The Saints final preseason game is tonight. The starters are not expected to play, but it’s a big game for those seeking a spot on the 53-man roster. The battle for place kicker needs to be settled, Dustin Hopkins and Zack Hocker have been competing against each other since July. Wide receiver is also a position to watch. Josh Morgan, Willie Snead and Joe Morgan are on the bubble.

Coach Les Miles says redshirt freshman William Clapp will start at left guard against McNeese State on Saturday night. Miles says junior Josh Boutte (Boo-tay) will start at right guard, while true freshman defensive end Isaiah Washington will not play, because of an arm injury.

Former LSU basketball star Jarrell Martin has suffered a fracutured left foot and he undergoes surgery today. The Memphis Grizzlies first round pick hurt himself while working out with another player.

And former Saint Scott Shanle is joining Cox Sports Television as he’ll be part of CST’s studio broadcast team for Saints pre and postgame shows.

The college football season starts tonight as Southland foes Northwestern State and Southeastern Louisiana face each other in Natchitoches. SLU has won the league title the past two seasons. They’ve scored a bunch of points, they’ve also been good on defense, leading the conference in points allowed and yards given up the last two seasons. Demons Coach Jay Thomas says the Lions are still impressive on defense…
cut 17 (16) “…hands down”
Kickoff is at 6 PM.

Tonight at 8:30, Tulane hosts the Duke Blue Devils. Last season Duke dominated the Green Wave, beating Curtis Johnson’s team 47-13. Tulane also had five turnovers in that game. Tanner Lee threw three interceptions in that game and he’ll start at QB tonight.

According to a report from the NFL network, Saints cornerback Keenan Lewis will be sidelined the next four to six weeks after undergoing hip surgery. The 29-year-old has been dependable as he’s started every game in his first two seasons in New Orleans. The injury to Lewis means Delvin Breaux and Brandon Browner could be your starting cornerbacks week one. But Browner is also dealing with an injury.

The LSU football team and the Head Health Network are partnering up to study how impacts to the head effect players. H-H-N President Curtis Cruz says 24 players will have sensors in their helmets this season and the sensors will relay information to the training staff when the player is involved in contact, to determine if the hit was serious enough to bring on a concussion…
cut 15 (12) “be successful”
He says this study will give training staff a much better handle on how to treat concussions.

The Ragin Cajuns are looking to pull off the upset this Saturday as they visit Kentucky. The Wildcats have a new offensive coordinator in Shannon Dawson, who was previously at West Virginia. UL Lafayette Coach Mark Hudspeth says they have an idea on what they’ll see on Saturday, but they are preparing for a few surprises….
cut 17 (14) “….gonna see”
Kickoff is at six o’ clock.

Louisiana Tech believes they can have close to a sell out for Saturday night’s season opener for Southern. The Jaguar nation is expected to bring a lot of people to Ruston.

And the Independence Bowl says last year’s game between Miami and South Carolina generated about 18 million dollars in an economic impact for the Shreveport-Bossier City area.

Bad news for the Saints defense as cornerback Keenan Lewis will reportedly miss the next four to six weeks after undergoing hip surgery. Lewis’ injury adds to what is already a big list of players on defense that are injured. Safety Kenny Vaccaro and cornerback Brandon Browner didn’t play last week against Houston. Linebacker Dannell Ellerbe has been hurt since the preseason opener and safety Jarius Byrd remains on the physically unable to perform list.

The Head Health Network is partnering with the LSU football team to study how impacts to the head effect players. H-H-N President Curtis Cruz says science is just now coming to terms with what is significant as far as a critical threshold and accumulation of smaller hits…
cut 14 (11) “good decision”
The study will equip 24 players’ helmets with sensors to monitor impacts.

Coastal Carolina will join the Sun Belt Conference. The Chanticleers will begin competing in the league next school year, but won’t begin playing football in the league 2017. The Sun Belt has been looking for a 12th member so they can equally split the east and west divisions so they make geographic sense.

ULM will face Nick Chubb and the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday. It’s the first of eight games on the road for the Warhawks. They’ll also visit Alabama on September 26th. ULM Coach Todd Berry admits he doesn’t have much control over scheduling, because the university needs the income from playing the big-time programs…
cut 19 (12) “….get games”
Georgia is a five touchdown favorite to beat the Warhawks. Kickoff is at 11 AM.

UL Lafayette and ULM begin their seasons on Saturday by visiting SEC schools. The Ragin Cajuns, who return ten starters from last year’s nine-win team, will be at Kentucky, who went five and seven lasts season. Coach Mark Hudspeth says he’s anxious to see how his first-time starters will perform inside Commonwealth Stadium…

cut 16 (15) “play well”

Kickoff is Saturday at 6PM and you can watch on ESPNU.

The Warhawks are at Georgia. The Bulldogs also have a new offensive coordinator in Brian Schottenheimer. ULM Coach Todd Berry wishes they had a preseason game to look at, so they would have a better idea what to expect from Georgia…

cut 18 (13) “everything”

The game has an 11AM Saturday start and will be available to watch on the SEC Network.

The Saints had to reduce their roster to 75 yesterday. Among the players released…wide receiver Nick Toon, cornerback Terrence Frederick, and outside linebacker Ronald Powell, who was a fifth round pick last season. The Black and Gold also traded wide receiver Jalen Saunders to New England for a conditional draft pick. Saunders is not needed, because of the emergence of Marcus Murphy as a kick returner.

In other Saints news, rookie cornerback P.J. Willimas has been placed on the season ending injured reserve list. Williams, a third round draft choice, has a reported torn hamstring.

The Black and Gold also claimed former Miami Dolphins cornerback Sammy Seamster off of waivers. The 6-foot, 205 pounder played in two game last season for the Dolphins as a rookie.

In the big leagues, Miami crushed Atlanta 7-1, the Astros fell to the Mariners 7-5, and Texas outscored San Diego 8-6. Houston now holds a three game lead over the Rangers in the American League West.

LSU coach Les Miles has settled on a starting quarterback for the season opener against McNeese State. Miles says both Anthony Jennings and Brandon Harris showed great progress during training camp and he wouldn’t hesitate to play both quarterbacks but ultimately, Harris will be starting on Saturday.
CUT 8 (08) “an observation”
Kick off on Saturday is at 6:30. Senior right tackle Vadal Alexander says he’s been telling the young guys what to expect when they play their first game in Tiger stadium….
cut 19 (17) “….always done”

In the Sun Belt, the league has officially added Coastal Carolina to the league. Coastal Carolina will begin playing football in the Sun Belt in 2017.

By three o’ clock, the Saints had to reduce their roster to 75. Among the players released…wide receiver Nick Toon, cornerback Terrence Frederick, and outside linebacker Ronald Powell, who was a fifth round pick last season. The Black and Gold also traded wide receiver Jalen Saunders to New England for a conditional draft pick. Saunders is not needed, because of the emergence of Marcus Murphy as a kick returner.

Former Florida quarterback Jeff Driskel will make his first start for the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs this Saturday as they host Southern. Driskel is looking forward to the opportunity…
cut 17 (18) “….here to play”
Kick-off on Saturday is at 6 PM.

LSU Coach Les Miles says Brandon Harris will be the starting quarterback when the Tigers open the season on Saturday against McNeese State…..
cut 30 (10) “…foregone conclusion”
Miles also says he’s okay after spending part of yesterday at the hospital. The coach says it was because he drank too much coffee in a short period of time.

Junior defensive tackle Christian LaCouture says their attention is on the Cowboys…
cut 18 (14) “…we’ll be okay”
McNeese lost to Nebraska 31-24 in last year’s season opener. They have two victories over FBS schools in recent history. They beat South Florida 53-21 in 2013 and knocked off Middle Tennessee 27-21 in 2012.

The Saints have reportedly traded return specialist Jalen Saunders to the New England Patriots for a conditional draft pick. New Orleans doesn’t need Saunders as it looks like seventh rounder Marcus Murphy will be returning kicks this year.

It looks like the Sun Belt Conference is adding Coastal Carolina to the league. ESPN reports the Chanticleers will begin playing football in the league in 2017.

Former Florida Quarterback Jeff Driskel is set to make his first start for Louisiana Tech on Saturday when the Bulldogs host Southern University. Last season, Tech was upset by Northwestern State in the season opener. Driskel says the team hasn’t forgotten and they’ll be ready for the Jaguars
Cut 16 (17) “this week”
Kick-off on Saturday is at 6 PM.

LSU football coach Les Miles names Brandon Harris as the starting quarterback for Saturday’s season opener against McNeese State. Harris has been taking a majority of snaps with the first team over last year’s starter Anthony Jennings. But Miles says Jennings could also see some meaningful snaps against the Cowboys…

cut 30 (15) “any event”

Kick-off Saturday is set for 6:30.

Louisiana Tech head coach Skip Holtz announces that junior defensive tackle Aaron Brown has been suspended for the first two games of the season due to academic reasons. Brown reportedly has struggled academically. He was among six players suspended for the final two games of last season. Brown will miss Saturday’s game against Southern and the Bulldogs’ Conference USA opener at Western Kentucky on September 10th.

It’s reported that the Sun Belt Conference will announce today that Coastal Carolina will be added to the league. The addition of the Chanticleers will give the league 12 members. 12 is the magic number for a conference to be able to hold a conference championship game. Coastal Carolina reportedly edged out Eastern Kentucky to get the invite to join the Sun Belt.

LSU releases its plan to bring Mike the Tiger into Tiger Stadium for home games. MikeVI has been to 32 out of 52 home games that have taken place since he arrived at LSU in 2007. Spokesperson for the School of Veterinary Medicine Ginger Guttner says they aren’t sure what keeps him from attending games, but they keep careful records of which games he goes to and what the weather was like. Guttner says LSU has tried various things to get Mike to go…

cut 14 (10) “with him”

Guttner says if he doesn’t load after the first three games, they will reassess the situation.

LSU Football Coach Les Miles had to be taken to the hospital this morning. Athletic Director Joe Alleva made a statement for reporters who were expecting to hear from Miles about the season opener at his 12:30 press conference…
cut 30 (11) ‘…precautionary basis”
Miles returned to LSU’s football operations building this afternoon and told reporters he may have O-D on coffee, but he is fine.

The Tigers are getting ready to host McNeese State this Saturday. In years past, LSU has opened the season with a big-name opponent. But LSU associate athletics director Verge Ausberry says they didn’t want to do that this year, because they’ll face Mississippi State and Auburn in weeks two and three…
cut 18 (05) “…big opponents”

Seventh-round draft pick Marcus Murphy made a strong impression on Saints Coach Sean Payton in yesterday’s 27-13 loss to Houston in preseason game number three. Murphy had 43 yards rushing on eight carrie, had three receptions for 67 yards and also had some nice returns in the kicking game. Here’s what Payton had to say about the former Missouri star…
cut 29 (19) “…quick to accelerate”
The Saints will wrap up the preseason on Thursday at Green Bay.

Former Louisiana Tech standout Josh Scobee has been traded by Jacksonville to Pittsburgh. Scobee is the Jaguars all-time leading scorer. The Steelers need a kicker as both Shaun Suisham and Garrett Hartley both went down with injuries.

The Saints are 0-and-3 in the preseason after losing to Houston 27-13 yesterday. Penalties continue to be a problem for the Black and Gold. They were flagged 11 times for 148 yards. Pressuring the quarterback is also an issue. Just one sack by the defense, the first of the preseason. Coach Sean Payton says they still have time to work on these issues out…
cut 30 (12) “…stand out”
The Saints wrap up the preseason on Thursday night at Green Bay. They also have to make the first round of cuts by tomorrow afternoon.

Former Louisiana Tech kicker Josh Scobee has been traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Scobee is the Jaguars all-time leader scorer as he made 235 field goals during his 11 seasons in Jacksonville.

Game week has arrived for the Tigers as they kick-off the season against McNeese State this Saturday. In years past, LSU has opened the season against big name opponents, but senior associate athletics director Verge Ausberry says with Mississippi State and Auburn looming in Weeks two and three, they didn’t want to start the season with a Top 5 opponent…
cut 17 (05) “…to win”
Ausberry says it just happened to be LSU’s year to play of a couple of early SEC match-ups.

Here’s a look at the rest of the schedule for this weekend…Louisiana Tech hosts Southern. The Bulldogs are looking to repeat as Conference USA Western Division champs.

UL Lafayette travels to Kentucky. Last year, the Cajuns started 1-and-3.

Grambling is at California. ULM is at Georgia. Warhawks coach Todd Berry says senior linebacker Hunter Kissinger will not play because of a lower body injury.

And on Thursday…Tulane hosts Duke, while Southeastern Louisiana visits Northwestern State.

The Saints dropped to 0-3 for the preseason after Sunday’s 27-13 loss to the Houston Texans. The Black and Gold defense was finally able to create a little bit of pressure and recorded their first sack of the preseason. But Head Coach Sean Peyton says penalties is one area the team needs to work on as they were flagged 11 times during the game…

cut 24 (16) “us a game”

The Saints’ final preseason game is Thursday at Green Bay before September 13th’s season opener at Arizona.

The Green Bay Packers have signed former UL Lafayette wide receiver James Butler. Butler caught 87 passes and had four touchdowns in 51 college games with the Ragin Cajuns. He’s been added to the team’s roster as the Packers need more wide receiver depth in the wake of Jordy Nelson’s season-ending injury.

The LSU football team opens its season against McNeese State this Saturday. Jeff Palermo looks at why the Tigers are beginning the year against an FCS school, and not a big-name opponent…

cut 3 (30) “I’m Jeff Palermo”

The state’s college football season begins Thursday night when Northwestern State hosts Southeastern Louisiana in a Southland Conference matchup. Kickoff is scheduled for 6PM and you can watch on the American Sports Network.

UL-Lafayette men’s basketball coach Bob Marlin has signed a contract extension that will keep him at the school through the 2020 season.