Broussard Comes Out As Openly Dumb Following Collins’ Gay Announcement

May 1, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Jason Collins via si.com

Jason Collins’ cover story in the May 6 edition of Sports Illustrated not only announced him as the first openly gay male athlete in major American sport. It also offered a profile in courage and a master class in how to conduct one’s self with grace and dignity.

Collins’ NBA peers responded to news of the journeyman center’s decision to reveal his sexual orientation with praise and support. They should be applauded for this, especially considering only nine states in America have legalized same-sex marriage.

Not everyone welcomed the news though.

During an appearance on ESPN’s “Outside The Lines”, the network’s senior NBA reporter Chris Broussard likened being openly homosexual to “walking in open rebellion to God” – a belief many fundamental Christians share.

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On LSU’s NFL Draft Exodus And Which Players To Watch For In 2013

January 7, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Les Miles will still have plenty to cheer in 2013

On Sunday morning LSU junior safety Craig Loston requested his Twitter followers stop asking him if he were going pro or staying for his senior season. Loston’s tweet surprised many because he seemed like one of the only draft-eligible juniors not mentioned as an early departure. Instead, LSU could have as many as 10 early entrants into April’s draft – an unprecedented number seven greater than any other season in Tiger football history.

With its underclassman exodus, LSU is positioning itself as the Kentucky of college football, selling recruits an advanced timetable to achieve millions. Kentucky’s basketball team, you might recall, had six players leave early for the NBA draft after it won the NCAA title in April 2012. All college football/basketball teams exist as farm clubs for their respective pro sports but these programs have set themselves apart as Triple A clubs.

While there’s nothing wrong with LSU coaches emphasizing this assembly line approach, the sheer mass of players leaving early in 2012 – both in talent and leadership – will present an interesting test case for college football. There is reloading, which all the great programs do on a yearly basis, and then there is RELOADING, which LSU and Coach Les Miles will attempt in 2013.

Here’s a breakdown of “LSU’s NFL Draft Exodus” and who I think will replace the Tigers departing early:

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Tebow A Pandora’s Box Ryan Unwilling to Open To Bitter End

December 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment

When will I play, Mark?

“For God so loved the New York Jets and their fans he gave his only begotten football player, Timothy, so that anyone who believed in him would not perish but have everlasting Super Bowls.” St. Timothy 3:16

The God in my fictional Bible verse did not bestow Tim Tebow on the Jets as a punt protector. He did not bestow him as a wildcat quarterback or a GQ cover model either. OK, maybe he gave him as a GQ cover model.

God so loved the Jets he gave them Tebow as a starting quarterback. Not just any starting quarterback, but a proven leader and winner of a 2011 AFC divisional playoff. Jets coach Rex Ryan turned his back on Tebow like a modern day Judas. Ryan sealed Tebow’s fate not with a kiss, but by starting Greg McElroy at quarterback in Week 16.

In an ironic twist, Ryan will be crucified by the New York media and Jets fans. Tebow will assume his hallowed seat – on the bench – and then after the game hop a plane to Jacksonville, where he will play next season.

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Manti Te’o for Heisman: Why The Numbers Don’t Add Up

November 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Manti Te'o/US Presswire

All praise/blame for this post should go to Jordy Pujol, the anti-Bayless.

ESPN carnival barker/used car salesman/white devil Skip Bayless pissed in the wind Tuesday to the contrived, shit-starting tune of Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o for Heisman. Bayless is famous for taking contrarian viewpoints, and generally being a pompous, arrogant, spineless piece of shit. His latest piece, I must admit, floored me. He is capable of talking about someone besides LeBron James or Tim Tebow, I learned.

Other than this revelation, Bayless’s Te’o piece followed the same cookie-cutter theme as all his arguments – a lot of bluster and precious little substance. Bayless proclaimed Te’o a deserving Heisman winner but also anointed himself head of the Johnny Football fan club. Johnny Football, for the uninitiated, is Texas A&M Johnny Manziel, believed to be Teo’s chief competition for the Heisman.

Truth is, talk of a Te’o Heisman is laughable – whether or not it comes from Bayless’s well-manicured fingers or anyone else. Te’o Heisman talk has gathered steam for two reasons: A) Te’o plays for Notre Dame, a traditional power in the midst of a national championship run; and B) Notre Dame is 12-0 and ranked No. 1 in the country. Some would argue the Heisman should be awarded to the best player on the best team. I am not one of those people. If anything, talk of Te’o, as Heisman winner, reflects on the dearth of quality candidates this season, Manziel excluded.

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Damn The Tide: An LSU Fan Picks Who To Root For In The BCS Chase

November 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Bama fans ... HA!

Today on the subway a man in a business suit struck up a conversation with me about something near and dear to my heart. The self-described BYU grad and I did not talk about Mormonism or multiple wives or HBO’s Big Love. We talked LSU football.

The bespectacled man offered his condolences after noticing my LSU beanie. The previous night my home state Tigers lost a 21-17 heartbreaker to Alabama. The ebbs and flows of the game led me to curse the entire state of Alabama, as well as its football team.

My fellow “D” train traveler informed me he was rooting for LSU. Like most college football fans, he is ready for the SEC’s six year BCS title reign to end. An Alabama loss would likely have closed the door on an SEC team making the title game, while opening the door wider for teams in other conferences – Oregon, Kansas State – plus Notre Dame. I don’t care about any of that though. I wanted to see LSU win and Bama lose.

You read the headline. I am not rooting for Alabama. I don’t care if a Crimson Tide loss means the SEC fails to win its seventh straight BCS football title. Damn the Tide!

Below are my thoughts on the four undefeated teams still in the hunt and their odds of making the BCS National Championship Game, given their remaining schedules. All statistics are based on information entering Week 11. You can view BCS rankings here.

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Thoughts For The Upcoming NBA Season

November 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The Brow

I wrote this Wednesday night but am just now posting it.

I am breaking from blogging about Frankenstorm today. It appears the subways will be out for several more days. The kids in my neighborhood don’t seem to mind. It’s Halloween. They’re going in every deli, pizzeria, and laundromat demanding candy, dressed as superheroes, princesses, and a S.W.A.T. team member. Who dresses their kid as a S.W.A.T. team member? When I walked past him, he was busy “raiding” the laundromat, presumably for all of its laundered clothing articles and quarters.

Today is Day 2 of the NBA season. The day’s big news, at least in New York City, is Thursday’s season opener between the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets is postponed in Hurricane Sandy’s aftermath. That makes sense, considering how arduous it is to travel from borough to borough.

Here are more thoughts for the upcoming NBA season:

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5 Thoughts On LSU’s Win Over Texas A&M

October 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Mettenberger via LSU Reveille

Earlier today I wrote about watching LSU’s win over Texas A&M at Legends Sports Bar in Manhattan. It was a pins and needles affair. Then again, that’s the way all the Tigers’ SEC games are this season.

Here are five thoughts on LSU’s win over Texas A&M:

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Cajun Tomato’s NYC 100: “Legends Sports Bar”

October 21, 2012 By 1 Comment

Legends via Hipstamatic

This is the 11th installment of Cajun Tomato’s NYC 100, a daily series chronicling my experiences and observations as a new New Yorker.

Here’s one thing I’ve learned in life: You can take the boy out of south Louisiana but you can’t take the LSU fan out of the boy. That was true in Oregon amid rabid Ducks fans, and it remains so in New York City.

On Saturday afternoon I entered Legends Sports Bar in Manhattan during halftime of LSU’s football contest with Texas A&M. Yes, halftime. I overslept, failing to take into account the subway’s relative weekend sloth. Rookie mistake, I know.

Upon arrival at Legends Sports Bar, I heard Big Tymers’ NOLA rap anthem, “Get Your Roll On”, belting from the venue’s speakers and observed dozens of purple and gold-clad Tigers fans, many of whom were clutching a beer. Behind the bar there were purple and gold signs with the years 1958, 2003, and 2007, representing LSU’s three national championships. It all felt authentic.

And this was just halftime.

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Cajun Tomato’s NYC 100: “Mardi Gras In Jersey/Clapping For Rutgers”

October 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment

This is the 10th installment of Cajun Tomato’s NYC 100, a daily series chronicling my experiences and observations as a new New Yorker. You might have noticed it’s been a few days since I posted one of these. I have been without Internet this week. Translation: Sucks to be me.

Surrounded by the kings, queens, princes, and princesses of New Brunswick Saturday morning in the parking lot outside Rutgers’ football stadium, I did what any self-respecting Cajun would. I declared “Mardi Gras in Jersey” and poured myself a concoction I will call “Cran Drank”. Then I poured myself another.

I arrived at High Point Solution Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey, a stone’s throw from New Brunswick, around an hour before the kickoff of Rutgers’ football contest against Syracuse. My friend, Robert Zullo, a self-proclaimed King of New Brunswick persuaded me earlier in the week via text message to partake in the “full Zullo experience” before the game’s noon kickoff.

Alas, “Mardi Gras in Jersey” and the “full Zullo experience” collided to create a perfect storm.

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Cajun Tomato’s NYC 100: “On Yankee Hatred”

October 12, 2012 By 1 Comment

Bench-Rod. (Via NY Daily News)

This is the eighth installment of Cajun Tomato’s NYC 100, a daily series chronicling my experiences and observations as a new New Yorker.

I am a Yankees hater living a short walk from Yankees Stadium. I own it. I’ve rooted against the Yankees since I popped out of my mother’s womb in a New Orleans hospital. I’m not exactly sure how that’s possible. You’ll have to ask God.

My irrational, God-given hatred for the Yankees gave way eventually to rational hatred for the Bronx Bombers. They spend tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions, more than their competitors on mercenaries who play for the love of the money, not the game or its fans. They are the ultimate overdog, a franchise for which championships are their birthright.

That leads me to today, my Christmas of Yankee hatred.

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