Author Archives: Jeff Palermo

06.01.26
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9:30 LRN Newscast

Today is the final day of the legislative session and this session will be remembered for the Congressional map that will give Republicans another seat in the U-S House as Louisiana will likely have five Republicans in their House delegation to one Democrat, instead of the current four-two split. Melinda Deslatte with the Public Affairs Research Council says now that the map has been signed into law, the next stop will very likely once again be the courts.

Cut 14 (08) “…this map stands.

Today is the first day of the hurricane season as forecasters are predicting a below average hurricane season. But as we all know, all it takes is one major storm to make it a bad season. LSU Health Climatologist Barry Keim says take the time now, to Test flashlights, batteries and generators, and make sure your family is on the same page in case of evacuation.

Cut 6 (07) “…just be prepared.”

 

Registration for a new round of fortified roof grants opens today. Joe Gallinaro reports.

Cut 3 (34) “…I’m Joe Gallinaro.”

A great season for the Ragin Cajuns ended last night with a 19 to five loss to Mississippi State, the number 14 overall seed in the NCAA Baseball Tournament. U-L Lafayette reached the Regional Finals by beating Cincinnati eight to six. The Cajuns finished with a 41-25 record.

06.01.26
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6:45 LRN Sportscast

The Ragin Cajuns made it to the Regional Finals of the Starkville Regional but Mississippi State was just too tough in the end as the Bulldogs defeated UL Lafayette 19 to 5, ending the Cajuns’ season.

Mississippi State hit seven home runs as they advance to the Super Regionals. Sawyer Pruitt from Live Oak High School gave up three solo home runs and was chased in the second inning.

The Cajuns got to the Regional Finals by beating Cincinnati earlier in the day eight to six. Donovan LaSalle from Barbe high school homered twice in the win.

LSU football hosted several five-star recruits over the weekend, including receivers Easton Royal from Brother Martin and Xavier Sabb from New Jersey.

Five-star defensive lineman Jalen Brewster, who is widely considered the top prospect in the Class of 2027 and is committed to Texas Tech, was also on campus and a video went viral that showed Ed Orgeron doing a defensive line drill with him.

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Could former LSU star Odell Beckham Junior return to the New York Giants? The free agent will reportedly work out for his former team today. Beckham was drafted by the Giants in 2014 and played five seasons for New York. During that time he became an NFL superstar. The 33-year-old did not play last season after only catching nine passes for the Dolphins in 2024.

For the second straight year, the top overall seed in the NCAA Baseball Tournament failed to make it out of the Regional. This year it was UCLA, last year it was Vanderbilt.

Cal Poly is advancing to the Super Regionals from the Los Angeles Regional.

Little Rock, the only team to beat LSU last year in the NCAA Tournament, is the winner of the Hattiesburg Regional.

Also headed to the Super Regionals, Ole Miss, Alabama Texas and there will be a Super Regional Series between Georgia and Mississippi State.

05.30.26
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7:30 LRN Sportscast

Not a good night for the Cajuns last night as Cincinnati clobbered U-L Lafayette 12 to 2 in the opening round of the Starkville Regional. The Cajuns scored an unearned run in the first inning and then it was all Bearkats the rest of the way. Tough outing for Cody Brasch, as he allowed seven earned runs in in four innings.

UL Lafayette will now have to come out of the Starkville Regional. The Cajuns will face Lipscomb at 2 PM today. The Bisons were defeated by Mississippi State ten to one.

It was a crazy day for the first day of the NCAA Tournament. Top seeded UCLA lost to St. Mary’s three to two.

Little Rock who gave LSU everything they wanted last year in the Regionals, defeated 9th seeded Southern Miss seven to four.

Milwaukee, who LSU played in the opening series of the season, upset Auburn 13 to 8.

Tennessee also a loser, losing in 14 innings to Eastern Carolina seven to three.

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Arkansas and Mississippi State were eliminated from the Women’s Collete World Series yesterday. Texas blanked Mississippi State four to nothing, while Arkansas fell to UCLA eleven to nothing In five innings.

 

Today…Texas Tech takes on Tennessee and Alabama faces Nebraska.

Chalmette High School product Mitchell Robinson plans to return from pinky surgery for Game One of the NBA Finals. The Knicks center underwent successful surgery on his right pinky finger, which he injured off the court during New York’s Eastern Conference Finals Sweep of the Cavaliers. Robinson is a former five-star recruit out of Chalmette High and has spent eight seasons with the Knicks, who are making their first Finals appearance in 27 years.

 

Tonight it’s Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals as the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder face the San Antonio Spurs at 7 PM.

 

Final legislative passage has been given to the bill that would keep private the revenue share contracts between universities and athletes. The vote in the House was 92-to-2 on Friday.

05.29.26
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6:45 LRN Sportscast

The Saints have wrapped up their first two days of Organized Team Activities in Metairie. Coach Kellen Moore likes what he sees in his receivers.

Cut 15 (22) “…find the matchups.”

Moore announced that when training camp rolls around, the team will have joint practices with Jacksonville at the team’s training facility in Metairie. They will also have joint practices with the Rams and Cowboys at their training camp facilities.

The NBA has passed new anti-tanking rules. The bottom three teams will now have less of a chance of winning the number one overall pick than the teams that finish with the fourth to the tenth worst records.  _____________

The Ragin Cajuns will make their 20th appearance in the NCAA postseason when they take on Cincinnati from the Big 12 at 6 PM in Starkville, Mississippi. The Cajuns are 39-23 and ranked 25th by D-1 Baseball. Cody Brasch will start on the mound for U-L Lafayette. He’s 6-2 with a 2.04 ERA.

Cincinnati is 37-20 and ranked 24th by D-1 Baseball. The Bearcats went 1-2 in the Knoxville Regional last year. Quinton Coats is fourth in the country with  28 home runs. Nate Taylor will start on the mound. He’s 6-3 with a 3.86 ERA and set a school record with 112 strikeouts this season.

The SEC says it opposes the idea of pooling media rights. Which would mean that the SEC, and the other power conferences, join together to secure a television broadcasting rights deal. It could be an option for college sports if the Protect College Sports Act gets approved.

05.28.26
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1:30 LRN Newscast

LSU says its research activity has exceeded more than 600-million dollars, an 11-percent growth over last year. Chancellor Jim Dalton says Pennington Biomedical researchers in Baton Rouge helped develop the GLP-1 weight loss drug currently on the market to fight obesity and diabetes…

Cut 8 (11) “…studying that”

Dalton says LSU’s research activity generates an es

Cleco will provide the power for the new three-point-six billion dollar data center that’s being built near Alexandria. Spokesperson Jennifer Cahill says this is good news for all Cleco customers, because it will not result in rate increases and the investments Cleco will make in grid reliability will benefit all customers…

Cut 12 (10) “…broader customer base”

 

The Ragin Cajuns baseball team practices this afternoon on Mississippi State’s homefield. Tomorrow night U-L Lafayette faces Cincinnati in the Starkville Regional. The Cajuns just got done playing seven games in six days at the Sun Belt Tournament. Coach Matt Deggs is optimistic his team will rebound from the heavy workload.

Cut 18 (17) “…hope we do.”

First pitch tomorrow night is at 6 p-m.

In the U-S Senate, bipartisan legislation has been filed that seeks to put in place several much needed reforms designed to fix college athletics. There’s a provision in the bill that prevents what happened last football season when Lane Kiffin left Ole Miss’ before its season ended to coach at LSU…

Cut 4 (09) “…the national championship”

That’s Tiger Rag Executive Editor Todd Horne.

05.28.26
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12:30 LRN Newscast

A bipartisan U.S. Senate bill that seeks to fix college sports has been filed by Texas Republican Ted Cruz and Washington Democrat Maria Cantwell. The “Protect College Sports Act” would enact several key reforms including regulations on payments made to players…

Cut 3 (10) “…with federal protection.”

Other key provisions of the bill include a free one time transfer and the Lane Kiffin Rule that would prevent coaches from leaving their team during the season.

LSU has surpassed 600-million dollars in research activity. Chancellor Jim Dalton says part of that research work includes the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge which has helped develop the GLP-1 weight loss drug…

Cut 8 (11) “…studying that”

 

Pineville-based utility provider Cleco will provide the power for the 3.6-billion-dollar data center that will be built in the Rapides Parish town of Boyce. Data Centers use an enormous amount of energy, but Cleco spokeswoman Jennifer Cahill says this won’t result in higher bills for other customers:

Cut 11 (08) “the data center”
Applied Digital is expected to provide 200 permanent jobs once it begins initial operations in mid-2027.

Governor Jeff Landry says the state will spend over one-billion dollars in federal money over the next five years to improve health care in rural Louisiana. Landry says one of the major focuses is expanding workforce capacity.

Cut 14 (14) “…to stay there.”

05.28.26
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11:40 LRN Sportscast

The Ragin Cajuns will face Cincinnati tomorrow night in the opening round of the Starkville Regional. Coach Matt Deggs calls the Bearcats a dynamic baseball team.

Cut 16 (20) “…very well coached.”

Deggs was talking about Cincinnati first baseman Quinton Coats, who is tied for fourth nationally with 28 home runs and is fifth in RBIs with 78 and third in the Big 12 with a 764 slugging percentage.

The Women’s College Series gets underway today in Oklahoma City. Texas Tech versus Mississippi State is the first game and the fourth and final game of the day is Arkansas versus Nebraska. Top seeded Alabama is the first seed.

 

Senators Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell have filed legislation that’s designed to fix college sports . It would regulate payments to players, allow athletes to transfer once without having to sit out a season and there’s also the Lane Kiffin rule to prevent what happened last season, Kiffin leaving Ole Miss for LSU before the Rebels season ended. It will need 60 votes to pass.

The Saints have signed linebacker Jackson Sirmon, he’s the son of Saints linebackers coach Peter Sirmon. The 26-year-old Jackson Sirmon spent the last two seasons with the Jets, mostly spent on their practice squad. Sirmon provides more depth at the linebacker position as the Black and Gold have just five linebackers.

The Saints have finalized their preseason schedule as New Orleans will host Jacksonville on August 15th and they will visit the Rams on August 22nd and the Cowboys on August 28th.

05.28.26
by

10:30 LRN Newscast

LSU’s Flagship has surpassed 600 million in annual research activity, an 11-percent growth over the previous year. Chancellor Jim Dalton says this latest increase is partly due to the reorganization of the flagship…

Cut 6 (11) “…the reorganization”

Dalton says there’s exciting research underway on fighting back against invasive species, clinical trials involving cancer research and the Pennington Biomedical Research Center is on the forefront of the development of the GLP-1 Weight loss drug.

Governor Jeff Landry says the state will spend over one-billion dollars in federal money over the next five years to improve health care in rural Louisiana. Landry says one of the major focuses is expanding workforce capacity.

Cut 14 (14) “…to stay there.”

 

 

Research conducted by Michael Johnson of LSU’s E-J Ourso College of Business finds that adults who are experiencing infertility is impacting their production in the workplace. Johnson sats there are things that companies can do to help employees whose infertility may be affecting them in the workplace.

Cut 9 (10)  “…out with it.”

Johnson notes that this is not an issue exclusive to women; men can struggle with infertility issues as well.

As part of the America’s 250th birthday, the largest flotilla to ever sail the Mississippi River will be at the Port of New Orleans. Mark Romig with the Sail250 host committee says the boats represents not only the U-S, but also several other countries from around the world…

Cut 5 (14) “…US Coast Guard”

05.28.26
by

9:30 LRN Newscast

In an effort to improve health care access in rural Louisiana, the state has launched the Rural Tech Catalyst Fund, which will use more than one billion dollars to expand the health care workforce and strengthen health care technology infrastructure. L-D-H Secretary Bruce Greenstein says they are calling on entrepreneurs, investors, and technology companies to get involved.

Cut 15 (13) “…rural health care.”

Greenstein says more than 100 companies have already expressed interest.

 

Cleco will provide the power for the new three-point-six billion dollar data center that’s being built near Alexandria. Spokesperson Jennifer Cahill says this is good news for all Cleco customers, because it will not result in rate increases and the investments Cleco will make in grid reliability will benefit all customers…

Cut 12 (10) “…broader customer base”

A new series of studies led by an LSU professor shows that the impact of infertility can follow those who experience it to their workplaces. Andrew Greenstein reports.

Cut 2 (34) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

Debate will begin later on this morning in the Louisiana House on a new Congressional map that will have one majority minority district, instead of two, which the current map features. Republicans still have to agree on how the districts will be drawn, while Democrats say a lawsuit is likely to contest a map that favors Republicans.

05.28.26
by

6:45 LRN Sportscast

Legislation that would bring much-needed rules and regulations to college athletics has been filed in the U-S Senate. The bipartisan bill authored by Texas Republican Ted Cruz and Washington Democrat Maria Cantwell has several key reforms, including a five-year eligibility clock, a one-time transfer allowed without having to sit out a year, the option to pool media rights to generate more TV revenue, and the Lane Kiffin rule. The Kiffin rule would prohibit a school from hiring a coach from another school or a coach leaving for another school before the season ends. The “Protect College Sports Act” will need 60 votes to pass the Senate.

The Saints have signed linebacker Peter Sirmon as OTAs are underway. Sirmon played 51 college football games between Cal and Washington. He has mostly spent the last two seasons on the Jets’ practice squad, appearing in just one game last season.

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The Ragin Cajuns get to practice today at Dudy Noble Field, the home of the Mississippi State Bulldogs, the host school of the Starkville Regional. U-L Lafayette is the three-seed in the Regional and Coach Matt Deggs believes his guys can be a Cinderella in the tournament, because they refuse to lose…

Cut 17 (18) “…long time”

U-L Lafayette hosts Cincinnati on Friday night.

LSU center fielder Derek Curiel told Matt Moscona of ESPN Baton Rouge Radio that he broke his ankle last November and only had three weeks to get ready for the regular season, which explains why he got off to a slow start. Curiel finished the season strong and is a draft-eligible sophomore, but he’s keeping the door open to possibly returning for his junior season. Curiel could be a first-round draft pick.