January 19, 2023
THIS NEWSLETTER WAS INITIALLY SENT OUT ON 1/16/23. BECAUSE OF A TECHNICAL ERROR, MANY DID NOT RECEIVE IT OR IT WENT TO SPAM. THUS, I SEND THIS TO YOU AGAIN.
GOD BLESS UKRAINE AND THE USA!!!!
HAPPY DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY!
DSAA TONIGHT
The Denham Springs Athletic Association meets tonight, 6:30 pm, at Big Mike’s Sports Bar & Grill in Denham Springs
DSHS ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME
The Denham Springs High School Athletic Hall of Fame is please to announce the nomination window for the next class of inductees. Nominations for the Class of 2023 will be accepted from February 1 through March 31, 2023. See Press Release by scrolling to bottom of newsletter.
SPORTS PUBLICATIONS GALORE!
ArrestedDevelopmentMediaGuides offers media guides. programs and baseball cards. Please visit JonFineProductions.com and click on icon to get to our EBay 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 7,000 publications listed.
TODAY’S COLUMN:
I try to give an historical perspective to #3. Please scroll down to see FINE IDEAS below
Scott discusses the Bowls and the Who Dats. See WIZARDRY OF OS below.
TK PODCAST
Check out "Talkin Sports with TK" hosted by Tommy Krysan. Available on all major platforms including: Anchor, Tune In, Spotify, Iheart, ApplePodcasts and many more! Email for link: tommykrysan@gmail.com Connect on Social Media: Tommy Krysan - Facebook, Instagram, YouTube!
If you like to bet on Sports - please visit: www.meatandpotatoesusa.com Win Money! Football, MLB, Basketball, Horse Racing and more!
WE THANK YOU FOR DOING YOUR UTMOST TO PATRONIZE SPONSORS OF OUR PROGRAMMING.
FINE IDEAS
They Called Me Assassin. In a 1978 NFL preseason game, the Oakland Raiders db Jack Tatum delivered a vicious hit on New England Patriots wr Darryl Stingley that left Stingley paralyzed. Regarded as one of the most physical, if not dirtiest players in the NFL, Tatum would subsequently write an autobiography, entitled They Called Me Assassin. Tatum never reached out on the field to Stingley after his jarring hit. The two never really subsequently reconciled what happened.—Shame on Tatum. Both are deceased. Stingley’s legacy lives on in the person of his grandson, Derek Stingley, a former LSU player who is with the Houston Texans.
Thumbs up. In a 1994 regular season NFL game, as Mike Utley, a Detroit Lions offensive lineman, was blocking the Los Angeles Rams David Rocker, he injured his 6th and 7th cervical vertebrae. The game stopped as Utley was carted off the field, while he flashed a thumbs up to the crowd. Utley never played again, as he was, initially, paralyzed from the chest down. The Mike Utley Foundation, formed to try to improve the care for and, ultimately, find a cure for spinal cord injuries, has used the Thumbs Up gesture, as part of its mission. Through intensive rehab, Utley has regained the full usage of his upper extremities, and is considered a paraplegic.
In a game against the Seattle Seahawks in 1992, New York Jets DT Dennis Byrd, while rushing Seattle qb Dave Krieg, collided with Jets teammate Scott Mersereau. Byrd’s head slammed into Mersereau’s chest, breaking his 5th cervical vertebrae, leaving Byrd unable to walk. Through vigorous, unflinching rehab, he did regain the ability to walk, although he never played another down in the NFL. Byrd would end up traveling the country to share his remarkable recovery story. The Jets retired his number in 2012. Byrd died in a car accident in 2016.
Chuck Hughes’ story is a 2-part malady. The Detroit Lions wide receiver had collapsed in the locker room after a 1971 pre-season game with the Buffalo Bills. Doctors were unable to diagnose what was the issue. Hughes continued to play, albeit through pain, in the 1972 regular season. In an October 24 home game against the Chicago Bears, Hughes caught a pass from qb Greg Landry. 3 plays later, after a completed Landry pass to Charlie Sanders, Hughes collapsed as he was running back to the huddle, clutching his chest and convulsing. Doctors and trainers ran to him, frantically, trying to revive him, but to no avail. Hughes was taken by an ambulance, which had been called for, and was pronounced dead at the hospital. The teams finished the game. It was determined that Hughes died of a heart attack. He remains the only NFL player to ever die on the field.
Other athletes whose tragic stories could be told include Hank Gathers (1990, Loyola Marymount Basketball player), Chucky Mullins (1989 Ole Miss Football player), Devon Gales (2015, Southern University Football player), Maurice Stokes (1957-58 Cincinnati Royals Basketball player), Herb Score (1957 Cleveland Indians Baseball player) and Ray Chapman (1920 Cleveland Indians Baseball player). This is not an all-inclusive list.
Yet, there were some inspirational moments that emerged from many of these tragedies. Teammate Bo Kimble, Gathers childhood friend from Philadelphia, shot his first 2 free throws with his left hand in the game that followed Gathers passing. Gathers had been a southpaw. Kimble paid tribute to Gathers, by shooting with his left hand
The University of Georgia football program has been a national champion class act off the field, as the Bulldogs have reached out to Gales with an unbelievable dosage of humanity. Gales, through all his trials and tribulations, maintains an incredibly sunny disposition
Stokes (a Black man) was taken care of by teammate Jack Twyman (a White man) in the aftermath of Stokes paralysis. Twyman became Stokes guardian.
#3. One thing virtually everyone in the country can agree on (yes, with the exception of the imbeciles who are online attacking Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins), is that Damar Hamlin (2022 Buffalo Bills Football Player), who has made a remarkable recovery, improving daily, one day gets to play, again, in the NFL—if he is cleared to play and chooses to do so. Damar Hamlin’s story is still being written. We can only hope and pray that there is, ultimately, a positive outcome.
Go Jackets!
THE WIZARDRY OF OS
We all knew this was going to happen. It was the argument against having a playoff the whole time. Any college football playoff would kill the bowls. Maybe you are watching, but the bowls are pretty much dead to me.
I will always watch LSU play in a bowl because they are my team. Since they are my team, I am interested in seeing the redshirt freshman that didn’t play all year but will be needed for next year. I am interested in my team’s glorified spring game. But, I do not care to watch other teams who do not have depth play their second and third string players.
The question entering every bowl game has been to figure out which team is actually motivated to play. I am not so desperate to watch college football to be interested in watching a team, or two teams, that are not motivated to play in the game.
Fortunately, we are going to have a 12 team playoff. So that should provide 12 teams of players who want to play and are motivated to win. At least, that is the theory.
What happens to the other bowls? Can they be saved? I don’t see how. It was one thing when players were choosing to sit out because they didn’t want to get hurt preparing for the NFL draft. Now, players are sitting out because they want to transfer to another college. How or why would that change for the power 5 teams outside the top 12?
Speaking of opting out, I had to opt out of watching the Saints blow games this year. If you watched the Saints in the 80s and early 90s you would understand, I hope. I have seen my fill of games where the Saints kick field goals or blow scoring opportunities only to lose at the end to the team with the better quarterback. I don’t know how it was possible, but the Saints were even predictable with Taysom Hill at quarterback who should be unpredictable with his ability to throw or run.
The difficult part of this off season will be for the Saints is to figure out a way to avoid being a team that just treads water. Not bad enough to get a top quarterback and not good enough to make the playoffs. Unfortunately, that is the highest likelihood of what will happen.
The organization is good enough to avoid being one of the worst teams in the league. The roster has good players, but few real playmakers that stay healthy. Meanwhile, the most important position, quarterback, is not good enough to overcome an okay surrounding cast. How can the Saints get back in the mix for a top tier quarterback? What will they have to give up to get one?
The hope has always been that Sean Payton returns and the trade that will follow will provide the Saints what they need to get what they really need to win close games in the NFL. A quarterback that makes plays in the last two minutes to win close games. The question is whether the Saints will have to hit rock bottom in order to get one
DSHS ATHLETIC HOF PRESS RELEASE
The Denham Springs High School Athletic Hall of Fame is pleased to announce the nomination window for the next class of inductees. Nominations for the Class of 2023 will be accepted from February 1 through March 31, 2023.
The annual induction banquet for the Class of 2023 will be held on August 31, 2023, at Forrest Grove Plantation in Denham Springs. In addition to being honored at the banquet, inductees will also be presented to the public the following night, September 1, at halftime of the DSHS-Mandeville football game in Yellow Jacket Stadium. (Extraordinary events could affect the halftime presentation game date). This will be the thirteenth year the Denham Springs Athletic Association and DSHS have co-hosted this popular event. Thus far, 88 former Yellow Jacket greats have been inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Readers are reminded that the Hall of Fame Selection Committee does not nominate the candidates. This important function is left to the public. Any person with an interest in DSHS sports may submit a nomination; however, individuals may not nominate themselves. All nominations must conform to the Hall of Fame Nomination Guidelines available to the public by visiting the DSHS website at www.denhamspringshs.org or by picking up a copy at the school office.
When preparing a nomination, the most critical requirement is to provide documentation that substantiates claims of athletic, academic, and civic achievement. Such verification typically comes from newspaper articles, copies of yearbook pages, old scrapbooks, family archives, etc.
Nominators are advised to start early in the process of collecting documentation to afford nominees the best chance of selection. Unsubstantiated claims cannot be considered by the Selection Committee. Please refer to the Hall of Fame Nomination Guidelines for recommendations on which area newspapers and libraries to contact.
Nominations cannot be accepted by email or fax. Because guidelines require
an 8 X 10 photograph of the candidate, nominations must be mailed or hand-delivered to: Denham Springs High School, ATTN: Principal (HOF), 1000 N. Range Avenue, Denham Springs, LA 70726. Submissions must be postmarked or hand-delivered no later than March 31 to be considered for induction this year.
Once all nominations are received and screened for completeness, the Selection Committee will meet to review the submissions and vote on candidates for induction this fall. Nominees who are not selected will remain active candidates and be voted on annually for a period of five years. If additional documentation becomes available that will strengthen their file, it should be submitted to the address noted above.
The Hall of Fame serves as a symbol of appreciation to the Athletes, Coaches, and Supporters whose outstanding contributions meet the criteria for selection in one of these three categories. Male and female athletes will be representative of all varsity sports. Nominees, both living and deceased, will be considered from all eras of DSHS athletics to the extent possible.
For more information, contact Kathy deGeneres at kdegeneres@cox.net or (225) 665-8025.
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