LRN Sportscast 6:45 Oct 23

LSU will have a walk-thru later today as they put the finishing touches on its preparations for Saturday night’s homecoming contest versus Western Kentucky. The Tigers have struggled on special teams this year. In the last two weeks, they’ve allowed a kickoff return and a punt return for a touchdown. Coach Les Miles says special teams have been an emphasis at practice this week…
cut 16 (15) “….we see”
Punter Jamie Keehn has also struggled this year as his average per punt is down five yards from last year.

The Saints are heading into Sunday’s game against the Colts as healthy as they’ve been all season. Left tackle Terron Armstead says he plans on playing after missing the last two games with a knee injury. Linebacker Dannell Ellerbe is also back at practice.

There are several big high school football games on the schedule tonight. In north Louisiana….Airline is at Evangel, while Ouachia Christian hosts Mangham. In south Louisiana…St. Thomas More renews its rivalry with Teurlings Catholic, Eunice is at Church Point and Riverside visits St. Charles Catholic.

The Pelicans play their final preseason game of the year tonight as they take on the Miami Heat. The game will be played at the Smoothie King Center, which has a big new scoreboard this year. Forward Luke Babbit is listed as questionable to play, with a strained hamstring. The regular season begins Tuesday at Golden State.

Hockey is returning to Shreveport. The Shreveport Mudbugs will be a member of the N-A-H-L, which is a junior league, starting next year. Tommy Scott, who owned the franchise when the team ceased operations in 2011, has signed a lease for the team play at the Hirsch Coliseum. Before the puck drops, one-point-five million dollars in upgrades will occur at the Hirsch.

LRN Newscast 06:30 Oct 23

Tomorrow is election day. Polls will open at seven A-M and close at 8 P-M and you’ll need a photo ID to vote. Secretary of State spokesperson Meg Casper says there’s a time limit of three minutes in the voting booth…
cut 5 (08) “…very quickly”
The Secretary of State’s office predicts a voter turnout of 45 to 50-percent.

The Alliance for Affordable Energy, has concerns about the proposed merger between Pineville-based Cleco and Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets. Logan Atkinson-Burke , with the Alliance for Affordable Energy, says Macauarie has a history of purchasing utilities and then raising rates….
cut 8 (10) “…late cases”
A Cleco spokesperson says Macquarie is committed to providing rate credits once the merger is approved.

OMV offices continue to get a flood of calls and people coming to them, wanting answers about a letter that says they face fines for allowing their car insurance to lapse. State Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon says the Office of Motor Vehicles should have had a better process in place for those who received these letters and he plans to meet with OMV Commissioner Stephen Campbell next week to talk about how the insurance department can help determine if a fine is warranted…
cut 12 (06) “….owed to the state”
Some of these cases are over a decade old.

Authorities in Baton Rouge continue to search for one more suspect who was involved in the murders of an elderly couple, where robbery appears to be the motive. One man was arrested earlier this week in Florida after allegedly leaving the victims’ bodies at a truck stop in Hammond.

17:30 LRN Newscast

In the final televised gubernatorial debate before the October 24th primary, Republican Scott Angelle brought up Senator David Vitter’s prostitution scandal and said Vitter’s past would cast a shadow over Louisiana and potentially hurt the state attract new businesses and grow the economy…
cut 13 (09) “….can not afford”
A spokesperson for Vitter’s campaign says desperate candidates like Angelle, say desperate things.

According to analysis from the Center for Public Integrity, Louisiana leads the country in political TV advertising this year at 15.8 million dollars. Jeremy Alford, with lapolitics.com, says Republican David Vitter and a Super PAC supporting him has also spent a lot of money on ads. He says much of them target the other two republican candidates..:
CUT 7 (06) “on em”
He says the bad news is that negative ads tend to keep people from voting. Election Day is Saturday.

Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon believes the debt collection notices sent out by the state Office of Motor Vehicles to Louisiana citizens, who allegedly allowed their auto insurance to lapse, is an attempt by the Jindal administration to plug a hole in the state’s budget. But Donelon is glad the OMV will allow a person to defend themself from paying these fines…
cut 11 (10) “…indebtedness”
The OMV sent 1.2 million notices notifying residents that they are facing fines for allowing their auto insurance to lapse. Many of the cases happened several years ago.

Shreveport police say they’ve arrested a 17-year-old for making threats of terrorism towards the students at Byrd High School. Authorities say Donovan Mosley posted a video to “Facebook” that the cvilian population at Byrd should be ready when he arrives on campus with a gun. Mosley was arrested at his home and booked on one count of terrorism.

16:45 LRN Sportscast Oct 22

The Saints are getting ready to take on Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Luck returned from injury last week to throw for 312 yards and three touchdowns in a loss to the New England Patriots. The defeat dropped Indy’s record to 3-and-3, but they are in first place in the AFC South. The Saints are 2-and-4 on the season. Coach Sean Payton admitted today that cornerback Keenan Lewis had surgery to repair a sports hernia before the regular season started and Payton didn’t put a timetable on his return. And Saints tackle Terron Armstead said he’s optimistic he’ll be able to play against the Colts as he’s trying to come back from a knee injury.

Tonight it’s the New Orleans Saints-LHSAA Game of the Week on Fox Sports New Orleans. Prep fans can catch North Webster taking on Mansfield at seven o’ clock.

There’s a new scoreboard at the Smoothie King Center and it’s big. Fans will get their first chance to see it tomorrow night, when the Pelicans host Miami in the final preseason game of the year.

The LSU Tigers will face Western Kentucky on Saturday in Tiger Stadium for homecoming. The Bayou Bengals are taking on a team that scores a lot of points. In seven games this season, the Hilltoppers have scored 308 points and they scored 55 last week against North Texas and then 58 the game before against Middle Tennessee. Western Kentucky’s quarterback is Brandon Doughty and he’s thrown for 27-hundred yards and 24 touchdowns. Kick-off is at 6 PM.

The Mudbugs are back in Shreveport. Tommy Scott, who owned the professional hockey team when the franchise ceased operations in 2011, has signed a 12-year lease with the State Fair of Louisiana for use of the Hirsch Coliseum. It means the Shreveport Mudbugs will return to the ice in 2016 as a member of the N-A-H-L. The deal also calls for a one-point-five-million dollar upgrade to the Hirsch Coliseum.

And the New Orleans Zephyrs Triple-A baseball team has agreed to a deal that will keep them playing in Metairie for at least another five seasons.

16:30 LRN Newscast Oct 22

The state Office of Motor Vehicles says they are working extra hours to try to address concerns over letters drivers are getting for not paying expired auto insurance fines. 1.2 million letters were sent out for lapsed insurance. State Police spokesperson Lt. J.B. Slaton says they are willing to work with the public…:
cut 10 (09) “statuses up”
Slaton says the OMV hotline will be open from 8 am to 8 PM, including weekends, until the call volume drops.

The Department of Education released additional information today regarding the results from the Common Core exams that third through eighth graders took in the spring. Zachary finished first for the percentage of students achieving mastery or better, while the Orleans Parish school system was second.

In the final televised debate before the October 24th primary, Republican Scott Angelle took a hard shot at GOP candidate David Vitter’s past prostitution scandal. Michelle Southern reports…
cut 2 (31) “..I’m Michelle Southern”

The US Department of Ag and Forestry says 45 parishes in Louisiana are in such horrible drought that farmers and ranchers are eligible for disaster aid. Those qualified have eight months to apply for low-interest emergency loans from the Farm Service Agency.

15:30 LRN Newscast Oct 22

In the final televised gubernatorial debate before the October 24th primary, Republican Scott Angelle brought up Senator David Vitter’s prostitution scandal and said Vitter’s past would cast a shadow over Louisiana and potentially hurt the state attract new businesses and grow the economy…
cut 13 (09) “….can not afford”
A spokesperson for Vitter’s campaign says desperate candidates like Angelle, say desperate things.

Louisiana is number one this year for the amount of dollars that have been spent on political television advertising. That’s according to the Center for Public Intergrity, which has the total at nearly 16-million dollars. Jeremy Alford, with lapolitics-dot-com, says unfortunately many of the negative ads will keep undecided voters from going to the polls on election day…
cut 8 (09) “….after awhile”

The Office of Motor Vehicles has extended its hours until 8 p.m. to answer all calls regarding the letters drivers are receiving for not paying fines for expired auto insurance. State Police spokesperson Lt. J.B. Slaton says they want to help the public and want to work with everyone to get these outstanding fines straight….
cut 9 (08) “….lunch break”
The OMV has sent out 1.2 million letters and the fines for lapsed insurance are hundreds of dollars in many cases.

The Shreveport Police Department says a man who was waving his knife at people and then at an officer was shot by the cop. Corporal Breck Scott says they got a call around 8 this morning about an armed man near the Eldorado Casino…:
CUT 3 (07) “around at people”
He says the man refused demands to drop the weapon and as he lunged at the officer, he was shot multiple times and has reportedly died at a local hospital.

14:30 LRN Newscast October 22nd

In the final televised gubernatorial debate, Republican Scott Angelle told voters to check out a website that features an interview with a woman, who says she was a prostite and claims Republican David Vitter was a client of her in the late 1990s. Scott McKay, publisher of the political blog The Hayride, says he doesn’t think its an effective tactic to direct people to a website with questionable credibility…
cut 15 (09) “….in fact true”
Angelle says Vitter’s past would cast a shadow over Louisiana that would hurt the state attract new businesses and grow the economy.

The Terrebonne Parish Coroner’s office says a fourth person has died from the October eighth explosion at the Transcontinental Gas pipeline compnay in Gibson. Three men died at the scene and two were critically injured. The fourth person to die has been been identified as 56-year-old Michael Hill of Paris. Tennessee.

The state office of Motor Vehicles has extended its hours so they can answer calls from residents who received notices about lapsed auto insurance that could result in hundreds of dollars in fines. State Police Lt. JB Slaton says if you received a letter, the number to the OMV is on the bottom…
cut 11 (08) “….people through”
The OMV is taking calls from 8 AM to 8 PM, including the weekends, until the call volume drops.

Shreveport police were involved in a shooting in front of a casino this morning. Officers responded to calls from citizens about a man waving a knife at people. Shreveport police corporal Breck Scott says officers demanded that the unidentified suspect drop his weapon, but instead he charged at an officer and was shot multiple times…
cut 5 (06) “….University health hosptial”
Shreveport TV stations are reporting the man has died.

LRN PM Newscall Oct 22

A report finds that Louisiana leads the nation for TV political campaign advertising. Jeff Palermo has the story…

CUT 1 (30)  “I’m Jeff Palermo”

================

In the final televised debate before the October 24th primary, Republican Scott Angelle took a hard shot at GOP candidate David Vitter’s past prostitution scandal. Michelle Southern reports…:

CUT 2 (31)  “I’m Michelle Southern”

===================

The Shreveport Police Department says a man who was waving his knife at people and then at an officer was shot by the cop. Corporal Breck Scott says they got a call around 8 this morning about an armed man near the Eldorado Casino…:

CUT 3 (07)  “around at people”

Scott says they are unsure why the man appeared to be threatening random people with a knife. He says the officer advised the suspect repeatedly to drop the knife…:

CUT 4 (09)  “upper body”

Scott says the unidentified suspect is currently in critical condition…:

CUT 5 (06) “hospital”

============================

According to analysis from the Center for Public Integrity, Louisiana leads the country in political TV advertising this year at 15.8 million dollars. Jeremy Alford, with lapolitics.com, says he’s a seen a report that if you include radio and TV, nearly 16-million dollars has spent in the governor’s race alone.  Alford says the ads have been effective, especially for Republican Scott Angelle…

CUT 6 (07) “this race”

Alford says Republican David Vitter and a Super PAC supporting him has also spent a lot of money, much of targeted at the other two republican candidates in the race…

CUT 7 (06)  “on em”

Alford says the political money being spent is good for media outlets, but he says many of the ads are negative, which will keep undecided voters from going to the polls on election day…

CUT 8 (09)  “after awhile”

============================

The Office of Motor Vehicles has extended its hours until 8 p.m. to answer all calls regarding the letters drivers are receiving for not paying fines for expired auto insurance. State Police spokesperson Lt. J.B. Slaton says they want to help the public and want to work with everyone to get these outstanding fines straight.

CUT 9 (08)  “lunch break”

The Office of Motor Vehicles has sent out 1.2 million letters and the fines for lapsed insurance could be as high as $525. There are reports of people who received these letters that they have information to dispute the claims of expired auto insurance.  Slaton says they are willing to work with the public.

cut 10 (09)  “statuses up”

Slaton warns callers that there may be a wait, but stay patient or try calling back. The OMV is taking calls from 8 AM to 8 PM and that’s even on the weekends, until the call volume drops. He says if you received a letter, the number to the O-M-V is on the bottom.

Cut 11 (08)  “people through”

============================

In the final televised debate before the October 24th primary, Republican Scott Angelle took a hard shot at GOP candidate David Vitter’s past prostitution scandal. Angelle directed the live television audience to visit a political blog that has an interview with Wendy Ellis, a prostitute who claims Vitter was a client of hers in the late 1990s..:

cut 12 (10)  “Senator Vitter”

The New Orleans based site is “the-american-zombie-dot-com.” Angelle said Vitter’s past would cast a shadow over Louisiana and potentially hurt the ability to attract new businesses and grow the economy…:

cut 13 (09)  “can not afford”

A spokesperson for the Vitter campaign says this blog has proven to post untrue articles and adds that desperate candidates like Angelle say desperate things. Scott McKay, is the publisher of the political blog The Hayride. He says American Zombie is known for picking up controversial stories, which may or may not be true, that traditional media isn’t interested in publishing…:

cut 14 (06) “they end up” 

McKay says American Zombie is the same site that ran the “double dipping” story in the Congressional races last year which claimed Senator Bill Cassidy was lying on his time sheets at LSU. He doesn’t think it’s an effective tactic to direct people to a website with questionable credibility that most people have never heard of…:

cut 15 (09)  “in fact true”

============================

LRN Newscast 12:30 October 22nd

In the final televised debate before the October 24th primary, Republican Scott Angelle took a hard shot at GOP candidate David Vitter’s past prostitution scandal. He directed the audience to a political blog that has an interview with Wendy Ellis, a prostitute who claims Vitter was a client of hers in the late 1990s…
cut 12 (10) “….Senator Vitter”
A spokesperson for the Vitter campaign says this blog has proven to post unture articles and adds that desperate candidates like Angelle say desperate things.

The Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s office says a fourth person has died from the October eighth explosion at the Transcontinental Gas pipeline compnay in Gibison. Three men died at the scene and two were critically injured. The fourth person to die has been been identified as 56-year-old Michael Hill of Paris. Tennessee.

The Office of Motor Vehicles has extended its hours until 8 p.m. to answer all calls regarding the letters drivers are receiving for not paying fines for expired auto insurance. State Police spokesperson Lt. J.B. Slaton says they want to help the public and want to work with everyone to get these outstanding fines straight….
cut 9 (08) “….lunch break”
The OMV has sent out 1.2 million letters and the fines for lapsed insurance could be as high as $525.

A Shreveport police officer shot a knife wielding suspect in front of the Eldorado Casino this morning. Corporal Breck Scott, with the Shreveport police department, says the officer advised the suspect to repeatedly drop the knife…
cut 4 (09) “…upper body”
Scott says the unidentified suspect is currently in critical condition and they are unsure why the man was threatening random people with a knife.

LRN Sportscast 11:40

The Saints are 2-and-4 heading into Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts. Coach Sean Payton says there’s two things his team needs to get better at…in order turn their season around…
cut 17 (08) “…down ride”
Sunday’s opponent, the Indianapolis Colts, are 3-and-3 and lead the NFC South by one game over the Houston Texans.

In other NFL news…former LSU Tiger Steven Ridley is practicing with the Jets for the first time this season. Ridley has been on the physically unable to perform list after blowing out his knee last year. Jets Coach Todd Bowles says there’s a chance Ridley can play this Sunday.

In NBA preseason action…The Pelicans lost to Orlando 110 to 107 last night. Coach Alvin Gentry is not happy about the 22 turnovers that occurred in the game. The Pels final preseason game is Friday against the Heat at the Smoothie King Center.

We are at the halfway point of the college football season and the discussion over who will make it into the four-team playoff is heating up. Jerry Palm of cbs-sports-dot-com says Florida, Texas A-and-M, Alabama and LSU are the four teams from the SEC that have a shot making the playoff…
cut 19 (16) “….as well”
The big game in the SEC this week is Ole Miss hosting Texas A-and-M.