LSU is continuing preparations for the ReliaQuest Bowl as starting quarterback Garrett Nussmeier is set to make his first at quarterback since he was in high school, December 4th, 2020. Nussmeier says he can’t wait…
cut 19 (19) “….playing good” (2x)
Freshman defensive lineman Da’Shawn Womack says he’ll start at Jack linebacker spot in LSU’s dime package. The former five star prospect has 11 tackles and a sack and a half this season.

Saints offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk has yet to practice this week after missing the last two games with a knee injury. Ramczyk says the knee has been giving problems the last few seasons and he might need offseason surgery. Ramczyk says retirement is also a possibility. The 29-year-old is in the third year of a five-year contract.

The Pelicans hit some big shots down the stretch last night and defeated Utah 112 to 105. It ended a five-game losing streak to the Jazz. Brandon Ingram had 26 points, CJ MCCollum had 22 points and Zion Williamson had 21 points and ten rebounds. Trey Murphy also had a couple of big three-pointers in the final two minutes to finish with six points.

LSU men’s basketball returns from Christmas break to host the Northwestern State Demons tonight. It’s the final non-conference game for the Tigers as they will tip-off SEC play on January 6th at Texas A-and-M. The Demons are two and ten and this is there final non-conference game too.

McNeese is at Michigan tonight. The Pokes have won five in a row and they are 10-2 on the season. The Wolverines are 6-and-6.

Sun Belt play begins tomorrow. The 7-and-5 Ragin Cajuns are at Marshall, who is 5-and-8, while the Warhawks are at Appalachian state. The Mountaineers are 9-and-3 while the Warhawks are 4-and-6. Tip off for that game is at noon.

The LSU Tigers will ring in the New Year on Monday by taking on the Wisconsin Badgers in the ReliaQuest Bowl. Garrett Nussmeier will get the start at quarterback. Nussmeier replaces Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels who opted out. Nussmeier will have the opportunity to throw to star receivers Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas…
cut 18 (22) “…been awesome”
Monday’s game against Wisconsin will mark Nussmeier’s first start at quarterback since December 4, 2020. He was in high school.

In transfer portal news…LSU cornerback Denver Harris has entered into it. Harris only played in five games this year.

The Pelicans found a way last night to win a close game as they defeated the Utah Jazz 112 to 105 at the Smoothie King Center. Brandon Ingram led the way with 26 points as New Orleans ended a two-game losing skid and improved to 18-14. The Pels next game is Sunday night at home against the Lakers.

The LSU men’s basketball team returns from Christmas break to host Northwestern State. The Tigers are 7-and-5, while the Demons are just two and ten. Tip time is at 7 PM.

McNeese looks to pull off an upset tonight as they visit the Michigan Wolverines. The Cowboys are 10-and-2 and they’ve won five in a row. Michigan is 6-and-6. The Wolverines last game was December 19th a double overtime loss to Florida.

Sun Belt play begins tomorrow, the Cajuns are at Marshall, and ULM visits App State.

Saints offensive tackle Ryan Ramczyk says he proably needs offseason surgery on his knee. Also no signs of Michael Thomas and Marshon Lattimore returning this season. The Saints are at the Bucs on Sunday.

With Mike Denbrock off to Notre Dame, Joe Sloan and Cortez Hankton are co-offensive coordinators for the Tigers bowl game against Wisconsin. Coach Brian Kelly says both are also candidates to replace Denbrock on a permanent basis…
cut 30 (20) “…for that position”
Sloan is LSU’s quarterbacks coach and Hankton is the receivers coach and passing game coordinator.

Larry Nance is expected to play tonight for the Pelicans as they will host the Utah Jazz tonight at the Smoothie King Center. Nance has been sidelined for the last month because of a rib injury. He’s been a guy the Pelicans like to use in late game situations. The Jazz enters today’s game with a 13-18 record, but they’ve won three straight.

A win for Tampa Bay on Sunday over the New Orleans Saints and the Buccaneers will clinch their third consecutive NFC South title. They are one of the hottest teams in the NFL as they’ve won four in a row. Coach Dennis Allen says the Bucs offense has played very well during this stretch…
Cut 18 (20) “…his feet.”
At practice today, Saints receiver Chris Olave and defensive end Cam Jordan were limited because of ankle injuries.

Former Saints right guard Jahri Evans is a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of fame. Evans was on the Saints Super Bowl team and he also played in four Pro Bowls. Former John Ehret Star Reggie Wayne is a also a finalist for a fifth consecutive time after a standout career with the Colts.

The Saints will need help if they want to get into the playoffs. According to the New York Times’ playoff simulator, New Orleans only has a 12-percent of making the postseason. They can be eliminated from playoff contention with a loss on Sunday against Tampa Bay. Coach Dennis Allen says his team’s mindset hasn’t changed…
Cut 16 (16) “…that’s the message.”
The Saints have lost four of their last six. The four defeats were by eight points or less.

Tulane’s season ended yesterday with a 41-20 loss to Virginia Tech in the Military Bowl. The Green Wave finish with an 11-and-3 record and that’s probably not good enough for them to finish ranked for a second consecutive season.

LSU is in Tampa getting ready to play Wisconsin in the ReliaQuest Bowl on New Year’s Day. But multiple media outlets are reporting freshman offensive tackle Lance Heard is not there. Heard appeared in all 12 games this year and made one start. Coach Brian Kelly has said other than quarterback Jayden Daniels, everyone else who was available for the final regular season game, is also available for the bowl game.

Former Saints right guard Jahri Evans is a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of fame. Evans was on the Saints Super Bowl team and he also played in four Pro Bowls. Former John Ehret Star Reggie Wayne is a also a finalist for a fifth consecutive time. Wayne is also a Super Bowl champion and is the Colts all-time leader in games played as he played for 14 seasons in Indianapolis.

The Pelicans host the Utah Jazz tonight. New Orleans 17-14 and they’ve lost two in a row. The Jazz are 13 and 18, but they’ve won three in a row. Tip off from the Smoothie King Center is at 7 PM.

The Saints playoff hopes are slim as a result of losing four of their last six games. The four defeats were by eight points or less. But Quarterback Derek Carr says there’s no quit in this team….
cut 17 (21) “….going after it”
New Orleans is at Tampa Bay on Sunday. The Buccaneers have won four in a row and a win over the Saints will give them their third consecutive NFC South title. Kick-off is at noon.

Tulane’s season ended yesterday with a 41-20 loss to Virginia Tech in the Military Bowl. The Green Wave finish with an 11-and-3 record and that’s probably not good enough for them to finish ranked for a second consecutive season.

LSU is in Tampa getting ready to play Wisconsin in the Relia Quest Bowl on New Year’s Day. But multiple media outlets are reporting freshman offensive tackle Lance Heard is not there. Heard appeared in all 12 games this year and made one start. Coach Brian Kelly has said other than quarterback Jayden Daniels, everyone else who was available for the final regular season game, is also available for the bowl game.

Former Saints right guard Jahri Evans is a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of fame. Evans was on the Saints Super Bowl team and he also played in four Pro Bowls. Former John Ehret Star Reggie Wayne is a also a finalist for a fifth consecutive time. Wayne is also a Super Bowl champion and is the Colts all-time leader in games played as he played for 14 seasons in Indianapolis.

The Pelicans host the Utah Jazz tonight. New Orleans 17-14 and they’ve lost two in a row. The Jazz are 13 and 18, but they’ve won three in a row. Tip off from the Smoothie King Center is at 7 PM.

The LSU Tigers are in Tampa, getting ready to face the Wisconsin Badgers in the Reliaquest Bowl on January 1st. Garrett Nussmeier will make his first collegiate start at quarterback as Jayden Daniels has opted out. Offensive tackle Emery Jones says they expect Nussmeier to hang in the pocket a little longer than Daniels…
Cut 17 (14) “…handle it.”
According to the Bengal-Tiger-on-3-dot-com, back-up offensive tackle Lance Heard did not travel with the team to Tampa. Heard appeared in all 12 games for the Tigers this season and made one start.

Brian Kelly spoke with reporters today and didn’t say anything specifically about Heard. He did say that defensive tackle Mekhi Wingo will play against the Badgers after missing the last five games of the season as a result of an injury.

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Rough loss for the Pelicans last night as once again they could not make enough baskets down the stretch to win a close a game. New Orleans led by 15 points at one point, only to lose 116 to 115 in overtime. New Orleans is now 0-6 in games decided by three points or less. 12 missed free throws also proved to be costly. The Pels will try again tomorrow night against the Jazz at the Smoothie King Center.

The franchise has announced that its basketball arena will continue to be named the Smoothie King Center for many years to come as the two sides have agreed to a naming rights extension.

At Saints practice today, both Chris Olave and Cam Jordan were limited with ankle injuries. Both played in the loss last Thursday to the Rams.

Former Saints Coach Sean Payton has made a big move in Denver as he’s benched quarterback Russell Wilson. Jarrett Stidham will start the final two games as it looks like Payton and the Broncos are ready to move from the Wilson era in Denver.

The LSU Tigers are now in Tampa, getting ready to face the Wisconsin Badgers in the Reliaquest Bowl on January 1st. The Tigers are 9-3, but it’s been a tough year for the defense as LSU has struggled on that side of the football. Linebacker Greg Penn says they can set the tone for 2024 with a good performance against the Badgers…
Cut 16 (20) “…next year.”

This afternoon at 1 PM. Tulane will take on Virginia Tech in the Military Bowl. The Green wave are playing with an interim coach, Slade Nagle, plus they’ll have a new starting quarterback. Kai Horton is expected to start. Kryon Drones is a good dual QB for Virginia Tech.

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For the second time this month, the Pelicans blew a chance to beat the Memphis Grizzlies. This time New Orleans had a four point lead with a minute left and ended up losing in overtime 116 to 115. The Pels had a 15 points lead and 12 missed free throws hurt.

Before the game, the Pelicans announced they renewed the stadium naming rights contract with the Smoothie King Center. Terms of the contract were not released, but Pelicans officials say the Smoothie King Center will remain the name for the foreseeable future.

The Saints are getting ready to host Tampa Bay, but the black and golld’s playoff chances are not very good. New Orleans has to win its final two games, including Sunday’s game at Tampa Bay. The Bucaneers would also need to lose in the regular season finale to the panthers. New Orleans is 11th in the NFC and the top seven make the postseason.

The Pelicans host the Memphis Grizzlies tonight as they get back to action after a couple of days off for first Christmas. New Orleans last game was Saturday, a 106 to 104 loss to the Houston Rockets. On December 13th, New Orleans hosted Memphis and blew a big halftime lead and lost to the Grizzlies. Currently, New Orleans is 17-13 and in fourth place in the Western Conference.

The LSU football team leaves today for Tampa where they’ll play Wisconsin in the Reliaquest Bowl on New Year’s Day. The Tigers will have Joe Sloan and Cortez Hankton serve as co-offensive coordinators as Mike Denbrock has left the program to rejoin the Notre Dame coaching staff.

The Saints get back to work today. They have slim playoff chances with two regular season games left. New Orleans must win its final two games, including Sunday’s home’s game against Tampa Bay and then the Black and Gold will need the Bucs to lose to Carolina in the regular season finale. Sunday’s game kicks off at noon in the Dome.

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On New Year’s Day night, New Orleans will host a College football playoff semifinal game as Texas will battle Washington.

Next year the college football playoff will expand to 12 teams and for the first two years of the new format, the Sugar Bowl will be a quarterfinal game. So it’s unknown when New Orleans will next host a college football national championship or semifinal game. Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley says the Sugar Bowl is working hard to land a final four match-up or national title game…
Cut 14 (14) “…we’re at.”
The other semifinal matchup is Alabama versus Michigan in the Rose Bowl.

Lafayette Christian quarterback JuJuan Joseph has been named the Class Four-A most outstanding player of the year. The LSU signee threw for 3,597 yards and 41 touchdowns and rushed for 1,497 yards and 25 scores. Evangel defensive end Gabriel Reliford, also an LSU signee, is the defneisve player of the year. After leading Opelousas to its first state championship, Jimmy Zachery is the Class 4a Coach of the year.

The Saints’ playoff hopes took an even bigger hit on Sunday as Tampa Bay trounced Jacksonville 30-12. So for New Orleans to win the NFC South and get in the playoffs, they’ll have to beat the Buccaneers this Sunday and hope Tampa loses to Carolina in the regular season finale.

With the Saints on the verge of missing the playoffs, many in Who Dat Nation are hoping for a change at head coach. Jeff Palermo has more…
cut 1 (30) “…I’m Jeff Palermo

The LSU Tigers will leave tomorrow for Tampa to continue their preparations for the bowl game against Wisconsin on New Year’s Day. Garrett Nussmeier will make his first at quarterback.

Nussmeier has appeared in 17 games during his LSU career. He played the second half of the 2022 SEC Championship game because of an injury to Jayden Daniels. He played nearly the entire game as a freshman in 2021 in a loss to Arkansas. Nussmeier says he’s a more mature player now and gives a lot of credit to quarterbacks coach Joe Sloan…
cut 17 (21) “…in this offense
Sloan and Cortez Hankton will serve as co-offensive coordinators in the bowl game as Mike Denbrock has left to for his third stint as an assistant at Notre Dame.

After a two-year successful run as LSU’s offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock is heading back to Notre Dame. A reason on why Denbrock is leaving the Tigers has not been given. But we know that the Michigan native will be coaching closer to home, has a good relationship with Notre Dame Coach Marcus Freeman and you can bet money is also part of the equation.

This will be Denbrock’s third stint as an assistant coach at Notre Dame.

Denbrock’s departure is a big loss for LSU. Tiger Rag assistant editor William Weathers says Denbrock helped develop quarterback Jayden Daniels into a Heisman Trophy winner and he guided an offense that leads the nation in scoring…
cut 13 (13) “…to gold”
Denbrock was a finalist this past season for the Broyles Award, which goes to the nation’s top assistant coach.

The Saints playoff chances took a major hit Thursday night as New Orleans lost to the Los Angeles Rams 30-22. The loss drops the Black and Gold’s record to seven and eight and according to ESPN Analytics, the Saints have a 24-percent chance to make the playoffs. Coach Dennis Allen…
cut 20 (11) “…play Tampa”
Tampa Bay leads the Saints by a half game for first place in the NFC South. The Buccaneers are home to face the Jacksonville Jaguars and then New Orleans will visit the Bucs on New Year’s eve. The Saints end the season by hosting the Falcons.

Calvary Baptist Quarterback Abram Wardell has been named the Class 2A offensive player of the year. The junior threw for 3,883 yards, 45 touchdowns and just two interceptions as he led the Cavaliers to a division three select state championship.

Calvary’s Rodney Guin is the Coach of the Year.