BATON ROUGE - The LSU men's basketball improved to 10-1 on the season Friday night with a win over Southeastern at the Maravich Center.

The Tigers came out on fire, scoring 50 points in the first half, but the pace slowed in the second half, and LSU held on for a 78-65 win. Marquel Sutton led the Tigers with 19 points and nine rebounds. Michael Nwoko added 18 points and six rebounds.

Friday night's matchup was the Tigers' first home game since November 21. LSU will play its penultimate non-conference game Monday night at home at 6 p.m. against Prairie View A&M.

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BATON ROUGE - The LSU women's basketball team spent Friday afternoon at Our Lady of the Lake Children's Hospital getting customized sneakers for the Tigers' game on Sunday.

Patients at the hospital customized shoes on Friday with LSU players, and the Tiger athletes and coaches will wear those shoes during Sunday's game against UT-Arlington.

"It touches your heart when you see people who have to deal with sickness during the holiday or any time of the year," Coach Kim Mulkey said. "If you can just bring a smile to a kid's face, take a picture with them, or give them a gift, it's an opportunity to bring some joy into their lives during a difficult time."

Sunday's game will start at 1 p.m. and is on the SEC Network

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Hunter McCann has this weekend's Best Bet$ for college football, the NFL, the NBA and NHL!

Friday

College Football:
Alabama @ Oklahoma: Alabama +1.5

NBA:
Heat @ Celtics: Heat +7.5
76ers @ Knicks: 76ers +7.5
Spurs @ Hawks: Hawks +3.5
Bulls @ Cavaliers: Cavaliers -6.5
Thunder @ Timberwolves: Thunder -6.5

NHL:
Hurricanes @ Panthers: Panthers ML
Canucks @ Islanders: Canucks ML
Jets @ Avalanche: Avalanche ML
Devils @ Mammoth: Mammoth ML
Stars @ Ducks: u6.5 Total Goals

Saturday

College Football:
Miami @ Texas A&M: Miami +3.5
Tulane @ Ole Miss: Tulane +17.5
James Madison @ Oregon: Oregon -20.5

NFL:
Eagles @ Commanders: Eagles -6.5
Packers @ Bears: Bears -1.5

NBA:
TBD

NHL:
TBD

Sunday

NFL:
Chargers @ Cowboys: Chargers +2.5
Vikings @ Giants: Giants +3.5
Buccaneers @ Panthers: Buccaneers -2.5
Jaguars @ Broncos: Jaguars +3.5
Steelers @ Lions: Lions o29.5 Total Points
Patriots @ Ravens: Patriots +3.5

NBA:
TBD

NHL:
TBD

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BATON ROUGE — Baton Rouge's Wilbert "Doc" Whitfield has been named the inaugural Southern Captain of the Year for the United States Tennis Association.

Whitfield has served as a USTA League captain for 14 years, leading 87 teams, a news release from USTA says. 

He has also played on USTA teams for 37 years. 

Whitfield’s nomination will be submitted for the USTA Captain of the Year award that will be presented in January.

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ZACHARY - Seven Zachary athletes signed National Letters of Intent to play college sports on Thursday morning.

FOOTBALL

Keidrick Bailey - Louisiana-Lafayette

Kristion Brooks - Southeastern

Dylan Shelmire - Southeastern

BASEBALL

Branden Sanders - Grambling

Noah Sullivan - Louisiana Tech

GIRLS SOCCER

Trinity Spence - LSU-Eunice

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Ava Raymond - McNeese State

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BATON ROUGE — LSU defensive back Mansoor Delane has been named to the Football Writers Association of America's All-America First Team, making him a unanimous All-American player after being named to the other four major All-American teams.

Delane was previously named to the AFCA All-America team, the Associated Press team, the Sporting News team and the Walter Camp All-American team.

In 358 pass coverage snaps, Delane allowed only 13 receptions all season for 147 yards and six first downs. He didn't allow a passing touchdown and was targeted only 9.8 percent of the time. Opponents had a completion percentage success rate of 37.1 percent on passes thrown in his direction, LSU Athletics said.

The last LSU player to be a consensus All-American was offensive tackle Will Campbell in 2024.

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BATON ROUGE — Southern University football coach Marshall Faulk is expected to hire Florida State graduate assistant Ben Miles to be the team's tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator as the team tries to reinvent itself following a 2-10 season, CBS Sports reports. 

Miles, son of former LSU head coach Les Miles, would be returning to Baton Rouge after stints with the Noles and the Texas A&M Aggies. 

Florida State graduate assistant Ben Miles is set to be hired as Marshall Faulk’s tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator at Southern, a source tells @CBSSports.

A return to Baton Rouge for the son of former LSU head coach Les Miles. Before FSU, he worked at Texas A&M. pic.twitter.com/nckVvaP3rr

— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) December 18, 2025

Miles would join Faulk's coaching staff alongside former Rams player Todd Lyght as defensive coordinator, and former Tulane head coach Curtis Johnson as assistant coach. The Jaguars' 2026 staff will also include Kyle Caskey, who Faulk and athletic director Roman Banks say will lead the team's offense. 

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BATON ROUGE - LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane was given his fourth first-team All America honors by Sporting News, who also named safety AJ Haulcy as a first-team All American.

According to LSU Athletics, Delane and Haulcy join an exclusive list of LSU defensive backs who have earned first-team All-America honors in the same season, with Grant Delpit and Derek Stingley in 2019; Delpit and Greedy Williams in 2018; Jamal Adams and Tre’Davious White in 2016 and Morris Claiborne and Tyrann Mathieu in 2011.

Haulcy, a senior transfer from Houston, led LSU in tackles with 88 and also added three interceptions. He only gave up one touchdown and 24 receptions in 406 pass coverage snaps.

Delane was previously named to the AFCA All-America team, the Associated Press team and on the Walter Camp All-American team.

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BATON ROUGE — Southern University's Board of Supervisors will vote on approving several key leadership positions at the university, including a new football staff, during a meeting on Thursday. 

A public notice issued ahead of the meeting says that the board will vote on approving Marshall Faulk as head football coach, Todd Lyght as defensive coordinator and Curtis Johnson as assistant coach. 

Faulk's contract would give him $1.2 million over the course of three years, WBRZ reported. Faulk also has bonus incentives for winning the SWAC West division, being an undefeated SWAC Western Division Champion, winning the SWAC, beating an FBS team and for winning the Bayou Classic.

Faulk can also receive a $50,000 bonus for winning the MEAC-SWAC Celebration Bowl.

Lyght is a former NFL football player who spent time with the Rams, and Johnson is a former head coach at Tulane.

The board will also vote on approving Karen Jackson as the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Success and Albertha Lawson as Graduate School Dean. Both women currently act as interims in these roles. 

The Southern University System Board of Supervisors meets on Thursday at 9 a.m. in the Board Meeting Room on the second floor of the J.S. Clark Administration Building.

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BATON ROUGE - LSU offensive lineman Carius Curne plans to enter the transfer portal, according to multiple reports.

BREAKING: LSU OL Carius Curne plans to enter the NCAA Tranfer Portal, per @Hayesfawcett3.

Curne, a former 5-star, started 5 games as a true freshman and logged more than 300 snaps.

He's arguably the biggest portal exit so far for Lane Kiffin.

Story:?? https://t.co/zMYaofUvVi pic.twitter.com/LcVSpcm3Ne

— Shea Dixon (@Sheadixon) December 17, 2025

Curne, a freshman from Arkansas, started five games this fall in his first season of college football. The former four-star recruit had over 300 snaps this season for the Tigers. 

The portal officially opens on January 2. LSU finishes the 2025 season December 27 against Houston in the Texas Bowl.

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BATON ROUGE - LSU interim head coach and running backs coach Frank Wilson is heading to Ole Miss as their running backs coach, according to On3 Sports.

Wilson served as LSU's interim head coach after the firing of Brian Kelly; he served as the assistant head coach and running backs coach from the 2022 season to 2025. CBS Sports reported that Wilson will still serve as the interim coach for LSU's bowl game.

He was also previously with the Tigers from 2010-2015 under Les Miles. He is regarded as one of LSU's best recruiters.

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BATON ROUGE - LSU gymnastics will head into the 2026 season as the No. 2 team in the country according to the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA).

The Tigers will enter the season right behind defending national champions, No. 1 Oklahoma. LSU has not been ranked lower than No. 6 in 14 years. 

LSU is coming off of back-to-back SEC Championships, but their 2025 season came to an end after a loss in the NCAA semifinals.

Fans will be able to get their first look at coach Jay Clark's new squad at Open Mike Night/Gymnastics 101 on Jan. 2 at 6:30 p.m.

The Tigers will open the regular season on Jan. 10 when they travel to compete in the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad in Utah. They are set to compete against No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 4 UCLA and No. 5 Utah.

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BATON ROUGE - LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane was named a first-team All-American by FBS head coaches, the third All-America team he has been named to thus far.

Delane was named a first-team All-American by the AFCA All-America team, which originated in 1945, and is voted on by the FBS head coaches. Delane was also named a first-team All-American by the Associated Press and on the Walter Camp All-American team.

In 358 pass coverage snaps, Delane allowed only 13 receptions all season for 147 yards and six first downs. He didn't allow a passing touchdown and was targeted only 9.8 percent of the time. Opponents had a completion percentage success rate of 37.1 percent on passes thrown in his direction, according to LSU Athletics.

LSU Athletics also said this honor made Delane a consensus All-American, which requires a player to be named to at least three of five All-American teams. The last LSU player to be a consensus All-American was offensive tackle Will Campbell in 2024.

The Sporting News and FWAA are set to announce their All-America teams in the coming days.

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BATON ROUGE — LSU women's basketball took care of business against Morgan State on Tuesday in front of thousands of capital-area students for the annual field trip game.

The Tigers won 91-33, shooting 55.6% from the field and outrebounding the Lady Bears 48-18.

Mikaylah Williams and Flau'jae Johnson led the team in points with 14 each. LSU forced 25 turnovers and scored 32 points off of those turnovers.

Every player on LSU's roster saw the floor and got on the stat sheet. Those minutes were valuable with their experience playing at the collegiate level, especially as SEC play approaches in January. 

LSU will close out the non-conference schedule with home games against UT-Arlington and Alabama State.

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BATON ROUGE - Students celebrated "The Dunham School Day" on Monday following Dunham's football state championship. 

The Dunham Tigers beat Calvary Baptist 34-17 to win the LHSAA Division III state title. The win served as the program's first state title since 2004 and the team was the only one from the Baton Rouge area to reach a state title game this season.

Mayor-President Sid Edwards declared Monday, Dec. 15 as "The Dunham School Day" ahead of the celebration. Edwards also spoke at the event. 

Students congratulated players as they walked the trophy into a pep rally in the school's gym. Cheerleaders, coaches and band members participated in the celebration. 

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BATON ROUGE - While less than six months ago, there didn’t seem to be a lot of optimism among people like me who write or make social comments about the Professional Bowlers Association after the group’s contract with FOX Sports ended, there is now even more surprises than thought possible.

The 10-week Sunday series of tournaments on the CW has already been announced and that will begin on Feb. 22.

But this past week, the PBA announced its schedules for CBS and the CBS Sports Network and there were quite a few surprises.

The most notable may be that the senior tour will get four nights of television exposure on CBSSN making for the first over-the-air telecasts since 2009 as the PBA50 World Series of Bowling will run concurrently with the PBA’s World Series to offer television coverage of both tours over four nights, May 9-12.

The series of CBS events begins on April 4 when the USA vs. The World competition takes place. CBS will also have the finals of the World Championship from Strobl Arena in Allen Park, Michigan.

The CBSSN coverage will conclude with a new event, the Norm Duke Open, which replaces the Tour Finals which the network did for several years. Eight bowlers, who qualified during the week, will bowl for the title in a five-hour telecast.

In all, CBS and CBSSN will carry 35 hours of professional bowling. That’s not a bad deal at all.

AN ANNOUNCER FOR CW SHOWS

Recently, we discussed potential announcers for the new network broadcasts on the CW. We have seen on social media a fuzzy outline with a tease to stand by for an announcement. That came earlier today.

The CW has apparently gone with a familiar voice for those who follow sports on the CW in Rick Allen. He’s been one of their college football announcers and is best known for his time as the lead play-by-play for NASCAR on NBC and Xfinity Series from 2015 to 2024.

It’s an interesting choice, but since the graphic on Facebook lists him as the PBA/CW announcer it is assumed Dave Ryan will continue to continue to call the bowling on CBS and CBSSN.

Do not know his bowling background, if any, and we’ll have to see how he fits in as the new season begins.

BACK IN 2026

This will be the final Spare Notes for 2025 as we will refill the bowling notebook and get ready for 2026 as we will be back on Jan. 5 to get city tournament results and updated and start looking toward the 2026 high school season in South Louisiana.

Again, I would like to thank WBRZ Sports Director Michael Cauble and the folks at WBRZ.com for allowing me the chance to continue writing this column on a weekly basis on a free site for our bowling fans to follow.

The 2025 calendar year was good to bowling with another USBC Open at the Raising Canes River Center and an exciting high school season with some great championships. We’ve seen some new names develop as seniors graduate and we can’t wait to tell the stories of the 2026 championship season. It will be here very soon.

Remember, no tap tournaments at All Star Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 if you are looking for something to do.

Thanks for joining us each week. Until 2026, as always, good luck and good bowling.

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OXFORD, Mississippi - The musical chairs between the LSU and Ole Miss football programs continues.

According to multiple reports, former LSU general manager Austin Thomas is taking the same job at Ole Miss.

Ole Miss is expected to announce Austin Thomas as its new Ole Miss football general manager this week. He's coming from LSU and was previously with the Rebels.

— Chase Parham (@ChaseParham) December 15, 2025

Thomas, who spent the last two seasons directing the Tigers player personnel was not retained by Lane Kiffin. Thomas actually worked with Kiffin at Ole Miss from 2022-2023. Billy Glasscock will be the LSU general manager moving forward.

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BATON ROUGE — Southern University's head football coach, Marshall Faulk, will make $1.2 million over three years in his new role.

The Super Bowl winner's contract, acquired by WBRZ, pays $400,000 per year for a three-year term. The contract also includes a $950,000 pool for assistant coaches' salaries. 

Faulk replaces Terrence Graves, who was fired by the school in October after starting the season 1-6. Graves is expected to stay in Baton Rouge, however, as the Board of Supervisors voted in November to give him a separate position in the athletic department. 

"As it relates to our separation with Coach Graves, we entered into a negotiated mutual separation agreement providing for an opportunity for him to stay employed at Southern beginning January at the conclusion of his term in December of this year," board member Domoine Rutledge said at a Nov. 28 meeting, just before the Bayou Classic. 

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BATON ROUGE — LSU cornerback Mansoor Delane was named to the AP All-America first team on Monday.

The Virginia Tech transfer was a key piece to an LSU defense that had more interceptions than touchdowns allowed, the only team in the SEC to do so. Delane allowed just 13 catches for 147 yards, six first downs and zero touchdowns in the 358 snaps he played in pass coverage. 

Delane marks LSU's fourth AP All-American in three years, following Heisman-winning quarterback Jayden Daniels and wide receiver Malik Nabers in 2023 and offensive lineman Will Campbell in 2024. He is the Tigers' 37th All-American ever, and the ninth Tiger defensive back to earn the honor. 

Delane was also a Jim Thorpe Award finalist and named first-team All-SEC. 

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NEW ORLEANS - After a 24-point loss to Texas Tech last week, the LSU men's basketball team bounced back against SMU Saturday night, especially on the offensive end.

The Tigers had four players in double figures against the Mustangs, including two guys with more than 20 points. LSU shot a blistering 62% from the field and scored 50 of its 89 points from inside the paint.

"I feel like we got back to playing with pace, coach (Matt McMahon) emphasized that this week during practice," said point guard Dedan Thomas after the 89-77 win.

LSU, now 9-1 this season, will host Southeastern on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Maravich Center.

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