By JASON PUGH, Written for the LSWA

NATCHITOCHES – Twelve people does not a village make, but plenty of villages made the 12 inductees in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2023.

Family members. Teammates. Friends.

They all proved to be driving forces behind 10 athletes, coaches and two journalists who enjoyed their moment in the state’s sporting limelight during Saturday night’s induction ceremony inside the Natchitoches Events Center.

“I don’t believe anyone is self-made,” said Shreveport born-and-raised Alana Beard, a four-time state champion at Southwood High School who went on to a Wade Trophy-winning college career at Duke and became a two-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year. “Ron (Washington) spoke about it earlier. Wendell (Davis) spoke about it earlier. It’s about the people who made a difference for you along the way.”

As much as Saturday’s ceremony was a conclusion to a three-day period where the inductees were honored for their accomplishments, it was a chance for them to offer “thank yous” to those who helped them reach this point.

Take Beard, whose family (including parents from Natchitoches Parish) helped foster a love for basketball in the left-hander who helped build Southwood’s state championship machine under coach Steve McDowell.

“We’d find a park on the weekends as a family and go play one-on-one, two-on-two, three-on-three,” Beard said. “I quickly realized when I was beating my brothers, his friends, my uncles, that I was pretty good. They can admit that now.”

Like many in Saturday’s induction class, Beard found great success both inside and outside of Louisiana.

Beard’s talent left an impression on Duke where her three-time ACC Player of the Year career helped lead the Blue Devils to a pair of Final Fours and their most successful era of women’s basketball.

“Alana’s legacy is one of excellence,” said Gail Goestenkors, who coached Beard at Duke. “It’s one of the lifting up of Duke women’s basketball and the excellence on the court, in the classroom, in the community and the giving back. It’s a legacy of joy, of passion. It’s a love of the game, a love of people and the determination to be great.”

Eli Manning made history as the third member of the first family of Louisiana football to reach the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.

A two-time Super Bowl MVP who holds or shares 45 school records at Ole Miss, Manning joined his father, Archie (inducted in 1988), and his older brother, Peyton (inducted in 2019), in the state’s sports shrine.

Eli never missed a game at any level because of injury – a fact for which his two older brothers may be due some credit.

“Both of them take full credit for that because of the mental and physical torture they put me through,” said Eli, flashing the Manning family charm. “Coop picked on Peyton, and he felt he should pass that down to me. He’d pin me down and put his knees on my arms and start hitting my chest, telling me to name the 28 NFL teams. I basically got smart and learned all the teams by conference and by division, so then he’d start with the SEC, the Big Ten, the Pac 10.

“He’d always say, ‘If you tell mom or dad what I did, I’ll make it worse next time.’ That was always my thought with the trainers. If I told them what happened, the defense would make it worse the next time. I wasn’t allowed to be hurt.”

Instead, Eli took that out on opposing defenses, leading the Giants to a pair of Super Bowl titles while forming his own identity in the shadow of his father, a Saints legend, and older brother, who rewrote the NFL passing record book.

“After the Super Bowl, Eli’s on the podium, and in a lot of ways, you think of how much pressure that took of this young man,” said Manning’s former teammate Michael Strahan. “He had a name that is synonymous with this league. After that, he was no longer Archie’s son. He was no longer Peyton’s younger brother. He was his own man. He was Eli Manning.”

Davis, eloquent and charming, but modest, typically let his numbers do the talking – and they speak loudly especially through the prism of time.

Long before spread offenses and the Air Raid made college football a pass-happy game, Davis was establishing pass-catching numbers that would fall right in line with today’s stars.

“He’s really the forefather of receivers in this conference,” said Davis’ LSU quarterback Tommy Hodson, himself a Louisiana Sports Hall of Famer. “He was the first guy to put up those numbers. His routes were so good. He created separation and was easy to throw to because he was always open. I’m happy the kids and people in the state get to relive his career. It’s well deserved.”

Davis was named the 1987 SEC Player of the Year and worked daily with Hodson to create the chemistry that led to that award, but it was in Shreveport where his athletic talents were groomed even before he was turning heads at Fair Park High School.

“I’m a neighborhood kid,” Davis said. “We played football, baseball. We shared equipment. We found equipment. We shared that. Team was very important to us. That’s how I learned to play sports.”

After barely missing a pair of World Series championships as manager of the Texas Rangers in 2010 and 2011, the ever-positive Washington finally broke through and won that elusive World Series title as Atlanta’s third base coach in 2021. For much of the weekend, Washington’s exquisite World Series ring was as ubiquitous as his ever-present smile – and for good reason.

“This represents 52 years of grinding,” Washington said. “Fifty-two years of not ever giving up. Fifty-two years of dedication, commitment, attitude, passion and more than anything else, belief.”

Oh, and people that never left his side.

“I realized I made a difference in a lot of people’s lives and there have been a lot of people along the way who made a difference in Ron Washington’s life,” he said. “I’m blessed and just happy to be alive.”

By Edwin Crayton/Opinion

Let’s play a game of pretend for a moment. Imagine you’re a parent of teenagers.  You’ve told your children many times not to have other teenagers over or to have parties when you’re not home. But one day, they invite a bunch of kids over and they began to drink, use drugs, and several couples go into your bedroom, taking their clothes off as they enter. This isn’t all happening while you are out.  Oh no. They do it right in front of you.  How would you feel? What would you do? Would images of steam coming out of your ears serve as a proper illustration of your emotions? Well, is it possible that this is what God feels when he sees his children—especially those who claim to believe in him—-doing things that he dislikes?

Allow me to suggest that this scenario is precisely what is happening in our world today. God has given his followers—Christians—-clear information about what he desires and what he dislikes, what he wants and what he doesn’t want. He has also told us what to do to please him and what not to do, so that we won’t anger him.  He has even taken the trouble to write a thick, informative Holy Bible filled with his laws, cautions, enlightening, entertaining parables and wisdom and sent prophets who have risked their lives and often even given up their lives in order to instruct us in his ways. In other words, if you are a Christian and you have read your Bible there is really no way you should not know what God requires. You should know as well, that he has given direction on every issue that mankind has faced yesterday, faces today and will face tomorrow.  That includes the issues of homosexuality and abortion.  God has prohibited homosexuality in both books of the Bible—Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament in Leviticus 18:22, God himself said man should not have sex with another man. In the New Testament, Romans, chapter 1 condemns both homosexuality and lesbianism. In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 makes it clear that homosexuals cannot enter the kingdom of heaven unless they will stop practicing the sin. Verse 11 makes that clear.  Abortion is the act of stopping a life.  In the case of abortion, the life that is being ended is that of an innocent baby.  Taking the life of an innocent person is known generally as murder. Exodus 20:13 says, “Thou shalt not kill.” Women who believe in abortion like to point out that their body belongs to them. They claim only they should decide what happens to it. Therefore, they maintain, they have the right to choose whether or not to have an abortion. But the Bible disagrees with that logic. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says if the woman is a Christian, she, like all Christians, gives up her body to Jesus when she becomes a believer. That means her body belongs to Jesus.  By the way, in reality, God owns everything, so even a nonbeliever does not “own” her body. And because the life inside her is not her own life, that life is not the woman’s either, now is it?

The bottom line is Christians are called to obey Christian guidelines for living as outlined in the Holy Bible. That would mean no believer can step over God’s authority and override him.  What God opposes, we should oppose. What he supports, we should support. We must do what God says we must do. But also, we must do it the way God wants us to do it.  One of the things Jesus commands us to do is oppose our enemies nonviolently. Not everyone who opposes sin does so peacefully. Some oppose it from a standpoint of hatred. They personally do not like a sin and take it upon themselves to punish the sinners.  This is not the Christian way.  First, we believers realize that we are sinners too. The only difference is, we are sinners saved by grace. Next, Jesus gave us the command to love our enemies. This means we don’t want to see our enemies condemned. We want to see them converted and saved.

As bad as violence is, there is something worse. I am referring to disobeying God’s call to his followers to warn people about their sins.  The Bible teaches that every believer in God is called to oppose sin and to warn others so that they will not be trapped by it. The Book of Ezekiel does a great job of explaining this responsibility. Particularly Ezekiel 33:8-9 which says, “⁸ When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for^[a] their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. ⁹ But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so, they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved.” God has made it clear that it is our responsibility to speak out about sin and to care enough about people travelling wrong, to warn them, so they can turn around—repent and be saved.  A society that rejects God and his guidance will become an immoral society.  That is because, without God’s holy guidance, humans cannot tell what is good and what is evil.  Such a society will anger God. He will punish it or destroy it.  Ancient Israel became such a rebellious society. After being blessed by God they abandoned him and went their own way. They chased idols and practiced immoral lifestyles. God had enough. He cut off their power and they became captives. Does that sound like another modern nation whose initials are U.S.?

God gave Israel every opportunity to change. He sent prophets to warn the people. But they dug in their heels and rebelled.  Like Ezekiel and the prophets of ancient days, we Christians are being called to warn a sin-sick world that it is travelling wrong.  But many who claim to believe in Jesus are refusing to obey that call. Why? The excuses are many: Some don’t want to offend others or come off as “judging them”. They don’t seem to realize that when you warn a man to avoid stepping into a pit, you are not judging him, you are trying to help save him. Others want to be friends with the world—they want to be popular and liked. They want to fit in. But God realizes that following him will make his people stand out from the crowd and that it will bring criticism. In fact, God wants his people to be a “peculiar” people, The Bible tells us.  Others won’t answer the call because they are afraid of being attacked for being a follower of Jesus. But the Bible says, “perfect love drives out fear”.  And of course, there are those who just don’t believe. Yes, they say they are Christians, but they have a lukewarm or cold feeling about God. Whatever the excuse, I call this business of ignoring God’s call, “The Jonah Syndrome”. God called Jonah to warn the people of Nineveh to turn from their sin. But Jonah was prejudiced and did not want them to turn from their sin and be saved. So, he tried to run from God in order to avoid doing the task.   God let him experience some awful things and he finally realized he had to obey the call. He warned the people and they did repent and were saved from disaster.  Like Jonah, many of us refuse to obey God’s calls and his commands because we believe we have a better idea or plan.  This always leads to disaster. God’s will is best and works best whether we like it or not.  Jonah had to put his personal feelings aside and let God lead. He did and it worked out. That’s true for us today. God should decide what is right. Not us.  Jesus said, his disciples must forget themselves.   Yet today, many who claim to believe in Christ struggle with letting go and letting God lead. This is why we are seeing such an increase in sin in the world and even inside the church.  We’re deciding in our flesh what is moral and then trying to make our faith back up what we have already decided. It just does not work.  The Bible calls this “leaning to our own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5-6). Let’s be honest. We all do it sometimes. That is why the Bible says, we’ve all fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3;23). To disagree with mankind is known as  debating. To disagree with God, is known as rebellion.

Israel was blessed. They were God’s people. In fact, they were blessed among all nations on earth. But they became a little full of themselves. They made the mistake of rebelling against God. Like the teenagers at the beginning of this article, they began to sin in front of God: they practiced idol worship; they committed sexual immorality, they were unjust and corrupt. God forgave them over and over. Finally, he had enough. He broke their power and made them captives. Their religious leaders were corrupt and allowed immorality. God destroyed the nation.  We can see shades of Ancient Israel in America. Some churches approve of sinful lifestyles. Church conventions have to vote on whether or not they will obey the Bible.  Even though Jesus commanded all believers to spread the gospel to the whole world, I read a study that showed that many young people in churches don’t believe they should share the gospel at all—they believe it is forcing religion on people. God help us when even Christ gets push back in his own church. 

My sense from reading the Bible is historically, God often punishes rebellious nations by giving them bad leaders. Look at the front runners of the top two political parties in America. On the Democratic side, Mr. Biden supports gay and trans gender lifestyles, which are sins according to the Bible. The front runner for the Republican Party, Mr. Trump has several indictments and seems to be involved in some scandals or another. Among their followers, you’ll find many who claim to be Christians. Can’t America do better than this?

We in the Christian world have arrived at a decision point. Like Joshua, we must decide if we will follow God or the world. Those who don’t follow God will end up belonging to Satan, because he gets God’s leftovers. If you are a Christian, you are being called to stand for Christian values, even though it’s not easy to do so these days.  A great ad executive named Bill Bernbach once said, “A principle isn’t a principle unless it costs you something”.

Like Ezekiel and the prophets of ancient days, you and I and all who claim Jesus are being called to love America enough to warn her that she cannot remain great without God. All the goodness in the world comes from God. Your ability to love; a  beautiful sunset: the joy your children bring you: a great meal: success: the love you give friends and others—it all comes from God. James 1:17 confirms this when it says, “All good things come from above from the Father of Lights.” When we kick God out of our lives and take control, he will take his blessings with him as he goes. The absence of God is the presence of hell.

I have no doubt that you have heard of the so-called culture war. Well, it is misnamed. It’s really a spiritual war. Ephesians 6:12-13 says, ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand”.

How you respond to God’s call to reject sin and warn others to do likewise will determine which side you end up fighting for.

Go ask Ezekiel:

⁴ He then said to me: “Son of man, go now to the people of Israel and speak my words to them. ⁵ You are not being sent to a people of obscure speech and strange language, but to the people of Israel— ⁶ not too many peoples of obscure speech and strange language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you. ⁷ But the people of Israel are not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for all the Israelites are hardened and obstinate. ⁸ But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are. ⁹ I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.”

¹⁰ And he said to me, “Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart all the words I speak to you. ¹¹ Go now to your people in exile and speak to them. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says,’ whether they listen or fail to listen.” (God’s vision to Ezekiel 3:4-11)

BOM was a proud sponsor of the Lakeview High School FBLA program. Five members from LHS qualified to participate in the National Leadership Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Pictured left to right: BOM’s Brittany Fredieu, Areyona Williams, and BOM’s Kylie Miller.

Natchitoches’ Downtown Riverbank Stage was the place to be Friday, July 28, as the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame’s Induction Celebration hosted Rockin’ Riverfest. The popular event, long part of the annual induction of each new class of Louisiana sports legends into the Hall of Fame, featured concerts and family fun for children at the riverbank, all free of cost to anyone attending.

Alexandria native and Bolton High alumni, Jason Ashley & the Hot Sauce Band kicked off the festivities with over an hour’s worth of fun music drawn from an eclectic selection of hits. They were followed by the incredible Rockin’ Dopsie, Jr and the Zydeco Twisters who kept the crowd on their feet and dancing throughout the evening. This is the second year this superb act has played at the Rockin’ Riverfest concert. Pierre, the mascot for the New Orleans Pelicans, also got in on the fun, dancing with audience members. The Louisiana Propane Dealers Association sponsored several holes of mini golf on the riverbank for youngsters and their families. 

The 2023 LSHOF Induction Class was introduced to the city during a break in the concert. The 2023 Miss Louisiana and 2023 NSU Lady of the Bracelet, Macenzie Scroggs, was also introduced. After the 2023 LSHOF induction class was presented, festivalgoers were treated to spectacular fireworks show over the Cane River, always a treat. After the fireworks, the event concluded with some more superb music from Rockin’ Dopsie and the Zydeco Twisters. 

Over three hundred young people from throughout the area enjoyed a day of sports fun at the 2023 LSHOF Junior Training Camp held on NSU’s campus this Saturday, July 29. Several newly inducted Hall of Fame members, assisted by coaches and players from NSU’s football, and men’s, and women’s basketball teams, put the young people through a series of drills in football and basketball skills. This is the twelfth year the training camp has been held in Natchitoches. Over the years, the Junior Training Camp has become an eagerly awaited tradition for area families.

Players and staff from NSU men’s and women’s basketball teams conducted a series of fast paced drills that kept the campers on their feet and moving as they learned and sharpened their skills. The campers then moved on to Turpin stadium where the NSU football team, joined by visiting Grambling QB Myles Crawley, awaited with a field full of practice drills. The NSU gridiron squad was joined by 2023 LA Sports Hall of Fame inductee and NFL legend, Eli Manning. Each and every child attending the camp got to catch a pass from a Super Bowl winning quarterback and one of the game’s all time greats.

The Natchitoches Sheriff’s Department has been a sponsor of the event since the inaugural camp and brought several deputies who were joined by the Natchitoches SWAT team and their vehicle. Likewise, volunteers from Natchitoches Leadership Through Athletics helped check in children and pass out souvenir camp shirts. Raising Cane’s supplied sweet tea and lemonade to thirsty campers as well as certificates for a free meal. Thanks to the sponsors, the children enjoyed a fun day of physical activity and education at no cost.

The Natchitoches Parish Journal would like to commend the members of the NSU men’s and women’s basketball and football teams who helped at each of the stations. They were unfailingly helpful and gracious to the children. These young men and women embody everything that is right and good about the student-athlete concept. NSU’s WRAC staff turned their facility over to the campers and supplied water for breaks. They and the teams were superb ambassadors for Northwestern State University.

Alexandria’s Four Season’s Bowling Center was the place to be for family fun and friendly competition as the facility hosted the 2023 BOM Celebrity Bowling Bash Saturday, July 29.

The event, a fun part of the three-day celebration of the induction of the 2023 class of Louisiana sports legends into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, was a delightful afternoon of bowling and fellowship.

The bowlers and their guests enjoyed a delicious lunch sponsored by Alexandria’s Walk-Ons.

A DJ kept spirits high throughout the event with a high energy selection of music.

After the meal, members of the 2023 class of LSHOF inductees captained teams of bowlers who competed in a ten-frame set.

After the last team was finished, the inductees were introduced to the crowd.

The winning team was announced as well as the best-and worst-celebrity bowler.

The 2023 BOM Celebrity Bowling Bash was a fun opportunity for the LSHOF inductees to get to know each other and for the LSHOF supporters attending to get to know some of Louisiana’s sports legends. 

The Pineville Airport was the scene of family fun, aviation and raising money for an eminently worthy cause as The Experimental Aircraft Association’s Chapter 614 hosted a charity fly-in Saturday, July 29.

The event was held to raise money for Duffel of Dreams, an organization dedicated to providing children placed into foster care with a loving start in their journey.

Forty pilots flew into the Pineville airport from all over Louisiana and surrounding states. The pilots generously gave airplane rides at no cost to over 100 children.

In addition to the free airplane rides, there were superheroes and Disney characters on hand as well as inflatable playhouses, food, and craft booths.

The fun family event has a serious purpose.

All too often in our community, children have to be removed from their homes and placed into foster care, many times in the middle of the night with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

That is where Duffel of Dreams steps in to help.

The organization, a 501c-3 non-profit, gives children placed in to foster care in the CENLA parishes a suitcase filled with personal care items, clothes, and items such as a stuffed animal and blanket that give the children a reminder that there are people who care about them.

In the words of Duffel of Dreams founder and CEO, Danielle Poteet, a 2016 Pineville High School alumna, “The suitcases are a dove sending hope to God’s children in foster care.”

Saturday’s Fly-In for Duffel of Dreams was the first of what will hopefully be an annual event. Thanks to a generous pledge from the Modern Woodmen to match any funds raised, over $10,000.00 will be going towards assisting children facing difficult circumstances.

Duffel of Dreams delivered their first duffels to the Children’s Advocacy Network (CASA) in June and will be delivering 150 more shortly.

Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Welcome Reception Gets the Party Started!

Several hundred sports enthusiasts and area residents enjoyed the opportunity to meet this year’s inductees into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame at the welcome reception for the LSHOF’s 2023 class held Thursday, July 27. The event, a fun local tradition, was free and open to the public and was an excellent opportunity to meet some of our state’s sports legends. The induction events are a true community effort with volunteers from the community, NSU, and the museum’s FLASH organization assisting in making the evening a memorable event.

The official portraits of each inductee were on display for the first time to the general public. Each portrait shows the inductee in the context of his or her sport and is a tradition of the Hall of Fame. In addition, a silent auction of donated items and sports memorabilia helped raise funds for the organization. This year’s reception featured a special treat for the football fans. Billy Cannon’s 1959 Heisman Trophy is on loan to the LSHOF.

The festivities are far from finished. Friday will feature the BOM Celebrity Bowling Bash as well as a concert along the riverbank complete with signature Natchitoches quality fireworks show. The younger set will have a Fun Zone sponsored by the Louisiana Propane Dealers; Association to enjoy at Friday evening’s events. Saturday morning will feature the Junior Training Camp on the NSU campus in which young people will be able to test their abilities, win prizes and learn what it takes to succeed on-and off-the playing field. The weekend will culminate at the induction dinner Saturday evening at the Natchitoches Events Center.

The summer of 2023 will always be fondly remembered as the summer that God winked at me.

This summer was the first summer since becoming a mother that I would not be able to take some kind of little vacation with both of my daughters in tow. Our travels in past few years have truly become the biggest adventures that we have ever encountered. Whether it was a long road trip that took days just to reach our destination, a long lazy weekend at the beach, or a quick two day jaunt to a neighboring state, they were all epic. The trips were loaded with all the elements that one would expect from a car full of ladies.

Fighting over who’s turn it was for a playlist. Too many bathroom breaks. No true agenda or deadlines. Road snacks. Lots of road snacks. Getting lost because we put our trust in Google Maps and not paying attention to our surroundings. A few fights and occasional hurt feelings. Daughters ganging up on mom and making fun of her clothes. Overpacked suitcases. Photo ops. Exploring new restaurants found on Yelp or Instagram. Hunting for historical markers. Critter counting.

Critter counting was an entertaining distraction that we started on our first trip through Colorado, Idaho, and Wyoming. It was a simple game. I drove while they counted and announced all of the critters that we were passing by. It also kept my youngest daughter occupied instead of asking how many more miles we had ahead of us. The long trip accounted for many moose, deer, pronghorns, marmots, bears and birds.

So many miles and so many beautiful memories.

I knew with my oldest daughter’s work commitments and my youngest daughter taking her first mission trip, spending time with her dad as well as working at a summer camp, it would be impossible for the three of us to gather. I made peace with the fact that I would spend most of the summer alone, dipping my toes into the waters of an empty nest. I sure was going miss critter counting with my girls.

One Sunday morning while I was taking the beautiful drive to Goldonna to attend church with my dad, I told the Lord that I was sad there would be no critters to count this summer. It truly deflated my spirit. I left my worries with him as I entered church to thank him for my many blessings that he has given me even though I am undeserving.

Like always, I was feeling so refreshed and renewed after church, it made the ride home much easier. I was listening to praise music while I was enjoying the many hills and curves that Louisiana Highway 156 has to offer, when all of the sudden the most beautiful deer bounced out of the woods and leapt across the road. It was so magnificent and such a sight to behold. The Lord and I had a good chuckle. One critter counted.

A few miles up the road a reddish brown fuzzy-tailed fox darted in front of me. I was so amused and delighted. Two critters counted.

Just as I was approaching the sharp curve before Creston, I noticed something large in the road. As I approached it I could tell that it was a wild turkey. Through the many years I have been driving to Goldonna, my peepers have never seen a turkey. I told the Lord, “You are just showing off now.”

Three critters counted. My heart was so full and my smile so large, Texas could not house it.

In my humble opinion, a God wink is simply something sent from above with impeccable timing that is tailored just for us, and it would only make us smile. No one but you would be amused by it. Almost like an inside joke with the man upstairs. God winks at us when we least expect it and need it the most. Sometimes it takes a few moments, even longer, to realize he has in fact winked at us.

I pray your world slows down just a little, so you can quieten the inner critic that whispers ‘you could never be content with what you have’. When you set your gaze on him, he opens your eyes to see his glory everywhere.

“May the Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make his face shine upon you; and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”
Numbers 6:24-26

Brick & Row Merci Beaucoup’s Christmas in July Warehouse Sale at 214 Texas Street (old Tommy Stewart Showroom) this Saturday, July 29, 2023, from 8 a.m. till noon.

ALL warehouse merchandise will be marked down 60%, so take advantage of the sale and get a jumpstart on your Christmas Shopping with 60% OFF EVERYTHING!!!!

The sale will be inside the air-conditioned warehouse!

COME SHOP WITH US!!! SEE YOU THIS SATURDAY!!

By JASON PUGH, Special to the Journal

NATCHITOCHES – Thursday afternoon was about “R and R” for 11 members of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2023.

This “R and R” session, however, was not about rest and relaxation. Instead, the focus of the annual induction press conference inside the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum was on the inductees’ reactions to their moment in the sun and the relationships that drove them to or were created along the way in their Hall of Fame careers.

Some of those kinships even had a direct tie to Hall of Fame weekend itself, such as the case with 2023 inductee Paul Mainieri and his college coach, New Orleans’ Ron Maestri, a Class of 1994 inductee.

“I thought about that when (Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Foundation President) Ronnie (Rantz) and (Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Chairman Doug Ireland) called me,” said Mainieri, who led LSU to the 2009 College World Series championship and five CWS appearances in his 15 years atop the Tiger program. “I had flown down from South Bend, Indiana, because Mase was being inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, and I wanted to be here to honor him. I learned so much from Mase in my two years of playing for him – about handling players, promoting your team in the community, about what it took effort wise. At that point in my life, and to this day, he is probably the second-most important male figure in my life as far as guiding me through my baseball career and coaching career.”

Mainieri is one of five members of the Class of 2023 with ties to LSU, joining fellow Tiger baseball players Paul Byrd and M.L. Woodruff, standout football receiver Wendell Davis and Olympic jumper Walter Davis.

Although Mainieri’s relationship with Maestri began roughly an hour east of Baton Rouge, his tie to Woodruff was formed in the LSU baseball locker room long before the Tigers were among the nation’s elite.

Woodruff and Mainieri came into LSU as freshmen together before making their mark as baseball coaches.

Mainieri has the 2009 national title to his name, but it was Woodruff who made winning championships an art form, skippering Parkview Baptist to a remarkable 11 state championships in a 23-year span from 1986-2009.

“After the announcement, Paul was so gracious,” Woodruff said. “He came up to me after the pairing party for the golf tournament and said, ‘M.L., we’re in the locker room at Alex Box Stadium, and someone says, ‘Two of you guys are going into the Hall of Fame.’ He says, ‘Do you think they would have picked us?’ Absolutely not.”

Although not related, Walter and Wendell Davis played into sharing a last name.

“First of all, give it up for my brother, Walter” Wendell Davis said after following Walter’s speech before reflecting on his record-setting career that came in a time that long predated the current pass-happy era of college football.

A Shreveport-Fair Park High School product, Davis was recruited primarily by north Louisiana colleges – Northwestern State, then-Northeast Louisiana and Grambling State – before LSU came in “at the last minute.”

The marriage produced two All-American seasons for Davis, the 1987 SEC Player of the Year as a senior, a career built off a pairing of unsuspecting stars – Davis and his quarterback Tommy Hodson. Davis then produced a six-season NFL career with the Chicago Bears that was cut short because of an injury in Philadelphia’s Veterans Stadium that still resonates.

“I look pretty unassuming – you wouldn’t think I played football if you met me on the streets – but Tommy was worse than that,” Wendell said. “Tommy was a skinny kid, great basketball player. You see him on the street, you wouldn’t think he was a player. He was highly recruited, and I thought, ‘I need to get to know him.’ As a redshirt freshman, Tommy and I would work out all the time. We’d lift weights, and we’d go to the field. We’d go up and down the field – I’m running routes and he’s throwing the ball. The hope was this chemistry would carry over into a game. Fortunately, it did. He gained confidence in me, and he knew where I would be on the field. He was very instrumental in me doing what I did.”

While Wendell Davis found success in a team sport, stepping away from basketball led the 6-foot-2 Walter Davis to a track and field career that took the native of Leonville to Barton County Community College in Kansas, back home to LSU and around the world with berths on the 2000 and 2004 U.S. Olympic Teams.

A prep basketball standout, Walter said the individual nature of track and field played a role – as did a coach who mentioned the plethora of 6-2 basketball players and the dearth of 6-2 basketball players who had his track and field ability – into pushing him onto his Hall of Fame path.

“One reason I left basketball was if someone missed an assignment or missed a layup, it was a hack on the team,” he said. “If I went to a track meet and I lost, I have to look in the mirror. That’s on you. That’s why I really stuck with track and field. I don’t have to depend on anyone but myself.”

Right-handed pitcher Paul Byrd, a 14-year major-league veteran, rounded out the LSU-tied contingent. Byrd’s relationship with the Hall of Fame goes right to the top as he was Tiger teammates with Rantz, who noted Byrd was his first former teammate he was able to honor as an inductee.

A school-record 17-game winner at LSU in 1990, Byrd grinded his way through more than a decade in the major leagues that included a 1999 All-Star selection that led him to mingling with National Baseball Hall of Famers at Fenway Park and a 2007 American League Division Series-clinching win against the New York Yankees.

Byrd remained humble throughout his time at the microphone, nearly speaking about fellow inductee Ron Washington as much as himself. Byrd, now a television analyst calling Atlanta Braves games, and Washington, Atlanta’s third base coach and gilded infield instructor, have developed a friendship that was clear from Byrd’s speech – although it started around the time Mainieri first visited Natchitoches.

“Ron Washington, where are you, buddy?” Byrd asked. “When I got called up to the big leagues in 1995, you don’t remember this. I was playing for the New York Mets. I’m not that good. I’m just trying to bob and weave and last as long as a I can. I’m always told I’m too short, and I don’t throw hard enough. I get called in the office and get told I’m going to the big leagues. All my teammates are hugging me and giving me five. Wash’s energy is unbelievable. He makes working hard fun.

“You don’t remember this, but you told me, ‘The big leagues can change you. Don’t let it happen to you. Stay humble and keep working hard.’ Ron Washington can handle success. All that he has accomplished has not changed him. Thank you for that.”

While Washington has remained the same since leaving New Orleans’ John McDonogh High School in 1970 to start a 10-year playing career, he has been a change agent and self-described “ambassador” for baseball. The Crescent City native said he always played above his age group while growing up, and it didn’t take long for him to have the Texas Rangers punching above their typical weight class in his first Major League Baseball managerial job.

Under Washington, the Rangers won at least 90 games in five seasons and reached the franchise’s first two World Series, capturing American League pennants in 2010 and 2011. Washington finally summitted the mountain in 2021, capturing a World Series title with Atlanta in his 51^st season in professional baseball.

It was the relationships Washington built – and the vision he had – from Day One that built a budding dynasty in North Texas.

“When I arrived in Texas, my first meetings were with scouts, and out of the blue, I talked about winning a World Series,” Washington said. “They thought I was crazy. They did. I had the ring sizers, and I was sizing them up. I believe belief is powerful. When you believe and you can put action to that belief, you can get things done.”

Belief was a two-way street that led Matt Forte to the door of the NFL – one he kicked in and enjoyed a decade of top-tier performance with the Chicago Bears and New York Jets.

Forte, a Slidell native, was set on playing football in the SEC, but when the offers did not materialize, he followed his father Gene’s footsteps and signed with Tulane. Flashes of his potential were evident in his first three seasons, but a knee injury late in his junior year – and a coaching change – provided the impetus for a school-record 2,127 rushing-yard season as a senior that led him to become a second-round pick of the Bears.

Forte’s two-a-day workouts put him on a path to the Hall of Fame and to a fast friendship with the Davises, who were the targets of a good-natured shot from the former Green Wave standout.

“It means a lot, especially as a Tulane alumnus around all these LSU people,” Forte said. “Let y’all know, Tulane, we’re up here, too, especially y’all (Davis) brothers over there. When I got the call, I was honestly not expecting it. I was underrated my whole career. I didn’t consider myself underrated. I just think maybe overlooked, but it was God’s plan. Getting this honor at the end of a career was really sweet, because I feel my entire career, some people get their flowers while they’re playing or they come in with a lot of hype.

“I never bought into the hype. I’m glad I didn’t have a lot of hype around myself, because if you don’t turn out to be good the hype doesn’t mean anything. I’d rather be consistent. This was the cherry on top as far as the career I had.”

Consistency was a synonym for Alana Beard’s basketball career.

Four state championships at Shreveport’s Southwood High School led to an All-American career at Duke where she also won the Wade Trophy before playing professionally in the WNBA and overseas.

That career, which began with Beard playing against her older brothers as the only girl, led her to play in 27 countries. It was her relationship with her prep coach, Steve McDowell, she credited with being the linchpin for her globe-spanning career.

“Those Southwood years simply defined who I became,” Beard said. “I decided to play organized basketball in the seventh grade – I was too shy to do so in the sixth grade. That became my journey. That became my love especially when I understood that I had the opportunity to take a burden off my parents’ shoulders. Basketball could be the vehicle to take me where I eventually wanted to go. It wouldn’t have happened without my parents and the foundation they instilled in me, but also with Steve McDowell, the legendary coach at Southwood. I knew I wanted to play for him because he had a championship culture already there, and I had a desire to be a champion.

“I knew choosing Southwood would be hard. I knew the players there were better than me, but that motivated me to want to be one of the best. Any time I think about my success, Steve McDowell is synonymous with that because he taught me the fundamentals of the game. He taught me respect. He taught me discipline. I’ve carried that with me throughout my life.”

While the other eight competitive-ballot inductees carried competitive scars from outcomes that didn’t go their way, world champion weightlifter Walter Imahara’s career was forged in a different setting.

A Japanese-American, Imahara and his family spent three-and-a-half years in a World War II internment camp in California. Instead of a jaded worldview, Imahara took his pleasant disposition – and dogged dedication – to then-Southwestern Louisiana Institute and helped the Bulldogs win an NCAA national championship.

More importantly, Imahara, now 86 years old, found a longtime home among a group of people who treated him like one of their own.

“I was born in California, but I’ve lived in Louisiana for more than 80 years – Louisiana is my home,” said Imahara, who graduated from Baton Rouge’s Istrouma High School in 1955. “When I went to Southwestern, you have to remember, I was like the only Japanese-American on campus. People there were not prejudiced. They were of a Cajun background. How could they be prejudiced?”

Those relationships simultaneously define Acadiana and its 2023 Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism honoree Bruce Brown.

A longtime fixture at the Daily Advertiser, Brown was a staple at Lafayette-area sporting events – community-wide or ones with a national focus. In addition to being a talented on-deadline writer, Brown said he enjoyed focusing on sports that didn’t always draw the eye of the greater public.

And while he made Lafayette his home, he had a perfectly pithy response to his honor.

“I think the full quote was ‘Get out of town,’’ Brown said of learning of his DSA selection. “It was unexpected. You don’t live for such a moment, but you take them when they come that’s for sure. I don’t write for the acclaim. I write for the athlete, for the kid. That’s the way I always approached it.”

While Brown wrote about barrier breakers, his fellow DSA honoree broke them herself.

Lori Lyons climbed the ladder at the New Orleans Times-Picayune, starting as a clerk in 1986 before becoming a two-time Louisiana Sports Writers Association Prep Writer of the Year and the second female LSWA President.

During her time as the Times-Picayune’s prep sports reporter in the River Parishes, Lyons chronicled numerous Louisiana Sports Hall of Famers, including 2017 inductee Ed Reed. Now her name – and biography – stands alongside Reed and the other statewide legends in Natchitoches. 

“I have been coming to this event for 30 years,” Lyons said. “I have sat in the audience and cried while people like you stood on that stage and tried to explain what it means or how it feels and what an honor it is. Now it’s my turn, and as good as I am with words, I don’t have the words to do it.

“It is humbling. It is surreal. When I punched my name in that computer database and saw my name and my picture … I saw Walter Davis and said, ‘Come here. You have to do this.’ Then I saw his face. Then I saw Wendell Davis and said, ‘Come here. You have to do this.’ That is the most amazing experience so far of this whole thing.”

The 12^th inductee, football great Eli Manning of New Orleans, is arriving Friday to join the festivities.

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The Kiwanis Club of Natchitoches held its weekly meeting on Thursday, July 27 where club president Craig George gave updates on club news and upcoming events. George announced that the annual 5K Color Run registration is now live on Runsignup.com and asked the members to invite people to sign up.

George introduced Jessica McGrath, director of Rolling Hills Ministries Thift Store, here in Natchitoches. McGrath discussed about Rolling Hills Ministries and the thrift store operations.

Pictured left to right: club president Craig George and Jessica McGrath

By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports

Losing highly respected 15-year veteran softball coach Donald Pickett last week was a blow to the Northwestern State athletic department, but his apparent replacement is an eye-opening hire.

Carencro native Lacy Prejean, an assistant coach at the nationally-ranked UL-Lafayette program, reportedly accepted the job Wednesday afternoon.

An announcement by NSU athletics director Kevin Bostian is anticipated as soon as today, with an on-campus introduction of Prejean likely sometime in the middle of next week.

Signs point to Prejean, 42, retaining third-year NSU assistant Lexi Smith, Pickett’s pitching coach who played at Texas A&M.

Pickett resigned last week, leaving a veteran team and returning home to Chattanooga, Tenn., where he will supervise high school softball coaches in a school district, and help run the family farm, he said. He is the winningest coach in NSU softball history with a long list of accomplishments, and in recent years, was invited to get involved with job openings at Memphis and Louisiana Tech, ultimately choosing to stay in Natchitoches both times.

By any measure, Prejean’s hiring is impressive. Media members who cover the Ragin’ Cajuns program conveyed great admiration for her coaching, leadership and interaction with players and program supporters.

Prejean twice competed in the Women’s College World Series as a standout catcher at Alabama, and later was a member of the 2006 USA Baseball Women’s National Team four years after taking part in the USA Softball National Team Camp.

The 42-year-old has served two stints on the Ragin’ Cajuns’ coaching staff, under two different head coaches. Under current coach Gerry Glasco since September 2018, she worked with catchers and instructed the entire defense. From 2005-07 on Michael Lotief’s staff, she helped the Ragin’ Cajuns to three NCAA Tournaments and an overall 149-40 record, and directed and implemented the program’s fall season camps.

Since she rejoined the UL-Lafayette program, the Cajuns have posted a 209-53 record, playing in NCAA Regional finals in each of the full seasons (discounting the truncated 2020 pandemic year) and winning the Baton Rouge Regional over LSU in May. The Cajuns fell in two games at Washington in the Super Regional, one step away from the WCWS.

After her first stay on the UL-Lafayette staff, she returned to Alabama in 2008 to serve as director of operations for two seasons, experiencing two more trips to the WCWS.

In 2009, Prejean came home and entered the private business sector but remained active in softball, including serving as a travel ball coach for Diamond Sports Hotshots from 2014-17.

Prejean earned a bachelor’s degree in business (May 2003) and master’s degree in sports administration (May 2009) from Alabama.

The 2000 SEC Freshman of the Year, she was an All-SEC performer at catcher for four seasons with the Crimson Tide and started all but seven games during her career.

Photo:  Courtesy UL-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajun Athletics

Although the sun had not yet appeared over the horizon, the air was already warm and sticky, typical of the onset of another hot July day in Louisiana just like what we woke up to this morning. This would have been a good day to work on articles in my air-conditioned office but fishing guide and friend Eddie Halbrook’s call the night before had a sense of urgency about it.

“I don’t care what you have planned for tomorrow,” Halbrook said, “put it off. The bass are schooling on Grand Bayou and you need to come with me.”

The “Grand Bayou” Halbrook mentioned is Grand Bayou Reservoir, a small 2,500 acre impoundment located 50 miles south of Shreveport on the east side or the Red River, not far north of Coushatta.

I don’t mind admitting a degree of skepticism when Halbrook mentioned that for the past week, he’d been catching at least a hundred bass a day. Skeptical or not, I found myself in the back of Halbrook’s boat as the bright, and soon to be hot, sun made its appearance in a cloudless July sky.

Somewhere around 7 a.m., Halbrook caught the first bass of the day. At a little past noon, I released bass number 100. We had, indeed, hit the century mark with bass in a half day of fishing that can only be described as “hot” — in more ways than one.

Grand Bayou Reservoir is like so many lakes around the country. The Red River Parish gem has a thriving population of baitfish, in this case, threadfin shad, that seek the highest levels of oxygen. In warm months, oxygen is more plentiful in the top of the water column. Wave action near the surface continues to replenish dissolved oxygen and huge schools of baitfish move about in comfort just beneath the surface.

For predator fish like largemouth bass, these roaming pods of baitfish are seen as a gourmet feast there for the taking. Slashing into baitfish schools, bass gorge themselves and in the process, make their presence known to alert bass fishermen from hundreds of yards away. Their feeding activity agitates the surface, often sending plumes of water flying in all directions.

Fishing for schooling bass can be at the same time exciting and frustrating. Here’s a typical scenario: a couple of anglers see a school of feeding bass erupt from 100 yards away. Starting the engine, they rush to within casting distance of the school only to see the surface become quiet again before the first cast is made. Looking back to where they just came from, they’re frustrated to see the fish thrashing the surface back there.

Thus, patience is one of the key ingredients in fishing for schooling bass. When the fish are active, the best bet is to avoid the temptation of dashing from school to school. Just be patient; they’ll soon be thrashing the water’s surface where you are. 

If you take a youngster along, there is no better way to spark an interest in bass fishing that could last a lifetime than to introduce him/her/them to fishing for school bass.

For starters, school bass are generally easy to catch, the fishing experience is filled with spine-tingling excitement, and the neophyte angler is almost always anxious to do it all over again another day. Equipment needs are simple and can be easily handled by a less-experienced angler.

As bass slash into baitfish on the surface, some of the bait will be injured or killed in the process and will likely be floating in the area. Scoop up a couple and determine their color but more importantly, the size. If they’re silver in color, as most baitfish are, and are two inches long, it’s not brain surgery to know what to do next. Simply dig in your tackle box and select a silvery lure, two inches in length. If you’re hungry for an ice cream cone, you’re not likely to head for the refrigerator and go slap-happy over a celery stick. Bass are no different; they want what they want when they want it.

If you get excited at the sight of bass exploding on the surface all around you; if you thrill to strike after strike; if you get pleasure at the look on the face of your youngster or your buddy fighting a tenacious bass, then school bass fishing may be right up your alley.

Contact Glynn at glynnharris37@gmail.com

Goldonna Assembly of God will be hosting Johnathan Bond on August 17-18th at 6:30 in the evening. Mr. Bond is a singer and published author who will be sharing his testimony as well as leading worship.

They will also be the host church for the Goldonna Community Service that will take place on August 11 at 6:30. The guest Pastor for the night will Reverend George Procell of River of Life Church. The entire community is invited and encouraged to attend.

The intense heat from the dog days of summer did not deter Goldonna Baptist Church from hosting a successful Wiffle Ball Tournament. The proceeds raised from the event are going towards shipping costs of the Operation Christmas Child boxes. The church has a goal of packing three hundred boxes. They are still collecting items leading up to the community packing party that will take place in November.

Goldonna Elementary Elementary Junior High School will begin classes on August 9th. They will have staggered starting dates for Pre-K and Kindergarten that will be announced soon. Principal Cori Beth Manuel has been hard at work getting the campus in shape for the new school year. Online registration is still open for students. If you are a returning student it should only take minutes to have your child fully registered.

If you have news to share please email Reba Phelps at jreba.phelps@gmail.com

You’re invited, free of charge, this evening from 5-7 to a star-studded casual party — the La Capitol Welcome Reception kicking off the 2023 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration.

It’s in downtown Natchitoches, at the Hall of Fame museum at 800 Front Street (at the traffic circle) in Natchitoches. No need to dress fancy, just enjoy food and refreshments and music and a world-class museum, mingling with some of our state’s greatest sports stars and their families.

The Class of 2023 includes a two-time Super Bowl MVP (Eli Manning, who arrives Friday), a women’s basketball superstar from Shreveport with Natchitoches roots (Alana Beard), a College World Series-winning LSU coach (Paul Mainieri) and three more TIgers sports heroes (big league pitcher Paul Byrd, NFL receiver Wendell Davis from Shreveport and two-time USA track and field Olympian Walter Davis).

There’s another Pro Bowl NFL star, former Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte, a Tulane star from Slidell. He did things that only two other NFL backs ever have done, and now runs a charitable foundation and works in a ministry in Chicago.

For fans of the Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers, Ron Washington will entertain you – he managed the Rangers to the World Series in 2010 and 2011, and as the current third base coach for the Braves, he was also in that role when Atlanta won the 2021 Fall Classic. He was also third base coach in Oakland during the “Moneyball” years (he’s a featured character in the movie headlined by Brad Pitt). 

Braves fans, this is a double bonus for you. Along with “Wash,” Byrd – whose LSU pitching accomplishments are on a short list with Paul Skenes and Ben McDonald – has been a color analyst on Braves TV game coverage who has won regional sports Emmy Awards.  Here’s your chance, this evening, to get the inside angle on the club.

Meet the amazing 86-year-old Walter Imahara, a Japanese-American who became a world-class weightlifter for decades – while running a Baton Rouge floral business, and serving in the United States military in the early 1960s. Another Baton Rouge hero is M.L. Woodruff, who won 11 state championships coaching baseball for Parkview Baptist, and now is also involved in a ministry.

Sports journalists Bruce Brown (Lafayette) and Lori Lyons (New Orleans/Houma) have covered many amazing games and highly-accomplished athletes, including plenty of LSHOF members, in their careers and will be inducted next weekend as well.

The Welcome Reception provides the best possible opportunity to stroll around the 27,500-square foot museum, which has just celebrated its 10^th anniversary. Lots of display items have been rotated into exhibits, and there’s a new Kim Mulkey exhibit showcasing the LSU women’s basketball coach.

Just ahead — the free Friday evening Rockin’ River Fest concert on the downtown riverbank stage. Music starts at 6, with Manning joining his 2023 classmates on stage at 9:15, followed by a 10-minute fireworks show set to sports-themed music. There will be a free kids zone presented by Louisiana Propane Dealers with games under the Front Street bridge.

You’re invited to all the fun. Visit LaSportsHall.com or call 318-238-4255 to get more information and the schedule for the three-day celebration, and for participation opportunities for three ticketed events.