The LSU men’s basketball team survived and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 79-74 win over Yale yesterday in Jacksonville. Guard Tremont Waters was one of four Tiger players in double figures with 15 points…
cut 10 (11) “…the best”
LSU’s next opponent is the Maryland Terrapins, who are 23-10 on the season. One of there best players is Bruno Fernando, a six-foot-10 forward, who is a future NBA lottery draft pick. Tip time tomorrow is at 11:10.

Following yesterday’s win over Yale, Alleva told Jeff Goodman of the Stadium that he wishes suspended head coach Will Wade would just come to him and tell the truth and that Alleva can handle the truth even it’s bad. Wade has been suspended for two weeks and has said he can’t talk about a purported FBI wiretap under the advice of his legal counsel.

Former LSU Tiger Shaquille O’ Neal will be the new face of Papa John’s Pizza and he’s the pizza maker’s newest board member. O’Neal is also investing in nine Papa John’s restaurants in Atlanta. The endorsement deal will net the Hall of Fame basketball player a reported 8.25 million dollars.

The 7th ranked LSU baseball team is in Athens for the weekend for a big three-game series against 5th ranked Georgia. Tigers Coach Paul Mainieri on the 19-and-2 Bulldogs…
Cut 16 (10) “…power arms”
LSU will face one of the top sophomore pitchers in the country tonight. Georgia right-hander Emerson Hancock is 5-0 with an E-R-A well below one. First pitch tonight is 6 PM local time.

Also, ULM basketball has advanced to the second round of the C-I-T Tournament as the Warhawks defeated Kent State 87-77. Travis Munnings had 28 points, nine rebounds, and four assists last night.

The state Attorney General’s office announces the arrest of five Louisiana residents for Medicaid welfare fraud. Jeff Palermo has the story…
Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Jeff Palermo”

The Caddo Parish D-A’s office says a former employee at the Caddo Parish Animal Shelter has admitted to encouraging a coworker to have a sex with a dog. 43-year-old Booker Thomas of Shreveport pleaded guilty to acting as principal in a crime against nature. Thomas was sentenced to three years in prison.

The third seeded LSU Tigers are headed to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after beating Yale 79-74. The Tigers had a shaky second half, but interim head coach Tony Benford says those things will happen…
cut 11 (10) “…good run”
LSU will now play Maryland in the second round. Early tip time from Jacksonville, 11:10 central time.

Presently, state law limits the total amount of bottles of wine that can be shipped to a home to 144 bottles that do not exceed 750 ml per bottle. But a proposed law to be debated in the upcoming session would remove the limit on how big a bottle you can have delivered, while keeping the total volume of booze the same. Senator Jack Donahue says says the current law impedes on those that collect wine as a hobby.
Cut 14 (07) “…large format bottles.”
Donahue’s bill will discussed by legislators next month.

Louisiana’s Congressional Delegation is asking the California legislature to reconsider a law set to kick in next year that would ban the purchase of alligator within state lines. Louisiana Sea Grant Spokesperson Mark Shirley says at one point the gator was endangered, but since the law’s passage in the 60′s things have changed, and now we’ve got millions of the big lizards crawling through our swamps. Shirley says if our west coast friends really want to save the gators, they should eat some or wear some, not ban them.
Cut 6 (11) “…produce.”
Bayou State wetlands are home to the country’s largest alligator population.
Five people have been arrested on charges related to welfare fraud. Attorney General Jeff Landry says the state is cracking down on those that are fraudulently getting on the Medicaid rolls by working the system and lying about their application.
Cut 7 (10) “…of our citizens”
_____________________________________
LSU plays 6th seed Maryland Saturday at 1110AM in the second round after grabbing a 79-74 win over Yale. Just a few weeks ago Tiger nation was salivating at the thought of their wunderkind coach Will Wade leading a young, hungry team of athletes into the big dance. Now Wade is suspended for alleged recruiting violations, and many fans are concerned the distraction will lead to an early LSU exit. Interim coach Tony Benfordsays he’s keeping the team focused on what’s important.
Cut 12 (09) “…control.”
Benford played in the tournament during his days in the 80s as a star guard for Texas Tech. before coming to LSU, His North Texas coached teams never sported a winning record.
Mandeville Senator Jack Donahue wants to change a law that limits the size of a bottle of wine that you can have shipped to your house. Currently you can’t get distributors to send you anything bigger than a 750 ml bottle, and Donahue says this would open up deliveries to more variations of vine bottle sizes.
Cut 13 (09) “…the allowable quantity.”

LSU survived their first test of the tournament and will face Maryland on Saturday at 1110AM in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Kevin Barnhart has more.
Cut 3 (30) “I’m Kevin Barnhart”
Five people have been arrested on charges related to welfare fraud. Attorney General Jeff Landry says the message to those trying to falsify their way through the application process to get on Medicaid is clear.
Cut 9 (09) “…come after you″
Landry says those arrested knew they were not eligible for government assistance.
_______________________________________
60 years ago the Golden State, hoping to stem the tide of 20th century extinctions, agreed to ban the sale of “endangered” animal products in their state by 2020. One of the animals listed was alligators, and that could end up hitting the local gator industry, who relies on selling to Californian fashionistas. Louisiana Sea Grant Spokesperson Mark Shirley says the misinformed sentiment could end up putting Bayou State farmers out of business.
Cut 5 (10) “…industry.”
Harvesting gator skin and meat is a nearly 60 million dollar industry.
A bill is being proposed in the Legislature that would lift the cap on how big a bottle of wine you can have delivered to your home. Currently you can’t order a bottle bigger than 750 ml, but Senator Jack Donahue says it’s an unnessecary restriction, and that this one’s for all of the other wine lovers out there.
Cut 15 (09) “…to change that.”

The state Attorney General’s office announces the arrest of five Louisiana residents for Medicaid welfare fraud.
Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Jeff Palermo”
LSU plays 6th seed Maryland Saturday at 11:10 AM in the second round after grabbing a 79-74 win over Yale, but once again they were outscored in the second half. Fans may be concerned about the team’s run of poor second halfs, but interim coach Tony Benford isnt.
Cut 11 (10) “good run.”
__________________________
Presently, the law limits the total amount of bottles of wine that can be shipped to a home to 144 bottles that do not exceed 750 ml per bottle. But a proposed law would remove the limit on how big a bottle you can have devliered, while keeping the total volume of booze the same. Senator Jack Donahue says says the previous law would impede on those that collect wine as a hobby.
Cut 14 (07) “…large format bottles.”
60 years ago the Golden State, hoping to stem the tide of 20th century extinctions, agreed to ban the sale of “endangered” animal products in their state by 2020. One of the animals listed was alligators, and Louisiana Sea Grant Spokesperson Mark Shirley says California’s legislature may not be aware that we’ve got about as many gators as registered voters.
Cut 4 (10) “…efforts.”
At one time alligators were considered endangered, but the population has rebounded, with 300,000 Louisiana gators being harvested every year.

The third seeded LSU Tigers are on their way to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after beating Yale 79-74. The Tigers led by 16 points at halftime and withstood a good run from the Bulldogs in the second half. LSU also had a bad second half against Florida in the SEC Tournament, but interim head coach Tony Benford says concerns about the team’s second half woes are overstated…
cut 11 (10) “…good run”
LSU will play Maryland on Saturday in Jacksonville. The Terrapins beat Belmont 79-77 in a back and forth game. Maryland is 23-10 on the season and their top player is six-foot junior guard Anthony Cowan, who is averaging 16 points a game.

ULM beat Kent State 87-77 to reach the second round of the C-I-T tournament. Travis Munnings led the way with 28 points. The Warhawks second round opponent is to be determined.

The Saints have reportedly signed defensive back and returner Marcus Sherels, who has spent all eight of his seasons in the NFL with the Vikings. Sherels is the all-time leader in Vikings history for punt returns for touchdowns. He averaged 12 yards a punt return last season.

7th ranked LSU baseball begins a weekend series against 5th ranked Georgia tonight. Coach Paul Mainieri says tonight’s game against the 19-and-2 Bulldogs begins a difficult stretch for the Tigers…
paul 1 (10) “….few notches”
LSU will face a pitcher tonight, sophomore Emerson Hancocks, who has an ERA of 0.58 in five starts. After this series, the Tigers will host McNeese on Tuesday and then go back on the road next weekend to visit second ranked Mississippi State.

Also this weekend, the Ragin Cajuns host Appalachian State, ULM is at Texas State, Louisiana Tech visits Middle Tennessee, S-L-U hosts Abilene Christian, Incarnate Word is at McNeese, Lamar takes on Northwestern and Corpus Christi travels to Nicholls.

In the 1960s California passed a law that would ban “endangered” animal products, including alligator, from being sold in their state in the far off future of 2020. Now that it’s about to kick in, that law has Louisiana conservationists scratching their head…
Cut 1 (30) “I’m Don Molino.”
LSU plays 6th seed Maryland Saturday in the second round after grabbing a 79-74 win over Yale. Guard Tremont Waters says there’s no more easy games left.
Cut 10 (11) “…best”
____________________________________
Five people have been arrested on charges related to welfare fraud. Attorney General Jeff Landry says the state is cracking down on those that are fraudulently getting on the Medicaid rolls by working the system and lying about their application.
Cut 7 (10) “…of our citizens”
Landry says those arrested knew they were not eligible for government assistance.
Presently, the law limits the total amount of bottles of wine that can be shipped to a home to 144 bottles that do not exceed 750 ml per bottle. But if a proposed new law in the upcoming session makes its way onto the books, the bottle size limitation would be a thing of the past. Senator Jack Donahue says this would open up deliveries to more variations of vine bottle sizes.
Cut 13 (09) “…the allowable quantity.”
Donahue says he, too, is a wine enthusiast.

In the 1960s California passed a law that would ban “endangered” animal products, including alligator, from being sold in their state in the far off future of 2020. Now that it’s about to kick in, that law has Louisiana conservationists scratching their head…

Cut 1 (30) “I’m Don Molino.”

____________________________

The state Attorney General’s office announces the arrest of five Louisiana residents for Medicaid welfare fraud. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Jeff Palermo”  

___________________________________

 LSU survived their first test of the tournament and will face Maryland on Saturday in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Kevin Barnhart has more.

Cut 3 (30) “I’m Kevin Barnhart”

__________________________________

60 years ago the Golden State, hoping to stem the tide of 20th century extinctions, agreed to ban the sale of “endangered” animal products in their state by 2020. One of the animals listed was alligators, and Louisiana Sea Grant Spokesperson Mark Shirley says California’s legislature may not be aware that we’ve got about as many gators as registered voters.

Cut 4 (10) “…efforts.”

At one time alligators were considered endangered, but the population has recovered, and we now harvest over 300,000 gators on farms and in the wild in Louisiana annually.

This old law is turning into a ticking time bomb for local alligator industry, which makes a lot of it’s money selling skins to California fashionistas and pharma companies. Shirley says the misinformed sentiment could end up putting Bayou State farmers out of business.

Cut 5 (10) “…industry.”

Harvesting gator skin and meat is a nearly 60 million dollar industry.

So Louisiana’s congressional delegation is asking the California legislature to reverse course, and support a proposed law that would overturn that old law before the January 1st blanket ban goes into place. Shirley says if our west coast friends really want to save the gators, they should eat some or wear some, not ban them.

Cut 6 (11) “…produce.”

Bayou State wetlands are home to the country’s largest alligator population, with Florida in second place.

___________________________________________________

Five people have been arrested on charges related to welfare fraud.  Attorney General Jeff Landry says the state is cracking down on those that are fraudulently getting on the Medicaid rolls by working the system and lying about their application.

Cut 7 (10) “…of our citizens”

Landry says those arrested knew they were not eligible for government assistance, adding the expense of non-eligible recipients is has sent the Medicaid program spiraling out of control.

Cut 8 (10) “of our resources.”

Landry says the message to those trying to falsify their way through the application process to get on Medicaid is clear.

Cut 9 (09) “…come after you″

__________________________

LSU plays 6th seed Maryland Saturday in the second round after grabbing a 79-74 win over Yale. The Terrapins barely escaped a major upset, winning 79-77 in the last moments of their game against 11th seed Belmont. Guard Tremont Waters says he knows from here on out, the tournament will offer no gimme games.

Cut 10 (11) “…best”

Maryland finished 5th in the Big Ten this year with a 23-10 record. The Terrapins were bounced out of the Big Ten tournament in their first game.
Yale made a late push to keep things interesting, and that’s got a lot of Tigers fans anxious about what a better team could do if the Purple and Gold continue their habit of second half slacking that got them bounced out of the SEC tournament early. Interim coach Tony Benford says concerns about the team’s second half woes are overstated.

Cut 11 (10) “good run.”

Just a few weeks ago Tiger nation was salivating at the thought of their wunderkind coach Will Wade leading a young, hungry team of athletes into the big dance. Now Wade is suspended for alleged recruiting violations, and many fans are concerned the distraction will lead to an early LSU exit. Benford says he’s keeping the team focused on what’s important.

Cut 12 (09) “…control.”

Benford played in the tournament during his days in the 80s as a star guard for Texas Tech. before coming to LSU, His North Texas coached teams never sported a winning record.

______________________________

Presently, state law limits the total amount of bottles of wine that can be shipped to a home to 144 bottles that do not exceed 750 ml per bottle. But if a proposed new law in the upcoming session makes its way onto the books, the bottle size limitation would be a thing of the past. Senator Jack Donahue says this would open up deliveries to more variations of wine bottle sizes.

Cut 13 (09) “…the allowable quantity.”

Donahue says the previous law would impede on those that collect wine as a hobby.

Cut 14 (07) “…large format bottles.”

Donahue says he, too, is a wine enthusiast.

Cut 15 (09) “…to change that.”

LSU moves on to the second round of the NCAA tournament after beating Yale 79-74. The Tigers had a dominate first half, but were outscored 45-34 in the second, although they managed to avoid the upset with a near flawless performance at the line to end the game. Interim head coach Tony Benford is pleased…

Cut 12 (11) “…first half.”

Guard Skylar Mays led the team in scoring with 19 points, and forward Naz Reid notched a 14 and 10 double double.

Unfortunately the Bayou Bengal’s second half woes continued, and the Purple and Gold has now been outscored in the half half by a combined 24 points over their last two games. The Bulldogs nearly caught up behind a barrage of threes in the last few minutes, and Benford says the Yalelies composure was impressive.

Cut 13 (11) “…stretch”

LSU will play Maryland on Saturday.

Grambling and UNO were both knocked out of the College Insider-dot-com tournament. A lay up failed to go down at the buzzer for the Tigers and they lost to Texas Rio Grande Valley 74-73. While Texas Southern topped UNO in overtime 95-89. ULM hosts Kent State tonight at Fant-Ewing.

A lot of drama in last night’s LSU baseball game between the Tigers and Nicholls Colonels. Nicholls first baseman Adam Tarver hit a home run off Todd Peterson in the ninth inning to give the Colonels a four to three lead. It was Tarver’s second home run of the game, but a two-out RBI double by Chris Reid tied the game. Daniel Cabrera had an RBI double in the 10th as the Tigers won their fifth straight game 5 to 4 in 10 innings.

Tulane topped the Ragin Cajuns seven to three. Green Wave right fielder Hudson Haskin homered and drove in four runs. Southeastern Louisiana downed Alcorn State 13 to 3.

NBA…the Orlando Magic made the Pelicans disappear as New Orleans lost 119 to 96. Elfrid Payton’s streak of five straight triple-doubles ended as he only had seven points, two assists and three rebounds.

LSU moves on to the second round of the NCAA tournament after beating Yale 79-74. Big man Kavell Bigby-Williams also managed a double double on the day, but set the tone for the Tiger’s 16 point first half lead with three blocks in the first five and a half minutes of play. Guard Tremont Waters says Bigby-Williams massive presence threw the well-oiled Yale offense into an early funk.
Cut 14 (10) “easier”
LSU will play Maryland on Saturday.
Spring is in the air and with that comes spring cleaning and home improvement projects, but the State Fire Marshal’s office is warning the public of the dangers of the chemicals they may be using could be a fire risk. Fire Marshal spokesperson Ashley Rodrigue says those chemicals including oil-based paints, stains, and varnishes could result in spontaneous combustion from discarded rags.
Cut 9 (08) “…create a fire.”
__________________________________
New Orleans Police say a suspected stolen vehicle slammed into a hair salon, causing a massive fire and killing two people inside the vehicle.
Cut 2 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”
Louisiana Oil and Gas Association The Louisiana Oil and Gas Association says the Haynesville Shale is on the rebound, with rig counts in the 30s and 40s now.
Cut 4 (10) “…Haynesville″