BURGH FAVORITE: Shreveport native Philip Barbaree Jr. donned a personalized Pittsburgh Pirates jersey on his final putt in the U.S. Open Sunday to show his appreciation for how fans at Oakmont Country Club supported him and his caddy/wife Chloe during their remarkable run to make the cut and play on the weekend.
By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
OAKMONT, Pa. — Making the cut at the U.S. Open was more than Philip Barbaree Jr. and wife Chloe bargained for.
Barbaree sank a five-foot putt Saturday morning at Oakmont Country Club and became one of 66 golfers to play on the weekend. It was his first PGA Tour cut made, in his second U.S. Open, first since 2019.
Never mind that his final round Sunday was not good on his scorecard, a 12-over 82 that boosted his final tally to 24-over, 66th place, and a $41,692 paycheck – BTW the biggest of his professional career, which has him currently on the PGA Americas circuit with most events in Canada, Mexico and South America.
The Shreveport native and Byrd High School graduate opened the week with a 76, then fired a 1-over 71 in the second round, finishing his last two holes early Saturday morning facing an unlikely make on a 28-foot par putt on his 17th hole and needing to par the last one, No. 9, the second-toughest hole on the course, to make the cut at 7-over. Almost 100 other competitors, including some of the game’s best, did not get to play the final two rounds.
What made his feat unique: wife Chloe was his caddy. She was the only bride on the course.
Their enthusiastic hug and kiss to celebrate Philip making the cut captured the media’s imagination. It didn’t hurt that Philip was golfing buddies since childhood, including a stint as LSU teammates, with local product Sam Burns, who had the round of the week Friday with a 65, led through 54 holes and finally fell out of first with three holes left Sunday evening.
The Barbarees were featured on NBC’s network coverage Saturday evening, and that helped prompt a cascade of attention that included more than a million views Saturday alone on social media posts along with CNN.com, Golf.com and other media outlets producing stories focusing on the 27-year-old’s efforts to reach the PGA Tour and his milestone Saturday morning. A key peg: after he and Chloe married last summer, not long afterward, they decided she would caddy for him, despite having minimal understanding of the game, so he wouldn’t be so lonely during longer stretches away from home.
Nobody else’s caddy kissed their golfer — twice – after the second round when he made the cut, and when he dropped a two-footer at midday Sunday to finish his 72 holes at the Open.
That second time, Barbaree played to the Pittsburgh-area fans. Before putting out, ending his week, he quickly walked off the green, pulled on a personalized Pittsburgh Pirates baseball jersey with Barbaree Jr. and the number 25 on the back, then returned to finish, to the cheers of the crowd.
Turns out that plan was hatched at the outset of last week, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Charles Curti. The Barbarees went to the Pirates game Monday with his family and his coach, Chad Darby, who bought the jersey on the spur of the moment, and put it in Barbaree’s golf bag for just such an occasion.
“We kind of had it in the back of our mind, but we didn’t know if we’d be able to use it,” Barbaree told Curti. “We kind of planted it a little bit, and, thankfully, we had a moment to do it.”
When a reporter noted the Paul Skenes-led Pirates need somebody who can hit the long ball, Barbaree said he isn’t the answer.
“They don’t want me hitting baseballs,” he said with a laugh. “I stopped at Tee ball.”
JUMP START SOUGHT: Josh Pearson (pictured), Ethan Frey and Jared Jones going hitless in LSU’s 4-1 win over Arkansas placed a premium on the Tigers’ pitching prowess going into tonight’s CWS game against UCLA. (Journal photo by ADDISON EVANS)
By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports
OMAHA, Neb. – It’s a question that lingers all college baseball season for teams with dreams of making the College World Series.
Do we have enough pitching to handle as many as eight games in nine or 10 days?
“That’s the kind of the lore of this tournament, you know, not just with LSU, but every championship team,” LSU fourth-year head coach Jay Johnson said here after Sunday’s practice in preparation for the Tigers’ CWS winners bracket game tonight at 6 vs. UCLA.
It’s about pitchers delivering performances possibly beyond their capabilities, rising to the moment when it’s absolutely required.
Two years ago when LSU won its seventh national championship, the Tigers went 6-2 in the CWS.
It wasn’t just All-American Paul Skenes starting twice and allowing two runs in 16.2 innings with 21 strikeouts and two walks.
It was reliever Nate Ackenhausen stepping in as the game three starter in a 5-0 win vs. Tennessee and throwing six shutout innings.
It was reliever Griffin Herring replacing Skenes in game five vs. Wake Forest and throwing blanking the Deacons for 4.2 innings until Tommy White belted a two-run walkoff homer in the bottom of the 11th that sent the Tigers to the finals.
It was Ty Floyd, LSU’s No. 2 starter, striking out 17 in the Tigers’ 4-3 win over Florida in game 1 of the championship series.
And finally, it was reliever Riley Cooper, appearing in five games, allowing one earned run in 9.2 innings and earning three saves.
Four of LSU’s six victories were by three runs or fewer, and two were in extra innings.
Which tells you, like in the Tigers’ 4-1 CWS opening win over Arkansas on Saturday, superb pitching from starter Kade Anderson and relievers Chase Shores and Casan Evan can overcome LSU’s offensive deficiencies.
The Tigers struck out 16 times against the Razorbacks. Josh Pearson, Ethan Frey, and Jared Jones, LSU’s first three hitters in the batting order, were a combined 0 for 13 with eight strikeouts.
What saved the Tigers’ bacon, besides the pitching that held the SEC’s best hitting team to four hits, was that the No. 4-5-6-7-8 hitters (Steven Milam, Luis Hernandez, Derek Curiel, Daniel Dickinson and Chris Stanfield) were a combined 6 for 17 with two RBI, four runs and three walks.
“The ability to win games when maybe two of the three (hitting, pitching, and fielding) were good and one wasn’t as good is a sign of a great team,” Johnson said. “Great teams find a way to win when they don’t play their best.”
Because Anderson lasted seven innings vs. the Razorbacks and Shores threw just 10 pitches (the majority of which were more than 100 miles per hour), and Evans had 13 pitches, Johnson said every pitcher in the dugout except Anderson is available for tonight’s game.
As Cooper was LSU’s rubber-armed `X’ factor in the 2023 CWS, Shores may be emerging in that role as he has settled nicely into being a reliever after struggling as a third starter earlier in the season.
In his last nine of 10 appearances over 16.1 innings, redshirt sophomore Shores has allowed one or fewer runs. After sitting out last season recovering from Tommy John surgery, he’s bringing heat as soon as he steps out of the bullpen, which is something he admits he didn’t do in his nine starts.
“I feel like when I used to start, I tried to cruise into the start to go five or seven innings,” Shores said. “My intent now is I’m going 100 percent from the first pitch.”
LSU pitching coach Nate Yeskie feels like the Shores he’s now seeing is what Johnson imagined he could be when he signed him.
“Chase sat here and watched his team compete here (in the CWS) two years ago before he had his injury,” Yeskie said. “Last year, he was on the cusp of getting on my Super Regional (pitching roster). So, for him and coming and doing this (vs. the Razorbacks in CWS game 1) has been a long time coming. I couldn’t be prouder of him. It hasn’t been easy, but his best days are still out ahead of him.
TONIGHT’S GAME
No. 6 national seed LSU (49-15)vs. No. 15 national seed UCLA (48-16), Charles Schwab Field, CWS winners bracket game, Omaha, tonight, 6 p.m. (ESPN)
What’s at stake: The LSU-UCLA winner advances to a Wednesday winners bracket game at 6 p.m. on ESPN. The loser plays the Murray State-Arkansas winner on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in an elimination game on ESPN.
Pitching matchup
LSU – Jr. RH Anthony Eyanson (11-2, 2.74 ERA, 98.2 IP, 35 BB, 142 SO)
LSU’srecord vs. UCLA: LSU has a 3-2 lead in the all-time series versus UCLA. The teams last met in the opening round of the 2013 College World Series, when the Bruins posted a 2-1 win over the Tigers.
A look at LSU
LSU is batting .316 in the NCAA tournament with 65 runs (9.3 per game). Freshman outfielder Derek Curiel is No. 1 in the SEC in doubles (19), No. 3 in the league in walks (52), No. 3 in hits (84), No. 2 in on-base percentage (.477), and No. 10 in batting average (.347). In seven NCAA tourney games, he’s batting .478 with eight RBI and 11 runs. Shortstop Stephen Milam is batting .435 with 11 RBI and nine runs. The LSU pitching staff is No. 4 in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings (11.8), No. 6 in hits allowed per nine innings (7.27), and No. 9 in team ERA (3.77). In the NCAA tourney, it has an ERA of 5.19 with 69 strikeouts and 30 walks.
A look at UCLA
UCLA is hitting .298 as a team with 112 doubles, 12 triples, 78 homers, and 62 steals in 80 attempts. The Bruins are led at the plate by shortstop Roch Cholowsky, the Big 10 Player of the Year, who’s batting .362 with 19 doubles, one triple, 23 homers and 74 RBI. Roman Martin is batting .320 with 14 doubles, one triple, nine homers, and 60 RBI, and Mulivai Levu is hitting .319 with 15 doubles, one triple, 12 homers, and 85 RBI. The Bruins’ pitching staff has a 4.40 cumulative ERA with 502 strikeouts in 562 innings, and UCLA is allowing a .244 opponent batting average. Fifteen different UCLA pitchers have thrown at least 17 innings this season.
DOMINANT OUTING: LSU’s Kade Anderson made amends for a rough Super Regional outing last weekend by shackling Arkansas hitters Saturday in the teams’ opening game of the College World Series. (Journal photo by ADDISON EVANS)
By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports
OMAHA, Neb. – Arkansas head baseball coach Dave Van Horn didn’t need to review a post-game box score.
He watched with his own eyes as his No. 3 national seed Razorbacks never led in a 4-1 College World Series first-round loss to No. 6 national seed LSU here on Saturday night.
“Really, it boiled down to Anderson,” Van Horn said. “He didn’t give us anything. He’s 11-1 because he’s really good.”
Make that reeeeeaaaaalllllly goooooood as the Tigers (49-15) advanced to today’s 6 p.m. winners’ bracket game vs. No. 15 national seed UCLA (48-16), a 6-4 winner over Murray State in Saturday’s first game.
LSU starting sophomore pitcher Kade Anderson gave up three of Arkansas’ four hits and its only run on first baseman Reese Robinett’s solo homer to lead off the bottom of the sixth.
After Anderson allowed seven runs and nine his in seven innings in the Tigers’ Super Regional opening win over West Virginia last Saturday, he was determined there wouldn’t be a repeat against the Razorbacks.
“That’s part of the game,” Anderson said of his struggles vs. the Mountaineers. “You don’t take those for granted. It’s a learning lesson. To have that experience and to learn from that outing was huge. And (LSU pitching) (Nate) Yeskie and I went through it and found out what the plan was for next week to be better.”
Besides Robinett, none of Arkansas’ five other baserunners advanced past second base off Anderson and Tigers’ relievers Chase Shores and Casan Evans.
Despite four Arkansas pitchers having 16 strikeouts against LSU batters – first baseman Jared Jones struck out in all five at-bats – the Tigers got what they needed to win.
“We focus on how we play and how we win probably more than any team in the country,” said LSU fourth-year head coach Jay Johnson, who is chasing a second national title in the last three years. “We don’t just sell out to that. But when you’re playing this opponent, this arena, just finding a way to get it done.”
Arkansas stayed within striking distance the whole game, thanks to sophomore Gabe Gaeckle, the second of three
Razorbacks relievers.
He kept LSU scoreless for the next six innings until he was pulled with two outs in the eighth. He tied an Arkansas CWS record with 10 strikeouts and allowed four base runners (three hits and a walk), but only allowed two base runners after the third inning.
“I just wanted to eat up some innings to save some guys because we’ve got a lot of games ahead of us,” Gaeckle said.
Something Van Horn never expected to do was yank his All-SEC first-team starting pitcher Zach Root after 1.2 innings and 38 pitches.
After LSU shortstop Steven Milam struck out to open the top of the second inning, Root allowed a career-high five straight batters to reach base as the Tigers took a 3-0 lead.
Root issued a pair of one-out walks to catcher Luis Hernandez and shortstop Derek Curiel before second baseman Daniel Dickinson reached base on a bunt single to load the bases.
Center fielder Chris Stanfield’s RBI single scored Hernandez, third baseman Michael Braswell III was hit by a Root pitch, scoring Curiel, and right fielder Josh Pearson’s fielder’s choice ground ball RBI scored Dickinson.
Like his performance in the Super Regionals, true freshman Curiel made key plays in the offense that LSU managed to muster.
He battled back from a 0-2 count in LSU’s second inning rally and scored. Then, in the bottom of the eighth after Milam hit a one-out double, Curiel’s RBI two-out single off reliever Cole Gibler also came on a 0-2 pitch.
“I know with my hand-eye coordination, I’m able to battle in any count,” Curiel said. “So, I’m never defeated in the box, even when I go down 0-2 on two pretty ugly swings, probably my two ugliest swings of the year.”
LSU’s eighth-inning run was huge because it scored four or more runs in 45 of its 49 wins this season. It certainly helps when four runs can be enough, as it was vs. the Razorbacks because of Anderson.
“He’s got tremendous stuff,” Johnson said of Anderson. “He’s never boxed into having to throw a certain way. When you put that four-pitch mix with that type of competitive fire, feel for what he needed to do, like he said, live in the classroom, he’s right back to it. Coach Yeskie and he did a great job of making sure he was ready for today.”
DEFENDING THE CROWN: Calvary junior Kynzee Anderson was dominant in the circle, fielding her position and for the first time in her career, with a bat in her hands. (Photo courtesy LSWA)
By ROY LANG III, for the LSWA
As usual, Kynzee Anderson was a dominant force in the circle for Calvary Baptist Academy during the 2025 season. She posted a dazzling 24-1 record, a 1.26 ERA, 245 strikeouts in 145 innings pitched and capped a Select Division III state championship season with a run-rule no-hitter in the title game.
That resume alone would make the University of Georgia commit who can hit 68 on the radar gun worthy of any postseason honor.
But there was more – truly more than enough to give the junior the Louisiana Farm Bureau Insurance Miss Softball honors from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.
For the first time, Calvary head coach Tiffany Wood allowed her ace to serve as a full-time hitter.
Consequently, Anderson described this season as “a lot more fun.”
Opponents would disagree.
Anderson posted a .466 batting average with 14 home runs and 45 RBIs.
“She’s proven she can do both,” Wood said.
She is the first Shreveport-Bossier product, and only the fourth from north Louisiana, to capture the Miss Softball award since it was launched 30 years ago.
“The confidence at the plate works into my pitching and the confidence from my pitching works into the confidence at the plate,” the 5-foot-6 Anderson, who boasted a 1.034 slugging percentage, said.
Anderson earlier collected the Louisiana Gatorade Softball Player of the Year and the Outstanding Player designation on the Class 2A All-State softball team.
Just 10 minutes before the state championship game, Wood and her staff believed Anderson would be a late scratch after her ailing back flared up.
“I was overwhelmed. I never thought it was going to happen (in the state championship game),” Anderson said.
Said Wood: “She’s been a fighter all season long.”
Motivated by a title push for late teammate Elana Franks, who died from injuries in an auto accident shortly before the season began, Anderson not only pitched, she didn’t allow a hit to D’Arbonne Woods.
“We did it for her,” Anderson said. “I know she’s looking down at us and she’s happy and smiling.
“I was trying to do anything I could to help the team.”
In 2025, Anderson did everything to help her team, and it brought the Lady Cavaliers’ fifth consecutive state title home to Shreveport.
A Dallas, Texas man convicted of murder in April must spend the rest of his life in prison, a Caddo District Court judge has decreed.
Noel Deon Garner, 30, killed Shreveporter Jermond Houston, 25, in a West 70th Street convenience store in January 2022.
Bound by state law, District Judge Donald Hathaway Jr. on Thursday, June 12, ordered Garner to serve life in prison without possibility of probation, parole or suspension of sentence.
The January 20, 2022, slaying occurred inside the Shell Station in the 5400 block of West 70th Street just after midnight. Garner walked into the store while victim Houston was checking out. Garner approached Houston from behind and snatched a 9mm handgun with an extended magazine from Houston’s right pocket. Houston tried to flee out the door of the Shell Station but before he could exit, Garner opened fire, bullets striking Houston in the back. Garner continued to fire at Houston as he struck the ground. Garner shot Houston 26 times and even managed to shoot himself in a foot. He then fled in a white sedan that later was found and impounded.
Assistant District Attorneys Christopher Bowman and Stephen Folk-Cruthirds prosecuted Garner. Richard “Ti-Dale” Woolbert defended him. The case was docket No. 387323.
Violent Crimes detectives with the Shreveport Police Department have made an arrest in connection with a June 2024 homicide that occurred at 1812 Jewella Avenue, located at the Wellington Square Apartments.
On that date, officers responded to reports of a stabbing. Upon arrival, they discovered a female victim who was pronounced deceased at the scene. The victim was later identified as Peggy Smith.
Detectives continued their investigation and, on June 12, received critical information regarding the whereabouts of a suspect and additional details related to Smith’s death. Investigators located Carl Graham, and after a thorough interview, he was arrested and charged with one count of Second Degree Murder.
The Shreveport Police Department would like to thank the outstanding members of our community who came forward with crucial information that led to this arrest. Chief Wayne Smith also commended the tireless efforts of the detectives who remained dedicated to seeking justice for Ms. Smith and her loved ones.
Detectives with the Shreveport Police Department’s Violent Crimes Unit are actively searching for Courtney Spears (DOB: 08/30/80) in connection with a shooting that occurred on May 3 in the 2500 block of Levy Street.
Following a thorough investigation, detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Spears for one count of Second Degree Aggravated Battery. Spears should be considered armed and dangerous.
The Shreveport Police Department urges anyone with information about Spears’ whereabouts to contact SPD immediately at 318-673-7300 or Caddo Crime Stoppers at 318-673-7373. Tips may also be submitted anonymously through the Crime Stoppers app or website.
The Community Relations and Crime Prevention Unit of the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office is excited to host a First Aid and CPR Training class specifically designed for teens and kids. This interactive workshop will be held at Safety Town, located at 8910 Jewella Avenue, Shreveport, LA, on Tuesday, June 17.
The class aims to enhance participants’ ability to assist individuals in need of first aid. Attendees will receive practical knowledge and skills from instructors at the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Interested participants are encouraged to register early, as space is limited. For more information or to secure a spot, contact Deputy Vernita Williams at 318-681-0869 or via email at vernita.williams@caddosheriff.org.
This workshop presents a valuable opportunity for youth to improve their personal safety skills and learn about resources available through the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Leon Baggs October 31, 1953 – June 11, 2025 Service: Tuesday, June 17, 2025, 2pm at Rose-Neath Funeral Home Southside, Shreveport.
Kristina “NiNi” Nicole Bodie August 3, 1982 – June 10, 2025 Service: Tuesday, June 17, 2025, 6pm at First Baptist Church, Haughton.
Annette Thornell November 21, 1951 – June 10, 2025 Service: Tuesday, June 17, 2025, 11am at Rose-Neath Funeral Home, Bossier City.
Donald O. Murray November 22, 1940 – June 9, 2025 Service: Monday, June 16, 2025, 11am at Aulds Funeral Home, Shreveport.
Arney Martin Reed March 17, 1942 – June 9, 2025 Service: Tuesday, June 17, 2025, 5pm at Aulds Funeral Home, Shreveport.
Paula Geneva Brown Flynn July 15, 1942 – June 8, 2025 Service: Tuesday, June 17, 2025, 11am at Rose-Neath Funeral Home Southside, Shreveport.
Kenneth Wayne Mann August 16, 1950 – June 8, 2025 Service: Monday, June 16, 2025, 11:30am 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.
William Henry Mason, Sr. October 19, 1931 – May 29, 2025 Service: Tuesday, June 17, 2025, 11am at Winnfield Funeral Home, Shreveport.
Richard “Dick” Oral Dolloff November 17, 1936 – May 26, 2025 Service: Saturday, June 21, 2025, 11am at Rose-Neath Funeral Home Southside, 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.)
The US Eighth Air Force, the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, and the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force proudly announce the reallocation of an extraordinary artifact of World War II aviation history: a B-24 Liberator from the collection of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Barksdale Air Force Base to the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force.
“Our main priority is the preservation of the historic bomber, Rupert the Roo II,” said Maj. Gen. Jason Armagost, Eighth Air Force and the Joint-Global Strike Operations Center commander. “By rehoming to the Mighty Eighth Museum, it will allow the artifact to be kept alive and well for generations – a gift made possible not only by the Air Force, but generous benefactors who understand the importance of WWII heritage.”
This remarkable aircraft is one of only three B-24s in the Air Force’s historical collection.
The addition of the B-24 marks a pivotal moment in the Mighty Eighth Museum’s mission to preserve and interpret the history of the Eighth Air Force. Already home to a restored Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, the arrival of the B-24 allows the museum to present the complete story of the heavy bombers flown by the Eighth during World War II.
“The National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force is forever grateful to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force and the Eighth Air Force for entrusting this significant historical object, one of a few in the Air Force’s historical collection, to its care and public exhibition,” said Scott Loehr, President and CEO of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force. “With the two heavy bombers flown by the Eighth in World War II, the Mighty Eighth Museum is able to present a comprehensive history of daylight strategic bombing, a pioneering form of aerial warfare. In tandem with the B-17 currently on exhibit, these rare objects put the museum on the map.”
The B-24, a cornerstone of Allied strategic bombing efforts, played a critical role in the European and Pacific theaters. Its arrival strengthens the Mighty Eighth Museum’s ability to educate the public about our nation’s most storied air force, the Mighty Eighth.
The transfer from Barksdale AFB to its new home will be scheduled at a later date.
Following its restoration, the B-24 will be the centerpiece of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force’s multi-million-dollar capital-improvement program, Maximum Effort. The museum expansion and new permanent exhibitions are scheduled to be completed in late 2026.
About the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force: The Museum educates visitors about the character, courage, valor, and patriotism of the brave individuals who fought in the Eighth Air Force, the largest air armada in history. The Museum uses films, exhibits, artifacts, and archival materials to tell the stories of individuals who served in the Eighth Air Force. Their sacrifices made victory in World War II possible.
Museum highlights include a fully restored B-17 “Flying Fortress” and the multimedia “Mission Experience,” an immersive simulated bombing mission in a special theater utilizing actual combat footage.
The National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force is located at 175 Bourne Avenue, Pooler, GA. Operating hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 10am – 5pm and Sunday, 12pm – 5 pm. For more information, call 912-748-8888 or visit www.mightyeighth.org .
Two members of the Louisiana Public Defender Oversight Board have resigned just 14 months into what were supposed to be four-year terms on the new governing body Gov. Jeff Landry created.
Freddie Pitcher Jr., a former state appellate judge in Baton Rouge who also ran Southern University’s law school, and Shreveport attorney Ted Hernandez are leaving the board. Their decisions to step down come shortly before the board expects to have a contentious vote Monday about the dismissal of five attorneys who run local public defender offices.
The five targeted for dismissal include Michelle AndrePont in Caddo Parish.
Pitcher, who Landry appointed to the board, said he is leaving because he is having personal issues that have been exacerbated by the board having “too much drama.” Hernandez, who was Senate President Cameron Henry’s appointee, sent a short resignation letter to Landry at the end of last month.
“Serving on the board has been a learning experience,” wrote Hernandez, who could not be reached Wednesday by phone or email for additional comment.
The nine-member board helps supervise Louisiana’s sprawling public defense system with 37 local offices and approximately 850 attorneys. Public defenders represent 146,000 people annually and 88 percent of all criminal defendants in Louisiana.
Last year, Landry pushed through a controversial change in state law that dissolved the previous state public defender board and replaced it with the current, weaker version over which the governor has more influence.
State Public Defender Rémy Starns lobbied Landry for the new board after clashing over policy with the previous one. Starns has been the leader of the public defender system since former Gov. John Bel Edwards appointed him in 2020. Landry and the newly-formed board agreed last year to keep him in the position.
Yet the new board and Starns have had some of the same disagreements he had with the old board.
The new board has voted down Starns’ proposals to reduce the pay of most chief public defenders who run local offices and incentivize some to operate part-time, private law practices on top of their state responsibilities. He also wanted to offer additional money to chiefs who agreed to represent more clients personally in court.
In February, Starns caused controversy when he told five chief public defenders who run local offices they would be losing their jobs on July 1 after their state contracts expire. The attorneys have appealed those terminations to the board, which is expected to decide Monday whether they will be terminated.
The chief public defenders affected along with AndrePont are Deidre Fuller of Rapides Parish, the president of the Public Defenders Association of Louisiana; Brett Brunson in Natchitoches Parish. Trisha Ward of Evangeline Parish and John Hogue, who works in Tensas, Madison and East Carroll parishes.
All five have been among the most critical of Starns’ policies in public. Over the past few years, they have testified at legislative hearings and public defender board meetings to oppose Starns’ efforts to remake the public defender board and curb their pay. They argue Starns targeted them for dismissal because they have spoken out against him.
“If in fact these terminations are due in whole or in part to the participation of these District Defenders in the legislative process or Board meetings, then it is beyond question that the independence of the indigent defense function is under attack,” wrote Stephen Haedicke, an attorney representing the lawyers.
Starns did not respond to phone calls and text messages asking for comment this week.
A special subcommittee of the public defender board has recommended the board uphold Starns’ decision to fire the attorneys. It concluded Starns had the authority not to renew the public defender chiefs’ one-year contracts.
“Mr. Starns had no obligation to enter into new contracts with these defenders,” Paul deMahy, a retired state court judge and board member who chaired the subcommittee, wrote in a memo last month.
Pitcher also sat on the subcommittee and said his perspective was more nuanced. He agreed with deMahy that Starns had the legal authority to dismiss the five attorneys, but he wanted to recommend that the governor keep them in their jobs anyway.
“He has a technical win there. But from a moral standpoint, they should have their jobs back,” Pitcher said Wednesday.
The attorneys are also challenging the subcommittee’s recommendation by saying an April hearing on the dismissals violated the state’s public notice and open meetings laws for government entities.
The Rockin’ River Fest concert is prime time, free, high caliber entertainment for all on Friday evenings during the annual Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration approaching at the end of June.
The Lauren Lee Band will get the party started and The Chase Tyler Band is the featured act Friday evening into night, June 27, in Natchitoches, on the Rue Beauport stage bordering Cane River Lake smack dab in the middle of the City of Lights’ historic and beautiful downtown district.
Two of south Louisiana’s hottest musical acts from the Baton Rouge market will take the stage for the coolest concert for miles around, the absolutely free Rockin’ River Fest party.
Commonly called “LLB,” The Lauren Lee Band plays a wide variety of country, pop, dance/party and rock. The Chase Tyler Band is known for its high-energy performances and blend of southern rock, country, swamp pop and dance favorites, south after throughout the Gulf Coast particularly for Chase Tyler’s vocal abilities and stage presence.
Good times will abound during the riverfront concert, which runs from 6 p.m. to 10:30. One of the highlights: a little after 9 o’clock, the Hall’s impressive Class of 2025 will be introduced on stage, and celebrated with a 10-minute fireworks show set to sports-themed music over Cane River Lake.
And yes, you read correctly. It’s free. There will be food and beverage vendors selling their wares on the riverfront, and of course, Front Street’s always fun watering holes/restaurants are just a few steps away.
It’s family friendly. A free interactive kids zone presented by Louisiana Propane Dealers and manned by NSU student-athletes will include basketball, football, golf and science games for all ages to enjoy.
If you want to beat the summer heat and enjoy a tasty collection of Louisiana foods and specialty refreshments, hurry and visit LaSportsHall.com to snap up a few of the fast-disappearing $100 tickets to the VIP Taste of Tailgating.
That party runs from 7-10 p.m. in the air-conditioned comfort of Mama’s Oyster House and Blues Room, and Papa’s Restaurant, that will provide exclusive access to the 12-member 2025 Induction Class.
The Class of 2025 is headlined by a star-studded group of nine inductees from the LSHOF “competitors ballot,” headlined by retired college football coach Nick Saban, who led LSU to the 2003 national championship helped along by West Monroe, LSU and NFL star Andrew Whitworth, also a national figure in this sparkling class.
It also includes a local star, Coushatta native and WNBA All-Star Vickie Johnson from Louisiana Tech, and NBA All-Star Danny Granger. Coaching greats Danny Broussard, Joe Scheuerman and Dale Weiner are in the Class of 2025, which also features LSU gymnastics trendsetter and NCAA champion April Burkholder, and George “Bobby” Soileau, an NCAA boxing champion at LSU who won a state crown as a football coach at his alma mater, Sacred Heart High School in Ville Platte.
Longtime SEC and LSU administrator and publicist Herb Vincent is the 2025 recipient of the Hall’s Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award. Sports journalists Ed Daniels and Glenn Guilbeau round out the Class of 2025.
Nick Saban singing? Could happen. Andrew Whitworth banging the drums? Maybe. Vickie Johnson, Danny Granger and Danny Broussard leading the crowd in a collective basketball bounce-around and sing-along? Anything is possible at the Rockin’ Riverfest, as we’ve seen in past years.
Join the fun and celebrate some of Louisiana’s sports greats, for free, on Friday evening, June 27, in downtown Natchitoches. For information on all of the events during the June 26-28 Class of 2025 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration, visit LaSportsHall.com or call 318-238-4255.
The Shreveport Police Department’s Traffic Bureau will conduct a DWI checkpoint on Saturday, June 14, in west Shreveport. The checkpoint will begin at 8pm and conclude at 4am on Sunday, June 15.
This checkpoint is part of the department’s ongoing commitment to reducing impaired driving and improving roadway safety. Officers will be checking for drivers under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, as well as other traffic-related violations.
The checkpoint will be conducted in accordance with all applicable state guidelines to ensure the rights of motorists are respected while prioritizing public safety.
Motorists are urged to drive responsibly and designate a sober driver if they plan to consume alcohol.
For more information, contact the Shreveport Police Department at 318-673-7300.
The Shreveport Police Department is asking for the public’s help in identifying and capturing two violent offenders who carried out a reckless and targeted ambush in broad daylight.
On May 2, 2025, just after 12pm, officers responded to the area of West 69th Street and St. Vincent Avenue regarding reports of a shooting. Upon arrival, officers located a 19-year-old male who had been shot multiple times. He was rushed to a local hospital and, despite the severity of his injuries, he survived. His recovery is ongoing, and he is fortunate to be alive.
Detectives with the SPD Violent Crimes Unit determined that the victim was walking to a friend’s home when two suspects exited a vehicle and opened fire on him—then fled the area. This was a calculated, unprovoked act of violence in the middle of the day, in a residential neighborhood.
SPD wants to be very clear: this level of violence will not be tolerated in this city. These individuals carried out a senseless attack with no regard for life, and they must be held accountable.
If someone knows something—say something. Even the smallest tip could be the break the SPD needs to make an arrest and protect others from harm.
Please contact the Shreveport Police Department at 318-673-7300 or submit anonymous tips to Caddo Crime Stoppers at 318-673-7373. Cash rewards are available for information that leads to an arrest.
The Shreveport Police Department has arrested a habitual theft offender following a retail theft operation conducted by the Property Crimes Unit on June 9.
Officers observed Gabriel Williams enter the Target store located at 7110 Youree Drive. Williams was seen selecting several items from the meat department and concealing them in his pants. When approached by Target loss prevention personnel, he fled the store and ran through the parking lot. Officers quickly pursued and apprehended him after a brief foot chase.
Williams is a well-known repeat offender, with 16 prior arrests for theft and 10 theft convictions. Further investigation linked him to six additional pending theft cases involving Target, Home Depot, and Lowe’s.
Williams now faces seven counts of felony theft as a habitual offender and one count of resisting an officer.
The Shreveport Police Department remains committed to reducing property crime and holding habitual offenders accountable. Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact the department.
These days, you can find T.J. Forrest taking food orders, making sure the salt-and-pepper shakers are full and greeting just about anybody and everybody who comes into his popular lunch establishment in Bossier City.
That’s where you can find him now.
But a little more than a decade ago, you could find him on the pitcher’s mound at LSU. And at Arkansas. During his college career, he was on LSU’s team against Arkansas and pitched for Arkansas against LSU.
Which is why Forrest has a perspective unlike any others as the College World Series opens this weekend, featuring Saturday’s game between LSU and Arkansas – the two highest seeds remaining.
“I think that’s the national championship game,” Forrest says. “But unfortunately, they’re just on the same side (of the bracket). But I think it’s going to be a good game. You got two great pitchers going. Two first rounders. Both of them are going to be throwing mid 90s. You got two good offenses.”
Not only does Forrest have experience in the LSU-Arkansas rivalry, he also has experience in pitching in the College World Series.
Both appearances were against LSU, and it didn’t go so well either time in the 2009 CWS.
“Well, what comes to mind was (LSU’s) Blake Dean hitting that ball way out of right field off of me when I when I left one in a little bit on him,” Forrest says.
That year was another time when LSU were in the same side of the bracket. Both won the first game to advance to meet each other. The Tigers took that game 9-1 in which Dean hit the home run off Forrest. After a win by the Razorbacks against Virginia in 12 innings, Arkansas was faced with the task of beating LSU twice. But the Tigers had no trouble this time either, winning 14-5.
Forrest didn’t start either game but threw four innings in the first LSU matchup and 1 1/3 in the second game in which Arkansas used eight pitchers.
LSU would go on to defeat Texas for the national championship with quite a few players who had been Forrest’s teammates in 2006 when he pitched for the Tigers.
“Most of the guys that came in our class my freshmen year were on that (national championship team),” he says. “That was (coach Paul) Manieri’s first year and we weren’t real good.”
The Tigers were 29-26-1 that year and Forrest, who played in high school at Benton and Haughton, pitched in 11 games (starting six). He was 2-2 with a 3.45 ERA.
But the Tigers went nowhere and Forrest knew he had to go somewhere else.
“I had a good baseball experience at LSU,” he says. “I didn’t have the coaching experience I was looking for. They didn’t really take care about in-state guys a lot. You know, we all dream about going to LSU (but) you’re only on a baseball book scholarship. So that was some of the reason why I left. But as far as baseball and the atmosphere and the fans, you can’t beat it. I loved it.”
With no transfer portal in play at the time, Forrest went to Bossier Parish Community College for a year in order to then make the move to another Division I school. It wasn’t a tough selection process.
Not only had Arkansas been his second choice coming out of high school, but experiencing a three-game series at Baum-Walker Stadium while playing for LSU in 2007 solidified where Forrest knew he wanted to go.
“They were really good that year,” Forrest says. “When (LSU) showed up, they had the crowds going, the Hog Pen, people dancing on the dugout. It was like watching a circus. It was crazy. Just fun baseball.”
In his senior year, Forrest had an outstanding season, going 8-1 with 3.38 ERA in 20 games. But the Hogs (43-21) ran into the No. 1 overall seed in Arizona State and were knocked out in the Super Regional.
“I had a good coaching experience at Arkansas,” Forrest says. “You know where you stand with (Coach Dave) Van Horn. I met all my best friends there and the fans, they stay behind you. They showed up every game. The weather’s beautiful. It’s almost like the perfect place.”
With his college career over after the 2010 season, Forrest, who had been drafted twice – once out of high school and then after his year at BPCC (“I came really close to signing,” he says) – was contacted by the Detroit Tigers about a free agent signing.
And you might think he would have jumped at the chance to fulfill a life-long dream of playing professional baseball. But he just couldn’t do it.
“It hurt,” he says of the decision. “It really did.”
Forrest had already had two arm procedures – including Tommy John surgery during his senior year in high school – and realized that was taking a toll.
“I couldn’t reach back and get it like I used to and if you’re already 21 years old and you can’t reach back and do that, what’s that going to do in the long run?” he says. “I just decided, I’m not going to do this. I was going to be 22 years old, making $1,200 a month and jumping to travel to these little small towns just didn’t sound appeasing for me. I didn’t have that hunger to do it.”
Forrest stayed at Arkansas for another semester to get his degree, helped coach at Airline and BPCC for a few years and then came a business opportunity to buy Cascio’s Market Bistro in 2014. “I just decided to go to work for myself,” he says, “and the rest is history.”
And as he goes from table to table checking on customers, he knows he will be asked about the upcoming LSU-Arkansas game.
“I’m going for my Hogs,” he says. “Now, if they weren’t playing each other, I would go for LSU against anybody else. They are still my No. 2 (favorite team). But I gotta go for my Hogs.”
GETTING READY: LSU takes batting practice Thursday at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, preparing to face Arkansas Saturday evening in the College World Series. (Photo courtesy LSU Athletics)
By RON HIGGINS, Journal Sports
OMAHA, Neb. – There are no teams linked more to the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat in College World Series history than LSU and Arkansas.
The Tigers have won seven national championships, but none more memorable than Warren Morris’ game-winning two-run two-out walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth to stun Miami 9-8 for the 1996 CWS crown.
Twenty-two years later, Arkansas needed just one out to secure a 3-2 Game 2 victory over Oregon State and win the 2018 national championship.
A trio of Arkansas defenders allowed a potential game-ending foul ball pop-up to fall between them. OSU then singled in the tying run, and immediately followed with a walk-off two-run homer to force a winner-take-all Game 3 the next night, won 5-0 by the Beavers.
Maybe it’s why Arkansas’ Dave Van Horn, owner of 1,301 wins in 37 years as a college head coach (the last 23 with the Razorbacks), was misty-eyed last weekend after his team swept defending national champion Tennessee in the Super Regional to advance to Saturday’s 6 p.m. CWS first-round game vs. LSU.
This is Van Horn’s ninth trip to the CWS. He’s come away empty-handed seven times at Arkansas and the other at Nebraska, so he’s emotionally grateful at age 64 to get another shot at the gold ring.
“It just means a lot,” said Van Horn, wiping away tears as his voice cracked. “If we had lost this series (vs. Tennessee), it would be like `That’s the best team that didn’t do anything here.’ Now, it’s one of the best teams that’s ever come through here.”
Van Horn’s players are on a mission.
“Everyone respects him and everyone thinks of him as one of the best (coaches),” said Zach Root, who’ll start on the mound vs. the Tigers. “There’s just one last thing that’s missing from his trophy case, and we’re going to go get it for him.”
Though the Tigers won the regular season series over Arkansas two games to one in Baton Rouge, LSU head coach Jay Johnson concurs with Van Horn’s assessment of the Razorbacks.
“They’re the most talented team in the country, there’s no question about that,” said Johnson, who guided LSU to the 2023 national championship after losing in the 2016 CWS finals as Arizona’s head coach to Coastal Carolina. “This entire season, if we were going to get where we wanted to go, there was no question in my mind whether we would play them (Arkansas) or not. I felt like this was inevitable, whether it was going to be Game 1 or the finals.”
The No. 3-seeded Razorbacks (48-13) and the No. 6-seeded Tigers (48-15) are the highest-rated remaining national seeds in the CWS.
Of the eight-team CWS field, Arkansas has the highest batting average (.313), the most extra-base hits (245), home runs (124), and RBI, has drawn the most walks (181), and has committed the fewest errors (33).
Yet Arkansas lost four of its last six SEC series (including at LSU), including dropping three straight series against Georgia and Florida on the road and a home series to Texas A&M.
LSU handed Arkansas its second SEC extra-innings loss of the season (5-4) in the opener and its only run-rule loss (13-3 in seven innings) this season in Game 2. The Hogs won the series finale 7-4.
“We have a good idea of what they bring to the table, and they’re also going to know what we’re bringing to the table,” said LSU right fielder Jake Brown, who batted a team-best .625 in the Arkansas series. “So, it’s just going to come down to execution.”
LSU never had back-to-back league series losses this season. The worst of its three SEC series losses was being swept at Auburn.
“We’ve been pretty consistent,” Johnson said. “Whether we’ve played our best or not, we’ve been able to find ways to win, and they’re just into it together.
“I’m very bullish on the talent on our team. It’s been a little bit different style of baseball. This is maybe not as in-your-face as hitting 156 homers as that team did or something like that (144 by the ’23 national title squad). But I think we have a lot of high-end players that have done that selfless part very, very well.”
What’s at stake: The LSU-Arkansas and UCLA-Murray State winners play Monday at 6 p.m. The losers meet in an elimination game Monday at 1 p.m. Both games are on ESPN.
Head coaching records in CWS
LSU: Jay Johnson – 10-6 in three appearances (6-2 LSU, 4-4 Arizona), 2023 national title for LSU, 2016 national runner-up for Arizona.
Arkansas: Dave Van Horn – 11-16 in eight appearances (11-14 at Arkansas, 0-2 at Nebraska), 2018 national runner-up for Arkansas.
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPS
PITCHER
LSU: Kade Anderson, So. – A first-team All-American honoree, Anderson (10-1) is No. 2 nationally in strikeouts with 163. His ERA has edged to 3.58 after giving up six runs and 13 hits in two NCAA tourney starts.
UA: Zach Root, Sr. – A transfer from East Carolina voted All-SEC first team by coaches. Has an 8-5 record with a 3.59 ERA.
1ST BASE
LSU: Jared Jones, Jr. – He’s batting .343 in six NCAA tournament games after a massive slump, but has also left a team-high 13 runners on base.
UA: Reese Robinett, R-So. – Has the lowest batting average (.276) of UA starters. Hit 222 in LSU series, striking out five times in nine at-bats.
2ND BASE
LSU: Daniel Dickinson, Jr. – Despite batting a frigid .136 in the NCAA tourney, he’s drawn five walks and scored eight runs. And he’s been flawless in the field.
UA: Cam Cozeal, So. – A Vanderbilt transfer and Omaha native voted All-SEC 2nd team, he’s hitting .346 and hit .333 in the LSU series.
SHORTSTOP
LSU: Steven Milam, So. – “Mr. June” is batting .421 in the tourney, also has a team-high 11 RBI and nine walks.
UA: Wehiwa Aloy, Jr. – Voted SEC Player of the Year and All-SEC 1st team by league coaches, he’s hitting .348. Hit just .167 in the LSU series when he struck out eight times in 12 at-bats.
3RD BASE
LSU: Michael Braswell III, Sr. – He’s compensated for his .201 batting average, including .083 in the tournament, with excellent fielding by leading the SEC in sacrifice bunts with nine.
UA: Brent Iredale, Jr. – A .289 hitter who leads UA and is second in the SEC in hit by pitches (21).
LEFT FIELD
LSU: Derek Curiel, Fr. – Recently voted to first team Freshman All-America, he’s hitting .347 for the year and batting a team-high .455 in the tourney with seven RBI and nine walks.
UA: Charles Davalan, So. – Voted All-SEC 1st team by league coaches, leads UA and No. 4 in SEC in batting average (.355). Hit .125 in the LSU series.
CENTER FIELD
LSU: Chris Stanfield, Jr. – One of the best nine-hole hitters in college baseball (a .309 average), he’s hitting .273 in the tournament, producing seven RBI on five hits.
UA: Justin Thomas Jr., Jr. – A .278 hitter who batted .455 in the LSU series when he had five hits and four strikeouts.
RIGHT FIELD
LSU: Jake Brown, So. or Josh Pearson, Sr.– Brown has 11 NCAA tourney games of experience, Pearson has 28. But Brown is hitting .315 this season, including .286 in the NCAA tourney.
UA: Logan Maxwell, Sr. – Leads UA and is fourth in the SEC in batting average. Hit just .125 in the LSU series.
DESIGNATED HITTER
LSU: Ethan Frey, Jr. – Second on the team in hitting (.340) and home runs (13). He’s hitting just .240 in the NCAA tourney, yet five of his six hits have been for extra bases.
UA: Kuhio Aloy, So. – Voted All-SEC 1st team by coaches, hitting .330 and is 2nd in SEC in RBI (70).
CATCHER
LSU:Luis Hernandez, Sr. – Hitting. 270 for the season, but is at .429 in the NCAA tourney with five RBI and two homers.
UA: Ryder Helfrick, Sr. – He’s a .320 hitter who batted a team-high .600 in the LSU series (6 for 10), including two doubles.
Attention please! Would the SEC and the Big 10 please report to Mr. Marshall’s office? You are needed in there immediately if not sooner.
“Hello guys, y’all have a seat. Thanks for coming right up. Hope this doesn’t cut into your break time too much, but I’ve got a few things I need to get straight with the two of you.
“Look, I know y’all are all into yourself and don’t realize there’s more to college football than just the two of you, but here’s something you need to do more than just think about, so listen carefully.
“Do what’s right for college football. Period.
“Hang on, hang on. Stay in your seats. You can leave when I’m finished, but not yet.
“I knew both of you have a commissioner who is solely focused on what’s best for the members. Or at least, that’s the party line they love to spew out. How about y’all stepping up and actually being leaders instead of being led but these squeeze-out-every-last-dollar briefcase carriers you call commissioners? Remember, they work for you.
“First of all, y’all got to realize there’s a whole big world of college football out there that stretches beyond the treehouses you’ve been building for the last few years. And the NO TRESPASSING sign is taking things a little too far, don’t you think?
“Let’s start with you, Big 10. Nice math, by the way. Big 10 What? ‘Cause it ain’t 10 schools and hasn’t been for a long time. Aren’t you supposed to be institutions of higher learning with that arithmetic?
“It has come to my attention that you are trying to ramrod this garbage about how you and your SEC buddy deserve to have a minimum of four teams in the college football playoff. Yeah, great job by Indiana last year. That doesn’t exactly help your case. And shame on you for dragging the SEC into this argument. Year in and year out, they have at least four deserving teams. Once in a blue moon that is not the case and if you’d have checked the skies last December, you would have seen that blue moon.
“If you’re so dang good, then you shouldn’t have to worry about mandating four teams. But nooooo, you think you deserve it even though you have about as much depth as the kiddie pool at the Elks Club.
“Hang on SEC, you’re not off the hook here either. All of this hem-hawing about playing nine conference games or not playing nine conference game is ridiculous. And you’ve got one of your athletic directors walking around screaming ‘We will play nine but we have to be protected!!!’ Protected from what? Going 8-and-4 every year?
“Repeat after me, guys: DO WHAT’S RIGHT FOR COLLEGE FOOTBALL.
“Not mandating automatic playoff berths is right for college football. Playing nine conference games is right for college football.
“The problem with you guys is that you don’t realize that you can win and everybody else can win. We’re not talking about winning games; we are talking about winning college football back.
“Look, we all know that NIL and the transfer portal are not your problem. You can’t be expected to fix it. Nor should you. But there’s a little piece of college football dignity still out there that can be had if you would stop all the posturing and saber-rattling and just do what the sport that made you great really needs these days.
“When you leave this office, I want you to remember there’s more to college football than just these little financial consortiums y’all got working. The ACC and the Big 12 aren’t going to overtake you any time soon, so stop feeling threatened. Stop making them sit at the kiddie table.
“Any questions? Good, there shouldn’t be. Back to work!”
BIRDIE BINGE: Sam Burns walks off the green after a back-nine birdie Thursday at the U.S. Open, one of five he carded in the opening round.
JOURNAL SPORTS
OAKMONT, Pa. – Sam Burns had a spectacular, and frustrating, opening round Thursday as the U.S. Open golf championship began.
Fellow Shreveport native Philip Barbaree Jr. did not enjoy any spectacular moments, but he stands alongside some of the game’s top players heading into today’s second round.
Burns quickly surged into contention for the lead on both nines, but struggled home each time. Reaching 3-under par on the front and back sides, he bogeyed five holes and carded a double bogey on the par-3 16th in a topsy-turvy round that had him as high as second place before he finished tied for 33rd with a two-over par 72 at fabled Oakmont Country Club.
Barbaree is in a group tied for 98th at six-over 76 – alongside major champions Justin Thomas and Jason Day, and a shot above another superstar major winner, Justin Rose.
Before doubling the 16th, mired in thick rough less than 10 feet off the putting surface and unable to get his second shot to the green, Burns was in fifth place with three holes left.
The former Calvary Baptist player and two-time LSU All-American birdied the brutal opening hole and added another 3 on a pitch shot to birdie the par-4 third, then added a birdie on No. 5 to get to 3-under for the first time. But bogeys on the eighth and ninth slowed him, although he remained in the top 10.
Burns, who now lives in Choudrant and plays out of Squire Creek Country Club, birdied the par-5 12th and added another bird on the par-4 14th to again move to the brink of the tournament lead (4-under by J.J. Spaun, who played in the morning while Burns went around in the afternoon).
But the taxing layout took a toll coming in. After a bogey at 15 came the double bogey on 16 and closing 5s for bogeys on 17 and 18.
Barbaree, with an early tee time Thursday, suffered two double bogeys, on the par-5 fourth on the heels of a bogey a hole earlier, and on the final hole. He also bogeyed Nos. 10 and 14 but bounced back with his only birdie on 15.
Burns’ five birdies were second-best in the field of 156 players. It will be reduced to the top 60 and ties after today’s second round.
Burns’ group has an early morning tee time today. Nico Echavarria, Denny McCarthy and Burns go off the 10th hole at 6:29 CDT.
Barbaree’s threesome with Riley Lewis and Brady Calkins will be the last to start today, at 1:42, also on the 10th tee.
Live TV coverage from Oakmont begins on Peacock at 5:30 a.m. CDT with NBC covering the tournament from noon-6 p.m. with Peacock back from 6-7 p.m., and post-play coverage on Golf Channel.
Weekend coverage will begin on USA Network and then move to NBC.
KNOWS THE TERRITORY: New Plain Dealing football coach Jerry Byrd has plenty of coaching experience, although he left the North Caddo sidelines in 2014 and worked in school administration until this week. (Submitted photo)
By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
Jerry Byrd Jr. missed coaching football more than he loved being an assistant principal, and so he’s leaving school administration at his alma mater to take a head coaching post not far from home.
But it’s the ultimate challenge – trying to breathe life into an overmatched small school program that is light years different than the big school powerhouse he’s leaving behind.
An assistant principal at Byrd High School for several years, Byrd Thursday was announced as the new Plain Dealing head football coach.
Byrd is a perennial Class 5A stalwart. Class A Plain Dealing is mired in a 34-game losing streak dating back to 2021, primarily because the school has the lowest head count of students of any football-playing high school in the state. Last year the Lions had 16 players most of the season, including six in junior high, and had to forfeit their eighth game at Jonesboro-Hodge because injuries and defections reduced the squad to 10 able-bodied boys. They regrouped and finished the season on the field in the season’s final two weeks.
Veteran coach Clint Walker recently accepted a position as an assistant principal at another Bossier Parish school.
Byrd last put a whistle around his neck in August 2014, when he stepped away from his second stint as head coach at North Caddo. The former Byrd standout offensive lineman, who played at Louisiana Tech, said the lure of coaching became overwhelming recently and when the vacancy at Plain Dealing occurred, he opted into the mix.
Despite the challenge.
“Why Plain Dealing? Why not Plain Dealing?,” said Byrd, son of the late Jerry Byrd, the legendary Shreveport Journal sports editor and writer for seven decades.
“There is a poster in the front office at Plain Dealing High. It says ‘It’s not over when you lose. It’s over when you quit,” said Jerry Jr.
“Principal (Jason) Edwards and his team of servant leaders at Plain Dealing High School and the Bossier Parish School Board are fighting for our student-athletes, and I am honored to join the fight and advocate for them.”
Byrd takes over with enthusiasm and determination.
“The numbers are the numbers. The good news is that the enrollment picks up in the sophomore and freshmen classes,” he said. “In the meantime, I am going to recruit every male at Plain Dealing High School. I will not take no for answer. If I have to treat them to lunch at the Outpost, take them fishing, …whatever it takes!”
Kelsey Baker wasn’t planning to be the head softball coach at Benton this time last year. But after stepping in as interim coach, the Lady Tigers’ outstanding season earned her Class 5A softball state Coach of the Year recognition Thursday.
Baker became interim coach just before the season began and led her school to its first 20-win season since 2017 on the way to a No. 2 playoff seed and the quarterfinals of the Division I Non-Select state postseason bracket.
Benton’s freshman pitcher, Baleigh Moniz, made the 5A All-State team after posting a 23-5 record in the circle. Teammates Dylan Defee and Emersyn Disotell were honorable mention selections.
Local players from District 1-5A filled five more All-State HM slots: Brianna Benecke and Charlee Prothro of Haughton; Lilly Cooper, Evangel; Dakota Howard, Parkway; and Ella Hendrick of Captain Shreve.
The 5A baseball All-State team included two Bossier Parish standouts, Benton junior outfielder Cole Snell, who compiled a .468 batting average, and Haughton’s senior centerfielder Christian Turner, who hit .405.
Four locals made the 5A baseball All-State honorable mention list: Thomas Allen of Benton; Andrew Sharp, Captain Shreve; Abel Thetford, Parkway; and Zach Wilburn, Byrd.
The Class 4A All-State selections included nine locals named honorable mention, four from the Northwood baseball team: Jaxon Bentzler, Jack Carlisle, Nathan Cervantes and Landon Martin.
Two Loyola standouts, Kingston Adams and Gavin Brint, also drew 4A All-State baseball honorable mention.
The local girls getting 4A honorable mention were Presley Walker of Loyola, Northwood’s Mackenzie Jagers and Grace Chaisson from Caddo Magnet.
A 12-member Louisiana Sports Writers Association panel chose the All-State list.
The Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office still has a few spots open for our Youth Shooting Summer Camps, and they’d love to see more young people take part in this exciting, educational experience.
Available camp dates are as follows.
• June 30 – July 1
• July 21 – 22
• July 23 – 24
These camps are a great opportunity for youth to learn firearm safety, marksmanship, and responsibility, all under the guidance of experienced BSO instructors in a safe and structured environment.
Spots are limited and filling fast, so don’t wait. For more information contact Deputy James Lonadier at 318-210-9253.
Bossier Parish Community College is calling all future healthcare heroes. The Med Quest Summer Youth Camp at BPCC is the ultimate hands-on experience for rising 8th graders who want to explore exciting careers in healthcare. From nursing and emergency medicine to lab science and more—students will get to see it, try it, and love it.
BPCC has two sessions to choose from:
Med Quest Summer Youth Camp (Session 1) – July 14–18
Med Quest Summer Youth Camp (Session 2) – July 21–25
Cost is $75 per camper and includes a scrub top, official camp badge, and daily lunch provided by participating healthcare organizations. Only 30 campers per session—spots will fill fast. Apply now: https://forms.office.com/r/V6LaUBC2ww
