BEST OF THE BEST: LSU sophomore Kade Anderson, who allowed only six hits and one run in 16 innings during two starts in Omaha, was the College World Series Most Outstanding Player. He struck out 17 Saturday in the opening game of the championship series against Coastal Carolina. (Journal photo by ADDISON EVANS)
JOURNAL SPORTS
OMAHA, Neb. – LSU may not head the all-time list of most College World Series titles but there’s now no doubt at all that the Tigers are the modern era’s most dominant college baseball program.
Winning its eighth national championship Sunday marked the fourth time this century, under three different head coaches, that LSU has ruled the College World Series.
USC, with 12 national titles, has the NCAA record for national championships. But the last one for the Trojans came in 1998, and that program is only a sometimes contender in today’s college baseball world, eclipsed in Los Angeles by UCLA this century.
After striking out 17 Coastal Carolina batters Saturday to open the championship finals, Tiger pitcher Kade Anderson won the CWS Most Outstanding Player award Sunday and was joined on the All-CWS team by LSU outfielder Derek Curiel, first baseman Jared Jones and shortstop Steven Milam.
Here’s the list of LSU’s College World Series championship game wins (head coach, team record in parentheses):
1991 (Skip Bertman, 55-19) – LSU 6, Wichita State 3
1993 (Skip Bertman, 53-17-1) – LSU 8, Wichita State 0
THRILL OF VICTORY: An unprecedented undefeated season and the NAIA World Series championship made LSUS baseball coach Brad Neffendorf an obvious pick for a prestigious national coaching honor named for Skip Bertman. (Courtesy photo)
JOURNAL SPORTS
After leading his team to a historic undefeated season and the NAIA national championship, LSU Shreveport’s Brad Neffendorf has been named the 2025 Skip Bertman Coach of the Year by the College Baseball Foundation.
Neffendorf led the Pilots to a perfect 59-0 season, including a 47-0 regular season and an unblemished 30-0 mark in Red River Athletic Conference play. The Pilots swept the RRAC Tournament with a pair of double-digit victories, hosted and won the Shreveport Bracket in the NAIA Opening Round, and captured the 2025 NAIA Baseball National Championship at the Avista NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho. In the process LSUS set a new record for the longest winning streak in college baseball history, regardless of division.
First presented in 2013, the Skip Bertman Coach of the Year Award annually honors the nation’s top coach from any level of college baseball. The award is named after legendary LSU head coach and College Baseball Hall of Famer Skip Bertman, who won five NCAA Division I College World Series titles during his 17-year tenure at LSU.
The award winner is selected by a distinguished committee that includes former coaches, administrators and others intimately involved with college baseball. The selection committee is chaired by Lori J. Bertman, daughter of Coach Skip Bertman, and also includes Ezra Pate, a player at Bates College and grandson of Coach Bertman.
“The Skip Bertman Coach of the Year Award is truly special to our family and I can’t think of a more deserving recipient than this year’s winner, Coach Brad Neffendorf of LSU Shreveport,” Lori Bertman said. “In the same state where my father forged his remarkable legacy, Coach Neffendorf rewrote the record books in leading his team to a NAIA national championship and an historic perfect season. Beyond the record-breaking winning streak and the many other individual and team accomplishments, Coach Neffendorf has, most importantly, made a meaningful investment in the lives of his players. That is a lasting legacy that will extend well beyond this magical season, positively impacting his players for a lifetime.”
In addition to being named the Skip Bertman Coach of the Year, Neffendorf was named the 2025 Perfect Game National Coach of the Year and the 2025 RRAC Coach of the Year. He is also a finalist for the Louisiana Collegiate Coach of the Year, presented by the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
“I am incredibly honored and humbled to receive an award of this magnitude, especially one associated with Skip Bertman, one of the all-time greats in collegiate baseball,” Neffendorf said. “Coach Bertman embodied everything a great leader and coach should represent. This award is a testament to the commitment, hard work, and success of our players, coaching staff, and support system throughout the year. I’m extremely proud of everyone involved in our program and truly thrilled to accept this recognition on their behalf.”
The Pilots led or ranked among the nation’s elite in nearly every statistical category while setting multiple school and national records. Offensively, LSUS ranked third in the nation with a .376 batting average, second in the nation with a .493 on-base percentage and fifth in the nation with a .601 slugging percentage. The Pilots scored 664 runs, earned 614 RBIs and drew 388 walks, all were school records.
On the mound, the Pilots sported a nation leading and school record 2.38 ERA and ranked third in the nation averaging 10.55 strikeouts per nine innings. LSUS hurlers held opponents to a nation’s best and school record .192 batting average. The stellar play extended into the field, where the Pilots tallied a .982 fielding percentage, to lead the nation and establish yet another a new school record.
“What Coach Neffendorf and our team accomplished this season is nothing short of historic. Going 59-0 and leading our program to a national championship is a feat that may never be matched, and it’s only fitting that he’s recognized with the Skip Bertman Coach of the Year Award,” LSU Shreveport Director of Athletics Lucas Morgan said. “His relentless commitment to excellence, leadership, and the belief he instills in his players have elevated LSUS Baseball to legendary status. I am so proud to have him leading our program. Congratulations Brad!”
The Pilots entered the fall preseason poll at No. 4 before ascending to No. 1 in the spring preseason poll. They officially took over the top spot in the first regular season poll on March 5 and held that ranking through the remainder of the 2025 season. LSUS was unanimously voted No. 1 in the final NAIA Baseball GoRout Coaches’ Top 25 Postseason Poll, receiving all 16 first-place votes.
(Portrait by CHRIS BROWN, Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame)
By HARRISON VALENTINE, Written for the LSWA
Before there was Haleigh Bryant, Sarah Finnegan or Ashleigh Gnat, there was a 14-time All-American at LSU. An NCAA beam champion, and an SEC Gymnast of the Year, who was setting the foundation and helping vault LSU gymnastics into a perennial power.
That was April Burkholder, a native of Houston, but an LSU Tiger through and through. Just ask her legendary coach D-D Breaux, who experienced it all in her 43 years as leader of the LSU program.
Breaux coached 250 All-Americans and 89 All-SEC selections during her illustrious tenure that in 2017 landed her in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. Burkholder was as driven as any of them, she said, high praise coming from one of the sport’s greatest pioneers.
“She was intense,” Breaux said. “She had that Eye of the Tiger. Nothing was going to stop her. Nothing was going to stand in her way. She wanted to win championships. She wanted to do anything she could possibly do to put an exclamation point on her gymnastics.”
Now Burkholder will join her coach in the state’s sports shrine during the 2025 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration this weekend in Natchitoches. Check LaSportsHall.com for event information.
Not only did Burkholder’s greatness pay dividends for LSU on the mat, but it also translated into fan interest never previously seen in an LSU program that once competed in the Carl Maddox Field House or before sparse crowds in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
In 2025, the Tigers finished with four consecutive sellouts for the first time in school history. A total of 13,476 people attended the final meet against Georgia. Those numbers, historic in nature, were sparked by gymnasts like Burkholder and coaches like Breaux, who generated excitement that Tiger fans feel today.
“She was the beginning of us being able to market and promote and really put people in the seats,” Breaux said. “The fact that, when she left, we were selling season tickets and putting 6,000 people in the stands, that was the beginning of what we see now.”
When you boast a resume like Burkholder’s – whose list of accolades spill off the page – it’s almost impossible to pick one moment that stands out. For Breaux, it was the final event of her senior year, capturing the 2006 NCAA championship on balance beam. All that hard work culminating in the ultimate prize on the ultimate stage. How fitting.
“Everything she did was just awesome,” Breaux said. “She never won a national championship until her senior year. Numerous All-American honors and numerous SEC honors. But that coveted national title had evaded her. In my career, I’ve had three or four beam national championships, and every one are special people because the event requires so much focus and repetition of training.”
Burkholder got an early start in the sport, inspired by her big sister and encouraged by her parents.
“My sister was four years older than me and had been in gymnastics a year before I started,” she said. “I was 3 and I was jumping all over the place. I broke five bones before I was 5 years old, I cracked my skull open when I was 2, so I think part of my introduction to gymnastics was my parents wanting me to learn how to fall.”
She was a quick study, and gymnastics had a magnetic pull that became the dominant influence as she grew up. Although she thrived competitively, it came at a cost.
“I loved performing. Floor was always my favorite event because of that. Dance was a big part also for me,” said Burkholder. “It was all I knew, really. I was training 10 hours a day by the time I was 10 years old. I honestly didn’t even really have time for school. My education took a back seat and suffered a little bit, so I had to overcome a lot of obstacles.
“I had a scholarship waiting for me that I couldn’t take because I wasn’t academically eligible. I had to wait a year after I graduated high school to fix some things before I could come to LSU. D-D was very helpful in helping me get eligible, and she was pretty adamant about getting me to LSU.”
By then, she was a highly-coveted recruit.
“I pretty much had any choice I wanted, and LSU was my first trip. It wasn’t that far away from home, one state over, and it was my first choice, especially after I took my visit. It felt like home, all the way around,” said Burkholder.
Burkholder took her academics more seriously although she didn’t have the laser focus on her post-competitive career. She changed her major several times ad ultimately graduated in general studies with minors in sociology, communication studies and dance.
“That allowed me to take classes that I felt would be very useful in life, not knowing yet what I wanted to do for a career,” she said, noting that it proved to be an ideal foundation for what has become a career in alcoholic beverage sales for world-renowned Disaronno, which notably produces the world’s favorite Italian liqueur. She oversees the company’s accounts in south Texas and all of Louisiana.
That vocation introduced her to a Houston-area restaurant manager, Andrew Coulter, who has since entered the construction business. They married July 13, 2020 and last year April gave birth to 13-month-old daughter Adelyn Dawn, who shares her mom’s middle name and already, a love for dancing.
While national championships, record-breaking crowds, and billions of social media engagements have become the “new norm” for the Tiger program, it wasn’t always like that. Far from it, actually. Burkholder, along with Breaux, were key to building LSU gymnastics into what it is today – one of the hottest tickets in town.
Burkholder stepped onto LSU’s campus in 2002 as a rising star and left as the most decorated gymnast in school history four years later. Today, even after the program’s first NCAA championship in 2024 and numerous great teams and great gymnasts, Burkholder’s accomplishments still rank among the very best in LSU history.
When she left LSU, Burkholder had won a total of 108 individual event titles, setting a program record. Her eight perfect 10s (four on floor exercise, two on vault and two on beam) are still tied for the fourth-most in LSU history. And her 39.875 all-around score in 2003 in a meet with Centenary and Texas Woman’s University stood as the program’s best mark for 21 years until a 39.925 by Bryant in 2024.
During her time as a Tiger, Burkholder compiled 14 All-American honors (seventh-most ever at LSU), and was two-time SEC and NCAA Central Region Gymnast of the Year in addition to being a four-time All-SEC selection. As the program continued to grow, so did she.
“She’s an example of what it means to work hard and achieve more,” Breaux said. “Every year she got better, achieved more – and she was great when she arrived.
Burkholder is deeply appreciative of her impending enshrinement in the state sports shrine – as only the fourth gymnast, following 1984 Olympic gold medalist Kathy Johnson, a Centenary legend, along with Breaux and another Tiger great, 2019 inductee Susan Jackson.
“After dedicating my life to this sport, and having to overcome a lot of obstacles, a lot of challenges, this puts it all together and makes it that much more meaningful,” said Burkholder, who turns 42 on July 2. “Hearing about the process and seeing everyone who’s been inducted and those who are in this class, it’s really special to reach this point. It solidifies things and makes it all worth it.”
Bossier City Police received a call about shots fired in the 1600 block of Airline Drive on June 18. Officers responded and found a vehicle in the middle of Airline Drive with a flat tire and multiple people around the car. Officers determined that the incident was a road rage incident where a person in one vehicle fired numerous shots at the victim’s vehicle. The victim’s vehicle was struck one time, but no injuries were reported. Officers found multiple shell casings in the roadway.
Bossier City Police detectives made an arrest following a thorough investigation of the road rage incident.
Detectives with the Bossier City Police Violent Crimes Division arrested 42-year-old Kedrick Kawon Oliver for his involvement in the Road Rage incident in the 1600 Block of Airline Drive.
Kedrick was booked into the Bossier City Jail for two counts of Attempted First Degree Murder and one count of Felon in possession of a firearm. His total bond is $225,000.
The Shreveport Police Department is asking for the public’s help in locating a known habitual offender, Clark Douglas Sepulvado (DOB: 6/07/1962), who is currently wanted in connection with multiple thefts from Walmart stores in the area.
Detectives with the Shreveport Police Department’s Property Crimes Unit have secured three felony arrest warrants for theft against Sepulvado. A review of his criminal history revealed a disturbing pattern of behavior, including 17 prior theft arrests and five convictions.
In addition to the active theft warrants, Sepulvado also has outstanding warrants for Aggravated Battery, Battery of a Dating Partner, and Simple Battery. Due to the violent nature of some of these charges, Sepulvado should be considered armed and dangerous.
We urge anyone with information regarding his whereabouts to contact the Shreveport Police Department immediately at 318-673-7300 or submit anonymous tips to Caddo Crime Stoppers at 318-673-7373.
Officers were dispatched to the Highland neighborhood in response to multiple reports of gunfire on June 20, just after 3:30am. Upon arrival, officers discovered several locations where shell casings were found in the street and were able to obtain a description of the suspect vehicle.
While canvassing the area, officers heard additional gunshots nearby. They quickly located the suspect vehicle and initiated a pursuit after it attempted to flee. The vehicle came to a stop after violating numerous traffic laws.
The driver, later identified as Varela Jose Manuel (DOB: 10/15/2000), was taken into custody and was exhibiting signs of impairment. The passenger, Eduardo Delaluz (DOB: 10/02/2000), was also taken into custody following a brief struggle with officers.
Multiple firearms were located inside the vehicle, and additional evidence was collected at the scene. Delaluz was arrested and charged with one count of Resisting an Officer and one count of Illegal Use of a Weapon. Manuel faces charges of Aggravated Flight from an Officer, Illegal Use of a Weapon, DWI (First Offense), and numerous traffic violations.
Chief Wayne Smith commended the officers for their swift and professional actions, stating: “These officers did a terrific job removing dangerous individuals from our streets. Violence and reckless behavior will not be tolerated in Shreveport.”
The Town of Haughton announced on Saturday that the splash pad at Joe Delaney Park is closed until further notice due to mechanical issues. No timeline for when the splash pad might reopen was provided. The town apologized for the inconvenience.
Don Fritz September 14, 1942 – June 20, 2025 Service: Tuesday, June 24, 2025, 1:30pm at Rose-Neath Funeral Home, Shreveport.
Donald Eugene Impson March 21, 1950 – June 19, 2025 Service: Friday, June 27, 2025, 10am at Rose-Neath Funeral Home Southside, Shreveport.
Willis Wayne Tabor July 15, 1946 – June 18, 2025 Service: Tuesday, June 24, 2025, 2pm at Osborn Funeral Home, Shreveport.
Barbara Sue Maggi Hall March 24, 1935 – June 17, 2025 Service: Monday, June 23, 2025, 1pm at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Shreveport.
Joseph C. Howard November 26, 1936 – June 17, 2025 Service: Monday, June 23, 2025, 12pm at Osborn Funeral Home, Shreveport.
Shade Lishell Izundu July 8, 1992 – June 12, 2025 Service: Saturday, June 28, 2025, 1pm at Winnfield Funeral Home, Shreveport.
James Harold DaGata April 6, 1949 – June 7, 2025 Service: Wednesday, July 10, 2025, 10:30am at the Northwest Louisiana Veterans Cemetery, Keithville.
John Paul (JP) Lee, III April 26, 1995 – May 17, 2025 Services: Friday, July 11, 2025, 1pm at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Shreveport.
Thomas Harris August 19, 1977 – May 14, 2025 Service: TBA
Ladore Duke (Buddy) Leone April 28, 1935 – May 13, 2025 Service: Monday, June 30, 2025, 10:30am at Northwest Louisiana Veterans Cemetery, Keithville.
The Shreveport-Bossier Journal publishes paid obituaries – unlimited words and a photo, as well as unlimited access – $95. Contact your funeral provider or SBJNewsLa@gmail.com . Must be paid in advance of publication. (Notice of Death shown above are FREE of charge. You may email them to SBJNewsLa@gmail.com.)
Shreveport Police Department Captain Amy Bowman was honored as the Law Person of the Year by the Kiwanis Club of Shreveport on June 12.
The department congratulated Captain Bowman on her achievement, commenting that her dedication and leadership make a lasting impact on the department and the community they serve. Captain Bowman does incredible work and has strengthened the department’s partnership with organizations like the Kiwanis Club.
BATON ROUGE (June 16, 2025)- As fireworks stands open across Louisiana for the 2025 Fourth of July season, the State Fire Marshal’s Office (SFM) is reminding residents to stay safe and informed when celebrating with fireworks.
More than 600 retail fireworks stands are permitted statewide, with sales allowed through 11:59 p.m. on July 5th. Louisiana law requires all wholesale and retail fireworks sellers to be properly licensed by the SFM and to operate only in areas where fireworks are legally allowed.
While public fireworks shows remain the safest option, if you choose to purchase fireworks, make sure you’re buying from a licensed and permitted vendor. Don’t hesitate to ask to see their permit. Suspicious or illegal sales can be reported to the SFM at 1-800-256-5452 or online at www.lasfm.org.
Fireworks Safety Tips:
Keep fireworks at least 200 feet from buildings, vehicles, and flammable debris
Never let children handle fireworks; offer safe alternatives like glow sticks
Avoid using fireworks if impaired by alcohol or drugs
Light one firework at a time and monitor with a hose or bucket of water nearby
Soak used fireworks before disposal—never toss them dry into the trash
Check for local burn bans or dry conditions before using fireworks. Always choose a safe, open space for detonation.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, more than 200 people per day are treated in emergency rooms for fireworks-related injuries around Independence Day. Don’t become a statistic—celebrate safely!
Shreveport Police Department officers responded to a 911 call at the intersection of Lakeshore Drive and Portland Street on June 16 at approximately 6pm regarding a disturbance involving a female throwing items at a vehicle and an injured woman at the scene.
Upon arrival, officers made contact with the victim, who sustained visible injuries including active bleeding from the head and leg. The victim reported that Stephanie Williams had thrown a brick at her head, followed by a liquor bottle that struck her leg, resulting in a laceration.
Officers located and questioned Stephanie Williams, who did not deny the allegations. She was subsequently arrested and charged with one count of aggravated battery. The victim was transported to a local hospital and is expected to recover.
The Shreveport Police Department has arrested Corporal Arthur Green following an investigation that began on Saturday, June 14. Officers were notified of a report of sexual assault involving a juvenile family member. Corporal Green was immediately placed on emergency leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
Detectives with the Shreveport Police Department’s Sex Crimes Unit launched a thorough investigation and subsequently obtained an arrest warrant for Green one count of first-degree rape. On June 16, just after 6:30pm, he was taken into custody without incident.
Arthur Green began his employment with the City of Shreveport in 2004 as a city jailer and became a commissioned police officer in 2009. The incident in question is said to have happened while Green was off-duty.
Chief Wayne Smith stated, “I am deeply disturbed by the nature of this incident. We will continue to fully investigate this matter and remain committed to holding all individuals accountable, regardless of their position.”
This investigation is ongoing. No further details will be released at this time to protect the integrity of the case and the privacy of the victim.
Registration is now open for the LSU AgCenter’s next Cooking in Caddo workshop. The Cooking in Caddo explores the Caribbean camp will be held on Wednesday, July 9, from 9am until 1pm.
This camp is for youth ages 9 to 12. In order to reserve a spot, parents/guardians must register and pay the $20 registration fee. Drop off or mail payment to the Caddo Extension Office, 2408 E 70th Street, Shreveport, LA 71105. Spots are limited.
RESTED AND READY: After his abbreviated start against UCLA curtailed by a long weather delay, LSU’s Anthony Eyanson is primed for a Game 2 outing in the College World Series championship round this weekend. (Journal photo by ADDISON EVANS)
By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports
OMAHA, Neb. – It might be almost 10 years down the road, but it’s never too late for payback as far as LSU baseball fans and head coach Jay Johnson are concerned.
Ask any lifelong LSU baseball aficionado to rate the Tigers’ worst postseason losses ever, and getting beat twice by relatively unknown Coastal Carolina and losing a 2016 home Super Regional ranks near the top.
Two weeks later, then-Arizona head coach Johnson felt the same pain. His team fought its way out of the College World Series losers’ bracket and won the first game of the championship series over Coastal before the Chanticleers won the next two to capture the national championship.
“That trip was really valuable in learning what the totality of Omaha is,” said Johnson on Thursday afternoon, still smiling about the Tigers’ three-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning for a 6-5 win over Arkansas on Wednesday night that propelled LSU into Saturday’s championship series vs. Coastal Carolina.
Johnson applied the lessons learned from his two Arizona CWS appearances (the other was 2021) after he took over at LSU in 2022 and won the Tigers’ seventh national championship in 2023.
What he learned from that title run has been applied on this fourth trip to the CWS, where he is experiencing his first unblemished journey through the winners’ bracket.
Three straight wins (two victories over Arkansas sandwiching a conquest of UCLA) put the Tigers on a non-stop express to the championship series.
Which means LSU’s top two pitchers – sophomore Kade Anderson and junior Anthony Eyanson, who rank No. 1 and No. 3 in strikeouts nationally – are available to start Game 1 and Game 2 as they normally did in a regular-season weekend series.
Even with such an unexpected but welcomed key element in place, LSU sophomore right fielder Jake Brown said he and his teammates are still focused on their mission of getting two more wins.
“Regardless of the situation, the game doesn’t change,” said Brown, who’s hitting a torrid team-leading .667 in the CWS. “Our goal is to win 18 innings. If it takes more than that, then it’s going to take more than that. We’re looking to win a national championship.”
Coastal Carolina enters the finals on a historic 26-game winning streak, something no CWS team has ever done. The Chanticleers haven’t lost a game in almost two months.
“It’s incredible, but it’s not unbelievable,” said Coastal first-year head coach Kevin Schnall, a long-time Chanticleers’ assistant who replaced the legendary Gary Gilmore, who retired after 29 seasons, 1,118 wins and 19 NCAA tourney trips. “And it’s not unbelievable because we’ve got really good players. This is an absolute selfless group that did unbelievable things this year.”
No. 6 national seed LSU (51-15)vs. No. 13 seed Coastal Carolina (56-11), Charles Schwab Field, CWS championship series game 1, Omaha, Saturday, 6 p.m. (ESPN)
What’s at stake: The best of two of three series to win the 78th annual College World Series (the 75th in Omaha). Game 2 is Sunday at 1:30 p.m. on ABC. Game 3 (if needed) is Monday at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN.
2025 NCAA tourney roadmaps
LSU (8-1)
Baton Rouge Regional (3-1): Beat Arkansas-Little Rock 7-0 and Dallas Baptist 12-0, lost to Arkansas-Little Rock 10-4, beat Arkansas-Little Rock 10-6. Baton Rouge Super Regional (2-0): Beat West Virginia 16-9, 12-5. College World Series (3-0): Beat No. 3 national seed Arkansas 4-1, No. 15 national seed UCLA 9-5, and Arkansas 6-5.
COASTAL CAROLINA (8-0)
Conway Regional (3-0): Beat North Fairfield 10-2, East Carolina 18-7, 1-0. Auburn Super Regional (2-0): Beat No. 4 seed Auburn 7-6, 4-1. College World Series (3-0): Beat Arizona 7-4, No. 8 national seed Oregon State 6-2, and Louisville 11-2.
LSU’s CWS record: 49-29 (.628) in 20 appearances (.677), including seven national championships.
Coastal Carolina’s CWS record: 9-2 in two appearances, including one national championship.
LSU vs. Coastal Carolina series: Coastal Carolina leads 2-0 with wins of 11-8 and 4-3 in the 2016 Baton Rouge Super Regional.
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPS (with season stats)
PITCHER
LSU: Kade Anderson, So. (11-1, 3.44 ERA in 110 innings, 170 SO, 30 BB) – No. 1 nationally in strikeouts. Allowed just one run in CWS game 1 start vs. Arkansas to lower his NCAA tourney ERA to 3.00 in three starts.
CC: Riley Eikhoff, RS Sr.(7-2, 3.10 ERA in 90 innings, 71 SO, 17 BB) – Started two of Coastal Carolina’s three CWS games, giving up 13 hits and five runs in 9.1 innings.
CATCHER
LSU:Luis Hernandez, Sr. (.274, 7 HR, 7 doubles, 33 RBI) – Hitting considerably better in the NCAA tourney (.387, 8 RBI, 2 HR) than regular season, delivered a game-tying two-out two-RBI ninth inning double in Wednesday’s win over Arkansas.
CC: Caden Bodine, Sr. (.321, 5 HR, 42 RBI)– Usually table-setting leadoff hitter, he’s batting just .231 in the CWS, but may be the best defensive catcher in college baseball.
1ST BASE
LSU: Jared Jones, Jr. (.330, 22 HR, 15 doubles, 76 RBI) – Started slow at the plate in NCAA tourney batting .200 with 7 strikeouts and 11 runners left on base in four Baton Rouge Regional games. But has has hit .409 with 3 HR, 7 RBI, and 6 runners left in the Super Regional and the CWS. Had game-winning walkoff RBI single in Wednesday’s win over Arkansas.
CC: Colby Thorndike (.314, 4 HR, 18 doubles, 48 RBI) – Coastal’s biggest stick in the CWS, the team co-leader in batting average (.417) and the RBI leader (8).
2ND BASE
LSU: Daniel Dickinson, Jr. (.310, 12 HR, 14 doubles, 49 RBI)– Batting average has plummeted to .181 in NCAA tourney, but his glovework has been near-perfect.
CC: Blake Barthol, Jr. (.283, 12 HR, 13 doubles, 53 RBI)– Batting .364 in CWS with two doubles in his four hits.
SHORTSTOP
LSU: Steven Milam, So. (.292, 11 HR, 13 doubles, 56 RBI– He’s hitting .387 in NCAA tourney with a team-high 12 RBI. Had the huge hit that started LSU’s game-winning ninth-inning rally in Wednesday’s win over Arkansas. Has helped the Tigers turn three double plays in the CWS.
CC: Ty Dooley, Sr. (.296, 4 HR, 48 RBI) – A .273 hitter in the CWS who has left a team-high six runners on base.
3RD BASE
LSU: Michael Braswell III, Sr. (.189, 2 HR, 6 doubles, 18 RBI) – His value is his fielding, along with his SEC-leading nine sacrifice bunts. Batting .047 in NCAA tourney.
CC Walker Mitchell, Sr. (.279, 4 HR, 45 RBI) – Has more walks (four) than hits (one) as a .142 hitter in the CWS.
LEFT FIELD
LSU: Derek Curiel, Fr. (.348, 7 HR, 20 doubles, 53 RBI) – Batting a team-high .424 in the NCAA tourney with eight RBI, four doubles, and a team-high 11 walks.
CC: Sebastian Alexander, RS Jr. (.314, 10 HR, 54 RBI, 27 of 32 SB) – Has been underwhelming in the CWS, batting just .231 with seven strikeouts in 13 at-bats.
CENTER FIELD
LSU: Chris Stanfield, Jr. (.303, 1 HR, 15 doubles, 29 RBI – One of the best nine-hole hitters in SEC play, he’s slipped substantially in the NCAA tourney, hitting .218, yet has eight RBI on seven hits.
CC: Wells Sykes, Sr. (.293, 3 HR, 37 RBI)– Batting .250 in the CWS, one of two Coastal starters who have yet to strike out.
RIGHT FIELD
LSU: Jake Brown, So. (.327, 8 HR, 9 doubles, 48 RBI) – While he’s hitting .370 with 10 RBI in the NCAA tourney, he’s the Tigers’ hottest CWS batter at .667 with four RBI.
CC:Blagen Pado, So. (.269, 8 HR, 60 RBI) – A .273 CWS hitter who has struck out six times in 11 at-bats.
DESIGNATED HITTER
LSU: Ethan Frey, Jr. (.331, 49 RBI, 13 HR, 14 doubles 49 RBI)– Hit .375 (five of his six hits were for extra bases) with six RBI in Baton Rouge. Since then in the Super Regional and CWS, he’s 2 for 19 (.105) with no RBI and six strikeouts.
CC Dean Mihos, Jr (.324, 2 HR, 79 RBI) – Coastal’s co-leader in batting average (.417) in the CWS, has five hits, five strikeouts, and has left five runners on base.
Frank Bright is the first to admit that he has always been “a numbers guy.”
With that in mind, let’s take a look at a few of his numbers –
He has finished 22 Boston Marathons (and didn’t finish one).
He is No. 4 in America in his age group and is No. 13 in the world in the Abbott World Marathon Majors rankings.
He estimates he has run a little over 62,000 miles in his life.
He usually runs about 25 to 30 miles in a week, but if he is training for an upcoming event, then it might be 40 or 45.
That’s all good, number-crunching stuff.
But here is the best – and most significant — number of all: Frank Bright is 82 years old.
At an age that a lot of people aren’t really fond of riding for 26.2 miles, Bright is running that distance.
Often.
And he’s been doing it all his life with no plans of slowing down anytime soon.
Which begs the obvious question: how is he able to do it at his age? “I guess I’ve got good genes,” he says. “My dad drank whiskey and smoked cigarettes and lived to be 80. So I figure as clean as I have lived, I ought to make 80. Well, I made 80 … plus a couple.”
But you won’t find Bright running around here any time soon. You may think he’s crazy for running so much at his age, but he’s not stupid. Every June, he and his wife Suzanne head north. Really, really north.
As in Canada.
For decades he’s had a place in the watery area north of Minnesota. You know how they say International Falls, Minn., is the coldest place in the USA? Bright’s summer residence in the western edge of Ontario is more than 100 miles north of that in the Lake of the Woods area near Kenora.
“When I as six years old, our family was vacationing in that area and Dad had heard about how the fishing up in Canada was supposed to be fantastic,” Bright says. ”So we drove up and stumbled onto an old homestead with a two-story farmhouse. He bought 160 acres and now me and my brother have about 600 acres.”
It’s 1,450 miles from Shreveport to Kenora and, no, Frank has never thought about running it instead of driving it.
The Brights stay until the beginning of October before heading back to Shreveport. Canada may be great for running in the summer, but not so much once the leaves start falling.
That’s not all. Ever the sports fans, the Brights spend March in Arizona to follow his beloved Athletics in spring training.
A Fair Park graduate and a state champion in 1961 with a 4:35.6 mile, Bright was a track athlete at Louisiana Tech. In the mid 1970s, after dabbling in journalism and engineering, he opened a law office.
“I was working all day and felt horrible,” he says. “I was worn out and didn’t think I had time to run. So I started going to the Downtown Y and got into it. Marathons were starting up around here and I decided to give that a try.”
Bright has been remarkably free of injury – a couple of meniscus tears, planter fasciitis (“I guess all runners get that,” he says) – but when he has been shut down due to injury, he’s had to overcome impatience as well. “Runners aren’t good at that,” he says.
After retiring from his law practice in 2007, Bright has found plenty to occupy his time other than running. He picked up his Martin guitar for the first time in 40 years and plays with other retired friends. He is in two book groups, loves baseball, and takes free online courses.
“I still love to learn,” he says.
In the most recent Boston Marathon, there were eight in the 80+ category and Bright finished third with a time of 4:36.17 (about a 10 ½ minute mile pace). In local races, the young whipper-snappers in the 70-79 age group asked race organizers to form a special 80+ category because Bright was bringing home all of their hardware.
“I’ve made so many friends through running,” Bright says. “The social aspect is a big thing. And I hate to say it, but you get a lot of ‘attaboys.’ Your ego gets fed, particularly as old as I am. The first question I get from people I haven’t seen for awhile is ‘Are you still running?’
“I know one of these days I’m going to have to say I hung it up,” he adds. “But right now, I can still tell you how I ran the Boston Marathon in April. It’s ego, I guess, which is probably more than I’d like to admit.”
It is well known and documented that almost no one wants to hear (1) how nice the new vehicle you just bought is and/or (2) a breakdown of anyone’s latest round of golf.
Well, it’s been a while since I bought a new car, so you’re safe there.
However …
I’m just giving you advance notice that I completely understand if you’d like to skip down to the bottom of this column where it reads “Contact JJ at …” and be done with it. In fact, you might even want to actually contact me with thanks for the five minutes of your life you would have otherwise never gotten back.
But since you have decided to hang with me to this point, I hope will you appreciate how 55 years of anticipation finally came to an end earlier this week in, of all places, Glencoe, Ala.
There’s no reason to bore you with the details of any of the other 80-some-odd shots from Sunday’s round at Silver Lakes on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.
All that matters is one.
It’s the only one I took on the fifth hole on the Backbreaker course (there are three nine-hole layouts).
For those of you who have experienced a hole-in-one, you know how this is going to go. There are different ways to witness – some are visible from the tee box, some you think might be in the hole and some are totally blind – but the feeling is the same once you see that dimpled orb staring back up at you at the bottom of the cup.
If you’ve had multiple aces, I’m guessing the feeling never gets old. Then again, how would I know?
I started playing golf when I was 10 years old at Querbes Park. Over the years, I’ve stopped playing two or three times, but never for very long. So that’s a lot of rounds of golf to never have had an ace. I’d hear about everybody else’s stories over the years and knew my time would come. But it never did. And I’ve had my share of close calls; probably at least five times I’ve been within two feet.
Here’s what’s even crazier: Until 2016, I’d never even seen a hole-in-one. And that was basically an accident when one of my playing partners got a lucky bounce off a hill to the left of the #4 green at Huntington and saw it carom dead right and went into the hole like a homesick gopher.
Every year, our small group goes to the RTJ Trail in Alabama for five rounds on five days. This year, I was woefully underprepared with only three rounds played all year. And it showed.
On Day One of the trip, I might as well have been playing left-handed. Thank goodness we could rained out after seven holes so at least I could salvage a rain check.
The following day, I figured a little extended time on the practice range would help. But the more balls I hit, the worse I got. Shank-a-potamous. I finally just shut it down, lowered my already low expectations and calculated what would be the most amount of money I’d lose if I didn’t win a hole.
On the fateful fifth hole, my swing thought was simple: Just follow through and don’t shank it. The hole was 143 yards uphill to a long but narrow green. With a slight breeze into me, that’s an automatic 7-iron.
When I made contact, my first thought was somewhat a shock because I hadn’t hit a ball squarely on the club face in quite some time. When I looked up, I was just happy that it was airborne and headed toward the green, just a little left of the flagstick.
One of my playing partners gave it the obligatory “that might go in the hole” – how many times have a heard that? – but since it was uphill and the pin was in the back of the green, the ball disappeared over the horizon. I just picked up the tee and was thrilled that I had actually made good contact.
There was zero expectation as we drove to the green, even though we could now see most of it. Yes, I’ll admit to walking a little more briskly to the green when we got there and even more so when I could see no golf ball.
I surveyed the landscape and the thought ran through my head that I was about to be disappointed again. I’ve looked in cups many a time to see nothing, then find the ball beyond the back of the green.
Five feet away from the hole, I still had not allowed myself to think it was possible. Two steps later, there it was; a Titleist 3 ProV1 with a red dot staring back up it me as if to say “You looking for me?”
I didn’t scream, I didn’t dance around the green and, most importantly, I didn’t pass out in disbelief. I turned to my playing partners and simply said “I finally did it.”
(OK, so there were some pictures and videos and FaceTime calls before I finally grabbed it out of the bottom of the cup.)
By the time the tingling sensation wore off, one of my partners had already teed off on No. 6, denying me the chance to say the standard line of “Anybody beat a 1 on that last hole?”
Suitably pumped up, I hit my best drive of the day on the next hole. That was followed by an easy wedge from the middle of the fairway … which landed in the water in front of the green.
No, it was not the Titleist 3 ProV1 that landed in the drink. At least I knew enough to take that ball out of play.
(Artwork by CHRIS BROWN, Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame)
By TEDDY ALLEN, Written for the LSWA
She picked up a basketball as a challenge when she was 9 and used it to prove a point, first in the back yard against her brother and two cousins in Coushatta, then on her way to becoming a two-time Kodak All-American at Louisiana Tech, then through 13 seasons in the WNBA and a concurrent 15 overseas, and now through another 15 seasons as a WNBA coach.
All the while, that crimson dirt of Louisiana’s rural Red River Parish on her hands proving she’d worked for it, that she’d earned it, Vickie Johnson has remained about the most genuine and gentle, polished, unassuming off-the-court ballplayer you could ever meet, even if, like her, you’d traveled from the banks of Loggy Bottom and Grand Bayou to the Thomas Assembly Center in Ruston to Madison Square Garden to the gymnasiums of France and Hungary to Israel and Turkey.
“Polite, well-mannered, very bashful and shy,” said her long-ago summer ball AAU teammate Sarah Harrison Zeagler of Natchitoches.
“And,” Zeagler laughs at the memory, “insanely talented.”
It’s that delightful mix of sweet, super, and stubborn that vaulted Johnson, a 5-9 guard with a pure all-around game highlighted by a sweet baseline jumper, above the field at every level of basketball and has ultimately landed her a well-deserved, “it’s-about-time” spot in Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, Class of 2025.
Family and friends from her Coushatta hometown will make the 30-minute trip south to Natchitoches for the Induction Celebration June 26-28. Event information is available at LaSportsHall.com.
It was back home in Coushatta that she wanted to prove a point to her big brother.
“I didn’t start playing because, ‘Oh, I love basketball,’” Johnson said. “I started because my oldest brother said it was for guys, for the boys. ‘Girls don’t play basketball.’ So I picked up a ball and went to the back yard. I was 9. From that day on, I loved it.”
A year later, 1982, she saw Louisiana Tech and USC, titans of the women’s college game at the time, playing on television.
“I watched with my mom and it … I was thrilled, you know?” Johnson said. “I told her, ‘One day, I’m playing college basketball. I’m gonna play for the team in the blue, the team with the stars going down their jerseys.”
The ‘team in blue’ was the Lady Techsters, only about 70 miles away through the pine trees and winding state highways from her back yard court.
“Well,” said the lady everyone in Coushatta called ‘Mrs. Susie,’ the single mom with three jobs, “if you’re gonna play for them, you’d better get back outside.”
She dribbled her way out the back door and kept shooting.
Often joining her was her father’s youngest brother from Shreveport, her Uncle John, a veteran of semi-pro hoops and a serious student of the game.
“He taught me how to play basketball,” Johnson said. “He just … how to dribble, to move, to guard, understanding the game. ‘What did you see? How could you have done better?’ He took care of me.”
Uncle John was a good teacher. By the time Johnson was a sophomore at Coushatta High (now Red River), she’d verbally committed to play for “the team in blue.”
But it wasn’t the same program she’d watched on TV in 1982. Tech fell out of the Top 25 in 1990-91 for the first time in 13 years, then lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The next season was equally mediocre.
“No question that Vickie coming to Louisiana Tech really helped put the program back on the national map,” Tech’s head coach Leon Barmore, a Louisiana Sports and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer, said. “If we hadn’t signed that class — Vickie, Racquel Spurlock, Amy Brown — we would have disappeared from the national spotlight. Vickie wasn’t a savior by herself, but she sure was instrumental.”
As a rookie Lady Techster in 1992-93, Johnson helped take the team to the NCAA Regional Finals, a snapshot of things to come. During her four seasons with Tech, the Lady Techsters were 116-17 and finished as national runner-up in 1994 when Johnson, a sophomore, was chosen to the All-Final Four team.
“Vickie was the ultimate teammate,” Barmore said. “She did whatever it took to win, whether that meant playing defense or scoring or just being a leader.”
“She’s a winner,” said Brown, a former Parade All-American, Johnson’s Tech teammate, and now director of teacher education at Tennessee Tech after a successful, championship-filled coaching career there. “She was the type of player who wasn’t going to allow her team to lose. She practiced every day like she played every night. It was contagious with her teammates.”
Whether it was a trait developed in the back yard or through emulating Mrs. Susie, Johnson’s selflessness came early, as sweet and as necessary as her baseline jumpers.
“Vickie could have played all five positions by herself,” her AAU teammate Zeagler said. “She could see the floor, everything, everywhere, like she had eyes in the back of her head.
“But the thing that always stood out about her was I felt like I belonged on the court with her, and that was because she made us feel that way,” Zeagler said. “She made us feel like we belonged on the court as much as she did.”
Although as a freshman and sophomore she helped Tech claw back onto the national stage, turns out Johnson was just getting started when it came to giving the folks around Cut-Off Road and Lone Star Feed down in Coushatta plenty to talk about. She earned spots on both the Kodak and Street & Smith All-America teams the next two seasons, Sun Belt Conference MVP in 1995 and 1996, and 1996 Louisiana Player of the Year.
She did it with a silky grace and salty presence.
“She was as smooth a basketball player as I can remember coaching,” Barmore said. “The baseline was her home. She would roam the baseline and make that little jump shot all night. It was a beautiful thing to watch. She was one of the players that our fans enjoyed watching the most.”
Thomas Assembly Center proved to be only a launching pad. There was more where that came from.
In the 1997 WNBA Elite Draft, Johnson was the 12th player chosen. A quick look at only a few high points from her pro stat sheet, which is almost 30 years old — and counting…
Nine seasons with the New York Liberty and four with the San Antonio Silver Stars;
Twice an All-Star;
First person in the league to collect 4,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 1,000 assists in a career;
Dependable-plus, a starter in 408 of 410 games played and the first person in WNBA history to play 11,000 minutes;
Won the league’s Sportsmanship Award in 2008, her last as a player, and has been a coach in the league since.
“As good a player as she was on the court, she’s a better person,” Brown said. “She deserves every honor she’s received for what she did as a player, but it’s even sweeter because of who she is off the court.”
“Quiet off the court, but once it was time to play, all that went away,” Zeagler said. “Never mean, but always purposeful. She was very sportsmanlike-minded: you got knocked down, she’d help you back up. Just an incredible all-around person.”
All that, the total package, game after game and year after year, in a sport that “girls don’t play.”
“A lot of people told me I wasn’t good enough,” Johnson said. “That was my fire. And that’s how I played. I wanted to guard the best players. When I chose to play overseas, I chose countries with the best players. That’s where I got my joy, from playing against the best.
“I played because I enjoyed it,” she said. “The accolades that come with it? They come with it. But my goal was to be the best I could be and get in Louisiana Tech, and I did that.”
LEGENDARY GUIDE: Northwestern track and field coach Leon Johnson (center), who died Tuesday at age 86, points during a cross country meet. (Photo by GARY HARDAMON, NSU)
By JASON PUGH, Northwestern State Sports Information Director
NATCHITOCHES – As a track and field coach, Leon Johnson left an indelible imprint upon Northwestern State, the region it serves, and the entire state..
The impact he made upon those who competed for him – regardless of when or where – is of matching depth and importance.
Johnson, a legendary figure in Northwestern and the Southland Conference’s track and field history, died Tuesday at the age of 86. There will be a celebration of life for Johnson held at Magale Recital Hall on the NSU campus at 3 p.m. Sunday. Visitation will be held from 5- 8 p.m. Saturday at Blanchard St. Denis Funeral Home, located at 848 Keyser Avenue in Natchitoches.
“I am saddened to learn of the passing of my dear friend, coach and mentor, Leon Johnson,” said former Northwestern State President Dr. Chris Maggio, who ran for and coached under Johnson before ascending the ranks of university administration. “My life has been greatly blessed and enriched because this gentleman reached out to me 43 years ago and said, ‘My name is Leon Johnson, and I am the new track and field coach at Northwestern State University, and I want you to become my first recruit at NSU.’ Thankfully, I said yes to his invitation and words cannot adequately express the magnitude of life lessons that I learned from him.
“He will be remembered as a Hall of Fame coach who mentored 50-plus All-Americans and won several conference championships. I, too, will remember him for his coaching accolades, but I will also remember him as a Christian man, a great role model and for the hours and hours he spent working with young men and women on the track no matter their athletic abilities. It didn’t matter if you were an All-American or a beginner, Coach would be there for you teaching and coaching you to be better in your event and better in your life. Thank you, Coach Johnson changing the lives of thousands of young people.”
The individual and team accolades Northwestern compiled under Johnson were many. Three Southland Conference team championships and top-20 finishes in the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Fifty-seven All-Americans among nearly 100 NCAA championship qualifiers. Two Olympic triple jumpers.
There was the 1986 birth of the Lady Demon track and field program that also occurred on Johnson’s watch.
In other words, Northwestern could build a trophy case simply for Leon Johnson and his student-athletes’ accomplishments. What transpired in the past 48 hours could fill a virtual one as well.
“I first stepped foot on the Northwestern State campus 40 years ago this August,” former Director of Athletics Greg Burke said. “Even then, as an intern, I recognized what kind of man, what kind of mentor and what kind of coach Leon Johnson was. I had the good fortune to come back as athletic director and have him sitting at our head coaches’ table. The perspective he offered, the respect he had among coaches and staff within the department was really remarkable.
“One needs to look no further than social media in the past 48 hours and read the number of posts – and not just the number – but the heartfelt messages from so many track alumni,” Burke said. “Oftentimes, the true measure of a coach’s impact — and how lasting that impact is — will be reflected in the sentiments expressed by the student-athletes who practiced and competed under that coach.”
Johnson began his career as a high school basketball coach in Colorado before coaching state champion high school track and field track and field teams in Louisiana at Opelousas and DeRidder, ultimately taking over at Northwestern where his name became synonymous with the school.
Northwestern track and field athletes compete in the Leon Johnson Invitational each spring after entering the Walter P. Ledet Track and Field Complex via Leon Johnson Lane.
The Louisiana High School Athletic Association’s state cross country championships also conclude in that area, thanks largely to Johnson’s push to bring the event to Natchitoches where it has become a staple of the city’s athletic calendar, with Johnson and staff doing yeoman’s work each November to make it happen. They did the same each spring when NSU hosted high school district and regional track meets, and when Special Olympics or the American Heart Association came calling.
What Johnson built at Northwestern was done so on the foundation of a family feel – one that serves as a living testament to Johnson’s approach.
“He helped shape so many men’s and women’s lives,” said current Northwestern track and field coach Mike Heimerman, who competed under Johnson before coaching with him and, ultimately, succeeding him as the program’s leader. “Hundreds of athletes – probably closer to thousands – came through Northwestern under coach Johnson, and he helped shape and mold them into young men and women, good mothers and fathers, good husbands and wives.
“He made Natchitoches and Northwestern State a home for so many young men and women, including myself. That was an attraction to NSU and to Natchitoches. That’s something we’ve tried to instill in the program now. It’s something I learned from him, and we tried to take it up a notch. The other thing I learned most from him is making sure the student-athletes get a degree and that you care for them. When you care for them, they do more for you. That’s been very evident in the past here with the men’s and women’s programs and the success we’ve had.”
Johnson’s legacy was made working with Northwestern’s track and field athletes, but his influence permeated the athletic department as a whole.
Late in his career, former Demon men’s basketball coach Mike McConathy utilized Johnson’s ability to provide insight on flexibility and conditioning for McConathy’s team. It proved to be a learning experience for both the Demon players and their longtime coach.
“His impact was invaluable in the fact he taught me as well as the kids so much,” McConathy said. “It was the respect my players had for him. The way he taught and instructed them was amazing. He used the technique of lower volume. He had something they were interested in. They all locked in with no distractions. That taught me something, taught my staff something.
“The attention he gave them showed me they had a tremendous amount of respect for his ability. It was just incredible to witness. I don’t know that you can paint a word picture to describe what we actually saw.”
The Bossier City Farmers Market is open this Saturday from 9am-1pm in the south parking lot of Pierre Bossier Mall (2950 E. Texas St.).
The market, voted the #1 farmers market in Louisiana, features 80+ vendors every week, and visitors can enjoy a fantastic selection of fresh grown fruits and veggies. Visitors can also find:
Food trucks and southern cuisine
Jams, jellies, salsas, honey, and pickles
Handmade soaps, candles, and baked goods
Tamales, Cajun, Cuban, Venezuelan, Mexican, and southern comfort foods
Kettle corn, lemonade, BBQ, coffee and smoothies
Live music and kids activities every Saturday
The market is open every single Saturday through November—no breaks.
Caddo Parks and Recreation had an incredible turnout with over 130 young athletes hitting the field for an unforgettable day of learning, hustle, and fun at the Mickey Joseph Football Camp on June 12 at Lee Hedges Stadium.
From drills and skill-building to motivation and mentorship, the energy was high and the passion was real. Caddo Parks extended a huge “thank you” to everyone who participated and helped make this event a success — players, coaches, parents, and volunteers.
Caddo Parks plans to do an even bigger event next year.
Willis Wayne Tabor July 15, 1946 – June 18, 2025 Service: Tuesday, June 24, 2025, 2pm at Osborn Funeral Home, Shreveport.
Barbara Sue Maggi Hall March 24, 1935 – June 17, 2025 Service: Monday, June 23, 2025, 1pm at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Shreveport.
Joseph C. Howard November 26, 1936 – June 17, 2025 Service: Monday, June 23, 2025, 12pm at Osborn Funeral Home, Shreveport.
Joyce “Sissy” “Mom” Marie Allison July 21, 1938 – June 16, 2025 Service: Friday, June 20, 2025, 11am at Rose-Neath Funeral Home Southside, Shreveport.
Catherine Joan McFerren August 16, 1950 – June 16, 2025 Service: Friday, June 20, 2025, 12pm at Rose-Neath Funeral Home, Bossier City.
Kimu Marquise Hall September 19, 1974 – June 14, 2025 Service: Saturday, June 21, 2025, 11am at Heavenly Gates Funeral Home, Shreveport.
Dianne Joyce Carter June 23, 1956 – June 13, 2025 Service: Friday, June 20, 2025, 1pm at Winnfield Funeral Home, Shreveport.
Bennie Ruth Callier Sweeney February 23, 1933 – June 13, 2025 Service: Saturday, June 21, 2025, 11am at Lane Chapel CME Church, Shreveport.
Betty Louise Cooper November 21, 1950 – June 12, 2025 Service: Saturday, June 21, 2025, 11am at Stoner Hill Baptist Church, Shreveport.
Bobby Ray Feaster August 15, 1952 – June 12, 2025 Service: Saturday, June 21, 2025, 11am at Bethlehem Baptist Church, Haughton.
John Dillard Hall January 12, 1953 – June 12, 2025 Service: Saturday, June 21, 2025, 2pm at Mary Springhill AME Church, Shreveport.
Shade Lishell Izundu July 8, 1992 – June 12, 2025 Service: Saturday, June 28, 2025, 1pm at Winnfield Funeral Home, Shreveport.
Donald Ray “Donnie” Sims November 20, 1954 – June 12, 2025 Service: Saturday, June 21, 2025, 11am at Union Mission Baptist Church, Shreveport.
Earnestine Smallwood Monroe April 3, 1947 – June 11, 2025 Service: Thursday, June 19, 2025, 11am at Saint Paul Cemetery, Koran.
James Harold DaGata April 6, 1949 – June 7, 2025 Service: Wednesday, July 10, 2025, 10:30am at the Northwest Louisiana Veterans Cemetery, Keithville.
Vance Arthur Leitch Jr. November 5, 1989 – June 1, 2025 Service: Saturday, June 21, 2025, 12pm at Northwoods Baptist Church, Shreveport.
Richard “Dick” Oral Dolloff November 17, 1936 – May 26, 2025 Service: Saturday, June 21, 2025, 11am at Rose-Neath Funeral Home Southside, Shreveport.
John Paul (JP) Lee, III April 26, 1995 – May 17, 2025 Services: Friday, July 11, 2025, 1pm at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Shreveport.
Thomas Harris August 19, 1977 – May 14, 2025 Service: TBA
Ladore Duke (Buddy) Leone April 28, 1935 – May 13, 2025 Service: Monday, June 30, 2025, 10:30am at Northwest Louisiana Veterans Cemetery, Keithville.
Margaret Pope DeFoy Robinette August 14, 1935 – February 7, 2025 Service: Saturday, June 21, 2025, 100:30am at Woodridge Baptist Church, Shreveport.
The Shreveport-Bossier Journal publishes paid obituaries – unlimited words and a photo, as well as unlimited access – $95. Contact your funeral provider or SBJNewsLa@gmail.com . Must be paid in advance of publication. (Notice of Death shown above are FREE of charge. You may email them to SBJNewsLa@gmail.com.)
Property Crimes detectives with the Shreveport Police Department are actively searching for two men wanted in connection with separate thefts from a local business.
Curtis Newman and Joseph Coleman are both wanted for felony thefts that occurred at the Home Depot located at 110 E. Bert Kouns Industrial Loop.
Curtis Newman is wanted for two counts of felony theft as a habitual offender. He was identified by investigators due to his history as a repeat retail theft suspect. A review of Newman’s criminal history revealed eight prior theft arrests and four convictions. Additionally, he currently faces three pending theft charges in Bossier District Court. Detectives have obtained two warrants for his arrest related to recent thefts from the store.
Joseph Coleman is also wanted for theft from the same location. He was identified after presenting a Louisiana ID card during a fraudulent return. Investigators have issued an arrest warrant for one count of felony theft for Coleman.
If anyone has any information about the whereabouts of Curtis Newman or Joseph Coleman, contact the Shreveport Police Department at 318-673-7300 or Caddo Crime Stoppers at 318-673-7373. Callers may remain anonymous.
