06:45 LRN Sportscast May 21st

LSU is mourning the loss of Billy Cannon, who passed away peacefully at the age of 80. Cannon is the only Heisman Trophy winner in LSU’s history and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008. His magical 89-yard punt return for a touchdown on Halloween night versus Ole Miss is one of the greatest plays in school history. Cannon saw a fall from grace in the 1980s when he was sentenced to five years in prison for leading a counterfeiting scheme. He served two-and-half years and after his release served as the Director of Dentistry at the state prison in Angola.

The LSU baseball team leaves today for the SEC Tournament, where they’ll play Mississippi State tomorrow afternoon in a single elimination game in Hoover, Alabama. The Tigers lost two of three to Auburn this past weekend and they’ll face a Bulldog team that just swept number one ranked Florida.

Grambling State was thumped by Alabama State 18-3 yesterday in the SWAC Tournament Championship game.

The Ragin Cajuns are the number two seed in the Sun Belt Tournament and they’ll play Wednesday night at Russo Park in Lafayette. Louisiana Tech is the number two seed in the Conference USA Touranent and the Bulldogs will play Rice on Wednesday afternoon in Biloxi.

At the Southland Tournament on Wednday, Northwestern State will play McNeese, Southeastern will take on Nicholls.

The LSU softball team advances to the Super Regionals after beating UL Lafayette 3-1 in a winner take all regional championship game.

Ohio State graduate transfer quarterback Joe Burrow has announced he’s LSU bound. Burrow who visited the campus recently made his decision on Friday and he’ll compete with three other quarterbacks to be the starter this fall. Matt Mascona, the host of After Further Review on ESPN Baton Rouge Radio, says Burrow has a skill set the other Q-Bs on LSU’s roster do not have…
cut 16 (17) “…very raw”

07:30 LRN Sportscast May 19th

Big night for LSU athletics last night as the football program successfully convinced quarterback Joe Burrow to transfer from Ohio State to Tiger Town. Burrow, who is eligible to play this season, gives the Tigers four quarterbacks to compete to be the starter. But Burrows arrival could mean either Myles Brennan, Lowell Narcisse or Justin McMillan will transfer. Burrow also visited Cincinnati before making his decision to come to LSU.

And the LSU Baseball team won a big game last night versus Auburn six to two as freshman Ma’Khail Hilliard outpitched Auburn’s ace Casey Mize. Mize, who could be the number one pick in next month’s Major League Baseball Draft, gave up four runs in the sixth inning to suffer his fourth loss on the year. Meanwhile, Hilliard gave up two runs over 7.1 innings to improve his record to 9-4. Zach Watson started the four-run rally with a one-out double and had three hits on the night. The regular season concludes today at one PM.

The Ragin Cajuns won the Sun Belt Western Division last night with a nine to six win over ULM. Hogan Harris was the winning pitcher, Chad Bell drove in three runs in a losing effort.

Louisiana Tech won its 20th conference game for the first time in program history last night with an 11-8 series clinching win over Old Dominion. Freshman Steele Netterville continues to swing a hot bat as he went 4-for-5 at the plate and for the second straight night finished a cycle away from hitting for a triple. Parker Bates scored three runs.

Southeastern Louisiana finished its regular season last night with a 5-4 win over 20th ranked Houston. The Lions scored four runs in the eighth inning.

Nicholls kept its postseason hopes alive by blanking Central Arkansas four to nothing. Alex Ernestine threw a five-hit shutout. The Colonels are competing with UNO for the final playoff spot in the Southland Tournament.

UNO and Northwestern State will play a doubleheader today at noon at Maestri Field.

4:45 LRN Sportscast May 18th

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports Joe Burrow, a graduate transfer quarterback from Ohio State, has chosen to continue his college career at LSU. Burrow will be eligible to play this season and he’ll have two years of eligibility left. That gives LSU four players who will compete to be the starting quarterback in the fall, unless one of them decides to transfer out.

DeMacus Cousins tells the Undefeated he’s open to going back to New Orleans, but in the end he’ll do what’s best for him. Cousins is rebhabbing from a torn Achilles tendon and he becomes an unrestricted free-agent in July. The four-time NBA All-Star believes he’ll be ready by the time NBA training camps open in September.

LSU baseball has a difficult test tonight as they’ll face Auburn pitcher Casey Mize, who could be the top overall pick in next month’s Major League Baseball Draft. Freshman Ma’Khail Hilliard gets the start for the Tigers, who are now 14-and-14 in the SEC after losing 11-4 to the War Eagles last night. First pitch tonight is at 6 PM.

Louisiana Tech continues its series with Old Dominion tonight as the Bulldogs will send right-hander Matt Miller to the mound. The Bulldogs won easily last night, 11-3 over the Monrachs. David Leal threw seven strong innings and freshman Steele Netterville finished a triple away from hitting for the cycle.

The Cajuns Hayden Cantrelle hit a walk-off homer last night as UL Lafayette beat ULM for the 23rd straight time on the baseball diamond, beating the Warhawks 4-3 in 10 innings. The Cajuns are now a game and a half ahead of Little Rock for first place in the Sun Belt West Division.

Nicholls State scored three runs in the ninth inning last night to beat Central Arkansas 5-4. UNO lost to Northwestern State six to three, so the Colonels are now just one game back of the Privateers for the eighth and final qualifying spot in the Southland Tournament.

At the SWAC Tournament….Grambling State will play tonight. A win for the Tigers and they advance into Sunday’s championship game.

11:40 LRN Sportscast

LSU will need a good start tonight from freshman Ma’Khail Hilliard if the Tigers are going to even up their series with Auburn. Auburn won last night 11-4 as LSU’s starter Zack Hess gave up five earned runs on six hits and three walks. Tonight, LSU faces the potential number one pick in next month’s Major League Baseball Draft, Casey Mize. He’s 9-3 with a 2.73. ERA. Hilliard has an 8.66 ERA over his last four starts. First pitch tonight is at 6.

The Ragin Cajuns dominance over ULM continued last night as UL-Lafayette’s Hayden Cantrell hit a walk-off home run in the 10th inning for a four to three victory. That’s 23 straight victories for the Cajuns over the Warhawks.

Louisiana Tech won its 36th game of the season last night as the bulldogs thumped Old Dominion 11-3. David Leal earned the victory and freshman Steele Netterville and Parker Bates each drove in four runs.

And Grambling beat Alabama State 12-7 and they are one win away from reaching the SWAC Tournament Championship game.

DeMarcus Cousins told The Undefeated” he’s very open to returning to the Pelicans if the deal is right. Cousins is an unrestricted free agent this summer and he’s also rehabbing from a season-ending Achilles injury. Cousins says he’ll be ready for the start of training camp in fall.

Saints and Pelicans Owner Gayle Benson’s horse Lone Sailor runs tomorrow in the Preakness. Lone Sailor will run from the second post and is listed as 15-1 favorite. Kentucky Derby winner Justify is the big favorite to win the second leg of the Triple Crown.

The Cleveland Browns will appear on HBO’s 2018 Hard Knocks television series. Cleveland is coming off an 0-16 season and have the number one pick in Baker Mayfield. It’s also a chance for fans to learn more about former LSU wide receiver Jarvis Landry, who was traded to Cleveland and signed a long term deal with the Browns.

The NCAA Softball Regional begins today in Baton Rouge. the Tigers will host Fordham tonight at 5:30. The 21st ranked Cajuns take on Houston at three o’ clock. McNeese plays Baylor in the College Station Regional.

06:45 LRN Sportscast May 18

LSU’s problems on the road continued last night and so did Zach Hess’s issues as he gave up five runs in three innings as the Tigers went on to lose 11-4 to Auburn. A two-run home run by Jake Slaughter was the only highlight for LSU, who fell to 14-14 in the SEC and 3-13 on the road. The Tigers face one of the top pitchers in college baseball tonight, nine-game winner Casey Mize.

Louisiana Tech had little trouble beating Old Dominion last night as the Bulldogs pounded the Monarchs 11-3. Parker Bates and Steele Netterville each hit home runs and each drove in four runs. The Bulldogs are now 19-9 in Conference USA.

The Ragin Cajuns won their 23rd straight game over ULM as Hayden Cantrelle hit his third home run of the season as UL Lafayette defeated the Warhawks four to three in ten innings. Little Rock lost, so the Cajuns have a game and a half lead over the Trojans for first place in the Sun Belt West.

________________________________________________________________

Grambling improved to 2-0 in the SWAC Tournament with a 12-7 win over Alabama State last night in New Orleans. Rafael Ramirez had a couple of doubles and drove in four runs. Grambling plays again at six o’ clock tonight and if they win, they advance to the championship round.

In the Southland Conference, Nicholls kept its hope alive for making the Southland Tournament by scoring three runs in the bottom of the 9th inning to beat Central Arkansas 5-4. Kyle Knauth doubled to tie the game and then scored the game winning run on a fielder’s choice. Northwestern State doubled up UNO 6-3. Ridge Heisler won his sixth game of the year. McNeese pitching gave up 20 hits in a 12-5 loss to Lamar. And 22nd ranked Houston doubled up Southeastern Louisiana six to three.

In softball, the LSU regional gets underway today. At three o’ clock it will be UL Lafayette versus Houston and then at 5:30 it’s the Tigers versus Fordham.

McNeese is at the College Station Regional, where they’ll face off against Baylor.

4:45 LRN Sportscast May 17th

Big game for the LSU baseball team tonight as they begin a series at Auburn. The Tigers are 3-and-13 on the road this season, which is hurting their chances of getting into the NCAA Tournament. Zach Hess will start on the mound tonight. He’s six and four with a 4.24 ERA. The sophomore right-hander says the key for him is throwing first pitch strikes…
cut 18 (17) “….this weekend”
Tanner Burns starts for Auburn tonight. He’s 4-4 with a 3.36 ERA.

In other action…Louisiana Tech hosts Old Dominion as the Bulldogs are on the bubble to make an NCAA Regional. Same with the Cajuns, who host ULM. Grambling faces Alabama State in the SWAC Tournament tonight. And in the Southland, Northwestern State is at UNO.

Former SEC and Conference USA Commissioner Mike Slive has passed away at the age of 77. He was the founding commissioner of Conference USA and then led the SEC for 13 years. During that time the Southeastern Conference expanded to 14 schools, started the SEC Network and Slive played a big role in creating the college footbal playoff.

In college football recruiting news…Rummel Quarterback Chandler Fields has committed to the Ragin Cajuns. He’s listed as a three-star quarterback by 24-7 sports, the 37th best player ranked in the state for the Class of 2019.

In college basketball…Louisiana Tech has signed guard Kalob Ledoux, who will transfer in from McNeese State. The six-foot-three combo guard from Port Barre led the Cowboys in scoring the last two seasons. He’ll have to sit out the 2018-19 season, because of NCAA Transfer rules.

11:40 LRN Sportscast May 17th

LSU needs a good showing at Auburn over the next three days to help secure a spot in the NCAA Baseball Tournament. The latest projection from Baseball America has the Tigers as a three-seed in a regional hosted by Stetson. Zack Hess will start on the mound tonight for the Tigers. Hess says the team understands the urgency to play well at Auburn….
cut 17 (18) “…right now”

Baseball America has Louisiana Tech among the first four teams out of their bracket. The Bulldogs begin a series tonight in Ruston against Old Dominion, who has the worst record in Conference USA.

The Ragin Cajuns are also on the bubble and they begin a three-game series against in-state rival ULM. The Warhawks are trying to get the Sun Belt Tournament.

Former SEC and Conference USA Commissioner Mike Slive has passed away at the age of 77. He ran the Southeastern Conference from 2002 to 2015 and during that time revenues jumped from 96-million dollars to 456-million dollars. Slive helped establish the SEC Network and the college football play and the league expanded to 14 schools during his tenure.

The Pelicans Anthony Davis is a finalist for MVP and Defensive Player of the year awards. LeBron James and James Harden are the other finalists for MVP, while Davis’ competition for Defensive Player of the Year is Joel Embiid and Rudy Gobert. The awards will be given out June 25th.

In NFL news, the Saints have reportedly released special teams contributor and reserve linebacker Michael Mauti.

The Manning Passing Academy announced its first ever football clinic and camp for women and girls this summer. It will take place the weekend of June of 25th and 26th on the Nicholls campus. The Manning family says they want to provide women and girls with the same opportunity to learn the game as they’ve done for boys for the last 23 years.

06:45 LRN Sportscast May 17

LSU baseball wraps up the regular season with a three game series that starts tonight against 24th ranked Auburn. The Tigers are 14-13 in the SEC and it’s believed LSU has to finish with at least a .500 record in league play in order to receive an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament. But LSU is 3-and-13 away from home this season. Coach Paul Mainieri says his team needs to change its losing ways on the road…
Cut 16 (15) “job done”
Auburn is 13-and-14 in the SEC. First pitch is at 6 PM.

Former SEC and Conference USA Commissioner Mike Slive has passed away at the age of 77. He was the founding commissioner of Conference USA and then led the SEC for 13 years. During that time the Southeastern Conference expanded to 14 schools, started the SEC Network and Slive played a big role in creating the college footbal playoff.

After winning a series versus the best the team in Conference USA, Louisiana Tech hosts the worst team in the league for a three game series starting tonight. Old Dominion is just 7-19 in league play, 15-and-34 overall. Tech is 18-9 in league play, which is good for third place.

The Ragin Cajuns head into the final series of the season tonight against ULM with a half game lead over Little Rock for first place in the Sun Belt West. UL Lafayette has won 22 straight games against the Warhawks. Coach Tony Robichaux says what has happened in the past will not have a factor on the next three games…
cut 30 (09) “…doing any research”
ULM is trying to secure a berth in the Sun Belt Tournament. They trail UT-Arlington by one game for the final spot.

At the SWAC Tournament in New Orleans, Grambling advanced to the winners bracket with a 14-5 win over Mississippi Valley.

11:40 LRN Sportscast May 16th

Former Alabama Q-B and current ESPN College football analyst Greg McElroy said on an Alabama radio station that he hopes Ohio State graduate transfer quarterback Joe Burrow decides to play at LSU. McElroy added he would love to see LSU with a quarterback in his lifetime. LSU offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger has tweeted out a graphic that said LSU is the only school in the SEC to have seven quarterbacks drafted in the last 20 years, Josh Booty, Rohan Davey, Matt Mauck, JaMarcus Russell, Matt Flynn, Zach Mettenberger and Danny Etling.

Back to Burrow, he’s expected to visit North Carolina this week and make a decision soon on whether to continue to his college career at LSU, Cincinnati or North Carolina.

In other college football news…Alabama and Texas have agreed to a home-and-home series in 2022 and 2023. The Tigers are scheduled to visit Austin next year and Texas would return the trip to Baton Rouge in 2020.

LSU baseball finished off its home schedule last night with a nine to five win over Northwestern State. Senior Austin Bain had three hits and also earned his fourth save. Matthew Beck pitched three shutout innings for his second win of the year. Meanwhile, freshman pitcher Nick Storz is done for the season with shoulder problems.

ULM outscored McNeese State 10 to seven. Despite the loss, Joe Provenzano became the school’s all-time hits leader as he has 248 for his career.

Southeastern Louisiana outscored South Alabama 12 to 9. In the process, the Lions broke the school’s record for most stolen bases in a season with 127.

The Ragin Cajuns edged Tulane seven to six. Todd Lott hit two solo home runs and UNO upset Southern Miss 14-9.

11:40 LRN Sportscast May 15

Final home game of the year tonight for the LSU baseball team, who hosts Northwestern State at Alex Box Stadium. Freshman Daniel Cabrera comes into the contest swinging a hot bat. The Baton Rouge product is the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week after going 10-of-13 from the plate in four games with two doubles, one triple, two homers and 10 RBI. The Demons David Fry comes into the game hitting .346 with 11 homers and 50 RBIs and he’s 22 for 51 in his last 12 games.

Ohio State graduate transfer quarterback Joey Burrow visited LSU this past weekend and there’s a report he could visit North Carolina this weekend. Burrow also visited Cincinnati. The Bearcats current head coach is Luke Fickell, a former defensive coordinator at Ohio State.

There are reports that Pittsburgh Steelers minority owner David Tepper will purchase the Carolina Panthers for two-point-two billion dollars. That is a record of course when it comes to the purchase of an NFL team. The Previous record was one-point-four billion dollars when the Buffalo Bills were sold in 2014.

Lone Sailor, which is owned by Saints and Pelicans owner Gayle Benson, will race in this Saturday’s Preakness Stakes. So far only seven other horses, including Kentucky Derby winner Justify, are set to run in Maryland. Lone Sailor ran eighth in the Kentucky Derby. But trainer tom Amoss believes a smaller field and a drier track will help Lone Sailor.