After taking a week off for final exams, LSU baseball is back in action tonight as they begin a three-game series against South Carolina. The Tigers are one of seven teams within one game of the overall lead in the league standings. Aaron Fitt, with D-1 baseball-dot-com believes LSU and Florida are the two SEC teams best equipped to make a strong run once postseason play arrives. Fitt likes the Tigers starting pitcher….
cut 20 (21) “….bring it”
LSU is coming off a sweep of Alabama, while the Gamecocks are scuffling. They have not won an SEC series since the last weekend of March.

The Ragin Cajuns begin an eight-game homestand tonight as they host Georgia Southern. UL Lafayette is looking to rebound after getting swept by UT Arlington last weekend. Both the Cajuns and Eagles have won 13 games in league play this year. ULM is hosting defending national champion Coastal Carolina.

Southland conference leader McNeese State hosts Texas A-and-M Corpus Christi. The Islanders are just 7-14 in league play. Southeastern Louisiana hosts Sam Houston. Both of those teams still have a chance at catching the Cowboys, but they can’t afford to many losses.

Louisiana Tech looks for its sixth straight win as they visit Florida International. Tech has won 10 of its last 13 Conference USA games. The Diamond Dogs are also in fifth place in the CUSA standings, FIU is 10-11 with a league record.

In the SWAC…Grambling is at Prairie View and Southern hosts Arkansas Pine-Bluff.

There are seven baseball teams within one game of first place for the overall lead in the Southeastern Conference. LSU is one of those teams, with a 13-7 league mark. Coach Paul Mainieri believes his squad is heading in the right direction…:
Cut 18 (10) “against Alabama”
The Tigers are coming off a sweep of Alabama and they begin an eight-game homestand tonight against South Carolina, who is 10-11 in league play.

UL-Lafayette will look to bounce back from its first series loss in over a year as the Cajuns open an eight-game homestand with a three-game series against conference foe Georgia Southern. Junior Gunner Leger will return to the Friday night starter slot after being pushed back a couple days last weekend at UTA.

McNeese returns to Lake Charles against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi this weekend for its first home Southland Conference series since the middle of April. The Cowboys hold a one-game lead over Sam Houston State in the loss column for first place in the standings.

Southeastern hosts Sam Houston this weekend in a Southland Conference series with postseason implications. The Lions are 1.5 games back of the Bearkats in the conference standings entering the series.

Louisiana Tech takes a trip down to South Beach for a three-game set with FIU which kicks off this afternoon.

ULM baseball team is set for a three-game weekend series at home as Sun Belt Conference newcomer Coastal Carolina to town.

The commercial fishery for large coastal sharks in Louisiana waters is now closed. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says the timing is concurrent with the National Marine Fisheries Service’s closure in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Louisiana’s spring inshore shrimp season will open Monday, May 8 for waters spanning the state’s central coast. Other areas, waters from the Louisiana-Mississippi state line west to South Pass, and from Freshwater Bayou west to the Louisiana-Texas state line, will open at 6 a.m. May 15.

Saints and LSU superfan Jarrius Robetson’s health continues to improve after receiving a liver transplant on Sunday morning. The 15-year-old no longer has breathing tubes and is anxious to get out of bed.

The Baton Rouge Advocate reports an email was sent to LSU’s more than 350 athletes to address the recent decision by the Department of Justice to not press charges against the two officers that were involved in the killing of Alton Sterling. The athletic department message said says if athletes choose to express opinions on the issue, including on social media, they not wear LSU gear.

Freshman guard Kieran Hayward announced via Twitter that he will be leaving the LSU basketball program. Tiger Rag Editor Cody Worsham reports it’s possible that other players will leave too. LSU currently has 13 players on scholarship and that’s the maximum allowed by the NCAA and Head Coach Will Wade is still looking for another graduate transfer. Shooting guard Mark Alstork is set to visit later this month.

Three-star running back Slade Bolden out of West Monroe says he’s received an offer from Alabama. He is among the top-10 all-purpose backs in the class of 2018 and also had SEC offers from Arkansas, LSU, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Vanderbilt. He tweeted that the offer from Alabama was an honor.

LSU is starting up the Tiger Tour again which began on Monday in Bossier City and continues next Monday in Lafayette. Certain LSU head coaches will also be hitting up Lake Charles, Covintgon, Baton Rouge, Thibodaux, Jackson, MS and New Orleans. For ticket information visit lsutaf.org.

Louisiana Tech says it’s also bringing back the Bulldog Blitz tour during the summer of 2017. Alumni and fans are encouraged to spend an evening with athletics staff members in Houston on June 19th, Dallas on June 20th and Ruston on July 29th. Special guests include head coaches Skip Holtz, Brooke Stoehr and Eric Konkol and Athletics Director Tommy McClelland.

Nicholls State junior Albert Badosa-Soler will be heading to the Baton Rouge Regional for the 2017 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship.

LSU sophomore & Shreveport native Sam Burns was voted Southeastern Conference golfer of the year by the league’s coaches. Burns is the fifth player in school history to achieve such an honor.

The Advocate newspaper has obtained an email sent by LSU’s athletic department to its student-athletes that says they respect and support athletes decision to speak out about the Alton Sterling case, but they also tell them to be mindful of media attention it may bring. LSU is also asking players not to wear LSU gear if they protest on social media or in the public.

LSU basketball guard Kieran Hayward has announced he’s transferring. The native from Australia played sparingly his freshman season. Tiger Rag Editor Cody Worsham reports it’s possible that other players will leave too. LSU currently has 13 players on scholarship and that’s the maximum allowed by the NCAA and Head Coach Will Wade is still looking for another graduate transfer. Shooting guard Mark Alstork is set to visit later this month. The Alstork played at Wright State and is also looking at South Carolina and Louisville.

Saints and LSU superfan Jarrius Robetson’s health continues to improve after receiving a liver transplant on Sunday morning. The 15-year-old no longer has breathing tubes and is anxious to get out of bed.

Last night in major league baseball, former LSU pitcher Kevin Gausman was ejected in the second inning, when he hit Red Sox Xander Bogaerts with a curveball. Gausman couldn’t believe he was tossed. Red Sox pitchers have thrown at Baltimore’s Manny Machado twice in the last week. Boston won last night’s game four to two.

The LSU baseball team begins an eight-game homestand tomorrow night when they open a three-game series against South Carolina. The Gamecocks are 10-11 in league play and they have lost their last five SEC series, after starting the season ranked in the preseason Top 5.

Shreveport native Sam Burns was voted Southeastern Conference golfer of the year by the league’s coaches. Burns is ranked as the second best player in the country as the team heads into NCAA regional play.

The LSU baseball team will have its first full squad workout of the week today. It’s final exam week, so the Tigers haven’t been on the practice field as much. LSU begins a three-game series against South Carolina tomorrow. These are two schools that were ranked in the preseason top 5, but the Gamecocks have lost five straight SEC series. LSU is 13-8 in league play and they still have a chance at finishing with the best overall record in the league.

In action tonight…Arkansas is at Tennessee, while Texas A-and-M hosts Mississippi State. The Bulldogs and Auburn lead the SEC West with 14-7 records.

Ole Miss defeated ULM five to three last night to sweep a midweek series from the Warhawks. ULM is 12-34 overall and they’ll get ready to host the defending national champs Coastal Carolina in a three-game series that begins tomorrow.

Also this weekend, the Ragin Cajuns host Georgia Southern, while Southeastern faces Sam Houston State.

Guard Kieran Hayward posted on Twitter that he’s leaving the LSU men’s basketball program. The Tigers roster was one above the scholarship limit, so someone had to go. Hayward is a native of Australia and he averaged just one point a game.

Shreveport native Sam Burns was voted Southeastern Conference golfer of the year by the league’s coaches. Burns is the fifth player in school history to achieve such an honor. Burns is ranked as the second best player in the country as the team heads into NCAA regional play.

The LHSAA state and track field meet gets underway today at LSU’s Bernie Moore Track Stadium. Today it will be Class B and Class C schools.

The baseball playoffs have reached quarterfinal action. Today in Class One-A, Oak Grove takes on Grand Lake and Varnado travels to Delhi Charter. 26th seeded Block also visits Oberlin.

On the Select side…in division one, top-seeded John Curtis begins its best of three series with Evangel.

There are eight former LSU football players who went undrafted but have signed free-agent deals with NFL teams. They are Tashawn Bower with the Vikings, the Colts claimed Colin Jeter, the Raiders signed Rickey Jefferson, the Bears will give tight end DeSean Smith a chance, defensive back Dwayne Thomas has signed with the Patriots, the Saints have signed Travin Dural and offensive lineman Josh Boutte was signed by the Browns.

The Saints will hold a rookie minicamp next weekend. Seven draft picks, 12 undrafted free agents and some of the team’s younger and inexperenced players will participate.

Las Vegas oddmakers have former LSU running back Leonard Fournette has the favorite to win the NFL Rookie of the Year. Bovada-dot-com has his odds at seven to two. Carolina’s Christian McCaffery and Houston’s DeShaun Watson are also listed as favorites. The odds for the Saints to win the Super Bowl is 33-to-1. The Patriots are the favorites to win it all again at 7-to-2.

It’s been an emotional day in Baton Rouge today with the Department of Justice deciding against pursuing civil rights charges against two police officers who were involved in the shooting death of Alton Sterling. The Advocate Newspaper has obtained an email sent out by the LSU athletic department to its student-athletes telling them they respect and support their decisions if they decide to speak their opinions about the case. But they all asked the athletes to be mindful of media attention they may receive by what they say.

New Saints running back Adrian Peterson is making the rounds locally to talk about his mindset coming into New Orleans. He says he wanted to be with a team and an offense that can compete; and from the moment he got off the plane he already felt the love from the Who Dat Nation. His first game in Black and Gold will be against his old ball club, Minnesota. AP says it’s ironic, but exciting…:
CUT 25 (20) “for so long”
That interview is from NewOrleansSaints.com.

Alabama has approved a three-year contract extension through 2024 for Nick Saban that could pay the former LSU coach at least $65 million dollars a season. This would again make him the highest paid coach in college football.

McNeese bats continue to be on fire as the Cowboys pick up a 4-2 win over LSU-Alexandria last night. There were 17 strike outs thrown by McNeese pitchers and the win gave the team its 30th of the season. It was the first home game for the pokes in 16 days. They’ll host Texas A&M Corpus Christi this weekend.

Southeastern pounded on Tulane in New Orleans as the Lions soared to a 16-2 win. The Lions begins a six-game homestand Friday, hosting Sam Houston State. The Green Wave plays host to UCF this weekend.

ULM dropped 21-3 loss against hosts Ole Miss in the first of two midweek games…the next beginning at three pm this afternoon. The Warhawks host Coastal Carolina next.

UNO took on Grambling in a neutral-site game in Biloxi where the Privateers’ picked up a 10-1 victory.

LSU is off this week for finals. The Tigers host South Carolina in a three game set starting Friday.

UL-Lafayette will host Georgia Southern.

Recently signed running Adrian Peterson explained why he signed with the Saints in an interview that can be seen on new-orleans-saints-dot-com. Peterson says what’s not to like about the offense, especially the O-Line…
cut 30 (18) “…Drew Brees”
Peterson also says he’s ready to be a mentor to Mark Ingram, who rushed for over one-thousand yards for the first time in his career last season.

Alabama Head Football Coach Nick Saban has received a three-year contract extension that could pay him at least 65-million dollars through the 2024 season. Saban received a four-million dollar signing bonus, so his salary for this year is just over 11-million dollars.

The LSU baseball team has no midweek games this week as it’s final exam week on the Baton Rouge campus. The Tigers moved up three spots in the latest Collegiate Baseball to number 11. LSU is ranked 15th by Baseball America. The Tigers will begin a three-game series against South Carolina on Friday at Alex Box Stadium.

In action tonight…ULM begins a two-game midweek series at Ole Miss. UNO faces Grambling in Biloxi, Southeastern Louisiana visits Tulane. The Lions are looking for their fourth straight win over the Green Wave. And McNeese State hosts LSU-Alexandria. It’s the first home game for the Cowboys in 16 days.

After going 3-1 last week, including a sweep of Alabama, LSU remained No. 15 in the Baseball America poll, was up one to 12 in D1 Baseball, and 12 from 15 in Perfect game. The Tigers face South Carolina this weekend at The Box after a break this week for final exams.

McNeese State remains first in the Southland heading into tonight’s home contest against LSU-Alexandria in Lake Charles. The Cowboys are going for their 30th win of the season.

Southeastern wraps up a two-game season series with Tulane tonight in New Orleans. The Lions are riding a five-game winning streak. The Green Wave has won nine of its last 15 contests.

UNO takes on Grambling State in a neutral site game played in Biloxi.

Today ULM opens the final month of the regular season with a pair of midweek games against Ole Miss beginning tonight in Oxford.

At the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, in a sudden death playoff Monday, Cameron Smith hit a 3 and half foot birdie putt on the fourth hole which gave him and partner Jonas Blixt a win over Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown. Kisner helped forced the extra day following a 94 and a half foot chip shot for an Eagle following a 6 hour weather delay Sunday.

Southeastern second baseman Carson Crites was named the Southland Conference Hitter of the Week. The past week Crites went 8 for 16 at the plate with a pair of home runs, six RBIs and five runs scored.

Tigers basketball coach Will Wade announces that Jeremy Combs will transfer to LSU in the summer after he receives his degree from North Texas. The six-foot-seven forward will be eligible to play next season. Combs averaged 10 points and six rebounds last season, despite an ankle injury that forced him to miss 16 games. Wade and his wife Lauren welcomed a new baby girl Caroline Elizabeth this week.

The Saints had a big need to draft a pass rusher and in the sixth round they took defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad. The 6-3, 253-pounder had his issues at Miami. He was suspended for the entire 2014 season for punching another student. He was also suspended for one game for violation of team rules in 2015 and then was kicked off the team last year  after allegedly receiving improper benefits from a car rental company. Coach Sean Payton says Muhammad has made some mistakes, but he’s been a good teammate…

cut 19 (13) “…if he fell”

The Saints announced today they’ve signed 12 undrafted free agents, including former LSU wide receiver Travin Dural.

And former LSU and UL Lafayette quarterback Anthony Jennings announces he’s signed with the New York Jets.

Cameron Smith and Jonas Blizt won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans as they defeated Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown on the fourth playoff hole in the new team format for the PGA tournament. Smith’s hit a birdie putt from three and half feet to win the event, which needed to finish today, because of a six-hour weather delay on Sunday.

Tigers basketball coach Will Wade announces that Jeremy Combs will transfer to LSU in the summer after he receives his degree from North Texas. The six-foot-seven forward will be eligible to play next season. Combs averaged 10 points and six rebounds last season, despite an ankle injury that forced him to miss 16 games.