October 3, 2019
DENHAM SPRING RADIO/INTERNET BROADCAST
The Jackets host Westgate HS on Friday, October 4 (tomorrow night). You can catch all the action on Family Radio, 91.9 FM, Baton Rouge and on the Internet at JonFineProductions.com. Air time is 6 PM with Sport N Center Jackets Warmup
Josh Ward, Andy Duckworth and Jon Fine are on the call.
DENHAM SPRINGS INTERVIEWS
Maurice “Scooter” Keen, who owns Quick N Handy Cleaners with his much nicer and prettier wife Kay, will appear on Sport-N-Center Jackets Warmup. Scooter is running for reelection to the Parish Council
North Oaks Health Systems Half-Time Report will include an interview with Denham Springs HS Baseball coach Mark Carroll.
GOLDEN TORS FOOTBALL
Sulphur visits Lafayette tomorrow night. You can tune in at 6:45 pm on Sports Radio 1310-KEZM-Sulphur/Lake Charles or online at KEZMOnLine.com. Bruce Merchant and Patrick Frey are on the call.
LSU, SAINTS AND MUCH MORE
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HOUSTON ASTROS BASEBALL
Catch Houston Astros PLAYOFF Baseball on SportsRadio-1310-KEZM-Lake Charles.
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THE WIZARDRY OF OS
They said it couldn’t be done. Like the 4 minute mile, many thought it would never happen. But Sunday night it happened. The Saints defense stopped an offense that had the ball with a chance to win at the end of the game!
Honestly, I am calling myself out on this one because I really did think there was no way the Saints were going to keep Dallas from attempting a game winning field goal or simply scoring a touchdown to win. I am very happy to admit I was wrong, and through two weeks, the defense has responded to the challenge of losing Drew Brees.
I was also too quick to dismiss the defensive line, and I am glad to admit I was wrong there too. Davenport has been extremely disruptive, and look out if he learns to finish plays. I am amazed that Sheldon Rankins is back already and he looks great. Onyemata is taking the next step, and Malcolm Brown was great Sunday night. The defensive line is so deep that Mario Edwards was inactive Sunday night.
None of this improvement would mean a thing if Lattimore hadn’t elevated his game this week. If he can somehow play like he did this week on a consistent basis, then the rest of the defensive backs will reap the benefits.
This week the Saints play the one team in the division that for whatever reason brings out the worst in the Saints. And the Bucs are coming off an impressive road win against the Rams. As well as the defense played against Dallas, I fully expect the Bucs to score in the twenties, so the offense has to start to figure things out.
Saints fans are well aware that the offensive line has been flagged for 12 offensive holding penalties in the last three weeks. Dumb luck says that number has to come down, and that should help the offense. Here are a few other things I would love to see from this offense.
I understand that when Drew is healthy the coaches don’t want to waste pass attempts with Tayson Hill. But now that we see Bridgewater is hesitant and the offense needs a spark, I think the time has come to let Tayson be a quarterback when he is at the position. Run some RPOs instead of limiting him to zone reads. He is a quarterback, so letting him throw the ball is not a gimmick. I don’t think it is hard to imagine that defensive coordinators don’t want to have to defend the options of Taysom or Kamara running with the option of throwing to Michael Thomas in the same play.
While we are at it, Deonte Harris deserves more snaps. Bridgewater is averse to throwing downfield, so swing it to Harris in space or hand it to him on jet sweeps. The Bucs know our offense and will certainly be keyed in on Kamara and Thomas. It is time to spread the ball around a little more.
I don’t blame Payton for circling the wagons and playing things close to the vest with the defense playing better. Nevertheless, I suspect that the defense is not going to hold many opponents to ten or less points. The offense will have to be able to gain over 300 yards soon, and if for no other reason than I am going to the game on Sunday and that could be the kiss of death. My apologies ahead of time.
The talk of college football this week centers around the polls. They are terrible. Usually I preach to ignore them at this time of the year, but LSU had an off week, so allow me to indulge with my top 10 this week. My philosophy at this point is to go off what has happened on the field. That means the quality of opponents matters immensely.
Auburn is clearly deserving of being number one. I think they have serious flaws and won’t last, but at this point they have earned the ranking. Georgia has one of the best wins so far this year and they are my number two. LSU is number four because of the win over Texas, and a dominant offense. Wisconsin has been excellent on offense and defense and has played a decent schedule. Oklahoma rounds out the top five. I would have them above LSU and Wisconsin but the win over Houston doesn’t look so good anymore.
Ohio State has been the next most complete team even though their schedule has been weak. Alabama’s schedule has been even worse. Certainly Alabama will prove themselves soon, but they should have to pay for their horrific schedule. Clemson comes in at number 8, and not just because they almost lost to North Carolina. Their win at home over Texas A&M doesn’t look that good after A&M was handled by Auburn at home and then the Aggies struggled with Arkansas who lost to San Jose State at home.
Notre Dame and Texas round out the top ten as they competed well in their losses to top five teams. Florida has looked less than impressive in all their games, and should have lost to Kentucky so they are number 11. They have their chance at home against Auburn this week. I would like to say a win by Auburn this week on the road after playing at Texas A&M and home against Mississippi State would be extremely impressive. But, I really think Florida is lacking in talent and like his Mississippi State teams in the past, the Gators are surviving on the great coaching by Dan Mullen.
In a month, that top ten will look very different. I am hoping after the bye week that LSU is closer to figuring out how to play complementary football. LSU’s defense needs to force turnovers and hold the other team to FGs. We have seen it with the Saints. The formula works because the offense will score touchdowns to compensate for giving up field goals. Meanwhile, a turnover is like a 10-14 point swing because the offense is going to turn it into points.
People keep talking about the LSU-Alabama game, but there could be four huge matchups in the SEC this year. If Auburn and LSU handle Florida, then Auburn and LSU will be a top five matchup in Tiger Stadium. If LSU wins that game, the LSU at Bama is back to where it should be in the national spotlight.
Even if Auburn loses to LSU, Auburn against Georgia will be a top ten matchup. And if Auburn wins that, the Iron Bowl will be a top ten matchup as well.
This is what happens when the middle of conferences are down and that is what we have this year. The positive is we could have a number of great games between top ten teams. Now we just need the weather to cooperate and make these games feel like they are being played during football season.
HEY REF
Hey Ref’s columnist is recovering from surgery and is taking a week off to do a little recouping before once again sharing his words of wisdom with all his faithful readers and fans. So let’s dive right in; the state of California has just passed a new law that’ll help athletes recoup some of the millions that they generate. Before anybody gets their panties in a bind this new “left-coast” law doesn’t go into effect for a couple more years and it in no way comes close to righting the horrendous wrong players and their families have suffered for so long! For instance it won’t pay athletes a salary which this author has for many years called upon schools to do. It will allow some of the monies generated from autographs, pictures, an athlete’s likeness used for video games and such to be “shared” with those players.
They will not receive compensation or a share of the money that’s generated from ticket sales, concessions, parking permits and just about every other thing the fans are forced to pony up. Even though this is a very small step this writer believes it is a step in the right direction. Florida is now considering a similar law that will go into effect this year in the hopes of drawing more of those talented athletes to the swamp. It will allow players to hire an agent before and during their playing days. But as we’ve seen so many times before bills are rewritten many times before a law gets put on the books. So, we’ll wait and see what finally makes it onto the books.
We’re dipping into our “Best Of” file that deals with our thoughts and views on why players should be paid! If you’ve read this column before and enjoyed it I thank you very much. If you’re one of those that haven’t then you’re in for one of our all-time faves, please enjoy… … … … …
I saw a poll put out by the NCAA (who else?) and I just accept its findings. The authors of this article/poll should be investigated. The headline went something like “a majority of fans don’t favor paying athletes”. While I find this statement untrue I just had to stop everything I was doing to read for myself what information was disclosed in this so called poll of sport’s fans?
The whole article was very short but what I found “funny” was nowhere in it did it give out the numbers of fans questioned, their ages, demographics, etc., etc., etc. And it never released any details on the so called anti pay for the student-athletes. Well, that term went the way of T-Rex, there ain’t no such thing around anymore. They should be referred to as to what they actually are and that is “university employees”.
If you’ve read this column on any regularity you’ll know this writer’s stance on paying “employees”. From now on I’ll never write student-athlete since they are extinct. Getting back to the poll results it shows that 67 percent, up 12 points (I guess they mean percent) actually believe that universities break NCAA rules.
The increase it is thought stems from two highly publicized cases; Harvard and Miami. In the Harvard case which sounds just too funny to be true but they report the school issued academic sanctions against approximately 60 students for a cheating scandal on the final exam in a class on of all things: CONGRESS!
Now come on, this has to be made up. Maybe the students started studying the way our Congress works and decided stealing, lying and cheating is the way to get what you want. Not what you earn but what you want and isn’t that the way not only our lawmakers are perceived but how the vast majority get ahead?
Oh, sure, I can hear it now, how can I write something like that. Let me just put a couple names out there you might recognizes; Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Lance Armstrong. All three swore on the Bible they didn’t do drugs, didn’t lie, didn’t steal but all are liars. Armstrong was proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt in a court of law. The court of common sense decided the case of the other two athletes.
But the article didn’t say anything about the Miami case and I find that odd since the Hurricanes are known for going way outside the lines of the law and the rules. I guess maybe they didn’t have room for “old” news? So, as I finished the short column not a single word on the so called vote on not paying employees.
I mean the whole reason for a headline is to get the reader to notice something they may want to read about. As in my case, I just wanted to see how many ignorant people there were that answered “no” to this question. In this day and time it really shouldn’t surprise me, I mean the working people of this country can’t stand to see another worker to get ahead. Big business was very successful in their “Divide and conquer” war against those that have to punch a clock to make a living.
The NCAA is rewarded in BILLIONS of dollars by keeping the vast majority of the money that is generated by all the “FREE LABOR” these men and women generate. But let me ask a simple question “Why are they called student athletes in the first place? The scam run by both the NCAA and the “tax free” non-profit NFL is downright absurd. Most of the players working on the football field are from poor families and neither employer educates their employees the mundane task of balancing a checkbook.
Don’t start about all the sports that never make a profit and are supported by basketball and football. The ONLY and I do mean ONLY reason those sports are still on the books is because so many students still play those sports and the families of these kids are the reason Deans keep footing the bills. Mom and Dad still have some clout or maybe I should say “You don’t bite the hand that feeds you” so it’s sort of a tradeoff.
But to not pay the employees that generate BILLIONS of dollars is not right, never will be right and should be abolished ASAP if not sooner. Pay those that make it all possible! For those universities that think they can generate these sums of dollars on their own without these young EMPLOYEES all I can say is go ahead and try. And every one of them that believe they can make it without paying their athletes all I can say is this; they’re be extinct along with the dinosaurs!!
We continually hear and read about reparations should be paid to descendants of slaves, etc. I support the paying of reparations by the NCAA and every member school. They should pay those reparations for their continued practice of running a modern day slave trade.
Till next week… …
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