By ROY LANG III, Journal Sports

The six-week roll died a slow, painful death on the gridiron last week. Although the golf picks came through again, we were gutted by the pigskin. We’re still up more than 80 units, but even one week of losing stinks.

We get right back on the horse by attacking a pair of golf tours.

We’ll have more football picks before the weekend and don’t forget to look for the Sunday bonus plays on my Facebook (Roy Lang III).

Good luck!

Notes

All bets are measured in units. For instance, if your normal bet on a game is $100, that is one unit. If the bet is listed as .2 units, it’s a $20 bet.

Best line (as of Tuesday) is listed in parenthesis. Find the best price, one key to being a successful sports bettor! Shop around! Remember this is a VALUE-based system, so don’t settle for a price significantly less than the one listed. And jump on better prices!

Sportsbook legend

CAE: Caesar’s

FD: Fan Duel

MGM: Bet MGM

DK: DraftKings

BS: Barstool

BR: BetRivers

LANG’S LOCKS

Last week recap: -7.16 units

Season total: +81.2 units 

THIS WEEK’S SELECTIONS 

GOLF

PGA TOUR 

Butterfield Championship 

Top 20 bets

Kramer Hickok, .2 units, +360 (FD)

Austin Cook, .2 units, +550 (FD)

Michael Kim, .2 units, +450 (DK)

Kevin Tway, .2 units, +750 (DK)

Nicholas Lindheim, .1 unit, +650 (FD)

Bill Haas, .1 units, +800 (FD)

DP WORLD TOUR

Portugal Masters 

Win bets

Niklas Norgaard Moller, .1 unit, +4900 (CAE)

Tapio Pulkkanen, .1 unit, +5450 (MGM)

Top 20 bets

Matthieu Pavon, .7 units, +220 (FD)

Niklas Norgaard Moller, .6 units, +175 (CAE)

Calum Hill, .4 units, +350 (CAE)Lucas Bjerregaard, .3 units, +280 (FD)

Wil Besseling, .3 units, +280 (FD)

David Law, .3 units, +410 (FD)

Garrick Porteous, .3 units, +700 (CAE)

Contact Roy at roylangiii@yahoo.com

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“Are Shreveport and Bossier City sports towns?”

I’ve been thinking about that question since last week’s announcement by Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins — in a media event that came 22 days before election day. He said there are plans (after watching the press conference, I use the word “plans” loosely) to build a multi-sports venue at the State Fairgrounds. It will be home to an independent baseball team (not a minor league team — there is a difference).

My answer? Of course, we are not sports towns. Just look at the long list of teams — in Shreveport and Bossier — that have come and gone because of a lack of fan support. Not to mention our history of often finding reasons to sit out going to one-off events. You know, the weather, date, Bachelorette finale’.

We just don’t have the appetite for supporting teams and games like you would expect from real sports towns.

What we do have is an appetite for anything benefiting our kids and grandkids. Build a really nice place (see Natchitoches, Ruston and Monroe) for youth baseball, and we will be eating all day long.

Build something that will be home to an independent baseball team? In a part of town a lot of people are iffy about going to during the day, much less at night?

On The Tim Fletcher Show last week, the mayor said, “I think sports betting will drive people to the stadium.”

Did I miss something? Is there going to be a Sportsbook inside the stadium? Surely the mayor doesn’t think we are going to bet on an independent league baseball game? (Twice, I asked the mayor’s office if the mayor would like to clarify his statement. I did not receive a response to the query.)

The mayor said this multi-sports facility will be a “public-private partnership.” How ‘bout a “public-private partnership” to fix our streets, so we don’t have to keep fixing our cars and trucks?

I spoke with someone who was in a meeting with REV Entertainment — the folks who have “partnered” with the city to, as the mayor said, “reimagine Shreveport.” This person said the REV folks were professional and impressive. This person also told me REV executives placed more emphasis on things surrounding a stadium — restaurants, music venues, etc. — than a stadium itself.

Now, had the mayor made that the focus of what he said, his announcement would have been better received, although eyebrows still would have been raised about the location.

But back to my original question.

In horse racing, bettors rely on past performances to predict future success. If Shreveport-Bossier were a horse, we would be a longshot to win.

Remember the Bossier City (and later Bossier-Shreveport) Battle Wings? In the heat of the summer, what more could you ask for than sitting in the cool comfort of the CenturyTel Center (now Brookshire Grocery Arena) watching arena football, where teams scored as often as Benton and Airline are doing this high school season?

We didn’t go.

Centenary College plays Division III basketball — and draws flies. If we are a sports town, wouldn’t we go see our local team play a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference game against Schreiner College?

Heck, Shreveport-Bossier was even kryptonite for the seemingly invincible LSU brand. In 2010, the Tigers came to Bossier City for a basketball game against Wichita State. Usually, anything with the letters “L-S-U” draws a big purple and gold-wearing crowd.

However, for whatever reason, few people went. For LSU’s athletic department, the poor attendance was an embarrassment.  I was told then-athletic director Joe Alleva said it would be a long time before the Tigers returned to Shreveport-Bossier. (They did, 11 years later, last December against Louisiana Tech, and that crowd of 6,868 in the Brookshire Grocery Arena was hardly overwhelming.)

And then there is the Independence Bowl, one of college football’s oldest bowl games, and run by some of the hardest-working folks you will ever meet. The game enjoyed tremendous local success in the mid-’90’s through the 2000’s. From 1995 (LSU vs. Michigan State) to 2009 (Georgia vs. Texas A&M), only once was the official attendance below 40,000.

But the way bowls and schools are paired has changed. A brand name like Miami, Florida State, or North Carolina can’t overcome a six or seven-win record. The average “official” crowd for the last five I-Bowls was 29,898 — and we know less people showed up than seats were sold. If we were a sports town, wouldn’t we be at Independence Stadium each year around Christmas, no matter how good the teams are?

Speaking of Independence Stadium, the city is paying $693,700 to replace the turf. The project starts Nov. 1. That much-needed improvement will help keep players from area high schools and visiting colleges safe. That’s money well spent.

But hey, sometimes, a longshot wins. The Shreveport Mudbugs have led the North American Hockey League in attendance each of the past four years. Their average crowd during that time (2,302) represents a small — albeit intensely loyal — fan base. By any measure, the Mudbugs put out a professional product, both on and off the ice.

Look, I’m all for Shreveport-Bossier having nice things. But here’s some unsolicited advice for whomever is sitting in the Shreveport mayor’s office next year. If you’re going to build something, build it for the kids. Build it for the parents who want to see their baseball, soccer, and lacrosse players play in a nice facility — with clean restrooms and plenty of shade for those summer tournaments. Build it for local economic impact.

But don’t build it expecting local sports fans to show up regularly, year after year. Otherwise, it will eventually sit empty, and decay beyond repair.

Sound familiar?

Contact Tony at SBJTonyT@gmail.com

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JOURNAL SPORTS

Although scoreboards in Bossier and Caddo parishes again lit up last week, few changes occurred in the Shreveport-Bossier Journal Top 10 football poll after Week 8 games.

Parkway moved up one slot to No. 3 and Byrd dropped one to No. 4 after Parkway beat Natchitoches Central 37-22 and Byrd lost to No. 1 Airline 48-28. Byrd had won at Parkway a week earlier, but the seven-person voting panel collectively moved the Panthers back in front of the Yellow Jackets based on the teams’ latest outings.

Calvary, Haughton and Northwood all moved up a spot. The Cavaliers won their fifth straight by beating D’Arbonne Woods 56-7 and are now ranked No. 5. Haughton was impressive despite losing a shootout to Benton 78-71 and sits at No. 6.  Northwood won its fourth straight with a 49-6 triumph over BTW.

Huntington dropped a couple spots after a 48-6 district drubbing at the hands of undefeated North DeSoto. Evangel’s 48-21 win over Minden evened its record at 4-4 and kept the Eagles at No. 9. North Caddo shut out Green Oaks 38-0 to remain at No. 10.

The Shreveport-Bossier Journal sports staff votes on the local top 10 each week.

SBJ   Top 10
School (1st)	W-L	Pts.	Prev.
1. Airline (7)	5-3	70	1
2. Benton	5-3	60	2
3. Parkway	7-1	51	4
4. Byrd	5-3	46	3
5. Calvary	6-2	44	5
6. Haughton	4-4	42	7
7. Northwood	6-2	27	8
8. Huntington	5-3	22	6
9. Evangel	4-4	15	9
10. North Caddo	6-2	8	10

Lang’s Lines

It’s no surprise the No. 1 team in the SBJ poll, Airline, has moved into first place in the ATS standings. The Vikings have now covered in six of eight games, but they are on the hook for nearly two touchdowns in a big 1-5A showdown against Parkway this week. Shout out to Plain Dealing as the Lions covered for the first time this season.

Week 9 Lines

Airline -12.5 vs. Parkway

Benton -32.5 vs. Captain Shreve

Haughton -15.5 vs. Natchitoches Central

Byrd -37.5 vs. Southwood

Northwood -22.5 vs. Woodlawn

North DeSoto -46.5 at Bossier

Huntington -5.5 at Evangel

Minden -20.5 vs. BTW

North Caddo -16.5 at Loyola

Calvary -46.5 vs. Lakeside

D’Arbonne Woods -9.5 vs. Green Oaks

Arcadia -39.5 at Magnolia

Beekman Charter -49.5 vs. Plain Dealing 

By the numbers

Favorites: 12-1 straight up in Week 8 (94-14 on season), 8-5 vs. spread in Week 8 (95-93 on season)

Local standings vs. SBJ spread

Airline 6-2, Benton 5-3, Magnolia Charter 5-3, Calvary 5-3, Evangel 5-3, Parkway 5-3, North Caddo 5-3, Huntington 4-4, Green Oaks 4-4, Woodlawn 4-4, Southwood 4-4, Northwood 3-5, Haughton 3-5, Captain Shreve 2-6, Byrd 2-6, Loyola 2-5, BTW 2-6, Bossier 1-7, Plain Dealing 1-7

Contact Roy at roylangiii@yahoo.com or via twitter @Roylangiii.

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Things didn’t look a whole lot different for the Dallas Cowboys in the much-anticipated return of quarterback Dak Prescott.

And that was good for the home team.

Much like Cooper Rush, who filled in as the Cowboys’ starter during No. 4’s five-week absence, Prescott didn’t do anything spectacular Sunday against Detroit at AT&T Stadium. His statistics were pedestrian (by his standards) and he ultimately rode the chaos created by the Cowboys’ defense.

Prescott’s place on the sideline allowed him to see he would not need to light up the Lions with dazzling numbers.

“This is about the team,” Prescott said after the Cowboys pushed aside a game Lions squad to score a 24-6 victory and move to 5-2. “This is a great team win – what I’ve been watching for the past five weeks. It’s great to be back and be a part of it.”

The Haughton product, who has been absent since breaking a bone in his throwing hand in Week 1, overthrew receiver Noah Brown on his first attempt of the game, but recovered to complete 19 of 25 passes for 207 yards. He posted his first touchdown throw of the year – a 2-yarder to tight end Peyton Hendershot with 1:55 left in the game.

“A win is a win. I don’t care how it gets done. I actually thought it was going to be pretty cool if we won without throwing a touchdown,” Prescott said. “That’s just the mind-set right now.”

The Cowboys trailed 6-3 at the half, but took their first lead after the Lions’ first third-quarter drive ended on an interception by Trevon Diggs. Dallas then drove 82 yards and found the end zone with a 1-yard plunge by Ezekiel Elliott – his first of two scores.

Despite the 5-2 start, the Cowboys are still in third place in the NFC East. The Philadelphia Eagles, 6-0, enjoyed their off week, while the New York Giants (6-1) rallied to win at Jacksonville on Sunday.

The Cowboys remain at home for a Week 8 matchup against the Chicago Bears (2-4), who will have a short week following Monday’s night’s game at New England.

There is no question, if Prescott stays healthy, there will be weeks that contain gaudy numbers. The Cowboys led the league in offense last season and Prescott garnered nearly 5,000 passing yards in 2019.

However, the time Prescott spent as an observer allowed him to see, and believe, the Cowboys’ defense, special teams and running game provided formidable complements to his right arm and powerful legs.

Nothing needs to be forced.

“I don’t know if I would have felt it without watching the past five weeks,” Prescott said.

Contact Roy at roylangiii@yahoo.com

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By ROY LANG III, Journal Sports

Forgive the folks in Haughton if they lost track of things Friday – of the points, of the touchdowns, of their minds.

Benton and Haughton – football teams – combined for 149 points in a wild District 1-5A affair at Harold E. Harlan Stadium. There were obviously many superlatives, but eight touchdowns are hard to ignore.

Tigers running back Greg Manning found the end zone eight times – seven on the ground, one through the air – during a 78-71 victory.

Benton entered the fourth quarter facing a 14-point deficit, but Manning scored four times in the final period. His final trip to paydirt was the game-winner, a 30-yard run.

Manning’s Friday night was a season for many – 278 rushing yards, 52 receiving yards and the eight scores.  

Peyton Fulghum, Evangel

With the help of Fulghum, the Eagles took a 14-14 game and made it a three-score lead with three touchdown tosses midway through Evangel’s game at Minden on Friday.

The junior posted career highs with 368 passing yards and five passing touchdowns (6, 33, 73, 75 and 45 yards) in the 48-21 victory at The Pit. 

Brayden Curry was on the receiving end of three touchdowns. Fulghum’s other two scoring tosses were delivered to twin brother Parker.   

Cam Jefferson, Airline

It seems as if the Vikings are stocked with do-it-all players at the skill positions.

Jefferson is the latest to strut his stuff on Airline’s potent offense.

In Thursday’s game against District 1-5A foe Byrd, Jefferson hauled in one touchdown, ran for another and posted 188 yards from scrimmage (57 rushing, 131 receiving).

Jeremiah Reed, Northwood

The defensive back wanted to make sure the Falcons weren’t looking ahead to the upcoming District 1-4A showdown with North DeSoto.

In Friday’s game against BTW, Reed sparked Northwood with an early pick-6 and set the stage for a 49-6 victory at Leonard C. Barnes Stadium.

Isaiah Kennedy, Woodlawn

Apparently, the Bossier Bearkats had hung around long enough for Kennedy’s liking Friday night. The Bearkats owned the lead after one quarter and were still hopeful before Kennedy took control before halftime.

The Knights’ quarterback was responsible for four touchdowns – three passing, one rushing – and his team rolled past Bossier, 34-14.

Kennedy helped his team to a 14-6 halftime lead with a 12-yard scoring run. After the break, Kennedy found three different receivers for a touchdown – Antonio Reynolds, Joshua Kennon and Brandon Harrison.

Contact Roy at roylangiii@yahoo.com

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And just like that, the LSU Tigers are tied for a share of the lead in the SEC West. 

Whether Ole Miss ever deserved to be ranked No. 7 in the nation is debatable. There were stat-padding wins against Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech on the road, along with some close calls to Auburn and Kentucky at home, that propelled them to a 7-0 start.

What’s not debatable, however, was the dominance that LSU (6-2, 4-1) displayed in notching the first Top 10 triumph of the Brian Kelly Era.

The Tigers were good. Really good. And they were good on a Saturday afternoon, a time slot that most LSU fans dread. There’s simply not enough time in the day to properly tailgate with a 2:30 kickoff.

But the fans still showed up, all 100,000 and change. And the students stormed the field after.

There will be a faction of sticks, buried deep in the mud, that will harp on the student section for storming the field after Saturday’s win. They’ll say the kids cost LSU (but really the Tiger Athletic Foundation) an SEC fine of $250,000 for the stunt. They’ll bring up the fact that LSU has beaten Ole Miss seven straight times at home, dating back to 2008. They’ll urge people to save the celebrations for a more deserving opponent. They’ll cite Tennessee’s victory over Alabama, when Rocky Top dismantled the goal posts, hauled them out of the stadium, carried them through campus before tossing them in the Tennessee River, as an example of an appropriate milestone win.

What if this is the pinnacle of LSU’s season? Expectations weren’t exactly lofty entering the season. After the blowout home loss to Tennessee, a Top-10 victory that earns you a share of the lead in the SEC West should be all the rage in Baton Rouge.

It was idealistic to take a gander at LSU’s schedule before the season and reckon that the Tigers could go 7-4 or 8-3. With each win, that wishful thinking becomes more and more realistic. LSU has four games remaining on its schedule — road bouts with Texas A&M and Arkansas, and home games with Alabama and UAB.

A&M’s dropped under .500, losing four games already, including a head-scratching 17-14 homefield gaffe to Appalachian State. LSU is the only Power 5 team on UAB’s schedule. That leaves Alabama, which is likely to be the third loss on LSU’s ledger, and Arkansas, which is the last wild card on the Tigers’ slate.

Kelly’s already locked in to a winning season, and a $500,000 bowl-eligible bonus, in his first year at LSU, and the Tigers have roared back into the AP Top 25 at No.18. Barring some catastrophic meltdown that sees LSU drop its final four games, there’s a strong chance the Tigers will finish among the 15 best teams in the nation. That’s a far cry from Week 1, which left fans fearful that the worst was yet to come.

That chaotic loss to Florida State seems like a lifetime ago. Special teams have cleaned up their act. Jayden Daniels has established himself as one of the better quarterbacks in the SEC. Kayshon Boutte, after being a complete non-factor in the first half of the season, is slowly returning to being the superstar receiver Daniels has needed. The defense continues to get better, this time with the addition of disruptive true freshman Harold Perkins.

So celebrate, Baton Rouge. All is well.

Just don’t take the goal posts with you.

Contact Ryne at rgberthelot@gmail.com

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By ROY LANG III, Journal Sports

The final horn hadn’t sounded 30 minutes earlier, and Kason Muscutt was still in full uniform, but Karen Muscutt already had the game puck in her hands.

Saturday had the makings of a dream evening on George’s Pond at Hirsch Coliseum. Although New Mexico’s rally past the Shreveport Mudbugs ruined the Hollywood script, the folks in attendance still witnessed history.

A quarter of a century after Scott Muscutt, the first player signed in franchise history, first scored in this historic venue, his son, Kason, lit the lamp for the first time as a Mudbug.

“It felt really good,” Kason Muscutt told The Journal. “We had a really good shift with Litchy (Brent Litchard) and Burkey (Ryan Burke). We were finishing hits and moving the puck around the zone. I got a lucky bounce off a shin pad, it came to me and I finished it.”

After the top-shelf tally, Burke emerged from the celebration to grab the puck from the net.

Scott Muscutt’s first goal in the building now dubbed “The George” came on Oct. 16, 1997 – the winning goal in the first game in Shreveport Mudbugs history. Nearly 25 years to the day later, Kason became the first second-generation Mudbug to score and the first Shreveport native to score for the franchise.

Kason’s tally was no fluke. Although he’s part of the “fourth line” with Burke and Litchard, the trio was one of Shreveport’s best lines, if not the best line, throughout the weekend. Muscutt collected his first NAHL point on Burke’s goal that tied the game early in the third period of Friday’s victory.

The Muscutt-Burke-Litchard line took shape in the Amarillo series a couple of weeks ago and they’ve been in the lineup ever since.

“The Xs and Os, not that you overlook them, but they are easier for the team to swallow if you know somebody is out there giving everything they’ve got,” Mudbugs head coach Jason Campbell said. “Nobody makes mistakes on purpose, but that line is the epitome of consistency right now. Even when they’re not on the scoresheet, they are doing some little things right.”

Muscutt, who wears No. 22, collect that goal on the 22^nd and posted two points – he assisted on Niklas Miller’s goal in the final seconds of the 4-3 loss.

“It’s nice to see (Kason) get rewarded,” said Campbell, who joined Muscutt and the Mudbugs as a player in 1999. “I still can’t believe another Muscutt has scored in this building.”

Although mom was giddy, and got the historic piece of once-frozen rubber, Kason Muscutt admits his father – now Shreveport’s general manager — may have been happier.

“I’ve already have a couple of people come up to me in the postgame skate and tell me how happy my dad was walking around the building after the goal,” Kason said. “That’s really cool to hear.”

And let it be known: Kason Muscutt doesn’t just approve of the nickname “Musky” — the same moniker his father hears more than his real name – it’s what he prefers.

“It’s what I’ve been called my entire life,” Kason said. “’Little Musky’ works, and ‘Kase’ works, too.”

Last week’s 3 Stars

1. Kason Muscutt, a three-point weekend – including the first goal of his NAHL career — for the second-generation Mudbug.
2. Jaden Goldie, another solid weekend. Captured the game-winner on Friday.
3. Ryan Burke, scored the tying goal Friday and assists in Little Musky’s tally Saturday.

NAHL South Division standings

Lone Star (12-1-0), 24 points

Amarillo (7-2-1), 15

New Mexico (7-2-1), 15

Oklahoma (7-2-0), 14

Shreveport (6-6-2), 14

Odessa (5-6-1), 11

El Paso (5-7-0), 10

Corpus Christi (2-11-1), 5

*top four make the playoffs

Team leaders

Goals: Logan Gotinsky, 5

Assists: Jaden Goldie, Logan Heroux, 6

Points: Gotinsky, Goldie 8

Penalty Minutes: Garrett Steele, 25

Game-winning goals: Miller, Gotinsky, Morse, Sutton Murray, Goldie 1

Goals-against average: Simon Bucheler, 1.93

Save percentage: Bucheler, .928 

Up next

The Mudbugs hit the road for the first of four consecutive road series. Up first, a trip to Oklahoma for game on Friday and Saturday (7:15 p.m.).

Contact Roy at roylangiii@yahoo.com

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