The Saints are back in Louisiana after a good week in California that concluded with a 36-7 preseason win over the Chargers. Alvin Kamara, Taysom Hill and Tre’Quan Smith scored touchdowns on offense. On defense, recently acquired defensive back Marcus Williams returned an interception 58 yards for a score. Rookie defensive end Marcus Davenport made his preseason debut and had a half-a-sack. Coach Sean Payton liked the energy…
Cut 16 (20) “…do it”
New Orleans concludes the preseason Thursday against the Los Angeles Rams.
In preseason action last night, Arizona roughed up the Cowboys 27-3. Former LSU Tiger Patrick Peterson returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown.

We should find out today, who will start at quarterback when LSU opens the season on Sunday night in Dallas against the Miami Hurricanes. Last week, Coach Ed Orgeron said the battle between Joe Burrow and Myles Brennan was close. The Tigers offense will go up against a Hurricanes defense that features three first-team All-ACC preseason picks.

Here’s the rest of the college football schedule for this week, ULM hosts Southeastern Louisiana on Thursday night. Northwestern State is at Texas A-and-M. Tulane faces Wake Forest at Yulman Stadium.

Louisiana Tech is at South Alabama. Grambling visits UL Lafayette. Southern is at 16th ranked TCU. McNeese travels to Northern Colorado, and Nicholls is at Kansas.

Former LSU pitcher Kevin Gausman won his fourth straight start as the Braves blanked the Marlins four to nothing. Gausman tossed five shutout innings and his ERA since he was traded to Atlanta is now 1.69.

LSU Football Coach Ed Orgeron says the battle to be the Tigers starting quarterback remains neck-and-neck heading into Saturday’s final scrimmage before the regular season opener…
cut 11 (11) “…and play”
Orgeron says the coaching staff will make a decision on Sunday on who will be the starter against the Miami Hurricanes.

Meanwhile, former LSU quarterback Justin McMillan has announced he’ll continue his college career at Tulane. The Green Wave already have a starter in place, Jonathan Banks. He’s a senior and McMillan has two years of eligibility left.

Northwestern State head coach Brad Laird says two quarterbacks, Clay Holgorsen and Shelton Eppler, will play in the season opener against Texas A-and-M on Thursday.

The biggest dress rehersal of the preseason takes place Saturday night for the Saints as they face the Chargers in Carson, California. Coach Sean Payton says the starters will play most of the first half and he says there’s still plenty to evaluate with just over two weeks before the regular season opener….
cut 30 (30) “…they off”
First round pick Marcus Davenport will get his first work of the preseason. He returned to practice this week after suffering a pulled groin early in camp.

LSU football has received an unexpected surprise as cornerback Kristian Fulton has been reinstated. The NCAA suspended Fulton last year for two seasons, because of drug test tampering. But Athletic Director Joe Alleva argued the rule Fulton violated called for just a one-year ban and the NCAA agreed after re-examining the case. Coach Ed Orgeron says during his time away from the football field, Fulton kept attending classes and practice and now has a chance to be a big part of the team…
Cut 10 (08) “…paid the price.”
The other big story at LSU camp is the battle for starting quarterback. A starter could be named Monday after Saturday’s final preseason scrimmage.

Saints Head Coach Sean Payton says he anticipates the starters playing into the second quarter in tomorrow night’s preseason game against the Chargers. Kick-off from Carson, California is at 7 PM.

Former LSU quarterback Justin McMillan has announced he’s transferring to Tulane. But Jonathan Banks is set to start for the Green Wave at QB this season, after starting 11 games a year ago. McMillan has two years of eligibility left.

Northwestern State is six days away from its season opener in football as the Demons visit Texas A-and-M to kickoff the 2018 season. First-year Demons head coach Brad Laird says two quarterbacks, Clay Holgorsen and Shelton Eppler, will play against the Aggies.

The LHSAA has ruled Hahnville quarterback Andrew Robison is ineligible for the 2018 season and his head coach, Nick Saltaformaggio, has been suspended for the first four games. Robison’s transfer from Vandebilt Catholic to Hahnville allegedly broke LHSAA rules. Hahnville has appealed.

It was announced today, the LSU men’s basketball team will tip off SEC play by hosting Alabama on January 8th. The Tigers will visit Kentucky February 12th.

What a great suprise for the LSU football team. Highly touted cornerback Kristian Fulton has been reinstated by the NCAA effective immediately. He was serving a two-year suspension for tampering with a drug test. Head Coach Ed Orgeron delivered the good news at his post-practice press conference…
cut 30 (10) “…proud of him”
The reason for the reinstatement, Athletic Director Joe Alleva argued Fulton actually violated a rule that carried a one-year suspension, instead of two and the NCAA agreed.

The LHSAA has suspended Hahnville head football coach Nick Saltaformaggio for the first four games of the season and Tigers Quarterback Andrew Robison has been ruled ineligible for the season. Apparently Robison’s transfer from Vandebilt Catholic to Hahnville broke LHSAA rules. Hahnville is appealing.

After mising nearly three weeks with a groin injury, Saints first round pick Marcus Davenport is back at practice. The rookie defensive end says he stayed sharp mentally during his time away from the field…
cut 29 (07) “…do it”
Head Coach Sean Payton says Davenport has some catching up to do. Davenport should see some snaps on Saturday night in the preseason game against the Chargers.

Former LSU star Aaron Nola could be the front-runner to win the NL Cy Young after outdueling Max Scherzer yesterday afternoon in Washington. Nola struck out nine and threw eight shutout innings in a 2-0 Phillies win. The Baton Rouge native is now 15-3 with a 2.13 ERA.

The NCAA tournament selection committee will no longer use the R-P-I when it comes deciding who gets into the Big Dance or seeding for March Madness. Instead a new formula called the NCAA Evaluation Tool will be used. NET looks at game results, strength of schedule, scoring margin and net offensive and defensive efficiency.

Five LSU players are on the coaches preseason All-SEC team. Third-team selections are defensive lineman Rashard Lawrence and safety Grant Delpit. Offensive lineman Garrett Brumfield is on the second team and first-team selections are cornerback Greedy Williams and linebacker Devin White.

White says the Tigers have the nation’s top defensive coordinator Dave Aranda, who has opened up the playbook. Plus, he says the unit is filled with great players…
Cut 18 (13) “…well together”
White has talked with the media about playing a little running back this season, but Coach Ed Orgeron says that will not happen. Coach O also says he doesn’t have a problem playing both scholarship quarterbacks in the season opener against Miami, Joe Burrow and Myles Brennan.

Saints first round pick Marcus Davenport is back practicing in full pads after missing a good portion of training camp because of a groin injury. The rookie defensive end says he’s knocking a lot of rust off and getting his mind right to play…
cut 30 (11) “…kind of stuff”
It remains to be seen if Davenport will play in Saturday’s preseason game versus the Los Angeles Chargers.

The LHSAA has ruled Hahnville quarterback Andrew Robison is ineligible for the upcoming season and the Tigers Head Coach Nick Saltaformaggio has been suspended for the first four games, because of alleged recruiting violations. Robison is a senior, who transferred from Vandebilt Catholic. Several in-state colleges are looking at Robison, who threw for 25-hundred yards and 30 touchdowns last season. The St. Charles Parish School system says they plan to appeal the ruling.

The LSU Tigers enter the season ranked 25th in the AP preseason poll. LSU is usually ranked much higher at the beginning of the season. Defensive tackle Breiden Fehoko, who transferred in from Texas Tech, says the preseason ranking is extra motivation…
Cut 17 (17) “..get out there”
The battle for starting quarterback between Joe Burrow and Brennan Myles remains tight. Coach Ed Orgeron says he has no problem playing both Burrow and Myles in the season opener against Miami.

And LSU has announced they will have a location on the ground level of Tiger Stadium, where fans 21 and older can purchase and drink beer. It’s called “The Chute” and it has TV screens to keep an eye on the game.
The Saints and Chargers have their second and last joint training camp practice today in Costa Mesa, California. Of course Drew Brees started his NFL career in San Diego and Brees says there are no hard feelings with Chargers Quarterback Phillip Rivers…
cut 30 (22) “…we were”
New Orleans and now the Los Angeles Chargers meet in a preseason game on Thursday night.

There’s a great pitching matchup this afternoon in Major League Baseball. Former LSU star Aaron Nola and the Phillies visit the Nationals, who will send 16-game winner Max Scherzer to the mound. Both pitchers are front runners to win the N-L Cy Young Award.

There’s been plenty of off the field news for the LSU Tigers this month. Three players have been suspended because of arrests, two quarterbacks have left the team and suspended cornerback Kristian Fulton’s attempt to get reinstated by the NCAA has been denied. Defensive tackle Breiden Fehoko says despite the distractions, the team remains close…
Cut 16 (19) “…brotherhood”
LSU Head Coach Ed Orgeron had his first call-in radio show of the season last night and said he wouldn’t have a problem playing both Joe Burrow and Brennan Myles at quarterback in the season opener against Miami. And Orgeron says there are no plans for linebacker Devin White playing a little running back as well.

Ohio State Football Coach Urban Meyer has apologized for his mishandling of the domestic violence accusations against former assistant coach Zach Smith. Meyer’s missteps has led to a three-game suspension, which means he’ll return to the sidelines when the 5th ranked Buckeyes host Tulane on September 22nd.

The Saints have another joint training camp practice with the Chargers today. The Black and Gold are 17 days away from the regular season opener against Tampa Bay. Quarterback Drew Brees says he’s still developing chemistry with his wide receivers…
cut 30 (21) “…work to do”
The Saints and Chargers will battle in a preseason game on Saturday night.

The Saints are out in Costa Mesa, California, today, where they’ll hold a joint training camp practice with the Los Angeles Chargers. Head Coach Sean Payton says both teams are looking to get a lot of the experience…
cut 30 (13) “…really good”
The Saints and Chargers will also practice against each other tomorrow and then meet up for a preseason game on Saturday night in Carson, California.

The Advocate Reports that LSU will not allow recently departed quarterback Justin McMillan to transfer to another SEC school or a school that LSU will play this season or next year. McMillan was reportedly under the assumption he could transfer to any school as a graduate transfer. But the NCAA’s new transfer rule that prevents schools from blocking student-athletes from transferring to a certain school doesn’t go into effect until October 15th.

Grambling State wants to add alcohol sales to home football and basketball games. The university is seeking a permit through the state Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control. President Rick Gallot told the News Star that fans have requested the opportunity to buy alcohol when watching games at the Hole and the Fredrick Hobdy Assembly Center.

Louisiana Tech has one less quarterback on its roster. Redshirt freshman Elijah Walker has announced he’s transferring, leaving the school with three scholarship quarterbacks.

We’ve learned why starting guard Ed Ingram has been suspended from the football team. Ingram has been charged with two counts of aggravated sexual assault in Dallas County. Ingram was booked on August 2nd, one day before the team reported for training camp. Three LSU players have been suspended because of arrests in the last two weeks.

Former LSU star Kevin Gausman pitched eight solid innings as the Altanta Braves defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates six to one last night. Atlanta’s lead over Philadelphia in the National League East is a game and a half.

LSU’s defense had its way in the first scrimmage of fall camp and that unit led by defensive coordinator Dave Aranda should be really good. Senior safety John Battle says Aranda’s playbook is even more expansive this year…
cut 30 (18) “…for us”

The Saints get a day off from camp today. They’ll be back at it tomorrow as they continue to get ready for the second preseason game of the year, Friday night at home against Arizona.

The SWAC has named Texas Southern athletic director Charles McClelland as its new commissioner. McClellland has been the A-D at Texas Southern since 2008, before that he led the Prairie View athletic department, his alma mater.

The LHSAA is reportedly investigating Brother Martin High School in New Orleans for alleged recruiting violations involving students who live on the northshore. There’s no timetable on when the investigation will be concluded.

Nicholls State is ranked 17th in the FCS coaches poll. McNeese is 18th. Defending national champion North Dakota State is atop the poll as they received 23 of 26 first place votes.

The Louisiana Tech men’s basketball team won the second of their two exhibition games in Costa Rica last night. The Bulldogs grinded out a 74-62 win over San Ramon ARBA. Sophomore guard Amorie Archibald had 14 points, along with six rebounds.

And if you think Tiger Woods isn’t good for professional golf, TV Ratings for the PGA championship were up 69-percent over last year as Woods shot a 64 on Sunday to finish in second place.

LSU Football coach Ed Orgeron said following Saturday’s scrimmage that he was disappointed with the play of the offensive line. Starting left guard Garrett Brumfield says the defense happened to win that day, but he has confidence in the O-Line…
cut 30 (07) “….right guys’
But the Tigers are missing starting right guard Ed Ingram, who has been suspended indefinitely for violating team rules.

Junior defensive end Rashard Lawrence was not at practice yesterday during the portion viewed by the media. But preseason All-American cornerback Greedy Williams was back after missing a couple of practices.

The Saints are off from practice today. The will have a padded practice tomorrow, a walk-thru on Thursday and then host the Arizona Cardinals on Friday night in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The team had a short practice, but Coach Sean Payton was not satisfied the offense struggled to line up correctly on a few occasions.

The SWAC has named Texas Southern athletic director Charles McClelland as its new commissioner. He replaces Duer Sharp, who resigned at the end of last year, because there concerns about the direction of the conference. McClellland has been the A-D at Texas Southern since 2008, before that he led the Prairie View athletic department, his alma mater.

Nicholls State is ranked 17th in the FCS coaches poll. McNeese is 18th. Defending national champion North Dakota State is atop the poll as they received 23 of 26 first place votes.

The Louisiana Tech men’s basketball team won the second of their two exhibition games in Costa Rica last night. The Bulldogs grinded out a 74-62 win over San Ramon ARBA. Sophomore guard Amorie Archibald had 14 points, along with six rebounds.

In the NBA….Carmelo Anthony has signed a one-year, two-point-four million dollar deal with the Houston Rockets.