NBA free agency opens today. The offseason has already gotten off to a hot start with blockbuster trades moving stars like former Hornet Chris Paul, Bradley Beal, and Kristaps Porzingis. The Pelicans management have been adamant that the team will not be looking to make any major changes to the roster this offseason after the signs of success a healthy Pelicans squad showed last year, but some NBA execs expect the Pelicans to make major moves before next season. New Orleans declined defensive specialist Herb Jones’s $1.8 million team option for this season. He’ll become a restricted free agents where the Pels will hope to extend him on a longer deal worth closer to $50 million. New Orleans also declined center Willy Hernangomez’s team-option and failed to extend a qualifying offer to center Jaxson Hayes, but they could look to bring Hayes back. Reports have pointed towards the team shopping former 13^th overall pick Kira Lewis. The guard made a return from a season ending ACL injury last year but struggled to find playing time in a crowded backcourt. The free agency window opens at 5:00 this evening.

McNeese broke ground on a new press box for Cowboy Stadium yesterday. Much of southwest Louisiana was devastated by Hurricanes Delta and Laura in 2020. The former press box like much of the Lake Charles area sustained significant damages and a complete overhaul was required. Now, three years later, Director of Facilities Kevin Martin says this project is about more than just a football stadium. Recovery from Hurricane Laura has taken longer than expected for many, including the university, but Martin says the new box will be a return of a local landmark and symbol of progress for many in the area…

Cut 19 (13)  “…as a whole.”

The new box will be over 28,000 square feet, house 25 suites and a 17-hundred square foot sky club and extend goal line to goal line. It is expected to open for the 2025 season.

The upcoming NBA season tips off with the Free Agency period which will begin later today. Teams can start negotiating with free agent players, but most contracts can’t officially be signed until July 6th. The Pelicans are declining forward Herb Jones’ 1.8-million-dollar team option for next season, which will make him a restricted free agent. New Orleans doesn’t have a lot of money to throw around, but they are expected to be active in the market.

With LSU’s national championship winning baseball team along with a women’s basketball title and top 10 finishes in gymnastics, beach volleyball, and both men’s and women’s outdoor track, the Tigers earned a No. 9 final ranking in the Director’s Cup. The cup measures the overall success of an institution’s athletic programs, awarding points based on NCAA Championship finishes for a maximum of 19 sports. LSU’s ninth place finish is its highest since it was ninth in 2009.

The NFL confirmed Saints rookies will report to training camp on July 18th with their veteran teammates arriving a week later on the 25th. Open practice dates are yet to be announced.

McNeese broke ground on a new press box for Cowboy Stadium Thursday. Much of southwest Louisiana was devastated by Hurricanes Delta and Laura in 2020, and the press box like much of the Lake Charles area sustained significant damage. Director of Facilities Kevin Martin says they’ve finally completed the process of organizing funding from 4 sources…:
Cut 20 (14) “like that”
The updated press box is set to be over 28,000 square feet and extends goal line to the goal line. It’s expected to be open for the 2025 season.

Left-handed pitcher Logan Hurd, who is the older brother of LSU right hander Thatcher Hurd, announced his transfer to Tulane Thursday.

Hundreds of LSU fans braved the oppressive heat to pack the box and celebrate the LSU Baseball team’s seventh national championship in program history. Paul Skenes put together one of the greatest seasons ever by a college baseball pitcher and set a new SEC record with 209 strikeouts this season surpassing LSU legend Ben McDonald. Skenes was at Air Force the last two seasons and made the decision to transfer LSU so he can improve as a pitcher and win a natty…

Cut 17 (17) “…came here.”

The national championship winning baseball team along with a women’s basketball title and top 10 finishes in gymnastics, beach volleyball, and both men’s and women’s outdoor track, helped LSU earn a ninth-place final ranking in the Director’s Cup. The cup measures the overall success of an institution’s athletic programs, awarding points based on NCAA Championship finishes for a maximum of 19 sports. LSU’s ninth-place finish is its highest since it was ninth in 2009.

During last night’s celebration many players had the opportunity to speak to fans a they reflected on a historic season. Coach Jay Johnson says he didn’t spend much time working on his speech as he is already preparing for the 2024 season. But Johnson says he’ll never forget this group of players and the focus they played with in the NCAA Tournament….

Cut 18 (19) “…2023 (applause).” 

Many of the players were apart of Johnson’s first team when he arrived at LSU. Johnson helped lead the group to a national title in just his second season in Baton Rouge.

The NFL confirmed Saints rookies will report to training camp on July 18^th with their veteran teammates arriving a week later on the 25^th. Open practice dates are yet to be announced.

On a hot, steamy night, thousands of LSU fans went to Alex Box Stadium last night to celebrate the 2023 national champion LSU baseball team. Several star players spoke including Golden Spikes Award winner and expected top 2 overall pick in the upcoming MLB draft Dylan Crews. Crews thanked the fans for his time and success in Baton Rouge…

Cut 16 (19) “…can I say.”

The SEC and ACC have announced this year’s opponents for the SEC/ACC Challenge. The Women’s basketball team will host Virginia Tech on November 30^th while the men’s team will visit Syracuse November 28^th.

The NFL confirmed Saints rookies will report to training camp on July 18^th with their veteran teammates arriving a week later on the 25^th. Open practice dates are yet to be announced.

With LSU’s national championship winning baseball team along with a women’s basketball title and top 10 finishes in gymnastics, beach volleyball, and both men’s and women’s outdoor track, the Tigers earned a No. 9 final ranking in the Director’s Cup. The cup measures the overall success of an institution’s athletic programs, awarding points based on NCAA Championship finishes for a maximum of 19 sports. LSU’s ninth place finish is its highest since it was ninth in 2009 and one behind their all-time best finish of eighth which came in 2008. The SEC led all conferences with eight top 25 final rankings and Stanford on the overall title for the 26^th time followed by future SEC member Texas.

LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson and stars Dylan Crews, Paul Skenes, Tommy White, Ty Floyd, and Tre Morgan took their talents off of the diamond and into the kitchen today. The national champions celebrated their title by working a shift at the original Raising Cane’s location on Highland serving fans in the dirve-tru and at the counter for a celebratory shift.

Louisiana Radio Network Sports I’m Michelle Southern with a special sports report from Jeff Palermo:
CUT 20 (55) “NCAA Tournament”
That’s Jeff Palermo reporting on the Louisiana Radio Network.

LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson, who is taking home the National Baseball Coach of the Year Award, has received a 100-thousand-dollar bonus for leading the Tigers to a national championship. His salary this season is 1.25 million dollars and has picked up 260-thousand dollars in bonuses. At the celebration yesterday Johnson also received a key to the City of Baton Rouge.

The SEC announced Home and Away conference opponents for women’s basketball teams and the national champion Lady Tigers will welcome South Carolina to the PMAC next season. A date has not been set, but it will be a matchup between the last two national champion teams in women’s basketball.

Also, it was announced Wednesday that the Lady Tigers will host Virginia Tech in the SEC/ACC Challenge on November 30th and the men will travel to Syracuse on November 28th.

New Saints quarterback Derek Carr opened up about how his departure from the Raiders went, which included his being benched the final two games before leaving in free agency. Carr was speaking at a DC4Kids event in Fresno, where he starred in college at Fresno State.

A big crowd is expected at Alex Box Stadium tonight to celebrate the 2023 national championship LSU baseball team. The triumphant team returned to Baton Rouge yesterday and received a heroes welcome when their buses pulled up to the Box. We spoke with a couple of fans who absolutely love this team…
cut 15 (14) “…all about”
Tonight’s celebration begins at 7:30. Gates open tot he Box at 6:30. There is no admission to attend.

LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson has received a 100-thousand dollar bonus for leading the Tigers to a national championship. His salary this season is 1.25 million dollars and has picked up 260-thousand dollars in bonuses.

The SEC announced Home and Away conference opponents for women’s basketball teams and the national champion Lady Tigers will welcome South Carolina to the PMAC next season. A date has not been set, but it will be a matchup between the last two national champion teams in women’s basketball.

Also it was announced today that the Lady Tigers will host Virginia Tech in the SEC/ACC Challenge on November 30th and the men will travel to Syracuse on November 28th.

The Pelicans will begin Summer League action in Las Vegas on July 7th. First round pick Jordan Hawkins will be there. He shot 39-percent from three-point territory at UCONN last season. The Maryland native says he’s studdied a lot of great three-point shooters…
cut 17 (10) “….them too so”

Hundreds of LSU fans braved the heat yesterday to welcome home LSU’s national champion baseball team as they returned home from a successful trip to Omaha. This Tigers team relied on both LSU veterans and young talent, and there are a lot of fan favorites…
Cut 14 (11) “…got it big.”
Tonight there will be a more formal celebration as LSU will honor the team at Alex Box Stadium. The festivities will get underway at 7:30 and the gates will open for fans at 6:30. Admission is free and all non-premium areas will be general admission.

ESPN says the best of three finals series between LSU and Florida brought in a record-setting audience. Game One was the most-watched Finals Game 1 on record on ESPN platforms with 2.75 million viewers. Game 3 of the Finals was the most-watched College World Series game on record for ESPN platforms.

Pelicans first-round pick Jordan Hawkins was introduced to the media yesterday. The Uconn guard spent 2 seasons with the Huskies including an NCAA championship run this past season. The 21-year-old says his experience on a championship-winning team has helped prepare him for the NBA…
Cut 16 (13) “…really well.”
Hawkins will provide some much-needed three-point shooting for the Pelicans but he also says he’s ready to contribute however necessary…
Cut 18 (15) “…needs me to do.”

LSU’s Angel Reese has been named B-E-T’s Sportswoman of the Year.

And former LSU star running back Leonard Fournette is okay despite his SUV catching on fire on an interstate in Florida.

The LSU Tigers are national champions for the seventh time in program history. The Tigers were favorites for the title much of the season before a late season slump led to many questioning their original Omaha or Bust aspirations. After losing in the double elimination tournament portion of the CWS, the Tigers won three straight to earn a spot in the championship series. After a game one win, Florida dominated the Tigers en route to a 24-4 victory to force game three. LSU sealed the series with an all-around impressive 14-4 win to claim the national title. Johnson says he’s proud of how his team fought through adversity on and off the field. 

Cut 15

LSU set a College World Series record with 24 hits and starting pitcher Thacher Hurd had a stellar performance striking out 7 in 6 innings. He only allowed 2 hits, both of which came in the first inning.

The College World Series title comes in coach Jay Johnson’s second season with the Tigers and just in time for many LSU veterans who are not expected to return to the Tigers next season. Graduate student and Louisiana native Cade Beloso has spent 5 seasons with the Tigers and came up massive as the DH for the Tigers throughout the CWS. Beloso said this was a dream come true…

Cut 3

Juniors Paul Skenes, Dylan Crews, Crews. Tre Morgan, and Jordan Thompson are all expected to go in this year’s MLB Draft. Thompson struggled throughout the postseason with just one hit in the C-W-S before the final game and two costly errors in game 2 of the championship series. Coach Jay Johnson sat down with him before the game

Cut 4

Thompson batted in three runs with two hits in the final game of the series 

The LSU Tigers are once again national champions of college baseball after beating Florida 18 to 4. The party began when freshman Gavin Guidry struck out the final hitter of the night….
cut 18 (17) “…crowd cheers”
That’s how it sounded on the LSU Sports Radio Network. The victory completes a special season that started with LSU ranked as the number one team in the country. Coach Jay Johnson guided the ship and leaned on veteran players like Cade Beloso….
cut 13 (14) “…promise that”
Johnson wins a national title in just his second season as head coach.

Paul Skenes was named the Most Outstanding Player of the College World Series. But he didn’t even pitch in the championship Series. Thatcher Hurd was terrific last night as he struck out seven in six innings for eighth win of the season.

At the plate, the Tigers had a College World Series record 24 hits. Dylan Crews finished off his legendary career with four hits, three runs and an RBI. The Golden Spikes Award winner can now say he’s a national champion….
cut 14 (14) “….that’s good”
After struggling to hit with runners in scoring position, LSU was 11 for 23 with runners in scoring position in last night’s rout. The bottom of the order was a key. The struggling Jordan Thompson had two hits and drove in three runs. Josh Pearson from West Monroe hit his fourth home run of the season.

The 2023 LSU baseball season comes down to tonight as LSU and Florida face off at 6 PM with the winner claiming a national championship. A big question is will Paul Skenes pitch on three days rest? Coach Jay Johnson had this to say after yesterday’s blowout loss….
cut 15 (14) “….ten days”
And LSU’s most reliable pitcher out of the bullpen Riley Cooper is questionable as he was not at yesterday’s game because of a stomach virus. ESPN Baton Rouge radio talk show host Charles Hanagriff says LSU needs Cooper tonight…
Cut 13 (11) “…big deal man”
Florida is the home team.

All-state Quarterback Daniel Beale from Catholic High in Baton Rouge has committed to the Ragin Cajuns. He’s six-foot-two, 190 pounds and is coming off a season in which he threw for 26-hundred yards and 38 touchdowns. Beale also has offers from Tulane, Louisiana Tech, Houston and Memphis.

Ouachita Christian star Tate Hamby has committed to Vanderbilt. He projects as a safety in college. He’s also a state champ in the long jump.

Former Ragin Cajuns pitcher Spencer Arrighetti continues to move up in the Houston Astros farm system. The 23-year-old has been promoted from Double-A Corpus Christi to Triple-A Sugar Land. At Corpus Christi, he had a 4.15 ERA and 79 strikeouts and 23 walks in 60.2 innings pitched.

The SEC announced the home and away opponents for men’s basketball teams for the 2023-24 league schedule. The Tigers home and away opponents are Alabama, Arkansas, Texas A-and-M, Georgia and Vanderbilt. LSU will host Kentucky, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Missouri. They will go on the road to play Auburn, Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee.