April 5, 2018
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THE WIZARDRY OF OS
Assistant Basketball Coach and Head Swimming Coach at Central High
Can you remember a year ago?
The Saints were idiots for trading Brandin Cooks to the Patriots. LSU baseball had the same record in the SEC as it does currently, 5-4. LSU basketball had a new coach and the consensus was LSU was going to be the worst team in the SEC and lucky to win 10 games on the season.
Here we are a year later and Brandin Cooks has been traded again for a first round pick. The Rams are taking advantage of having a franchise quarterback on a rookie contract. Not surprisingly, the Saints were seen as idiots last year, but the Patriots are not seen in the same light this year when they make the same decision. That is the respect earned after yet another Super Bowl appearance.
As I write, there are rumors the Saints are to be in the mix to trade for Gronk. The way the Rams are going, I wouldn’t be surprised if they are the team to pull of the trade. Of course, sometimes I have the great skill of writing something on Tuesday and the opposite happening by the time these words are read on Thursday.
As for LSU baseball, it really is interesting to compare the 2017 and 2018 teams. It wasn’t until this point in the year that Eric Walker started to establish himself as the third starter. Ma’Khail Hilliard has progressed quicker in his freshman campaign.
Zack Hess was trying to establish himself as the mid week starter last year, a role that AJ Labas has solidified.
Of course, the big difference in the pitching staff is Hess and Gilbert compared to Lange and Poche. Hess has had his rough starts, but so did Lange last year. Neither Poche or Gilbert typically dominate, but Poche had a knack for getting out of jams. Still, Gilbert pitches well enough to have LSU in a position to win each week.
When Broussard is healthy he is amazingly close to being a replica of Cole Freeman. Watson and Duplantis are back in the outfield.
The main deficiencies from last year to this year are clear. Feduccia is not as good defensively as Pap. Nobody on the roster is as powerful as Deichmann, and with Smith hurt the shortstop position is not as productive as when Robertson held the position.
So that’s it, LSU is in major trouble. Right? Wrong, or at least I still believe. The only aspects of last year’s team LSU cannot match this year is Pap’s defense and Deichmann’s power.
Thanks to the success of LSU baseball, success will always be measured by what happens in the postseason. The depth of the starting pitching will serve LSU well in the SEC tournament, regional, and Omaha should they reach the CWS. It won’t make much of a difference in the Super Regional.
As for the offense, last year, by the time LSU reached the postseason, the lineup relied heavily on the top four. Pap actually got hot late in the year and that made a huge difference.
The injuries this year have prevented LSU’s offense from hitting its stride so far, but could be a blessing in disguise. Smith, Broussard, Watson, and Duplantis are a great way to start a lineup. Cabrera has turned the corner. Feduccia is clearly to starter and his offensive ability can make up for some defensive mistakes.
That leaves, Bain, both Jordans, Reid, Webre, and Slaughter for third base, first base, and DH. What is Slaughter and Webre turn the corner like Cabrera? Or if the Jordan’s catch fire? The ability is there for any of those possibilities and the probability increases since there are so many options. I can easily close my eyes and imagine that lineup being more effective overall than last year’s.
In conclusion, stay patient Tiger fans. This year’s team is close to rounding into the form we expect in April and May from a Mainieri team.
Meanwhile, the too early Top 25 lists are coming out for college basketball and they are demonstrating that Will Wade has made LSU basketball relevant again.
Coming into the year, Will Wade had a reputation for playing one style of defense. Impressively, he showed that he has the knowledge and ability to coach the style of play that best suits the ability of his team.
I look forward to seeing where these three teams stand in another year.
HEY REF
I don’t know how the saying goes but it’s something to this effect “Sports echo life” or maybe it’s the other way around. But right now in “Hey Ref’s” world he’s dealing with life or should I say the ending of it. For nearly four years I’ve been dealing with the ravages of lung cancer attacking my stepmother. And for most of that time I’ve been taking care of her almost 24/7.
My wife and I had to move in with my parents since we lost everything in the 2016 flood. And since I retired in 2001 it’s upon me to take care of her. I’m trying to explain why I’ve not been able to concentrate on writing my column for quite some time now. And since I don’t want to let me fans down I picked this column about one of the best coaches I’ve ever had the pleasure of working for. People think they know him but until you’re standing on his sideline during a game you really don’t.
He’s one of the very few that can separate a contest on the field and those times you meet him away from a football field. I hope everyone enjoys this “Best of Hey Ref” because I always enjoyed working this coach’s games. So to you coach I’ll always respect the kinda man you are and what kind of coach you were.
First things first. Who says “Good guys finish last”? Whoever that may be I’d like to introduce them to Catholic’s Head Football Coach Dale Weiner. He made a giant impression on me many years ago while he was the top man for Catholic High Pointe Coupee. In our pregame conference our referee had told us that Dale will keep you on your toes tonight. If you think Les Miles is unpredictable all I can say is that he’s got nothing on Dale.
In a previous game or I should say games he would try something off the wall and something you’d never expect a team to do so early in the game. Just a week earlier he started that night’s festivities with an on-side kick off. He caught that entire crew with their collective pants down. But in those very early days the officials in Baton Rouge’s association were so good they were able to regroup and never flinched for the remaining 47 and a half minutes.
That night one of my main duties was to stand on the receiver’s restraining line (usually the 50) and make any calls in that 10 yard span. So, I’m remembering what we’d talked about and as Dale would do he had his kicker try and put it out of the endzone. So, I’m feeling good since I was all over that opening kick and thought I’d passed my first test. I was as proud of myself as I thought to myself “this coach can’t get one by me”. Oh, how wrong I was because I only had five years under my belt at the time. Dale hadn’t even looked into his bag of tricks as the crew went mistake free all the way to halftime.
As we walked off the field there was this collected sigh of relief and we just knew Dale was scheming something big because of who was sitting in the stands on my side of the field. This is telling my age because the Governor at that time was Mr. Dave Treen. The rest of the game went about as easy as a game could be. We were all thinking we’d get out of that game unmarked. And we wanted to do the best we could since Governor Dave Treen was on hand.
Then “IT” happened, the “IT” I was dreading for over five days since I got my game assignment went down big as day. Well the “IT” started off as a member of the offense coming out of the huddle and LEAVING the filed on my side. I thought nothing of it since I saw a new player go into the huddle and one left the game. Dale ran what’s known as a “HIDE-OUT” where the player coming off the field was actually one of the eleven players.
Dale was talking to the player and my attention was on the offense and getting ready for the snap. Well the snap was a beautiful one and then all of a sudden the quarterback steps back about ten feet and unleashes the most perfect spiral down the field somewhere in the neighborhood of fourty to fifty yards. As I’m watching this admiring the pass I took a glance at the receiver and wondered why they had two guys wearing the same numberand then that ‘ole “punch in the gut” feeling takes over and all I can hope is that he drops the pass.
As it would turn out that was one prayer that went unanswered as the ball and player were downed inside the ten yard line. My white hat wasn’t too happy with me and I didn’t try and make excuses as I just “manned-up” and said I blew it. There was nothing to do but own it. To correct my blown call we met at midfield and talked our way through the play.
As I stated earlier our association had the best officials in the state. My counterpart across from me saw the play as I had my back to it and made the correct call as this is an illegal play since the rules state you can’t use a replaced player to deceive. The ball was brought back and if I remember correctly we penalized 5 yards from where the pass was thrown (for an illegal forward pass) and a loss of down.
I thought I was in for one huge chewing out but Dale looked at me, didn’t say a word for a couple plays then just said in a calm voice “most crews don’t have what it takes to penalize that”. I have to respect a coach that in this type of situation stayed calm, knew what he’d done, got caught and penalized yet just went onto the next play. If this type of play would happen today you can bet the house most if not all coaches would be screaming and cursing the crew. But Dale was and is nothing but class both on and off the field.
These kinds of mistakes either make you better or cause you to walk away. The biggest thing I learned from that game wasn’t in any rulebook because class isn’t something you get out of books. It’s something you earn on the field in tough situations. From that game all the way to the final game I worked in Baton Rouge Dale was always at the top of every official’s list for the classiest coach to work for. He hasn’t changed in all these years.
You ask anyone that’s played for Dale and the first thing they’ll say is how much they respect him. That’s because Dale knows how to return respect. It’s something that seems easy for him. His players go the extra mile for him year after year. He’s one of those few men that no matter how old his players get they always call him “COACH”. His influence goes well beyond the playing field. I feel very fortunate to have worked some of his games.
Some say good guys finish last but I can say without hesitation Dale Weiner is one of the best and he surely will never finish last. Thanks Coach for letting me in to see the class act that you are. You’re one in a million!!!
Till next week…
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