LSU takes on West Virginia tomorrow in game one of the Baton Rouge Super Regional. The Mountaineers are an experienced bunch making their second straight Super Regional appearance, but after surviving a Regional scare from Little Rock last weekend, the Tigers are poised for a run to the College World Series. Sophomore shortstop Steven Milam says there isn’t a team in the country that can stop the Tigers at their best…

Cut 20 (20) “…in Omaha.”

The winner of the best-of-three series will advance to the College World Series. First pitch at Alex Box Stadium is scheduled for 1:00.

Franklinton native and longtime women’s basketball coach Jessica Barber was named director of the Louisiana High School Coaches Association. Barber identified one of the biggest challenges coaches face as burnout and commitment among high school athletes. As an experienced assistant coach, Barber says building relationships and having fun should always be at the center of high school athletics.

Cut 18 (12)  “…help with.”

Barber is the association’s fourth director and first female director.

The Pacers stole game one of the NBA Finals last night at OKC. Down nine with just under three minutes left, Indiana pulled off late-game heroics yet again. After a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander miss with 11 seconds left, Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton hit the game-winning 21-foot pull-up jumper with 0.3 on the clock. The Thunder will look to bounce back in game two Sunday night.

The Super Regional between LSU and West Virginia kicks off at Alex Box Stadium tomorrow. The Mountaineers and Tigers have similar records with over 40 wins each. Tiger Rag editor Glen Guilbeau thinks LSU may have the upper hand, but that doesn’t mean this weekend’s series is a sure thing.

Cut 13 (15)  “…as well.”

West Virginia and LSU both average close to eight runs a game, but the Tigers outslug the Mountaineers with 97 Home runs on the season compared to West Virginia’s 55. LSU will rely on aces Kade Anderson and Anthony Eyanson to hopefully avoid game three of the series altogether. The winner of the Baton Rouge Super Regional will head to Omaha and the College World Series. First pitch tomorrow is set for 1 p.m.

Rumors have swirled this offseason about Saints wide receiver Chris Olave’s future with the team, but Head Coach Kellen Moore says there’s nothing to the reports that the Black and Gold are looking to move the 24-year-old.

Cut 19 (10) “…in him”

Olave topped 1,000 receiving yards each of his first two seasons before last year’s campaign was cut short by two concussions. The former first-round pick still has two years left on his rookie contract.

The Louisiana High School Coaches Association named former Franklinton High School basketball star Jessica Barber as its new director. Barber brings nearly two decades of coaching experience at the high school, college and AAU levels. Barber says she’s proud to be the association’s first female director, and when she got the job, she thought of the deserving women who impacted her as an athlete.

Cut 16 (12) “…high school athletics.”

LSU is set to host West Virginia in the Baton Rouge Super Regional this weekend. The Mountaineers won the Clemson regional with an upset over the host Tigers and two comeback wins against Kentucky. A tight-knit group, West Vrignia play-by-play announcer Andrew Caridi says the team was excited for the atmosphere in Clemson, and a trip to Baton Rouge will be another step up.

Cut 17 (12)  “…get to competing”

The Mountaineers are 44-and-14 under first-year head coach Steve Sabins. The program has had back-to-back Supers appearances, falling to UNC in Chapel Hill last year. West Virginia has five players batting over .300 but no one with over 10 homers. The Tigers can expect to face Mountaineer ace Griffin Kirn in game one Saturday. Kirn has a 5-and-2 record with a 3.13 ERA and 100 strikeouts in 16 starts this season.

After 7 of 16 regional hosts failed to advance to Super Regionals, LSU is the betting favorite to win a College World Series title. The SEC sent a record 13 teams to the NCAA tournament this year, but only four have made it to the second weekend. Tigers coach Jay Johnson, though, doesn’t doubt the quality of the nation’s top teams.

Cut 19 (13) “…that day”

ESPN announced the schedule for the 33-game college football bowl season. The Caesar’s Superdome will host the New Orleans Bowl at 4:30 Tuesday, December 23. Shreveport’s Independence Bowl will be held Tuesday, December 30 at 1 p.m. New Orleans’ Sugar Bowl is scheduled for 7:00 New Year’s Day as a quarterfinal matchup for the College Football Playoffs.

ESPN released its Football Power Index, projecting wins and championship odds for every team in the country. LSU ranked 12th with a 30.3% chance to make the playoffs, and Tulane ranked second among Group of 5 teams with a 24.3% chance.

LSU will host West Virginia in a best-of-three Super Regional series this weekend. The Mountaineers went 3-and-0 with wins over Clemson and Kentucky to secure the Clemson regional title. Voice of the Mountaineers Andrew Caridi says the Tigers will welcome a battle-tested group.

Cut 16 (16) “…pretty good season.”

Game one at The Box is set for 1:00 Saturday.

Game one of the NBA Finals between the Thunder and Pacers is tonight at 7:30. Behind league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC is a heavy favorite over the upstart Pacers, but Indiana’s speed and high-powered offense were enough to propel the four-seed to the Finals. Neither franchise has ever won an NBA championship.

Texas took game one of the Women’s College World Series championship in a 2-1 victory over Texas Tech. The Longhorns trailed 1-nothing in the bottom of the sixth when, with runners on second and third, Red Raiders ace Nijaree Canady tried to intentionally walk Texas catcher Reese Atwood. Canady’s pitch caught too much plate, and Atwood roped a single to left field, driving in the two decisive runs.

After Saints quarterback Derek Carr’s retirement was made official Tuesday, the 34-year-old spoke to Front Office Sports about the move. Facing surgery on his throwing shoulder, Carr said he didn’t want to “just sit there…and take the Saints’ money.” Carr was under contract for another year with New Orleans, worth $30 million guaranteed.

New Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations Joe Dumars said he plans on keeping some familiar faces in the building. Former first overall pick Zion Williamson has struggled to be the face of the franchise since being drafted in 2019. Injuries and off-court issues have left his future with the team uncertain at times, but Dumars said he has no plans to move on from the talented 24-year-old. Dumars said Head Coach Willie Green will continue to lead the team.

LSU will host West Virginia in a Super Regional series this weekend in large part thanks to an outstanding performance from Tigers D-H Ethan Frey in Monday’s Regional Championship game versus Little Rock. Frey went 4-for-4 with four RBI, batting second in the order- a spot usually reserved for first baseman Jared Jones. LSU Coach Jay Johnson says the risk played out exactly as he expected…

Cut 18 (15) “…batter’s box.”

With top-seeded Vanderbilt and Texas eliminated, sixth-ranked LSU is the current favorite to win the College World Series. Third-ranked Arkansas will host Tennessee in a Super Regional this weekend, while four-seeded Auburn welcomes Coastal Carolina and fifth-ranked UNC hosts Arizona.

Former LSU left tackle Will Campbell has agreed to terms on a 4-year, $43.66 million fully guaranteed rookie contract with the Patriots. Campbell was the fourth overall pick in this year’s draft.

New Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations Joe Dumars says he doesn’t have any plans to move Zion this offseason, amidst trade rumors and a recent lawsuit against the star forward. Dumars also announced he’d be sticking with Head Coach Willie Green for at least another season. Zion and the Pelicans have been plagued with injuries over Green’s four-year tenure in New Orleans. The Pels had made the play-in tournament each year under Green with two playoff appearances before an abysmal 21-and-61 season last year.

Former Southern Miss assistant women’s basketball coach Jessica Barber has been named director of the Louisiana High School Coaches Association. Barber is the first female director of the LHSCA and the fourth in the association’s history.

The Southland Conference has announced it will be moving to a nine-game conference football schedule for the 2026 season.

LSU Coach Jay Johnson brought big changes to the lineup for the Tigers’ must-win 10-6 victory over Little Rock Monday night. Slugging first baseman Jared Jones was moved from second in the order to sixth due to a hitting slump. D-H Ethan Frey moved up to replace him, and shortstop Steven Milam followed third after batting fifth and sixth Sunday. Johnson says it was now or never.

Cut 17 (15)  “…take a risk”

Frey helped the risk pay off, going 4-for-4 with four RBI from the two-hole, and Jones hit a game-sealing two-run shot in the ninth inning from the six-spot/

LSU will host West Virginia in a best-of-three Super Regional this weekend. Game one is set for 1 p.m. Saturday.

Derek Carr’s retirement is official after the Saints placed him on the reserve-retired list yesterday. The same day as his retirement, second-year cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry switched his jersey number to Carr’s number four. Free agent wideout Donovan Peoples-Jones will take McKinstry’s former number 14.

Pirates ace Paul Skenes tallied his sixth loss of the season last night despite giving up just one run and three hits over eight innings. Skenes also walked one and struck out eight in the 3-0 loss to the Astros.

The Women’s College World Series Championship between 6-seeded Texas and 12-seeded Texas Tech kicks off tonight. The Red Raiders are led by former UL-Lafayette skipper Gerry Glasco, who left the Cajuns for improved NIL opportunities in Lubbock. Those opportunities turned into a record setting over $1 million deal for 2024 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year pitcher NiJaree Canady (NY-juh-ree Can-uh-dee). Canady has a dominant 32- and-5 record this season and willed the Red Raiders through Super Regionals and the WCWS, pitching five straight complete games- all wins. She’ll start again tonight at 7:00.

LSU claimed the Baton Rouge Regional title with a late night 10-6 win over Little Rock to advance to Super Regionals. The Trojans quieted the crowd at Alex Box stadium early with a five run second inning, but the Tigers battled back to a 7-6 lead in the top of the ninth. With the lead off man aboard and no outs first baseman Jared Jones hammered a two-run shot to center field to take a three-run lead. Coach Jay Johnson was animated in the dugout…

Cut 19 (18) “…play of the game.”

Prior to last night’s game Jones had just two hits in five games this postseason and hadn’t homered since May 17^th in the regular season finale against South Carolina. The Tigers will host a Super Regional versus West Virginia with game one set for 1 p.m. Saturday

Super Bowl 59 generated $1.25 billion for Louisiana. New Orleans and Miami are tied for the most Super Bowls hosted at 11 each, but before this year it had been 12 years since the big game made its way back to the Big Easy. Saints owner Gayle Benson says work is already underway to make sure fans don’t have to wait that long again…

Cut 14 (14) “…than New Orleans.”

Super Bowl 65 in 2031 has been identified as the primary target for the record 12th appearance.

New Orleans is also seeking to attract the Saudi Arabian-backed LIV golf league with a proposed $7 million incentive package to attract the league. $2.2 of that package would go towards improving City Park’s Bayou Oaks golf course to host the tournament as soon as next summer. Officials estimate LIV could generate about $60 million in activity and is unlikely to hurt the city’s iconic Zurich Classic held at the end of April each year.