December 24, 2015
HO HO HO
Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays from us to you!!
GREAT CHRISTMAS PRESENT FOR LSU, SAINTS AND BIG SPORTS FAN
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SPORTSCENTRAL
Hosts Steve Johnson and Sid Edwards will take the week off as they and their families celebrate Christmas. The show will air, though, playing Christmas music.
BATON ROUGE AREA BROADCASTING SCHEDULE:
Thursday, December 24: 5pm—6pm: SportsCentral
Radio Amour 91.9 FM, Central
SportsRadio 1310 Radio, Lake Charles Programming of Interest (also heard on KEZMOnLine.com):
Saturday, December 26: 9AM—10AM: All Things Football with Scott Holtzman
Monday, December 28: 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 hope my next statement does not put a damper on the Texas Bowl, but the game itself has no significance for LSU.
I hear some of you already saying, "But if LSU wins the Tigers will take the momentum into the off season." Poppycock, I say. Two years ago LSU beat Iowa with Anthony Jennings handing the ball to Jeremy Hill over and over. That momentum led to an 8-5 season and Anthony Jennings putting together one of the worst statistical years in the history of LSU quarterbacks. Last year, LSU lost to Notre Dame, but LSU still started this season 7-0. Before someone cries out that I have only looked at two seasons, I challenge you to look at a larger sample and find a correlation between bowl results and records the next year. Good luck.
Maybe the result in the bowl game effects recruiting. Sorry, another misconception. Once again, you will not find a correlation between bowl results and recruiting. What does matter in recruiting is what bowl a team is selected to participate. Texas Tech may be aided by playing in the Texas Bowl, but LSU is not.
Some people think the bowl game will be the beginning of an offensive transformation for LSU to becoming a balanced offense, with an efficient passing game. I humbly do not believe that the bowl game is a good indication of that. There are only two games during the season that a team has a month to prepare, the season opener, and the bowl game. Those two games are poor indications of the ability of an offense or defense. The 11 games between are more reliable indicators.
Does this mean I don't think you should watch the Texas Bowl? Actually the opposite. The bowl game is a chance to see things you will not ordinarily see watching LSU football. For example, DeSean Smith had a huge game against Notre Dame last year with four receptions for 62 yards. For the record, DeSean Smith had four catches for 80 yards in 11 games this year.
To close, I will share the Christmas wish list I am e-mailing to Santa.
1. For the Saints, a deep threat at wide receiver, a role for CJ Spiller, a defense that can stop the run, a dominant pass rusher in the draft, health in the secondary, and salary cap dead money relief.
2. For the Pelicans, an inside presence to help Anthony Davis and guards that defend on the perimeter.
3. For LSU basketball, the consistent desire to defend, rebound, and have quality possessions for forty minutes.
4. For LSU football, Bama to win the National Championship and Saban retires.
Merry Christmas!
HEY REF
Since we are all very busy at this time of the year I’ll get right to what’s “NEWS” in Hey Ref’s world this week. Of course there’s no way I cannot comment on the penalties, suspensions and/or fines handed out by those super intelligent individuals at NFL headquarters. Some say they were handing out punishment that was too harsh while others of course say the exact opposite.
To settle this argument you’ve come to the right place. I need to ask that in whose world can you say the NFL was correct in handing out a four game suspension and $250,000.00 fine. I feel this was just way out of bounds and has no place in professional sports. Am I confusing any of my loyal readers? This was the punishment leveled against Cleveland Browns general manager Ray Farmer after he admitted to sending a text message to the sidelines during a 2014 regular season game which is a direct violation of the league’s policy.
When confronted with evidence of this “MAJOR” violation Farmer came clean and told NFL investigators that he did send a text from his cell phone to the bench. What a travesty of fair play but not on Farmer but with the league. His sentence included a total ban on communicating and/or any activities with the team for four games. Add a little $250,000.00 icing on the cake and its clear the NFL bosses are not going to take any deviations of the rules lightly or you’d think that was their message.
Here’s the statement from NFL Executive Vice President Troy Vincent; “The use of a cell phone on multiple occasions during games in 2014 by the Cleveland Browns General Manager Ray Farmer was a violation of NFL rules that prohibit certain uses of electronic devices during games”. The league’s offices sounded tough as Farmer and the Browns learned in early spring of this year that he’d have to serve his punishment and will not be able to perform any of his duties during the first four games of the current season.
Well at least it sounded as though the NFL was going into this season with a heavy hand for stamping out non-compliance to their rulebook. I know everybody was hoping I’d comment on the fines handed out to local favorite Odell Beckam, Jr. and that “Bad ‘ole puddy cat” Josh Norman of the Carolina Panthers. So not wanting to let any of my faithful readers down I must say that I’m totally disappointed with the very mild slap on the wrist given these two babies.
There’s no need for me to write about the fines because I feel it’s a total waste of ink and precious space to do that. But I will go on record as saying the fines and/or penalties didn’t go far or deep enough. I’m not surprised at the conduct these children exhibited on the field, no not in the slightest. The MFL as I call it (Mediocre Football League) has become a league of spoiled little rich kids.
The MFL has lost all resemblance of being a PROFESSIONAL LEAGUE. If you look at any game in any city you’ll see a comical side show that would impress Mr. P. T. Barnum of the “Greatest Show on Earth” fame. Some players look as though they’ve got an octopus around their heads. Some even wear a horse’s mane that flows out the back of the helmet all the way to their waist it seems.
This is how ridiculous the MFL is… On game day the “UNIFORM POLICE” inspect each and every player that walks onto the playing field. If you’ve got the wrong color or style of socks on, BANG! You’re fined. If a player has a different color of shoe-strings, BANG; another fine. They expect all the players on each team to wear a uniform which the teams register with the league and those uniforms are copyrighted.
Coaches are seen working games with “sweats” or even just T-shirts as if this was a pickup game on a sandlot in somebody’s pasture. If a player on either side of the ball makes a play you’d better get back cause somebody gonna bust a move so everybody notice ‘em. I remember one game where on the very first play of the game a kid made a tackle after a first down was made. He got up, did some jerky moves, pumped his fists and was about to start dancing when I told him to cut it out and get in the huddle.
I asked if this was his first game at which he said “no, I bin pla’n futbal all my life”. Next I asked if that was his first tackle and of course the kid gave me the same answer. So, I said act like you’ve been doing it for more than five minutes. He’d do his little dance every so often. I let him do his thing and when we were deep into the fourth quarter and his team was behind by some 45 points I noticed he was still dancing. I walked over to him and asked if he knew the score, which he did since he “be pla’n all his life”.
His answer has stuck in my mind as he looked at me and as if proud of his antics then he just said “I ain’t care about the score, I just want people to see me”! And there you have it. The attitude in the heads of the players at all levels and leagues is being played for the player and not the team. That is by far the best way I can describe the actions of one Odell Beckham, Jr. and Josh Norman.
Do I think these things will change? Let me just simply say “NO WAY”! To date the MFL has in 248 games fined over 170 players the sum of $21,167,907.00, just mere “pocket change” to these new-fangled spoiled rich kids. If the MFL was really getting serious about conduct on the field and the consequences of the actions by all of its employees then you’d see guys sitting out parts of seasons, WITHOUT PAY and not by just collecting lunch money. I do hand it to the MFL, they claim to donate all monies collected in fines to charity.
I’d like to start a charity that would teach manners and the proper conduct expected by professional football players. I won’t hold my breath since today’s fans come to see a show not a competition. Too bad P. T. Barnum isn’t alive today to see what he started and what its evolved into!!!!
Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah to my Jewish friends and family,
Till next week…
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