Louisiana is one of just two states to see a decline in median wages between 2013 and 2016, according to Governing magazine’s analysis of federal data. LSU economist Dr. Loren Scott says that’s not surprising because the Bayou State has been in a recession since August of 2015..:
Cut 7 (11) “high wage jobs”
The report finds Louisiana’s median hourly wage fell by 0.5 percent to $15.43 last year.

The House has sent a bill to the Senate that would ban the use of tobacco products on school property. West Monroe Representative Frank Hoffman got 60 “Yes” votes for his proposal…:
Cut 15 (06) “to be done”
He hopes this will help teachers quit smoking.

A measure that would increase the age requirement from 18 to 21 for exotic dance clubs to hire strippers is scheduled to be heard by a Senate Committee today. The bill has been touted as a way to stop human trafficking. Jim Kelly runs the Covenant House in New Orleans and he’s helped over 90 human trafficking victims recently…:
Cut 10 (10) “of 21″
A similar law was passed last year but was blocked by a judge for being too vague. Kelly says this year’s measure is far less broad.

An effort to immediately block the removal of one of the Confederate era monuments in New Orleans has been blocked by a judge. A suit was filed claiming the Beauregard statue was on private property and didn’t belong to the city. A hearing is slated for tomorrow morning.

Antoine Duplantis’ walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th inning gave LSU a 7-6 win over South Carolina last night. Duplantis had five hits on the afternoon. Greg Deichmann had three base knocks and drove in two runs, including the game tying run in the 9th inning…
cut 18 (17) “…the weekend’
LSU is 15-9, one game back of Mississippi State and Florida for first place in the SEC standings.

Ruston native Zach Watson has been named SEC Freshman of the Week. The Tigers centerfielder was 5-for-19 with 4 RBI to help lead LSU to an SEC series victory over South Carolina.

Tomorrow night the Tigers host South Alabama.

The Ragin Cajuns had a tough weekend. They dropped their Sun Belt Series against Georgia Southern and in the process they lost starting senior outfielder Ishmael Edwards with a fractured left thumb. Edwards has the second highest batting average on the team and also leads the club with five triples.

Louisiana Tech’s Raphael Gladu has been named Conference USA Player of the Week. He hit a team-high .615 during the series victory over florida International. Tech visits the Ragin Cajuns tomorrow.

The longtime men’s tennis coach at LSU, Jeff Brown, has resigned. He’s been the head coach of the Tigers for 20 years and their two best years were in 1998 and 1999 when LSU reached the national semifinals.

Tiger Rag Magazine is reporting Ole Miss assistant Bill Armstrong will be the final member to new men’s basketball coach Will Wade’s coaching staff. Armstrong is a UAB alum and has spent 11 seasons in Oxford.

LSU baseball is one game back of the overall SEC lead and in sole position of second place in the West Division after a thrilling seven to six win over South Carolina on Sunday. The Tigers won two of three from the Gamecocks, after losing a one run contest on Friday. Coach Paul Mainieri wasn’t surprised the series tightly played….
cut 17 (18) “….Super Regional”
Antoine Duplantis had five hits yesterday and drove in the game winning run. Greg Deichmann had three hits and tied the game in the ninth with an RBI single.

McNeese State lost its second straight yesterday, falling to Texas A-and-M Corpus Christi five to four. But the Cowboys still have a 2.5 game lead for first place over Sam Houston. Southern Louisiana took two of three from the Bearcats and are three games back of the cowboys.

Grambling State is the champions of the SWAC Western Divsion after sweeping Prairie View this past weekend. The Tigers won 14-1 yesterday and they’ll conclude the regular season on Wednesday at Alabama.

Tough series for the Ragin Cajuns as they lost two of three from Georgia Southern. The Eagles soared past UL Lafayette nine to one. Cajuns senior outfielder Ishmael Edwards is expected to miss some time after fracturing his left thumb while stealing second base on Saturday.

The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport repots Saints starting center Max Unger will reportedly miss at least the first six weeks of the regular season because of a foot injury. How the injury occurred is unknown.

In college football news…Head Coach Ed Orgeron expects 2017 will be the last season for running back Derrius Guice at LSU. Orgeron also anticipates that Tiger pass rusher Arden Key is expected to return to LSU for summer school in June. Key took a leave of absence from the football program in February because of personal reasons.

Left this story off the text by mistake:

LSU Head Coach Ed Orgeron says linebacker Arden Key is expected to return in June. The All American pass rusher left the program this spring for personal reasons, but Coach “O” said they are targeting a date for Key to come back at the start of summer school.

Lafayette native Antoine Duplantis’ fifth hit of the game sent home the winning run yesterday as the Tigers were victorious in a wild contest versus South Carolina. The score was 7-6 in ten innings. Duplantis had four singles and one double as the Tigers had 17 hits. Coach Paul Mainieri says great things happen when Duplantis is feeling good at the plate..:
Cut 16 (14) “big way”
LSU lost Friday, but came back to win on Saturday and Sunday to take the series against the Gamecocks.

UL-Lafayette fell 9-1 in the rubber game against Georgia Southern on Sunday, as the Cajuns drop back to back series’ for the first time since 2015.

Also in Sun Belt action, ULM left four runners on base over the opening three innings on Sunday, and Coastal Carolina handed the Warhawks an 8-1 loss.

Louisiana Tech dropped the finale to FIU, 6-3 Sunday, but still took the series on the road in Miami. The Bulldogs will still sit in fifth place in the Conference USA standings.

McNeese State fell 5-4 in Lake Charles against Texas A&M Corpus Christi, as the Cowboys dropped their first home Southland series of the season. The Pokes still have a one-game lead over Sam Houston State in the loss column atop the league standings.

Meanwhile, Southeastern dropped the series finale 10-3 to the Bearkats Sunday dropping the Lions to third place in Southland standings.

Stephen F Austin fell 3-1 on Sunday to Nicholls State. The Colonels are now in a three-way tie for seventh with Lamar and New Orleans. UNO lost to Houston Baptist 4-1 yesterday. Tulane was hammered 11-1 by Central Florida. Northwestern State dominated Incarnate Word 11-1.

Louisiana Tech has had another quarterback decide to leave the program. Backup Jack Abraham announced on Twitter that he’s transferring from the Bulldogs to continue his education and play football. QB Price Wilson left in April. Abraham and Wilson had been competing for the No. 2 spot behind starter J’Mar Smith.

Tough, tough loss for the LSU baseball team last night as they had multiple chances to score a bunch of runs instead, they lost 3-2 to South Carolina. The Tigers were two-for-16 with runners on base, 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and 0-for-3 with the bases loaded. For the game, LSU left 11 runners on base. The loss drops the Tigers 1.5 games back of Auburn for the overall lead in the SEC. Tonight’s game is at 7 PM.

The Ragin Cajuns snapped their three-game losing streak with a 3-0 win over Georgia Southern. Kennon Fontenot hit a two-run homer and Gunner Leger gave up just two hits for his ninth win of the year.

Coastal Carolina defeated ULM 7-5 in 12 innings. Louisiana Tech pounded Florida International 14-6. That’s six straight wins for the Bulldogs. Miami native Brent Diaz hit a three-run homer, also had a two-run double and a triple.

McNeese opened its series with Texas A&M Corpus Chrsiti with a 6-4 win over the Islanders. Austin Sanders tied a career-high with nine strikeouts. The Cowboys are now 20-5 in conference play and have a 3.5 game lead for first place. It’s only the third time in program history the Pokes have won 20 Southland Conference games in a season.

Southeasetern Louisiana defeated Sam Houston State two to one in 11 innings last night as Drew Avans RBI single to center ended the ball game. Great pitching performance from Lions starter Mac Sceroler (Suh-roller) struckout 13 over nine innings.

Nicholls thumped Stephen F Austin 15-6. First time since 2010 that the colonels scored that many runs in a Southland game.

UNO edged Houston Baptist three to one and Incarnate World blanked Northwestern 2-0.

Better news for the Demon basketball program as guard Jalen West has been granted a seventh year of eligibility. It’s rare for the NCAA to do this. West has missed the last two seasons with knee injuries.

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.