The Louisiana Sports Writers Association

LT. GOV. DARDENNE HOSTS SPORTS HALL OF FAME

GRAND OPENING RECEPTION JUNE 28

Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Foundation are hosting a grand opening reception in Natchitoches Friday, June 28 for the state’s newest and most dazzling cultural attraction—the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum.

The grand opening reception highlights a series of weekend events marking the completion of the $23-million museum complex set in Louisiana’s oldest city. On Saturday, June 29, the Sports Hall of Fame will induct 11 new members including

basketball great Shaquille O’Neal and tennis champion Chanda Rubin.

“Louisiana’s sports tradition is on par with our world-class food, music and culture so we are proud it finally has a space to call its own,” Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne said.

Developed and operated by the Louisiana State Museum system in partnership with the Louisiana Sports Writers Association and the City of Natchitoches, the 27,500-square-foot museum complex provides a permanent home for the Sports Hall of Fame and its collection of portraits and memorabilia celebrating the

achievements of more than 300 Louisiana athletes, coaches and other sports figures.

The Northwest Louisiana History Museum explores the evolution of unique cultural traditions from early native-American civilizations to the present. The building itself, designed by Trahan Architects of New Orleans, evokes the region’s rivers and

plowed fields with sinuous molded stone interiors and earth- colored exterior sheathing.

Featuring current and prior year Sports Hall of Fame inductees and a sports-themed live auction, the Friday evening grand opening reception is a benefit for the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Foundation. Tickets for this exclusive event are $125

per person and are available at LaSportsHall.com or by calling 318.238.4255.

The museum complex is located at 800 Front Street in downtown Natchitoches. The museum is handicap accessible. For more information about the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and the Northwest Louisiana History museum call 318.357.2492 or

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Doug Ireland

NATCHITOCHES – Opening the doors to the spectacular Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Museum provides an unprecedented highlight for the annual Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration June 27-29 that honors an 11-member 2013 class comprised of state sports greats.

The Grand Opening for the new $23 million museum is Friday night, June 28, the first time anyone will see the sensational exhibits showcasing Louisiana’s remarkable sports history and culture and featuring the Hall of Fame’s 355 previously-enshrined members plus the 2013 inductees. Louisiana Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne, a driving force behind the museum’s completion, will welcome patrons and honored guests at the event.

The inductees will be enshrined Saturday night, June 29, at the Natchitoches Events Center during the 2013 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Dinner and Ceremony. The event is the culmination of the Induction Celebration beginning Thursday evening, June 27, with the Kickoff Reception and including the Celebrity Pro-Am Golf Scramble at Oak Wing Golf Course in Alexandria teeing off at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 28.

Available now are sponsorship opportunities that include ticket packages, golf entries, congratulatory advertisements and other benefits for the 2013 Induction Celebration. Individual tickets to the museum Grand Opening and the Induction Dinner and Ceremony will go on sale May 13 through secure online transactions at LaSportsHall.com or by calling the Hall of Fame Foundation office at 318-238-4255.

The Induction Celebration schedule was announced by the parent organization of the Hall, the Louisiana Sports Writers Association, and the Hall of Fame Foundation, led by CEO/President Lisa Babin, in conjunction with the Louisiana State Museum system.

Basketball superstar Shaquille O’Neal, women’s tennis great Chanda Rubin and eight-time NFL Pro Bowl selection Kevin Mawae headline a sparkling 2013 induction class.

LSU football passing king Tommy Hodson and nationally-acclaimed jockey Ronald Ardoin, a Carencro native, are joined in the 2013 class by Grambling basketball legend James Jones, a Tallulah native who made the all-time team of the American Basketball Association.

Jonesville native Ervin Johnson, whose unlikely 13-year NBA career was launched at a grocery store and took root at the University of New Orleans, is the third pro basketball standout in the group. Two other inductees have amateur basketball ties: the late Ed “Skeets” Tuohy, who had a career 84.5 winning percentage as coach at New Orleans’ Newman High, and the late Anna Koll, a remarkable all-around athlete from New Orleans in the 1920s and 1930s.

O’Neal became a national star during his three seasons at LSU. Rubin, a Lafayette native, broke onto the world tennis stage as a teenager in 1992. Mawae played high school football at Leesville and blossomed into a second-round NFL Draft choice during 1990-93 at LSU.

Also honored with enshrinement will be New Orleans businessman and sportsman Milton Retif, recipient of the Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award. Pulitzer Prize-winning outdoors writer Bob Marshall, a veteran of four decades with the New Orleans Times-Picayune, will go into the Hall as the 2013 winner of the Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.

The Kickoff Reception will again be hosted at The Landing Restaurant on Front Street in Natchitoches beginning at 5 p.m. on Thursday, June 27. The golf tournament at Oak Wing moves up to a 10 a.m. tee time this year to allow for the Grand Opening at the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum starting at 7:30 on Friday, June 28.

The first-ever Hall of Fame Kids’ Autograph Session is set for 10-11 a.m. Saturday morning, June 29, at Prather Coliseum on the Northwestern State campus in Natchitoches. It will be free for children 5-18.

The Hall of Fame Induction Reception and Silent Auction begins that evening at 5 p.m. at the Natchitoches Events Center with the Dinner and Ceremony starting promptly at 6.

The 2013 athletes and coaching inductees will raise the total of Hall of Fame members to 302 competitors honored since the first induction class - baseball’s Mel Ott, world champion boxer Tony Canzoneri and LSU football great Gaynell Tinsley – were enshrined in 1959 after their election a year earlier.

Additionally, 52 journalists have previously received the Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism, along with 11 previous Dave Dixon Award winners. This year’s 11 inductees will bring the total Hall of Fame membership to 364 in its 55 years of existence.

The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame includes nine members of the Basketball Hall of Fame, six of the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players, six Baseball Hall of Fame inductees, 16 Pro Football Hall of Fame members, seven Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame enshrines, 18 Olympic medalists (10 gold medal winners), 34 College Football Hall of Fame members, five National High School Hall of Fame enshrinees, jockeys with a combined 12 Triple Crown victories, six world boxing champions, four College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees, three NBA Finals MVPs and two Super Bowl MVPs.

A complete membership list and biographical information on current members is available at LaSportsHall.com/Inductees, with a steady stream of info available on Facebook and Twitter.

By Doug Ireland

NATCHITOCHES – New Orleans businessman and baseball giant Milton Retif is the 2013 recipient of the Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award presented by the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.

Retif, 80, has a lifelong record of sports leadership and accomplishment along with being a benefactor of prep, college and amateur sports in New Orleans. He will be among the 11 honorees at the 2013 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Dinner and Ceremonies on Saturday evening, June 29, at the Natchitoches Events Center.

The Induction Dinner and Ceremonies are the culmination of the 2013 Induction Celebration beginning Thursday afternoon, June 27, with the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Press Conference and Kickoff Reception.

Louisiana sport stars Ronald Ardoin, Tommy Hodson, Ervin Johnson, James Jones, Anna Koll, Kevin Mawae, Shaquille O’Neal, Chanda Rubin and Ed “Skeets” Tuohy are the nine athletes and coaches who will enter the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame this summer.

Also honored with enshrinement will be a recipient of the Louisiana Sports Writers Association’s Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism, to be announced this week.

Tickets and other event participation opportunities will be available soon through the LaSportsHall.com website.

The 2013 Induction Class will be the first to be welcomed into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Museum, operated by the Louisiana State Museum system in a partnership with the Louisiana Sports Writers Association. The striking two-story, 27,500-square foot structure faces Cane River Lake in the National Historic Landmark District of Natchitoches and will open this summer.

The Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award is presented annually by the LSWA’s 30-member Hall of Fame selection committee to an individual who has played a decisive role as a sports leader or administrator benefiting Louisiana and/or bringing credit to Louisiana on the national and international level.

Dixon Award winners are enshrined as Hall of Fame members and will be recognized in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Museum.

The award is named in honor of Hall of Famer Dave Dixon, the driving force behind bringing the NFL to Louisiana with the creation of the New Orleans Saints franchise. Dixon, who passed away in 2010, is also considered the “father” of the Mercedez-Benz Louisiana Superdome, developing the concept for the innovative domed structure and pushing state officials for its construction in the late 1960s.

Retif is a member of the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame (2001) as an athlete, coach and civic contributor and three years later was enshrined in the Hilton Riverside Walk of Fame for “positive contributions to the way of life in New Orleans.”

A former outstanding infielder at Jesuit (an All-State selection who played for a state title team in 1950) and Tulane where he was captain of the team in the early 1950’s, Retif saved the Tulane program with financial contributions in 1966 when the Green Wave gave consideration to making baseball a club sport.

He took over the program a year later as an unpaid head coach and built a 123-73 (.628) record and coached the Wave to national prominence including a No. 1 national ranking in 1971. A highly-successful businessman and a major backer of the Green Wave program, financing team locker rooms and other necessities, his uniform number at Tulane is retired for his impact as a player, coach and supporter.

He holds an annual golf tournament benefitting many of his New Orleans-area charitable causes. For years, Retif has been a major sponsor of American Legion baseball programs for Jesuit and Archbishop Shaw high schools. He has received Shaw’s Don Bosco Award for being a “role model for youth through sports and school activities.” His alma mater, Jesuit, voted him Outstanding Alumnus in 1993. He has created an endowment for students there. Coaches, parents, and former players say his support far surpassed check-writing and fund-raising.

Soon after the 1975 opening of the Superdome, Retif was instrumental in staging a baseball exhibition between the Yankees and Red Sox, with proceeds going to Grambling State and Christian Brothers School in New Orleans. He was the cornerstone of a push to raise funds for the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame earlier this century, helping organize support in New Orleans from civic and business leaders.

Ten men have previously been presented the Dixon Award since its inception in 2005. Last year’s winner was Marksville physician Dr. L.J. Mayeux, the former national president and chairman of the board for Ducks Unlimited renowned for his efforts to restore duck habitat across the nation.

The first winner was Randy Gregson, a New Orleans native/resident and former president of the United States Tennis Association. In 2006 the winner was Emmanuel “Boozy” Bourgeois, president of Louisiana Special Olympics since 1972.

The 2007 recipients were Don Landry, a longtime collegiate administrator and basketball coach, and Doug Thornton, the executive director of the Superdome.

In 2008, the Dixon Award went to world renowned orthopedic Dr. James Andrews, a Homer native, LSU graduate and SEC champion pole vaulter.

The 2009 recipients were George Dement, a Bossier City boxing and youth sports activist; and “Mr. Softball” Benny Turcan, a New Orleans native and long-time state ASA softball commissioner.

In 2010 the Dixon Award winner was Gerald Boudreaux, the longtime City of Lafayette recreation director best known as one of the country’s top college basketball referees in the last three decades.

Two years ago, the committee honored Elmo Adolph, an Olympic and professional boxing official, and Billy Montgomery, who as a highly-regarded state legislator championed sports causes including construction of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame museum.

By Doug Ireland

NATCHITOCHES – Pulitzer Prize-winning outdoors writer Bob Marshall, a veteran of four decades with the New Orleans Times-Picayune, has won the 2013 Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.

Marshall has spent much of his 39-year career chronicling the people, stories and issues of Louisiana’s wetlands culture. In 1997, Marshall was a member of the Times-Picayune’s three-man team that won a Pulitzer Prize for the series “Oceans of Trouble” which examined the plight of the world’s fisheries. In 2005, Marshall’s investigations into U.S. Army Corps of Engineers missteps in building the New Orleans levees and floodwalls was part of the newpaper’s reporting package that won a Pulitzer for coverage of Hurricane Katrina.

In addition, Marshall was a finalist for the Investigative Editors and Reporters award and the Polk Award for his on-going coverage into the causes of the disaster. He has won dozens of honors for writing and reporting and is also currently serving as conservation editor for Field & Stream Magazine.

His career reflects extensive work as a reporter and columnist covering the outdoors, professional, college and Olympics sports, feature writing, op-ed columns, and special projects specializing in environmental issues.

The Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism is the most prestigious honor offered to sports media in the state. Recipients are chosen by the 30-member Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame selection committee based on their professional accomplishments in local, state, regional and even national arenas, with leadership in the LSWA a contributing factor and three decades of work in the profession as a requirement.

Marshall will be among the 11 honorees spotlighted the 2013 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Dinner and Ceremonies on Saturday evening, June 29, at the Natchitoches Events Center.

The Induction Dinner and Ceremonies are the culmination of the 2013 Induction Celebration beginning Thursday afternoon, June 27, with the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Press Conference and Kickoff Reception.

Louisiana sport stars Ronald Ardoin, Tommy Hodson, Ervin Johnson, James Jones, Anna Koll, Kevin Mawae, Shaquille O’Neal, Chanda Rubin and Ed “Skeets” Tuohy are the nine athletes and coaches who will enter the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame this summer.

Also honored with enshrinement will be New Orleans businessman and sportsman Milt Retif, recipient of the Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award.

Tickets and other event participation opportunities will be available soon through the LaSportsHall.com website.

The 2013 Induction Class will be the first to be welcomed into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Museum, operated by the Louisiana State Museum system in a partnership with the Louisiana Sports Writers Association. The striking two-story, 27,500-square foot structure faces Cane River Lake in the National Historic Landmark District of Natchitoches and will open this summer.

Distinguished Service Award winners will be recognized in the Hall of Fame along with the 304 athletes, coaches and administrators chosen for enshrinement since 1959. Only 52 prominent figures in the state’s sports media have been honored with the Distinguished Service Award since its inception in 1982.

Bob Marshall is one of the finest journalists in The Times-Picayune's 175-year history. I think he was the best in the 29 years I have been there,” said Jim Kleinpeter, the LSWA president and a colleague of Marshall’s on the Times-Picayune sports staff. “Regardless of the subject matter – sports or otherwise - he always gets to the heart of the story with great clarity and perspective while entertaining and informing his readers.

“His knowledge and background along with his writing ability have made him one of the most influential, important and respected media voices in all manner of environmental issues, from hunting and fishing to wetlands restoration to global warming to the impact of Hurricane Katrina and beyond. He is an extremely valuable resource to Louisiana and truly worthy of this honor,” said Kleinpeter.

In 2007, Marshall was co-author of the Times-Picayune’s series entitled "Last Chance: The Fight to Save a Disappearing Coast," about Louisiana's coastal erosion problems, which won the 2007 John H. Oakes Prize for Distinguished Environmental Reporting from Columbia University, and the Keck Award for outstanding science reporting from The National Academies of Sciences.

His environmental reporting and essays have also earned recognition from a wide range of conservation and environmental groups, and including Conservationist of the Year awards from the Louisiana Wildlife Federation. In 2004 Marshall was elected to the Circle of Chiefs by the Outdoor Writers Association of America, that group's highest award for contributions to conservation.

Marshall's other national and regional awards for journalism include top honors from the Associated Press, United Press International, Scripps-Howard Foundation National Journalism Awards, Society of Professional Journalists, National Association of Sportswriters and Sportscasters, the Pro Football Writers of America, Outdoor Writers Association of America, Louisiana Sports Writers Association, Louisiana Outdoor Writers Association, and Southeastern Outdoors Press Association.

In addition to his newspaper work, Marshall's professional credits include terms as South region editor of Field & Stream; South columnist of Outdoor Life Magazine; host of the F&S Radio Network; co-host of ESPN's The Outdoors Writers and feature assignments for a wide range of national publications from Men's Journal and Reader's Digest to National Geographic Adventure.

2012 LSWA WRITING CONTEST RULES

SID CONTEST RULES TO COME, INCLUDING RADIO CONTEST

DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES TO GLENN QUEBEDEAUX IS FRIDAY, APRIL 5, 2013 (ALL ENTRIES AND CHECK MUST BE IN HIS HANDS BY THIS DATE!!)

Please pay attention to the rules!!!! There are some changes this year, especially with the numbering system.

**Note: Categories for websites are for writers who contribute to non-print websites only (example: SportsNola.com, tigerbait.com, WAFB.com, etc.).

Writers must declare which website the story/column appears in and stories that appear on a website cannot be entered in the regular writing contest. For instance, stories in the regular writing contest must be for a print edition publication only.

However, writers who submit entries from a website can also enter the regular contest if they choose. For example, a writer can work for and enter website categories for a dot.com and also enter writing categories for the Times-Picayune, Advocate, Advertiser, etc.

Times-Picayune stories that run only on the website because there was no print edition that day will be judged as if they appeared in print (they may not be entered in the website-only categories).

Any questions on website categories, call Sheldon Mickles (225-610-9910).

**Also please note Rule 4 below: A check for all entry fees for each person entering the contest should be included with your entries (including photographers, who also must pay the $20 fee). Entries arriving without a check will not be processed.

1. Members are allowed to submit only one entry per category except headlines (two entries are allowed) and in makeup, best section, prep writer, columnist and weekly section where multiple entries are required.

2. A member is eligible to enter work from different publications and to enter all categories, but may enter in only one class. An individual story can be entered in only one category.

3. All entries must have been published between Jan. 1, 2012 and Dec. 31, 2012 while a member was residing in the state or working for a Louisiana-based publication.

4. All entries MUST be received (including a check for all entry fees for each staffer, including photographers) by 5 p.m. Friday, April 5, 2013 to be considered for judging. Entries received after this date WILL NOT be sent to the judges. NOTE: The contest chairman will not be responsible for entries lost or delayed by the postal system. Entries must be in Glenn Quebedeaux’s hands by this date — no extensions, no excuses.

5. Entries in spot news, column, feature, series, amateur sports and headlines must be pasted on 8 1/2 x 11 sheets of white paper or Xeroxed. An original and Xeroxed copy OR two copies of each entry are required. THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.

Charts and/or graphics reflecting research by the writer are allowed if they illustrate the story. NO decoration graphics will be allowed.

All bylines, headlines, logos and other identifying marks should be removed — not marked out. Use more than one sheet of paper if necessary. No flaps or foldouts are allowed.

Put THE two copies together and attach one 3 x 5 index card, which contains the information below. The two copies and card must be paper-clipped together (IMPORTANT: DO NOT PUT ENTRY INFORMATION AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE AND DO NOT USE 5 X 7 CARDS). Entries not following this procedure will be quickly discarded.

Here is the information needed on the cards:

CLASS

CATEGORY NUMBER

NAME AND PUBLICATION

E-MAIL ADDRESS

PUBLICATION DATE

SUBJECT OF STORY (10 words or less)

EXAMPLE:

Class II

Category 25

Billy Bob Roberts, Bunkie Examiner

BillyBob@yahoo.com

March 14, 2012

Column on firing of Bunkie basketball coach Moe Loozer

6. Entries for prep writer and columnist should be pasted on 8 1/2 x 11 sheets of white paper or Xeroxed with all identifying marks removed, and then placed in a manila folder (ENTRIES NOT IN A MANILA FOLDER WILL BE DISCARDED). A card containing the information required in Rule 5 must be paper clipped to the front of the folder.

7. The pages for makeup should be clipped together, folded to quarter size and placed in a manila folder (ENTRIES NOT IN A MANILA FOLDER WILL BE DISCARDED). A card containing the information required in Rule 5 must be paper clipped to the front of the folder.

8. The pages for sports section and weekly section should be placed in a manila folder (ENTRIES NOT IN A MANILA FOLDER WILL BE DISCARDED). A card containing the information required in Rule 5 must be paper clipped to the front of the folder.

HINT: RULES 5-8 ARE MOST IMPORTANT TO AVOID HAVING ENTRIES DISCARDED, SO MAKE SURE THEY’RE CORRECT !!!!!!!!

9. Newspapers submitting entries by more than one writer are encouraged to group them by category rather than by author. This facilitates preparing entries for mailing.

10. A category must receive at least four entries to be included in the judging. If a class within a category receives less than four entries, all entries will be considered for open judging.

11. Failure to comply with the rules could result in disqualifications.

12. Entrants must have paid their LSWA dues for 2012-2013 prior to Jan. 1, 2013. The only exception to this rule are members who began working for Louisiana publications after Jan. 1.

Non-member photographers are eligible if they work for a publication which includes member writers, but they MUST pay the $20 entry fee.

13. In order to defray expenses, there will be an entry fee charged for each person submitting material for judging. Checks or money orders only, please! Entry fees are $20 per person.

Make checks payable to LSWA (DO NOT make them out to Glenn Quebedeaux) AND include payment with your entries. Entries not accompanied by a check will not be sorted and mailed to judges.

14. Send all entries and checks (made payable to LSWA) to:

Glenn Quebedeaux

22130 Crowley-Eunice Hwy.

Crowley, LA 70526

15. Results of the contest won’t be revealed prior to the awards brunch in Natchitoches in June. Questions can be directed to Glenn at 337-783-6212 (work) or 337-788-2279 (home) or Sheldon Mickles 1-800-960-6397 (work) or 225-610-9910 (cell). Judges have been selected from other parts of the country.

CONTEST CATEGORIES

CLASS I — 50,000 circulation and up

CLASS II — 49,999 circulation and under

(Class II publications can compete in Class I)

Class I Categories Class II Categories

1. Pro Event (incl. Olympic sports) 18. Pro Event (incl. Olympic sports)

2. College Event 19. College Event

3. Prep Event 20. Prep Event

4. Pro Columns 21. Pro Columns

5. College Columns 22. College Columns

6. Prep Columns 23. Prep Columns

7. Pro Features 24. Pro Features

8. College Features 25. College Features

9. Prep Features 26. Prep Features

10. Amateur Sports Event 27. Amateur Sports Event

11. Spot News 28. Spot News

12. Headlines 29. Headlines

13. Special Sections 30. Special Sections

14. Sports Makeup 31. Sports Makeup

15. Best Section 32. Best Section

16. Prep Writer 33. Prep Writer

17. Columnist 34. Columnist

Open Division

35. Outdoor Writer 39. Website Event (gamer or sidebar)

36. Weekly Section 40. Website Feature

37. College/Pro photography 41. Website Column

38. Prep/Amateur photography

*Reminder: Website event, column or feature must be written exclusively for a website and must not have appeared in print.

CATEGORY RULES

PRO EVENT — Coverage of an event (gamer or sidebar only) involving professional teams, individuals or Olympic sports. Note: This now includes Olympic sports.

COLLEGE EVENT — Coverage of an event (gamer or sidebar only) involving college teams or individuals.

PREP EVENT — Coverage of an event (gamer or sidebar only) involving prep teams or individuals.

COLUMNS — Editorial opinion must be expressed. This is NOT for features appearing under a column head.

AMATEUR EVENT — Coverage of an event involving non-professionals who are not competing for a school team. This can include AAU events, American Legion baseball, amateur/city golf tournaments and recreational sports (if in doubt about what this is, call Glenn or Sheldon for clarification).

FEATURES — All features are eligible, even if they appear under a column head.

SPOT NEWS — Coverage of a sports news development (trades, hirings, firings, deaths, investigations, etc.). PLEASE stay within the framework of this category underlined above. This has caused a lot of problems in the past; stories that do not fit here will be promptly discarded.

HEADLINES — A headline with the first six paragraphs of the story. Two entries allowed in this category (NOTE: Each entry must have two copies and must have separate index cards with complete headline written at the bottom).

SPECIAL SECTION — On any sport. Makeup, pictures and total content will be considered. Entries can be made in the names of individuals or the publication. Entries are limited to two per paper.

MAKEUP — Pick one SECTION FRONT from each of the following months to enter for judging as a unit: March, October, December, wildcard (NOTE: the wildcard can be from the same month as the mandatory dates). Entries are made in the names of individuals.

BEST SECTION — Pick one entire SPORTS SECTION from each of the following months to enter for judging as a unit: February, May, November, wildcard (NOTE: the wildcard can be from the same month as the mandatory dates). Entries are made in the name of the publication.

PREP WRITER — Coverage of three prep events/columns/features from three DIFFERENT sports (e.g., football, basketball, track) to be judged as a unit.

All sports falling under the realm of prep may be included. Stories submitted under this category may be entries in other categories. If a writer has worked for more than one publication, entries from both can be included. Follow Rule 6 for submitting entries.

COLUMNIST — Three columns on any subject. It is not necessary they take a stand, but they must have appeared under a column or opinion logo. Follow Rule 6 for submitting entries.

OPEN DIVISION

OUTDOOR WRITING — A news story, feature, column, etc. that falls within the accepted framework of outdoor writing and reporting (Note: This is now a single story, no series will be allowed.

PHOTOGRAPHY — a.) College or pro sports; b.) Prep sports (including those considered amateur sports).

A newspaper clip of the photo and an 8 x 10 original print should be placed in a manila folder with the index card containing the appropriate information paper-clipped to the outside of the folder.

WEB EVENT – Coverage of an event (gamer or sidebar only) including pro, college or prep teams or individuals. Must be published exclusively on a web site first and not used in later same-day, night or week coverage in a publication. This is for web writers exclusively.

WEB FEATURE – Feature on any sports figure (professional, college, high school or amateur).

Note carefully: As in the rules for other website categories, features must be written exclusively for a website and the name of that website must appear on the index card. Stories found in print editions will be disqualified. All other regular writing contest rules apply (stories will be thoroughly checked during contest prep and entries not meeting the criteria -- e.g. stories that aren’t entered in the proper category -- will be promptly thrown out).

WEB COLUMN – Editorial opinion must be expressed. This is NOT for features appearing under a column head. This is for web writers exclusively.

--end--

By: Doug Ireland

NATCHITOCHES – Basketball superstar Shaquille O’Neal, women’s tennis great Chanda Rubin and eight-time NFL Pro Bowl selection Kevin Mawae headline a sparkling class of nine 2013 inductees who will enter the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in late June.

Grambling basketball legend James Jones, a Tallulah native who made the all-time team of the American Basketball Association, joins LSU football passing king Tommy Hodson and nationally-acclaimed jockey Ronald Ardoin, a Carencro native, in the Hall’s 2013 induction class.

Jonesville native Ervin Johnson, whose unlikely 13-year NBA career was launched at a grocery store and took root at the University of New Orleans, is the third pro basketball standout in the 2013 class. Two other inductees have amateur basketball ties: the late Ed “Skeets” Tuohy, who had a career 84.5 winning percentage as coach at New Orleans’ Newman High, and the late Anna Koll, a remarkable all-around athlete from New Orleans in the 1920s and 1930s.

O’Neal became a national star during his three seasons at LSU. Rubin, a Lafayette native, broke onto the world tennis stage as a teenager in 1992. Mawae played high school football at Leesville and blossomed into a second-round NFL Draft choice during 1990-93 at LSU.

Their selection was announced late Saturday. They will be officially enshrined Saturday, June 29, 2013 in Natchitoches to culminate the June 27-29 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Celebration.

The 2013 Induction Class will be the first to be welcomed into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Museum, operated by the Louisiana State Museum system in a partnership with the Louisiana Sports Writers Association. The striking two-story, 27,500-square foot structure faces Cane River Lake in the National Historic Landmark District of Natchitoches and will open this summer.

“What an incredible inaugural class for the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Museum. I am particularly proud that three LSU Tigers I have watched throughout their careers are part of this class,” Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne said. “The museum is going to house a magnificent collection showcasing the many sports legends who are part of Louisiana’s extraordinary sports legacy.”

A 30-member Louisiana Sports Writers Association committee selected the 2013 inductees. The panel considered a record 146 nominees from 26 different sport categories on a 33-page ballot, said Hall of Fame chairman Doug Ireland.

O’Neal exploded into prominence playing for Hall of Fame coach Dale Brown at LSU, where he was the 1991 national Player of the Year. During an incredible 19-year NBA career, O’Neal evolved into one of the sports world’s most magnetic and charming personalities while winning four world championships, a 1996 Olympic gold medal, three MVP honors in 15 All-Star Game appearances and posting career averages of 23.7 points and 10.9 rebounds for Orlando, the Los Angeles Lakers, Miami, Phoenix, Cleveland and Boston. He was named one of the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players in 1996.

Rubin was ranked as high as No. 6 in the world in singles and No. 9 in doubles as a pro. She reached four Grand Slam semifinals in doubles, winning at the Australian Open in 1996, and made deep runs in singles in each major, along with claiming the 1992 Wimbledon Junior Singles crown at 16.

Mawae had a 16-year NFL career, the last 14 as a center for Seattle, the New York Jets and Tennessee Titans, starting 238 of 241 career games, including all 16 regular-season games in 12 seasons. He retired after playing in the 2010 Pro Bowl but remained president of the NFL Players Association until 2012, playing a key role in resolving a bitter labor dispute that nearly scuttled the 2011 season.

Jones helped Grambling win three Southwestern Athletic Conference titles while averaging 20 points and eight rebounds under Hall of Fame coach Fred Hobdy before being the 13th pick in the 1967 NBA Draft. The 6-4 swingman opted to sign with New Orleans in the ABA, and made six All-Star Game appearances in seven seasons and became the second 2,000-point scorer in league history before playing his last two years in the NBA with Baltimore.

Hodson, a Matthews native and standout at Central Lafourche High School, was a four-year starter and All-Southeastern Conference quarterback from 1986-89 at LSU. He guided the Tigers to the 1988 SEC championship while setting SEC and LSU records with 9,115 career passing yards, with that mark and his 69 touchdown passes still standing atop the Tigers’ annals more than two decades later. He played seven NFL seasons for four teams, finishing with the New Orleans Saints.

Johnson never played high school basketball and was a 6-foot-11 bagboy at a Baton Rouge grocery when introduced to then-UNO coach Tim Floyd. In four seasons (1990-93) for the Privateers, he developed into a second-team All-American who helped UNO to two NCAA Tournaments and was a first-round (23rd overall) 1993 NBA Draft choice. He played 845 games for Seattle, Denver, Milwaukee and Minnesota.

Ardoin finished a 30-year riding career with 5,226 wins, becoming only the 16th jockey to reach the 5,000-victory plateau. He won six riding titles at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans (four straight from 1993-96), five at Louisiana Downs in Bossier City, posting 4,539 of his career triumphs at those two Louisiana tracks. His mounts won just under $59 million in purse money before a wrist injury ended his career in 2003.

Tuohy developed into a revered prep basketball coach who won three state titles among nine state tournament appearances in 15 seasons before a 1975 stroke that halted his coaching career. His Newman teams won district championships each year as he went 403-74, and never lost more than nine games in a season. He passed away in 1982, at age 51.

Koll was described as “New Orleans’ Greatest All-Around Girl Athlete” in the 1930s as she excelled in tennis, track and field, indoor baseball and basketball. She won the Southern women’s tennis championship twice, set Southern AAU records in the sprints, hurdles and broad jump, led the AAU indoor baseball title three straight years as she led the league in hitting, and made all-star teams in basketball. She lived to be 83, succumbing in 1988.

The nine new inductees will raise the total of Hall of Fame members to 301 sports figures honored since the first induction class - baseball’s Mel Ott, world champion boxer Tony Canzoneri and LSU football great Gaynell Tinsley – were enshrined in 1959 after their election a year earlier.

The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame includes nine members of the Basketball Hall of Fame, six of the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players (O’Neal will make it seven), six baseball Hall of Fame inductees, 16 Pro Football Hall of Fame members, seven Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinees, 18 Olympic medalists (10 gold medal winners), 32 College Football Hall of Fame members,five National High School Hall of Fame enshrines, jockeys with a combined 12 Triple Crown victories, six world boxing champions, five College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees, three NBA Finals MVPs (O’Neal will be the fourth) and two Super Bowl MVPs.

The 2013 Induction Celebration will kick off Thursday, June 27 with the press conference and reception. It includes three receptions, a Friday morning youth sports clinic, and a Friday afternoon celebrity pro-am golf scramble at Oak Wing Golf Course in Alexandria. Tickets for the Induction Dinner and Ceremonies, and golf entries, will go on sale May 15 through the LaSportsHall.com website, said Hall of Fame Foundation president/chief executive officer Lisa Babin. Sponsorship packages including tickets and golf entries are available now by contacting the Hall at 318-238-4255 or Babin at 318-458-0166.

Also to be honored at the event will be two other Hall of Fame inductees, the winner of the 2013 Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award and the recipient of the 2013 Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism presented by the LSWA. Those award recipients will be announced in February.

Adding in the 301 sports competitors enshrined, 12 winners of the Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership award and 53 recipients of the Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism, there will be 366 members of the Hall of Fame this summer as the magnificent new museum welcomes visitors.

It is with deep sadness that I pass along to you all news of the very sudden passing of Barbara Brown, the wife of longtime LSWA member Bruce Brown. Our hearts are broken as we offer our thoughts and prayers to Bruce and his family. God bless.

 2012 LSWA All-Louisiana Men’s Cross Country Team

McNeese State’s David Rooney Repeats as Runner of the Year…Brendon Gilroy Repeats as Coach of the Year

By Pam LaFosse

Written for the LSWA

LAKE CHARLES -- McNeese State senior David Rooney has been named the Runner of the Year by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association for the second consecutive year.  Teammate Stephen Kerr is the Freshman of the Year and Brendon Gilroy repeats as the Coach of the Year.  UL-Monroe’s Hillary Kirwa was voted the Newcomer of the Year.

     Rooney is a repeat selection for the state’s top honor, being named the runner of the year last year.  The senior from Dublin, Ireland became McNeese State’s first country All-American after placing seventh at the NCAA Championships.  Rooney completed the race with a clocking of 29:21.3.  Rooney also finished second at the South Central Regional meet and helped the Cowboys to the Southland Conference team title while also winning the individual title with a record time of 23:33.5.  Rooney was also named the Southland Conference Male Athlete of the Year.

     Kerr is a freshman from Armagh, Ireland and was also named the Southland’s Freshman of the Year.  Kerr placed 21st at the Southland Conference Championship with a time of 25:09.8 and won the four-mile Cowboy Stampede with a time of 21:05.  He recently won the Irish Junior National Championship and will take part in the European Championships.

     Kirwa is a junior from El Doret, Kenya that was the individual runner-up at both the Warhawk and Northwestern State Invitationals.  Kirwa teams teamed with Daniel Mutai to win the season opening McNeese Relays.  He placed 32nd at the Sun Belt Conference meet and posted a season best time of 26:11 at the Northwestern Invitational.

     Gilroy also repeats as coach of the year after being named Southland Conference coach of the year after guiding McNeese to its first Southland Conference title in 12 years.  He coach the first cross country All-American and the 2012 SLC Male Athlete of the Year (Davis Rooney) and SLC Freshman of the Year (Stephen Kerr) along four other runners were named to the All-SLC team.  Gilroy guided a Cowboy team that placed fourth at the NCAA South Central Regional meet.

2012 LSWA All-Louisiana Men’s Cross Country Team

David Rooney, McNeese

Daniel Mutai, UL-Monroe

Alex Bruce-Littlewood, McNeese

Jarrett LeBlanc, McNeese

Alex Kiptoo, McNeese

Hillary Kirwa, UL-Monroe

Mark Manion, Tulane

RUNNER OF THE YEAR: David Rooney, McNeese

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Hillary Kirwa, UL-Monroe

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Stephen Kerr, McNeese

COACH OF THE YEAR: Brendon Gilroy, McNeese

2012 LSWA All-Louisiana Women’s Cross Country Team

LSU’s Laura Carleton named Runner of the Year…Xavier’s Joseph Moses Named Coach of the Year

By PAM LAFOSSE

WRITTEN FOR THE LSWA

LAKE CHARLES—LSU senior Laura Carleton has been named the 2012 Louisiana Sports Writers Association’s female runner of the year. 

The native of Lake Charles, was the leader of a Lady Tiger squad that finished in the Top 10 of every meet in which they competed, including first place finishes at the McNeese Cowboy Stampede and the LSU Invitational.  In each of the races, Carleton was the frontrunner for the Lady Tigers while placing fifth at the Commodore Classic, first at the McNeese Cowboy Stampede and LSU Invitational, fourth at the Chile Pepper Festival, 12th at the SEC Championships and 20th at the NCAA South Central Regional meet.  She was named to the All-SEC second team and was an All-South Central Regional selection.

Jessica Stone, a senior on the New Orleans squad and a native of Shreveport, competed in her first collegiate season and was the top female finisher for the Privateers in three meets (Ragin’ Cajun Invitational, Loyola Wolfpack Invitational, Cowboy Relays).  Stone’s 14th place finish at the Loyola Wolfpack (22:08) was on the second Top 20 finish since UNO reinstated cross country in 2011 and the highest for a Privateer in the same time period.  She finished 33rd at the Wolfpack Invitational (24:01.37) which was UNO’s top individual finisher.  She began the season with, teaming with Soledad Arroyo for the best duo finish for the Privateers squad at the McNeese relays.

Louisiana-Lafayette’s Anna Katherine Devitt was named the Freshman of the Year after leading the Ragin’ Cajuns in every race.  The native of Baton Rouge, Devitt recorded two 5K times of less than 20 minutes and was second away from a third 5K race under 20 minutes (20:01) at the McNeese Cowboy Stampede.  She placed second in the Ragin’ Cajun Invite in only her second collegiate meet (5K time of 19:18.9).  Devitt let the Cajuns for the fifth time in as many outings at the Sun Belt Championships.  She posted a season-best 5K time of 18:53.6 that landed her in 18th place.  She was one of only 20 competitors out of 83 to finish under 20 minutes, missing all-conference honors by four seconds.

Xavier’s Joseph Moses led the Gold Nuggets to their seventh consecutive team championship and a berth in the NAIA National Meet for the fourth time in five years.  Moses was also named the GCAC Coach of the Year for the fourth straight year after leading his team to a 33-9 record prior to the national meet, including wins over Seton Hall.  The women’s team posted the GCAC’s first perfect score at the league meet since 1996 with a team that broke Xavier’s 5K and 6K records.

2012 LSWA All-Louisiana Women’s Cross Country Team

Laura Carleton, LSU

Paige Callahan, Tulane

Tessni Carruthers, Nicholls

Anna Katherine Devitt, Louisiana-Lafayette

Zahri Jackson, Xavier

Fionnuala Ross, McNeese State

(Tie) Emmis Aguillard, Tulane

(Tie) Allison Crawford, McNeese

RUNNER OF THE YEAR: Laura Carleton, LSU

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Jessica Stone, New Orleans

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Anna Katherine Devitt, Louisiana-Lafayette

COACH OF THE YEAR: Joseph Moses, Xavier

Doug Ireland/Sports Information Director

NATCHITOCHES – Norm Fletcher, a Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame member for his broadcasting career who also was elected three times as Natchitoches Parish sheriff, died at the age of 82 Friday afternoon in the Natchitoches Regional Medical Center.

Fletcher, a Natchitoches native, was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 2010 as he received the Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.

He was elected as sheriff for the first time in 1979, and for several years spoke at the FBI Academy in Washington, D.C. on topics including efficiency and effectiveness of law enforcement operations. Fletcher spoke at the National Sheriff's Association Convention in 1981, and was keynote speaker at the Louisiana Sheriff's Association Convention in 1984 and the Louisiana Police Jury Association Convention in 1986.

An Air Force veteran, Fletcher was president of the Natchitoches Parish Chamber of Commerce, state chairman of the Louisiana Cultural Resources Commission in the 1960s, and was the volunteer City/Parish Civil Defense Director for 18 years before running successfully for sheriff.

Fletcher was instrumental in the John Wayne 1958 movie “The Horse Soldiers” being filmed in and around Natchitoches. He played the father of the groom in the popular 1989 motion picture “Steel Magnolias,” also filmed in and around Natchitoches.

Fletcher served in five decades as the "Voice of the Hall of Fame," lending his baritone delivery as the narrator for ceremonies and videotape. His stirring style ushered each inductee into the elite ranks of Hall of Fame membership, but it is only a part of his remarkable contribution to state sports history.

He was a prominent sportscaster in north Louisiana beginning in the late 1940s and continuing into the 1990s, and still was a contributor until entering the hospital in October. Fletcher was "Voice of the Demons" calling Northwestern State sports beginning at the age of 18 in 1949 until running successfully for sheriff, and he reassumed the NSU broadcasting role for two years in the early 1990s.

He hosted two weekly morning radio shows in Natchitoches and contributed to NSU sports coverage, while enjoying the work of two of his protégés, LSU Sports Network announcer Jim Hawthorne and Cox Sports Television lead announcer Lyn Rollins, whose broadcast careers began under Fletcher's guidance in Natchitoches.

From 1949-79, he broadcast high school sports, doing every Natchitoches High/Natchitoches Central football and basketball game, except for time spent in the U.S. Air Force. He was Editor-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Radio Service Far East Network in the 1950s as chief news and sports announcer. He broadcast major sports events throughout the Far East, including football, baseball and boxing.

For a quarter-century after he returned home to Natchitoches, he did either prep or college basketball game broadcasts five nights a week from mid-November until early March, and returned back to the studio early the following mornings to anchor the local news and sports reports and a talk show. Broadcasting sports including football, basketball, baseball, boxing, boat races and even two Gulf States Conference track and field championship meets, his total of play-by-play events was over 4,000 broadcasts. As co-owner of KNOC-AM and KDBH-FM, Fletcher helped launch the broadcast careers of dozens of NSU students, including Hawthorne and Rollins.

Fletcher became only the fifth broadcaster to enter the Hall as a Distinguished Service Award winner, joining Hap Glaudi and Buddy Diliberto of New Orleans, LSU's John Ferguson and 2009 recipient Bob Griffin of Shreveport. Fletcher and Ferguson are the only two play-by-play broadcasters to be honored.

A memorial service in Natchitoches will be held later. Fletcher donated his body to medical science.