The Pelicans have reportedly signed their starting point guard Jrue Holiday to a five-year, 120 million dollar deal. The contract also includes incentive clauses that could pay Holiday up to 150-million dollars and the agreement also contains a player option for a fifth year. Signing the 27-year-old is the Pelicans top priority this offseason after he averaged 15 points and seven assists last year.

But the Western Conference continues to get tougher. As Oklahoma City traded for Paul George to give MVP Russell Westbrook a star player to work with.

First year LSU head basketball coach Will Wade has received a major commitment from the state’s top basketball player. Javonte Smart of Scotlandville High in Baton Rouge has given a verbal pledge to the Tigers. He’s six-foot-four and has already been named Mr. Basketball for the state two times. Kansas, Kentucky, and UCLA were also very interested in Smart.

LSU finished the 2017 season as the consensus number two team in the country in college baseball. So how do the Tigers look heading into the 2018 season? They lose their top two starters in Alex Lange and Jared Poche, but they return a good nucleus of position players, Antoine Duplantis, Zach Watson, Josh Smith and Jake Slaugther. Tiger Rag Associate Editor James Moran says a good group of freshmen is also coming in…
cut 18 (14) “…point too”
Doolittle is a catcher from Jupiter, Florida, while Storz is from Brooklyn. He’s 6-foot-6 and can play in the outfield as well. The Detroit Tigers selected him in the 31st round, but he’s expected to play at LSU next year.

LSU signee and West Monroe star Jacob Pearson has officially signed with the Los Angeles Angels. He was chosen 85th overall by the Angels in last month’s MLB draft.

The NBA Free Agency period begins tonight at 12:01 and New Orleans is expected to lock-up point guard Jrue Holiday to a five year max contract, before he’s able to talk with other teams. Holiday averaged 15 points, seven assists and four rebounds in 67 games last season. Head Coach Alvin Gentry has said that re-signing Holiday was the franchise’s top priority this offseason.

Former Louisiana Tech star Paul Millsap is a free-agent as well and a number of teams are interested in the 32-year-old. Millsap will reportedly meet with the Phoenix Suns, who according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, can give Millsap a max contract for possibly the next three years.

New LSU men’s basketball coach Will Wade landed a major verbal commitment today as five-star point guard Javonte Smart of Scotlandville High gave his verbal pledge to the Tigers. He’s ranked by ESPN as the fifth best point guard in the Class of 2018.

Baseball America does not project the LSU Tigers will return to Omaha next year and compete in the College World Series. The Tigers are losing a lot from the 2017 national runner-up squad. Tiger Rag Associate Editor James Moran says LSU should still have a very good team with Antoine Duplantis, Zach Watson, Josh Smith and Jake Slauther returning for next season…
cut 17 (12) “…of a dip”
Moran says the LSU coaching staff is also bringing in another good group of freshmend led by Parkview Baptist’s Daniel Cabrera, catcher Mason Doolittle from Jupiter, Florida and pitcher Nick Storz from Brooklyn.

Shreveport golfer David Toms missued the cut at his first U-S Senior Open championship in Peabody, Massachusetts. Toms shot a 75 yesterday and 71 today for a score of six over par.

LSU baseball had its most successful season since winning the national championship in 2009 and Tiger Rag Associate Editor James Moran says the pieces are in place to make it to Omaha again next year. Moran says the biggest question is with the starting rotation as the Tigers top two starters, Alex Lange and Jared Poche, are moving on to pro ball:
Cut 16 (17 ) “to monitor”
Moran says the 2018 Tigers will feature several players returning from the 2017 national runner-up club, and a good group of Freshman is also moving in.

Tiger shortstop Kramer Robertson has signed his first professional contract and it’s with the Cardinals. St. Louis selected Robertson in the fourth round of the 2017 MLB Draft. The value of the deal is reportedly worth $424,800.

It’s reported that The Pelicans will meet with Jrue Holiday at 12:01 am, as the guard officially becomes a free agent tomorrow. Holiday has spent the past four seasons with New Orleans, and the team has expressed how important it will be to bring him back on a long-term deal.

Registration begins today for Saints Quarterback Drew Brees’ co-ed youth flag football league. He says Football ‘N America, or FNA, will be the premium youth co-ed flag football league for ages K-8th grade. You can sign your kids up for leagues starting in New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Covington…:
CUT 26 (11) “playFNA.com”
The future Hall of Fame quarterback says he’ll also help the coaches in the FNA league by providing personal video tutorials and starter playbooks. He touts the this as a safer alternative for kids than tackle football before they get to high school.

Saints Quarterback Drew Brees is starting a flag football league he hopes will catch on throughout the nation. Michelle Southern reports…:
Voicer 2 (30) “I’m Michelle Southern”

Athlon Sports has ranked all 130 college football head coaches for 2017 and the highest ranked coach in Louisiana is Tulane’s Willie Fritz, who is ranked 59. Louisiana Tech’s Skip Holtz is ranked 67th, LSU’s Ed Orgeron is 81 followed by UL Lafayette’s Mark Hudspeth at 89 and ULM’s Matt Viator at 101.

NBA Free Agency begins Saturday and Pelicans point guard Jrue Holiday is expected to meet with New Orleans to see if an agreement can be reached. If nothing is done after 48 hours, Holiday will meet with other teams. That’s according to the Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Head Coach Alvin Gentry says it is the team’s number one priorirty this summer to re-sign Holiday and they can offer the 27-year-old a max contract, which would be 170-million dollars over five years.

Former LSU shortstop Kramer Robertson has signed with the Cardinals after St. Louis selected him in the fourth round earlier this month. Robertson hit .319 this past season for the Tigers.

Media reports indicate South Florida head coach Mark Kingston will be the new head baseball coach at South Carolina. Kingston helped the Bulls reach the NCAA Tournament in two of the last three years. U-S-F won 42 games this past season, the most for that program since 1996.

LSU head football coach Ed Orgeron has been named No. 81 in Athlon Sports & Life magazine’s ranking of 130 college football head coaches. Louisiana Tech’s Skip Holtz is ranked 67th, Tulane’s Will Fritz is 59th, ULM’s Matt Viator is 101 and Lousiaina’s Mark Hudspeth is 89th.

The Monroe News-Star is reporting ULM has interviewed for its A-D Vacancy Alcorn State athletic director Derek Horne and East Carolina senior associate athletics director Nick Floyd. Floyd is also a former associate commissioner at Conference USA and senior associate A-D at Southern Miss.

Donte’ Jackson is the new men’s basketball coach at Grambling State. Jackson comes to Lincoln Parish after spending the last three seasons at Stillman College, an NAIA school in Tuscaloosa. His overall record at Stillman was 66-21 and he won the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 2016.

Campus police arrested three LSU basketball players for shooting paintballs at pedestrians. Campus police issued summons on June 16th to sophomore Wayde Sims and freshmen Galen Alexander and Mayan Kiir. In a statement to Tiger Rag, Head Coach Will Wade says he’s aware of the situation and they are dealing with the matter internally. Wade also says he’s extremely disappointed in these players and the poor judgement they used.

Rummel wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase will play in the Under Armour All-American game. The six-foot-two playmaker will announce his college decision next week. LSU and TCU have recruited him hard.

The Houston Rockets are trying to build the next super team in the NBA. The Rockets have acquired former New Orleans Hornet Chris Paul. C-P-3 will be teamed up with MVP finalist James Harden in the Rockets backcourt. Paul is 32-years-old and still looking to play in a conference final. The Rockets have also traded for former LSU Tiger Tim Quartermann.

The LSU baseball team received a warm welcome from fans when they arrived home from Omaha Wednesday after an emotional season which ended with the Tigers being swept by Florida in the finals of the College World Series. Several from the purple and gold nation turned out to thank the Tigers for fun and exciting season, and not to sweat coming back to Baton Rouge without a trophy for that reason.

Saints Quarterback Drew Brees says he’s starting a coed, youth flag football league called Football ‘N” America. Brees says he would like it to become the premier youth coed flag football league and he believes it could save the entire sport, because it would allow kids to play at a young age without the risk of putting pads on. Leagues will start up this fall in New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Covington.

LSU head football coach Ed Orgeron has been named No. 81 in Athlon Sports & Life magazine’s ranking of 130 college football head coaches.

Three LSU basketball players were issued summons after allegedly shooting paintballs at pedestrians on campus. 19-year-old Mayan Keer Kirr, 18-year-old Galen Ishan Alexander and 19-year-old Wayde Kenneth Sims were reportedly busted after a pedestrian was hit by paintballs. The report indicates LSU basketball coach Will Wade is aware of the situation and dealing with it internally.

The Los Angeles Clippers have traded All-Star point guard and Former New Orleans Hornet Chris Paul to the Houston Rockets. The 32-year-old reportedly agreed to opt in to the final year of his $24.2 million contract, clearing the way for the Clippers to execute a trade with the Rockets. There’s also a report Houston is acquiring former LSU Tiger Tim Quarterman from the Portland Trail Blazers.

Grambling State named Donte Jackson as it’s new men’s basketball coach. Jackson was the head coach at Stillman College, an NAIA school in Tuscaloosa, over the last three seasons.

After accepting their runner-up trophy at the College World Series last night following a six to one defeat to Florida, the LSU Baseball team returned to Baton Rouge this afternoon. Coach Paul Mainieri was emotional at the postgame press conference. The Tigers skipper talked about how last summer affected him as Baton Rouge suffered through riots, police shootings and deadly flooding. He wanted to accomplish something good…
cut 18 (25) “…to do”
The TV ratings are in for the College World Series finals and they are up 71-percent from last year and it’s the best for the CWS finals since 2011.

Saints Quarterback Drew Brees says he’s starting a coed, youth flag football league called Football ‘N” America. Brees says he would like it to become the premier youth coed flag football league and he believes it could save the entire sport, because it would allow kids to play at a young age without the risk of putting pads on. Leagues will start up this fall in New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Covington.

Former New Orleans Hornet Chris Paul is leaving the Clippers as a deal has reportedly been reached that will send Paul to the Houston Rockets to team up with James Harden in the backcourt. There’s also a report Houston is acquiring former LSU Tiger Tim Quartermann from the Portland Trail Blazers.

Grambling State named Donte Jackson as it’s new men’s basketball coach. Jackson was the head coach at Stillman College, an NAIA school in Tuscaloosa, over the last three seasons. During that time, Stillman had a record of 66-21 and they won their conference in 2016.

The LSU baseball team came up short in its bid to win its 7th national championship. Florida pulled away in the 8th inning and defeated the Tigers 6-1 last night to capture their first title in baseball. There was a controversial play in the 7th inning, when LSU had a run taken off the scoreboard because of a runner interference call at second base. Here’s how Coach Paul Mainieri saw it….
cut 17 (15) “….correct call”
Replay showed it was the correct call. The Tigers trailed the whole game and had chances to take the lead in the 7th and 8th innings, but shortstop LSU Kramer Robertson says it didn’t work in their favor…
cut 16 (14) “…whole career”

Saints quarterback Drew Brees tells ESPN-dot-com he’s starting a co-ed youth flag football league. Brees says it would be a safer alternative to tackle football. Brees says Football ‘N” America will start this fall in New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Covington and then expand into other states next year. The future Hall of Fame QB came up with the idea after coaching his sons’ flag football team in San Diego.

Michael Federico has been named as the new head baseball coach at ULM. The Slidell native has been an assistant coach at Southern Miss the last nine seasons, working with the pitchers and catchers. In 2015, Federico was named Assistant Coach of the Year by Conference USA. Federico is also a former head coach at Meridian Community College in Mississippi and led the school to two World Series appearances in three seasons as head coach.

Former LSU pitcher Kevin Gausman won for the first time in four starts yesterday as the Baltimore Orioles topped Toronto 3-1. Gausman gave up four hits in 5.1 innings.

Louisiana Radio Network Sports, I’m Michelle Southern. Here’s your College World Series update, brought to you by Assurance Financial, your Local Home Loan Experts. Lend the way dot com.

Tough ending to a great season for the LSU baseball team as they lost 6-1 to the Florida Gators, who swept the Bayou Bengals in the CWS finals to win their first national championship. The Tigers trailed the whole game, but had chances to take the lead in the 7th and 8th innings. LSU shortstop Kramer Robertson reacts…:
Cut 19 (19) “last forever”
The loss ends the LSU playing careers for several great Tigers like Robertson, Jared Poche, Alex Lange, Greg Deichmann and Cole Freeman. LSU finishes the season 52-20.

ULM has hired a new baseball coach. Michael Federico becomes the 12th head leader of the Warhawks in the history of the university. He is a Slidell native and has more than 20 years of experience in the college baseball coaching profession.

McNeese State basketball head coach Dave Simmons has announced the signing of two big post players from a Top 16 Junior College Team he says are expected to give the Cowboys a huge rebounding force for the coming season. Quattarius Wilson and Demarco Owens join McNeese from Moberly Area Community College that posted a 27-5 record this past season.

Former LSU baseball star Kevin Gausman pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings for Baltimore last night, leading the Orioles to a 3-1 victory over Toronto in the opener of a three-game series. It was his first win in four starts.

Former Lady Tiger LaSondra Barrett returned to her LSU team in the newly created position of Director of Player Development, LSU Lady Tiger Head Coach Nikki Fargas announced on Tuesday. Barrett was one of the most versatile players in LSU women’s basketball history.

LSU will attempt to force a third and deciding game tonight of the championship series of the College World Series. After losing four to three last night to Florida, LSU needs a win to keep its season alive. A Florida victory will give the Gators their first national championship in baseball. LSU Coach Paul Mainieri says he’s still confident the Tigers can win their seventh national championship, because of the starting pitchers that are scheduled to throw tonight and if there’s a third game…
cut 16 (12) “….long stretch”
Florida will start Tyler Dyson tonight. He’s 3-0 with a 3.55 ERA. First pitch is at 7:00 in Omaha.

LSU pitcher Jared Poche’s father helped save a Florida fan’s life during last night’s College World Series game. Dr. Jerry Poche says the 87-year-old’s family alerted him about the man’s condition
cut 30 (38) “….to him the hsopital”

ULM named Michael Federico as the next head baseball coach of the Warhawks. Federico has spent the past nine seasons as the pitching coach at Southern Miss.