DUTCHTOWN - The Dutchtown Griffins are preparing for the 2026 football season and are bringing back a lot of returning talent.

There are 10 offensive starters coming back and about four returning on defense, but there is about 16 players total that return with some starting experience.

While that experience will be a strength, Coach Guy Mistretta, says that his squad isn't very big, so physicality is an area of concern the Griffins are hoping to work on this summer.

After finishing 5-5 last season and losing four of their last five games, Dutchtown is hoping to turn things around to have more success in 2026.

The Griffins start their season on the road at the Magnolia School of Excellence in Shreveport on Sept. 4.

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BATON ROUGE — LSU softball's Kylee Edwards will enter the transfer portal after one season in Baton Rouge, the star shortstop announced Wednesday. 

Edwards was a key bat for the Tigers in 2026, hitting .341 with 10 home runs and a 1.039 on-base plus slugging percentage. Against Missouri in April, Edwards became the first player in program history to hit for the cycle.

She transferred to LSU from Mississippi State for her junior year and will now play for a third school in her senior season. 

Edwards is the latest of several LSU starters to announce their departure after LSU fell to No. 1 Alabama in the Tuscaloosa Super Regional, including star pitcher Jayden Heavener. 

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BATON ROUGE - The St. Michael Warriors made history in 2025 by winning the program's second playoff game ever. As they prepare for the 2026 season, the Warriors are looking to take things up a notch.

St. Michael returns nearly their entire offense. 10 starters total will return for the Warriors offense, and 9 starters return on defense. 

With that, experience is their biggest strength this season according to head coach Zach Leger. However, he also wants his team to use that experience to build belief in themselves that they can achieve whatever they want this season.

St. Michael starts their season on the road at Loranger on Sept. 4.

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NEW ORLEANS — After testing free agency, longtime Saints defensive end Cam Jordan will return to New Orleans for the 2026-2027 season, according to the NFL Network's Ian Rappaport and confirmed in a tweet from Jordan later on Tuesday afternoon.

#levelz 9-4Ever pic.twitter.com/tQsSUQC183

— Cam Jordan (@camjordan94) June 16, 2026

Jordan and the Saints are reportedly finalizing a 1-year, incentive-laden deal. 

Jordan recently became a free agent for the first time since he was drafted No. 24 overall by New Orleans in 2011. ESPN's Adam Schefter previously reported that Jordan was open to leaving the Crescent City. 

Entering his sixteenth season, Jordan has racked up a total of 132 sacks, 494 solo tackles and 17 forced fumbles, according to Pro Football Reference. 

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BATON ROUGE — LSU women's basketball's slate of SEC home and away opponents has been unveiled for the 2027 season. 

LSU will host Georgia, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, Texas, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma, while the Lady Tigers will go on the road to face Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina and Tennessee.

LSU will play Auburn at both home and on the road. 

The SEC's regular season ends with the 2027 SEC Women's Basketball Tournament being held for the 10th time at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina. The tournament runs from March 3 to March 7. 

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LONDON — Tennis icons Venus and Serena Williams are renewing their partnership nearly four years after they last took the court as a doubles team.

The sisters will play together after receiving a wild card invitation for London's Wimbledon, one of tennis' most prestigious tournaments, which kicks off June 29. The doubles tournament starts on July 1.

"Welcome back," an Instagram post made by Wimbledon announcing their return on Tuesday read.

Serena Williams, 44, recently returned to the court after four years away from the sport. Her sister Venus, who turns 46 on Wednesday, has been playing sporadically since the duo last played together at the U.S. Open in 2022. 

The Williams sisters have won 14 grand slam titles together in doubles, including six at Wimbledon – the first of them in 2000 and the last in 2016. Their first two doubles titles at Wimbledon, in 2000 and 2002, came as wild cards.

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BATON ROUGE - The Central Wildcats will lean on seasoned offensive line and returning quarterback and running back the Wildcat offense hopes to become even more explosive in 2026.

Returning 13 starters from a team that finished 10-3 and reached the quarterfinals before being knocked out by Zachary, head coach David Simoneaux feels like the foundation they've built up over the years will help them in their quest for another state title.

Quarterback Max Gassiot is back for a second season leading the offense and along with running back Tristan Rose and wide outs Brody Diel and Marcus Watson the Wildcats will attack defenses through both the air and on the ground.

Central returns four of their five offensive linemen from last season, just needing to find a new left tackle.

On defense the Wildcats bring back a couple of linemen but linebackers Lane Billings, Kamden Rankin and Emile Raffini will set the tone in the front seven with safeties Marvin Joseph and Dylan Thompson and corners Malik Nixon and Devonte Sanders providing coverage in the back half.

The Wildcats will challenge themselves out of the district with tough early games against Acadiana, Denham Springs and West Monroe on the road.

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BATON ROUGE - This wasn’t where the column was going for this Monday, but so much to talk about in the last two weeks. We start with an event in town this weekend.

PBA REGIONAL

We’ve got professional bowling in our city in PBA SW Dudley DeBosier Open. The Southwest region covers seven states, including Louisiana.

Things will get under way on Friday with a 3 p.m. practice session for the entrants before the Greater Baton Rouge Bowling Association hosts a pro-am at 6 p.m. in which adults and youth league bowlers can bowl a no-tap competition with a minimum of three pros. Entries are available on the All Star online site.

Saturday, the real competition starts with eight games at 9 a.m. with the top 1/3 of the field moving to the advancer round of five games at 9 a.m. Sunday. The top eight from that will bowl round robin match play to determine the champion starting at Noon Sunday.

This is a great chance to see some of the professionals and I’m sure some local and area bowlers go head-to-head in the PBA environment. It’s been a while since any type of PBA event has been in this area, so this is a great get for All Star and hopefully will lead to more appearances in the future.

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SHOW

Saturday’s AMF World Championship show on CBS Sports was high drama and none more so when Zach Wilkins, who was trying to win his seventh consecutive match in the nine-player stepladder at famed Strobl Arena outside Detroit, left a 4-9 split in the final frame to hand the match to top-seed EJ Tackett and in the process his fourth consecutive World Championship.

It was also the first time any bowler has won the same title four straight years in the history of the Tour.

It was an amazing four hours of television, but what got social media going was that CBS was in a rush to get off the air because they were a couple of minutes into CBS Sports’ PGA Tour air time. From the time Dave Ryan said that Tackett was the World Champion to signing off was just under 90 seconds.

The historic nature of Tackett’s win, even though he may not have bowled his best, was one of those moments on the PBA Tour that probably deserved more than it got from CBS.

FOX Sports did the same thing when they had to get to NASCAR or basketball coverage, etc. FOX was a big proponent of bowling for six years, but FOX had bigger properties they had to serve. A few other points:

1) The CW shows went long and didn’t hurry off air. CW did not have network shows following bowling.

2) The pressure in the production truck to get the second show in the time allotted had to be enormous.

3) It amazed me, in hindsight having watched as a younger person, the old Pro Bowlers Tour on ABC for all those Saturdays how they got four matches done in 90 minutes. Remember they had to get finished for Wide World of Sports and had two commercial breaks in each match. Did they bowl through commercials sometimes? Yes. Did they do interviews with the winner each week? No.

4) It is the fluff sometimes in a two-hour show that makes it difficult to get the same four matches done in the time slot now. The celebrity first ball in a championship match wasn’t necessary at all. It could have happened in commercial and taped. I understand the Jalen Rose interview, but after a rolloff in the first match, time became even more valuable. That could have been a booth interview. 

5) The CBS halftime show was kind of a sponsored waste. Basically, a CBS promo and a few comments to set up an EJ Tackett feature on his lack of wins this year, leading to another commercial.  

6) Overall, the big-time feel of the CBS shows and their version of the lane analysis graphics were good. The PBA production crew did their job for the most part. In this social media age, I think you can find Tackett’s comments online. The bowling wasn’t the greatest at times, but it was dramatic as it could be at the end. Dave Ryan is still one of the best around calling the game. Bowling fans won’t accept it, but the money that network has invested in golf trumps the PBA every time.

Bowling is back this week starting Tuesday on CBSSN for the U.S. Women’s Open. Then it’s the PBA Elite League Saturday on CBSSN at Noon CT for four hours and on Sunday, the Norm Duke Open for five hours, starting at 11 a.m. CT.

SPARE NOTES

We will get to this in detail before it happens but there is going to be a fund-raising no-tap bowling event at All Star on Sunday morning, July 5, for recent GBRUSBC Hall of Fame inductee, Wendy Chapman. The night before her induction, she was involved in a very serious automobile accident that left her with some difficult injuries and this event hopes to help with some financial issues.

There will be another All Star BR Bowler’s Mart Handicap Tournament June 26-28 with five qualifying rounds with the interesting 32-player finals format.

Also, I was almost stunned to see a Facebook post by Gregory Snee that Jan. 8-10, 2027, the locally famous BR Singles will return to All-Star for the first time since March 2023. And, if that isn’t enough, the weekly no-tap/doubles different format events will begin their summer run at All Star on June 22.

A lot going on for this bowling month. We’ll be with you some this weekend online and next Monday for the Regional wrap up.

Until then, good luck and good bowling,

                                                     Kent Lowe

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BATON ROUGE - LSU baseball didn't have to look very far for their most recent transfer portal pick-up. Former Tulane outfielder, Jason Wachs announced his commitment to Jay Johnson and the Tigers on Sunday.

Wachs played for the Green Wave for two seasons. During that time, he recorded a .328 batting average with 11 home runs and 79 RBI. As a sophomore in 2026, Wachs led the team in batting average, home runs and RBI. 

LSU addresses two of their needs with the addition of Wachs. He's a left handed batter and has experience in the outfield.

LSU is likely losing starters Chris Stanfield, Derek Curiel and Jake Brown to the MLB Draft. Stanfield is also out of eligibility.

Wachs becomes the fifth player to commit to LSU from the portal and the second outfielder. Earlier this week, the No. 1 player in the transfer portal, Bino Watters, announced his commitment to the Tigers and will likely make an immediate impact in Baton Rouge.

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EUGENE, Ore. - Coming into the NCAA Championships, the LSU women were ranked No. 13 in the country. When the final event was score in Eugene, the Tigers had finished in 11th place after a phenomenal showing from Shawnti Jackson.

The redshirt sophomore sprinter, along with Athaleyha Hinckson Time Godbless and Aniyah Bigam, started the night off by setting an LSU record in the 4x100 relay. The group of four finished in 41.74 seconds and ended up being the third-best time in collegiate history.

Jackson also took home a bronze medal after finishing in third in the 100-meter dash. Godbless finished in seventh in that final.

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BATON ROUGE - About 230 campers came together at A.W. Mumford Stadium on Saturday morning as Southern University hosted the Marshall Faulk football camp.

The campers started the day with combine-style drills in stations. They practiced 40-yard dashes, broad jump, vertical jump and more. 

The athletes then split into position drills and worked with Southern assistant coaches and current Jaguar football players. 

The camp is an opportunity for Southern to recruit future Jaguars as well. Recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach, Ben Miles, likes the relationship building and in-person connection he and the other coaches get from camps like these. 

Southern head coach Marshall Faulk was in attendance.

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BATON ROUGE - LSU tight end and East Feliciana High School alum Trey'Dez Green came back to his alma mater to hold the first Try'Dez Green Football Camp.

Green wanted to serve as a positive example to the young campers to see what they can accomplish.

"You can do it," said Green. "You can too, you can make it too. I was in their shoes. I grew up like 45 seconds down the road just to walk to East Feliciana high. Don't let the doubters tell you that you can't do it, because I did it."

There have been several football camps across the Baton Rouge area scheduled for this weekend. Former LSU lineman and current Baltimore Ravens lineman Emery Jones hosted his camp at Memorial Stadium. Southern head football coach Marshall Faulk hosted his camp as well.

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BATON ROUGE — Baton Rouge native and Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman Emery Jones hosted the Built in the Boot football camp on Saturday in Baton Rouge.

The second free annual football camp is designed to inspire, train and equip young athletes through instruction and mentorship.

"Giving the kids an opportunity to come out and have fun," Jones said. "Get to be around some players in the area."

Participants were given hands-on football training and opportunities to learn the discipline, leadership and work ethic required to succeed both on and off the field. 

"I'm from Baton Rouge, so it's a really big deal. This is a field that I grew up playing on. Little league, high school, so to be able to come out here and fill the stands up and have kids come out and have fun on this field means the world to me."

While Jones has done camps for the past three years, this is his second year hosting.

"It feels good, especially when kids are asking me questions, talking about Lamar Jackson, talking about the Ravens and stuff like that," Jones said. "Kids growing up in Baton Rouge don't know too much about the Baltimore Ravens. To be out here and see that I have an influence on them... feels really good."

Jones hopes to continue to grow the annual camp, which featured Mayor Sid Edwards.

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EUGENE, Ore. - LSU junior sprinter Jaiden Reid had quite the day at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Reid set a collegiate record in the 200-meter dash after finishing in 19.63 seconds.

Reid took home another two medals on the day. He played a critical role on LSU's 4x100 relay team, which took second place in the finals behind Tennessee's team.

Reid's second silver of the day came in the 100-meter dash, in which he finished in 9.82 seconds with the help of some wind.

At the end of the night, LSU's 4x400 relay team ended up setting a school record with a time of 2:57.96. That team also came in second to win the Tigers another silver medal.

As a team, LSU placed 4th.

TEAM SCORES:

1. ARKANSAS, 56
2. GEORGIA, 49
3. TENNESSEE, 46
4. LSU, 42
5. OREGON, 40

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BATON ROUGE — LSU baseball's star shortstop will withdraw from the 2026 MLB Draft and return to LSU for the 2027 season, sources confirmed to WBRZ.

Steven "Monster" Milam will play his fourth season in Baton Rouge next spring, a big win for head coach Jay Johnson who is looking to bring the Tigers back to the postseason after a disappointing 30-28 record in the 2026 season. 

Milam finished the year with a .296 batting average and 11 home runs. He's averaged .305 in his LSU career and has a total of 30 home runs. 

The announcement is the latest in a recent string of wins for Johnson. On Wednesday, the twice-national championship-winning head coach secured a commitment from No. 1 transfer portal prospect Bino Watters, an outfielder from Notre Dame. On Thursday, Johnson landed Florida's Cade Kurland, a promising second baseman with a history of injuries. 

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Hunter McCann has this weekend's best bets for the World Cup, NBA and Stanley Cup Finals, WNBA, college baseball and the MLB!

Friday

World Cup 2026:
Canada vs. Bosnia: Canada ML (3-Way)
USA vs. Paraguay: USA ML (3-Way)

College Baseball:
Troy @ West Virginia: u11.5 Total Runs
Ole Miss @ UNC: UNC ML

MLB:
Mariners @ Nationals: Mariners ML
Braves @ Mets: Braves ML
Dodgers @ White Sox: Dodgers ML
Phillies @ Brewers: Brewers -1.5
Cardinals @ Twins: u9.5 Total Runs
Rockies @ Athletics: Gage Jump o5.5 Total Strikeouts

WNBA:
Tempo @ Mystics: Tempo +2.5
Valkyries @ Storm: u157.5 Total Points

Saturday

World Cup 2026:
Qatar vs. Switzerland: Switzerland -1.5
Brazil vs. Morocco: Brazil ML (3-Way)
Haiti @ Scotland: Scotland ML (3-Way)
Australia vs. Turkey: u2.5 Total Goals


NBA Finals:
Knicks @ Spurs: Spurs -5.5


College Baseball:
Oklahoma @ Alabama: Oklahoma ML
Texas @ Georgia: Texas ML

MLB:
Cardinals @ Twins: u9t Total Runs
Yankees @ Blue Jays: Blue Jays ML
Dodgers @ White Sox: Dodgers -1.5
Diamondbacks @ Reds: Diamondbacks ML
Phillies @ Brewers: Phillies +1.5
Cubs @ Giants: o7.5 Total Runs

WNBA:
Fever @ Sun: Fever -11.5
Lynx @ Aces: Lynx +3.5
Wings @ Fire: Wings -5.5
Sparks @ Mercury: Sparks +1.5

 

Sunday

World Cup 2026:
Netherlands vs. Japan: Netherlands ML (3-Way)
Ivory Coast vs. Ecuador: Draw
Sweden vs. Tunisia: Sweden ML (3-Way)


Stanley Cup Finals:

Hurricanes vs Golden Knights: Golden Knights ML

College Baseball:

Troy vs Ole Miss: Troy +1.5
West Virginia vs UNC: UNC ML

MLB:

Marlins vs Pirates: Pirates ML
Mariners vs Nationals: Mariners ML
Braves vs Mets: Braves ML
Dodgers vs White Sox: Over 9.5 Total Runs
Rockies vs Athletics: Athletics ML
Rays vs Angels: Under 9.5 Total Runs

WNBA:

Dream vs Tempo: Dream -6.5
Mystics vs Liberty: Mystics +12.5

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ST. AMANT, La. - LSU softball's Alix Franklin is never all that far away from her hometown of St. Amant. Sure, LSU's campus is only a half-hour drive to her old high school, but even with the homegrown star having moved on to the bigger stage at the college level, she frequently comes home.

Perhaps too much, according to her former coach.

"I convince her to stay away sometimes," said St. Amant head coach Amy Pitre jokingly. "She's here quite often."

So, when Pitre held her program's Summer camp for younger softball players, it wasn't hard to convince Franklin to come out to help run the show.

"Alix was always great working with the kids even when she was a player here," said Pitre. "She always did a great job working these camps."

That skill will come in handy for Franklin when she finishes playing softball. When her playing days are over, Edwards wants to get into coaching. And Coach Pitre is the one she has to thank for that.

"I want to coach one day because I've had coaches like her," said Franklin. "The relationship I have with her, the way that she cares about each specific athlete, the way that she explains the game, she's the reason why I have the mindset that I have."

Coach Pitre's impact on Franklin's career can also be felt every time she puts on the purple and gold of LSU.

"She has the biggest part to play with who I am and where I am," said Franklin. "She's probably the reason why I chose LSU. I had other schools that I wanted to go to out of state, but at the end of the day, If I could be 30 minutes from my parents and 30 minutes from her, I couldn't pass that up."

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BATON ROUGE - The LSU football team has had it's schedule window set by the SEC for the upcoming 2026 season and there are a number of night games and early morning contests both at home and on the road.

Four of the more anticipated games on LSU's upcoming schedule are set to a FLEX option which means that the window will not be decided upon until closer to kickoff.

Early start times will range between 11am and noon, night games will start between 5pm and 7pm and FLEX games can start at either 230-330 or 5-7pm and will be decided upon a week before kickoff.

Week 1 vs. Clemson - Night on WBRZ
Week 2 vs. LA Tech - 630PM - SECN+
Week 3 at Ole Miss - 630PM on WBRZ
Week 4 vs. Texas A&M - FLEX
Week 5 vs. McNeese - 645PM - SECN
Week 6 at Kentucky - Night
Week 7 vs. Miss. St. - 11AM
Week 8 at Auburn - 11AM on WBRZ or ESPN
Week 9 vs. Alabama - FLEX
Week 10 vs. Texas - FLEX
Week 11 at Tennessee - FLEX
Week 12 at Arkansas - EARLY

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BATON ROUGE — The top player in the NCAA baseball transfer portal is coming to Baton Rouge. 

Notre Dame outfielder Bino Watters announced his status as a Tiger on social media Wednesday morning, posting a picture of him sitting on a throne, surrounded by two national championship trophies, while wearing an LSU uniform. 

Watters is currently a sophomore and is originally from Rochester Hills, Michigan. While with the Fighting Irish, he was named to the 2026 first-team All-ACC and the 2025 ACC All-Freshman Team. 

He has a .362 batting average with 10 home runs & 51 RBI and 0.967 fielding percentage this season. 

GEAUX TIGERS???? pic.twitter.com/ImWHkAMfBb

— Bino Watters (@BinoWatters) June 10, 2026

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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — N.C. State is investigating potential legal claims against LSU tied to men’s basketball coach Will Wade leaving for a second stint coaching the Tigers. That includes whether LSU violated a North Carolina state law.

N.C. State vice chancellor and general counsel Allison B. Newhart wrote to LSU counterpart Carlton Jones last week about the matter, a development first reported by WRAL in Raleigh. The letter was later obtained by The Associated Press in a records request.

According to N.C. State, it has received three email messages from LSU asking the school to “sign a release of claims” against LSU in the Wade matter.

Letter cites a state law with potential financial damages
Newhart's letter from last Thursday states the school “has not agreed — and does not agree now — to release LSU from any liability” tied to Wade’s departure after one season with the Wolfpack in March.

“Instead, N.C. State is investigating whether LSU improperly induced Coach Wade to breach his Employment Agreement, induced Coach Wade to terminate his Employment Agreement, and interfered with the timing of termination of the Employment Agreement to result in lower liquidated damages – all to N.C. State’s detriment,” Newhart wrote.

That includes whether LSU violated the state’s Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act; violations can result in financial damages and attorney fees.

Reached by the AP on Wednesday, N.C. State spokeswoman Lauren Barker said the school had no additional comment beyond the letter's contents. LSU spokesman Michael Bonnette declined to comment to the AP.

The timing of Wade's buyout payment is a key factor
LSU hired Wade on March 26, two weeks after Wade publicly stated he was determined to win big at N.C. State in Year 2.

The buyout in Wade’s contract was for $5 million, but was scheduled to drop to $3 million after April 1. At the time, athletic director Boo Corrigan said the school agreed to lower that to $4 million to close the matter and not delay the search for a successor that landed former Wolfpack player and Tennessee assistant Justin Gainey in less than a week.

Newhart’s letter states the N.C. State received a $4 million wire from LSU on May 8 for Wade's buyout. But she also writes that N.C. State considers the issue resolved “only as to Coach Wade’s personal obligations” and that the payment “does not absolve LSU from potential legal exposure.”

Specifically, the letter states N.C. State “has reason to suspect “LSU may have influenced efforts to avoid or delay” notifying the school of the pursuit to trigger the lower buyout payment from after April 1.

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