Sports

Mainieri, Tigers thrive despite early criticism

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MIdway through the 2019 NCAA Baseball season, many LSU fans began calling for the head of coach Paul Mainieri due to a less than stellar record so many Tiger fans had become accustomed to. The comparisons to former LSU football coach Les Miles referenced that the game may be passing him by, and that he could no longer develop talent like he had in previous seasons. Midweek losses to in-state out of conference teams piled up, concerns swirled and the Tigers’ weekend pitching rotation seemed more like an out of control merry-go-round.

Raptors take NBA Finals opener, beat Warriors 118-109

TORONTO (AP) — The first NBA Finals game outside the U.S. was a party 24 years in the making.

Then Pascal Siakam and the Raptors really gave Toronto something to celebrate.

Siakam scored a playoff career-high 32 points and the Raptors made a smashing NBA Finals debut, beating the Golden State Warriors 118-109 on Thursday night.

The Raptors hardly looked like newcomers to the NBA’s biggest stage, controlling the action most of the way against a Golden State team beginning its fifth straight NBA Finals appearance.

Saints’ Murray says he can’t replace Ingram, but can help

METAIRIE (AP) — New Saints running back Latavius Murray doesn’t see himself as a replacement for his friend and former offseason training partner, Mark Ingram — not that he can’t appreciate why others might view him as such.

“Human nature for fans or anybody is to compare us, because obviously a very good running back leaves and we have to fill that void,” Murray said Thursday after New Orleans completed its sixth full-squad voluntary practice of the offseason.

Ryu dominant again, Dodgers blank Mets 2-0

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hyun-Jin Ryu was all but untouchable in May.

His final start of the month was no different Thursday night as the lefthander pitched four-hit ball into the eighth inning of his latest dominant outing, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 2-0 win over the New York Mets.

Chris Taylor tripled off hard-luck loser Jason Vargas to start the bottom of the first and scored when Max Muncy followed with a double. That was all the offense for either team until Kiké Hernández singled home an insurance run with two outs in the eighth.

White Sox beat Indians 10-4 for season-high 4th straight win

CHICAGO (AP) — Yonder Alonso is dealing with his tough start by staying positive and trying to make the most of every day.

A successful performance against his former team certainly helps.

Alonso and José Abreu each hit a two-run homer, and the Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Indians 10-4 on Thursday night for their season-high fourth straight victory.

Eighteen LSU athletes make All-SEC team

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BATON ROUGE – Eighteen athletes on the LSU track and field team earned All-SEC honors for their performances at the SEC Championships in mid-May. A total of 12 athletes earned first-team accolades, an additional four garnered second-team honors, and four freshman were named to the all-freshman team.

‘SEC on CBS’ schedules starts with Alabama-South Carolina

(AP) - Alabama at South Carolina on Sept. 14 will start CBS’ Southeastern Conference football schedule this season, and Notre Dame’s trip to Georgia the next week is positioned to be a prime-time game for the network.

The schedule for the 19th season of the “SEC on CBS” was released Wednesday, along with the dates and times for Army-Navy (Dec. 14, 3 p.m. Eastern) and the Sun Bowl (Dec. 31, 2 p.m. Eastern).

Warriors’ new NBA Finals road goes to Canada to face Raptors

TORONTO (AP) — Dynasty versus dinosaurs.

The Golden State Warriors’ road to a fifth straight NBA Finals has detoured to a new destination — and this one requires a passport.

The Toronto Raptors, a team that arrived in the NBA 24 years ago as the dinosaur-logoed basketball franchise in a hockey-loving country, have finally made it to the championship round and will host Game 1 on Thursday night.

It’s the first time the finals will be played outside the U.S., a refreshing change after a record four straight seasons of the same matchup.

Elton’s ‘James Gang’ to bring success to college level

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ELTON – Only days before receiving their 2019 LHSAA Class 1A state championship rings for their girls’ basketball state title in Elton, twins Jamaica and Jameica James took care of

Bregman goes deep twice, Astros topple Cubs 9-6

HOUSTON (AP) — With three of their biggest stars out with injuries, the Houston Astros needed someone to step up on Tuesday night against the Chicago Cubs. That player was