The Saints host the 11-0 Carolina Panthers at the Superdome for a 3:25 kickoff this Sunday. Panthers QB Cam Newton is having an MVP type season. Coach Sean Payton says Newton is generating a lot of big plays…
cut 19 (18) “…poised and confident”
The Saints are 4-5 against the Panthers since 2011 when Newton joined Carolina.

According to business-report-dot-com, LSU President F King Alexander says the final decision on whether to keep Les Miles as head coach was not make until after a halftime meeting during the A-and-M game. Alexander says the cost of the buyout, even though university funds would not be used and the show of public support for Miles went into the decision.

LSU freshman Ben Simmons scored whopping 43 points as the Tigers ended a three-game losing streak by beating North Florida 119 to 108. It’s the first time an LSU player scored 43 points in a game since Shaquille O’ Neal did it in 1991.

Tonight, ULM and UL Lafayette begin Sun Belt play by playing each other in Monroe. The two teams play a different style of basketball. The Cajuns are averaging 96 points a game, while Warhawks like to slow it down as they averaging just over 61 points a contest. Tip-off is at 7:00.

And the ULM football team closes out its regular season on Saturday with a home game against New Mexico State. The Warhawks are looking to snap a 10-game losing streak. Interim head coach John Mumford admits the losing has taken its toll…
cut 17 (17) “…winning games”
ULM is a three-point favorite. Kick-off is at 2 PM.

The Louisiana High School Athletic Association executive committee has removed the Amite football team from the Class 3A playoffs as a result of a benches clearing fight that erupted in a quarterfinal victory over Bogalusa. LHSAA sportsmanship rules say that players who leave the bench area during a fight are automatically suspended for the next game. Tangipahoa School system attorney Chris Moody says they believe the punishment doesn’t fit what happened towards the end of the game…
cut 14 (11) “…next game”
If the LHSAA’s ruling stands, St. James advances to the Three-A title game where they’ll play the winner of Friday night’s semifinal contest between West Felciana and Lutcher.

ESPN’s Brett McMurphy reports the Taxslayer Bowl is considering either LSU or Georgia as the SEC representative in their bowl. And McMurphy also reports from Georgia coach Mark Richt is heading to his alma mater Miami to be the head coach of the Hurricanes.

Grambling State quarterback Johnathan Williams has been named the SWAC offensive player of the year, while Grambling’s Broderick Fobbs has been named coach of the year. Grambling faces Alcorn State on Saturday for the SWAC title.

The LSU men’s basketball team will look to snap a three-game losing streak tonight when they host North Florida. The Tigers are coming off a 70-58 loss to College of Charleston. In that game, LSU shot 31-percent from the field and committed 19 turnovers.

The Pelicans are at Houston tonight. Both teams have been a disappointment in the Western Conference. The Rockets already have fired their head coach, Kevin McHale. Houston is 3-4 under interim head coach JB Bickerstaff. James Harden is averaging close to 30 points a game for the Rockets.

The Louisiana High School Athletic Association executive committee has removed the Amite football team from the Class 3A playoffs as a result of a benches clearing fight that erupted in a quarterfinal victory over Bogalusa. Tangipahoa School system attorney Chris Moody says they’ve filed a suit and hope a state judge reverses what he calls a “harsh” decision…
cut 12 (07) “…next year”
LHSAA’s sportsmanship rules say that players who leave the bench area during a fight are automatically suspended for the next game. But Moody argues many players left the sidelines because the Warriors had just scored a touchdown and the team was preparing to kick the extra point.

If the LHSAA’s ruling stands, St. James advances to the Three-A title game where they’ll play the winner of Friday night’s semifinal contest between West Felciana and Lutcher.

LSU and Louisiana Tech will find out this weekend where they’ll be bowling. The Tigers could end up at one of the bowls in Florida or the Texas Bowl in Houston. Jerry Palm of c-b-s-sports-dot-com says Louisiana Tech could play in the R-and-L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. Palm says Southern Miss could be the other option from Conference USA to play a school from the Sun Belt…
cut 16 (11) “…Liberty Bowl”
Palm says the Independence Bowl could be forced to take a team that has a five and seven record, because of not enough teams that have six wins.

Tyreke Evans and Norris Cole returned to the floor for the Pelicans last night but they still lost, falling to Memphis 113 to 104. New Orleans is now 4-and-14 on the season as they visit Houston tonight.

In college hoops last night….Memphis beat Louisiana Tech 94-68.Tonight LSU hosts North Florida.

We’ll find out this weekend which bowl game LSU will play in this year. Jerry Palm makes bowl projections for cbs-sports-dot-com and Palm says LSU could play in a bowl game in Florida or the Texas Bowl in Houston, but it’s hard to predict because the league office has a big say on bowl assignments

cut 14 (10) “sorts of things”

There’s been some speculation that LSU could play head coach Les Miles’ alma mater, Michigan, in the Citrus Bowl.

Louisiana High School Athletic Association announces that Amite High School has been removed from the Class 3-A football semifinals due to a game ending fight that occurred during their playoff game last week. A benches clearing brawl took place with less than two minutes remaining in last week’s quarterfinal game between Amite and Bogalusa. Under LHSAA rules, players who leave the bench during a fight are automatically suspended for the next game. Amite will appeal the decision.

Center Marc Gasol lit the scoreboard up with 38 points to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 113-104 win over the Pelicans last night. A returning Tyreke Evans led the Pels with 20 points and Anthony Davis added a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds. New Orleans will take a three game losing streak into tonight’s game at Houston.

Memphis handed Louisiana Tech their first loss of the season last night 94-68. The Tigers took a 17 point lead into halftime and pulled away in the second half. Alex Hamilton led the Bulldogs with 18 points. Tech falls to 5-1 and will host Jackson State next Tuesday.

Ja’Dante Frye scored 24 as Nicholls State defeated Louisiana College 80-62. The Colonels are now 2-3 and will travel to Lafayette Saturday to take on the Ragin’ Cajuns.

Seven Lions scored in double figures as Southeastern Louisiana trounced Loyola – New Orleans 101-65. SLU will host Southern Friday night.

Arkansas rolled past Northwestern State 117-78.

A couple of missing pieces are expected to return tonight for the Pelicans who host the Memphis Grizzlies. Guards Tyreke Evans and Norris Cole are expected to make their season debuts for the 4-and-13 Pelicans. Evans was New Orleans second leading scorer last year, while Cole was a good scorer off the bench last season. He’s been out with a sprained ankle. Tip-off is at seven o’ clock.

In college basketball…Louisiana Tech is at Memphis. The Bulldogs are 5-0, while Memphis 3-and-2. Tech has already won twice on the road this season, while Memphis features four returning starters and seven freshmen on their roster. The matchup can be seen on the CBS Sports Network.

Elsewhere…Nicholls hosts Louisiana College, Northwestern State is at Arkansas and Southeastern hosts Loyola of New Orleans.

The LSU men’s basketball team drop its third straight game last night, 70-58 to Charleston. The Tigers will host North Florida tomorrow, which is one of the top three-point shooting teams in the country at 46-percent.

McNeese State continues to prepare for Saturday’s F-C-S playoff game against Sam Houston State. The Bearkats used two quarterbacks to beat Southern Utah last week, Jeremiah Briscoe and Jared Johnson. Cowboys Coach Matt Viator says Briscoe is a good passer, while Johnson is good running the football…
cut 19 (20) “….for sure”
McNeese is seeking its first playoff win since 2002.

The LSU football coaches are busy recruiting this week. Derek Ponamsky of Bayou Bengals Insider dot com says the Tigers could still have a top five recruiting class, despite all the turmoil the last couple of weeks invovling Les Miles’ job security. He says there’s some excellent recruiters on the coaching staff
cut 30 (07) “….they’ve already”

Once LSU begins practice for its bowl game, work will continue on the Tigers passing game. LSU is ranked dead last in the SEC in pass offense, as they finished with less than two-thousand yards through the air. Sophomore Malachi Dupre led the team in receiving during the regular season as he caught 39 passes for 602 yards and 6 touchdowns. Dupre says LSU’s passing game is still a work in progress…
cut 17 (17) “…execute the plays”

Grambling Quarterback Johnathan Williams has been named the Louisiana Sports Writers Association Offensive Player of the Week. Williams threw for 272 yards and three touchdowns, he also ran for a score in Grambling’s win over Southern in the Bayou Classic. Grambling plays for the SWAC Crown on Saturday in Houston against Alcorn State.

The LSU men’s basketball team is failing to execute. The Tigers dropped their third straight last night as they lost at Charleston 70 to 58. LSU shot a season low 31-percent from the field. Freshman Antonio Blakeney was 0-for-9.

Also last night, ULM beat Chattanooga 64-54. Senior Majok Deng had 22 points as he was 8-of-12 from the field and six-of-six from the free throw line.

Tonight Louisiana Tech takes its undefeated record to Memphis where they’ll face the Tigers. Northwestern State is at Arkansas, Nicholls hosts Louisiana College and Loyola is at Southeastern.

The Pelicans are back home tonight to take on the Memphis Grizzlies. Guards Tyreke Evans and Norris Cole are expected to play for the first time this year tonight. Evans has been sidelined since undergroing knee surgery in October, while Cole has been battling a high ankle sprain. Tip-off from the Smoothie King Center is at 7 Pm.

McNeese State is getting ready to host Southland Conference rival Sam Houston State in the second round of the FCS playoffs. The Cowboys are a four-seed in the tournament and received a bye into the second round, while the Bearkats beat Southern Utah in a shootout 42-39. McNeese Coach Matt Viator hopes the week off will not hurt their play for Saturday’s game…

cut 18 (14) “little rusty”

The game will kick off at 6PM and you can watch on ESPN3.

The McNeese basketball team lost a heartbreaker last night to Central Michigan 74-73. The Cowboys fought back from an eight point deficit to tie the game with 10 seconds remaining, but a free throw with 3 seconds left gave the win to the Chippewas.

Majok Deng’s 22 points helped lift ULM over Chattanooga 64-54.

The LSU men’s basketball team dropped their third in a row last night, losing to the College of Charleston 70-58. The Cougars jumped out to a 22 point halftime lead and held on in the second half. Ben Simmons led the Tigers with 15 points and 18 rebounds followed by Tim Quarterman’s 14 points. LSU falls to 3-3 on the season. The Tigers will look to snap their losing streak Wednesday night when they host North Florida.

LSU sophomore quarterback Brandon Harris did not finish the season strong as he struggled in November and didn’t perform well in the win over Texas A&M. Harris completed just seven passes for 83 yards and he was intercepted once in the win over the Aggies. Coach Les Miles says Harris looked much better earlier in the season…

cut 16 (15) “do there”

LSU finished the regular season with an 8-3 record and will learn their postseason bowl destination this Sunday.

Tiger Rag Editor Cody Worsham believes LSU President and Chancellor F King Alexander is a big factor in Les Miles keeping his job as head coach of the Tigers. If Miles was fired before January 1st, LSU would owe him 15-million dollars. Worsham says the buyout of Miles’ contract was too tough of a pill to swallow for Alexander, even though private donors would have paid the buyout…
cut 7 (07) “football team”
Alexander is pushing the state legislature for more state funding to help the academic side of the university. Some are now calling for athletic director Joe Alleva to be fired for mishandling this situation. Worsham doesn’t see that happening…
cut 8 (07) “…through 2020”
LSU coaches were busy today on the recruiting trail. Defensive tackle Rashard Lawrence of Neville said on twitter that Frank Wilson, Bradley Dale Peveto and Ed Orgeron visited him today.

Louisiana Tech finished the regular season with an 8-4 record after losing to Southern Miss in the regular season finale on Saturday. It’s been projected Tech will get an invite to the New Orleans Bowl. Bulldogs Coach Skip Holtz says the team will wait to hear its fate…
cut 17 (19) “…field again”
December sixth is when the team is expected to find out its bowl assignment.

In college basketball action tonight…LSU is at Charleston as the Tigers look to snap a two-game losing streak. So far through five games, freshman Ben Simmons is averaging 16 points, 14 rebounds and six assists a game.

Also tonight…ULM hosts Chattanooga. The Warhawks are 2-and-2 and looking to bounce back from a ten point defeat to Houston.

So how did Les Miles keep his job as head coach of the LSU Tigers. It appeared Miles was coaching his final game in Tiger Stadium on Saturday, but after the victory, athletic director Joe Alleva announced Miles would return for another season. Tiger Rag Editor Cody Worsham says it appears LSU’s president saved Miles’ job…
cut 6 (12) “…as the coach”
There are still questions whether offensive coordinator Cam Cameron will return. His contract is set to expire after the bowl game. Miles was noncommittal about Cameron’s future, but he expects the offense next year to feature running back Leonard Fournette….
cut 22 (12) “…bit much”
LSU linebacker Deion Jones was named SEC defensive Player of the Week. Jones had eleven tackles and a half sack.

A bad performance for the Saints yesterday as they were kept out of the end zone in a 24-6 loss to the Houston Texans. New Orleans had just 268 yards of total offense and the Black and Gold’s record fell to 4-and-7. Quarterback Drew Brees remains optimistic the Saints can make a run at the playoffs, but they ahve undefeated Carolina coming to town…
cut 19 (14) “…for us”

McNeese State is getting ready to host Southland Conference rival Sam Houston State in the second round of the FCS Playoffs. The game will take place Saturday night in Cowboy Stadium. It was just three weeks ago, when McNeese beat the Bearkats.

The Ragin Cajuns wrap up the regular season this Saturday against Troy. Coach Mark Hudspeth announced today that third string QB Jordan Davis will start after completing all seven of his passes and rushing for a 20-yard touchdown run in mop-up duty against Appalachian State.

The Saints dropped their third straight game on Sunday as the Houston Texans topped New Orleans 24-6. Offensively, the Saints could only muster two field goals, so for the first time in 155 games the Saints failed to score a TD. Coach Sean Payton on the disappointing loss..
cut 18 (14) “…of it”
New Orleans was held to 268 total yards, just 50 yards on the ground. The loss drops the Saints record to 4-7

Elsewhere in the NFL…former Saints tight end Jimmy Graham’s season is over after suffering an injury to the patellar tendon in his right knee in Seattle’s win over Pittsburgh. Graham injured himself after landing awkwlardly on his leg while trying to catch a pass.

Les Miles is still the coach of the LSU football team despite a couple of weeks of speculation that he will be fired at the end of the regular season. But Athletics Director Joe Alleva announced after Saturday’s win over Texas A&M that Miles will remain the Tigers coach. Miles was asked if there were any hard feelings over the speculation that he could lose his job….
cut 10 (09) “…that way”

Louisiana Tech’s regular season ended in a frustrating manner as the Bulldogs turned it over seven times in a 58-24 loss to Southern Miss. The defeat keeps the Bulldogs from playing in the Conference USA Championship game. Head Coach Skip Holtz says it was a disappointing way to end the year…
cut 16 (12) “…for it”
Tech finishes the regular season with an 8-4 record .