Sports briefs – a quick glance around the Tri-Parishes

Nicholls lands 54 on conference’s Spring Honor Roll

The Nicholls State athletic programs placed 54 student athletes on the Capital One Bank/Southland Conference’s Honor Roll list for the 2010 spring semester.

The list, which was released on Thursday by the conference, features seven student athletes who had a perfect 4.0 GPA in the semester.

In order to be on the list, a student athlete must maintain a 3.00 or above GPA for the semester, while also participating for a spring sport during that time.

Paving the way for the Colonels was the women’s tennis team, which saw three players have a 4.0 GPA.

The seven athletes with 4.0’s were freshman golfer William Dearmon, sophomore golfer Gavin Miles, sophomore softball player Brittany Ezell, junior softball player Tori Lay, junior women’s tennis player Florina Nosca, senior women’s tennis player Sanja Stanojcic and junior women’s tennis player Natalia Zamora.

Nicholls’ Bose tries out for Australian National Team

Nicholls junior forward Anatoly Bose might make history this week.

Bose tried out for the Australian National Team last week, and he’s expected to find out in the coming days if he made the team.

The Colonels’ junior took part in a 15-player, three-day tryout that will determine the last player to earn a spot for the Australians team in August’s FIBA World Championships.

Bose said in his weekly blog that whether he makes the team or not, he expects this summer’s experience to make him a better basketball player in his senior season.

“Overall, the camp was an extremely valuable learning opportunity for me,” Bose said in his blog. “I was very fortunate to have been invited to participate with the Boomers and learn from Coach [Brett] Brown. My main goal was to soak up as much information as I could and use that to help myself as a basketball player and win games back at Nicholls.”

LSU’s Peterson, Sheppard on Nagurski Watch List

LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson and linebacker Kelvin Sheppard have been named to the 2010 Bronco Nagurski Trophy watch list, the Football Writers Association of America announced on Thursday.

A total of 74 players made the watch list, including 12 from the Southeastern Conference.

Peterson earned his way, after leading all SEC defenders with 13 passes defended in 2009.

Sheppard had 110 tackles for the Tigers in his junior season.

The Nagurski Award is given annually to the best defensive player in college football.

The last Tiger to win the award was Glenn Dorsey, who won it in 2007.

Former Lady Tiger named WNBA Player of the Week

Former LSU women’s basketball player Seimone Augustus was named the WNBA Western Conference’s Player of the Week for her performance from June 14-20.

The Minnesota Lynx guard, and former No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft, averaged 21.5 points during the week that saw her team collect a pair of victories.

The honor is the fourth of Augustus’ career, but the first since her return from a Torn ACL last June.

Augustus has the All-Time leading scoring average in WNBA history, averaging 21.1 points per game.

At LSU, it was much of the same, and she won two NCAA National Player of the Year Awards, while scoring 2,702 points in her four-year career.

Saints release Super Bowl starter

The New Orleans Saints made small waves in what has been a fairly quiet NFL offseason, releasing veteran defensive end Bobby McCray.

McCray, who was a starter during the team’s Super Bowl run, was expected to replace Charles Grant, who was also released this offseason.

But the team’s plans apparently changed when they signed former Chicago Bears defensive end Alex Brown and former Tampa Bay Buccaneer lineman Jimmy Wilkerson.

McCray had 12 tackles, and one and a half sacks last season.

The most memorable play of his New Orleans career came in the playoffs, when he dished out the shattering block to Cardinals’ quarterback Kurt Warner that knocked him from the game.

Hornets’ owner says Paul is here to stay

With rumors swirling that All-Star guard Chris Paul was about to be traded, Hornets’ owner George Shinn released a statement last Wednesday saying Paul will be a member of the team indefinitely.

“Chris Paul is the cornerstone of our franchise and brings us unequaled support on and off the court,” Hornets majority owner George Shinn said Wednesday in a statement. “We will continue to build around Chris Paul, and we want to see him in a Hornets uniform for the remainder of his career.”

The statement was also released on behalf of Shinn’s partner and soon-to-be majority owner of the team, Galliano businessman Gary Chouest.

The need for the statement arose after rumors had Paul being traded in multiple scenarios both before and after the NBA Draft.

The hottest rumor saw Paul being shipped to the Orlando Magic in exchange for Vince Carter and Jameer Nelson.

But Shinn said he isn’t looking to cut costs, and the team plans to be competitive next season.

“We have an exciting future,” he said. “With the leadership of our new head coach and players like Chris Paul, we know the best is yet to come.”