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Story Archives: How 'bout them Bailouts?


How 'bout them Bailouts?
by Joey Martin - posted Thursday, April 16th, 2009 @ 10:46 amE-mail Story E-mail Story | Print Story Print Story 
Scattershooting while wondering why Ryan Seacrest can't just tell American Idol contestants they are safe or in the bottom three instead of trying to be cute and confusing everybody.

• Judging from comments on al.com, the folks in Alabama are not too happy about the Iron Bowl being moved from the Saturday after Thanksgiving to the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Reasons given are those who do have to work will miss the game, and it conflicts with high school football playoff games.

This move also affected LSU, as the Tigers will now face Arkansas on Saturday after playing on Friday the past several years.

What gives? It's CBS, folks. Money, money, money.

How else do you pay for college coaches nowadays? Oh yeah, besides the almost triple figure on your ticket stub.

• There's something wrong with New Orleans Hornets against the Utah Jazz. I don't know if there are any hornets in Utah, but I sure know there's a lot more jazz in New Orleans. Of course, Utah kept the nickname Jazz when the franchise left for Salt Lake City and the Hornets kept the mascot when Charlotte moved to New Orleans.

Is it that difficult to change a name? Bet if a corporation was involved there would be very little hassle.

Then again, maybe the Redskins can change their name. How about the Washington Bailouts?

• Most folks around here were hoping from an upset when Michigan State faced powerhouse North Carolina for the NCAA basketball championship on April 6. But not former Ferriday resident and state Insurance Commissioner/Secretary of State Jim Brown — and for good reason.

Brown was the first recruit for former Tar Heel coach Dean Smith and was a member of the North Carolina track team, handing off the baton to former Dallas Cowboy great Bob Hayes.

• Oklahoma State has an interesting early football schedule in 2009. The Cowboys host Georgia on Sept. 5, followed by a home game with Houston in which the scoreboard lights will get a workout. Following a home game with Rice, OSU ends its September home streak in Stillwater against Grambling.

Around the state, Louisiana-Monroe opens at Texas, while Louisiana Tech visits Auburn. The Bulldogs surprised Mississippi State last year in their opener in the friendly confines of Joe Aillet Stadium. Don't look for Jordan-Hare Stadium to be quite as friendly. Then again, if Tech can play Auburn close or even pull off the upset, Auburn fans will not be too friendly with first-year coach Gene Chizik.

• With the NFL Draft coming up the end of this month, just a reminder that Johnny Unitas was a ninth-round draft pick who was cut in training camp by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1955. He would spend the year playing semi-pro football for the Bloomfield Rams for $6 a game and working at a construction site until he was discovered by the Colts.

Then again, there's the history of the New Orleans Saints' first-round picks, especially during the 1970s and 80s. How can you forget guys like Kevin Hardy (1968 defensive end from Notre Dame), Rick Middleton (1974 linebacker from Ohio State), Larry Burton (1975 wide receiver from Purdue), Kurt Schumacher (1975 offensive tackle from Ohio State), Russell Erxleben (1979 kicker from Texas), Lindsay Scott (1982 wide receiver from Georgia) and Alvin Toles (1986 linebacker from Tennessee).

Makes you wonder back then if there were actually people sitting around a room spending hours deciding on those picks. Bet those rookie cards won't fetch too much on eBay now.

• Wow, can college football be that far away? The AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis announced last week that it has secured a prestigious January game date. The 51st AutoZone Liberty Bowl will be played at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 2, 2010. The game will feature teams from the SEC and Conference USA and will be televised ESPN and broadcast by ESPN Radio.

This will be the second time in the last three seasons the AutoZone Liberty Bowl has been played on Saturday. The last Saturday date was in 2007 when an all-time record crowd of 63,816 watched Mississippi State take on Central Florida.

By the way, this is not a January game LSU fans are really counting on. As good as the SEC will be this upcoming season, I'm not so sure I would want to be that C-USA opponent.

• Steven Rivers, a rising junior quarterback and the younger brother of NFL Pro Bowl quarterback Philip Rivers, has transferred from Austin High School in Alabama to Athens, Ala.

Rivers' father Steve, who was head coach at Decatur and Athens for 21 seasons while compiling a 152-77 record, is coming out of retirement to join the Golden Eagles staff as quarterbacks coach.

The elder Rivers left Athens when Philip signed with North Carolina State following an All-State season in 1999 and was head coach at Wakefield High in Raleigh, N.C., for four years.

He left that post and moved with his family to San Diego after Philip signed with the Chargers. The family eventually returned to Decatur and Steven began playing for Austin. He now will play at Athens where his brother starred for his father, who coached the team from 1996-99.

• So is Nick Saban conceding Louisiana to LSU? Don't bet on it. But the Crimson Tide coach is doing quite a job in Georgia for his 2010 signing class.

Gainesville, Ga., QB Blake Sims is the latest 2010 prospect to pledge to Alabama. Sims picked the Crimson Tide over UGA, Michigan, Tennessee and West Virginia, among others.

Alabama has as many commitments from the state as Georgia Tech (3), and more than UGA (1). The other Tuscaloosa-bound prospects are North Gwinnett OL Austin Shephard and Westside-Macon WR Ronald Carswell.

Of course he still has to finish the deal. But Georgia is certainly known for its high school football and Saban seems to be taking advantage of UGA's recent struggles.

That's good news for LSU fans. But don't get too comfortable. Saban no doubt will be returning to Louisiana on several occasions before next February.

Joey Martin is sports editor of the Concordia Sentinel in Ferriday/Vidalia. The Concordia Sentinel is a sister publication of The Franklin Sun in Winnsboro and The Ouachita Citizen in Monroe/West Monroe. Martin can be reached by e-mailing joey@concordiasentinel.com.
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