Worldwide Web of sports: Beginning Wednesday, Cox Louisiana High Speed Internet and Cox Business Internet customers will have access to ESPN360.com, an online service that broadcasts thousands of live sporting events a year. The service, which allows subscribers to watch up to 15 live events at a time, is free to existing high-speed and business Internet customers. Some of the events available on ESPN360.com include college football, the NBA and major pro golf and tennis tournaments.
Raider days: JaMarcus Russell is off to a bad start this season; the former LSU star quarterback has completed just 35% of his passes with the Oakland Raiders through two games. But San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News columnist Tim Kawakami says he’s sticking with Russell, who was the first player taken in the 2007 NFL Draft. “The talent is there. He’s trying to be more of a leader. He will never be willowy, but he looks in reasonable shape,” Kawakami says, adding that playing with the woeful Raiders and having young receivers are hampering Russell’s development. “Russell might not be doing what Matt Ryan is doing in Atlanta, but if he were a Falcon, with a strong coaching staff and cohesive roster, I think Russell would be much further along than he is now,” Kawakami says. Read the full column here.
Control the clock: Mississippi State football Coach Dan Mullen says the Bulldogs will look to control the clock against LSU on Saturday. “We’re gonna be a running football team,” Mullen told the Sun Herald of Biloxi-Gulfport, Miss. Two Bulldogs pounded it out last week during the team’s 15-3 win over Vanderbilt: Anthony Dixon ran for 123 yards on 21 carries, and Christian Ducre added 62 yards on nine attempts. Read the Sun Herald preview here. Kickoff is set for 11:21 a.m., and the game will air locally on WAFB-TV. The Tigers are a 13-point favorite.
A salute to Sue: The LSU women’s basketball team will honor the late coach Sue Gunter by holding a tournament in her name. The Lady Tigers will play in the Sue Gunter Classic on Dec. 15-16 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. The Tigers will play Houston Baptist at 7 p.m. on Dec. 15, while the University of Louisiana at Lafayette will tip off against North Carolina A&T at 4:30 p.m. The winners of those games will play each other the next night at 7 p.m., while a consolation game will be held at 4:30 p.m. LSU officials say the tournament will bring Gunter’s name back to the forefront of women’s college basketball every year. Gunter, the coach with the most wins in Lady Tiger history, was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame just before her death in 2005.
