Trent Johnson said during the SEC Basketball Teleconference on June 27 he believes the LSU basket-ball team grew stronger during its re-cent trip to Italy. Each of the twelve SEC schools participated in the tele-conference, each allowed a seven-minute interview with the media.

Trent Johnson, LSU head coach, led the Tigers last season to a 3-13 SEC record.

The team completed their Ital-ian tour with an unbeaten 6-0 record against Italian teams.

Johnson said having twelve minute quarters and a 24-second shot clock forced the team to be faster and more aggressive. He said the team became more confident after win-ning Italian games.

“We had a very productive trip to Italy,” Johnson said. “It put us in situations where we had a little con-fidence and won some games.”

The SEC recently announced it will drop the east and west divisions in favor of one large 12-team divi-sion. Negotiations over the amount of conference games continue, sug-gestions ranging from 16 to 22 games. The 2011-12 season will re-main 16 games long.

“In a perfect situation every-body will be playing each other twice,” Johnson said.

Johnson said he supported the SEC abandoning division play, say-ing it’s the only way to determine

SportsTuesday, June 28, 2011 page 5

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Johnson speaks in teleconferenceTeam confident after Italian tourCameron WarrenContributing Writer

TELECONFERENCE, see page 7

File photo

LSU men’s basketball coach Trent Johnson addresses the media April 6 to discuss the future of the program. He remains optimistic about 2011 freshmen recruits.

After nearly five years, Death Valley could be looking at more surgery. The LSU Athletic Foundation is currently gauging interest on an-other expansion project to the stadium, which will be 87 years old this November.

When Tiger Stadium first opened in 1924, it held 12,000 fans.

This number eventually grew to 46,000 in 1936, when the north end zone was closed. Huey P. Long, then-governor, bypassed legislation by building dormitories into the expansion. These rooms are today used as offices and storage areas.

The south end zone was closed off in 1953, which increased capacity.

During the ’70s and ’80s, the upper west deck was completed, and the stadium was reno-vated, modernizing certain areas with waterproof-ing and chairs with backs in others.

Expansion resumed in 2000 when the upper east deck was completed, upping the capacity to 92,000.

The most recent expansion came in 2006, when the upper west deck was renovated to mir-ror the newer east deck. This brought the capacity to its current 92,400.

In its current form, Death Valley ranks in the top ten stadiums for capacity. It is currently fourth in the SEC, the highest being Tennessee’s Ney-land Stadium boasting 102,459 capacity.

TIGER STADIUM HISTORY:• 1924: capacity of 12,000 Tiger Stadium opens • 1936: capacity of 46,000 Huey P. Long builds “dormitories” • 2000: capacity of 92,000 Upper east deck completed • 2006: capacity of 92,400 Upper west deck renovated

MORGAN SEARLES / The Daily Reveille

87-year-old Tiger Stadium, which opened in 1924, awaits its next batch of possible renovations. Death Valley, famous for its size and deafening crowd, leaves opposing SEC football teams dreading LSU home games.

Officials consider possible Tiger Stadium expansionCameron WarrenContributing Writer

RENOVATIONS, see page 7

REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

On-campus residents may fi nd a new home away from home by co-ordinating with Residential Life this week to change dorm rooms.

Students will have a 24-hour pe-riod today to make a move to a dif-ferent room in the same building with no questions asked, based on availabil-ity.

Students should visit the front desk of their residence halls between

5 and 7 p.m. to inquire about avail-ability, said Benjamin Dewberry , residence life coordinator of Brous-sard and Pentagon halls.

To change buildings, students can visit Grace King Hall on Thursday or Friday between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to discuss a new dorm assignment.

If a resident changes rooms within his or her dorm, there are no fees involved, Dew-berry said. If a stu-dent moves to a dif-

ferent building, fees depend on the price difference between the current

and future residence hall. If a student wishes to change

rooms on a different date, the stu-dent contact a resident assistant or aResLife coordinator , Dewberry said.

Geography junior Mallory Thomas is beginning her fourth se-mester as a resident assistant and has moderated multiple disputes.

“Confl icts can range from small disputes to massive blowouts,” Thomas said.

She advises residents to use the “golden rule” and common sense when dealing with roommates.

ReveilleChinese New Year: Spring Festival marks the year of the dragon, p. 9

The DailyFootball: Giants living out dream destiny, p. 5

Infrastructure: State � xtures fail � rst-ever report card, p. 4

www.lsureveille.comTuesday, January 24, 2012 • Volume 116, Issue 76

CAMPUS LIFE

Room change requests open todayJacy BaggettContributing Writer

PAUL SANCYA / The Associated Press

Republican presidential candidates debate Monday in preparation for Saturday’s Florida primary. RealClearPolitics shows Newt Gingrich as the Florida frontrunner, with 33.7 percent of the polls. Mitt Romney follows with 33 percent.

BUSINESS

Emily HerringtonStaff Writer

First La. Chipotle to openin BR

Burrito buffs and french fry fa-natics rejoice — a quick fi x is headed close to campus this summer.

The former Blockbuster near the University’s North Gates on West State Street will soon be divided to house a Five Guys Burgers and Fries and Chipotle Mexican Grill , accord-ing to Austin Earhart, an agent with Beau Box Commercial Real Estate.

Earhart said this will mark Chi-potle’s fi rst franchise in Louisiana. The chain boasts more than 1,000 lo-cations across the country, according to the company’s website.

There is currently one other Five Guys restaurant in Baton Rouge, lo-cated in Towne Center .

Earhart said lease development was in the works for about two years until contracts for both locations were executed at the end of last year.

The restaurants will soon begin construction, Earhart said.

“I imagine they’ll be moving in around mid to late summer,” he said.

Contact Emily Herrington ateherrington@lsureveille.com

HOW TO REQUESTA ROOM CHANGE:Today: Request to change rooms within the same building by visit-ing the residence hall front desk between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Jan. 26-27: Request to change buildings by visiting Grace King Hall between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

By fall 2014, a few hundred students will move into one of the most enchanted areas of cam-pus. The LSU System Board of Supervisors unani-mously approved a plan to build a new residence hall near the Enchant-ed Forest at its December meeting.

Catherine David, Residential Life communications coordinator, said in an e-mail that the hall will add 330 beds to the University’s housing inventory and will be built in part of the

Hart parking lot and surrounding area. The building will replace parking spac-

es near Kirby Smith Hall. Spaces lost because of construction will be re-

placed across Aster Street in the lot north of the Edward Gay

apartments, David said.

She said no trees will be cut down during po-tential construction.

ResLife plans to open the building to all stu-dents, David said.

The project’s estimated cost is $22 million, which will be funded by the sale

of revenue bonds, she said. But not all students think it’s

money well spent.“Maybe they could use the

money to renovate the build-ings they already have,” said Lauren Sicard, pre-nursing sophomore.

photo courtesy of THE LSU SYSTEM BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

As early as fall 2014, up to 330 students could live in this proposed $22M residence hall near the Enchanted Forest and Kirby Smith Hall.

SPACE, see page 4

Rachel WarrenStaff Writer

Contact Jacy Baggett atjbaggett@lsureveille.com

A University student has been arrested for the attack of a student near the Parade Ground on Saturday.

LSU Police Department offi cers arrested Camden Marcotte, 20-year-old kinesiology sophomore of 45

Harding St., Dartmouth, Mass., on Tuesday. The alleged assailant was identifi ed by the victim, said Sgt. Blake Tabor, LSUPD spokesman.

Offi cials believe Marcotte at-tacked an 18-year-old female student as she was walking on the sidewalk along Highland Road at 3:30 a.m.

According to LSUPD Det. Kevin Scott, the victim was hit from behind and pushed to the ground. The two fought, and the victim was struck again. The attacker escaped between the Faculty Club and the

Paul M. Hebert Law Center building.The victim was treated for mi-

nor wounds on the scene, Scott said. Tabor said police believe Mar-

cotte ’s motive was robbery — dur-ing the scuffl e, a chain necklace was yanked from the victim’s neck. Po-lice found the necklace at the scene.

Marcotte is charged with simple robbery. He declined to speak to po-lice about his motive, Tabor said.

Detectives were able to identify

Reveillewww.lsureveille.com

Baseball: Tigers triumph againstSoutheastern, 7-3, p. 5

� e DailyNFL: Peterson, Sheppard,Toliver perform well incombine drills, p. 5

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 • Volume 115, Issue 100

Construction: Garage work closesportion of Raphael Semmes Road, p. 3

CRIME

CHRISTOPHER LEH / The Daily Reveille

Camden Marcotte, kinesiology sophomore, is arrested Tuesday as a suspect in an assault near the Parade Ground on Saturday. He has been charged with robbery.

Robbery suspected as motive for attackXerxes A. WilsonStaff Writer

ARREST, see page 11

Student arrested for weekend assault

The state will provide $12 mil-lion in “emergency restoration fund-ing” for coastal residents affl icted by the Deepwater Horizon disaster, ac-

cording to a news release.

Gov. Bobby Jindal announced the funding Tues-day , saying the state is “not wait-ing” for BP, the oil giant that owned the rig which ex-ploded and leaked oil into the Gulf of Mexico this past summer.

Jindal rep-rimanded BP for refusing to pay restoration costs.

“During the response to the oil spill ... we were promised resources and assistance that always seemed to be too little, too late,” Jindal said in the release. “Today, we are again here to take our own action and not let more of our oystermen,

OIL SPILL

Gov. allots $12M for coastal cleanupMatthew AlbrightChief Staff Writer

Jindal won’t wait for BP to pay up

JINDAL, see page 11

‘We were promised resources

andassistance that always

seemed to be too little, too

late.’Bobby Jindal

governor

Nearly every afternoon Crager Doiron packs up his books, fetches his dog and heads to Raising Cane’s Dog Park.

The park, located off City Park Avenue , has a relaxing atmosphere where his 6-month-old schnau-zer, Hess , can play and where Doiron , sociology ju-nior , can study.

“I’ve come about fi ve days a week for about fi ve months,” Doiron said. “It’s a great place.”

Hess ran circles around the grassy plot Monday, trailing be-hind a large boxer. He deviated from his stalking periodically to pay a visit to Doiron , who put a hand down to pet the dog’s head as he read his notes.

Doiron is one of many Uni-versity students who take advan-tage of Baton Rouge’s park facili-ties.

According to Recreation and Park Commission for the Parish of East Baton Rouge (BREC) Communications Director Kristi Williams , three BREC-sponsored dog parks are open to the public, and two are under construction.

Williams said parks have sprouted up around Baton Rouge since 2004 , when the city recognized the need for dog parks.

“We went to the public and had about 125 pub-lic meetings to create the Imagine Your Parks plan ,” she said. “From those meetings, it was evident the

Sydni DunnStaff Writer

Students exercise pets and socialize at local dog parks

DOGS, see page 11BENJAMIN OLIVER HICKS / The Daily Reveille

Crager Doiron, sociology junior, pets Hess, his schnauzer, at Raising Cane’s Dog Park on Monday.

‘It’s agreat place to talk to

otherowners

about dogissues.’

Lisa DiCarlobiological sciencesgraduate student

Candidates of the “Defi ning Our Future” ticket for Student Gov-ernment president and vice president say they want to approach SG with the idea that “to lead is to serve.”

SG presidential candidate Da-vid Jones, an SG senator, and vice presidential candidate Kacey Brister, assistant director of First Year Expe-rience, said the University needs to

“defi ne its future” as the “pinnacle of public education in the state.” Jones and Brister said they are committed to ensuring the University retains its fl agship status years from now.

Though Brister is a sophomore, she said her job “overseeing a group of 50 freshmen” this year has pre-pared her, and she said she is paired well with Jones, who has served in the Senate for three years .

Jones and Brister said “safety is most important” in their admin-istration. Jones said he has spoken to Councilwoman Tara Wicker, dis-trict 10, about increasing the safety of both campus and the surrounding Baton Rouge community.

Jones said an acquaintance has been approached by a dangerous man on campus, and Brister said she frequently runs the LSU Lakes, incit-ing them to push for establishing call boxes, such as blue-light phones, on campus.

Jones said LSU Police Depart-ment offi cers told him they are un-derstaffed — Jones wants to ensure LSUPD is fully staffed.

Reveillewww.lsureveille.com

NCAA: Purchasing scouting service videos doesn’t violate rules, p. 5

� e DailyJapan crisis: Quake and tsunami aftermath affects University community, p. 4

Wednesday, March 16, 2011 • Volume 115, Issue 107

NFL: Former Tigers may return to Baton Rouge during lockout, p. 5

BOARD OF REGENTS

MERGER, see page 11

JONES/BRISTER, see page 11

ELECTION WATCH: A series looking at the SG presidential race

BENJAMIN OLIVER HICKS / The Daily Reveille

SG presidential candidate David Jones, left, and vice presidential candidate Kacey Brister, right, discuss their “Defining Our Future” campaign and initiatives Monday.

Hear more from Jones and Brister at 5:20 p.m.

on KLSU.

Editor’s note: Ticket series will be printed in alphabetical or-der according to the presidential candidates’ last names.

Andrea GalloStaff Writer

MergerPlan B

Robert StewartManaging Editor

After a four-hour meeting laden with emotional testimony and some confusion over a fi nal vote, the Board of Regents decided Tuesday to rec-ommend to the state Legislature a proposal that could lead to a “Uni-versity of Greater New Orleans.”

The Regents voted 9-6 to rec-ommend Alternative B following a study performed by the National Center for Higher Education Man-agement Systems which addressed the possibility of merging the Uni-versity of New Orleans and Southern University-New Orleans.

Alternative B includes four in-stitutional components — an urban research university, a metropolitan university, a comprehensive com-munity college and a “university col-lege” as an entry point for the other three units .

No specifi c names of New Or-leans institutions were identifi ed as university college components.

Urban research and metropoli-tan universities would share a cam-pus and be united as the “University of Greater New Orleans” — which could represent UNO and SUNO.

Jones, Brister vow to increase safety

As gas prices skyrocket, Americans are fi nding more bad than good in the news, according to a new study.

The Pew Research Center found in its March News Interest Index survey that rising costs of goods are causing Americans to perceive more negative news on the economy and prices than in previous months.

This month, 38 percent of Americans said they felt news about the economy was “mostly bad,” an increase from 29 percent in February. March data also showed 53 percent of Americans said the news is a “mix of good and bad,” and only 7 percent said it was “mostly good.”

“Mostly bad” news hit a high in December 2008 when 80 percent of Americans reported viewing news negatively. The lowest number of “mostly bad” responses came in January 2011 at 24 percent.

Increasing gas prices are a contributing factor to the rise in percep-tions of negative news on economy and prices, according to the News In-terest Index. This month, 90 percent of people said news about gas prices was “mostly bad,” compared to 77 percent in February.

Kirby Goidel , mass communication and political science professor, said perception of the news changes with big occurrences, like the recent Tunisian revolution.

GAS PRICES, see page 11

Claire CaillierContributing Writer

Grief by the Gallon

[right] graphic by CAITLYN CONDON, [above] photo illustration by ZACH BREAUX / The Daily Reveille

approvedTuesday

There’s a clear-cut king of the LSU linebacking corps — senior outside linebacker Ryan Baker .

Baker has more total career tackles (115) at the position than the 11 other linebackers on the ros-ter combined, and he has shown his veteran wisdom through six spring practices.

“Baker’s playing like you’d ex-pect him to,” said LSU coach Les Miles . “[He’s] in the position in my mind to be that guy [to lead].”

Baker, senior outside line-backer Stefoin Francois and senior Karnell Hatcher , who just switched from safety to linebacker, are the

only linebackers with more than two years of experience.

“We like him a lot as a lineback-er now,” redshirt freshman lineback-er D.J. Welter said about Hatcher. “He’s done a good job making the switch.”

Hatcher has been working with the outside linebackers during spring practice.

Francois , who recorded 36 tack-les last season, remains with the fi rst team opposite Baker on the strong side.

The intrigue during spring has come from the middle of the line-backer corps.

A fellow Georgia native will fi ll the 6-foot-3-inch, 250-pound void left by former LSU middle lineback-er Kelvin Sheppard , who grew up in Stone Mountain, Ga.

Sophomore linebacker Kevin Minter , 2 inches shorter and 25 pounds lighter than his predecessor,

has moved to the starter’s role in the middle of LSU’s defense this spring.

The Suwanee, Ga., native shad-owed Sheppard last season and saw the most action in a six-tackle per-formance against North Carolina in the opener, but Minter only had nine more tackles the rest of the season.

“He’s trying to fi ll the shoes that Kelvin left,” Baker said. “He didn’t have as much confi dence as he should have had last year.”

Miles has yet to anoint Minter as the second coming of Sheppard even though he’s running with the fi rst team during spring practices.

“[Minter needs to] just be con-sistent,” Miles said. “He’s very phys-ical. ... He needs to demonstrate the ability to do the job.”

An alumnus of Peachtree Ridge High School, Minter said he’s open to accepting leadership.

One of the most successful athletes at LSU is likely someone you’ve never heard of.

While the LSU baseball team was getting cleaned out by No. 1 Florida and both basketball teams were watching the NCAA tour-nament at home, senior swimmer Jane Trepp turned in a historic per-formance at the NCAA champion-ships .

After rewrit-ing the LSU record book during the regular season, she began a domi-nant postseason at the Southeastern Conference Championships .

She took home LSU’s fi rst SEC event championship since 1997 , winning the 100-yard breaststroke in 58.94 seconds, the fi rst time she’d ever broken the one-minute mark .

She not only defeated reigning SEC champion Micah Lawrence of Auburn by a full second . She also shattered Lawrence’s SEC record in the event.

She ended the meet with four medals , also winning a silver medal in the 200-yard medley relay , bronze medal in the 200-yard freestyle re-lay and another bronze medal in the

SportsWednesday, March 23, 2011 page 7

Today in sports: Women’s tennis takes on Colorado at 3 p.m. and Southern at 7 p.m.

FIRST AND GINN

Jane Trepp one ofLSU’s best athletes

Minter moves into Sheppard’s shoesMichael LambertSports Writer

TREPP, see page 11

FOOTBALL

BAKER, see page 11

BENJAMIN OLIVER HICKS / The Daily Reveille

Senior Karnell Hatcher, who switched from safety to linebacker, runs a drill Tuesday. Hatcher and seniors Stefoin Francois and Ryan Baker lead the Tiger linebackers.

Senior linebacker Ryan Baker leads new, young Tigers

Lafayette

RYAN GINNSports

Blogger

The No. 11 LSU baseball team came into Tuesday night’s contest looking for a rebound on several fronts, but came out of the game with more questions than answers losing 11-5 to Louisiana-Lafayette.

From weekday junior starter Tyler Jones, who didn’t record an out in his last start. From the offense, which was downright anemic while being swept by No. 1 Florida. From all-time saves leader junior Matty

Ott, who was knocked around in his last appearance, LSU (16-5) had plenty of issues heading into the game.

ULL, coming into the game with a 9-10 record, looked like the perfect cure to the Tigers’ recent woes.

But the Ragin’ Cajuns (10-10) proved they weren’t going to lay down for LSU.

“We just got totally outplayed,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “ULL was the better team tonight. You’ve got to tip your hat to them. They pitched better, they hit better, they did everything better.”

The deciding factor in the game may have been the six-run fi fth inning, when seven of the fi rst eight Ragin’ Cajun batters reached base.

Freshman pitcher Joe Broussard (0-1) walked the fi rst two

Tigers drop fourth straight in 11-5 loss to ULL on Tuesday

ULL, see page 10

Luke JohnsonSports Contributor

BRIANNA PACIORKA / The Daily Reveille

LSU junior center fi elder Mikie Mahtook unsuccessfully dives for a ball during the Tigers’ 11-5 loss to Louisiana-Lafayette on Tuesday at Alex Box Stadium.

Letdown

Dustin Williams’ eyes were fi xed on his computer screen as he watched tornadoes rip through the state he calls home.

And though he was miles away from the storm’s path, his heart was with his family.

Williams is one of several students at LSU originally from Alabama, devastated by tornadoes that tore through the state a week ago.

Williams , a Hispanic studies graduate student , said he watched and tracked footage of the storm from Baton Rouge and relayed information to his family in Alabama.

“They lost power — no Internet, no news,” he said. “I would call them and tell them to run and get into the closet.”

He recounted conversations throughout the day, noting a call with his best friend.

“He literally started screaming, ‘The sky is green and I see the funnel cloud’ and hung up,” Williams said. “I freaked out in front of Hodges Hall.”

Williams frantically texted his friend until he responded 45 minutes later. He said this type of delay in conversation became a pattern because of bombarded cellular net-works and destroyed towers.

Stressed and worried, Williams can-celed the rest of his plans for the day and went home to watch the coverage.

“I felt so helpless,” Williams said. “I was a nervous wreck, and I still am.”

Williams said as he remotely witnessed the storm, he felt part of the disaster.

“I was watching and thinking, ‘This is our home. It’s where we grew up, and now it’s gone,’” Williams said.

Alabama native Hallie Luckianow , communication disorders senior , said she felt helpless as she watched live coverage.

“When you’re two states away, what do you do?” she asked.

Reveillewww.lsureveille.com

� e Daily

Wednesday, May 4, 2011 • Volume 115, Issue 136

Baseball: Tigers couldstill win SEC Westdespite losing record, p. 9

News: State offi cials ramp up fl ood security, p. 4

Want to work for The Daily Reveille? Apply on Thursday at 6 p.m. in the Journalism Building.

Despite the cancellation of Tuesday’s “Rally for Higher Edu-cation,” students are scheduled to storm the Capitol today from noon to 2 p.m.

Bradley Wood, biology and phi-losophy senior, said “Rally Day at the Capitol” is not limited to higher education.

Wood, founder of the campus organization ProudStudents, said the rally will be hosted by Better Choic-es for a Better Louisiana , a group that

seeks “to improve the quality of life in our state and invest in Louisiana’s future.” He said BCBL serves as an umbrella for various public pro-grams. The group invited all member organizations to gather at the Capitol to “urge lawmakers to adopt a budget that includes new revenues.”

According to BCBL , an ap-proach based on cutting education, human services and health may have negative long-term consequences.

Wood said though he encour-ages students to participate in the initiative, he does not expect a huge student turnout because of fi nals.

“I think people who will attend will be those who have participated in the past and know what’s going on,” Wood said.

PROTEST

Students to march to Capitol today for higher ed rallySydni DunnStaff Writer

Contact Sydni Dunn atsdunn@lsureveille.com

Though it’s been a week since a string of devastating tornadoes swept through the South, a whirlwind of relief efforts are just beginning. And the University is on board, according to Claire Biggs , mass communica-tion senior.

Biggs is the organizer of a campus-wide relief effort to collect backpacks and sup-plies for University of Alabama students and citizens of Tuscaloosa, Ala.

“I [am collecting] backpacks because people are graduating soon,” Biggs said.

The campaign began this week, and Biggs said she has received an infl ux of sup-plies and support within just a few days.

“I had very few connections in Ala-bama, but within the past 12 hours I’ve made tons,” she said.

Biggs , who set up a Facebook page for the drive, said she is asking people to donate backpacks or tote bags fi lled with items.

She said she is collecting everything from toothbrushes to bug spray.

“When you hear ‘people need help,’ you think of money,” Biggs said. “But you don’t need to spend any money to help. Just donate things you have.”

Biggs said she plans to bring collected supplies to Alabama.

Sydni DunnStaff Writer

Sydni DunnStaff Writer

Twister hits Alabama natives far from home

University groups send aid, school supplies

RELIEF, see page 6AWAY FROM HOME, see page 6

HOW YOU CAN HELP• Supply drives:Claire Biggs, clairembiggs@gmail.comCaroline Gladney, cwgladney@crimson.ua.edu• American Red Cross Blood Donation:Designate for Tuscaloosa, Ala.• Money Donation: UA Acts of Kindness fundbit.ly/uaactsofkindness• Volunteer opportunities:ua.edu/tornadorelief

ERIC SCHULTZ / The Associated Press

A car sits amid massive tornado damage in the Carter’s Gin community of Huntsville, Ala., on Monday. ZACH BREAUX / The Daily Reveille

Alabama native Dustin Williams helped his family to safety by following online news.

After 19 seasons in the NBA, six albums, seven movies, numer-ous TV show, commercial and video game appearances, training to be-come a police reserve officer, receiv-ing a bachelor’s degree, an MBA and a Ph.D., 28,596 points, 13,099 rebounds, four NBA championships and an NBA MVP, Shaquille “Shaq” O’Neal has decided to retire.

O’Neal is one of the few players in the NBA today who battled former stars Michael Jordan, Charles Bark-ley, Dennis Rodman and Scottie Pip-pen. He was also instrumental in the

molding of many major players to-day, most notably Dwyane Wade.

O ’ N e a l ’ s career began in 1985. In an in-terview with The Times-Picayune, former LSU bas-ketball coach Dale Brown de-scribed his first meeting with O’Neal. Brown

was speaking in Germany when he

met 13-year-old O’Neal and his step-father, a U.S. Army sergeant.

Brown, stunned at the sight of the 6’7” 13-year-old, began sending O’Neal workout routines, wanting to help strengthen him and make him faster.

It initially failed — Brown says O’Neal was actually cut from his high school basketball team.

Brown continued to send work-out techniques to O’Neal, who even-tually led his high school basketball

SportsTuesday, June 7, 2011 page 5

WARREN PEACE

JOHN RAOUX / The Associated Press

Shaquille O’Neal listens as his college coach, LSU’s Dale Brown, announces O’Neal’s retirement from NBA basketball Friday at a press conference in Windermere, Fla.

Shaq retires from 19-season NBA basketball, movie, television career

SHAQ, see page 7

Cameron Warren

Contributing Writer

Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney weren’t the only ones rock-ing last weekend.

LSU running backs coach and recruiting coordinator Frank Wilson was rocking and rolling on the re-cruiting front, reeling in three more commitments for the 2012 class.

East Jefferson defensive back Derrick Raymond, Hahnville defen-sive back Jerqwinick Sandolph and West St. Mary dual lineman Jerald Hawkins all gave their verbal com-mitments May 28, bringing LSU’s total number up to 12.

“LSU is home,” Raymond said. “It’s been my dream school, and my family gets to see me play. LSU is a great team. They send their corner-backs to the pros.”

LSU hosted about 40 recruits during the last weekend in May at an event they called The Bayou Picnic.

Derek Ponamsky, recruiting analyst and publisher of BayouBen-galsInsider.com, said Wilson and the rest of the coaching staff wanted to replicate the atmosphere of a football game on campus by using the festivi-ties surrounding Bayou Country Su-perfest.

“They had a really good turn-out,” Ponamsky said. “Most of the commitments came in and a lot of

FOOTBALL

LSU earns commits at Bayou PicnicRecruits experience Cajun game dayMark ClementsContributing Writer

PICNIC, see page 7

Omaha, Neb., won’t be sprinkled with pur-ple and gold this summer. After a roller coaster season, the LSU baseball team was left out of the

postseason for the third time in the past six years, and the first time since 2006 — LSU coach Paul Mainieri’s first season in Baton Rouge.

“Honestly, I thought we were in,” said Main-ieri in a press conference after hearing the news. “To me, this team clearly deserved to be in the NCAA Tournament, and I’m just disappointed so much for the kids that they don’t get the opportu-nity to do so.”

LSU finished with a 36-20 record overall, including a 13-17 conference mark, and boasted

an RPI of 25. But its resume wasn’t quite impres-sive enough to earn an invitation to the big dance.

The Tigers started the season hot, winning 16 of their first 17 games and jumping as high as No. 8 in the polls before trudging through the brutal SEC schedule, losing five of their first six series while posting a 4-14 record in that stretch.

Failing to make the Southeastern Confer-ence tournament trumped the 12-3 finish LSU

Mark ClementsContributing Writer

BASEBALL, see page 7

“We deserve to be in, but that’s not the way it worked out. It’s a tough pill to swallow.”Mikie Mahtook, junior center fielder

ADAM VACCARELLA / The Daily Reveille

Junior third baseman Tyler Hanover strikes out April 28 during LSU’s 9-5 victory against Kentucky. LSU has missed the NCAA Tournament for the third time in six years.

LSU again fails to earn NCAA Tournament spot

Two lifelong skaters are ramping up to take on Baton Rouge.

Ben Boone, 2008 University alum-nus, and Kyle Cox, 2001 University High School graduate , came together to start a skateboarding shop.

The shop, called Fidna — slang for “about to” perform a move — will sell boards, clothing, shoes and other skate-boarding necessities, Boone said.

Boone earned a bachelor’s degree in printmaking from the School of Art , and he said he intends to use skills he learned at the University to design a logo, shirt and deck graphics.

He said the store will feature artwork from skateboarders in the Baton Rouge area, which will be for sale with all prof-its going directly to the artists.

Fidna will be located in a strip shop-ping center on Perkins Road and South Acadian Thruway , near Uncle Earl’s and Happy Note Lounge , Boone said.

He said the store is expected to open in early May and will cater to college skateboarding customers.

Boone said he and Cox are experi-enced in skating and are more passionate about skateboarding than earning money.

Boone said he began skating at age 5 , has been skating ever since and plans to skate the rest of his life. Cox said he began skateboarding at age 6 .

Cox and Boone became friends in middle school and considered opening a shop for years. They began planning Fidna last year.

Boone said he became familiar with the industry through his personal pursuit of skating.

“I’ve been around skate shops my whole life, so I know how they work,” Boone said.

Cox said Fidna will strive to support lesser-known businesses and artists.

Two resident assistants in the Pentagon and Broussard commu-nity responded to the disaster in Japan on the day of the tragedy.

Mary Condo, animal, dairy and poultry science junior, and

Grace Weber , public relations ju-nior , began “Lend a Hand to Japan” to collect donations from residents to send to the Red Cross.

Condo said she knew she needed to do something to help the morning she saw footage of the devastating earthquake.

Condo, Weber and other resi-dent assistants created fl iers and banners and distributed decorated cups to residents. Residents were asked to put any change or dona-tions in the cups.

As of Monday, the last day to donate, the collection totaled $522.06 , Condo said.

Condo said she was surprised by the amount collected.

“Our goal was set at $300 , which I thought was ambitious,” Condo said. “Within four days we reached $300 .”

Condo and Weber’s con-cept was inspired by last year’s “Change for Haiti” collection,

Reveillewww.lsureveille.com

� e DailyFootball: Early enrolleesbegin practice, p. 7

Wednesday, March 30, 2011 • Volume 115, Issue 116

The LSU Police Department was recently recognized by the Louisiana Highway Safety Com-mission for completing the most driving while intoxicated arrests among state university police.

LSUPD offi cers administered 66 DWIs in 2010 and 22 so far this year , according to Sgt. Kevin Scott , LSUPD spokesman.

Scott said this is the fi rst time LSUPD has won the award.

Scott said LSUPD offi cer Jus-tin Lanoux was also recognized for completing 24 DWI arrests, the most among university police offi cers in the state.

Though there was no second place award, LSUPD offi cer Tyler Comeaux came close with 23 ar-rests.

Scott said the award shows that LSUPD offi cers are observant and motivated.

“Though we, LSU Police, have not dedicated offi cers strictly to DWI enforcement, this recog-nition shows proactive enforce-ment,” he said. “Drunken drivers

Offi cer praised for 24 arrests in 2010Sydni DunnStaff Writer

CRIME

DWI, see page 15

LSUPD honored for high DWI rate

DAVID LYLE / The Daily Reveille

Mary Condo, resident assistant and animal, dairy and poultry science junior, helped raise $522.06 for disaster relief in the “Lend a Hand to Japan” fundraiser.

DISASTER RELIEF

RAs collect donations for JapanBanner campaign helps raise $522.06Claire CaillierContributing Writer

JAPAN, see page 15

FIDNA, see page 15

Alumnus, U-High grad to open skating store

photo courtesy of BEN BOONE

University alumnus Ben Boone performs a trick. Boone and Kyle Cox will open local skating shop “Fidna” in May.

Meredith WillContributing Writer

Skate or Die

Despite Louisiana’s reputation as a hotbed for football talent, re-cruiting top-tier in-state linebackers hasn’t been an easy task for LSU.

Derek Ponamsky, recruiting analyst and publisher of BayouBen-galsInsider.com , said the 2012 class may change that.

“In the last couple years, there really hasn’t been those big time guys at linebacker,” Ponamsky said.

“What you have had are guys that are good players, but maybe not the su-perstar type, whereas the 2012 class has a couple elite level guys.”

Three of the fi ve LSU 2012 commitments — Shreveport native Torshiro Davis, Edgard native Ron-nie Feist and Thibodaux native Trey Granier — are local linebackers, and all are listed on the Rivals.com Top 250 watch list for next year.

LSU has reached far to reel in big-time linebackers in the past.

Former Tigers Kelvin Shep-pard and Perry Riley hail from small Georgia towns, while senior Ryan Baker and former Tiger and All-American linebacker Ali Highsmith are both Florida natives.

“Picking up linebackers in Lou-isiana is fi nally a reality this year,” said Shea Dixon, managing editor of TigerSportsDigest.com. “They’ve already picked up a couple guys. ... They’re going after a few more.”

Ponamsky said the lack of le-gitimate linebackers can be chalked up to the style of play and strategies of most Louisiana high schools.

“At the high school level, if you’ve got a guy who can run and cover, you put him at safety. And if you’ve got a guy who’s physical and can get up the fi eld, you put him at defensive end,” Ponamsky said.

Dixon said many prototypical

The LSU football team will have no more coaching vacancies when it kicks off spring practice Friday.

Giants assistant special teams coach Thomas McGaughey has ac-cepted the position as LSU special

teams coordinator. The hire fi lls the void left when Joe Robinson depart-ed in February to be the North Caro-lina defensive line coach.

McGaughey, 37, will also be an LSU defensive line coach. He has special teams

coaching experience spanning the college and professional levels.

McGaughey was special teams coordinator at the University of Houston, his alma mater, from 2003 to 2004. He was also a special teams assistant coach with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2002 and the Denver Bron-cos from 2005 to 2006 before taking a Giants position in 2007.

McGaughey was a Houston safety from 1991 to 1995, and a member of the Philadelphia Eagles (1996) and NFL Europe’s Barcelona Dragons (1997) before starting his coaching career.

Follow Rachel Whittaker on Twitter @TDR_RWhittaker.

SportsThursday, March 10, 2011 page 5

Tiger Feed: Read blogger Ryan Ginn’s take on the offi ciating of the St. John’s-Rutgers contest

FOOTBALL

Final LSUcoaching vacancy f illedRachel WhittakerSports Writer

Contact Rachel Whittaker atrwhittaker@lsureveille.com

THOMASMCGAUGHEY

new special teamscoordinator

KERRY MALONEY / The Times-Picayune

White Castle quarterback Ronald Martin (left) tries to power through West St. John linebacker Ronnie Feist (right) on Nov. 12 during White Castle’s 12-0 victory.

RECRUITING

In-state linebacker recruits rareThree La. commits on Rivals Top 250

LINEBACKERS, see page 8

Mark ClementsSports Contributor

It seemed a high-scoring battle was inevitable with the Sacred Heart base-ball team’s ERA at 6.53 and batting av-erage at .309 entering Wednesday night.

Instead, it took until the sixth inning for the No. 16 LSU team to break a 1-1 tie and separate from the Pioneers (4-4)

with a 6-1 victory in the fi rst ever match-up between the schools.

Sacred Heart freshman pitcher Nick Leiningen threw a masterful six innings of two-hit ball in his fi rst career colle-giate start.

Leiningen, a left-hander who had a 10.80 ERA in two previous relief ap-pearances this season, fooled the Tigers

(12-1) with a multitude of off-speed pitches.

“He was throwing so slow that it was very effective against us,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “It was slower than good hitting speed, and it just created a lot of problems for our kids.”

PIONEERS, see page 8

Rowan KavnerSports Writer

Tigers triumph in late win, send Sacred Heart packing

CHRISTOPHER LEH / The Daily Reveille

Junior outfi elder Mikie Mahtook slides into second base Wednesday in the sixth inning of the Tigers’ 6-1 victory against Sacred Heart in Alex Box Stadium.

SportsTuesday, June 21, 2011 page 5

After six seasons playing for the National Football League, former defensive tackle Art Moore was poisoned by rivals. Doctors told Moore he would probably die.

This near-fatal event was the catalyst that eventually turned the 6-foot-6-inch athlete into the senior pastor of the Yes I Can! church in Baton Rouge.

Moore and his wife Gail, a professional singer, started Yes I Can! as a non-profit in 1979. The ministry grew into a church located off Corporate Boulevard about a year ago.

Moore grew up in Daingerfield, Texas, and at age 13 he longed to become a football player.

After graduating from the University of Tulsa, Moore was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in 1973 before moving to the New England Patriots for most of his athletic career.

In the late ’70s, while recovering from the attack, Moore realized he and Gail had a unique platform to reach out to youth and positively impact their community.

“After I got through the life and death situation, I believe the Lord spoke to me and told me to leave the NFL,” Moore said. “My wife and I began to let young men and women know that life is not all about the things you can acquire, or having a big name or having a big house — because I had all of that. But when I got sick I real-ized none of that could do anything.”

Moore said he and Gail began build-ing a network across the nation. They used their backgrounds to draw crowds, telling people about the importance of making the

right choices and following God.Their network expanded, and the Moores began conduct-

ing missionary outreach, bringing medicines to other countries in addition to developing local programs.

The Moores toured around the country — and were in-vited to speak at The Dunham School in Baton Rouge.

“For some reason we had three weeks in our calendar that wouldn’t book, so we came down here,” Art Moore said. “We thought maybe we had missed God. We prayed about it and have been here about 12 years.”

Moore has held the Yes I Can! In Yo Face three-on-three basketball tournament in Baton Rouge for 10 years. The most recent event took place Saturday in University parking lot 174

The LSU softball head coaching vacancy has been filled – for the sec-ond time this month.

A week after Alabama softball head coach Patrick Murphy backed out of the position, LSU Athletic Director Joe Alleva tabbed Florida International University’s Beth To-rina on Monday afternoon to take the reins of the program.

Torina compiled a 129-111 record at FIU, including a 38-21 showing in 2010 en route to her

second Sun Belt Coach of the Year distinction. That year Torina led the Lady Panthers to the school’s sec-ond NCAA Tournament and notched their first ever tournament victory.

The 2010 season also featured a win against a 4th ranked Flori-da team, the school’s first victory against a Top 5 team.

Under her tutelage, Torina saw 10 players receive a total of 14 All-Sun Belt honors. Among these recip-ients was standout Ashley McClain, who this year earned her second con-secutive First-Team All-Sun Belt and First-Team All-South Region honors as well as 2010 Player of the Year recognition.

“We are extremely excited to welcome Beth to LSU and for her to take the leadership reins of our

softball program,” Alleva said in an Athletic Department news release. “She brings great passion, energy and character to our program and

will wear the pur-ple and gold with pride.”

In addition to her four years as FIU head coach, Torina also served as head assistant at the University of Houston for six seasons, where she helped guide

the Cougars to a 2007 Conference USA championship as well as two NCAA Regional berths.

SOFTBALL

photo courtesy of FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL SPORTS INFORMATION

FIU head coach Beth Torina encourages her team after a difficult inning April 10. The Golden Panthers went on to defeat ULL 6-2 at University Park Stadium in Miami, Fla.

Beth Torina hired as head coach Murphy backed out of job last weekMichael HarbContributing Writer

TORINA, see page 7

‘We are extremely excited to welcome Beth to

LSU.’Joe Alleva

athletic director

MORGAN SEARLES / The Daily Reveille

Senior pastor at Yes I Can! church and former NFL defensive tackle Art Moore leads a prayer Saturday at the In Yo Face basketball tournament.

‘Life is not all about the things you can

acquire, or having a big name

or having a big house.’

Art Mooreformer NFL player, Yes I Can! pastor

Former NFL defensive tackle Art Moore turns to outreach, Christianity after near-death experience

MOORE, see page 7

Morgan SearlesStaff Writer

LSU football is a way of life for everyone in Louisiana. But for players, football season extends far beyond tailgate parties and four quarters.

Members of the 2007 BCS Na-tional Championship winning team had to move on after graduation. The Tigers beat Ohio State 34-28 to take the national title in January 2008. Quarterbacks JaMarcus Russell and

Matt Flynn went on to the pros. But for the rest of the team it was a life-changing time.

“It was hard to see the big pic-ture and why things play out the way they do,” 2006-2009 linebacker Ace Foyil said of the months after he stepped off the field and into the next chapter of his life.

Though their time in Tiger Sta-dium has ended, alumni find skills gained on the turf helped them find direction.

Foyil struggled at first. “I wasn’t scared or intimidated

to join the workforce,” he said. “Re-ality hit me pretty hard.”

He said his training in strength and perseverance kept him on his

feet as he learned the hard way that dream jobs don’t come easily.

“You appreciate what you’ve gone through and where you’ve ended up,” Foyil said of his jour-ney from LSU to his current job as a sales representative for local Glaz-ers Wholesale Liquor. “Those things end up making you who you are.”

For other players, like offensive lineman Max Holmes, life after LSU meant finding a new identity.

Holmes’ gridiron days weren’t over when he left LSU in 2008. He went on to play at Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas, eager to live up to his Tiger reputation.

SportsTuesday, July 26, 2011 page 5

FOOTBALL

Players adjust to life after LSU

File photo

LSU offensive guard Lyle Hitt faces off at the line of scrimmage against Alabama defenders during the Tigers’ 21-27 loss to the Crimson Tide on Nov. 8, 2009.PLAYERS, see page 7

Competitive sports mindset an assetKaci YoderContributing Writer

Last season’s final rankings revealed the strength of the Southeastern Conference West-ern Division.

Five of six teams from the division fin-ished ranked No. 15 or better, with Auburn sit-ting on top at the 14-0 mark.

The SEC West also boasts three of the last four national title winners, the other being Florida from the SEC East.

So it’s no doubt that all eyes turned to the podium when last year’s Coach of the Year Award-winner took the stand to address his 2011 squad.

“It’s been an incredible journey for my-self, our assistant coaches at Auburn, our play-ers, our fans [and] our Auburn family,” Auburn coach Gene Chizik said. “There’s been a lot of great things that have been happening at Au-burn, but I know we’ve all moved on.”

Next season’s journey may be rockier than the 2010 campaign.

Auburn won’t just be young — they will be statistically the youngest team in college football, graduating 20 seniors and returning only seven starters from last year’s champion-ship team.

“There’s going to be a lot of new names and a lot of new faces you’re going to have to get used to this year,” Chizik said. “We have a very young team. We are a little bit light on experience.”

The two most glaring holes come with the losses of first-round draft selections – Heisman

Trophy winner Cam Newton and Rotary Lom-bardi Award winner Nick Fairley.

“I don’t know that you can replace a Cam Newton or Nick Fairley in terms of produc-tion right away,” Chizik said. “They’re hard to replace. We all know that. We got some great young players, and hopefully we’ll get some guys that are productive.”

But while one Alabama team’s outlook seems bleak, an in-state rival’s seems brighter.

Mark ClementsSports Contributor

WEST, see page 7

DAVE MARTIN / The Associated Press

Auburn defensive tackle Nosa Equae speaks with reporters Friday during Southeastern Conference Football Media Days on Thursday in Hoover, Ala. Auburn and Alabama are both gunning for the 2012 SEC West title.

Few go from recording songs on a friend’s equipment to a nationwide tour in one day, but Seanil “Nilly” Reed is one of them.

The mechanical engineering freshman won a spot on the URock Tour, which pairs unsigned artists with mainstream performers, after submitting an entry form with en-couragement from his younger sister.

The URock Tour is a contest featuring selected musicians from all musical genres who will perform

across the country from Los Angeles to New York. The tour will include shows by popular hip-hop artists like T.I., Wale, Big Sean and Soulja Boy.

Reed will compete to win $10,000 in cash, $30,000 in prizes from Def Jam Recordings, a record deal, a major tour contract and studio time for upcoming projects.

The tour partners with major record labels like Def Jam, Capital City Promotions and MTV.

“The fast acceptance was pretty over the top for me,” Reed said.

He submitted two songs, a photo and a biography and was told he would receive a response after three to five days. The URock Tour emailed him back the next day. Reed said he didn’t know how to process the news at first.

“People started telling me, ‘Do you know how big this is? You know that such-and-such is going to be there?’” he said.

But this isn’t the beginning of this rapper’s musical career. Reed re-leased three mixtapes in the last year, as well as a song about LSU football. He hopes to continue to create, de-spite the inconvenience of using re-cording equipment of a friend who lives in Dallas.

“If I had my own recording space, I would put out more,” he ex-plained. “I’m just using what I have right now.”

Reed said he also hopes to cre-ate music videos because he sees YouTube as a great promotional tool.

Ryan Hoppens’ Friday night endeavors may come as a sur-prise.

The coastal and environmental science senior tells people he’s playing “Monopoly,” but he really travels to an unfamiliar world of magic, filled with strange creatures that can attack at any time.

Hoppens plays the fantasy-adventure game “Dungeons & Dragons,” in which players venture through fic-tional worlds and encounter mischief along the way.

Almost every week, Hoppens and his friends play the game, though they disguise it as “Monopoly.” The group also has a

secret Facebook page for players under the same guise. Hoppens said he was initially apprehensive to play the game,

given the nerdy stigma people often associate with “D&D”. But he was eventually lured in after observing friends embark on fantasy-filled adventures.

An entire adventure in “D&D” is called a campaign, in which characters can fight in turn-

based battles, Hoppens explained. One campaign can last days or weeks or even extend indefinitely.

EntertainmentTuesday, February 14, 2012 page 13

MUSIC

Reed to perform in New York, MiamiAusten KrantzEntertainment Writer

UROCK, see page 15

WHITNEY, see page 15

DUNGEONS, see page 15

photo courtesy of SEANIL REED

Seanil “Nilly” Reed, mechanical engineering freshman, will perform with Wale in the URock Tour in five major cities across the country including New York and Miami.

When a generation loses its voice, the world mourns.

Whitney Houston was the voice of the previous generation. Her death, while not surprising in light of her problems with drugs and alco-hol and her tumultuous relationship

with Bobby Brown, is still shocking and upsetting, to say the least.

Although official toxi-cology results won’t be out for more than a month, I’m going to as-

sume her death was drug related. Re-ports have been swirling about her erratic behavior around the Beverly Hilton Hotel before she died, so it’s not a crazy assumption.

In the days following her death Saturday, many artists offered trib-utes to her memory. Long-time mentor Clive Davis shared heartfelt words at a pre-Grammy party she was supposed to attend. LL Cool J opened The Grammy Awards with a prayer for Houston, saying, “We’ve had a death in our family.”

Houston songs price hike in poor tasteFellow artists, fans honor singer’s death

David JonesEntertainment Writer

Many students hide gameplay for fear of stereotypes; others celebrate

“You don’t have to be a nerd to play and know this game.”Kevin Willis, chemistry senior

Freshman wins spot on URock

CATHERINE THRELKELD / The Daily Reveille

Students demonstrate a typical “Dungeons & Dragons” fantasy game board, featuring character miniatures, in the West Campus Apartments lobby Monday. Taylor BalkomEntertainment

Writer

In women’s basketball coach Nikki Caldwell’s fi rst season at LSU, she may have an opportunity coaches dream about — starting the NCAA Tournament on her home court.

LSU was selected as one of 16 possible sites to host the fi rst and second rounds of the tournament, a common occurrence. LSU played

host six times in the last 14 years, most recently in 2009.

Miriam Segar, senior associate athletic director, said making it to the tournament would be ideal.

“It’s an advantage to play at home where you’re comfortable and able to sleep in your own beds,” she said. “We have our fans behind us, and it gives us a great environment to play in.”

Segar said LSU was chosen be-cause of its basketball tradition. The school boasts a “great bid package” of high estimated ticket sales, a com-petitive arena and a history of suc-cessfully hosting events, she said.

Although Caldwell was out of town and could not be reached for comment by The Daily Reveille, she said in a statement that the team’s goal is to play in front of its own fans come March Madness.

“That process isn’t something that happens overnight,” she said in the statement. “It starts by what we are doing now this off-season and how hard we work into the fall. The opportunity to host NCAA Tourna-ment games in our own venue is great for our fans, the University and the city of Baton Rouge. LSU has a

SportsTuesday, July 12, 2011 page 5

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

LSU named possible NCAA host

File photo

The PMAC may again serve as the arena for the 2012 NCAA Tournament opener. The stadium has played host six times in the last 14 years, most recently in 2009.TOURNAMENT, see page 7

Tournament would boost local tourismSteven PowellEditor-in-Chief

FOOTBALL

Recruits perform well at combineSteven PowellEditor-in-Chief

COMBINE, see page 7

STOVALL, see page 7

LSU football fans have more to look forward to than the 2011 open-ing game against the Oregon Ducks in Cowboys Stadium.

Last weekend LSU prospect Landon Collins took home the SPARQ ratings national champion-ship title at “The Opening” combine, in addition to being voted MVP.

The four-star senior defensive back from Dutchtown High School hasn’t committed to a university. But according to Shea Dixon, managing editor of TigerSportsDigest.com, Collins is “LSU’s to lose.”

The Opening is a national com-bine sponsored by Nike and used to gauge talent and athletic ability. The Opening gives high school players a chance to learn from professional players and coaches.

In addition to Collins’ stel-lar performance, two more players from Louisiana — Lamar Louis and defensive end Torshiro Davis, both from Shreveport and both LSU com-mitments — had a strong showing at the invitation-only event.

Dixon said the combine gave Louis a chance to showcase his tal-ent, as he sat the season out because of suspension. Louis’ future position is undecided, pending between out-side linebacker and defensive end.

Louisiana sent a fourth player to the combine, senior safety Cyril No-land of Ruston, but Dixon said he’s not likely to attend LSU.

Athletes at The Opening worked with top players like Baltimore Ra-vens running back Ray Rice, Car-dinals rookie and former LSU star

Last year when former LSU football coach Jerry Stovall received a phone call from Joe Alleva, vice chancellor and

director of athletics, he was surprised by the casual na-ture of the conversation.

When Alleva asked Stovall how his day was going, Stovall answered, “Pretty well.” Alleva said

he knew something that could make it better. Alleva told Stovall he had been selected

to become a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.

Now Stovall is preparing for the next step in his Hall of Fame mem-

bership. The Enshrinement Festival will be held this weekend in South

Bend, Indiana. Stovall plans to attend with his family.

Morgan SearlesStaff Writer

The fi rst-ever Louisiana infra-structure report card was released last week, and the results aren’t pretty.

The American Society of Civil Engineers’ study, compiled over the course of 18 months by a team of more than 50 civil engineers, evaluated nine major components of the state’s infrastructure — avia-tion, bridges, dams, drinking water,

levees, ports, roads, solid waste and wastewater.

The re-port for each component in-cluded a grade, an explanation and a recom-mendation for improvement.

The study includes a total of 42 specifi c recom-mendations, said Nedra Davis, com-munications director for the report card operation.

Kam Movassaghi, executive director for the report card opera-tion, said the study results demonstrate a need for im-provement.

“If you score like that on your academic endeav-or, your parents will not be very happy,” he said.

The grades are based on capacity, condition, funding, future needs, op-erations and maintenance, public safety and resil-ience, according to the re-port.

Future plans were also taken into consideration when assigning grades, Movassaghi said. Catego-ries with dedicated funds and remedy plans earned higher grades.

State dams received the best grade with a B-. According to the report, at least 290 of Louisiana’s 555 dams are older than 50 years, and 444 dams are privately owned. Only 33 dams have a high hazard potential, meaning the loss of one life is likely if the dam fails.

The state’s lowest score was a D for roads. Almost every road system

fl aw is due to an obsolete funding model, the report found.

“Louisiana’s road system is congested, in poor condition and in-adequate to meet the needs of a state competing to provide economic op-portunities for businesses and citi-zens,” the report reads.

While Movassaghi was unable to estimate the necessary level of

funding to address Louisi-ana’s infrastructure prob-lems, he said the Depart-ment of Transportation and Development estimated the current price tag for exist-ing road and bridge mainte-nance is $12 billion.

Movassaghi said the report card was created to bring the poor condition of the state’s infrastructure to the public’s attention. Loui-siana does not place high priority on maintaining its infrastructure, he said, and neglect has led to major problems.

“If you don’t maintain it continuously, the program will grow multi-folds. A $1 repair today will become a $16 repair down the road,”

he said. “That’s what happened to our state over the years.”

Movassaghi said he hopes the report’s release will lead to a public push for infrastructure maintenance.

“If we don’t take care of our in-frastructure, we’re going to continue to lose our economic competitive-ness — not only among other states,

but internationally,” he said. The report was compiled as an

act of civic duty, not to embarrass offi cials or push a political agenda, Movassaghi said.

“We worked together as good citizens and good civil engineers to bring it to the attention [of] the pub-lic and hopefully that will start a con-versation,” he said.

The report was compiled by volunteer engineers, David said. The only paid contributor was Mark Lambert, report card editor-in-chief.

“There hasn’t been an effort like this before,” Davis said.

The ASCE will continue to share the report, she said.

“Each congressional member will receive a copy,” Davis said. “We hope everyone is as upset [by the fi ndings] as we are, so they’ll utilize that information to make a change.”

page 4 Tuesday, January 24, 2012

“A man who stops advertisingto save money,

is like a man who stops the clock to save time.”

-Henry Ford

Contact Emily Herrington ateherrington@lsureveille.com

CONNOR TARTER / The Daily Reveille

The Horace Wilkinson Bridge and nearby levee are, according to an ASCE report, in desperate need of maintenance. Levees earned a C- while bridges were awarded a D+.

Infrastructure fails � rst report cardSTATE

Emily HerringtonStaff Writer

State’s dams earn best mark with B-

GRADES:Aviation: CBridges: D+Dams: B-Drinking water: D+Levees: C-Ports: C-Roads: DSolid waste: C+Wastewater: C-

Sicard said she doesn’t think there’s a shortage of beds on campus, and the Univer-sity may have more important issues to ad-dress.

Samantha P r u d h o m m e , early child-hood education sophomore, dis-agrees.

Prudhomme said she thinks the University should increase the amount of on-campus living space to give all students a chance to live where they want.

“Even if they wind up with ex-cess, it’s important that everyone has a chance to live on campus,” she said.

She said she lived in Herget Hall last year and thinks freshmen should live on campus for at least a year to get the “full college experience.”

Though the hypothetical build-ing would increase the number of

beds on campus by 330, David said the University doesn’t currently plan to require incoming freshmen to live on campus.

“This construction is to build the inventory to the point to have housing for students that want to live on campus and will allow the closure of Kirby Smith,” she said.

Contact Rachel Warren atrwarren@lsureveille.com

FOREST, from page 1

‘It’s important that everyone has a chance

to live oncampus.’Samantha

Prudhommeearly childhood

education sophomore

‘Louisiana’s road system is

congested,in poor

condition and inadequate to meet the needs

of a statecompeting to

provideeconomic

opportunities for businesses and citizens.’The American

Society of Civil Engineers

Bridges said the two girls set to attend William Frantz Elementary with her dropped out two days before school began.

On her fi rst day, Bridges climbed the steps to the school amid crowds of protestors only to sit in the principal’s offi ce to wait for the end of the day.

The next day, the crowds dou-bled in size as locals learned which specifi c schools would integrate, Bridges said. Instead of going to the principal’s offi ce, she continued to her classroom alone.

“I looked into the classroom and saw empty desks,” Bridges said. “I thought to myself, ‘My mom brought me to school too early.’ And indeed she had — years too early.”

For weeks, Bridges attended school alone and was taught by Bar-bara Henry , a teacher from Boston hired specifi cally to instruct her. Bridges described Henry as the “nic-est teacher I ever had,” who fi lled her day with activities and games along with coursework.

“She made school fun,” Bridg-es said. “I never missed a day that whole year, and neither did she. She did everything she could to keep my

mind off of what was happening out-side.”

On the day she fi nally joined other students, Bridges was faced with racism from one of her class-mates. A young boy used the N-word to explain that his mother had forbid-den him to play with her.

It was at that moment that Bridges said she understood her situ-ation.

“When he said that, I remem-ber thinking, ‘So that is what this is about,’” Bridges said. “It is not Mardi Gras. I am not going to col-lege. It is about me and the color of my skin.”

While her fellow students’ re-jection disappointed Bridges , she said it did not anger her. In her youth, she understood that instructions from parents were not to be broken.

Bridges has since moved on to telling her story and teaching lessons of racial equality to schoolchildren across the country.

“They are so drawn to the story ... because they put themselves in the shoes of this child,” Bridges said, re-ferring to herself. “They understand the loneliness, but what they don’t understand is why that is happening to you, especially when it comes at the hands of an adult.”

Bridges said racism existed then and persists today, and it must be ended through the education of chil-dren. She closed by directly address-ing the law students in attendance.

“You have a huge burden upon your shoulders. We have to have the right laws in place,” she said. “We are all expecting great things from you. We have got to turn this place around.”

� e Daily Reveille page 19Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Senior; Major: International Studies/Spanish/History; from Baton Rouge, LaAaron is Speaker of the Student Senate. Besides being in Tiger Band, he plays piano and French horn and would like to learn to play the violin. Favorite thing to do: Eat at Plucker’s after Senate meetingsFavorite music:Acoustic AlternativeFavorite TV: Once Upon a Time, Modern Family, Grey’s AnatomyFavorite movies: Crash, Atonement, Mean Girls Favorite books: Harry Potter series, Lord of the RingsOther Organizations: Students on Target, Flagship Advocates, Up ‘til Dawn, Phi Kappa Phi, Omicron Delta Kappa

Campus LifeStudent Spotlight:Aaron Caffarel

Campus Life Spotlight showcases the diversity of involved students at LSU. Send nominations to jruck@lsu.edu with name, email and why they should be in the Spotlight.

See past spotlights at campuslife.lsu.edu

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BRIDGES, from page 1

Contact Paul Braun atpbraun@lsureveille.com

Other beaches were also recov-ering from hur-ricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 and Gustav and Ike in 2008. Many beaches in Cam-eron Parish have not returned to pre-storm levels, while others are inaccessible.

Jacques Ber-ry, Office of the Lieutenant Gov-ernor communica-tions director, said

beaches have recovered dramatically since the oil spill last year.

“The beaches are looking 100 percent better. Every once in a while

a tar ball will show up on the beach, but the crews that helped clean the beaches did a great job,” said Berry. “The study only included two beach-es out of the 7,500 miles of shoreline in Louisiana. ... But it is true that we are still recovering from the worst man-made disaster in history.”

Tourism in Louisiana has natu-rally faced a setback this year.

“We are studying the trend,” Berry said. “Fourteen months after the spill we have recovered fairly well. There is still a regional interest in Louisiana beaches, but we need to attract a national interest again. We have to convince people that Louisi-ana is open for business.”

Beaches in other states are also suffering.

Bacterial pollution is increas-ing in beaches across the country. In 2010 the number of beach closings

and advisories reached the second highest level in NRDC history at 24,091 closings.

From April 2010 until the study concluded on June 15, 2011, there have been a total of 9,474 days of oil-related beach notices, advisories and closures at Gulf Coast beaches. Seventy-five percent of those clo-sures are because of bacteria levels exceeding health standards.

High bacterial levels put swim-mers at risk for waterborne illnesses.

According to the NRDC, ill-nesses associated with polluted beach water include skin rashes, pink eye, respiratory infections, meningi-tis, hepatitis and the stomach flu.

The Environmental Protection Agency, following pressure from the NRDC, has agreed to update its beach water quality standards by 2012 in order to keep up with in-creasing levels of contamination and further protect tourists.

The EPA is required to conduct studies and surveys, produce water tests with same-day results and pro-tect beachgoers from a broad range of waterborne illnesses.

The Daily Reveille page 11Thursday, July 7, 2011

BEACHES, from page 1

LGBTQ, from page 1

BUS TRIP, from page 1

Students will have to pay indi-vidual fees, Wells said. Student costs will include game tickets, bus fare, lunch and a “goodie bag.”

Wells said current plans include five chartered buses that would leave early the morning of the game.

“We’d get there an hour before the game, watch the game, and the students would have about 45 min-utes after the game to get back to the buses to drive home,” he said.

A record-setting 37,000 general public tickets are sold out, according to the LSU Athletic Department.

Kickoff is Sept. 3 at 7 p.m.

Contact Rachel Wilson at rwilson@lsureveille.com

Contact Laura Furr at lfurr@lsureveille.com

BEST BEACHES:Delaware, Minnesota, New Hampshire, California, Alabama.

DIRTIEST BEACHES:Louisiana, Rhode Island, Illinois, Mississippi, Florida, Maine, New York, South Carolina.

Ferrari Howell agreed there are prejudices toward professors.

“Anybody, whether they are gay, transgender or lesbian, faces discrimination,” said the political communication sophomore. “It’s not verbalized as much because your grade depends on [discretion] when it is your professor. But secretly stu-dents do talk about it.”

Sam Wheelock, sports admin-istration senior, expressed a similar sentiment.

“Most students would discrimi-nate against gay, lesbian or transgen-der professors just because of ste-reotype, but in the end they are your professor. They would be teaching you in the same way any other pro-fessor would,” he said.

Matthew Patterson, a member of the LSU LGBTQ club Spectrum, said there have been many incidents on campus sparked by people’s sex-ual orientations or gender identities.

“Female staff members have been told to wear skirts instead of pants to look more feminine,” said the physics graduate student. “Pro-fessors have referred to transgender students as ‘it.’”

He said LSU fosters a negative, discriminatory environment.

“LSU is a large, Southern uni-versity. It is not as tight knit of a

community as where I attended un-dergraduate school,” he said. “LG-BTQ groups just don’t get as much support.”

Spectrum and Patterson have advocated for Louisiana House Bill 112 for this reason.

According to Patterson, Loui-siana already has a state law to stop bullying. But the current law does not address harrassment on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression in primary and high schools.

East Baton Rouge Parish, along with five other parishes, does not have a law protecting against any form of bullying.

HB 112 was initially written with a section that outlawed bullying of LGBTQ students. It was amended to outlaw bullying of any kind. The bill did not pass.

“Conservative political groups do not want to recognize gay, les-bian, transgender or bisexual groups even exist,” Patterson said. “They will take away rights of others to make sure that happens. That’s just how it works here.”

‘Fourteen months

after the spill

we have recovered fairly well.’Jacques Berrycommunications

director, Office of the Lieutenant Governor

Contact Laura Furr atlfurr@lsureveille.com

institutional functionality.The University estimates the

new fl exibilities will allow adminis-trators to save more than $52 million over the fi rst fi ve years of implemen-tation.

Another goal of the act is to boost data and transparency, requir-ing offi cials to monitor individual credits and offer early warnings when students fall behind.

Jindal said the amount schools spend per student varies widely, but spending is not clearly related to stu-dent performance. However, the new legislation will help the state identify debt practices for investing higher education dollars wisely and share these techniques with other institu-tions.

Jindal said the revisions will cut red tape and make state oversight less bureaucratic and burdensome.

The fi rst LA GRAD Act was a foundation for improving outcomes in higher education. Jindal said the future may see even more progress, noting a change in the Board of Re-gents funding and continued mea-sures toward excellence in Louisi-ana’s higher education institutions.

“The legislation we will sign into law today takes the next step by operationalizing key components of last year’s framework,” Jindal said. “It cuts through state micromanage-ment in campus operations, allowing institutions to achieve their potential and [giving] them more and better streamlined data.”

Chancellor Michael Martin said he is pleased leaders in the state have

committed to improving higher edu-cation.

“This act will give us the chance to adopt ... practices that in many in-stances have been well tested across the country,” Martin said. “We can be as competitive on the operational side of this institution as we are on the football fi eld or the basketball arena. ... I can commit to you on be-half of my colleagues across the state that we won’t let you down.”

Despite state efforts, Louisi-ana’s six year graduation rate of 37 percent is still below the national average of 52 percent. Louisiana has the 13th highest number of dol-lars spent on students who drop out within a year.

Jindal said he believes this act will transform student outcomes for the better by giving campuses the fl exibility and tools they need to improve graduation rates and perfor-mance.

“For too many years we’ve paid schools simply to be bigger, simply to offer more degree options whether they were needed or not,” Jindal said. “To instead change the incentives to say now we’re really going to be fo-cused on rewarding campuses based on completion rates, retention rates, graduation rates and the success of students post-graduation truly is changing the culture and will change the performance of higher education in Louisiana.”

The Bonnet Carre Spillway was also opened to protect New Orleans from fl oods May 9, di-verting river water into Lake Pontchartrain and relieving pres-sure on levee systems downriver.

Ultimately, 330 of the spill-way’s 350 bays were opened before the Corps began closing them June 12. The last 20 bays were closed June 20.

The Mississippi’s water lev-els reached record heights of 45 feet in Baton Rouge in May. This was three feet below the prima-ry levee line but fi ve feet above what is considered a “major” fl ooding stage.

It was predicted that the le-vees around Baton Rouge could not withstand this pressure. The Old River Control Structure was built after the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 to withstand wa-ter pressures in Baton Rouge of 1.5 million cubic feet/second. Of-fi cials feared pressure would top this, forcing them into action.

The Corps debated three scenarios. Regardless of choice, the Atchafalaya Basin had to be fl ooded to ensure the safety of le-vee systems in Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

In May, Governor Bobby Jindal predicted that 2,500 resi-dents and 2,000 structures would be impacted by the opening of the spillway.

Local offi cials ordered man-datory evacuations for hundreds of residents in the Atchafalaya

Basin, but fl ooding in those areas was signifi cantly less severe than initially expected.

The Corps estimated wa-ter would fl ow from the gates at 114,000 cubic feet/second at the Morganza Spillway when it was fi rst opened.

Though results were less dra-matic than anticipated, the state faced several setbacks because of the fl ood.

According to The Associated Press, the Bonnet Carre Spillway carried the Mississippi’s fresh water into brackish Lake Pon-tchartrain, and from there into the Gulf, for six weeks. The fresh water could cause problems for oyster harvesters, whose coastal beds depend on salt water. The beds have been fragile since last year’s BP oil spill.

Another byproduct of the spring fl ood has been the depos-its of silt carried down from the midwest and deposited near the river’s mouth south of New Or-leans. Dredges have been work-ing to keep the channel clear for shipping.

The port complex between Baton Rouge and New Orleans is among the world’s busiest. The silt caused an oil tanker to run aground near the mouth of the river in June, but it was eventu-ally freed from the muck.

� e Daily Reveille page 11Thursday, July 14, 2011

ROOMMATES NEEDED Two female room-mates needed in 3 bed 3 bath house near LSU.Law students or grad students preferable. $600/mon. plus utilities. Avail. 7/1 or 8/1 -- please call 225.247.0804

KILLING LONLINESS 21-Year-old Male looking for a female of any age to help defeat this great foe. Must be able to appreciate music of any kind and enjoy the company of another person! Emailadventuresforus@gmail.com----------------------------------------------------PRETTY, SMART, IN ENGINEERING Chemical engineering freshman who loves to party looking for a man to take her out, show her a good time, and cuddle afterwards. Must be able to put up with my mindless rambling and fl irting with everyone and take care of me when I’ve partied too hard.oneshottwoshotthreeshotfl oor@yahoo.com----------------------------------------------------YOU THERE. want to ride around listen-ing to music? wander the park at night? play stupid games that don’t make much sense to anyone else, sound interesting? text 225.636.1230 or emailwhiteknightblacktie@gmail.com.

MORGANZA, from page 1LA GRAD ACT, from page 1

Contact Laura Furr atlfurr@lsureveille.com

Contact Morgan Searles atmsearles@lsureveille.com

The Daily Reveille

Opinionpage 20 Thursday, April 7, 2011

The Daily ReveilleThe Daily Reveille (USPS 145-800) is written, edited and produced solely by students of Louisiana State University. The Daily Reveille is an independent entity within the Manship School of Mass Communi-cation. Signed opinions are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the editor, paper or University. Letters submitted for publication should be sent via e-mail to opinion@lsureveille.com or delivered to B-26 Hodges Hall. They must be 400 words or less. Letters must have a contact phone number so the opinion editor can verify the author. The phone number won’t be printed. The Daily Reveil-le reserves the right to edit letters and guest columns for space consideration without changing the origi-nal intent. The Daily Reveille also reserves the right to reject any letter without notification of the author. Writers must include their full names and phone numbers. The Daily Reveille’s editor-in-chief, hired ev-ery semester by the Louisiana State University Media Board, has final authority on all editorial decisions.

Editorial Policies & Procedures Quote of the Day“World leaders looked at the mounting threat of terrorism,

looked up [and] looked away.”

John BoehnerAmerican politician

Nov. 17, 1949 — Present

Editorial BoardSarah Lawson

Robert StewartStephanie Giglio

Steven PowellDevin Graham

Editor-in-ChiefManaging Editor, ContentArt DirectorManaging Editor, External MediaOpinion Editor

BEST AND WITTIEST

cartoon courtesy of KING FEATURES SYNDICATE

The University has gotten some bad press lately.

It began March 18, when GQ Magazine ranked LSU football fans No. 10 in the “The Worst Sports Fans In America” list. The article labeled us “deep-fried lunatics,” citing beer bottle-throwing, drunken “Tiger bait!” chanting and a 2008 Daily Reveille video in which two female staffers were harassed while mas-querading as Alabama fans.

One could easily dismiss the assessment, chalking it up to the dubious-at-best GQ. How seriously can we consider a piece that sarcasti-cally describes itself as a “heavily re-searched, highly scientific account-ing” of U.S. sports followings but includes the Montreal Canadiens?

Gameday celebrations some-times get out of hand, but simply being rowdy and intimidating is a fan’s duty. Numerous credible pub-lications like Sports Illustrated and ESPN, which consistently list LSU among the best fan bases and tailgat-ing experiences, understand this.

You can trust some journalism

sources. Some you can’t. Add CBS to those you can’t.

On March 22, CBS Evening News aired correspondent Michelle Miller’s story on low retention and graduation rates at colleges nation-wide. The report became a tale of two universities — Maryland and

LSU — and insin-uated our dear old alma mater only offers study aids to athletes.

A m e r i c a ’s entire higher edu-cation system is suffering, not just Louisiana’s. But if you’re going to

use this state as the backdrop for a report on combating low university graduation rates, why not invoke the most notorious current example, the proposed merger of Southern Uni-versity-New Orleans and the Univer-sity of New Orleans?

Someone familiar with Louisi-ana’s higher education climate — es-pecially a reporter who has lived and

worked here, attended and taught at Louisiana universities and is married to a former New Orleans mayor — knows this story would’ve been bet-ter set at SUNO or UNO. Interesting-ly, Miller earned her master’s degree at UNO, and her husband has vocally opposed the suggested merger.

If LSU had SUNO’s 8 percent graduation rate or UNO’s 21 per-cent, the story would make sense. Instead, the University, which boasts the fourth-highest rate in Louisiana and surpasses the national average, according to The Times-Picayune, became the testament to higher edu-cation failure.

Why?Ernie Ballard, University direc-

tor of media relations, told Reveille Weekend that CBS chose to focus on “a prominent university that was doing well in football that people would recognize.”

Our gridiron greatness made us the easiest target — not the truest ex-ample.

The story, therefore, wasn’t about national graduation rates. It

was about pitting athletics against academics, athlete versus student. And this, ladies and gentlemen, is Media Stereotyping 1001.

The newsgathering process should resemble the scientific meth-od: The goal is solving problems and answering questions objectively. Reporters might harbor biases or hy-potheses, but they ideally let the evi-dence tell the outcome.

Unfortunately, results are often skewed to fit internalized ideas. Even in news analysis, this is unacceptable. The facts cannot be changed, and the public cannot be denied access to the truth. By chopping interviewees’ words and excluding the University’s countless academic outreach pro-grams, CBS proves guilty of both.

After the story aired, Ballard sent a reproachful letter to its pro-ducer, who regretted LSU’s reaction and felt the coverage was fair.

It wasn’t.GQ and CBS might have con-

trasting journalistic reputations, but with these stories, their philosophies are identical: A “reporter” begins

with preconceived notions and does everything necessary, from research to interviews to writing to editing, to strengthen his or her case. It’s per-suasion rather than reporting, and it’s wrong.

CBS’ response implies an im-portant lesson: When news outlets refuse to acknowledge blatant errors, it’s up to consumers to call out shady journalism when we see it. Yet most audiences are desensitized to these frequently distorted representations.

The mass media are obligated to disseminate the full truth about their subjects, and audiences are duly bound to uphold to this standard.

Kelly Hotard is a 19-year-old mass communication junior from Pica-yune, Miss. Follow her on Twitter @TDR_khotard.

POP GOES THE CULTURE

Contact Kelly Hotard atkhotard@lsureveille.com

Media bias revealed in CBS, GQ assessment of University

Kelly HotardColumnist

As usual, our website, lsureveille.com, has been absolutely buzzing with reader comments. Check it out today, and let your voice be heard.

Regarding Zachary Davis’ column, “Refugees a part of change, should not be rejected by US,” readers had this to say:

“I’m sure that we should help when we can, but in this country, Mexican illegals have about broke our economy.

Medical and education for the il-legals cannot continue. We’re build-ing schools like crazy to house them

and they usually drop out of school and we’re still stuck paying for those buildings. Property taxes are going through the roof.

They don’t pay taxes, work for cash that never gets reported etc. Hospitals are broke yet we continue to pay.

I know you haven’t begun to pay for this and am sorry for you as our debt continues to grow and you and the next generations will have to pay and pay and you’ll begin to think what am I working for.......I can’t hardly buy food for my children. Wake up, time is working against you.”

-Anonymous

Regarding The Daily Reveille article, “Gymnastics: Tigers fail to advance in NCAA regional,” readers had this to say:

“song remain the same and the coach who has brought us 34 years of being behind and never beating Ala, UGA, UF etc, we have finished 4 or 5th in a 7 team sec!!!! 6 years in a row, when will it end, thanks for the 34 years now let’s get someone who can win, at least a ‘little’ bit.”

-34yearsofnothing

Over the past two weeks, I have noticed that along Nicholson Drive on the corner of Burbank Drive right across from Alex Box Stadium there have been a lot of trees and bushes being planted in the areas that are used for parking on football and baseball game days.

It looks like they even installed an irrigation system for this new landscaping.

In these times of financial crisis that the University is supposedly in, I think money can be better spent elsewhere rather than on landscaping which, when football season comes around, will be just parked on and destroyed.

This new landscaping looks nice, but how is this getting paid for in a time of budget cuts and the University having to raise tuition and fees?

Is it me, or could the money spent on new landscaping be bet-ter spent on more important things — like, say, retaining professors or maintaining the level of academic

programs that are in danger of being on the chopping block.

I wonder sometimes about the things this University spends money on. Apparently, landscaping is more important than academic programs. We might not have the best academic programs soon due to lack of funds, but we will have the best landscaped overflow parking lots around.

Finance senior Jason Myers

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Budget cuts loom, new plants bloom

Contact The Daily Reveille’s opinion staff at opinion@lsureveille.com

SHOW ALL COMMENTS

Contact The Daily Reveille’s opinion staff at opinion@lsureveille.com

“My music can only go so far in the amount of people it reaches, and YouTube is the best outlet for that,” he said.

Some of Reed’s tracks on You-Tube have reached thousands of hits, with his LSU football song boasting more than 50,000 views.

Reed’s music career began with basketball.

“My var-sity basketball team needed a song to warm up to,” Reed said. “That was my first time actually writing my own lyrics. It went from there, to a mix-tape, to two mixtapes, to three mix-tapes, to all of this.”

Along the way, Reed developed a unique style. He seeks to drive home a message and wants to sepa-rate from distasteful mainstream rap.

“My rhymes are clean and re-spectable, but at the same time it gives that edge that explicit lyrics do,” he explained. “I want my lyrics to have substance. I don’t want it to be me just talking.”

Reed searches for substance ev-ery day, carrying a notebook to jot down anything he can transform into thoughtful lyricism.

“Any time I have a thought, I just pull it out and write it down,” Reed said.

He explained his style exhibits elements of fellow URock Tour per-former Wale’s music.

“Some of his lyrics can be seen through some of my lyrics — like similar flow and similar ideas,” Reed said.

But Reed said he derives inspi-ration primarily from rapper-produc-er J. Cole.

“From metaphors, to lyrics, to style, to the substance in which he’s talking about something, he’s that guy,” Reed said.

URock allowed Reed to choose six dates of the 13 available shows. He selected Miami, Los Angeles, New York, Las Vegas, Dallas and New Orleans.

“I want to go back home be-cause I’m originally from New Or-leans,” he said. “That will be excit-ing because a lot of my family and friends are there.”

Reed can’t decide which city is most exciting.

“I’ve never been to Los Ange-les, I’ve never been to New York City, so it has to be a tie between L.A. and New York,” he said.

Even before the tour begins, Reed has received support from a growing number of fans, he said.

“Ever since this has happened, all kind of people have been coming out of nowhere with all kinds of sup-port,” he said. “I’ve been waiting on a break like this.”

Reed said he wants the Uni-versity behind him. Specifically, his goal is to have a song played in Tiger Stadium. Reed has contacted multi-ple sources in an attempt to organize a song broadcast and is still working at it.

“If I get the school behind me, locally, I feel like I can do anything,” he said. “To hear my song in Tiger Stadium — other than me getting a record deal — that’s top notch.”

further character depth.Characters are usually repre-

sented by miniature game pieces, but a player can also sport garb of his or her imaginary characters.

One player, who assumes the role of Dungeon Master, creates a fantasy world, which is mapped out on a giant grid for the characters to venture through.

“The Dungeon Master has to be very imaginative and quick-think-ing,” Hoppens said. “You’re basical-ly figuring out what he is thinking.”

Hoppens, who has been playing for about a year now, said his current Dungeon Master’s attention to plot and character development is what he enjoys most.

“It goes beyond what most games do,” Hoppens said. “Some people may like fighting, and some may like solving puzzles. It has a lot to offer.”

Kevin Willis, chemistry senior, said he enjoys game strategy and how challenging role-playing games can sometimes be. Although Willis doesn’t play D&D, he said he does enjoying playing other role-playing games, like Dark Heresy.

Willis said he keeps his par-ticipation in role-playing games hid-den when meeting new people. He doesn’t appreciate stereotypes about gamers, especially because he knows a diverse group of people who play.

“You don’t have to be a nerd to play and know this game, “ Wil-lis said. “I don’t appreciate how [the stereotypes] put these negative con-notations with RPG players.”

Willis, who has been playing for about six months, frequents Little Wars, a local gaming store on Jeffer-son Highway that specializes in role-play and war games.

Little Wars manager Jeff Long said the store offers a neutral gaming area for people who are interested in role-playing. He said he understands the stereotypes that surround role-playing because many people are ignorant of what players actually do.

“All the role-playing games, no matter how good of a game, it does sound really dumb from the outside,” Long said.

Long said he encourages people to try role-playing games because they give players an escape and a chance to awaken their imagination.

Hoppens said he enjoys the freedom of playing D&D. He said he plays video games but they are often too structured and plagued by monotony.

“After a certain amount of time, the [video] game is the same,” Hop-pens said. “The characters and move

sets don’t change. You’re kind of re-peating yourself.”

Both Hoppens and Long said games serve as a social outlet. Hop-pens said he and his friends spend up to five hours playing D&D and en-joying food and friendship.

Hoppens, who said calling their game nights “Monopoly” is now more of a joke than a cover-up, is

content with people knowing he is an avid D&D fan and player.

“I have enough fun playing that I don’t care what anyone has to say about it,” Hoppens said.

Twitter was filled with kind words about the R&B songstress, and #RIPWhitney was a trending topic on the day following her death.

Perhaps the best tribute was Jen-nifer Hudson’s spine-tingling rendi-tion of “I Will Always Love You” during the Grammys. It was fitting, since Houston gave Hudson her first Grammy in 2009.

President Barack Obama issued a statement about Houston, saying his prayers go out to the family. Press Secretary Jay Carney said Obama admired the singer’s “immense tal-ent” and called the death a tragedy, according to The Associated Press.

Unfortunately, not everyone re-membered Houston’s life with kind words and song.

Sony Music increased the price of “The Ultimate Collection” from £4.99 to £7.99 on the British iTunes Store hours after her death, The Guardian reports.

Distasteful? A bit.I understand music labels are

out to make as much money as pos-sible and aren’t known for their mor-als. But this is so comically evil, it’s hard to believe.

Houston literally died hours be-fore. The first thing to jump to any-one’s mind should not have been, “Let’s make money off of this.” But music executives wouldn’t dare pass

up a chance to earn a quick buck.The album was returned to its

original price at the end of the day, but the damage was already done.

Houston’s voice is unforget-table. Her 1991 performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” during Super Bowl XXV is the best version of the national anthem I’ve ever heard.

Personal issues aside, Houston’s youthful spirit and contagious smile will live on. While Sony decided to capitalize on her death, her other tributes paid perfect homage to a sensational singer.

The Daily Reveille page 15Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Don't spend this Valentine's Day withBEN & JERRY.

IT’S FREE!

UROCK, from page 13WHITNEY, from page 13

DUNGEONS, from page 13

Contact Austen Krantz at akrantz@lsureveille.com

Contact David Jones atdjones@lsureveille.com

Contact Taylor Balkom attbalkom@lsureveille.com

‘I want my lyrics to have substance. I

don’t want it to just be me

talking.’Seanil Reed

mechanical engineering freshman

CATHERINE THRELKELD / The Daily Reveille

Ryan Hoppens, coastal and environmental science senior, demonstrates Dungeons & Dragons gameplay and rules Monday in the West Campus Apartments lobby.

A season-ending injury of any kind, in any sport, can forever hinder an athlete’s success.

LSU softball redshirt sopho-more infielder Allison Falcon is showing how watching from the dugout for almost an entire sea-son provides ample motivation.

Falcon suffered an ankle in-jury a week into the 2011 season when she stepped on a loose ball at practice.

The injury forced Falcon to step back and evaluate her road to recovery.

“I had to talk through it with my family and my trainer, and we decided the year off to get better and get back to my full potential would be the best thing for my career at LSU,” Falcon said.

She said not being able to participate last season was hard, but she still found ways to help the team.

“I always sat up at the front of the dugout, and I was one of the loudest cheerers,” Falcon said. “I tried to pick signals or look at the pitchers and see their tendencies to see if they would give anything away to help the hitters.”

The Donaldsonville native used the time off wisely and re-turned this season hitting better than before her injury.

Falcon hit .160 her freshman year in 56 games but is batting at a team-leading .455 clip this sea-son.

“It’s difficult to watch a team play and know that you can’t make a contribution,” said LSU coach Beth Torina. “But it gives them that desire and drive to un-derstand each game is precious and how much it’s worth every time you step on the field.”

Falcon started in the nine-hole in the first two games this season and went 0-for-4 at the plate. After taking a game off, she returned to the lineup and reached base in four of her next five at-bats.

The Tigers went 2-3 over the five-game stretch, but Torina saw something special in Falcon and moved her to second in the bat-ting order.

“I just thought she was one of our best hitters,” Torina said. “I was just trying to get her more at-bats.”

Falcon batted .500 over the next four games, all victories ex-cept for a 13-4 loss to No. 3 California.

“She’s really been a spark for the offense,” To-rina said. “When the offense re-ally struggled, she’s the one that stepped up and said, ‘We’re going to get this going,’ and has continued to go ever since.”

Falcon said moving up in the order helped her confidence, but

she didn’t have any qualms about hitting at the bottom of the order.

“I like hitting in the nine-hole,” Falcon said. “If I get on base, there’s always some kind of fun that’s coming at the top of the lineup.”

Falcon said her boost in con-fidence coincided with her move up the lineup, but her success comes from her mental approach.

“Coach [Torina] always says hitting is contagious,” Falcon said. “If you think you’re going to get a hit, you’re 100 percent more likely to get a hit than if you’re going up there scared.”

Freshman first baseman Dylan Supak said Falcon is a team player and proved her worth on the field this season, especially when the game has been on the line.

“She brings a lot of energy to practice,” Supak said. “On the

field, she just produces for us, es-pecially in key situations.”

The Daily Reveille page 7Tuesday, February 28, 2012

AUSTIN BENNETT / The Daily Reveille

Sophomore infielder Allison Falcon swings at the ball Feb. 12 during the Tigers’ 8-0 win against the LA Tech Bulldogs at Tiger Park.

Scott BransonSports Contributor

SOFTBALL

2011 season cut short due to injury

Contact Scott Branson atsbranson@lsureveille.com

THE BASEBALLAMERICA TOP 25:1. Florida2. Stanford3. South Carolina4. Arkansas 5. Rice6. Texas A&M7. Arizona8. Georgia9. North Carolina10. Georgia Tech11. Arizona State12. Miami13. Florida State14. Louisiana State15. Clemson 16. Mississippi17. UCLA 18. Oregon 19. Central Florida 20. Cal State Fullerton 21. Texas 22. Texas Christian 23. Oklahoma24. Louisville25. Baylor

Falcon to return to field after recovery

‘I had to talk through it with my family and my trainer, and we decided the year off to get better and get back to my full potential would be the

best thing for my career at LSU.’

Allison Falconredshirt sophomore infielder

Mainieri said the Tigers worked successfully on hitting the ball up the middle and to the opposite field be-fore the game to adjust to the fierce wind.

“Everybody sees this ball that looks like a beach ball coming into them, and they’re jumping out of their shoes trying to yank it,” he said. “They just totally forgot the whole plan.”

LSU junior pitcher Tyler Jones surrendered three hits and one run in seven innings, shaking off a dread-ful relief appearance in a loss against Princeton where he gave up three runs in two-thirds innings.

Jones (3-0) threw four strike-outs and four walks and became the first Tiger pitcher this season to go more than 6 1/3 innings in an outing.

“I’m not really giving up runs where they’re stringing together hits,” Jones said. “Any runs that you bring on yourself, like hit batters and walks, you definitely want to

eliminate those, so I hope to do that next start.”

Neither team had a hit until LSU sophomore designated hitter Raph Rhymes busted an RBI single to right field in the third inning, scor-ing junior left fielder Trey Watkins, who reached on an error.

Sacred Heart threatened in

the top of the fourth inning with its first two hits of the game — the lat-ter coming on a two-out hit and run which put men on the corners — but failed to score on Jones.

The Pioneers were able to get their first run and tie the game, 1-1, the next inning after a sacrifice bunt and a bunt for a base hit led to an

RBI sacrifice fly to sophomore right fielder Mason Katz.

Watkins was busy on the base paths in the bottom of the sixth in-ning. He drew a walk, reached sec-ond base on a wild pitch, moved to third base on a groundout and made his way home on a sacrifice fly by ju-nior third baseman Tyler Hanover to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead.

“My role is to get on base any way possible,” Watkins said. “Walks, hits, bunts — anything.”

LSU added two runs an inning to increase the lead, 4-1, with con-secutive RBI singles up the middle by freshman second baseman JaCo-by Jones and Watkins.

The Tigers repeated themselves in the bottom of the eighth inning with two more runs on an RBI triple by junior shortstop Austin Nola and a suicide squeeze bunt by Katz.

“All of a sudden we looked like a pretty good offensive team the last couple innings,” Mainieri said. “I think it was a really good victory for us in the way that it all developed.”

Follow Rowan Kavner on Twitter @TDR_Kavner.

linebacker-sized recruits often play running back in high school.

He said the addition of defen-sive coordinator John Chavis to the staff three years ago changed the recruiting strategies for the posi-tion.

“It’s Chavis’ style on defense getting the speed guys both at de-fensive end and at outside line-backer,” Dixon said.

Chavis’ scheme has brought changes each year. Tiger fans watched defensive back Harry Coleman — recruited as a line-backer in 2004 — convert to his old position his senior year.

In similar fashion, former de-fensive back Stefoin Francois was transformed to an outside lineback-er last season, filling in for Cole-man. Senior Karnell Hatcher is ex-pected to do the same next season.

“You just see so many guys that are not just linebackers but a lot of those outside linebacker types that are a fast hybrid,” Dixon said. “Some are big enough to play defensive end, and some can play safety.”

To account for newly convert-ed linebackers, many LSU line-backer recruits, including sopho-more Barkevious Mingo, have made the switch to the defensive line.

Ponamsky said Davis has the size and ability to follow in the footsteps of former linebackers.

“If you watch his film, he’s explosive,” Ponamsky said. “He is a physical guy who plays with an aggressive streak. ... If you put him on the end, he’ll go get the quarter-back for you.”

Granier, who most think will

remain at linebacker throughout his college career, said he would trust his coaches if he was ever asked to make the move.

“You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do,” Granier said. “Chavis will make the best moves for the best situations at the right time.”

The Daily Reveillepage 8 Thursday, March 10, 2011

Contact Mark Clements atmclements@lsureveille.com

LINEBACKERS, from page 5

Contact Rowan Kavner atrkavner@lsureveille.com

PIONEERS, from page 5

CHRISTOPHER LEH / The Daily Reveille

LSU sophomore designated hitter Raph Rhymes (4) attempts to steal second base during the Tigers’ 6-1 victory against Sacred Heart in Alex Box Stadium.

to have to play the best in the country to beat the best.”

Caldwell said senior forward LaSondra Barrett will be “100 per-cent ready to go come Sunday” af-ter suffering a concussion and being knocked unconscious in the South-eastern Conference tournament championship game against Tennes-see on March 4 .

“Barrett is such a competitor, and there’s not going to be anything that’s going to stop her,” Caldwell said.

Barrett said the team is excited to make the tournament after falling short last season but won’t be taking it for granted.

“It beats last year, I can tell you that,” Barrett said. “Right now the record is 0-0. Any team can lose any given day, so we just have to stick with them, and then we move on.”

Senior forward Courtney Jones agreed and said watching the show was nerve-wracking, even though the team suspected it would earn a NCAA bid.

“Last season was pretty devas-tating for all of us,” Jones said. “I wouldn’t say we [knew] for sure, but we had some idea. We didn’t think we were practicing for nothing.”

what fans refer to as “The Pit” dur-ing my childhood.

In 2000 , the UCLA Bruins and highly touted freshman guard Jason Kapono came to town.

Midway through the second half, during a Kapono free throw, the student section relentlessly jumped up and down, causing the rim to shake.

After the public address an-nouncer asked the students to stop, the jumping only increased.

In another contest, a week after a California player’s home burned down, the student section chanted “burning down the house” while he was shooting a free throw.

The change of venue hasn’t changed the hostile atmosphere thanks to the obnoxious student sec-tion known as the “Pit Crew.”

Oregon is 15-3 this season at home and won the CBI Champion-ship against Creighton to fi nish its 2011 campaign.

As if the home-court advantage and the Tigers having to travel such a great distance isn’t enough, Oregon has a number of favorable matchups on the court.

Senior guards Devoe Joseph and Garrett Sim form one of the best backcourts on the West Coast and don’t turn the ball over.

The Tigers’ guards might strug-gle under the constant pressure put on them by Oregon and will have to stay poised if they want to stand a chance against the Ducks.

But the biggest disadvantage for LSU will be Oregon junior swing-man E.J. Singler .

The younger brother of former Duke star Kyle Singler is the Ducks’ leading rebounder, and LSU doesn’t have anyone who can keep tabs on his 6-foot-6-inch , 215-pound frame.

It will be a daunting task to es-cape Eugene with a victory.

Numerous things will have to fall in the Tigers’ favor in order for that to happen.

I just don’t see it.I’m expecting a tough loss for

the Tigers, ending their season after only one postseason game.

Micah Bedard is a 21-year-old mass communication senior from Houma. Follow him on Twitter @DardDog.

scholarships. That would be a little more reasonable.”

In addition to numbers restric-tions, each player on scholarship is required to receive a minimum 25-percent scholarship.

The entire process is enough to make one’s head spin, especially when considering most of the work is done by one man.

LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri describes his job as a mix of scouting di-rector, development direc-tor, head coach and general manager rolled into one position.

Coaches go armed on recruiting missions with a chart of expenses for each scholar-ship. Scholarships are broken down into tuition, room, board and books.

For an in-state athlete, tuition accounts for 31 percent of the schol-arship, room accounts for 34 per-cent , board accounts for 33 percent and books account for 2 percent . A full ride for an in-state student costs $18,616 for a full school year.

Tuition costs for out-of-state athletes account for 56 percent of the money allotted for scholarships — about $29,400 per year.

The total for all of these serves as a denominator. Coaches can then offer an athlete a set amount each

season to serve as the numerator. If Mainieri were to offer an out-

of-state recruit $15,000 a year, it would count toward roughly 51 per-cent of a scholarship.

But half a scholarship would be a steep price for Mainieri to pay for one player, considering the 11.7 limit.

“I don’t know that I’ve ever had a player receive a scholar-ship in the amount which was commensurate to his value,” Mainieri said. “They’re all underpaid, in other words. ... It’s sad, re-ally, that college baseball is treated that way.”

How many scholar-ships a team can dole out is a touchy issue for coaches. The reasoning simmering

under the surface serves as the fun-damental decision maker — money.

It’s not a problem at LSU, where the thriving baseball program plays in a brand new, multimillion-dollar facility and generates more than $6 million in revenue for the University and non-revenue-generating sports.

But in other schools around the country, programs are regarded as what Mainieri calls a “black hole.”

Many worry that if more schol-arships were made available it would create a larger divide between the haves and the have-nots.

Mainieri said “roughly half” of the 296 Division I schools don’t

even use their full allotment of schol-arships.

“When you’re at a place like LSU and you’re trying to push to get 20 or 25 full scholarships for the baseball team, it’s falling on deaf ears,” Mainieri said. “Half the schools would never vote for that, because all that’s doing is creating a wider gap.”

Even during Mainieri’s 12-year tenure at Notre Dame — one of the more prestigious Division I schools — he wasn’t allowed to use all 11.7 scholarships until his fi nal season.

The decision to use less than the full amount was an institutional one, according to Mainieri .

“The leadership at each institu-tion decides how important college baseball is to them,” Mainieri said.

“It sickens me that schools don’t look at our national pastime favor-ably.”

The likelihood of things chang-ing is slim.

While the scholarship limit of 11.7 has been in place since 1991 , the parameters for maximum ros-ter size and minimum scholarship amount for each player were imple-mented in 2008 .

“We’ll have to learn to accept what we have,” Bertman said. “We’ll never get any more. We might get less someday, but we’ll never get any more.”

� e Daily Reveille page 7Tuesday, March 13, 2012

SCHOLARSHIPS, from page 5TOURNAMENT, from page 5

OREGON, from page 5

Contact Luke Johnson atljohnson@lsureveille.com

Contact Micah Bedard atmbedard@lsureveille.com

‘It sickens me that schools don’t look at our national

pastimefavorably.’Paul Mainieri

LSU baseball coach

Contact Scott Branson atsbranson@lsureveille.com

The Daily Reveillepage 10 Wednesday, March 23, 2011

batters in the fifth and was pulled in favor of freshman Sam Peter-son.

Peterson only lasted a third of an inning, however, giving up four straight hits, as he was chased out of the game after al-lowing a two-run triple.

ULL was locked on Jones early, posting four hits in the first inning. Jones was able to hold ULL to one run in the inning, but the frame provided a glimpse for what was to come.

The ULL hitters looked like they were taking batting practice against the rest of the Tiger pitch-ers, tallying 11 runs off eight walks and 15 hits.

LSU used six pitchers in the game, including an appearance by junior Matty Ott in the eighth inning with LSU down by four. Ott’s struggles continued, as he gave up four hits — including a two-run home run — in one in-ning.

The LSU offense scattered

11 hits, showing glimpses of busting out of its recent slump.

Sophomore right fielder Ma-son Katz bombed a solo home run in the second inning — the first LSU home run since March 4. The drought spanned 419 plate appearances and 10 games.

But the offense couldn’t come through in the clutch, with many of the hits coming with the bases empty or with a runner on first.

“There’s no way we should be getting 11 hits and lose the game,” Katz said. “We’re com-ing around. JaCoby [Jones] was robbed on a liner, I had one to the warning track, Mikie [Mah-took] had a couple deep ones. We just need to get them at the right time.”

LSU will try to break its four-game losing streak Friday when it resumes Southeastern Conference play at Georgia.

There’s nothing like a little drama, and LSU’s 4-3 win against Nebraska on Tuesday afternoon at W.T. “Dub” Robinson Stadium had more than its fair share.

What seemed an easy victory for the Tigers turned into a heated battle including sportsmanship vio-lations, verbal arguments and four singles matches that went the dis-tance.

“It was a great fight,” said LSU coach Jeff Brown. “It’s a one-on-one thing. That’s how tennis players fight. You can’t hit the other guy.”

Junior Mark Bowtell fought back from a set down and 1-4 in

the second set to gut out a 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 win against Andrew Stenger to clinch the elusive winning point for the Tigers, who led the match 3-0 at the time.

Senior Sebastian Carlsson and junior Neal Skupski, the nation’s No. 12 double’s duo, notched an 8-5 win against No. 65 Chris Aumueller and Benedikt Lindheim.

The win followed a pair of tight wins by LSU on courts one and two.

Senior Julien Gauthier and sophomore Olivier Borsos topped Calin Paar and Robert Schulze, and sophomores Roger Anderson and Stefan Szacinski followed suit with a break at 8-7 to win 9-7.

Skupski and Carlsson made quick work of Paar and Tom Black-well in singles, creating a 3-0 LSU lead.

Nebraska cut the Tigers’ lead to just one, but Bowtell came through with a win to secure the match.

The Lady Tigers (7-7, 3-1) seek a bounce-back performance after No. 23 Tulsa snapped their five-match win streak.

“We had opportunities against Tulsa,” said LSU women’s coach Tony Minnis. “We’ve got to close those matches out to get to where we’re hoping to get to.”

Minnis’ squad welcomes Colo-rado and cross-town rival Southern to “The Dub” for a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. The Buffaloes limp into Baton Rouge on a six-match skid.

“Colorado is going to be hun-gry to beat somebody,” Minnis said. “We just need to make sure we’re really ready to play.”

Contact Luke Johnson atljohnson@lsureveille.com

Contact Hunt Palmer at hpalmer@lsureveille.com

ULL, from page 7

TENNIS

Tigers rally to defeat Nebraska, 4-3Lady Tigers host Colorado, SouthernHunt PalmerSports Contributor

BLAIR LOCKHART / The Daily Reveille

Senior Sebastian Carlsson returns a shot at the net Tuesday in LSU’s 4-3 win against Nebraska during the first battle between the Tigers and the Cornhuskers.

The Daily Reveille page 11Wednesday, March 23, 2011

50-yard freestyle.In an interview with The

Daily Reveille before the season, the Estonia native said her prima-ry individual goal was to swim in an NCAA event final.

Mission accomplished.Trepp became the first-ever

Lady Tiger to qualify for the ‘A’ final in all three of her individual events at the NCAA champion-ships, finishing in the top eight nationally in the 50-yard free-style, 100-yard breaststroke and 100-yard butterfly.

She also swam in each of LSU’s relays, two of which gar-nered 10th-place finishes.

Because of how the meet was scheduled, Trepp swam in five races on the first day of NCAAs and six on the second — the re-sult of competing in three events as well as relays.

So full was her schedule that a teammate had to accept her award for a seventh-place 100 butterfly finish because she was preparing to swim in the 100 breaststroke two races later.

To put her performance in context, she accounted for 41.5 of LSU’s 89 points at the NCAAs. Her individual point total was

more than double the team’s entire point total from the 2010 NCAA Championships.

She holds school records in three individual events, four re-lays and is second all-time in an-other.

Ironically, it’s her attitude toward those records that may be most impressive.

On a team where the former

head coach routinely pointed out his school record from 1988 had yet to be broken, Trepp said she wouldn’t mind her records being broken by teammates.

“I don’t want the team to stop improving [after I leave],” she said. “It’s kind of two-sided. Of course I want my name to be up there for another 10 years, but at the same time, I don’t want us

to get stuck.”It appears she’ll have the op-

portunity to make her name on a much bigger stage, as well.

With the 2012 Olympics just one year away, Trepp will spend the next year training to qualify and represent Estonia in the Lon-don games.

Having already won a silver medal at the European Short-

Course Championships in 2009, she has shown she can compete with not only the best swimmers in the NCAA, but also in Europe.

Just another chance to help carry a lesser-known team to new heights.

Contact Ryan Ginn atrginn@lsureveille.com

Contact Michael Lambert atmlambert@lsureveille.com

BAKER, from page 7

TREPP, from page 7

“I’ve done it before in high school,” Minter said. “I know this is a totally different game, but I feel like I can do the job. I have to take more of a commanding spot and be that leader everyone expects of me.”

The linebacker position doesn’t solely belong to Minter.

Welter and sophomore line-backer Lamin Barrow are waiting in the wing.

Barrow, who played in 11 games last season and started against North Carolina, has more experience, but Welter has turned some heads in his first spring with the team.

“He’s a guy that’s really caught my eye,” Baker said. “His work ethic has changed a lot, and we’ll see where this ends up.”

Still, the Crowley native trails Minter for the starting job.

“He’s been to three springs so he’s a little bit ahead of me right now,” Welter said. “That’s my ultimate goal — to be the starter.”

The 6-foot, 226-pound line-backer said he still has much to learn from defensive coordinator John Chavis.

“I need to definitely dig into the playbook, really get with [Chavis] and watch more film, learn the schemes and learn all the checks,” Welter said.

Baker insists he will remain at outside linebacker, but Miles left the door open for the veteran to move if necessary.

“Baker knows enough about football that he could play that position comfortably,” Miles said.

Follow Michael Lambert on Twitter@TDR_Lambert.

The nerves were unnecessary. Alleva was calling Jones home.

Jones is the only person to both play on and coach an LSU Final Four team, playing on the 1981 Ti-ger squad during his four seasons as a guard and serving on former coach Dale Brown ’s staff for 13 years, in-cluding LSU’s improbable 1986 NCAA Tournament run.

Jones succeeds Trent Johnson , who departed Easter weekend to fi ll TCU ’s head coaching vacancy and left LSU scrambling for a coach late in the recruiting and hiring game.

Alleva said the search was a national one. He said he interviewed four candidates for the job but found his answer close to home.

“I have no doubt we have the right man for this job at this time,” he said. “Johnny’s the best fi t for this university, and that only starts with basketball. He’s earned this opportu-nity with his success. The ties he has here are just a bonus.”

The 51 -year-old DeRidder na-tive coached 11 seasons at North Texas , where he turned a desolate Mean Green program into a consis-tent 20 -game winner, making two NCAA Tournaments and compiling a 190-146 record.

Monday’s formal press confer-ence felt more like a homecoming than a hiring.

LSU legends like Joe Dean , Ricky Blanton , Collis Temple and Brown — Jones’ own former coach and close friend — packed the fi fth fl oor of LSU’s Athletics Department to welcome back one of their own.

And Jones played to that crowd, talking of glory days past and re-cruiting the future while proudly em-bracing LSU’s present after meeting with current Tigers on Sunday night.

Center Justin Hamilton left 12 days ago for the NBA, and rumors of player transfers swirled before John-son’s departure. All seven current LSU scholarship players attended Monday’s introduction.

“This is not about a transition period where a new coach comes in and gets his guys. You are my guys,” Jones said to the players. “We’re go-ing to have success together, and it’s going to start right away.”

LSU went 18-15 last season and lost to Oregon in the fi rst round of the National Invitational Tourna-ment .

Jones promised an up-tempo style that would rely on defensive pressure and sound ball security, appeal to recruits and revive the PMAC’s dormant “Deaf Dome” sta-tus.

“I’m up for the challenge,” said freshman point guard Anthony Hickey . “He runs a fast offense that I’m familiar with. We’re not thinking about transfers. I’m here for the long

run, and he’s the newest part of our family.”

Jones’ Mean Green offense scored the most points in the Sun Belt the last two seasons and fi nished in the league’s top two during seven of the last eight years.

Offi cially hired Friday evening, Jones spent the weekend trekking across the South on recruiting trips, calling himself “a one-man wrecking crew” as he has yet to hire assistants.

His top recruiter at North Texas, Shawn Forrest , is expected to fol-low Jones to Baton Rouge, and for-mer Tiger player Randy Livingston has expressed interest in joining his former coach at LSU, but Jones de-clined to name specifi c candidates.

page 6 Tuesday, April 17, 2012

“A man who stops advertisingto save money,

is like a man who stops the clock to save time.”

-Henry FordWe can help. 225-578-6090

“The main motif was wanting to have our own kind of show here,” she said. “We’ve always been jeal-ous of award shows that other SEC SAAC organizations have.”

Performances will include danc-es by the volleyball and swimming and diving teams, impersonations by the women’s basketball team and a satirical video by the soccer team.

Olympian and former LSU track athlete Lolo Jones will host the show, and the performances will be judged by three campus celebrities — football coach Les Miles , super-fan Matthew Clark and Fox 44 news anchor and former softball player Emily Turner .

Along with athlete-provided entertainment, the show will include presentations of awards decided by student-athlete votes, Jones said.

“Awards will include things like fi ercest competitor, best play, most involved team, Mr. and Mrs. Con-geniality and best hair,” she said. “There are some funny ones, but there are also some serious ones.”

Fundraising is another major reason the SAAC decided to host the talent show, Jones said.

According to Jones , all pro-ceeds from ticket sales, which are $5 in advance or $7 at the door, go to Best Buddies, a non-profi t organiza-tion . Best Buddies members will per-form a dance for the opening act of the show, she said.

The Best Buddies program pairs a role-model fi gure with a “buddy” who has a mental or physical dis-ability, said Megan Kinneman , LSU soccer player and Best Buddies par-ticipant.

The buddies have one-on-one hangouts regularly and participate

in group activities, Kinneman said. Kinneman and her buddy attended the Krewe of Mutts parade in Janu-ary and recently danced the night away at a prom, she said.

Kinneman said the student-athletes voted on an organization to sponsor for the show and Best Bud-dies was chosen since multiple ath-letes are involved in the program.

Jones said the talent show will be fun and lighthearted, and most importantly it benefi ts a good cause.

“It’s going to be pretty funny,” Jones said. “Most of the awards we’re giving out are humorous, and a lot of the acts are hilarious. We want people to come knowing that every cent of ticket costs goes to a good cause.”

TALENT SHOW, from page 1

JONES, from page 1

Contact Ferris McDaniel atfmcdaniel@lsureveille.com

Contact Chris Abshire atcabshire@lsureveille.com