The 17th-ranked LSU baseball team is back home tonight to host Southeastern Louisiana. The Tigers are coming off a series victory over Alabama as Dylan Crews had seven hits and drove in seven runs and was named co-SEC Player of the Week. The Lions are coming off a sweep of Houston Baptist. Fifth-year senior Preston Faulkner drove in 10 runs and was named Southland Conference Hitter of the Week.
The Ragin Cajuns will spend the week in Texas. They begin a two-game series tonight in Houston against Rice and then they head to San Marcos to face Texas State. U-L Lafayette has won eight of its last nine.
In the SWAC, Southern is at Lamar and Grambling visits Stephen F Austin.
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The Southland Conference Softball Tournament gets underway today in Hammond. Southeastern Louisiana is the second seed and hosts Nicholls at 5 PM. At noon, fourth-seeded Northwestern State faces 5th seeded UIW.
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The slow leak of the NFL schedule continues as the league announced the Rams will play the Broncos on Christmas Day as part of a tripleheader. The full schedule will be released Thursday.
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Four hoopers with Louisiana ties will get the opportunity to see if they’re ready for the next level. Darius Days and Shareef O’Neal of LSU, Louisiana Tech’s Kenny Lofton Jr., and New Orleans native Brison Gresham from Texas Southern have been invited to attend the NBA G League Elite Camp being held next week in Chicago. They are among 44 players invited. Select players from the camp will earn invitations to the NBA draft combine camp as well.
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Which is more powerful? The NCAA or NIL? That’s the question as the NCAA says it has a new plan that will directly target boosters amid concerns that NIL has become pay-for-play. It’s difficult to tell just how much sway the NCAA has since it took a very small role in establishing the initial NIL guidelines after losing its antitrust case last year that essentially ended its definition of “amateurism.” States have been left to put their own policies in place and then adapt those to compete with other states. NCAA rules prohibit boosters from giving athletes payment as an inducement.
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