ULM’s Caleb Evans heads into the season as one of the top quarterbacks in the Sun Belt. During his sophomore season, Evans rushed for a league-high 13 touchdowns, while also throwing for nearly 29-hundred yards. Warhawks Head Coach Matt Viator says they want Evans to be more comfortable in the pocket this season…
cut 29 (17) “…get out of the pocket”
Viator says the ceiling is still very high for Evans.

LSU junior linebacker Devin White is on the Butkus Award watch list, which honors the nation’s best linebacker. Greedy Williams is on the Jim Thorpe Award preseason watch list, which goes to the best defense back in the country. Louisiana Tech defensive end Jaylon Ferguson is on the Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List, while O’Shea Dugas is on the Outland Trophy watch list.

LSU Baseball Coach Paul Mainieri is anticipating big things for the 2019 Tigers. He says championship caliber players will be on the roster. He says one of their best position players could be Daniel Cabrera, who played well for the USA Collegiate National team this summer….
cut 30 (24) “…high draft choice”
Mainieri says a healthy Josh Smith will also be a key for next season. Smith has yet to resume baseball activities after missing all but six games in 2018 because of a bad back, but Mainieri says his shortstop is no longer experiencing any pain.

LSU Baseball Coach Paul Mainieri says he has championship caliber personnel heading into the 2019 season. But Mainieri says a key to next year is a healthy shortstop Josh Smith, who missed all but six games of 2018 with a back issue. Mainieri says Smith has yet to resume baseball activities, but he’s feeling good…
cut 30 (20) “…the back”
Mainieri says pitcher Eric Walker is throwing bullpen session and looking good after missing all of 2018 to recover from Tommy John Surgery. The coach says Antoine Duplantis should be back to full speed in a week or two after hurting his shoulder while playing for the USA national team.

At Sun Belt Media Day in New Orleans, first-year UL Lafayette Coach Billy Napier says he’s committed to bringing a winning program to Acadiana after taking over for Mark Hudspeth, who led the Cajuns to a 5-7 record last season….
cut 29 (23) “…about the future”
Napier needs to figure out a starting quarterback. Fall camp will feature a battle between sophomore Levi Lewis and senior Andre Nunez.

ULM’s dual-threat quarterback Caleb Evans is looking to build on a sophomore campaign that saw him rush for 13 touchdowns and throwing for 17 more scores. The Warhawks kick off the season on Thursday August 30th against Southeastern Louisiana.

LSU’s Paul Mainieri believes he has a championship-caliber baseball team heading into the 2019 season. Mainieri gave up an update on his team with an hour long press conference. The coach says right-hander Zack Hess is ready to become one of the top pitchers in the country after a successful stint with the USA Collegiate National team….
cut 30 (14) “….next June”
Mainieri says pitcher Eric Walker is set to return next season after missing 2018, as he recovered from Tommy John Surgery.

The Tigers will open the 2019 campaign by hosting ULM. But LSU will not play Tulane. Mainieri says he’s treating the Green Wave like the other in-state schools, which means only making trips to Tulane every five or six years, if they play at Alex Box every season. But Tulane declined a trip to Baton Rouge in 2019.

ULM returns 17 starters for the 2018 season, a big reason why the Warhawks are picked to finish second in the Sun Belt West division. Coach Matt Viator says he’s looking for more consistency from his veteran group…
cut 29 (22) “…learning that”
Viator says the ceiling is really high for his quarterback Caleb Evans, who rushed for 13 touchdowns and threw for 2,868 yards and 17 TDS as a sophomore last year.

UL Lafayette have two quarterbacks battling for its starting spot, sophomore Levi Lewis and senior Andre Nunez. Coach Billy Napier says both guys go into camp with a chance at grabbing the starter’s role.

LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri announced today the Tigers will open the 2019 season by hosting ULM on February 15th as part of a military appreciation weekend at Alex Box Stadium. Mainieri says the Tigers will also play Army and the Air Force that weekend. But Tulane is not on the schedule for 2019. Coach Paul Mainieri says after 12 years, he felt it was time to treat Tulane like the other in-state schools and only play on their campus every five or six years, if they play at Alex Box Stadium every year…
cut 28 (16) “… I understand that’
Mainieri says it’s his hope LSU and Tulane will play each other every season in the Wally Pontiff Junior Classic in Metairie starting with the 2020 season.

UL Lafayette Coach Billy Napier made his first apperance at Sun Belt Media Day today as he spoke with reporters in New Orleans about the upcoming season. Napier has yet to name a starting quarterback for 2018, but says the Cajuns go into the season with two signal callers that can play winning footballl…
cut 29 (18) “…that can play”
Napier says they are not yet close to making a decision on who the starter will be for the season opener against Grambling on September first.

LSU’s Greedy Williams and Louisiana Tech’s Amik Robertson have been named to the Jim Thorpe Award preseason watch list, which every year goes to the best defensive back in college football.

In the NBA…Memphis has reportedly traded former LSU standout Jarrell Martin to Orlando for Dakari Johnson.

Football season arrives for the Saints this week as the players will report to training camp on Wednesday. New Orleans is looking to make it into the playoffs for a second consecutive season. The two big question marks heading into camp, can first round pick Marcus Davenport develop into an effective pass rusher to help out All-Pro end Cameron Jordan. And the Black and Gold coaching staff is hoping a veteran running back can emerge to fill the shoes of Mark Ingram, who will serve a four-game suspension to begin the season.

Sun Belt Media Day takes place today in New Orleans. New Ragin Cajuns Coach Billy Napier will talk about how the defense should be improved this season. UL Lafayette allowed 40 points a game last year. ULM Head Coach Matt Viator is entering his third season and the Warhawks are expected to finish near the top of the Sun Belt’s new West Division. ULM was 4-4 in the Sun Belt last year.

Francesco Molinari is the golfer from Italy to win the British Open. Molinari finished the four-day tournament at eight under par to finish two strokes ahead of a group of golfers at six-under par. Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose finished in a four-way tie for second place. Tiger Woods led briefly on Sunday and finished at five under par.

For the first time this season, the Astros allowed double digit runs as the Angels beat Houston 14 to five yesterday. Mike Trout broke out of a slump by hitting his 26th home run of the season. The Rangers blanked the Indians five to nothing as Yovani Gallardo and three relievers by combined on the five-hit shutout.

The NFL is mourning the sudden death of Tony Sparano, the Vikings offensive line coach. The 56-year-old also had stints as the head coach of the Dolphins and Raiders.

And in Canadian Football…Johnny Manziel has been traded from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to the Montreal Allouettes. Montreal’s head coach is Mike Sherman, former Texas A-and-M head coach and the man who recruited Johnny Football.

The LSU Tigers are picked to finish fifth in the SEC West according to a poll of media members who attended SEC Media Days. LSU hasn’t finished below fourth place in the SEC West since 1999 when the Tigers came in last place in Gerry DiNardo’s final season. Alabama is the pick to win the West and the SEC this year.

LSU linebacker Devin White and cornerback Greedy Williams were voted first-team All-SEC by the media.

In the Sun Belt, ULM wide receiver Marcus Green and Ragin Cajuns offensive lineman Kevin Dotson are preseason All-Sun Belt first-team selections. Warhawks QB Caleb Evans, along with wide receiver RJ Turner are second-team selections. Cajuns running back Trey Ragas is also on the second team.

And the Advocate reports former Saints right tackle has been offered the job to replace Jim Henderson as the Voice of the Black and Gold.

New Southeastern Louisiana Football Coach Frank Scelfo has been on the job since January and has some holes to fill on this team. He’s yet to name a starting quarterback and the Lions also have to replace some good talent on the defensive side of the ball, especially in the secondary. Scelfo was asked at Southland Conference Media Day about the style he plans to bring to Hammond…
cut 30 (21) “…first game”
S-L-U has been picked to finish fifth in the Southland this season.

NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’ Neal toured the Lafayette High School weight room on Friday. In May, Shaq donated 20-thousand dollars through South Louisiana Giving Day to help the school renovate the weight room.

LSU has been picked to finish fifth in the SEC West according to a poll of media members that attended the Southeastern Conference Media Days. It’s the lowest LSU has been picked since the 1990s. Tiger Rag Associate Editor James Moran says LSU’s difficult schedule is contributing to low expectations…
Cut 4 (14) “…under Dan Mullen.”
We are 44 days away from LSU’s season opener versus Miami, which will be played in Dallas.

The Advocate reports former Saints offensive tackle Zach Strief has been offered the job as radio play-by-play man for the Black and Gold. Strief has little broadcasting experience, but is interested in the job. Streif says he’s been calling games on his own and he graduated from Northwestern University with a communications degree.

The coaches in the Sun Belt Conference have picked ULM to finish second in the West Division and the Ragin Cajuns fourth. Arkansas State is the favorite to win the West, while Appalachian State is the pick to win the east.

McNeese State is picked to finish fourth in the Southland Conference after just missing out on making the FCS playoffs last season. Cowboys Coach Lance Guidry….
cut 30 (19) “…good season”
Northwestern State’s Brad Laird is one of five new coaches in the league. Laird says his team is a work in progress…
cut 29 (14) “….as a staff”

Most of the state is under a heat advisory this afternoon. State Climatologist Barry Keim says if you plan on spending a lot of time outside today, be prepared for the hottest temperatures of the year…
cut 25 (07) “…tad worse”
Keim says we won’t get a break from the extreme heat until Tuesday.

LSU is expected to finish fifth in the SEC West, according to a poll of media members who attended the SEC Football Media Days. Alabama is once again the favorite in the West followed by Auburn, Mississippi State and Texas A-and-M. Tiger Rag Associate Editor James Moran says fifth place is even lower than he projected…….
cut 3 (13) “…first year”

Caddo Parish authorities say they have charged a 66-year-old man with cruelty to the infirm after he failed to seek medical help for his wife after several months. Sheriff’s office spokesperson Cindy Chadwick says Johnny Essary did not move his wife from the couch and she became unresponsive, severely malnourished and had life-threatening wounds…
cut 12 (06) “….this bad”
Chadwick says a detective at the scene said it’s the worst case of neglect he’s ever seen.

For the first time in two years, the Louisiana Health Department has ordered the closure of a restaurant after inspectors allegedly found flies, insects, rodents and other live animals at the establishment. Regional medical director. Doctor Martha Whyte says critical violations were found at the Dupont Fish Market in Shreveport…
cut 9 (11) “….your local health department”
In order to reopen, the Dupont Fish Market must correct all cited violations.

SEC Media Days concluded on Thursday in Atlanta as Auburn was one of the final schools to go through the gauntlet of questions from reporters. Auburn Coach Gus Malzhan loved how his team rallied last year after losing to LSU in Tiger Stadium…
cut 30 (22) “…done that”
The LSU-Auburn rematch is September 15th on the Plains.

Sun Belt Media Days begins Sunday and the league has released a preseason poll that shows Arkansas State is the favorite to win the West Division, while Appalachian State is the pick to win the East ahead of Troy. ULM is picked to finish in second place in the West, while the Ragin Cajuns are expected to finish fourth in the five-team division.

There are five new football coaches in the Southland Conference this season. Northwestern State’s Brad Laird is one of them. The former defensive coordinator says he wants to build on winning three of their last four games last season…
cut 29 (14) “…as a staff'”
The Demons haven’t had a winning season since 2008.

The NFL’s new anthem policy has been put on hold so that the league’s players association can discuss with owners on a resolution to the anthem issue. Back in May, the NFL owners announced a new policy that would allow players to remain in the locker room when the anthem was played, but if they were on the sidelines they must stand. The Dolphins were reportedly looking at suspending players up to four games if they didn’t stand for the anthem.

Five players with Louisiana ties are on the Biletnikoff Award watch list, which goes to the best wide receiver in college football. Headlining the list locally, is new LSU wide receiver Jonathan Giles, who is a transfer from Texas Tech. Tulane’s Terren Encalade, ULM’s Marcus Green, Nebraska’s Stanley Morgan Junior who played at St. Aug and Louisiana Tech’s Teddy Veal.

The 2018 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs are facing a difficult schedule. They host just five games in Ruston and visit league favorites North Texas and Florida Atlantic on the road. But Coach Skip Holtz told Watch ESPN they will not make any excuses
Cut 19 (20) ” opportunity”
Tech opens the season on September 1st versus South Alabama.

Sam Houston State is picked to win the Southland Conference in a poll of the head coaches and sports information directors. The Bearkats have six first preseason all-conference picks on offense. Nicholls State has been picked to finish second. The Colonels have a league-high 14 total preseason all-conference picks. Central Arkansas is expected to finish in third place. McNeese received one first place vote and is expected to finish in fourth place. Southastern Louisiana in 5th place, Northwestern State in eighth place.

LSU’s Dave Aranda is no longer the highest paid coordinator in college football. That honor belongs to Clemson’s Brent Venables.

The Advocate reports its looking more likely that former Saints offensive tackle Zach Strief will replace Jim Henderson as the Voice of the Saints.

And the Chicago Bulls have signed former LSU Tiger Antonio Blakeney.