Louisiana Tech finally returns to the field tonight to face North Texas. It’s the Bulldogs first game in 33 days after four of their games were either postponed or cancelled because of COVID-19 related issues in November. Coach Skip Holtz admits this is like playing a season opener again…
cut 17 (16) “…of the game”
The Bulldogs are 4-and-3, while North Texas is three and four. U-N-T also had a stretch this year where they didn’t play a game for 35 days.

For the second time in three weeks, the Saints will play the Falcons, this time in Atlanta this Sunday . New Orleans won the first meeting 24-9. Starting cornerback Janoris Jenkins and rookie receiver Marquez Callaway did not practice yesterday because of injuries.

After playing in 24 games last season as a rookie, Zion Williamson is looking to be more comfortable in his second season. Williamson says he enters year two feeling great both mentally and physically…
cut 18 (11) “…year two.”
Williamson says he doesn’t want any minute or playing restrictions. He’s also expected to play more small forward this season, so staying in shape will be critical for Zion.

In college basketball, last night, a good game in New Orleans as the Ragin Cajuns edged UNO 66-63 for their seventh straight win over the Privateers. Mylik Wilson scored a game-high 21 points.

Southeastern Louisiana won at the buzzer last night as they rallied to beat California Baptist 81-80. Sophomore Isaiah Kirby banked in the game-winner with less than a second left.

Dru Kuxhausen scored 28 points as McNeese crushed Dallas Christian 140-37.

LSU’s offensive line is trying to fix the issues that led to pass protection problems in the loss to Texas A&M last Saturday. Tigers offensive guard Ed Ingram says they are spending a lot of time this week watching the film of the Crimson Tide’s defense…
cut 18 (16) “…myself.”
LSU will host number one ranked Alabama on Saturday. Crimson Tide Coach Nick Saban missed the Iron Bowl last weekend after testing positive for COVID-19. But the 69-year-old is expected to be back on the sidelines for the game against LSU…
cut 30 (11) “…on Saturday”
Alabama is a big 29.5 point favorite.

Former LSU baseball coach and athletics director Skip Bertman is reportedly in the hospital with a bad cold. Bertman tells WAFB-TV in Baton Rouge he has tested negative for COVID-19 and pneumonia.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says there are no plans to put playoff teams in a bubble in one location. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter Goodell feels strong that the protocols they have in place are working and they are willing to adjust and adapt to those protocols.

The NBA released its schedule for Christmas Day and for the second straight year the Pelicans will play on December 25th. New Orleans will visit Miami for an 11 AM tip-off. It will be a busy day for Louisiana sports fans as the Saints are also scheduled to host Minnesota on Christmas Day.

Louisiana Tech football play its first football game in a month tomorrow night against North Texas. The Bulldogs have also scheduled a new game with T-C-U and it will be played next Saturday in Fort Worth.

LSU will face number one Alabama without its best receiver as Terrace Marshall has decided to opt-out the remainder of the season and will get ready for the NFL draft.  LSU offensive lineman Ed Ingram says he supports Marshall’s decision.

Cut 19 (12) “for him”

The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs will resume their football season tomorrow as they will be on the road to take on North Texas.  It will be the Bulldogs’ first game since their 27-24 victory over UAB on Halloween.

Ragin Cajuns senior Levi Lewis is one of 25 quarterbacks to named to the Davey O’Brien Quarterback Class of 2020.  During the 2020 season, Lewis has thrown for 2,027 yards and 16 touchdowns, while rushing for 233 yards and five scores.  Lewis currently ranks second in program history with 51 career touchdown passes and fourth in career passing yards.

Training camp is underway for the Pelicans and veteran Eric Bledsoe is one of the new faces.  He was acquired from Milwaukee in a four-team trade that sent fan favorite Jrue Holiday to the Bucks.  Bledsoe is entering his eleventh season and looks forward to taking on a leadership role in New Orleans.

Cut 16 (11) “I’m up for it”

Southeastern Louisiana will take on California Baptist on the road at 9 p.m.  The Lions are currently 0-3 after a loss to LSU and they will play their fourth road game of the season tonight.

The Ragin Cajuns men’s basketball team will head out to the Big Easy to take on the UNO Privateers tonight at 7 p.m.  The Cajuns are 0-1 after playing number one ranked Baylor, while UNO is 0-2.

Nicholls State fell to Saint Mary’s 73-50 as they drop to 2-3 on the season.  After a 2-0 start to the season, the Colonels have struggled offensively for a third straight game as their shooting woes continue.  The red and gray have averaged just 52 points per game in the last three contests, while shooting 32 percent.

Louisiana Tech is set to leave today for Denton, Texas where they’ll finally play a football game against North Texas tomorrow night. The Bulldogs have not played since beating UAB in double overtime on Halloween. Since then they’ve had four games postponed or canceled because of COVID. Tech has also announced they’ve added a game for next week against T-C-U at Fort Worth.

It’s unclear who will start at quarterback for LSU on Saturday when they host number one ranked Alabama. TJ Finley struggled in the loss to the Aggies last Saturday. Linebacker Jabril Cox says the veterans on the team are doing what they can to support Finley and Max Johnson…
cut 20 (17) “…always are.”
The Tigers are 29.5 point underdogs on Saturday to the Crimson Tide.

Training camp is underway for the Pelicans and they expected to be better on defense this season with the acquisitions of veteran guard Eric Bledsoe and the six-foot-eleven Steven Adams from New Zealand. Bledsoe has been a proven starter and says he’ll do whatever he can to help the team win…
cut 17 (14) “….to help”
It looks like the Pelicans will be part of the NBA’s Christmas Day lineup for a second straight season. There are reports New Orleans will play Miami on December 25th at 11 AM. Later that day, the Saints are set to host Minnesota at the Superdome at 3:30.

Tonight in college basketball, the Ragin Cajuns are at UNO. McNeese opens its home schedule by hosting Dallas Christian tonight. And last night Nicholls ended its west coast road trip with a 73-50 loss to St. Mary’s.

A struggling LSU football team is preparing to face number one ranked Alabama on Saturday night in Tiger Stadium. Coach Ed Orgeron’s defense is coming off its best performance of the year, giving up just one offensive touchdown to Texas A-and-M. But Coach O says they will be tested by Alabama’s offense that’s averaging 49 points per game…
cut 20 (17) “….explosive play”
Also, Alabama Coach Nick Saban is set to return to the sidelines after missing last Saturday’s Iron Bowl because of a positive COVID-19 test.

The NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports that Saints rookie receiver Marquez Callaway sprained his knee in last Sunday’s win and could miss a little time.

The Pelicans opened training camp today and veteran Eric Bledsoe is one of the new faces. He was acquired from Milwaukee in a four-team trade that sent fan favorite Jrue Holiday to the Bucks. Bledsoe is entering his eleventh season after averaging 15 points a game last season and he looks forward to taking on a leadership role in New Orleans…
cut 16 (11) “..up for it”
Bledsoe is expected to start in the backcourt with point guard Lonzo Ball.

LSU freshman guard Cam Thomas scored 21 points as the Fighting Tigers crushed Southeastern Louisiana 96-43. Thomas hit four three-pointers and was nine of ten from the free-throw line. In his first three games, he’s averaging 24 points and shooting 44-percent from three-point territory.

Nicholls fell to 2-2 on the season as they lost to California 60-49. The Colonels finish their season-opening road trip tonight with a match-up against mid-major power St. Mary’s.

One season after winning the national title, the LSU football team is looking at its worst season in over 20 years.  Coach Ed Orgeron says no one wants to go through a season like this, but it will help build grit and character and will pay off later on.

Cut 18 (26) “young foundation”

The LSU men’s basketball team grabbed a dominant win over Southeastern Louisiana last night 96-43.  The Tigers were led in scoring by Cam Thomas who had 21 points and Trendon Watford who poured in 20 as well.  Thomas now has three straight games with at least 20 points.  The team is now 2-1 on the young season.

Pelicans All-star forward Brandon Ingram has officially re-signed a five-year contract extension worth a reported 158 million dollars.  Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin says at 23-years-old, Ingram is just scratching the surface as a basketball player.

Cut 16 (19) “spoke to us”

The Nicholls State men’s basketball team lost a tough one last night in a non-conference battle against California 60-49.  While the Colonels played well on defense, grabbing 10 steals and forcing 20 turnovers, the offense struggled, as they shot 33 percent from the floor, including 30 percent from behind the arc and 50 percent from the free throw line.  Nicholls State is 2-2 on the season and will play mid-major power Saint Mary’s tonight at 9 p.m.

After giving up 112 yards of offense to Denver on Sunday, the Saints now rank number one in the NFL in total defense. According to the NFL, it’s the first time, the Saints have ranked number one in total defense since week 8 of the 2020 season. Coach Sean Payton on the improvement of the defense since the start of this year
cut 17 (16) “…red zone.”
New Orleans is nine and two and they’ve clinched a fourth straight winning season as they get ready to visit Atlanta this Sunday for a noon kick-off.

NBA training camps open today as Zion Williamson is set to begin his second season in the league. New Orleans hopes we’ll see a healthy Williamson this year. The former number one pick only played in 24 games last season,b ut still averaged 22 points a game and shot 58-percent from the field. The Pels first pre-season game is December 14th at Miami.

LSU’s best receiver Terrace Marshall has decided to opt-out for the rest of the season as he’ll get ready for the NFL draft. Coach Ed Orgeron expects freshman tight end Arik Gilbert to become a bigger part of the passing game
cut 19 (22) “…good receivers.”
Orgeron says he’ll decide later this week on how he’ll use his two freshmen quarterbacks against top-ranked Alabama. Also, Nick Saban is expected to be on the sidelines on Saturday night after missing Alabama’s win over Auburn because of a positive COVID-19 test.

In college basketball, LSU crushed Southeastern Louisiana 96-43 last night as freshman Cam Thomas led the Tigers with 21 points.

Denver completed just one pass yesterday as the Saints won their eighth in a row beating the Broncos 31-3. None of Denver’s quarterbacks could play because of COVID concerns, so the team had to use running backs and a practice squad receiver instead. Saints Q-B Taysom Hill only threw for 78 yards, but Coach Sean Payton says the game plan was to keep the ball on the ground…
cut 15 (10) “….of that’

LSU faces a huge task this Saturday as they will host top-ranked Alabama at 7 PM. The Tigers offense struggled in a 20-7 loss to Texas A-and-M last Saturday, but at least the defense played its best game of the season. Linebacker Micah Baskerville led the way with 12 tackles…
cut 18 (18) “…getting better”

The Ragin Cajuns scored a season-high 70 points in a 70-20 win over ULM on Saturday. The 70 points are the most scored in the series history. Quarterback Levi Lewis accounted for five total touchdowns. Trey Ragas and Elijah Mitchell each rushed for over 90 yards and a touchdown. Freshman Kyren Lacy led the receivers with five catches for 48 yards and a touchdown. Coach Billy Napier’s offense produced 511 total yards…
cut 20 (20) “…in mind”
The Cajuns are up to number 20 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. -L Lafayette visits Appalachian State on Friday in a game that will be shown on ESPN at 7:30.

The Saints won their eighth straight yesterday as New Orleans took advantage of Denver’s difficult situation by beating the Broncos 31-3. Denver was not able to play with an active quarterback on its roster because of COVID concerns. Saints Quarterback Taysom Hill only threw for 78 yards as New Orleans did not risk taking many chances on offense…
cut 14 (12) “…get it”
One of the Broncos QB’s tested positive for COVID, but the NFL learned that all of the quarterbacks had a meeting where they were not wearing masks, so all the signal-callers were sent home.

The Saints have reportedly been fined and will lose a seventh-round draft pick for failing to follow the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols. The penalty is the result of Saints players dancing in the locker room after the win against Tampa Bay and not wearing masks.

LSU’s offense could not do anything in Saturday’s 20-7 loss to Texas A-and-M. Coach Ed Orgeron said numerous times in the post-game that the Tigers needed a better offensive plan…
cut 17 (17) “….better plan”
Saturday’s game turned out to be the final game in an LSU uniform for Terrace Marshall as he’s decided to opt-out.

Ragin Cajuns Quarterback Levi Lewis accounted for five touchdowns in a 70-20 win over ULM on Saturday. Coach Billy Napier says it was a good performance in their first game since November 14th…
cut 19 (21) “….Central Arkansas”
The Cajuns are at App State on Friday.

LSU takes on 5th ranked Texas A-and-M tonight at 6 PM. The Aggies are 5-and-1, second in the SEC in rushing as Isaiah Spiller is averaging 107-yards a game. A-and-M Coach Jimbo Fisher says the run game has been a key to their offensive success…
cut 17 (17) “…good to have”
The Aggies also have the most experienced quarterback in the SEC in Kellen Mond, who is a four-year starter in College Station. This season, Mond is completing 64-percent of his passes for 1,486 yards and 16 touchdowns. He’s only been intercepted twice.

ULM quarterback Jeremy Hunt is set make his first start this afternoon when the winless Warhawks host the 23rd ranked Ragin Cajuns at 2 PM. In ULM’s last game, Hunt came off the bench and threw for 339 yards and three touchdowns.

The Saints bring a seven-game winning streak to Denver and the defense is playing its best football of the season. Linebacker Kwon Alexander has been a nice addition. Coach Sean Payton says Alexander’s ability and personality allowed him to fit in well…
cut 13 (11) “…any team”
New Orleans starting offensive guard Andrus Peat will not play on Sunday as he’s out with a concussion. And the NFL is monitoring a COVID situation with the Broncos, they had one player and two staff members test positive on Friday and they canceled practice.

In the high school football playoffs, the game of the night last night was in Baton Rouge as East St. John rallied to beat Woodlawn in double overtime 35-28 in a game that was played in very sloppy conditions. Another overtime game was played in St. Martin Parish, where 10th seeded St. Martinville got past Kaplan 30-22. There was also an upset in the 3A bracket, as 20th seeded Brusly knocked off 13th seeded Carroll 10-8.