December 31, 2015
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!
GET ARRESTED IN 2016
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. Over 150 publications listed.
SPORTSCENTRAL
Hosts Steve Johnson and Sid Edwards will take the week off as they and their families celebrate the new year. The show will air, though, playing Jimmy Stewart’s “It’s a Wonderful Life”.
BATON ROUGE AREA BROADCASTING SCHEDULE:
Thursday, December 31: 5pm—6pm: SportsCentral
Radio Amour 91.9 FM, Central
SportsRadio 1310 Radio, Lake Charles Programming of Interest (also heard on KEZMOnLine.com):
Saturday, January 2: 9AM—10AM: All Things Football with Scott Holtzman
Monday, December 4: 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
Last week I asked Santa for some Christmas presents, so I should make some New Year’s resolutions this week. Right? Not really, because I know I’ll break them. Instead, I think I’ll make some predictions for 2016 by month.
January: Alabama wins the National Championship over Oklahoma. Saban says he would retire, but he doesn’t know what he would do in retirement, so he will just keep coaching.
February: LSU signs the #3 recruiting class behind Alabama and Ohio State. Arizona wins the Super Bowl by beating the Patriots.
March: LSU basketball ends the season on an incredible hot streak, but it is not enough to overcome early losses. LSU misses out on the NCAA Tournament. Ben Simmons says he doesn’t want to risk playing for the Sixers and declares he will return to LSU (I can dream right?). Two familiar faces, Michigan State and Kansas make the Final Four. Then two unfamiliar but not surprising teams in Oklahoma and Virginia make the Final Four.
April: Michigan State wins it all. LSU baseball hits a rough patch in the season. Tiger does nothing at The Masters. Drew Brees agrees to a one year contract extension which allows the Saints to free up some salary cap money.
May: The Saints dip back in the Clemson pool to pick Shaq Lawson with their first pick. LSU has a good, but not great baseball season, and fall just short of a top 8 national seed.
June: LSU wins their regional impressively, but falls to TCU in the Super Regional. Florida wins the national championship in baseball. The Warriors win back to back championships after breaking the Bulls record for most wins in a season.
July: Not wanting to wait on a one and done college freshman to develop the Pelicans trade their pick and Ryan Anderson for a veteran. I have no idea who, but I am my guess is the new addition gets hurt.
August: It is really hot and humid in Louisiana. I have to make sure I get at least one right.
September: Fournette gets off to a hot start and LSU pulls away from Wisconsin to win their opener. LSU rolls through September. The Saints win their opener, and get off to a hot start as well.
October: LSU loses at Florida. Florida State is the talk of college football after a fast start, leading many LSU to just wander around and look at the stars every Saturday night.
November: LSU beats Alabama at home, but loses at Texas A&M. Alabama wins the SEC West.
December: Fournette wins the Heisman. LSU is selected for the Sugar Bowl. The Saints clinch the NFC South. It snows in South Louisiana.
If I am right on half of that, I will be surprised. Happy New Year!
HEY REF
Once again, to my greatest fear and disgust, reality took a bite out of my butt last week. I usually enjoy seeing and talking to coaches after the season ends when all the pressure is lifted away from them. Coaches are “funny” in that they always seem to return to being normal once the spotlight is off them and onto another coach as their season has ended.
Such was the case in the parking lot of a local Wally-World. Coach “X” always stops what he’s doing to share a funny story or two about his latest season and playoff happenings. We shook hands and exchanged the common “Hellos” that we’ve shared for nearly thirty odd years. His season was once again filled with those plays you just kind of shake your head and ask him to repeat ‘em.
I can tell he loves what he does because there hasn’t been a time where he’s not been happy to accommodate retelling a single story. He’s been in the high school football business for so long I’ve got to really try hard to remember a season where he’s not been on the sidelines. For me his greatest trait has to be his reluctance to lay blame on a player or play or penalty etc., etc.
His team did fairly well considering the loss of a few very “key” players yet he didn’t say that had anything to do with how his season ended. In fact he told me the kids went farther into the playoffs than he thought was possible. It’s something that makes this coach special, his way of concentrating on the positives and not looking for a place to drop “blame”. His teams somehow seem to always do more, win more and compete above their ability without concentrating on negatives.
Our conversation had covered all the things we normally talk over but before I could wish him and his family “Merry Christmas” he stopped, took a deep breath and slowly told me “this was by far the worst year ever in my coaching career”. Not sure what he was referring to as I said a small prayer it wasn’t what I feared as he bluntly said “The Officiating”.
Normally I’d just consider the source, nod my head and end the conversation but this is a man that deserves the highest amount of respect. Normally I’d “go to bat for my guys” and not allow a coach to bad-mouth my so called brother refs. Throughout the years we’ve both had ups and downs in our chosen professions and we’ve butted heads on more than one occasion.
If any official ever says he’s never had “words” with a coach you better get far away from them because lightning is about to strike. It seems I hear this constant kind of thing from just about every coach but when a coach of his stature complains then I know for sure there is a problem.
So, for my “NEW YEAR’s WISH” I’m hoping that those that wear the striped shirts on Friday nights really get serious and turn things around. It won’t happen overnight because the downward slide didn’t just happen. We’ve got to have men that will commit to becoming the best they can and will put in the work to get there and stay there. If you think you’ve got what it takes then by all means get involved and help the game of High School Football be the best it can be. Time to sign up is usually the first or second week in July. Call the LHSAA office and find out when and where your local association meets.
Till NEXT year!
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.