SportsNet Top 10 Sports Stories of 2011

How does one take 365 days worth of sports and narrow it down to a top 10 list?

It’s not an easy task, especially in a year as crazy as 2011.

We’ve had good stories and we’ve had bad stories.

We’ve had undefeated seasons and winless seasons. We’ve also seen both new coaches come into the area and old coaches show themselves out of the area.

Indeed 2011 was a banner year for sports.

Narrowing the list down to 10 wasn’t easy and proved to be quite the chore.

But with a lot to choose from, the task was accomplished. Here are the Top 10 sports stories from the 2011 calendar year.

Honorable Mention:

Anatoly Bose graduates Nicholls, experiences professional success

Gridiron Alumni game gives locals one last shot at football glory

Saints pounding opposition, pushing for second Super Bowl

No. 10 South Lafourche fires Terry Farmer

Just two years after a magical 10-2 season that took the entire South Lafourche community by storm, Tarpons principal Aubrey “Bubba” Orgeron confirmed in November that he had fired head football coach Terry Farmer. The decision, which was a controversial one throughout the school’s fan base, ended the coach’s tenure after three seasons with the school. Reasons for the firing stood as the main focus of the story. Farmer said he never felt welcome in the football-rich community, adding that a few members of the community expressed negativity toward him, even during the team’s 2009 run. But Orgeron said the decision came after he noticed a change in Farmer, a change he said prompted him to deem the coach no longer fit into the team’s plans going forward. The Tarpons are currently interviewing applicants to replace the coach. Strictly based on performance, that may prove to be tough as the Tarpons posted a 19-13 record in the coach’s three seasons, including a perfect 7-0 record against district rivals Central Lafourche and Terrebonne.

No. 9 Webster sparks NSU baseball surge

Nicholls State pitcher Seth Webster would be the first person to admit he doubted if he’d ever pitch again after missing close to two years with a torn labrum. Not only did Webster overcome his own doubt, he became arguably the best pitcher in the Southland Conference. Riding the strength of Webster’s 7-3 season with a 2.30 ERA, the Colonels advanced to the conference tournament as the eighth and final seed, a spot they earned with a three-game sweep in the final weekend of the season. Once in the Southland Tournament, Nicholls nearly won it all, advancing all the way to the semifinals, two wins short of the NCAA Tournament. To get to that point, the Colonels had to pounce Texas State on its home field, scoring a mercy rule win over their rivals with Webster on the hill, picking up the win. With Webster and a slew of other contributors returning in 2012, Nicholls believes they can leap over the hump and win the conference. Time will tell. If Webster stays true to form, that mission just may be accomplished. It appears the baseball future is very bright in Thibodaux for the Nicholls State Colonels.

No. 8 Houma Christian football has inaugural season

It started as a wish, nothing more than a casual thought in the back of a community’s mind. But after several years of waiting, Houma Christian finally played its first varsity football game on Sept. 2. The opening kickoff symbolized the growth within the small Houma-based school, which has not only developed athletically, but has thrived. The Warriors didn’t experience that same success in its first football season, but the team did win two games, its first coming on Oct. 7 against Ecole Classique. But Houma Christian’s first varsity season wasn’t about wins and losses, it was about pride. It was about a dream fulfilled. It was about a small school rising up and showing they can do the same things the big boys do.

No. 7 Vandebilt dominance continues

A wise man once said death and taxes are the only certainties of life. In the Tri-parish area, a third is added to the list, Vandebilt athletic dominance. This year was the same as the norm for the Terriers, who racked up countless accolades and deep postseason runs. The Terriers tennis teams both won state championships, a regular occurrence within the talent-rich school. Combine that with softball, football, basketball, soccer, cross country and swimming postseason successes and another solid athletic year was polished off within the school’s entire athletics department. That department is headed by longtime football coach and Athletics Director Laury Dupont, who was in the news on his own this year, retiring from his gig as football head coach after close to 40 years. He will remain as the Terriers’ AD in the future.

No. 6 Stubbs, Piper get contract extensions, Plaisance promoted

In modern college athletics, one has to be aggressive to keep its coaches in place. The Nicholls State athletics department showed they were willing to do just that in 2011, awarding their football and men and women’s basketball coaches. Following a 4-7 season in 2010, football coach Charlie Stubbs was given the first multi-year contract extension in the history of the Colonels’ program. The three-year extension was a move made to bring stability to the Colonels, according to Athletics Director Rob Bernardi. Following the same model, Colonels’ men’s basketball coach J.P. Piper was also given a three-year contract extension, again a first within the university’s basketball program. On the opposite side of the spectrum, women’s basketball coach DoBee Plaisance also received credit for improving her team and was named as the university’s senior women’s administrator.

No. 5 Prep football season falls flat in playoffs

The Tri-parish area had its share of challengers. But no one proved a serious threat for the football state championship this year, as all local teams were eliminated after the quarterfinals round of the playoffs. The strongest challengers came in St. Mary Parish where both Patterson and Central Catholic shined. The Lumberjacks rolled through the regular season with a perfect 9-0 record with each win coming in a blowout fashion. But the Jacks were victimized by a poor strength of schedule and were given the Class 3A No. 15 seed. They rolled through the opening round of the playoffs and beat Brusly, but their second round matchup pitted them against No. 2 seed and eventual state champions St. Charles Catholic, a challenge Patterson was unable to overcome. Central Catholic opened the playoffs with two-straight 30-point routs, but their hopes were dashed by eventual state champion Ouachita Christian in the quarterfinals. Vandebilt, South Terrebonne and E.D. White also advanced to the postseason in 2011.

No. 4 Hornets trade Chris Paul to Clippers

After years of questions and months of speculation, Chris Paul’s final game as a New Orleans Hornet came in 2011. The Hornets traded the All-Star guard to the Los Angeles Clippers in mid-December for a package revolving around guard Eric Gordon. The decision to trade Paul came because of his apparent unwillingness to sign a long-term deal in New Orleans. The All-Star guard initially was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers, but the NBA-owned Hornets were unable to finalize that trade because the league said New Orleans wasn’t getting back enough assets in the deal. So the Hornets then turned their attention across Los Angeles to the Clippers and pulled the trigger on the deal, which formally ended Paul’s New Orleans career.

No. 3 Lockout talk floods Manning Passing Academy

The Manning Passing Academy is always an annual hit throughout the Tri-parishes. This year, the bright light was shined even brighter on the campus of Nicholls State University. In the middle of the NFL’s work stoppage, the Manning family returned to the Colonels campus for its wildly popular event. But the talk of the camp this year strayed away from youth development and was focused more on the league’s lockout. During the multi-day event, Thibodaux served as the voice of the sporting world as multiple national analysts were in attendance for the lockout-centered event. The passing academy also served as a sign of things to come as Peyton Manning didn’t throw in the event, saying that he was “weeks away” from being 100 percent healthy amidst a neck injury. That warning was a foreshadowing as the Colts quarterback has missed the entire 2011-12 season.

No. 2 Ellender coach arrested after allegations of sex with student

Following another winless season, Ellender hired assistant coach Timothy Betts to head its football program. Betts brought energy and a clear-cut plan to the Patriots program, promising to instill discipline and new methods to the team. After a successful set of spring practices, in which the coach implemented a new workout program, portions of his new playbook and also study hall sessions for the Patriots, the team appeared ready to begin the Betts era in the fall. But the former Troy University star never coached a game as the Ellender head man after Betts was arrested in June and charged with indecent behavior with a juvenile and sexual battery. Authorities say Betts engaged in sexual activities with a student of the school. The coach was arrested on the Ellender campus reportedly just outside of his office. The coach was out on bond later in the day of his arrest after his wife allegedly posted bail. The legal case is reportedly ongoing, but it cost the coach his job as he was first suspended without pay, and then replaced by Terry Washington. Ellender went 0-10 in 2011, but did show signs of improvement.

No. 1 LSU rolls to BCS National Title Game with perfect 13-0 season

Several question marks surrounded the 2011 version of the LSU football team. Would quarterback play be improved? Who would replace Patrick Peterson as the team’s elite playmaker? Could LSU overcome a tough schedule? Those questions became even murkier in the opening weeks of the preseason as Tigers quarterback Jordan Jefferson was arrested and suspended indefinitely for his role in a Baton Rouge bar fight and his top receiver Russell Shepard was deemed ineligible for an alleged housing issue. But despite adversity and one of the most difficult schedules in the country, LSU overcame the odds and rolled to a dominant start to the season. At that point, adversity struck again as starters Eric Reid, Tyrann Mathieu and Spencer Ware were suspended for the team’s game against Auburn for what is reported as a failed drug test for synthetic marijuana. Like all other issues LSU faced, the Tigers rallied behind their suspended players and trounced Auburn with ease, continuing on its undefeated run. Arguably the most impressive thing about LSU’s run is that it came mostly without a challenge. The Tigers won 12 of their 13 contests by double digits with most coming by 20-30 point margins. The team’s lone brawl was a 9-6 overtime road win against Alabama. That game was so good that the football Gods scheduled an encore performance. The teams will play again for the national championship Jan. 9. If LSU wins, sporting experts are saying the Tigers will have a very strong case to be considered one of the best college football teams of all-time. Whether that happens is a story for 2012, but there’s no doubting LSU as the top dogs … or cats … in 2011.

LSU dominated the competition in 2011. Do the Tigers have one more win left in this magical season?