Bayou Bliss; LSU triumphs, again

“From fake field goals to close calls to triple-overtime losses to coaching rumors to BCS shakeups, there’s never been a college football season like this one. From start to finish, each weekend felt like a no-one-could-have-scripted-it-this-way event. And at the forefront were our LSU Tigers. Sure, they started the season ranked at the top of the polls, but no one could predict how they would finish there. “

James Carville, an LSU alum and political consultant, shares his passion for LSU football writing the Foreword for The Times’ new book, “Bayou Bliss”.

The 176-page labor of love is available thanks to some of Louisiana’s greatest sports journalists. Five newspapers came together to create this one-of-a-kind coffee-table book of photos, stories and stats for each game. It is a document of an amazing football season for LSU. The 34-page championship chapter is complete.

“… And it sure feels good to win!”

Carville is an author, actor, producer, speaker, and restaurateur. Currently, Carville is hosting XM Satellite Radio's "60/20 Sports". He became America's best-known political consultant after he helped William Jefferson Clinton win the Presidency in 1992.

LSU photos posted are by Greg Pearson/The Times. These and more can be viewed in photo galleries posted at LSUbeat.com and shreveporttimes.com.

Off "The Island" ... New Orleans still hurts

"This city remains in shambles," says Times columnist.
Roy Lang III, assistant sports editor on assignment to the BCS National Championship in New Orleans, is struck by the contrast between the normalcy of life in the French Quarter and what lies a short drive away: "Many will assume New Orleans has recovered from the destruction of Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall 28 months ago. New Orleanians wouldn't want it any other way — the people of this city need folks to believe such a recovery has been made."
Journalists descending on New Orleans report inside and outside the Superdome. Lang's headline: " 'The Island' will shine tonight while rest of New Orleans cries for help"

Photos by Mike Silva/The Times: 1. After all this time a teddy bear still remains in a home that was flooded when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. 2. A group of pink tents sit in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans. They are part of the Make it Right Project started by actor Brad Pitt in hopes of repopulating the ravaged area.
See the gallery of Katrina Damage.

Mountain view for Louisiana Tech

Two words: Appalachian State.

Ribbing the Michigan football fan, our publisher Pete Zanmiller, about Appalachian State robbing Michigan of their season in an early upset win is still a career risk. Some here have walked that road.

When Louisiana Tech lines up against penalty-prone LSU in Death Valley this weekend, they can draw inspiration from that game. Goliath can be taken down.

Louisiana Tech head coach Derek Dooley has it right when he says he doesn’t need to talk about how good LSU is and explain that to his team. His kids and my kids know. But every game offers a chance to win and a chance to lose.

Tech can mount a true challenge if they bring inspiration and a belief they can win. They have to push aside the mound of prewritten, preconceived headlines. A “nothing to lose” mentality can work for you when you have everything to win.

If Dooley is looking for headlines to show his team, just remember what the scoreboard in Ann Arbor said on Sept. 1, 2007:
Appalachian State 34
Michigan 32

Louisiana Tech may be an under-underdog in comparison to 1-AA defending champ Appalachian State, but we love the message movies like Rudy offer: heart, hard work and perseverance can create miracles.

The Zanmillers know this too well.

Photo: (AP/Duane Burleson) Appalachian State Mountaineers head coach Jerry Moore is carried off the field after defeating Michigan Wolverines 34-32 in September. Michigan was ranked 5th at the time. Moore led one of college football's greatest upsets.


Note: LSU (2) vs. Louisiana Tech , 7 p.m., Nov. 10

Big LSU win in bright lights

The Times immediately beamed the big news of today's LSU win over Alabama onto digital billboards located in Bossier City and Shreveport after the game.
This is the first time the newspaper used this media format to share breaking news. The "LSU beats 'Bama" banner will rotate on four billboards tonight and through Sunday morning.

Sign locations:

• Youree Drive and East Kings Highway
• Barksdale Boulevard near Jimmie Davis
• East 70th and Fern Avenue
• Benton Road @ Benton Spur
  

Relive the Tigers 41-34 victory over the Crimson Tide on the Bayou Bengals Blog. LSU pulled ahead in the final minutes when Shreveport's Jacob Hester scored (photo gallery).

Jindal Wins & LSU Wins

Turns out the Louisiana gubernatorial election was anti-climatic as the front-runner Bobby Jindal (R) won outright. As I typed this, Jindal had 54 percent of the vote to become the nation’s first Indian-American governor. Editors untied from election pages inside The Times newsroom quickly turned to the nail-biter LSU-Auburn game after Jindal was declared winner around 11 p.m.

Next, I looked at the victory photograph of newly elected Caddo Coroner Dr. Todd Thoma, asking where is the exuberance. Multimedia editor Mike Silva explained Thoma cheered when LSU scored, but that was it. So, even that hot local race between Thoma and incumbent Dr. Mairus McFarland didn’t excite in the final moments.

Leave it to LSU on election night to give us a 30-24 victory that left a memory. They came through in the clutch as news pages needed to start clearing the floor at 11:30-11:45 p.m.

For those keeping score on election results, early editions were incomplete due to slow-reporting Bossier results. As numbers trickled in from slow-refreshing computer screens connected to the Secretary of State’s Web site and at the courthouses, we hit some snags trying to finish pages.

Some results were not available until after the press run. And The Times first edition has incumbent Attorney General Charles Foti doing much better than he actually did. We got the news that he would not make the runoff after starting the first press run. Read complete election results for more.

Some editions of The Times will be delayed this morning because we held for the latest news. That said, most editions will provide a rather complete read. Return to the Monday Times for gubernatorial race precinct-by-precinct charts and for a few select races. It is always fun to look at how your voting location did.

For now, congratulations to the winners and to those making runoffs.
Read complete election coverage.