| Greetings from Destin, Florida. It's hard to believe, but it's been four years since LSU hosted an NCAA baseball regional at Alex Box Stadium. But postseason baseball at The Box is back. As expected, LSU was named one of 16 regional host sites Sunday, and Monday the Tigers learned of their national seed and regional opponents. No. 5-seeded LSU (43-15) will take on Tulane (19-40) at 2 p.m. Friday on ESPNU. Oregon State (39-18), the second-seeded team in the regional, faces third-seeded Sam Houston (38-23) at 7 p.m. All four teams are in action again Saturday in the double-elimination regional. What's with the NCAA selection committee and pitting LSU against Oregon teams? This is the third time since 2018 LSU will be in a regional against Oregon State (the Tigers went to Corvallis in 2018) or Oregon (LSU went to Eugene in 2021). If you're wondering how Tulane could still be alive, the Green Wave won the American Athletic Conference Tournament on Sunday. It will come as no surprise that Tulane's 40 losses are the most ever by an NCAA team. Here in Destin, the week's other big story is set to unfold at the SEC Spring Meeting. The league's member schools are gathered to finally vote on a football scheduling format to go into effect in 2024 when Texas and Oklahoma join the SEC to form a 16-team conference. Unless, of course, they don't. Lots of "deadlines" have come and gone without a resolution, though eventually time will run out on the SEC and something will have to be done. The two options are a nine-game schedule with each school having three permanent opponents and sticking with an eight-game schedule with just one permanent opponent. The latter reportedly is gaining traction with more of the SEC membership though not with LSU, which has long been firmly in the nine-game camp. What about the prospect of a compromise, "bridge" schedule format? LSU coach Brian Kelly floated that idea recently and it's not an outlandish idea. Click the above link to read more about that. Back to baseball. We've got fresh odds on the favorites to win each of the regionals (except the Tuscaloosa Regional, which is off the board because of the Alabama betting scandal), and a list of all the Louisiana players set to compete in this year's field of 64. That's all for now, folks. Thanks for reading and subscribing. Please follow us at TheAdvocate.com and NOLA.com for updates from Destin. See you on the beach. (Um, our editors read this too?) No, no beach. I burn easily. I'm here working, working, working. I promise. Scott Rabalais | 
