Toxic Rain on the Bayou

(Baton Rouge)- The last time we saw the Vanderbilt Commodores, were were freezing cold but happy because the football team from my wife's alma mater had just won a bowl game. Fast forward to a rainy south Louisiana Saturday night and you find a woman in conflict.
A lifelong Louisiana resident who loves her Tigers as much as any other non-LSU alum, she found her affection conflicted as the Commodores made a rare trip to Tiger Stadium. She struggled with what to wear to the game, knowing full well she would be in close quarters with Tiger faithful for the first home game of the season. She settled on an LSU polo shirt with a Vanderbilt pin and socks adorned with her school's colors.
We let a select few fans in our proximity in on her conundrum and they seemed comfortable with her as long as LSU had a two-score lead. Unfortunately for her, that circumstance did not prevail for a significant portion of the game. When the Commodores drove into LSU territory with an opportunity to tie the game in the second half, she was just toxic. I just occasionally patted her on the shoulder to let her know I was there for her.
Ultimately, Vanderbilt was Vanderbilt. They turned the ball over at key moments and had a couple of stupid penalties to keep LSU scoring drives alive. The Tigers won and the lone Vandy fan in the section accepted it well, as if it had been preordained.
The LSU people around us were uncharacteristically gracious. but really nobody hates Vanderbilt, not even Tennessee fans. I suspect if she had graduated from Alabama things would have been decidedly different.

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Smiling All The Way

Darrell and Mike (47)
Originally uploaded by Darrell

I have made it home from Auburn, and boy what a great weekend!
Let's start with the obvious: LSU overcame a 14-3 second half deficit to win at Auburn for the first time in a decade. They scored the winning touchdown with just about one minute left in the game to win 26-21. I was standing on the end line when Brandon LaFell caught the winning pass from Jarrett Lee. LaFell ran directly toward me as the impressive throng of LSU faithful at Jordan-Hare Stadium exploded with glee. The trip would have been great no matter what, but certainly it was better because the game was thrilling. The fact that LSU won was gravy. Both teams were ranked in the top 10 in the nation.
The traveling companions and I left home Friday evening and watched high school football, then headed eastward into the night.
We were out of town for 48 hours. 17 of those hours were spent in the car. About 8 of them were spent watching football. The other guys all were working, so they had to write and produce stories for their media employers. Consequently, a good chunk of their time was spent under significant deadline pressure. I pitched in where I could in a good faith attempt to justify my attendance, but I had essentially no stress.
There was a little pressure to be witty. That comes with the territory when you hang with this crew. I don't have may opportunities to do "guy trips," and this one seemed to go really well.
The weather was spectacular and the football was even better. The company was consistently entertaining. You can't ask for much more than that.

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Urban Legend

Carrie
Originally uploaded by patrickgensel

For Christmas, we bought our daughter tickets to the "Carrie Underwood Concert." She came to town Sunday night, sharing billing with Keith Urban. In the days leading up to the show, we were asked several times if we had an extra "Carrie Underwood tickets." Driving to the show, we were wondering which performer would appear first. They both are Grammy winners with multiple #1 hit records.
Underwood Performed admirably, even going metal with a cover of Guns N' Roses' smash "Paradise City." Her biggest ovation came following her breakout hit "Before He Cheats." She is beautiful, exceptionally talented and has the potential one day to be great. She needs to work on her showmanship a little, but I would have been satisfied with her concert on its own merits. She went first, by the way. Now I know why.

Keith Urban
Originally uploaded by sassy_wench53

Keith Urban is unbelievable. I had no idea, no clue. Where have I been? This guy puts on an amazing, high-tech, high energy show that left the packed house breathless and screaming for more. A versatile guitarist and remarkable vocalist, it's no wonder he has become a worldwide sensation (of which I was ridiculously unaware until about midnight Sunday).
I guess he is known as a country music star because he has won awards in that format, but his show seemed to have precious few "country" elements to it.
My wife and I have seen a lot of shows together, and as the Keith Urban frenzy built in Bossier, she turned to me and shouted, "this is right up there!," meaning it was among the best concerts she had ever seen. I can't disagree.

Urban performed an encore wearing an LSU football jersey. Early in the show, he and the band performed an impromptu version of "Louisiana Saturday Night." He did it with out gettin' down a fiddle or gettin' down a bow, but he had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand. Urban and his wife are expecting a child. A fan brought a baby gift for him, and he noticed her. He invited her on-stage and opened the present to reveal a purple and gold LSU "onesie." The place came unglued.All the while, the concert was diplayed live on a massive HD screen behind the stage.I don't pretend to know much about the big-time, but I'm pretty sure I saw it Sunday night. We came to see Carrie and were pleased. We stuck around for "The guy with her" and were blown away.

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Peril-Lou

AP Photo by Alex Brandon
Originally uploaded by Darrell

LSU quarterback Ryan Perrilloux is suspended from the team for "his failure to follow team rules," according to a news release from LSU's Sports Information Department..
Perrilloux has been a thorn in coaches' and fans' sides since signing day when he talk about supplanting returning quarterbacks. He's been in trouble for his activities in and around night clubs and casinos. He can't seem to attend meetings, go to class or generally be a consistent "team guy." This is a shame, because he is an extraordinarily talented athlete. He's the guy who has been expected to lead the offense of the reigning national champions for two more years.
If he doesn't figure out how to behave, he may be running circles around SWAC opponents before he knew what hit him.

Perrilloux started two games during LSU's BCS championship run, but missed the win over Alabama in the wake of his involvement in a brawl at a Baton Rouge nightclub.
The Tigers will start spring practice later this month, and it remains unclear whether Perrilloux will even be on campus.

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Draft Day for Colleges

Three-sport star Khiry Cooper
Originally uploaded by Calvary Cavaliers

This is one of the busiest days of the year for media types who cover high school and college sports. It's national signing day, the first day football players who are seniors in high school can formally commit to a college. The local stud is Khiry Cooper, a three-sport star at Calvary Baptist Academy, who has decided to go to Nebraska. He is expected to play wide receiver and outfielder for the Cornhuskers. This is a big recruiting coup for our pals in Lincoln.
This is always an exciting day, because it's filled with hope. Parents are celebrating because their sons are getting scholarships. Student athletes are excited because their hard work and commitment are affirmed. Fans are excited because they think they have a handle on who their teams' future stars will be.

Most Won't get Scholarships
Originally uploaded by Daddy D.

It's also a day of disappointment for many, because substantially more athletes don't get any kind of offers. Those are the ones who are sitting around, seeing what falls through the cracks. The athletes and their parents have made commitments to the sport, also. Maybe they're just not big enough, just not fast enough, just not quick enough to play college football. Now, Mom and Dad have to cobble together something to make college happen. Maybe the kid walks on. Maybe he walks away from football.
Those stories rarely get covered. Sports stories are tales of triumph and achievement, and those are the strories you will see today and tomorrow as National Signing Day is chronicled across the country.

Byrd - Shreve, originally uploaded by Daddy D.

LSU picked up 26 commitments, and is considered to have one of the top 10 recruiting classes in the nation.

LSU megaphones
Originally uploaded by Daddy D.

That's great, but it's slightly disappointing to some fans. After all, the Tigers are the only program to have won the BCS championship twice. LSU's status in the college football heirarchy should arguably attract a top 2 or 3 class. It's all art, not science. Louisiana Tech coach Derek Dooley summed up well, when talking about his recruiting class of 16: “We’re very pleased with the quality of players we got in this year’s class,” said Dooley. “However, the final analysis on how productive this class will be will be measured four years from now.”

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Delirium, Delusion and Duseltory Denouement

LSU's football season has come to a most satisfying conclusion. The Tigers are, by accomplishment and consensus, the National Champions of college football. With 12 wins and two triple-overtime losses, they have the best record in the land among the sport's major conferences. Hawaii was 12-1, but the one loss was so egregious and ill-timed that it rendered them superfluous.
LSU's dominating victory over an overmatched Ohio State squad in the title game earned the program its third national title and its second in five years. Can it be a coincidence that each of those titles was punctuated with a season-ending win in New Orleans, just an hour east of the LSU campus? Tiger Faithful are delirious today, not to mention a little bit sleepy. Those who did not have a ticket to the game stayed up late and reveled in the victory. Productivity, no doubt, is taking a hit across the state. People have made it to work, but they are bleary-eyed and their conversations are dominated by last night's game in particular and the remrkable LSU season in general.
Less than two hours before the game started, I was in a supermarket. I made it my goal to see if, at any moment, I could look around and NOT see someone wearing LSU gear. The answer: for about seven seconds, I was alone in an aisle. That was it. I found myself wondering if LSU lost, would we see this much purple and gold on Tuesday? Alas, we will never know. Today, people are awash in Tiger colors, many sartorial statements accentuated by newly-minted proclamations of conquest. Local sporting goods strores stayed open all night to sell national championship attire. By many accounts, they were overrun by jazzed up Bengal devotees.
I had deluded myself into being content about staying home for the game. For the past several days, I've had countless people express their surprise that I had no plans to attend. The truth is, I didn't have a ticket and wasn't willing to pay the price necessary to get one. Also, I was there five years ago when LSU beat Oklahoma in the same building to earn a national title. I had a "Been there, done that" riff going. As the game wore on last night, I finally had to admit to myself that I was kind of sick at my stomach for not trying a little harder to get there.
Given the circumstances with which I was faced, I made the best of things. While my daughter was at a party and my son was working at The Chicken Place during the first half, my wife and I sat together in the living room with the HD, the TiVo and the surround sound and didn't miss a thing. I prefer it that way. During games about which I care, I do not wish to be distracted by conversation. The occasional phone call or text message from friends served me well. My son texted less than an hour before kickoff to marvel at the amount of business The Chicken Place was doing, particularly with people ordering mass quantities of chicken. He came home at halftime, his shift complete, and said that after 7:00pm they had exactly two customers.
The day did take on a holiday feel: a rush of activity, followed by a hush. The streets were Christmas day still for about four hours.
So, there is a sense of celebration today as people try to catch up on their rest while they're at work.
There are pockets of discontent. Some Louisiana Tech fans, in particular, feel as though they have LSU shoved down their throats. Setting that aside, with respect, for the time being, it is uplifting for our state to have something significant to celebrate together. Geaux Tigers.

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