I voted as usual on the Louisiana Sports Writers Association’s 2018 Headliner of the Year award and totally whiffed.

The winner was New Orleans QB Drew Brees, deserving of the award. But so are others.

I did not have him in my Top 5. Duooh!

Here is the list, in case you missed it over the weekend:

  1. Brees, who led the NFL this season in completion percentage (74.4) and passer rating (115.7), helped the Saints to a 13-3 regular season and set NFL career passing records for yards, completions, and completion percentage. Respect! I just didn’t vote for him No. 1 because it felt like this season was more about career accomplishments and because, well, Louisiana has a ton of athletic studs in it. When it comes to ball, we ain’t in Kansas anymore. It’s difficult to choose – you almost can’t go wrong with these sorts of awards – because you can’t swing a cat without hitting a bonafide stud.
  2. Anthony Davis, who was first-team All-NBA with the Pelicans.
  3. High school pole vault beast Mondo Duplantis of Lafayette, who won the European Championships, the World Junior and the Class 5A title for Lafayette High.
  4. Alex Bregman, last year’s Headliner, who had 30 homers and 50 doubles for the Astros.
  5. Patrick Reed, winner of the Masters in April.

Here’s how I voted:

  1. Reed, BECAUSE HE WON THE MASTERS, for crying out loud.
  2. Travis Etienne, Clemson running back from Jennings, who was first-team All-America, Offensive Player of the Year in the ACC, and helped the Tigers to the national championship in January. And he didn’t make the LSWA’s Top 5?
  3. Jaylon Ferguson, LA Tech defensive end, the NCAA leader in sacks this year and the NCAA’s all-leader in that category.
  4. Davis
  5. David Toms, winner of the Senior Open.

Even as I turned in my vote I apologized for not having Bregman and Brees in my Top 5. But again, when it comes to ball, this state is salty. This is a perfect illustration why. And keep in mind Butkus Award winner Devin White, NBA Rookie of the Year Ben Simmons, UFC World Heavyweight champ Daniel Cormier, and Michael Thomas, who led the NFL in receiving, didn’t make the Top 5 either.

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