The Saints finally picked up their first win of the season as New Orleans defeated Minnesota 20-9. Jeff Palermo has the story…:
CUT 3 (34) “reporting”

Also in the NFL, in a rematch of the Super Bowl teams — even though Broncos Quarterback Peyton Manning completed an amazing 4th quarter rally yesterday afternoon to tie it up, Seattle QB Russell Wilson kept Denver from even getting the ball in overtime. The Seahawks won the game 26-20.

Northwestern State scored 20 4th quarter points to come from behind and upset their long time rival Louisiana Tech 30 to 27. Demon Coach Jay Thomas says it’s like a dream…:
CUT 16 (16) “loss of words”
It was Northwestern’s first win over an FBS opponent since 2005 and the Demons first win over the Bulldogs since 1979.

For the first time since 1991, Mississippi State beat LSU in Baton Rouge as the Bulldogs held on for a 34-29 victory on Saturday night in Tiger Stadium. Coach Les Miles:
CUT 18 (17) “this season”
With the loss, LSU fell 10 spots in the Coaches Poll to No. 18.

Two SEC teams who are 3-and-0 will square off in Tiger Stadium on Saturday night. LSU, who has won 14 straight games over Mississippi State, will host the Bulldogs. Coach Les Miles says the Tigers defense will have to try and contain Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott…
cut 30 (13) “…leader of their team”
Prescott has thrown for nearly 700 yards and nine touchdowns this season. He’s also rushed for 273 yards and two scores.

The other big game in Louisiana on Saturday night is in Ruston as Louisiana Tech hosts Northwestern State. It’s the first time these two schools have met on the football field since 1994. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 53-19 and 5.

Another rivalry game on Saturday, is Grambling State at Jackson State. Grambling forfeited this game last year, because of a player protest.

The Ragin Cajuns will attempt to snap their two game losing streak on Saturday night when they visit Boise State. UL Lafayette Coach Mark Hudspeth says the Broncos are tough to prepare for because of the different personnel packages they use on offense….
cut 17 (17) “….on their field”
A late kick-off for this one as this game will get underway at 9:30 PM central time.

The Saints and Vikings kick-off on noon Sunday, with New Orleans looking for its first win. Four players for the Saints have been ruled out because of injuries. They are running back Mark Ingram, linebacker David Hawthorne, safety Marcus Ball and fullback Erik Lorig. But starting center Jonathan Goodwin is probable with an elbow injury, even though he missed some practice time earlier this week.

Eighth ranked LSU will welcome Mississippi State into Death Valley tomorrow night. The Bulldogs are led by quarterback Dak Prescott, who was born in Sulphur and played at Haughton High School. Prescott is downplaying the return to the Bayou State….
cut 30 (12) “…this time”
The Tigers have won 14 straight games over the Bulldogs.

Louisiana Tech and Northwestern State will meet on Saturday night in Ruston for the first time since 1994. Bulldogs coach Skip Holtz is impressed with the Demons offense, which is led by senior quarterback Zach Adkins…
cut 19 (13) ‘…very well”
Kick-off for this one is at 6 PM.

The Saints seek their first win of the season Sunday as they host the Minnesota Vikings. Expect Khiry Robinson to get more carries, because of the injury to Mark Ingram. The defense needs to do a better job of getting off the field on third down. In the two games so far this season, opposing offenses have converted 48-percent of the time on third down.

In high school football last night…the Byrd Yellow Jackets made a major statement last night as they defeated Calvary Baptist 42-13. In other action. ED White defeated Central Catholic 32 to 6, Kinder beat Oakdale 47 to 20, and Mangham clobbered Caldwell Parish 54-14.

In action tonight…Ouachita faces Neville, Block will battle its rival Jena, Westlake will host its rival Sam houston, And in acadiana…Notre Dame will take on Teurlings Catholic.

The Ragin Cajuns head to Boise State in desperate need of a win after back-to-back blowout losses to Ole Miss and Louisiana Tech. Coach Mark Hudspeth knows the last two games have been disappointing, but the players are determined to get better…:
CUT 16 (12) “rather than later”
The game kicks off at 9:30pm our time tomorrow night.

Meanwhile, Louisiana Tech is riding a nice streak headed into their home opener on Saturday night as they face in-state rival Northwestern State. Coach Skip Holtz even with two consecutive road wins on their belt, it’s too early to be patting themselves on the back…:
CUT 18 (18) “in the future”
The Bulldogs and Demons kickoff at 6pm tomorrow.

A record crowd is expected in Tiger Stadium on Saturday night, which will put to test LSU’s new contraflow plan to help the flow the traffic after the games. Jeff Palermo has the story…:
CUT 3 (30) “reporting”

Last night in the NFL Atlanta completely demolished Tampa Bay. The Falcons had a 56-0 lead heading into the fourth quarter before The Bucs scored two touchdowns to avoid the worst loss in franchise history. Devin Hester set an NFL record with his 20th return for a touchdown and Falcon QB Matt Ryan threw for 286 yards and three touchdowns.

Saints Quarterback Drew Brees says unfortunately the perception is that NFL players beat their wives and children. But Brees says that’s not the case despite the reports of domestic violence involving several NFL players. He says there’s a lot of players doing great things in the community. Brees added that the Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson cases provide examples for other players that there are consequences for poor decisions away from the field….
cut 29 (11) “….right path’
The Saints will host the Minnesota Vikings this Sunday. It remains to be seen if linebacker David Hawthorne will play. He’s missed the last two practices with an ankle injury.

Tonight’s NFL match-up features two teams from the NFC South. Tampa Bay is searching for its first win of the season as they visit Atlanta.

The SEC opener between LSU and Mississippi State will take place Saturday night. Both teams are 3-and-0 and the Bulldogs have one of the top quarterbacks in the SEC. Dak Prescott is fourth in the SEC in total offense. Defensive tackle Christian LaCouture says he’s an explosive player…
cut 30 (13) “…big time plays”
Kick-off on Saturday is at 6:02.

Louisiana Tech will host Northwestern State on Saturday night. Bulldogs coach Skip Holtz is impressed with the Demons offense, which is led by senior quarterback Zach Adkins…
cut 19 (13) ‘…very well”
Kick-off for this one is at 6 PM.

Drew Brees has chimed in on the Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson domestic abuse cases. The Saints Quarterback is considered one of the faces of the NFL and says with the league dealing with all these PR hits, he understands it’s more important than ever to represent properly on and off the field…:
CUT 28 (11) “this position”

The Saints are continuing preparations today for the Vikings, who will be without their star running back Adrian Peterson. Safety Kenny Vaccaro says Minnesota still has has a good quarterback in Matt Cassel and a couple of talented receivers led by Cordarrelle Patterson…
cut 30 (15) “…what to do”

The LSU Tigers will be tested for the first time this Saturday in Tiger Stadium as they welcome Mississippi State to death valley. A match-up to watch is LSU left tackle La’el Collins versus Bulldogs defensive end Preston Smith. The senior has won back-to-back Southeastern Conference Defensive Lineman of the Week Awards.

In other college football action this weekend…Grambling State is at Jackson State. These two teams never played last season, because the players at Grambling refused to play, because of poor training conditions and they were upset with the leadership at Grambling.

Louisiana Tech will host Northwestern State on Saturday. The Bulldogs have been excellent in the red zone as they’ve scored every time they’ve moved the football inside the opponents 20-yard line.

And the Ragin Cajuns are at Boise State. It’s the first meeting between the two schools. The Broncos will return the trip back to Lafayette in 2016.

The NFL’s image is suffering because of the Ray Rice domestic abuse case and now Vikings star Adrian Peterson is facing child abuse charges. Saints Quarterback Drew Brees says unfortunately the perception is NFL players beat their wives and children but that’s only a handful of cases in a league that has 17-hundred players..:
CUT 7 (10) “your community”
Brees says the Rice and Peterson cases provide examples for other players that there are consequences for poor decisions away from the field.

Coach Sean Payton confirmed Wednesday that Mark Ingram had surgery and will not play in the Vikings game on Sunday. He said Ingram fractured his hand in the Browns game and his right thumb was displaced. Payton says the running back will be week to week in terms of status.

The Southeastern Conference announced Wednesday 10 more LSU men’s basketball games for the upcoming season that will be televised. Adding to other games announced in August, networks also decided to pick up some SEC games including Vanderbilt on January 24th, Mississippi State on January 31, and Tennessee on February 14th.

McNeese State’s 2015 basketball schedule was announced Wednesday. They’ll be at UL-Lafayette February 24th and LSU on March 11th.

In National College football news, Florida State says Heisman trophy winner Jameis Winston won’t play in the first half of the Clemson game this weekend for apparently making vulgar comments on top of a table at the school’s cafeteria. They say the quarterback will also undergo internal discipline.

Also Texas Quarterback David Ash’s career is over according to coach Charlie Strong. The QB has been dealing with multiple concussions and missed most of last season.

Vikings running back Adrian Peterson will not play this Sunday against the New Orleans Saints. Peterson was placed on the NFL’s exempt list, which will keep him from participating in team activities until his child abuse case is resolved. Minnesota team officials began the week by saying that Peterson will play against the Saints.

Carolina has also placed star defensive end Greg Hardy on the NFL’s commissioner exempt list until his domestic violence case is resolved. The 2013 Pro Bowler was found guilty in July for assaulting and threatening his ex-girlfriend Nicole Holder. Hardy is appealing the verdit and a hearing date is set for November 17th. The Saints face the Panthers on October 30th and December seventh.

At the Saints training facility, coach Sean Payton said today that running back Mark Ingram underwent surgery this week to repair a fracture in his hand. Doctors inserted two screws above Ingram’s thumb, because the bone was fractured and displaced.

It’s LSU and Mississippi State this Saturday in Tiger Stadium. It will be the SEC opener for both teams. The Bulldogs are averaging nearly 44 points a game and Tigers defensive coordinator John Chavis says his defense will be tested…
cut 18 (17) “….this season’
Kick-off on Saturday is at 6:00.

The Ragin Cajuns are hoping for a better performance from their defense this Saturday against Boise State. U-L Lafayette is allowing 455 yards per game and they’ve only forced one turnover through three games this season. The Broncos are 2-and-1, with wins over Colorado State and UCONN and a season opening loss to Ole Miss.

McNeese State’s 2015 baseball schedule came out today. The Cowboys will be at UL Lafayette on February 24th and LSU on March 11th.

LSU heads into Saturday’s SEC match-up with Mississippi State riding a streak of 31 straight possessions without allowing a point. The Tigers also lead in the SEC in four defensive categories— total defense, pass defense, scoring defense and pass efficiency defense. Defensive Coordinator John Chavis says the D is playing with a lot of confidence…:
CUT 16 (19) “defensive unit”
The game in Death Valley Saturday kicks off at 6pm.

Steve Axman is named the interim head coach for Nicholls State University for the remainder of the season. Former head coach Charlie Stubbs resigned over the weekend for heath reasons. The school says a search for a permanent head coach will begin immediately.

The Minnesota Vikings have said star running back Adrian Peterson can not play until he addresses child abuse charges he’s facing in Texas. The announcement was made early this morning after an initial decision was made that Peterson could play in Sunday’s game against the Saints. He’s charged with a felony for using a switch to discipline his 4 year old. There was a ton of backlash when the team made their initial decision on Peterson’s status and now several sponsors are threatening to end their deals with the Vikings or completely cutting things off with Peterson.

113 Modern Era nominees for the Pro Football Hall of fame were announced Tuesday. Former New Orleans Saints kicker Morten Andersen and Black and Gold linebacker Sam Mills and former LSU offensive lineman Kevin Mawae (Ma-WHY) were among them. The class of 2015 will be picked from a list of 15 finalists, one senior finalist and two contributor finalists on January 31st.

And former LSU track star LoLo Jones was kicked off Dancing with the Stars last night in the first round.

It’s been a tough start to the 2014 season for the New Orleans Saints and the news about running back Mark Ingram doesn’t make it any better. Ingram will reportedly miss the next four weeks because of an injured hand. Saints radio color analyst Hokie Gajan says Ingram’s injury comes at a time when the Saints were having their most success running the football since Sean Payton has been the coach….
cut 15 (07) “…step up”
Cadet doesn’t have a carry on the season yet, while Robinson has 59 yards on 14 carries and one touchdown.

The Vikings are planning to play running Adrian Peterson against the Saints this Sunday, despite the fact he faces child abuse charges. But the governor of Minnesota, Mark Dayton, said today that the Vikings should suspend Peterson until the child abuse case in Texas is resolved. Dayton helped get funding approved for a new one-billion dollar stadium for the Vikings.

Anthony Jennings has solidified himself as the LSU Tigers starting quarterback. But Coach Les Miles says fans can still expect to seek back-up and true freshman Brandon Harris get some snaps…
cut 30 (08) “…last three”
Miles says LSU will face one of the better quarterbacks in the SEC this Saturday. Dak Prescott, who is from Haughton, Louisiana, has completed nearly 60-percent of his passes for 696 yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions. He’s also rushed for 273 yards and two scores.

Northwestern State quarterback Zach Adkins is the Louisiana Sports Writers Association offensive player of the week. Adkins completed a school record 19 straight passes in the Demons 51 to 27 win over Southern. The senior from California will lead Northwestern into Ruston this Saturday. It’s the home opener for the Bulldogs, who have won their last two games by a combined score of 90-41.