January 1, 2015
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
SPORTSCENTRAL
Steve and Sid take off for the holidays. The program will resume on Thursday, January 8.
BATON ROUGE AREA BROADCASTING SCHEDULE:
Thursday, January 8: 5pm—6pm: SportsCentral… with Sid Edwards and Steve Johnson
WUBR, 910AM (CBS Sports Radio) Baton Rouge
PelicanSportsTV.com
App: search WUBR… from Coach’s
SportsRadio 1310 Radio, Lake Charles Programming of Interest (also heard on KEZMOnLine.com):
Saturday, January 3: 9AM—10AM: All Things Football with Scott Holtzman
Monday, January 5: 8AM—10AM: The Locker Room with John Goodman and Jim Gazzolo
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THE WIZARDRY OF OS
Assistant Basketball Coach and Head Swimming Coach at Central High
I feel the need to apologize to Saints and LSU fans for 2014. After the Saints opening season loss to Atlanta, I said I would not workout during games anymore as it was obviously bad luck.
I kept going back trying to convince myself that it wasn't my fault. In one last attempt, I worked out during the second half of the Music City Bowl hoping the bad mojo was just for the Saints. Again I apologize, the whole year was my bad mojo.
I would rather blame my mojo then the typical assumption that LSU lost because they weren't motivated to play. That is bull. At some point, Tiger fans need to look in the mirror and be more honest. LSU is losing in bowl games for the same reason they lose in the regular season. Looking at the last four years you have to admit that LSU is a top 20 program, not a Top 10 program.
Whether it was my fault or not, I am glad to bury 2014 football before New Year's Day. The specific aspects of the season that I am sick of witnessing from my teams are… in no particular order:
1. Two minute defense. Actually, to be more accurate, the complete lack of defense at the end of games.
2. The lack of third and fourth down defense.
3. Defenses that don't force turnovers.
4. Turnovers that seem to always be costly.
5. Opponent's field goal kickers who don't miss.
6. Goal line instant replays. In my mind, we might as well ditch the idea altogether considering the waste if time to get the call wrong the last couple of weeks.
The first three issues seem to be the result of the same problem. The Saints and Tigers have a distinct lack of push in the middle of their defenses.
On a positive note, I am all in favor of LSU running an offense that attacks different aspects of the opponent's defense and takes advantage of teams that over commit to stopping the run. I am not in favor, though, of calling safe plays that most teams run "trick" plays. Many of those plays (the "Tebow" play action) should be staples of an offense that runs the ball as much as LSU.
I have had enough of looking back at LSU football and the Saints. The New Year is a time to look reflect and look ahead.
The Big 10 has made the best coaching hire each year the last three years. Meyer at Ohio State, Franklin at Penn State, and now Harbaugh at Michigan. With those three great coaches in charge of the top three schools in the Big 10, the Big 10 is on their way back.
Ron Rivera deserves more credit. Cam Newton was hurt most of the year, and he had one wide receiver to throw to who was a rookie and they still won the division. I don't care that the division was bad. The Panthers did it by dominating the Saints and the Falcons in their own buildings in December. Furthermore, they won the division back to back years which nobody has done recently. That is impressive. The Panthers have the best defensive line and linebackers in the division by a long shot. Just saying, that may be the area my teams need to improve to hold on to leads late.
I have to be honest. I am so proud of myself for holding back all year and not saying, "I told you so." And I won't say it now. Though I will point out that I have not been surprised at all by the season Johnny Manziel had and the effect he had on his teammates.
The Pelicans should make every effort to make sure they have a lineup where Holiday or Evans is the point. Austin Rivers should not be allowed in that role except in emergencies. For the good of the team and his own good.
Here's hoping the Pelicans, LSU basketball, and LSU baseball give us some much needed thrills to start 2015.
HEY REF
What is going on? Excuse me but just how in the world can the NFL justify allowing Detroit Lions’ defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh to continue to play in the league? In its ruling to overturn his suspension for this weekend’s playoff game against Dallas there seems to be a total loss of sanity. One reason I read was some doubted his intention to step on Aaron Rodgers’ leg.
Are you kidding me? Doubt of his intention? All hints of his intention evaporated after he stepped on the Green Bay quarterback’s leg a second time. I’ve been in this situation hundreds of times while working games. Each and every time that I’ve stepped on someone I wasn’t sure of caused me to hesitate and bring my leg up quick. Simply stated I knew that something other than grass was under me.
I’ve watched the replay of this cheap shot for almost an hour just in case there was something I might’ve missed. But I can’t find anything to even begin to give Suh the benefit of the doubt. Those of us with just common sense can see that Rodgers fell down after Suh rushed him. On his way down Rodgers reached out and his hand hit Suh on the back. Then Suh turned and made two steps backward each time stepping on the ankle and leg of the Green Bay quarterback.
I’m not wasting any more time and/or ink on this classless individual because his track record is tainted with enough instances of dirty play to ban him for ten lifetimes. This one case says tons of how far this so- called professional league has sunk. But what bothers me the most is the NFL had a perfect instance and opportunity to once and for all take back control of a league overloaded with felons. But they dropped the ball bigtime and have only themselves to blame.
It’s not news but the BIG story right now in Baton Rouge is Les Miles will be back next year at LSU. Jim Harbaugh the former 49er coach is cashing in his chips, leaving the NFL and moving from the west coast back to Michigan. We’ll never know if Miles would’ve bolted out of the Bayou State to return to his Alma Matter and taken over the reins for the Wolverines’. The school has reportedly got their number one candidate for a small fortune reported to pay Harbaugh at least $48 million with another $5 mill in incentives. There is also a 10% performance bonus among other things.
So with no questions or concerns about the Tiger’s head coach you’d figure LSU would go out and destroy the fighting Irish in Tennessee. But the Irish out played and definitely out lucked the Tigers. Notre Dame is the one school that’s seemed to win more big games just being lucky and not good. The Irish of 2014 aren’t a good football team by any stretch of the imagination and shouldn’t have been more than an intense scrimmage for the purple and gold.
Once again I have to say that the guys in stripes got it wrong, very wrong. When LSU faked a field goal against Notre Dame in Tuesday’s Music City Bowl and put the ball across the goal line you’ve got a touchdown. The camera directly behind the side official shows the ball breaking the plain of the goal line. There’s no way to see when the knee touched the ground and simply put the official should be looking directly down the line. And if he was the only call is touchdown.
The replay system was put in place to correct these types of calls. I know I’ll get calls and be told that the system isn’t perfect and run by humans, etc., etc. And I’ll agree with the caller then try to convince them they are wrong because I’m right and we’ll change the subject and on and on. We won’t fix anything. Even though I agree with the many Tiger faithful this one call didn’t cost the Tigers the ballgame.
They say sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good and in this case that was surely the case. LSU has very few problems inside of the huddle but before they will be able to contend for another national title they’ve got to upgrade the quarterback position. The Tigers play in the toughest conference on the face of the planet, there’s no debating that fact. If the Tigers are to make it back to the “Big Dance” the first step must be to vastly upgrade the QB position.
LSU will never contend for another SEC title with a West Coast style of QB. That’s the place where most of the attention should be this off season. If it isn’t taken care of before the 2015 season then you’ll find it very hard to even get an invite to play in Shreveport’s bowl game.
Till next week…
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
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