January 8, 2021
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 talks about LSU and the Saints
Dennis looks back at a 2015 column…
Please scroll down below.
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THE WIZARDRY OF OS
Let´s start 2021 with a rapid fire style assessment of where we stand.
LSU basketball is where it seems to be every year with Will Wade. Overall, in good shape, but the team has clearly not found itself yet. They have done well to incorporate new players while skirting covid. Their two losses are disappointing because if LSU had beaten those very good teams away from home, LSU would be a top 10 team right now.
As it stands, LSU is in good shape but has more potential than they have shown. And that is a good thing. Offensively, they can score, but need to be efficient to win close games. Defensively, they need to find some ways to disrupt good offenses.
The Pelicans dropped one to the Pacers that should almost never happen in the NBA. Up by 6 under 24 seconds is as close to insurmountable in the NBA as it gets. I know it is early in the season, but that one will hurt down the road.
That being said, the team is clearly better than last year. I am much happier watching Ball get in the paint and break down the defense then shoot 7-8 threes per game. Steven Adams was a tremendous addition. There is depth to withstand the challenges that will come. I am encouraged.
LSU football is on a bit of a hot streak. Two wins to close the season, an excellent recruiting class, many players choosing to return, and a buzz around the possible new hires. I have learned over the years that trying to predict the success of assistant coaching hires is not a good idea, so I will just sit back and watch what happens.
I almost do not want to start talking about the Saints. Will they show up and ball out in the playoffs? The run defense set an NFL record and then went into hibernation. Could the Bears really exploit that?
I have more questions. Are the Saints a team that is built to withstand the long season, but does not have another gear for the postseason? The depth and ability to handle injuries, consistently prepare, and avoid big drops in performance stand the test of time over the long 16 game season. The problem is we are now in the short season. One month to go.
Kamara, Thomas, and others break regular season records. Will they heal up and break some post season records? Will the offensive and defensive lines that look dominant at times during the year play their best football in January? Will the secondary make plays when the opportunity comes or just miss that key interception or commit that crucial penalty?
Just like the last few years, I was completely all in on the Saints in November. Then December brought doubts, and January devastation. I will be approaching Sunday with great caution. I advise the same for the rest of the Saints fans out there. Of course, the old time Saints fans know what I am talking about and how to approach these situations.
HEY REF
“Hey Ref” is on a long well deserved vacation and will return in two weeks. As I was going thru some old columns I found this one from 2015. Nothing has changed as I re-read it. If ever there was a football coach in Louisiana that ranks at the top of just about every list when the subject is CLASS it has to be Dale Weiner formally of Catholic High in Baton Rouge. And that’s about all you need to know before taking a look at it. I hope everyone had a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a super New Year’s Eve!
First things first! Who says “Good guys finish last”? Whoever that may be I’d like to introduce them to Catholic’s former 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. Here’s what happened in my first ever assignment with Coach Weiner. 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.
Officials that had worked some of his previous games would tell horror stories because he’d always try something off the wall and something you’d never expect a team to do. It didn’t matter if it were the first kickoff or the final play before the end of said quarter; you had to be on your toes. 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.
This particular game 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 I think the Governor at that time was Mr. Dave Treen and he was seated on the fifty yard line. 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 field 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 there was nothing wrong with the snap. The quarterback did the usual fake handoff then all of a sudden the quarterback steps back about ten feet and unleashes the most beautiful spiral down the field somewhere in the neighborhood of fourty to fifty yards. As I’m watching and admiring the pass I took a glance at the receiver and wondered why they had two guys wearing the same number and 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. After just a minute my white hat took his flag and tossed it as high as he could.
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 the wide-out and I’d considered him out of the game since he was talking with his coach. So, now I’ve got to explain to Coach Weiner that the play he ran is illegal as he used a “sub” to deceive the defense. Our crew made the correct call as this is an illegal play since the rules state you can’t use a replaced player to deceive. 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 he stayed calm, knew what he’d done was wrong and was caught then accepted our decision on how and why we penalized his team. He stayed cool never raised his voice and we 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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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.