The Saints defense made major strides last season. From 2014-2016, New Orleans was ranked 27th or worse in total defense. Last year they ranked 17th overall. Defensive End Cam Jordan believes they can reach even a higher level this year…
cut 18 (24) “…making strides”

There are reports the NCAA has agreed to re-open the appeal of LSU cornerback Kristian Fulton. The five-star prospect from Rummel High School in Jefferson Parish has not been able to play, because he allegedly tampered with a drug testing sample. But an attorney for the Fulton family says there’s new evidence to present to the NCAA.

Dozens of softball teams from around the southeast are in Alexandria for the Dixie Girls Softball World Series, which is esimated to bring in over five-thousand visitors. Alexandria-Pineville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau executive director Sherry Ellington says they’ve hosted this event before, but….
cut 10 (05) “…largest one so far
All nine divisions are represented at this Dixie Girls Softball World Series, which games starting Saturday and running through Thursday.

Baton Rouge-based Marucci has signed a deal with LSU to be the official supplier of bats and other equipment for the Fighting Tigers baseball team. Marucci’s CEO is former LSU pitcher Kurt Ainsworth. Marucci started out making wooden bats, and several major leaguers use their bats. Marucci now produces gloves, catcher’s gear and bags to carry the equipment.

A 46 year old record has been broken with the Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo as Guy Cenac reeled in a 208-pound tarpon. It took nearly three hours for the Houma native to get the big fish into his boat.

Saints Quarterback Drew Brees and his teammates are back at practice this morning for Day Two of training camp. Brees says he feels good about his offensive line this season…
cut 17 (21) “….good thing”
No Sean Payton at practice today. The head coach is away attending the funeral of Vikings offensive line coach Tony Sparano who died unexpectedly at the age of 56 last Sunday.

The Pelicans have announced the signing of free agent forward Troy Williams. He appeared in five games for the New York Knicks summer league and averaged 12 points and four rebounds a game. Last season, he played in 21 games with the Knicks and Rockets and averaged six points a contest.

A new high school sports season is right around the corner and the Louisiana High School Athletic Association is looking to add new officials for the various sports they govern. LHSAA Director of Officials Lee Sanders they are looking for younger refs, because the average age of officials has been on the rise the last two decades….
cut 11 (11) :”…in different sports”
For more information go to lhsoa.com. Tomorrow, about 15-hundred officials will attend a clinic in New Orleans.

All nine divisions of the Dixie Girls Softball World Series are taking place today through Thursday in Alexandria. The teams hail from across the southeast Louisiana and the city is expecting about five-thousand visitors. The tournament is open to the public, a weekly pass can be purchased for 25-dollars.

Thirty-nine-year-old Saints Quarterback Drew Brees is beginning his 18th season and remains very motivated. Brees wants to win another championship and if he stays healthy, he’ll break the NFL’s career passing yardage record. The future Hall of Famer says he’s not taking anything for granted…
Cut 16 (20) “ever have”
Brees will wear a new helmet this year, because the one he was wearing is not allowed in the NFL next season. This new helmet is designed to reduce concussions and the face mask looks different.

LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda was at the Saints first training camp practice yesterday and plans to be there again today. Aranda says he’s been talking with the Saints coaches about scheme and linebacker play.

Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones has reported to training camp as the team has decided to renegotiate his deal. The two-time All-Pro selection is entering the third year of a five year, 71-million dollar contract. The Falcons say they’ve made an adjustment to Jones’ deal without a dramatic change to their salary cap.

The Louisiana High School Athletic Association is on the lookout to recruit more sports officials. Kevin Barnhart has the story.
Voicer 2 (28) ”I’m Kevin Barnhart”

Training camp is underway for the Saints who have a roster that’s built to make another run into the postseason. But with every year there are question marks. General Manager Mickey Loomis hopes they get some answers before the regular season starts…
cut 30 (20) “…for his injury”
Loomis is talking about defensive end Alex Okafor, who is trying to come back from a torn Achilles tendon.

Former Saints offensive tackle Zach Strief is the new voice of the Saints as he replaces the legendary Jim Henderson. It’s an unusual move for a new play-by-play man for a professional franchise to go from the field to the press box.

Louisiana Tech quarterback J’Mar Smith has been named to the 2018 Wuerffel Trophy Watch List, which goes tot he FBS player that best combines exemplary community service and academic achievement. Smith is coming off a season where he threw nearly three thousand yards last season.

LSU sophomore guard Brandon Rachal announced on Twitter he’s transferring from the basketball program. The former Natchitoches Central star played in 27 games last season and averaged four points and three rebounds a game. Rachal was not available for the team’s two NIT games and Coach Will Wade never explained why.

Pelicans Star Anthony Davis told CBS he was little shocked by DeMarcus Cousins decision to leave New Orleans for Golden State, but A-D says the front office kept him informed throughout the process. Davis says he’s now looking forward to finding out how they can become successful with power forward Julius Randle and point guard Elfrid Payton.

The Saints first training camp practice is today at the team’s headquarters in Metairie and there’s an optimistic feeling around the franchise. General Manager Mickey Loomis…
cut 28 (12) “…good about that”
But for the first time in 33 years, Tom Benson is not around to oversee the preparations for a new season. Head Coach Sean Payton…
cut 29 (15) “..carrying the torch”
The Saints have a new play-by-play man as former offensive tackle Zack Strief will take over for the retired Jim Henderson. It’s unusual for someone to go from player to play-by-play man for a team in one year.

LSU sophomore guard Brandon Rachal announced on Twitter he’s transferring from the program. The former Natchitoches Central star played in 27 games last season and averaged four points and three rebounds a game. Rachal was not available for the team’s two NIT games and Coach Will Wade never said why Rachal couldn’t play.

Pelicans Star Anthony Davis told CBS he was little shocked by DeMarcus Cousins decision to leave New Orleans for Golden State, but A-D says the front office kept him informed of the changes. Davis says he’s now looking forward to finding out how they can become successful with power forward Julius Randle and point guard Elfrid Payton.

Tough loss for the Astros last night as they were held to one hit in a 3-2 defeat to Colorado. Rockies center fielder Charlie Blackmon blasted a walk-off home run in the 9th inning. And for the second straight night, the A’s rallied to beat the Rangers six to five.

The Saints report to training camp today and the team will hold its first practice tomorrow morning. The Black and Gold are looking for a running back to emerge that can help fill the void when Mark Ingram misses the first four games because of a suspension for violating the league’s performance enhancing drug policy. Saints analyst Mike Detillier is calling an early favorite…
cut 16 (15) “….type runner”
Detillier says the development of first round pick Marcus Davenport and who will win the punt return duties are a couple of other camp stories to watch.

There are reports out of Atlanta that Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones will not report to training camp as he’s seeking a new contract, even though there are three years left on his current deal.

The Pelicans announce they’ve signed free agents Garlon Green and Kenrich Williams. Green is six-foot-seven and played on the Pelicans Summer League Team and averaged nine points. He played at TCU and also played professionally overseas. Williams was on the Denver Nuggets Summer League team and averaged 5 points and five rebounds a game. He’s also out of TCU and averaged 11 points and nine rebounds in three seasons for the Horned Frogs.

In college football…Tulane is picked to finish fifth in the West Division of the American Athletic Conference. Memphis is the preseason favorite in the West, while Central Florida is expected to repeat as champs in the East. The third season of the Willie Fritz era begins with a Thursday night matchup against Wake Forest.

The Astros scored six runs in the tenth inning last night and beat the Colorado Rockies eight to two. Alex Bregman hit his 21st home run in the first inning. Rough night for the Rangers. Texas blew a 10-2 lead and lost to the As 13-10.

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.