Two Women that I Absolutely Adore- A Tribute to Jeanette Kennedy and Sarah George

This website would not be complete without mentioning two of the most important women to ever be in my life- Jeanette Kennedy and Sarah George. I don't think either one of them really understand how truly special they are to me. During my days at LSU, nothing was greater than seeing the smiling faces of the two lovely ladies and our conversations about music. Sarah constantly was enthralled by Brad's police codes on the radio, and got a real kick out of saying "10-10". I'll never forget the time Brad gave her the test of all the "10 codes". Yeah, she didn't pass. There was also my memorable line I retired after Sarah left for Texas in honor of her. "Hey put in Ezra, I wanna hear Ezra!". Jeanette, I'll always remember as not only my confidant, but as my babysitter. We share a truly great memory together which took place in the summer of 2005. After her picking me up at Karl Romig's party, she was so worried about me that she took me to Chili's with her friend Melissa. Being the gentleman I am, I bought both of them dinner while I drank and ate off my current state. When we got back in Melissa's rental car, I saw her bag in the backseat which simply said "HERTZ". Being in a silly mood, I uttered one of my most famous lines to date. "Hertz................................................EXACTLY!". While this was funny, Jeanette and Melissa were really taken by the hilarious laugh I let loose after I said this. I don't know where it came from, but they certainly enjoyed it. Jeanette then something along the lines of "there's no way you're driving!" and then took me home to her parents' house in Metairie to watch the movie "Raising Helen". The night was topped off by some NASCAR, but then my adventure was over- I made it back to Baton Rouge.....somehow. The pictures shown were taken at Fred's the night before Florida/LSU game in October 2005. Sarah is on the top, and Jeanette on the bottom.

Both Jeanette and Sarah have moved on to bigger and better things since the Student Recreation Center at LSU. Both in the Houston, TX area, they have moved into great real world jobs. Sarah is a technical editor for the Exxon Mobil company. Jeanette is an HR/Marketing Assistant at a oil and gas company that apparently isn't good enough to be mentioned. However, let me just put into perspective what all these wonderful ladies did to make your rec experience better. First of all, it was Sarah who made the wonderful billboards you saw all around the REC- remember? BAD- MINTON! It was Sarah who also made all the wonderful posters that offered you a smiling face when you walked in during a long day. Even if you didn't see the posters, Sarah would have smiled at you anyway. Jeanette helped with the UREC Magazine, UR Active, just because she wanted you to have the correct information- that's right, it mattered to her. Jeanette help design all the cool little things you saw all over the Rec and was a photography extraordinaire, even going so far as to be my personal photographer............once. No place else was so much talent as far as artistic ability, personality, and just pure beauty ever combined in two women more than the S and J connection. That's right, they were my girls.

On a serious note, I must add that not a day goes by that both of them don't cross my mind. I cherish the memories we had together for the rest of my life, and even if I never see them again, I will smile for the rest of my life just thinking about how lucky I was to have both of them in my life for such a confusing time for me. If I could pick two women together that I could see every morning just to make me smile, it would be the two of them, and nothing could ever change that.

I love you both so much and I would give anything to have you here with me right now, because you just make life better.

A Tribute to Jeff Pon

Or Ichiro, or whatever you wanna call him. He, also, like Eskew has moved on to bigger and better things working as the children's recreation coordinator for the city of Kissimmee, Florida. It's great that Jeff gets to go back to the state that he calls home and gets to be so close to his beloved Canes of the University of Miami. Like Eskew, Pon cut his teeth at LSU University Recreation as a Graduate Assistant of intramurals and taking care of your kids at Tiger's DEN summer camp. During camp, which was on "off time" for us, he'd usually just put in a meager 50 hours a week instead of the normal 60, and of course there was no school work to go along with that. If you wanna figure it actually, Jeff and I worked an estimated combined 1,400 hours a semester (A VERY conservative amount) which included having to stay academically eligible to remain GA's. That's right folks, he's half man, half machine- you can't stop him, you can only hope to contain him. Like Eskew, Pon really made things happen at the LSU Student Recreation Center. He was the guy you bitched to when the big game didn't go your way. He was the guy you came to when your kid got in trouble in camp. He was the guy waving at you at the finish line when you finished one of the 5K races or triathlons/duathlons in the LSU URec run series. Jeff was also the guy at Fred's with the dumb Breeder's Cup hat on, but most of all, Jeff was a great person and great person to call your friend. Jeff did it all, all the time. I've thought about it alot of times, and if you add up all the hours, Jeff and I spent more time together than most married couples do in just those two years in Baton Rouge, hell we might as well have been married. Hard to imagine two grown men working that hard. Of course, those times are not without their share of stories. Let me share just snippets of a few of those:

• The first trip we went on, we took Draper and AP to Pensacola to the West Florida flag football tournament. Jeff and I had a hotel room in not only the worst part of Pensacola, but the worst hotel in Pensacola as well. This was fun because Jeff and I went about 72 straight hours being within 10 feet of each other- remember the married couple thing? This was also the trip Pigott had his infamous "paying in quarters" incident and also the tournament that listed Jeff as Josh Poh on the all tournament committee.
• The VERY NEXT weekend, we went to the LCIRSA state tournament in New Orleans. We had Brad's hotel room, which was cool, because we both had our own bed. I will always remember this night because Jeff and I were having dinner at Bennigan's in Metairie when the infamous "Malice in the Palace" broke out when Ron Artest jumped into the stands in Detroit. We both took off to the bar like two little kids pointing and jumping at the TV. Too bad the rest of this weekend sucked. Ok, he'll kill me if I don't admit it, this is the trip I put my shoes in the microwave.
• The summer camp party at his apartment- "I promise I'm really a nice guy.....", also the night I apparently threw up my own food back into a cup.
  
• The summer camp party at my apartment- the night that Jeff left Michael at Fred's and Michael came back to my apt just to eat and then walked home, or tried to, and gave up.
• Our few times at the boat- good for me, bad for Jeff. Maybe that's why he quit asking me to come.
  
• Putting up fences- so many times. These were always highlighted by my stories of high school football.
• The first time I ever showed the video of my high school football team. I think Jeff ruptured his spleen.
• Greg's stories......that were just recently confirmed- wink wink.
  
• Fred's- Frank the Tank, Robyn Bossier, and the Notorious P.I.G.
  
• Two words- GREAT WALL.
• Superior Grill- FRANK!!!!!!
• Ripping off Sigma Alpha Mu for $150 a piece- that was nice.
  
• The semester sharing the office with Melvin- Jeff found a new love for the music of John Legend and R Kelly- and I was right there singing along with him.
  
• Pigott's stories about his family- those were fun.
  
• Pigott singing in the office- Jeff was my biggest fan.

Ok I lied about the last one, but I could seriously go on all day, as only Pigott can do. The funny thing is that my two crazy years with Jeff Pon went by slowly at times, but looking back, it seems like time that FLEW by- almost like a dream. I've been gone for about 7 months, but it seems like YESTERDAY that we had the whole group together like a well oiled machine.

Jeff was a great guy, and not just another great guy. I know it, you know it, he knows it, he was THE great guy. I think Vince Vaughn put it best when he used his infinite wisdom describing a man like Jeff:

"Take a good look at this guy- this is the guy.......behind the guy....... behind the guy."

Here's to you Jeff, this Bud's for you.

Dwyane Wade Suffers Possible Season Ending Injury.....Pigott's Fantasy Season Hangs in the Balance!

Seriously, Dwyane, did you have to do it while I am on a fantasy push? I watched in horror LIVE at Clarksville's Front Page Deli as Dwyane Wade severely dislocated his left shoulder in Houston at the Toyota Center against the Rockets Wednesday night. It was one of those moments where you just drop your food and go "SHIT!". The injury, which could require at least 6 weeks and season ending rehab, is more than likely ending the defending champions playoff run and more than likely taking last years' Finals MVP out of the Season MVP race for good. With the declining health of Shaquille O'Neal, I think it is best for Wade to regroup his shoulder, come back next year with a revamped team, and make a run to the playoffs with a new Heat, because I think Pat Riley has realized that this team just won't cut it- a one hit wonder if you will. I mean seriously, was I the only one who thought Alonzo Mourning looked like he was gonna die on the court last year in the Finals against Dallas? This team apart from Wade is a patchwork of walking wounded, and honestly I don't know how they stay healthy.

Howevever, let me be selfish for a minute. Eventhough I still have Chris Paul, Steve Nash, and Jason Kidd, my solidity at the PG/SG position is now rather thin. My only PURE SG I have is the improving but inconsistent Luol Deng of the Chicago Bulls. I also have the unreliable Andre Iguodola of the 76ers. If a season ending injury is the word, my only option will be to go after the Kings' Kevin Martin, who is the only consistent SG on the market. I am really glad I'm not a Heat fan, because I would completely give up on my season, because despite what anyone says, Wade is THE MOST VALUABLE PLAYER IN THE LEAGUE. Nash may be the BEST right now, but no other player in the league makes a team go as much as Wade makes the Heat go. So, take this into consideration Heat fans. Your season is over, just like my fantasy season hangs in the balance. However, if Wade sits in the playoffs, you'll hit the jackpot......a lottery pick in possibly the most talented draft class in recent memory. Also, the Heat have the option of trading Shaq or another one of its veterans to move up in the draft to draft Kevin Durant or Greg Oden. Guess who my new fantasy superstar would be then with either one of them playing with Wade?

Random Movie Review- #22 "Battle Royale"

Well after this past weekend, I saw a movie which inspired me to bring back a tradition of GeneralPigott.com. I watched the entire Director's Cut of the Japanese blockbuster film "Battle Royale". Not only is this movie already one of my favorite movies of all time, it's quite possibly the best international film ever made, and has had that tag put on it by several American movie critics.

Despite it's predictability and being a bit far-fetched, the directing, acting, and plot of this movie are all incredible. The movie takes place in not to distant futuristic Japan. After a nuclear war, (presumably with the United States) the Japanese economy falls apart and 15% of all of Japan's workforce is left unemployed. As a result, students across the country quickly boycott school, with 800,000 students nationwide boycotting school. Several laws are passed requiring all students to finish the 9th grade. In addition, a law is passed called "The Battle Royale Act", which allows the government every year, by random lottery, to select one 9th grade class to take to a deserted island and have them fight to the death with only the one surviving student being the person allowed to leave and return to their normal life.

Once the students are surprised by their old 7th grade teacher Kitano, they are shown the rules of the game in a rather hilarious video which shows a very beautiful Japanese woman with almost a cartoon character voice going over the rules of the game. The rules, if any are as follows:

• Each person is given a survival pack with water, a map, food, and "female products" for the women.
• Each person is given a weapon pack, with the weapon being completely random. This is done to take away natural advantages that men would have over women, stronger against weaker, etc. The weapons range from machine guns, pistols, crossbows, and axes to pot lids, japanese fans, baseball bats and binoculars.
• Each person is fit with a collar which cannot be removed. It monitors heart rate and is used as a monitoring system for both movement and audio.
• Every 6 hours, the teacher gives and update on who is dead and how many are left, and the "danger zones" that become active every hour. If in any of those danger zones in that hour, your collar will explode and kill you instantly. This is to prevent people from holding up in one place for the entire game.
• The time limit is 3 days. At the end of 3 days, if there is more than one survivor, everyone's collar explodes.

Once the game starts, it is revealed that two new people were brought to the class that day for different reasons. One is a sadistic killer, Kirayama, that signed up just to play the game. Another is a former survivor of the game who is drugged and brought just to even the game up. After faced with the horror that they must kill each other, several students commit suicide. Others form alliances believing that someone will find a way off the island. Others, however, take the game very seriously and kill everyone over typical high school social differences. The three main characters, Nanuhara and Noriko, form an alliance with Kawada (the former survivor) and fend off all of the other students to be the last 3 alive. The 3 of them trick Kitano into thinking that Kawada is the winner and kill Kitano after the island is evacuated by the military guards that were spread throughout the island. After the 3 escape on a boat, Kawada dies from his wounds he suffered fighting the "guy who signed up for fun" as he called it. Nanuhara and Noriko escape to Tokyo and become fugitives from the law.

This film was great because the hero, Nanuhara is so loveable. Being an orphan who's mom ran off and who's dad committed suicide when he was 12, he had already had a tough life. Eventhough Noriko was in love with his best friend, Hiroshi, who was killed by Kitano when he tried to escape, Nanuhara protects her in a "knight in shining armor" type of role, and being a 15 year old actor, it is a very believable role. Along with that, all of the students are actually 9th grade age kids, so it's not like an American movie where you have well known 25 year old actors playing high school kids. The realism of the characters and actors really adds to this movie.

I would suggest anyone that likes a thought provoking international film to check this movie out, but be prepared for some of the most gruesome onscreen fatalities that have ever been captured. Only a couple of times does the camera go away when a student is killed. A little too much blood, but still a great movie.

Pigott's a Dancer.......

See for yourself......watch at your own risk. Click on the title to see the "Pigottrena".

John Amaechi's Gay......WHO CARES?

Ok I'm already sick of this- John Amaechi, former starting center for the Orlando Magic is gay. WHO CARES? I mean seriously, a former decent professional basketball player comes out of the closet (conveniently to sell a book which he is just releasing), and we are supposed to look at him differently or look at NBA players differently? Outside of close followers of the NBA, John Amaechi was never known in household circles. I remember Amaechi as a British guy who had a pretty good shot, decent post moves, was kinda slow and undersized, and once told Sports Illustrated that he viewed playing in the NBA a way to make money to invest in future businesses in London, and really didn't "love" basketball. That's what I remember about John Amaechi. I mean seriously, does it matter his orientation? Regardless of your personal views on homosexuality, the United States of America were founded on right of a person to make that choice. The other funny thing is that there are several prominent homosexual Americans in areas other than sports, and that seems ok. However, when someone is playing a sport, we act like it's impossible for them to still have credibility, and Tim Hardaway's comments saying that gay players need "separate" locker rooms is absolutely absurd. Like I said, you are entitled to your own beliefs on whether or not homosexuality is "ok", but any reasonable person should be able to understand the following:

• Just because a person is gay doesn't mean that they constantly wanna have sex with people of the same sex. Any person in a professional setting, even that of basketball in which men have a common goal of winning are perfectly capable of working together as a team to win.
• Just because someone is gay that doesn't make them a child molester. That is why Amaechi shouldn't be looked down upon or banned from his work with British youth.
• Just because someone is gay it doesn't mean they can't be very athletic and excel at a sport like basketball. I sincerely believe Amaechi's claim that he knows "several current gay NBA players", but seriously........WHO CARES?
  

Saints Superstars Wait Until After Season To Get Injured

After a pretty much injury free season which only included major injuries to Rob Ninkovich, Ernie Conwell, and Roman Harper, the two highest paid players on the Saints have injuries in post season activities. Drew Brees, pictured leaving the field after his injury, dislocated his non throwing elbow in the 1st quarter of this year's Pro Bowl. His expected rehab is approximately 4-6 weeks, so another offseason filled with rehab for Drew. Maybe that's a good thing. Reggie Bush, pictured playing in the NBA All Star Celebrity Game, left the game after rolling his ankle attempting to block a shot. Not only is that $20 million in salaries the Saints would have to pay to two of the best players in the NFL that wouldn't be playing, but what the HELL are they thinking letting Reggie Bush play in that game? I mean seriously, are we just trying to piss our season away before it even starts after the greatest season in team history? I am cleaning my pants out because I just crapped a brick thinking that the Saints are about to turn into the "saints" again. STAY OFF THE COURT REGGIE!

This Just In.......

Reggie Bush is still VERY VERY fast.

HELP!

As you all know, I took a 4 month hiatus, but I NEED IDEAS!!!!!! I am at a serious writer's block, and I'm slap out of material. Please help me!

Here's to you, Eskew

Well, I've decided to revive General Pigott's own little world with a tribute that is much too late. For years, Eric Eskew was the "guy behind the guy" at the LSU Student Recreation Complex as Assistant Director of Facilities, but previously being Intramural Coordinator as well as Assistant Coordinator of Tiger's DEN summer camp. When you were using the rec center, it was Eric who oversaw the custodians who cleaned up. It was Eric who reserved your area in the court, field, weight room, or racquetball courts. When something wasn't working, it was Eric who got Mr. Doug to fix it. When an event was going on, it was Eric who arranged the logistics of the event. Before that, it was Eric who took care of your kids during the summer, he was "the guy with the walkie talkie". He was the guy who listened to your bitching about intramural officials. Can you think of anyone else who was more of a "behind the scenes" kinda guy? It takes a great delegater to do that much "behind the scenes" kinda work. That's right Eric was a master delegater. But hey, somebody's gotta do it. While Eric got "his guys" to do his stuff, me and Eric would enjoy talking about "personal officiating work", calling ball, recreational softball, LCIRSA "committees", Fred's, Pigott's late night adventures that everyone thought were a lie until recently, Roy D. Mercer, custodians, and most importantly, EMS. Yep, those were the days.

I really think people miss the greatness Eric demanded when he was at work at LSU Rec Center. Eric supervised two student employees, however, he still got students to do work he didn't wanna do. Only a superstar can do this. How many times did Scott Dunlap, Scott Morgan, Trey Berniard "Eric's Boy", Michael Boudreaux, or Lee Ann Smith do something "for Eric". The number is countless, because that was the softer side of Eric wanting to get students involved in the everyday operations of the rec center. However, eager to take the spotlight from himself, he would simply say, "Pigott, honestly, I just don't wanna do it!". Spoken like a true kindhearted gentleman.

Eric has moved on to "bigger and better things" now as the executive director of the Louisiana 4-H foundation, now being one of those "FFA boys", but no article on Eric can be complete without some of Eric's greatest quotes ever. So, here is a small taste of some of those:

• "Any and all negative attention.....away from the officials."
• "I don't care how annoying, fat, goofy, ugly, or smelly you are......you can get some pussy in that f---ing place."
• "I'm looking out for the Jane Does of the world."
• "Pigott, I'm telling you, if I wasn't going to the Sugar Bowl, I'd be giving her $150 right now."
• "Oh we're going to the Caterie, you just don't know it yet."
• "EMS, custodians, logistics,............parking."
• "I'm just baseball/softball guy that does basketball."
• "I'm just a guy who's all about convenience."
• "I'm making out with one of these mother f---ers tonight."

Well I know I could never capture the true greatness of Big Red, but here's you Eskew, this blog's for you.