Still waiting for the ink to dry, but new softball head coach Beth Torina has at least outlasted her predecessors tenure of 48 hours. The full introductory press conference is after the break.
Trent Johnson took part in the Summer Teleconference to talk about the progress of the team and join others in supporting the SEC's plan to do away with divisions in Men's Basketball. He also confirmed some minor changes with the coaching staff personnel.
I'll never get tired of reading about Chad Jones remarkable recovery. On the 1 year anniversary of the accident, ESPN New York has an excellent recap of his progress so far, including footage of him running at nearly full speed on a treadmill. Jones believes he is on track to return full speed to the Giants next summer and hopes to be on the field in the 2012 season.
Recruiting is never an easy game to play. A Sure Thing is never a Sure Thing until the paper comes through the fax machine in February. Which brings us to the slightly unsettling news that WR prospect Avery Johnson, younger brother of Patrick Peterson and one of the highlights of an already loaded 2012 class, has reopened his recruiting, (pay link) telling Rivals Florida:
'My recruiting is back open. I am wide open to every school. Things may change but I am still committed to LSU."
The prevailing wisdom is that he's just angling for a little time in the spotlight to pull a hat out of a bag, but you never know...
Also in Recruiting, LSU picked up it's 15th commit of the 2012 class in Long Snapper Reid Ferguson, who will be the 1st long snapper we've signed since 2004.
There's a great little factoid in this piece in the Birmingham News about SEC spending on baseball: Since 1997, only two schools haven't been to the CWS. One of them is Kentucky.
Speaking of the CWS (which will see S Car play for a title repeat after an amazing night of defensive baseball) the final ball from last year's final game in Rosenblatt has unfortunately ended up in the wrong hands. And things just aren't the same down on the south end of 13th Street.
Ole Miss has hired Cliff Godwin, one Mainieri's original assistants, to be their new hitting coach.
Former LSU Pitcher Austin Ross is working his way up through the Brewers minor league system.
The lawsuit against MSU coach John Cohen claiming overuse of injured pitchers and negligence by his staff has entered full-on NCAA violation territory. Signed statements released by the attorneys for the accusing players claim Cohen and his staff brazenly ignored NCAA rules about practice time limits.
This is an old link that's been stuck in the que, but I never tire of hearing Dale Brown talk about Shaq.
LSU's 3-time NCAA hammer throw champion Walter Henning will not be pursuing a pro career in the sport, choosing instead to focus on working in law enforcement.
As has been the case for a long time, LSU is still one of the few Athletic Dept. in the country that uses no subsides or student fees to operate. Now, about those new parking fees...
Following in the great tradition of LSU heroes, Matt Mauck graduated earlier this month with a degree from Colorado's School of Dental Medicine, and is headed for a career as the team dentist for the Denver Broncos.
Jacob Hester and Darry Beckwith are back in Shreveport running a football camp for grade school kids.
Bama Blogger and secret cajun Kleph has a great story about how Huey Long once tried to hire Bama coach Frank Thomas as the Tide was traveling to the Rose Bowl. LSU instead promoted Bernie Moore and I think that worked out for the best for both teams.