Good afternoon 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. As we get into the later part of October, the weather gets nicer, and events start picking up. This week in particular, there are a lot of things going on in and around NOLA and BR. One of the newer and coolest festivals, Top Taco is Thursday night at Lafreniere Park. Taylor Swift is bringing her Eras Tour to town for 3 concert dates in the Superdome. The Pelicans start their regular season Wednesday night, and the Zydeco are back for 2024. (more on both later)

2. The Saints lost their 5th straight game in primetime on Thursday Night Football. What made this loss worse was that it was to their old coach, Sean Payton and in front of Drew Brees, who was honored that day by being inducted into the Saints Hall of Fame.

At the HOF luncheon, I asked Drew if he had a message for fans and he said that he hoped that the night would be as special for them as it was to him. While fans cheered for Drew running out the tunnel one last time during team introductions and during the HOF presentation during halftime, sadly, the team was unable to put together a win for him. There are many issues plaguing the team right now, none bigger than the mountain of injuries that have absolutely crushed them since Week 1. This part of their schedule has not been fair either, having to play 3 games in just 10 days is brutal.

Hopefully getting 10 days off to rest and recover will help the team but honestly, we are in Week 8 and with so many key losses, it is hard to see a flash of light at the end of the tunnel. While there is still a lot of football left to play, if they can't stop the rash of injuries and get most of their starters back on the field, their season could be over before they get into the heart of it.

3. LSU won their 6th straight game after completely dominating the Arkansas Razorbacks 34-10, in "The Battle for the Boot" on Saturday night in Fayetteville. It was in my opinion, their most complete game of the season with all three phases finally coming together. It took a few weeks, but they got there.

Freshman RB Caden Durham had a phenomenal night, recording 21 carries for 101 yards and 3 TDs.

Next up, the Tigers are back on the road for a date with Texas A & M on Saturday night.

4. The Pelicans held a free "Back to Basketball" event for fans at the Smoothie King Center yesterday. The sold-out event gave fans their first look at this year's team with players signing autographs and taking pictures with the crowd.

On Wednesday night, they will open their regular season at home against the Chicago Bulls.

5. Hockey is back for 2024 as the Baton Rouge Zydeco opened the season at home on Thursday night with 10-1 win against the Biloxi Sea Wolves. Sadly, they lost 2 on the road this weekend but will be back home on Friday night at the River Center.

6. Calling all foodies! Top Taco is back this Thursday, October 24th. Come check out all the delicious dishes with unlimited tacos and cocktails from some of the best restaurants in New Orleans. There is also a VIP BBQ experience, mechanical bull, goat yoga, a petting zoo and live music on 3 stages plus a Taylor Swift costume contest.

Good food and a great event for a great cause as proceeds from the festival go towards the PLEASE Foundation.

Go check it all out Thursday night. Gates open at 6 pm

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

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