April 12, 2018
GET ARRESTED
ArrestedDevelopmentMediaGuides, our EBay store, sells media guides. programs and baseball cards. 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 and publications from much of the entire sports world. Over 4,500 publications listed.
MCNEESE BROADCASTS: 4 UPCOMING MCNEESE BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL BROADCASTS ON SPORTSRADIO-1310-KEZM-LAKE CHARLES AND ON THE INTERNET AT KEZMONLINE. COM. PLEASE READ BELOW
NEXT BROADCAST FRIDAY!
YOUR WORLD CHAMPION HOUSTON ASTROS BASEBALL BROADCASTS: Tune in on SportsRadio-1310-KEZM-Lake Charles.
ON HIATUS
SportsCentral is taking some time off. WE HOPE TO HAVE AN UPDATE FOR YOU SOMETIME IN THE NEAR FUTURE. AS SOON AS THE STATUS OF THE PROGRAM HAS BEEN CLARIFIED TO US, WE’LL PASS IT ON TO YOU.
BATON ROUGE AREA BROADCASTING SCHEDULE:
THURSDAY: SPORTSCENTRAL: ON HIATUS 5pm—6pm: Central First Facebook Page… … Les Bueche, Sid Edwards, Frank Fresina… ON HIATUS
SPORTSRADIO-1310-KEZM-LAKE CHARLES (AND KEZMONLINE. COM) BROADCASTS
FRIDAY, APRIL 13 MCNEESE SOFTBALL VS NICHOLLS STATE 4:50PM
SAT, APRIL 14 MCNEESE BASEBALL AT UNO 5:50PM
SUN, APRIL 15 MCNEESE BASEBALL AT UNO 12:50PM
WED, APRIL 18 MCNEESE SOFTBALL VS USL 5:50PM
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
I think I am finally safe to write about the Pelicans. My worst fan superstitions have been festering this season as any mention of their success led to immediate disaster.
Alvin Gentry and Dell Demps should take a moment to sit back and feel good about their regular season. Especially if they would take the time to look back at how they were crushed in the media for their personnel moves last summer.
Most NBA writers just don’t get it (to be clear I am referring to national media). They think the key to success in the NBA is to get the most high profile players together and winning automatically follows.
If that was the case, the Thunder would be one of the top 3 teams in the West, the Jazz would not be in the playoffs, and San Antonio would not be the model franchise of the 21st century.
The NBA is no different than college basketball, all levels of baseball and football. Success requires talent, players accepting and thriving in roles, quality coaching, and some luck. Specific to basketball, teams need to rebound, take care of the ball, share the ball, and play hard on defense.
The Pelicans clearly started the year with talent. With Cousins, Davis, Holiday, and Rondo on the roster New Orleans looked good. But many other factors were missing. Bad luck in the form of poor health is always a factor. Team chemistry to start the year was poor and Cousins turnovers and shot selection were costly.
By January, the Pels were healthy and coming together, though. So much so, that even though Cousins still turned the ball over as if the ball was a Skittle to pop in your mouth and who cares if you drop one because you get 1,000 in a bag… where was I? Oh yeah, the Pelicans were still winning. Then Cousins was lost for the year.
While I was ready to write off the season (I even wrote that losing Cousins could not be overcome), Dell Demps made an acquisition that was barely a blip on the radar of the national media, but saved the season. Demps traded away a terrible contract in Omer Asik, Tony Allen, Jameer Nelson, and a second round pick (which is about as valuable as a Skittle). In exchange the Pels received Nikola Mirotic.
Mirotic, in 29 minutes per game, is averaging 14.5 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover while shooting 42% overall and 34% from three point range. Cousins was having a great year. In 36 minutes per night, Cousins was averaging 25 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 turnovers while shooting 47% and 35% from three point range.
Obviously, Cousins numbers are better, but 5 turnovers a game?! That is an average. There were 7 games were Cousins had 8 or more turnovers and the Pelicans were 3-4 in those games.
Clearly, Mirotic is not Cousins, but he has filled in nicely for the good parts of Cousins. He stretches the floor with his shooting, provides quality size inside, and is a good passer. Meanwhile, he does not turn the ball over or get terrible technical fouls. Holiday and Davis have had to pick up their scoring a bit, which why they get paid the uber big bucks.
Just like many weeks, by the time you read this article the Pelicans might have fallen flat on their face against San Antonio and are staring at series against the Rockets between the eyes. That would be bad.
Regardless, the Pelicans have won over 57% of their games this year the brutal Western Conference and are in the playoffs. Congrats to the Pelicans, Dell Demps, and Alvin Gentry.
HEY REF
I want to “THANK” my editor; Jon Fine, for being very understanding to those happenings in my private life that I have no control over. My “situation” life right now consists of me being the major caretaker for my mom. She’s been battling lung cancer for more than five years now. I lost my house to the Aug. 2016 flood and I had to move my family in with my parents.
Sometimes life has a reason for all the “WHY’s” we face desperately searching for the right answers. Back in 2005 my parents came to stay at my house as they normally do whenever the big winds roll into New Orleans. They’d been living in Lakeview for close to 40 years. A typical storm would mean I’d open my house here in Central to them for 2 or 3 or how many days they needed before heading back home.
When Katrina made her move north they hadn’t planned on coming up but when she grew from a cat 3 storm to a 4 my dad began to rethink his decision to stay put. When he called and said they were headed this way we didn’t hesitate to put clean sheets on the guest’s bed. It was the best thing he could’ve done as his house had almost 13 feet of water around it. He’d built my grandmother (his mom) a second story apartment and the water got higher than 14 inches up there.
Getting to the chase they decided they’d move to Baton Rouge since they were getting up in age and were very tired of the hurricanes. He born and raised in New Orleans but he knew the time had come to say goodbye to the Big Easy as it’s nowhere near the city it was when he was a little boy or even the same place when he raised us down there. So, I opened my house to them and they stayed with us while they looked for a house to buy.
So fast forward to Aug. 13, 2016 and this time it was me and my family that lost everything to a massive flood. We’d been living with them for just five days and while we were gutting my house my mom called to tell me dad wasn’t responding. I called 911 and rushed to their house to find my dad lying on the floor and the EMS personal trying to get his heart started. When I touched his foot he was so cold so I knew right away he was gone.
They say its times like these that make people and families stronger. I don’t recommend getting stronger this way. Fast forward to today and I’ve been the primary care giver to my mom 24/7, 365. Two weeks ago I was able to get out of the house for the first time in nearly 6 months to attend our Passover Seder dinner at my synagogue. But this week once again bad news hit our family as the doctors say my mom is too weak for chemo, etc. and we’re getting hospice in place to make my mom as comfortable as we can make her in these hardest of days.
So, if my editor and readers will allow me just a little more timeI think “Hey Ref” will once again write the kind of columns you’ve come to know and love. With that explanation in place I want to offer another “Best Of” for you to enjoy again. I hope you’ll continue to read and enjoy all those “words of wisdom” that I’ve come to be known by. So without further delay please enjoy this episode of “Hey Ref”.
I’m running another “Best of Hey Ref” this week that originally ran on Jan. 20, 2011. When I heard that LSU’s junior forward Jonny O’Bryant had decided to forgo his final year and enter the NBA draft all I could think of “this ain’t really news”. Well, maybe the only reason to consider it NEWS is because he’s a local player. I don’t consider it NEWS simply because each and every year young men in all of the three major sports bolt to live their dream of making it in the professional ranks.
And I can’t blame them for doing so because what the NCAA has become is a billion dollar slave master. Again, I am 1,000 percent in favor of the players getting paid because in Hey Ref’s world they are EMPLOYEES. I don’t intend to debate the issue this week and instead will ask you to re-enjoy some of my wisdom. So without further delay… … …
And they’re off! I’m not referring to the Kentucky Derby or any other horse race. No what I’m talking about is the annual Dash for the Cash in the NFL’s rookie and free agent draft. Many delusional young men will fall victim to greed and ignorance. Call me old school but I just can’t see any reason why so many 19 – 20 year old athletes believe they’re ready to compete with the big dogs unless it’s totally money clouding their ability to reason.
All I can say to the masses is “beware; there’s sharks in the water”. Many of these kids can’t balance a checkbookmuch less have the ability to invest millions of dollars that’ll be thrown at their feet. What’s even sadder is the cold hard fact that the vast majority of them come from poor families. Almost from the first time they strap on a uniform they’re told “the only way to make it is by playing a professional sport”.
No doubt many won’t have the opportunity to do anything but play a professional sport. But these young men need and should stay in school to acquire the book-smarts that will allow them to handle multi-million dollar contracts. Today’s professional salaries and contracts require an Einstein style mentality just to figure out the language they’re written in.
I can give you two perfect examples of what I’m talking about. Back in the day a young kid coming out of Pittsburg University, Tony Dorsett, was signed by the Dallas Cowboys. He signed at the time one of the wealthiest contracts in NFL history. He had a great career; leading them to multi-playoff seasons and two Super Bowl Titles. In the final year of his contract he was so far in debt to the Cowboys (reported to be in the excess of $400,000) he had to play that year “free” since no other team would trade for him. After that final year he was traded to the Denver Broncos, injured a knee and never played another down in the league.
The other case was J. R. Richard of the Houston Astros. He was their ace pitcher in the late 70’s who led them in almost every category; wins, complete games, victories, strikeouts, etc. After his playing days he was found living under a highway overpass. He was the toast of Houston; the man who had made millions was now destitute. Unable to handle his millions he lived in homeless shelters until the story broke and Major League Baseball then took steps to help one of the finest players of all times. I’ve often wondered what’s happened to these one-time heroes.
I raise this issue because many of these very same men being courted by professional teams will also fall prey to swindlers that’ll do everything possible to cheat them out of every cent they make. I’d like to use Peyton Manning as an example of what today’s modern athlete should strive to emulate. He had fame before stepping onto a collegiate field. He didn’t want to be compared to his very famous father so he enrolled at Tennessee. He was also tempted to come out early and sign for millions of dollars. As we all know he stayed in school, got his degree and has become one of the finest players to ever don an NFL uniform. He’ll soon sign a new contract that’ll make him the highest paid player in the entire history of the league.
I’m not about to say every player that stays in school will have his success. But the odds are that those smart enough to get an education will be better prepared to invest their money wisely and be financially secure long after their playing days are well behind them. A long stay on the “Big Stage” is never a guarantee when you’re talking about a 300lb. linebacker slamming you to the ground. Even on carpet there’s nothing for sure, no matter how thick the padding!
Sadly to say I believe some agent has told Steven Ridley that his future is paved in gold. That’s hardly the case when talking about the ex-Tiger running back. Yes he does possess the ability to break one or two runs for long gains but he doesn’t have the maturity or the skills needed to be a prime-time player. It’s called “seasoning” and one more year in purple and gold will enhance the skills he’ll need to be a first stringer.
Injuries are part of the game and when he mentioned a fellow player that broke his collar bone then fell in the draft, it’s that doubt he’s got in his mind that’ll keep him on special teams. Mr. Ridley needs to be well informed that EVERY running back in the NFL has his basic skills so I doubt he’ll be setting any new rushing records for quite a while. I wonder if he remembers another fellow ball carrier named Billy Sims?
Before I signoff can I ask if anyone has seen the new dollars being paid to NFL owners from the various television networks? Everyone is well aware the CBA with the players expires in March yet the 32 emperors will be paid by ESPN an astonishing $1.1 BILLION PER YEAR for the next three years, although the actual amount will be closer to $2 BILLION a year!! DirecTV is paying $1 BILLION a year until 2014. Fox, CBS and NBC will also be anting up another $2BILLION a year.
These amounts are contained in the NEW contracts just signed by these parties. The wording has also been changed to “payments are guaranteed for the first year, 2011, even if there’s a WORK STOPPAGE”. Pay close attention to the NEW words, WORK STOPPAGE. Nothing in the contract defines STOPPAGE. Both parties agree that even a LOCKOUT will be considered a WORK STOPPAGE!! Even though every contract for the past seventeen years has a clause stating the “owners MUST negotiate (make an effort in good faith) to MAXIMIZE REVENUE FOR PLAYERS” there’s nothing in these new contracts to pay any player, ONLY THE OWNERS!!
Gonna be a LONG, rough off-season,
Til next week… …
DENHAM SPRINGS HS FOOTBALL RADIO BROADCASTS ARE A JON FINE PRODUCTION ON FAMILY RADIO, 91.9 FM, BATON ROUGE and JonFineProductions.com.
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 WORKS AS A MARKETING REPRESENTATIVE FOR SPORTSCENTRAL ON THE CENTRAL NOW FACEBOOK PAGE.