2024 NFL draft: Chargers GM Joe Hortiz attends LSU pro day

The Chargers were in Baton Rouge, LA on Wednesday.

The Chargers were in Baton Rouge, LA on Wednesday, where they were in attendance for LSU’s pro day.

General manager Joe Hortiz and wide receivers coach Sanjay Lal represented Los Angeles.

The Tigers had a slew of prospects on display, with quarterback Jayden Daniels headlining the pack. However, the Bolts most likely had their eyes set on WRs Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas.

Nabers has been commonly linked to the Chargers at No. 5 overall since the start of the pre-draft process. He is a home-run threat each time he touches the ball, and that type of player would be a welcomed addition to the wide receiver room.

After an 89-catch, 1,569-yard, 14-touchdown season, Nabers followed it up with an incredible pro day, posting a 42-inch vertical and 4.35 40-yard dash time.

If Los Angeles were to trade down and stockpile more picks, Thomas could be a target for them later in the first round. At 6-foot-3 and 209 pounds, he has good size for the position but also possesses great speed and burst to be a threat vertically and in the open field.

Malik Nabers runs 4.35 40 at LSU Pro Day

Malik Nabers put on a show at LSU Pro Day

The belief has been Marvin Harrison Jr. will be the first wideout to be chosen in the NFL draft.

LSU WR Malik Nabers is doing everything to change that perception.

At the school’s pro day on Wednesday, Nabers ran a 4.35 40 and had a vertical jump of 42 inches

LSU’s Ingrid Lindblad eyes ANWA redemption, where the World’s No. 1 amateur has unfinished business

One last shot.

As the world’s top-ranked amateur, Ingrid Lindblad has faced hundreds of daunting opening tee shots in her life. There’s one that paints a canvas in her memory.

It vividly comes to life inside Lindblad’s head. It’s intimidating and historic, demanding yet memorable. Millions have observed it, many even mimicking it in their own head, but few have attempted it. It’s one Lindblad, 23, replays over and over again.

After winning by four shots at the second stage of LPGA Q-School in November, Lindblad had every reason to forgo the spring semester of her final collegiate season and turn professional. Instead, she remained loyal to LSU, where she’s a graduate student.

She has unfinished business. She wants to win another SEC Championship. She wants to win a national title.

Bigger than all, she wants one closing stab to conquer the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. And that starts with the opening tee shot on the par-4 first, named Tea Olive.

“You’ve got that bunker right, and then if you’re a drawer and can’t carry that bunker, you have a hard time finding the fairway,” Lindblad said. “You want to hit a fade off the tee. Being the first hole, you want to get off to a good start.”

The opening shot is what first comes to mind when Lindblad thinks about Augusta National. It’s the place where she was the most nervous before hitting a shot in her career. It’s also a shot she has faced twice, overcoming the hole both times en route to top-three finishes.

Another shot at ANWA after two top-three finishes

Lindblad’s record at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur is stellar. In 2021, she finished T-3 and a shot out of a playoff. The next year, she shot 68 in the final round with two eagles to finish T-2 and a shot behind the winner.

Last year was an anomaly, as she missed the 36-hole cut and didn’t get to head to Augusta National Golf Club on Saturday and hit that first tee shot. It has been on her mind ever since.

With the inaugural ANWA debuting in 2019, the first two rounds take place at Champions Retreat Golf Club, nestled 15 miles up the road in Evans, Georgia. Only the top-30 players after 36 holes get to play the final round at Augusta National.

That’s why missing the cut in 2023 laid the groundwork for her to remain an amateur.

Lindblad has been one of the best college golfers in the country since she stepped on campus in Baton Rouge. She is a four-time first-team All-American, being named a finalist for the Annika Award, given to the top women’s collegiate golfer, all four years. She has won 13 times in her career, an LSU record, and also has the school record for career scoring average (70.31) and top-10 finishes (39 in 46 total events).

At the 2022 U.S. Open, Lindblad set the record for the lowest 18-hole score by an amateur, shooting 6-under 65 at Pine Needles playing in the same group as fellow Swede Annika Sorenstam.

But she wants more.

“There was unfinished business there,” LSU coach Garrett Runion said. “She would go home for Christmas break and people would be asking when she would turn pro. But she likes LSU. She likes her teammates and she continues getting better. She also wanted to win a national title, individually and as a team.“Then there’s Augusta National.”

Even with Lindblad’s marvelous consistency, her college career has somewhat been overshadowed. The pandemic took away the end of her freshman season. Then as a sophomore, then-freshman Rachel Heck at Stanford burst onto the scene, winning nationals and the Annika Award. The next two years, as Lindblad continued winning and setting records, the best women’s amateur of all time, Rose Zhang, was dominating the college landscape.

Thanks to COVID, she chose to return to LSU for a fifth year, as did teammate Latanna Stone, who also finished runner-up at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in 2022.

Unfinished business.

“At first, I wanted to just play in the fall,” Lindblad said. “Then after stage two, I decided I actually wanted to stay the whole year so I can get another shot.

“It was the right decision.”

ANWA: ‘The Masters of the amateur world’

Lindblad not only had a strong pathway to turning professional, she dominated LPGA Q-School’s second stage, winning by four shots. Thanks to a recent LPGA rule change, she would need to turn professional before having a chance to earn an LPGA card. The win guaranteed Lindblad status on the Epson Tour in 2024, but she was in no rush to turn professional.

Her final season of college golf is going a lot like the first four.

Lindblad has won twice in six stroke-play events, her worst finish being T-5. She has been runner-up twice and been a shot out of medalist honors in another start. She’s again looking like a shoo-in for first-team All-America honors and in her best position yet to win the Annika Award.

The thought occupying her mind most often, though? The opening tee shot at Augusta National.

“I’m trying to take it one tournament at a time, but it’s not that easy,” Lindblad said of looking ahead. “You don’t want to only work on short-term things for each tournament. It’s not all you can focus on.”

The final part of Ingrid Lindblad’s amateur career is swiftly approaching. First, it’s the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. A week later, the SEC Championship. Then, it’s time for NCAA postseason play.

Lindblad has plenty of lofty aspirations over the next couple months. For the average amateur, they may seem unattainable or difficult to even dream that big.

Lindblad isn’t an average amateur. The next two months are why she decided to come back to school and delay turning professional for six months. It’s what she has prepared her entire life for, to compete and thrive in the biggest championships. It’s a perfect springboard into the future.

“It’s an amateur major,” Lindblad said of ANWA. “You’ve got the best players there from the whole world. It’s the Masters of the amateur world.”

And amongst the azaleas the first week of April, Lindblad plans to be hitting a fade down the first fairway, just like she has visualized thousands of times.

Angel Reese responded after she appeared to wave goodbye to a fouled-out MTSU player

Angel Reese had a response to the video.

The No. 3 seed LSU Tigers rolled into the Sweet 16 on Sunday after a win over Middle Tennessee State, but it was a game that was much more uncertain at times than the final score would suggest.

LSU trailed by nine points in the second half before going on a furious run to win by 27. And the emotion we saw from Angel Reese and Flau’jae Johnson was a huge reason why. One sequence in particular appeared to have Reese responding on social media after the game.

In the the third quarter, Reese drew a fifth and final foul on Anastasiia Boldyreva, and as a fouled-out Boldyreva left the court, Reese could be seen waving.

The obvious assumption was that Reese was waving goodbye to Boldyreva, who had to leave the game with nine points. But after LSU’s win, Reese took to Twitter/X and appeared to address the exchange.

She called it clickbait.

Either way, Reese finished the game with 20 points and 11 rebounds as LSU heads to the Sweet 16.

Florida mercy rules LSU to secure weekend series win

Florida ended its weekend series in Baton Rouge an inning early with a mercy-rule victory over the LSU that also gave the Gators the series.

Florida got the last laugh in Baton Rouge this weekend as the Gators defeated the LSU Tigers, 12-2, via the mercy rule on Sunday to win an important three-game series.

Jac Caglianone didn’t have his best stuff, but he went seven innings strong for Florida. Caglianone struggled with command, walking five batters. He struck out five to even the ratio and only gave up two earned runs (one earned). Somehow, Caglianone improved on the 1.77 ERA he had coming into this game.

“Experience and comfortability,” Caglianone said when asked what’s changed for him over the past season. “When I have an offense like this to kind of back me up on Sundays, there’s no better feeling than knowing you have a two-run lead and you’ve just got to hold it.

“Keep the composure, not let anything spiral and that’s kind of what we did. We took care of it today.”

Florida’s bats caught fire in the fifth, leading to a six-spot on the scoreboard. Colby Shelton and Cade Kurland hit two-run homers, and Luke Heyman drove in two more with a double. Shelton homered again in the sixth, putting him in a five-way tie for fourth-most in the country with 12 on the year.

Ty Evans, Jac Caglianone and Shelnut hit back-to-back-to-back homers in the eighth. With the run rule in effect, Florida’s closer Brandon Neely came in to close out the win. He struck out the first two batters on six pitches but missed the immaculate inning on the ninth pitch.

A grounder to end the game early is just as good, though, and Florida takes the series after things looked bleak halfway through Game 2 on Saturday.

The lineup change Kevin O’Sullivan initiated after Game 1 seemed to really affect the team. Maintaining that energy moving forward will be key. Peaking at the beginning of SEC play is still a reality with so much competition around the league.

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Caglianone ties up LSU series with extra-inning heroics

Florida battled back to force extra innings and the most dangerous bat in the lineup came up big when the Gators needed him most.

It took 11 innings, but the Florida Gators evened up a crucial weekend series with the LSU Tigers, 6-4, on Saturday night thanks to a two-run home run in extras from Jac Caglianone.

Florida struggled to hit LSU starter Gage Jump, but it chipped away at a two-run lead once the bullpen came in. Liam Peterson only went 4 1/3 innings for Florida, but the bullpen threw six scoreless to back him up.

Peterson’s fastball worked up to 97 mph, but he controlled it better around 94-95 mph. Peterson’s curveball and changeup both have a ton of potential, but LSU figured out his arsenal by the second time around.

Jump walked the first batter he faced and put him in scoring position with a wild pitch, but he settled in to retire the next six in a row. He hit Tanner Garrison to start the third, but a nice play to get the force at second helped him out of the inning without giving up a run.

That’s when Peterson broke. A one-out single appeared harmless enough, but a line drive at third baseman Dale Thomas scored the first run of the game for LSU. Thomas knocked down the ball but made a bad throw to first, one that Jac Caglianone couldn’t save.

The run shouldn’t have scored, but Caglianone couldn’t find the play at the plate once he corraled the ball. Peterson got out of the inning without giving up a second run, despite a walk to Tommy White.

Florida responded immediately, tying things up on a double play and taking the lead on a single from Thomas against the shift.

Peterson gave things up immediately, though.

Hayden Travinski hit a solo shot in the fourth, and Mac Bingham and Jared Jones went deep in the fifth to put LSU up, 4-2. Kevin O’Sullivan let Peterson keep working through the three solo home runs, but he pulled the freshman after another double and a walk.

Left-hander Frank Menendez came in to get out of the jam and earned the double-play ball he was looking for. Cade Kurland couldn’t make a good throw, though, extending the inning. A flyout to right ended the fifth instead.

Menendez came back out for a sixth and struck out Steven Milam, but a four-pitch walk brought in Luke McNeillie. Tanner Garrison threw out his sixth baserunner of the season to erase the walk, but McNeillie gave up a free base himself before ending the frame.

Gage finally left the game after hurling a career-high 105 pitches. Gavin Guidry replaced him and dispatched Thomas using just three pitches. Guidry and McNeillie both pitched through the seventh and into the eighth. LSU went to the bullpen first, following a leadoff hustle double from Ty Evans.

Left-hander Nate Ackenhausen entered to give Caglianone a bad matchup. Cags rifled a ball up the middle into the shift, but the infield couldn’t handle it (despite an infield hit ruling). Things fell flat quickly after Shelnut struck out and Luke Heyman popped out on the first pitch he saw.

Kurland put together an ugly at-bat with two outs, but he sworded so badly that the catcher lost the ball and a run scored.

McNeillie nearly made it through the eighth, but Kurland failed to finish off another double play. Tough night for the sophomore standout. Sully changed the lineup too, moving Kurland out of the leadoff spot and replacing him with Colby Shelton, followed by Evans, Caglianone, Shelnut and Luke Heyman. Landon Russell also got the start in center field.

Ashton Wilson pinch hit for Garrison and drew a crucial leadoff walk. He moved over to second on a groundout that brought LSU three strikes away from a series win, but Evans had different plans. A line drive to center scored Michael Roberts, the pinch runner for Wilson, setting up extra innings.

Florida turned to its closer Brandon Neely to hold the tie. No trouble. Neely retired the three batters he faced in order, but a pinch-hitting situation forced him out of the game.

The Gators loaded the bases in the top of the 10th and gave up the designated hitter spot to bring in Jaylen Guy, but the Tigers got out of the inning without giving up a run.

Ryan Slater entered for Landon Russell, who started in center field and swapped with Guy who came in for the pitcher. To recap, no runs scored, no more designated hitter, Guy in centerfield and Slater on the bump. Yes, it’s confusing.

Slater sat LSU down, 1-2-3, bringing up the top of Florida’s betting order. Evans punched his third hit of the night into the outfield, bringing up Caglianone for the dagger.

The crowd silenced immediately after the ball cleared the fence, and a two-out single from White in the bottom of the frame hardly brought back the energy.

Slater closed things out, tying the series and forcing a rubber match on Sunday.

Caglianone will take the mound for Florida at 3 p.m.

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Flau’jae Johnson posts supportive photo with Kim Mulkey after coach’s controversial press conference

A clear message from the LSU star

LSU head coach Kim Mulkey went on an irate rant in her Saturday press conference during the NCAA tournament amid rumors of a forthcoming story in The Washington Post.

Mulkey read from a strongly-worded prepared statement threatening legal action against the newspaper if it defames her — despite the fact that the public doesn’t know when, or even if, a story is on the way.

Yet the coach’s actions were enough to prompt a supportive post on social media from LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson. The guard didn’t even have to write any words to get her message across. All she needed as a simple photo.

Mulkey is no stranger to controversy, so comments like Saturday’s isn’t out of character. Yet it does feel noteworthy that she’s devoting time during an NCAA title defense to a rumored story.

Either way, Johnson has her back.

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Florida baseball baffled by LSU in series-opening loss

LSU looked dominant in a 6-1 win over Florida Friday night. The Gators look to bounce back and even up the weekend series on Saturday.

Florida’s bats couldn’t figure out LSU starter Luke Holman all night Friday en route to a 6-1 series-opening loss in Baton Rouge to the Tigers.

The Gators struck out 16 times in total. Holman recorded his first nine outs via the punchout, and Florida’s hitters looked completely confused at the plate until Ty Evans broke up the no-hitter with a solo shot to right field.

Florida only conjured up four hits all night, though. It took until the seventh, when Griffin Herring took over for Holman in relief, to notch the second hit of the evening. The other two came in the ninth — Evans with a single and Tyler Shelnut with a double to left field.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see Kevin O’Sullivan tinker with the lineup after this one.

On the mound, Cade Fisher looked decent despite taking the loss and surrendering five earned runs. Fisher is slowly figuring things out, but at some point, the results are going to catch up with him. An 8.13 ERA through six starts simply doesn’t cut it.

Ryan Slater, Fisher Jameson and Blake Purnell threw the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, in that order. Each gave up hit, and Slater walked a batter, but they kept LSU from adding to the lead mostly. A run crossed in the eighth, but Cade Kurland’s fifth error of the year took it off Purnell’s official record.

Liam Peterson will take the mound for Game 2 of the series on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.

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Hailey Van Lith correctly predicted MTSU’s upset over her former Louisville team on Selection Sunday

Hailey Van Lith, everybody!

Hailey Van Lith tried to tell everyone that MTSU wasn’t going to be an easy matchup for Louisville. On Friday, MTSU steamrolled the Cardinals to win their first NCAA tournament first-round win since 2007.

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Somewhere, Hailey Van Lith is saying, “I TOLD YOU SO.” During Selection Sunday, lip-readers thought they uncovered Van Lith predicting a Lousiville loss to MTSU. The colorful language she used suggested she knew it would be a handful. Well, she was right. Actually, she was spot on.

Lousiville was rolling early, but turnovers and foul trouble unraveled them. Add in a filthy 20-point performance from Savannah Wheeler in the second half, and it just wasn’t their day. Louisville made it interesting with just 40 seconds remaining but couldn’t come up with a win. For the first time since 2010 —  and just the second time in Jeff Walz’s tenure — Louisville will not advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Fans have been seemingly waiting for this moment and came prepared with the jokes and receipts.

 

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Cameras captured the awkward moment Kim Mulkey had to tell Angel Reese LSU earned a No. 3 seed in women’s March Madness

Realization coming in 3…2…1…

On Selection Sunday, the selection committee revealed that LSU earned a top seed in the Albany 2 region. Angel Reese was so excited upon hearing the announcement that LSU earned the No. 2 seed that she started clapping and smiling. That’s when Kim Mulkey had to break it to her that the team actually earned the No. 3. seed.

The Selection Sunday reactions have been dropping all over social media, and the LSU Lady Tigers reacting to their journey is making the rounds. First, it was Hailey Van Lith trolling her former team for being in the same region as LSU and having to play Middle Tennessee.

Now, more footage of that moment is surfacing, and Angel Reese can be seen giddily telling Kim Mulkey and Van Lith that the Tigers were a No. 2 seed. Kim Mulkey quickly clarifies that LSU actually has a No. 3 seed. In real time, Reese starts to understand the gravity of the situation, and her face awkwardly turns from happiness to sadness. (See the 34-second mark of the clip below.)