There are about two more weeks to go in spring football and LSU Coach
Les Miles likes the improvement from his quarterbacks. Brandon
Harris, Danny Etling and Justin McMilan each completed passes for a high
percentage in a scrimmage on Saturday, with Harris leading the trio with
246 passing yards. Miles says there’s more confidence with the group…:
Cut 16 (16) “good offense”
The spring game will be April 16th and can be seen on the SEC Network.

In college baseball, NO. 14 LSU clobbered Auburn Sunday 10-5 on the road. Auburn claimed a victory Friday, but LSU won Saturday to claim their first SEC series victory of the season and improve to 18-9 overall and 4-5 in conference play.

UL-Lafayette was lifted to a 6-1 victory over Arkansas State yesterday — as the Ragin Cajuns win the Sun Belt Conference series 2-1. A two run sixth inning broke a 1-1 tie and UL-Lafayette improves to 18-10 overall and 8-4 in conference play.

Southeastern had an easy time over Nicholls to win the series following a 15-2 win Sunday. It’s the 17th straight win for The Lions who improve to 22-7, and 11-1 in the Southland.

UNO fell to Troy, 9-4 Sunday. Southern lost to Texas Southern 6-5. Louisiana Tech loses to Marshall 10-4. ULM was beat by South Alabama 12-2. Northwestern State edged McNeese 8-7 in 10 innings.

In the NBA, the Pelicans beat the Brooklyn Nets 106-87 Sunday on the road. Tim Frazier had 19 points and 13 assists, while Luke Babbitt added 21 points for New Orleans. It was the 5th loss in a row for the Nets..

No LSU baseball game tonight, because of lots of rain in Auburn. The series will now start tomorrow at 1 PM with a doubleheader. ULM and South Alabama are also postponing their series opener to Saturday. The two teams will be play a doubleheader at 4 PM.

The start of Southeastern’s series with Nicholls is also in jeopardy because of rain. The Lions are seeking their 15th straight victory. Coach Matt Riser says his team is motivated to reach the NCAA Tournament after missing it last year…
cut 20 (18) “….ballclub”
The Colonels enter the series with an 11-15 record, two and seven in the Southland Conference. First pitch is at 7 PM.

LSU guard Antonio Blakeney will put his name into the NBA draft. But Blakeney does not plan on hiring an agent, which would allow him to return for his sophomore season . For Blakeney to come back to LSU, he’ll have to remove his name from the draft, shortly after the NBA combine in mid-May.

The Saints will reportedly meet with running back Tim Hightower soon and discuss a return to the Black and Gold. The 29-year-old played in eight games for New Orleans last season and rushed for 375 yards and four touchdowns.

Former LSU running back Stevan Ridley announced on Instagram that he has signed to play with the Detroit Lions. The Natchez, Mississippi, native rushed for just 90 yards in eight games last season with the Jets after tearing his ACL the year before.

On twitter, UL Lafayette Coach Mark Hudspeth showed off some new helmets that has a black colored crawfish on a red helmet. It looks really good, but it is apparently an April Fool’s joke.

The 14th ranked LSU baseball team begins a three-game series in Auburn tonight. The Tigers are 2-and-4 in league play and tied for fifth in the SEC West. Starting shortstop Kramer Robertson says they are trying to remain loose…
cut 18 (12) “…good results”
No word on who will start at third base for LSU. Greg Deichmann had made two errors in his past five starts at the hot corner.

Southeastern Louisiana is red hot. The Lions have won 14 straight as they open a three-game series against Nicholls tonight. Northwestern is at McNeese. Both teams have winning records in league play.

In the SWAC, Grambling leads the west division with a 7-2 record. The Tigers are at Arkansas Pine Bluff, who trails G-S-U by one game for first place.

The Saints will reportedly meet with running back Tim Hightower soon and discuss a return to the Black and Gold. The 29-year-old played in eight games for New Orleans last season and rushed for 375 yards and four touchdowns, including a 122-yard rushing performance against Jacksonville.

The short-handed Pelicans defeated Denver 101-95 last night. New Orleans was led by Luke Babbitt, who had 22 points and 10 rebounds. Toney Douglas had 20 points and 10 assists. There’s seven games left in the regular season and the Pelis have the sixth worst record in the NBA.

Mark Whitehead, a basketball official from Denham Springs, will be a refree at the Final four in Houston. Whitehead has worked as a college official since 1996 and this will be his fifth Final Four assignment. He worked the 2012 title game played in New Orleans when Kentucky beat Kansas.

In other college hoops news…former LSU assistant Butch Pierre has been named an assistant at North Carolina State.

The 14th ranked LSU Baseball team looks for its first series win in SEC play this weekend as they visit Auburn for a three-game series that starts tonight. The Tigers are 2-and-4 in league play and have lost three of their last four overall. Sophomore right-hander Alex Lange will start tonight on the mound tonight for the Tigers…:
Cut 17 (10) “as possible”
First pitch at Plainsman Park is slated for 6pm.

The New Orleans Pelicans were able to get past the Denver Nuggets last night in a 101-95 victory. The Pels are playing without nine players, including 7 who are out for the season due to injury. Little known Luke Babbit led New Orleans last night with 22 points, and had 10 of the Pelicans’ first 12 points scoring.

The Evangeline Downs in Opelousas will be back with thoroughbred racing Wednesday and run through August 27th. There will be 26 stakes races held during the season with total purses in excess of $2 million.

Back to college baseball, Southeastern Louisiana takes a 15-game winning streak into this weekend’s home series against Nicholls. The Lions are led on the mound by senior left-hander Kyle Cedotal, who is 4-2 with a 1.15 ERA. S-L-U Coach Matt Riser says Cedotal will get the start tonight…:
Cut 19 (17) “go out”
First pitch today is 6pm.

The UL-Lafayette baseball team takes their four game win streak to Arkansas State for a three game conference series this weekend.

ULM is set for a three-game Sun Belt Conference series against league leader South Alabama.

Louisiana Tech is set to kick off an eight-game road stretch with a three-game Conference USA series against Marshall.

The controversial bill dealing with select, non-select high school sports, legislation aimed at forcing changes in high school football and other playoffs was delayed Thursday at the request of the LHSAA.

Southeastern Louisiana won its 14th straight game last night as they defeated Alcorn State 21-0. The Lions scored in every inning they batted. Northwestern State won a rain-shortened contest over ULM 6-2. Daniel Garner hit his 1st homer to help the Demons win their third straight. And Nicholls edged South Alabama five to four. A throwing error by the Jaguars allowed the winning run to score.

The LSU baseball team leaves today for Auburn. Coach Paul Mainieri says Alex Lange will pitch in game one.

The so-called LSU Miles clause has reportedly been removed from the restructured contracts of assistant coaches Ed Orgeron and Jeff Grimes. According to the Baton Rouge Advocate, the clause allows LSU to terminate a contract six months after Miles’ employment with the school ends. This clause was one of the things that upset former LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis.

LSU safety Jalen Mills tells CBS Sports that an NFL team has asked him whether he we would use a gun or knife to kill someone. Mills is expected to be a second or third round pick in the draft. He did not reveal which team asked him this question.

The voice of the Tigers for the last three-plus decades officially retires today. Jim Hawthorne, who was on the mic for all six of LSU national championships in basketball, two national titles in football and three Final Four appearances in basketball, leaves the LSU campus today for retirement. Hawthorne’s last game was an ugly loss by the basketball team in the SEC Tournament…
cut 18 (12) “…so be it”
Hawthorne’s first big event during his retirement is a three-week vacation to Australia with his wife.

The LSU Baseball team is mired in a tough stretch as they’ve lost three of their last four. Tulane beat the Tigers seven to one last night as LSU committed three errors and losing pitcher Cole McKay walked four in two-thirds of an inning. LSU is at Auburn this weekend.

Southeastern Louisiana’s winning streak is at 13 games after pounding Southern 18-2 in seven innings.

Louisiana Tech has won 23 straight over Grambling after beating the Tigers 10-2 last night. UL Lafayette scored three runs in the ninth to beat Nicholls 5-4 and Northwestern State was an easy winner over ULM 11-2.

Louisiana native and Kentucky Debry-winning jockey Calvin Borel is retiring from horse racing after 33 years. The 49-year-old has over five-thousand victories, including three Kentucky Derby wins in four years. In 2009, he rode 50-1 long shot Mine That Bird to an improbable win at Churchill Downs.

The Saints have reportedly resctured the contract of running back Mark Ingram which gives them three-point-six million dollars in salary cap space. Ingram is set to make three-million dollars, but he’ll receive most of that in the form of a signing bonus now. Cam Jordan and Thomas Morstead also had their contracts restructured this week.

Former LSU wide receiver Brandon LaFell will reportedly sign with the Cincinnati Bengals. LaFell was released by the Patriots earlier this month after he caught 111 passes and scored seven touchdowns in two seasons in New England.

UL Lafayette’s football game at Georgia Southern has been moved to Thursday, November 10th and it will be televised by ESPN U. That means the Cajuns will have two midweek games in 2016, Wednesday October 22nd at Texas State and the Thursday night Georgia southern contest.

Spring practice has resumed for the LSU Tigers. Coach Les Miles is refreshed after spending five days in Cuba. The coach said he spent his time handing out soccer balls to school children and learning more about a culture that he heared a lot about from a longtime friend.

The Saints continue to work at trying to provide themselves some salary cap relief by restructuring contracts. Running back Mark Ingram is reportedly the latest player to have his contract re-structured. Ingram had a majority of a three-million dollar base salary converted to a signing bonus freeing up about 1.5 million in cap space. Defensive end Cam Jordan and punter Thomas Morstead also reportedly had their contracts reworked this week.

LSU Coach Paul Mainieri called it the worst game of the year as the Tulane trounced the Tigers seven to one last night. LSU committed three errors and starting pitcher Cole McKay walked four in two-thirds of an inning and suffered the loss.

Southeastern won its 13th straight last night as they blasted Southern 18 to 2 in seven innings. UL Lafayette scored three runs in the ninth to beat Nicholls 5-4. The Cajuns benefited from an error by Colonels center fielder Quade Smith.

Louisiana Tech has now won 23 straight baseball games over Grambling. The Bulldogs defeated the Tigers 10 to 2 last night. Chandler Hall drove in three runs for the Bulldogs. Tech’s game tonight against McNeese has been postponed because of inclement weather in Ruston.

Also last night…Northwestern State clobbered ULM 11-2. Fourth-year head coach Lane Burroughs calls it the best all-around game they’ve played.

Northwestern State’s Janelle Perez has been named the Southland Conference Women’s basketball student-athlete of the year. Perez has a 3.7 GPA in health and exercise science and is set to graduate in May. Perez averaged 15 points, four assists and four rebounds a game. She also ranks third nationally in free-throw percentage.

In other basketball news…Nicholls State is seeking a new head coach. JP Piper was fired after winning just 11 games.

The Pelicans are looking for healthy bodies. Jrue Holiday and Alonze Gee are the latest New Orleans players who will miss the rest of the season because of injuries. The Pels are at San Antonio tomorrow night.

A mistake filled start eventually helped lead Tulane to a 7-1 victory over the LSU baseball team last night in Baton Rouge. It was the first ever win for The Green Wave at the new Alex Box Stadium. The Tigers managed seven hits, committed three errors in their third loss in four games. Coach Paul Mainieri said the first two-three innings in the game were as bad baseball they’ve played as far as he could remember. LSU now heads to the Plains to take on SEC-West rival Auburn.

The New Orleans Pelicans and the Houston Rockets will headline the 2016 10th edition of the NBA games in China, the clubs announced Tuesday. The teams will play preseason games October 9 in Shanghai at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, followed by a rematch in Beijing on October 12th. It’ll be New Orleans’ first visit to the country, and Houston’s second. The Pels, who are eliminated from playoff contention, take on the San Antonio Spurs on the road tonight. They will be without another major player due to injury  – Jrue Holiday

Back to college baseball, Southeastern destroyed Southern 18-2 in Hammond as the Lions set a school record by winning its previous 12 games in a row. Louisiana Tech downed Grambling 10-2. UL-Lafayette edged Nicholls 5-4. ULM fell to Northwestern State 11-2.

Former LSU forward Ben Simmons was chosen as a second team All-American by the Associated Press on Tuesday. Louisiana Tech’s Alex Hamilton and UL-Lafayette’s Shawn Long received honorable mentions.

LSU Coach Les Miles spoke after the Tigers’ first practice after spring break Tuesday — and he talked about his trip to Cuba. He said he can’t speak Spanish so it was hard for him to communicate other than when he was hungry. The Mad Hatter was on the first base line from the Cuban national team’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays last Tuesday. He said he didn’t blend with the crowd and no one knew who he was.

Nicholls has fired men’s basketball coach JP Piper after winning just 11 games this past season.

The LSU baseball team hosts Tulane tonight as the Tigers will look to get the bats going. Coach Paul Mainieri’s team scored just five runs in a series against Texas A-and-M, despite racking up more hits than the Aggies over the course of the three games…
cut 30 (14) “….score points”
First pitch is at 6:30.

Runs have not been a problem for Southeastern Louisiana. The Lions seek their 13th straight win tonight when they host Southern. S-L-U has scored four or more runs in all but one game during this school record winning streak.

Also tonight…Nicholls State will host in-state foe UL Lafayette at six Pm in a game that can be seen on Cox Sports Television. And Lincoln Parish rivals, Grambling and Louisiana Tech face off in Ruston.

More injury woes for the Pelicans. The team has announced that Jrue Holiday has a fractured orbital bone and he’ll miss the rest of the season. He suffered the injury in the final minute of last night’s win over New York. And Ryan Anderson has been diagnosed with a sports hernia and he’ll need a second opinion next week. New Orleans has been officially eliminated from playoff contention.

The season is over for the Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs lost to East Tennessee State 88-83 in the first round of the Vegas 16 Tournament.

Mike Dunleavy Senior was introduced today as the 24th head coach in Tulane men’s basketball history. The former NBA Coach has never coached on the college level.

Nicholls has fired men’s basketball coach JP Piper after winning just 11 games this past season. Piper took over the Colonels in 2004 and Nicholls had an 82-118 record in conference play during that time.

The Saints have reportedly restructured the contracts of defensive end Cam Jordan and punter Thomas Morestead, saving the franchise three-point-five million dollars against the salary cap. The two players converted base salary into signing bonus, so the cap costs are spread out over future years.

Former LSU running back and Franklinton star Terrence Magee has re-signed with the Baltimore Ravens. Magee played in four games for the Ravens last season, mostly on special teams.

In the NBA…For the first time this season, the Pelicans won a game, even though they didn’t score more than 100 points. New Orleans defeated the New York Knicks 99-91. The victory also snapped a three-game losing streak. But the Pels have also officially been eliminated from the playoffs.

The season is over for the Louisiana Tech men’s basketball team. The Bulldogs lost to East Tennessee State 88-83 in the opening round of the Vegas 16 Tournament in Las Vegas.

Mike Dunleavy Senior was introduced today as the 24th head coach in Tulane men’s basketball history. Dunleavy has never coached on the college level, but he spent 17 seasons as a head coach on the NBA level. He’ll attempt to bring Tulane to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1995.

The Tulane baseball team will be at 19th ranked LSU tonight. The Tigers will start Cole McKay on the mound after striking out five in two innings last week. Coach Paul Mainieri likes what he saw from the freshman right-hander…
cut 30 (11) “…change up”
First pitch is at 6:30.

Also tonight…Southeastern Louisiana seeks its 13th straight win as they host Southern. UL Lafayette is at Nicholls in a game that can be seen on CST. ULM is at Northwestern and La Tech hosts Grambling.