8/28/10 12:18 am CST

Good morning, Tiger Fans. There are only seven more days before the start of the 2010 LSU football season and I am ready to get the show on the road.

LSU practiced Friday with all attention on North Carolina. Les Miles is not buying into the talk that North Carolina is going to be short of talent on defense because of rumors that as many as 10 players could be held out of the game against LSU. Miles said after Friday's practice that his staff has watched a lot of film on North Carolina and there are a lot of good football players on the team who will be available to play. Miles also said he liked the tempo of the practice and thinks the team is making progress. Miles said Friday’s workout had the LSU offense working against the North Carolina “scout team” defense and the Tiger defense going against the Tar Heel “scout team” offense.

Miles also confirmed that the Tigers will be without three players – linebacker Ryan Baker, wide receiver Chris Tolliver, and safety Karnell Hatcher – for the North Carolina game.

LSU is scheduled for practice on Saturday morning followed by a day off on Sunday. LSU then returns to the practice field on Monday in what will be the official start of game week for the Tigers.

I would rather play North Carolina with all their players available to play. I can guarantee everyone that the lesser known UNC players who might be forced into action will play with a lot of pride and will perform at their very best. It appears that almost all the UNC players who are rumored to not play in the game are defensive players. UNC is a high-powered offensive team that averaged 27 points per game and won six of their last seven games. Even with UNC being short handed on defense, the Tigers will probably have to score in the mid to upper 20s to win the game.

Here is a very interesting article from ESPN on the story - "UNC expands inquiry, adds academics"

Also, the New Orleans Times Picayune published this good article on the UNC situation.

With the season only one week away, LSU has not gotten very much respect from the media, but that is not the case with this website who picks LSU No. 1 in the nation, and they have a history of being very good.

In my Monday morning update, I will be conducting my annual poll asking how many games LSU will win this season. I like doing polls because they give me insight on my readers who come from all over the USA and the world. I have been doing polls for 12 years and they are usually very accurate.

Speaking of the dandydon.com readership, Scott ran a report on the number of readers compared to last August and I'm happy to report that the amount is up by seven percent. Thanks for reading, and be sure to spread the news about dandydon.com to any Tiger fan you know who may not be familiar with it.

Last night I went to see some highschool football jamboree games and was very impressed with the St. Thomas More Cougars whom I expect will go deep in the class 5-A state playoff. I was also impressed with Breaux Bridge's size and talent.

In closing, I often receive emails sent through my this site's response form without a return address, and without it I cannot respond to the message. Please be sure to include your return address when you use my response form so that I can respond accordingly.

8/27/10 5:55 am CST

Good morning, Tiger Fans. There are only eight more days before LSU plays the University of North Carolina at the Georgia Dome in the season opener.

North Carolina is in deep trouble with the NCAA and as many as six starting defensive players could miss the LSU game, according to reports. According to one major network, two cornerbacks, Charles Brown and Kendrick Burmey, have already been dismissed from the team and as many as four more defensive players could be dismissed from the team. Here is an article from The Bleacher Report that has a lot of good information on the situation, and here is another from VegasInsider.com. I will have more information when it becomes available.

As for the Tigers, I am looking for the team to be very much improved on both sides of the ball. There are a few things that the team will have to do a better job of than last season in order to compete in the SEC. The number one thing on offense is to cut down on the number of three and outs. I recall in one game last season that LSU went three and out four possessions in a row. When I say three and out I am talking about failing to pick up a first down on three plays and having to punt. The second thing is to pick up first downs on short yardage. How many times in the 2009 season did LSU pick up eight or nine yards on first down and was not able to pick up a first down the next two plays? The third thing that the offense must improve on is getting plays in from the sideline in time for the quarterback to audible. The quarterback needs to have the play with at least 12 seconds remaining on the 25 second clock.

The 2010 LSU basketball schedule has been announced. The team will play 18 home games including 11 games against teams that played in postseason play. All LSU conference games will be shown live on television. The 2010 team will be very young with four true freshmen, but very talented. The Tigers will open the season on November 12 against NWST in the PMAC. LSU has not lost a game to an in-state opponent since December 06, 1988.

Here is a great link to get everyone fired up for the 2010 football season: The Boys of Fall

8/26/10 5:55 am CST

Good morning, Tiger Fans. I listened to the Les Miles radio talk-show last night and enjoyed the show. Coach Miles opened the show by saying he and his family had a great Summer and that he enjoyed watching his boys play baseball and his daughter competing in swimming. Miles said the football team had great Summer workouts and is looking forward to the 2010 season.

Miles talked about last Saturday's scrimmage and said it was a great rehearsal for North Carolina and the season. The scrimmage had a full crew of officials working the game. The team worked on substitutions and clock management. Miles said the team has made great improvement in the last 10 days and if the team improves as much in the next 10 days Tiger fans are going to be very happy. Miles had great words to say about the offensive line and singled out Will Blackwell and Alex Hurst as being big and physical. Miles also had good things to say about both centers, P.J. Lonergan and T-Bob Hebert. Miles did not mention starting tackles Josh Dworaczyk and Joseph Barksdale, but said the offensive line has the most depth of any offensive line at LSU in sometime. Miles said the offensive line has an attitude of wanting to get it done.

Will called and asked where has the team improved the most. Miles' reply was that the team is going to run, run, run the ball. On defense, Miles spoke about the team's speed at defensive end and said that more pressure would be put on the opposing team's passing game.

Ricky called and asked about all the negative talk that surrounds the team. Miles reply was that negative talk is not right and most of the negative talks comes from people who want something bad to happen.

Gary called and asked about the defense backs. Miles' reply was that LSU has two great cornerbacks in Patrick Peterson and Morris Claiborne and was strong at the ends (and I guess that is the same as safeties). Miles also said that Kelvin Sheppard who was named preseason All-American by Sporting News today is a complete linebacker and could play all three linebacker positions. Miles mentioned two freshmen linebackers D. J. Welter and Luke Muncie as being very capable.

Jeremy wanted to know what affect the new coaches on offense were having on the team. Miles said that Billy Gonzales was doing a great job with the receivers and the passing game, Steve Ensminger was doing an outstanding job with the tight ends, and Frank Wilson was doing an outstanding job with the running backs.

Will asked about special teams Miles said that Josh Jasper was a very capable kicker and that Derek Helton has great hang time on his punts. Miles also mentioned that true freshman Brad Wing had a 67-yard punt last week in practice.

From the live audience at T. J. Ribs, Jeannie asked if more freshmen would be playing this coming season. Miles' reply was that the best player would play, regardless of classification.

Kay from the live audiences asked how many snaps Russell Shepard would have in the first game. Miles' reply, in a joking manner, was 3-13. Miles went on to say that Shepard would be a huge part of the 2010 offense.

When asked how hard it is to prepare for the first game playing against an opponent you have never played before, Miles' reply was that they look at film over and over. Miles said that LSU is a very scrappy team and will play hard for 60 minutes, and that LSU would need to take the game over from the start.

When asked about the quarterback competition, Miles' reply was that both J. Jefferson and J. Lee have shown great improvement and would do a great job.

When asked who would take Chris Tolliver's place in the depth chart, Miles said that James Wright, a true freshman from Bell Chase, would likely be the fourth receiver behind Terrance Tolliver, Rueben Randle and Russell Shepard.

Patty called and asked Miles what goes through his mind when he walks under the goal post on a Saturday night at LSU. Miles reply was that Tiger stadium is a beautiful place and that he loves LSU and its fans. He was very emotional and said there's no place like Tiger Stadium on a Saturday night.

The above information is obviously not a word-by-word transcript of what was said.

I was very impressed with Coach Miles and there is no doubt that he is very happy at LSU. I think that Miles is a good man and I believe he has put together a great coaching staff. I hope he wins another national title at LSU while I am still around.

Reader comments: San Antonio Tigers! Football season is here & LSU Alumni San Antonio Chapter is ready to kickoff another great season of LSU Bayou Bengals Football with a party & meeting. Saturday, August 28th from 6:00 PM-10:30 PM. Encino Park Community Center, 1923 Encino Rio. Cost: $15.00 /person. Please pay your dues also - $15/person or $25/family. Bring your favorite beverage & side dish, appetizer or dessert. Shrimp Po'boys, fried catfish, & bread pudding will be provided by Podna's. We will have ice, decorations, plates, napkins, & utensils in an air conditioned setting. We will have door Prizes, a raffle of LSU items for our scholarship fund & a discussion of 2010-2011 activities. RSVP to Mike Fernandez mferna5@gmail.com NLT August 23rd. If you can't reach Mike try contacting Kent Lancaster @ 210-481-9956 or e-mail @ llancaster@satx.rr.com. "Come pass a good time" with SA Tigers.