Less than a week after it was announced that Art Briles would be Hue Jackson’s offensive coordinator at Grambling, Briles decided to step down, resigning from the staff on Monday. UL System president Dr. Jim Henderson said that student safety is a priority and that the hiring of Briles sent a message that was inconsistent with the values the system has worked to promote and rules they have committed to enforce.

Cut 4 (11) “…issue to us.”

—

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred announced that the first two series of the 2022 regular season have been cancelled after the players union unanimously agreed to not accept the final offer made by the owners. Due to schedules and tickets already sold, it is unlikely those games will be made up. Opening Day was scheduled for March 31, and now the start of the season is completely up in the air. The union says that the league made very few concessions during negotiations and the two sides are still far apart on a new collective bargaining agreement. The owners locked out the players in December, but the two sides did not begin meeting until late February.

—

On the college diamond, plenty of intrastate matchups on the docket. McNeese visits Southern looking to extend its four-game win streak. Tulane drives up to Hammond to take on Southeastern. UL and Northwestern State play the first of a home-and-home series in Natchitoches. UL-M is on the road at number two Mississippi, and Louisiana Tech starts a five-game road stretch at Nicholls.

–

With only two weeks to go until Selection Sunday, the LSU women’s basketball team is in position to grab a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament based on the selection committee’s final top-16 list of the regular season. As a top-16 seed LSU would host first and second-round games at the PMAC. The Tigers have not hosted an NCAA tournament game since 2014, and haven’t been a top-16 seed since 2008.

—

Postseason basketball awards season has begun…LSU’s Khayla Pointer and Alexis Morris were both named to the All-SEC team. Pointer was selected to the first team after leading the largest single-season turnaround in SEC history for the 25-4 Tigers. She finished third in the conference in scoring and second in assists. Morris earned Second Team honors after averaging 15.8 points and 1.8 steals per game.

—

Less than a week after it was announced that Art Briles would be Hue Jackson’s offensive coordinator at Grambling, Briles has decided to step down. Briles notified the university on Monday, a school spokesperson confirmed, that he did not want to be a distraction to the team. Jackson and Grambling have been under a wave of criticism since last Thursday when the hiring was originally announced. Briles was terminated with cause by Baylor in 2016 after investigators uncovered at least 52 sexual and physical assaults committed by players that were either ignored or covered up by Briles and his staff.

—

The Sun Belt Conference is dealing with controversy on the football field of a different kind. The conference released its 2022 football schedule, and it includes Marshall, Southern Miss, and Old Dominion. The problem is that last month, Conference USA released its schedule, which included those three schools as well. The trio of programs accepted invites to join the SBC last fall, but have been in a legal battle to push their move-in date up from 2023 to now. Opening games are just six months away.

—

Southern maintained its hold on third place in both the SWAC men’s and women’s basketball standings with a doubleheader sweep of Florida A&M. The SWAC tourney begins next week.

—

Major League Baseball and the Players Association continue to try to reach a new collective bargaining agreement, having extended their negotiating deadline to save regular-season games to 5 pm ET Tuesday. The two sides met late into Monday night with talks set to resume this morning. If a deal isn’t reached, it’s likely that baseball will not be ready to go for Opening Day, currently scheduled for March 31.

—

On the college diamond, plenty of intrastate matchups on the docket. McNeese visits Southern looking to extend its four-game win streak. Tulane drives up to Hammond to take on Southeastern. UL and Northwestern State play the first of a home-and-home series in Natchitoches. UL-M is on the road at number two Mississippi, and Louisiana Tech starts a five-game road stretch at Nicholls.

—

The 20^th-ranked UL Cajuns softball team was supposed to be playing Stephen F. Austin tonight, instead, they’re off until Thursday when they host number 21 LSU at Lamson Park.

—

With only two weeks to go until Selection Sunday, the LSU women’s basketball team is in position to grab a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament based on the selection committee’s final top-16 list of the regular season. As a top-16 seed LSU would host first and second-round games at the PMAC. The Tigers have not hosted an NCAA tournament game since 2014, and haven’t been a top-16 seed since 2008.

—

Former disgraced Baylor football coach Art Briles is no longer the offensive coordinator at Grambling State. Briles has stepped down as Grambling has faced backlash for hiring him. Briles was fired by Baylor in 2016 after the Texas school learned Briles and his staff failed to alert the proper authorities about sexual assault allegations made against 19 different football players. New Grambling coach Hue Jackson attempted to defend Briles hiring saying it was about forgiveness, redemption, and enlightenment.

Former LSU cornerback Derek Stingley Junior will reportedly not participate in workouts at the NFL Draft Combine which gets underway this week in Indianapolis. Stingley continues to rehab a Lisfrank injury that forced him to miss most of his junior season. Stingley is expected to work out for scouts at LSU’s Pro Day on April sixth.

The NFL has announced that the Saints will play one of their home games in London at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. An opponent and a date has not been announced. And Saints Q-B Jameis Winston is running again after tearing his A-C-L on Halloween Day.

In the latest Collegiate Baseball Poll, LSU is ranked third, down one spot from last week. Louisiana Tech fell 10 spots to number 25 after getting swept in a doubleheader on Sunday by Tulane. Tech is at Nicholls tonight. LSU hosts UNO tomorrow. The Tigers face top-ranked Texas on Saturday night in Houston at Minute Maid Park.

The LSU women’s basketball team is up to number six in the A-P Top 25 poll. The Lady Tigers are the two seed in the SEC Tournament and will play Friday in Nashville.

Last night, Southern beat Florida A-and-M 58-49, while Bethune Cookman dribbled past Grambling 69-63.

The Pelicans are off tonight. They will host Sacramento tomorrow as they battle for a playoff play-in spot in the Western Conference.

In the girls non-select basketball championships….Hicks and Gibsland-Coleman advanced to the Class C title game and North Central beat White Castle 60-57 in a Class One-A semi-final game.

LSU’s women’s basketball team beat Tennessee in Knoxville for just the fourth time in program history, topping the Lady Vols, 57-54 Sunday, and clinched the second-seed in this week’s SEC tournament. The Tigers, now ranked fifth nationally, have won eight in a row and 10 of their last 11 ball games. Kim Mulkey says all credit goes to the players.

Cut 22 (9) “…find ways to win.”

—

LSU’s men collected their 20^th win of the season on Saturday with a 75-55 romp over Missouri at the P-MAC. The Tigers close the season with a visit to 18^th-ranked Arkansas on Wednesday, before the regular-season finale against number 24 Alabama on Saturday. It hasn’t been the smoothest path to 20 wins, but Will Wade isn’t complaining.

Cut 19 (18) “…taken it.”

—

The New Orleans Pelicans have won two in a row coming out of the All-Star break. After beating the Western Conference-leading Suns on Friday, the Pels beat the Lakers by 28 on Sunday night. CJ McCollum led six players in double figures with 22 points, with Brandon Ingram and Jonas Valanciunas adding 19 each. Ingram said the key to the Pelicans’ success has started with its defense, which has been best in the league over these last two games.

Cut 22 (14) “…to carry over.”

New Orleans hosts Sacramento on Wednesday night at the Smoothie King Center.

—

The NFL has announced that the New Orleans Saints will be playing a game across the pond during the 2022-23 season. The date and opponent have yet to be announced, but the Saints will be playing in London at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. It will be the third time the Black & Gold travels to the UK for a game. They are 2-0 in England all-time, beating the Chargers in 2008 and the Dolphins in 2017.

—

LSU climbed one spot to seventh in the D-1 baseball rankings after winning four straight this past weekend. Louisiana Tech lost 2 of 3 to Tulane, and the UL Ragin Cajuns dropped three in a row at the Round Rock Classic.

—

8^th-ranked LSU defeated number 16 Tennessee 57-54 on Sunday to close out Kim Mulkey’s spectacularly successful first regular season as coach of the Tigers. Both Jailin Cherry and Khayla Pointer posted double-doubles as LSU won its eighth game in a row and 25^th of the season. The Tigers will hold the second seed in the SEC women’s basketball tournament, where they will play either Kentucky or Mississippi State this Friday in Nashville.

—

LSU men’s basketball started the second half on Saturday night on 15-0 run and went on to beat Missouri 75-55 at the PMAC. The Tigers are 8-8 in the SEC and in a four-way tie for sixth in the standings. LSU closes out the regular season at 18^th-ranked Arkansas on Wednesday with the home finale Saturday versus 24th ranked Alabama. Will Wade is hoping his team can get hot again as the calendar flips to March.

Cut 20 (21) “…pop us”

—

Lots of action on the diamond this weekend. Louisiana Tech dropped 2 of 3 in its series against Tulane. UNO improved to 5-1 with a pair of wins over Kansas. Southeastern and UL-Monroe, took tough losses at home, and Nicholls evened its record at 4-4 with a win over Mississippi Valley. LSU outscored Towson and Southern 26-1 while taking two at the Box.

—

After spending nine seasons at Louisiana Tech, Joe Sloan is the new LSU quarterbacks coach. Sloan says he has spent his few weeks in Baton Rouge getting to know his Q-Bs…

Cut 17 (22) “…can be”

—

The New Orleans Pelicans have won two in a row since the All-Star break. Last night they lapped the Lakers 123-95. CJ McCollum scored 22 points, Brandon Ingram added 19, and Jonas Valanciunas finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds

—

The New Orleans Saints will play a game in London this season. The date is yet to be announced.

The Pelicans have looked good since returning from the All-Star Break. They cooled off the Phoenix Suns on Friday and last night they defeated a struggling Lakers team 123 to 95. CJ McCollum had 22 points, while Brandon Ingram and Jonas Valanciunas each had 19 points.

The eighth-ranked LSU women’s basketball team held on to beat 16th ranked Tennessee 57-54 yesterday. The Lady Tigers are the two seed in this week’s SEC Tournament.

LSU men’s basketball started the second half on Saturday night on 15-0 run and went on to beat Missouri 75-55 at the PMAC. The Tigers were led by Tari Eason who had 18 points in 19 minutes and they held Mizzou to 35-percent shooting from the floor. Coach Will Wade
Cut 18 (18) “ ..win for us.”

The LSU baseball team won two games yesterday beating Towson 11 to 1 and then shutting out Southern 15 to 0. Jacob Berry drove in five runs over the course of two days.

Tulane swept a doubleheader from Louisiana Tech yesterday handing the Bulldogs their first two losses of the season.

The Ragin Cajuns lost three games in Round Rock, Texas over the weekend, including a six to four defeat to second-ranked Arkansas yesterday.

After two stints as a head football coach, Frank Wilson is back with the LSU football program as associate head coach and running backs coach. Wilson was the head coach at McNeese last season and when the Cowboys played in Tiger Stadium in September, he thought about the possibility of returning to LSU
Cut 16 (20) “…serious consideration”

The New Orleans Pelicans return from the All-Star break on a winning note, after beating the Phoenix Suns, 117-102 on Friday night. CJ McCollum led all scorers with 32 points and is averaging 29 points per game since being traded to the Pels. Brandon Ingram added 28, and Jonas Valanciuanas picked up another double-double with 18 points and 17 rebounds. New Orleans pulled back to within a game of the tenth seed in the Western Conference with the win. The Pelicans wrap up their quick, two-game road trip in Los Angeles on Sunday night against the Lakers.

—

LSU got seven strong innings out of Blake Money and Dylan Crews homered, tripled, and drove in four runs, as the Tigers beat Towson 6-0 Friday night at The Box. Money allowed only two hits while striking out seven on his way to his second victory of the season. Crews smacked a two-run home run to left field in the bottom of the first to drive in Trey Morgan, giving LSU an early 2-0 lead. He closed out the scoring with a triple to right in the third that brought in two more. The 4-1 Tigers host Southern at 1:30 pm this afternoon, followed by a Sunday doubleheader.

—

John Curtis won its sixth consecutive state championship with a 67-47 victory over McKinley in the Division I state girls title game. Eighth-grader Chikae Desdunes scored 23 points to pace the Patriots, and sophomore Heaven Jordan earned Most Outstanding Player honors, and her third state championship, with 15 points, seven steals, six assists, and five rebounds.

—

The U-L Ragin Cajuns baseball squad fell to sixth-ranked Stanford, 5-1 in its first game at the Karbach Round Rock Classic in Texas. In a tough, three-game set, the Cajuns will take on Indiana today before facing number two Arkansas on Sunday.

—

On the Softball diamond, U-L bounced back from a tough loss to Alabama to grab a pair of wins Friday night on day one of Youngsville’s Mardi Gras Mambo. The 15^th-ranked Ragin Cajuns topped Eastern Illinois 3-2 in the opener before shutting out St. Thomas 10-0 in game two. Freshman Sam Landry struck out 11 on the way to completing the first no-hitter of her career.

—

In other baseball scores from around the state, Louisiana Tech beat Tulane 6-1 in the first game of their three-game series.

And in softball, number 24 LSU grabbed a pair of wins, topping Stephen F. Austin 10-4, and beating Drake 12-4 in five innings.

The New Orleans Pelicans begin the stretch run of the season on the road tonight against the Phoenix Suns. With the Pels sitting 12^th in the Western Conference standings, a game and a half behind 10^th place Portland, the focus should be on the court. But the biggest topic of discussion lately has been Zion Williamson and his future with the team. Williamson has appeared in only 85 games since 2019 but will be eligible for a $190-million extension this offseason. NOLA-dot-com Pelicans beat writer Christian Clark expects Zion to re-sign but says he’ll have to show the front office he’s healthy and ready to commit to the franchise.

Cut 18 (15) “…take the max.”

—

Fresh off their big win over LSU, Louisiana Tech opens up a three-game series against Tulane at JC Love Field Friday night. Tech is 4-0 after sweeping Wichita State and beating the Tigers. Tulane is also 4-0 with a series win over UMASS-Lowell and a 7-5 victory over Nicholls on Wednesday.

—

Led by Khayla Pointer, number eight LSU narrowly defeated Alabama at the P-MAC on Thursday night. Pointer scored 23 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and handed out eight assists for the Tigers who assured themselves of a second-place finish in the SEC. After earning nine wins all of last season, the Tigers have 11 conference wins heading into Sunday’s regular-season finale at Tennessee. Kim Mulkey is impressed and says you should be too.

Cut 21 (12) “…still number 2.”

—

The men play will be looking to snap a two-game losing streak when they host Missouri Saturday night. This will be the first meeting between the teams this season. Mizzou is 2-9 over its last 11 games and 3-10 away from home so far. LSU needs to win two of its final three games to finish .500 in the SEC. The Tigers haven’t had a losing conference record since Will Wade’s first season.

—

Former Saints head coach Sean Payton is currently engaged in negotiations with Fox Sports to join them as an analyst according to reports. It has yet to be decided whether Payton would be in-studio or in the booth, but there are rumors he could succeed Troy Aikman as the network’s lead analyst.

—

The present and future of Zion Williamson have been the hottest topics in the NBA over the past week. Speculation continues as to whether Zion will play for the New Orleans Pelicans this season, or ever again. Williamson has missed 113 games since 2019. Pelicans beat writer Christian Clark of NOLA-dot-com says with 23 games remaining in the season, he doesn’t see Zion back on the court in the near future.

Cut 16 (17) “…this season.”

New Orleans plays its first game since the All-Star break tonight on the road against the Phoenix Suns.

—

The hiring of former Baylor coach Art Briles by Grambling continues to draw attention and backlash. Yesterday, former Grambling quarterback Doug Williams said that he and James “Shack” Harris would not lend their support to the program due to the multiple allegations of Briles’ role in covering up sexual and physical assaults while in Waco. Grambling athletic director, Dr. Trayveon Scott, told ESPN that he had done his homework on Briles and is comfortable with the hiring.

—

New LSU offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock met with the media for the first time since arriving on the Baton Rouge campus in January. Job one is picking a passer. Myles Brennan is expected to be the starter at quarterback, Garrett Nussmeier also returns and incoming freshman Walker Howard is one of the top recruits in the country. Denbrock says they’ll use spring practice to evaluate all three quarterbacks…

Cut 20 (13) “…chance to win”

—

Led by Khayla Pointer, number eight LSU narrowly defeated Alabama, 58-50 at the P-MAC on Thursday night. Pointer scored 23 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and handed out eight assists for the Tigers. LSU didn’t shoot the ball that well, but didn’t have to after holding the Crimson Tide to just 34 percent shooting from the floor and forcing 18 turnovers. The Tigers close the regular season at home Sunday against 16th-ranked Tennessee.

—

The Lady Techsters topped Rice in double overtime 90-80 for their seventh win in their last 10 games. The highlight of the night was the play of Anna Larr Roberson, who poured in a career-high 44 points and tied a school record with 20 made field goals and Keuinna Walker. Walker posted the fourth triple-double in program history with 27 points, 15 boards, and 10 assists.

—

New LSU offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock met with the media for the first time since arriving on the Baton Rouge campus in January. Denbrock described what he wants an LSU offense to look like
Cut 19 (23)_“…efficiently”
Denbrock says the three scholarship quarterbacks on the roster will compete against each other in spring football.

Grambling has confirmed the hiring of former Baylor coach Art Briles as its new offensive coordinator. Briles was fired from Baylor six years ago after the university said Briles covered-up sex assault claims against his players. HBCU sports analyst Reggie Flood says it appears the university has tried to insulate new head coach Hue Jackson from an oncoming wave of criticism…
cut 11 (10) “….this hire”

The Pelicans return from the All-star break tonight to face the red-hot Suns in Phoenix. It doesn’t seem like former number one pick Zion Williamson will play this season as he’s still in Portland rehabbing a foot injury. Former teammate and fellow Duke alum JJ Reddick called Zion a detached teammate this week and Pelicans beat writer Christian Clark of NOLA-dot-com says the description is accurate…
cut 17 (19) “….needed from JJ”
Recently acquired Pelican CJ McCollum told reporters yesterday to leave the young fella alone and Zion is trying to rehab in peace.

Last night in college basketball…Louisiana Tech over Rice 83-79, Nicholls won its eighth straight as the Colonels clobbered the Northwestern State 80-62. Nicholls is now tied with UNO for first place in the Southland after Southeastern Louisiana outscored UNO 84-79. The Lions are 9-and-1 at home and host Nicholls tomorrow.