Fly like an Eagle

Ryan Moats. Here's a guy who I think about a lot, follow closely and unfortunately only get to speak to on rare occasions. Saturday was one of those rare occasions.

I try to follow Ryan, a former superstar running back at Louisiana Tech who was a friend of mine from our days together in Ruston, through the Philadelphia Eagles' Web site, where he is now a running back in the NFL. As I stopped by the site today, I saw where Ryan had updated his blog (caution: you might have to sign up to see this page).

Reading about Ryan reaching out to children in Philly and also talking about buying a house in Dallas made me think about how much I missed just chilling with the cool cat in Ruston. So I decided to call him. We had a great conversation, and I got to tell him that I had moved to Alexandria and the exciting things that are going on in my life. In turn, I got to hear the exciting things that are going on in Philly, as Moats prepares for his second season in the NFL -- and a much bigger role in the offense.

Also on the Eagles' site was a column written by Dave Spadaro, who runs the site and writes a daily column about behind-the-scenes info in Philly. Here's what Dave had to say about Moats:

RYAN MOATS, RB
This is player who has made a dramatic improvement in his game. It's obvious to anyone who has seen him practice and play in the last year.

Moats always had the startling quickness and that low-to-the-ground running style. He's jitterbug-fast and he changes direction so well that I imagine he's like tackling a fish swimming downstream.

After a promising rookie year, Moats has made strides this spring. Where Moats has worked the hardest, it's clear to see, is his ability to catch the football and transition up the field. He battled the ball last year a bit. That was a weakness. He wasn't entirely comfortable coming out of the backfield and smoothly making a catch and getting into high gear.

In these post-draft camps, Moats has been outstanding catching the football. Not flawless, for sure, but truly outstanding. He is smooth. He is confident.
Maybe it's because Moats now knows where he is supposed to go that he's playing so well. He has the talent; he's also armed with knowledge now.

I have seen many instances when Moats and Brian Westbrook have been paired in the backfield, and I think that is going to give defensive coordinators fits. I would imagine that coordinators will challenge Moats when they see him in the backfield and that they will send a blitzer and force Moats to prove he can pass protect sufficiently. We will see in training camp how much Moats has improved in that phase of his game.

To date, there is no more improved player in this camp. Moats is exciting to see, and the thinking here is that the coaching staff is going to find a way to get him on the field a lot.

Chatting futbol

Had another story in today's paper. This was one of those stories that just happens. Was doing some work for the story that ran in yesterday's paper and just happened to run into this former women's national team player working a camp here in Alexandria. Had the chance to chat with her for about 15-20 minutes about the state of the game.

Very interesting. Learned a lot. I always enjoy talking with people who know soccer. For awhile, my only source of information was Binni. I sort of became Binni Jr. Now it's nice to get out and actually pick other people's brains.

The Cup starts today, for those of you who care. There are far too few of us who actually do in this country. In fact, opening kickoff is just about an hour and a half away right now.

I constantly hear people say, "Oh, you like soccer?" Like it's the plague or something. And they don't want to hear my chatter about the game's growing (it's the No. 1 youth sport in this country now). But I have firm proof. It's called TV. Did you know that EVERY game will be on TV this year? And not just like (to steal a line from Dodge Ball) ESPN 8, "The Ocho". I'm talking about ESPN, ESPN2 and even ABC. All 64 first round games will be televised. That's simply amazing and is positive proof that the game is growing here in America.

There will be plenty of good soccer on TV this weekend. Most of you, if you care at all, won't care until 11 a.m. (CST) on Monday -- when the U.S. opens its Cup against No. 2 Czech Republic. But for those of you who might want to check out some of the other top teams in the world, here's a list of some of the top games this weekend:

Friday
Germany vs. Costa Rica (11 a.m., ESPN2)

Saturday
England vs. Paraguay (8 a.m., ABC)
Argentina vs. Ivory Coast (2 p.m., ESPN2)

Sunday
Netherlands vs. Serbia and Montenegro (8 a.m., ESPN2)
Portugal vs. Angola (2 p.m., ESPN2)

Start paying attention

Well, I recently expanded upon my job title of assistant metro editor by putting together a package including this story and a column in Thursday's edition of The Town Talk. In addition, I will have another story in Friday's edition.

As the self-professed soccer guru of The Town Talk -- although assistant sports editor Jeff Matthews is also a fan -- I have taken it upon my shoulders to try and get more soccer coverage leading up to the world's biggest sporting event, which begins Friday (as an aside, the U.S. kicks off play at 11 a.m., Monday, against the Czech Republic).

For those of you who miss reading my stuff, here's a chance to get some good soccer facts backed with a dose of my opinions. I thought it came together for a pretty nice package, and tomorrow's story is a nice complimentary piece as well.

I don't know how much I will get to write, as my main responsibilities are on the editing side. However, I will keep everyone up to date whenever something like this happens.

Laval goes up in SMOKE

For the first time in more than 2 decades, LSU's baseball program appears to be in utter disarray.

Smoke Laval, LSU's head coach for the past 5 years and previously the head man at NLU/ULM, resigned Sunday morning, ending months of turmoil and speculation over his job security. Laval, who had the unenviable task of following the legendary Skip Bertman, now LSU's athletic director, had led LSU to 2 College World Series but couldn't fill Bertman's shoes and saw the Tigers finish eighth in the SEC this year and miss out on the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1984.

I feel bad for Smoke. The former LSU assistant was hand-picked by Bertman to be the coach's successor. But nobody wants to try to fill the shoes of a legend. It's always said you want to be the man who follows the man who followed the legend. Now someone gets that chance. But who will it be?

The News-Star's story lists Alabama's Jim Wells, Mike Bianco at Ole Miss and Kentucky's John Cohen. Other potential candidates are ULL's Tony Robichaux, Tulane's Rick Jones, Louisiana Tech's Wade Simoneaux and LSU assistant Turtle Thomas. With LSU's storied tradition, the list of potential candidates could be even lengthier.

But why would these guys want the LSU gig? The Tigers are far removed from the glory days of the 1990s, when Bertman won 5 national titles in 10 years. The SEC, arguably the best league in the nation along with the ACC, is very, very deep. And parity is beginning to seep into collegiate baseball. Sure, some of the big names are always there. But the talent pool is getting deeper and instead of the same 8-12 teams competing for the CWS every year, now there are a legitimate 20-25 teams vying for one of those coveted spots.

Let's take a look at each potential candidate and assess the possibility of their taking the LSU gig.

Jim Wells -- Has been at Alabama for the past 12 years, where he has built the Crimson Tide into a national powerhouse. In 1995, he took over the worst program in the SEC. Ten years later, what a turnaround. Won the SEC title this year and currently has Alabama ranked 4th in the nation. The Tide defeated Troy 14-5 Sunday night to wrap up its regional and will host a super regional next weekend. However, he does have Louisiana ties. Wells is a native of Bossier City and has previously coached for 5 years at Northwestern State. Wells also began his college career as a grad assistant for Bertman at LSU. Wells has coached in 3 College World Series in his career and has a good shot at a 4th this year. While it makes tremendous sense for LSU to take a shot at Wells given his success and Louisiana ties, I don't think he'd be too ready to leave Tuscaloosa -- unless the price is right.

Mike Bianco -- In his 6th season in Oxford, Bianco has the Rebels in the super regional for the second straight year after a 12-4 win over Tulane Sunday night. Bianco has completely turned Ole Miss around, winning a school-record 48 games in 2005 and another 43 so far this season. Like Wells, Bianco has ties to Louisiana and LSU. Bianco is an LSU grad and former LSU assistant under Bertman. He got his first head coaching gig at McNeese State, where he served for 3 years before moving to Ole Miss. Like Wells, Bianco has turned around a dormant program. Unlike Wells, Bianco has been in Oxford for a dozen years. After 6 seasons, especially if Bianco can get the Rebels to the CWS for the first time ever, it might be time for him to go back home.

John Cohen -- Considered one of the hot young coaches in the country, Cohen is in his 3rd year in Lexington and led the Wildcats to an SEC East title this year. He's also got UK in the Super Regional after a 12-9 win over Ball State Sunday night. Like the previous 2 candidates, Cohen has ties to Louisiana -- like Wells, he's a former head coach at NSU, where he coached for 4 years. Unlike the previous 2 candidates, he doesn't have any LSU or Bertman ties. Cohen played college ball at Mississippi State. He's a native of Tuscaloosa, Ala. After failing to win 30 games his first 2 years in Lexington, Cohen has had a breakthrough year. He might want to jump ship and take a higher-paying gig in Baton Rouge. Although he might want to build a program at Kentucky, his previous track record doesn't indicate that. He spent 5 years at NSU, 2 as an assistant at Florida and the past 3 at UK. His longest tenure was his first job, as an assistant at Missouri, where he spent 6 seasons. Of all the coaches, I think he'd be the most likely to jump ship to Baton Rouge.

Tony Robichaux -- Overall, Robichaux had a disappointing 2006, failing to make an NCAA Regional. However, for his tenure in Lafayette, he has put up some incredible numbers. In 12 years at ULL, he's won more than 400 games. In 19 total seasons, he's won nearly 700. Prior to ULL, he served for 7 seasons at his alma mater, McNeese State. While he's not quite the hot commodity he was in 2000, when the Ragin' Cajuns won 49 games and finished 3rd in the CWS, the man has been fairly consistent throughout his career. The question is his mind is can he get ULL back to the CWS? If he feels he's peaked in Lafayette, he may be looking for the next big thing -- a trip to Baton Rouge. However, the man has turned down jobs before, including LSU when Laval got the job. He's been loyal to ULL and is, at best, a longshot for the job this time. No question, though, the man can coach.

Rick Jones -- Jones has made Tulane a national power in baseball. In 13 years, he has 2 trips to the CWS. He's can legitimately say his team is a rival of LSU. Why would he want to leave? Good question. Tulane was knocked out of the NCAA Regional Sunday night by Bianco and Ole Miss. He's been to 13 regionals and the CWS in 2001 and again last season. In fact, his team knocked Laval and LSU out in 2005. But when is it time to move on? Tulane can still compete with anybody in the country. And Jones knows that. I doubt he'll seriously consider LSU should they offer.

Two other names that might get outside consideration are Simoneaux and Thomas. I doubt Sim has done enough at Tech to warrant serious consideration, and Thomas was passed over last time by Bertman. I don't see why this time will be any different. In the end, though, it should be fun to follow the saga. Will LSU ever be the same again? Depends on if they hire the right coach. In my eyes, Cohen or Bianco are the leaders in this chase.