Playing with the pros: The NFL season kicks off Thursday night with a game between the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the Tennessee Titans. Two former Tigers are expected to start in the game. Ryan Clark will start as free safety for the Steelers, while Kevin Mawae, in his 16th NFL season, will be the Titans’ center. LSU officials say there are 46 former Tigers on NFL rosters or on practice squads. The Kansas City Chiefs and San Diego Chargers both have four former LSU stars on their rosters. The Chiefs have a trio of former first round picks—wide receiver Dwayne Bowe, defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey and defensive end Tyson Jackson—along with center Rudy Niswanger. San Diego has linebacker Darry Beckwith, wide receivers Demetrius Byrd and Craig Davis and running back Jacob Hester. Beckwith is on the Chargers practice squad and Byrd is on injured reserve. There are two former Tigers playing for the Saints: cornerback Randall Gay and wide receiver Devery Henderson.
New rules: LSU officials have announced changes to the post-game traffic procedures around Tiger Stadium. The changes will take effect this weekend, when the Tigers play their first home football game of 2009 against Vanderbilt. Both lanes of traffic on River Road will flow south between the southernmost exit of the Levee Lots and Brightside Drive. Drivers in the left lane on River Road will be forced to turn east onto Brightside and the right lane will be forced to proceed south on River Road. The parking lots on Gourrier Avenue will be similar to post-game traffic for an LSU baseball game. Motorists exiting the Hayfield Lot on Gourrier Avenue will be directed west to River Road. Traffic going south on Nicholson Drive will not be contra-flowed as it was last year because Burbank Drive is now fully open.
Get stung: Cox Sports Television will show 65 New Orleans Hornets basketball games this season. This is the eighth year the cable network will show the games. An additional nine regular season games will air on national broadcast and cable channels, meaning that 74 of the Hornets’ 82 regular season games will be televised. The CST schedule tips off Oct. 30, with the Hornets’ home opener against the Sacramento Kings. CST is channel 37 locally.
