Howell: Weekend Thoughts

Good morning and welcome to my weekend thoughts. Each Monday, I will share my thoughts on what's happening in and around SE Louisiana and give my opinions on some random topics that are on my mind. I'll also answer some questions that our readers send in so hit me up on anything from sports, music, food and more...

1. This was a pretty low-key weekend and sometimes you just need one. With training camp (more on that in a little bit) and football season getting ready to start plus all the other festivals and events coming up, it was nice to just chill for a bit.

I finally watched Oppenheimer, all 3 hours of it. Whew! That was a lot to take in. It was a great storyline, and I see why Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr. won Oscars, but overall, I didn't like the movie. It started very slowly and the jumping back and forth between scenes made it harder to follow, but it's the kind of movie the Academy likes. Me, not so much. Barbie was last year's other blockbuster, and I haven't seen it yet either.

One day soon... maybe??

2. Another movie I finally watched this weekend was The Greatest Showman. Yes, another somewhat older movie that I had been wanting to see, just never did. Hugh Jackman was incredible as was the cinematography. Oh, and the music!!! The soundtrack was truly amazing!

It is pretty fun discovering these older movies and tv series for the first time. It's obvious my taste has changed a good bit through the years. Because some things I would have never been interested in before, I love now.

Yes, we are still watching the Blacklist regularly, heading towards the end of season 5 now. All I will say is really... Tom? Hasn't been Lizzy been through enough? This show has more twists and turns than an amusement ride. I have to commend the writers for their creative and clever storylines, that fit together perfectly like a puzzle.

3. ESPN has just released their Top 25 list of stadiums in college football and guess who was #1... Tiger Stadium. I have not personally been to Tiger Stadium for a game yet, but from what I have always heard, I am not surprised it was ranked first. It is a beautiful stadium, in a great location with lots of parking plus LSU has some of the most passionate fans in all of sports. I have friends who have gotten up before the sun rises to tailgate all day for a night game. Some of them, then turn around and do the same thing the very next day for Saints home games. Absolutely FANtastic!

4. NFL training camp is officially here, with all teams reporting this week. Saints will report on Tuesday, July 23rd, at the University of California, Irvine, with their first practice on Wednesday, July 24th. The Chicago Bears and Houston Texans will face off in the Hall of Fame game on Thursday, August 1st at Tom Benson Stadium in Canton, Ohio.

Take a deep breath, we made through the offseason.

Angel Reese's star just keeps on shining. The former Tiger and Chicago Sky rookie was selected to the WNBA All-Star team. Reese received the honor by votes from WNBA coaches. She joined Caitlin Clark as the only two rookies selected for Saturday night's game which featured Team USA against the WNBA All-stars. Reese added to her already impressive stats scoring 13 points and 11 rebounds helping Team WBNA win 117-109 while making a little history too.

6. The opening ceremony for the 2024 Olympics in Paris will be on Friday night. This year, the ceremony will actually be a boat parade rather than inside a stadium.

Almost 100 boats carrying all the Olympic athletes will travel down the historic Seine River while passing through some of Paris' iconic bridges, landmarks and Olympic venues. The parade will end near the Eiffel Tower, in front of the Trocadéro, where the finale will take place. It is sure to be a beautiful show.

7. Just a reminder for all you Marvel junkies, Deadpool comes out in just 3 days. I haven't been this excited about a movie release in a really long time. IMO, the MCU has been suffering since Endgame, with only one movie (Spiderman: No Way Home) hitting the Marvel level mark we expect. As Deadpool/Wade jokes in the trailer, he is there to save the MCU, and he means it literally. Well, we shall see and no worries, I will give you my spoiler free review next week.

Well, that's all folks. See you next week... same time, same place.

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