#3

      Last weekend, the 2012 Neville Tigers played their final non-district game of the season. The Tigers are sitting atop 4A with a 5-0 record and the #1 ranking. And with the Chicago Cubs putting baseball season to rest, the Saints continuing their slide back into the early ‘80s, and LSU slipping down the polls with unimpressive win after unimpressive win, I’m thankful to have at least one team I support making me proud. With state titles in 1955, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1972, 1983, 1984, 1995, 2009, AND 2011, the Tigers are geared up to add number 11 to the list. And this season marks the 40^th anniversary of one of the most insane playoff runs in sports history, or at least that’s how the story’s told around here. But as the current crop of Tigers walked off the field in Bossier City last Friday night after trouncing Airline 48-14, I can almost guarantee that none of them realized how important today’s number is to Neville history.

#3

a.) There were at least 2 teams that went undefeated in 1972: Don Shula’s Miami Dolphins and Charlie Brown’s Neville Tigers. But the Tigers accomplished something that, I dare say, no other team anywhere has ever had to achieve in order to win a title. And they did it in amazing fashion. You see the Tigers had won their prerequisite Friday night game to set up a semi-final matchup against Brother Martin High. During the defensive slugfest that ensued, neither Neville nor Brother Martin could carry the ball across the goal line. A desperation pass by Brother Martin was intercepted by James LeBlanc at the Neville 24 yard line to force one of the most interesting tiebreakers in football history. Per Louisiana high school rules of the day, the game was to be decided by comparing…wait for it…statistics! First up was first downs, and both teams had finished with 9. Next up was penetrations, or possessions which crossed into opposing territory, and both teams were tied at 1. Had they gone to total yards for a final tiebreaker Neville would have advanced by outgaining Brother Martin by only about 20 yards, but unfortunately this was not an official tiebreaking statistic. Officials at the game offered to flip a coin to determine a winner but Coach Brown responded with something like, “We’d rather suit up and play again right now.” (Edited to maintain a G-rating.) It was finally decided that the 2 teams would meet up in Alexandria the next Tuesday and play again at a neutral site. The 2^nd time around, Neville was able to score after a blocked punt. A late drive by Brother Martin ended when James LeBlanc intercepted a pass in his own end zone, and Neville hung on to win 8-0 and advance to the State Championship game that Friday against Airline of Bossier City. Once again the Tigers’ defense ruled the day as they won 6-0 and secured the 1^st of Coach Brown’s 3 state titles. (Coach Brown would also finish with 3 state runner-ups.) But the fact that the Tigers played 3 playoff games in 3 cities in 8 days, and shutout both opponents over 12 quarters of football, is beyond incredible. Add to that, their first 8 quarters of shutout football were against the defending state champions and it becomes almost unbelievable. And who was voted Most Valuable Player after Neville’s remarkable playoff run ended with a title? Well, my kids like to call him “Paw.”

'72 Neville Defensive Back/Punter James LeBlanc
To go along with his timely INTs, he also averaged over 38 yds/punt.

***Stay tuned for an upcoming November issue of the New York Times which will feature the ’72 Tigers Championship team.

b.) From 1980-2001, only 3 players won the NHL’s Art Ross Trophy: Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Jaromir Jagr. The Art Ross is awarded each year to the player who scores the most points (goals + assists). During his unbelievable 20-year career, the “Great One” won 10 Art Ross trophies, while Lemieux collected 6, and Jagr 5. During the ’81-’82 season, Gretzky tallied an NHL record 92 goals en route to his 2^nd Ross Trophy. The ’85-’86 season saw him dish out a record 163 assists to bring his point total to 215, yet another NHL single season record. Gretzky also tied Gordie Howe in total scoring titles with #6 that year, going on to break the record by winning his 7^th consecutive scoring title the next season. After winning 7 straight scoring titles, Gretzky was traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings. He took his 1st 2 years in LA “off” and allowed Lemieux to win his 1^st 2 Ross Trophies, before coming back and winning back-to-back titles in ’89-’90 and ’90-’91. Then, after Lemieux once again won back-to-back Rosses, Gretzky would win his 10^th and final Art Ross Trophy following the ’93-’94 season.

c.) During the 2012 Summer Olympics, Om Yun-Chol of North Korea became only the fifth lifter ever to clear 3 times his own body weight. Standing 5’0” and weighing in at only 123 pounds, Om lifted 369.6 pounds over his head to claim the gold medal and a new Olympic record in the 56kg category. Nothing much more to report here, I just had to include this video because I find it almost unimaginable.



The Cubs' dugout empties after
a win against the Astros on the
final day of the 2012 season.

d.) On Monday, this year’s incarnation of the “Maybe Next Year” squad fell to the Houston Astros to become only the 3^rd Chicago Cubs team to lose 100 games in a season. There aren’t a lot of positives to look back on this season, but there were a few. Their grossly overpaid, 36-year old left fielder showed off by hitting his most HRs since 2007 while his 108 RBI set a new career high and placed him 3^rd in the NL. The Cubs lineup featured 3 young guns who have the potential to develop quickly. Brett Jackson debuted on August 5^th, played in 44 games, and finished with 22 hits and 9 RBI with a .644 OPS. In his 1^st season to play in more than 45 games, Bryan Lahair finished with 88 hits, including 16 HR, and plated 40 RBI over 130 games. Lahair was rewarded with an appearance at the All-Star game in Kansas City along with young Cub Starlin Castro. But by far the most impressive debut this season was that of Anthony Rizzo. He finished the year with 15 HRs to go along with 15 doubles and a .285 BA. Rizzo won Rookie of the Month honors in July, and then had 21 RBIs in his final 32 games to finish with 48 for the season. Oh, and the final score of that game Monday that pushed the Cubs to 100 losses?  Astros 3-Cubs 0.

e.) Not wanting to disrespect the momentousness of the occasion by skipping over it, I must also mention Miguel Cabrera and baseball’s 1^st Triple Crown in 45 years. Cabrera finished with a .330 BA, 44 HRs, and 139 RBI to fend off Curtis Granderson and Josh Hamilton in the HR category on the final day of the season. Granderson homered twice for the Yankees in their final game to finish tied with Hamilton at 43. Cabrera became the 1^st Major Leaguer to lead in the 3 major offensive categories since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967.