The Pelicans introduced their new acquisitions Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and Derrick Favors to the media and all four of them expressed how much they are looking forward to playing in New Orleans. Hart played two seasons in L-A and is excited to see this young team grow in the Big Easy…
cut 18 (23) “…part of it”
Hart says after he was traded to New Orleans in the Anthony Davis deal, he called Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin and told Griff he did not want to be traded from the Pelicans.

In college football, Southern is picked to win the SWAC Western Division, while Grambling is picked to finish third.

SEC Media Days in Hoover are halfway through. Yesterday, Texas A-and-M Coach Jimbo Fisher and three of his players made the rounds with reporters. Aggies Quarterback Kellen Mond and had a lot to say. One, he believes he’s the best quarterback in the SEC and had this to say about their seven overtime victory over the Tigers last November…
cut 20 (25) “…seven overtimes”
If you remember Mond threw an interception late in the fourth quarter, but the play was overturned after review.

Louisiana Tech is picked to finish third in the Conference USA West Division according to a poll of media members.

A lot of talk surrounding LSU this offseason has been centered on the offense and returning starter Joe Burrow at quarterback and new passing game coordinator Joe Brady. But at S-E-C Media Days, Coach Ed Orgeron says the Tigers have the best group of defensive backs he’s ever coached in 35 years. And the old D-Line coach plans to work more with the defensive line this season
cut 17 (24) “those guys”
LSU sophomore cornerback Kelvin Joseph reportedly reentered the NCAA transfer portal. Orgeron said on Monday he expects freshman cornerback Derek Stingley to start this season.

Louisiana Tech is picked to finish third in the Conference USA West Division according to a poll of media members. North Texas is the preseason favorite to win the West, with Southern Miss coming in second place. Marshall is the preseason favorite to win the east.

SWAC Media Days are today in Birmingham. Representing Southern is Coach Dawson Odums and offensive lineman Jodeci Harris and linebacker Calvin Lunkins. Grambling Coach Broderick Fobbs is back for his sixth season. He’s joined by wide receiver Quintin Guice and linebacker De’Andre Hogues. Fobbs expects Hogues game to step up now that two-time SWAC Defensive M-V-P De’Arius Christmas has moved on…
cut 30 (18) “…further ahead”
Grambling’s season opener is August 31st at ULM.

LSU Football Coach Ed Orgeron told hundreds of reporters at SEC Media Days that the Tigers will be running a spread offense and it’s not a threat, as he’s seen the playbook. Orgeron says the playbook also calls for quarterback Joe Burrow to run the football…
Cut 16 (25) “be physical”
Burrow was a big hit at SEC Media Days. He joked with reporters that the atmosphere at Tiger Stadium could change now that SEC schools are allowed to sell alcohol in general seating areas…
cut 29 (11) “…beings”

Louisiana Tech cornerback Amik Robertson has been named to the 2019 Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List, which goes to the College Defensive Player of the Year. Robertson is entering his junior season. The Thibodaux native had 61 tackles, 7.5 tackles for a loss, four interceptions and 12 pass break-ups in 2018.

Today is SWAC Media Day. Grambling’s Broderick Fobbs along with wide receiver Quintin Guice and linebacker De’Andre Hodges will speak with reporters today. Southern’s Dawson Odum has with him, offensive lineman Jodeci Harris and linebacker Calvin Lunkins.

Sun Belt Media Day is next week in New Orleans. Representing the Ragins Cajuns are coach Billy Napier, along with wide receiver Jarrod Jackson and defensive back Deuce Wallace. ULM will have Coach Matt Viator, quarterback Caleb Evans and defensive lineman Donald Louis.

The Pelicans have announced the signing of J-J Redick.

LSU is taking its turn at SEC Media Days today in Hoover, Alabama. Quarterback Joe Burrow showed up wearing roadrunner socks and talked about playing at LSU compared to his former school Ohio State…
cut 30 (37) “…human beings”
Burrow also says he no longer eats salads in public in Louisiana, because he would get made fun of for eating salads.

Longtime Ruston Daily Leader sports editor Buddy Davis passed away over the weekend at the age of 72. Lousiana Tech sports information director Malcolm Butler says Davis spent five decades covering sports in Lincoln Parish
Cut 10 (08) “…national standpoint.”
Davis covered icons like Terry Bradshaw and Karl Malone, the great Louisiana Tech women’s basketball teams and Eddie Robinson and his championship Grambling State football teams.

Louisiana Tech has two players on the 2019 Conference USA Football Coaches all-conference preseason team. Cornerback Amik Robertson has made the preseason team for a second straight season. Last year, he had four interceptions and 12 pass break ups. Junior wide receiver Adrian Hardy has also received preseason all-confernece votes after catching 75 passes for 1,145 yards and six touchdowns.

Today begins SEC Media Days as LSU is one of three schools that will go before the hundreds of reporters that will jam the Hyatt Regency Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Alabama. Coach Ed Orgeron will be asked about his offense and you can expect a response like this…
cut 30 (14) “…this team”
Alabama is once again the preseason favorite to win the SEC West. Braden Gall covers college football for Athlon Sports and ESPN-U Radio and says LSU matches up better than it has with the Crimson Tide and he says Auburn is another team to watch in the always difficult SEC West…
cut 9 (10) “…who knows”

The Pelicans run in the summer league ended last night with an 88-86 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies in Las Vegas. Trevon Bluiett had 16 points, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Marcos Louzada Silva each had 14 points. For the game, the Pels shot just 37-percent from the floor.

Memphis will go on to play Minnesota in the Summer League Championship game. The Timberwolves cut down the Nets 85-77 as former LSU Tiger Naz Reid had 20 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots.

Longtime Lincoln Parish sports reporter O-K Buddy Davis passed away over the weekend at the age of 72. La Tech athletics director Tommy McClelland says Buddy Davis put Louisiana Tech athletics on the map with his stories that he began writing over five decades ago. Davis also covered Eddie Robinson’s legendary football teams at Grambling State and received criticism for it, because he was a white man reporting on a historically black school.

A Connecticut TV station is reporting that the father of former LSU basketball star Tremont Waters was found dead in a Super Eight motel in West Haven, Connecticut. Police found 49-year-old Ed Waters unresponsive at around 12:04 in the afternoon on Thursday. Tremont Waters was recently drafted in the second round by the Boston Celtics and played for the Celtics summer league team yesterday, scoring eight points and dishing out nine assists.

The Pelicans next Summer League game is Saturday at 5:30 central time when they take on Miami in the quarterfinals. New Orleans is a four-seed.

Former McNeese head basketball coach Dave Simmons is returning to Natchitoches as an assistant coach for Northwestern State. Simmons was an assistant for seven seasons under Mike McConathy before he took the head coaching job at McNeese and lasted at McNeese for 12 seasons.

Nicholls landed 11 players on the preseason All-Southland Conference team, including quarterback Chase Fourcade.

Saints rookie defensive end Carl Granderson was sentenced to six months in jail after a judge in Casper, Wyoming rejected a plea agreement in an alleged sexual assault case. Granderson’s attorney and prosecutors agreed that the 22-year-old should receive one year of unsupervised probation and a mental health evaluation. But a district judge said no. Two Wyoming University female students claim Granderson sexually touched them while they slept at his apartment.

Former LSU pitcher Jared Poche has decided to retire from professional baseball. Poche left LSU as the school’s all-time winningest pitcher with 39 victories. The former Lutcher star was having a rough season with the Oakland A’s minor league team in Stockton, California, 0-6 with an 8.53 ERA. In a social media post, Poche said it was an absolute pleasure to play the game as long as he did in front of the greatest fans in the game.

The second half of the Major League Baseball season got underway last night with the Rangers blanking the Astros five-zip.

A wild NBA offseason got a little more wild last night as Oklahoma City traded former MVP Russell Westbrook to Houston to join up with another former MVP James Harden. In return, O-K-C receives Chris Paul and draft picks. The Thunder are expected to trade Paul, possibly to Miami.

The Pelicans next Summer League game is Saturday at 5:30 central time when they take on Miami in the quarterfinals. New Orleans is a four-seed.

Saints rookie defensive end Carl Granderson was sentenced to six months in jail after a judge in Casper, Wyoming rejected a plea agreement in an alleged sexual assault case. Granderson’s attorney and prosecutors agreed that the 22-year-old should receive one year of unsupervised probation and a mental health evaluation. But a district judge said no. Two Wyoming University female students claim Granderson sexually touched them while they slept at this apartment.

Former LSU pitcher Jared Poche has decided to retire from professional baseball. Poche left LSU as the school’s all-time winningest pitcher with 39 victories. The former Lutcher star was having a rough season with the Oakland A’s minor league team in Stockton, California, 0-6 with an 8.53 ERA. In a social media post, Poche said it was an absolute pleasure to play the game as long as he did in front of the greatest fans in the game.

La Tech is losing its hitting coach to Southern Miss. Travis Creel is returning to his alma mater after three seasons with the Bulldogs. This past year, Tech was third in the Conference USA in hitting with a team average of .280.

The second half of the Major League Baseball season got underway last night with the Rangers blanking the Astros five-zip. Houston’s Alex Bregman left in the third inning after taking a nasty hop off the chin.

Nicholls landed 11 players on the preseason All-Southland Conference team, including quarterback Chase Fourcade.

It looks like Saints rookie defensive end Carl Granderson will not report to training camp later this month. That’s because he’s been sentenced to serve six months in jail immediately in a sexual battery case. Two female Wyoming University students accused Granderson of touching them sexually why they slept at his apartment in 2018. Granderson’s plea agreement in the case was rejected by the judge who ordered that his six-month sentence begin immediately.

The NFL has announced its roster of officials and the seven refs who worked the controversial NFC Championship game are listed as among the 122 officials for the 2019 season.

The Pelicans improved to 3-and-1 in Summer League Action with a 99-78 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers last night. Nickeil Alexander-Walker led the way with 26 points, five rebounds and six assists. Jaxson Hayes had 13 points.

The Southland Conference announced its preseason All-Conference football team today. Nicholls quarterback Chase Fourcade is on the first team, he’s joined by his team teammate, wide receiver Dai’Jean Dixon and offensive lineman P-J Burkhalter and punter Winston Jones. Southeastern Louisiana has two players on the offensive first team, tight end Bransen Schwebel and wide receiver Juwan Petit-Frere. Nicholls also has four players on the first team all-conference defensive team. Sully Laiche, Even Veron, Allen Pittman and Darren Evans.

LSU’s all-time winningest pitcher Jared Poche has announced he’s retiring from professional baseball. The 24-year-old left-hander from Lutcher has struggled this season in Stockton, California, the home of the A’s Class-A affiliate. He’s 0-6 with an 8.53 ERA. During his career as a Tiger he won 39 games.

Former LSU Tiger Josh Smith has signed his contract with the New York Yankees, who selected him in the second. His contract is worth an estimated 967-thousand dollars.

The Pelicans improved to 3-and-1 in Summer League Action with a 99-78 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers last night. Nickeil Alexander-Walker led the way with 26 points, five rebounds and six assists. Jaxson Hayes had 13 points and seven rebounds. Former LSU Tiger Kavell Bigby-Williams came off the bench to score 13 points and grab six rebounds.

At the ESPY’s last night, Saints Quarterback Drew Brees took home the award for Best Record-Breaking Performance. It was on Monday night football when Brees surpaassed Peyton Manning as the N-F-L’s all-time leading passer. He did it with a 62-yard touchdown pass.

Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson received an ESPY for best college athlete.

North Carolina State has received a notice of allegations from the NCAA regarding the Wolfpack’s recruitment of former star player Dennis Smith Junior.

SEC Media Days begin on Monday and LSU has announced quarterback Joe Burrow, safety Grant Delpit and center Lloyd Cushenberry will join Coach Ed Orgeron in speaking with the hundreds of reporters that will be packed into the Hyatt Regency Birminngham-Winfrey Hotel.

Tiger Rag Editor James Moran reports that LSU baseball has signed two more infielders, Zach Arnold from California and Zack Mathis, who hit .351 with 10 home runs and 66 RBIs at a JUCO school in California last season. Moran says Arnold and Mathis provide much-needed depth in the infield…
cut 30 (18) “…at shortstop”
Arnold originally signed to play for Oregon, while Mathis was headed to Cal State Northridge, but were granted a release from their National Letters of Intent because of coaching changes.

SEC Media Days begin on Monday and LSU announced today that quarterback Joe Burrow, safety Grant Delpit and center Lloyd Cushenberry will join Coach Ed Orgeron in speaking with the hundreds of reporters that will be packed into the Hyatt Regency Birminngham-Winfrey Hotel.

The Pelicans summer league team is in action tonight as they will face the Cleveland Cavaliers. Zion Williamson remains out with a bruised knee, but we get another chance to see Jaxson Hayes. The former Texas star had an eye-popping performance in his summer league debut on Monday night in a blowout win over the Bulls. Tip off tonight is at 6:30.

Former LSU standout Tremont Waters has signed a two-way deal with the Celtics, who took him in the second round. That means the 21-year-old will spend most of next season playing for the Maine Red Claws, but he’ll get a chance to spend a maximum of 45 days with the Celtics.

LSU baseball has confirmed the hiring of former Tulane hitting coach Eddie Smith as the Tigers new hitting coach. The Green Wave are coming off a great year at the plate as they lead the American Athletic Conference in several categories.

Tiger Rag Editor James Moran reports that LSU has also signed two more infielders, Zach Arnold from California and Zack Mathis, who hit .351 with 10 home runs and 66 RBIs at a JUCO school in California last season. Moran says Arnold and Mathis provide much-needed depth in the infield…
cut 30 (18) “…at shortstop”
Arnold originally signed to play for Oregon, while Mathis was headed to Cal State Northridge, but were granted a release from their National Letters of Intent because of coaching changes.