May 26, 2016
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SPORTSCENTRAL
Join hosts Steve Johnson and Sid Edwards tonight. See programming information just below
BATON ROUGE AREA BROADCASTING SCHEDULE:
Thursday, May 26: 5pm—6pm: SportsCentral
Radio Amour 91.9 FM, Central
SportsRadio 1310 Radio, Lake Charles Programming of Interest (also heard on KEZMOnLine.com):
HOUSTON ASTROS BASEBALL BROADCASTS (all times PM, CST)
THURSDAY: vs Orioles: 7:10
FRIDAY—SUNDAY at Angels: 9:05 9:05 2:35
MONDAY-TUESDAY at Diamondbacks: 3:10 2:40
WEDNESDAY vs Diamondbacks: 7:10
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THE WIZARDRY OF OS
Assistant Basketball Coach and Head Swimming Coach at Central High School
This is a tricky week for me to find a topic. By the time you read these words, LSU’s status in the SEC Tournament and the NBA playoff picture will be much clearer than when I am typing write now. But those are the topics I want to write about, so here it goes.
Coach Mainieri is doing what his thing. He tries to win tournaments and he recognizes that he may have to win a game early on without one of his top pitchers in order to win the whole tournament. It is a boom or bust strategy, and it makes sense to me.
If Jake Latz was a bust Tuesday night and LSU lost, the Tigers are a regional host, but not a national seed. If Latz did enough for LSU to win and Lange is preserved for Florida, then LSU has its best chance to make a deep run in the SEC Tournament and earn a national seed. Mainieri doesn’t care if LSU is the 9th seed or 16th seed in the NCAA Tournament. So he might as well go for broke to make a deep SEC Tournament run and get a top 8 seed.
Did it work? Only you know (because I certainly do not). My point, though, is that the plan works no matter what happens because it is the best plan to win a bunch of games in Hoover.
The other huge question mark for the Tigers is in the clean-up spot. Romero has to get out of his funk. Nobody has been as productive as Romero was in that spot for a three week span. Hopefully, he can hit the reset button and get back to where he was a few weeks ago. Romero and Deichmann are the two guys in the lineup that can be difference makers in the post season driving in 2-3 runs with one swing of the bat by driving balls in the gap or over the fence.
Speaking of scoring runs or scoring points quickly… the NBA playoffs (I know that was a stretch). How is OKC on the verge of knocking off a 67 win and 73 win in the same playoffs? I think I am safe saying they are on the verge whether they are up 3-1 or even at 2-2.
The answer is they found role players that do what their stars are incapable of doing. As great as Westbrook and Durant are, they cannot defend inside, offensive rebound, or hit open outside shots. They aren’t the ones left open after double teams or penetration. They are doing the penetration or drawing the double teams. The last time the Thunder made the finals they had James Harden and Kendrick Perkins to fill these roles.
Steven Adams and Enes Kanter are shooting 65% and 55% from the field in the playoffs. Their minutes overlap at times, but they are combining to provide 20 points and 17 rebounds a game from the center position. When they are in the game together, they have caused huge problems from the Spurs and the Warriors. Meanwhile, Waiters and Ibaka have hit the open shots from 3-point range at 49% and 42% respectively.
Westbrook and Durant get all the credit and they deserve much of that credit as evidence by what has happened when either one has been hurt. But the difference between the Thunder being a NBA Final caliber team and just a playoff team are those role players mentioned above.
BY DENNIS DEARIE
VETERAN LOUISIANA HS REFEREE
A quick few words and I hope the last time I’ll need to bring up the circus that is “Deflate Gate” also known as the NFL’s lawsuit against the New England Patriots and their Golden Boy Tom Brady for lowering the air pressure in balls they used in a playoff game. Once again corporate lawyers on behalf of Brady have filed an appeal to turn over a ruling and 4 game suspension that he’s never served.
We may not care (and I for one don’t) one way or another but if Brady does not suit up for four games he’ll lose close to $4 million in salary. The team was fined a cool million dollars which they paid and had hoped to put this little distraction behind them but Brady doesn’t feel he should be singled out nor be required to pay the steep fine.
I’ve been asked who I side with and what I think about this non-sense and have remained steadfast in my answer and/or view. All I can say is there’s no I in team. I’ve heard that about as much as the “One small step for man”, etc. It doesn’t matter to me and it shouldn’t matter to anyone else what or when Brady knew of the under inflated game balls. Getting back to that “no I in team” quote I feel if any player is fined or suspended the only way to make things right is to suspend the entire team.
Football we all know is a team sport so if Brady knew and used the suspicious (illegal) game balls then every member of the team is guilty of gaining an unfair advantage and should also serve any fines and suspensions. And my guys in stripes should also be remanded for allowing it to happen in the first place! And I know there are many out there questioning that logic?
So to better explain my logic let me explain why I think this way. One of the pre-game duties of the officiating crew is to inspect all equipment that’ll be used for that game. They are also charged with inspecting the field and all pads and wraps players wish to use. If the crew finds something not quite up to specs they have to be sure the team attendants know which equipment has been ruled illegal and can’t be used in the upcoming game.
I feel the NFL is sweeping things under the rug so to speak and so far have been successful in keeping their officials from being investigated as to why they allowed certain balls to be used and which ones they didn’t. There’s plenty of wrong that went down in that playoff game and if the NFL was smart they’d just wash their hands of the whole deal and get on with the upcoming season.
But they won’t because of Commissioner Goodell’s vanity. The league and its commissioner have lost case after case when dealing with its players and now are desperate to get one in the “win” column and they smell blood. I just call ‘em like I see ‘em and in this case the entire roster of players did reap an advantage so each and every one of the players should be on trial, be fined and/or suspended.
If you look at each player’s hands you’ll see a Super Bowl ring and in some cases two or more rings so Brady isn’t the only one that should be fined. Here’s the way I look at it; you’ve got a bunch of friends over for a back yard Bar-B-Q. All your guests sit down and partake in dining. When it’s time to clean up does only one person start picking up the dirty plates?
I don’t know about your friends but most of my guests don’t mind pitching in since they all shared in the meal we fixed for them. They all enjoyed getting filled up on steaks, burgers, coleslaw, ice-cold beer, etc., etc. So too is it with team sports, the entire, complete team accepted the rewards of playing with “funny” balls so if the NFL found they gained an unfair advantage by using them then each and every player should also be charged and serve whatever fine, suspension and not just the one that makes the biggest headlines in your morning newspaper. With that said I promise to never comment again in the deflated football wars!
Till next week…
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