Lake Charles is the epicenter of March Madness in Louisiana. Kace Kieschnick reports the Southland Conference is crowning new champions today and tomorrow and the high boys basketball tournament is taking place at the Burton Coliseum…
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A Senate committee approves legislation that makes disruptive protests at or near churches a crime. Jeff Palermo has the story…
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March Madness is peaking right now in Lake Charles as the city is hosting the Southland men’s and women’s basketball tournaments and the boys high school basketball championships. Lake Charles Regional Sports Authority Executive Director Eric Zartler….
McNeese will play Stephen F Austin for the Southland Conference Tournament Championship game at 4 PM today. The Cowboys defeated UTRGV in three overtimes last night to survive and advance.
Zartler says this is the 13th straight year the Burton Coliseum in Lake Charles has hosted the boys basketball championships…
Boys semifinal action continues today into tomorrow and then the 10 championship games begin on Friday.
Zartler says the region tries to roll out the red carpet for the 40 high school teams competing each year
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We could be in for severe weather later today. State Climatologist Jay Grymes says a storm system is making its way east from Texas, bringing a slight risk for severe weather – a two out of five on the scale.
With that, Grymes says he expects watches to be posted later today for much of the state, if not all of the state. He says the storm could produce thunderstorms and even tornadoes.
Cut 7 (11) “…become EF1s, EF2s.”
Grymes says even if there are no tornadoes, winds will likely be a factor.
Cut 8 (11) “…across the area.”
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A Senate committee approves legislation that would make it a crime to conduct a disruptive protest inside a church or near a place of worship. Ponchatoula Senator Bill Wheat says with his legislation, he’s not trying to infringe upon the First Amendment right to protest…
The legislation, which is headed to the Senate floor, is in response to a protest that took place at a Minneapolis church last January where the pastor was an ICE officer. Wheat says he’s not heard of any similar incidents in Louisiana. He says his legislation would not prohibit a person from holding a protest sign in front of the church, but if they cause a disruption it would lead to a 500 dollar fine and possibly up to 15 days in jail…
Cut 10 (12) “…disruptive service.”
Meghan Garvey with the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers says the U-S Supreme Court has already ruled it is unconstitutional to ban someone from protesting on a public sidewalk. Garvey says the bill also needs to do a better job in defining what is “disruptive” so it does not infringe on free speech rights…
The measure heads to the Senate floor for more discussion.
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U-S Senator Bill Cassidy says Congress can no longer sit on the sidelines as it needs to come up with legislation to regulate name, image and likeness deals in college athletics. Cassidy says legislation needs to be put in place to protect student athletes who are signing NIL deals that result in agents receiving a 40-percent commission
Cut 12 (12) “…g0 to the pros.”
Cassidy held a roundtable discussion that involved former LSU basketball player and current LSU board member Collis Temple Junior and LSU deputy athletic director Julie Cromer. Cromer says with student athletes trying to cash in on NIL deals, the education component of being a student-athlete is going away and athletic departments need help
Former Auburn football coach and current Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville was part of the discussion. Tuberville says he supports student-athletes getting paid, but believes the President Trump should issue an executive order to put some restrictions in place…
Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy raised concerns about trying to restrict what students can receive through NIL deals…
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Cassidy plans to hold additional hearings on the issue.