The SEC Baseball Tournament gets underway today in Hoover, Alabama. The Fighting Tigers have the top seed and they’ll play tomorrow at 4:30 PM. They’ll face the winner of this afternoon’s contest between Kentucky and Auburn.

UNO is looking for a new head baseball coach as the 74-year-old Ron Maestri has decided to step down. Maestri started the Privateers baseball program in 1972 and after taking a 28-year-absence, Maestri came back two years ago to get the program moving in the right direction.

And speaking of coaching, LSU’s Paul Mainieri has been named as the SEC Coach of the Year. Mainieri accepts the award on behalf of his entire staff…
cut 30 (08) “…in the country”
And LSU pitcher Alex Lange was named freshman of the year.

Louisiana Tech officials have chosen Eric Konkol as the man to replace Michael White as the Bulldogs men’s basketball coach. Tech is coming off a season in which they won 27 games and finished second in scoring in Conference USA. During his introductory press conference, Konkol talked about his philosphy on offense….
cut 17 (19) “….great shot”

In NBA news…the Pelicans will reportedly speak with Golden State assistant coach Alvin Gentry about becoming the head coach in New Orleans. The Pels are also said to be interested in Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau, who is not expected to be back in Chicago.

And former Ragin Cajuns star Elfrid Payton has been named to the NBA’s All-rookie team.