The Saints cancelled their final minicamp practice, which was scheduled to begin today at 11 AM. NFL teams do that to reward the players for a good offseason. The Saints will return for training camp which starts in late July.

The NCAA has eased the restrictions that have been placed on college athletes when it comes to transferring. Under the new rule, student-athletes no longer have to get permission from their current school or coach if they want to play at another school, even if it’s in the same conference. Tiger Rag Associate Editor James Moran says it’s a good move by the NCAA as schools shouldn’t control where a person gets an education….
cut 18 (16) “…you want”
The other rule change will allow football players to play up to four games and still receive a red-shirt, which gives them another year of athletic eligibility.

LSU players Zach Watson, Zack Hess and Antoine Duplantis have been added to the USA National Team. They will play for Paul Mainieri, who is coaching the squad this summer. The USA team will play 16 games in 22 days against a Minor League All-Star team and international teams from Chinese Tapei, Japan and Cuba. Mainieri says it will be a fun experience.

Benton’s JD Stephens has been named the Class 4A Baseball Coach of the Year. Stephens led the ninth-seeded Tigers to a state title. The Four-A player of the year is Teurlings Catholic’s Peyton Lejune, who was 11-and-3 on the season with a 2.10 ERA. T

he Four-A softball coach of the year is Deridder’s Todd Schulz. The Dragons won its first state title in April and the player of the year is Parkview Baptist’s Annmarie Peavy, who hit .521 with 10 home runs and 62 RBIs.

In major league baseball…the Houston Astros go after their eighth straight win this afternoon when they wrap a series in Oakland. The World Series champs are a half game back of Seattle for first place in the A-L West. The Mariners begin a four-game series against Boston today.