LSU Baseball Coach Paul Mainieri plans to change this weekend’s pitching rotation. John Valek has struggled his last two outings and Mainieri believes other teams have caught on to how he pitches. Junior pitcher Jared Poche has also struggled in his last two outings, but Mainieri believes he’ll bounce back….
cut 17 (23) “…we need him”
Mainieri says he’ll announce the new rotation tomorrow.

The Ragin Cajuns will honor one of its most famous alums during this weekend’s series against Appalachian State. Former New York Yankees pitcher Ron Guidry will throw out the first pitch before Friday’s game.

The Saints have signed left tackle Terron Armstead to a five-year contract extension. Armstead was named a pro-bowl alternate after last season. He’s been a starter since 2014.

The odds for this Saturday’s Kentucky Derby have been posted. Saints owner Tom Benson has two horses in the race. Mo Tom’s odds of winning are 20-1, while Toms Ready are 50-1.

The R-and-L Carriers New Orleans Bowl has announced it’s game this year will be Saturday, December 17th at 8 PM. It will be televised by ESPN. And the 2016 Camping World Independence Bowl will be played on Monday, December 26th at 4 PM. This year’s game will be televised on ESPN Two.

Tonight in college baseball action….Louisiana tech hosts ULM. The Warhawks beat Nicholls 3-1 last night. And Southeastern Louisiana faces Jackson State in Hammond.

LSU Coach Paul Mainieri says he will make changes to the weekend pitching rotation. The Tigers have lost their last two SEC series as Sunday starter John Valek has been hit hard and junior left-hander Jared Poche has given up 10 earned runs in his last two starts. Mainieri says he’ll announce the new pitching rotation on Thursday…:
Cut 16 (08) “midweek games”
LSU will begin an SEC Series against Arkansas on Friday.

ULM defeated Nicholls State 3-1 last night in Monroe. The Warhawks will make a short trip to face off with Louisiana Tech tonight in Ruston. The Colonels will next hit the road for a three-game Southland Conference series at Houston Baptist Friday. Also tonight, Southeastern hosts Jackson State.

Southern and McNeese State’s contest last night was cancelled and will not be made up due to both schools being in final exams.

The Saints are signing left tackle Terron Armstead to a five year extension, a league source confirms. Armstead, who joined the Saints in the third round of the NFL Draft back in 2013, is widely considered one of the top left tackles and pass protectors in the NFL. The terms of the extension were not disclosed.

Former LSU baseball star and Philadelphia pitcher Aaron Nola continues to put on an impressive show on the mound as he helped lead the Phillies to blank the Cardinals 1-0 last night. He struck out seven batters and walked one in seven innings.

CollegeFootballNews.com ranks LSU as the top team in the nation in its post-spring college football ranking. The website says the Tigers are very deep and very talented, with a bunch of first round picks on their roster. Clemson, Tennessee and Alabama follow LSU in C-F-N’s top 10.

Louisiana Tech plans to spend 11.5 million dollars on a new press box and suites at Joe Aillet Stadium. The project has received approval from the University of Louisiana System board.

ESPN’s Josina Anderson reports the Saints have signed left tackle Terron Armstead to a five-year contract extension. Armstead was set to become an unrestricted free agent next March. The extension keeps him with the Black and Gold through the 2021 season. The 24-year-old has started 27 games and is considered one of the best pass protectors in the league.

College-football-news-dot-com ranks LSU as the top team in the nation in its post-spring college football ranking. The website says the Tigers are very deep and very talented, with a bunch of first round picks on their roster. Clemson, Tennessee and Alabama follow LSU in C-F-N’s top 10.

Louisiana Tech plans to spend 11.5 million dollars on a new press box and suites at Joe Aillet Stadium. The project has received approval from the University of Louisiana System board.

In LSU baseball news…Coach Paul Mainieri announced today that Jordan Romero is his starting catcher. Romero had been sharing time with Michael Papierski. But Romero leads the team in home runs with seven and is hitting .340 on the year. Papierski is hitting .238 in 33 games.

LSU’s 2017 recruiting class now features two quarterbacks. The Tigers have received a verbal commitment from St. James signal caller Lowell Narcisse, who is rated as a four-star prospect. Narcisse was once an Auburn commitment and has received offers from several schools, including Alabama and Clemson. Narcisse only appeared in four games last season, because of a torn ACL. The other 2017 QB commitment is Myles Brennan from Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

Longtime Franklinton High School football coach Shane Smith has been added to Southeastern Lousiiana’s staff. Smith led the Demons to seven district titles and a state championship in 2010. He ‘ll coach the wide receivers at SLU.

LSU football has the sixth toughest football schedule in 2016 based on ESPN’s Football Power Index. Southern Cal has the toughest, followed by Ole Miss who has the second toughest. Alabama has the fifth toughest schedule.

Louisiana Tech is losing an assistant men’s basketball coach. Corey Barker, who is a Houston native, has been hired by TCU. Former Louisiana tech star Paul Millsap had 17 points and 13 rebounds last night, but his Atlanta Hawks lost to Cleveland 104-93 in Game one of their best seven series. Former LSU star Ben Simmons was sitting courtside for that game.

LSU baseball has fallen five spots to number 13 in the Baseball America’s poll. Tulane is ranked 20th for a second week in a row.

The LHSAA says high schools can’t appeal a ruling that eliminated several schools from the baseball playoffs. Some teams were unable to complete its best of three series by a Sunday deadline, because of all of the rain. So the school that had a 1-0 lead in the best of three series advanced and the other team was ousted from the postseason. The LHSAA says the ruling, which was approved by member principals, is cut and dry and there’s no room for interpertation.

Four-star quarterback prospect Lowell Narcisse announced on Twitter that he has committed to play college football at LSU. In the 2017 recruiting class, Narcisse is rated as the top dual-threat QB in the country and listed as one of the best players overall by ESPN. The St. James star originally committed to Auburn, but decommitted in January. Narcisse suffered two injuries last year and only played in three games during his junior season.

One of the Saints five draft picks is a running back. New Orleans selected Daniel Lasco in the seventh round. Lasco played for Sonny Dykes at California and New Orleans General Manager Mickey Loomis believes Lacsco could be a good special teams performer…
cut 18 (18) “…as a running back”

After several long rain delays, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans finally crowned a winner today as Brian Stuard beat Jamie Lovemark on the second hole of a playoff. It’s Stuard’s first win on the PGA Tour. Stuard didn’t record a single bogey during the tournament, which was shortened to 54 holes because of all of the rain.

The LSU Tigers are falling in the major college baseball polls after dropping two of three from Ole Miss. Baseball America has the Tigers ranked 13th, D-1 Baseball has the Bayou Bengals ranked 17th. LSU doesn’t play again until Friday, because of finals week. The Tigers will host Arkansas this weekend.

Elsewhere…UL Lafayette is in second place in the Sun Belt after taking two of three from UT-Arlington. Tulane is also in second place in the American Athletic Association. Louisiana Tech is in fifth place in Conference USA, after winning two of three from Texas-San Antonio. Southeastern swept Houston Baptist and is still in first place in the Southland. and Grambling leads the western division of the SWAC.

The Saints 2016 draft class consists of five players. Fourth round pick, defensive tackle David Onyemata (On-yeh-ma-tah), has the most unique story. He’s the first player ever drafted from the University of Manitoba, which is in Canada. Onyemata grew up in Nigeria and saw a football for a first time five years ago. New Orleans General Manager Mickey Loomis says several clubs were interested in drafting the 6-foot-4, 300-pounder…
cut 17 (20) “….case at all”
The Saints have also signed a bunch of undrafted free-agents, including UL Lafayette linebacker Dominique Tovell, Alabama defensive end DJ Pettway and Ole Miss free safety Trae Elston.

The LSU Tigers are falling in the major college baseball polls after dropping two of three from Ole Miss. Baseball America has the Tigers ranked 13th, D-1 Baseball has the Bayou Bengals ranked 17th. LSU doesn’t play again until Friday, because of finals week. The Tigers will host Arkansas this weekend.

Elsewhere…UL Lafayette is in second place in the Sun Belt after taking two of three from UT-Arlington. Tulane is also in second place in the American Athletic Association. Louisiana Tech is in fifth place in Conference USA, after winning two of three from Texas-San Antonio. Southeastern swept Houston Baptist and is still in first place in the Southland. and Grambling leads the western division of the SWAC.

They played into early Sunday morning in Sulphur to complete the Fastpitch 56 state softball championships. When it was all said and done, Alexandria Senior High won the 5A title, North DeSoto claimed the four-a championships, Kaplan is the three-a champs.

The 2016 NFL draft is in the books, and one of the Saints’ picks had a very interesting route to the NFL. Defensive tackle David Onyemata (On-yeh-ma-tah), taken in the fourth round, grew up in Nigeria and played college football at the University of Manitoba in Canada. New Orleans traded up to select the six-foot-four, 300-pounder and General Manager Mickey Loomis is glad they did:
Cut 16 (20) “from him”

Five more LSU Tigers join the ranks of the NFL. Deion Jones was the first former Tiger selected in the 2nd round by the Atlanta Falcons. Jerald Hawkins was the next Tiger off the board in the fourth round to Pittsburgh. Jalen Mills, to Philadelphia and Vadal Alexander, to the Raiders, did not come off the board until the 7th round. San Francisco 49ers select Rashard Robinson in the 4th.

Ninth-ranked Ole Miss got the 8-2 win over No. 8 LSU at Swayze Field Saturday. Ole Miss improved to 33-12 overall and 12-9 in the SEC, while LSU dropped to 28-16 and 11-10.

The 14th-ranked UL-Lafayette baseball team posted a season-high hits and runs on Sunday as the Cajuns defeated UT Arlington 19-6 to claim the series on the road.

Louisiana Tech lost a heart breaker to UTSA in 11 innings, 5-4. Despite the loss, the Bulldogs won the series over the Roadrunners with two wins Saturday.

ULM fell to Georgia Southern 4-1 in the series finale on Sunday.

Nicholls State University and McNeese fought through a seven-hour weather delay and a series finale that spanned multiple days and multiple months as the Colonels complete the three-game sweep. After winning game one, 3-0, on Friday, Nicholls picked up a 6-5 victory over McNeese in game two and a 2-1 win in game three.

The rain that wreaked havoc on the Zurich Classic and Jazzfest had Tulane and Houston hanging around over 5 hours in New Orleans Sunday then the Green Wave eventually got the 10-4 win.

For a second straight year, not one LSU was player was selected in the first round of the NFL draft. But several former Tigers could be selected tonight as the second and third rounds will take place from Chicago. NFL Draft analyst Mike Detillier believes four-year starter Vadal Alexander will be a third round pick and could be a productive offensive guard in the NFL…
cut 18 (21) “….NFL”
Louisiana Tech running back Kenneth Dixon should also hear his name called.

The Saints have two more picks tonight. New Orleans will have the 16th pick in second round and the 15th pick in the third round. Linebacker, wide receiver and offensive line are positions of need.

The LSU baseball team is back at it again tonight at 6:30 after losing a tough seven to six contest to the Ole Miss Rebels last night. The Bayou Bengals had two runners thrown out at home plate in the defeat that sent them to fourth place in the SEC West. Alex Lange is on the hill for the Tigers tonight.

In other college baseball action…because of the threat of rain over the weekend, ULM and Georgia State will play a doubleheader today and finish up the series tomorrow. The Warhawks have lost five in a row.

UL Lafayette looks for its sixth straight series win as the Cajuns visit UT Arlington. First pitch for that one has been pushed back to seven PM. Louisiana Tech is also in Texas as they face Texas San Antonio.

In the Southland Conference, first place Southeastern hosts Houston Baptist, McNeese is at Nichools and Northwestern hosts Corpus Christi.

In the SWAC…Grambling is at Prairie View and Southern visits ARkansas Pine-Bluff.

At the Zurich Classic of New Orleans…Former USC standout Jamie Lovemark is your leader after 36 holes at 11-under. Shreveport golfer Davis Toms is five under through two rounds.

Saints Coach Sean Payton believes they found a player that will improve their pass. New Orleans selected Louisville defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins with their first round draft choice last night. Rankins had six sackes and 13 tackles for a loss as a senior last season.

New Orleans has two more picks tonight. They have the 16th pick in the second round and the 15th pick in the third round. New Orleans could be looking to take a linebacker with one of those picks.

Several LSU players are expected to be selected tonight. NFL draft analyst Mike Detillier believes linebacker Deion Jones will be the first to come off the board….
cut 16 (13) “….in reserse”
Vadal Alexander, Jerald Hawkins and Jalen Mills are other former Tigers who could hear their name called.

The LSU baseball team had two runners thrown out at home plate in a seven to six loss to Ole Miss last night. Rebels center fielder JB Woodman nailed Cole Freeman at the plate in the fourth inning and also threw out Brennan Breaux, who tried to tie the game in the eighth inning. The Tigers are now in fourth place in the SEC West with a 10-9 league record. Same two teams tonight in Oxford.

Ole Miss says they will investigate the comments made by their former offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil, who said he accpeted money from a member of the football staff while playing for the Rebels. Tunsil made the comment after he was selected by the Miami Dolphins last night.

Alabama assistant football coach Bo Davis has resigned as there are allegations swirling in Tuscaloosa that he committed recruiting violations. Davis played at LSU and was a graduate assistant under Saban. He was the Crimson Tide’s defensive line coach.

At the Zurich Classic of New Orleans…Brian Stuard and Venezulaian Jhonattan Vegas are tied for first as both finished the first round at 8-under par.

With their first pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, the New Orleans Saints selected defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins. He’s a 6’1″, 299 pound senior from Louisville. CBS Sports says, “Rankins is one of the better run defenders in this draft class and continues to grow as a pass rusher. He entered Senior Bowl week with first-round grades and he only helped himself there with a dominating week.”

Defensive tackle Vernon Butler of Louisiana Tech was selected by the Carolina Panthers with the 30th pick Thursday night. Butler was named first-team All-Conference USA and logged 50 tackles and three sacks last season as a senior. Butler’s pick in the first round marked the first Conference USA player and first player from Louisiana to be selected in the 2016 NFL Draft.

In college baseball, LSU drops a heart breaker to Ole Miss in the opening game of the road SEC series. The Tigers pitching staff couldn’t hold off the Rebels in a 7-6 loss at Swayze Field. Game 2 begins today at 630.

Rounds two and three of the NFL draft take place tonight. Former LSU defensive back Jalen Mills is expected to be taken early tonight. That’s according to NFL draft analyst MIke Detillier…:
CUT 17 (16) “at DBU”
Rounds two and three begin at 7pm on ESPN and the NFL Network.

Back to college baseball, UL-Lafayette will look for their sixth straight series with at UT Arlington. Louisiana Tech gets back to league play as they travel to take on C-USA foe UTSA in a three-game series in San Antonio. Nicholls State returns to Southland action hosting a series with McNeese in Thibodaux. ULM’s series against Georgia Southern has been altered due to the threat of rain over the weekend. They’ll play a doubleheader today starting at 4pm. Tulane hosts Houston. Southeastern hosts Houston Baptist. Northwestern State hosts Texas A&M Corpus Christi. Grambling is at Prairie View.