by Alejandro de los Rios

NOTE: LSU Tiger Fans would be remiss in using the term “Tiger Bait” for the next day or so. At least in regards to the Georgia mascot.

It comes with much sadness to report that this beautiful hunk of dogness has died of congestive heart failure. It should be noted that, when I speak of UGA VI as a “beautiful hunk of dogness” I mean it solely as a dog lover and not as a fan of the University of Georgia. I mean, seriously, would you look at that face?

/makes baby noises, pokes computer screen, loses online manhood.

But in all seriousness, UGA VI served nine seasons as the football team’s winningest, and heaviest, mascot. I guess that, in a perverse way, this bodes well for LSU fans as the Georgia football team went 87-27 with two SEC championships (2002 and 2005) during the big dog’s reign. Read the rest of this entry »

by Alejandro de los Rios

New Orleans was among ten cities to submit a bid to host the NCAA Final Four between 2012-2016. The other cities looking to host are Dallas, Indianapolis, Phoenix, Atlanta, Minniapolis, St. Louis, San Antonio, Detroit and Houston. 10 cities vying for 5 spots seems daunting but several factors come into play. You can all but eliminate Detroit and Houston since they’re already set to host the Final Four in 2009 and 2011, repectively. Dallas and Phoenix are almost sure-fire candidates because of their new domed stadiums. All that leaves six cities and three slots. This city’s recent strides to recovery and the successful hosting of both the BCS National Championship game and the NBA All-Star game this year should bode well for the Big Easy’s chances.

But still, keep your fingers crossed.

by Sam Winston

During any other year, having all four number one seeds reach the NCAA final four would have been the end of the world as I know it. It is after all the first time in the history of the tournament that it has ever happened. Nevertheless, America’s perennial underdog showcase will never wither, at least not in my mind.

I’ve been watching and playing basketball since I was old enough to dribble a ball. Before my family moved from Manhattan to New Orleans when I was 7, my father took me to the Big East tournament in Madison Square Garden, one of the great precursors to the Big Dance. My dad said we were rooting for Syracuse, but I was secretly pulling for Georgetown. What a raucous place it was during the Big East glory days of Ewing, Coleman, Mullin, Villanova, and others in the mid 1980s. Read the rest of this entry »

Around 7:30 pm on Saturday afternoon, we should all know the winner of the LSU-Alabama game. Can the “hat” (LSU coach Les Miles) go into Tuscaloosa again and pull out a victory? Or will the “hair” (Alabama coach Nick Saban) beat his old team and the current 3rd ranked Tigers?

There are many sidebars to this game. Saban’s first game against his former employer. Ryan Perrilloux not making the trip due to an altercation at Read the rest of this entry »

Ugly wins still count. Thank God. After an ugly first half and overcoming a 10 point deficit at half time, LSU pulled out a 30-24 over Auburn Saturday night in Tiger Stadium. Also, the Saints, who were equally ugly, pulled out a 22-16 win over the Atlanta Falcons yesterday afternoon in the Superdome. Here are a few thoughts on LSU as there will be no discussion of the Saints today.

LSU

“I swear you are the dumbest smart kid I know..” If you’ve seen the movie Varsity Blues, you know this is quote from it. Moving forward, this is how I will now refer to LSU coach Les Miles - “The dumbest smart coach I’ve seen.” First thing first though Read the rest of this entry »

LSU

Many are calling tomorrow’s LSU game at Kentucky a “trap” game as it’s sandwiched in between Florida and Auburn. Mostly, though, it’s because of the way the Tigers won last week, putting all its effort into willing out a win against the Gators. I’m hoping the Tigers don’t get trapped in Lexington.

Here are your keys to the game for the Tigers:

1) Containing Kentucky QB Andre Woodson.

Woodson is getting a ton of hype from many at ESPN and others around the country and is currently being considered as Read the rest of this entry »

Both LSU and the Saints earned it this weekend, although both teams did it in extremely different ways. LSU came back from a 10 point 4th quarter deficit to beat Florida 28-24 in what was, in my opinion, the best damn football game I’ve ever seen. Follow that up with the Saints performance on Sunday afternoon, which was the complete opposite.

LSU

What transpired Saturday night in Tiger Stadium between LSU and Florida was Read the rest of this entry »