BATON ROUGE - Over 1,000 LSU football fans came out to the Tigers' indoor practice facility for NILSU MAX's LSU Football "Meet the Team" event.

Some Tiger fans lined up in the Louisiana heat more than three hours before the event was scheduled to begin to ensure they would meet the whole team. The VIP attendees of the event got a photo op with LSU head coach Lane Kiffin, but one of Kiffin's assistants got plenty of buzz as well.

Former LSU head coach Ed Orgeron seemed to have the longest line, so much so that he had to be moved to his own table.

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PHOENIX, Az. - LSU gymnastics associate head coach Courtney McCool Griffeth can add Hall of Famer to her resume as the former Olympic gymnast is inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame on Saturday, August 8.

Prior to her coaching career, McCool Griffeth was a member of the 2004 U.S. Olympic team that earned the silver medal at the Athens Games and was a two-time medalist at the 2003 Pan American Games, winning team gold and a silver medal on vault. She also earned silver on floor exercise and bronze on balance beam at the 2004 U.S. Championships.

She joined the LSU staff as an assistant coach in 2022 and has helped the Tigers reach recent success like their 2024 National Championship. She was named Region One Assistant Coach of the Year for her efforts in 2024.

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CANTON, Ohio - With an assist from his former head coach Sean Payton, Drew Brees took the cover off his Pro Football Hall of Fame bust. The New Orleans Saints legend took his place among pro football's elite as he was inducted with the Hall of Fame's Class of 2026.

During his enshrinement speech, Brees gave a recap of his career in its entirety, even all the way back to winning a state championship at Westlake High School in Austin, Texas. After going through his days in high school, college at Purdue, and then his time in San Diego with the Chargers, Brees came to the franchise he spent 15 years with.

"If you love New Orleans, it will love you back," said Brees.

"New Orleans, you accepted me, you embraced me, you believed in me, but more importantly, you trusted me with the soul of the city, and I would've died to protect that calling," Brees said.

During the speech, Brees spoke at length about his relationships with Sean Payton and Saints owner Gayle Benson.

Brees' resume includes 80,358 passing yards and 571 passing touchdowns. When Brees retired, he was the NFL's all-time leader in both categories. Both marks have since been surpassed, but Brees still holds the record for most seasons with 5,000 passing yards, with five. The most any other quarterback has is 2.

In a stretch from 2009-2012, Brees threw a touchdown in 54 straight games. That record still stands. 

Brees' full speech is available here.

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METAIRIE - It turns out there will be a Nussmeier playing quarterback in Louisiana this Fall. Colton Nussmeier, a 4-star quarterback, the younger brother of former LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier and the son of New Orleans Saints Offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier, transferred to Archbishop Rummel.

Nussmeier's transfer sets up a matchup between the former LSU QB's brother and the son of LSU's head coach. Knox Kiffin, the son of Lane Kiffin, plays quarterback at U-High. The Cubs are scheduled to play Archbishop Rummel in their first game of the season on Sept. 4.

Nussmeier is entering his senior year and is committed to the University of Georgia. Before coming to Rummel, Nussmeier played at Marcus High School in Flower Mound, Texas.

247Sports has Nussmeier ranked as the No. 12 quarterback in the 2027 class.

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CANTON, Ohio - Former Saints quarterback and 2026 Hall of Famer Drew Brees received his gold jacket Friday night.

Brees, who signed with the New Orleans Saints in 2006 after shoulder surgery from an injury he sustained playing quarterback for the San Diego Chargers, became one of the most prolific quarterbacks in history throughout his 15 year career with the black and gold.

Brees holds the record for completion percentage in a season after completing 74.4% of his passes in 2018. He is also second all-time in passing completions (10,551), passing touchdowns (571) and passing yards (80,358).

He would also earn Super Bowl MVP in 2010 after the Saints' win over the Indianapolis Colts.

The enshrinement for the Hall of Fame 2026 class takes place Saturday at noon eastern time.

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BATON ROUGE - With Sam Leavitt sidelined for the majority of Spring practice, Fall camp was the first real look the media has been able to get of the Arizona State transfer since he packed his bags from Arizona State.

After recovering from Lisfranc surgery last November and having screws removed from his foot during Spring practice, the early evaluation of Leavitt by his head coach was a positive one.

"Sam's been moving around really well," said LSU head coach Lane Kiffin. "If you just went out today and saw, I don't think that you'd think there was an injury. I think he's all the way back from that."

Foot injuries can be tricky for a mobile quarterback like Leavitt. During the 2024 season, along with the 2,885 yards he threw for, Leavitt also ran for another 443 on 110 attempts. And historically, Lane Kiffin's offenses heavily utilize the QB run game.

Just last year in 2025, Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss was second on the Rebels in both rushing attempts and rushing yards. You can say the same about former Rebels QB Jaxson Dart during his final year in Oxford in 2024.

The quarterback play is just a piece of this, albeit a big one. Just looking at Kiffin's offenses in general, they rack up a lot of total yards, and they score a lot of points.

WHERE OLE MISS RANKED IN TOTAL OFFENSE (YARDS PER GAME) UNDER LANE KIFFIN:

•     2025: 589.7 YPG (2ND IN FBS, 1ST IN SEC)
•     2024: 526.6 YPG (2ND IN FBS, 1ST IN SEC)
•     2023: 462.1 YPG (12TH IN FBS, 3RD IN SEC)
•     2022: 496.4 YPG (8TH IN FBS, 3RD IN SEC)
•     2021: 492.5 YPG (6TH IN FBS, 1ST IN SEC)
•     2020: 555.5 YPG (3RD IN FBS, 1ST IN SEC)

WHERE OLE MISS RANKED IN SCORING OFFENSE (POINTS PER GAME) UNDER LANE KIFFIN:

•     2025: 36.9 PTS/GM (3RD IN SEC
•     2024: 38.6 PTS/GM (1ST IN SEC)
•     2023: 35.1 PTS/GM (3RD IN SEC)
•     2022: 33.5 PTS/GM (5TH IN SEC)
•     2021: 33.7 PTS/GM (4TH IN SEC)
•     2020: 39.2 PTS/GM (3RD IN SEC)

     

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WACO, Texas - Ascension Parish baseball flipped the script in its second game of the Little League Baseball Southwest Region Tournament. In game one, they trailed early against Arkansas. In game two, Ascension Parish took an early lead and kept it all the way through the game to beat Clinton Baseball Association (Mississippi) 2-0.

With the win, Ascension Parish moves on to the regional semi-final.

After Thursday's slow start, Ascension Parish didn't waste time on Friday. John Landry knocked an extra-base-hit into the gap to give team Louisiana a 1-0 lead. Two batters later, Brock Percell made it 2-0 on an RBI single.

On the pitching side, Ascension Parish was essentially flawless. 

Liam Hohl, Cooper Suire and John Landry worked together to complete the first combined no-hitter at the Southwest Region Tournament since 2019. Hohl got the bulk of the work, pitching the first four innings of the game with eight strikeouts. Suire and Landry both picked up an inning and a strikeout apiece to complete the no-no bid.

Ascension Parish will face Tulsa National (Oklahoma) in the semifinal on Sunday, Aug. 9 at 3:00 p.m.

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Hunter McCann has this weekend's MLB & WNBA Best Bet$!

Friday

MLB:
Blue Jays @ Phillies: Phillies ML
Mets @ Pirates: u8.5 Total Runs
Angels @ Marlins: Marlins ML
Twins @ Brewers: Brewers ML
Cubs @ Royals: Cubs ML
Dodgers @ Diamondbacks

WNBA:
Dream @ Mystics: Dream -5.5
Mercury @ Sun: Sun +6.5
Valkyries @ Wings: Wings -1.5

Saturday

MLB:
Athletics @ Red Sox: Red Sox -1.5
Angels @ Marlins: Marlins ML
Blue Jays @ Phillies: Phillies ML
Cubs @ Royals: Cubs ML
Orioles @ Rangers: Rangers ML
Dodgers @ Diamondbacks: Dodgers ML

WNBA:
Aces @ Lynx: Lynx -4.5
Storm @ Fire: Storm +1.5

Sunday

MLB:
TBD

WNBA:
TBD

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BATON ROUGE — WBRZ, as the Official News Station of LSU Athletics, will expand its weekly fall LSU football lineup to include Inside LSU and The Lane Kiffin Show. 

Each Wednesday during football season, the 30-minute Inside LSU show will air at 9:30 a.m. on WBTR and 10:35 p.m. on WBRZ+. 

The Lane Kiffin Show, which premieres Sept. 3 ahead of the LSU-Clemson game on Sept. 5, will air every Thursday from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. on WBTR, and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on WBTR and WBRZ+.

Where to Watch WBTR:

Over the Air (Antenna): Channel 36.1
Cox Cable: Channel 19
REV: Channels 144 & 844
Fidelity: Channel 19
AT&T U-verse: Channel 19

Where to Watch WBRZ+:

Over the Air (Antenna): Channel 2.2
Cox Cable: Channel 11
REV: Channels 2 and 702
Fidelity: Channel 19
Streaming: WBRZ Streaming Apps

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WACO, Texas - Ascension Parish baseball entered the bottom of the fourth inning of its first game at the Southwest Regional Tournament trailing 2-0. Then, Louisiana's state champs caught fire to score eight unanswered runs and defeat Arkansas' Junior Deputy 8-2.

The bulk of the damage AP baseball did came in the bottom of the fourth. Entering the inning, they had managed just one base hit. Cohen Leblanc then got the break AP needed. A fly ball just over the glove of Arkansas' center fielder started the rally. Two batters later, Trace Haydel cut the two-run deficit in half on an RBI single.

AP was on the board, and the team had life.

Cooper Suire was up next with runners on first and second. What started as a bunt turned into a throwing error that brought in two runs. AP has the lead, and they'd keep it for the rest of the afternoon.

With the win, Ascension Parish moves on in the winner's bracket. They will face the winner of the New Mexico-Mississippi game on Friday, August 7 at 1 P.M. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.

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BATON ROUGE - The sports two winningest active coaches will bring their teams together for a huge women's basketball match-up in Nashville as the LSU Tigers will face off against the UConn Huskies at Bridgestone Arena on December 20.

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BATON ROUGE - Lane Kiffin brought his Tiger football team to the practice field for the first time for fall camp on Wednesday morning.

"It was awesome," Kiffin said of his first fall practice. "A lot of a lot of respect for this position, that hit me this morning going out there and what a historic program and great coaches that had been here before."

"Really just a lot of gratitude for this opportunity and people trusting you with this opportunity," Kiffin continued.

LSU worked out as a full team for the first time with their transfer portal players, incoming freshmen and returning Tigers from last season.

"Really good spirits, really good energy," Kiffin said after the practice was over. "We have long ways to go. Understand how to push through really intense periods and situations. I'm sure it'll be probably say first day they feel that way. Different programs. So we have a lot of really good pieces. Got a chance to be really good. But everybody wants to know how many wins is that? How many those things? That's that's all outcome, and there's so many variables in that. We've got a lot of work to do with these pieces."

Tiger quarterback Sam Leavitt returned to practice after missing most of the spring workouts following his recovery from foot surgery during the offseason.

"I thought Sam had a great day today, and really, I don't look at it that he was really far behind. He did a lot of metal work, did a lot of throwing stuff in different situations, and even when he can, you know, move as well. So I think his progression has been been really good, and I think he's right on right on pace."

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BATON ROUGE - Southern put on shoulder pads for the first time in fall camp on Wednesday. They had limited contact, but the intensity of practice was raised a bit.

Southern offensive coordinator, Ken Merchant, is still trying to tailor his "Go-Go" offense to the personnel, but believes they are a lot better than they were in the spring.

Southern will continue fall camp practices throughout the month before their first game against Alabama State in Birmingham on Aug. 29.

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BATON ROUGE — The LSU Alumni Association is bringing back Football Fridays at The Cook this fall.

The pregame luncheon series, sponsored by Regions Bank, will be held on three Fridays throughout the season. The events invite alumni, fans and supporters to the Lod Cook Alumni Center for "an afternoon of great food, unforgettable stories and insider football conversations featuring legendary former LSU and NFL players."

"Football Fridays has become one of our signature traditions during football season," President/CEO of the LSU Alumni Association Joe Carvalhido said in a statement. "Whether you're reconnecting with friends, entertaining clients or hearing firsthand stories from LSU football greats, it's an unforgettable way to celebrate our LSU pride."

Football Fridays will be held on Sept. 4, ahead of the Clemson game; Sept. 25, ahead of the Texas A&M game; and Nov. 13, ahead of the Texas game.

Guests can choose from several ticket options, including individual general admission tickets, reserved tables, limited VIP table packages, and corporate sponsorship opportunities. General admission tickets start at $50.

Ticketing information can be found here.

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BATON ROUGE — A new era of LSU football starts in one month when the Tigers face Clemson in Death Valley on Sept. 5. 

Ahead of the 2026-27 season, Wednesday marked the first day of fall training camp for the newly led Tigers under head coach Lane Kiffin.

After practice, Kiffin spoke enthusiastically about the first day of fall camp, but acknowledged that the team "still has a lot of work to do."

A big part of training camp, Kiffin added, is "controlling what we can control." One of the things that Kiffin and his staff can control is ensuring on-field chemistry between players and getting them used to playing with each other.

"So many guys were brand new today," Kiffin said, noting that the team started camp with a shorter practice as they ramp up the program to help prevent injuries. 

One of the newer players to the Kiffin program is Arizona State transfer Sam Leavitt.

Kiffin said that Wednesday was the best the quarterback has ever looked, noting that he is becoming more comfortable with the Tigers' receiving corps. 

"His progression has been really good," Kiffin said. "He's right on pace."

Before camp started, Leavitt was recovering from a right midfoot Lisfranc injury. Kiffin said that "you wouldn't even have known that he had an injury" based on how he was moving on the practice field.

A big part of the conversation surrounding Kiffin's arrival in Baton Rouge was the excitement around him as a coaching personality. The former Ole Miss coach said that he has not engaged much with the fervor around his move to Louisiana, only saying "I hear about it." 

"When you hire a coach, you hire the energy that comes around it," Kiffin continued. "That pays off in fan support, that pays off in donations, that pays off in recruiting."

He said that top-ranked transfer portal and high school classes show that this energy is working.

When asked about how the camp's performance reflects on high expectations that the LSU fanbase has for Kiffin's tenure, the coach said that there are too many variables to determine what this means for wins during the season, a sharp departure from former coach Brian Kelly, who began the lead-up to his final season promising to go 1-0 before fall training camp even began. 

Kelly lost every prior season-opening game until last season's win over Clemson on the road. Kelly's team, however, lost several subsequent games. He was fired in October after losing against Texas A&M before the Tigers concluded their 7-6 season. 

"Expectations are extremely high here," Kiffin said. "As good as we are right now, that's only the beginning."

WATCH KIFFIN'S POST-PRACTICE NEWS CONFERENCE:

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BATON ROUGE — LSU offensive tackle Jordan Seaton is on the 2026 Outland Trophy preseason watch list. 

Each year, the Outland Trophy is awarded to the best college football interior lineman. Former Tiger Glenn Dorsey won LSU’s only Outland Trophy in 2007. 

The Washington, D.C., native is set to start his first year as a Tiger in September. The second-team All-Big 12 selection comes to LSU from Colorado. 

Jordan Seaton is on the Outland Trophy Preseason Watch List @JordanSeaton_ pic.twitter.com/rTk6Oqwcya

— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) August 4, 2026

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BATON ROUGE — LSU ranked No. 13 on the 2026 preseason US LBM Coaches Poll, which was released Tuesday.

The Tigers are one of nine SEC teams on the list of 25 teams. 

The Coaches Poll is a weekly poll conducted through the regular season using a panel of head coaches at Football Bowl Subdivision schools. Each coach submits a Top 25 with a first-place vote worth 25 points, second place 24, and so on down to one point for 25th.

The full rankings can be found below: 

1. Ohio State Buckeyes
2. Oregon Ducks
3. Georgia Bulldogs
4. Texas Longhorns
5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
6. Indiana Hoosiers
7. Miami (FL) Hurricanes
8. Texas A&M Aggies
9. Oklahoma Sooners
10. Ole Miss Rebels
11. Alabama Crimson Tide
12. Texas Tech Red Raiders
13. LSU Tigers
14. USC Trojans
15. BYU Cougars
16. Michigan Wolverines
17. Penn State Nittany Lions
18. Tennessee Volunteers
19. Washington Huskies
20. SMU Mustangs
21. Utah Utes
22. Iowa Hawkeyes
23. Clemson Tigers
24. Houston Cougars
25. Missouri Tigers

LSU is set to play six of the teams on the list this season — Clemson, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Alabama, Texas and Tennessee. 

This is the 25th time in 27 years, dating back to 2000, that the Tigers entered a season ranked in the Top 25. The only two seasons where LSU was not ranked going into the season were in 2000 and 2022, Nick Saban's and Brian Kelly's first years, respectively. 

Over the 27 years, the only seasons in which LSU wasn’t ranked in the preseason Top 25 came in 2000 (Nick Saban’s first year) and 2022 (Brian Kelly’s first year). 

LSU's season kicks off on Sept. 5 against No. 23 Clemson in Tiger Stadium at 6:30 p.m. on Channel 2.

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BATON ROUGE – LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt has been named to the preseason watch list for the Maxwell Award, which is presented annually to the best all-around college football player. 

The Maxwell Award was previously won by LSU quarterbacks Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels, both of whom also won the Heisman Trophy. 

Leavitt, a junior originally from Oregon, is among 81 players named to the preseason watch list for the 90th Maxwell Award. Of these players, 16 are from the SEC.

Leavitt is entering his first season as a Tiger after transferring from Arizona State, where he was a two-year starter for the Sun Devils. Leavitt started his collegiate career at Michigan State, appearing in four games as a true freshman in 2023.

The Tigers, with Leavitt at the helm, open the 2026-27 season with a Tiger Stadium matchup against Clemson on Sept. 5. This game will be broadcast at 6:30 p.m. on Channel 2. 

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BATON ROUGE - Aug. 1 is the technical date when a new bowling season begins each year. So it seems appropriate that after a few weeks off, it’s time to get a new season of bowling news columns underway here at WBRZ.com.

And, unfortunately, there has been some very sad national news over the weekend which has to be our lead.

One of the stars of the PBA Tour in the last decade, Jakob Butturff, passed away unexpectedly on Friday at the age of 32. Butturff was an eight-time PBA Tour champion, including wining one major.

“Jakob was one of the most unique players in PBA history,” PBA Commissioner Tom Clark said. “Fans marveled at his delivery, as he rode a wave of strikes into becoming a top player in the sport, capable of winning at any time, in any event. Jakob was kind, he was respectful, and he was a champion. He will never be forgotten. Our hearts are with all Butters touched on his one-of-a-kind journey.”

That comment by Clark was repeated time and again over the weekend – kind, respectful, friend to all. Even some local and area bowlers talked about their experiences with Butturff. Ironically Butturff’s one major, the 2019 USBC Masters, came at the expense of local star Mykel Holliman who he defeated in the final match.

Butturff won three titles, including his signature major win in the 2019 USBC Masters, finished runner-up to Jason Belmonte in the PBA World Championship, and ranked second to Belmonte in points and earnings.

Butturff was born and raised in Las Vegas, and also lived in Phoenix, Ariz. and Binghamton, N.Y.

A CITY RECORD IN PENSACOLA

This was the weekend that the large contingent of area bowlers went to Pensacola for the annual Emerald Coast bowling event at Oops Alley. A local group finished Saturday with a Pensacola city record for a five-man team as confirmed by the local association in Florida.

Sumner Taylor had 257-696, Gregory Snee (who had a 300 in another shift) posted 268-720 with Terry Orr at 248-739. Mykel Holliman finished with a 259 high game and 773 and Hunter Cooper posted a 300 game en route to an 817 series. Add it all up and it ends up a 3,745 total, the best five-player total ever shot on a lane in Pensacola.

Cooper, who is from the Hammond area, also shot 300 and 817 in doubles on Sunday.

We’ll have official updated standings from the weekend later in the week and we’ll update things next Monday, but a city record has to be in first place, doesn’t it?

SACKS OF CASH

It was another successful summer series of Monday night tournaments at All Star Lanes here in Baton Rouge.

Here are some of the top results from July – the Firecracker event on July 6 which involves four different games and different scoring methods went to Michael Baham and Lakeya Smith Anthony. De’Marcus Quiett and Kolby Anderson won $428 in the scotch doubles event.

The team of Brian Dinh and Asad Mohamed rolled 1,775 to win the no-tap doubles event with $502 and Mykel Holliman won $333 in the final event last Monday, the no-tap eliminator.

GOOD FINISHES FOR LOCALS IN JUNIOR GOLD

Several bowlers from Louisiana joined bowlers from around the country in the annual Junior Gold event in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota earlier in the month. There were several who were able to get through early qualifying to the advancers round, including St. Joseph’s Academy graduate Ava Doucet, who will shoe up for UAB this fall.

Doucet, who as we announced earlier made the Dexter High School All-American team, really wasn’t making plans to bowl but since she was in Minnesota for the awards (where she was named team captain of the All-American team), she decided to bowl and really bowled well, advancing to the second advancer’s round to finish 24th.  

The highest finisher among Louisiana bowlers was Logan Nguyen, in the U12 boys’ bracket. Nguyen finished 10th, 43 pins outside the top eight to advance to match play. The top-10 finish is believed to be the first for a Louisiana bowler since 1998.

We have some other notes that we will get to next week, discuss a tournament that didn’t happen in July and one that is set for another renewal in September when we join you for Spare Notes next Monday.

Until then good luck and good bowling,

                                                        Kent Lowe

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METAIRIE — When highly-touted free agent signing Julian Blackmon suffered a season-ending injury in week one last season, then rookie Jonas Sanker stepped up to fill his role at safety. With Blackmon back and healthy, the two get to play together, with Sanker moving to the "Star" position.

"Having to play safety last year, I think there are so many similarities that I think it makes the transition a lot smoother," said Sanker of the position switch. "I think Julian is really special and I think having him this year is going to make a huge difference just because I think his ability to make plays on the ball and create turnovers is hard to find."

Blackmon seems optimistic about the potential his younger teammate possesses.

"Sanker's a very smart player, and he's very fast," said Blackmon. "I think speed makes up for a lot of mistakes. If you're going to make mistakes, play fast. When we're back there, a lot of times, I'm telling Sanker what I'm seeing just to help him a little bit. It can be a lot, especially going into year two."

In 2025, the Saints had the fourth-ranked pass defense, allowing less than 180 passing yards per game. As New Orleans heads into year two under defensive coordinator Brandon Staley, the bar only gets higher.

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