Friday’s injury report for the Saints looks really good. Everyone was a full participant, except for wide receiver Simmie Cobbs. Cobbs has been ruled out, but banged up offensive linemen, Jermon Bushrod, Terron Armstead, Ryan Ramczyk, Larry Warford and Andrus Peat were not limited at pratice at all on Friday.

Saints running back Alvin Kamara says having a healthy Ted Ginn Junior at wide receiver will be a boost to the offense…
cut 14 (10) “…missing”
Ginn has missed all but five games this season with a knee injury, but he’s been a full participant at practice this week.

The NFC Divisional round playoffs get underway Saturday. The first game has the upset minded Colts at Kansas City, while Chargers, who have played well on the road this season are at New England.

The Pelicans begin a five-game road trip on Saturday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves. New Orleans has won three in a row, to improve its record to 20-and-22. After Minnesota, the Pels will visit the Clippers, the Warriors, the Trail Blazers and then the road trip concludes on January 21st against Memphis.

In baseball, former LSU Tiger DJ LeMahieu is now a Yankee. LeMahieu has reportedly signed a two-year deal with the Bronx Bombers and will be asked to play third, second and first base in New York.

Astros All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman is recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow to relieve pain associated with bone chips. The procedure on the former LSU star is expected to limit him when Spring Training starts next month, but Bregman wrote on Twitter he’ll be ready for the regular season.

The LSU men’s basketball team will look to improve to 2-0 in SEC play when they visit Arkansas for a 5 PM tip-off. The Razorbacks are one and one in league play after losing to Florida on Wednesday.

When the Saints meet the Eagles on Sunday in the NFC Divisional Playoff round, it marks the return of fan favorite Darren Sproles. The 35-year-old Sproles has battled injuries the last two seasons, but saw a lot of playing time in the upset win over Chicago in the wild card round. Quarterback Drew Brees and Sproles played together in both San Diego and New Orleans and Brees has the utmost respect for the electric running back…
cut 17 (17) “…me better”
The Saints traded Sproles to Philadelphia after the 2013 season and at the time, Sproles was not happy about the trade.

The divisional round of the playoffs begin tomorrow, the Colts are in Kansas City to face the Chiefs and then Saturday night, Dallas faces the Los Angeles Rams.

Astros All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman is recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow to remove loose bodies. The procedure on the former LSU star is expected to limit him when Spring Training starts next month.

In the NBA, the Pelicans begin a five-game road trip tomorrow in Minnesota. New Orleans has won three in a row, but are three games back of the Lakers for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Louisiana Tech released its football schedule for 2019. The Bulldogs start the season against Texas. The Longhorns could be a team ranked in the Top 10. The home opener will be September 7th at home against Grambling State. The Bulldogs will have a tough end to the season, after a bye on November 2nd, they’ll host North Texas and then travel to Marshall and U-A-B and finish the 2019 regular season campaign against U-T-S-A.

College hoops last night, tough loss for ULM last night as Tookie Brown hit a three-pointer as time expired to help Georgia Southern beat the Warhawks 79-78. The loss spoiled another good performance from Daishon Smith, who scored 27 points and had six rebounds and five assists.

The Ragin Cajuns also lost in the Peach State as Georgia State beat UL Lafayette 89-76.

Louisiana Tech defeated UAB 64-53. JaColby Pemberton had a career-high 17 points.

There are a couple of former Saints on that Eagles team that will be in the Superdome on Sunday to face the New Orleans Saints. Running back Darren Sproles is a weapon on offense for Philadelphia and on defense, safety Malcom Jenkins has been holding down a secondary hit with injuries. Saints Q-B Drew Brees says Jenkins has flourished since leaving the Crescent City after the 2013 season…
cut 18 (17) “…lined up”
Saints offensive tackle Terron Armstead is hopeful he’ll play on Sunday. Armstead is trying to play with a torn pectoral muscle and was limited in practice yesterday. Several members of the O-line were also limited. Defensive end Alex Okafor practiced in full after he was limited on Wednesday.

Gov. Edwards has issued a state of emergency declaration due to flooding concerns along rivers. Deputy director of GOHSEP Casey Tingle says more rain is in the forecast tonight…
cut 4 (09) “…period of time”
The eight parishes included in the declaration are Beauregard, Bossier, Caddo, Calcasieu, Catahoula, Rapides, St. Tammany, and Washington.

A study shows the University of Louisiana System contributes 10.9 billion dollars to the state’s economy. The report shows that one out of 18 jobs in the state are supported by the universities of Louisiana. UL System President Jim Henderson says it’s evidence the system produces a large return on investment.
Cut 7 (12) “…fantastic”

State health officials are seeking a pharmaceutical partner as a part of a plan to purchase drugs at a lower cost that can treat hepatitiis C, which is a disease that damages the liver and can lead to death. At least 39-thousand people in Louisiana’s Medicaid program and prison system suffer from hepaititis C infection. Alex Billioux with the state office of public health says part of the plan includes increased training for primary care physicians, aimed at helping them identify patients who may be infected.
Cut 15 (09) “…Hepatitis C.”
The state hopes to have a contract in place by July.

The Sean Payton era Saints are an undefeated 5-0 at home for the playoffs, and fans and the players are getting hyped for the Sunday Dome showdown with the reigning champion Philadelphia Eagles. Payton says quarterback Drew Brees lives for playing on the big stage.
Cut 16 (15) “…make him special.”
Brees is 7-6 for his career in the playoffs, averaging 323 passing yards and over two touchdowns per game.

To give the players a little bit more motivation, during a team meeting on Monday, Payton showed off the Vince Lombardi Trophy the Saints won in 2009 plus 201-thousand dollars in cash. That represents the bonus each player will receive for winning the Super Bowl. Payton told the players, if you want this, win three more games.

There is a vacancy on LSU Coach Ed Orgeron’s staff. Jerry Sullivan has announced his retirement. Orgeron has called Sullivan one of the most respected wide receiver coaches in football. He was an assisant at LSU from 1984-90 and then joined Orgeron’s staff as a consultant in 2017 and then elevated to senior offensive assistant and passing game coordinator for 2018.

LSU baseball is ranked number one in another preseason poll. Perfect Game has the Tigers on the top of their ranking. Collegiate Baseball also has LSU ranked number one.

Both the Saints and Eagles return to the practice field as they get ready for their NFC divisional matchup on Sunday in the Superdome. A big key in Philadelphia’s upset win over the Bears in the wild card round was the play of the Eagles offensive line, which shut down one of the best defensive players in the game, Khalil Mack. Philly offensive coordinator Mike Groh says after putting Chicago to bed he believes his guys can match up against the Saints best pass rusher Cam Jordan…
cut 18 (19) “….make it”

Saints NFC South Rival, Tampa Bay, has found a new head coach. Bruce Arians is coming out of retirement to coach Jameis Winston and the Bucs.

LSU tipped off SEC play with an 88-79 win over Alabama last night. Tremont Waters led the way with 19 points and seven assists and Javonte Smart came off the bench to score 15 points. Coach Will Wade liked what Smart brought to the game….
cut 20 (16) “…of the season”
Kavell Bigby-Williams also played well as he had 14 points and 13 rebounds, plus five blocked shots. The Tigers are at Arkansas on Saturday.

Details have emerged regarding the duck hunting accident in Mississippi that resulted in the amputation of former LSU offensive lineman Matt Branch’s leg. The Clarion Ledger reports Branch left his loaded shotgun in the bed of his pickup truck and a dog jumped onto the truck bed, accidentally pulling the trigger. Branch was shot in the left thigh and is expected to recover. He played for the Tigers from 2008 to 2011.

The Philadelphia Eagles will arrive later this week in New Orleans looking to redeem themselves after a blowout 48-7 loss to the Saints in November. The two teams meet Sunday in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs. Eagles Head Coach Doug Pederson says their initial loss to the Saints was embarrassing, but they have improved since then…
Cut 16 (15) “…yesterday”
Both teams will practice today and we’ll get our first injury reports of the week.

Elsewhere in the NFL, Tampa Bay has found a new head coach as 66-year-old Bruce Arians has come out of retirement to return to the head coaching ranks. Arians was the head coach at Arizona for five seasons and led the Cardinals to three double-digit win seasons.

Despite an eleven-day lay-off, the LSU men’s basketball team showed no signs of rust last night in their SEC Opener as they led by as many as 19 points in the second half and held on for an 88-79 win over Alabama. Tremont Waters had 19 points and seven assists, but Coach Will Wade says the difference in the game was six-foot-11 Oregon transfer Kavell Bigby-Williams, who hit season highs in points and rebounds, with 14 points, 13 boards and five blocked shots…
cut 20 (07) “…more games”
The Tigers improve to 11-and-3 on the season and will look to go to 2-0 in the SEC when they visit Arkansas on Saturday.

The college football season ended last night with Clemson winning its second title in three years as the Tigers took down Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide 44-16 in Santa Clara, California. Next year the national title game will be in New Orleans on January 13th.

Sugar Bowl Chief Operating Officer Jeff Hundley anticipates a 300-million dollar economic impact for the city…
cut 14 (06) “…destination”
Usually, when New Orleans hosts the college football national title game, LSU is in the contest. That was the case in 2012 and 2008. The Tigers finished 2018 ranked number six in the AP Poll, their best ranking to finish a season since 2011.

For the first time since November, the Pelicans have won two in a row. New Orleans defeated Memphis 114 to 95 as Anthony Davis had 36 points and 13 rebounds.

The Saints beat the Eagles 48-7 in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in November. But New Orleans Coach Sean Payton expects a much tougher game when the two teams meet again on Sunday in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs…
cut 18 (17) “….Super Bowl champions”
Kick-off is at 3:40.

LSU basketball returns from an 11-day lay off to face Alabama in the SEC Opener for the Tigers. So what did the Bayou Bengals do during the extended break, Coach Will Wade explains…
cut 20 (18) :”…every day”
Tip off is at 8 PM.

Finally, It was Alabama on the receiving end of a beating last night as the Clemson Tigers took it to the Tide in the national championship game. Former Jennings standout Travis Etienne scored three touchdowns as Clemson rolled Alabama 44-16. It’s the first time a team beat Bama by 14 points since 2007.

Next year, the college football championship game will be in New Orleans. Jeff Hundley is the Chief Operating Officer of the Sugar Bowl and he says the finale of the college football playoffs has resulted in a 300-million dollar economic impact for the host cities…
cut 14 (06) “…..a destination city”
The championship game will be January 13th.

The Pelicans have hit the halfway point of the NBA with a 19-and-22 record. They won their second straight last night, beating Memphis 114 to 95. Anthony Davis had 36 points and 15 rebounds. Frank Jackson added 17 points off the bench.

LSU returns from an 11-day lay off to face Alabama in the SEC Opener for the Tigers. So what did the Bayou Bengals do during the extended break, Coach Will Wade explains…
cut 20 (18) :”…every day”
LSU has won 15 straight in the PMAC, but Avery Johnson has won five straight over LSU and is 5-and-1 against the Tigers since taking over as the head coach in Tuscaloosa in 2015.

In college hoops last night…Alabama A-and-M defeated Grambling 65-60 in overtime. Texas Southern topped Southern 77-67.

In colelge football, LSU’s straight nose Breiden Fehoko says he’s coming back for his senior season, because in a Twitter post he says the future is bright for the Tigers. Fehoko is also urging defensive end Rashard Lawrence to come back for his senior season.

The Saints will welcome back Philadelphia to the Superdome this Sunday for an NFL divisional round playoff game. The Eagles upset the Chicago Bears 16-15 yesterday as quarterback Nick Foles rebounded from two interceptions in the first half to throw two touchdowns in the second half.

The Eagles and Saints will meet for a second time this season at 3:40 on Sunday. New Orleans smashed Philly 48-7 in the Superdome in November. Eagles coach Doug Pederson expects a much closer contest this time…
Cut 18 (13) great atmosphere”
Philadelphia offensive tackle Jason Peters says the Black and Gold ran up the score on them the first time around and they wanted to play them again. The oddsmakers like the Saints to win big as the Black and Gold is a nine point favorite to advance to the NFC Championship game.

And for the fourth time in four years, Clemson and Alabama face off. Tonight it’s in the national championship game. The Crimson Tide beat the Tigers 24-6 in last year’s Sugar Bowl. Kick-off tonight is at 7:15.

The Pelicans have a chance to get on a winning streak this week as they’ll face three teams that have losing records. New Orleans, who is 18-22, will host 19-and-22 Memphis tonight at the Smoothie King Center. Wednesday, Cleveland, who has the worst record in the league, visits New Orleans. On Saturday, the Pels head to Minnesota, who just fired head coach Tom Thibodeau.

The LSU men’s basketball team will return to the hardwood tomorrow after an 11-day lay off. The Tigers will host Alabama in the SEC opener. The Crimson Tide started its conference schedule by upsetting 13th ranked Kentucky 75-73.

ULM is one of three teams to start Sun Belt play with a 2-0 record as the Warhawks defeated Arkansas State 85-75. Daishon Smith had 24 points. ULM is at Georgia Southern on Saturday.

Grambling and Southern both lost in their SWAC openers. They play again tonight. The Tigers are at Alabama A-and-M, while Southern hosts Texas Southern