After a barbeque lunch and a terrific Father’s Day afternoon, I remembered to check on the final quarter of an NBA Game 7 Sunday night.  The #1 Eastern seed and home team Philadelphia 76ers was hosting the upstart #5 seed Atlanta Hawks in the (mercifully) last game of their NBA Eastern Division semifinal series. 

As to be expected, it was a tight basketball game with every indication that it would go down the final buzzer. With a few minutes left in the game, Philadelphia’s 6’11” point guard (yes, that’s correct) Ben Simmons had the ball on the baseline just a few feet from the basket with a smaller player guarding him.  Simmons spun toward the basket with a fairly clear dunk or dink-shot in front of him.

Instead, Simmons (who only took four shots for the entire game and none in the fourth quarter of any game in this series) dumped the ball to a clearly surprised teammate.  His teammate was fouled and proceeded to miss one of his two free throws.  With the next possession, Atlanta knocked down a three point shot and never looked back in taking a 103-96 victory over the heavily favored Philadelphia 76ers.

With the win, Atlanta moves into the NBA Eastern Division finals against the Milwaukee Bucks (who dispatched the #2 seeded and so-called “Super Team” Brooklyn Nets in their Game 7 on Saturday night).  This means there will not be a marquis East Coast brawl between New York and Philly teams this week. 

If you go outside and listen carefully, you still might be able to hear the crying from the executives at Turner Network Television and ESPN! 

Those of us who closely follow (or, in my case, followed) professional basketball know, player stats during the NBA’s regular season don’t always equate to their performance in the playoffs.  The true legends of basketball usually perform even better when the chips are down and their team needs them the most. Atlanta’s Trae Young and Philly’s Joel Embiid played up to their star status in this series. 

Then there was Ben Simmons of Philadelphia.

Simmons is the personification of why the NBA and college basketball should immediately put an end to the ridiculous “one and done” charade.   Like so many recent NBA first round draft picks, Ben Simmons was a talented “5-star” high school hoopster.  Every year, these highly hyped prospects land in perennial basketball powerhouse colleges such as Kentucky, Duke, and Kansas.  Because these young basketball players are ineligible to play in the NBA until a year after high school graduation, many play for just one season in college and then, like clockwork, enter the NBA draft.

For every one-and-done college player such as Karl Anthony Towns (Minnesota Timberwolves) who finds success in the NBA, there are other high draft picks (remember Cleveland’s first round dynamic duds named Noah Vonleh and Anthony Bennett?) who struggle in the top pro league.

In Ben Simmons’ case, he smartly opted not to attend one of the glamour colleges for his one and only year in college basketball.  Instead, he showed-up in Baton Rouge to play for LSU back in the 2015-2016 college basketball season.  Since the Tigers’ basketball program had been on a downturn for years, many observers (me, included) were surprised by Simmons’ decision to choose LSU and become the program’s biggest recruit since Shaquille O’Neal. 

In retrospect, this all makes a lot more sense. 

If Ben Simmons’ basketball weaknesses (shooting and confidence in his shooting) had been exposed at another more competitive university (like Kentucky or Duke),

In seven different National Basketball Association markets, you may find an advertisement which reads as follows:

“Billion dollar professional basketball organization is seeking qualified applicants for the position of head basketball coach.  Previous men’s basketball coaching experience is not necessarily required.  Exceptional pay but must be willing to accept a short-term contract.  Inability to get along with referees is a must.  Applicants must be able to converse with local and national media before, during, and after each game.  Answers must be vague and not cast any blame toward either the team’s highly paid players or franchise ownership.  Prospective hires must possess a flexible attitude toward players and allow them to make final decisions related to play on the basketball court, discussions during in-game timeouts, post-game activities, and off-season training.  Ability to inspire confidence in both players and franchise owners is required.”    

On Wednesday, veteran NBA head coach Stan Van Gundy was fired after just one season with the New Orleans Pelicans.  It seems that his players (including headliner Zion Williamson) do not like the coach’s old-school mentality including his insistence on playing (gasp!) tough defense.  His predecessor (Alvin Gentry) was fired the previous year because he didn’t stress defense and was too easy on the players.    

Both Van Gundy (30-40) and Gentry (31-41) had totally different approaches and coaching styles yet neither produced enough wins by season’s end to keep their job.  That is why these two men have been vanquished from the Crescent City basketball franchise. 

As the NBA playoffs slowly trudge toward an eventual end by early July, there are now seven head coaching positions available for the 30 NBA teams.

Dallas – Rick Carlisle

New Orleans – Stan Van Gundy

Portland – Terry Stotts

Washington – Scott Skiles

Orlando – Steve Clifford

Indiana – Nate Bjorkgren

Boston – Brad Stevens

Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle resigned Thursday, but a press release after his exit hinted that the 61-year old coach is not planning to retire just yet.  Orlando coach Steve Clifford technically “resigned”, while Boston’s Brad Stevens was promoted up into the team’s General Manager position after Danny Ainge opted to retire.

The current 23% turnover rate for NBA head coaches is significantly higher than for any other traditional profession.  According to a national job search firm, sales and marketing jobs lead the way with an annual turnover rate of 17% followed by researchers (16.4%), media and communication (14.8%), support functions (14.6%), and, surprisingly to me, human resources rounds out the top group at 14.5%.   The annual turnover rate for all professional jobs hovers around 11%.

Come to think of it, the traditional responsibilities for an NBA head coach include many of the same functions associated with those other high-turnover jobs.  They certainly have to sell (to the players, the media, and franchise ownership), perform research (“Did you know that Philadelphia’s point guard is shooting just 32% from the free throw line?”),

No, this story isn’t going to be about a visit to my local petting zoo! 

Over the weekend, fans of men’s professional tennis observed one of the greatest individual efforts in recent history. 

In the semifinals of the French Open, 34-year old Novak Djokovic rallied to defeat his longtime rival, Rafael Nadal.  In Sunday’s finale, “The Joker” would fall two sets behind to young Greek tennis star, Stefano Tsitsipas, steadied himself and rallied to sweep the final three sets to win his second French Open title.  It was his 19th major championship in professional tennis. 

Some of this morning’s sports headlines are now proclaiming Novak Djokovic to be the greatest men’s tennis player of all time!

Shouldn’t his rivals Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer (both with 20 major championships in tennis) be a big part of that discussion?  What about earlier tennis legends such as Pete Sampras or Sweden’s Bjorn Borg?  During their eras, each were quite dominant players, too. 

By what measure to you declare someone “The Greatest of All Time” (or the term “GOAT” as seems to be fashionable these days)?

Every year, there are more and more sports reporters inventing stories to say this person or that team is the greatest of all time.

A few athletes during my time had the audacity to proclaim it for themselves.  Boxing’s Muhammed Ali told everyone “I am the greatest!”  Nearly 50 years have passed, and he may, indeed, still be the best heavyweight boxer ever.   Fans of Rocky Marciano, Mike Tyson, or George Foreman may wish to enter that ring of discussion with you.    

Professional wrestler Ric Flair is now 76 years old, but he claims to be the greatest wrestler of all time, too.  Depending on your source and who you ask (such as Flair himself), he has held no less than 16 and up to 25 World Heavyweight Championship belts.  No matter how you count them, that’s a lot of bumps and bruises inflicted (and received) over his 40-year career.

Wrestling fans of the legendary Bruno Sammartino, Hulk Hogan, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, and John Cena may wish to disagree with you, though.  Their favorite wrestler was, to them, the greatest of all time.

This “Greatest of All Time” discussion in any sport can generate any number of opinions.

Golfer Jack Nicklaus still holds the record with 18 major golf championships during his brilliant career.  Wouldn’t it have been fun to watch a match pitting Big Jack and Tiger Woods when they were both in their prime?   While we’re in the “Wayback machine”, Bobby Jones and Arnold Palmer would love to join that group and play as a foursome!

In today’s NBA, there are some who make the case for LeBron James to be considered the greatest basketball player ever.  Those who watched Michael Jordan in his prime vigorously take exception to that notion.  I remember how dominant Boston Celtics’ center Bill Russell was during the 1960’s as his Celtics teams won eleven NBA championships.  However, legendary centers such as Wilt Chamberlain and George Mikan were more talented on offense than Russell. 

Was there ever a greater college basketball player than LSU’s Pistol Pete Maravich?  In a record which remains over 50 years later, Pete averaged over 44 points per game during his college days.  A few years later,

The Ryder Cup golf competition between the United States and the European countries is played every other year.  If you’ve been following golf at all for the past four decades, the Euros have been kicking American tails a lot in the recent years. 

Beginning in 1985, Team Europe holds an 11-5-1 record in this biennial golf event.  One of the American wins was that dramatic 1999 win where US captain Ben Crenshaw inspired his team to rally on the final day of singles competition as the US roared from a big deficit to grab a narrow team victory.    

After nearly a full century of Ryder Cup competition (which began in 1927), the Yanks have won 26 events and Europe just 14.  Prior to 1985, the USA completely dominated the first 58 years of this event. 

Through the year 1971, the golf team from across the Atlantic Ocean only included players from Great Britain.  In 1973, Ireland was added, but the results didn’t really change as America continued its Ryder Cup dominance. 

During the 1977 Ryder Cup, both sides discussed adding golfers from continental Europe to help add competitive balance.   Jack Nicklaus encouraged this change, so a deal was made to expand the player pool for the European team beginning in 1979’s competition. 

Talented European Tour players such as Spain’s Seve Ballesteros and Germany’s Bernhard Langer began to help the European Ryder Cup squad become more competitive.  After a breakthrough win in the 1985 Ryder Cup, the Euros exerted their dominance in this competition for the ensuing decades. 

Why have the European players been so successful of late?  Their players have stated for years that they truly enjoy each other’s company.  Most European Tour golfers stay at the same hotel during weekly events.  They get to know each other socially and form a personal bond long before the Ryder Cup matches take place.

When the Ryder Cup began, many American golfers carpooled with each other to events just to make ends meet.  Most PGA professionals also held a country club pro job to earn enough money to support their family.  Finally, by the late 1960’s, most American professional golfers were able to earn enough money on tour to make cover their annual expenses. 

Once Arnold Palmer and rivals Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player started to attract more attention to American golf, the television broadcast rights also helped to bring more money into a growing PGA Tour. 

By the early 1970’s, American professional golfers had begun to accumulate enough wealth to be able to travel, lodge, and eat on their own.  Though some golfers remained friendly off the course, players began to spend time with their own inner circle. 

Within the past few decades, PGA golfers now travel (and pay for) expense for their caddie, a personal golf teacher/coach, and even a mental health expert to assist with the player’s focus.  

To offset these costs, pro golfers have morphed into walking corporate billboards.  You will find sponsors displayed prominently on a golfer’s hat, shirt, and golf bag.  The average PGA player today needs to generate about $1 million per year from tournament earnings, paid corporate appearances, and sponsorship money to cover the costs of his own traveling show on tour.   As the money has improved, most American PGA Tour golfers now rarely socialize with each other off the golf course.

This brings us to the 2021 Ryder Cup and its developing soap-opera storyline. 

While watching the final nine holes of the Women’s US Open at the famed Olympic Club in San Francisco on Sunday, I had this funny feeling as if I had seen this happen at some time before.

It appeared that 26-year old American professional golfer Lexi Thompson had broken away from the pack with just nine holes to go.  At eight under par for the tournament, she led by a whopping five shots as her closest challengers struggled to keep pace on the front nine.  Starting her final nine holes, Lexi smiled after booming a 300-yard drive right down the middle of the fairway on #10 to start what appeared to be a victory march to claim her second women’s major championship.

Lexi Thompson would try to keep the proverbial “pedal to the metal” as her prodigious drives were finding the fairways while her playing partners struggled in the Olympic Club’s exceptionally deep and gnarly rough hole after hole.  After missing a relatively short birdie putt on the tenth hole, Thompson led by five with just eight holes to go. 

Then, I remembered.  Didn’t Arnold Palmer lead a US Open at this same place years ago and blow a big lead on the final nine holes?

Indeed! 

The year was 1966 when Arnold Palmer led playing partner Billy Casper by seven shots with just nine holes to go.  Arnie’s drives would find that evil rough at Olympic Club several times on the final nine holes as he dropped shot after shot.  Meanwhile, “Buffalo” Billy Casper’s game steadied down the stretch. 

Neither Arnie nor his Army of fans (on the course or watching on television) could believe this was happening to him.  With every passing hole, Palmer was handing another shot or two to his playing partner, Billy Casper.  On the 18th hole that Sunday, Arnold Palmer had to sink a difficult downhill four foot putt just to get into a playoff with Casper the next day.

“Biggest putt I’ve ever made,” he would later say.

Palmer would lose that Monday playoff with Billy Casper, and he never won another major golf tournament in his sparkling career.  He never got over that loss at the Olympic Club in 1966.

Arnold Palmer congratulates US Open winner Billy Casper after Arnie lost a 7-shot lead with nine holes to play at Olympic Club in San Francisco back in 1966

Lexi Thompson wasn’t even born until 1995.  Though Lexi probably knew who Arnold Palmer was and perhaps had even met him before his death in 2016, she likely had no idea of what final nine tragedy had befallen one of American golf’s biggest stars at Olympic Club back in 1966.

The six-foot tall Thompson is a trailblazer in women’s golf.  She was good enough by age 12 to qualify to play in the women’s US Open.  She did so well as an amateur golfer that the home-schooled golf prodigy asked to turn professional at the age of 15.  Lexi became the youngest winner on the LPGA Tour as she claimed her first win at age 16 and then won her first (and only) major championship in 2014 at age 19.   Best known as being one of the longest drivers in women’s golf, Lexi Thompson hammers the golf ball nearly 280 yards on her average drive. 

Now in her middle 20’s, Lexi Thompson has remained a regular winner with ten wins on the LPGA Tour.  She is also one of the dwindling number of American golfers on the women’s tour who are able to successfully compete against an increasing contingent of excellent golfers ar...

On Thursday, April 25, 2019 at 1:47AM in the north Louisiana city of Ruston, an EF3 tornado touched down inside the city limits.  The tornado was on the ground for nearly 7 miles and caused an incredible amount of damage to homes, businesses, infrastructure, and the landscape around the city and on the Louisiana Tech University campus. 

The spring quarter was in session at Louisiana Tech where about 12,000 students attend.  Fortunately, this unexpected “middle-of-the-night” springtime tornado missed the majority of the on-campus student housing and primary academic facilities.  

The school was plunged into darkness, though, as 75% of the community lost electricity after power poles were destroyed by the incredible winds (up to 200 miles per hour).   The National Weather Service said that the tornado was about 1,000 feet wide (nearly a quarter of a mile) when fully on the ground.   Shocked drivers on Interstate 20 would see entire motels, gas stations, and restaurants on both the north and south side of the freeway destroyed by the tornado. 

Though about 350 homes and local businesses in the Ruston area were destroyed, only two people were killed (by a tree falling onto the house of a woman and her 14-year old son) as this powerful tornado roared into and through this quiet community.  Over $30 million worth of infrastructure in Ruston and at Louisiana Tech University were destroyed in just a few minutes as the tornado ripped through town. 

As morning dawned, Louisiana Tech officials quickly discovered that the path of the tornado did not miss several of the athletic facilities on campus.  Though the football stadium was spared, the men’s baseball stadium, women’s softball complex, and the university’s soccer facilities were all heavily damaged.  A strip of metal from the softball stadium was found about 9 miles northeast of the Tech campus! 

The men’s baseball stadium (known as J.C. Love Field) was built in 1971.  The stadium’s upper deck of seating, the perimeter fencing, scoreboard, and light standards were literally blown to smithereens by the tornado two years ago.  The field itself served as a gigantic staging area as students and staff joined hands to help pick-up debris from the tornado and put it onto the baseball field. 

After several long months of negotiating with insurance companies and private donors, Louisiana Tech was adequately funded to start a complete rebuild of their baseball facility in the same location (across the road from the football stadium).  Two years later, the new baseball stadium (which remains named J.C. Love Field) was opened in February with seating for about 2,000 fans.  Like LSU’s original Alex Box stadium in Baton Rouge, the Louisiana Tech baseball field features the town’s main railroad line running just beyond the outfield fences. 

Having the daily train coming though during your home baseball games can be pretty cool, indeed!

In the season between the tornado and the stadium’s reopening, Louisiana Tech’s baseball team played their COVID-shortened 2020 home games at nearby Ruston High School. 

On Friday, June 3, 2021, Louisiana Tech University will proudly host its first-ever NCAA men’s baseball regional tournament in Ruston.  To say that the Bulldogs and the community are excited is an understatement.  Tickets for the event were quickly gobbled up as Louisiana Tech will host a trio from North Carolina State University, the University of Alabama, and Rider University (from the Trenton, New Jersey area). 

By the time their frustrating basketball season came to an end last night for the NBA’s Boston Celtics, the hometown Beantown fans were no longer saying “In Ainge, we trust!”  It was more like, “Get dat bum outta heah!”

Boston’s season ended Tuesday night with a 123-109 loss to the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the NBA playoffs.   The Celtics lost the series by a 3-1 game count.  Their only win came in Game 3 played in Boston after an impressive 50-point scoring effort by forward Jayson Tatum.

Today, literally hours after the season ended, team General Manager Danny Ainge announced his retirement from the Boston Celtics.  At age 62, it isn’t a huge surprise that Danny Ainge was ready for a change from his high stress position. 

The fiery Ainge has embodied the Celtics spirit as a player and, later, a team executive.  He was selected in the second round of the NBA draft 40 years ago in 1981 out of Brigham Young University by Boston’s legendary General Manager, Red Auerbach.   He played for 14 years in Boston before returning back to the team in 2007 to become the Celtics’ new General Manager. 

The bigger surprise news today was that the current Celtics head coach, Brad Stevens, is being promoted into Danny Ainge’s front office position in Boston.  Brad Stevens, who was hired by Danny Ainge, was apparently not happy in his current coaching roll after leading the team to the Eastern Conference finals three times during his seven years as head coach.  Stevens, who is only 44 years old, came to the Celtics after a very successful college coaching career with Butler University in Indianapolis.    

No, this wasn’t exactly the year that the Boston Celtics organization or their fans had in mind.

It was bad enough that the Celtics, who were expected to contend for the NBA’s Eastern Division title this year, finished the regular season with a mediocre 36-36 record for eighth place.  The C’s had to win a play-in game at home against a mediocre Washington Wizards team.  Fortunately, Jayson Tatum hoisted-up his first 50-point game to help Boston advance.

The first round playoff opponent in Brooklyn is a stark reminder to Boston fans of what might have been if things had gone right for former Celtics player-turned-General Manager Danny Ainge.  The Nets have raided rosters around the league to bring Kevin Durant (Warriors), James Harden (Rockets), Blake Griffin (Pistons) and others to join Kyrie Irving on the team in the past year. 

The Nets spent a ton of money on this roster with intentions of winning their first NBA title.  It closely resembles what Boston did in 2008 in winning their last NBA title.

New GM Danny Ainge helped to bring the Celtics their 17th world championship in 2008 after he added a couple of veteran players in Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to the Paul Pierce-led Celtics.  Unfortunately, Boston (which is accustomed to raising championship banners at their home arena) has failed to win another championship during the ensuing thirteen seasons. 

A few years after that championship, dealmaker Danny Ainge eventually shipped away the most valuable pieces of that Celtics team.  In return, he received several high future draft picks for his aging star players. 

Though there have been a few big draft night successes (Jaylen Brown in 2016 and Jayson Tatum in 2017), Ainge has misfired on several picks, too.   Do you remember former Boston first round picks such as Fab Melo (2012),

It’s Memorial Day today.  Unlike Armed Forces Day which honors those currently serving our country in the military or Veterans Day honoring all military veterans who have served our country, Memorial Day is the solemn day when we honor those who died while in service to our country.  It is celebrated on the final Monday in the month of May.

A few years ago, my wife and I spent a full day visiting the World War II Museum in New Orleans.  If you’ve never been, you are missing an incredible experience.  It is a very educational and entertaining (but quite respectful) way to learn about how the second World War began and how Americans participated around the world to end aggression.

Since this is a sports-themed site, I was thinking about how many sports facilities around the country have been called “Memorial” stadiums.  Many in professional sports are no longer in use today.  I remember places such as Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium – home to baseball’s Baltimore Orioles and the NFL Baltimore Colts.  There was Memorial Stadium in Cleveland.  Located along Lake Erie, the windy stadium was the longtime home of baseball’s Indians and the NFL Browns. 

Do you remember Buffalo’s War Memorial Stadium?   This facility was the former home of the AFL’s Buffalo Bills.  Built by unemployed workers using federal WPA money during the Depression, the stadium opened in 1937 and apparently wasn’t exactly the finest use of federal tax dollars at the time.  Locals gave it the nickname “The Rockpile” due to the stadium being in disrepair during most of its existence.  One sportswriter said the stadium “looks as if whatever war it was a memorial to had been fought within its confines”!  Fortunately for Buffalo Bills fans, Rich Stadium replaced it in 1972. 

Today, there are still a number of sports facilities which remain in operation around the country which were named in memory of our fallen military heroes.   

First, let’s examine the Southeastern Conference:

Vanderbilt’s Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville was built in the early 1950s and was dedicated as a campus memorial to students and school alumni killed in World War II.  A plaque commemorates those fallen heroes in the lobby of the arena.  Though it might seem hard to believe today, there were serious discussions within the Vanderbilt community during the construction of the facility as to whether the school should de-emphasize intercollegiate athletics.

At the University of Missouri campus, the football facility is now called Favrot Field at Memorial Stadium.   Though initial fundraising began in 1921, the stadium wasn’t completed until 1929 and was named to honor those who sacrificed their lives in World War I.

Located just a few hundred miles to the south in Little Rock, Arkansas, the Razorbacks have played football games for many years at War Memorial Stadium which was opened in 1948 after World War II.  Former Razorback and Medal of Honor recipient, Maurice Britt, helped to dedicate Arkansas’ War Memorial Stadium in tribute of all the state’s patriots who have fought for American freedom.

Heading further south into Louisiana, we find LSU’s Alex Box baseball stadium in Baton Rouge.  Many SEC fans are familiar with the name Alex (pronounced Alec) Box, who became the first LSU athlete to die in World War II when his tank struck a mine in North Africa in February, 1943.  Later that year, Box’ name went on LSU’s baseball park and has remained through the historic baseball s...

I am not a particularly superstitious person.  However, I’ve had a few odd things happen this week in my life.  I also noticed more than our share of very strange happenings this week in sports, too. 

On Wednesday, May 26, we saw 2021’s appearance of the Super Flower Blood Moon!   Let’s break this down one piece at a time for the astronomically challenged:   

* Wednesday was a full moon (every 28th day). * This particular full moon also occurred on the day where the Earth and Moon are at their closest point together for the entire year (that’s called a “supermoon”).  * May’s full moon was already known as the “Flower Moon” as it marks the time of year when the spring flower growing season gets underway in the Northern Hemisphere.   * Plus, this full moon was part of a lunar eclipse where the nighttime moon appears to turn the color orange (hence, a “Blood Moon”). 

Got it?   

Though Wednesday’s supermoon event probably does not have anything to do with the Man of Steel, it appears that the sports world received a dose of Orange Kryptonite this week as there have been some really odd things happening the past several days. 

Exhibit “A” – A streaker took the baseball field during a rain delay in Washington, DC at a Nationals baseball game.  The streaker was cheered by the home crowd as he slid in front of the large tube which is used to unroll the infield tarp.  He then crawled inside of the roller tube as the crowd booed the workers trying to extract him!

Exhibit “B” – Professional golf saw 50-year old Phil Mickelson literally come out of nowhere to grab a two shot victory this week at the PGA Championship and earn his sixth major golf championship.  The crowd in South Carolina was so excited that they spontaneously ran onto the 18th fairway ahead of the leader and encircled the green before Mickelson arrived to putt-out for his victory.  Though such a thing is not unusual at the British Open, overzealous golf fans are quite an anomaly here in the USA. 

Then there was the post-game television interview where the grumpy runner-up, Brooks Koepka, stopped in mid-sentence to scowl at his arch enemy, Bryson DeChambeau.  DeChambeau and his caddy were grabbing their golf clubs and leaving the golf course but made the silly mistake of actually daring to walk behind Bluto Koepka as he was being interviewed.  Koepka cursed as the interview was cut short.  If next month’s US Open wants higher television ratings for Rounds 1 and 2, a pairing which includes the fueding Koepka and DeChambeau might just do the trick.      

Exhibit “C” – The NBA takes the award this week for the largest number of odd things which have occurred during the first week of the playoffs. 

During the NBA’s regular season, many franchises did not permit basketball fans to attend home games so the players performed in relative silence on many nights.  Recently, several states have recently relaxed COVID restrictions, so some teams are now allowing fans to attend playoff games. 

Several NBA stars have not been happy about that change after this week. 

On Wednesday (the night of this week’s Super Flower Blood Moon) in the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia 76ers fans enhanced the city’s cringeworthy reputation as having the least sportsman-like fans in professional sports.

***Update – On Friday, May 28 (two days after this was posted), LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri announced his retirement at the end of this baseball season. On behalf of all baseball fans, “Thank You, Coach!” for a job well done!

Last weekend in College Station, Texas, longtime LSU head baseball coach Paul Mainieri picked up his 1,500th career coaching win as a college head baseball coach as the Tigers beat Texas A&M.  The victory guaranteed the Tigers a trip to this week’s SEC baseball tournament in Hoover, Alabama. 

One of the nicest gentlemen in the sport, Paul Mainieri became just the 7th coach in college baseball history to win that many games in a career.  As usual, he would not take credit for his milestone achievement: 

“I haven’t won any games. It’s the players that have won the games.”

In Tuesday’s first game of the SEC baseball tournament, LSU lost to Georgia 4-1 and was bounced out of the league’s post-season tournament after just one game.  For those who follow SEC baseball, the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium usually looks like it is painted in purple and gold as thousands of LSU’s faithful fans trek to Birmingham expecting to spend the entire week watching their beloved Tigers chase another SEC baseball title.

In a big surprise for LSU fans, it was “One and done” this year as LSU’s baseball team was eliminated on the first day of play. 

The LSU baseball team usually performs well enough in the regular season that the Tigers (regardless of how they perform in the SEC Tournament) usually have secured a home field berth in the first round of the NCAA baseball championships.  With a nearly unbeatable home field record during the NCAA tournament, LSU’s rabid fans have become accustomed to making their annual June trip to Omaha, Nebraska to watch their baseball team in the College World Series.  Coach Paul Mainieri’s Tigers have been to Omaha five times in the past 12 years as LSU came home with the championship trophy in 2009 and finished second in 2017. 

The good people of Omaha have become so used to seeing LSU’s motorcade of purple and gold fans that the Tigers have generally been considered the “home” team in Omaha (unless the University of Nebraska or Creighton University are in the field).  The locals have learned to love partying and tailgating with thousands of fun-loving Tiger fans who annually migrate north to escape the Bayou State’s searing June heat and humidity.

Sorry, Omaha.  The Tigers are a long-shot to come north to your annual party next month! 

LSU finished a very disappointing (by LSU standards) 2021 baseball season with the Tigers currently parked at 34-22.  The team’s SEC record was a dismal 13-17, too.  LSU’s chances for being awarded a spot in this year’s NCAA baseball tournament field of 64 teams are razor slim. 

LSU isn’t even considered the best baseball team in their own state this season.  Louisiana Tech is currently ranked #18 in the country with a 36-16 record.  The Bulldogs are playing host to the Conference USA tournament this weekend in the Bulldogs brand new baseball stadium in Ruston.  Though LSU defeated Louisiana Tech twice during a couple of regular season encounters this season,