| LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson pulled no punches after his Tigers were eliminated in the NCAA Hattiesburg Regional by Southern Mississippi. The biggest difference between the two teams, Johnson said, was on the mound. Improving LSU's pitching staff has clearly been a big offseason priority. Johnson has already brought in two-time Big East Pitcher of the Year Dylan Tebrake from Creighton, Vanderbilt reliever Christian Little and even Minnesota Twins pitching coach Wes Johnson to run the show. Wednesday, Jay Johnson added another important and impressive arm, getting a transfer commitment from UCLA right-hander Thatcher Hurd. Check out Hurd's credentials with the Bruins from last season before his campaign ended because of injury. Of course, the transfer portal giveth and taketh away. A familiar Tiger veteran and a catcher with local ties have entered the portal. In all, 10 players from the 2022 team are in the portal, though they can choose to return. Men's basketball We're still a long way from basketball season, but anticipation is already building for the first season under new coach Matt McMahon. Wednesday, the SEC released the list of conference opponents for each of its 14 teams. We've got LSU's slate of opponents right here. Football Joe Burrow is up for an ESPY award. See which one the former LSU Heisman Trophy winner is nominated for here. And, finally, Thursday marks 66 days until LSU's Sept. 4 season opener against Florida State at the Caesars Superdome. To mark that, we've got an excerpt from my book "LSU By the Numbers" on LSU's greatest No. 66, Pro Football Hall of Famer Alan Faneca. Thanks for reading, folks. Until next time, Scott Rabalais | 