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. August is here which means we are another month closer to fall, cooler weather and football!! Fall is my favorite time of year. I love the changing of the leaves, being able to sit outside without melting but most of all, I love cool nights by a fire, roasting marshmallows. It all can't come soon enough because as I am writing this, the current temperature is 96 degrees with a heat index of 107. Yikes!
2. The Tigers started football practice this week and coach Brian Kelly already acknowledged their need to be better and have a more "balanced" team to get into the playoffs this season. It is no secret that the defense was their Achilles heel last season so we will see what changes Kelly has in store for this season and soon, when LSU kicks off its season against USC in Las Vegas on Sept. 1st.
3. The Olympics are a little past halfway over and it has been an exciting one. So much to cover but here are my fave highlights. We have seen Team USA really dominate especially in gymnastics and swimming. The women's gymnastics team won the gold in the all-around, with the men winning bronze. In swimming, Team USA has earned an impressive total of 28 medals so far in Paris, eight of those being gold.
Simone Biles and Katie Ledecky both set records for the most Olympic medals in their sports. After Biles' issues at the Toyko games, it is truly amazing to see her come back and better than ever! I don't know what to even say about Ledecky. She is just crazy good in her FOURTH Olympics and has said she plans to train for the 2028 games in Los Angeles.
We saw also former LSU track star Sha'Carri Richardson finally get her shot at an Olympic medal, winning silver in the women's 100M and after the adversity she has had to face to get to this point, she should be incredibly proud of herself.
What has been your favorite event so far?
4. The Saints are in week 2 of training camp and the injury bug is biting them pretty hard, which has caused them to be down 4 WR's. They have made several roster moves over the past few days to help compensate for temporary losses, but this is not ideal so early on in camp, when you are trying to develop chemistry and learn a new offensive scheme. Hopefully everyone can get back on the practice field and soon because their first preseason game is Saturday night against the Cardinals.
5. The Baton Rouge Zydeco have announced their 2nd Baton Rouge Zydeco Free Agent Camp will take place in October in Lafayette. This is the chance for local athletes to get their shot at a try out for professional hockey. You can get more details on the Zydeco's website or Facebook page.
6. Today is National Oyster Day (I really think there is a national holiday for everything now, lol) but none the less, oysters are something we love here in Louisiana and thankfully have an abundance of them most of the time.
There is nothing like a good oyster po-boy, but they are so many other recipes for them. Oyster dressing is popular during the holidays and people flock to local restaurants like Drago's, who are famous for their delicious, charbroiled oysters. If you haven't tried them, you are definitely missing out.
7. Thinking of all those who are about to get hit by Huuricane Debby. Forecasters say that that there will be significant storm surge and flooding with rain totals reaching up to 30 inches in some area. The effects of Debby will be felt in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina throughout the week. Hope everyone is prepared and stays safe!
Well, that's all folks. See you next week... same time, same place.
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