Author Archives: Jeff Palermo

02.27.25
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LRN Sportscast 6:45

The second-ranked LSU baseball team handled its first major test of the season well last night as the Tigers defeated 19th-ranked Dallas Baptist seven to three at Globe Life Field in Arlington. Derek Curiel scored three times and Daniel Dickinson drove in three runs including a two-run homer in a four-run fifth inning. Connor Ware started and retired the first 12 hitters he faced. Casan Evans got the save as he pitched out of trouble in the eighth and was dominant in the ninth. LSU will play Kansas State in Frisco on Friday afternoon.

Also, the Ragin Cajuns outscored Southeastern Louisiana nine to seven. Tate Hess struck out a career-high seven and earned the win, Conor Higgs hit his second home run of the season. And Northwestern State defeated Alcorn State 10 to 5.

Basketball…the Ragin Cajuns lost to Arkansas State 83 to 64 and UNO is involved in a gambling scandal involving four of its best players, which is why they haven’t played since late January.

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It sounds like Derek Carr will be the Saints quarterback next season, based on comments made by General Manager Mickey Loomis and head coach Kellen Moore at the draft combine in Indianapolis. Moore says the Saints are fortunate to have Carr. It’s still possible that the Saints will try to adjust Carr’s contract to free up more salary cap dollars.

The NFL says it will use a virtual measuring system to determine first downs in 2025. The chain gains will still be used as backups.

In the upcoming regular legislative session, Baton Rouge Representative Dixon McMakin says he will propose a bill that calls for earnings through NIL deals to be exempt from state income taxes.  McMakin says schools outside of Louisiana are recruiting the Bayou State’s best prospects and tax-free NIL compensation can help athletes decide to stay home.

Cut 10 (09) “…we stay competitive.”

The legislation would be considered in the legislative session that begins in April.

02.26.25
by

4:45 LRN Sportscast

The second-ranked LSU baseball team faces its toughest test of the season tonight as they will battle 19th ranked Dallas Baptist at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. LSU shortstop Stevan Milam (MYE-lim) is swinging a hot bat. He only had four hits in the first six games, but he has five hits in his last two games and on Monday night he drove in a career-high five runs. Coach Jay Johnson knew it was only a matter of time before Milam would get going…

Cut 18 (23)  “…about him.”

Also tonight, Southeastern Louisiana is at U-L Lafayette and Northwestern State hosts Alcorn State.

For the second consecutive game against the San Antonio Spurs, the Pelicans found themselves down by double digits but still came back to win. Last night in the Smoothie King Center, New Orleans trailed by 19 points but played well in the second and fourth quarters to beat the Spurs 109 to 103. Zion Williamson on what changed in the second quarter…

Cut 29 (11) “…something that changed”

Williamson had 18 points and Trey Murphy had 24. New Orleans is at Phoenix tomorrow night.

The Ragin Cajuns go after their fourth straight win tonight as they host Arkansas State.

The University of New Orleans men’s basketball team is under investigation for sports gambling. Four of the top five Privateer players have not played since January 27th and the school confirms they have been suspended, but is not releasing any more information. College basketball analyst Jeff Goodman was the first to report about a possible sports betting scandal at the school.

 

02.26.25
by

11:40 LRN Sportscast

Second-ranked LSU baseball will play its next four games in Texas, starting with tonight’s game in Arlington against 19th-ranked Dallas Baptist at Globe Life Field, the home of the Texas Rangers. Coach Jay Johnson is looking forward to the experience…

Cut 16 (16) “…ballpark.”

First pitch is at 7.

Louisiana Tech nearly rallied to beat Lamar in the ninth inning last night but Seabastian Mexico’s attempt to win on a walk-off homer ended up being the final out of the game and a six-to-five loss for the Bulldogs. Tech Coach Lane Burroughs…

Cut 20 (10) “….from your team”

La Tech hosts Memphis this weekend.

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Eight pitchers for the McNeese Cowboys last night combined to throw 16 strikeouts in a three-to-nothing win over I-10 rival U-L Lafayette. The Cowboys are now 6-1, the best start to the season for skipper Justin Hill. The Ragin Cajuns fall to 4-and-4 on the year.

U-L Lafayette men’s basketball will go after its fourth straight win when it hosts Arkansas State tonight at 7:30. The Cajuns have held their last three opponents to 69 points or less and interim head coach Derrick Zimmerman says defense has been the key…

Cut 29 (17) “…after em”

Last night, LSU lost to 5th-ranked Tennessee 65 to 59, ULM lost to Arkansas State 85 to 79 and the New Orleans Pelicans rallied to beat San Antonio for a second straight game 109 to 103.

02.26.25
by

6:45 LRN Sportscast

The LSU men’s basketball team kept it close against 5th-ranked Tennessee but never really threatened the Volunteers, as Tennessee won 65 to 59 last night at the PMAC. The Vols grabbed 17 offensive rebounds and scored 27 second-chance points. Coach Matt McMahon…

Cut 23 (18) “…second opportunities”

LSU is now 3-and-12 in SEC play.

Tyrese Watson had 26 points, but ULM lost to James Madison 85 to 79 to fall to 3-and-14 in Sun Belt play.

The Pelicans trailed the Spurs by double digits for the second straight game but came back to win. Last night New Orleans defeated San Antonio 109 to 103 as Trey Murphy had 24 points.

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The second-ranked LSU baseball team is in Arlington, Texas tonight to take on 18th-ranked Dallas Baptist. It’s the first major test of the season for both teams. It’s the first of four games in Texas for LSU. and junior right-handed pitcher Gavin Guidry will not appear in any of the games. Coach Jay Johnson says Guidry is nursing an injury…

Cut 17 (17) “…next week sometime”

In action last night, McNeese blanked the Ragin Cajuns three to nothing. Marcus Huesohn had a two-run single. Louisiana Tech lost to a good  Lamar team six to five, Tulane thumped Nicholls 13 to three, Northwestern State beat SUNO 14 to 3 and Grambling lost to Arkansas by that same score.

02.25.25
by

4:45 LRN Sportscast

LSU baseball followed up its first loss of the season on Saturday with back-to-back blowout victories. The Tigers defeated Nicholls 13 to 3 yesterday. Steven Milam drove in a career-high five runs, and William Schmidt picked up the win in his first collegiate start. LSU faces 19th-ranked Dallas Baptist tomorrow in Arlington.

The UL Lafayette baseball team is at McNeese tonight after sweeping a doubleheader on Saturday from 23rd ranked Nebraska. Coach Matt Deggs says after dropping the series opener on Friday night, he loved the energy of his team on Saturday….

Cut 18 (14)  “…won on Saturday.”

In the NBA, the Pelicans host San Antonio. It could be Chris Paul’s final game in New Orleans. New Orleans drafted The former Hornet in the first round in 2005.

The LSU Tigers face a difficult test tonight as they host fifth ranked Tennessee. The Volunteers play outstanding defense, while LSU has struggled to score at times, especially if Cam Carter is not making baskets. LSU enters the game with a 3-and-11 record in SEC play and Coach Matt McMahon talked about how the losing impacts your preparation…

Cut 17 (16) “….and your team”

Tip time at the PMAC is at 8 PM.

McNeese is Southland Conference regular season champs for the second year in a row. Senior Christian Shumate has seen the program become a mid-major power…

Cut 11 (13) “…our fans”

The Southland Tournament begins March 9th.

02.25.25
by

11:30 LRN Newscast

The soaring cost of insurance is expected to dominate the upcoming regular legislative session. Ben Riggs with Real Reform Louisiana says the cost of insurance is taking a huge chunk out of families’ budgets statewide.

Cut 3 (09) “…pay for insurance.”

Riggs says the high price of insurance could lead to a housing crisis in the state.

Whooping (HOO-ping) cough, a preventable respiratory illness, is spreading among children in Louisiana, with two reported deaths in the last six months. Manning Family Children’s Hospital Physician in Chief Dr. Mark Kline says numbers are way up. He says in 2023 there were only around a dozen cases in the state.

Cut 7 (13) “…from whooping cough.”

Kline says nearly 120 cases have been reported so far in 2025 and there is a vaccine available to help prevent the respiratory illness and reduce symptoms.

McNeese men’s basketball is regular season champs of the Southland Conference for a second straight season. The Cowboys clinched the title with a 100 to 65 win over UT Rio Grande Valley last night. McNeese will have the number one seed in the upcoming Southland Tournament and Coach Will Wade says winning it will guarantee them a spot in the Big Dance…

Cut 9 (09)  “…signed up for”

The Cowboys have two more regular season games on the road and then the Southland Conference Tournament starts in Lake Charles on March 9.

Warm temperatures have returned and the cold weather appears to be behind us. So how did Louisiana’s strawberry crop do with a historic snowfall and last week’s freezing weather. Darryl Poche is the co-owner of Landry-Poche Strawberry Farm in Livingston Parish…

Cut 12 (16) “…10-percent.”

02.25.25
by

10:30 LRN Newscast

Governor Landry is holding a roundtable this afternoon with local leaders in Natchitoches Parish as they discuss the next steps following the announced closing of the International Paper Mill. State Representative Jack McFarland says they plan on directing outgoing employees to potential employers in the vicinity…

Cut 12 (15) “…in Campti facility”

481 workers are set to be laid off in April when the mill closes.

Louisiana is seeing a rise in whooping cough cases among young children and according to Doctor Mark Kline with the Manning Family Children’s Hospital in New Orleans, two infants have died from the respiratory illness in the last six months. Kline says a vaccine is available that prevent severe whooping cough cases in kids and adults, especially pregnant women…

Cut 9 (12) “…the time of birth”

 

Professional wrestling’s biggest event returns to New Orleans next year. Andrew Greenstein reports.

Cut 1 (37) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

At this hour, Governor Landry is at the Port of Iberia in New Iberia announcing Cajun Industries plans to bring hundreds of jobs to the area as its building a module assembly yard. It’s expected to result in 600 jobs.

02.25.25
by

9:30 LRN Newscast

How to reverse the rise in auto insurance rates will be a focus of the regular session that begins in April. Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple says a lot of the issues with the auto insurance crisis can be traced to a lack of transparency with medical billing. Temple says there is a difference in what your medical provider billed and what your insurance provider paid, resulting in a net gain for an injured person in a wreck and an increased premium for the rest of us

Cut 14 (07) “…transparency to that.”

Professional wrestling’s biggest event will return to New Orleans next year. WWE announced that WrestleMania 42 will be held at the Superdome April 11th and 12th, 2026. Jay Cicero, the president and CEO of the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, says it’s another event that puts New Orleans in the global spotlight.

Cut 4 (08) “…upon and manage.”

It will be the third time New Orleans has hosted Wrestlemania in the last three years.

Louisiana is seeing an increase in whooping (HOO-ping) cough, a preventable respiratory illness which is spreading among children, with two reported deaths in the last six months….

Cut 2 (35) “…I’m Sean Richardson.”

Shreveport police say a man in his 30s was fatally shot as he was leaving for work this morning. Authorities say the victim was shot multiple times in the chest as he was getting into his car in the Southern Hills neighborhood. It’s unknown if the shooter was on foot or in a vehicle.

 

02.25.25
by

8:30 LRN Newscast

Governor Jeff Landry will be in New Iberia this morning for the official announcement that Cajun Industries will employ more than 600 skilled workers at a new assembly yard at the Port of Iberia.

This afternoon, Landry will be in Natchitoches for a roundtable discussion with local leaders on ways to boost the local economy following the closure of the International Paper mill in Campti. State Representative Jack McFarland says the Louisiana Department of Economic Development is trying to land another major employer to the area…

Cut 11 (10) “…utilize wood fiber”

Wood fibre is a renewable resource produced from wood using specialized techniques.

Kerns Studios in  New Orleans which builds nearly one-thousand floats every year is expanding from its headquarters near the Mississippi River. The company plans to build two new float-building facilities in Algiers and it has also recently purchased a warehouse on Poydras Street in New Orleans.

 

Whooping (HOO-ping) cough, a preventable respiratory illness, is spreading among children in Louisiana, with two reported deaths in the last six months. Manning Family Children’s Hospital Physician in Chief Dr. Mark Kline says numbers are way up. He says in 2023 there were only around a dozen cases in the state.

Cut 7 (13) “…from whooping cough.”

Kline says nearly 120 cases have been reported so far in 2025 and there is a vaccine available to help prevent the respiratory illness and reduce symptoms.

Wrestlemania is returning to New Orleans. It will be held in the Superdome April 11th and 12th of 2026. This will be the third time that WrestleMania is coming to New Orleans; and Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation president Jay Cicero says this time, it’s a two-night event.

Cut 5 (16) “…at the stadium.”

02.25.25
by

7:30 LRN Newscast

Governor Landry will be in Natchitoches holding a roundtable with local leaders this afternoon amid the upcoming closure of the International Paper mill. Colleen Crain reports.

Cut 3 (32) “…I’m Colleen Crain.”

Congressman Clay Higgins says Iraq is purchasing an additional 88-thousand metric tons of U-S long grain milled rice. That brings the total tonnage amount to 220-thousand metric tons. Higgins says a meeting with the Iraqi Ambassador led to the increased partnership between the U-S and Iraq.

Auto insurance rates will be a focus of the regular legislative session that begins in April. Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple says there needs to be more transparency with medical billing and making sure insurance only makes a person whole after a wreck that results in an injury…

Cut 15 (09) “….that we pay”

Temple says people need to be treated fairly by their insurance company following a wreck, but legislation will be authored in the regular session that will seek to prevent excessive gains.

Wrestlemania is coming back to New Orleans. It will be held in the Superdome on April 11th and 12th.  Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation president Jay Cicero says the city just hosted a Super Bowl. New Orleans will also host a national semifinal college football playoff game next January and there are a lot of other great events…

Cut 6 (09) “…on a roll”

Ticket pre-sale registration is now available.