January 22, 2015
SPORTSCENTRAL
After a 2 week hiatus for the holidays, Coach Sid and Steve Johnson return to the airwaves tonight, with SportsCentral… see show details next
Scheduled guests include CHS Basketball Coach Ron Lewis, Girls Soccer Coach Aaron Clark with Captains Tobi Baudry and Elaine Nodine and CHS sports fanatics Matt Case and Jordan Wilkins.
THE ONE PRINCIPLE/PAL DENHAM SPRINGS ABIDES BY
DSHS Principal Kelly Jones is the guest speaker at Rotary of Livingston this Friday, Noon, at Big Mike’s Sports Bar & Grill in Denham Springs. The public is invited. For more information, see below.
BATON ROUGE AREA BROADCASTING SCHEDULE:
Thursday, January 22: 5pm—6pm: SportsCentral… with Sid Edwards and Steve Johnson
WUBR, 910AM (CBS Sports Radio) Baton Rouge
PelicanSportsTV.com
App: search WUBR… from Coach’sJon,
SportsRadio 1310 Radio, Lake Charles Programming of Interest (also heard on KEZMOnLine.com):
Saturday, January24: 9AM—10AM: All Things Football with Scott Holtzman
Monday, January 26: 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
The two week basketball season Louisiana sports fans is here and the Pelicans and Tigers have blown it.
The Louisiana sports fans were looking for something to help overcome the depression brought on by the end of the football season. Without the excitement of a playoff run by the Saints and a lull in recruiting season, fans would have jumped on the bandwagon with any signs of life from their basketball teams.
To make matters more maddening, the schedule was perfect for a winning streak for the Pelicans and Tigers. The Pelicans have been playing the least of the East, while the Tigers have been playing games where they were favored in three of their first four SEC games.
Alas, both of their performances have increased frustration and sent fans running for other news. The Tigers have been consistent in building big leads and showing a total lack of understanding for sustaining those leads. Poor team rebounding and turnovers have been the ruin of what could easily have been a 4-0 start to league play (I am writing before LSU plays at Florida). As a result, LSU is looking at the NIT again this year unless they get on a serious hot streak. They need to win 7 or 8 of their next 10 to get back in the NCAA Tournament conversation.
Meanwhile, the injury bug hit the Pels at the wrong time, though that hardly seems to be the reason for their bewildering play. The best win in the last two weeks was at Toronto without Davis and Holiday. That game is sandwiched between two horrific losses to the Sixers and Knicks who people think are "throwing" the season.
As a result, the Louisiana sports fan regular season for basketball is basically over. Tiger fans will turn their complete attention to National Signing Day and then directly to Tiger baseball. New Orleans fans will be paying close attention to free agency and the scouting combine.
It's too bad. Anthony Davis is the best young player in the NBA, but the team has not been able to grow around him or match his consistent quality play. This stretch has basically killed the Pelicans playoff hopes, and I know I will be one of the few watching and waiting for a miracle.
As for the Tigers, the hope is that this year's roster provides the foundation for a special team next year when Simmons and Blakeney arrive. I still believe this year's team can be one of the best in the SEC, but to get there they need someone in the drivers seat that understands what it takes to win better than Josh Gray has to this point. Coach Jones is taking a lot of heat for the end of the A&M game, but the fact is the Tigers had a ball screen for Gray (who won the West Virginia game on the same play) with shooters in the corner. The Aggies collapsed and Gray had Hornsby wide open in the corner, but Gray got too deep and turned it over.
I wonder if Quarterman or Patterson could fulfill the role, at least for a while, until Gray "gets it." A move like that in the lineup could be like Mainieri inserting Aaron Nola or be a complete disaster, so I understand if it never happens.
I know most of you won't be watching, so I'll let you know if or when the Tigers figure it out.
In closing, has the ever been a NFL team worse at handling success than the Seahawks? Doug Baldwin was the ring leader of showing an inability to handle the moment this time.
As for the game, one of the more difficult things to get a team to understand is that when you step off the gas it is extremely difficult to get the gas flowing again. That is what happened to the Packers. When Barnett gave himself up and fell to the ground after the interception with five minutes left in the game, the Packers did the same mentally. Apparently, none of the Packer players are Saints fans or they would have known better.
I give the Seahawks, especially Russell Wilson, tons of credit for taking advantage. Nevertheless, the opportunities for the comeback were given to the Seahawks as opposed to being taken.
The NFC playoffs have been rather fascinating in that regard. In the first round, the Cowboys were gifted opportunities to win by questionable (incorrect) officiating. In the second round, the officials arguably got the Dez Bryant catch correct by the letter of the rule. Yet, I challenge anyone who does not believe the rules should count that play as a catch. As a result, the Packers best opportunity to win was not a result of their own doing. Once again, that magic only lasted a week and the Packers gave away opportunities. This time the Seahawks were the benefactors. Will the pattern continue in the Super Bowl? I hope so, because I just became a huge Patriot fan.
HEY REF
By Dennis Dearie
Veteran Louisiana High School Referee
There’s already been so much written about the ending of the NFC Championship game between Seattle and Green Bay that I really don’t have much to add to what’s already been printed. But since I have a few minutes I’ll be glad to add a few of my thoughts and my take on how things ended.
My initial reaction to the Seahawk’s coming from behind so late in the game was a simple “that’s why they play the games”. I don’t want it to sound like I’m beating an old horse to death because it’s been said so many times before that you’ve got to play the full sixty minutes to give your team its best chance to come out a winner that I just can’t find anything else that fits better in trying to explain just exactly what went down in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter.
Many think the game was decided when Packer’s tight end Brandon Bostick wasn’t able to gain possession of the on-side kick. But I feel the two plays that doomed the Packers were both in the first quarter when they settled for 3 pointers while just shy of the goal line. In championship games you must be heads and shoulders above your competition in order to wear the crown and claim you’re the best.
But in both cases coach Mike McCarthy sent in his field goal unit and took the “give me” three pointers. To me it was as if the Green Bay coach was saying “we’re not sure we’ll be able to score anymore so we’ll be happy to take the 3”! While I looked on in disbelief all I kept hearing was Kenny Rogers quietly singing “you’ve got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em and know when to run away”.
If this game were a boxing match you could paint both of McCarthy’s decisions like that of somebody tip-toeing and becoming ecstatic and just plain happy to land a couple ineffective jabs. The road to becoming a champion is one paved with bold, precise and calculated moved made to render your competition ineffective in all they try. Simply put McCarthy allowed Seattle to remain in the game and in the end it came back to bite him where the sun don’t shine.
My heart goes out to Brandon Bostick because he’s got to live with the guilt that he cost Green Bay a chance to play for all the marbles. He’s a professional and he did make the mistake of not following the orders of the coaches. His job and the reason why he was on the field was to block and keep Seattle’s front line from getting a chance to recover the kick. He didn’t do that as we all are well aware of and the guys that are famous for playing on the frozen tundra will do like most of us and that is sit at home and watch the game on TV.
The main reason for me mentioning that he didn’t do his job was to bring to light that as I’ve said and written about on many occasions is the fact that as officials when we don’t do our job on the field we are the ones responsible for a team not advancing on to bigger and better things. We have no luxury to claim “I did my job” so I’m not the to blame for the mistakes made in the game. To this younger generation of officials who feel this way all I can say is you’re wrong, you’re wrong, you’re wrong!!! When officials have a meltdown the entire crew has a meltdown and the entire crew is faulted.
Until we get more young officials to “see the light” and understand that there are three teams on the field and not two then the profession of officiating will continue to decline faster and faster…
Till next week…
ROTARY OF LIVINGSTON
Denham Springs HS Principal Kelly Jones will be the guest speaker this Friday, January 23, at Rotary of Livingston (Fridays, Noon-1pm, Big Mike’s Sports Bar & Grill, Aspen Square, Denham Springs). The public is invited.
Mr. Jones is a native of Denham Springs and graduated from Denham Springs HS in 1992. He was a valedictorian at Denham Springs HS. A 1996 graduate of LSU, Mr. Jones received a degree in agriculture education. He taught agriculture at Live Oak HS for 4 years before moving to Denham Springs Freshman High.
Ten years ago, Mr. Jones moved into the role of assistant principal at DSHS and he currently is in his seventh year as principal. He is married to the former Beth Roy, an assistant principal at Live Oak HS. They have one child, Carson, who is a 5th grader at Live Oak Elementary.
The explosive population growth of the city of Denham Springs is largely attributable to its education system. With one of the top 5 enrollments of high schools in the state, Denham Springs HS is consistently amongst the top academic performers in Louisiana. Under Mr. Jones’ tutelage, DSHS has provided students with not only a top notch educational experience, but a well-rounded extracurricular program. A variety of sports teams and clubs have seen unprecedented success and unparalleled growth during Mr. Jones tenure as principal. School participation and school spirit are 2 hallmarks of his administration.
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.