Now, it seems like a year ago but I assure you it was only a matter of weeks when the weather took a turn for the chilly and everyone started talking about gumbo recipes. Then, spring returned in December and rolled into January and I was walking around in shorts and thinking about sun tan lotion over the Christmas season. Now the weather has got a bit chilly again and now we’re all talking about chili and gumbo recipes again. The Carnival season is upon us, so let’s get that gumbo pot and, unbelievably, crawfish boil goin’!
Isn’t it crazy how the basketball team is off to such a hot start? Who am I talking about, Tulane men’s basketball? Nah, Tulane women’s basketball. The Green Wave team is off to a perfect start, going 5-0 in the American Athletic Conference.
Sure, four of the five AAC teams that Tulane has knocked off were ranked under Tulane in the preseason poll but wins are wins and they quickly add up, baby. A team just plays the teams in front of them and after beating Cincinnati, a team ranked third in the preseason poll, the undefeated Green Wave sit (along with the evil Death Star that is UConn basketball) atop the standings.
The schedule gets a bit rougher this week as the women host Central Florida on Wednesday and go on the road to play South Florida on Saturday. Both of those teams were ranked in the top three in the preseason.
Speaking of rankings, the Kansas City Chiefs have hovered around the top of the AFC all season long, even while their quarterback Patrick Mahomes was out with injury. The Kansas City offense finally put the magic season that the Tennessee Titans were having to rest with a 35-24 victory in the AFC Championship.
Who Dat Nation will be happy to note, or not, that they are not the only team that gets bad calls as once again, in one of the biggest NFL games of the year, the referees botched a game-changing call. This time, instead of a non-call, it was the goofs in stripes calling Tennessee for a non-existent pass interference that basically ended the game. Now, I don’t think the Titans would have come back to win it because their quarterback Ryan Tannehill was putting in another weak playoff performance but the team shouldn’t have had its hopes crushed by a call by the boys wearing black and white. The NFL really, really needs to make changes in the referee ranks.
Along with the beginning of the Carnival season comes the Kentucky Derby qualifying season as a new batch of three year olds try to race their way into the history books. At the Fairgrounds, the Lecomte Stakes crowned Enforceable as their latest champion, earning the thoroughbred much-needed points on the road to the Derby. Enforceable ran four or five wide heading into the stretch and put away the field with relative ease. Mark Casse, the horse’s trainer, won his second Lecomte Stakes in a row, having won it last year with War of Will. The next major stakes race at the Fairgrounds will be the Risen Star Stakes on Feb. 15.
Needless to say I didn’t watch the NFC Championship.
There was this one time where I really nailed the roux in my gumbo. One time.
If you’re the type of human that enjoys looking up recipes that you might not be able to pull off (like yours truly) then you should take a gander at porchwineandgravy.com. The site is run by our buddy Jolie Meaux, who we met in a very modern way (one night through a friend on Instagram). I can attest that her porch, wine and recipes are wonderful.
The New Orleans Pelicans are starting to get a bit of buzz around their season right when Zion Williamson is about to return. Sure, the team is 16-27 but, on the flip side, they’ve won nine of their last 13 and are only 4.5 games out of the eighth spot in the race for the NBA playoffs. Brandon Ingram has played like a superstar and it will be very interesting to see what this team can do the rest of the way. There is still a lot of basketball to be played.
The New Orleans Brass are still extinct but I’ll be damned if I don’t think about a minor league hockey team in New Orleans on the regular. After the Louisiana Ice Gators folded two years ago there is absolutely no ruffians on ice to watch in Louisiana anymore and that bums me out.
Another bummer on the local scene is the men’s basketball seasons of Tulane University (this week) and the University of New Orleans (entire season). The Privateers sit in 11th place in the Southland Conference and have suffered four and five game losing streaks on the season. It’s been a rough go of it for a team that was picked to win the conference.
The Green Wave went 0-2 on the week with losses to Central Florida and Tulsa. It was bad timing for a club that the city is starting to notice after a solid start to conference play. On Tuesday night, a pretty decent crowd was on hand only to see one of those “nothing is working” nights as the Green Wave lost by 19 points to the Knights.
Be that as it may, Tulane has their best team in years on the court and Devlin Fieldhouse is an absolute stellar gym to watch a game. Now if I can only convince Tulane to sell $2 hot dogs and $3 beers like they did for the football season.
It’s been so long since the game that I will just make a small mention of it by congratulating the LSU Tigers on their NCAA championship. If you’re a fan of the team then I hope you had as much fun as Odell Beckham Jr.