Wednesday, November 01, 2006

I’m Back!

Hey gang!

So sorry it has taken me so long to get another one of these up and running, but since my last blog entry, I must have got struck with a bout of Katrina cough from my stay in New Orleans covering the Saints/Falcons game.  Plus I was moving into a new apartement while I was sick, so that’s never condusive to a lot of free time to rest up and blog. 

But have no fear, Hotard fans, Dave is back in action and feeling 100%, ready to rip roar another entry into the Football Frenzy Blog. 

So, this football season has been “rather interesting” to say the least.  I can’t believe I’m writing a “as we wind down” entry.  It seems like just yesterday, we were getting everything started for the 2006 gridiron season.  But alas, another year, another losing season for many of the local schools.  Ole Miss and Mississippi State come to mind first.  Both these teams confuse me quite a bit.  I know Ole Miss is a very young team, with a very young coach, who is high on playing young players.  And they always say the 3rd year of a new head coach is the telling tale of that coach, so I’ll give Ole Miss and head coach Ed Orgeron a one year pass, redeemable for wins next season.  Hopefully for our sake, one of the SEC teams we cover will make it to a bowl game next year, so I can go on a cool trip out of town to cover it…haha.  Road trips are one of the many perks we sports guys enjoy. 

Now let’s talk about Mississippi State.  The Bulldogs have what I like to call a year up on Ole Miss as far as rebuilding the football program, or at least trying to.  By this point in his 3rd season, Sylvester Croom has his players, his system, and his staff in place, so many wonder if it’s talent, lack thereof, or coaching that’s making another losing season for MSU.  And I have to wonder, was last year’s Egg Bowl win really enough for the administration to extend Croom’s contract on?  Let me know what you guys think.

Southern Miss is yet again giving us local media jokers something to look forward to in terms of a winning season.  The 3-headed offensive monster of senior tight end Shawn Nelson, junior quarterback Jeremy Young, and frehsman running back Damion Fletcher have really sparked continued success at Southern Miss.  Now although the Golden Eagles have dropped two straight, I feel confident that Jeff Bower’s boys will have no problem sweeping the rest of the schedule into the “W” column.  Sure, the New Orleans Bowl may not be exactly the bowl game the guys in Hattiesburg want or had in mind at the beginning of the season, but it’s better than nothing (i.e. Ole Miss and State). 

How about the SWAC in 2006?  I would have never expected that Jackson State and Alcorn would be battling for pretty respectable rankings in the conference standings.  Valley’s right in there in the mix as well, making the SWAC one of the more exciting conferences for me to cover.  Being able really to only see live and in person Jackson State games on the weekends, I must say, I’m pretty impressed with the job that Rick Comegy has done with that program.  The thing I like best about Comegy is his personality off the field.  I’m not playing favorites by any means, but I must tell you, he is one of the best coaches to deal with from a media standpoint.  He’s always available, open, and honest about everything and anything you ask him.  And that carries over with his players as well.  These athletes are some of the biggest examples of class acts that I have ever seen in college football.  I have had a unique opportunity this fall to cover Mississippi State, Southern Miss, Ole Miss, and Jackson State from a “beyond the sideline” perspective in reporting on our daily featured College Sports Spotlight segments.  And I must say, some of the most interesting and unexpected feel good stories have come out of JSU. 

The small local colleges have also impressed me quite a bit, with Belhaven, Millsaps, and Mississippi college all putting together some nice little winning streaks together at one point or another this season.  Millsaps really stands out in my mind as the true shocker of all the small local schools.  Some of the New Orleans Saints skills must have rubbed off on the Majors during training camp, because Millsaps has won 5 in a row after starting the season 0-3 under 1st year head coach Mike Dubose.  Quarterback Juan Joseph has really proved a dangerous threat both through the air and on the ground, really showing some big time leadership for this program that’s very young and only sprinkled with senior talent. 

The high school season is in full swing as we wind down.  The playoffs start tonight, but I myself am not shooting any playoff games.  I’m typing here anxiously awaiting tonight’s big 5A games of Murrah vs Northwest Rankin and Wingfield vs Brandon.  Those are the two I will be at tonight, but we’ll also be covering a slew of other playoff games and other great matchups, headlined by Clinton and Provine out at Hughes field.  That one oughta be good, I’ll be anxious to see the highlights myself tonight. 

And how about the rest of the Football Frenzy action…the NFL?  Well, despite last week’s loss at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens, led behind the flawless play of former Alcorn quarterback Steve McNair, the Saints are still looking really strong at this point in the season.  I was actually at that game, my first one all season as a fan, and my Dad told me that I am no longer allowed in my hometown for the rest of the home games, because apparently I’m bad luck for Sean Payton and The Black and Gold.   

Alright gang, here’s the deal.  I want some serious commenting on this blog.  Let me know what you think about these topics, or others I didn’t bring up.  I want to hear from you, so make sure to leave a comment. 

Hope to hear from you guys soon!
Dave

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Saints Beat Falcons 23-3 In 1st Game Back Home In The Dome!

When I arrived at the Louisiana Superdome to pick up my media credentials, I must say that I was highly disappointed.  You, see, the press passes we were issued for the Saints first game back home in The Dome were good only for pre-game access to the Superdome and post-game access to the Superdome.  So that meant that I would not actually be able to be in the Superdome for any of the actual game, but instead, had to be taken to a media viewing room in the New Orleans Arena across the street to watch the game.  And the room was filled with just about nothing to accomodate the media, short of a few soft drinks and some pretzels.  Ball dropped by the Black and Gold media relations department.  It was a very sorry excuse for decent media accomodations.  But I wasn’t the only one cast aside for the game.  Every station in Jackson was right there with me, along with media from Biloxi, Lafayette, and many other places.  So we all got to “suffer” together. 

So yes, we were all highly disappointed, but then we found out the reason for this “bonehead” move by the Saints.  ESPN got top billing when it came to the media credentials.  Understandable, the network is after all carrying the game to a nation wide audience.  And with the big crew they need to do all they do, that’s very understandable.  Ok, feeling a little better.  But what made me feel 100% ok with my situation is that what would have normally been our media section in the Dome was converted to fan seating to accomodate the more than sellout fan crowd that was coming back to witness this historic event.  Done deal.  That’s ok then, I’m most certainly cool with that.  I would much rather see the people of my city and the biggest Black and Gold fans out there to see the game rather than me.  They have been through so much in the past year, and to know that our seats were given up for them, makes me feel really good about the move the Saints made.

Plus, it wasn’t a total loss. 

I did, after all, get to talk with ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap before the game.  Jeremy and I met quite a few years ago at a journalism seminar in Louisville, Kentucky.  He was our keynote speaker, so we chatted about that for a bit and caught up.  He was working on some stories for the game for ABC, and was really excited about getting to be part of the historic game.  One thing he said that really stuck with me was, “If you’re not excited about being here at this game, then there’s not much out there that can excite you.”  That’s so true, especially given the circumstances of everything that everyone has been through in the Big Easy for the past year.

In addition, I got to be on the field and tape some of the U2 and Green Day Concert before the game.  What a performance!  The noise in that Dome was unbelieveable!  To look up and see the crowd that was gathered for the game was absolutely amazing.  I have been to many many Saints games as a fan before, and never once had I seen an atmosphere like that before.  As far as I could look, I saw black and gold.  The city and it’s fans were alive once again, and I knew before the game that Atlanta did not stand a chance. 

We were escorted off the field after the Saints came out of the tunnel and the crowd went bonkers.  We were taken to the media viewing room, but many of us opted for greener pastures, and decided to go out into the city and grab a bite to eat and watch the game with some of the locals who weren’t at the game.  Some guys from the other stations and I got in the car and went to Port Of Call, a fantastic great local restaurant located about 5 or 10 minutes from The Dome.  I had not been there in about 14 years or so, so it was great to be back there for the 1st time.  and I tell you what, I’ve had some great hamburgers before, but that mushroom cheesburger was one of the best ever.  I scarfed that thing down while cheering on the Saints to what was most assuredly a solid victory. 

At halftime, the guys and I headed back to The Dome, and I did my 10 o’clock live shots.  When I hit liveon air, the Saints were up 23-3 over Atlanta. 

After the show and as the clock wound down, I made my way back inside The Dome to get set up for the post game press conferences.  Our photographer Jerry Brooks headed to the Saints setup, while I made my way to the other side of The Dome to catch up with the local guys on the Atlanta Falcons team: Jerious Norwood, Fred McCrary, Justin Griffith, and Michael Boley.  As I talked to each one of those guys, sure, they were disappointed, but they understood the circumstances of that night.  And despite the loss, all of them felt a little comfort in the fact that they were part of history, and that they got to return to familiar yet new surroundings, all of them having played in New Orleans during their college careers.  Good spirits generally filled that Falcons locker room, as that team knows they still have a very promising season ahead of them.  As I finished up on the Falcons’ side, I walked back acroos the field to the Saints side.  I was almost stride in stride with Michael Vick, who I heard say, “I’m going to get my revenge, it may not be tonight.  But I will get my revenge.”  He then laughed, showing that he was in good spirits and ready for the next battle in this bitter rivalry. 

I returned to the Saints post game area, and as Jerry taped what was happening at the media podium, I got a chance to talk to Deuce McAllister outside the podium.  He said that his team played what he described as a pretty flawless game and had never been involved in a game with so much intensity and fan support.  Deuce says he can’t wait to see what the rest of the season brings in terms of fan support, and couldn’t have been happier to be home. 

And I couldn’t have been happier to be home as well.  To be part of history is a great thing.  I had a blast meeting and greeting with everyone, and getting to talk with a team and fans that have been through so much in the past year because of what was thought to be a storm from which they could not recover. 

Well New Orleans is back, and last night’s game is a true symbol of the start of the truly new city.