The Daily Reveille - OCtober 9, 2009

Check out lsureveille.com for complete coverage of the game.

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Volume 114, Issue 32

Friday, October 9, 2009

Hometown Throwdown No. 1 Florida Gators vs.

No. 4 LSU Tigers Saturday, October 10, 2009 7:10 p.m. kickoff •150,000 people estimated to be on campus Saturday • Florida leads all-time series, 29-23-3 •SEC championships this decade: LSU - 2001, 2003, 2007 Florida- 2000, 2006, 2008 •National Titles LSU - 1958, 2003, 2007 Florida - 1996, 2006, 2008 •In the last three years, the winner of this game has won the BCS National Championship later that season.

Wear gold, embody the 12th man to LSU, Fla. highest-ranked teams to support the Tigers on Saturday night face off in Tiger Stadium since 1959

By The Daily Reveillle Editorial Board We like to party.

Of course we do. We’re 18, 19 and 20-somethings who go to LSU. And many of us party our hardest on game days.

But maybe we should take it a bit easier this Saturday.

And even though half our audience just tuned out, the rest of you should listen.

We’re not saying don’t drink or have fun, but let’s face facts: This game is being hyped as one of the best showdowns of the year.

All of you Tiger faithful who haven’t made a tidy profit from your

tickets are (hopefully) going to want to remember every minute of the game — especially if it turns out to be the matchup everyone is anticipating.

How many of you out there have missed a game for an alcohol-related reason? Probably a lot. You have four home games left after Florida, so pick this one to stay at least semi-sober.

Let’s fulfill the cliché of Tiger Stadium being “the worst place in the world for a visiting team” for the right reasons.

A lot of us tend to get a little out of hand behavior-wise when we are drinking. You don’t want to be “that FANS, see page 23

By Rachel Whittaker Chief Sports Writer

“It’s a game that dreams are made of.”

LSU sophomore center T-Bob Hebert quipped this phrase to describe the No. 4 Tigers matchup with the No. 1 Florida Gators on Saturday night in Tiger Stadium.

“This is why you come to LSU — to play in these big-time games,” Hebert said. “I’m nervous, and I’m excited. It’s going to be a lot of fun to be out there, and we’re comfortable in Death Valley.”

The LSU-Florida game brings the highest combined rankings for

a matchup in Tiger Stadium since 1959, when No. 1 LSU beat No. 3 Ole Miss, 7-3.

Florida coach Urban Meyer expressed similar sentiments about Saturday’s game between two of the top five teams in the nation.

“We’re looking forward to our annual battle with one of the most talented teams in the country,” Meyer said. “It’s obviously a tough place to go play. That’s why you come to a school like Florida — you want to play at places like [LSU].”

LSU coach Les Miles said fans in his team’s home stadium bring a MILES, see page 23

photos by ED REINKE / The Associated Press; MAGGIE BOWLES, GRANT GUTIERREZ and SARAH HUNT / The Daily Reveille

THE DAILY REVEILLE

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2009

Nation & World

INTERNATIONAL

NATIONAL

Taliban suicide car bomber kills 17 in center of Afghan capital

Student allegedly stabs fellow student in UCLA chemistry lab

KABUL (AP) — A suicide car bomber detonated his vehicle outside the Indian Embassy in the bustling center of the Afghan capital Thursday, killing 17 people in the second major attack in the city in less than a month. The Afghan Foreign Ministry hinted at Pakistani involvement — a charge Pakistan denied.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A female UCLA student was hospitalized Thursday after a fellow student slashed her throat in a chemistry lab on campus, authorities said.

A male suspect was arrested after UCLA police got a call about the stabbing in Young Hall at 12:20 p.m.

UCLA spokesman Phil Hampton said the victim and suspect were among a group of students working in the lab at the time.

Officers were interviewing 30 to 40 witnesses who might have seen the attack.

Twenty families sent to exile in Iran by Saddam return to Iraq BAGHDAD (AP) — Twenty families who were sent into exile in Iran by Saddam Hussein following a failed uprising returned Thursday to Iraq, another sign of Baghdad’s warming relations with Tehran.

Iraq has been delicately balancing its relations with Iran and the U.S. But with U.S. troops withdrawing from Iraq by the end of 2011, the Shiite-dominated government has been working to strengthen relations.

Congress acts to extend hate crimes law to cover gays WASHINGTON (AP) — A House vote Thursday put Congress on the verge of significantly expanding hate crimes law to make it a federal crime to assault people because of their sexual orientation. The legislation would bring major changes to law

enacted in the days after Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in 1968.

“No American should ever have to suffer persecution or violence because of who they are, how they look or what they believe,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., noting that hate crimes legislation has been on her agenda since she first entered Congress.

Feds consider critical habitat for endangered leatherback sea turtles Federal fisheries managers have agreed to consider designating critical habitat for endangered leatherback sea turtles in the Pacific ocean off Oregon and California.

NOAA Fisheries officials said Thursday they will make a decision whether to go forward by Dec. 4 under terms of a settlement of a lawsuit brought by conservation groups.

The groups had sued the government for failing to follow through on their petition to designate critical habitat.

STATE/LOCAL

Baton Rouge Magnet High School attracts moviemakers

Online classes decision delayed, proposals wait on Board of Education

(AP) — A Baton Rouge high school has been turned into a movie set, and students and teachers were all abuzz Thursday as Academy Award-winning actor Cuba Gooding Jr. stood outside for a scene in the action-thriller “Ticking Clock.”

The movie, about a reporter who finds a killer’s journal, is taping this week at Baton Rouge Magnet High School.

In a few weeks, the school’s soccer field will be the site of a helicopter landing for a scene in another movie — the big-budget science fiction flick “Battle: Los Angeles.”

School officials said the school is set to collect $1,000 for use during the current production and another $500 for “Battle: Los Angeles.”

The school’s assistant principal said no taping was allowed inside the school until after students were gone for the day. Until then, filming was done outside.

(AP) — The state plans to delay action on three proposals by charter schools to teach courses online, officials said Thursday.

The proposals — by one New Orleans charter school and two in Baton Rouge — are awaiting action from the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

TODAY ON

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Multicultural Student Leadership Conference LSU Student Union Saturday, Oct 17th 2009, 9:00AM- 3:00PM Register Online: www.lsu.edu/aacc Sponsored by the AACC and ResLife

PAGE 2

Spokesman: Jindal has fundraiser for re-election campaign set in Texas (AP) — A spokesman for Gov. Bobby Jindal says the governor has a fundraiser in Texas, to raise money for his re-election campaign.

Spokesman Kyle Plotkin said the fundraiser is set for Katy, in suburban Houston, on Thursday night.

He planned to return to Louisiana after the event. The governor’s campaign had $3 million by the end of 2008, according to the latest campaign finance report.

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WHERE THE GOLD AT? GIVE ME THE GOLD

Mostly Cloudy

SATURDAY 76 63 MONDAY 74 61

SUNDAY 75 67 TUESDAY 78 62

KRISTEN M’LISSA ROWLETT / The Daily Reveille

Log on to see gold things around campus to gear up for the gold game.

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS

In the Oct. 8 article “Student creates his own ‘Survivor,’” the caption accompanying the photo should have said contestants and crew were filming season two of “Survivor Bush.”

If you would like something corrected or clarified please contact the editor at (225) 578-4811 or e-mail editor@lsureveille. com.

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

The Daily Reveille (USPS 145-800) is written, edited and produced solely by students of Louisiana State University. The Daily Reveille is an independent entity within the Manship School of Mass Communication. A single issue of The Daily Reveille is free. To purchase additional copies for 25 cents, please contact the Office of Student Media in B-34 Hodges Hall. The Daily Reveille is published daily during the fall and spring semesters and semi-weekly during the summer semester, except during holidays and final exams. Secondclass copies postage paid at Baton Rouge, La., 70803. Annual weekly mailed subscriptions are $125, semester weekly mailed subscriptions are $75. Non-mailed student rates are $4 each regular semester, $2 during the summer; one copy per person, additional copies 25 cents each. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Daily Reveille, B-39 Hodges Hall, LSU, Baton Rouge, La.,70803.

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THE DAILY REVEILLE

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2009

PAGE 3

TRADITION

Students encouraged to show spirit in gold Saturday Unicolor custom dates back to 1996

By Lindsey Meaux Contributing Writer

Florida will enter Tiger Stadium on Saturday to face a determined team — and a sea of gold.

The gold game’s exact date of inception is unknown, but its history is a colorful one. The tradition will continue Saturday as Tiger fans fill the stadium dressed in gold, said University spokesman Herb Vincent.

The tradition of the gold game began five to six years ago, Vincent said.

The sight of a sea of Tiger fans dressed in unicolor is impressive to those present, as well as to those watching on TV, said Michael Bonnette, sports information director.

“Every time we’ve done something like this, we’ve had a great deal of success,” Bonnette said.

“It’s just an opportunity [for all] to all unite, wear one color.”

The tradition of Tiger fans dressing in unicolor began in 1996 at a “white game” against Vanderbilt, Vincent said. The LSU football team wanted to wear white uniforms because it’s “a more striking color than purple.”

Southeastern Conference rules at the time dictated the visiting team establishes the colors — as the home team, LSU was required to ask Vanderbilt for permission to wear white, Vincent said. Vanderbilt refused the request. In response, LSU “whited out” the stadium, requesting all fans wear white.

Hillary Shields, history freshman, said she plans to wear gold to the game Saturday to keep with tradition. “[I’m wearing gold] partially because if I didn’t wear gold, I would end up wearing the wrong color,” Shields said. “That, and it’s part of the tradition. It’s part of the college experience ... If you’re going to participate in game day, you might as well go along.”

The Athletic Department’s marketing department determines the date of the gold game, Vincent

said. The department tries to keep the prominence of the game as well as the potential weather in mind when choosing.

The Athletic Department realizes more people have yellow Tshirts than yellow jackets, Vincent said.

But Bonnette said he still expects to see some purple-clad fans in the stadium.

Morgan Rainey, English junior, said she did not wear gold for the gold game against Mississippi State last season.

“I didn’t last year, and I stuck out like a sore thumb,” Rainey said.

Rainey said she plans to wear gold Saturday.

The Athletic Department also requested Tiger fans all wear gold for the season opener against Washington, Bonnette said.

“We wanted to show how many fans made the trip,” he said.

Contact Lindsey Meaux at lmeaux@lsureveille.com

FOOTBALL

Alum to pilot jet over stadium Flyover scheduled for Fla. pregame

By Xerxes A. Wilson Staff Writer

In the early ’90s, Lt. Col. Shawn Coco watched the LSU pregame from the vociferous student section. But Saturday, Coco will see the pregame from 1,000 feet above the ground in his fighter jet as it screams over the Baton Rouge skyline traveling around 400 mph.

Coco — a University alumnus and Baton Rouge native — will be one of two pilots flying F-15s over Tiger Stadium during pregame Saturday.

“I have been going to games all my life,” Coco said, “so I am very honored to be doing this. I have been looking forward to the opportunity.”

The flyover will take place at the end of the national anthem at 6:57 p.m.

Capt. Craig Llorance, assistant professor of aerospace studies and Commandant of Cadets for the University’s Air Force ROTC program, said the flyover is not difficult to execute, though the flight is planned to the second.

Llorance said in the past, Tiger Band officials have helped coordinate the flyover because they know the exact length of pregame events.

The two jets will do a practice pass over Northwestern State in Natchitoches 25 minutes before the game — a three-hour drive by car — and return to Baton Rouge with plenty of time to spare before their pregame pass over Death

‘‘

‘I have been going to the games all my life, so I am very honored.’

Lt. Col. Shawn Coco LSU alum, flyover pilot

Valley.

“There are restrictions on how fast we can fly [over the stadium], so we will go to about 350 knots, which is not really that fast,” Coco said.

The FAA also restricts the jets

from flying lower than 1,000 feet above the ground, Llorance said.

Llorance said he requested another flyover for this year’s game against Auburn. It is pending approval.

The ROTC had flyover plans foiled by bad weather before the game against Vanderbilt. Llorance said the only things that could stop the flyover from happening Saturday are bad weather or mechanical issues.

Contact Xerxes A. Wilson at xwilson@lsureveille.com

BEN BOURGEOIS / The Daily Reveille

The predominantly gold-clad student section cheers on the Tigers on Sept. 27, 2008, in last year’s gold game against Mississippi State in Tiger Stadium.

THE DAILY REVEILLE

PAGE 4

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2009

CELEBRATION

New layout, green efforts added to this year’s Fall Fest National Pan-Hellenic Council yard show. Student Government President Stuart Watkins and Chancellor Michael Martin will also give speeches.

“We’re so lucky to have Fall

By Adam Duvernay Fest before the Florida game,” WatSenior Staff Writer kins said. “It’s really meant to get Though its often hard to iden- students pumped up.”

This year’s festival will maintify exactly when autumn weather will arrive in Louisiana, the Uni- tain the food, stage shows and versity is welcoming the season speeches students have come to expect but will also be the first enviwith its usual fanfare.

Between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. to- ronmentally-conscious Fall Fest.

“The Univerday, students who sity is going in a walk through the green direction, Quad will also be and we just wanted walking through to follow that direcFall Fest — the tive,” Little said. annual celebration SG and Uniand showcase of versity employees student organizawill be positioned tions.

Stuart Watkins in the corners of Nancy Little, SG president the Quad to help Fall Fest chair and students with recymarketing strategist for University Relations, said cling and composting.

These “goalies” will assist students will notice a different setstudents with sorting trash into the up in the Quad this year.

The main stage was moved to correct bins as well as collect food, the center of the Quad with the food paper and cardboard for composting. court located near Atkinson Hall.

Cas Smith, SG director of susLittle said the changes were part of an effort to streamline stu- tainability, said the Fall Fest comdent movement as they pick up their mittee approached him with the food and move toward the stage and idea of making the festival a zerowaste event. the organizations’ booths.

Smith said the idea came too The main stage will host shows by Tiger Band and the late to make the event completely

Fair to take over Quad this afternoon

‘‘

‘We’re so lucky to have Fall Fest ... It’s really meant to get students pumped up.’

waste-free, but said the initiatives were still a push toward zero waste.

“Our green programs have been one of the most positive things that’s taken off since we started our administration,” Watkins said.

Watkins said SG will participate in Fall Fest, but mostly by assisting the Office of Public Affairs with recycling and a campaign to collect potato chip bags from the festival.

In conjunction with the FritoLay Company, SG will collect chip bags separately to be sent back to the company for recycling.

Smith said Frito-Lay will donate two cents for each bag to charities of the company’s choice.

He said most of the money will go to college campuses and “soccer moms.”

Fall Fest will also overflow to the Exxon Quad near Hill Memorial Library where Public Affairs will host the “Meet Your Advisor Fair.”

The event will focus on senior colleges and showcase what students can do with individual majors.

Little said the Exxon Quad will have a different set of games and attractions.

MAGGIE BOWLES / The Daily Reveille

Contact Adam Duvernay at aduvernay@lsureveille.com

Mike the Tiger gives away prizes on stage Sept. 26, 2008, at last year’s Fall Fest.

Fall Fest will take place today from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Quad.

THE DAILY REVEILLE

Friday, October 9, 2009

BOARD OF SUPS

PAGE 5

RELIGION

Coaches’ Jewish holiday Sukkot celebrated this week represents extensions, Sukkah exodus from Egypt raises to be discussed

By Mary Walker Baus Staff Writer

Fall ’09 enrollment figures presented

By Ryan Buxton Staff Writer

The University’s Board of Supervisors will discuss pay raises for several athletic coaches and fall 2009 enrollment data at its October meeting today.

Proposed contract changes for men’s basketball head coach Trent Johnson would include a one-year extension to June 2014 in his contract, a supplemental pay increase and a longevity bonus.

Johnson would receive a $100,000 per year increase to his supplemental compensation — for appearing on “LSU-sanctioned television, radio and Internet programs” — raising it to $1.05 million per year.

He would also receive a $200,000 longevity bonus should he remain with the University through the expiration of his contract.

Other proposed athletic contract changes include a contract extension to 2011 for Flan Flory, women’s volleyball coach, and pay raises for head coaches of women’s soccer, golf and tennis.

The Board’s Academic and Student Affairs, Achievement and Distinction Committee will present the University’s official enrollment figures as of the 14th day of the fall 2009 semester.

The University’s total enrollment fell slightly to 27,992, down from 28,194 in 2008. Undergraduate enrollment fell by 343 students, while graduate student enrollment increased by 186.

The Property and Facilities Committee will discuss a proposal to lease the Tiger Athletic Foundation to complete construction and improvements on Alex Box Stadium.

The improvements include new right field bleachers with seating for 960 people and 12 wheelchair-accessible seats, as well as “a new plaza area, additional decorative banners, improved foul poles, enhanced ‘batter’s eye’-related improvements” and, depending on costs and fund availability, an exterior drop-off area, “all at the Foundation’s expense.”

The Board meeting will be held today at 1 p.m. in the LSU System Building, located at 3810 W. Lakeshore Drive.

Contact Ryan Buxton at rbuxton@lsureveille.com

Students do many interesting things around Free Speech Alley, but rarely do they build a shelter.

But that is what Hillel at LSU, the Jewish student organization, did to celebrate the biblical holiday Sukkot this week.

“We have built a sukkah in front of the union for the last four years,” said Moshe Cohen, Hillel at LSU director and mathematics graduate student.

Cohen said Sukkot — the festival of booths — reminds Jews of the Israelites’ temporary homes in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt, when Moses parted the Red Sea to free his enslaved people.

Sukkot is the holiday, and a sukkah is the actual shelter.

“They were leaving to find their homeland, and for 40 years, they wandered the desert,” he said.

“For 40 years, they were without a home.”

Rabbi Thomas Gardner at the Beth Shalom synagogue said Sukkot begins on the 15th day of the seventh month and lasts eight days.

He said his synagogue has a sukkah, and many of his congregates have booths at their homes as well.

“Dwelling in a booth makes us realize how fragile our existence is,” Gardner said. “It really is a kind of thing where we don’t have a secure place in this world. We’re dependent on the kindness of other people, and we’re dependent on God.” Hillel at LSU hosted the “Learn about Sukkot” event Wednesday at the booth outside the Student Union. At the event, Hillel at LSU members and other students from SUKKOT, see page 23

BENJAMIN OLIVER HICKS / The Daily Reveille

The sukkah was built by Hillel at LSU to celebrate the biblical holiday Sukkot this week. It represents the Israelites’ 40-year exodus from Egypt.

PAGE 6

THE DAILY REVEILLE

Friday, October 9, 2009

STATE

Louisiana, Florida to face off for transportation award $10,000 awarded to most voted

By Lindsey Meaux Contributing Writer

Louisiana will soon face off against Florida — both in Tiger Stadium on Saturday and for the People’s Choice Award for America’s best transportation project.

The People’s Choice Award will be determined by popular vote on whether Louisiana’s Front Street Natchitoches Restoration Project or Florida’s 95 Express Miami Project is more deserving of a $10,000 prize from AmericasTransportationAward.org.

On Thursday, Florida was ahead of Louisiana by about 3,000

votes, an improvement for Louisiana from Wednesday’s 6,000 vote gap between the top two contenders, according to Amber Hebert, Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development spokeswoman.

If Louisiana wins, the $10,000 cash prize will likely be donated to a charity or a community organization in Louisiana, Hebert said.

Louisiana’s project was submitted by the state for its restoration efforts, Hebert said. The project included the resurfacing of the city’s six blocks of bricksurfaced streets, which amounted to 300,000 bricks.

“We did all the work, and we actually had to hand remove all these bricks, try not to disrupt all the local businesses in this area,”

Hebert said. “The bricks were 104 years old.”

More than 270,000 of the bricks were reused when the roads were resurfaced, Hebert said. About 30,000 had to be replaced.

“We wound up finding all these artifacts,” Hebert said. “We had archaeologists on the site as well ... Those things were from the 18th century, 19th century.”

Florida’s 95 Express project is a “variable-priced toll” that adjusts the fee according to congestion levels in an effort to encourage traveling during low traffic times, according to its Web site. photo courtesy of LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Contact Lindsey Meaux at lmeaux@lsureveille.com

Cars drive on the newly renovated Front Street in Natchitoches, La. Louisiana’s Front Street Natchitoches Restoration Project is nominated for a national award.

MAIL

US Postal Service may shut down University branch LSU on list of 400 possible closures

By Kyle Bove Senior Staff Writer

The U.S. Postal Service branch on campus, temporarily located behind the Faculty Club, is on a list of 413 offices that may have to close ‘People this year beof a fedthought cause eral budget that all crunch.

Jason Tolmailing liver, director services of University were going Auxiliary Serto be gone vices, said even the branch ... and ifis shut down, that’s not students, facand staff the case.’ ulty will still have Jason Tolliver a place to drop off and pick up Auxilary Services their mail on director campus.

“A lot of people thought that all mailing services were going to be gone from campus [if the Postal Service branch closed], and that’s not the case,” he said.

While the closures are pending, Tolliver said the University is working on finding a back-up mailing service to replace the U.S. Postal Service, a federal agency.

KRISTEN M’LISSA ROWLETT / The Daily Reveille

A student visits the temporary post office behind the Faculty Club on Thursday. The on-campus branch is in danger of being closed because of federal budget cuts.

He said private mailing companies like UPS and other local entities are talking with the University.

Tolliver said he wants to have a formal request ready by spring in case the branch has to close. He

said if it closes, the only thing that will change about the University’s mailing service will be the logo on employees’s name tags.

“Everybody will still have their mailboxes,” Tolliver said.

A sharp decline in mail volume caused by the recession and the movement from traditional mail to the Internet has postal officials saying the agency could have a deficit as large as $7 billion this year, according to the Associated Press.

The U.S. Postal Service told the Associated Press on Thursday it plans to shut down a southern New Jersey distribution center in February, possibly putting 650 people out of work.

The U.S. Postal Service currently has about 37,000 retail outlets.

Tolliver said the University post office has about 6,000

mailboxes available, but only about half of those are rented.

The University’s mailing service will move back to its usual spot in the LSU Student Union when construction is finished on the building.

Contact Kyle Bove at kbove@lsureveille.com

Friday, October 9, 2009

THE DAILY REVEILLE

PAGE 7

UNION

Phase II construction continues to stay on track Temporary food service in the works

By Steven Powell Contributing Writer

After three months of renovations, Phase II of the LSU Student Union is still on track with the original time schedule, which means students may have access to some parts by the end of the semester.

Shirley Plakidas, LSU Student Union director, said the Phase II renovations are proceeding much more smoothly than Phase I, which ran into several road blocks and pushed the project’s completion several months past the projected completion date.

The first part of Phase II — which includes meeting rooms, office spaces and the west-side, secondfloor lounge — should be complete by the end of the semester, she said.

But the second part — renovating the Tiger Lair food court and Magnolia Room — will begin in early December as workers wrap up part one of Phase II. “The worst disruption will be demolishing the Tiger Lair food court,” Plakidas said. “Luckily, it will be at a time when students are gone for winter break.”

Plakidas said the building’s west side will be blocked for the start of the spring semester if the project

MEGAN J. WILLIAMS / The Daily Reveille

A Union construction worker lays down flooring Wednesday afternoon in a hallway outside the Atchafalaya Room.

stays according to plan, eliminating the Tiger Lair food court as a dining option.

The food court and Magnolia Room are set to open at the beginning of the fall 2010 semester, she said.

Plakidas said she estimates the Union will lose $20,000 to $30,000 during the spring semester because of the closures, though Union officials planned for the revenue loss in their pre-construction budget.

“I don’t think we’ll lose as

much as when the food court was renovated in ’97,” she said. “Now we have McDonald’s, which has a larger menu, and Einstein Bagels.”

David Heidke, LSU Dining and Concessions director, said Dining Services is working with the Union staff to set up a temporary food service. They are still determining the location, he said.

The temporary service will consist of “grab-and-go” items, like pizza and sandwiches, though they have not finalized plans, he said.

Heidke said the loss of sales in the food court will decrease revenue by about $1 million.

“We’ve already worked it into our long-term plan,” he said. “It’s just a budget adjustment for us.”

Union officials plan to landscape the Memorial Oak Grove after the Union renovations are complete, Plakidas said. She said the grove has become a prominent part of the Union, since the new Live Oak Lounge looks out onto the oak trees.

Plakidas said the oak grove is

fenced for safety reasons because of the lack of lighting, but she said she hopes to have lights installed and the area open by the end of this semester.

“It’s such a great place to sit and study,” she said. “It’s very popular.

I can’t wait to see what it looks like when the landscaping is complete.”

Plakidas said certain areas of the Union do not meet current building codes. These call for renovations such as installing sprinklers and modern air ducts and removing asbestos.

“Luckily, asbestos has already been abated in a few areas renovated in previous years, such as the old barber shop,” she said. “It’s been fairly easy to deal with. It never takes more than a couple of days to abate.”

The renovations have not affected the Union’s services or daily operations despite increased noise and other construction-related challenges, Plakidas said. She said she expected meeting room usage to decrease, but meeting room booking has remained steady.

“It’s been our commitment since the beginning to keep all of our services running until we absolutely have to close them,” she said.

Contact Steven Powell at spowell@lsureveille.com

PAGE 8

THE DAILY REVEILLE

POLITICS

Friday, October 9, 2009

LOCAL

Recent interview adds to Six Flags settles lease Jindal’s endorsement woes with New Orleans Governor doesn’t endorse Sen. Vitter

By Nate Monroe Contributing Writer

One Louisiana columnist was sarcastically blunt — the biggest threat to Sen. David Vitter’s, R-La, 2010 Senate campaign was averted last week when fellow Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal refused to endorse Vitter.

Jindal’s had a tough year with endorsements. Two of his endorsed candidates lost elections earlier this year.

One, Lee Domingue, lost a State Senate race right in Jindal’s backyard, Baton Rouge, and the other, Brent Callais, lost even after Jindal held a campaign event for him.

The setback didn’t stop Jindal from endorsing his former executive counsel, Jimmy Faircloth, for a State Supreme Court election later this month.

But Jindal turned heads last week when he refused to endorse Vitter.

“We’ll make a decision whether we’ll get involved in that race once we get closer,” Jindal said in an interview with Politico last week. “We haven’t made that decision yet.”

State Democrats were quick to blast out a news release about the interview, as they have been

throughout the year when Jindal’s endorsements didn’t pan out.

“It’s not easy for a politician to transfer their popularity to someone else,” said Bob Mann, political communication professor and former communications director for Kathleen Blanco.

Mann recalls races he was involved with when endorsements didn’t matter at all, when endorsements actually did unforeseen damage and when endorsements helped surge a candidate into victory.

It’s the type of endorsement a politician offers, Mann said, which really makes a difference.

If a politician’s endorsement is followed up by active campaigning

on behalf of the candidate — holding a joint fundraiser or cutting a campaign commercial — the candidate stands to benefit.

If the politician offers a passive endorsement — voicing only vocal support and forgoing the opportunity to help campaign or raise money — the difference might be negligible in the end.

The important measure of support, Mann said, isn’t necessarily the endorsement — it’s how much Jindal campaigns for Vitter in the future, if he does at all.

Contact Nate Monroe at nmonroe@lsureveille.com

By Alan Sayre The Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A settlement over Six Flags Inc.’s lease with New Orleans for the site of the defunct Six Flags New Orleans theme park was approved Thursday by a federal bankruptcy judge in Delaware.

Approval comes amid plans for a startup company, Southern Star Amusements of Baton Rouge, to take over the site and develop a Nickelodeon-themed park.

Under the agreement, Six Flags, which is in bankruptcy reorganization, will pay the city $3 million and 25 percent of any insurance proceeds Six Flags recovers from Hurricane Katrina damage above $65 million.

Under Southern Star Amusement’s plan, the new development would cost $165 million to $170

million. Nickelodeon, a unit of Viacom Inc., will get a licensing fee and the city will retain a leasing arrangement with Southern Star. There will be no local public funding used to construct the park.

The financing package counts on up to $100 million in Gulf Opportunity Zone bonds, which were set aside for rebuilding along the Gulf Coast following the 2005 hurricanes.

The park has been shuttered since Katrina hit in August 2005 and its parent company said it had no plans to reopen it. Six Flags filed for bankruptcy reorganization on June 13, saying it needed to lighten a $2.4 billion debt load.

Contact The Daily Reveille’s news staff at news@lsureveille.com

Mellow Mushroom Abita Specials All Night Karaoke @ 11PM- Best Performer Wins $100 Cash BRAD KEMP / The Associated Press

Gov. Bobby Jindal receives a flu shot from Simone Ginn on Wednesday in Lafayette.

Plucker’s Wing Bar Monday: $14.99 All you can eat wings and $3 Plucker’s Lemonades Tuesday: $2.50 Mexican Beers and Margaritas Wednesday: Trivia at 8PM. $4 Mother Plucker Mugs Thursday: $15.99 All you can eat wings. $4 Mother Plucker Mugs. $3 Margaritas and Plucker’s Lemonades Fred’s Bar Under the Big Top Open Bar 7-9 @HIPNOTIC from 10-2 & Half-Ass DJ 8-11 Saturday: Open at 9am, Celebrate after the game with STATIC Bogie’s Join us Saturday to Watch LSU beat Florida. Doors open at 4PM Saturday: Come See Good Enough for Good Times Live After Five Long Kneck Society 5PM-8PM Free to the Public Downtown North Blvd at Third Street

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The Exorcist Texas Chainsaw Massacre A Nightmare on Elm Street Silent Hill

THE DAILY REVEILLE

Friday, October 9, 2009

TAILGATE STATE

NATION

Senate to vote on health care bill

By The Associated Press

MEGAN J. WILLIAMS / The Daily Reveille

A group from Nissan sets up their tailgating area Thursday evening. Many people are setting up their game day spots early due to the Saturday’s large population.

STUDENT GOVERNMENT

SG outlines gameday reminders in e-mail Students advised to have valid IDs

By Xerxes A. Wilson Staff Wroter

Students planning to watch the Florida-Gators challenge the Tigers in Death Valley on Saturday should bring a pristine student ID in order to enter the stadium, Student Government officials said in a broadcast e-mail Thursday.

University officials said the ID being used must match the person using it, and the photo cannot be faded. The Tiger Card office is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. till 5:00 p.m. and is not open Saturday.

The Tiger Card Office will replace faded IDs for free.

“I have definitely noticed a difference this season,” said Melissa Hart, SG Director of Athletics. “They will look at the ID and look at you before they swipe. I have been told that students who try to use other people’s IDs will be turned in to the Dean of Students and will not be allowed in the stadium.”

SG President Stuart Watkins announced there will be three bag check lines at the student gate for the Florida game. The bag check lines will be the three closest to the stadium and marked by signs.

Only people with bags can pass through these lines.

“One of the biggest issues with the bag check lines being slow is random guys without bags standing in line and slowing the process down,” Watkins said.

Hart addressed the SG Senate earlier this semester about complaints regarding the bag check line at Tiger Stadium.

Hart said she had received numerous complaints about the bag check lines being slow.

“I recommend if you don’t need a bag then don’t bring them,” Hart said. “It will speed up the process for you and everyone.”

Hart also reminded students that bags larger than 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches — or the size of a typical piece of paper — are not allowed in the stadium.

“We will have people at the lines directing traffic,” Hart said.

“We are going to make sure only people with a bag or purse are going to get in the bag check lines and direct people into lines that are not being used as much,” Hart said.

Watkins also announced students would be allowed to print their student tickets in the SG offices on the first floor of the LSU Student Union from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Contact Xerxes A. Wilson at xwilson@lsureveille.com

PAGE 9

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate’s top Democrat on Thursday accused Republicans of a strategy of “distortion, distractions and deception” on health care as he announced a pivotal committee will vote next week on a comprehensive bill. Republicans said the legislation still costs too much and expands the reach of government.

Majority Leader Harry Reid said the Finance Committee will vote Tuesday on a 10-year, $829billion proposal that would expand coverage to 94 percent of eligible Americans_while reducing the federal deficit. A positive cost report on the legislation Wednesday from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office marked a turning point for its main author, Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont.

Immediately after announcing plans for the vote, Reid, D-Nev., tore into Republicans Thursday, saying they have no health plan of their own to offer and are only trying to obstruct.

“There are still those who consider this a zero-sum game, and will

only declare victory if President Obama concedes defeat,” Reid said.

“Let me be clear: Just as Democrats believe in ensuring quality, affordable care for every American citizens, we believe equally as strongly that this country has no place for those who wish for it or its leaders to fail.”

He challenged Republicans to be “productive partners rather than partisan protesters” Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky wasted no time in responding.

He dismissed the good news on costs and coverage as “irrelevant,” saying Democrats would pump up the Baucus bill as it proceeds through Congress. “The bill ... will never see the light of day,” McConnell promised.

“What matters is that the final bill will cost about $1 trillion, vastly expand the role of government in people’s health care decisions_and limit choice,” he added.

McConnell said Republicans have offered plenty of ideas, but they have been ignored by Democrats infatuated with the notion that they are about to make history.

“Listening to the proponents of the administration’s health care plan, you get the sense that they’re more concerned about their legacies than what the American people actually want,” McConnell said.

“Here’s an idea: how about asking the American people what they want instead?”

Democrats are breathing a sigh of relief over the positive news on the Baucus plan, but that doesn’t mean the proposal has no problems.

The middle-of-the-road plan still leaves about 25 million people uninsured when fully phased in, in 2019. Of those, nearly 17 million would be U.S. citizens or legal residents. Nearly 50 million U.S. residents now lack coverage. Absent any change, the budget office projected that would grow to 54 million in 2019.

Congressional Republicans — with the exception of Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe — panned the Finance effort.

Contact The Daily Reveille’s news staff at news@lsureveille.com

PAGE 10

THE DAILY REVEILLE

NATION

Calif. pot legalization on ballot DEA touts drug as remaining illegal

By Marcus Wohlsen The Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Marijuana advocates are gathering signatures to get as many as three potlegalization measures on the ballot in 2010 in California, setting up what could be a groundbreaking clash with the federal government over U.S. drug policy.

At least one poll shows voters would support lifting the pot prohibition, which would make the state of more than 38 million the first in the nation to legalize marijuana.

Such action would also send the state into a headlong conflict with the U.S. government while raising questions about how federal law enforcement could enforce its drug laws in the face of a massive governmentsanctioned pot industry.

The state already has a thriving marijuana trade, thanks to a first-ofits-kind 1996 ballot measure that allowed people to smoke pot for medical purposes. But full legalization could turn medical marijuana dispensaries into all-purpose pot stores, and the open sale of joints could become commonplace on mom-and-pop liquor store counters in liberal locales like Oakland and Santa Cruz.

Under federal law, marijuana is illegal. After overseeing a series of raids that destroyed more than 300,000 marijuana plants in California’s Sierra Nevada foothills this summer, federal drug czar Gil Kerlikowske proclaimed, “Legalization is not in the president’s vocabulary, and it’s not in mine.”

The U.S. Supreme Court also has ruled that federal law enforcement agents have the right to crack down even on marijuana users and distributors who are in compliance with California’s medical marijuana law.

But some legal scholars and policy analysts say the government will not be able to require California to help in enforcing the federal marijuana ban if the state legalizes the drug.

Without assistance from the state’s legions of narcotics officers, they say, federal agents could do little to curb marijuana in California.

“Even though that federal ban is still in place and the federal government can enforce it, it doesn’t mean the states have to follow suit,” said Robert Mikos, a Vanderbilt University law professor who recently published a paper about the issue.

Nothing can stop federal antidrug agents from making marijuana arrests, even if Californians legalize pot, he said. However, the U.S. government cannot pass a law requiring local and state police, sheriff’s departments or state narcotics enforcers to help.

That is significant, because nearly all arrests for marijuana crimes are made at the state level. Of more than 847,000 marijuana-related arrests in 2008, for example, just over 6,300 suspects were booked by federal law enforcement, or fewer than 1 percent.

State marijuana bans have allowed the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to focus on big cases, said Rosalie Pacula, director of drug policy research at the Rand Corp.

“It’s only something the feds are going to be concerned about if you’re growing tons of pot,” Pacula said. For anything less, she said, “they don’t have the resources to waste on it.”

In a typical recent prosecution, 29-year-old Luke Scarmazzo was sentenced to nearly 22 years and codefendant Ricardo Ruiz Montes to 20 years in federal prison for drug trafficking through a medical marijuana dispensary in Modesto.

At his bond hearing, prosecutors showed a rap video in which Scarmazzo boasts about his successful marijuana business, taunts federal authorities and carries cardboard boxes filled with cash. The DEA said the pair made more than $4.5 million in marijuana sales in less than two years.

The DEA would not speculate on the effects of any decision by California to legalize pot. “Marijuana is illegal under federal law and DEA will continue to attack largescale drug trafficking organizations at every level,” spokeswoman Dawn Dearden said.

The most conservative of the three ballot measures would only legalize possession of up to one ounce of pot for personal use by adults 21 and older — an amount that already under state law can only result at most in a $100 fine.

The proposal would also allow anyone to grow a plot of marijuana up to 5-by-5 feet on their private property. The size, Pacula said, seems specifically designed to keep the total number of plants grown below 100, the threshold for DEA attention.

Contact The Daily Reveille’s news staff at news@lsureveille.com

Friday, October 9, 2009

THE DAILY REVEILLE

Sports

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2009

PAGE 11

POINT OF NO RETURN LSU keeps eye on dangerous Florida return man for Sat.

VOLLEYBALL

LSU back home to take on S.C., Fla.

By Andy Schwehm Sports Writer

By Andy Schwehm • Sports Writer With all the hype surrounding that hot-topic Florida quarterback, another special Florida player in Saturday’s matchup between No. 1 Florida and No. 4 LSU who has gone all but unnoticed — senior running back and kick returner Brandon James.

While the special teams superstar may be laying low in the media with talk of whether Tim Tebow will be at full strength, James is on LSU’s radar as the main target for the Tigers’ special teams to watch.

“Brandon James is a tremendous return man and a guy who is very dangerous,” said LSU coach Les Miles.

“He’s extremely elusive, has great speed and has the anticipation for making big plays.”

One reason he may stay under the radar may be his short stature, as he stands at 5 feet 7 inches tall.

Like LSU’s 5-foot-5-inch senior kick returner Trindon Holliday, James uses his short stature as a way to explode around the opposing special teams and run through gaps larger runners wouldn’t dream of finding.

That explosiveness has allowed James to return four career punts and a kickoff for a touchdown in his three-plus years as a Gator.

“We’ve been paying attention to what he’s been doing,” Holliday said. “He’s a great return specialist, and he’s very explosive.”

LSU isn’t the only team to take notice of James in his role as a kick returner, and many teams have begun RETURN, see page 22

Florida QB Tim Tebow’s status for Saturday still unclear, see page 20.

Sports writers have taken over the opinion section, see page 24.

photo courtesy of HARRISON DIAMOND / The Independent Florida Alligator

Florida senior running back and return specialist Brandon James returns a punt Sept. 12 during the Gators’ 56-6 win against Troy in Gainesville, Fla.

Road victories in Starkville, Miss., and Athens, Ga., winners of six of their last seven and a weekend matchup against the Gators.

Sound familiar?

It seems LSU’s volleyball team has been mimicking its football counterpart in terms of onfield success. However, its recent four road victories in the last two weekends have been more dominating for the volleyball team, as the Tigers dropped a mere one set in the four ‘... We matches.

That has will be LSU coach Fran Flory and prepared her players hap- to play this py about where weekend. they stand this TV or no TV, season.

But Flory we will be sees more room ready.’ for improvement — espe- Michele Williams cially on one LSU sophomore side of the ball. middle blocker “We need to play better defense,” Flory said.

“We played very good defense against Tennessee. It’s all about attitude and pursuit — it’s a relentless approach to not letting the ball hit the ground.”

LSU will have to play great defense this weekend when South Carolina (10-6, 2-5) and No. 6 Florida (12-2, 6-1) come to the PMAC to face the Tigers (11-4, 5-1).

Last season, LSU went 1-3 against South Carolina and Florida with its sole victory coming in five sets at home against South DIGS, see page 22

SOCCER

Tigers stay hot as foes Ky., Vandy come to B.R. Team only allowed 1 point in SEC play

LSU senior forward Rachel Yepez (15) dribbles the ball downfield Sept.

25 while Georgia senior midfielder Leslie McConnell (12) chases her during the Tigers’ 6-0 win against the Bulldogs at the LSU Soccer Complex.

By David Helman Sports Writer

GRANT GUTIERREZ / The Daily Reveille

The LSU soccer team is right where people expected them to be after two weekends of Southeastern Conference play.

The Tigers (8-2-2, 4-0) are off to a nearly flawless start against conference foes, crushing their first

four SEC opponents by a combined score of 16-1 after battling through a tough non-conference schedule.

One week after dismantling Georgia and Tennessee, of 6-0 and 5-1, respectively, the Tigers took their first conference road trip and blanked Alabama and Auburn, 3-0 and 2-0.

The 4-0 start in SEC play is a program best for LSU. “It hasn’t been easy, but we expect to be competitive to win the SEC,” said LSU coach Brian Lee. “The Tennessee and UGA weekend

was a little bit of an anomaly – that was a lot of goals for any game.”

The hot streak has launched LSU into the top 10 of several national polls after a season-opening loss to Memphis ruined the program’s first and only preseason ranking.

“We knew we were good enough, and we had the talent. We just had to settle down and put it all together,” said senior forward Rachel Yepez. “We usually have one HOME, see page 22

PAGE 12

THE DAILY REVEILLE

Friday, October 9, 2009

Friday, October 9, 2009

THE DAILY REVEILLE

MEN’S GOLF

PAGE 13

UREC

Tigers travel to Ga. to tee off Intramurals to begin Winstead looking for total team effort

By Sean Isabella Sports Contributor

John Peterson is an All-American, but certainly not Superman.

The junior LSU golfer finished with a 12-under par 204 last weekend at the Gary Koch Invitational, good enough for the best finish by an LSU golfer since 1985.

But despite the historic weekend for Peterson, the LSU men’s golf team finished in eighth place.

The Tigers hope to get a more balanced effort this weekend when the team travels Saturday to Macon, Ga., for the Brickyard Collegiate Championship.

“We need a little bit better play from the back of our lineup,” said LSU men’s coach Chuck Winstead. “We need some guys to put the pieces together, and this weekend gives us another chance to work on that.”

Junior Andrew Loupe was the only other Tiger in red numbers last weekend, firing a 1-under 215.

Winstead said he needs the three remaining golfers in the lineup — junior Clayton Rotz and sophomores Sang Yi and Austin Gutgsell — to work out some kinks in their game.

“We have some really talented guys who can play ... but each of them have an area that has shown up that they’re not just quite at the level they need to be at,” he said.

The Tigers won’t face nearly as stiff of competition as they have in their first two tournaments of the season, with only preseason No. 7 Georgia — who has won the Brickyard the last two years — No. 17 Georgia Tech and No. 21 Clemson, among the ranked foes in the field.

LSU is set to tee off on the par-72, 7,128-yard course Saturday at 7:40 a.m. on the back nine with Georgia Tech and Michigan.

A recurring theme will continue this weekend as the Tigers yet again travel to an unfamiliar golf course, something Winstead said was done intentionally.

“I did it ... to give our guys more experience on what it feels like to go to regional play in the spring,” he said.

Winstead said he could have taken the easy road and scheduled tournaments on courses his team is used to seeing but wanted to give them a challenge.

“We can afford to do that in the fall,” he said. “In the spring, we will play at a lot of the tournaments that we always tend to play, and guys have a little more familiarity with the golf courses.”

LSU sent three players,

seniors Brian Leveille and Brent Blaum and sophomore Josh Jones, to the Squire Creek Invitational on Monday, hosted by Louisiana Tech, to gain more experience for the remainder of the fall.

Jones posted a team-low 5-over 221, good enough for 31st place.

While the rest of the team has room for improvement, Winstead said he has been pleased with the play from his most accomplished golfers.

“John and Andrew have played pretty well, and past that, we need a little better play,” he said.

Peterson bounced back from an 8-over 224 on Sept. 28 in the season opener at the PING/Golfweek Invitational, with his 12-under at the Gary Koch Invitational.

“John came into his own last spring as a collegiate player and carried that over into last weekend’s play,” Winstead said.

Winstead said Peterson has spent time on his putting and gained a newly found confidence in his stroke.

“When you match good putting with the way John strikes the golf ball, then obviously things are going to happen,” Winstead said.

Contact Sean Isabella at sisabella@lsureveille.com

postseason play

By Jonathan Schexnayder Sports Contributor

While NBA preseason action is just under way, intramurals have delved into postseason basketball at the University Recreational Student Complex this week.

In the Men’s A bracket, Savages ousted Team 985, 2-0, to reach the semifinal round. Sharp Shooters also moved on to the semifinal round with a 2-0 victory against MBA Ballers 2.

In the Men’s B bracket, The Bahs blanked Sigma Alpha Epsilon “A,” 2-0, to reach the semifinals, and UREC defeated SAE “B” by the same score.

UREC 3-on-3 basketball champions will be crowned Tuesday at the outdoor courts, said Matt Boyer, assistant director of leagues and tournaments.

In regular season soccer action of the Sunday 9:30 p.m. men’s open division, Smooth Operators beat FC Happy Feet, 2-0. Southern Squirrels beat Purple Cobras, 2-1.

In the Sunday 7:30 p.m. men’s open division, Whatchuknowaboutit beat Niupy FC, 3-1, and Off FC edged RCC, 1-0.

In the Sunday 5:30 p.m. men’s open division, Balco Boys routed

Cody Welch, 6-0, while Wild Pack of Family Dogs downed Latinos FC, 2-1.

In the Wednesday 5:30 p.m. men’s open division, Motor Boaters ousted Free Agents, 8-1, while Blue Ballers edged Sigma Nu, 1-0.

In the Wednesday fraternity division, Sigma Phi Epsilon “A” blanked Pi Kappa Alpha, 2-0. Sigma Chi beat Delta Kappa Epsilon, 1-0. Phi Delta Theta upended Delta Chi, 5-0.

In the Sunday 8:30 p.m. women’s division, Kappa Kappa Gamma beat Cherry Pickers, 5-0, while Phi Mu took out Delta Gamma, 6-0.

Games this week in 11-a-side soccer were regularly scheduled games as well as rescheduled games.

Playoff brackets will be completed Sunday, and postseason action begins Monday, Boyer said.

Sand volleyball and flag football held captains’ meetings yesterday, Boyer said. He said football has 130 teams competing, and sand volleyball has about 30.

“Flag football, softball and basketball are our three top sports,” he said. “Generally football is the most popular, but not by much.”

Contact Jonathan Schexnayder at jschexnayder@lsureveille.com

THE DAILY REVEILLE

PAGE 14

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2009

LSU shares runners between cross country and track Doody top finisher in both sports

By Luke Johnson Sports Contributor

Looking at the rosters for the LSU track and field and cross country teams, people might think they need their eyes checked — they’ll be seeing double.

Several members of the cross country team compete on the track team as well. Though they lack the notoriety of football and baseball star Chad Jones, their task may be more daunting.

Anyone who has attempted an endurance sport like cross country knows the toll the sport takes on the body. Weeks of high-mileage endurance training that isn’t gelled with the appropriate amount of rest can fatigue or injure an athlete to the point where competition isn’t possible.

An endurance athlete must train year round in order to maintain his or her ability, which is a perishable skill in the running world.

Sophomore Cullen Doody, who was the top finisher for LSU in both of their cross country events this season, also competes in the 3,000- and 5,000-meter races for indoor track. Doody said training for the entire year is better

‘‘

‘It takes a toll on your body. If you give yourself recovery time ... it helps to stay on it year-round.’

Cullen Doody

LSU dual athlete

than training for half of the year.

“It takes a toll on your body,” Doody said. “If you give yourself recovery time and you’re smart about your training, it helps to stay on it year-round.

LSU cross country coach Mark Elliott knows the steps required to keep endurance athletes at the top of their game. During his time as a student-athlete at LSU, Elliott was a Southeastern Conference champion in both cross country and track.

“When I was in school, I was able to compete in both sports because my events were very similar,” Elliott said. “It’s more difficult for someone who runs the 800 to successfully transition into cross country.”

To the untrained eye, track and cross country look the same.

Running for one sport is the same as running for another. But several differences separate the two sports.

The cross country season

takes place during the fall. For LSU runners, that means running in incredibly hot and humid conditions, which make times slower.

The composition of the course also offers various difficulties cross country runners do not see when competing on the track.

Doody said running over hills and on grass provides a welcome challenge to the sport.

“Personally, track is fun. The course is accurate and fast, and there are no hills like there are on cross country courses,” Doody said. “It’s good to go run fast times.”

Some of LSU’s runners believe improper training is the only thing that can lead to fatigue from the amount of training they do.

Their biggest hurdle is being mentally tough enough to handle the work they must put in.

Junior Devon Williams, who runs for cross country and participates in the 800-meter run in track, trains for cross country most of her summer before starting training for the 800 toward the end of the cross country season.

“I think [fatigue] is more mental than physical,” Williams said.

“I try not to think negatively about it. It’s either going to help you or mentally wear you down.” photos by MEGAN J. WILLIAMS / The Daily Reveille

Contact Luke Johnson at ljohnson@lsureveille.com

LSU freshman Cullen Doody competes at the LSU Cross Country Invitational at Highland Road Park on Sept. 26. Doody was the top finisher for LSU.

Friday, October 9, 2009

THE DAILY REVEILLE

PAGE 15

MIXED MARTIAL ARTS

Former Tiger looking forward to fighting in hometown Jordan in transition to MMA career

By Chris Branch Sports Contributor

ple.

Shawn Jordan likes to hit peo-

Jordan has spent the last six years hitting people in some fashion. The El Paso, Texas, native played fullback for LSU from 2003 to 2007, playing in 40 games. Jordan also played all 14 games in 2007 en route to earning a national championship ring.

Jordan’s transition into mixed martial arts was seamless. He began his journey as an All-State wrestler at Riverside High School in El Paso, then traveled to Baton Rouge.

Jordan was known as a hard-hitting fullback and special teams player at his time at LSU. A move to MMA seemed to fit.

“I just transitioned into it,” Jordan said. “I had a lot of friends doing it, so when I finished football, I just moved into it and started training and getting fights. I enjoyed it.”

Now, he hits people without pads — in his new career as an MMA fighter. Jordan (3-1) is slated to fight Friday in the highlyadvertised Louisiana vs. Florida Ultimate Cagefighting Event at the River Center. He will face Corey

Salter (7-12) in a heavyweight bout.

Salter is trying to rebound from sixstraight losses.

The event advertises former LSU student athletes against former Florida student athletes in 12 “action-packed” bouts.

The rest of the Louisiana team has connections to Baton Rouge as well. Baton Rouge policeman Richie McCloskey, former Tara High wrestler Ben Kristonis and former Baton Rouge High wrestler Thomas Webb are among the notables.

Jordan said fighting in front of a home crowd will be special.

“Every fight is a big fight,” Jordan said. “But any chance you get to fight in your hometown when you have a huge fanbase and a lot of people that love and support you, it’s great to fight in front of them.”

Jordan’s MMA career didn’t start as smoothly as he had hoped.

Jordan broke his hand throwing the starting punch in his first fight.

He said the fracture didn’t deter him.

“It made me more focused and made me want to learn proper technique and get some skill at fighting,” Jordan said.

Jordan has an overall record of 8-2 dating back to his amateur MMA fights, according to MixedMartialArts.com. In his three victories, Jordan has won by submission, knockout and a TKO — signs of a versatile fighter.

“I just try to be as balanced as I can be,” Jordan said. “I go off of toughness and speed, I guess. I just fight and do whatever it takes to win, either standing up or on the ground.”

Jordan will try to rebound from a first-round knockout loss to Kenny Garner on Sept. 6 in Biloxi, Miss. Jordan only lasted 51 seconds before being flattened by a Garner punch. The defeat was the first of Jordan’s professional career.

“I got caught,” Jordan said. “He threw a good punch and got me.”

The loss, coupled with a hometown crowd, is plenty motivation for Jordan to win the fight.

“I love to fight in front of people I know, but at the same time it’s really gratifying to come off a loss and be successful again,” Jordan said.

Jordan said many options exist for his future. He works at Fitt, a physical training and therapy clinic in Baton Rouge. Jordan said he might stay at Fitt or possibly return to school.

He also likes the idea of fighting in more prestigious MMA organizations like UFC and Strikeforce.

“I would love to fight anywhere in the bigger leagues,” Jordan said.

“There’s more of a living you can make doing that. I’d love to fight in big shows and big cards.”

Jordan has had the rare opportunity to compete in two of

America’s most popular sports — college football and MMA. He said the two, though exhilarating, don’t compare.

“Winning a fight is huge,” Jordan said. “But you train months to get one fight, whereas you train months to play 12 games. They’re just different. It’s a different feeling.

When you win a fight, it’s kind of like scoring your first touchdown in Tiger Stadium.”

photo courtesy of USA-MMA

Jordan does not have any bouts scheduled after Friday’s contest.

“I’ll probably fight in November and January,” Jordan said. “I haven’t signed any contracts. I’ll wait to hear from promoters until after the fight. I have to take it one fight at a time.”

Contact Chris Branch at cbranch@lsureveille.com

PAGE 16

THE DAILY REVEILLE

Friday, October 9, 2009

NBA

Augustin leads Bobcats past Hornets, 108-101

By Joedy McCreary The Associated Press

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — D.J. Augustin spoiled Chris Paul’s homecoming and helped the Larry Brown-led Charlotte Bobcats finally win a game that doesn’t matter.

Augustin scored 22 points and hit 16 of 18 free throws to help Charlotte beat the New Orleans Hornets 108-101 on Thursday night and give the Bobcats their first exhibition victory under Brown.

“I was just being aggressive, driving,” Augustin said. “Coach told us to drive and not settle for jump shots, and that’s what I tried to do.”

Stephen Graham scored 15 points, and Gerald Wallace added 14 points as the only starter in double figures for the Bobcats.

Charlotte blew a 21-point lead in the second half, but used a late 10-3 run to snap an 0-9 record in preseason games under the secondyear coach.

Augustin played about 17 minutes in the second half after Raymond Felton, the Bobcats’ starter at point guard, collided with Sean Marks and left with what he described as a mild rib injury.

Paul scored 15 of his 24 points in the third quarter for the Hornets, who outscored the Bobcats 32-13 during a 9-minute stretch late in the third to erase most of the 21-point

deficit.

New Orleans then took its first lead of the game — and the preseason — when rookie Marcus Thornton’s 3-pointer made it 82-81 with 9:44 left.

Then, Thornton’s 3 with 4:08 remaining tied it at 96. He finished with 19 points and is pushing Morris Peterson for playing time at shooting guard. David West scored 14 points and Peterson had 13 and while rookie Darren Collison — who is competing for the job as Paul’s backup at point guard — finished with 12.

“I like the fact that the young guys kept their poise,” Hornets coach Byron Scott said. “We’re still making a lot of mistakes on both ends of the floor, and both of those guys are a little part of it ... but overall, it wasn’t bad.”

Nazr Mohammed’s jumper with 3:47 left broke the 96-all tie and put the Bobcats ahead to stay.

He was one of Charlotte’s options inside as Brown continued to tinker with a depleted frontcourt that was without injured starters Tyson Chandler (left ankle surgery) and Boris Diaw (sprained left ankle) for a second straight game.

“It’s not an experiment. We’re just finding out who can play,” Brown said. “That’s what training camps are for, to give guys that deserve to play the opportunity, and then work on the things you think

are important to help your team win.”

Mohammed and Vladimir Radmanovic replaced them in the starting lineup, with Radmanovic scoring six points during Charlotte’s 12-0 game-opening run and finishing with eight. Mohammed picked up three fouls in a 45-second span of the first.

Replacement officials whistled the teams for a combined 77 fouls, and the teams shot a total 95 free throws.

“If they’re going to call the game the way they’ve been calling it, we’ve got to adjust to it,” Scott said.

The game marked Paul’s return to the central North Carolina Triad. He grew up about a 30minute drive down Tobacco Road in Winston-Salem, led hometown Wake Forest to its first No. 1 ranking in 2004-05 and turned pro after his sophomore season, winning the rookie of the year award in 2006.

“It’s always good to come back home and play in front of my friends and family,” Paul said.

“This is my last time to be this close to home until, hopefully, June.”

He played 24 minutes in front of the home folks. Both teams played their starters for roughly two quarters.

The first matchup between the Bobcats and the first draft pick in their history wound up being

LYNN HEY / The Associated Press

The Bobcats’ Alexis Ajinca, top, looks for a pass around the Hornets’ James Posey during New Orleans’ preseason game against Charlotte on Thursday in Greensboro, NC.

derailed by injury, with new Hornets big man Emeka Okafor sitting out because if a sprained right big toe. Okafor, taken No. 2 overall by Charlotte in 2004, was dealt in July to New Orleans for Chandler.

But if there was any lingering bitterness between Okafor and his former team, he hid it well.

Roughly an hour before tipoff, he and Brown shook hands and shared a laugh in the hallway before the center popped into Char-

lotte’s locker room to visit his old teammates.

“No hard feelings — both sides understood what they needed to do to make themselves better, and I’m happy that they were able to put me in a good situation as well,” Okafor said.

Contact The Daily Reveille’s sports staff at sports@lsureveille.com

Friday, October 9, 2009

THE DAILY REVEILLE

PAGE 17

THE DAILY REVEILLE

PAGE 18

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2009

NFL

New Orleans Saints’ confidence surging after 4-0 start Fans anticipating hopeful season

By The Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Don’t expect to see any “bag heads” in the Louisiana Superdome this year.

The Saints have become a full-blown sensation after winning each of their first four games by two touchdowns or more, easily exceeding the expectations of longtime fans.

“We never had anything this explosive before, where we’ve got all aspects of the offense and then we can hold them on defense,” said Pam Randazza, owner of a suburban New Orleans shop that specializes in Saints merchandise. “People are talking about that. It’s looking so much different than the past and it’s really affected people in the way they’re thinking — and the way they’re buying. The recession

photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees leads the team with his passing. Brees was seen recently sporting a shirt that had “SB44” screen printed on the front.

hasn’t affected us at all.”

The Saints have won a couple games on the strength of Drew Brees’ prolific passing, which was expected. They’ve also done so with the NFL’s second-best

running game, a defense with a penchant for big plays and a strong kicking game.

It’s all added up to one of the most dominant starts in franchise history, begging the question:

Could this finally be the year New Orleans plays in its first Super Bowl?

“The funny thing is, we’re talking about it, but we’re also taking it one game at a time,” Randazza said of her discussions with fans. “We don’t want to overdo it because we’ve always got that voodoo hex here where we might have something go wrong if we get ahead of ourselves.”

Saints players seem to be taking a similar approach. As they gathered belongings from their lockers shortly before heading out for the long weekend off, several of them wore T-shirts that had “SB44” screen printed on the front.

Brees, who was wearing one of the shirts, declined to discuss it, smiling and shaking his head side-to-side when asked about its significance, or whether it had anything to do with the 44th Super Bowl coming up at the end of this season.

Brees wasn’t about to deny

that the club’s confidence is surging, though. He asserted that the lessons learned from the past two seasons — the Saints went 7-9 in 2007 and 8-8 in 2008 — laid the foundation for a team that is finally built to win consistently.

“We’re ready to handle whatever’s thrown at us,” Brees said.

“We’ve experienced a lot from the past two years especially — the agony of defeat and losing some of those close games that we felt like we never should have lost. ...

We’ve learned a lot from that. We don’t want to be that team ever again. So I think there’s always that fire burning inside of us that makes us feel like that part is in our past, but yet we needed to go through that in order to be where we’re at now.”

Contact The Daily Reveille’s sports staff at sports@lsureveille.com

MEN’S TENNIS

Skupski advances to All-American Championships Carlsson competes in doubles main draw

By Rowan Kavner Sports Contributor

Sophomore Neal Skupski is hastily becoming the star of the LSU men’s tennis team.

Skupski is the only Tiger to make it to the singles main draw of the ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla., this weekend after winning three matches in qualifying throughout the week.

LSU men’s coach Jeff Brown said not every qualifying match was a breeze for Skupski, but they made him ‘If you do a better player. couwell [in the ple “A matches ITA All- were kind of American even, and he a way to Champion- found get through,” ships] then Brown said. that’s it will help “But what pushes you in the you to the next spring.’ level.”

S k u p Neal Skupski ski and juLSU sophomore nior Sebastian Carlsson won their first doubles match against Oklahoma by default because the Oklahoma team had a problem with the time. The Sooners thought the match was later than scheduled and therefore did not show up to the match. The match would not have been able to be rescheduled with games already slated for Friday.

‘‘

‘It’s good to see that [Skupski’s] starting to understand how good he is.’

Jeff Brown

LSU men’s tennis coach

Skupski is one of 64 players in the singles main draw, and the duo of Skupski and Carlsson is one of 32 doubles teams.

Brown said having a year under his belt has helped Skupski prepare more for his competition this season.

“Neal’s put in the time,” Brown said. “He understands the game a little better. It’s good to see him get three wins.”

Skupski said he’s been working on his serve and keeping balls in play. After making his way through the qualifying rounds, it’s clear the work he’s putting in is paying off against a talented field of competitors.

“It’s a pretty big event actually,” Skupski said. “If you do well here then it will help you in the spring.”

Brown said Skupski’s early success has given him more of a positive swagger.

“He’s walking around a little bit with a little more confidence, and I think that’s the whole idea,” Brown said. “It’s good to see that he’s starting to understand how good he is.”

Skupski beat Georgia Tech junior Guillermo Gomez, the nation’s No. 5 ranked player, to advance.

Brown said the All-American

tournament is more for Skupski’s individual rankings than it is for the team.

“It’s not so much that he’s getting our name out there,” Brown said. “We are what we are.

For him, it’s about confidence and building and proving that the hard work and film studying he’s been doing is paying off.”

Carlsson failed to qualify for the singles championships but joins Skupski in the doubles main draw. The duo posted a 4-2

doubles record last season.

Brown said the pair will likely stick together if they keep winning this season. Otherwise, the two will be split up to create two solid LSU doubles teams.

“They have good chemistry off the court, and they practice well together,” Brown said.

“We’re going to see if they’re going to be the team or if we need to split them up and share their talents.”

Skupski said conditioning is

the key to winning long events like the All-American Championships. He’s still getting used to the heat and humidity which differs from that of his native England.

“Last year, I was having a lot of cramp issues,” Skupski said.

“The trainers have gotten on to that. They gave us salt tablets and lots of fluids to drink.”

Contact Rowan Kavner at rkavner@lsureveille.com

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2009

THE DAILY REVEILLE

PAGE 19

GOLF

US earns advantage in Cup Six more matches to be played today

By The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — One putt changed everything except the lead Thursday in the Presidents Cup. The Americans were poised to seize control in the opening session of foursomes at Harding Park, already assured of the lead and on the verge of winning the final match for a two-point advantage.

Justin Leonard had a 3-foot birdie putt to win a putt he first thought had been conceded and was stunned when the putt caught the right edge of the cup and spun away.

The match was halved, and the Americans had to settle for a 3 1/22 1/2 advantage.

“We wanted to get out of the day with pretty close to a push, and I‘m very, very happy,“ International captain Greg Norman said.

He was fortunate for that.

Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker were dominant from the start, playing bogey-free in the difficult alternate-shot format and teaming up for six birdies in a 6-and-4 victory over Geoff Ogilvy and 18-year-old Ryo Ishikawa.

Phil Mickelson and Anthony Kim came to life late, closing with four straight birdies to give the Americans the first point of the matches with a 3-and-2 victory over Mike Weir and Tim Clark.

The momentum switched to American red on the scoreboard late on the cloudy, cool afternoon on this public course south of San Francisco. The final push figured to come from Leonard and Jim Furyk, who made a furious rally in the middle of the match and surged ahead of Retief Goosen and Y.E. Yang, 2 up with two holes to play.

Goosen holed a birdie putt on the 17th to send the match to the par-5 18th, and the South African missed the green to the right. Leonard hit a splendid fairway metal to the middle of the green, setting up what appeared to be a two-putt birdie.

Furyk lagged to 3 feet, the International team got up-and-down for birdie, and Goosen looked over at Furyk as if wondering why Leonard even needed to putt. Eventually, the South African realized the putt meant something.

Did it ever.

The Americans were ready to celebrate another point. The International team was prepared for another big deficit.

“I just hit a bad putt,“ Leonard said. “I knew I was going to need to make that little putt. Unfortunately, I missed it.“ Norman said there was no gamesmanship on Goosen‘s part.

“He thought the match was over,“ Norman said. “He didn‘t concede the putt, he just thought the match was over. It was a legitimate mistake, and no intent or malice. It was just the intensity of the game.“ Next up are six more matches

photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

U.S. players Tiger Woods, left, and Steve Stricker celebrate their win over international players at golf’s Presidents Cup at Harding Park Golf Course on Thursday.

today, this time fourballs.

Two years ago, the International team failed to win a match in the opening session and fell five points behind. This is one time a tie the halve in the final match felt

far better. It goes into the second round with a fighting chance.

Contact The Daily Reveille’s sports staff at sports@lsureveille.com

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THE DAILY REVEILLE

MLB

Friday, October 9, 2009

FOOTBALL

Rockies tie series with 5-4 win Tebow not yet cleared; Meyer waiting ’til Sat.

Colo. P Cook picks up win with 4 K’s

Doctors to see how QB reacts to flight

By Rob Maaddi The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Cole Hamels isn’t going to breeze through this postseason.

Yorvit Torrealba hit a two-run homer, Aaron Cook pitched effectively into the sixth inning and the Colorado Rockies beat Hamels and the Philadelphia Phillies, 5-4, Thursday to even their National League playoff series at a game apiece.

Huston Street pitched out of trouble in the ninth to secure the win for Colorado. He retired Shane Victorino on a soft liner to second to leave the potential tying run — Game 1 winner Cliff Lee — at second base.

Hamels, the World Series and NLCS MVP last year, looked nothing like the guy who was so dominant during Philadelphia’s championship run last October. The left-hander allowed four runs and seven hits in five innings. He didn’t stick around after departing, rushing off to be with his wife, Heidi, who was in labor with the couple’s first child.

The best-of-five series shifts to Denver for Game 3 on Saturday. Jason Hammel (10-8) will start for the wild-card Rockies against a yet-tobe-announced pitcher. The Phillies could use Joe Blanton, J.A. Happ or Pedro Martinez.

Blanton pitched one inning in relief, allowing a run. Happ faced one batter and got knocked out of the game when Seth Smith hit a hard liner off the lower part of his left leg. X-rays on Happ’s leg were negative.

Making his third start since a shoulder strain sidelined him for most of September, Cook allowed three runs and seven hits in fiveplus innings. The right-handed sinkerballer got 12 of his 15 outs on grounders or strikeouts.

After Lee turned in a masterful performance in his playoff debut Wednesday, the Phillies were counting on Hamels to give them a commanding 2-0 series lead. But Hamels hasn’t been the same pitcher since going 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA in five postseason starts last year.

He was 10-11 with a 4.32 ERA this year, and now is 0-7 in day games.

The Phillies are trying to become the first repeat champions since the New York Yankees won three World Series in a row from 1998-2000. No NL team has done it since the Cincinnati Reds in 197576.

For the second straight day, the Phillies had the largest crowd in the six-year history of Citizens Bank Park. More than 46,500 fans packed in the ballpark, waving their whiteand-red “Fightin’ Phils” towels.

Now, there’s no guarantee they’ll see another game this year.

Jayson Werth’s solo homer off Rafael Betancourt in the eighth got the Phillies within a run and whipped the fans into a frenzy.

But Franklin Morales came in and retired Raul Ibanez on a sharp

By The Associated Press

MATT SLOCUM / The Associated Press

Colorado second baseman Cline Barnes, right, flips over Philadelphia third baseman Pedro Feliz on Thursday after forcing him out to turn a double play. The Rockies beat the Phillies, 5-4, in Game 2 of the National League Division series to tie it 1-1.

grounder. Street, who was 35 for 37 in save chances in the regular season, started the ninth.

He walked pinch-hitter Matt Stairs with one out. Lee, who became the first Phillies pitcher to steal a base in the postseason in Game 1, ran for the slow-footed Stairs. After Miguel Cairo flied to right, Jimmy Rollins singled to right. But Street got Victorino to end it.

Trailing 4-0, the Phillies finally got going in the sixth. Victorino led off with an infield single and advanced to second on second baseman Clint Barmes’ throwing error.

Chase Utley followed with a single and Ryan Howard lined an RBI double into the right-field corner, chasing Cook.

Jose Contreras came in and struck out Werth. But Ibanez followed with a two-run single to cut it to 4-3.

After Happ was forced out in the seventh, Scott Eyre came in with the bases loaded and nobody out. He struck out Carlos Gonzalez before Dexter Fowler’s sacrifice fly made it 5-3. Eyre retired Todd Helton to end the inning.

The Rockies took a 3-0 lead in the fourth when Torrealba connected off Hamels. Torrealba had just two homers in 213 regular-season at-bats, but he ripped a hanging curve into the seats in left.

Rockies manager Jim Tracy flip-flopped his top two hitters and it paid off right away. Gonzalez led off with a single. He stole second on an attempted pickoff, easily beating first baseman Howard’s doubleclutch throw.

Gonzalez advanced to third on Fowler’s sacrifice and scored on Helton’s 20-foot dribbler down the first-base line, giving the Rockies their first lead of the series.

Gonzalez singled his next time up in the third and was picked off again, but this time Howard quickly fired to second to get him.

After Cook hit a one-out single in the fifth, Gonzalez lined a double to right-center. Fowler followed with a sacrifice fly to left to make it 4-0.

Contact The Daily Reveille’s sports staff at sports@lsureveille.com

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida coach Urban Meyer says quarterback Tim Tebow had his best practice of the week Thursday, but the top-ranked Gators still aren’t sure the Heisman Trophy winner will be cleared to play against No. 4 LSU. Meyer says team doctors want to see how Tebow reacts to the flight from Gainesville to Baton Rouge on Friday, along with other things, before clearing him to play Saturday night in the showdown between unbeaten Southeastern Conference teams.

Meyer says: “There’s all kinds of things they’re still looking at.”

Tebow practiced Tuesday for the first time since sustaining the first concussion of his career Sept. 26 against Kentucky. He was hospitalized overnight, and there has been much speculation about whether he will return against the Tigers.

If Tebow does not start Saturday, sophomore John Brantley will start in his place.

The Tigers and the Gators kickoff Saturday night at 7:06 p.m. in Tiger Stadium. The game will be televised on CBS.

Contact The Daily Reveille’s sports staff at sports@lsureveille.com

THE DAILY REVEILLE

Friday, October 9, 2009

PAGE 21

LOG ON LSUREVEILLE.COM FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF SATURDAY’S LSU-FLORIDA MATCHUP Find out what venues around Baton Rouge have planned for the weekend’s matchup between No. 4 LSU and No. 1 Florida on the Home Game Guide.

Not going to the game? Can’t watch it on TV? Log on during the game to read Chief Sports Writer Rachel Whittaker’s Live Blog during the game.

The Daily Reveille’s sports staff has been keeping an eye on the Tigers this season; read about what they think on the LSU Football Blog.

Read about how the LSU Tigers have fared so far on The Daily Reveille’s Season Tracker.

LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO DO BEFORE KICKOFF? HERE’S WHAT LSU HAS IN STORE. Bubba Plauche’ performs at Zatarain’s Tiger James Carville and Luke One Village Russert’s (in front the 60/20 Radio PMAC).

Show at the Journalism ESPN College Building’s GameDay live patio. from the Parade Ground.

9 a.m.

1 p.m.

2 p.m.

Cowboy Mouth performs at Zatarain’s Tiger One Village.

Tiger Stadium’s club level and suites open.

All remaining gates open.

Student gates open.

2:30 p.m.

4 p.m.

4:15 p.m.

4:30 p.m.

LSU football team walks down Victory Hill.

5 p.m.

Mike VI and the Golden Band from Tiger Land march down Victory Hill.

KICKOFF

PREGAME

5:15 p.m.

6:55 p.m.

7:10 p.m.

THE DAILY REVEILLE

PAGE 22

HOME, from page 11

BRIANNA PACIORKA / The Daily Reveille

LSU senior middle blocker Michele Williams (23) spikes the ball Sept. 28 against Tennessee senior middle blocker Farren Powe during the Tigers’ 3-2 win in the PMAC.

DIGS, from page 11

Carolina.

LSU sophomore middle blocker Michele Williams knows her team will have to keep the intensity high to escape with a pair of home victories against the pair of formidable opponents.

She said the team has been on a roller coaster ride this season in terms of keeping its preparedness up to a proper level.

“We have a tendency if somebody makes a bad play to go down and then have to try to go back up, and sometimes we just bury ourselves,” Williams said. “If you want to be great, you have to be consistent.”

The Gamecocks will come into Baton Rouge as the best digging team in the Southeastern Conference, averaging 16.92 digs per set through Sunday.

LSU junior outside hitter Angela Bensend said the team will have to focus on not allowing South Carolina’s scrappy play on defense affect LSU offensively.

“As hitters, we can’t get frustrated with them digging every ball,” Bensend said. “We just have to keep going at it. Their job is to keep us making errors, but if we

take care of our side, we will put the ball away.”

The Tigers will then face the Gators on Sunday afternoon, marking the Tigers’ third matchup against a top-10 opponent this season. LSU lost both previous matches in five sets against Nebraska and Stanford.

The match against Florida is scheduled for a 6 p.m. first serve Sunday, which is about four hours later than a normal Sunday match, as ESPNU will televise the match.

It will be the second time this season the Tigers will face an opponent at home on ESPNU. The first match didn’t end so smoothly for the Tigers, as the team was swept by Kentucky, 3-0.

Williams said she doesn’t believe it was the live broadcast that got to the team’s nerves.

“We just weren’t on that day.

We didn’t prepare properly,” the sophomore said. “This time we will be prepared to play this weekend.

TV or no TV, we will be ready.”

Contact Andy Schwehm at aschwehm@lsureveille.com

game during the season that we lose when we shouldn’t, and I feel like we got that out of the way early this season.”

The Tigers take their winning streak to Kentucky (3-6-3, 0-4-0) on Friday. The Wildcats haven’t enjoyed the same fortune as LSU since SEC play began, having fallen just short against several of the conference’s strongest teams – No. 7 South Carolina, No. 16 Georgia and No. 17 Florida.

“They’re extremely wellcoached and organized in the defense,” Lee said. “They lost, 1-0, something like three times – they certainly had their chances to beat Tennessee, Florida and Georgia.”

The Tigers have moved from SEC bottom dweller to conference contender under Lee’s watch, and the fifth-year coach has

RETURN, from page 11

his role as a kick returner, and many teams have begun to game plan against his return, especially with punts.

This season, James has a mere 16 yards of punt returns in 10 tries after having a 13.8 yard per return punt average in 2008.

“The punter for Kentucky did a phenomenal job of averaging hang times of over five seconds, so even the returns we have planned for him can be ended with those type of punts,” said Florida coach Urban Meyer.

Joey Wiles, James’ high school coach, said a team kicking away from James is nothing new for the tiny speedster.

“We very rarely got balls kicked deep to us,” Wiles said. “There were some schools that would punt

Friday, October 9, 2009

commissioned practice jerseys which reflect the change from hunter to hunted – rather than numbers, the team sometimes wear targets on its back while training.

“It’s basically a reminder that once you achieve some things you’ve got to remember you’re going to get everyone’s best shot,” Lee said.

The message seems to have sunk in. The Tigers have allowed just one goal in 405 minutes of play since entering halftime down 2-0 to Duke – a game they came back to draw, 2-2.

“We kind of had a half-strength club for awhile there,” Lee said.

“That speaks to the depth and quality of the club – we’ve had a lot of young players step up.”

The return of senior midfielder Melissa Clarke has also been a boost to an offense which had difficulty finding the back of the net in

non-conference play. Clarke missed time with a tweaked hamstring but returned for SEC play, netting two goals and an assist last weekend to be named SEC Player of the Week.

“It was a relief finally going and getting past my injury, because for a while it really had me down,” Clarke said. “I always thought we’d be really great this year. The stars seem to have aligned, and everyone is living up to their expectations. The team chemistry is really good.”

The Tigers conclude their second consecutive road weekend against Vanderbilt (7-4-1, 1-3). The Commodores started the season 5-0 but have been outscored by a combined total of 10-3 by SEC competition.

it directly out of bounds just so he wouldn’t touch the ball.”

But kicking away from James on kickoffs has been a bit more difficult for opposing teams, apparently, as James has returned eight kickoffs this season with an average of 34.5 yards per return, including a return for a touchdown.

Meyer and his staff would like to see that elusiveness transfer to the team’s offense this season, as Meyer said they have been trying to increase his touches on that side of the ball, akin to what LSU is trying to do with Holliday.

But they haven’t been efficient at it.

The 2008 Southeastern Conference Special Teams Player of the Year has rushed only nine times this season for 51 yards and has five catches for 72 yards and a touchdown.

The most rushing yards James

has gotten in a single game in his four years at Florida came in 2007 against South Carolina, where he had 49 yards, including a 14-yard rush, his career long. He has only two rushing touchdowns as a Gator.

But Wiles sees James’ role steadily starting to increase in the Florida offense, which is no surprise to him because Florida runs an offense similar to the one at James’ high school, St. Augustine in St. Augustine, Fla. “He’s doing some of the same things now for them that he did for us,” Wiles said. “He carried the ball a lot for us, and he’s involved in their offense now. He’s on the field the whole time.”

Contact David Helman at dhelman@lsureveille.com

Contact Andy Schwehm at aschwehm@lsureveille.com

THE DAILY REVEILLE

Friday, October 9, 2009

SUKKOT, from page 5

play here,” Jones said. “We’re not trying to put a radar on Tim Tebow; you don’t want to hit anybody in the head. But if he plays, we have to hit him.”

LSU’s quarterback situation entering Saturday is firm, as sophomore Jordan Jefferson prepares to start his first game against a top-5 team.

Against then-No. 18 Georgia, Jefferson persuaded offensive coordinator Gary Crowton to call a handoff to senior running back Charles Scott that turned into the winning touchdown.

But Jefferson was also sacked six times, an aspect he said he needs to correct by “moving around more in the pocket.”

“The first thing [coaches] told me was, if I had an alley, to run instead of taking a sack,” Jefferson said. “The second option was to throw the ball out of bounds.”

This will be the second straight year LSU has hosted the No. 1 team in the country. LSU lost to Alabama, 27-21, in overtime Nov. 8.

Miles said while the rankings of LSU and Florida are making headlines, the teams’ sole objective Saturday will be to win.

“It becomes easy to categorize 1 vs. 4 and 4 vs. 1, and that’s a nice way to do it,” Miles said. “But it’s two talented football teams competing for a victory — a victory that is important to their goals as we go forward. It will be an exciting go.”

the University community gathered for the special Sukkot prayer involving the lulav — a binding of willow, myrtle and palm leaves — and the etrog — a large citrus fruit – which symbolize the agricultural significance of the holiday.

“It’s an agricultural holiday because it coincides with the harvest in the land of Israel,” said Charles Isbell, religious studies professor.

“It’s symbolic that when you wave these harvest products that you’re aware of the fact that all the world belongs to God, and it’s a symbolic way of thanking him for the harvest of the land.”

Isbell said Jewish people hold the lulav and the etrog in their hands and point them to the four corners of the world — North, South, East and West — as well as up and down to heaven and Earth.

The students feasted on Mediterranean food while Cohen and Allison Harrison, Hillel at LSU president and music sophomore, sang prayers in Hebrew.

“Sukkot is one of my favorite holidays,” Harrison said. “It’s all about being outdoors, being closer to nature [and] being with family and friends.”

Ariel Abamonte, music freshman, said she is not Jewish but went to the Sukkot celebration to experience something new.

“It’s interesting to understand the ancestry [of Christianity],” Abamonte said. “If we can educate each other, then there’s less of a chance we will misunderstand each other.”

Hillel at LSU invited the community to smoke “Hookah in the Sukkah” at 7 p.m. on Thursday.

Cohen said some members plan to sleep in the sukkah tonight in order to wake up and tailgate on Saturday.

“Students of all religions, all backgrounds and all cultures have joined us,” Cohen said. “It’s a nice demonstration that we can get along on campus despite our backgrounds. It’s a promising thing for the world.”

Contact Rachel Whittaker at rwhittaker@lsureveille.com

Contact Mary Walker Baus at mwbaus@lsureveille.com

PHIL SANDLIN / The Associated Press

Florida coach Urban Meyer, left, shakes hands with LSU coach Les Miles, right, on Oct. 11, 2008, after the Gators beat the Tigers, 51-21, in Gainesville, Fla.

MILES, from page 1

passion like no other in the Southeastern Conference.

“Our fans are so tied to our players and this team,” Miles said.

“They not only know the numbers of [the players] and [their positions], but what they look like even ... It’s like your brother is playing, and you watch every snap he takes.”

Meyer said while Tiger Stadium is a formidable SEC site to play, the extent of the home-field advantage ultimately comes down to the talent of the home team.

“The city isn’t a factor if the team isn’t very good,” Meyer said.

“What makes LSU’s stadium and environment is the players wearing the jerseys ... With all due respect to LSU, that stuff is overrated.”

Like this season, LSU was No. 4 going into its annual square-off with Florida in 2008, which was No. 11 at the time.

The Tigers fell behind, 20-0, and eventually lost, 51-21, in one of two games when they surrendered more than 50 points that season.

Junior safety Chad Jones said one reason LSU lost was because they fell behind so fast, something the team cannot afford to let happen against Florida’s No. 1 total defense in the country.

“We got behind real quick [in 2008], and it’s hard to catch up when you fall behind against Florida,” Jones said. “Things just didn’t fall our way, and things got out of hand ... We got tired from being on the field so long.”

The LSU defense is still unsure of who the opposing quarterback will be Saturday. Senior Tim Tebow was cleared to return to practice Tuesday, but whether he or redshirt sophomore John Brantley will start is likely to be a game-time decision.

In three career games against LSU since 2006, Tebow has 404 passing yards, 124 rushing yards, nine touchdowns (six passing and three rushing), and just one interception.

But Tebow’s perennial success against the Tigers aside, Jones said the LSU defense will be ready to face the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner if he is cleared to play.

“Everybody wants Tim Tebow to play,” Jones said. “We definitely want to go against the best because it brings out the best in us.”

As far as whether LSU defenders will shy away from hitting Tebow in the aftermath of his concussion, Jones said that is part of football.

“You definitely want to wrap him up and make physical tackles — that’s the style of defense we

FANS, from page 1

guy” who gets in a fight with a Florida fan because he or she looked at you the wrong way.

Treat the other team’s fans and players with respect.

Don’t jeer at Tebow for being hurt — he didn’t do anything wrong. You can’t deny he’s one of the greatest players in college football and brings positive attention to our conference. Hate him because he gets more attention than you think he is entitled to, or because he has the most legitimate chance of embarrassing our team, but don’t mock his pain — no player deserves that treatment.

It’s a time-honored tradition to “Tiger Bait” opposing fans, but don’t use curse words or offensive language. And while the whole country watches, show the power of the Oh-Wee-Oh cheer as it is supposed to be — with the questionable lyrics replaced by “Tigers!”

And wear gold! How much extra effort does it take to pull a gold shirt out of your closet instead of a purple one? Not much. The stadium would look pretty cool if everyone

PAGE 23 coordinates colors, and this “gimmick” adds to the shared experience of fans. When people recall this game in 20 years, you’ll be able to say how the sea of gold helped the common efforts of the 12th man.

If the issue of the 12th man is ever relevant, it will be on Saturday.

It’s pretty hard to cheer your heart out if you’re puking in the bathroom, passed out somewhere beneath the seats or getting in a fight and being escorted from the game by irritated security guards.

Plus, what kind of an impression does that make on the opposing team?

We want people to be scared to come here because their teams can’t perform well in Death Valley, not because LSU fans are idiots and may throw a punch at any given second.

And don’t rush the field. It makes us look like we expected to lose.

So let’s exceed our already fearsome reputation — and help our team send the Gators packing.

Contact the Editorial Board at editor@lsureveille.com

SPORTS

PAGE 24

ROCKET MAN

Opinion AKES OVER T THE DAILY REVEILLE

Friday, October 9, 2009

I hate jort-wearing, gator-chomping Tim Tebow and his ways I have a secret that I am ready to tell the world.

This has been burning deep inside of my soul for the past three and a half years and has been hidden from the public because of my objectivity regarding college athletics because of my profession.

But I hate Tim Tebow.

There, I said it. I hate Tim Tebow.

I can’t stand him and his jort wearing, gator chomping, jump passing, baby circumcising, lame pep-talk giving ways.

And don’t tell my mother I said this, but I even smiled a little on the inside when I saw him lying on the turf in Kentucky.

OK, I was just kidding about that last part. I actually threw up in my mouth a little bit when I saw him lying on the turf against Kentucky.

Is it because I am worried about the health of the Sunshine State’s most beloved player of alltime?

Nah, it’s not. It’s because I was worried that I’d miss my opportunity to see Chad Jones knock Tebow into next week this Saturday when the Tigers take on Florida.

I’m not trying to say that I hate Tim Tebow as a person.

I don’t know the guy.

I don’t care to Casey Gisclair know the guy. Deputy Sports Editor But what I absolutely don’t like is how he’s made out to be God’s gift to college football and the best thing since a box combo with Cane’s sauce, and he’s really ... not.

Sure, the dude can play. Hell, he has a Heisman Trophy and might even get another one this season — even though the best player in college football is Texas senior quarterback Colt McCoy — but that’s beside the point.

What I don’t like is how the

kid is made out to be a hero because of his strong desire to win and his humanitarian and religious volunteer efforts when the reality is every college football team in America has dozens of legitimate good people who also have a passion for winning.

How many of those players get talked about, and why is Tebow the media-proclaimed chosen one?

OK, so he gave a big, angry speech to the media following Florida’s loss last season to Ole Miss.

He also gave an energetic speech at halftime of the 2009 BCS National Championship Game between Florida and Oklahoma — a speech that should have sounded familiar to most sports fans across the world.

Why? Because it was ripped almost word-for-word from the 1999 movie “Varsity Blues,” where quarterback Jonathon Moxon says the team has 24 minutes for the

rest of their lives.

C’mon, Timmy. You’d think a college education would allow you to think of something more creative. Heck, you’ve taken pilgrimages to play with sick children in several countries. You should be able to do better than that in languages other than English, too.

All I’m saying is in three years when he’s out of the NFL because of the lack of demand for hybrid quarterback/fullbacks at the next level, he will be just like Josh Harris, Alex Smith and other Urban Meyer-coached quarterbacks — failures at the next level.

Yep, that’s right. By age 30, Florida’s savior will be a modernday Uncle Rico, sitting around and reminiscing to kids and really anyone who will be willing to listen about the glory days — the days when he was actually still relevant to anyone outside of the minds of Florida fans and collegefootball purists.

So apparently one of the

biggest reasons Tebow came back to college after winning the national championship was to win at LSU — a place that left Mr. America in tears two years ago in LSU’s 28-24 win.

Get your Kleenex ready Mr. Superman, because I have a good feeling you will need them again this Saturday.

Tebow would probably respond to my claims and say his usual line, “It’s great to be a Florida Gator.”

But after this weekend’s beatdown and his future NFL failures, “It will be great to be a Tebow hater.”

Hey, that’s a thought. Maybe I should leave that as a message on his cellphone’s voice mailbox.

It’s apparently not that difficult to get a hold of it anyway, right?

Contact Casey Gisclair at cgisclair@lsureveille.com

BABBLING BROOKS

Tim Tebow is the greatest man that has ever lived That Tim Tebow is a son of a bitch.

The senior Florida quarterback is amazing — a man among boys, the paragon of virtue in a college football landscape muddled by vice.

He’s the best thing to happen to college football since the advent of plastic helmets, don’t you know.

Oh, Tim Tebow, let me now adore thee.

He goes about 6 feet, 3 inches and 240 pounds of athletic ability.

He became the first sophomore to ever win the Heisman trophy when he snagged it in 2007.

He’s an All-American, has two Manning Awards, two Maxwell Awards, a slew of other relatively insignificant accolades, and dude’s even got a couple of ESPYs. He’s so good at sports, and I like him so much. He’s so beyond swagnificent.

He’s also got two national

championships to his name.

Tim Tebow is a son of a bitch.

He goes about 7 feet, 5 inches and 325 pounds of puritanical pride.

There will never be anyone ever again to walk the earth with this man’s pristine way of life.

And he has a certain je ne sais quoi about him that makes him irresistible.

Even though he’s so awesome, he’s saving himself for marriage. Tebow told the world about it at Southeastern Conference Media Days this past summer.

Oh, blessed virgin Tebow— I don’t know how he resists the temptations of the flesh.

Men want to be Tebow and women would kill their three best friends to be with him. He’s the coolest guy in whatever town he’s in.

When he took his shirt off and posed in The Swamp for GQ magazine, hearts fluttered everywhere, and even I, lover of all

THE DAILY REVEILLE Editorial Board NICHOLAS PERSAC JERIT ROSER ELLEN ZIELINSKI MATTHEW ALBRIGHT

Editor Managing Editor, Content Managing Editor, Production Opinion Editor

ERIC FREEMAN JR.

Columnist

MARK MACMURDO

Columnist

things feminine, fell in love.

Tebow is like an un-sideburned, unintimidating, un-black John Shaft. I can dig it.

He’s not only known for his looks and football, he does mission work in the PhilipJohanathan pines too.

Brooks The man Sports Columnist spends time circumcising kids — without a medical license! Oh, so noble.

Tim Tebow is a son of a bitch.

He goes about 9 feet, 8 inches and 575 pounds of modern-day messiah.

Fox commentator Thom Brennaman wasn’t going overboard during the 2009 BCS National Championship Game when he spit out this gem: “If you are fortunate enough to spend five minutes around Tim Tebow, your life is better for it,”

Brennaman said.

There aren’t many people whose name you could put into that quote in place of Tebow’s and still have it be accurate.

The list basically goes like this: Jesus Christ, Tim Tebow, Martin Luther King, Jr., Mother Teresa and, finally, Gandhi.

The only reason Tebow isn’t at the head of that list is because I’m not 100 percent sure Tebow can walk on water or feed a multitude with two fish and five loaves of bread — but I’ve heard rumors.

I’m pretty sure he can raise the dead though, including himself after getting knocked out by Kentucky freshman defensive end Taylor Wyndham.

Last season after Florida dropped a home contest to Ole Miss, Tebow made a promise — a promise that will live forever in American folklore alongside tales of Johnny Appleseed, Paul Bunyan and John Henry, the steel driving man.

He promised he would raise

the Gator Nation back up from the loss, and he promised you, me and everyone we know that he would play the game harder and push harder than anyone who had ever come before him.

And he did en route to his second national championship.

God Bless.

If our mutual heterosexuality, Christian faiths and hip-hop culture at large didn’t disagree so much, I’d probably take him on a date complete with a nice meal and a game of bowling or something.

I don’t think it’d be gay either. I’m just a cool dude who can appreciate other cool dudes and their, uh, coolness.

Johanathan Brooks is a 21-yearold mass communication senior from Powder Springs, Ga. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_jbrooks.

Contact Johanathan Brooks at jbrooks@lsureveille.com

EDITORIAL POLICIES & PROCEDURES

QUOTE OF THE DAY

The Daily Reveille (USPS 145-800) is written, edited and produced solely by students of Louisiana State University. The Daily Reveille is an independent entity within the Manship School of Mass Communication. Signed opinions are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the editor, paper or University. Letters submitted for publication should be sent via e-mail to opinion@lsureveille.com or delivered to B-26 Hodges Hall. They must be 400 words or less. Letters must have a contact phone number so the opinion editor can verify the author. The phone number won’t be printed. The Daily Reveille reserves the right to edit letters and guest columns for space consideration without changing the original intent. The Daily Reveille also reserves the right to reject any letter without notification of the author.

Writers must include their full names and phone numbers. The Daily Reveille’s editor-in-chief, hired every semester by the Louisiana State University Media Board, has final authority on all editorial decisions.

“Baton Rouge happens to be the worst place in the world for a visiting team. It’s like being inside a drum.”

Paul “Bear” Bryant

former Alabama coach September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983

THE DAILY REVEILLE

Opinion

Friday, October 9, 2009

PAGE 25

I REPRESENT THE LOLLIPOP GUILD

It’s Death Valley so act like it, dammit As I baked to a purple-and-gold crisp last Saturday in the highest reaches of Georgia’s Sanford Stadium, I witnessed blasphemy of the Southeastern Conference’s highest order.

There were the then-No. 18 Georgia Bulldogs, in the midst of a three-game winning streak and hosting No. 4 LSU on the field below me.

But with a top five team in the house and everything to play for, there sat at least 500 empty seats in Sanford’s northeast corner.

As the battle “Between the Hedges” played out, the stands eventually filled up, but the latest of Bulldog late-comers didn’t take their seats until well into the first quarter.

Tiger Nation: As God-fearing SEC fanatics and proud protectors of our muggy, decrepit and boozeinduced war drum of a stadium’s fierce reputation, this cannot be allowed to happen for Saturday’s collision with No. 1 Florida.

In the two years it’s been since the Tigers toppled Florida and Auburn in thrilling fashion from the confines of Death Valley, we’ve all seen crowds show up late for uninspiring games. We’ve all watched frat boys, old farts and everyone in between take to the exits during comeback attempts against Georgia and Troy.

To help make amends for these transgressions, in the sacred name of

Louisiana’s supposed No Rain Zone, I hereby implore all LSU fans to arrive early, scream yourselves silly for four solid hours and maybe, just maybe, even stay for the postgame alma mater.

This shouldn’t be a problem for anyone with anything resembling a pulse. The majority of Tiger fans under 30 usually point to one of two moments as the best of their LSU fanhood — one is the upset of the defending national champion Florida Gators in Tiger Stadium in 1997, and the other is the same feat, which Les Miles achieved in his 2007 clinic, entitled, “Big Cajones for Happy Cajuns.”

LSU and Florida have combined for six of nine SEC titles this decade, as well as college football’s past three national championships and four of nine this decade. This game has served as a coming out party for Rex Grossman (2001), Chris Leak (2003) and Tim Tebow (2006) and has provided deliriuminducing, last-minute touchdowns

by Jacob Hester and Joseph Addai. If that weren’t enough, the Gators are 5-4 in the series this decade, and the home team hasn’t lost since 2004.

And even with all of that pedigree, LSU-Florida has never been like this — not this big.

The Gators are No. 1, undefeated and are dealing with the controversial concussion of their starting

quarterback, Tebow — the greatest college player of all time.

The Tigers are No. 4, undefeated and are hoping to extend a 32game Saturday night game winning streak.

If you can’t get amped up for Florida, you should probably sell your ticket for massive profit.

Plenty of kids who are David Helman ready to make Sports Writer some memories are willing to buy.

But in the interest of my journalistic integrity, I’ll now admit my own hypocrisy.

As a freshman in 2007, I got a wee bit too excited for the Gators’ visit.

I stayed up all night for ESPN College GameDay, I drank myself into oblivion, I left my lunch all over the student section, I asserted that I was a member of the Cleveland Indians’ pitching staff and then I watched a classic game from my dorm room.

I was That Guy. That’s why this weekend I’ll be doing my penance at the Church of Mike VI. I’ll be in line three hours before kickoff, I’ll be dressed like a buffoon, I’ll kill myself screaming and I’ll revel in sweet victory —

Roscoe be praised.

I’m willing to admit my own shortcomings. I’m ready to atone for them, and I hope you’re willing to do the same.

Greeks, the party will still be going on well after the game ends. I’m sorry standing in your boat shoes is giving you blisters, but you need to stay and watch the second half.

Old folks, the Saints aren’t playing this weekend, so you’ll have all day Sunday to ice down your arthritic knees and rest your aching throat from standing and screaming all night long.

Get ... Up. Drunk Girl in the Sundress, yes, your boyfriend is a jerk because he cares more about football than he cares about you. No, texting all your friends about it isn’t helping LSU win this game.

Uninformed Guy muttering about playcalling behind me, Ryan Perrilloux left the team ages ago — that’s Kelvin Sheppard you’re demanding to see under center. Buy a program because you’re a disgrace.

Let’s not be Georgia, and I won’t be That Guy. Get there early. Get loud often.

Let the Valley shake for Florida.

Contact David Helman at dhelman@lsureveille.com

THE JOOSE IS LOOSE

LSU football trumps Florida this decade LSU and Florida have been the two best college football teams since the turn of the new millennium.

They have a combined four BCS National Championships, six Southeastern Conference Championships, 11 bowl game victories and 186 wins to prove it.

USC, Oklahoma, Texas and Ohio State have been impressive this decade, but none of them face the grind of the best conference in college football and have two BCS titles. LSU and Florida beat up on Oklahoma and Ohio State en route to their combined four national championships.

Determining what team was more dominant between LSU and Florida in the 2000s is where the two sides will agree to disagree.

It’s where the love fest ends and the heated Tiger-Gator rivalry begins.

Both teams have had many adjustments since people were partying because it was 1999.

The two SEC rivals each saw at least one changing of the guard during the decade.

The Tigers transitioned from Nick Saban to Les Miles. Saban recruited the best of the best and led the program to its first national

championship since 1958. Miles has kept up the dominance after claiming a crystal ball of his own, but Saban’s shadow still looms large for “The Hat.” The Gators had a trio of coaches, from Steve Spurrier, the “Ol’ Ball Coach,” to Ron Zook, the old New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator, and finally Urban Meyer, winner of two championships in three seasons.

Michael B o t h Lambert teams had their Sports Contributor share of exceptional players. LSU, also known as D-line University, kept up its reputation with All-American defensive linemen Chad Lavalais, Marcus Spears and Glenn Dorsey.

The wide receivers corps was top-notch during the decade, featuring NFL players Josh Reed, Michael Clayton and Dwayne Bowe.

The quarterback play of the Bayou Bengals was steady minus the 2008 season. The two Matts — Matt Flynn and Matt Mauck — “managed” the game en route to two national championships,

and JaMarcus Russell and Rohan Davey took care of business in two Sugar Bowls.

Florida quarterbacks Rex Grossman and Tim Tebow have been headliners for Gator Nation, but defensive stalwarts like cornerback Lito Sheppard and linebacker Brandon Spikes have anchored the teams on the other side of the ball.

So what team reigns supreme in the 2000s?

Florida has a slight advantage head-to-head, winning five out of the nine games. LSU has won the past two in Tiger Stadium, both by only four points. The Tigers have a habit of stretching it to the end, as has been the trend for the 2009 campaign.

The Gators tend to chomp on the Tigers in quick, big bites rather than slow chews. Florida has taken down LSU in convincing fashion in three of its wins — by 32 points in 2000, 30 in 2008 and 29 in 2001.

Their other two wins were also by at least 10 points.

LSU has posted a 95-27 record and a .778 winning percentage since 2000, while Florida has four less wins at 91-29 and a .758 winning percentage.

Head-to-head competition and winning percentages are pretty

even for the two teams. They each also have three SEC Championships and two national titles.

The difference comes in bowl games. Since there are no playoffs in college football, bowl games are the postseason and measuring stick for college football programs. The purple and gold have won more bowl games than the blue and orange.

And it’s not even close.

The Bayou Bengals are 7-2 in bowl games this decade, where the Gators have posted a 4-5 record.

The quality of bowl games are about the same across the board, with participation in the Sugar, Peach and Capital One Bowls by each team.

Florida has choked on some Gator bait along the postseason trail, while the Tigers have thrived on the bright lights and postseason pressure.

The conclusion of the 2009 season could have a lot to say in how the decade is remembered, but for now, the Tigers take the 2000s.

Contact Michael Lambert at mlambert@lsureveille.com

Check out lsureveille.com for complete coverage of the LSU vs. Florida game including: Headlines and stories from previous match ups, including the 1997 game during which an unranked LSU beat No. 1 Florida in Death Valley A guide to entertainment in Baton Rouge during the biggest football weekend of the season A slideshow of what students think about Florida players’ phone numbers spreading among LSU fans A slideshow of students deciding to keep or sell tickets to the game A slideshow of experts’ and students’ opinions on whether Florida quarterback Tim Tebow will play Videos of LSU Coach Les Miles’ press conferences and player interviews A live blog of onthe-field action and updates at halftime and after the game Plus more photos, videos and stories from the week Check lsureveille.com all weekend for breaking news and updates.

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Friday, October 9, 2009

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