July 4, 2019
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY
If you are reading this, there is a good chance you are a GREAT AMERICAN! I hope you are having/will have a great 4th of July Holiday weekend.
2 GREAT AMERICANS
In today’s column, Dennis Dearie gives his thoughts on the LSU Football Game Day experience. Scott Osborne makes suggestions for improving soccer and much more.
LSU, SAINTS AND MUCH MORE
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 6,100 publications listed.
HOUSTON ASTROS BASEBALL
Catch Houston Astros Baseball on SportsRadio-1310-KEZM-Lake Charles.
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
If you are a hardcore soccer fan, I apologize for the suggestion I am about to give because I know any suggestion of improving the sport typically offends hardcore soccer fans.
Basketball has adopted and changed the three point line over the years. Football (American) changes their rules all the time from overtime to two point conversions and many more. Baseball is extremely hesitant to adapt their sport, but the designated hitter is something that changed the sport for the better.
Why can’t soccer allow more substitutions? It would increase strategy and coaching into the game. Part of the intrigue of hockey is when there is a line change. Players rushing on and off the ice, coaches deciding which line to match against the opponent, and fresh legs bring great interest to the game.
Football teams are constantly looking to create matchups with substitutions. The Warriors changed the NBA and started their dynasty with a small lineup that stretched the floor. Substitutions also test the strength of the entire team by using more of the roster.
I know the argument from hardcore soccer people. The game is already great and perfect and if you don’t get that there is something wrong with you. Yet, soccer is one of the few sports where hardcore soccer fans are so rigid.
Anyone who knows me would consider me a hardcore basketball person. Nevertheless, I am desperately hoping college basketball will wake up to the rest of the world and move from 2 twenty minute halves to 4 ten minute periods. The main benefit would be to restart the team fouls so we would shoot less free throws resulting from the bonus. College basketball is changing the distance of the three point line yet again. These are small changes that would greatly impact my sport and I am not offended.
Come on soccer (futbol) fans. Join me in bringing more strategy, intrigue, and energy to your sport. We live in an era where sports talk and forums are everywhere. Give soccer fans more to talk about than if the team is going with a 5-4-1 alignment or 4-4-3 alignment. Increase the number of substitutions from 3 to 6. Allow one of the six to return to the game. Perhaps, soccer can borrow from volleyball and create a position like the libero that brings something to the game that wasn’t there already. There are seemingly hundreds of professional soccer leagues around the world. Could just one of those leagues experiment with a few innovative ideas?
Speaking of the depth of a roster impacting the game, the Pelicans are making it very hard for me to contain my optimism. The western conference is incredible and as I write Kawhi has yet to make his decision. Considering what has happened in the draft and free agency to this point, I can’t understate how important his decision will be to the competitiveness of the league.
Regardless, the Lakers, Nuggets, Trailblazers, Warriors, Thunder, and Jazz are very good teams. The Rockets (who I think will take a step back), Clippers, Kings, and Spurs are quality teams. The Mavericks and Pelicans are definitely up and coming. I have just listed 12 teams who will be serious playoff contenders. So why am I so optimistic about the Pelicans?
For one, the Pels have now built a team without overreaching. This means the team will continue to have the flexibility to grow and improve as Zion matures. Last week, I talked about adding veterans to the roster without taking on a bad contract. The Pelicans added Derrick Favors on a short term contract at a position of need while only surrendering second round picks of little consequence.
Further, they were able to attract JJ Reddick on a very reasonable short term contract. JJ Reddick is precisely the type of player everyone has been saying this roster needs. In fact, he is the person everyone has been talking about when trying to describe the type of player needed for this roster.
With these additions and a few others, the Pelicans have a young, talented, deep roster. The roster is now built to handle an 82 game regular season and overcome the inevitable injuries and fatigue that come with an 82 game season.
The depth and wholeness of this roster is what is impressing me the most. I know there will be many different lineups along the way, but here is an easy scenario to imagine. Holiday, Reddick, Ingram, Zion, and Okafor start. A second group of Ball, Moore, Hart, Wood, and Favors is not a huge dropoff (either Favors or Okafor could start).
Many other options are fun to consider. The Pelicans could go big and play Ball, Holiday, Ingram, Zion, and Favors. The Pels could go small and spread the floor with Holiday, Moore, Reddick, Ingram, and Zion. Not to mention, I haven’t even gotten around to Jaxson Hayes, Nicolo Melli, Alexander-Walker, or Frank Jackson. Amazingly, this team has been built in a manner to where the #8 and #17 pick in the draft can be brought along slowly.
There is plenty of time to figure out all these possibilities, but do you see how much fun it is to consider hardcore soccer fans?
HEY REF
I hope everyone is having a safe 4th. July 2nd is the actual date when the Second Continental Congress made its “declaration” stating that its intention was for all of the thirteen colonies to be considered an independent/separate nation but they hadn’t had all the required signatures. The first vote taken was 12 in favor of independence 0 against. “Hey Ref” wait a minute, there were actually thirteen colonies so what happened to the last one? Well, the colony in New York abstained from that first vote but then decided to sign on July 19th. This new nation had to wait for an additional two days before Congress officially adopted the resolution to be a separate nation so that’s the reason we celebrate on the fourth of July.
America wouldn’t be recognized as a free and independent republic for a few more years. The colonies were aligned to France at the time and the British refused to allow the colonist to become a nation. The American Revolutionary War was fought from 1775 – 1783 and of course Britain finally surrendered and the rest is history.
Professor Ref can now get down to what’s on his mind this week. Some won’t like my subject this week but you can’t be a referee, have thin skin and expect to have people like you so here goes. I sat down and had lunch with my editor Jon Fine last weekend. We covered the usual topics, the standard (Q) and (A) bull session if you like. Some questions I expected for him to ask. To some of those questions I knew he wouldn’t like my answers so I had to explain my WHY’s.
First thing we talked about was if I’d made up my mind to come back to the Baton Rouge Association and return to working on the field. I really couldn’t answer that one since my wife and I are still trying to finish our house and move back home after almost three years. We, like many people lost everything to the flood in 2016. And like many of our fellow Louisianans we’ve been plagued by unskilled contractors that all they want is money yet their repairs are so poor and subpar you’d think the state wouldn’t allow them to have a license and do business in Louisiana. But this contractor has not one but two licenses and the state won’t help us. He can talk the talk but he can’t come close to walking the walk. In fact this guy is so bad he has trouble trying to crawl.
So, we got off that subject and continued to enjoy our lunch until… … He wanted to know if I was getting excited for a new LSU Football season. That is a very sour subject for me since it’s been almost twenty years since I sat in Tiger stadium trying to enjoy some very choice seats on the 40 yard line. I took my daughter to the game and I believe she was seven or eight years old at the time. It was so long ago that there were Boy Scouts that showed us to our seats. I’d gotten a pair of tickets from a friend that couldn’t make the game since it was a 2:00pm kickoff. Texas A&M was visiting and as my luck would have it we were sitting on the sunny side with temps reaching triple digits.
What upset me so much was the conduct of the LSU fans that we’d been so lucky to have surrounding us. They never hesitated in launching MF that and MF this. I had to look closer to see just who it was lobbing those “F BOMBS” and to my shock we were NOT SITTING in the student section but all around us were season ticket holders. Most if not all looked like they were at least in their 30’s to their 70’s. So it was a mix of supposed adults and believe me they were behaving badly.
Another time in Tiger Stadium an elderly man was being punched by someone that looked to be 20? The young fan was upset that the elderly gentleman had bumped into his girlfriend’s drink causing some to be spilled on him. Sad thing was the older man had a heart attack and looked unconscious. Cooler heads got them separated and the man was taken out of the stadium by EMS. I never saw a news report on his condition or found out what had happened once the man was taken to the hospital.
Another visit that just disgusted me was when I had some friends come from out of town and they wanted that “Tiger Stadium” experience so we made a night game against none other than Alabama. Even though I’d tried for more than two days to talk them out of it we made the trek to Tiger Land. And since it was a big game and a night time affair the home fans were in their glorious “BAD” behavior. I always parked by the Vet school. There was plenty parking since the new “Box” hadn’t been built.
And right on time as we walked almost half way to the stadium where all the RV’s and Tailgaters had been getting bombed for nearly two days it was as if we’d been trying to navigate through the French Quarter on Fat Tuesday! Again, the loud drunks letting go of words even a sailor would have a hard time in finding funny. Yes, I do understand this type of behavior can be found at just about every school. So, maybe a road game would make LSU fans act like they had some resemblance of class?
Not so fast, Grasshopper. I went to South Bend to watch LSU play Notre Dame. I got there early around 10:00am since it was a 2 O’clock kickoff. I had just locked my car, it was a cool morning and before I could walk a few steps three Greyhound busses pulled up right next to me. The first bus opened its doors and three guys all clad in purple and gold came rolling down the steps. Dusting themselves off and giving high 5’s all around there was no doubt they’d been drinking for maybe a month?
As fate would have it, a priest and two nuns were walking on the opposite sidewalk next to the stadium. Drunken guy number one starts yelling “Hey sister, Hey sister”! The three stop and turn around only to be plastered with a drunk, booming voice yelling “If God made y’all number one, why didn’t he build y’all a better FU*KIN* stadium”? The drunks jump up and down, slapping each other with more High Fives and break out in laughter a dead man could hear.
There are lines you never cross! There is an expected level of behavior you must demonstrate at home and especially away games. When on the road as a visiting fan there’s a certain bit of class you must demonstrate at all times. Just to show this wasn’t done just for my amusement I’d taken my wife to an away game at Bama. It was one of the last games “The Bear” coached. After the game and another Tide victory walking out of the stadium the LSU fans continued F-This, F-That, calling Bama fans things you wouldn’t call a rabid dog. Then the Alabama fans showed what class is all about.
The Bama fans just smiled then said “We hear y’all say the same thing year after year” and that was that. I guess these types of things only happen whenever I’d attend an LSU game. I sure hope so because I’d hate for this kind of thing to be happening everywhere on game day either at home or away. So, I guess I won’t be making any Tiger friends this week since it’s very hard to look at yourself and understand that these types of problems continue to this day. Or I could be wrong? Please drop me a line and let me know if it’s safe to attend a live game in Baton Rouge or are these things still happening on game day.
Till 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.