The 14th ranked LSU Tigers are getting ready to face 25th ranked Mississippi State Saturday night in Starkville. The Bulldogs have been tough to be at home the last couple of years as they’ve recently expanded their stadium, plus there’s thousands of cow bells going off during the game. But Coach Les Miles is not worried about the cowbells..

cut 16 (20) “cowbells”

Last year, Mississippi State came into Baton Rouge and beat the Tigers 34-29.

According to the NFL Network, Saints running back C.J. Spiller will not play in the team’s season opener this Sunday against Arizona. Spiller is recovering from minor knee surgery and should be back in uniform for Week 2. It appears that Khiry Robinson will return from injury in the near future. Robinson tweeted Monday that he was back in pads at practice.

Several Louisiana colleges have their home opener this weekend. The Ragin Cajuns, who nearly upset Kentucky last weekend, welcomes Northwestern State to Cajun Field. When UL Lafayette Coach Mark Hudspeth met with the media this week, he did not name a starting QB. Brooks Haack started against the Wildcats, but back-up Jalen Nixon led the Cajuns on quite a comeback. Saturday’s game can be seen on ESPN3.

Also this weekend, ULM hosts Nicholls State. It’s the season opener for the Colonels, while the Warhawks are coming off a 51-14 loss to Georgia. McNeese State hosts Incarnate Word, Grambling takes on Bethune-Cookman, while Southeastern Louisiana hosts Florida Tech.

NBA playoff seeding will now be based solely on team records. The league’s Board of Governors unanimously approved the change Tuesday. The ruling means a division championship no longer guarantees a top four seed in the conference playoffs. Teams in each conference will now be seeded from one to eight based solely on their won-loss record.