By Mike Rizzuto

Sun Times Editor

R.I.P.-- While there’s lots of sports to rehash this week, the Sun Times would be remiss if we didn’t mention the passing of a great actor, sportsman, and fellow human being, Paul Newman. The 83-year-old legend left a lot of great work behind in a plethora of movie appearances for us to remember him by. Rest in peace, “Butch Cassidy,” “Fast Eddie Felson,” or “Cool Hand Luke.” You will be sorely missed!

Hometown Heroes-- Both the Lake Arthur Tigers and the Gueydan Bears lost this past Friday, but remain in the hunt for playoff berths.

The Tigers (1-3) lost their second close game of the season, as the visiting South Cameron Tarpons held on for a 27-26 non-district win at Jack Doland Stadium in Lake Arthur. Two weeks ago, the Tigers lost to a good Westminster Christian Crusader squad by a 25-22 count in Lafayette. Narrow losses are tough to swallow in any sport, but it does help you to prepare for life’s little disappointments, and I’m sure that head football coach Chad Lavergne will have his troops ready to play this coming Friday against the Pickering Red Devils on the road in Pickering.

The battling Gueydan Bears (2-1) dropped a 33-8 decision to the Rosepine Eagles Friday, who are a member of District 4-2A. Rosepine had previously beaten 2A Red River (22-20) and Class A Merryville (34-7). Rosepine did lose two weeks ago to 3A Buckeye (2-1) in a close contest, so the Bears were definitely underdogs in this contest. Look for Gueydan to bounce back and have a terrific season this year!

Winning Ugly-- The mighty LSU @ Baton Rouge Fighting Tigers (4-0 overall, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) didn’t look their best this past Saturday evening in Death Valley against the offensively-challenged Mississippi State Bulldogs (1-4, 0-2), but still managed to hold on for a rather sloppy 34-24 win.

After beating old rival Auburn on the road last week, LSU was due for a letdown, and was just lucky that they were facing the lowly Bulldogs. Still, on a weekend when No. 1 Southern California, No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Florida all were upset, LSU grabbed an SEC win and that’s all that really matters.

The Tigers will benefit from an off week this Saturday before taking on a mad bunch of Florida Gators on the road on October 11th. The game should be a toss up, but if the Fighting Tigers don’t bring their “A” game against the Gators, they could taste their first defeat of the 2008 football season.

Winning Pretty-- The New Orleans Saints, still reeling from the losses of key players like wide receiver Marques Colston and tight end Jeremy Shockey, broke a two-game losing streak in the Big Easy this Sunday by smoking an improved San Francisco 49er team by a final score of 31-17. The Black and Gold needed a win in the worst way after narrowly losing on the road the past two weeks to the Washington Redskins (29-24) and the Denver Broncos (34-32).

With now-healthy running back Deuce McAllister getting 20 carries for 73 yards, the Saints looked better than they have in a couple of years. McAllister gives the Saints a legitimate power rushing game, which allows scatback Reggie Bush to be spread all over the field creating mismatches for opponents.

New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees is currently playing as well or better than any quarterback the NFL has to offer with a wide variety of receivers to throw to. Once Colston and Shockey return (in about a month), the Saints’ offense will indeed resemble a formidable force of nature. Should its young, enthusiastic defense keep improving (and it should), New Orleans could become a team no one wants to face come playoff time.

Another Cajun ‘Moral Victory?’--An improved University of Louisiana Ragin Cajun football team notched another “moral victory” this past Saturday afternoon in Manhattan, Kansas against a good Kansas State Wildcat squad, losing a real squeaker (that was supposed to be a blowout) by a final score of 45-37. Louisiana (1-3) had a chance to send the game into overtime, but the Wildcats (3-1) held on for the non-conference win.

Fans of both teams witnessed explosive offensive fireworks all day long as the two teams combined for 82 points, 57 first downs, 979 yards and eight scoring drives covering at least 80 yards.

Louisiana running back Tyrell Fenroy and quarterback Mike Desormeaux were almost unstoppable, as Fenroy ran for a game-high 183 yards and three touchdowns and Desormeaux accounted for 234 total yards -- including 98 on the ground -- and one touchdown. K-State was out-gained in total yards (509-470) and rushing yards (335-198). But the Wildcats took advantage of UL’s 10 penalties for 170 yards to just five for 29 yards for themselves. Can anyone say “home field advantage?”

The Cajuns also played #20 Illinois tough on the road two weeks ago, losing by just 20-17. While moral victories are still losses, these Cajuns are playing their hearts out, which is a vast improvement over last year’s team, whose lackluster play often left fans feeling like they’d eaten a rancid link of hot boudin, some sour seafood gumbo, and a bowl of spoiled potato salad just before bedtime.