There are several different angles from which to view the year in sports that was 2015.
Many victories. Heart stopping defeats. Big games played and one that wasn’t. Amazing performances. Embarrassing ineptitude. Near good byes. True good byes. Championships won. Title dreams unrealized. Memorable plays. Plays we would like to, but won’t soon, forget.
Can you connect dots that will bring the sports year in focus? Let me see if I can help.
It’s too bad that McNeese State’s 10-0 regular season was overshadowed by so many other things.
It really was a season of greatness, and one for the ages that Cowboys fans will set aside and refer to for decades to come.
It was a team and a year dominated by a defense that was supposed to be rebuilding in many ways. This defense, led from the sidelines by its fiery defensive coordinator, Lance Guidry, ranked 1 or 2 in nearly every major category in the Southland Conference, and on the national F.C.S. level, as well.
The defense can be credited with at least two victories in SLC play. Bo Brown’s goal line hit and forced fumble against Stephen F. Austin resulted in Wallace Scott’s recovery and 99-yard touchdown return, and turned the tables in Nacogdoches.
Another fumble pick-up and touchdown run by Scott gave the Cowboys a lead they never relinquished against always-tough-to-beat Central Arkansas in Conway.
These were only two stand-out plays among many for a defense that set the tone for a season many won’t soon forget — in particular, Wallace Scott, who was honored as Louisiana’s Defensive Player of the Year by the Louisiana’s Sportswriters Association.
McNeese’s unblemished record wouldn’t have been realized without the assistance of Mother Nature.
Odds are the heavy underdog Cowboys would have put up a valiant effort in the highly-anticipated season opener at LSU, but beating the Tigers was a long shot. A steady dose of heavy rains led to lightning strikes that surrounded Tiger Stadium long enough to force officials to cancel the game due to safety concerns.
It was the first weather-induced cancellation in over 100 years of LSU football, and the first in my 30-plus years of covering college football — or NFL games, for that matter.
It was a sign of the unpredictability that was to become commonplace.
The nation had to wait another week before LSU’s Leonard Fournette unleashed his record-breaking terror against opposing defenses.
For seven straight weeks, and seven straight victories, Fournette was the best running back in college or pro, averaging over 200 yards per game, at least two touchdowns, and an array of Heisman-worthy highlights.
If Fournette wasn’t running over defenders, he was literally carrying them on his back, or throwing them aside with what looked like a Thor-like thrust of an arm.
Fournette’s legacy at LSU was cemented over those seven games, as the Tigers rose as high as no. 2 in the College Football Playoff rankings.
Who can forget how quickly it all came tumbling down in Tuscaloosa.
The demise started at Alabama (a 30-16 blowout) on Nov. 7. It continued the next week, in a 31-14 embarrassment against Arkansas; and the slide to oblivion was capped the following week, on Nov. 21, in a 38-17 loss at Ole Miss.
November’s fall from grace was of epic proportions, and led to one of the university’s most unsavory rumor filled, back room, power broker, ego driven episodes involving the future of 11-year head coach Les Miles.
Weeks of speculation, headline stories and national media criticism ensued as athletic director Joe Alleva and the LSU administration turned the job security of Miles into a public relations nightmare.
It was the story in all of college football for the run of November. Was Miles in or out at LSU?
The Tigers’ 19-7 win over Texas A&M, which ended the three games from hell for LSU fans, turned into what appeared to be a farewell victory lap for Miles at Tiger Stadium. The fans cheered his name, and demanded Miles to stay and Alleva to go.
In the end, no one was fired.
Miles came out on top in the court of public and media opinion.
Alleva, LSU president F. King Alexander and well-heeled boosters saw how the tide had turned, and maybe their inability to secure a commitment from Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher also forced them to back off and throw their support behind the “Mad Hatter.”
Before the football season began, I would not have predicted a mutiny against Miles, or that McNeese’s Matt Viator would end his successful 10-year run as the Cowboys head coach.
While Miles was the biggest sports story around the state, the decision of Viator to accept the head coach’s position at UL-Monroe was tops in Southwest Louisiana.
It was by no means a shock that Viator got the job. He was deserving of the opportunity to coach at the larger F.B.S. level and nearly triple his salary. I tend to think McNeese fans grew so comfortable with the home-grown Viator that they thought he was destined to retire in the blue and gold.
He still might wear the colors again, as the final chapter is still a long way from being completed.
In the aftermath of Viator’s departure, athletic director Bruce Hemphill made what many thought was the best possible move, and named Guidry as the new head coach.
The 44-year-old veteran assistant coach, former McNeese player and highly lauded defensive coordinator is also a home-bred product, from Welsh, but with F.B.S. experience at Miami of Ohio and Western Kentucky.
Guidry and Viator coached side by side for many years, but they could not be more different in personality and style.
Ironically, all these coaching changes at McNeese might not have transpired if the Cowboys had ended their playoff losing streak and beaten Sam Houston State in the second round of the F.C.S. tournament.
Timing is everything, many believe, and if Viator’s Cowboys could have advanced in the playoffs, UL-Monroe, who was looking to name a new head coach quickly because of recruiting and staff, may not have looked hard in his direction.
You see, Viator was working 24-7 to win his first playoff game in five post season trips, and he thought he had the team and the defense to finally do it.
They probably would have, if not for a first and goal at the BearKats one yard line that eventually saw a series of unbelievable mistakes and mishaps that forced McNeese to finally punt from the 39 yard line.
It was the damnedest and cruelest collection of convoluted negative plays I’ve ever seen.
Game over.
Sam Houston 34, McNeese 29.
The Cowboys’ hopes and dreams of another F.C.S. championship run ended before it began, and their playoff futility and failures continued.
Futility took on a familiar refrain in New Orleans, as the Saints defense set more NFL records that they are surely not proud of.
The Saints’ secondary allowed the most single-season touchdown passes, and its well-known the defensive backs, led by veteran Brandon Browner, have been the most penalized in NFL history.
The defensive ineptitude continued to be a drag on Sean Payton’s offense, which was a respectable top-5 passing offense. A dinged-up Drew Brees missed a game with a shoulder injury, and was hobbled with a foot injury late in the season, but he continued to set a high standard, and topped all NFL quarterbacks again, with over 4,800 yards passing.
The strained relationship between Payton and defensive coordinator Rob Ryan ended earlier in the season, with Ryan’s firing.
The Saints 7-9 finish only matched last year, but allowed Payton to avoid his first 10-loss season in 10 years at the helm. The 3-6 skid over the second half of the season did nothing to quell chatter and rumors that Payton may opt out of the last two years on his contract and try and convince another NFL team to pony up draft picks and money to get him.
I’ve always felt the biggest threat to Payton’s continued presence in New Orleans was the coaching situation with the New York Giants. He is a former Giants assistant under his mentor, Bill Parcells, and remains very chummy with New York brass and ownership.
Numerous national reports had Giants coach Tom Coughlin, at age 68, resigning this week, after 12 years and two Super Bowl championships in New York.
Upwards of 8 to 9 head coaching gigs could open up this week, which means there will be more than a few options for the 52-year-old Payton, if he, general manager Mickey Loomis and Benson are not on the same page to take the Saints forward.
Those same reports have Brees and his $30 million dollar salary cap hit also be on the way out of New Orleans, but that seems highly unlikely, on many levels. Primarily, Brees’ huge contract would be difficult for many teams to absorb. He turns 37 in a few weeks, and has shown hints of chinks in his armor.
Brees has repeatedly said he isn’t going anywhere, and it would be hard to fathom owner Tom Benson letting the franchise’s greatest and most decorated player walk out of New Orleans.
Back home, 2015 brought four high school state championships to Southwest Louisiana.
The title run began with Sam Houston winning the girls 5-A state softball championship again. Soon thereafter, the Barbe Bucs defeated archrival Sulphur in a sold-out mega matchup in the state semi finals, en route to their eighth 5-A state crown.
The Kinder Yellowjackets pulled off a baseball–football sweep in 2015, winning the state 2-A championship on the diamonds in Sulphur, and then capturing their second football title in three years in the Superdome.
Super is one way to describe what we witnessed and experienced on the national stage.
The Patriots won another Super Bowl on an ill-advised pass in the end zone that made a legend of little-known Malcolm Butler, who intercepted the Seahawks’ Russell Wilson to win the game.
We saw Golden State, led by the sharp-shooting Steph Curry, blaze a path toward an unexpected NBA Championship, while denying LeBron James a crowning achievement on his return to Cleveland.
Like the Warriors, the Kansas City Royals proved you can win a World Series from a small market, with a small salary and unknown players, if you have superb pitching and fundamentals.
Jordan Speith wowed the golf world by winning the Masters and U.S. Open, and came oh-so-close to winning a third major championship at the British Open. He bested all comers, capturing the season-ending FedEx championship and earning over $22 million in winnings.
Serena Williams, at a jaw-dropping 34 years old, was on the cusp of capturing an unheard-of grand slam, but was shockingly ousted in the semifinals of the U.S. Open. It was one of the greatest seasons in the Open era of tennis history, and Williams is back for more major titles in 2016.
The fight of the century that took nearly six years to culminate broke pay-per-view records, but was considered a monumental dud, as Floyd Mayweather scored a unanimous 12-round decision over Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas.
American Pharaoh captured the attention and spotlight of the world, becoming horse racing’s first Triple Crown champion in 37 years.
Ohio State ended the S.E.C.’s rule over college football, winning the first-ever title from the new four-team playoff system.
Wisconsin stunned the previously undefeated and seemingly unbeaten Kentucky Wildcats in the NCAA tournament semifinals. But perennial favorite Duke beat the Badgers to reign as champions in college basketball.
We weren’t spared sports scandals in 2015, by any means.
Leading the way was the never-ending, ridiculous “Deflategate” court battle between New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and the NFL.
That was followed by the international probe, arrests and dismantling of the bribery-riddled soccer organization known as F.I.F.A.
The bastion of college basketball that is the University of Louisville was embarrassed to learn of sex parties being held inside the athletic dorms over the past few years to help entice top recruits to sign with the Cardinals.
Head coach Rick Pitino claims he had no knowledge of the stripper parties. An internal university probe is ongoing, along with NCAA and FBI investigations.
As I have learned over decades of sports reporting, we look back knowing all too well that the beauty of the games can be inspiring. Look only to Lauren Hill, Eric Berry and Stuart Scott.
The sanctimonious and scurrilous behavior of owners, executives, coaches and players alike can enrage and sadden us. But, in the end, the unpredictability and the raw emotion of sports’ competitive spirit keeps us coming back for more.
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