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.

A three-run fourth inning was the difference last night as Florida held on for a 4-3 victory over the LSU Tigers in Game 1 of the championship series of the CWS. LSU starting pitcher Russell Reynolds was excellent through three innings, but three consecutive walks in the 4th inning led to three Florida runs. LSU Coach Paul Mainieri wishes he took Reynolds out after the 3rd inning…
Cut 14 (10) “back fired”
LSU got the deficit down to one run on two different occasions, but couldn’t get the big hit off of Gators closer Michael Byrne, who earned his 19th save.

Tonight Jared Poche will start on the hill for the Tigers, looking for his 40th career victory.

Saints defensive tackle Nick Fairley will not play football in 2017 because of a heart condition that has at least one doctor concerned it has gotten worse since he entered the league. The team has placed Fairley on the reserve-non-football injury list, which means he can’t play this season. It’s unclear if Fairley will be able to return to the football field again. He signed a four-year contract worth 28-million dollars this offseason after registering a career-high 6.5 sacks in 2016.

One of the top running backs in the state has flipped his commitment from UCLA to LSU. Many’s AJ Carter becomes the third running back verbal pledge in the Tigers 2018 class. The six-foot, 220 pound tailback is considered a three-star prospect after ushing for 22-hundred yards and 41 total touchdowns as a junior.

In basketball news….the Pelicans Anthony Davis has been named to the second team All-Defense team after averaging 2.2 blocks per game.

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.

LSU’s backs are against the wall again. Jeff Palermo reports the Tigers need to win tonight to force a third and deciding game of the CWS championship series…:
Cut 3 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”
First pitch is at 7pm and the game will be televised on ESPN.

The LSU football team may have gotten its biggest flip to date as the state’s top running back, AJ Carter, de-committed from UCLA and instead has decided to play for The Tigers. Carter is a three star RB out of Many and he’s the third running back to commit to LSU in the past week.

On Monday the New Orleans Saints announced that Defensive Tackle Nick Fairley was placed on the team’s reserve/non-football illness list. The the veteran DT learned a few months ago that a Red Flag was raised on his heart after a health examine. Nick is coming off his best season as a pro, and signed a one-year deal with the Saints in the spring of 2016. Now the future of Fairley with the Saints and his future in the NFL are all on hold, as he’s out for the 2017 season.

LSU men’s basketball coach Will Wade took part in the SEC Coaches’ Summer Teleconference on Monday, and said, obviously, the Purple and Gold nation wants to see hoops win bad. He said the plan is to shore up some defensive issues that Tigers had last season, and change the standards for LSU basketball in general.

Two longtime SEC rivals meet tonight in Omaha and the winner of the best of three series will come away as the national champion in college baseball. Game 1 is tonight as LSU seeks it’s 7th national title in program history, while Florida would win their first College World Series championship.

LSU and Florida met earlier this season and the Gators took two of three from the Bayou Bengals. Tigers shortstop Kramer Robertson says both teams are playing better than when they matched up against each other in March….
cut 16 (16) “…are stronger”
Fifth-year senior Russell Reynolds will start on the mound for LSU. Reynolds will be making his first start of the year and has an ERA of 8.59 in limited action.

Saints defensive tackle Nick Fairley will not play football in 2017. New Orleans has placed Fairley on the team’s non-football injury list, because of a heart condition that is considered career threatening. Fairley had a career-high 6.5 sacks last season and signed a four-year 28-million dollar contract in the offseason.

Many running back AJ Carter has reportedly flipped his commitment from UCLA to LSU. Carter gives LSU 22 commitments for the Class of 2018. Carter rushed for over 2,000 yards and scored 35 rushing touchdowns last season.

D-1 Baseball’s Kendall Rogers reports Southern Miss pitching coach Mike Federico will be the next head coach of the ULM Warhawks. Federico was a catcher for Southern Miss in the mid-1990s and has served as the Golden Eagles pitching coach the last eight years. Federico was named Conference USA assistant coach of the year in 2015.

The Pelicans Anthony Davis was named to the 2016-17 NBA All-defensive second team. Davis ranked second in the league this past season in blocks per game and seventh in rebounds.

It’ll be an SEC showdown in the College World Series Finals as LSU takes on conference rival Florida in a best-of-three beginning tonight. Michelle Southern reports…:
Voicer 5 (30) “I’m Michelle Southern”

The Gators took two of three from the Tigers in Gainesville earlier this year. Russell Reynolds will be the starting pitcher for LSU. The senior from Baton Rouge is making his first start of the season.

The LSU football program has added another player’s name to the 2018 recruiting class. That’s tight end Zach Sheffer from Florida. He’s six-foot-three, 230 pounds and had over two dozen offers. 24-7 sports lists Sheffer as a three-star prospect and the 26th best player at his position.

New LSU men’s basketball coach Will Wade appeared on an SEC teleconference this morning and said one of his biggest challenges at LSU so far is changing the way players think and changing the standards to which they do things. He says they’ve spent a vast majority of time during summer workouts trying to shore up the defensive issues that plauged them under former head coach Johnny Jones.

Back to the College World Series, there have been 22 home runs hit during the CWS. That’s the most since moving to TD Ameritrade Park in 2011. The second highest total was 15 in 2015. Prior to the 2015 season, the NCAA decided to lower the seams on the baseball in the hopes they would fly farther.

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.

The College World Series Finals take place tonight starting at 6 and it’s all SEC as LSU battles Florida to begin a best of three. Right-hander Russell Reynolds will take the ball for the Tigers. LSU Shortstop Kramer Robertson says this feels like an SEC weekend, just with more at stake…:
Cut 18 (10) “gets the job done”
Jared Poche will start tomorrow and he says there isn’t much you have to guess at this point in the season…:
Cut 17 (10) “behind you”
This is the 6th appearance for LSU in the CWS finals, and The Tigers have won all six times…the last being in 2009.

LSU has landed a couple of other nice commitments for the 2018 class. Alabama’s Tae Provens is ranked as a Top 50 athlete on 247Sports. Coach Orgeron has also landed Florida tight end Zach Sheffer. Sheffer is ranked by the 247Composite as the No. 26 tight end prospect in the country. LSU’s 2018 class now sits at 21 commitments and ranks No. 1 in the SEC and No. 3 nationally.

Tyrann Mathieu was back in his hometown Sunday, hosting his camp at the Saints training facility. It’s the second year of the camp for the former St. Augustine and LSU standout now entering his fifth NFL season with the Arizona Cardinals. Mathieu said he plans on making the camp a yearly occurrence as a way to give back to New Orleans.

LSU Quarterback Danny Etling showed up at the Manning Passing Academy at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, which was held from Thursday through Sunday. Reigning Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson was also there coaching campers at MPA.

The LSU Tiger baseball team did not disappoint in the College World Series after a 3-1 victory over Oregon State forces an elimination game between the two teams today in Omaha. LSU ace Alex Lange held the Beavers to one run on two hits in 7.1 incredible innings. Coach Paul Maineri said he didn’t want to upset the MLB team who drafted Lange in the first round
CUT 25 (12) “next week”
Lange got a huge reception from the Purple and Gold Nation when he walked off the field…:
CUT 26 (17) “best feeling ever”
LSU will play TCU today at 2pm after the Horned frogs beat Florida last night. Those two teams will play tonight at 7.

Good news keeps rolling in for Coach Ed Orgeron. A day after getting a verbal pledge from Florida running back Chris Curry who is ranked by 247Sports.com as the nation’s 24th-best RB, The Tigers have added wide receiver Justin Jefferson to its 2017 recruiting class. The prospect from Destrehan is the youngest of the three Jefferson boys to wear the purple and gold — the others of course being Jordan and Rickey.

The New Orleans Pelicans traded up in the NBA Draft on Thursday night to select Duke guard Frank Jackson with the No. 31 pick. The Pels decided to trade the 52nd overall pick to the Pacers in exchange for cash considerations. Now the question is what’s to come with Jrue Holiday contract talks as the start of free agency begins in July.

Former Louisiana Tech forward Erik McCree reached a free agent contract agreement with the Houston Rockets. He wasn’t selected in the 2017 NBA Draft, but multiple organizations called him before McCree ultimately decided on Houston.