Lsu

When Louisiana State hired Nick Saban away from Michigan State after the 1999 season, with a five-year contract averaging $1.2 million annually, it wasn't just because the Southeastern Conference school liked the way he charted X's and O's. In Saban, the Tigers knew they were getting a premier recruiter. Saban provided an instant return on LSU's substantial investment last season as the Tigers, 3-8 in 1999, their final season under Gerry DiNardo, went 8-4, including an impressive 28-14 Peach Bowl victory over favored Georgia Tech.

Coach Dick MacPherson liked what he saw of his Syracuse team. So did LSU coach Mike Archer. "The people in the South saw a team from the North come down and play like a team from the South," MacPherson said after Syracuse dominated LSU, the Southeastern Conference co-champion, 23-10, in yesterday's Hall of Fame Bowl at Tampa Stadium. Archer was not in a position to argue. "Syracuse proved they are an outstanding team," Archer said. "We couldn't do anything right. We couldn't kick the ball, snap it, catch it, tackle or block it. "They did nothing we didn't practice last month.

In the current edition of Sports Illustrated, there is an opinion piece authored by one Dick Friedman, who expounds about his devotion to LSU, his favorite college football team. He has been cheering for the Tigers since wondrous halfback Billy Cannon led the 1958 squad to an undefeated season and the first of the school's three national championships, the last two of which have been won since 2003. Nothing unusual about Friedman's level of devotion, except that this is a guy who lives in New Jersey, and always has. He never attended LSU, saw an LSU game in person or even set foot in Baton Rouge.

VIRGINIA COACH Tony Bennett was no stranger to LSU coach Trent Johnson. The two had faced each other in the Pac-10 and also twice since Johnson took over the Tigers. Bennett wasn't surprised that his 21st-ranked Cavaliers had to scrape out a 57-52 victory over LSU last night in Baton Rouge. "I knew it was going to be a hard-fought game," Bennett said. "You have to play on both ends of the floor against a Trent Johnson team. You have to break them down. It was a typical physical game.

Louisiana State postponed its football game against Troy after Hurricane Gustav damaged Tiger Stadium and battered Baton Rouge far worse than anticipated. The university made the decision yesterday after having a full day to get a handle on damage to the stadium and the community, much of which is expected to be without power into next week. "We would have loved to play the game, but it's not possible and the city of Baton Rouge is in too bad shape to take resources away to play a football game," LSU athletic director Joe Alleva said.

A month ago, North Carolina wasn't sure freshman Ed Cota was ready to play point guard. Now, the 12th-ranked Tar Heels aren't sure they can do without him. Antawn Jamison had 26 points and 15 rebounds in a 67-48 win over Louisiana State last night in Greensboro, N.C., but North Carolina struggled offensively without the injured Cota running the team. The Tar Heels missed 15 of 16 shots from three-point range, and shot 29 percent in the second half. "When you lose a player in your rotation, it changes things drastically," said Shammond Williams, who switched from his shooting-guard position and played 37 minutes in Cota's place.

It took big games by April Brown and Marie Ferdinand to give No. 23 Louisiana State its biggest road victory ever. Brown scored 25 points and Ferdinand had 21, both career highs, as the Tigers defeated No. 2 Georgia, 80-74, last night in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams. Georgia (7-1) was the highest-ranked team LSU (5-1) has ever beaten on the road. "This is a big win," said Ferdinand, a 5-9 junior guard. "A lot of people didn't give us any hope of coming into Georgia and winning.

Tim Clark singled to spark a three-run fifth inning and added a homer last night as Louisiana State eliminated The Citadel from the College World Series with a 6-1 victory over the Bulldogs. The win gave the second-seeded Tigers (54-18) a rematch against Oklahoma State tomorrow night. LSU - which lost to the Cowboys, 7-1, on Monday - must beat Oklahoma State (55-16) twice to advance to Saturday's national title game. The Citadel, participating in the College World Series for the first time, finished its season 46-14.

The power of positive thinking is a wonderful thing. Just ask Villanova's Greg Woodard. Wildcats coach Rollie Massimino has been telling Woodard that he could be the best shooter in the country. Yesterday, the junior guard proved that Massimino knows shooting. Operating behind a wall of picks, Woodard popped free for a career high of 28 points and led the Wildcats to a season-opening 93-91 victory over 14th- ranked LSU in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic at the Springfield Civic Center.

Rick Clausen and Tennessee refused to be part of LSU's feel-good story. Gerald Riggs Jr. pushed into the end zone from a yard out in overtime to give the 10th-ranked Volunteers a 30-27 comeback win last night in the Tigers' long-awaited, hurricane-delayed home opener in Baton Rouge, La. Clausen, an LSU transfer, led the Volunteers (2-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) back from a 21-point deficit in the second half to send the game to OT at 24-all. Clausen came off the bench when starter Erik Ainge was injured midway through the second quarter with the Vols behind by three touchdowns.

Top Wide Receiver Prospects JUSTIN BLACKMON, OKLA. STATE He's not as explosive as teams might like, but who cares? He's a ball-catcher and pulls in nearly everything tossed in his direction. Blackmon will definitely go in the top 10. KENDALL WRIGHT, BAYLOR A 4.6-second 40-yard dash at the combine didn't seem to match his game film. But he has an assortment of moves off the line, has great in-air body control, and makes up for his lack of size (5-10, 196) with impressive athleticism.

Some of the most talented athletes in the collegiate ranks compete annually in the Penn Relays, but rarely does someone like Marquise Goodwin of Texas come to town. Goodwin, a junior, can be found on the Longhorns' 4x100- and 4x200-meter relay teams this week at Franklin Field and in the long jump, an event in which he won both the 2010 NCAA outdoor championship and the 2011 U.S. championship. Goodwin also stars as a wide receiver on the Texas football team. After initially telling coach Mack Brown that he wanted to sit out last season so he could concentrate on track with an eye to the 2012 London Olympics, he asked Brown after the first game whether he could come back, and the coach approved.

SERANA WILLIAMS capped a week of powerful performances with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Lucie Safarova to win the Family Circle Cup on Sunday in Charleston, S.C. It was Williams' 40th WTA title and first on clay in 4 years since capturing this championship in 2008. Williams didn't expect to show so strongly in her first event of the season on clay. She said the steady stream of interests she deals with off the tennis court helps keep her focused when she's on it. "I'm just trying to keep my mind busy," Williams said.

BATON ROUGE, La. - Maggie Lucas backpedaled with her shooting arm extended as her fourth three-pointer of the first half swished through, then she turned to trot back on defense while holding up three fingers on each hand. Penn State's leading scorer was well on her way to a memorable night, which meant trouble for LSU. Lucas scored 30 points, three short of a career high, and the fourth-seeded Lions moved on to the third round of the women's NCAA tournament with a 90-80 victory over No. 5 seed LSU on Tuesday night.

  Kentucky wasn't just supposed to beat Louisiana State, it was supposed to win comfortably. But the Wildcats (31-1) labored through an 18-turnover performance Friday in which the feisty Tigers led early in the second half before losing, 60-51, in the second-round of the Southeastern Conference tournament in New Orleans. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist helped No. 1 Kentucky overcome its early lethargy, scoring 10 of his 19 points in the opening 20 minutes before his teammates came alive in the second half.

First, it was the colors. "I guess it was something about that purple and yellow," Darrell Bush said. Then, it was the championships. "It seems like every time I was watching them, they were winning titles," Bush said. Bush, a soft-spoken senior at Woodbury High School, said Louisiana State University has been his "dream school" since he was in eighth grade. On Wednesday, Bush's dream became reality when the 5-foot-9, 155-pound speedster signed a letter of intent to attend LSU on a track scholarship.

First, it was the colors. "I guess it was something about that purple and yellow," Darrell Bush said. Then, it was the championships. "It seems like every time I was watching them, they were winning titles," Bush said. Bush, a soft-spoken senior at Woodbury High School, said Louisiana State University has been his "dream school" since he was in eighth grade. On Wednesday, Bush's dream became reality when the 5-foot-9, 155-pound speedster signed a letter of intent to attend LSU on a track scholarship.

NCAA president Mark Emmert reiterated his support Monday for a two-round, four-team BCS championship playoff. Emmert said there are ongoing discussions about what he described as a Final Four model, a scenario that this season would've matched LSU against Stanford, and Alabama vs. Oklahoma State, with the winners advancing to the title game. Alabama beat LSU, 21-0, to avenge its lone loss and win the championship in a criticized rematch. Penn State football coach Bill O'Brien named Jim Bernhardt as special assistant and director of player development, and Craig Fitzgerald , a La Salle High School graduate whose most recent coaching job was at South Carolina, as director of strength and conditioning.

May 2011: J.J. Denman, Pennsbury offensive lineman, gives an oral commitment to Penn State. October: Denman changes his mind and commits to Wisconsin. January: Denman changes his mind, again, and commits to Rutgers. I don't know the young man, so I'll ask: Does J.J. stand for Just Joking? I'll give him some slack, though, for one of the two changes of heart. July 2011: Gunner Kiel, quarterback at Columbus East High in Indiana, commits to Indiana University.