should be irritated with the media after the game. There are so many self inflicted reasons the Saints lost the game to address, but the attention has been on the few things the Saints did right.
Drew Brees and Sean Payton are taking heat for the late game interception. The pass was terrible, but any NFL team with a half decent quarterback should be aggressive in that situation.
Without a shadow of a doubt, that interception only sped up the inevitable. If that play had only been incomplete and forced a punt, then the Lions would have simply scored the game winning touchdown later. At least under the scenario from Sunday, the Saints had a chance to respond with plenty of time and only needed a field goal to win.
The better questions would have asked about the screen pass that cost 30 seconds or the decision not to call timeout on 4th down. The Saints had already showed in the first half they could move the ball without a timeout.
The Saints organization prides itself in being smart. They draft and sign players that have high character, can play multiple positions, are tough, and are smart. The Saints place a higher priority on those qualities than athleticism. I completely agree with this philosophy, but it backfires when the players do not play to those strengths and don't have the speed or athleticism to make up for the mental mistakes.
On Sunday, the Saints gave the Lions FIVE first downs by penalty. Then the touchdown given up to Golden Tate was another example of poor awareness. The secondary must make better decisions based on time, score, down, and distance. They must tackle better as well.
On offense, the Saints were 3 of 12 on third down, only able to hit one pass over the top of the defense, and are still unable to even force a pass interference deep down the field. Is Joe Morgan hurt? He played in the preseason and has played in regular season games before this year so he knows the system well enough. Where is he? If you want to make Sean Payton mad asking the same question over and over, then ask him that one.
In case you haven’t figured it out by now, Sean Payton is frustrated for the same reason the fans are frustrated. The team is talented. They are just missing something, the “it” that makes the difference between 4-2 and 2-4. At this point nobody knows the “it” and if “it” will be discovered before too late.
Speaking of “it,” Les Miles, LSU, and the media are trying to figure out what “it” will take to get more fans in the stands, and to stay in the stands. They may not like the answer, but the answer is obvious. Sports these days are entertainment, which is why LSU is able to charge the amount they charge, and make the money they make. Yet, there are not 100,000 loyal fans that have the time and resources to attend all the LSU games and stay no matter what because it is their duty as a fan.
LSU has the same number of fans that fit in that category as they always have, but the stadium has grown. So, LSU has to reach out and get people to attend and stay at the game that did not in the past. There is just one problem…
LSU football is boring. That is not a criticism of the coaches. Their job is to win and help student athletes graduate. But from a fan’s perspective, 80% of LSU’s home games are B-O-R-I-N-G. What do fans have to look forward to if the game is not close against a quality team?
What is entertaining about watching LSU basically take a knee for a whole half against an improved but overmatched Kentucky? The only interesting thing to watch in a situation like that is how young players look that don’t play much. But, a fan can’t see what those players can do when all LSU does is run between the tackles.
Again, let me be clear, I am not criticizing the coaches for blowing out Kentucky and sitting on a lead. I am simply pointing out why fans would choose to save their money, their time, stay home or leave early. There are too many other sources of entertainment to watch on a Saturday night that are easily accessible and don’t involve sitting in traffic or dedicating 8 hours of a Saturday.
HEY REF
By Dennis Dearie
Veteran Louisiana High School Referee
A few of my fans called this week and asked my opinion of “THE CALL” very late in the Florida State-Notre Dame game. With just seconds to play and the Irish on the ‘Noles 3 yard line they threw a quick pass which was caught for an apparent touchdown. The deep official dropped his flag and called pass interference which negated the score and possibly Notre Dame’s chances of getting into the title game at the end of the year.
Here is the paradox we, the wearers of stripes find ourselves in each and every game. Because on every one of our judgment calls we have to ask “do we get it right or do we stay consistent”? Often there is a conflict in the way different members of a crew see a play. I’m not talking about a rule because we aren’t allowed that option when a rule has been broken. But when it comes down to staying the course from down one to the very last snap I always am on the side of being consistent the entire game.
The easiest example I can talk about is “neutral zone infractions”. During the first few downs of the first quarter as teams are trying to line up (remember these aren’t professional players) we’ll help the wide receivers get to where they’re supposed to be, either on the line or off.
When we see lineman close to being offside the covering official will walk over to that player and either tell him to get back or up on the line. We usually allow two warnings before throwing the flag. COACHES, THE WARNINGS ARE PER TEAM AND NOT PER PLAYER! Had to include that little explanation because some coaches think we should hold a players hand when they come into a game in the fourth quarter and warn him too but it’s only at the start of a game where we’ll try to get players on the line so we don’t start going 5 yards back and forth all night.
As a “wing” official I will tell the coach after the ball is downed as to which of his players isn’t lined up correctly. It’s what we call “preventative officiating” and it certainly is not aiding either team. I’ve had games where I’ll tell a coach his kid had his entire head in the neutral zone and tell him to get back. And the coach will thank me for not calling it. Then on the next play the other team will have a guy with only the thickness of the paint on his helmet over the line and the coach is screaming “he’s offside, he’s in the neutral zone, and you’ve got to call that”.
But I feel it is much more important to be consistent for four quarters then it is to be correct on one play or situation. Because I could let something go but my crewmate across the line might call it and the coaches will think the refs are screwing his team. So as a crew we should stay consistent that night and if there is something we need to do different then we’ll change it the next game and stay with the change for that game also.
So, getting back to that horrible display of officiating, I can without hesitation say that the flag shouldn’t have been thrown in this situation. I’ve heard the reports that Florida St. coach Jimbo Fisher went to the crew and said that in the first quarter Notre Dame ran this play and said he felt it was a “pick” play and wanted the crew to not allow this to happen another time tonight.
So to be fair and not show any favoritism the referee should’ve gone over to the other sideline and told the Irish coaches he’d spoken to Fisher and was told that they feel the play wasn’t legal and the crew of officials would be looking for that play for the remainder of the night. If he didn’t want to do that the only thing to do was tell his crew to talk to the players and tell them that no “pick” plays would be allowed and it would be called.
The reason I say this is to insure fairness on the field. Very simply put that is our only job as officials, to insure neither team gains an advantage by going outside the INTENT of the rules. To wait until the next to last play and try to correct a missed call that happened in the first few minutes of the game is inexcusable. I watched the game “LIVE” and when I saw it all I can say is “yes” it could be called a “pick” play but not at the 59 minute and 50 second junction.
We must let the kids determine the outcome of the game. If Fisher felt a “pick” play was run during the game then either he or his defensive coach should’ve corrected the defense to try and keep a completion from happening later in the game. In this case the official allowed a coach inside his head and that was the deciding factor for the outcome of the game. Officials, no matter the level of play, must never allow a coach to intimidate them into calling anything they would never have called had the coach never said anything to them.
It was a weak moment for that crew because in “hey Ref’s” world the crew either gets it right or they get it wrong. Too many times I’ve been in crews that some individuals feel they are the only official on the field. No one pays to see us officiate; we’re the third team on the field! It’s sad to think that some officials don’t understand that little fact. It’s one thing to be wrong but a crew must be consistent throughout the game because as a crew we get it right. And the flip side; as a crew we also get it wrong.
Till next week…
ROTARY
Rotary of Livingston meets this Friday, Noon—1pm at Big Mike’s in Denham Springs. The public is invited. The guest speaker is Kim Bye with the Denham Springs Antique District.
The old downtown section of Denham Springs slowly began transforming into antique shops in the mid 80’s. Now known as The Denham Springs Antique Village, this conglomeration of antique shops has become a hot spot in for shoppers who are looking for antiques, collectibles, children’s clothing, gifts, art, pottery, books, coffee shops and restaurants The antique village is now not only a shoppers dream to local residents, but guests from all over the country stop in and enjoy the small town flavor found right here in our community. The Denham Springs Antique Village is now classified as a Cultural District.
Al and Kim Bye serve as officers of the Antique Village Merchants Association. Al and Kim, along with Elvin and Marsha Watts, bought the old Carol Theatre in 1998. It was then known, and still is known as, Theatre Antiques. Al has served as the merchant’s association president for the past 14 years and Kim has served in many roles including secretary and treasurer of the association. While having been involved in organizing one of the two festivals since 1999, Al and Kim have taken on the role of organizer for both the Spring and the Fall festival for the last six years. Both have volunteered their time to make the antique village an exciting place for families to shop or just come down to take a stroll down memory lane.
JON IS PROUD TO WORK AS A MARKETING REPRESENTATIVE FOR SPORTSRADIO-1310-KEZM-LAKE CHARLES, IN ESTABLISHING THE “DOLLAR A HOLLER” MARKETING PROGRAM AND HELPING SELL BARBE HS BASEBALL AND SOUTH LAKE CHARLES PLAYOFF BROADCASTS
AND AS A MARKETING REPRESENTATIVE/ CONSULTANT FOR SPORTSCENTRAL ON WUBR,910AM (CBS SPORTS RADIO), BATON ROUGE.