Wrapping up the Saints

Wow, hard to believe six months ago people in Louisiana thought we could have LSU play for the national title and the Saints play in the Super Bowl in the same season.

Well, LSU held up its end of the bargain. The Saints not so much.

So what went wrong for the Saints.

Let's start with an uncanny ability to have personnel moves go awry. First-round draft pick Robert Meachem was an All-American at Tennessee. He never dressed out for the Saints. Cornerback Jason David was supposed to be a key pickup for the defense but he made Fred Thomas look good. Olindo Mare was supposed to be an improvement at kicker. He wasn't.

That doesn't even begin to touch on the injuries that devastated the backfield with both Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush going down with injuries.

Here is a realistic evaluation the Saints -- 1) They probably aren't as good as they were a year ago. 2) They're probably better than they were this season.

With some player moves on defense, some healthy players on offense, a little softer schedule, the Saints could be a factor again next year.

This year was a waste.

Kudos to Coach Croom

It may have been one of the ugliest bowl games in a while, but give Mississippi State credit, the Bulldogs found a way to win, defeating Central Florida, 10-3, in the Liberty Bowl.

And that is what this season has been about for State.

Sylvester Croom won eight games with a true freshman quarterback and an offense that was challenging to the eye.

They won with defense and special teams.

Even if you're not a Mississippi State fan, you have to appreciate what Croom has done. He hasn't taken any shortcuts -- not cheating, no Junior College quick fixes. He is competing in arguably the toughest conference and toughest division in college football and is making progress.

Give State credit for giving him the opportunity. Give Croom credit for making the most out of it.

Nice job, Aggies

I mean that without being sarcastic.

The Texas A&M athletic leadership apologized to Penn State coach Joe Paterno for what one of the Aggies yell leaders said during an Alamo Bowl pep rally Thursday night in San Antonio.

The yell leader, who was sent home after his, um, interesting choice of words, told the crowd Paterno was "on his deathbed" and needed to "look for a casket."

I do believe political correctness has overpowered freedom of speech in this country, but there needs to be a line drawn over something like that.

Paterno is 81 years old. Most people that age aren't doing what he's doing. He also understands people in the public eye are going to have others take shots at them. He brushed off the comment in Friday's media sessions saying the yell leader was "trying to be funny."

We'll see who's laughing at the end of Saturday night's Alamo Bowl. You can see all The Times' sports staff, plus PGA Tour star David Toms, selections in Friday's editions.

(Hint, there are more Paterno fans than Aggies on the panel).

Former Techsters assistant isn't rich yet

Just when former Lady Techsters assistant coach Stacy Johnson-Klein was set to have a VERY happy New Year's celebration, Fresno State officials are saying "not so fast."

Johnson-Klein, who left the Techsters to take the head coaching job at Fresno State, recently was awarded $19.1 million in her gender discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliation suit against her former employer.

But Fresno State attorneys are asking a judge to overturn the multimillion-dollar verdict. Stay tuned to see if the volatile coach becomes probably the highest paid former women's basketball coach in history.

His 15 minutes of fame

Raise your hand if you knew who Chris Jessie was before today?

Not even the most diehard Texas Longhorns fans probably knew that a) Chris Jessie was on the Texas football operations staff or that b) he was Mack Brown's step-son.

We know now.

Fortunately for Jessie his bone-headed decision to reach down for a loose football didn't hurt Texas. But you have to wonder what his step-father will say to him on Monday.

As it is, it's just a bizarre play.

Ladies seek adjustment

As we prepare to head into the new year, the Centenary women's basketball team has no where to go but up.

Over the last couple of weeks, coach Steve Curtis has been struggling due to the loss of scoring leader and driving force Cierra Bush. The feisty junior is the motor that makes the team go. How well the Ladies do as they head into the thick of The Summit League race will depend on how well they adjust to the season-ending knee injury of the former Lakeview star.

The Ladies are currently in last place in the league and have the worst attendance average (307 fans per game)in the Summit. The closest teams are UMKC (686), IUPUI (741), Western Illinois (744) and Oakland (969). Oral Roberts leads the league in fans with 1,733 per contest.

Christmas thoughts

I love Christmas. I love everything about Christmas - the lights, the tree, the gifts, the songs, the Nativity scenes and story, just the whole thing.

The only thing I don't like about Christmas is trying to put out a newspaper.

It is the deadest time of the year for sports events (which is a good thing). But man, filling up a paper can be hard some times.

For that we're thankful to the Independence Bowl and the local high school basketball tournaments.

Bowl musings

Through the first week of bowl action, here are some thoughts:

The WAC better get it going. Nevada being beaten by New Mexico wasn't all that unexpected. Nevada getting shut out was. Boise State losing to East Carolina was really unexpected.

Maybe the Sun Belt isn't as bad as everyone around here thinks. The FAU team that handled Memphis lost to ULM earlier in the year.

Did you think you'd see the day that Texas and Texas A&M both played before the I-Bowl kicked off?

A reason to care

Normally at this time of the year, I just glance at the TV to see what the score is in the bowl game of the day.

Let's face it, if you're playing before Christmas you probably don't need to be playing football.

But this year is different. I've actually watched some of these bowl games that I used to turn up my nose at in years past.

Are the matchups that much better? No. The matchups still stink.

The difference is we're picking the college bowl games in the paper. And just like the office fantasy baseball, basketball, you name it leagues, now there is sudden interest and reason to care.

Why Tom Brady?

The AP announced its Sportsman of the Year today. New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was the winner.

The Sporting News arrived at my house today with its Sportsman of the Year. Tom Brady was the winner.

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but didn't Tom Brady LOSE the AFC Championship Game?

That would mean Brady has won exactly one title in 2007 -- the AFC East.

I know, I know, Brady and the Patriots could go undefeated. The key word there is could. They haven't yet.

If they finish undefeated and win the Super Bowl, then by all means make Brady the 2008 Sportsman of the Year.

But for now, the winner should have been Peyton Manning.

Then again, Manning is used to getting robbed by Michigan men on individual awards.

Rival louisiana fighters take UFC stage next week

Mixed-martial arts in Louisiana takes center stage next Saturday in Las Vegas as Melvin Guillard and Rich Clementi will try to settle their differences during the main card of the aptly-named UFC 79: Nemesis. Unless they kill each other first.

Guillard (from Kenner) and Clementi (Slidell) used to train with each other. Guillard, 24, even looked up to Clementi, 31, at one point.

The “bayou beatdown” could be the wild-card in one of the UFC’s most-anticipated shows. The lightweight bout (155 pounds) will accompany fights that feature superstars Chuck Liddell, Matt Hughes and Georges St. Pierre. The intense feud could make for an historic night for MMA in Louisiana.

Monday, The Times, will run a preview of the fight. Here are some tidbits to look forward to:


GUILLARD ON CLEMENTI:
“As a person and as a fighter, I really don’t care much for (Clementi) at all,” said Guillard, a former all-district football player and state champion wrestler at Bonnabel High School in Kenner, just west of New Orleans.

CLEMENTI ON GUILLARD:
“I couldn’t feel any luckier to fight him on a big UFC show,” said Clementi, who trains and promotes MMA fights out of Slidell, La., just east of New Orleans. “I don’t feel the same way for him. I feel bad for him.”

UFC PRESIDENT DANA WHITE ON FIGHT:
“The beauty of fights like this is I love when guys talk all that (stuff),” White told The Times. “‘This guy’s the best, that guy’s the best.’ We’re going to find out in a few days.
“(Melvin) talks a lot of smack. It’s going to be a good fight. Melvin is in a position now where he really needs to win this.”

WHITE ON GUILLARD'S TROUBLES: “Melvin wants all the fame and status immediately,” White said. “This kid gets bounced off the show and he was out partying like a rock star like the thing was already on television -- acting like he was Mike Tyson or something.
“Melvin gets caught up in both. He’s not afraid to fight anybody. He has all the skill and talent. The kid was flat broke when he came on the show. The next time I see him for the (TUF) Finale, he shows up with a diamond cross and all this bling already. I was like ‘O, Jesus. Here we go.’
“He has so much talent he doesn’t have to try as hard as everybody else does. A lot of those guys end up wasting talent.”

CLEMENTI ON SCUFFLE IN HOUMA: “He walked up to me and I stuck out my hand out to shake his and he sucker punched me. I saw him later in Vegas and he apologized, but I said, ‘This will be settled when it’s settled my way.’ I was really pushing this fight to happen.”

GUILLARD ON FIGHT: “He feels I’m the same fighter I was four years ago. He doesn’t understand I’ve grown into a young man and now I’m a man fighting a man’s game. He still thinks I’m a kid fighting a man’s game.”

Check back Monday for the complete story

Where's Romo?

I really would like to hear from Tony Romo about his thumb and Jessica Simpson and how Dallas already has the nose of the plane headed down.

I'd like to hear from him but I can't. Tony Romo, fan and media darling, hasn't talked to the media this week.

Now for a guy who covered almost every Cowboys game home and road in the glory days of the early to mid-'90s, I can't ever remember Troy Aikman ducking the media. Maybe he didn't and I don't remember it, but it certainly doesn't come to mind.

Tony Romo may be a good quarterback, but he's got a ways to go before he can measure up with Aikman and past Cowboys greats when it comes to being a stand-up guy.

Act like you've been there before

University of Hawaii fans are upset over some of their Sugar Bowl ticket seat locations according to a story in the Honolulu Advertiser.

Never mind that these are the same seats that go to every Sugar Bowl team every year.

These people are going to complain.

I would say, "Act like you've been there before'', but they haven't. So maybe I should cut some slack.

But for something that should be an enjoyable -- and, oh by the way, possibly a once-in-a-lifetime -- experience, some people sure have a way of sucking the joy out of it.

Welcome to the 21st century Michigan

I am a bit relieved with Michigan's hire of Rich Rodriguez on Monday.

Les Miles is a good coach, but I don't think he was the best man to take over for Lloyd Carr. That's rough for some LSU fans to stomach. I've talked with several LSU fans in Baton Rouge who were ready to fork over Miles' bus fare to Ann Arbor.

Miles and I are Michigan Men, an archaic term that I'm glad has come to an end with Rodriguez. Bo Schembechler wasn't a Michigan Man either and that turned out pretty good for the Wolverines.

Rodriguez's hire immediately upgrades Michigan's offense into the 21st century. Let's face it. That whole three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust spiel has come and gone. You want to start winning national titles, then it's time to invigorate a stale offense.

Michigan has been synonymous with underachievement. Recruiting classes have consistently been in the top-10. Yet, it has finished in the AP's top-10 only five times since 1993. Meanwhile, rival Ohio State has been in the top-five five of the last six years. Not much of a rivalry then, is it?

Rodriguez will update the offense to one SEC fans will recognize, especially if you're a Florida fan, and one that can compete for a national title.

Chancellor: second best coach in Ruston?

Despite getting out of Ruston on Sunday with an easy win over the Lady Techsters, LSU Lady Tigers coach Van Chancellor wasn't totally happy about his visit to the piney hills of north central Louisiana.

"The bad thing about coming to Ruston is that you're always the second best coach in town," Chancellor said in reference to fellow Hall of Fame coach Leon Barmore. "Coach Barmore and I checked out that new golf course you have here and I'm looking forward to coming back and playing golf on it."

Chancellor and Barmore went head-to-head on several occasions during Chancellor's stint at Ole Miss, while Barmore was coaching the Techsters.

"That sucker came over here and beat us in the finals of our tournament one year, but I went to his the next year and returned the favor," Barmore said.

D.J. Wright fails to qualify.

One of the most highly touted recruits announced by Louisiana Tech coach Kerry Rupp this summer will not be attending the school.

D.J. Wright did not qualify academically to enroll at Tech, according to a souce at the school. That means that Wright will have to go the JUCO route or sit out a year to become eligible.

Wright is a 6-foot-7 perimeter player from Sault St. Marie, Ontario, who originally committed to LSU. He averaged 22.5 points and 12.5 rebounds for his high school career at Toronto Academy Prep and was expected to team with LSU transfer Magnum Rolle to create opponent miss matches for Rupp's squad next fall.

"D.J. Wright is another tremendous and exciting player for our program," Rupp said during the summer. "I firmly believe he will make an immediate impact next season with his work ethic and ability to shoot the ball. D.J. definitely highlights what we feel is becoming an exceptional recruiting class for us here at Louisiana Tech in our first year."

Wright's AAU Coach Ro Russell of Canada's top ranked AAU team Grass Roots Canada described Wright as a great player on and off the court and expected Wright to be an immediate impact for the Bulldogs.

Coming soon

Apparently Nick Saban is out of the Jimmy Johnson school of holiday indifference.

We got the I-Bowl practice schedule today. We had been told the teams were coming to town on Dec. 26 to begin preparations for the Dec. 30 game at Independence Stadium.

Colorado is still coming on Dec. 26.

Alabama isn't.

The Crimson Tide will spend Christmas in Shreveport with an afternoon workout at Independence Stadium.

Saban and Christmas have been tied together in past years. You may remember Christmas 2004 as the year he left LSU for the Miami Dolphins job.

It can't be, can it?

The New Orleans Saints are threatening to make the playoffs the hard way -- winning down the stretch when the games matter.

The Saints have two down with two to go.

Can they do it?

Well, they'll be at home against a Philadelphia team fresh off beating the Dallas Cowboys. But can the Eagles put two stout defensive efforts together back-to-back?

Then the Saints end the season in Chicago.

How about that? The Saints in cold Chicago needing a win to stay alive and possibly make the playoffs.

Last year would suggest this would be a stumbling block. But this isn't last year's Bears team.

They still need some help with the Vikings.

But the Saints' chances look a whole lot better than they did around Thanksgiving.

That's all folks

Grambling State's football season ended with a whimper today, losing 42-31 to Jackson State in the SWAC title game.

That's three straight losses to end the season for Grambling. Tigers coach Rod Broadway now shares two things in common with Nick Saban -- a late-season swoon and a loss to ULM.

In all seriousness, I thought Broadway did an excellent job this season. The Tigers didn't get very good quarterback play down the stretch and if you don't get good quarterback play you better have a great defense and well Grambling didn't have a great defense today.

Franklin was hit low; fighters falling out of ring curiously absent from TV show

The much-anticipated Christian Fulgium-Darrell Wood fight, featuring a table-crashing exit by both fighters was NOT part of the "Forces of Destruction" show on TV. Due to creative editing, the bout was skipped altogether.
Hmmm, that seems a bit fishy. No ... A LOT fishy.
The other main attraction was to be the Blake Franklin-Nick Reed bout that sent Franklin to the hospital with a ruptured testicle.
Franklin's claims were supported by the video tape. Reed accidentally delivered a straight left foot to Franklin's groin early in the first round. The immediate reaction by Franklin made it overwhelmingly obvious he indeed was stunned with a low blow.
The shot buckled Franklin to his knees and Reed momentarily took Franklin's back and then turned him over on the ground and went to town.
It will be interesting to see what the state's boxing and wrestling commission does with Franklin's appeal.

Weekend musings

It's a rough weekend for college football fans.

Now that Appalachian State has won the FCS title on Friday, there will be no college games (at least those worth watching) until the bowl season begins on Dec. 20.

The Arkanas-Oklahoma basketball game today looks fairly interesting in the sense of big conference schools playing.

The NFL Network has one of those games that keeps people from demanding their NFL Network. Cincinnati and San Francisco won't keep you warm Saturday night.

The Saints are in do-or-die mode on Sunday with the Cardinals. The Cowboys are pursuing home-field advantage in the playoffs against the Eagles.

On the whole, I give the weekend a 4.

Not feelin' the love

I got my Sporting News in the mail today. It's a good issue -- their annual bowl preivew issue.

Not much love for the Independence Bowl, though.

The Sporting News gives the I-Bowl a two-star rating (translation: TiVo it). Here's what the magazine says about the I-Bowl: "There's something about the threat of Nick Saban finishing below .500 that makes an otherwise utterly irrelevant game mildly interesting.''

There is a positive. The I-Bowl doesn't have the magazine's lowest (one-star) rating. That would belong to the New Mexico, Hawaii, Motor City, Texas, Emerald, New Orleans, Humanitarian and International bowls.

Have Astros done it again?

I’m going to give Houston Astros GM Ed Wade the benefit of the doubt.

He MUST know something the rest of us don’t.

How could you otherwise explain today’s trade in which the Astros acquired shortstop Miguel Tejada from the Baltimore Orioles for Luke Scott, Matt Albers, Troy Patton, Dennis Sarfate and recently acquired prospect Mike Constanzo?

Tejada is still a talented player, and his bat will make the Astros a bit more dangerous at the plate. But giving up youngsters Patton AND Albers, when quality pitching is at a premium…?

Sarfate, a flamethrower, is an intriguing talent. And Scott, 29, hit as many homers (18) as the 31 year-old Tejada last season.

Wade is either a genius or he’s come down with a severe case of Purpuritis.

Arkansas has a coach

The Arkansas Razorbacks have a coach.

Bobby Petrino quit on the Atlanta Falcons - another college coach turned NFL loser.

His parachute comes in the way of the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Arkansas fans will gladly overlook the fact his team stunk in the NFL. They'll look at the Louisville years with great hope.

The reality is Petrino will be taking over a team that likely won't have Darren McFadden next year and maybe not Felix Jones.

At least now we'll find out if Petrino is a good coach or someone who feasted on the Big East.

Who are these guys?

The New Orleans Saints were back on Monday Night Football tonight. Six months ago, it seemed like a great idea. Six weeks ago, not so much.

Yet the Saints -- minus Deuce McAllister and minus Reggie Bush -- looked like a real football team.

Granted they were playing the Falcons. But still, the Saints did just enough to tease their fan base into thinking they could make a run for a wild-card spot.

Actually, the Falcons are terrible. Bobby Petrino is probably headed back to the college ranks. (Gee, if Steve Spurrier and Nick Saban couldn't cut it should we be surprised Petrino can't?)

I'm not getting any hopes up for the Saints.

I think this team's record will end up just mediocre enough to miss the playoffs but not get a real good draft position.

North Louisiana's best?

We have barely played a month of college basketball, but some things are starting to come a little clearer.

Apparently, just about every team in the area/state looks like it will struggle this season.

Well, everybody but LSUS. You could make the case that LSUS is the area's best men's college basketball team.

The Pilots have already defeated Northwestern State and Centenary. They don't have Tech or Grambling on the schedule, but you would have to like their chances in those games. And, if you're doing the score comparison thing, LSUS beat McNeese by more points than LSU.

UPDATED: State better take hold of MMA before someone gets severely hurt or killed

Friday night, Shreveport's historical Municipal Auditorium was the scene of a amateur/pro mixed-martial arts show. "Forces of Destruction" was the best show to come to town in terms of production. However, the state avoided major disaster due to pure luck.
Two fighters went crashing through a ring that should have never been approved and landed on a hardwood floor 4 feet below the canvas.
Christian Fulgium, a former Benton wrestler, and Darrell Wood were relatively unharmed -- not to mention the scoring judge and media member the duo hit on the way down.
It was a pretty wild scene and pretty ironic considering official Alvin Topham warned the media ringside about fighters coming through. Although he initially misrepresented himself as a member of the La. State Boxing and Wrestling Commission -- he's really the ISKA representative (I actually do pay attention to this stuff) -- things worked themselves out.
However, what the commission and Topham should have been concerned with is the ring in place Friday night.
Fighters wouldn't blast out of the ring if they were fighting in a cage OR a ring with thicker ropes. The ropes may have been fine for boxing, but there were a lot smaller (and more flimsy) than the ropes from previous shows in town.
Of course, how about a 5-rope system. There were 4, sadly thin ropes.

Fighters were trying to come through the ropes all evening.
Fulgium, who was unharmed in the fall (unlike his opponent), even said he had concern before his fight as he watched previous bouts worked against the thin ropes.
The sport of MMA suffered its first documented death when a Texas fighter recently died.
Louisiana is EXTREMELY lucky it didn't have No. 2.
Part of the 13-bout card will air on TV in Shreveport on Friday and the editors will likely make the crash through the ring the center of attention -- in part because the professional bouts were sub-par to be nice. Nothing against the fighters, but they either were terrible matchups, ended with controversial referee stoppages, low blows or because fighters crashed through the ropes.
The amateur portion of the card was terrific. The inexperienced fighters definitely outshined their professional counterparts.
The state's Boxing and Wrestling commission better get a hold on safety, now! Louisiana has a special thing. As we saw last night, this is a hotbed for amateur fights because La. is one of a handful of states that allows amateur MMA bouts.
There were amateur from Georgia and others from Oklahoma and Texas (I had previously said two fighters from Miami were amateurs. They were professionals -- I had that right in my story that night, but the blog was incorrect).

Despite that factual error in this blog, the state is still LUCKY to be able to host amateur MMA. Because amatuer fighters DO come from Florida to fight here.
That's who we need to worry about. Not who's sitting ringside. Keep the fighters in the ring -- or better yet in a cage (this is cage fighting after all) and you won't have to worry about the people outside the area of battle.
I love the sport, but oversights like Friday's give it the bad reputation it has.

NOTE: A few people have questioned the pictured used with this blog. It was the best picture we had. It has nothing to do with the story. It was just a great picture. Blood is part of the sport and kudos to (photographer) Jamey Bramlett and fighters Billy Curl (right) and Joseph Salas.

Kudos to the Gents

News comes out today that Centenary is ranked among the top 100 in men's basketball RPI.

Look, I understand that when you take out conference champions you need to be in the top 30 to make the tournament.

That's not the point.

Centenary, in recent years, has been near the bottom 100 in men's basketball RPI. This is a step in the right direction and it certainly reflects well on the job Gents coach Rob Flaska is doing.

I-Bowl talk

Just back from the AT&T Team Announcement Party for the PetroSun Independence Bowl.

While the bowl matchup between Alabama and Colorado is getting knocked pretty good nationally -- one Web site has the game ranked 30th out of 32 bowl games -- the turnout tonight appeared as large if not larger than in recent years.

You've got to give credit to Alabama's Nick Saban and Colorado's Dan Hawkins for showing up.

And both coaches showed some personality as well.

Saban told a story about being in Baton Rouge as the LSU coach and going to get gas after losing to UAB. He went in to pay and the attendant saw a Big Ten championship ring Saban wore from his days at Ohio State.

The attendant asked about the ring and Saban told him it was a Big Ten championship ring and that he would get an SEC championship ring at LSU.

"Not if Nick Saban's the coach,'' the attendant said.

The joke brought a roar from those in attendance.

Hawkins, whose son Cody plays quarterback for CU, talked about his team and then added, "The quarterback's mom is very good looking.''

All in all, a pretty good night for the I-Bowl.

Tech men pummeled at Lubbock

The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs suffered one of the most humiliating men's basketball defeats in school history on Wednesday night when they lost 86-31 to Bobby Knight's Texas Tech Red Raiders. Yes, the same Red Raiders who've been beaten by Centenary and Sam Houston State this season.

Think the Knightster stayed around for the second half of that one?

To add insult to injury, highlights of TTech's 41-2 run were shown on ESPN, along with several missed layups and a missed dunk by the Bulldogs.

Tech coach Kerry Rupp is going through a rebuilding campaign with five potential starters sitting out this season for a variety of reasons, but give us a break! How does a Division I men's basketball team score only 12 points in a half and then go nine minutes in the second half before scoring?

The Bulldogs need to just take a bye for the remainder of the season because they may not win another game.

Mudbugs flying during Tuesday's win

Tuesday's Mudbugs-Blazers game might have been the best Mudbugs' performance I've seen in a long time.

Shooting video for our weekly Tales from the Swamp, I spent the game sitting at ice level between the teams' benches. Obviously, it's an entirely different perspective from the press box, but the game had a terrific tempo.

No one's going to confuse the Central Hockey League with the NHL, but Tuesday's game had terrific flashes that were certainly comparable.

There were few stoppages or whistles, especially in the third period. There was one stretch of several minutes that was nothing but a flurry of up-and-down action and line changes. It was a great pace for fans to watch. Too bad there was a less-than-boisterous crowd there to see it.

A couple of the Mudbugs' goals were the result of some of the best passing and offensive attack I've seen and reminded me of some of the Bugs' old teams. Both came on the newly assembled line of Kevin Cooper, Elias Godoy and Justin Aikins.

Coach Scott Muscutt has said this team is one of the fastest, if not the fastest, he's had. It was evident Tuesday night.

WAC owns best 5-year bowl win percentage

Georgia, Georgia Tech, New Mexico and East Carolina had better watch out ... the WAC is coming. Those teams will meet Hawaii, Fresno State, Nevada and Boise State respectively in upcoming postseason games.

Over the last five years, the WAC has the best winning percentage in bowl games of any conference in the nation, according to the WAC office. The WAC has sent 18 teams to postseason games from 2002-06 and those teams won 61.1 percent of those games with an 11-7 record.

WAC teams won three of four bowl games in 2006, one of three games in 2005, two of four games in 2004, three of four in 2003 and two of three in 2002. During this five-year span, WAC teams are 6-3 in bowl games against teams from conferences that have an automatic berth into the BCS.

Before you say anything about who they've played, consider they played whichever team they were matched with. The WAC schools didn't pick their opponent.

My prediction for this season: WAC loses to Georgia and Georgia Tech, but beats New Mexico and East Carolina.

Maybe Bowling 101 was already filled

The New York Times had a piece this weekend on college football players who's course load is considerably lighter during the season than the rest of the year.

Case in point, Oregon quarterback Dennis Dixon, who graduated over the summer, took one class this fall - billiards.

In fact, Oregon offered students three billiards classes this fall. Not only that, but students could pick juggling (juggling?!), golf and ice skating.

Five title games to choose from

The fun thing about this bowl season is that instead of one championship game, there will be at least five to choose from.

The winner between Oklahoma (11-2) and W. Virginia (10-2) in the Tostitas Fiesta Bowl have just as much right to the title as LSU or Ohio State. The Buckeyes shouldn't get the nod since the Big Ten won't man-up and play a championship game. The Hawaii (12-0) or Georgia (10-2) winner could be national champs as could USC (10-2) if it beats Illinois (9-3). Either Virginia Tech (11-2) or (Kansas 11-1) deserve the title as much as anyone. Throw in Missiouri at 11-2, a winner over Arkansas, and you have another title matchup.

While the "official" national champ will be Ohio State or LSU, anyone with any real football sense knows the truth. The only reason LSU is in is because they didn't drop as far as they should have after losing to a very bad Arkansas team in the regular season finale. The Razorbacks couldn't beat either Colorado or Texas Tech, the two teams that beat Oklahoma.

The "Colt Brennan" award

The WAC made itself the brunt of some jokes on Monday by creating a "Colt Brennan" award for offense.

It seems the quarterback with the shady background had enough pull with the WAC office to get a new award installed this season. The Offensive Unit of the Year was put in to recognize Brennan and his four wide receivers who annoy the rest of the country by taunting people after catches.

The Hawaii Warriors are probably the most classless team in the country, a product of the coaching leadership at the school. They were lucky, not good, to end up 12-0 on the season, but they'll get their due against Georgia.

WAC commissioner Karl Benson had better expect to continue offering the same award next season to perhaps the league's best running back and his offensive linemen who made it happen.

If this was a one-time deal to appease Brennan, then the WAC will have egg on its face.

Tigers belong in title game

Even though I strongly favor a playoff system, I really can’t complain about the BCS Championship Game.

The LSU Tigers BELONG in the national championship game.

A better case could probably be made for Oklahoma than Ohio State, since the Sooners decisively won the Big 12 title. But what team could make a better case to be in the national championship game than LSU?

Not one.

No team deserves to be in the championship game more than LSU. As the best team in the nation’s best conference, LSU earned the right to compete for the national championship.

Name a one-loss (or undefeated) team out there that had to play the likes of South Carolina, Florida, Auburn and Tennessee – not to mention a non-conference power like Virginia Tech.

You can’t.

But you CAN look forward to seeing at least one truly deserving team in the BCS title game this time around.

Same old Saints

I think the world of Sean Payton.

But exactly what was he thinking running a reverse late in the game when all he needs to do is run out the clock?

I've thought LSU has gotten too fancy at times this season. But nothing compares to that.

It cost the Saints the game. It may have cost the Saints their season.

Same old Saints

I think the world of Sean Payton.

But exactly what was he thinking running a reverse late in the game when all he needs to do is run out the clock?

I've thought LSU has gotten too fancy at times this season. But nothing compares to that.

It cost the Saints the game. It may have cost the Saints their season.

WAC is a bad women's league

Got any guess how bad the WAC is as a women's basketball league?

Fresno State, which was clearly the best team in the conference and which hammered the Lady Techsters three times this season, got blown out 88-67 by Baylor in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

You can listen to the rhetoric about how much improved the WAC is, but the facts don't back up the talk. There are at least 19 conferences ranked ahead of the league that the Techsters finished fourth in.

Enough said.

WAC is a bad women's league

Got any guess how bad the WAC is as a women's basketball league?

Fresno State, which was clearly the best team in the conference and which hammered the Lady Techsters three times this season, got blown out 88-67 by Baylor in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

You can listen to the rhetoric about how much improved the WAC is, but the facts don't back up the talk. There are at least 19 conferences ranked ahead of the league that the Techsters finished fourth in.

Enough said.

WAC is a bad women's league

Got any guess how bad the WAC is as a women's basketball league?

Fresno State, which was clearly the best team in the conference and which hammered the Lady Techsters three times this season, got blown out 88-67 by Baylor in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

You can listen to the rhetoric about how much improved the WAC is, but the facts don't back up the talk. There are at least 19 conferences ranked ahead of the league that the Techsters finished fourth in.

Enough said.

Local sportscasters show their true colors

If you're like me and the thousands of other area sports enthusiasts who don't give a rat's behind that LSU is playing football on Monday night, then you wasted your time watching the three local television station's broadcasts on Friday night.

Both sportscasters from both Channel 3 and Channel 6, along with the only fulltimer on Channel 12 were in New Orleans and did their entire broadcasts on the BCS (allegedly) championship game. What a joke for people who care about other local sports.

Did they realize that the Bossier Invitational is going on this weekend or that the Southwood girls were hosting highly touted Ouachita? How about the fact that Centenary was playing a home double header on Saturday?

It's all about wanting to be big time and they've ignored local sports by sending everyone to New Orleans. Talk about spitting in the face of real local sports.

Local sportscasters show their true colors

If you're like me and the thousands of other area sports enthusiasts who don't give a rat's behind that LSU is playing football on Monday night, then you wasted your time watching the three local television station's broadcasts on Friday night.

Both sportscasters from both Channel 3 and Channel 6, along with the only fulltimer on Channel 12 were in New Orleans and did their entire broadcasts on the BCS (allegedly) championship game. What a joke for people who care about other local sports.

Did they realize that the Bossier Invitational is going on this weekend or that the Southwood girls were hosting highly touted Ouachita? How about the fact that Centenary was playing a home double header on Saturday?

It's all about wanting to be big time and they've ignored local sports by sending everyone to New Orleans. Talk about spitting in the face of real local sports.

Local sportscasters show their true colors

If you're like me and the thousands of other area sports enthusiasts who don't give a rat's behind that LSU is playing football on Monday night, then you wasted your time watching the three local television station's broadcasts on Friday night.

Both sportscasters from both Channel 3 and Channel 6, along with the only fulltimer on Channel 12 were in New Orleans and did their entire broadcasts on the BCS (allegedly) championship game. What a joke for people who care about other local sports.

Did they realize that the Bossier Invitational is going on this weekend or that the Southwood girls were hosting highly touted Ouachita? How about the fact that Centenary was playing a home double header on Saturday?

It's all about wanting to be big time and they've ignored local sports by sending everyone to New Orleans. Talk about spitting in the face of real local sports.

Knight exit seemed strange

While a small group of Centenary fans showed a lack of class by verbally abusing Texas Tech coach Bobby Knight as he left the court at halftime of Tuesday night's game with the Gents, Knight didn't respond as a mature coach by not coming back to the court for the second half.

Sure, the Texas Tech people said he was still ailing from the flu that he contracted in Alaska. But that sounded like an excuse. Knight was healthy enough to start the game, but he stuck his son with finishing he contest? Sounds like he couldn't take a little ribbing from some fans, who couldn't be as obnoxious as typical Big 12 fans. If they are, then kudos to the Centenary clan who drove him from the CenturyTel Center.

Maybe the Gents would have won the game anyway. But the win certainly became easier without the Hall of Fame coach in the lineup.

OU should be in title tilt

If LSU gets back into the national championship game, due to losses by West Virginia and Missouri on Saturday night, the BCS rankings are a joke.

Oklahoma is at least two touchdowns better than LSU and would make a mockery of the LSU defense in a head-to-head matchup. Go ahead and try to prove me wrong. LSU lost to incompetent Kentucky and Arkansas teams, while the Sooners lost to bad Colorado and Texas Tech teams. But both Colorado and Texas Tech would beat the two SEC teams that LSU lost to. Heck, LSU barely beat a medicore Tennessee team.

The national championship game should be Ohio State versus Oklahoma. That's the only matchup that makes sense.

LIVE: Bobby Knight blog!

ANOTHER KNIGHT, ANOTHER BLOWUP
A portion of Pat Knight's postgame press conference, which was a beauty after Centenary rallied from 14 down in the second half to defeat Texas Tech.

“If people want me to say, ‘Hey, I can’t coach, it’s my fault – (expletive) it.' I can’t (expletive) coach. It’s my fault, just blame it on me, I just don’t care. It’s a weird situation. I’m pissed about a lot of things: The situation I was thrown into and the way the team came out.
I just say (Expletive) it. If people want to write that I can’t coach, write it. It’s a surreal situation to be in.”

TEXAS TECH SAYS KNIGHT FELL ILL
“He’s just wore out. Tim (Knight’s son) took him to rest and he’ll meet the team at the airport. “He’s perfectly fine and there is no medical emergency.”
The Red Raiders played in Anchorage, Alaska, during the Great Alaska Shootout from Nov. 22-24.
Believe what you will.

KNIGHT HAS LEFT THE BUILDING
Bobby Knight is gone. Supposedly.
After his confrontation with the Centenary fans, Bobby Knight is no where to be seen.
I didn't agree with the student's comment. And I don't agree with Knight leaving his team to fend for itself in the second half.

HOUSTON, WE HAD A CONFRONTATION
Well, some heckling is all well and good, but leave it to the handful of Centenary students to take it too far.
As Bobby Knight walked off the court at halftime and past the Centenary student section, a student yelled, "Oh (expletive), he has a gun."
Knight stopped and went over to the student section to explain to them how they should be a bit more respectful for the Red Raiders making the trip.
"We're the only school in the (Big 12) conference that would make a road trip here," Knight said.
He was actually calm and didn't go off on the student like many high-strung coaches would have.
Bad taste Centenary.
Knight's right.

TECH TAKES FIRST LEAD OF GAME
5:47 left in the first half and the Knights have a 27-25 advantage.

MINOR BLOW-UP
Knight wasn't happy Centenary wasn't hit with a 5-second violation, so Knight jumped off the bench and got in the face of the closest official. Nothing big, just normal coach-ref jabber.

KNIGHT GETTING AGITATED
With Centenary leading 11-6, Bobby Knight has finally come out of his seat, and he's about to become unglued.

WHERE'S YOUR SHOTGUN?
Just before tip off, finally, a few Centenary students begin a chance of, "Where's your shotgun?"
It's about time.

KNIGHT'S COURTSIDE
Knight and Rob Flaska are chatting it up near Texas Tech's bench. After a short conversation, Knight is sitting down. Major drama here at CenturyTel Center.
The fans in attendance -- the few there are -- didnt have much to say to the legendary coach as he walked onto the floor. No chirping? Come on folks, it's not like there isn't any material with which to work with.

NO SIGN YET
With 10 minutes until the tip, Bobby Knight as yet to make an appearance on the CTC floor. That is not unusual, Centenary head coach Rob Flaska has been out of sight, too.

WHAT UP KNIGHT
Not many college basketball coaches deserve a live game blog, but Bobby Knight is a special guy. I'm at CenturyTel Center and will provide live coverage of Bobby Knight's expected antics as the Texas Tech Red Raiders will tip it against Centenary College at 5:30 p.m.