During the early Fall I felt the need to add a couple of pieces of clothing to my very tired wardrobe. Having to wear clothes to work everyday, as most humans do, truly gets tricky after a while. You feel like you wear the same thing every day. Sometimes I will find a favorite piece of clothing and wear it so much that it fades, loses its original color or even goes out of style. Sometimes I feel like my clothes have no personality or life left in them so I have to pep it up.

On a particular trip to the store I found a pair of hot pink pants. I immediately felt a soul connection with these pants. They were bright, soft, affordable and came in my size. It was a win on all fronts. As I approached the cash register I silently wondered if the pants were in season. I could tell that they were new to the shelves, they were well stocked, it was early fall…so surely this pants were in season and meant to be purchased.

Just as I was checking out I noticed the tag on the pants read “Season-Less”. The clothing tag read my mind, it knew that I had trepidations. Then I considered the color. What would I wear with it? I quickly scanned my closet mentally and found a black turtle neck, long sleeve navy t-shirt and possibly a denim jacket…if I didn’t sell it or donate it. Dress it up with some bobbles and I would be in business.

Even though I had made all of this peace with my purchase, as soon as I walked in the house my youngest daughter scolded me.

“Who wears hot pink pants in the winter?” Why would you think you can wear summer pants when winter season is coming?”

I immediately began defending my decision by showing her the tag that clearly stated that they were season-less pants. I sarcastically explained what that meant but she wasn’t picking up what I was putting down. Soon after the drama over my pants faded away I began to wear them. Everywhere I went I received compliments over my pink pants. As soon as I would receive a compliment I felt compelled to share the fact that… “they were season less pants”…..

Many people have moved past the age old fashion standards of only wearing certain colors at certain times of the year. Season less or not, they were strict rules about color choices.

I used to say that fall and winter were my favorites seasons but the older I get I realize that I truly love every change of season that comes our way. As the winter barren branches begin to take on their light shade of green and the flower buds start to form, it is a reminder that a new season is coming.

Our lives are full of seasons. These seasons have nothing to do with the weather outside or the clothes on our backs. It encompasses all that God has done for us over time. He allows us to be parents and those children quickly grow up, move away and start lives of their own. He blesses us with friends who may outgrow you in one season of life so God moves them aside and sends different people your way . God blesses us with a season where we have both parents alive and healthy, sometimes those seasons are not long enough. God blesses us with a village or community that can change at the drop of a hat. We have seasons of life where we are very comfortable and content, then another season may be full of movement and constant changes.

Just as seasons change, so do our lives. If we stay close to our Savior we will always be prepared for the next stages of life. There is unfailing peace that surpasses all understanding to be found when we are grateful, and keep Christ as our center in every season, and every circumstance, we never know where the next season will find us.

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens….” Ecclesiastes 3:1

Because people ask ….

Sixteen years ago, a young man had an idea for an outdoors program. At the time, he was doing Natchitoches Central football as color analyst with Chris Boyd, who did the play-by-play. Chris was an outstanding sports broadcaster and a great mentor to this young man, who learned a lot under his tutelage.

During this time, NCHS football was not successful and, on this night, they were at West Monroe (Louisiana’s top high school football program those days). It was 42-0 at the half, and during a commercial break the young man pitched his outdoors show idea to Chris, who thought it was a great idea and encouraged him to pursue it.

After getting a full endorsement from Chris, the enthusiastic young man decided to move forward. Several people tried to discourage him and said it would never work. Their point was, no one wants to listen to hunting and fishing. But he disagreed and asked himself, ‘What do people in our region like to do?’ The answer: they hunt and fish!

Bound and determined to make this work, he immediately started reaching out to businesses that he felt would benefit from such a program. Any business related to the hunting or fishing world was on his radar, and in most cases, there was a personal connection.

One reason the young man believed he could make such a program work was due to the great list of contacts he had related to the bass fishing world, both from a business standpoint and personal relationships he had with professional anglers. He made these connections due to the level of tournament fishing he was competing on in the FLW Tour and B.A.S.S. Opens.

Formatting a show would be the easy part. Gaining sponsors would be more difficult since only a handful of people had tried producing this type of program. A few had tried, but all had failed.    

Two weeks later the Hook’N Up & Track’N Down Show was born in February 2007. With sponsors on board and an broadcast agreement reached, the HUTD Show was now a go. That’s right, the young outdoorsman with dreams of a good outdoors show was yours truly.

Over the course of sixteen years, the show as gained a national following. We’ve interviewed the greatest names in the bass fishing world — Kevin Van Dam, Skeet Reese, Bill Dance, Jimmy Houston, Ray Scott, Mark Zona, and Rick Clunn, to name a few. By having the top professional anglers in the country appear, the HUTD Show obtained instant credibility. 

Today, the Hook’N Up & Track’N Down Show continues to set the bar for great outdoors entertainment as we talk hunting and fishing on a weekly basis. But the success of the program would not have been possible without two other guys — my co-hosts, radio legend Gary McCoy and H&W Team Trail Tournament Director and duck hunting guide Mike Echols.

They say successful people surround themselves with people better than themselves. This is definitely true in my case, as these two guys brought not only a wealth of knowledge of the outdoors but offered great personalities as well. 

I hope you’ve enjoyed going down the path of the HUTD Show and how the program got started. You can catch the program on our web site: www.hutdshow.com. It’s proof that if you believe in something strong enough, you can make it happen.

Until next time, good luck, good fishing and don’t forget your sunscreen!

Contact Steve at sgraf26@gmail.com

An anonymous donor contributed $100,000 to the Northwestern State University Foundation to create a scholarship honoring a former business professor and his wife.  

The H.N. and Inez C. Towry Memorial Scholarship will be awarded to a female undergraduate in the amount of $5,000 per year for four years through graduation.  The student must maintain a grade point average of 3.5 or higher and seek a degree in business or education.  

Towry was a much-loved professor in NSU’s School of Business.  A native of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, he joined the U.S. Army Air Corp right after Pearl Harbor and served in the Pacific Theatre. Soon after returning from the war, he moved his young family to Louisiana, where they remained for 50 years as he served on NSU’s faculty. The Towrys were very active in the First Presbyterian Church in Natchitoches. Mr. Towry spent the last years of his life in Atlanta, Georgia, and passed away on Nov. 24, 2022, days before a 100^th birthday celebration was planned in his honor. He was predeceased by his wife Inez and nine siblings.  

Drake Owens, executive director of the NSU Foundation, said he was contacted by the anonymous donor who wished to honor the memory of Mr. and Mrs. Towry and asked him to develop the scholarship for an undergraduate in business or education, with preference for a female student. The donor requested that the family to be involved in developing criteria for the scholarship,  

“I can’t tell you how much this means to Northwestern State University, having a scholarship of this size, especially in business and education, two areas that we are very proud of,” Owens said.  

Several members of the Towry family visited NSU for the scholarship announcement March 16.  

“We have a lot of really special memories of growing up in Natchitoches,” said daughter Debra Towry, a 1972 NSU graduate. “All of us have memories of being together at home with Mom and Dad.”   

Debra said her mother, who was also an educator, was a character and a powerful personality.   

“We have a very strong connection to Northwestern,” she said. “We graduated from Natchitoches Elementary on the Northwestern campus, with our daddy teaching here. There are a lot of strong positive memories.”  

Daughter Kristy Towry Lee, a 1981 NSU graduate, said NSU feels like home.

“We all went to Warren Easton.  Daddy’s office was in Caldwell Hall, which burned down.  This was our playground.  We would go at Christmastime to the Student Union where they would paint all the windows.  I lived in Varnado when it was coed in the 80s.  Our daddy is so connected to this place,” Lee said. “This scholarship couldn’t be more meaningful to us as a way for us to reconnect to our childhood, our family and Northwestern as our home.”   

“It’s nice to know that Mama and Daddy will be remembered forever,” said daughter Carolyn Towry Mayeaux, a 1972 graduate of NSU.   

“Listening to these stories drives home the impact that Northwestern has had on so many lives,” said NSU President Dr. Marcus Jones. “We are grateful to the donor who generously provided this scholarship and that the Towry family was able to share their memories of Northwestern.”  

Pictured: The family of H.N. and Inez Towry visited Northwestern State for the announcement of a scholarship in their parents’ names, funded by an anonymous donor. From left are Stacy Fontenot, Jerry Mayeaux, Carolyn Mayeaux, Antonio Carletti, Debra Towry holding a picture of her parents, Kristy Towry Lee and Cameron Lee. 

Spring is in the air!, and so is love and so is pollen — in the air, in your hair, your eyes, your nose, on your car.

You take the bad with the good when the payoff is spring.

Before we meet again it’ll be Officially Spring, so says The 2023 Old Farmer’s Almanac. Monday at 4:24 p.m. (Saw that on Facebook too, so it must be true, right?)

That moment in time marks the spring equinox, which I have never had the patience to study enough to see what it really means in terms of the Earth’s tilt and what not and this and that and to and fro.

I do know “equinox” comes from two Latin words that mean “equal” and “night.” The day and night are basically the same length. And after that, our hemisphere starts tilting toward the sun which means the days are longer and it’s about to get hot up in here.

But you don’t need an almanac to tell you spring is coming. You hear a ball pop into a mitt or you start filling out your NCAA March Madness bracket, and you know what’s up.

Or, you just look outside, through the yellow pollen mist, and there’s springtime, waving back.

A month ago, a warmish February morning, six robins and two cardinals were in the backyard, scouting. They’ve been there since.

The willows are greening, bulbs shooting and blooming. Little pictures of springtime.

Like me, you’ve probably already mowed once, which is mainly mowing clover, and leaving a little of that for the bees since they don’t have much else to enjoy right now. My yard looks like a drunk person mowed it. With thinning shears.

Speaking of lame brain, it was three years ago this week that the world shut down, semi-thwarting the man-made things that complement spring. It was 2020 and Friday the 13^th (which was Monday of this week) when college basketball tournaments and then baseball games were cancelled, and then Monday the 16^th (tomorrow, Thursday, is the 16^th) is when schools quit and all sports quit and Weird Spring started.  

(Somebody messed up!)

Thank goodness THAT’s over. At least I think it is …

And, speaking of loopy, those birds in the back yard might have had one too many, and I’ll tell you why.

There is a window-sized mirror along the fence, placed there before we moved in, I suppose for decoration. It’s confused at least one of the robins. She keeps flying into its reflection of grass and water and leaves, landing at its bottom, and trying again. Dozens of times. Flying into the mirror.

It happens almost every day, and maybe it’s the same robin and maybe they are all giving it a whirl, trying to figure it out, trying to fly right into springtime.

Contact Teddy at teddy@latech.edu or Twitter @MamaLuvsManning

Join us for the Mardi Gras Futurity and Louisiana Downs Futurity at Louisiana Downs on Saturday, March 25, 2023

Three scholarships will be awarded through a LIVE drawing in the Louisiana Downs winner’s circle on Saturday, March 25th, immediately following the 4th race.

Applicants must register in person beginning at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 25, 2023.

Registration will close promptly after the third race.

ENTRANTS MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN

• For more information on the scholarship eligibility or the rules, please see the attached flyer or visit LQHBA.COM

COMPLIMENTS OF ROSE-NEATH FUNERAL HOME – MANY, LOUISIANA

SABINE PARISH SOFTBALL SCORES

Monday, March 6, 2023

Converse – 15 (6-2)

Hicks – 4 (5-2)

Florien – 3 (6-3)

Minden – 1 (5-5)

Negreet – 18 (7-2)

Lakeview – 1 (0-1)

Negreet – 19 (8-2)

Lakeview – 2 (0-2)

Tuesday, March 7, 2023

Converse – 8 (7-2)

Hornbeck – 3 (1-4)

Evans – 15 (3-4) (1-0)

Ebarb – 0 (0-2) (0-1)

Simpson – 22 (1-5) (1-0)

Pleasant Hill – 2 (0-5) (0-1)

Logansport – 6 (11-2)

Zwolle – 3 (6-2)

Thursday, March 9, 2023

Converse – 11 (8-2)

Loyola Prep – 2 (4-6)

Simpson – 19 (2-5) (2-0)

Ebarb – 12 (0-3) (0-2)

Florien – 3 (7-3)

Pitkin – 0 (9-3)

Logansport – 8 (13-2)

Negreet – 5 (8-3)

Hornbeck – 16 (2-4) (1-0)

Pleasant Hill – 2 (0-6) (0-2)

CONVERSE HIGH SCHOOL TOURNAMENT

Saturday, March 11, 2023

Converse – 20 (9-2)

C E Bryd – 10 (0-12)

Converse – 7 (10-2)

Captain Shreve – 2 (7-3)

Negreet – 23 (9-3)

Ebarb – 3 (0-4)

Negreet – 16 (10-3)

C E Bryd – 1 (0-13)

Zwolle – 6 (7-2)

Hornbeck – 0 (2-5)

Haughton – 8 (5-6)

Zwolle – 6 (7-3)

OUACHITA PARISH HIGH SCHOOL TOURNAMENT

Friday, March 10, 2023

Many – 13 (7-6)

Mangham – 0 (5-7)

Florien – 8 (8-3)

Ouachita Christian – 0 (8-6)

Saturday, March 11, 2023

Sterlington – 12 (15-2)

Many – 4 (7-7)

Many – 4 (8-7)

Neville – 1 (7-6)

Florien – 7 (9-3)

Ouachita Parish – 1 (5-11)

Claiborne Christian – 14 (11-3)

Florien – 6 (9-4)

SOFTALL DISTRICT STANDINGS
DISTRICT 3 – 2A
District – Overall
Mansfield 1-0 4-3
Red River 1-0 3-5
Many 0-0 8-7
Winnfield 0-0 6-6
Jonesboro-Hodge 0-1 2-6
Lakeview 0-1 0-6

DISTRICT 3 – B
District – Overall
Converse 0-0 10-2
Negreet 0-0 10-3
Florien 0-0 9-4
Zwolle 0-0 7-3
Stanley 0-0 5-9


DISTRICT 3 – C

District – Overall
Evans 1-0 3-4
Simpson 2-0 2-5
Hornbeck 1-0 2-6
Ebarb 0-2 0-5
Pleasant Hill 0-2 0-6

HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL POWER RATINGS – 3-13-2023

DIVISION III

Overall
District

# School Power Wins Losses Wins Losses Ranking

12 MANY 20 8 7 0 0

DIVISION V

3 CONVERSE 25.25 10 2 0 0
4 FLORIEN 25.25 9 4 0 0
10 ZWOLLE 22.2 7 3 0 0
14 NEGREET 21.07 10 3 0 0
37 EBARB 11 0 5 0 2
39 PLEASANT HILL 7.66 0 6 0 2

COMPLIMENTS OF ROSE-NEATH FUNERAL HOME – MANY, LOUISIANA

SABINE PARISH BASEBALL SCORES

Monday, March 6, 2023

Northwood-Lena – 16 (3-0)

Ebarb – 0 (2-5)

Simpson – 20 (4-7)

Florien – 0 (1-5)

Hornbeck – 9 (1-2)

Negreet – 2 (1-2)

Tuesday, March 7, 2023

Converse – 4 (8-1) (1-0)

Zwolle – 3 (3-7) (0-1)

Stanley – 20 (4-7) (1-0)

Florien – 0 (1-5) (0-1)

Oak Hill – 8 (5-4)

Negreet – 6 (1-3)

Thursday, March 9, 2023

Ebarb – 10 (3-5)

Huntington – 9 (1-7)

Saturday, March 11, 2023

Many – 3 (7-5)

Southwood – 2 (2-7)

Many – 10 (8-5)

Southwood 0 5 (2-8)

CONVERSE HIGH SCHOOL TOURNAMENT

Thursday, March 9, 2023

Converse – 3 (8-1)

Many – 2 (6-5)

Many – 10 (6-4)

Stanley – 0 (4-8)

Oak Hill – 11 (6-4)

Negreet – 2 (3-8)

Saturday, March 11, 2023

Converse – 3 (9-1)

Logansport  – 2 (5-5)

Stanley – 9 (6-8)

Zwolle – 0 (3-9)

PICKERING HIGH SCHOOL TOURNAMENT

Saturday, March 11, 2023

Pickering – 10 (6-3)

Ebarb – 0 (3-6)

Ebarb – 10 (4-6)

Evans – 5 (2-6)

EAST BEAUREGARD HIGH SCHOOL TOURNAMENT

Thursday, March 9, 2023

East Beauregard – 18 (4-2)

Florien – 3 (1-6)

Friday, March 10, 2023

Lake Charles College Prep – 24 (2-5)

Florien – 0 (1-7)

HICKS HIGH SCHOOL TOURNAMENT

Saturday, March 11, 2023

Negreet – 9 (2-3)

Simpson – 5 (3-6)

BASEBALL DISTRICT STANDINGS

DISTRICT 3 – 2A
District – Overall
Many 0-0 8-5
Mansfield 0-0 2-2
Winnfield 0-0 5-6
Red River 0-0 4-5
Jonesboro-Hodge 0-0 2-5
Lakeview 0-0 0-7-1

DISTRICT 3 – B
District – Overall
Converse 1-0 10-1
Stanley 1-0 6-8
Negreet 0-0 2-3
Zwolle 0-1 3-9
Florien 0-1 1-7


DISTRICT 3 – C

District – Overall
Hornbeck 0-0 3-2
Ebarb 0-0 4-6
Simpson 0-0 3-6
Evans 0-0 2-6
Pleasant Hill 0-0 0-0

HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL POWER RATINGS – 2/27/2023

DIVISION III

Overall District
# School Power Wins Losses Wins Losses
Ranking

9 MANY 18.92 8 5 0 0

DIVISION V – DISTRICT 3-B

3 CONVERSE 26.36 10 1 1 0
18 EBARB 16.35 4 6 0 0
31 NEGREET 12.8 2 3 0 0
32 ZWOLLE 12.45 3 9 0 1
40 FLORIEN 7.62 1 7 0 1
42 PLEASANT HILL 0 0 0 0 0

For the 7th year in a row, it has been our honor and privilege to be a supporter of the Dylan Kyle Poche Memorial Bass Tournament to be held at Cypress Bend on Toledo Bend on March 25, 2023. Pictured with Burt and Shelly Poche are BOMFS’ Gina Banks, Reba Phelps and Jennifer Campbell.

At the Harrington Law Firm, we spend a great deal of our time fighting with insurance companies in order to compensate our clients for legitimate damages resulting from car, big truck, and motorcycle wrecks.

Because of that, it may seem a bit odd that we are recommending to our clients and other drivers to buy more insurance. On its face, it may look as if we are trying to help out the very same companies that we are fighting. What we are actually doing is urging all drivers to protect themselves and their families by purchasing Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage as part of their automobile policy.

It probably won’t come as a surprise to many reading this to learn that statistics show that over 1 in 10 drivers on our Louisiana highways are driving with absolutely no insurance coverage. Of the drivers who do have insurance in non-commercial vehicles, more than half have “minimum limits” liability coverage. (Under Louisiana Law, non-commercial drivers are required to carry a minimum of $15,000/$30,000 in liability coverage.)

What this means is that when someone has minimum limits coverage and the driver negligently causes an accident resulting in injuries and damages to another person, the most that the insurance company will have to pay is $15,000 for a single injured party and a cumulative total of $30,000 for all injuries and damages to all parties, no matter how many there are and no matter how much the injuries and damages are.

These limits include damages for pain and suffering, medical bills, lost income, disability, etc., etc.

In other words, if a person sustains serious injuries in an automobile accident as a result of another person’s negligence with huge medical bills, loss of income, etc., and if that person only had minimal limits insurance the most that claimant will be able to collect is $15,000.

Of course, even worse, if the driver negligently causing the accident has no insurance, then there is no one to collect from and party or parties are, simply put, out of luck!

One might think you could simply sue the person who caused the accident individually and make them pay. While that is true that person would be individually liable for the damages he or she caused, our experience at the Harrington Law Office is that in situations where the driver causing the accident is uninsured or has minimum limits, it would be extremely rare that they would have the personal financial assets or income to compensate the injured party. Even if you sued them personally and got a judgment, in most cases they could simply file bankruptcy and get out of it.

So as Louisiana drivers, how can we protect ourselves and our families against these potentially devastating results? The answer is simple. Make Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage a part of your automobile policy.

Louisiana Law requires that when a person purchases a policy of automobile insurance, Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage will be a part of the policy unless the purchaser rejects that coverage. In other words, when you buy car insurance, you must sign or initial your application rejecting that type of coverage, or you will automatically have it.

Unfortunately, because of high insurance costs, many people simply tell their agents they want the cheapest coverage possible and end up rejecting Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage. Thereby, they are leaving themselves vulnerable to those Uninsured and Underinsured Motorists who are traveling our highways.

PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOU FAMILY AGAINST THOSE DRIVERS! Make certain that your automobile policy includes Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage! It is relatively inexpensive and could help you avoid a catastrophic financial loss should you or someone you love be injured or damaged by an Uninsured/Underinsured driver. Also, do not try to save a few dollars by purchasing “Economic Only” Uninsured/Underinsured coverage. This would only compensate the injured party for medical bills and lost income but not for pain and suffering, which often can be substantial.

Again, the difference in cost between regular Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist and “Economic Only – UM,” is fairly insignificant.

In conclusion, while it may seem strange for us, Personal Injury Attorneys, to recommend that you help the insurance companies by buying more insurance, what we are really doing is recommending that you protect yourselves, and the only way to do so is making sure that you have Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage.

The main office of the Harrington Law Firm is located at 459 Jefferson Street in Natchitoches, Louisiana, and partners, Rodney and Eddie Harrington represent clients all over Louisiana in all types of injury cases including automobile accidents, slip and fall, and medical malpractice. They also handle bankruptcy and debt negotiation, Social Security claims, and successions. For a free appointment, call 318-352-5900.

In a neighborhood rivalry, Title Town won.

Zwolle High School now houses a state-record 16 LHSAA boys’ basketball championship trophies after the Hawks shackled the Indians of Anacoco Friday evening in the Division V Non-Select state final of Marsh Madness at Burton Coliseum in Lake Charles.

Zwolle won 40-25, going on top early and taking control in the third quarter, stretching a 16-11 halftime lead to 29-15 entering the final quarter. Anacoco pulled within 31-21 early in the fourth but got no closer.

It is the Hawks’ first state championship since 2017 and the seventh in 19 seasons under coach Bradley McLaren, who has led Zwolle to 12 state finals. The 16 boys’ basketball state championships tie Southern Lab for the most in LHSAA history.

After some intense, down-to-the-last-minute meetings in the regular season, another dramatic battle was expected between the teams, just 40 miles apart. It was a defensive struggle and did not lack for intensity. But Zwolle’s defense combined with an off-night for Anacoco to produce a convincing margin of victory for the happy Hawks and their big crowd of great fans.

Zwolle (33-2) didn’t shoot well, just 34 percent overall, but tried only six 3-pointers (making one). The Hawks had a huge 38-22 rebounding advantage and sank 15 of 22 free throws to just 3 of 6 for Anacoco (36-6), who sent Zwolle to the line repeatedly trying to rally in the latter part of the game. The Indians were a miserable 0-for-19 on 3-pointers.

Senior Kenneth Montgomery was voted the Most Outstanding Player after he led Zwolle with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Preston Sanders was close behind at 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Montgomery pushed the Hawks into their first significant lead to start the third quarter, sinking two free throws and then nailing the game’s only 3-pointer for a 21-11 Zwolle lead with 4:50 left before halftime. Zwolle ran off six more points in a row to open the margin to 27-11, and ultimately outscored Anacoco 13-4 in the eight-minute period to take command with the 14-point spread.

When second-seeded Anacoco rallied to draw within 10 in the fourth quarter, the Hawks got a couple of free throws before Sanders hit a sensational driving layup in transition and completed the three-point play with a free throw that reestablished a solid lead, 36-21.

The Hawks outscored the Indians 24-14 overall after plowing to the 16-11 halftime lead.

Zwolle was the No. 1 seed in the tournament bracket and got a first-round bye. The Hawks blasted Quitman 86-61 in Round Two, then topped Choudrant 58-46 in the quarterfinals. They got not one, but two clutch 3-pointers to force, and extend, overtime in Monday night’s double-OT 81-72 win over Gibsland-Coleman.

Friday night in the finals, they left no doubt.

NATCHITOCHES – After engineering a 13-win turnaround for the Northwestern State men’s basketball team, head coach Corey Gipson has resigned from his position to accept the head coaching position at Austin Peay.

Gipson will be introduced as the Governors’ new coach Tuesday.

In his lone season at Northwestern State, Gipson led the Demons to their most wins in a single season in a decade and their most Southland Conference wins in a season since 2014-15. Gipson took Northwestern State to its first Southland Conference Tournament championship game since 2013 and the Demons’ second-place finish in the SLC regular season was its best since the 2012-13 season.

“Corey Gipson did a tremendous job during his time here at Northwestern State,” NSU Director of Athletics Kevin Bostian said. “From the hours of off-the-court community service to the on-court product, his program was deeply tied to the university and the city of Natchitoches. Together, they brought national recognition to Northwestern State while succeeding in the game of basketball and outside of it. While it is difficult to lose good coaches, Austin Peay’s interest speaks highly of the work Corey and his staff did during their time here.”

Under Gipson, Northwestern State collected its first regular-season victory against an Associated Press Top 25 team, defeating then-No. 15 TCU, 64-63, in Fort Worth, Texas, on Nov. 14. Northwestern State’s 8-2 start to the season was the best 10-game mark for the program since moving to the Division I level in the 1976-77 season and its best since the 1952-53 season.

In the past week, Gipson has been named a finalist for the Ben Jobe Award, honoring the nation’s top Division I minority coach, the Hugh Durham Award for the nation’s top mid-major coach and the Joe B. Hall Award, which honors the top first-time head coach in Division I.

An Austin Peay alumnus, Gipson helped tutor the Southland Conference Player and Newcomer of the Year DeMarcus Sharp, who is a finalist for the Lou Henson Player of the Year that is given to the nation’s top mid-major player.

“The year-to-year improvement shown by coach Gipson and his program elevated the perception of our program,” Bostian said. “I wish he, April, and their family all the best in the immediate and more distant future and thank them for what they did for Northwestern State and the Natchitoches community.”

A national search for Gipson’s replacement has begun.

PHOTO: Chris Reich/NSU Photographic Services

Don’t blame Corey Gipson one bit. Thank him for his remarkable season – not plural — as Northwestern State’s men’s basketball coach.

Accept the new paradigm in college sports. You may detest the transfer portal, not to mention Name, Image and Likeness payments to athletes. But those are defining standards these days.

Coaching moves after brief stays were happening before the portal or NIL. They felt like the portal and resulted from the motivation behind the NIL. There’s lots of money in reach climbing the ladder in college sports. Now the players can access it, too.

Sources indicate by moving to Austin Peay, Gipson will nearly double his $160,000 base salary at NSU as the Governors open a new arena. Those are undeniable and understandable incentives. It’s his alma mater, where he played in Austin Peay’s glory days. Can’t deny that appeal, although it’s a nice sidebar, not the primary motivation.

Speculation that has swirled for weeks about Gipson’s upward mobility crystalized over the weekend, with reputable national basketball observers and others reported he was heading to Austin Peay after one season in Natchitoches. APSU made it official with a Tweet posting its announcement Sunday night.

Gipson spent 356 days as the Demons’ coach. Don’t let that upset you.

He accomplished a bunch, built around a core of three outstanding players – DeMarcus Sharp, Ja’Monta Black and Isaac Haney – who loyally followed him to Natchitoches from Missouri State, where Gipson was an assistant coach for seven seasons. He boldly signed Hansel Enmanuel, whose journey from the amputation of his left arm when he was six had already earned global notice and a huge social media following.

The patient development of Enmanuel into a player able to start and play significant minutes as the season ended is a fabulous achievement for all involved, especially Gipson. The mind-blowing exposure Northwestern got in conventional and social media pathways was justifiably phenomenal, and the young man proved he was not a “dog and pony show,” Gipson said after the Southland Conference Tournament championship game.

Gipson continued the long tradition of community service established by his predecessor, Mike McConathy, who received a prestigious National Association of Basketball Coaches’ “Guardians of the Game” award in 2012 for community outreach though educational initiatives off campus.  Gipson, staff and coaches did a wonderful job coming in blind and quickly getting involved across the community with good causes, and making new inroads. They were quite justified in talking about it, although the impression that it was new to NSU basketball was way off-base.

NSU President Dr. Marcus Jones and athletics director Kevin Bostian surely knew Gipson’s departure became inevitable in the last 2-4 days as the coach visited Austin Peay and contract terms were wrapping. There were plenty of rumors floating about a hefty pay hike Jones supposedly proposed for Gipson, but it seemed implausible. Adding tens of thousands of dollars would have shattered the salary structure not only in the athletic department but across campus, at a time when the university is laying off employees and making tough budget decisions in the wake of an enrollment free-fall not entirely unique to NSU – although it’s not just because of COVID, despite what the party line has been.

You can bank on the fact that Bostian and Kyle Bowlsby, who is the one-man search firm that identified both Bostian and Gipson for NSU last year, already have a list of potential successors and those are being vetted, at least.

There probably have been some conditional conversations with a handful of candidates in case the job opened. Don’t expect there to be much of a gap in hiring the new guy. It’s the way the business gets done nowadays, and that’s necessary because every competitor is already building next year’s team.

Speaking of that – don’t be surprised if there’s a total roster rebuild. It’s as reasonable as the Academy Awards running way long that Black, Enmanuel, Haney, Sharp and some other 2022-23 Demons will be at Austin Peay in the fall.

Fair, and feasible with the portal. The mindset that players choose a school primarily because of the institution and its community is secondary to recruits or transfers being totally invested in their coach – and available dollars from scholarships and financial aid and if any exists (there’s only a trickle at NSU), NIL money.

Bottom line: the landscape is very different than what St. Denis saw. It’s not much like what Demon fans enjoyed when nearby prep stars Clifton Lee and Jermaine Wallace, then Will Mosley, James Hulbin, Jalan West and Zeek Woodley wowed us with their feats in some best of times for Demon basketball.

Hopefully Bostian, Bowlsby and Jones can pick another winner, and this time, he’ll stay for a bit longer. It’s happened before at Northwestern.

Baseball coach Jim Wells got the Alabama job in 1994. Tynes Hildbrand hired Dave Van Horn, who has become one of the game’s icons at Arkansas. When he left in December 1997, Greg Burke hired John Cohen, who is now Auburn’s AD after a long, highly successful career at Mississippi State and Kentucky. Cohen left in 2001, and Burke brought back Wells’ assistant Mitch Gaspard, who also became head coach at Alabama.

Here’s hoping for some of that magic.

Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com

Join us for the Mardi Gras Futurity and Louisiana Downs Futurity at Louisiana Downs on Saturday, March 25, 2023

Three scholarships will be awarded through a LIVE drawing in the Louisiana Downs winner’s circle on Saturday, March 25th, immediately following the 4th race.

Applicants must register in person beginning at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 25, 2023.

Registration will close promptly after the third race.

ENTRANTS MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN

• For more information on the scholarship eligibility or the rules, please see the attached flyer or visit LQHBA.COM

As they say, records are made to be broken. Well, the same can be said of rules in a bass tournament. 

Every bass tournament organization has its own set of rules and not all circuits are the same. Some tournament trails are called “team trails” and others are  called Pro/Am events in which a pro is randomly paired up with a co-angler. The pro fishes out the front of the boat and has total control of the trolling motor and where they fish, while the co-angler/amateur fishes out of the back of the boat and is not allowed to fish off the front deck. 

While most of the rules are very similar, some circuits might have a couple of rules specific for what body of water they are fishing. But no matter what, it’s the responsibility of the angler to read, know, and follow the rules of each event. There are no excuses for violating a rule under any circumstances, especially not a plea of ignorance.            

Let’s look at a controversy in a recent Bass Champs Team Trail event on Toledo Bend about the third-place team of Bill Cook and his partner Ken Burgess. First and foremost, most of the time when anglers violate a rule in a tournament, it’s unintentional. This does not make them cheaters; it means they violated a rule they didn’t realize was a rule. This Bass Champs event was a trailering tournament, which meant you could launch your boat anywhere on the lake but could not start fishing until 7 a.m. 

On this particular morning, Bill and Ken left the ramp and headed for the area they were going to start fishing, arriving around 6:45. Around this time, Bill lowered the trolling motor with his Livescope screen activated. This was an immediate rules violation. Livescope is part of Garmin Electronics’ fish-finder system that is what anglers call a forward-facing sonar. It allows an angler to see fish up to 100 feet in real time. 

The rule that Bill and his partner were not aware of was that you could not turn on your Livescope until the official start fishing time. They were, however, allowed to use their electronics before then, but only for navigational purposes.  

After revealing how Bill and his partner caught their fish on an episode of Tackle Talk Live and the radio program Hook’N Up & Track’N Down, a tournament competitor heard how they were using Livescope before the official start time. This guy then called Bass Champs and reported the violation. Bass Champs verified the accusation and concluded that indeed Bill and Ken had violated the Livescope rule.  

Bass Champs notified Bill that he and his partner would have to forfeit their third-place winnings of $2,700. Embarrassed and upset with himself, Bill posted his reaction on Facebook and apologized for the rule violation that he and his partner inadvertently committed. He never made any excuses and said no one was to blame for this mistake other than himself and his partner. They took full responsibility and emphasized that they should have done a better job of reading and understanding the rules. 

From this angler’s perspective, Bill and Ken are two awesome individuals who made an honest mistake. But I can say with 90 percent confidence that out of 169 other teams in this event, there were others who violated the same rule but never came forward and admitted it. 

If you were one of these in this category, shame on you for not being honest! One thing I’ve always praised about tournament bass fishermen is that most do hold themselves accountable whenever they break a rule, from forgetting to wear a life jacket while changing locations on the lake, to having more than five fish in the live well and forgetting to cull one.

It’s the responsibility of the angler to call the tournament director and report any violation when it occurs and accept whatever penalty or punishment that might be handed down. Rules are not intended to make things tougher on anglers. They exist to level the playing field for all anglers.  

The message to take away from this story — always read the rules for all tournaments. Nothing is worse or more embarrassing for an angler than being disqualified from an event.

 Until next time, good luck, good fishing and don’t forget to read the rules! 

Contact Steve at sgraf26@yahoo.com

BOM is continuing our sponsorship of the Florien High School softball team. Pictured left to right: Gracie Rutherford and BOM’s Savannah Garcie.

 Former Many High School football coach Jess Curtis was honored last Thursday night at the annual National Football Foundation S.M. McNaughton Chapter Scholar-Athlete Awards Dinner at East Ridge Country Club in Shreveport.

Curtis received the chapter’s Coach of the Year award, which is only presented occasionally, not annually, recognizing exceptional achievement as a high school football coach in north Louisiana.

In his 13 seasons leading his alma mater’s program, Curtis went 142-32 (.816) with state championships in 2014, 2020 and 2022, three more state runner-up finishes (2013, 2019, 2021) and another three state semifinal berths (2016-18). The Class 2A Tigers have won 50 of their last 53 games while making four straight state championship games, and are 6-0 in that stretch over Class 4A or 5A opponents.

Many has won 53 consecutive district games and has played in state championship games in each of the last four seasons, winning two of the last three, going 38-2 overall this decade.

The Tigers have won 10 straight district championships and are unbeaten in district play during that time, reaching the state playoffs every year and advancing at least to the state semifinals in all but one season.

Many reached the Class AA state finals in 2013, then won its first state championship under Curtis the following season. The Tigers reached the playoff semifinals in 2016, 2017 and 2018, then lost in the 2019 state finals. They came back to win the 2020 2A championship, fell in the 2021 finals and beat Class 3A Union Parish in December to capture the Division III state crown.

The Tigers are known for their physical style of play, aggressive defense and powerful running game.

Curtis told the audience that the great support of Many and Sabine Parish residents was a key factor in developing one of the state’s most dominant high school programs. He expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to coach and teach at his alma mater, and for all of the support he and the Tigers have received through the years.

Many High public address announcer Buddy Wood introduced Curtis, who has taken a new post as head coach at Natchitoches Central High School. Wood praised Curtis’ integrity and values as keystones in the Many Made success story.

Ten 2022 senior prep football scholar-athletes, nominated by their head coaches, received accolades and scholarships during the event. The 10 were North DeSoto’s Hunter Addison, Green Oaks’ Fred Benjamin, Elijah Harper of Red River, Christian Jones from C.E. Byrd, West Monroe’s Blake Loring, Adam Parker of St. Mary’s in Natchitoches, Haughton’s Peyton Polk, Kam Robinson from Captain Shreve, Hayden Rolfe of Logansport and Northwood’s Mason Welch.

The event was attended by over 330 guests including college head coaches Brad Laird of Northwestern State and Sonny Cumbie of Louisiana Tech, along with National Football Foundation membership director Ron Dilatush.

Northwood’s Welch was spotlighted as the KTBS/Johnny’s Pizza House Scholar-Athlete of the Year after being nominated last fall for the 2022 NFF Scholar-Athlete Watch List. Fourteen standouts were spotlighted during Tuesday segments on the KTBS 6 and 10 p.m. sportscasts and on the station’s award-winning Johnny’s Pizza House Friday Football Fever weekly highlight show, and received a Griffin’s Game Ball in tribute to the late KTBS and KSLA news and sports personality, who served on the McNaughton Chapter’s board.

Chapter and national officials presented a National Football Foundation Gold Medal presentation to Leo Sanford, the longtime chapter president who has been on the NFF board since its creation in 1980. Sanford, a member of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, Ark-La-Tex Museum of Champions and the Louisiana Tech Athletic Hall of Fame, was a star center and linebacker at Shreveport’s Fair Park High School and at Louisiana Tech before becoming a Pro Bowl player in the NFL with the Chicago Cardinals and winning the 1958 NFL championship alongside Johnny Unitas for the Baltimore Colts.

Former Northwestern State basketball coach Mike McConathy was presented the chapter’s Distinguished American Award for his far-reaching impact on high school and collegiate athletics, community service and lifelong involvement with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

McConathy, who became the winningest college basketball coach in state history during his 23 seasons at Northwestern in a 39-year college coaching career. He is also a member of the Louisiana Tech Athletic Hall of Fame and the Ark-La-Tex Museum of Champions, and NSU’s Hall of Distinguished Educators and N-Club Hall of Fame.

Previous Distinguished American award winners include Sanford, Sen. J. Bennett Johnston, Denny Duron, Orvis Sigler, Tim Brando, James Davison, Terry Slack, Billy Montgomery, and Ivan Smith Jr., along with McConathy’s father Johnny McConathy and the namesake of the local NFF chapter, Milton McNaughton.

Longtime Byrd High coach Mike Suggs, who retired two years ago, received the chapter’s Contribution to Amateur Football Award after being introduced by former recipient Alan Carter, who hired Suggs at Byrd as offensive coordinator over 30 years ago.

Among other prior recipients are Eddie Robinson, Lee Hedges, Bert Jones, Joe Ferguson, Alton “Red” Franklin, Stan Humphries, Doug Williams, Jimmy “Chick” Childress, Rodney Guin, Broderick Fobbs, Joe Raymond Peace and Sam Goodwin.

The No. 1-ranked Zwolle Hawks aim for the school’s 16^th boys’ basketball state championship when they face second-seeded Anacoco Friday at 8 p.m. in Lake Charles at Burton Coliseum.

The Hawks (33-2) won their semifinal game in double overtime, 81-72 over Gibsland-Coleman Monday evening. Anacoco (37-5) beat Fairview 63-49 in the other semifinal.

Monday night, Kenneth Montgomery hit an 18-foot jumper at the buzzer for Zwolle to force overtime. In the waning seconds of the first overtime, Alex Williams drained a 3-pointer to tie the game and push it to a second OT period. The Hawks took control down the stretch.

The Hawks are shooting for their first state title since 2017 and the seventh this century, also winning it in 2012, 2011, 2009, 2007 and 2006.

Zwolle lost in the state finals last year, and five more times this century: 2019, 2018, 2016, 2008 and 2002.

The Hawks opened the 2023 playoffs with an 86-61 second-round romp over Quitman, then topped Choudrant 58-46 in the quarterfinals.

Anacoco has won two of the three meetings this season with Zwolle, with all three coming down to the wire.

Dear Ask the Paperboy:

Last year during early March, the U.S. Senate passed legislation that would have made daylight saving time permanent starting this Sunday, March 12. But now I understand that although we will spring forward Sunday, we will fall back come November 5, same as always, Lord willing we are still here. Right? Wrong? Let me know before Sunday. You’re on the clock starting … now!

Sleepily in Shreveport

Dear Sleepy,

Yes, to the first part; Congress considered making daylight saving time permanent, but it didn’t hap’n, Cap’n. Last year at this time, the proposed legislation went from the Senate to the House and the House was locked. By the time someone found a key, everyone in the House was in a foul mood and said NEG, that they “needed more time” to study its effects one way or the other because, apparently, the 100 years that daylight saving time has been around has not been enough time to really and truly think this thing through. Paperboy wishes daylight saving time were permanent because then it would be Headache Saving Time, since Paperboy’s head is all “confrused” twice a year. Finally, the bill was reintroduced by a senator just last week, has bipartisan support, and has been referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, Transportation, Headaches, and Clocks. My sources tell me the biggest thing we in the Don’t Touch That Timepiece! lobby have going for us is support in the extremely partisan cow bloc, made up of bovines who don’t want to be milked at one time during March and another time during November. Who would? Cows don’t know a clock from an udder; they just know when the sun comes up. Cows keep life simple.

Dear Ask the Paperboy,

I see the Tarbutton Road Exit has opened in Lincoln Parish and a Buc-ee’s is a-comin’. This is the biggest news in these parts since Whataburger opened. But my query is, why is it called Tarbutton Road?

Life in Lincoln

Dear Life,

Paperboy feels it had to have been the name of someone who lived on that road before it had a name. As is often the custom in rural America, the name of the road, and sometimes a parish or town, is named for the early bird. You snooze, you lose. There are no Tarbuttons around now that I know of, but there are plenty in Texas and Mississippi and, with a name like that, they are all cool. My friend Teddy Allen feels if he’d have been named Teddy Simonetti or Teddy Takata or Teddy Tarbutton, he would have gotten some respect. Great names. They bring something to the party. Plus, it’s a fine road and a top-shelf exit. Hat tippage.

 Dear ATP,

Recently my favorite baseball player was in a slump and then he hit like two taters and knocked in more runs than you have fingers on your hand in one game. The announcer said he was “off the schneid.” Is this a sports term? A foreign language? Did I misunderstand?

Possibly taking this too personally,

J.T. Schneider, Schneider Road, Schneiderville

Dear J.T.,

Words have always amused Paperboy, even ever since he was just Paperbaby. A “schneid,” as it turns out, is a word that originated with gin rummy and means you lost that hand and didn’t score any points. So, a schneid is a bad thing and came to mean, in any sport, that it is not happening for you. To get “off the schneid” means you are winning again. So, if you see a schneid, stay away from it. If you’re on a schneid, say excuse me and get off it. Now that that’s settled, let’s score some runs!

Contact Teddy at teddy@latech.edu or Twitter @MamaLuvsManning