Think Fast!
Keep your head on a swivel! There’s a lot going on, sports fans
Any time the New Orleans Saints beat the Dallas Cowboys it’s cause for celebration. When Saints GOAT Drew Brees becomes just the fifth NFL quarterback to throw 400 touchdowns and just the third to complete 5,000 passes, it’s especially exciting. But now that we’ve gotten last week’s win out of our system, most objective viewers would say the Saints were lucky to win that game. I’m not talking about winning the coin toss to get first possession in overtime lucky. I’m talking about lucky that they won despite Cowboys defenders dropping several sure interceptions throughout the game. Lucky that their ailing QB caught the Cowboys defenders with their pants down and torched them for an 80-yard touchdown in the fastest regular season overtime win in NFL history.
It’s evident that quarterback Brees’ throwing shoulder isn’t healthy. The bruised rotator cuff he suffered in game two still affected him in game four on Sunday night. His throws were slow and loose. Up until his final pass, did he attempt a throw longer than 15 yards?
I don’t know if the Saints can consistently win like that. My fear is that without proper rest – and it won’t be properly rested until the end of the season when he’s not using it to earn his living – it won’t completely heal. That means the Saints will have to get by relying on a Brees who isn’t 100 percent. How far they’ll go remains to be seen, but, damn, isn’t it fun to beat “them Cowboys.”
Pelicans takeoff
If the Saints give us the blues, the Pelicans are expected to give us an up-tempo rhythm with their new offense. Emerging NBA superstar Anthony Davis is expected to blossom under new head coach Alvin Gentry’s direction. The Pels start training camp returning a majority of their roster. That continuity should help the team jell quickly and build on their hopes of back-to-back playoff appearances.
Classy moves, Tigers
LSU will face South Carolina in Tiger Stadium on Saturday at 2:30. The game was moved this week from Columbia to Baton Rouge after severe flooding devastated South Carolina last weekend. Tiger Athletics announced that after expenses for hosting the game are paid, remaining profits will be sent to the one USC Tiger fans can stand. The Red Cross will also be on hand to collect monetary donations to help the Palmetto State’s recovery.
Officials are not expecting a sellout, so tickets should be available. This may be the best opportunity for those without season tickets to do good and benefit at the same time. Remember it’s another chance to see LSU running back and Heisman hopeful Leonard Fournette in person in his eye-popping tear toward college football’s most coveted individual honor.
MLB Playoffs
Somehow, we’ll be blessed with a first this postseason. For the first time in their histories, the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs will square off for a spot in the National League Championship Series. The matchup of two of the biggest rivals in all of sport is one that oddly appeals to multiple generations of Crescent City baseball fans. For old timers, the Cardinals were the original Southern Major League team. It wasn’t until the mid-1960s that the Braves moved to Atlanta and the Astros started play in Houston. For my generation, who grew up at the dawn of cable TV, summer afternoons prior to August 8, 1988 (8/8/88), when Wrigley Field got lights, meant Cubs baseball broadcast nationwide on WGN. There are a lot of fans of both sides, and I expect Twitter and the local sports bar scene to be fun when these two meet up.
Speaking of the ’Stros, Houston is also in the playoffs. I’ve previously written about the fun a three-day weekend trip to Houston, the AstroDome and AstroWorld was for New Orleans families in the 80s and 90s. The Astros have been bad, near historically bad, over the past few seasons, so it was as much a surprise as it was enjoyable to see them get to the playoffs this year.
