I am continuing efforts to persuade my lovely wife that she REALLY wants to accompany me and watch the new “Coyote vs. Acme” movie at theaters beginning Friday. Like the cartoon duo, we are nearly opposites. She (similar to the Roadrunner) always seems to find a way to defeat her creatively overthinking and occasionally overconfident spouse. I have upgraded the offer to include a dinner bribe if she will accompany me to an afternoon showing of the movie this weekend. She is still mulling the offer as of press time. Expect the location for dinner to be renegotiated soon. Is that the sound of me
It may be hard to believe, but it has been 16 ½ years since Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints captured their one and only Super Bowl title. February 7, 2010 marked the greatest day in Saints history. The New Orleans Saints began play as an NFL expansion team in Tulane Stadium against the Los Angeles Rams on September 17, 1967. The opening kick-off was returned by Saints wide receiver John Gilliam for a touchdown as 80,000 fans roared their approval. Sadly, the Saints lost Game #1 27-13 and finished their initial NFL season with a 3-11 record. Twenty years later, the New Orleans Saints had
Perhaps the searing August heat has begun to take its toll. We have just emerged from yet another weird weekend in sports with an assortment of strange things occurring. Let’s (briefly) venture outside to review a few more odd August sports stories. LSU expected to sign a tight end who was just cut by the Cleveland Browns? Ole Miss football fans were already incensed about former head coach Lane Kiffin’s departure at the end of last season. The Rebels will host Kiffin’s LSU Tigers in Oxford on Saturday, September 19 in a nationally televised made-for-media marquis match-up. America’s most popu
It’s here! The same people who told you that Indiana was the 20th best team starting in 2025 are now suggesting that the defending college football champion Hoosiers will be the sixth best team in 2026. Indiana went a perfect 16-0 last season. They obliterated “name” football powers like Alabama 38-3 during their stampede to the national championship. Coach Curt Cignetti is still at Indiana. Like every other major college football program, IU went shopping to buy another group of talented transfer players using NIL bonus bucks again in 2026. So, why did the Associated Press demote last season’
LSU was front and center in national sports headlines in the past week. Most every day, the stories just kept on coming. “Recent Heisman Trophy winner wants his jersey retired or his Heisman back!” How about this: “LSU Defensive back replies, “It’s My Number now – Come and Take it!” And then LSU had one of the saddest stories of the week with the headline, “Legendary LSU Baseball coach and Athletics Director Skip Bertman died Friday in Baton Rouge at age 88.” Let’s cover that serious story first. Skip Bertman was a man with a golden touch who quietly built LSU athletics into a national power J
Those who follow my posts know that I have been a supporter of LIV Golf since Day 1 (Spring, 2022). Every PGA Tour golfer should be thankful to LIV Golf for introducing some much needed competition during the past five years. The stodgy PGA Tour’s tournament payouts have risen after LIV Golf began poaching several top golfers. The remaining stars of the PGA Tour are now pocketing significant long-term benefits after a new incentive bonus system was instituted two years ago to retain top talent. As of today, LIV Golf will need a major miracle to continue in 2027. It is officially “Hail Mary” ti
It’s been 31 seasons since the Dallas Cowboys last played in a Super Bowl game. That season-ending victory came at the conclusion of the 1995 NFL season on January 28, 1996. Heck, it has been 31 seasons since the Dallas Cowboys have even played in the NFC Championship game! Team owner and billionaire huckster Jerry Jones tried to convince Dallas Cowboys fans last summer that trading away the team’s best defensive player was a smart move. Micah Parsons wanted ol’ Jer to pony-up with another high dollar contract to remain in Dallas. Instead, the owner shipped Parsons to the Green Bay Packers rig
I’m ba-a-a-ck! Being a grandfather isn’t something that you train for. It was quite challenging last week to go outside and shoot basketball for an hour in the summer heat with an 8-year old intent on dispatching his creeky ol’ Grandpa in morning games of one-on-one. He took the overall 3-game series, but Grandpa held his own (at least for this year). Now, where did I put that tube of SportsCreme? In fact, the past month has found my lovely wife and I spending a full week with each set of our five young (10 and under) grandsons. We have enjoyed a total summer blast! Now, the house is quiet aga
Speedy Gonzalez would love playing a round of golf with newly-crowned Open Championship winner Ryan Fox. A round of golf at last week’s British Open at Royal Birkdale averaged a snooze-worthy 5 ½ hours. Don’t blame the weather. All four days of this year’s event were played under benign conditions. No rain or high winds affected play. The final player on the golf course on Sunday was a relative unknown named Ryan Fox. The native New Zealander was already tied with clubhouse leader Cameron Young at 9-under par as he sized-up an 11 foot birdie putt to win the tournament. A massive throng of Brit
Raise your hand if you saw this one coming. LIV Golf has been downright invisible for more than a month. The last action featuring the upstart golf league took place on June 7 in Spain. The next LIV Golf event (perhaps) is expected to take place next Thursday, July 23 in the United Kingdom. August will feature three tournaments in New York, Indianapolis, and Michigan to end the 2026 season. In case you missed it, the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) has already told the LIV Golf players that Daddy Big Bucks won’t be around to lose another billion or more next year to support the league. Ther
The previous post covered my grades on how the strength of today’s four largest college athletic conferences compare with their previous versions twenty years ago in 2006. Here’s a brief recap. In my estimation, only the SEC (which expanded from 12 to 16 teams over that 20 year period) has shown an upgrade in competition levels since 2006. I awarded the SEC a “B” grade. The Big 12 (which lost four of its prominent members to the SEC) received a C+ for their nimble addition of several relevant regional sports schools. A “D” grade was handed down to the Atlantic Coast Conference. Their nonsensic
We are in that brief summertime window where college athletics have gone on vacation. The men’s and women’s College World Series ended last month. Football season begins again in late August. I have been reflecting on the ever-changing landscape of college athletics. Even just twenty years ago, the major college sports conferences looked a whole lot different than they do today. Schools have been shifting to new conference locations primarily to maximize revenues. A few have switched conferences primarily to reduce expenses (I’m looking at you, Louisiana Tech!) The question remains as to wheth
The temperatures across the South are still scorching (as usual). World Cup Fever across the United States seems to be abating quite a bit today. The three host countries in North America (Canada, Mexico, and the United States) for the 2026 World Cup soccer advanced into the Round of 16. That was a pleasant surprise and some very good news for fans in North America. Sadly, the soccer teams for the three host countries all bit the dust over the past few days. None reached the quarterfinals, Elite Eight, or whatever the FIFA soccer people call this next round. Action on Saturday July 4th saw Can
The past week has featured a number of rather important sports stories. Some are quite newsworthy and will have lasting impact. Others seem to be overblown stories being pushed by the media just to meet deadline requirements. How do you view these stories? News or Snooze? Oklahoma Sooners downed North Carolina to claim the men’s College World Series title A: Newsworthy The SEC just won its seventh consecutive men’s College World Series baseball title after unseeded Oklahoma blasted the favored and #5 seed North Carolina Tar Heels 13-2 on Monday night in Omaha. OU’s “Slugging Sooners” K-O’d eve
Sports fans in the South are likely familiar with “The Paul Finebaum Show.” If you’re not, you are about to learn more. Paul Finebaum is a graduate of the University of Tennessee. He has enjoyed a lengthy and very successful career as a popular sportswriter for newspapers across the South. In the mid-1980’s, Finebaum was discovered by a new audience. His vast knowledge on college sports helped make him a popular guest on sports talk radio stations in the Southeast. He eventually became a full-time radio sports talk host in Birmingham, Alabama during the 1990’s. Paul Finebaum’s unique radio sho
