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For ETBU hockey, a goal and a look to the sky marks a long goodbye

/ Megan Lowe

Dylan Hedrick isn’t sure about the details of his last interaction with longtime friend and East Texas Baptist University hockey teammate Hunter Dorram. All he remembers is that it came on the ice — after the final buzzer to cap a Jan. 29 game against Texas Tech on George’s Pond at Hirsch Coliseum. 

“That’s what’s tearing me up inside,” Hedrick told The Journal. “I just don’t know the last thing I said to him.” 

Less than 24 hours later, the 22-year-old Dorram was gone, the victim of a fatal accident on Interstate 20 near Waskom. 

Dorram and Hedrick were two of three seniors on the Tigers’ Division III team. Just one weekend remained in their four-year college hockey careers. 

“Hockey was his life,” Hedrick said. “He went through a lot growing up and it was a way to get away from it – an escape. He loved to play, loved the grittiness of the sport.” 

On Friday, four days after the tragedy, Hedrick and his grieving Tigers teammates mustered the fortitude to take the ice for a weekend series against North Texas. Before the game, Hedrick and the other senior, Jason Moore, took the ice wearing Dorram’s No. 13 jerseys. The game started with the clock at 13 seconds and Hedrick took the faceoff as the Tigers played with just four skaters. Not only was there a figurative void in the hearts of those on the ice, the missing piece was visible, too. 

“He was listed in the starting lineup,” ETBU head coach Alain Savage said. “It was his last buzzer. That was a great way to let it go.” 

Hedrick and Dorram were a “package deal” when Savage recruited the duo out of the Dallas Metroplex. Their near-decade playing together began during junior high in Mansfield, Texas. It was only natural they’d take the next step side by side. 

At 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds, Dorram was imposing as a defenseman. However, the classroom is where the Gypsum, Colorado, native excelled. He was a 4.0 student who had just two games left in his hockey career, but was set to be armed with a business administration degree. 

The possibilities moving forward were endless and hope abundant. 

“Hunter was really quiet, didn’t say much, but when he spoke people listened,” Savage said. “On the ice, it was more of the same. He led by example. Once you got in his circle, you weren’t getting out. He was going to keep you as a friend forever.” 

How to cope with the events of the past week aren’t covered in any coach’s manual or taught at a player’s camp. The Tigers weathered the first seven days as a family. 

“There were a few guys who didn’t want to get on the ice,” Savage said. “The guys are really close to each other. We rely on each other. I was really down Saturday (for Senior Day), but the boys picked me up. It’s a big family. That’s our culture.” 

The time inside The George has proven to be the easiest part of the grieving process. 

“You get out there and you forget everything — it will take the bad away, at least for a little bit, anyway,” Savage said. “I’ve never been through something like that. This is as close as I can get to losing my own child.” 

The tenacious Dorram created a blueprint for all student-athletes, one Hedrick and Savage hope prevails in the hockey program for a long time. 

“Matching his work ethic, and the perspective Hunter had to combine hockey and school – those are things that will benefit future Tigers,” Hedrick said. “He loved the toughness of hockey, and he brought toughness to the team. He loved scoring those dirty goals.” 

As if Friday wasn’t challenging enough, Saturday’s Senior Day was lathered in emotion. Since Hedrick didn’t get to bid his “best friend” a proper adieu, or doesn’t remember it, he did the only thing he knew worthy. 

“Friday was very hard, the hardest thing I’ve had to do in my life,” Hedrick said, “but Saturday, I just can’t explain it. I had a feeling.” 

In his final college hockey game, Hedrick scored the Tigers’ first goal and looked to the sky. 

“It was very emotional. It was for him,” Hedrick said.

THAT is something he’ll never forget. 

Contact Roy at roylangiii@yahoo.com

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The World According to JJ (non-sports edition) …

/ Megan Lowe

I love East Texas. I love all of that small town, Big Texas feel it has to it. The piney woods, the football stadium lights, the billboards just outside of town to let you know there was a girls golf championship won at the high school 43 years ago. I’d move there, but there’s no way they’d let me in for one simple reason.

I don’t drive a truck.

But last week on a trip with the fiancé through area code 903, I suggested a stop for lunch at a non-franchise location somewhat off the beaten path. You know, to get that true East Texas feel. Swiped through a few suggestions on the phone and found what I was looking for, five miles off the interstate in a town that had never been anything other than an exit sign.

The establishment had a down-home sounding name and, more importantly, got four stars! (I still think that whole rating system is rigged.)

Exit ramp, here we come!

And there it was, complete with a pole-position parking place as if they were waiting for us city folk to drop in and stay a spell. We chuckled at the “No Shirts, No Shoes, No Service” sign on the door as a kind of folksy quasi-Welcome sign.

Little did we know.

“Come on in and seat yourself” said the nice lady as we walked in, as if I had sent her the script in advance.

Did notice a strange smell as we scoured for a place to sit, but I was more focused on how every single person in the place was straight out of central casting. Lots of hats and flannel shirts.

Cream gravy as far as the eye could see. The tables were a little cramped and it was one of those two-part restaurants with overflow seating in the back section.

So we made our way to the back section and there it was. And when I tell you couldn’t believe it, I mean exactly that. That smell I had a hint of when we walked in had now come into clear, olfactory focus.

The guy at the center table was burning one. Marlboro Man. Nicotine City. He hadn’t yet put his cigarette out in the mashed potatoes, but I can promise you that was next on the agenda.

But we didn’t stick around to find out. Actually, we did return to the front section, sat down for maybe 14 seconds, realized that we had somehow been transported back to 1989, when humans did this sort of thing, and got out of there.

We sat in the car for about five minutes, just trying to fully comprehend what we had just seen. Were there authorities we were supposed to call? Was there some kind of Yelp review we were morally obligated to post?

To be honest, the two Louisianans had just received far more attention than the guy literally smoking in the restaurant. And then I found out why.

Texas has no law against smoking in restaurants. Some cities have enacted a policy, but not the state. Actually, you can’t smoke at a Texas school, in a museum, a library, a theater or a hospital. But in a crowded, poorly-ventilated restaurant along the side of a country road? Come on and gitcha sum!

We got our lungs out of there and hopped back on the interstate in search of a lunch free of carcinogens. Probably would have even settled for a place that allowed shirtless or shoeless people.

Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com

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It’s just a cupcake!

/ Megan Lowe

The legendary former coach of the Dallas Cowboys, Jimmy Johnson, made a statement one time that really stuck with me. To summarize, he said that he could take a great coach and make them a great CEO due to their ability to motivate people.

As a guy who has worked both as a coach and was Louisiana Director of Manufacturing for Holloway Sportswear, I have to agree with his statement. So how does this relate to tournament bass fishing? Today, I’ll give my perspective on how these two are related.

While overseeing six factories with 95 percent of the staff being women, I discovered that some of the techniques used to motivate players during my coaching days also worked for motivating a work force. The one thing a player needs in order to perform at a high level is motivation.

This also holds true for an employee, whether working for a company or working for him or herself. It might be even more important for someone who is self-employed because they don’t have that person above pushing them to be better. They must be self-motivated in order to be successful. 

But while taking over a Holloway factory in Ville Platte due to issues with previous management, I found out really quick that people just want to be appreciated. The factory had major personnel issues due to a lack of leadership, making the people working there very unhappy. Employees were writing letters to the president of Holloway expressing their displeasure. 

My first goal was to make them feel appreciated. As Halloween came around, I decided to order 300 cupcakes and pass them out during the last break of the day. I took a cart full of cupcakes and made my way around the factory and personally gave one to each employee and told them thank you for doing a great job that week.

The reaction was nothing short of amazing! As I stood by the back door of the factory while the employees clocked out and left, so many told me thanks for showing appreciation for what they did that week, and that they had never been told that by a manager ever before. 

I thought to myself, “It was only a cupcake!” It made me realize that it doesn’t take much to make people feel special. Over that year of running this factory, we did more things like this quite often and the production numbers increased 40 percent. Factory morale was at an all-time high and if I needed an order to go out on time, all I had to do was ask and they would deliver, all because they felt appreciated. 

Tournament bass fishermen are no different! While all anglers have egos and want to win every time they back their boats in the water, in reality they know that won’t happen. But bass tournament trails that pay way down in the standings are usually the most successful and have the greatest following.

Why? Many of today’s tournament anglers just hope to get a check! Even if it’s only enough money to help pay for gas or maybe their hotel, they consider it a successful tournament if they just get a check or “a cupcake.”

This is what motivates them to come back and fish again and follow a tournament trail — the cupcake! Eighty percent of any tournament trail is made up of the guys that never win. The other 20 percent that complain because they want a bigger payback don’t understand the concept that the 80 percent that aren’t winning are the reason there is a tournament trail to begin with. 

Bottom line is this, we all want to be appreciated and it usually doesn’t take much effort on someone’s part for this to happen. Some anglers are perfectly happy finishing in 40th place and getting a $200 check, even if it only covers their entry fee. Most don’t fish for the money; they fish for enjoyment, and nothing is more enjoyable than walking across a tournament stage and getting a check in front of your peers — even if it is only a cupcake.

Until next time, good luck, good fishing and don’t forget your sunscreen. Also make sure to schedule regular dermatologist appointments. If you don’t have a dermatologist, find one!

Contact Steve at sgraf26@yahoo.com

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Just … please, just wait a minute

/ Megan Lowe

Every now and then, I wish the NCAA Transfer Portal worked in real life, and I could put somebody in it and send them to another place.

Or I could get in it and send me to another place.

Sigh …

If only life were that simple.

If only the two-year-old transfer portal were that simple.

Until April 2021, the NCAA allowed student-athletes to transfer and be eligible to play at their new chosen institution after sitting out a year. But that was eliminated that Spring of ’21, nearly two years ago, when the NCAA granted its student-athletes a one-time waiver to transfer with no penalty. And with immediate eligibility.

And it has been a musical chairs stemwinder since. 

Throw in the NIL stuff, and what we’ve witnessed since is a Saturday night barn dance in fast forward.

Coaches move around. College professors and administrators move around. Even writers. Great. Players should be allowed to do the same thing.

But … there is a not-so-great side. The NCAA data, at least so far, reveals that only half of the student-athletes entering the transfer portal enroll in a different school. The other half goes to a non-NCAA school, plays another sport, quits ball, withdraws from the portal, or drops out of school.

No team. No degree.

There are students with scholarships who get into the portal, sacrifice their scholarship, and then … can’t get on a team.

There is always going to be a spot for the elite athlete. There are some players who are going to play, a lot, at any school they wish. They aren’t gambling when they enter the portal. And you’d think that most of the time, they are moving to a program that they’ll enjoy more, for any amount of reasons.

But that’s not a big number of athletes. Only a handful from the tens of thousands can play anywhere.

And some athletes made the wrong decision out of high school, again, for any number of reasons. That’s why there was a transfer rule to begin with.

Warning: a person would be dumb as a bag of ankle tape to take any advice I might have. I can share experience, but never advice. So this is just an observation.

This current bunch of college students has never really had to wait. Most of them have never heard a dial tone. Never had to wait for the newspaper to get thrown into the yard. They’ve had microwaves and most always a drive-thru. Automatic banking, one of the great inventions of modern man. Pay at the pump. Cell phone. Audio books and books online.

And all that stuff is awesome. Wonderful. I’d cry if I couldn’t fast-forward through commercials.

But we were trained to wait, just because a lot of smart people hadn’t come along yet to invent things that would allow us to wait less, (and thank you for that, Mr. or Mrs. Online Music Inventor So I Can Listen To Tom. T. Hall Whenever I Want To Person).

We knew there was such a thing as waiting. Today’s gang, not so much. Waiting your turn can be a drag, but it’s not a death sentence.

A suggestion might be to think about why you chose State U. in the first place. Revisit those feelings. Maybe school could be about more than playing time. And players get hurt. And players get better. You never know what the next wave will bring in …

What a lot of Transfer Portal People will miss is relationships you build with a coach, your teammate, the managers and trainers, your academic advisor. You don’t build any history with your professors, the custodians, the staff, the grounds crew …

For most of us, it might be worth the waiting. Sometimes it’s wise to wait. And see.

Again, only half of student-athletes who’ve entered the transfer portal have enrolled in a different school. Of all the student-athletes who signed Wednesday and in December to play football for whatever schools, you wonder where they’ll be, or be heading to, next year at this time. 

Contact Teddy at teddy@latech.edu or on Twitter @MamaLuvsManning

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For top-notch entertainment, go outdoors

/ Megan Lowe

I enjoy a good movie now and then. I’ll sometimes even go to a concert like the one I attended a couple of weeks ago when Tommy Emmanuel’s amazing guitar work made me want to head home and bust my guitar over a fence post.

These events serve as an avenue of entertainment; we need such occasionally to get us out of our rut and offer a measure of change from the daily grind.

For sheer entertainment, though, I’ll take what Mother Nature has to offer any day. Sitting and observing the things that happen naturally in the Great Outdoors offers entertainment that money can’t buy. It’s free; it’s relaxing; it’s exciting and I can’t seem to get enough of sitting and watching nature do what nature does.

One of the most entertaining events I ever witnessed was provided by a bobcat. I was sitting in my stand among the hardwoods on a hill one day several years ago, enjoying the peace and tranquility the setting offered.

It was obvious I had to have been hunting deer instead of squirrels because the woods seemed to be full of bushy-tails that morning; they never show up in such numbers when I have my shotgun loaded with No. 6s instead of the deer rifle I was packing that day.

In an instant, everything changed in the woods around me. Squirrels that had been leisurely scurrying around one moment all went on high alert the next. I watched at least half a dozen scoot up trees and start to chatter excitedly. I knew they had seen something I hadn’t detected yet. Scanning the woods, I saw movement of something brown and identified a bobcat walking slowly out in front of my stand.

I’ve never been one to let such opportunities go by without extending the excitement, so I dug through my pack and found a predator call which sounds like a rabbit in distress. When a predator hears it, the natural instinct is to cash in on a quick and easy meal.

Here the bobcat came in response to the call, sneaking up and sitting down beneath my box stand. I enjoyed the show until he looked up, our eyes met and he knew he’d been hoodwinked. If a bobcat can look embarrassed, that one did as he slunk back into the thicket.

On a later hunt, I attended another of nature’s productions as I sat on my stand under clear skies and cool temperatures. Two young bucks, identical in size both sporting six-inch spikes, entered my food plot to begin grazing on the grass I’d planted earlier. Our club rules prohibited the taking of spikes, so I sat back to enjoy the show. Soon I realized I’d been watching them for over an hour, darkness was approaching and the spikes seemed perfectly content to graze on the oats and clover.

I knew if I climbed down from my stand in full view of the deer, they’d see me and high-tail it into the brush and they’d key on my stand the next time they came to the plot.

Since it was almost dark and I needed to get off the stand and head home, I decided on a tactic that was sure to cause the two young spikes to bolt without identifying me. I pulled out my grunt call and rattle bag and began grunting and rattling horns like mature bucks fighting, expecting the two little guys I’d been watching for an hour to scoot.

Nothing doing. The aggressive sounds I made with the grunt tube and rattle bag only fired them up. Instead of dashing away in fright, they faced each other and I got to watch a serious head-butting, pushing and shoving match. Instead of turning them away, I apparently turned them on.

Such is the entertainment Mother Nature offers every time you head outdoors.

Contact Glynn at glynnharris37@gmail.com

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Ossai’s blunder was costly, but Pratt’s blast was worse

/ Megan Lowe

Some things just hit the wrong way.

Can Cincinnati fans forgive second-year defender Joseph Ossai for that no-doubt late hit on Patrick Mahomes, setting up an infinitely more makeable game-winning field goal for Kansas City Sunday night to decide the AFC Championship?

That will come faster than the Bengals should forgive another linebacker, Germaine Pratt, for shouting at Ossai minutes later as the team filed into the dressing room. “Why the hell (actually, he used another word) you touch the QB?!!!”

I’ll bet Ossai, 22, lasts a lot longer with the Bengals and in the NFL than Pratt, who is now the poster boy for Teammate You Don’t Want.

A day later, Pratt tried to explain himself. He failed, again.

“I was emotional. I was in the moment. I was wrong. As a man, you can look in the mirror and say I wasn’t a great teammate at that moment.”

All true. All lacking accountability – not to mention, an apology. Not even a hint of one. Then, this gem ….

“That don’t define me as a man.”

And this: “The brotherhood we built around here is unmatched.”

What color is the sky in Pratt’s universe? Football people like to say it’s the ultimate team game. Pratt’s outburst, however “in the moment,” defines him as somebody unreliable, certainly not a player I’d want to count on.

Some things just hit the right way.

Exhibit A Monday: B.J. Hill, the Teammate You Hope To Be. Hill stood next to a graceful but still misty-eyed Ossai during postgame interviews, like an older brother, “deflecting” some questions that were harsh. Normally that would get a thumbs down from yours truly, but in this moment, after Ossai sat sobbing on the Bengals bench as the game ended, as he patiently fielded questions about his mistake afterwards — and admitted his gaffe — I’m sure there were moments when queries danced near the line of unintentional cruelty. Nobody complained about what Hill said or did.

Best thing I heard Monday: Pratt is in the final year of his contract. Easiest prediction: he’ll find a job in the NFL, but it won’t be back in Cincinnati. With what we’ve seen from Bengals coach Zac Taylor, who has transformed a burning dumpster fire of a franchise, Pratt’s mistake will be the last thing he does on that team.

For his part, Ossai was trying to deal with the reality that his blunder – full-speed, but foolish – all but ended Cincinnati’s shot to return to the Super Bowl. He was comforted by the rest of his teammates in the locker room Sunday night.

“It’s given me peace right now, for sure.” 

Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com

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Shreveport blanked in Super Bowl, but Tech contingent strong

/ Megan Lowe

Last year, former stars of three Shreveport high schools represented the city in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium in Southern California. When this year’s game heads back west – State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona – there won’t be a local athlete on the rosters of the Kansas City Chiefs or Philadelphia Eagles, but the game will be lathered in the red and blue of Louisiana Tech. 

A trio of former Bulldogs, headlined by cornerback L’Jarius Sneed of Minden, will play for a championship on Feb. 12. 

Sneed will represent the Chiefs, who kicked a last-second field goal to defeat last year’s Super Bowl runner-up Cincinnati, 23-20, on Sunday. 

The former Crimson Tide standout was not able to finish the AFC Championship Game after he suffered a head injury while making a tackle on the opening drive of the game. 

The Eagles, who dominated San Francisco, 31-7, in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday, will boast a pair of Louisiana Tech products — running back Boston Scott and defensive tackle Milton Williams — when they look to capture the franchise’s second championship (2017, coached by former Calvary head coach and ULM quarterback Doug Pederson). 

Scott was originally drafted by New Orleans (2018, sixth round, 201st overall), but never played a snap for the Saints. 

The 5-foot-6 Baton Rouge native has scored in both playoff games this season. His 10-yard touchdown run was a backbreaker Sunday as it gave the Eagles a two-touchdown lead with 16 seconds remaining in the first half. 

Scott has three rushing touchdowns in six career playoff games. 

Williams was drafted by the Eagles in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft. He’s played in all 34 regular-season games during his career and made two starts last season. The 6-foot-3, 290-pounder made two tackles against the 49ers on Sunday. 

Williams made 106 tackles (49 solo), 19 tackles-for-loss, 10 sacks and recovered three fumbles during his 30 games for the Bulldogs. 

The Bengals’ gutting loss ended the season for wide receiver Trent Taylor, a product of Evangel and Louisiana Tech. Taylor was joined in last year’s Super Bowl by teammate Brandon Wilson (Calvary) and Robert Rochell (Fair Park) of the Los Angeles Rams. 

Wilson (knee) did not play a game for the Bengals this season and ultimately landed on the reserve/physically unable to perform (PUP) list. 

Clyde Edwards-Helaire of LSU (ankle) was inactive for the Chiefs on Sunday, but will join his teammates on the trip to the Super Bowl. 

There will also be a former Northwestern State Demon on the Chiefs’ sideline. Barry Rubin, a tight end in the late 1970s on coach A.L. Williams’ squad, has been alongside Andy Reid as strength coach since their days on staff in Green Bay. 

Contact Roy at roylangiii@yahoo.com

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TV football analysts slam dunk hoops guys

/ Megan Lowe

For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been on the shelf and unable to function as a normal, semi-productive member of society.

This has forced allowed me to watch a lot of sporting events during that time, of which there is no shortage of inventory. (I am also fortunate to have DVRed 169 episodes of Mannix, so I’ve got you covered on that front also.)

Lots of basketball, pro and college. Plenty of high interest football as well.

And what has really struck me is the difference in the way these two sports are analyzed during a game.

Look, I’m no expert on sports television broadcasting. I’m just like you – the only qualification is that I watch a lot of it. Just because I listen to music doesn’t mean I know how to play the guitar.

Also just like you, certain announcers drive me crazy for reasons that really don’t have to be logical (see “Raftery, Bill” at the beginning of any college basketball game he calls.)

But I’ve been thinking about this for a while and it has really started to become obvious during my infirmed state: It’s really amazing what football analysts are able to do. And especially when compared to basketball analysts.

I get it … part of it is the nature of the sport. In basketball, you better be quick because the next play has already started. Football has a built-in 30 seconds or so for an explanation.

But I also know you are talking about a sport that has 22 players to account for instead of 10 and a playing surface 12 times as big. And yet these color analysts do it relatively easily and on time fast enough to get ready for the next play.

Yes, they have immediate access to a replay before the previous play is almost over. Still, this is more than just “that looks like pass interference.” They see the game through the quarterback’s eyes, the linebacker’s eyes and the deep snapper’s eyes.

Why did the receiver run that route, making an adjustment after the play had already begun?

How did the linebacker know what the pre-snap read needed to be?

What was the intention to use that kind of motion and did it serve its purpose?

But the one that gets me the most is with blocking schemes. It’s as if they are able to look at all the run or pass-protection techniques of every offensive lineman and instantly know why it made the play work (or didn’t).

San Francisco’s Christian McCaffrey had barely even dropped the ball in the end zone when Fox analyst Greg Olsen was telling me to watch how 49er offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey was able to use an effective blocking move on two defenders to free up the touchdown run.

You and I are such simpletons that we just watch the ball and figure that’s all we need to know. 

NBC’s Cris Collinsworth may have a rather annoying voice, but his attention to detail is spot on. Say what you want about ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit, but he always seems to nail it on important plays.

I watched a great college basketball game last weekend – two Top 15 teams – and all I got was jargon from the analysts. “That’s a yo-yo!” was one of my favorites, offered without explanation. Or it’s an endless supply of over-talking – “dribble drive” or “screen the screener” or “they ran a high-low to run a scissor off a back cut to get a big open for a shot in the short corner.”

In other words, someone tall made a 3-pointer.

But this is really all about the praise for these football guys who know what to look for, explain what they see and have a bow on it all within 30 seconds.

I’d still be trying to figure out the number of the guy who caught the ball.

Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com

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The ugly side of professional bass fishing

/ Megan Lowe

Recently, I watched a great You Tube video by Elite Series Pro Chris Zaldain. He and his wife, Trait, host a You Tube/Podcast show called “Zaldaingerous,” and I came across a 1:44-long video edition in which they dove deep into some of the issues facing professional bass fishing. 

This episode featured Elite Series Pro Matt Herron, who happens to be a good friend of mine and is never short on words. If you want the truth and perspective of a guy who has made a great career for himself, then Matt is the right choice. He will not sugar coat the issues and has sound advice on how these issues should be handled.  

In this particular episode, Matt breaks down some of the problems and situations pertaining to professional bass fishing. Matt, Chris, and Trait talk about rules, sponsorship dollars, polygraph testing, the 2019 split, the new open series, and the Tony Christian scandal. 

If you’re an up-and-coming young man and want to know how to be a pro angler, you better make the time to sit down with Matt Herron. He will not lead you to believe that being a full-time professional angler is easy. If anything, he may have you second-guessing yourself before you walk away. He’ll probably ask you, “Are you sure you want to do this for a living?” 

The first topic they discuss is the fight over sponsorship dollars and how the pool has shrunk. He referred to his days of starting on the FLW (Forrest L. Wood) Tour (2003) and how FLW ruined and burned so many non-indemnity sponsors like Tide, Walmart, Gastrol Oil, Land-of-Lakes, Kellogg’s, and many more. FLW did not deliver the exposure they promised all these major sponsors. When FLW folded, all these potentially great sponsors dropped out of the professional fishing market and left, probably never to return. 

The market of companies out there looking to provide assistance to an angler has shrunk dramatically. Matt points out that today, it’s almost impossible for an angler to make it on his own without solid financial backing. He makes light of how mommas, daddies, or grandparents with deep pockets are footing the bill for these young anglers to try and make it. They do OK for the first couple of years, which is all they are guaranteed. Then, the 70 percent that don’t make it leave the sport with thousands of dollars of debt — up to their eyeballs!    

Next, Matt, Chris, and Trait talk about polygraph issues. He and Chris both would like to see more anglers polygraphed after an event and have some of the questions be revamped. Matt talks about how he personally knew an FBI investigator and how the FBI conducts a polygraph test. He talks about how the wording of questions is critical to catching a cheater. 

They brought up the Tony Christian scandal that rocked the professional bass fishing world when Tony was caught cheating in an FLW Tournament after his “honey hole” was discovered and investigated. It was discovered that he had made a special basket, put it in the water, and stocked it with bass. The basket allowed for his bait to enter the basket, catch a bass, and exit while the lid closed as the fish came out of the basket, retaining all other bass waiting to be caught. Tony was eventually banned for life from fishing as a professional angler and has virtually disappeared. 

If you want to hear the undisclosed side of the professional bass fishing world, check out the episode yourself. Go to youtube.com and search “Zaldaingerous.”   

The husband/wife Zaldain team interviews anglers who fish the Bassmaster Elite Series. They do a fantastic job of introducing their fans to the harsh reality of being a professional angler. There’s no topic or subject that’s out of bounds as Chris and Trait are excellent hosts with a wealth of experience themselves as professional bass anglers.  

Until next time, good luck, good fishing and don’t forget your sunscreen. Also make sure to schedule regular dermatologist appointments. If you don’t have a dermatologist, find one! 

Contact Steve at sgraf26@yahoo.com

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In the NFL, being No. 2 ain’t easy to do

/ Megan Lowe

When Kansas City backup quarterback Chad Henne came into Sunday’s NFL Divisional Round game to replace injured Patrick Mahomes, named Wednesday NFL MVP by the Professional Football Writers Association, I thought the same thing as you.

“Chad Henne’s still in the league?”

Luke McCown, who started 10 games at quarterback during his 13-year NFL career from 2004-2016, those last four seasons backing up Drew Brees in New Orleans, was watching too. His thoughts were more along the lines of, “Lord, have mercy.”

The Chiefs led Jacksonville, 10-7, at the time. But Mahomes was headed to the locker room to get an X-ray of his ankle and Henne was taking a first-down snap from his own end zone.

On first down, Henne threw his first completion. Of the season.

Nice start.

The 37-year-old Henne and the Chiefs put together the longest touchdown drive in the team’s postseason history — 98 yards — increased the lead to 17-7 with 3:54 to go in the half, and ultimately won the game, 27-20.

Mahomes played the second half, hobbling a bit, and is expected to play when the Chiefs host Cincinnati Sunday night at 5:30; the winner plays the winner of Sunday’s 2 p.m. San Francisco at Philadelphia game in Glendale, Arizona in Super Bowl LVII Feb. 12.

Mahomes finished 22-of-30 for 195 yards and two TDs. Henne, who starred for Michigan in 2007 (seems like 1987, I swear) and has four starts in the past seven seasons, was 5-of-7 for 23 yards and a touchdown.

But it’s timing, man. If you ain’t got timing — and a really good tight end like Travis Kelce — you ain’t got nothing.

Henne, in a pinch, was gold when it counted under circumstances only guys like McCown and others in the fraternity can fully appreciate.

“You ARE the insurance in case something happens,” McCown said about the backup’s role. “You understand that. Now, can you handle the horse when it’s time to climb on?”

McCown never had to finish a game “at a moment’s notice” when the starter went down, but with Tampa Bay he did have to sub for the injured Jeff Garcia in 2007 in New Orleans and, in a game that decided the division title, threw for 313 yards and two touchdowns, the last one in the final minute, in a 27-23 win.

“That was early in my career,” he said, “so I was dumb enough not to know how much pressure I was under. Like they say, ignorance is bliss.”

And in 2015 he found out on a Friday he’d start for an injured Brees Sunday against Carolina, the league’s best defense that year, when the Saints were already 0-2. McCown finished an efficient 31-of-38 for 310 yards, but it was in a 27-22 loss; too much Cam Newton and Greg Olsen that day, if memory serves.

So McCown knows about being No. 1 and about being No. 2.

“What (Henne) did is extraordinarily hard for a couple of reasons,” he said Wednesday afternoon while picking up kids after school in his hometown of Jacksonville, Tex., where he and wife Katy, former Shreveporter and Louisiana Tech cheerleader, are raising six children. It takes a minute to round all those young ones up, so the Tech Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2017 inductee had plenty of time to talk — and about one of his favorite subjects.

“First, you’re not getting any reps,” he said of backups. “Henne might have gotten a series with the starters Friday. But mostly you’re running scout team, so you’re running the other team’s plays, not even your own. And if they’re developing a guy — if you’re the old guy like Chad or like I was in New Orleans — that young guy might get the extra practice series with the starters.

“The second thing’s not the reads: you know that. You’ve played for years, you’ve watched film, you’ve done all that,” he said. “It’s the unknown, the emotion of the game at that moment. You can’t be shaken when they say, ‘OK, go get your helmet.’ The crowd is coming to see Mahomes or Joe Burrow, not the backup. So you want to live up to that standard. And to the standard you’ve set for yourself.”

Sunday, McCown was rooting for Henne and for backup QBs everywhere, for guys who McCown says are “worth every penny” when the football gods and fate conspire and suddenly … It’s Time.

“Maybe I’m saying it because now I’m an old backup, but the disparity in pay between the starters and backups in football, or the starting pitchers and the bullpen in baseball, it’s hard to believe,” he said. “You’ve got to have those guys. In moments like Sunday’s, what Henne did proves why you should pay to keep a good, experienced backup.”

Because once the moment is gone, you can’t get it back. You’ve got to make it happen. Right then. Henne, the latest Banner Waver and bellcow for the Backup QB Fraternity, did.

“It’s fun to see him get his due, to see anytime a backup gets his due,” McCown said. “Take any backup playing today: any one of them can out-throw any guy in college. There are what, four billion guys in the world?, and only about 64 of them can throw a goofy brown oblong ball like those guys. You’ve got to remember that these are the best football players in the world.”

The Chiefs had the right one at the right time against the hot Jags. And while he doesn’t have the paychecks Mahomes does, Henne was money Sunday. 

Contact Teddy at teddy@latech.edu or on Twitter @MamaLuvsManning.

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It all started with cousin Doug

/ Megan Lowe

Back in the day — I’m talking eight decades or so ago — kids raised out on the rural route did it differently. When it came to entertaining yourself, there were no wi-fi gadgets; no cell phone; no video games. Why? It takes electricity for these things to work and it was years before the wires were strung and lights came on in Goldonna. 

I grew up in a four-room house my daddy built – a living room, kitchen and two bedrooms. Bathroom? Forget about it; it took water piped into the house to make it work. Our bored well, bucket, pulley and rope in the back yard was the water supply. Indoor plumbing consisted of what some folks called a thunder mug or slop jar. The serious stuff took place down a path out back that led to the outhouse.

My brother, Tom, was two years younger than me and we, just the two of us, would no doubt have run out of outdoorsy things to do had it not been for our first cousins, Doug and Sambo who lived on the next hill over from us. Doug and Sambo were like brothers to Tom and me and we did virtually everything together. I was the oldest, Doug a year younger than me, Tom a year younger than Doug and Sambo bringing up the rear, a year younger than Tom.

What did kids do for entertainment way back then before electricity and such came to us? If youngsters growing up today had been deprived of all the gadgets and widgets available now, chaos would no doubt ensue. Not for the four Harris boys; none of the other kids growing up in the community had anything modern either, so we didn’t miss what we never had.

What we did have was the tank pond lying adjacent to the L&A railroad track that furnished water for the steam engines that chugged and labored up Oshkosh Hill after filling tanks.  Just over the track was Molido (pronounced Molly-dough) Creek that coursed through the woods half a mile in back of our house. We learned to swim in the tank pond. Molido with its resident red perch, goggle eye, bass, jackfish and mud cat population was the perfect training ground for boys just learning to fish.

The passage of time has a way of changing things. We all grew up, married, had kids and lived in homes with electricity and indoor plumbing and all the amenities these afforded. Tom and I moved away while Doug and Sambo remained in the little town where we grew up. It’s sad but it’s true; when the realities of life separate you from those who were once so important to you, you grow apart, not because of problems but that’s just the reality of life.

Several years ago, I got a call from Doug. He had retired from a successful career in the petroleum industry, had purchased land and constructed a nice pond near his home and he stocked it with bluegills and bass. Like me, he had missed the times the four Harris boys had growing up and he suggested that we meet on his pond, catch, clean and cook fish and relive some of the special times we had growing up.

On June 29, 2007, the four of us met up on the pond, did those things he suggested, had so much fun and enjoyment we decided we would meet together every year and do it all over again. The Cuz’n Fish Fest was born on that day 15 years ago and has continued ever since.

Changes are inevitable with the passage of time and eight Aprils ago, my brother Tom passed away. That left the three of us to continue what Doug started in 2007. We continued to meet and it became obvious that Doug’s health was in a slow decline.

On January 11, I drove to Goldonna to attend the funeral of Doug, the one who started it all. This leaves just Sambo and me, the oldest and youngest of the four Harris boys, to pick up the pieces of our childhood. Will we continue the tradition? I suppose time will tell.  

Contact Glynn at glynnharris37@gmail.com

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When opportunity knocked, Prescott stumbled, again

/ Megan Lowe

The table was set for Dak Prescott. Sunday offered the best chance in seven years to change perception and take the next step as an NFL quarterback. 

Again, it didn’t happen. 

A 19-12 NFC playoff loss at San Francisco closed the book on another disappointing finish to a season. This didn’t happen at the hands of an Aaron Rodgers miracle or a team vastly better than the Cowboys. 

This time, Prescott got bounced by a rookie — a third-stringer who was the 2022 NFL Draft’s Mr. Irrelevant just eight months ago. 

No, Brock Purdy didn’t light up the Cowboys defense. The uber-talented 49ers didn’t ride his right arm into the NFC Championship Game. He completed 19 of 29 passes for 214 yards. 

However, the kid played mistake-free football. 

In tight games, especially in the postseason, that can be the difference. 

Sunday, Prescott was the difference. 

The 29-year-old, who ended a lengthy turnover streak with a dazzling five-touchdown performance a week earlier against Tampa Bay in the first round of the playoffs, fell back into his 2022 ways. 

The former Haughton star threw two interceptions Sunday, one in the first quarter that led to a San Francisco field goal and another in the red zone during a tie game in the final 90 seconds of the second quarter. The Niners also added three points from that mistake. 

The second half was littered with opportunities for Prescott and the Cowboys to take the reins. 

They managed six points. 

The 23-year-old quarterback who makes peanuts, the guy with just six prior starts, prevailed. Not the seven-year veteran with the $160 million contract. 

Just when all appeared lost for the Cowboys, San Francisco running back Eli Mitchell gifted the Blue Stars a chance to pull off a miracle after he ran out of bounds when the 49ers had a chance to run out the clock. 

It wasn’t meant to be for Prescott. Again. 

In addition to a pair of picks, Prescott tossed one touchdown and completed 23 of 37 throws for 206 yards. 

San Francisco has reeled off nine straight victories. The Niners are a legitimate threat to win the Super Bowl. However, the Cowboys had the supposed edge at quarterback Sunday. In the playoffs, that’s supposed to be enough – especially in tight games. 

Rookie quarterbacks, especially third-stringers, have almost no track record of success. 

Prescott has been there. When he arrived in Dallas as a fourth-rounder in 2016, many had him pegged as third-stringer. However, injuries to Tony Romo and Kellen Moore vaulted Prescott to the top spot before his rookie season began. 

Prescott stunned many by leading the Cowboys to a 13-3 record that season. He’s since helped the Cowboys build one of the league’s most potent offenses. He’s amassed big numbers and an impressive amount of victories in the regular season. However, after Sunday’s loss he heads to the offseason with two career playoff wins and four losses. 

Purdy is headed to the conference title game after two playoff wins in two playoff starts. It’s a place Prescott has not been. 

This doesn’t spell the end of the road for Prescott. His career will not be defined by Sunday’s loss or a tumultuous 2022 campaign. His overall body of work is too good to ignore, but the mistakes that labeled this season must be an anomaly. 

He’s already a good quarterback, arguably really good. Can he be great? 

Assuming he stays healthy, Prescott can still quell the naysayers. Will any of the opportunities be as good as the one he faced Sunday? There is certainly no guarantee. 

All we know right now: The lost seasons are piling up.

Contact Roy at roylangiii@yahoo.com

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Tigers tailing off as reality arrives with top-half SEC opponents

/ Megan Lowe

At one point this season, the LSU men’s basketball team was 12-1. There were warning signs going off all over the place at the time, but it was hard to recognize when you are blinded by the 12 and the 1.

Since then, the Tigers are 0-5 and those trouble signs have become too obvious to ignore. So let’s get on-the-court issues out of the way and then try to figure out how we got here.

And you don’t have far to look to find the biggest of all – the Tigers can’t shoot. Ever since James Naismith tacked up the peach basket at the Springfield YMCA, that’s kinda been what basketball has been all about. Put the ball in the basket more times than the other guys and you win.

LSU’s guards don’t shoot well from the outside, which might be OK if they could finish at the rim. But they can’t do that either. As a team, the Tigers are 11th in both scoring and field goal percentage.

Not that blocks are the greatest indicator of defensive efficiency, but they are second-to-last in the conference. They are also 12th in rebounding.

But remember – these stats are for ALL games, not just the conference ones. Those would tell a much more definitive tale of the misery that LSU is now experiencing.

Which is also what the fan base is experiencing. They can claim otherwise all they want, but when every sport is good, men’s basketball is the No. 2 sport in LSU athletics. Not gymnastics. Not women’s basketball. Not … hold on here … baseball.

The reason some might laugh at that is because LSU baseball has had an extended period of success at a high level. That’s a sure-fire way to raise and keep the interest level.

But on the occasional times men’s basketball has risen to those heights – if only for a season or two – it’s been obvious how it can hold its place. It’s much easier to puff your chest out when your school’s teams are successful in a sport that is recognized nationally for four months instead of four weeks.

Everyone loves a winner – that’s not indigenous to Baton Rouge – but the hot start was fool’s gold. The non-conference wins were against one of the worst schedules in the country. When you post big numbers on the left side of the hyphen, fans buy in.

And maybe that’s why the schedule was made that way. Basketball schedules aren’t made like football. In football, you already know some of the opponents you’ll play 10 years from now. Basketball is basically year-to-year, but even that can change as late as mid-summer.

So the Tigers, under new coach Matt McMahon, had two choices: Play Cupcake City and build up fan excitement AND player confidence or take on some of the Big Boys. In the old days, almost every big school played a creampuff schedule and then got ready for conference.

Perhaps these days, it’s driven by TV inventory, but it’s not that way anymore. Some of the biggest names in college basketball play each other in November and December. There are lots of reasons for it, but it does give a coach a chance to see what he’s got and what it will take.

McMahon didn’t know what he had because literally everyone left before he got there (three returned from the portal). The Top 5 recruiting class that was coming to LSU completely disappeared to other schools. So it made sense to play North Carolina Central instead of North Carolina, Texas-Arlington instead of Texas and Kansas City instead of Kansas.

LSU should have beaten a Top 25 Kansas State team in a November tournament but a questionable official’s call took that chance away. The Tigers did beat Wake Forest, who has turned out to be pretty good (currently tied for second in the ACC).

But the SEC did LSU no favors in its schedule-making. Of the bottom five teams in the conference, LSU hasn’t played any of them yet except Arkansas, a team everyone thought was good but has seen its season go south.

The Tigers were always going to be a lower-third SEC team. It’s just taken a while to find that out.

Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com

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Too many tournament trails?

/ Megan Lowe

If you’re a bass fisherman and looking for which circuit to follow, you’re in luck as there’s never been a greater variety.

Texas especially is a tournament fishing mecca with more tournament trails to choose from than there are BBQ places.  It’s getting to the point that anglers are now having to pick which one to follow because there’s just not enough weekends in a month, nor do anglers have an unlimited budget to fish everything. The time has come to choose!

All across the Ark-La-Tex there’s some bass fishing circuit that will accommodate anglers on all levels. The most popular trails fall under the category of team trails. This is where you and a buddy can fish against other teams from your local area or on a regional level.

Team trails are all the rage right now with a handful that continue to set the bar at a high level. Bass Champs, Texas Team Trail, Fishers of Men and the new Brandon Belt Team Trail are kicking off this year in Texas. There’s also Outlaw Outdoors Team Trail and TTO Pro Team Trail, designed for anglers who want to pay higher entry fees in order to fish for a higher level of payback.

It’s no exaggeration when we say our lakes are overcrowded! There’s not a single weekend from January thru October that there’s not a bass tournament, particularly on Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend. It is amazing how well these two lakes hold up and continue to put out five-fish stringers weighing anywhere from 20 to 30 pounds depending the time of year.

Sam Rayburn just might be the most pressured lake in the country and yet it just keeps on cranking out big fish and high 20-pound five-fish stringers on a weekly basis. It’s proof that the Texas Department of Wildlife and Fisheries knows how to manage a body of water.

There’s another organization that’s been around a long time called ABA (American Bass Anglers), which started out as a military bass fishing circuit but has now expanded beyond the military. Its primary focus is on the Open Series which is a pro/am type circuit where one angler is in control of the boat (boater/pro) while the other angler (co-angler/amateur) has to fish from the back of the boat.

ABA has recently introduced a new trail designed to focus on a boater-only circuit called the Solo 150 Tour. This is a trail where the boater/pro fishes by himself without a co-angler in the back. This trail is really taking off and becoming very popular due to the fact there are no co-anglers to deal with, giving the boater/pro full control of the boat all day long. It also makes it a lot easier for a tournament director to run the circuit by not having to deal with enough co-anglers to pair up with the boaters/pros.

So how does an angler decide what he’s going to fish? First, he’ll probably look at the schedule. Where are each of the tournaments located and how far a drive is it? Will you have to stay the night, or multiple nights, and acquire accommodations? How much is the entry fee and what is the payback percentage? Is there opportunity for advancement to a regional or a national championship?

Of these two ABA trails, most anglers look at where the regionals are located and most of the time that will determine whether they follow the circuit or not. Another determining factor for some anglers: which circuit gives them the best opportunity to be competitive? No angler wants to sign up for a tournament knowing they don’t have a chance to at least collect a check.

It all boils down to what is convenient, affordable and what lake or lakes the circuit is going to. One thing is clear. Bass tournament anglers have no shortage of circuits to follow.

Until next time, good luck, good fishing and don’t forget your sunscreen even in the wintertime.

Contact Steve at sgraf26@yahoo.com

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It was the oddest thing … 

/ Megan Lowe

Monday morning before his team trounced Tampa Bay, 31-14, in the NFL wild-card playoff game, Dallas kicker Brett Maher heard his alarm clock go off two hours late, hit his non-kicking toe on a Tampa Bay Hilton Garden Inn chair, got a past-due bill notice in his email, then spilled all the coffee when he opened the door on his knee.

But he really started living a sad country song once he got to the stadium. Once his team scored a touchdown.

Yay!

And once he missed the extra point.

Booo!!!

Then his team scored another touchdown.

And he missed the extra point.

Then his team scored another touchdown.

And he missed the extra point.

Then his team scored another touchdown.

And he missed the extra point.

Four in a row. For a professional kicker.

Ultimately, it didn’t matter — although don’t try to tell that to a guy who bet the over. (More on that in a minute.) But it mattered to Maher, who finally made one on his fifth try after the Cowboys’ final TD.

It mattered to everyone watching, because you couldn’t help but feel sorry for the guy. If anyone ever needed a hug …

And it mattered to kickers, who are people too, at least sort of.

“It was tough to watch,” said Jonathan Barnes, a former All-Louisiana place kicker for Louisiana Tech from 2014-17, now living and working in Ruston, where he and his wife are expecting a little kicker or cheerleader come summertime. He was almost as nervous watching Maher try to kick Monday night as he will be when wife Lauren goes into labor.

It’s a kicking brotherhood kind of thing. They really can’t help it.

“You know when he’s going out there the second time, he’s still thinking about the first time,” said Barnes, who came to Tech from Baton Rouge and is pursuing a graduate degree while he works as a realtor. “And when he’s going out there the third time, he’s still thinking about the second time …”

Since the ball was moved from the two-yard-line to the 15 in 2015, an NFL extra point has been from 33 yards: 15 yards plus 10 yards of end zone plus eight yards to hike, place and kick.

In college, it’s hiked from the two (old NFL rules), making the kick about 20 yards. Barnes was 43-of-46 as a senior, and missed just once in 137 times as a sophomore and junior.

“We do miss a kick,” Barnes said, laughing, “every now and then.”

It’s hard. And tricky.

Consider that Maher has kicked a pair of 62-yard field goals. He has the franchise record with a 63-yarder. But four times Monday, dead on, he missed four straight kicks that NFL kickers make more than 94 percent of the time.

“Ninety percent of kicking is those few inches between your ears,” Barnes said. “It’s not an ability thing with this guy; he’s got all the ability in the world. Just all of a sudden, he got out of that groove — and trying to find it again, right then, can be tough.”

The Cowboys signed another kicker this week and might activate him for the division round when Dallas (13-5) plays at San Francisco (14-4) Sunday at 5:30.

Wish I could activate somebody to cover for me. I am in a harmless but meaningful 28-person family football league. We pick against the spread and no money changes hands but feelings are often hurt. Like mine, when I went 0-for-6 last weekend.

0-for-6. Two misses worse than Maher’s historic all-time league-worst four whiffs.

You can try hard for a long time and not go 0-for-6. I’ll tell you about it sometime, in hopes maybe I can help some poor, misguided soul.

Oh, and just because favored Dallas won and easily covered the 2.5-points spread, don’t think Maher’s missed kicks “didn’t matter.” The “total,” or the over-under, the number of points both teams were predicted to score, was 45.5. They scored 31 + 14, so 45 total. That means if you bet the “under,” you were the winner because the Cowboys professional kicker missed four extra points. FOUR! If he makes just one, the “over” wins.

Except he didn’t. So if you bet the over, what you wanted to kick … was Maher. 

Contact Teddy at teddy@latech.edu

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Nursing student follows hubby’s urging to tag big buck

/ Megan Lowe

A nursing student at Louisiana Tech, 20-year-old Jordyn Clayton followed her husband Zac’s advice to shoot the shoulder of a deer that had its head and massive antlers hidden from her by brush. She did as he instructed and ended up with a huge 12-point buck that scored 180 3/8 inches.

Jordyn and her husband live in Clayton in Catahoula Parish and they hunt on a 100-acre tract of land owned by her father, land that lies just across the highway from their home. On the afternoon of Dec. 26, the duo decided to walk across the road and head for their box stand located in an area overlooking an opening with heavy timber on each side.

“We left the house about 3 o’clock and walked to our stand. After about half an hour, we began hearing lots of noises coming from the thick woods and suddenly, a doe came out running across the clearing and she was followed by two bucks chasing her. I told my husband that if one of them came back out, I might try and shoot it as they were both nice bucks,” Jordyn said.

Zac suggested that she hold off because it was only 3 o’clock, leaving plenty of daylight to have a chance at an even bigger buck, should there be one in the area.

“Five minutes after the doe and two bucks came across, another deer came walking through the woods where the three had come from and it stopped before getting to the clearing. All I could see was a big body as its head was behind some trees. Zac could see the head and whispered to me to quickly get my gun out the window. I still had no idea what sex or size the deer was because all I was looking at was the shoulder,” she continued.

Following her husband’s urging, even though she had no idea what she might be looking at, she got her .270 out the window.

“At first I couldn’t find the deer in my scope but Zac pointed it out to me and told me to hurry up and shoot before the deer took off. He knew it was a fine buck but I still had no idea since I had only seen the shoulder. So,” she said, “I shot and the deer took off like it wasn’t hit.”

In order not to disturb her sister who was hunting on a nearby stand, Zac suggested that they wait until legal shooting time was over to begin the search.

“After sitting for an hour, my thought was that I had missed because the deer took off so fast. We walked down to where the deer was standing and could find no blood. Then Zac walked another 25 yards, found blood and we followed it to where the deer was piled up 15 yards further,” Jordyn said.

The buck was a fine one, weighing 285 pounds. It was about 5 ½ years old and carried a rack of 12 heavy points. Inside spread was 17 inches, main beams reached out some 25 and 26 inches each with bases approaching 6 inches each.

The buck was taken to Simmons Sporting Goods in Bastrop to be entered in that store’s big buck contest and the rack was measured at a whopping 180 3/8 inches.

Not a bad deal at all for a young lady who couldn’t tell what she was shooting at. Thankfully, her husband knew, she followed his command and ended up with a buck that could very well win the women’s division in Simmons Big Buck contest.

Contact Glynn at glynnharris37@gmail.com

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There’s a week left to make a difference for a super senior

/ Megan Lowe

We spend the fall cheering on Friday nights, soaring or sinking with the fortunes of our favorite high school football team. Whether it’s your alma mater, where you work, where your kid goes to school, or if your son, grandson, nephew, neighbor kid is pulling on a jersey or a manager’s or trainer’s shirt for the Friday Night Lights, it really means more.

These are young people you truly know, or know about, on a personal basis. They are almost always the best kind of social influencers – the big kids who personally connect with the little kids around them, and in some situations, are even the defacto parental figures in their own households.

In the first year of the Shreveport-Bossier Journal, we’ve spotlighted some of those boys becoming men.

They’re learning how to contribute to something bigger than themselves. It’s not just the star players, it’s the role players, it’s the scout teamers, it’s the student trainers tending to their banged-up classmates, the managers doing all they can to assure equipment and uniforms and footballs and blocking dummies are in good shape and in the right places.

None of these roles are particularly unique to football. But what is unique to football, not only locally but nationally, is the scholarship program provided by the National Football Foundation for remarkable senior scholar-athletes. The NFF’s S.M. McNaughton Chapter, which encompasses all of the 318 area code, is based in Shreveport-Bossier, and has existed for over 40 years with one primary purpose – to celebrate excellence among area prep football seniors.

The last two seasons, the North Louisiana NFF Chapter has promoted a Watch List launched in preseason and expanded during the season, providing recognition for those young men.

Now it’s time to collect nominations from the cream of the crop of the high school football Class of 2023, and reward nine of them with college scholarship money.

You’ve seen some possible nominees spotlighted during 14 weeks of prep football by our partners, KTBS-TV, and Johnny’s Pizza. The late Bob Griffin, the iconic local TV personality, was on the NFF board for years until he passed two years ago, the day after the Super Bowl, at age 85. He had covered a playoff semifinal two months earlier at Many High School. That made the KTBS partnership logical, and added a scholarship award to the eight issued annually by the NFF.

The 2023 recipients will be celebrated Thursday, March 2, with the traditional Scholarship Awards Dinner at East Ridge Country Club in Shreveport.

Deadline is in a week: the nominees must be submitted by Tuesday, Jan. 24, by the school’s head football coach.

Yes, next Tuesday night (really, until when the Wednesday Journal publishes and lands in your email box, free as always, at 6:55 a.m.).

The criteria: a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.2 by a senior who has won at least all-district honors and participated in some extracurricular activity.

There is an application form, available by emailing sbjdoug@gmail.com, or texting me at 318-471-2086. It’s not complicated – takes maybe five minutes to fill out, counting the coach’s call to the guidance counselor to get the exact GPA and standardized text scores. An academic transcript is required (we’ll be flexible for a few days past the deadline to receive that piece), and we’d love to get a letter or letters of recommendation to strongly enhance the nominee’s case.

At some schools, there’s no doubt who should be nominated. Sometimes there is a tough choice to be made.

It’s an opportunity that should not be wasted. If you’re a coach, a teacher, an administrator, a parent, or a fan, reach out to your head football coach to see if he’s nominating a deserving candidate. There are very few schools who just don’t have some senior who doesn’t fit the criteria.

There’s not a college-bound senior who can’t use some extra scholarship money, or who will ever forget that very special, classy evening in March when family, friends, college coaches, and fine folks from all around gather to celebrate the very best of the best.

Let’s celebrate the best kind of local social influencers. Help get a young man from your favorite high school football team nominated to receive a North Louisiana NFF Scholar-Athlete award. 

Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com

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Cowboys’ Prescott aims to shake INT bug, build playoff resume’

/ Megan Lowe

You don’t have to tell Dak Prescott the regular season is relatively meaningless. The wins, the touchdown passes, the points – when all is said and done, star athletes, especially quarterbacks in the NFL, are judged on how they (or their teams) perform in the postseason. 

“These matter,” Prescott said prior to the Dallas Cowboys’ playoff game against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers tonight. “I’ve always said I have to go win these games. If you don’t like playing in these games, being in this moment, this isn’t the place for you.” 

Prescott enters the game with a 1-3 postseason record – his lone victory came at home four years ago against Russell Wilson and Seattle. 

The Dallas Cowboys have a total of four postseason victories since their last Super Bowl championship 27 years ago. Owner Jerry Jones inked Prescott, a former Haughton and Mississippi State star, to a four-year, $160-million deal with hopes he could lead the franchise back to the promised land. 

While the Cowboys finished 12-5 and boasted the fourth-best scoring offense in the NFL this season, Prescott added something unusual to a heap of Dallas points and victories. 

Interceptions. 

Despite missing five games with a hand injury, Prescott tied for the league lead with 15 interceptions. 

However, like everything else he’s done in the regular season, the picks will also be meaningless, should the Cowboys make a run in the playoffs. 

Entering the 2022 campaign, Prescott had never thrown more than 13 interceptions in a full season. 

“When something’s uncharacteristic, it’s about getting back and doing the things you know,” Prescott said. “I have to study, be prepared and make sure I’m doing everything I need to mentally to leave no doubt. I need to respond the right way.” 

The naysayers are ready to pounce, especially after Prescott’s dud in the regular-season finale at Washington. He completed 14 of 37 passes and threw a pick-6 – his seventh straight game with an interception. 

“I want to win the championships and win the titles and everything (former Cowboys quarterbacks did), but I can’t say that’s at the forefront of my mind,” Prescott said. “I’m focusing on the now and what I’m capable of doing and really with the opportunity and the team we have this season.” 

The slate has been wiped clean for Prescott and the Cowboys. Now it’s time to collect things folks can’t take away or minimize. 

“Damn right,” Prescott said. “And obviously after a game like last week, this helps remind you how precious these moments are and how you don’t get these opportunities to play this game in general, but especially being in the playoffs having the team that we have.” 

Contact Roy at roylangiii@yahoo.com

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College quarterback predictions not worth a dime these days

/ Megan Lowe

There aren’t many things that are a bigger waste of time than predicting anything in college football, but much less when it comes to the future of a team’s quarterback position.

Five seconds after Walker Howard announced he was leaving LSU and heading to the transfer portal, seemingly credible and well-minded journalists had the next four years lined up as to who would be the Tigers’ starter — and what the rest of the quarterback “room” was going to look like — in each of the next few years.

(And before we go any further, can we discuss how stupid this whole “room” thing is in college football? Are we trying to sound a bit too football savvy for our own good? Is there a long snapper’s room?)

Tell you what, I’ll take any and all action you want on how the LSU quarterback progression is going to unfold through 2025. You predict it; I’ll starting drawing up plans for an addition to my house.

The No. 1 quarterback recruit for next year has already changed his mind. Florida has a quarterback signee who reportedly wants to back out because he doesn’t like his NIL deal.

So you’re going to tell me you have it all figured out on how it’s going to go down in Baton Rouge for next year and the year after that and a year after that?

Good luck … we’re all counting on you.

One of the biggest pearls of wisdom I’ve heard lately is that only a fool tries to predict a starting college quarterback for more than one season in advance. And even that’s a little iffy.

LSU coach Brian Kelly tried to put the kibosh on 2023 speculation by announcing after the Cheez-It Bowl — by the way, I think the Tigers just scored again — that there was no quarterback controversy for next year. It’s Jayden Daniels. Next question.

That left many to start fitting puzzle pieces together, which seem to suggest that the “room” wasn’t big enough for No. 2 QB Garrett Nussmeier or Howard, a redshirt freshman who was heralded when he signed as the next great thing.

And now Howard is gone. Well, at least we still have that cringe-worthy video tweet with Kelly awkwardly dancing while Howard holds up the “L” sign with his fingers, which apparently now stands for “Leaving.”

It’s really simple here, people. You don’t know. Coaches don’t know. Nobody knows.

So you can throw names like Rickie Collins and Colin Hurley around if you like, but they might as well be Joan Collins or Colin Powell when it comes to being the future of LSU quarterbacking.

Joe Montana was famously Notre Dame’s seventh-string quarterback in 1974, behind such luminaries as Frank Allocco and Rick Slager. Three years later, he won the national championship. You think that was in the plan?

Good thing Nick Saban didn’t follow the natural order of progression in 2016. Either Cooper Bateman or Blake Barnett was supposed to be the quarterback for the Crimson Tide that year. But Saban decided to give that freshman a shot and Jalen Hurts took them to the national championship.

The recruiting template says that you should try to sign a quarterback every year. Even before the portal came to be, that assumes (1) all of them are good enough to start and (2) all are happy with being a starter for ONE year for good ol’ State U.

Not much of a revelation here, but times have changed. Yes, but given the choice, Kelly would much rather have Walker Howard than not have Walker Howard. But he can’t possibly have been surprised by the news.

The old saying is that if you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans. He’d probably also get a kick out of it if you’d tell him about that starting quarterback roadmap which you’ve got all figured out.

Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com

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Getting ready for wintertime fishing

/ Megan Lowe

It’s that time again, another fishing season is upon us. Now begins the preparation for bass tournament competitions. Almost 95 percent of all tournament trails crank up in the month of January. With January comes one of two things, very cold days or sometimes what is called an Indian Summer. Don’t ask me why it’s called that, because I have not done any research with regards to this topic.

But usually it means some very cold weather conditions that can bring not only low temperatures but sleet and snow on rare occasions. Today we’ll look at how we not only prepare for these types of conditions but also what goes into getting ready to fish.

Cold temperatures dipping into the upper 20s and low 30s is fairly common in both January and February. The most important part of being able to fish in these conditions is dressing properly. We’ve all heard how you’re supposed to dress in layers and this is exactly what you better do. In order to focus and concentrate on fishing you better be comfortable and warm. Nothing is worse than trying to fish while your entire focus is on how cold it is, and that you can’t wait for this event to be over so you can get back to your truck and thaw out.

The only other thing worse than being cold — being wet and cold. This is why you never pinch pennies when it comes to good rain gear or outerwear. Both Bass Pro Shop’s 100 MPH suit and SIMMS outerwear make some of the best rain gear money can buy. This was the first I lesson learned while fishing as a co-angler on the FLW Tour back in 2004. Nothing is more valuable than good rain gear made from Gortex.

Some anglers can fish with gloves and some cannot. Fishing with gloves is not for me because of my inability to feel the line coming off the spool when casting. But it is highly recommended that you have a good pair of gloves with handshake warmers inside them while making those cold boat runs.

Another thing that’s a must-have during cold weather fishing — good socks. This is sometimes the most overlooked item when it comes to staying warm. There are a ton of options from a wool/cotton blend to electric; you just have to try different kinds and see what works for you.  

Now let’s talk tackle and what baits will be my primary go-to for this time of year. First and foremost, no good angler will hit the cold waters of January and February without a Rat-L-Trap style bait tied on. There’s actually two that I totally rely on — the Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap and the SPRO Aruku Shad in two colors, Toledo Gold and Texas Craw, both of which are primarily orange colored baits. If you’re only given one bait to fish this time of year, make sure it’s a rattling style bait like the Trap or the Aruku Shad.

Next, an A-Rig, this umbrella style rig is a go-to when bass are feeding on shad and is a great way to locate schools of bass. Another bait that will be tied on is a Chatter Bait. No other bait has probably been more productive at catching bass in the last 15 years than the Chatter Bait. This is basically nothing more than a skirted bass jig with a small blade attached to the head of the bait that creates a fish-attracting, side-to-side vibrating action that bass cannot resist.

There was time when the number one bait of choice for wintertime fishing was a jig. A lot of money has been won over the years with what anglers call a jig and pig. This is a combination of a skirted jig paired with a crawfish imitator in either soft plastic or actual pork rind. Pork rind is used mainly during cold temperatures when you’re looking for a more subtle presentation. While there are other baits that are good choices, the ones talked about today are the ones most anglers will have tied on this time of year.

Here’s a tip that might save you the headache of trying to pry open those frozen shut rod and storage compartments on your boat.  A cold rain followed by freezing temperatures will literally seal each compartment shut on your boat, but if you will leave each storage lid partially open and not completely closed, it will save you the hassle of having to use hot water to get them open.

Wintertime fishing can be really productive and it’s also a good time to catch lunker bass. But you just have to make sure you’re prepared for the conditions you’re likely to face when fishing with Old Man Winter. Having the right tackle and the right clothing, will make your cold-weather fishing much more enjoyable.

Contact Steve at sgraf26@yahoo.com

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‘Two bits, four bits, six bits a lot of dollars . . .’

/ Megan Lowe

(Editor’s note: The annual National Cheerleaders Association’s High School National Championships are January 21-22 in the Dallas Convention Center, and some of you parents are going — and leaving behind a substantial amount of money. By substantial I mean “most every dollar you’ve ever earned.” If you’re a rookie, today’s throwback to January of 2011 is what you can expect. It’s dedicated to Lawrence Herkimer, a wonderful sort you’ll read about here who has since passed away — in 2015 at 89. And it’s dedicated, most definitely, to you. Go forth, make memories, and bring us victories.)

Logically, you’d think competitive sports would have been invented first. But cheerleading, in its most primitive form, was here long, long before the football, the game clock, or even Lou Holtz.

I imagine a little boy in animal hide shorts surveying the prehistoric prairie and yelling desperately, with a slight Jurassic lisp, “Run, Uncle Ugh! RUN!!!”

Final score? Saber-Toothed Tigers 1, Cavemen 0. (A good cheer can do only so much.)

Or maybe the cavemen played a game of Hides vs. Skins while cavewomen encouraged them with “a tisket, a tasket, put the rock in the basket,” back when “the rock” really was one.

Did you know that near Sydney, Australia, they’ve found fossils of pompoms made out of Wooly Mammoth hair? They haven’t, but maybe one day…Just sayin…

We do know that cheerleading was re-invented, big-time, with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, who in 1972 eschewed the Eleanor Roosevelt quality of cheer for something a little racier. Like skin. And white go-go boots. And no “two bits, four bits” cheering.

For all practical purposes, cheer as our grandparents knew it died that fall years and years ago, thanks to white patent leather, mid-drifts, and the kinds of cowgirls Roy and Ritter and the Durango Kid sang about wistfully on those long, lonely nights on the prairie, down 10 late to the Redskins and facing third-and-long.

But that’s not the only kind of cheerleading done in Dallas today. Last weekend I was exposed to non-exposed cheerleaders, ages junior high to high school, in something called competitive cheering. This sort of thing has been going on since the 1950s or so but, like the World Football League and disc golf and the Raiders’ move out of and then back to Oakland, I missed the whole entire thing.

What I saw at the Dallas Convention Center over three days were more than 3,000 cheerleaders — 225 teams, give or take a ponytail — competing at the National Cheerleaders Association’s 30th annual championships. That’s substantial rah-rah.

My first impressions are that this is much harder than it looks, that toe-touching, basket-tossing and pike-kicking “as one” takes a lot of practice, and that estrogen as a force grows exponentially. If you are ever in the way, move, or there will not be enough of you left to scrape up and put in a shoebox.

The Ruston High team I supported (by watching, not by actually lifting anybody) won a national title and a third place. I suspect more North Louisiana schools will get in on the action; the “problem” is that it really is hard. But as with any challenge, if you give a child enough love, give them some hope and some instruction in something they really care about, kids will surprise you with what they can make happen.

Speaking of, let me offer props to the man who invented the whole competitive cheer concept. He is Lawrence Herkimer, inventor of the “Herkie” jump who, as an SMU cheerleader, organized and led a cheer camp in 1948, drawing 52 girls and one boy. The camp grew by seven times in one year. In 1986, he sold the NCA and his cheer supply company for $20 million.

With a patent on the pompom, Herkie is the man, the guy on top of the cheer pyramid.

Sunday, I saw people lined up 45-deep to buy T-shirts. Impressive.

If I were “Herkie,” I would “Rah!” my ownself. I would cheer me. 

Contact Teddy at teddy@latech.edu or on Twitter @MamaLuvsManning.

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Prep track and field: Locals fare well at LSU High School Classic

/ Megan Lowe

Parkway sophomore distance runner Andrew Kent knew what to expect going into the season-opening indoor track meet, the LSU High School Classic. After finishing the 3200m with a time of 10:27.14, Parkway head coach Kent Falting is excited about where Kent will wind up.

“You always want to start off faster than you did the year before,” Falting said. “Drew opened with a 10:54 last year as a freshman and ended at 10:17, so he is in a much better starting point. We are anxious to see him break 10:00.”

Falting had another young distance runner, freshman Raquel Rios, who experienced her first packed-house at the Carl Maddox Fieldhouse on the campus of LSU. There were more than just a few nerves.

“She didn’t know if she wanted to run it,” Falting said. “She was a little intimidated going into her first-ever indoor meet, but we’re excited that she faced her fears and ran really well.”

Rios ran a 14:21.08 and finished No. 13.

Of course, Parkway veteran distance runners Gabe Falting and Cheyenne Olson had solid opening performances as well. Falting, a junior, finished No. 20 in the 1600m with a time of 4:48.65. Olson finished No.18 in the girls’ 1600m with a 5:59.93.

Falting and Olson saw some familiar faces in those races. Jesus Cordova, a sophomore, finished just ahead of Falting at No. 17 with a 4:47.76. Yet another sophomore for Parkway, Lady Panther Ember Pierce finished just behind Olson at No. 20 with a 6:03.57.

The Parkway boys distance crew joined forces and had the best showing of any Caddo-Bossier relay team. The 4x800m relay ran an 8:41.36 and finished No. 6.

Airline’s Elena Heng, a junior, had the highest finish of local athletes in the girls 1600m. She opened her season with a 5:55.87 for No. 15. Heng also finished No. 15 in the 800m with a 2:33.02. 

Airline also fared well in the boys’ 60m where senior Cameron Jefferson and junior Ladarius Epps posted solid performances. Jefferson ran a 7.25 to finish at No. 34, while Epps clocked a 7.36 to finish at No. 56 in a field of 170 runners. 

Both Jefferson and Epps were part of the Viking boys’ 4x200m relay which finished No. 16 with a 1:36.10. 

Airline had a strong showing in the 60m hurdles as well. Sophomore Ian White ran an 8.88 and finished No. 12 while senior Kye Lehr had an 8.91 and finished at No. 14. 

There was a plethora of local talent in the boys’ 800m, led by the defending LHSAA Class 1A state champion Jackson Burney. The Calvary Cavalier ran a 2:01.83 to finish seventh in the event. Burney returned later in the meet to run the 400m. He finished No. 24 with a time of 53.59.

Other noteworthy performances in the 800m included Airline’s Gabe Laval, who finished No. 15 with a time of 2:07.12, and Loyola’s Franklin Roemer, who ran a 2:11.80 to finish at No. 32.

In the field events, Airline senior Jae’lon Shumake finished No. 18 in the shot put with a toss of 41-8.50 and Loyola junior Amari Jackson finished No. 24 in the girls’ shot put with a best of 26-11.50.

While Byrd and Huntington did not open their indoor seasons last Saturday, both will get them underway this Saturday — albeit traveling in different directions. Huntington will head south to the McNeese Indoor No. 1 Meet on the campus of McNeese State University. The Yellow Jackets will travel to Fayetteville, where they will participate in the Arkansas Invitational. 

Contact Jerry at sbjjerrybyrd@gmail.com

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When red wolves roamed north Louisiana

/ Megan Lowe

I felt extra special there in elementary school at Goldonna. My dad had the coolest job in the world and it made me one of the most popular kids in the sixth grade to tell my buddies gathered around all big eyed about my dad’s latest adventure.

My dad, T. E. “Doc” Harris, worked in predator control for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. He was a “wolf trapper.”

It was especially neat when my brother, Tom, and I got to go along with him to run his traps and see what had been caught. Sometimes it was a possum; sometimes a coon; sometimes a skunk; sometimes a fox or bobcat but the real thrill came when we found the trap gone with a wolf track next to it.

When he set his traps – he used heavy-duty No. 4 Newhouse – he didn’t stake them down. Instead, he attached and buried a chain of about 8 feet in length to which he had attached what he called a “drag hook,” a two-pronged hook with one side pointing up and the other down. This enabled the trapped animal to take off dragging the chain and hook behind rather than jerking a foot out or losing a toe in the staked-down trap.

The trail left as the wolf took off with the trap dragging the hook behind was easy to follow. Usually, the animal would be found tangled up in a nearby thicket.

Finding a red wolf in a trap was especially exciting because of our exposure to these creatures on warm summer nights when dad would take us to a pipeline or power line somewhere over in Winn Parish to make them howl. He would let loose with a long mournful howl and if wolves were within earshot, they’d answer and I still get chills in thinking about those hauntingly deep-throated howls.

Dad taught me to howl and once when Tom and I accompanied him on a week-long trapping venture to Madison parish, I got to put my new-found howling skills to the test.

Dad had located a wolf den deep in the swamp and he and the caretaker of the hunting lodge where we stayed that week, a wiry little fellow named Drew Denton, came up with a plan. Dad would park his Jeep a couple hundred yards or so from the den’s location, he’d leave Tom and me at the Jeep while he and Drew would take shotguns and sneak half-way between the Jeep and the den. The plan was to waylay the wolves as they came in response to my howling. He left me his watch and told me to begin howling 20 minutes after they departed.

The plan worked to perfection. As soon as 20 minutes had passed, I tilted my head back, cupped my hands around my mouth and let out a howl that must have sounded sweet to the wolves at the den. They immediately answered and then all was quiet. I waited to hear the blast of a shotgun and when no shots were heard, I decided to howl again.

Something unplanned happened because instead of hearing shotguns blasting, I heard wolves howling 50 yards away as they had skirted dad and Drew and they were closing fast. In a matter of seconds, here came three loping wolves toward where two scared little boys were sitting on the hood of the Jeep.

Tom remembered dad’s pistol he kept under the seat, grabbed it and fired a shot, not trying to hit one but to let them know they needed to skee-daddle, which thankfully, they did in a hurry. 

Memories of my dad and his association with red wolves have become just that, distant memories. Red wolves are no longer running wild in Louisiana, having been hybridized out of existence with the burgeoning population of coyotes. Only a few captive pure blood red wolves remain in a protected area in North Carolina.

Eventually, the expense and sagging interest to try and save the few remaining will fade like the last mournful note of the howl I heard as a boy on a summer night in Winn Parish. 

Contact Glynn at glynnharris37@gmail.com

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Don’t dog the Frogs, appreciate them Dawgs

/ Megan Lowe

Now suddenly, we’re shocked that what we thought going into the College Football Playoff semis was right?

Admit it. The percentage of people who two weeks ago thought TCU was the third-best team in America, and had a real shot to play for the Natty, was only a slight bit higher than the number of Horned Frog mascots in sports.

But outside of Alabama holdouts and SEC loyalists who believed a two-loss Tide team somehow deserved a spot, most folks weren’t terribly upset the almost-unbeaten school of Slingin’ Sammy Baugh got invited to the dance, and a No. 3 seeding.

Couldn’t very well have a Big Ten rematch of the Buckeyes and Wolverines in the semis. Besides, earning the right to play in a conference championship game, and losing for the first time in 2022 by failing to give your best player (Mad Max) the ball two straight downs at the goalline in overtime, shouldn’t DQ TCU.

New Year’s Eve, we all agreed, greatest semifinal round ever. TCU stunned Michigan 51-45, Georgia rallied past Ohio State 42-41. The Yankee teams were vanquished, and that plays especially well in these parts.

Upstart TCU was getting its shot. A 13-point underdog had 52 percent of fans in an ESPN poll picking the Hypnotoads. Explain that logic – the fan poll, or the Hypnotoads.

Then the extremes weren’t considered and the extremes erupted Monday night.

Extreme 1: TCU outlasted Michigan – but the Horned Frogs snagged not one, but TWO pick-sixes, which happens about as often as Congressional concurrence.

Extreme 2: You saw it. Well, some of it. No need to watch much. It was all but over before a closing two-TD rush vaulted Georgia up 38-7 at halftime. Kirby Smart’s biggest challenge afterward was deciding when to pull Stetson Bennett for a curtain call. Dawgs 65, Frogs 7.

There’s been what old Texans call a frog strangler going on out on the Left Coast for the last several days. There was definitely a Frog strangler that played out – fast –  at SoFi Stadium Monday night.

And that angered people?  Why, I do not understand. TCU was heroic in its semifinal win, and the Frogs were freaky. Again, TWO pick-sixes. Offensively, scoring 37 on the nation’s No. 3 defense. Those teams could play 10 times and Michigan probably takes eight. Might allow 30 points, once or twice.

So TCU earned its way to LA. Despite “all the doubters” – puhleeze, defending national champion and unbeaten Bulldogs, nobody was surprised Georgia was back for another crown – and despite the late-game drama in the semis, Georgia was clearly deserving of its trip west.

Then Smart dawg-cussed at his boys in the locker room before kickoff, urged them to play “aggressive,” and they peaked at the right time. Bennett said it was “brutal perfection” how well they played.

The Horny Toads were overwhelmed. Simple things were not simple. They looked better suited for the Jimmy Kimmel Bowl, not the ultimate game.

It happens. Not many championship games are classics. We just want them to be.

Not many championship games are blowouts. But some are.

I grew up an avid NFL fan. Somehow before I was 10 I knew all about the 1958 NFL Championship Game, with Shreveport’s living legend, Leo Sanford, Louisiana Tech’s finest, snapping the ball despite a busted-up knee so the Baltimore Colts could kick a field goal to force overtime in their battle in Yankee Stadium against the New York Giants. Still considered by many the most significant game, and even the greatest game, in NFL history, because by going into overtime, the Colts prevailed before a big Sunday evening national audience.

I also knew all about the 1940 NFL Championship game. Bears 73, Redskins 0. Look it up.

I lived through the 1977 LHSAA Class 2A championship game, the last game staged in decaying Tulane Stadium. John Curtis 45, Jonesboro-Hodge 0. Completely unexpected by both teams. (8-0 two minutes before the half, BTW. A sad story for a cloudy day).

All these years later, I still think if we played 10 times, my Tigers would win five.

I think the Frogs might win one in 10 against them Dawgs. But they earned the chance. They don’t deserve to be dissed, even now.

Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com

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