In this Christmas season of snacks – and, yes Christmas isn’t over (this is the seventh of the 12 days of Christmas) – here are some snacks to munch on:
The night of Dec. 26 was a scary one, with at least two tornado warning alarms blaring from our phones. We retreated to the hall as recommended, and I sat watching the tornado coverage by meteorologist Jake Lambright on KALB-TV’s Facebook page.
Jake, a recent graduate of UL-Monroe, is in his rookie season, having just joined KALB in May, but he did a credible job keeping everyone informed with minute-by-minute coverage. He was on top of the facts and kept his cool in trying circumstances. Although he had some rough efforts in his early months on the job, he showed that night he ranks among the better meteorologists KALB has had. Longtime veteran Tom Konvicka, who left the station in 2021, is the dean of that list, and Nick Mikulas, another veteran who owns Cenla Weather, is another go-to guy for many local weather watchers. Some other notables in that position were Adeleigh Rowe, who for three years has been a meteorologist at Fox 7 in Austin, Texas; and Rachel Penton Gauthier, who left in March and is now a meteorologist and “science content creator” at Anchorage, Alaska.
Providentially, the storm wasn’t as bad as some in the past in Cenla. Curiously, we have a bit of history of tornados in December. There was a Christmas Day tornado in 2012 and a major one on Dec. 16, 2019.
Something that struck me (no pun intended) during the stormy time Thursday night were the Facebook comments during Lambright’s broadcast. I saw the scrolling list of names of several people I know who were watching, listening and probably worrying or praying at the same time. There was a sense of community in the crisis.
Some provided their own updates, the best of which might’ve been that a horse had broken free from its stable in the storm and was running on MacArthur Drive. I’d love to hear the story of the cop who pulled over the horse to issue a citation, if for nothing else than for not wearing a seatbelt. …
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The Cincinnati Bengals (8-8) and their sketchy defense and offensive line may have a 0.6 percent chance of winning the Super Bowl, but they still have a slim chance of making the playoffs after their heart-stopping 30-24 overtime victory over the Denver Broncos Saturday night. There was a magnificent performance by LSU’s 2019 Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow.
“I don’t know that anybody can stand on the field and watch Joe Burrow and say he’s not the best player in the world,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said after Saturday’s victory, when Burrow passed for 412 yards and three touchdowns.
“The clearest thing I can say is, I would not trade Joe Burrow for any player in the universe.” …
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The Saints (5-11) are reminiscent of the pre-Jim Mora/Jim Finks Saints who never had a winning season, causing my grandfather to often say, “Don’t root for the Saints; they’ll break your heart every time.” Granted, nearly every key starter has been injured, and they were already eliminated from the playoffs going into Sunday’s game, but only three other NFC teams have worse records. Even the Cowboys (7-9) have a better record.
The Saints have not made the playoffs since quarterback Drew Brees retired after the 2020 season, and their record since is 30-36. On Sunday, they were whipped, 25-10, at home by an AFC Las Vegas Raiders team that entered the game with just three victories. This hugely disappointing Saints season oddly enough started with consecutive victories during which they were the hottest team in the NFL.
Saints owner Gayle Benson, I believe, is going to … if not “clean house,” arrange for a scrubbing like the team hasn’t seen since 2006.
Interim coach Darren Rizzi may have given a hint of potential change when he said after Sunday’s game that after the season, “The powers to be (not the powers that be) will evaluate the whole thing, and we will go from there.”