LSU will have a walk-thru later today as they put the finishing touches on its preparations for Saturday night’s homecoming contest versus Western Kentucky. The Tigers have struggled on special teams this year. In the last two weeks, they’ve allowed a kickoff return and a punt return for a touchdown. Coach Les Miles says special teams have been an emphasis at practice this week…
cut 16 (15) “….we see”
Punter Jamie Keehn has also struggled this year as his average per punt is down five yards from last year.

The Saints are heading into Sunday’s game against the Colts as healthy as they’ve been all season. Left tackle Terron Armstead says he plans on playing after missing the last two games with a knee injury. Linebacker Dannell Ellerbe is also back at practice.

There are several big high school football games on the schedule tonight. In north Louisiana….Airline is at Evangel, while Ouachia Christian hosts Mangham. In south Louisiana…St. Thomas More renews its rivalry with Teurlings Catholic, Eunice is at Church Point and Riverside visits St. Charles Catholic.

The Pelicans play their final preseason game of the year tonight as they take on the Miami Heat. The game will be played at the Smoothie King Center, which has a big new scoreboard this year. Forward Luke Babbit is listed as questionable to play, with a strained hamstring. The regular season begins Tuesday at Golden State.

Hockey is returning to Shreveport. The Shreveport Mudbugs will be a member of the N-A-H-L, which is a junior league, starting next year. Tommy Scott, who owned the franchise when the team ceased operations in 2011, has signed a lease for the team play at the Hirsch Coliseum. Before the puck drops, one-point-five million dollars in upgrades will occur at the Hirsch.

The Saints are getting ready to take on Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Luck returned from injury last week to throw for 312 yards and three touchdowns in a loss to the New England Patriots. The defeat dropped Indy’s record to 3-and-3, but they are in first place in the AFC South. The Saints are 2-and-4 on the season. Coach Sean Payton admitted today that cornerback Keenan Lewis had surgery to repair a sports hernia before the regular season started and Payton didn’t put a timetable on his return. And Saints tackle Terron Armstead said he’s optimistic he’ll be able to play against the Colts as he’s trying to come back from a knee injury.

Tonight it’s the New Orleans Saints-LHSAA Game of the Week on Fox Sports New Orleans. Prep fans can catch North Webster taking on Mansfield at seven o’ clock.

There’s a new scoreboard at the Smoothie King Center and it’s big. Fans will get their first chance to see it tomorrow night, when the Pelicans host Miami in the final preseason game of the year.

The LSU Tigers will face Western Kentucky on Saturday in Tiger Stadium for homecoming. The Bayou Bengals are taking on a team that scores a lot of points. In seven games this season, the Hilltoppers have scored 308 points and they scored 55 last week against North Texas and then 58 the game before against Middle Tennessee. Western Kentucky’s quarterback is Brandon Doughty and he’s thrown for 27-hundred yards and 24 touchdowns. Kick-off is at 6 PM.

The Mudbugs are back in Shreveport. Tommy Scott, who owned the professional hockey team when the franchise ceased operations in 2011, has signed a 12-year lease with the State Fair of Louisiana for use of the Hirsch Coliseum. It means the Shreveport Mudbugs will return to the ice in 2016 as a member of the N-A-H-L. The deal also calls for a one-point-five-million dollar upgrade to the Hirsch Coliseum.

And the New Orleans Zephyrs Triple-A baseball team has agreed to a deal that will keep them playing in Metairie for at least another five seasons.

The Saints are 2-and-4 heading into Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts. Coach Sean Payton says there’s two things his team needs to get better at…in order turn their season around…
cut 17 (08) “…down ride”
Sunday’s opponent, the Indianapolis Colts, are 3-and-3 and lead the NFC South by one game over the Houston Texans.

In other NFL news…former LSU Tiger Steven Ridley is practicing with the Jets for the first time this season. Ridley has been on the physically unable to perform list after blowing out his knee last year. Jets Coach Todd Bowles says there’s a chance Ridley can play this Sunday.

In NBA preseason action…The Pelicans lost to Orlando 110 to 107 last night. Coach Alvin Gentry is not happy about the 22 turnovers that occurred in the game. The Pels final preseason game is Friday against the Heat at the Smoothie King Center.

We are at the halfway point of the college football season and the discussion over who will make it into the four-team playoff is heating up. Jerry Palm of cbs-sports-dot-com says Florida, Texas A-and-M, Alabama and LSU are the four teams from the SEC that have a shot making the playoff…
cut 19 (16) “….as well”
The big game in the SEC this week is Ole Miss hosting Texas A-and-M.

The Saints are getting ready to take on the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Indy is 3-and-3 on the season and coming off a loss to New England. But Coach Sean Payton says the Colts have been very good over the last few years after a loss and they have a lot of talent…:
Cut 16 (18) “down the field”
The Saints are 2-and-4 on the season. Kickoff is at noon Sunday on Fox.

Meanwhile Saints Assistant Head Coach Joe Vitt is reportedly attending practice using a motorized scooter due to a tear in his Achilles tendon injury he sustained while chasing down car burglars in his Old Metairie neighborhood. Payton says Vitt has not missed a day of work because of it.

In the latest AP Top 25 poll, LSU is ranked fifth and the college football playoff selection committee only picks four teams to play for the national championship. CBS-sports-dot-com College football analyst, Jerry Palm, says two of the teams ahead of LSU, TCU and Baylor, will play each other on November 27th and the other two teams ahead of LSU are also not guaranteed of an undefeated season…:
Cut 18 (15) “for everybody”
The Tigers take on Western Kentucky in Death Valley this weekend.

The Orlando Magic beat the New Orleans Pelicans 110-107 in overtime last night. Anthony Davis had 33 points and 16 rebounds for New Orleans while Nate Robinson had 18 points. The Pels host Miami on Friday.

Junior LSU defensive end Lewis Neal is having a breakout season for the 5th ranked LSU Tigers. Neal has seven sacks and 30 tackles this season. In his first two seasons, he only had 10 tackles and zero sacks. Neal says first-year defensive line coach Ed Orgeron has been a big help this season. He says Coach O’s attitude rubs off on the rest of the players…
cut 18 (12) “….a lot”

Saints Coach Sean Payton says assistant head coach Joe Vitt is back at work after tearing his Achilles tendon and breaking his wrist while chasing down two car burglars.

While on the practice field….left tackle Terron Armstead, wide receiver Marques Colston, left guard Tim Lelito and punter Thomas Morstead all participated in the portion of practice open to the media.

The New Orleans Pelicans take on the Magic tonight in Orlando in another preseason game. It’s been a painful preseason for the Pels, who have seen several players go down with injuries. The latest is guard Tyreke Evans, who had successful arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and a timetable for his return will be announced later. Evans averaged 17 points, seven assists and five rebounds a game last season. Norris Cole, Omer Asik, Alexis Ajinca, Luke Babbit and Quincy Pondexter are also out as a result of injuries.

In college basketball….LSU’s Ben Simmons was named preseason player of the year in the SEC today. The Tigers are picked to finish fourth in the league. And U-L Lafayette’s Shawn Long has been named the Sun Belt preseason player of the year. The Cajuns are also picked to finish first in the Sun Belt, while ULM is expected to finish in third place.

And LSU coach Johnny Jones doesn’t expect freshman Antonio Blakeney to miss any games, even though is name surfaced in a report about an alleged recruit-sex scandal at Louisville.

Over the last two games, the LSU football team has been much better at throwing the football. They’ve thrown for over 200 yards in each contest. Sophomore wide receiver Malachi Dupre had 115 receiving yards and two touchdowns against Florida and he credits the development of quarterback Brandon Harris…
cut 19 (15) “…for him”
Dupre leads the team in receiving yards, with 311, and has caught four of Harris’ touchdown passes.

In college basketball…the Tigers have been picked to finish fourth in the SEC, according to a preseason media poll. Freshman Ben Simmons has been named the SEC Men’s Basketball Player of the year. And in the Sun Belt preseason college basketball poll, UL Lafayette is the preseason favorite, while ULM is picked to finish third.

Saints Coach Sean Payton said there was something missing in the last few weeks as he explained the reason why the team released kicker Zach Hocker and signed veteran Kai Forbath. And Payton also said Joe Vitt will be listed as doubtful on the injury report after he tore his achilles and broke his wrist, while chasing down car burglars in his neighborhood.

The Ragin Cajuns fell to 2-and-4 on the season after losing to Arkansas State 37-27. At one time the Red Wolves led 27-0. UL Lafayette was able to make it a game, thanks to the play of quarterback Jalen Nixon, who threw for 253 yards and ran for another 201 yards.

ULM Coach Todd Berry says he will not call plays this Saturday as the Warhawks visit Idaho. The Warhawks are on a four-game losing streak and scored just 14 points last week.

And former Nichools State football player Altee Tenpenny was killed in a car accident last night in Mississippi. He transferred to Nicholls in August after playing two seasons at Alabama. But was recently suspended indefinitely.

Arkansas State scored 34 first half points and held on to defeat UL-Lafayette 37-27. Ragin Cajuns starting quarterback Jalen Nixon threw for 253 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 201 yards and another touchdown. However Nixon was picked off twice by a Red Wolves defense that leads the FBS in interceptions. The Cajuns fall to 2-4 overall and 1-1 in the Sun Belt Conference. UL-Lafayette will host in-state conference foe ULM Halloween night at Cajun Field.

Junior defensive end Lewis Neal is having a breakout season for the 5th ranked LSU Tigers. Neal has seven sacks and 30 tackles this season. In his first two seasons, he only had 10 tackles and zero sacks. Neal says he always knew he had the ability to produce

cut 17 (13) “stick to”

LSU will take on Western Kentucky Saturday night in Tiger Stadium.

In the latest FCS coaches poll…McNeese State is still ranked ninth. Southeastern Louisiana and Grambling State are receiving votes in the poll. The Cowboys host Northwestern State this Saturday, while S-L-U is at Houston Baptist and Grambling hosts Mississippi Valley for homecoming.

The Pelicans will likely start the regular season without guard Tyreke Evans. The team announced that Evans had successful arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Tuesday morning. No timetable has been set for Evans’ return. The Pels open their regular season Tuesday night on the road against defending NBA Champion Golden State Warriors.

In the Major League Baseball Playoffs, both League Championship Series are one game away from being decided. In the NLCS, the Mets have a commanding 3-games-to-nothing lead over the Cubs after last night’s 5-2 win. And in the ALCS, the Royals are one win away from the World Series after routing Toronto 14-2.

We are at about the halfway point of the college football season and the LSU Tigers are 6-0, but there are areas where they can improve. LSU has given up a bunch of big pass plays and Coach Les Miles says they are working to get that corrected…
cut 18 (12) “….to do”
Western Kentucky will be at Tiger Stadium on Saturday and they have an explosive offense.

The Ragin Cajuns will face Arkansas State in a Sun Belt contest that will be televised by ESPN 2 tonight. UL Lafayette Coach Mark Hudspeth hoping for another big game from quarterback Jalen Nixon who returned from injury and threw 238 yards and had four total touchdowns last time out…
cut 20 (11) “…other night”
UL Lafayette has won the last four times they’ve played on a Tuesday.

The Saints are back at practice tomorrow. We might get more information on what happened to assistant coach Joe Vitt. Colonel John Fortunado with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s office says Vitt injured himself as he was chasing after some car burglars. Fortunado says Vitt began chase after seeing a shadow run across his front lawn..
cut 30 (18) “…he received”
It’s been reported that Vitt injured his achilles and broke his wrist.

In the latest FCS coaches poll…McNeese State is still ranked ninth. Southeastern Louisiana and Grambling State are receiving votes. The Cowboys host Northwestern State this Saturday, while S-L-U is at Houston Baptist and Grambling hosts Mississippi Valley for homecoming.

Through six games this season, 5th ranked LSU has 17 sacks after recording just 19 sacks in 13 games last year. Coach Les Miles gives credit to first-year defensive line coach Ed Orgeron…
cut 17 (12) “…made a difference”
This Saturday, LSU hosts Western Kentucky for homecoming. Hilltoppers quarterback Brandon Doughty has averaged 387 yards through the air per game this season.

The Saints have made a change at kicker. Former Redskins kicker Kai Forbath has replaced Zach Hocker. Forbath was a Redskin from 2012 until earlier this year. He’s made 60 of his 69 field goal attempts.

It’s also being reported the Saints have signed wide receiver T-J Graham, who is a speedster out of North Carolina State. He’s played for three teams in five-year career. He had 54 catches in his first two seasons in Buffalo.

The Ragin Cajuns face Arkansas State tonight in a game that can be seen on ESPN Two. The Red Wolves are 3-and-3, 2-0 in the Sun Belt. The Cajuns won their Sun Belt opener and they are 2-3 overall. UL Lafayette has finally settled on a quarterback. Jalen Nixon threw for 238 yards and had four total touchdowns the last time out and Coach Mark Hudspeth hopes to see that kind of performance again…
cut 20 (11) “…other night”
Arkansas State has a talented quarterback, Fredi Knighten, threw for 344 yards last season against the Cajuns.

After losing to Mississippi State last Saturday, Louisiana Tech gets back into Conference USA play as they host Middle Tennessee. Both teams are 2-and-1 in league play.

In the latest FCS coaches poll…McNeese State is still ranked ninth. Southeastern Louisiana and Grambling State are receiving votes.

The Ragin Cajuns have a big Sun Belt Conference match-up tonight with Arkansas state. Coach Mark Hudspeth’s team has won the last four times they’ve played a regular season game on a Tuesday night…

cut 19 (19) “continues”

The Red Wolves comes in with a record of 3-and-3, 2-0 in the Sun Belt. The Cajuns won their Sun Belt opener and they are 2-3 overall. Kickoff is at 7PM and you can watch on ESPN2.

In NBA preseason action, Houston beat the Pelicans 120-100. Houston had six players score in double figures and outscored the Pels 40-13 in the fourth quarter. The Pelicans’ Ryan Anderson led all scorers with 23. Anthony Davis had the night off and did not play.

LSU Coach Les Miles is warning his team not to let its guard down against Saturday’s opponent, Western Kentucky. Miles says the 6-and-1 Hilltoppers should be ranked in the Top 25 and their quarterback Brandon Doughty, is good enough to play in the SEC…

cut 16 (17) “get your attention”

Doughty and the Western Kentucky offense will face an LSU defense that’s ranked 3rd in total defense.

In Monday Night Football action, the Philadelphia Eagles crushed the New York Giants 27-7. The Giants’ Eli Manning threw for 189 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Manning’s lone touchdown was a first quarter, 13 yard pass to former LSU standout Odell Beckham, Jr.

The Saints have reportedly released rookie kicker Zach Hocker. It’s reported that veteran kicker Kai Forbath will take Hocker’s place.