Louisiana Sports Talk

[NCB]

I don't think anyone in New Orleans could have asked for a better weekend. The biggest day of service in pro sports history, all kinds of money generated and donated to schools and charities, and I don't think I've seen New Orleans look better on a big stage. All of that music, bits about food and culture, updates and positive thoughts on rebuilding, fantastic aerials of the city, tours of the CBD and French Quarter, all of it aired internationally in 44 languages. New Orleans couldn't have paid for that kind of advertising. Thank you, NBA, for showcasing New Orleans in a beautiful light.

And as a side note to the game, many might remember the public outcries about not having the All-Star game in New Orleans. After what happened in Vegas, it seemed like every sports writer in the nation was writing about how All-Star weekend in New Orleans would be nothing but gunfire and crime. Well, now that it's all over, the NOPD reported 98 arrests. For comparison, the Las Vegas Police Department reported approximately 400 arrests at last year's All-Star game. As Ray Nagin said today, all of the worries about big event safety in New Orleans should be put to rest. The city, in it's post-Katrina state with a smaller police force, managed to easily pull off an event that one of the, if not the largest tourism city in the world, Las Vegas, couldn't handle.

Now...back to some legit sports talk.

Richy, the Hornets will be here for the long haul. The crowds have been poor, but what the national media hasn't included in their doom and gloom attendance reports, is the fact that crowds at the N.O. Arena have been steadily increasing over the past few weeks, to the point where the Hornets have been averaging over 15,500 fans at their last few games and sold out against Memphis a week ago. Anyone who has spent 30 seconds in New Orleans knows how much of a Saints town it is, so I wasn't at all suprised to see the Hornets struggle with attendance early on, even while they were playing so well. They were all but gone for two years, came back with all new players from when they left, and had to insert themselves into the New Orleans sports market once again. Not to mention the issues going on between Charter and Cox Cable, who can't come to an agreement to show the Hornets games to over 400,000 people on the Northshore and in Houma. Out of sight, out of mind. But people in the city are starting to take notice, and it shows now as the Hornets average attendance has gone up by over 1,500 fans from two months ago. If that happens again, the Hornets would move up 5 or 6 spots on the NBA's avg. attendance list.

[NCB]

It was announced today that the Bassmaster Classic will be spending quite a bit of time in Louisiana in the next few years. Shreveport will be hosting its first Bassmaster Classic in 2009, and in 2011 BASS will be coming to New Orleans for the 4th time. I'm very happy to see another major event return to New Orleans, and I know Shreveport must be very happy with the news for their city as well! Congrats!

Here's the article from ESPN, which includes two great skyline shots of Shreveport and New Orleans:

ESPN Article

A first-time Classic destination, America's Bass Capital and the Big Easy will usher in the excitement of the Bassmaster Classic through the next three years.

In 2009, the 39th Bassmaster Classic will be held on the Red River out of Shreveport-Bossier City, La.; in 2010, Birmingham, Ala., welcomes back the Classic for the seventh time; and in 2011, the Classic marches back to New Orleans.

[byrde]

Baton Rouge Awarded National Soccer Tournament

Local soccer association, CVB, Sports Foundation, and city-parish team up to land event

Baton Rouge

[richyb83]

Thanks for posting those yall! What an economic shot in the arm for Louisiana Sportsman's Paradise is representing!

[NCB]

Some sports stories coming out of New Orleans:

The Hornets defeated the Utah Jazz (originally the New Orleans Jazz from '75-'79) last night in front of another sellout crowd at the New Orleans Arena. The Hornets went on a 23-0 run in the 1st quarter, and finished the 1st leading 38-15. But the Jazz slowly worked their way back into the game through the 2nd and 3rd quarters, and dropped the Hornets lead to only 4 with only 6 minutes or so remaining. But for the second straight game, Janero Pargo came off the bench and was huge. The Hornets hadn't scored in nearly 4 minutes, but Pargo came out and nailed a 20 foot jumper, hit a 15 footer on the next possession, and hit a 3 on the next possession. 7 consecutive points off the bench put the Hornets up 10, but Utah dropped it back to 8 with 3 minutes remaining. At that point, Chris Paul stole the ball from "rival/friend" Deron Williams, had it picked up by David West, who threw it back to CP3, who drove up the court and found an open Peja in the corner. Peja faked Andre Kirelinko completely off the court, and nailed the 3 to put the Hornets up by 11. On the next possession, Pargo hit another 3, and that sealed the win for the Hornets, who have won two in a row after a three game losing streak, to improve their record to 39-18; 3rd in the West. CP3 outshined Deron Williams in the highly touted matchup between the two, finishing the game with 24 points, 16 assists, and 5 steals. David West was fantastic yet again, with 25 points and 13 rebounds. Peja finished with 20 points, and Pargo finished with 15 off the bench.

Also, as I mentioned, the game last night was a sellout. The Hornets have now sold out 4 of their last 5 home games. The game Wednesday night vs the Suns(big Hornets win) drew 17,931, the largest crowd to ever watch a basketball game at the New Orleans Arena. In January, the Hornets were dead last in NBA attendance, drawing only slightly above 10,000 fans per game. Now on March 1st, the Hornets are drawing over 13,200. That's still not anything to brag about, but it's a major improvement in only two months. It took 3 months for the Hornets to get their first sellout of the year, and they've now sold out 4 times in less than 4 weeks. I think those are all great signs that things are getting better for the team here in New Orleans.

Now some Saints news...

The Saints picked up linebacker Jonathan Vilma from the Jets yesterday for an unconditional 2009 draft pick. The middle linebacker had 118 tackles in his rookie season in 2004, earning him the defensive rookie of the year award. The next year, Vilma had a league-leading 187 tackles, earning him a Pro Bowl spot. In 2006, however, Eric Mangini arrived as Jets coach and switched their defensive scheme from a 4-3 to a 3-4, which essentially ended Vilma's positive playing there. In 2007, a dead piece of bone that had been in Vilma's knee since high school dislodged, which forced him to be out for the season. He had surgery on the knee four months ago, and says that it feels great.

I really like this deal for the Saints, who needed a strong leader for their defense. Jonathan Vilma is a beast in the 4-3 scheme, and that's exactly what the Saints use. He had a major injury last year, and is now viewed as "injury-prone" by many, even though that was the first major injury of his career. In that case, he's extremely similar to Drew Brees, who had only missed a few games before his before his torn shoulder labrum. And the Saints really didn't give up a whole lot for Vilma; they traded a conditional 2009 4th round draft pick, meaning that it could turn into a 2nd or 3rd round pick if Vilma plays very well and/or signs a contract extension with the team. At that point, either one of those picks would definately be worth it, IMO.

Many national "experts" are saying that this pickup alone makes the Saints a true playoff contender once again, but I'm not completely sure of that. We're set on offense, even with the loss of center Jeff Faine to Tampa Bay. He missed a few games last year and the year before, and Jonathan Goodwin, who will replace Faine this year, played well in all of them. Quarterback obviously isn't a problem, and the same can be said with running back, stacked with Deuce, Reggie, and 2007 suprise Pierre Thomas. On defense, our front 4 is excellent, and the addition of Vilma at linebacker makes our middle 3 very good, IMO. But our back 4 still need improvements. The Saints have to pick up a good CB in the draft or through free agency. If that happens, I think the Saints are set on defense as well.

Welcome to New Orleans, Jonathan Vilma!

[richyb83]

Wow Nate! That's qiute a sports post you got there No doubt Jonathan Vilma will be a key-addition for the Saints D. He should fit well in the Saints 4-3 scheme. The NFL is a cruel business when proven players get injured, then shown the door. We know a teams sucess depends on staying healthy. The Saints definetly had there share of injuries.

The cornerback position is definetly a glaring need; hopefully can get some quality player via the draft or free agency. I like Usama Young; as a rookie he showed some serious upside in his limited playing time; he got dinged up some too. He's a raw prospect.

I see where OG-Alan Faneca(ex-NOLA native) signed a big deal w/ the Jets. I wish he could have come to the Saints.

The Jazz are basically two different teams at home and on the road. They waxed the Hornets both times in Utah. Good to see the Hornets answer back in the Arena. Great to see the crowds pick-up as they enter the strech run to the playoffs!

Man is the Western Conference is stacked or what!! The NBA is considering picking the Best 16 Teams in the NBA instead of the current 8-West/8-East format; it's unbalanced. The West has about 10 teams that could go to the playoffs; the East might have 5.

[NCB]

Man is the Western Conference is stacked or what!! The NBA is considering picking the Best 16 Teams in the NBA instead of the current 8-West/8-East format; it's unbalanced. The West has about 10 teams that could go to the playoffs; the East might have 5.

You're certainly right about that, Richy! In the West, 5 or 6 games seperate the #1 seed from the #8 seed. In the East, 20 or 21 games seperate the #1 seed from the #8 seed. In terms of balance, those numbers just about speak for themselves!

BTW, here's a great article from the Times-Picayune about New Orleans responding to the challenge to support the Hornets:

Hornets crowds could meet attendance goals

Article

[NCB]

This afternoon the Saints signed former Patriots and LSU cornerback Randall Gay to a 4 four year deal. The Saints also signed former Jacksonville DE Bobby McCray to a five year deal. Randall Gay was born in Brusly,LA(West Baton Rouge Parish), played at LSU, and made a point of scheduling New Orleans as his first visit (for obvious reasons). After the Jason David signing last year, I'm not convinced by anything being "good" until we see the player on the field, but I definately like this signing. Gay was listed as one of the top CB's available, he's a Louisiana/SEC boy, and has had success in both zone and man coverages up in New England.

Bobby McCray was listed as the third best DE available, and while the Saints' largest D-line need is at DT, this looks like a great depth signing. He's had alot of success as a third down pass rusher, and that, along with the fact that Charles Grant had some injury problems last year, makes him a valuable addition.

Good day for the Saints!

[richyb83]

This news is a few days old; but still wanted to post

The Saints signed former Panther Linebacker Dan Morgan. When healthy he is a impact player! He started in the 04' Pro-Bowl. But he has only played in 4 games the past two seasons with concussions and Achilles tendon injury. The Saints should have a formidable Linebacker trio with Morgan, Vilma and Fujita. Shanle and Simoneau should provide solid depth.

Morgan was also an integral part of the Panthers defense that led the team to Super Bowl XXXVIII, where he posted a career- and team-high 25 tackles in the game.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=Amnf...p&type=lgns

[byrde]

Made a trip down to N.O. to see the Hornets beat the Lakers last night. Had a great time and the crowd was huge. Sold out game. 18199.

[NCB]

I was there last night as well, byrde. Sec. 308.

The game was great, as CP3 continued his March dominance with 27 points, 17 assists, and 4 steals. David West had a great game but unfortunately sprained his right ankle (after missing 3 games with a sprained left ankle last week) in the 4th quarter. It looks like he'll miss the game tommorow's game at Detroit (televised nationally on ABC) and possibly Monday night's game at Chicago. The crowd last night was great, and as you mentioned, was another sellout, the Hornets' 6th in their last 10 games and largest of the year. I've got tickets to the big Hornets-Celtics matchup next Saturday in the Arena, and I can't wait. I've also got tickets to the Warriors-Hornets game (can you say high scoring!) to see Baron Davis come back to New Orleans in a few weeks. I picked those tickets up off StubHub for $9. It costs more for me to watch a movie and get a small bag of popcorn!

Just an update on the Hornets' television situation: If you live anywhere in SE Louisiana or southern Mississippi and have DISH Network, you can now watch every Hornets game. And the Hornets are now in discussion with DirecTV about airing the Hornets games, which you can bet they will after DISH picked them up. Neither Cox Cable or Charter Cable agreed to televise Hornets games, even after the New Orleans City Council stepped in with the Hornets and offered what was viewed by many local business leaders as a "fantastic deal." So if you've got cable and you live around these parts, it looks like you're out of luck.

[byrde]

I was in Section 325 and I too have spent more money at a movie than I did to get snacks and food for my family. I will try and make another game or two before the end of the season.

[richyb83]

That's cool yall were both at the game. Great to see the game was a sell-out; but that's really no suprise.

I see the Lakers lost Pau Gasol early in the game; they are not the same w/o him. With him (since the trade)their record was like 15-2. Unfortunately with him and Andrew Bynum(returns in a few weeks) the Lakers are considered to be the front-runners out West. I sure hope not since I am a Suns fan.

Chris Paul is one bad dude! The Hornets have the Suns number. I was glad to see the Hornets blasted the Spurs 100-75 the other night too.

The West is so tough this year; there is a log-jam between the Top 7 teams! Should be an exciting stretch-run!

Looks like the SuperSonics could be leaving Seattle and headed to OKC??

[NCB]

I was in Section 325 and I too have spent more money at a movie than I did to get snacks and food for my family. I will try and make another game or two before the end of the season.

They've got some great deals on weekend games on StubHub, which I've used countless times for Hornets and Saints games and they come through flawlessly every time. Link

Tickets for the Warriors game on April 6th (Sunday) are still as low as $19, and tickets for the Utah Jazz game on April 8th ( Tuesday) are as low as $10.

I'm glad to hear you were able to bring your whole family, as the Hornets games are excellent family entertainment. It really is a more entertaining atmosphere for all than Saints games, and that's coming from a diehard Saints fan who has gone to well over 50 Saints games. No drunks, instead of commercials during the break they have court entertainment, great ticket and concession prices, and lots of special deals for children.

[richyb83]

Another sick performance by Chris Paul; 37 pts. 13 assist and 3 steals. Hornets comeback to beat the Bulls 108-97.

[NCB]

Last night, I was part of the largest crowd to ever watch a basketball game at the New Orleans Arena, 18,280. And all of us were treated to an amazing basketball game, and an even better 4th quarter show by the Hornets. David West was huge with 37 points, Janero Pargo came off the bench with 15 clutch points, Bonzi Wells had 12 points and 8 steals off the bench, a new franchise record for steals. And even though he was in major foul trouble all game, CP3 still managed 19 points, with 9 of them coming late in the 4th quarter. After being down by as much as 15 in the first half, the Hornets fought back to defeat the Boston Celtics, the #1 team in the NBA, 113-106. That was truly the best basketball experience I've had in my life!

Quite a few celebrities were in the house at the Arena last night as well. Saints RB Deuce McAllister, LSU DT Glenn Dorsey, Saints CB Mike Mckenzie, (who was extremely into the game) former Saints QB and current WWL analyst Bobby Hebert, and interestingly enough, Subway spokesman Jared Fogle. (the pants guy)

A cell phone picture from last night's game:

[richyb83]

Nice shot of the game Nate Glad to see you enjoyed yourself so much. CP3 is a seroius MVP Candidate IMO!(check out NBA thread) Hopefully the momentum can continue for the Hornets.....

which leads me to a subject that may have brought up in the past???? Please help me out here Nate or someone.....

I know this probably will never happen, but I really would have liked to have seen New Orleans get their old name "Jazz" again!!! New Orleans is basically the birthplace of JAZZ. How much Jazz is actually played up in Salt Lake City??

The kicker is a trade would have really made good sense with Utah being "The Beehive State"....making it a good fit to become the Hornets.

Just my 2 cents.....

[NCB]

You're right about that Richy, and alot of folks in New Orleans wish the same thing; I'd love to get the "Jazz" name back. I believe a certain quote from the movie BASEketball went something like "the Jazz moved from the birthplace of Jazz, New Orleans...to Utah, where they don't allow music."

[NCB]

A cell phone camera shot of the pre-game festivities outside of the New Orleans Arena on Girod Street before the Hornets-Warriors game on Sunday. (Hornets beat the Warriors 108-96) When I went to my first Hornets game of the year back in November, not only was there nothing going on outside of the arena, there was absolutely no ticket line to get in. Now, if you get there for tipoff, there are thousands outside of the arena enjoying the live music, $1 beer, "NBA experience" games, face paint booths for the kids, etc. And now, I have to wait in line for at least 15 minutes just to get into the Arena. It really is great to see the city getting behind this team now that they have truly re-established themselves in the local market.

[richyb83]

Nice! Thanks for sharing that shot Nate! Very encouraging to see you actually have to wait in line!! Hopefully the Hornets can hold on to the #1 spot in the Western Conference. With home-court advantage the atmosphere should be electric! The NO Arena looks like a great venue for basketball!

[richyb83]

Not thrilled with the NFL's decision to take a home game away from the Saints by shipping them to London; thankfully they will get a needed "open" date the week later after some serious jet-lag. The Saints made some nice upgrades on defense in the off-season; hopefully they can make a deal for DE-Will Smith; the Saints really need to sign him!

Hopefully Duece's knees can hold-up; Reggie can rebound from his sophomore slump;and Pierre Thomas is a super-sleeper!

2008 Saints Schedule

PRESEASON

Date Opponent Time (TV)

Aug. 7 at Arizona 7 p.m. (ESPN)

Aug. 16 HOUSTON TBA

Aug. 23 at Cincinnati 6:35 p.m.

Aug. 28-31 MIAMI TBA

REGULAR SEASON

Sept. 7 TAMPA BAY noon (FOX)

Sept. 14 at Washington noon (FOX)

Sept. 21 at Denver 3:05 p.m. (FOX)

Sept. 28 SAN FRANCISCO noon (FOX)

Oct. 6 MINNESOTA 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Oct. 12 OAKLAND noon (CBS)

Oct. 19 at Carolina noon (FOX)

Oct. 26 San Diego (London) noon (CBS)

Nov. 2 Open Date

Nov. 9 at Atlanta noon (FOX)

Nov. 16 at Kansas City noon (FOX)

Nov. 24 GREEN BAY 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Nov. 30 at Tampa Bay noon (FOX)

Dec. 7 ATLANTA noon (FOX)

Dec. 11 at Chicago 7:15 (NFLN)

Dec. 21 at Detroit noon (FOX)

Dec. 28 CAROLINA noon (FOX)

Edited April 15, 2008 by richyb83

[richyb83]

After looking at the NFL's scheduling gaff.....I noticed the Saints will NOT have a HOME game after Oct. 12th all-the-way til Nov 24th....that's crap to me! But they do have 3 consecutive home games before that. They needed to mix-it-up better than that.

At least the Saints have some "Prime Time" games...TWO Monday Night Games in the SuperDome; Vikings Oct.6th & Packers Nov.24th. And a Thursday Night game at the Bears on Dec 11th(how cold will it be in Chi-Town?)

Congrats to the Hornets for Winning the powerful Southwest Division! There are more 50 game winners(Hornets, Spurs, Rockets and Mavs) than the entire Eastern Conference.

Edited April 16, 2008 by richyb83

[NCB]

Lots of stuff to be covered in this thread!

First off, the Hornets now lead the Mavs 2-0 in their best of 7 series. The series will now move to Dallas, where the Mavs will host two games. Any NBA fan has seen plenty of teams get new life at home during a series like this, so the Hornets need to keep pounding the Mavs. With that said, however, the way this team has played over the last 6 quarters is amazing. The playoff jitters got to the Hornets....for all of 24 minutes. After that, they've outscored the Mavs by 48 points in 6 quarters. Chris Paul is averaging 34 points, 14 assists, 4 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 turnovers in his first two playoff games. Absolutely amazing!

In Saints news, for the past week it has been continuously reported by ESPN and the NFLN that the Saints really want to move up into the #2 draft spot, currently owned by Saint Louis, to select LSU DT Glenn Dorsey. I would absolutely love to see this, but I really would like to know, what are the Saints willing to give up? It seems like the Rams keep saying they'd have to see an unbelievable deal to trade their pick, but the Saints keep popping up "right there" when it comes to possible draft day trades.

[richyb83]

^The Mavs had no answer for CP3 in those first two games in New Orleans. Like you said Nate, the going on the road in the NBA Playoffs is tough. The Mavs played with more energy in front of their home crowd and did a better job on CP3; the series is now 2-1.

The NFL Draft should be very interesting! I'd like to see the Saints trade up for Glen Dorsey too; but afraid the Rams asking price might be too high?? +they might take DE-Chris Long instead?? The Saints were also interested in TE-Jeremy Shockey in exchange for a 2nd Round pick; but the NY Gaints wanted more, so the Saints backed off??

Here's something I thought you might like!

LOUISIANA "per capita" WINS in a LANDSLIDE on producing NFL Draft Picks since 1988!!!

Do the Math! The numbers are misleading. Louisiana is 6th place in having more NFL Players Drafted since 1988.

* California having over 36 million > 699

*Texas having over 20.8 million > 568

* Florida has almost 16 mil.> 541

*Georgia over 8.1 million >281

*Ohio over 11.3 mil >231

*LOUISIANA less than 4.5 million > 227

*Pennsylvania nearly 12.3 mil > 171

Click on cool map for each state....

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nf...ory-graphic.htm

[UptownNewOrleans]

CA, FL & LA have always been neck and neck in producing sports talent. Football is big in the South, it's like a rite of passage. There's only one CP3 and my N.O. people know what it is