Les Miles

Sometimes last season -- probably after the loss to Ole Miss -- I was asked a number of times if LSU coach Le Miles was in trouble.

My response now is the same as it was then: He'll be in trouble if he has one more bad season. Most fans who wake up every morning in their Tigers boxer shorts must understand that life in the SEC is different than any other conference in America.

This is a topic again because a few publications and web sites are compiling their coaches-under-the-gun lists.

Bleacherreport.com writes that LSU, this season, has at least four loses, if the offense still struggles. Road games at Florida, Auburn, and Arkansas, as well as, a home schedule that includes Tennessee, West Virginia and Alabama could spell doom for Miles. Can Miles survive a five-or-more loss season?

Skip Bertman was asked before speaking at the LSU at Alexandria athletics banquet recently if it was fair to say that Miles is on the "hot seat" for the 2010 season.

"No," said Bertman, the Tigers' former baseball coaching legend and former athletics director. “Criticism” Absolutely, positively, because he's making a lot of money. But hot seat? No."

Bertman out in perspective the most recent decade of extraordinary success in LSU football compared to the previous 11 years when  LSU's record was 58-65.

"Then came Nick Saban, and then came Miles," said Bertman. "These are the 10 best years we have ever had -- five years with Saban and five with Miles. When you win two national championships and you're winning 10, 11, 12 or 13 games a season, the fans expect that annually.

"The problem with the SEC today is that's it's better than it was 10 years ago. Not to take anything away from Saban, but when Nick did it, it was easier to do than when Les did it. All the schools in the conference have expectations that are so high so that you've got schools paying coaches $3 million and $4 million, and they have better facilities."

Miles' salary is $3.95 million, and he has drawn criticism from fans, media and former Tigers players over the last two years when the Tigers went 8-8 in the SEC. Much of the criticism has been for time management problems and persistent offensive penalties.

What really hurt Miles, was losing quarterback Ryan Perrilloux for off-field problems. He made the right decision in showing the quarterback the door, but it cost the Tigers some victories without a suitable replacement.

Bleacherreport.com points out that in 1999 when Gerry DiNardo was losing his grasp of the LSU team and he was fired even before the season was over, LSU Chancellor Mark Emmert (now head of the NCAA) and the powers that be at LSU went shopping for a coach. Butch Davis was at the top of their list.

Emmert and his crew met with Davis at a small airport in South Florida only to have water dumped on their fire to hire him. At that meeting, Davis told the group of his intention to coach in the NFL and one season later, he left the Miami Hurricanes to take the head coaching job at Cleveland.

Like Saban, Davis found out coaching the pros wasn't for him and he came back in college football where he had achieved success.

Davis came back to college football at North Carolina where he turned a very down program around--much he had done with the Hurricanes years earlier.

Should Miles once again disappoint, would LSU come looking for Davis a second time? I doubt it. Former NFL coach Jon Gruden is also being mentioned as a Miles replacement.

Davis knows that football will always play second fiddle to basketball at North Carolina, and why wouldn't he look again for bigger pastures?

The web site writes that should Miles stumble just a little more, then the Tar Heel fans should get nervous, very nervous, that LSU may take a run at Davis one more time. 

Z'S TOP CUBS: Ryan Klosterman's seventh-inning home run, his second in as many days, broke a 1-1 tie and lifted the  Zephyrs to a 2-1 win on Thursday and a series split with the Iowa Cubs.

Klosterman, who hit a three-run homer on Wednesday, was not in the original
starting lineup on Thursday, but was a late insertion after Bryan Petersen
was promoted to the Florida Marlins. Klosterman responded by depositing the
first pitch he saw from Esmailin Caridad (0-1) over the wall in left-center
field with two out in the seventh.

The home run made a winner out of Brian Lawrence (2-2), who went seven
innings and yielded one run on four hits with six strikeouts and two walks.
Lawrence has given up three runs and eight hits in 14 innings over his last
two starts, both wins.

Iowa starter Jay Jackson allowed just one run in six innings, and could have
escaped with the lead if not for a heads-up play by Zephyrs center fielder
Emilio Bonifacio.

With one out in the sixth, the Zephyrs executed a successful hit-and-run,
with Bonifacio running on a single through the hole at short. Iowa left
fielder Bryan LaHair tossed the ball in to second base, and Bonifacio seized
the opportunity to come around and score.
With their final chance to tie the game in the top of the ninth inning, Iowa
right fielder Jim Adduci was called out on strikes, prompting Iowa manager
Ryne Sandberg to approach home plate to argue, and eventually get ejected by
plate umpire Angel Campos.
Kasey Olenberger went on to strike out the side in the ninth for the second
straight outing to earn his third save of the season.

The Z's now travel to Omaha for a four-game set with the Royals. On Friday,
right-hander Jorge Sosa (2-1, 5.40) is scheduled to take the mound for New
Orleans, opposing righty Anthony Lerew (1-2, 3.12) for the Royals.

New Orleans Hornets Draft

Less than 24 hours after the NBA draft lottery, numerous websites have already weighed in with their initial mock drafts. Hornets.com scoured the Internet to see what other websites are projecting the Hornets to do with their No. 11 first-round draft pick. The Hornets did not have a second-round selection. How the websites are projecting the Hornets to select:

--ESPN.com: Daniel Orton, center, Kentucky
--NBC Sports: Ed Davis, forward, North Carolina
--SI.com: Cole Aldrich, center, Kansas
---Sporting News: Hassan Whiteside, center, Marshall
---Yahoo! Sports: Hassan Whiteside, center , Marshall
---Bleacher Report: Xavier Henry, forward/guard, Kansas

Tine is running out to secure ab\n appointment time at the Hornets; annual Select-A-Seat event to be held Sunday, May 23, and the Arena. By placing a $100 initial payment now, you'll have the opportunity to check out the best available seat locations and lock-in your seats for next season. Call    (504) 525-4667  (504) 525-4667   (504) 525-4667   (504) 525-4667 to talk with an account executive...

Summer is just around the corner and here is no better way to keep you kids active while helping them hone their basketball skills than signing them up for a Hornets Summer Basketball Camp. Even better why not have your kids perfect their skills alongside NBA rising star Marcus Thornton. Thornton and National Basketball Academy are hosting a week-long camp June 14-18 at Pelican Park's Brown Gym in Mandeville. The camp runs from 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 9 a/m/-noon on Friday. The Marcus Thornton Basketball Camp is open to boys and girls 7-16, costs $275/participate and includes many hours on instruction, tickets and T-shirts.

LSU Baseball 

TIGERS STOP SKID: Two homers and five RBI by designated hitter Matt Gaudet, including the game-winning sacrifice fly in the eighth, lifted No. 27 LSU to a 14-13 win over Mississippi State on Thursday night in Alex Box Stadium.

The Tigers (35-19, 13-15 SEC) snapped a six-game losing streak with the win. Mississippi State dropped to 22-32 over-all and 5-23 in the SEC with the loss. The series between the4 Tigers and Bulldogs will continue on Friday at 7 p.m. in Alex Box.

LSU is vying for a berth in the eight-team SEC Tournament that begins next Wednesday in Hoover, Ala. LSU clinches a berth on Friday if the Tigers defeat Mississippi State and either Georgia downs Kentucky in Athens or Tennessee beats Alabama in Knoxville.

After trailing 12-9 entering the inning, t he Bulldogs tied the game 12-12 in the eighth after a sacrifice fly RBI and a pair of RBI singles. The last single off reliever Matty Ott hit off his foot, forcing him to leave the game. Junior right-hander Anthony Ranaudo entered the game and hit Powers with their bases loaded to make the score 13-12.

The Tigers responded in the bottom of the frame when Micah Gibbs launched a solo homer to tie the score at 13-13. After a successful hit-and-run single by Austin Nola advanced Blake Dean, Gaudet knocked him in with a deep sacrifice fly to center to regain the Tigers' lead at 14-13.

Ranaudo (3-2) earned the victory after shutting down the Bullies in the ninth, despite surrendering a lead-off single to secure the victory for LSU. Caleb Reed (0-2) was charged with the loss after allowing the two runs in the eighth.

"I can't say enough about how hard every guy in our lineup played tonight," said Tigers coach Paul Mainieri. “We had some great at-bats and we came back from a deficit three different times. It was a game we had to win, and I'm very proud of our team for playing  with tremendous determination."

The Zephyrs defense went cold and committed a pair of critical errors in the eighth inning, as Tacoma scored 5 runs to defeat the Zephyrs 7-6 on a cold and rainy evening in Tacoma. on Thursday night.

The Rainiers sent ten batters to the plate and benefited from two errors and three walks in the inning.  The Z’s Hector Luna and Donnie Murphy each hit home runs and the Z’s jumped out to a 6-2 lead.  Garrett Olson came in relief and retired all seven batters he faced and earned the win.  Taylor Tankersley took the loss.
Game Notes- The game did have a 1:26 rain delay in the second inning.  Z’s starter Jorge Sosa pitched one inning.

 The Z’s and Rainiers meet on Friday at 9: in Tacoma.  New Orleans will start RH Rick Vandenhurk (3-2, 4.12) against TBA.  The Z’s have not swept an opponent this season.   

Buzz The Way:The Hornets have partnered with Rallypoint for an emergency preparedness plan. The partnership hopes to encourage other businesses to develop an emergency communications plan....