About this time every holiday season, I make my annual Christmas wish list. So in no particular order, here is this year’s list of what I want for Christmas:
5. A bowl game in some city, any city, other than Shreveport — I am sure spending the New Year in Shreveport is a lovely and riveting experience. The casinos of Shreve-vegas probably made for a wonderful experience for LSU fans who made the trip in 1997 when LSU blasted Notre Dame in the Weedwhacker Bowl.
But you almost can bet Saint Nick and the Tigers don’t have “Shreveport on my mind” in the least little bit. But sadly, it is one of the bowl possibilities for LSU, along with the Cotton Bowl, Music City Bowl, Peach Bowl, Outback Bowl and Capital One Bowl.
4. A playoff berth — The Saints are hanging on in the playoff race after a 23-20 win against Tampa Bay Sunday night. Doesn’t it make you sick to your stomach when you realize that if they ever could figure out how to beat the Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions, they would be leading the division?
New Orleans trails Atlanta by one game in the loss column for second place and is a full game behind Tampa Bay. The Saints finish the year with a favorable schedule, playing at Baltimore, Minnesota, at Cincinnati and Carolina, but they can’t afford to slip up anywhere along the way.
3. A No. 1 ranking — Sue Gunter and the LSU women’s basketball team moved up to No. 2 in the nation in the latest AP poll and currently are ranked No. 3 in the coaches’ poll. At 5-0, the Lady Tigers have blasted every opponent on their schedule and are picking up steam with every win.
Before opening up the Southeastern Conference schedule on Jan. 9, the Lady Tigers have two tough contests in the PMAC against Texas and Penn State. LSU trails Duke in the AP poll and follows Kansas State and the Blue Devils in the coaches poll.
2. A win over Arizona in the PMAC — Lute Olsen and the No. 1 Arizona Wildcats invade the PMAC Dec. 21 to battle John Brady and the LSU basketball team before a national audience on ESPN2. This is the Tigers’ chance to make a statement that they are going to be a force to be reckoned with in the SEC this season.
The last time Arizona visited the Deaf Dome on Jan. 29, 2000, LSU beat the pants off them, 86-60, and that game set the tone for the rest of the season. Brady and Co. are hoping for a similar result this time, too.
And last but not least …
1. A job for the artist formerly known as “The Loud Speaker” — That’s right, faithful readers of The Reveille, this week marks the last of Larry Holder at The Reveille sports desk. Cheer and applaud, or wipe away your tears if you must.
He is graduating from this blissful place and moving on to bigger and better things in the sports journalism world. Maybe one day we will see him sitting by his boys Tony Kornheiser, Michael Wilbon and Stat Boy on “Pardon the Interruption.”
Certainly, readers will miss his random outbursts of ridiculousness (i.e. “ALABAMA IS ON PROBATION FOR HANDING OUT ILLEGAL PAYMENTS TO EVERYONE AND THEIR GRANDMA”) in his weekly column.
In all seriousness, I speak for The Reveille sports staff in wishing him well, along with our two other graduating seniors Ronnie Richard and Dave Bommarito.