According to a poll of the SEC baseball coaches, the LSU Tigers are projected to finish in second place in the SEC West, behind Texas A-and-M. Starting pitcher Alex Lange is a preseason 1st team all-sec selection. The Tigers open the season tomorrow night against Cincinnati. LSU Coach Paul Mainieri said today that shortstop Trey Dawson may not play in the season opener because of pink eye.

Sixth ranked UL Lafayette is at home to take on Sam Houston State. The defending champs in the Southland Conference, Southeastern Louisiana, will host ULM for three games in Hammond.

The NBA trade deadline came and went and the Pelicans did NOT trade Ryan Anderson, even though there was a lot of interest in the veterans. The Pels did make one move by acquiring power forward Jarnell Stokes from the Miami Heat for a future second round pick. Stokes has played in 26 career NBA games after a three-year career at Tennessee.

After serving as an LSU grad student in 2004, former Auburn quarterback Dameyune Craig is back in Baton Rouge this time as the wide receivers coach for the Tigers. Craig joins LSU after serving as Auburn’s co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach…
cut 19 (18) “,…that sells”

In college hoops tonight….UL Lafayette, ULM and Louisiana Tech are all playing in Texas. Tthe Ragin Cajuns are at UT Arlington for the start of a four-game road trip. UL Lafayette is 10-4 in the Sun Belt and in second place. ULM also begins a four-game road trip as they are at Texas State. And Louisiana Tech visits Texas San Antonio.

Tough second half for the LSU men’s basketball team as they lost their first home game in SEC play last night. The Tigers shot 32-percent in the second half against the Crimson Tide and lost to Alabama 76 to 69. LSU was outscored 45-33 in the final 20 minutes. Free throw shooting was a problem as they missed 15 of them and Alabama’s Retin Obasohan had a career-high 35 points.

Former Edna Karr Head Football Coach Jabbar Juluke is more than pumped to have an opportunity to ach at LSU….
cut 18 (10) “….be here”
Juluke, who will coach running backs at LSU, was introduced to the media along with new wide recivers coach Dameyune Craig. Coach Les Miles added they are still working on a new contract for offensive coordinator Cam Cameron.

A federal judge has rejected the plea deal in the drug and rape case against former NFL star and ex Saints safety Darren Sharper. US District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo says the possible nine-year sentence doesn’t fit the seriousness of the alleged accusations against Sharper. Sharper now has to decide whether to withdraw his guilty plea before his scheduled sentencing hearing next month.

In college basketball…the Ragin Cajuns begin a four-game road trip tonight at UT Arlington. UL Lafayette is 10-4 in the Sun Belt and in second place. The Mavs come into the contest with a three-game winning streak.

ULM also begins a four-game road trip as they are at Texas State. The Warhawks are also on a three-game winning streak.

Louisiana Tech is also in the lone star state as the Bulldogs face Texas San Antonio tonight. The Bulldogs are coming off two big wins last week and wtih six regular season games left, they sit alone in fourth place in the Conference USA standings.

LSU was knocked out of the tie for first place in Southeastern Conference standings last night after falling to Alabama 76-69 at the PMAC. Ben Simmons had 20 points and 10 rebounds for LSU, but he also turned the ball over three times and missed nine of 19 free throws. The Tigers visit Tennessee on Saturday.

Tulane was trounced by Houston last night 83-69. Tonight UL-Lafayette travels to face UT Arlington. ULM is at Texas State and Tech goes to UT-San Antonio.

Sources say the Saints have freed up some cap space by converting defensive end Cam Jordan’s $6 million dollar roster bonus into a signing bonus. New Orleans has now trimmed about $14 million dollars off its salary cap number heading into the 2016 season.

LSU Football coach Les Miles introduced two new additions to his coaching staff Wednesday. Jabbar Juluke is the new Tigers running backs coach while Dameyune Craig will be in charge of wide receivers…:
Cut 17 (12) “special things”
Juluke is a former St. Aug Purple Knight, state championship Karr head coach, Southern Jaguar and was the running backs coach at Louisiana Tech for three years. Craig left the wide receiver coaching job at Auburn to come work the same position for Miles.

Retiring Voice of the Tigers Jim Hawthorne has been named a recipient of the 2016 Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association. Longtime Alexandria sportswriter Bob Tompkins is receiving the same honor. Both men will be enshrined in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.

Saints general manager Mickey Loomis told Sirius XM NFL radio that the club intends to sign quarterback Drew Brees to a long-term contract. Loomis says they’ll get it worked out in a way that helps the team and fits what Brees wants to do. The nine-time Pro Bowler is 37-years-old and entering the fifth year of a 100-million dollar contract.

The Saints have reportedly restructured the contract of defensive end Cameron Jordan. According to ESPN’s Field Yates New Orleans converted Jordan’s six-million dollar roster bonus to a signing bonus, which will save them four million dollars against the salary cap.

LSU football coach Les Miles told reporters today that quarterback Brandon Harris has resumed throwing the football after undergoing surgery last month to repair a sports hernia. Miles anticipates Harris will be fully recovered by the time spring practice starts on March 7th.

In major league baseball…former LSU Tiger DJ LeMahieu has reportedly signed a two-year deal with the Colorado Rockies. The All-Star second baseman hit .301 with six homers and 23 steals, plus he provided outstanding defense in the field.

Tomorrow afternoon is the NBA trade deadline. There are reports the Pelicans are aggressively trying to move forward Ryan Anderson. New Orleans is not expected to resign Anderson when he becomes a free agent this summer. The Cavaliers are reportedly interested in acquiring the three-point specialist.

Tonight at the Maravich Center, the LSU Tigers will host the Alabama Crimson Tide. Bama is one of the hottest teams in the league as they’ve won five of their last six, since losing to LSU on January 23rd in Tuscaloosa. Coach Johnny Jones on the difference between Bama now and then…
cut 30 (23) “….deal of confidence”
Tip-off is at eight o’ clock.

The Saints have reportedly restructured the contract of defensive end Cameron Jordan. According to ESPN’s Field Yates New Orleans converted Jordan’s six-million dollar roster bonus to a signing bonus, which will save them four million dollars against the salary cap.

And General Manager Mickey Loomis told Sirius XM NFL radio that they would like to sign quarterback Drew Brees to a contract extension. But Loomis says negotiations have yet to begin with Brees’ agent Tom Condon.

A couple of former Saints were released Tuesday. The Chicago Bears said goodbye to offensive tackle Jermon Bushrod, while the Lions cut running back Joique Bell.

The Lousiaina Superdome has been named to the National Register of Historic Places. It sounds like a good thing, but Dome officials say the designation could slow down maintenance and capital projects on the building. A Tulane University student nominated the Dome to the National Register Review committee .

Two LSU wide receivers are transferring out of the program. One of the them is Trey Quinn, who was a four-star recruit out of Lake Charles. Quinn played in 14 games in two seasons in Baton Rouge, but only only caught five passes in 2015. Kevin Spears is also transferring. He was a three-star recruit from Holy Cross High School in New Orleans, but never caught a pass in his LSU career.

Big game at the PMAC tonight as LSU hosts Alabama in an SEC showdown. The Crimson Tide is coached by Louisiana native and former Southern star Avery Johnson. Tigers Coach Johnny Jones he got to know Johnson when Jones was at North Texas and Avery was the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks…
cut 30 (22) “…time together”
Tip-off tonight is at 8 PM.

LSU men’s hoops faces one of the hottest teams in the SEC tonight when the Tigers host Alabama. LSU beat the Crimson Tide by two points in Tuscaloosa on January 26th, but since then Bama has won five of its last six. Coach Johnny Jones on what he sees from Alabama during its current four-game winning streak…
CUT 1 (12) “…on the road”
Tip-off is at 8 PM.

New Orleans Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis tells a radio show dedicated to the NFL that he hasn’t talked with quarterback Drew Brees’ agent about a contract extension, but he wants the star QB to finish his career with the Black and Gold. Brees is set to have a $30 million dollar cap charge in 2016 which could be reduced and benefit the Saints. But Loomis said it’s less the cap and more the fact that they want Brees to be the Saints quarterback for the foreseeable future.

LSU sophomore right-hander Alex Lange is named by USA Baseball to the 50-player preseason Golden Spikes Award Watch list. The list looks at the top amateur baseball player in the nation for the 2016 season. Lange posted a 12-0 record in 2015 and recorded 131 strikeouts.

The LSU football team is losing two more receivers. Highly recruited out of Barbe, Trey Quinn confirmed on Twitter that he’s transferring. Rising red-shirt junior Kevin Spears is leaving LSU as well.

LSU has received 20-thousand tickets to sell for the season opener against Wisconsin at Lambeau Field. Prices range from 91-dollars to 118-dollars. LSU’s spring game is April 16th and the first spring practice is March 7th.

A couple of former Saints were released Tuesday. The Chicago Bears said goodbye to offensive tackle Jermon Bushrod, while the Lions cut running back Joique Bell.

Wide receiver Trey Quinn has announced on social media that he is transferring from LSU. Quinn was highly recruited coming out of Barbe High School after he set a national high school receiving record as he had 6,566 yards. Quinn started several games his freshman season at LSU, but only caught 17 passes. Last year, he only grabbed five passes. He will reportedly not be allowed to transfer to another SEC school.

And it’s also being reported that former Holy Cross wide receiver Kevin Spears will also transfer from LSU. Spears is apparently hoping to sign with an FCS program.

A couple of other Tiger notes, LSU has received 20-thousand tickets to sell for the season opener against Wisconsin at Lambeau Field. Prices range from 91-dollars to 118-dollars. LSU’s spring game is April 16th and the first spring practice is March 7th.

A couple of former Saints were released today. The Chicago Bears said goodbye to offensive tackle Jermon Bushrod, while the Lions cut running back Joicque Bell.

LSU released its spring football practice schedule today. The Tigers will hold 15 spring workouts starting on March seventh. The spring game is April 16th at 3 PM in Tiger Stadium.

Evangel wide receiver Johnathan Jones has decommitted from Louisiana Tech citing “recent political events”. Jones announced his decommitment on twitter. The political events Jones was referring to are the comments that have been made by Governor John Bel Edwards and others concerning deep cuts to higher education and the possiblity college campuses could close under worst case scenarios.

Grambling State has suspended its search for a new athletic director as a result of potential cuts to higher education. In a letter from Grambling president Willie Larkin, he says they’ll hold off on naming a new AD until they have more certainity about its budget. Grambling has not had a permanent AD since July 2014. Obadiah Simmons is serving as interim AD.

ULM’s Majok Deng has been named as the Louisiana Sports Writer’s Assocation men’s basketball player of the week. The senior from Australia scored 23 points and 27 points in two games last week, both of them victories. Deng is leading the Sun Belt in scoring, averaging less than 20 points per contest.

In college hoops last night….Southeastern Louisiana defeated McNeese State 79-76 in overtime. The Lions have won four of their last five and it’s the first time they’ve won on the road this year.

Elsewhere….Texas Southern topped Grambling 79-72, Southern whipped up on Mississippi Valley State 97-64, Central Arkansas outscored Northwestern State 107-94 and the Texas A-and-M Corpus Christi clobbered UNO 65-57.

The LSU men’s basketball team is home tomorrow night against Alabama. The Tigers are tied with Kentucky for first place in the Southeastern Conference with a nine and three record and there are six league games left.

In college hoops, the performance by LSU of late is causing outsiders to take notice. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, one of the most respected bracketologists, moved the Tigers up to a NO. 7 seed in his NCAA tournament bracket posted Monday. CBSSports.com’s Jerry Palm has LSU as one of the last four teams in the field to earn a No. 11 seed, following the performance of the Tigers in the win over Texas A&M over the weekend. LSU hosts Alabama tomorrow night.

In baseball…LSU right-hander Jesse Stallins has been named to the Stopper of the Year watch list as the Colfax native had 12 saves last season. McNeese State’s Collin Kober is also on that list. Kober was second in the Southland last season with nine saves.

Curtis Johnson, who was fired as Tulane coach in November after four seasons with the Green Wave, has been hired as the new wide receivers coach for the chicago Bears. Johnson coached wide receivers for the Saints for 6 years.

Men’s basketball Scores elsewhere around the state Monday — UNO fell to Texas A&M Corpus Christi 65-57.

Southeasterm was able to hold on in overtime to get the 79-76 win over McNeese State. Zay Jackson had 23 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Lions.

Grambling State loses to Texas Southern in Houston 79-72 Monday night.

Southern put up its highest point total of the season in the 97-64 victory over Mississippi Valley State in Baton Rouge.

Nola.com is reporting that a judge in New Orleans set a May 16th trial date for former Saints player Darren Sharper who is facing drug and rape conspiracy charges. Sharper pleaded guilty in a “global deal” last year, but earlier this month court documents made it look like negotiations had gone back to the drawing board.

LSU’s chances of making the NCAA Tournament appear to be improving, after beating Texas A-and-M over the weekend. ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi has LSU as a seven-seed in his latest projected bracket. CBS’ Jerry Palm has LSU as a 11-seed. Tigers Coach Johnny Jones says he doesn’t want his team focusing on the tournament projections, instead the team should remain concentrated on getting as many wins as possible…
cut 19 (14) “….for us”
LSU hosts Alabama on Wednesday night.

Louisiana Tech’s Erik McCree has been named Conference USA Player of the week after scoring 33 points in the Bulldogs come from behind win over UAB on Saturday.

ULM’s Majok Deng earned Sun Belt Men’s player of the week status by scoring 27 points and grabbing six rebounds in the Warhawks overtime victory over Arkansas State.

Northwestern State’s Zeek Woodley has been named Southland Conference Player of the Week. Woodley had 24 points in a win over McNeese State.

Tonight…McNeese State hosts Southeastern Louisiana. Grambling visits Texas Southern, Southern hosts Mississippi Valley State, Northwestern State travels to Central Arkansas, while UNO hosts Texas A-and-M Corpus Christi.

In baseball…LSU right-hander Jesse Stallins has been named to the Stopper of the Year watch list as the Colfax native had 12 saves last season. McNeese State’s Collin Kober is also on that list. Kober was second in the Southland last season with nine saves.

Evangel Christian wide receiver Johnathan Jones has de-committed from Louisiana Tech. In a post on social media, Jones said recent political events led to his decision. Jones is referring to last week’s comment by Governor John Bel Edwards, who said severe budget cuts could result in college campuses closing this spring, meaning no football in the fall.