LSU basketball hires McCray
June 18, 2013
LSU drops opening game in CWS
June 18, 2013Happy birthday to me!
This coming week, your local sports guy will begin his 26th year of life on mother earth.
That means gifts, celebration, adult beverages and also mounds and mounds of dirt cake made by Ms. Celeste Adams – the true Queen of Tri-Parish Times’ birthday dessert.
No seriously, this woman has mad skills in the kitchen.
Forget medical insurance. Forget the great people in our building. If recruiting any potential journalist into our office, the first tactic I would use is the birthday dessert. It’s the best thing I’ve ever had.
OK, enough clowning around for one column – let’s get to the point.
The best thing about birthdays are the gifts.
As a sports guy, most of the things that I want revolve around the world of sports.
So here’s my birthday list of things that I would love to see happen in the sports scene.
Some are local and some are national.
These don’t have to all come in my 26th year. We can spread ‘em out across a happy and successful adult life. I’m not one to be picky.
More birthdays mean more dirt cake.
That’s a win-win for everybody.
Casey’s Official Birthday Wishlist in the World of Sports
Dallas Cowboys win a Super Bowl in New Orleans – I know that the Cowboys have won five Super Bowls in their history. Trust me, it’s all that my fellow Dallas fans have to talk about. The past two decades haven’t been so good for America’s Team. Do you guys remember when Quincy Carter was my team’s starting quarterback? How about Ryan Leaf? Drew Henson? Chad Hutchinson? So with that said, if I could have one birthday wish, the first thing I would want is for my beloved Cowboys to win another Super Bowl. The icing on the cake for me would be if the big game would be played in New Orleans. That would be an all-time, win-win situation for me and everyone in my household.
Front-row WrestleMania tickets – I am a wrestling geek. Anyone who is a loyal follower of this column knows that this is the case. I own every WrestleMania on DVD – true story. So it’s always been a dream of mine to be able to have front-row seats to any WrestleMania event. If anyone at home is anxious to spoil their local sports guy, this is a golden opportunity. The big wrestling event is in New Orleans this year. A limo and two ringside seats would be a lovely gift that would surely make this guy happy. OK, OK, I know I’m dreaming. But really, it’s always been on my bucket list to attend WrestleMania and sit in the front row.
Chris Paul to sign with the Houston Rockets – On July 1, Chris Paul is a free agent – he will be free to go to any basketball team he wishes. One of the teams with interest is my beloved Houston Rockets. Before anyone gets on me for my lack of support of the hometown teams, please let me explain. I’ve been a Rockets fan before there ever was a such thing as a New Orleans Pelican. Of course, I’m not going to embrace an adopted local team that comes into my division. But anyway, Paul is free for the picking, and I would consider it icing on my birthday cake if he chose to make Houston his new home. If he doesn’t, Dwight Howard would be nice consolation prize to play along with James Harden for the next 10-12 years.
Local prep football team wins state title – Since I’ve been back in this area, I’ve been blessed with one opportunity to go to the Superdome to cover a local football team’s chase for a state championship. That came when Kenny Hilliard and the Patterson Lumberjacks rolled to the Class 3A State Championship Game. The Jacks fell short in that game and lost a thriller to Parkview Baptist. That was a wonderful night to be a sportswriter – a thrilling game between two truly special teams. If I am blessed enough to get back to the Superdome, it is my birthday wish that the local team can push past its opponent and take home the title. Being able to be a part of a moment that memorable would be something that I would never forget. It’s always more fun to talk to elated kids than kids crying their eyes out because they’ve just endured a heartbreaking defeat.
Attend the College World Series – For as many times as LSU has reached the College World Series, I’ve unfortunately never been able to make the trip. From everything that I hear from my friends who have, it’s a magical experience. It is my home that in the future, I’ll be able to track LSU into the College World Series. Unlike most people, I actually love college baseball – it is one of my favorite sports. It is definitely a major bucket list item that I make the trip someday. Even if LSU wouldn’t win the College World Series while there, it’d be 100 percent A-OK. The people I know who are Omaha veterans tell me that a great time is always had by all anytime the trip is made.
New Orleans baseball team – OK, OK, I know I am stretching it now. But it’s my birthday. I can do what I want to. As we established in the last item on the list, I am a huge baseball fan. I own an MLB.TV package and I watch at least 120 Atlanta Braves games a year. But my fanaticism would be so much worse if New Orleans ever got its own team. I know it’ll never happen because the market is too small and because the Louisiana heat is pretty unbearable. But if they ever did get a team, I would be the first in line to get season tickets. That would be the best birthday gift that I could ever get.
