November 5, 2020
GOD BLESS AMERICA.
IN WATSON
Denham Springs travels on the road to face Live Oak HS this Friday night and we have it for you on the radio and/or Internet. Josh Ward and Andy Duckworth are on the call. I’ll contribute to pre-game, half-time and post-game shows. The broadcast starts at 6pm with Sport-N-Center Jackets Warmup on Family Radio, 91.9 FM, Baton Rouge and on the net at JonFineProductions.com
A special thank you to the Denham Springs business community, who, en masse, stepped up big time, in troubled times, to sponsor our broadcasts. YOU’RE THE BEST!!!
GOD BLESS
Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone adversely effected by Hurricane Delta… and My heart goes out to my friends in the Lake Area who endured major destruction at the hands of Hurricane Laura and Hurricane Delta. My thoughts and prayers are with you. We strongly urge readers of this newsletter to donate to a worthwhile Hurricane oriented charity in the Lake Area.
TODAY’S COLUMNS:
Scott takes a look at a variety of topics
Dennis has an issue with female refs…
Please scroll down below.
OUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS GO OUT TO ONE AND ALL AS WE TRY TO MAKE OUR WAY SAFELY THROUGH THE PANDEMIC. WE STAND WITH THOSE THAT ARE PEACEFULLY PROTESTING AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY AND RACISM.
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THE WIZARDRY OF OS
There are a number of things you can count on in the LSU/Auburn series. If the teams are at all similar, it will be a close game. But at the same time, if LSU is not right at quarterback, they will get beat down at Jordan-Hare even if nobody is in the stadium.
Before you lose your mind, I will get to the defense in a moment. Also, I think TJ Finley is very talented and has a bright future. But, he played poorly at Auburn.
On the first drive, his two throws to Marshall (which could have been caught) showed how amped up he was. The whole first half he was not accurate like he was against South Carolina and I am referring to completions as much as I am the incompletions.
Realistically, the game was over after the second turnover that led to a touchdown. It was not the type of game where LSU was going to be able to overcome giving away points. I knew that as a fan, and I am allowed to think that way. What is clear is that the defense and rest of the team felt the same way I did, and that is why the game turned into an embarrassing blowout.
In reality, the same thing happened in the first game against Mississippi State. With 9:45 left in the first quarter, LSU led 7-3 after Jabril Cox´s pick 6. The Bulldogs had 4 possessions, 2 turnovers, and 3 points. Certainly, they were not on pace for over 600 yards and 44 points.
We can all see the physical errors of poor tackling, inability to set the edge, and blown coverages. But why does it all completely implode at once? It looks to me like a group that lacks belief in what they are doing. For a football player to sacrifice so much physically, it has to be worth it knowing the other 10 guys are right in there with you pulling in the same direction.
Defense, especially in this era, can do many things right and still get beat. We see that across the country. Alabama is giving up 22 points per game. Florida and Texas A&M, who are supposed to be top 10 teams, are allowing over 29 points per game.
One of the most effective teams defenses can do in this area is hold on until the offense shoots itself in the foot. One holding penalty, dropped pass, blown blocking assignment leading to a sack, or overthrown ball can stop a drive. Look at Auburn against LSU. Auburn did not force the first interception by Finley, yet they took advantage when the mistake was made.
Defense needs to rally together and compete through adversity. On that note, three plays from the Auburn game stand out in my mind. The first was Stingley getting beat on a back shoulder throw but competing through the end of the play to knock the ball out, and force a fumble leading to a touchback. The other two plays were touchdowns by Auburn where LSU safeties were in great positions to make the tackle. I could be wrong, but I saw both of those players make those tackles last year repeatedly. Yet, this year, in that situation, both players came up empty.
Playing defense is really hard. You have to believe that your effort to force one more play may be the difference in the long run when in reality the team might simply score or get a first down on the next play. If on second down you stop the other team at the one yard line that the entire defense will give their all to make the offense earn it on third and fourth down. And even if that effort does not pay off this set of downs, it will at some point in the game.
These areas are where LSU is missing Delpit, Queen, and Chaisson. A player on each level to keep the defense together.
Speaking of defense, did you see what happened on MNF? A flag was thrown for defensive pass interference. The officials got together, talked about what they saw, and picked up the flag to give Tampa Bay the win. What Twilight Zone world do I live in as a Saints fan?!
This action of bringing together the multiple perspectives to make the best decision was always my number one complaint when the Saints were robbed of a berth in the Super Bowl. Collaboration among officials is why so many people called for an end to officiating crews in the playoff being composed of ¨all stars¨ that had not worked together before.
The playoffs should be officiated by ¨all star teams¨ of officials because quality officiating requires a group of officials to work together. The biggest crime of the Saints-Rams game was not the mistake by one person. It was the failure of the team to even attempt to come together and share their perspective on such a crucial decision. And the curse of that game is that the Saints continue to lead the league in the very penalty that was not called in that game as if we are always on the tails side of a two headed coin.
HEY REF
This week for the last time I’ll explain to the best of my ability why I feel a certain way when the subject turns to a professional female football official. Since this is my column and I control its content this is going to be the last word on the issue of the NFL adding a female to its roster of full-time, on the field game officials. I’ve heard those that say I’ve missed the boat on this issue but again, it’s called “HEY REF” for a reason. Recently I wrote that I feel it’s a major mistake for the NFL to hire a woman/female on-field official. I did share my honest opinion that, hands-down she doesn’t belong on an NFL field. But after a month thinking about it I should’ve said she doesn’t belong on ANY football field. I’m sorry but there are places where women don’t belong and to this official it’s on any football field and I haven’t changed my opinion on the subject. The female official in question is Sarah Thomas and she comes equipped with just fifteen years total experience. In reality fifteen years of experience is just good enough to start working High School Varsity games much less NCAA games and surely not nowhere near being good enough to work NFL games. That in its self should be all you need to know in understanding SHE DON’T BELONG.
The NFL is doing what so many are doing in today’s world and that is surrendering to the politically correct police. And if you’ve been following the whole sick happenings you already know that she started off working as a line judge. The NFL threw up the white flag again, surrendering once more to the P. C. police and renamed the position across the field from where she would normally be working from HEADLINESMAN to Down Judge. The NFL in a release gave the reason (excuse) for doing so was “we needed to change the name simply because HEADLINESMAN was too gender specific”. WHAT? They’ve got to be kidding! It’s always, from the very beginning of time, been called HL. And you’ve guessed it, the lone female official has been moved to the newly, renamed position; Down Judge.
The NFL is big enough to do what they want and not have to give any reason “why” they’re doing whatever they’re doing. BUT! WHAT? Some have stated it was strictly an economic decision. They wanted to get more women watching games and the thinking is that’ll translate to more women shopping and buying such things as hats, jerseys and so on. HUH? I don’t buy that one bit. But the story continues to evolve since this year the NFL is allowing her to wear her blonde pony-tail out from under her hat for all to see. There can be but one reason the league has once again waved the white flag of surrender and that reason is they want everyone to see that they’ve hired a female official. With 124 game officials it’s hard to see which is the only female since she was made to conform to the rules that the other 123 officials must adhere to which states their hair must be cut short and neat in order to look professional. Maybe the owners should take a closer look at the players? Its just gotten out of hand. I mailed in a rule change I’d like to see the NFL adopt; No hair shall be long enough to hinder the officials from seeing said player’s name and/or number.
So, to “put to bed” this story of female professional officials the bottom line is this; If the NFL has opened up recruiting of women to officiate games then there’d be more than just one in the entire league. Just one? That screams very loud!
Saturday morning came a little too early this past weekend. At first I thought it was April Fools’ Day because I couldn’t believe what I was being told. Seems a local game between two Baton Rouge area high schools had an unprecedented number of penalties and yardage marked off. I read the write up in Saturday’s and Sunday’s newspapers to be sure and it reported a total of 42 combined penalties for an unbelievable 336 yards were marked off. I’ve never heard of this absurdity in all the years I’ve been wearing stripes. And there’s no good reason for this amount of fouls/yards. I hope to watch the game film to see for myself that this really happened.
There’s no excuse for something like this to happen. When I was first learning how and what to do when a game gets out of hand we were taught a thing called PREVENTATIVE Officiating. Basically when you see a foul that isn’t a blatant personal foul or Unsportsman like you go over to the player and let him know you saw what he’s done and if he wants to finish the game he’d better stop doing whatever he was doing. You then hit him with 15 yards if he didn’t stop. If you had to tell him a second time you sent him home early.
I told my callers I’d try to find out what association the officials that worked the game were from. I was crossing my fingers that it wasn’t my association that worked the game. It was a huge relief when I was told it was Baton Rouge officials that “worked” the game. After being told this it didn’t surprise me at all. For too many years the Baton Rouge Association has been in a steady decline as to the quality of its officials.
And it hurts for me to admit that because Baton Rouge is the association I “cut” my teeth with when I started many years ago. I’m not sure if they’ve changed how this association operates because the NUMBER ONE MAJOR PROBLEM with the Baton Rouge Association is it is the ONLY association statewide that allows its assignment secretary to work games on the field. This is a huge problem because the number one duty of the assigner is to be sure his officials can not only work that night’s contest but will also keep it under control and administer correct rulings when they’re called on. The assigner should be watching and grading his officials from the very first scrimmage in the spring to the final game in December. He shouldn’t be penciling himself and his crew into games. Instead he should be taking stock on the performances of his officials since he’s the one responsible for providing coaches and teams with a qualified crew of officials.
I’m not going to mince words when I say Baton Rouge area schools are getting cheated since the person hired to assign officials is too busy doing his own games. He doesn’t have time to concentrate on doing the job correctly that he’s been hired and paid to do since he’s working games. The number one thing coaches expect is for that night’s crew of officials to be the best they can be. That’s what he paying for and that’s what he surely should be getting. But that’s impossible since the one person you expect to insure the officials you’re sending to a school are the best YOU’VE SEEN! You can’t do that when you’re calling a game twenty miles or more down the road. So, what should the coaches do? Exactly what I’d expect and want them to do; demand the LHSAA stops this practice and insure every school and team that the officials charged with working that night’s game has been certified by the assigner.
Till next week…
DENHAM SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL IS BACK ON THE AIR!
Our silver anniversary! The 2020 school year marks the 25th season that Jon Fine (Sports) Productions will have the privilege of producing and calling play-by-play for Denham Springs HS Football radio broadcasts. In 2020, the broadcast slate will include all 8 regular season Denham games, and every playoff game. Broadcasts will air on Family Radio-91.9 FM-Baton Rouge, starting at 6:00 pm Friday nights. All broadcasts can also be heard on the Internet at JonFineProductions.com (click Listen Live on the Denham Springs Football PBP page). The first broadcast is Friday, October 2, when the Jackets travel to St Amant HS.
Denham Springs HS grad Josh Ward will be the play-by-play announcer of the Jackets. He will be joined by Andy Duckworth as the color commentator. Jon Fine will contribute to the pre-game warmup, half-time report and post-game show.
This year’s broadcasts will be dedicated to the memory of Jackets Football player Remy Hidalgo. Ward, Duckworth and Fine will each be wearing broadcasts shirts which feature a #77. Throughout the broadcasts, there will be mentions of ways that Jackets fans can contribute to a charity in memory of Remy.
“Sport N Center Jackets Warm-Up” will feature an interview with Jackets Football Coach Brett Beard conducted by Josh Ward. Jon Fine will speak with a prominent Denham Springs community and/or sports figure. Josh Ward and Andy Duckworth will also offer a preview of that night’s game and other pertinent information.
The “North Oaks Health System Half-Time Report” will include Fine interviewing another Denham Springs personality. In addition, Ward and Duckworth will provide a recap of the first half and a look ahead at the second half of action.
During the “Ralph Sellers Chevrolet Post-Game Show”, there will be an extensive game recap, final stats and a look ahead.
When Denham Springs picks up a first down, they’ll achieve an “Ollie’s Car Wash First Down”. When the Jackets score, you’ll get the particulars on the “Big Mike’s Sports Bar & Grill Jackets Scoring Drive”.
Sport-N-Center owner Stacy Phipps (Baseball) and Big Mike O’Neal (Football) were athletes at Denham Springs HS. Ward was an assistant basketball coach with the Jackets.
Ralph Sellers Chevrolet Parts Manager Jim McChristian says he was an athlete at Denham Springs HS, but we have had a difficult time verifying this claim! LOL
Fine expressed that he is especially appreciative of the loyal commercial and name mention sponsors the broadcasts have had on Jon Fine Sports Productions’ Denham Springs HS play-by-play broadcasts throughout the years. Many have been with the broadcasts on a year-in, year-out basis. Fine expressed hope that listeners will have the opportunity to patronize these businesses and let them know they heard about them on DSHS Football radio broadcasts.
Josh Ward not only graduated from Denham Springs HS, but served as an assistant basketball coach under Coach Paul Smith. He has called Redemptorist HS and Central HS Football games for Jon Fine Productions in years’ past. He is presently the Traffic Manager at Guaranty Broadcasting. Ward is a native of Denham Springs and is single.
Andy Duckworth grew up in Mississippi, played high school football, basketball and baseball and was a 4 year baseball letterman at Belhaven. He is a former radio station manager and sports-talk host in Mississippi. In this capacity, he hosted a sports talk show and did play-by-play for Mississippi College Athletics and Madison Central HS. He presently works as a financial advisor. Duckworth is married and has 2 children.
Jon Fine co-hosted and produced daily 2 hour drive-time radio sports-talk programs in the Greater Baton Rouge area for close to 20 years. His programs (first SportsTalk, which changed its name to SportsGumbo), aired, at times, in New Orleans, Lake Charles, Monroe and Alexandria, in addition to the Baton Rouge market. His company, Jon Fine Productions, has produced numerous Denham Springs HS and area HS sports programming on television, radio and internet. In addition to his Denham Springs broadcasting chores, Fine has an EBay internet store--ArrestedDevelopmentMedia Guides, and is a marketing representative for SportsRadio-1310AM-KEZM-Lake Charles/Sulphur. Fine is a native of Valley Stream, New York and a graduate of Penn. He is single.
For more information on Denham Springs HS Sports programming and Jon Fine Productions, please visit JonFineProductions.com.
DENHAM SPRINGS HS FOOTBALL RADIO BROADCASTS ARE A JON FINE PRODUCTION ON FAMILY RADIO, 91.9 FM, BATON ROUGE and JonFineProductions.com.
JON IS THE OWNER OF AN 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-SULPHUR/LAKE CHARLES.