Busy ticket takers: The Tigers may have fallen short of reaching their ultimate goal this spring, but the team was once again the biggest draw in college baseball. For the 18th straight season, LSU has the largest total attendance in the nation. LSU posted an NCAA-record attendance figure of 473,298 over 43 games this past season in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field, including 38 regular-season, three regional and two super regional games. The Tigers’ total attendance mark was nearly 200,000 greater than second-place Mississippi State (281,840). LSU has more details here.
The turning of the seasons: Players will report for the New Orleans Saints training camp on Thursday, July 25, and hold the first of 17 open practices on the following day, the team announced today. The Saints will conduct an intra-squad scrimmage on Saturday, Aug. 3, but a time and site have not been determined. All practices will be held at the team’s training complex in Metairie and are open to the public, weather permitting. The Saints host their first preseason game at 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 16, against the Oakland Raiders.
Tonight’s the night: The only definitive statement that Dell Demps, New Orleans Pelicans General Manager, will offer about the team’s plans for tonight’s NBA draft is that he intends to maintain a “poker face” in hopes of making it as hard as possible to predict his club’s course of action. The Pelicans have the sixth pick. Demps says he would happily entertain trade talks, but is also leaving open the possibility that the Pelicans could draft a player who might not fit a glaring need or may not even be ready to play a significant role as a rookie. The Associated Press has the full story here.
