September 3, 2015
1 DAY AWAY!! Denham Springs HS opens up its 2015 football season tomorrow night. Dru Nettles’ team will play host to East Ascension HS. We hope you can make it out to Yellow Jackets stadium… and bring your radios with you!… Sport N Center Jackets Warmup hits the airwaves (Fox Sports Radio, 1210AM and JonFineProductions.com) at 6pm, with a 7pm kickoff
For more information, please see today’s Livingston Parish News and/or scroll down in this newsletter for a comprehensive press release.
VINTAGE SPORTS PUBLICATIONS
ArrestedDevelopmentMediaGuides, our EBay store, sells media guides and programs. Please visit JonFineProductions.com and click on icon to get to the store. Check out a full array of New Orleans Saints media guides and LSU media guides and programs.
SPORTSCENTRAL
SportsCentral airs tonight! See program information just below.
THE MIGHTY TORS
Seemingly around since Marconi invented radio, if not before, the venerable Bruce Merchant and the inimitable Clopha Boudreaux return for another year of Calling Sulphur HS Football on KEZM, 1310AM, Lake Charles and on the net at KEZMOnLine.com. Sulphur visits St. Thomas More tomorrow night.
BATON ROUGE AREA BROADCASTING SCHEDULE:
Thursday, September 3: 5pm—6pm: SportsCentral… with Sid Edwards and Steve Johnson
Radio Amour 91.9… from Coach’s
Friday, September 4: 6pm: Denham Springs HS vs East Ascension HS
Jon Fine, Andy Duckworth
Fox Sports Radio, 1210AM, Baton Rouge
JonFineProductions.com
SportsRadio 1310 Radio, Lake Charles Programming of Interest (also heard on KEZMOnLine.com):
Friday, September 4: 6:45pm: Sulphur HS at St. Thomas More HS
Bruce Merchant, Clopha Boudreaux
KEZM, 1310AM, Lake Charles
KEZMOnLine.com
Saturday, September 5: 9AM—10AM: All Things Football with Scott Holtzman
Monday, September 7: 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
By now you have seen and heard all the predictions for LSU football this year. They are as wide ranging as any season I can remember.
For most of the summer, the SEC writers and most others have been predicting 8-4 or 9-3, and somewhere between 15-25 in the polls. Why? The reactive national media was burned last year. They did not account enough for quarterback play. So this year, they have to see it to believe it.
Admit it. If you are predicting anything less than 10 wins for LSU it is because of quarterback play. You know LSU has the talent to be much better if they just get quality play at quarterback. Think about it though. Can LSU really duplicate that low level of play from last year with the same quarterbacks? If so, it will go against every principle of learning and development. Consequently, I think it is far more likely that the quarterback position will play significantly better this year.
Even if the quarterback plays the same, LSU will be better this year because LSU is more talented overall this year and that is a fact. Just look at the best players on the team last year.
When you look at the most talented players that were also very productive last year, the Tigers lost La'el Collins, Jalen Collins, Kwon Alexander, and possibly by injury this year Jalen Mills. Notice I didn't include Rasco and Hunter. They were very talented, but not extremely productive last year. Meanwhile, Terrance Magee was a great leader and hard worker that used effort and experience to make up for not having great measurables.
Here is the list of LSU's most talented returning players that were productive last year: Fournette, Dupre, Dural, Beckwith, Godchaux, LaCoutre, White, Adams, Alexander, Hawkins, Pocic. To that list, I don't think it is a stretch to add these extremely talented players that will be productive this year such as: Dwayne Thomas, Derrius Guice, DeSean Smith, and Donte Jackson. For the record, that is a conservative list.
As you can see, this trend is the opposite of the previous two years when LSU was losing tons of talented, productive players to the NFL. Now, most of the best players return with an influx of new talent. That does not include the very long list of other players on the roster that have not yet realized their ability as of yet or above average players that are experienced and will fulfill I important roles. Players like Lewis Neal, Debo Jones, and Lamar Louis to name a few.
With all this evidence, how can LSU not be considerably better this year? Obviously, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit see what I see. But, that does mean I am ready to jump aboard the national championship game bandwagon.
LSU still has a few major issues to overcome. The lack of depth at linebacker and defensive tackle is scary if there is a rash of injuries. Even if there are not a rash of injuries, but an injury to Kendell Beckwith, I don't know how the defense would recover.
I know I made the argument for LSU to have better quarterback play, but how much better is still a big question? Are we going to see Flynn/Mauck production, Lee/Jefferson production, or something else? I don't know, but I know it will make a difference in wins and losses.
Finally, the SEC West might not be as strong at the top, but from top to bottom it may be better this year. That is one of reasons I think there are a wide variety of opinions as to LSU's final record. I can see LSU beat anyone, and I can see them lose to anyone in the SEC.
No more stalling. The season is here. I am hoping for a fulfilling season where LSU puts is enormous talent on display for all to see. I think it happens and I am predict a ten win season for LSU.
HEY REF
The numbers are just coming in and “they ain’t pertty”! With all the controversy surrounding the possibility of a strike by high school football officials earlier this summer there seems to be something no one paid very much attention to. And that was getting down to the business of getting primed and ready for the NEW LHSAA FOOTBALL RULES TEST for 2015. This year the LHSAA decided to do something completely out of the norm and scrap the way its tested the football officials in recent years.
What’s been the practice, for more years that I care to admit remembering, questions were drawn up based on what the LHSAA thinks their officials should know. Our study guide would usually consist of 250 to 300 questions of which 70, in recent years and as many as 125 in the dark ages or much earlier years, would be picked for test purposes totally at the LHSAA’s discretion. Questions included definitions of football verbiage thrown into the mix with mechanics and rule knowledge.
The LHSAA in their infinite wisdom decided this year to pull a “fast one” and basically said “Beware, the test will come from anywhere and everywhere inside the covers of the rulebook, casebook and Official’s mechanics handbook. It would be an “open book” style test and you’d be given a certain amount of TIME to complete it. Many of us, myself included, were hoping this new agency proclaiming to be there to help the refs and calling itself the “LOUISIANA HIGH SCHOOL OFFICIAL’s ASSOCIATION” aka LHSOA would be there offering guidance on what and how to prepare for the first new testing procedure to come along in many years.
What they provided to every registered high school football in Louisiana was a 150 question study guide that they admitted would not be of any real help since the questions would for the most part be completely new. I’m thinking to myself these guys are supposed to be in existence to help all of the officials in this state and not just football refs so they’ve got something in mind to get us all on the same page. Can you say “WRONG; Grasshopper”?
All I can honestly say is they offered nothing and gave nothing. They did threaten the schools and principals to give us a raise or there’d be a strike! I’d like to ask all the football officials to learn me something and provide me with evidence these guys at the LHSOA went out of their way to help them, their associations and/or their members get ready for this new test. Did they know how the questions were formed and written? Did they know what the LHSAA was expecting its (LHSOA) members to know for the test? You can’t say that we should know everything because it’s not possible.
I compare this new test procedure as if we’re handed bibles and told “the test will come from between the front and back covers. And we give you 30 days to be ready”. That just about sizes it up as to the instructions handed out by the LHSOA. A vast majority of the men I work with on game days have families to support, jobs to keep, kids to raise and strive to find a way to keep a roof over their family’s collective heads.
I’ve heard from other officials that over 60% of those that have taken the test have either failed it or weren’t able to make better that the 85% needed to keep their certification. I fall into that category and for the first time in nearly 20 years my certification will be taken away from me based solely on my test grade. And at the end of the day all this translates to a $25.00 per game decrease in my game check or roughly more than $250.00 for 2015 along with the fact I’ll be kept out of working all but the first week of any playoff game I might’ve been lucky enough to be assigned. So, that awesome fight put up for our so called benefit and $5.00 that was played out by the LHSOA was an extreme waste of time.
But my main complaint is that IF this OFFICIAL’s association is for and by officials then they should be out there helping their members become knowledgeable on the rules and not be out there threatening schools and principals about a possible strike. And do you know what’s really the kicker in all this? We, the officials haven’t won anything because in January the principals could vote down the raise.
In the end, the “leaders” within the LHSOA should step down, since the real issue that should’ve taken up all their time and attention was to insure the product (Officials) they would put on the field weren’t just the best but also the smartest. It’s very hard to win a race with someone on your back and that’s how I feel about the LHSOA. Didn’t need ‘em for 20 years so why do I need ‘em now?
Till next week…
DENHAM SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL IS BACK ON THE AIR!
The 2015 school year marks the 21st year of the last 22 that Jon Fine (Sports) Productions has had the privilege of producing and calling play-by-play for Denham Springs HS Football radio broadcasts. In 2015, the broadcast slate will include all 10 regular season Denham games, and every playoff game. Broadcasts will air on Fox Sports Radio-1210AM-Baton Rouge, with “Sport N Center Jackets Warm Up” starting at 6:00 pm Friday nights. All broadcasts can also be heard on the Internet at JonFineProductions.com (click Listen Live on the Denham Springs Football PBP page). The first broadcast is Friday, September 4, as the Jackets play host to East Ascension High School..
Jon Fine is serving his twelfth straight year calling radio play-by-play for Denham Springs HS Football. He is joined by Andy Duckworth, who serves in his first year as color commentator on Yellow Jackets broadcasts.
“Sport N Center Jackets Warm-Up” will include an interview with Jackets Athletic Director/ Football Coach Dru Nettles. Randy Smith’s popular retrospective, “Yellow Jackets Memories”, will air on selective pre-game shows this year. Smith’s feature will be interspersed with interviews with Sponsors of The Week. A North Oaks Health Minute will give listeners tips to improve their health.—Hopefully, Fine will be paying attention and taking notes. Fine and Duckworth will also offer a preview of that night’s game and other pertinent information. Plus, as both are former radio sports-talk hosts, the two will spend a segment of Sport N Center Jackets Warm-Up covering and opining on the top stories in the sports world, with an emphasis on LSU, the Saints and local/state sports.
At half-time, the “Dr. Michael Sceroler Half-Time Report” will include an interview with a prominent Denham Springs community and/or sports figure. In addition, Fine and Duckworth will provide a recap of the first half and a look ahead at the second half of action.
During the “Jack Fridge—Livingston Waste Post-Game Report”, Duckworth will interview Coach Nettles a couple of minutes after the final gun. Plus, there will be an extensive game recap, final stats and a look ahead.
When the Jackets score, you’ll get the particulars on the “Big Mike’s Sports Bar & Grill Jackets Scoring Drive”. A much better restauranteur then he was a student, Big Mike claims to be a Denham Springs HS graduate.
Sport-N-Center owner Stacy Phipps (Baseball), Dr. Michael Sceroler (Football, Baseball), Jack Fridge (Basketball) and Big Mike O’Neal (Football) were all athletes at Denham Springs HS.
Fine expressed that he is especially appreciative of the loyal commercial and name mention sponsors the broadcasts have had on Jon Fine Sports Productions’ Denham Springs HS play-by-play broadcasts throughout the years. Many have been with the broadcasts on a year-in, year-out basis. Fine expressed hope that listeners will have the opportunity to patronize these businesses and let them know they heard about them on DSHS Football radio broadcasts.
Jon Fine co-hosted and produced daily 2 hour drive-time radio sports-talk programs in the Greater Baton Rouge area for close to 20 years. His programs (first SportsTalk, which changed its name to SportsGumbo), aired, at times, in New Orleans, Lake Charles, Monroe and Alexandria, in addition to the Baton Rouge market. His company, Jon Fine Productions, has produced numerous Denham Springs HS and area HS sports programming on television, radio and internet, including The Dru Nettles Show. In addition to his Denham Springs broadcasting chores, Fine has an EBay internet store, ArrestedDevelopmentMedia Guides, and is a marketing representative for a Lake Charles Sports-talk station and a Central radio show. Fine is a native of Valley Stream, New York and a graduate of Penn. He is single and does not believe he has any children.
Initially recruited to play baseball at Mississippi State, Andy Duckworth transferred to Belhaven University, where he lettered for 4 years on the baseball team. He also played basketball for the Blazers. After graduating from Belhaven, Duckworth got involved in radio, eventually owning and managing a station in Mississippi for close to a decade. In this capacity, he hosted a sports talk show and did play by play for Mississippi College and Madison Central High School. Born and raised just north of Jackson in Madison, MS, Duckworth has been a resident of Denham Springs for 6 years. When not calling Jackets color commentary, he is a Financial Advisor for Edward Jones (along with the “Godfather”—the great Denham Springs HS football broadcast sponsor-- Scott Landry) in the greater Denham Springs area. Duckworth and his wife, Jenee, have 2 children, Drew (11) and Cate (9), who both attend school in Denham Springs.
Denham Springs HS football broadcasts air on Fox Sports Radio, 1210AM, Baton Rouge. Before being bought by Clear Channel in 1998, the station was Christian Country, Bayou, 1210AM-- located on Hatchell Lane in Denham Springs. This station was owned by Jeff and Nancy David. Jeff David is the Owner/Publisher of The Livingston Parish News.
For more information on Denham Springs HS Sports programming and Jon Fine Productions, please visit JonFineProductions.com.
DENHAM SPRINGS HS FOOTBALL RADIO BROADCASTS, ON FOX SPORTS RADIO, 1210AM, BATON ROUGE AND ON THE NET AT JonFineProductions.com, IS A JON FINE PRODUCTION.
OUR EBAY STORE, ArrestedDevelopmentMediaGuides, SELLS SPORTS PUBLICATIONS. YOU CAN LINK TO IT BY VISITING JonFineProductions.com.
JON IS PROUD TO WORK AS A MARKETING REPRESENTATIVE FOR SPORTSRADIO-1310-KEZM-LAKE CHARLES
AND AS A MARKETING REPRESENTATIVE FOR SPORTSCENTRAL ON RADIO AMOUR, 91.9.—BATON ROUGE.