Author Archives: Jeff Palermo

03.07.26
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7:30 LRN Sportscast

The second ranked LSU baseball team broke out of its offensive slump last night with a 15 to 4 win over Sacramento State. LSU scored all of its runs in the first four innings. Jake Brown hit three home runs and drove in six runs and Derek Curiel hit his first home run and had his second straight three-hit performance. Casan Evans struck out nine in five and two-thirds of an inning for the win. Game two is at 2 PM.

The Ragin Cajuns won again last night beating Dallas Baptist six to five. Rigoberto Hernandez homered in the ninth inning to break a five-five tie. Donovan LaSalle and Kasen Bellard also homered for U-L Lafayette.

Nicholls scored five runs in the ninth to beat Texas A-and-M Corpus Christi 11 to 7.

UT Arlington edged ULM four to three. South Alabama beat Louisiana Tech nine to three. McNeese split a doubleheader with HCU, UIW over Northwestern 13 to nine, Southeastern thumped Grambling 13 to 3.

 

It will be LSU and South Carolina today in the semis of the SEC Tournament. The Tigers steam rolled Oklahoma 112 to 78. The 112 points is the second most in an SEC Tournament game and the 40 points in the fourth quarter is an SEC record. Flau’jae Johnson surpassed 2,000 points in her career. Carolina beat Kentucky 87 to 64 and LSU will try to break its 18-game losing streak to the Gamecocks at 3:30 today.

At the girls high school basketball tournament…Merryville won its first state championship, beating Midland 49-46. Simpson won its second straight as they dribbled past Pleasant Hill 58 to 39. Rosepine won its third title in four years, beating Holy Savior Menard 42 to 34 in OT. Pitkin won its first title since 1995, beating Bell City 51 to 50 and French Settlement wins its first title since 1994 as the Lady Lions downed Westlake 44 to 36.

03.06.26
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11:40 LRN Sportscast

The LSU baseball team will look to get its offense back on track this weekend as the second ranked Tigers host Sacramento State for the final non-conference weekend series. Over the past six games, LSU has hit just .209. In order for LSU to snap its offensive slump, Johnson says hitters must do a better job of working opposing pitchers.

Cut 18 (08)  “…some mistakes better.”

Fresh off their win over LSU, the Ragin Cajuns visit Dallas Baptist this weekend. U-L Lafayette has won nine of its last ten games and allowing just three runs a game during that span. Coach Matt Deggs gives a lot of credit to first year pitching coach Taylor Sandefur…

Cut 20 (16) “….advantage for us”

 

Conference USA and the Sun Belt Conference have yet to publicly release their 2026 college football schedules and that’s because Louisiana Tech wants to begin play in the Sun Belt, while Conference USA has yet to agree with Tech on how much the school owes the league for departing  CUSA. That’s why the University of Louisiana System has filed a lawsuit seeking a judge to grant an injunction so it can join the Sun Belt in July. Malcoln Butler wrote an extensive article on the situation for the Lincoln Parish Journal…

Cut 8 (10) “…interesting to see”

Thursday night was a good night for the Louisiana Tech men’s and women’s basketball teams. The Lady Techsters won their 16th straight as they easily defeated New Mexico State 88 to 47.

The Dunkin Dogs had one of their best victories of the season as AJ Bates scored a career high 34 points as Louisiana Tech upset Conference USA leader Liberty 76 to 71 in Lynchburg.

03.06.26
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6:45 LRN Sportscast

The second ranked LSU baseball team will try to snap out of its funk that it has been in the last week as they begin a three-game series against Sacramento State tonight. Casan Evans, Cooper Moore and William Schmidt will be the starting pitchers this weekend and after 14 games Coach Jay Johnson knows who he can count on out of the bullpen…

Cut 16 (17) “…a little bit”

Sacramento State is not having a good season as they are 3-and-9. First pitch is at 6:30.

The Ragin Cajuns, who just beat LSU on Wednesday, is at Dallas Baptist. Louisiana Tech will look to snap a five-game losing streak as they are at South Alabama and ULM is at UT Arlington.

 

There is a good chance Cam Jordan has played his final game with the Saints as the 15-year NFL vet is expected to become an unrestricted free agent next week. Jordan had ten and a half sacks last season and Ross Jackson, host of the Locked on Saints podcast says a contending team could look at signing Jordan to a one year deal…

Cut 14 (12) “…agency opens up”

The free agency signing period begins on Wednesday.

The Louisiana Tech men’s basketball team got a career-high 34 points from AJ Bates as the Bulldogs had one of their best wins of the season, beating Liberty 76 to 71. The Lady Techsters won easily over New Mexico State 88 to 47. That’s 16 wins in a row for La Tech.

The LSU women’s basketball team will play Oklahoma in the SEC tournament quarterfinals at 1:30.

03.05.26
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4:45 LRN Sportscast

Wednesday night was a special night for Ragin Cajun baseball fans as U-L Lafayette defeated second-ranked LSU seven to two in front of 57-hundred fans, the third largest crowd in school history. Coach Matt Deggs’ team scored three runs in the first and never trailed…

Cut 6 (06) “…special night.”

The Cajuns improved to 10-3 with the win, and LSU fell to 11-3 with the loss.

The Nicholls baseball team also pulled off an impressive upset last night after beating tenth-ranked Southern Mississippi three-to-two. It’s the Colonel’s first win over a top 25 opponent since last year’s eight-to-five victory over Southern Miss.

Louisiana Tech baseball dropped its fifth straight game last night after falling eight-to-two to Arkansas State. The Bulldogs will try to get back in the win column tomorrow as they take on South Alabama in Mobile at 6:30 p.m.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Saints veteran defensive end Cameron Jordan will not have a new deal in place with New Orleans by next week and will hit free agency for the first time in his NFL career. Jordan will return for a 16th NFL season and is said to be open to leaving New Orleans.

The LSU women’s basketball team will enter the SEC Tournament as a projected two seed in the NCAA Tournament. Three of the four number-one seeds are essentially locked up by UConn, UCLA and South Carolina. If the Tigers can secure the fourth and final top seed, ESPN Bracketologist Charlie Crème believes it will create a more favorable path to the national championship.

Cut 17 (15)  “…a better matchup.”

Louisiana Tech women’s basketball looks to extend its winning streak to 17 games tonight when it hosts New Mexico State at 6:30 p.m.

03.05.26
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LRN PM Newscall

A New Orleans representative is trying again with legislation aimed at cracking down on the use of artificial intelligence in political materials. Joe Gallinaro reports.

Cut 1 (29) “…I’m Joe Gallinaro.”

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Ragin Cajuns fans have bragging rights today as U-L Lafayette handed second ranked LSU it’s second consecutive loss last night. Jeff Palermo has the story…

Cut 2 (30) “…I’m Jeff Palermo.”

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A New Orleans representative is trying again with a bill that would crack down on political messaging created with the use of artificial intelligence. Democrat Mandie Landry says a bill she’s filed requires any image on political material created with A-I that could deceive the recipient be clearly disclosed as such.

Cut 3 (08) “…with artificial intelligence.”

Speaking to Tommy Tucker on WWL radio, Landry says she filed a similar bill last year that wasn’t as narrow in scope, and it made it onto Governor Landry’s desk.

Cut 4 (10) “…was very interesting.”

Landry says it’s important that governments, not just in Louisiana but everywhere and at all levels, get on top of artificial intelligence.

Cut 5 (10) “…to fly by.”

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Wednesday night was a special night for Ragin Cajun baseball fans as U-L Lafayette defeated second ranked LSU seven to two in front 57-hundred fans, third largest crowd in school history. Coach Matt Deggs team scored three runs in the first and never trailed…

Cut 6 (06) “…special night.”

With the victory, the Cajuns improve to 10-3 on the season, while LSU fell to 11-and-3. Coach Jay Johnson started junior right-hander Gavin Guidry. Two errors in the first inning helped produce the three runs in the first inning…

Cut 7 (12) “…credit.”

The Cajuns executed two hit and run plays successfully to spark the first inning rally.  LSU was held to seven hits and Cajuns freshman right-hander Sawyer Pruitt finished the game by throwing four scoreless innings. Deggs says he was not going to take Pruitt out of the game, because they wanted to win badly…

Cut 8 (09) “…our guys.”

The Cajuns are in Texas for a three game series at Dallas Baptist this weekend, while LSU hosts Sacramento State.

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An earthquake jolts Red River Parish early this morning. Rob Skoumal (SKO-mall) with the U.S. Geological Survey says it was a magnitude 4.9 that struck near Coushatta at around 5:30 this morning.

Cut 9 (10)  “…fairly widely felt.”

Skoumal says while people might not associate earthquakes with Louisiana, they’re not entirely unheard of here.

Cut 10 (08) “…isn’t super unusual.”

Skoumal says while we may never know the cause of the earthquake, humans cannot be completely ruled out.

Cut 11 (10) “…by wastewater disposal.”

Skoumal says there will likely be aftershocks, with a very slight chance of one registering at least a magnitude 4.0.

03.05.26
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12:30 LRN Newscast

An earthquake jolts Red River Parish early this morning. Rob Skoumal (SKO-mall) with the U.S. Geological Survey says it was a magnitude 4.9 that struck near Coushatta at around 5:30 this morning.

Cut 9 (10)  “…fairly widely felt.”

Skoumal says there will likely be aftershocks, with a very slight chance of one registering at least a magnitude 4.0.

Tigue Moore Field in Lafayette was rocking last night as the Ragin Cajuns took advantage of a struggling LSU baseball team to beat the Tigers seven to two. Coach Matt Deggs is elated his fans can celebrate a victory over their rivals to the east…

Cut  8 (09) “….our guys”

U-L Lafayette held LSU to seven hits and the Tigers struggled in the field with three more errors.

 

A New Orleans representative is trying again with legislation aimed at cracking down on the use of artificial intelligence in political materials. Joe Gallinaro reports.

Cut 1 (29) “…I’m Joe Gallinaro.”

Governor Jeff Landry has sent a letter to school superintendents urging them to display the Ten Commandments in the classroom. Landry says students will benefit from seeing the Ten Commandments in their classroom. A federal appeals court ruled last month that the state’s Ten Commandments law can go into effect. It’s an issue the U-S Supreme Court will likely have to rule on.

03.05.26
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11:40 LRN Sportscast

The Ragin Cajuns took advantage of a struggling LSU baseball team last night as U-L Lafayette downed the Tigers seven to two. Coach Matt Deggs is elated U-L fans can celebrate this victory over their rivals to the east…

Cut  8 (09) “….our guys”

U-L Lafayette held LSU to seven hits and created chaos in the first inning that led to hree runs. Trent Caraway hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning for LSU, but the Cajuns responded with three more runs in the bottom of the fifth. Sawyer Pruitt pitched four shutout innings for the save.

Nicholls pulled off a big upset last night as the Colonels defeated 10th ranked Southern Miss three to two. Tyler Avery was the winning pitcher with three shutout innings and Cole Poirrier got the save as the Golden Eagles were held to a season low five hits.

 

The LSU women’s basketball team will find out this afternoon who they will play tomorrow afternoon in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. It will be either 12th seeded Florida or 5th seeded Oklahoma.

Unless LSU wins the SEC Tournament, they will likely be a two seed in the NCAA Tournament. ESPN’s Women’s College Basketball bracketologist Charlie Crème says LSU can win a national championship if their best players play big…

Cut 18 (12) “…approaches”

At the girls state basketball tournament in Hammond, Division Two non-select semifinals…fourth seeded Wossman upset top seeded Sterlington 54 to 48. Second seeded LaGrange knocked off third seeded North Vermilion 53 to 44.

Tonight…Neville is in the semifinals for the first time since 2021 and the Lady Tigers will play defending champion and top-seeded Zachary.

03.05.26
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10:30 LRN Newscast

Louisiana Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain says the state’s crawfish industry is dealing with a significant labor shortage. Strain told state lawmakers that crawfish processing plants do not have enough workers to peel and package crawfish, because the federal government has put a cap on foreign guest workers.

Cut 4 (09) “…no that’s unacceptable.”

Several crawfish processing plants have shut their doors as a result.

Shintech Louisiana, which produces PVC that’s used in the construction of pipes and window frames, has announced a three-point-four billion dollar expansion to its facility in Iberville Parish. Shintech received an incentives package from the state through the FastStart, Industrial Tax Exemption and Quality Jobs programs. Iberville Parish President Chris Daigle says the collaboration will benefit the entire area.

Cut 9 (12)  “…the Plaquemine area.”

The investment will provide hundreds of construction jobs and result in 163 new direct jobs.

 

Julia Letlow secures another high-profile endorsement. Andrew Greenstein reports.

Cut 3 (34) “…I’m Andrew Greenstein.”

State Treasurer and Republican US Senate candidate John Fleming says Trump officials offered him a job with the C-D-C in an effort to get him out of the Republican Senate Primary. Fleming says the most recent offer came from Ralph Abraham who just left the CDC as principal deputy director. Abraham is now working for the Letlow campaign. Fleming says he’s staying in the Senate race and intends to unseat Bill Cassidy.

03.05.26
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6:45 LRN Sportscast

The Ragin Cajuns were ready to play last night and they handed LSU it’s second consecutive loss as U-L Lafayette beat the defending national champions seven to two. The Cajuns jumped on the Tigers in the first inning, scoring three runs off LSU’s starting pitcher Gavin Guidry. The Tigers committed two errors in the inning and U-L Coach Matt Deggs gives credit to Cajun Nation for making a difference…

Cut 28 (18) “…hard to handle”

Cody Brasch was the winning pitcher and freshman Sawyer Pruitt pitched four shutout innings for the save. LSU was limited seven hits, three of them off the bat of Derek Curiel. But the Tigers also committed three errors to fall to 10-3 on the season.

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Nicholls pulled off the upset last night, beating 10th ranked Southern Miss three to two. Four Colonels pitches held the Golden Eagles to a season low five hits. Tyler Austin was the winning pitcher with three shutout innings.

Louisiana Tech lost again, falling to Arkansas State eight to two. Southeastern Louisiana thumped ULM 16 to 6, McNeese over LSU-A 12 to 2.

The LSU women’s basketball team will enter the SEC Tournament as a projected number-two seed in the NCAA Tournament. ESPN bracketologist Charlie Crème says the Tigers could elevate to a number-one seed with an impressive showing in Greenville this week.

Cut 16 (18) “…be the Tigers.”

LSU will play in the quarterfinals tomorrow afternoon, possibly against Oklahoma.

03.04.26
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4:45 LRN Sportscast

The UL-Lafayette baseball team is set to host second-ranked LSU tonight in front of a sold-out Tigue. The Cajuns used only eight pitchers in their series win over UC San Diego last weekend. Head coach Matt Deggs says the team is prepared to do whatever it takes to secure a marquee win and boost its RPI.

Cut 17 (12)  “…ball club over there.”

First pitch is at 6 p.m.

Yesterday, Team USA dominated Tony Vitello’s San Francisco Giants 15-1 in an exhibition game leading up to group play for the World Baseball Classic. Former LSU Tigers Paul Skenes and Alex Bregman both had big games. Skenes struck out four hitters in three innings while only allowing one run. Bregman was just one of two players to leave the yard after he launched a solo shot in the fourth inning.

ULM baseball will conclude its midweek series with Southeastern tonight at 6 p.m.

Louisiana Tech baseball continues to struggle as they were blown out again last night, falling to Arkansas State ten to two. That’s four consecutive losses in Ruston for the Bulldogs, which is the first time that’s happened since 2014. Head coach Lane Burroughs says he did not like his team’s effort.

Cut 30 (04): “very well tonight.”

Tech looks to avenge its loss to Arkansas State tonight as the Bulldogs conclude the midweek series with the Red Wolves at 6 p.m.

The UL-Lafayette men’s basketball team secured an 84-75 win over Georgia State in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament last night. The Cajuns will try to survive and advance tonight when they face James Madison at 5 p.m.

Oak Grove’s Caroline Bradley continued to show why she’s the top-ranked center in the class of 2027 last night with a 29-point, 20-rebound performance against Westlake. Despite the big performance, the Tigers fell 46-45 to Westlake in the Division III non-select state semifinals.