December 3, 2015
GREAT CHRISTMAS PRESENT FOR LSU, SAINTS AND BIG SPORTS FAN
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SPORTSCENTRAL
Hosts Steve Johnson and Sid Edwards return after taking a week off for Thanksgiving.
BATON ROUGE AREA BROADCASTING SCHEDULE:
Thursday, December 3: 5pm—6pm: SportsCentral… with Sid Edwards and Steve Johnson
Radio Amour 91.9 FM, Central
SportsRadio 1310 Radio, Lake Charles Programming of Interest (also heard on KEZMOnLine.com):
Saturday, December 5: 9AM—10AM: All Things Football with Scott Holtzman
Monday, December 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 School
This is the season of the year to believe, but this article is about what NOT to believe. I do not intend to be a scrooge, just to point out some faulty reasoning and poor arguments that have come up in the past week.
Do not believe the national media who were in an uproar over the LSU coaching situation. Those same people make a living criticizing coaches and every decision they make. Those same people will criticize Miles next year should LSU lose 3-4 games and still be unable to pass efficiently. Those same people will ask question after question during SEC Media Days, fall practice, and after every game the Tigers don’t perform well. They will take their turn being unfair to the coaches.
Furthermore, those same media members have no problem with Georgia getting rid of Mark Richt. I am not taking a stance either way on Miles or Richt, but I do insist that there is not a well-reasoned argument on one side of the Miles issue and then a different side on Richt. Overall winning percentages, bowl winning percentages, division titles, conference titles, top 10 national finishes. You name the category and for every box that Miles gets a slight check, Richt will get a slight check in the next. I know Miles has a national championship, but a true impartial observer has to admit that their careers are basically interchangeable.
Quick side note, put Charlie McClendon’s record on a level playing field with today’s coaches. Add an automatic win (because that is what has happened by adding a 12th game to the schedule) each year Charlie McClendon was LSU’s coach to make each one of his seasons a 12 game schedule. You would be adding 26 wins to his coaching record and he would have a winning percentage of 74%.
Do not believe that Coach Miles doesn’t understand there is a time for coaches to move on. It isn’t fun for coaches, but it is part of the business. Coach Miles knows it well. There was a time that he had a conversation with Doug Mallory, Bradley Dale Peveto, Gary Crowton, and Greg Strudwara. He thanked them for their time where each had contributed to many successes at LSU. Yet, their vision did not match his or their production did not meet his standards. Miles is going to do the same thing this off season with certain coaches.
Do not believe that LSU’s recent SEC struggles are only because of offense and quarterback play. LSU was dominant in 2011 with below average quarterbacks. LSU had a great quarterback in 2013 and was not a great team. Instead, notice the troubles LSU has had in finding and retaining quality defensive tackles. LSU has either lacked ability, experience, or depth at defensive tackle since 2011. LSU has signed top talent in those years. Some players have been slow to develop. Frank Herron had a breakout game against Texas A&M and not coincidentally the defense had it best game of the year by far. But many have not made it to the field for one reason or another. Defensive tackles usually take a couple of years to develop, LSU did not sign any last year, and lost three last off season.
Finally, do not believe Coach Miles is LSU football. This statement is not a knock on him being retained as LSU football coach. If I was a betting man (thank goodness I am not), I would bet Les Miles is LSU’s coach beyond 2016 no matter the hot seat. LSU is going to win 9 or more games next year, and they have no leverage to make a move in the future for a coach that would be worthy of making a change. Yet, as a LSU graduate and LSU fan, I am offended by those who have made the statement that Miles is LSU football. Coach Miles did a wonderful job during Katrina and has been a great ambassador for LSU. Regardless, a person is not LSU football and Miles would agree. LSU football is about the state Louisiana, tailgating on campus, the students that attend the university, and the people that love the Saturday nights in Tiger Stadium.
HEY REF
The number one story usually during the first couple of weeks in December is the state football championships being played in New Orleans’ Super Dome but not this year. That’s because there are in fact two big stories grabbing the most headlines. One for sure is the suspension of the entire Amite football team by the LHSAA for its part in a wild, bench clearing brawl at the end of their playoff game against Bogalusa, a game they won, on the scoreboard 56 – 20.
The school did appeal the ruling to the LHSAA and on Wednesday morning to reverse its ruling but as expected the suspension was upheld and at the present time it’ll be St. James continuing its journey deep into the playoff brackets. If St. James is allowed to play next week for the state championship they’ll face the winner of the West Feliciana and Lutcher matchup this Friday. But hold on to your hats because the Tangipahoa School Board has hired attorneys (as expected) and have filed a lawsuit in Baton Rouge requesting a judge intervene and have the suspension lifted and restore Amite High’s football team back in state playoffs.
As we go to print there is a hearing tentatively set for 9:30 a.m. Friday in Judge William Morvant’s courtroom. The school board is being represented by attorney Chris Moody and he commented “We filed a petition for declaratory judgement asking to enjoin the athletic association from removing Amite from the playoffs”. In terms much easier to understand what he’s on record as saying we spent lots of money (public school money) to have the Amite High School football team reinstated to the playoffs and to allow us to strip the LHSAA from enforcing its rules. The very same rules as those that Amite high school has agreed to abide by.
Those rules state “that any player or players that leave their bench area during a fight are given an automatic one-game suspension”. Doesn’t matter of it’s a jamboree, regular season or playoff game those that join in a fight receive an AUTOMATICE suspension. In plain words for all to understand and nothing special consideration is given if that game is a playoff game or not. I hate to assume but I haven’t heard or read of any punishment handed out to Bogalusa for their participation in the rumble. So, I’ll assume they’ll be forced to forfeit their first game in the 2016 season.
Being involved only once in all my years when a brawl broke out I can say without hesitation it is the scariest feeling you’ll ever have working a game on the field when all sense of authority has just evaporated right before your eyes. You want to run but you can’t, I mean where do you run? How do you make the decision which way to run is best? It’s one of those things that never seem to leave your memory and feels as though it just happened yesterday.
My game was the final one that season and both teams were undefeated with everything at stake for the winner. To make matters that more intense one team hadn’t had a winning season in forever. They were playing a team that usually routed them year in and year out so nobody was going “to take prisoners that night”. The game had the usual intense atmosphere and the hits did seem to have just a little something extra all night.
The game went back and forth as the underdogs lead most of the game. One player told me he intentionally hurt a player by going for his knees to get him out of the game. I thought he was only joking so I asked him who taught him to do that. I remember him looking me directly in the eyes and saying “Our coach teaches us how to hurt a guy to get ‘em out of the game”. I stood there, in shock, absorbed his answer then neglected to cover the next play. I had never had a player admit that his coach was teaching his defense how to “Get ‘em out of the game” by going after the knees.
But as “crunch” time made its way onto the field the team that would usually hand out an old fashioned butt whipping was leading by just a few points. They also controlled the ball in those last few minutes and were just running out the clock when one late hit instigated something only seen in a referee’s nightmare.
Kids just started grabbing facemasks and pulling players down where those on the benches just started running onto the field and began kicking those on the ground. We’re taught to never put our hands on players but some of my crewmates and I tried to stop the fighting as things just started happening. Of course we weren’t able to stop anybody and as we started looking for law enforcement officers we noticed fans coming onto the playing field.
I’ve never had this happen in a game and this only happened the one time but it was something I never missed from any other game I worked. I noticed this one fan come running in front of me to hit a player but was stopped by a policeman and a nightstick. Stopped is not the correct way of describing the scene as he was only slowed down and did get one punch in before a mass of police converged on top of him.
Then there was what seemed hours before the parish sheriffs and city police made it to the field. I don’t remember the amount of time left on the clock but I remember on the way to our van one of the coaches asking if we were going to finish the game. I was stunned he’d even consider us staying any longer as our white hat just looked at him and said “Are you F*N crazy, the game is over”!
We had the usual hearing at LHSAA headquarters and the whole nine yards which I had, as a member of the officiating crew, to attend. As I remember that horrible evening and the things that followed was the city where the game was played had to erect fences around and in the stadium to separate the fans from each other and the field.
I can only hope the justice system rules in favor of the LHSAA and allow them to do what’s expected of them, handing out discipline to those that break the rules. Oh and about the other “Big” story this week, LSU acted too quickly in allowing Les Miles to return since Georgia fired their football coach. I wonder if they waited this long so that Head Coach Mark Richt wouldn’t be making any return trips there. If things are as reported tonight (Wednesday 12/2) then Miami has themselves one hell of a good coach.
Till next week…
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