We’re hearing from a court watchdog group that opposes a proposed constitutional amendment that creates a mechanism for the Senate to remove judges and district attorneys at the recommendation of the governor. Jeanne Burns reports.
Cut 1 (29) “…I’m Jeanne Burns.”
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Tiger Rag Magazine explains its involvement in a lawsuit against LSU over whether the athletic department’s direct payments to student athletes should be public. Jeff Palermo has more…
Cut 2 (35) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”
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Louisiana Tech’s 2026 football schedule consists of 20 games over 13 weeks, including two days when they’re playing two opponents on the road simultaneously! Andrew Greenstein explains how that happened.
Cut 3 (35) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”
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A court watchdog group in New Orleans is speaking out against a proposed constitutional amendment that would create a mechanism to allow the Senate to remove a judge or a district attorney upon the recommendation of the governor. Jesse Manley, the interim executive director of Court Watch NOLA, says the problem he has with that is that since judges and district attorneys are elected, it would allow the governor and the Senate to disregard the will of the voters.
Cut 4 (13) “…in that system.”
Under Senate Bill 123 by Monroe Republican Jay Morris, the governor would have the power to suspend a judge or D-A for up to six months, during which time the Senate can remove that person with a two-thirds majority. Morris says the people who put the judges and district attorneys in their positions are more than capable of doing the deed if necessary.
Cut 5 (08) “…choice from them.”
Morris cited what he calls a disturbing and repeated pattern of breakdowns within Louisiana’s juvenile justice system. He used as an example the murder of tourist Jacob Carter in the French Quarter by a teenager whose ankle monitoring contract expired without the judge of D-A realizing it. But Manley says Morris’ bill is an unnecessary step in holding judges accountable.
Cut 6 (09) “…to be misconduct.”
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One of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit against LSU over the use of public dollars to pay student athletes through revenue sharing explains the reasoning for the suit. Tiger Rag Executive Editor Todd Horne says the lawsuit is attempting to get clarity on whether public funds that LSU’s athletic department pays to student-athletes, as part of revenue sharing, are subject to the public records law.
Cut 7 (09) “…no other recourse.”
The landmark federal case known as the House Settlement allows universities, starting with this athletic season, to pay their student-athletes directly. Each university athletic department can spend up to 20.5-million dollars in direct payments to student athletes.
Horne says LSU rejected Tiger Rag, the Louisiana Illuminator and WAFB-TV’s Freedom Of Information requests on payments to players, because LSU claims the payments are protected under federal student privacy laws. But Tiger Rag argues that the state’s public records law requires the university to make public compensation paid to the player. Horne says the main objective of the suit is clarity.
Cut 8 (09) “…to be clarified.”
Every year, Tiger Rag Magazine publishes a money issue. It lists the salaries of all of the employees of the LSU athletic department, including the janitors who work in the football office. Horne says the lawsuit speaks to a bigger issue. He says that with college athletics moving to a professional sports model, it is conflicting with current state laws.
Cut 9 (12) “…hybrid professional model.”
Tiger Rag is owned by Kingfish Communications, which also owns Louisiana Radio Network.
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Louisiana Tech’s 2026 football schedule consists of 20 games over 13 weeks, including two days when they’re playing two opponents on the road simultaneously! That’s because Conference USA and the Sun Belt BOTH included the Bulldogs in their just-released schedules. Dave Schultz, the host of the Locked On Sun Belt podcast, says it all started when Tech missed a deadline to depart C-USA.
Cut 10 (07) “…over their head.”
Schultz says ever since, Louisiana Tech has been trying to negotiate a payment to Conference USA to allow it to make the move for the fall of 2026, but Conference USA has been having none of it.
Cut 11 (08) “…in good faith.”
Schultz says the dispute should never have gotten to this point.
Cut 12 (07) “…football is happening.”
All this comes amid a lawsuit that the U-L system filed on behalf of Tech against Conference USA earlier this month. There’s a hearing coming up Thursday, and Schultz says he would be shocked if the result of that hearing is not allowing Tech to move to the Sun Belt for the 2026 season.
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The LSU Tigers are hosting the first and second rounds of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament. LSU will face Jacksonville Friday at 5 p-m. If the Lady Tigers beat the Dolphins, Coach Kim Mulkey’s squad will play the winner of Texas Tech-Villanova.
Cut 13 (11) “…the right time.”
In Mulkey’s first four seasons, LSU was a three-seed, this year they are a two-seed.
Cut 14 (12) “…to be written.”
LSU is the two-seed in the Sacramento Two Region. UCLA is the top seed and Duke is the three seed in the region. Mulkey questioned why LSU was placed in one of the Sacramento brackets, when the other two regionals will be played a lot closer to home in Fort Worth, Texas.
Cut 15 (13) “…I’m being facetious.”
LSU is not the only Baton Rouge team in the women’s tournament. The Southern Jaguars take on Samford in the First Four play-in round in Columbia, South Carolina, Thursday evening at six. The winner becomes the 16 seed in the Sacramento Four Region.
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After winning their third straight Southland Conference championship last Wednesday, the McNeese men’s basketball team learned of their position in the bracket yesterday. They’re the number-12 seed in the South Region and will face the fifth-seeded Vanderbilt Commodores Thursday afternoon in Oklahoma City. Cowboys head coach Bill Armstrong says the team is going to enjoy the ride.
Cut 16 (12) “…get it again.”
It’s not the first time for senior guard D.J. Richards Jr. – he’s been with the Cowboys all three years of the Southland three-peat. He says especially after leading McNeese to an upset win over Clemson in the first round last year, he’s not intimidated by the big stage.
Cut 17 (08) “…a regular game.”
Armstrong, who spent 11 non-consecutive years as an SEC assistant coach, says he’s familiar with Vanderbilt, and he will have his Cowboys ready to play Thursday.
Cut 18 (07) “…very entertaining game.”
Those of you partaking in Office Pool Monday, give serious consideration to picking McNeese to spring the upset. Since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, at least one 12-seed has advanced to the second round in all but five years.
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The high school boys basketball state championships wrapped on Saturday night with an absolute classic. The Zachary Broncos overcame a 34-point, 24-rebound performance from Ruston’s Ahmad Hudson to beat the Bearkats, 63-60, in the Division One Select State Championship Game. While Ruston had two players doing most of the scoring, Zachary had eight players contribute. Head Coach Jon McClinton…
Cut 19 (14) “…our locker room”
Right before the Zachary-Ruston game, Marksville won its second state title in three years, beating the Madison Jaguars 66-45. Armonii Benjamin was the Most Valuable Player with 21 points and hit five three pointers.
Cut 20 (06) “…on the court.”