As 2024 comes to a close, we’re taking another holiday break, and there will be no Shreveport-Bossier Journal on New Year’s Day.

We’ll start our round of 2025 editions Thursday morning, bringing you locally-based content free of charge, without annoying pop-ups or log-ins, in a 6:55 a.m. e-mail on weekdays to subscribers (no charge!).

You can also find our content on our webpage (ShreveportBossierJournal.com) or the Shreveport Bossier Journal Facebook page – easy to access, free to all.

We hope you have a great New Year’s Eve and a wonderful start to 2025.

Each week, the Shreveport-Bossier Journal’s Tony Taglavore takes to lunch a local person – someone who is well-known, successful, and/or influential, and asks, “What’s Your Story?”

By TONY TAGLAVORE, Journal Services

He was on top of the world.

At least he was supposed to be.

It was the fall of 2017, and the good ‘ol boy from Vivian, with a country accent as heavy as a seven-pound bass, had just won the All-American. A blue-collar tournament for 5,000 folks fishing on the divisional and regional level, the All-American was a career springboard for its winner. This particular blue-collar fisherman had worked years to realize his boyhood dream of making a living by sitting in a boat and casting a line.

“I won $100,000. I won this big trophy. There were all these TV cameras. It was all this stuff I had been chasing, but I felt more empty and hopeless than ever . . . . It didn’t get rid of that ugliness that was on the inside of me.”

The ugliness of being addicted to pornography since he was a young teenager.

“I can take you to a spot on Crawford Road in Oil City, where me and my dad had been hunting. We pulled over on this little dirt road to take a leak, and there was a big trash pile with some magazines on top. I don’t have to tell you what those magazines were. I saw that, kept looking at that, and it triggered something in my head.”

The ugliness of having cheated – and continuing to cheat – on his wife, Jolene, with whom he had two small children.

“It got to where I was so de-sensitized, looking at (pornography) wasn’t enough. That turned into infidelity. It turned into me making a very serious mistake and being unfaithful to my wife. That mistake continued for a few years.”

The ugliness of living a life of lies, while everyone thought he was as good as they come.

“At that time in my life, I was not a Christian. I had great parents that taught me a lot, but there wasn’t a Christian upbringing. There was no spiritual upbringing . . . . Without having that foundation, I just viewed myself as a good person. My good outweighed my bad.”

One night not long after becoming an all-American on the water, his wife found out her husband wasn’t an all-American in life.

“(She) calls me and she is just – I will never forget the pain and sadness and the shriek of her voice, her crying, and just the hurt that was there.”

The ‘other woman’ had called and told all.

Professional fisherman and Bossier City’s Nick LeBrun told me this story, and his story, during lunch at a place of his choosing, Taqueria San Miguel in Benton. Nick had the San Miguel Beef Enchiladas and a Coke. I had the San Miguel Salad with grilled chicken, and a water with lemon.

“All my lies were poured out for everybody to see. My family was shattered into a million pieces over all those lies I had been telling for so long. They were finally out in the open. My wife said, ‘I don’t ever want to see you again. Don’t come home.’”

So, Nick didn’t. At 11 p.m., he pulled off the side of Highway 96 in Jasper, Texas.

“I had a Springfield XDM 40-caliber in my lap. I’m done with life. I’m hopeless. I’ve gone too far. There’s no turning back.”

“That night was the lowest point in my life. The darkest, deepest pain I have ever experienced.”

But something – perhaps someone above —told Nick to make one last phone call. He did, to a longtime friend who Nick calls a “man’s man.” He told Nick to wait, then abruptly hung up. Seconds later, Nick’s phone rang. He didn’t recognize the number, but answered.

“I just wanted to call and tell you that I don’t know all the details, but what you’re thinking about doing is not the answer,” said the chaplain for Shreveport and Bossier fire and police departments . . . . “Just to be honest with you, that’s a chicken crap way to go. That’s not what men do.”

The chaplain – perhaps with help from someone above – saved Nick’s life.

“God used him in a mighty way that night to get me to put that gun down,” Nick remembers.

The chaplain was also a Christian-based marriage counselor, and while Nick and his wife were separated, Nick began seeing the counselor for help. Meanwhile, Nick’s wife was praying for her husband to be saved.

“Got put on her heart grace for me.”

A month after that night on the side of the road, Nick and Jolene started talking. They went to counseling together. Nick took Jolene on a second first date.

“I didn’t know if our marriage would survive, but I knew I needed to change the way I was living, and I could only do that by having faith in Jesus and asking him to change me.”

But change wasn’t easy – it never is. Like when Jolene challenged Nick to listen to Christian music.

“I was so into extreme heavy metal. For me to listen to Christian music would be like asking you go to on the news wearing a wife-beater tank top. It was totally out of character.”

But on July 8^th, 2018, there was Nick, walking into church with Jolene. He was ready to change. He was ready to accept God in his life.

“I got down on my knees at that alter, cried out to Jesus, and told him that I was sorry for my sin, and that I’m turning from all that. I said, ‘I believe in you, Lord. I want you to save me.’ I got up off my knees, and I was changed . . . . I had peace and joy in my heart.”

Nick, now 40 years old, and Jolene have been married 12 years. January will be Nick’s seventh year on the pro fishing tour.

“Whether my career is 10 years or 30 years, I will never wrap my head around the fact there are only about 200 top pros in the world, and I’m one of those.”

Thinking Nick probably had to go test a spinner bait or recalibrate his depth finder, I asked my final question. As always, what is it about his life that might inspire others?

“Trophies don’t last, but Jesus Christ lasts forever. When we chase things of the world – trophies, money, fame, fortune, status, whatever that is, those aren’t necessarily  bad things. But those things are temporary, and we have to realize that. Don’t put those things at the forefront of what our focus is. But if we have a relationship with Jesus Christ and we are living for him, that will never end. That will always be.”

Oh, and one more thing.

“Answering the phone matters.”

Do you know someone with a story? Email SBJTonyT@gmail.com.

The Journal’s weekly “What’s Your Story?” series is sponsored by Morris & Dewett Injury Lawyers.

By MICHAEL MOSLEY, Journal Contributor

Among Hollywood actors of note we lost in 2024, Earl Holliman was the one who once called Shreveport home.

Henry Earl Holliman was born to the world on September 11, 1928 in north Louisiana backwoods near Delhi. He left this world 96 years later in the hills of Studio City in Los Angeles on Nov. 25. In between those dates of destiny, Earl served his country twice in the Navy, appeared in both TV hit shows and classic films as an actor, released music as a recording artist with commercial flavor, and was a good-hearted social activist and dedicated rescuer of animals.

I had the good fortune of meeting Mr. Holliman in July 2010 at a California venue called Hollywood Show, where he signed and inscribed a linen-backed poster for The Sons of Katie Elder that I shipped to Burbank. I hoped it would find a spot at the Robinson Film Center.   

He appreciated having a local fella to talk to about our area as he was a local himself back in the day.

I had previously written a screenplay that had gained the attention of three Oscar winners, another Oscar-nominated director with a vacation residence in the French Quarter, the producer of Dumb and Dumber, the future showrunner for Duck Dynasty, and the co-head of the literary department at the William Morris Agency.

I put all my eggs into one flimsy basket weaved with naivety. The basket broke. Down went the eggs.  

Does anyone remember the infamous Disco Dale in our area? My script was partially about that now deceased character, the charms of a vibrant Louisiana Downs, and a very sexy author and love goddess.

I thought I was sitting on a rocket. Thought I was going to kick the Farrelly brothers’ butts and every other comedic mind that had earned studio funding. But that homemade rocket of mine sputtered and failed to launch. The laugh was on me.

I got a lift in spirit when I met Mr. Holliman on a trip out to the West coast.  He asked me where I was from.  “Shreveport,” I answered.  He said, “You gotta be kiddin’. I’m from Shreveport. I ushered at The Strand.” That’s when things clicked for me with Mr. Holliman. We got to talking. He asked more questions about me. He was intrigued with my history in trying to get a script made from Shreveport in Hollywood against the odds.  And he told me one has to overcome a stifling climate of skepticism when going for it in Hollywood. 

Later in 2011, I invited the head cinematographer from The Sopranos to the RFC to theatrically screen an episode from the hit show with clearance from HBO. It was the only time in America that “Tony Soprano” was put up on the big screen. For some reason we only had around 20 patrons seated with their ticket stubs on a chilly December day after Christmas. But it was a quiet success for me. The boost to my inner drive to make it happen was put there by Earl Holliman.

Mr. Holliman was an adopted baby raised in poverty. He became a Shreveport Times newsboy just ahead of World War II, proud usher at The Strand, magician’s assistant, teenage Oil City oilfield redneck, student at Byrd, Fair Park and honors graduate of Oil City High School, a restaurant dishwasher, and a Navy man, to later top the hill in Hollywood, and the world of stage plays, when he got on a roll performing.

He was chosen over the great Elvis Presley to become a Golden Globe Award winner for a supporting role in The Rainmaker. He was a top cowboy actor, usually playing a son or a brother, in many fine ’50s and ’60s westerns with famed Hollywood performers.

He also had a supporting role in Giant with Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, and the iconic James Dean in the 1956 Texas epic.

Forbidden Planet is a sci-fi gem where Holliman shined in a supporting role. 

Perhaps Mr. Holliman’s finest role was his tour de force performance with a five o’ clock shadow beard in the premier episode for The Twilight Zone, titled “Where Is Everybody?”     

Mr. Holliman co-starred with Angie Dickinson on the Police Woman series in the ’70’s as raspy-voiced Sergeant “Bill” Crowley. For a short time it was the top-rated show on NBC in both the U.S. and was also a hit in the UK. President Ford was the program’s most prominent fan. 

Holliman’s credits are too many to list. I could go on and on. He was a wonderful human being, a recipient of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and was a kind gentleman to a fellow Shreveport film enthusiast.

Contact Michael at michaelmosley1225@yahoo.com

Thinking out loud while wondering how much those folks are getting paid to work on top of the water tower in south Shreveport near I-49? Whatever it is, it’s not enough for me to get up there . . . .

As if the foot fungus radio commercial wasn’t bad enough, now we have an advertisement for something called the Squatty Potty . . .

The next time I find a car wash vacuum cleaner that actually sucks up something will be the first time . . .

When you check in at the doctor’s office, what’s the point of completing a four-page questionnaire when the nurse is going to ask you the same questions? . . .

How would the late, great sportscaster Keith Jackson describe the new roundabouts in Bossier City? “Whoa, Nellie!” . . .

I find it odd that when I walk into a restaurant with someone, the hostess asks, “Just two?” How many of us should there be? . . .

Lee Corso helped make ESPN’s College GameDay what it is today. This season needs to be (and the last few seasons needed to be) his last. Sympathetically, he’s hard to watch . . .

Why does Walmart have someone “check” your receipt before you leave, if they’re not actually going to look at it? . . .

Pet Peeve #1: News organizations using the phrase “Here’s what you need to know.” I don’t’ need to be told what I need to know . . .

I used to complain about slow drivers. Now, I’m one of them . . .

There’s not a better buy than a Sam’s Club Rotisserie Chicken. $4.99 and I get at least four meals out of one . . .

Will Ella Langley (half of the duet singing You Look Like You Love Me) be a one-hit wonder? Yes.

Hey Regal movie theatre in Bossier — reclining seats have been a thing for a few years now. How about getting them? . . .

A restaurant owner told me the reason she doesn’t have a website is because “That’s too much to keep up with.” And we wonder why so many locally-owned eateries go out of business.

George Kresge, better known as The Amazing Kreskin, recently died. When I was growing up, Kreskin was must see TV. Someone would hide his paycheck amongst the studio audience, and the mentalist had to find it – or go home empty-handed.

I met my health insurance’s out-of-pocket max in 2024. Should I say that proudly? . . .

The “Check Engine” light in my fiancée’s car came on. She took the car to the dealership and was told they could get to it “a week from Thursday.”  No offer to give the car a quick look over and see if they saw something obviously wrong. Gee, sure hope the engine doesn’t blow up before “a week from Thursday.”

I don’t have children, but I’m amazed at the number of people who go on their neighborhood Facebook page and ask if any babysitters are available for a specific night. Do parents really leave their kids with strangers? . . .

60 Minutes, which debuted in 1968 and is television’s longest continually running primetime series, isn’t what it used to be (think the late Mike Wallace busting the chops of some con man). But every now and then, the Sunday night news magazine produces an outstanding story. By the way, Leslie Stahl is still going strong at 83 . . .

Several weeks ago, we had to put down our sweet golden retriever, Maddie. I’m surprised at how much that has affected me . . .

What’s the point of grocery stores having plastic bags in which to put your produce, if the bags are nowhere near the produce you’ve selected? . . .

Pet Peeve #2: Referring to someone as “My boy.” Unless you’re talking about your son, it sounds condescending . . .

After watching a month of Lifetime Network Christmas movies with my fiancee’, I learned you can miss the first hour and quickly pick up on the plot . . .

The hardest-working people in local media are KTBS-TV’s Rick Rowe, and radio sports talk show host Tim Fletcher . . .

Teachers, nurses, and police officers are the most underpaid workers. Respect for them all . . .

I miss Murrell’s chicken fried steak and green goddess dressing . . .

Contact Tony at SBJTonyT@gmail.com.

In an effort to provide relief and flexibility to taxpayers, the City of Shreveport is waiving interest on the 2024 ad valorem property tax notices for 15 days. Although the statutory due date remains December 31, 2024, taxpayers now will not accrue any interest or penalties until January 15, 2025.

Payments postmarked by January 15, 2025, will be considered on time, ensuring that no penalties or additional fees will be assessed. The fifteen-day period complies with state law, which allows taxpayers fifteen (15) days after the date of receipt of notice to pay without interest penalty. The city will assume that statements were received on December 31, 2024.

“This temporary waiver gives our residents a little more time to meet their obligations,” said Mayor Arceneaux. “We want to make sure everyone has the opportunity to stay current on their taxes while managing other end-of-year responsibilities.”

Taxpayers can make payments online at http://www.shreveportla.gov/288/Proterty-Tax-Information, by mail, or in person at Government Plaza. For questions or concerns, please contact the City of Shreveport Revenue Department at 318-673-5585.

As the clock winds down on 2024, people across the globe prepare to usher in a new year with joy, reflection, and hope. New Year’s Eve is a night of celebration, marked by centuries-old traditions and contemporary festivities that unite communities and cultures in a shared moment of anticipation.

The history of New Year’s Eve dates back to ancient times when the Babylonians celebrated their new year with an 11-day festival in spring. The Romans later shifted the celebration to January 1, following the introduction of the Julian calendar. Today, the countdown to midnight remains a universal symbol of transition and renewal.

Modern celebrations vary widely. In Times Square, New York City, the famous ball drop attracts millions of viewers, a tradition that began in 1907. In Sydney, Australia, dazzling fireworks light up the harbor, while in Spain, revelers eat 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight for good luck. Japan rings in the New Year with the ringing of bells at temples, symbolizing purification and a fresh start.

Closer to home, families and friends gather for house parties, dining on festive dishes like black-eyed peas for prosperity and champagne toasts for celebration. Whether you’re attending a glamorous gala or enjoying a quiet evening with loved ones, New Year’s Eve offers a chance to reflect on the past year’s achievements and set intentions for the year ahead.

JOURNAL STAFF

There were some outstanding candidates to be the third Shreveport-Bossier Journal Sportsperson of the Year, including both of the previous winners.

PGA Tour golfer Sam Burns, the 2022 winner, had another excellent year, surging in the FedEx Cup playoffs, then helping Team USA win the President’s Cup. Now early in her sophomore season on the LSU women’s basketball team, Mikaylah Williams was last season’s Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year and she was greeted by thousands of adoring supporters in her return home with the Tigers Dec. 8 at the Brookshire Grocery Arena.

They did not disappoint. But the SBJ had an undeniable candidate, whose years of coaching excellence helped him pull off an unthinkable challenge this year.

LSUS men’s basketball coach Kyle Blankenship expanded his role last season. When the LSUS women’s team found itself without a head coach shortly before the season tipped off, Blankenship agreed to steer both teams.

It worked better than anyone dared to hope.

In June he was presented the Jimmy Collins Award by the Allstate Sugar Bowl’s Greater New Orleans Sports Awards for the likely unprecedented feat of coaching both the women’s and men’s LSUS teams to outstanding seasons, and most notably, national tournament victories on the same day in March.

He collected 65 percent of public votes cast on the Sugar Bowl’s website, while Jay Clark, who steered the LSU women’s gymnastics team to the NCAA championship, was a distant second at 30 percent. Down the list of public voting were Jeff Willis, who coached the LSU Eunice baseball team to a junior college national championship, and McNeese basketball coach Will Wade, the former LSU coach who led the Cowboys to 30 wins, the NCAA Tournament, and the biggest single-season turnaround in NCAA Division I history.

The Jimmy Collins Award is not presented annually, but only in remarkable cases, named for the New Orleans sportswriter who launched the Sugar Bowl’s awards in 1958.

Blankenship, coach of the LSUS men’s team since 2012, stepped into an interim head coach role with the women’s program in October 2023. The Pilots had another superb season, going 28-5 and reaching the NAIA Sweet 16. The Lady Pilots had an even more impressive regular season, 22-0 in the Red River Athletic Conference and 30-3 overall, upset in the second round of the NAIA Tournament. Each team had only one first-team All-RRAC selection.

It was a one-off for Blankenship to handle both LSUS teams, he said in late June, but he was proud and happy to savor it.

“Being included with those four coaches, and winning the LSWA Coach of the Year award for the state, having coached one year of women’s basketball, that’s not a bad way to go out,” he said in June.

There wasn’t much different in the approach to handling the men and women’s teams, he said.

“From the basketball aspect, we tried to coach them the same. We tried to implement the same philosophies offensively, play through transition and play fast. With the women, we were able to slow some things down in the halfcourt and execute at a higher level, just because the game is a little bit slower. At times I felt like I was coaching more than what you do on the men’s side, where you can get into some isolation and two-man game. It was fun for me to do that and dig deep into my playbook, and have those girls go out there and execute.

“Make no bones about it – they listen better, and they go out and try to do exactly what you ask. That was always fun,” said Blankenship.

He was quick to not claim coaching brilliance was at the core of such a doubly triumphant 2023-24 season for LSUS basketball.

“We had a lot of success because of the great players who were in both programs. That women’s team had already been put together before I took over, and I had to just try not to screw it up. It was the most challenging year of my life, but it was also the most memorable one I’ll ever have in coaching,” said Blankenship. “I don’t think it’s something that can be sustained long-term, but we did it with a lot of great help from my assistant coaches, the support of my family, and everybody else involved with our program allowed it to go as well as it did.”

He’s back to his familiar role soley as men’s coach this season.

(NOTE TO READERS – As 2025 approaches, the SBJ has been featuring some of our favorite content from this year. This story profiles our 2024 Sportsperson of the Year, Kyle Blankenship, and ran in the Journal on Jan. 4. Enjoy!)

By JOHN JAMES MARSHALL, Journal Sports

When LSUS found itself in a tough spot with the resignation of its women’s basketball coach 11 days before the season was set to begin, athletic director Lucas Morgan had a decision to make.

And not a lot of time to make it.

After considering a few options, he decided to run this idea by Kyle Blankenship: the veteran men’s coach would be the coach of both teams.

At the same time.

All season.

That’s all well and good, but Morgan and Blankenship were wise to run that unique idea by someone else.

Mrs. Blankenship.

“She’s been the MVP of this whole process,” Kyle Blankenship said of his wife, Alexis. “She’s built a tremendous relationship with the women’s team. She does all the things that she’s always done for the men. No way I could have done this without her.”

In high school basketball and especially soccer, it’s not the most unusual thing to have the same coach for the boys and the girls. But at the college level? That’s something entirely different.

So how have things worked out so far? Well, as they drove all the way across Texas Wednesday for a game tonight against Southwest in Hobbs, N.M., the two Pilot teams are a combined 17-3.

Actually, Blankenship is 17-2, which helps illustrate this story. Through the first two months of the season, he has only had one schedule conflict. On Nov. 16, the women’s team was playing in Mississippi and the men’s team was in Texas.

But the next night, Blankenship met the girls team in Arkansas where the Pilots beat Philander Smith.

Believe it or not, the schedules for the season were already in place. It’s not as if Blankenship and Morgan piecemealed it to make it work. Lots of double-headers is the biggest factor that makes it work, but there are other considerations.

Blankenship has been the men’s coach at LSUS for 11 years, but the most time he’s ever spent coaching women’s basketball has come with his daughters in the driveway.

If there was an adjustment – for Blankenship or the women’s players – it didn’t last long.

“When things change, you never know how it’s going to go, but the girls have been great through the process,” Blankenship said. “But this all about them, not me. They had a really good core group coming back. From Day One, they have listened to what we have asked them to do.”

The results have certainly an indication of that. The women’s team is on a six-game winning streak against NAIA competition.

“I’ve seen tremendous strides in what we have been able to do both offensively and defensively over the course of the season,” Blankenship said. “I’m really pleased with their acceptance of our coaching style and how we are doing things. They’ve learned quickly and we hope that’s something that will continue so that we can compete for a conference championship.”

Blankenship used the “basketball is basketball” approach to coaching the two teams.

“I’ve taken the approach of not changing a whole lot, but understanding that there are some different dynamics in coaching men and women,” he said. “I’ve had to adapt in some areas, but it’s been a fun learning experience.”

The men’s team obviously hasn’t suffered as the Pilots are once again a contender for another conference championship with a 9-1 overall record and 4-0 in the league. The women are also 4-0 in the conference and 8-2 overall.

Blankenship gives a great deal of credit to men’s graduate assistant Devin Jackson, who has been taken on even more responsibility for the women’s program. “He’s probably the hardest working person at LSU Shreveport,” Blankenship said.

“We just wanted to do what was best for the women’s program and those players who came here to win,” Blankenship said. “This is not about (a coach) trying to accomplish something that’s never been done before.

“Up to this point in the season,” Blankenship said, “this is something we are pretty proud of.”

Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com

By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports

HOUSTON – Part of LSU junior redshirt starting quarterback Garrett Nussmeier’s decision to return next season to the Tigers, besides a likely NIL pay increase, was simple.

“I felt like the product that I put out there for my teammates and everybody involved with this organization wasn’t as consistent as I wanted it to be,” Nussmeier said. “I felt like I owed that to the coaches and the players who have busted their tails daily to try and help me. I just feel like there’s unfinished business.”

This starts with today’s Kinder’s Texas Bowl matchup between the Tigers (8-4) and Baylor (8-4) at 2:30 p.m. in NRG Stadium.

The last time LSU played in the Texas Bowl in 2021 in a 42-20 loss to Kansas State, it had a shell of a team with less than 40 scholarship players available and interim head coach Brad Davis after fired Tigers’ head coach Ed Orgeron chose not to coach in the bowl.

Nussmeier, then a true freshman, chose to sit out the game because he would have burned a year of eligibility since he played in four games (the maximum allowed by the NCAA to retain a redshirt) that season. The Tigers were forced to use wide receiver Jontre Kirklin as their starting QB.

“It’s a full circle for sure,” Nussmeier said of finally getting a chance to play in the Texas Bowl. “It’s not where we want to be.”

LSU wanted to be in the College Football Playoff. The Tigers’ 6-1 start (including 3-0 in the SEC) was wiped out by consecutive losses to Texas A&M, Alabama and Florida. By the time LSU stopped the tailspin with regular season-ending wins over Vanderbilt and Oklahoma, the Tigers were scrounging for a bowl bid.

Because of opt-outs and transfers, LSU will miss eight starters (six offense and two defense) vs. Baylor.

Offensive tackles Will Campbell and Emery Jones Jr., guard Garrett Dellinger, tight end Mason Taylor, wide receiver Kyren Lacy and safety Major Burns opted out. Also, wide receiver CJ Daniels and safety Sage Ryan both entered the transfer portal and signed with Miami and Ole Miss respectively.

LSU third-year head coach Brian Kelly, who has also been busy putting the touches on his 2025 recruiting class with 14 high-level transfer portal additions, said his team is all in.

“The morale has been great,” Kelly said. “Every guy that’s out there wants to be out there. The practices have been lively. The guys are excited about preparing, and they want the right outcome. I know our coaches have been excited about just the mindset of the group. We’ve got some first-time starters in this game.”

Nussmeier and All-SEC linebacker Whit Weeks have also been busy helping Kelly and the coaching staff recruit by acting as hosts when transfer portal players have visited for most of this month.

“I want to have a great team next year, so I will do everything I can to get these guys here,” Weeks said. “I tell them we’re building something special here, we’re gonna win a championship next year. There’s no doubt about it.”

But first, the Tigers want to end 2024 on a positive note. And to do that, they’ll have to beat a familiar face.

Fifth-year Baylor head coach Dave Aranda began his duties with the Bears just days after he concluded four years as LSU’s defensive coordinator culminating with a win over Clemson to capture the 2019 national championship.

Aranda has had two winning seasons at Baylor – this season and in 2021 when the Bears were 12-2 and finished No. 5 nationally after winning the Big 12 championship and beating Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl.

Until Baylor closed this regular season with six straight wins after a 2-4 start, Aranda’s job security was shaky. At that point, Aranda was just 11-20 since the magical 2021 season.

“There wasn’t any panic, there wasn’t any doubt,” Aranda said of his team’s slow beginning this season. “Everybody knew that we had ourselves a good team, and that we had to do X, Y and Z better. And these are the steps that we’ve got to do to do that. It helps when guys believe in themselves, they can believe in the team, and they can believe that good things are coming, even if it’s kind of sight unseen at the time.”

Baylor’s offense, led by junior quarterback Sawyer Robertson who became the starter in game 3 after Dequan Finn suffered a season-ending injury, carried the Bears on their stretch run. Baylor averaged 41.3 points in its win streak starting with a 59-35 victory at Texas Tech on Oct. 19.

“LSU is really talented,” said Robertson, a former Mississippi State transfer who has thrown for 2,626 yards, 26 TDs and 7 interceptions this year. “I’m excited to get the opportunity to play them. I get to see where I’m at playing against the elite competition. That’s why you want to be in these types of games.”

KNOW YOUR ENEMY

LSU (8-4) vs. Baylor (8-4), Kinder’s Texas Bowl, NRG Stadium, Houston, today, 2:30 p.m. (ABC)

Series record and last meeting: LSU leads the series 8-3. Baylor won 21-7 over the Tigers in the 1985 Liberty Bowl.

Baylor head coach: Dave Aranda (31-29 in 5 seasons overall and at Baylor).

THIS AND THAT

Betting line: Baylor favored by 3½

Number of Louisiana natives on Baylor roster: 4

Number of Texas natives on LSU roster: 12

Number of transfers on Baylor roster from 4-year schools: 25 from 23 schools including 14 players from 11 Power 4 Conference school

BAYLOR PLAYERS TO WATCH

QB Sawyer Robertson (199 of 317 for 2,626 passing yards, 26 TDs), RB Bryson Washington (1,004 rushing yards and 12 TDs on 170 carries), WR Josh Cameron (44 for 463 receiving yards, 9 TDs), LB Matt Jones (103 tackles, 9½ TFLs, 4 sacks, 6 PBU), LB Keaton Thomas (107 tackles, 7 TFL), PK Isaiah Hawkins (46 of 47 PAT, 13 of 18 field goals), P Palmer Williams (41 punts for 49.61 yards per punt, 5 touchbacks, 5 fair catches, 14 inside the 20-yard line, 21 50 yards or more), KR Jamaal Bell (20 for 490 yards, 1 TD).

THREE AND OUT

1. Besides Dave Aranda, what former LSU assistant coach has served as Baylor’s head coach? A) Grant Teaff, B) Bill Beall, C) Nelson Stokley, D) Ed Orgeron

2. Who is Baylor’s only Heisman Trophy winner? A) Raymond Partsch III, B) Mike Singletary, C) Don Trull,  D), Robert Griffin III

3. What HGTV show is filmed Waco, home of Baylor? A) Fixer Upper, B) Tear-a Downer, C) Whacko in Waco, D) Tiny Tumbleweed Houses

Answers 1. B 2. D 3. A.

Contact Ron at ronhigginsmedia@gmail.com

(NOTE TO READERS – As 2025 approaches, the SBJ has been featuring some of our favorite content from this year. This Doug Ireland column originally ran in the Journal on March 5. Enjoy!)

I cannot reconcile this double barrel of craziness:

• After taking over dual coaching duties, in charge of both the LSUS men (as usual) and women (as urgently needed days before the season began), and steering the Lady Pilots to an unbeaten and all-but-unchallenged 22-0 regular season championship, Kyle Blankenship was not chosen as Red River Athletic Conference women’s basketball coach of the year.

• Iowa women’s basketball superstar Caitlin Clark is said to have broken the NCAA career scoring record set a half-century ago by LSU’s Pistol Pete Maravich, who is a man.

As to the insane voting by the other RRAC women’s basketball coaches, I can only assume they were looking out for their own fannies. If the LSUS men’s coach could lead the women’s team – yes, a very talented one – to an undefeated league championship, while continuing to coach the men and keeping them in the chase for their own title and NAIA Tournament berth, well, why couldn’t more men’s coaches pull double duty, their bosses might wonder?

Of course, that wouldn’t happen. But it’s as plausible as not giving Blankenship his due. He shies from the spotlight and redirects credit, but it discredits the RRAC’s award for him not to win that one.

Now to Miss Clark breaking Pistol Pete’s record; she didn’t. She passed a scoring milestone he established. But she’s a she, and he’s a he.

Nobody is out there claiming that other records are co-mingled and gender doesn’t matter. Nor should they.

Clark is sensational. She’s one of the great players in college women’s basketball history, no doubt. She deserves all the applause even though it is preposterous to say she “surpassed” Maravich’s record.  But in the eyes of too many media members looking to sensationalize a story that needs no extra mustard on the hot dog, that’s the baloney being served.

While talking hoops …

There are a couple more top-notch local college basketball coaches who deserve some run in the sun: Centenary’s Chris Dorsey and J.A. Anglin of Bossier Parish Community College. Neither is coaching men AND women’s teams, but both warrant praise.

Dorsey’s case is obvious. In his seventh season on Kings Highway, he again kept the under-resourced Centenary program very competitive in its league, again turned out a winning record, and got the Gents to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the second time in four years.

Did I mention “under resourced?” That brings to mind BPCC competing in the same conference with the Texas junior colleges, which are infinitely better funded than BPCC in every respect, including athletics. But overlooked if you glance at the Cavaliers’ 12-17 record this year, heading into the home finale Wednesday evening at 5:30, is how a very young team has been very close to beating superior opponents in district play. There’s also an unprecedented – not even by the great teams Mike McConathy built (after a few years of middling records while developing the program) – feat of sweeping Tyler Junior College, something this year’s Cavs did under Anglin’s guidance.

BPCC would be much better positioned to compete on an even scale relocated to the NJCAA district with its Mississippi peers, who don’t have the massive Texas budget backing them either.

Switching to high school …

It was great seeing Parkway pull off a second straight girls basketball state title, and it led to a funny moment on the LHSAA TV postgame coverage after the championship game. Lady Panthers’ coach Gloria Williams was asked about bragging rights at home. Her husband is former Bossier boys coach Jeremiah Williams, who last decade led the Bearkats to a couple of state championships.

She paused, smiled, and said, “but he did not win two straight!” ….

…. How bone-headed is the national high school rule regarding team names on jerseys, that resulted in Parkway giving up a game-opening technical foul and a point in the semifinal game against Walker? By now you might have heard Parkway broke out jerseys with “SoBo” across the chest instead of “Parkway” or “Lady Panthers.” It was a tribute to their home community.

We’ve seen those type jerseys for several seasons now in the pros, and recently in the local high school ranks. They’re cool. There’s no harm.

Everybody knows who the teams are. No deceit is involved.

But at the state tournament, the LHSAA follows the rulebook adopted by the national high school federation, and its rule doesn’t allow specialized jerseys. Hopefully that changes this summer ….

…. Last item: team records. If you see different W-L records for the same high school team in the playoffs, it’s because the LHSAA doesn’t recognize out-of-state games when posting team records. Now, I get that when it comes to power rankings, but how about considering what really happened on the court this season? Walker was not undefeated. They lost to Duncanville, Texas. Parkway picked up some out-of-state wins. Not noted by the LHSAA.

Those games happened. They ought to be reflected in the final team records. I’ll bet that the stats ARE counted – and should be. And the same kind of games ARE counted in football season when our teams cross the state lines to play teams in Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas.

Ignoring games that happened. Brought to you by the same mindset that denied Kyle Blankenship a Coach of the Year award, and the rationale that the incredible Caitlin Clark broke Pistol Pete’s record.

Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com

By DAVID ERSOFF, Journal Sports

Loyola and Bossier used the Christmas holiday to travel south, and the results separated the teams’ tie for second place in the Shreveport-Bossier Journal Boys Soccer Coaches Poll.

Loyola traveled to the northshore this past weekend to face Mandeville and Hammond. The Flyers were able to secure a scoreless tie against the highly-ranked Skippers on Friday night. Saturday morning Loyola bested Hammond 4-2 in a wet and muddy game. The previous week the Flyers beat Minden 1-0 and tied Dutchtown 0-0. The Flyers have this week off.

Bossier traveled to Lake Charles the weekend before Christmas, falling 5-0 to Barbe, before duplicating their 1-0 2023 semifinal victory over St. Louis Catholic. The Bearkats beat Ouachita Parish 2-0 before their trip south. The Bearkats posted a 5-0 win over Calvary Monday in game postponed from last weekend and will face Evangel on Saturday.

The Captain Shreve Gators held their tight grip at the top of the coaches poll with three solid wins over Neville 5-2, Sterlington 3-0 and Dutchtown 2-1, all played before Christmas. The Gators will be traveling this weekend to the EiL Tournament hosted by Teurlings Catholic. Shreve is scheduled to play Lafayette and Teurlings Catholic.

Byrd only played two games over these past couple of weeks, beating Huntington 8-0 and Caddo Magnet 5-1. The Yellow Jackets are also headed to the EiL Tournament. They are scheduled to face Teurlings Catholic and Catholic of Baton Rouge.

Benton’s holiday had only a single game scheduled. The Tigers defeated Dutchtown 2-0 on Dec. 20 and are off until next week.

Northwood held its sixth spot in the poll despite not playing any games over the last two weeks and will be off this week as well. Coach Francois Browne is looking to have a well-rested team going into the stretch run.

Airline had a solid holiday break, winning against Huntington and West Ouachita, both by scorelines of 8-0. The Vikings also tied both North DeSoto and Ruston 2-2. Airline is off until next week.

The SBJ Week 7 Coaches Boys Soccer Poll:

Rank      Team (1^st place votes)                    Record           Pts  Last poll

1             Captain Shreve (9)                           11-3-3                  69           1

2             Loyola (1)                                              12-1-4                  57           T2

3             Bossier                                                    9-5-1                  47           T2

4             Byrd (1)                                                   9-3-1                  39           4

5             Benton                                                    7-8-1                  24           5

6             Northwood                                             7-2-2                  18           6

7             Airline                                                     8-1-3                 16           7

Also receiving votes — Calvary (5), Magnet (4), North DeSoto (1).

Contact David at dersoff@bellsouth.net