| It sounds like an old joke: I went to cover an LSU football practice Monday and a fight broke out. It wasn't quite the Chicago White Sox's Tim Anderson and the Cleveland Guardians' Jose Ramirez, but it was a pretty intense one. It resulted in a couple of players being sent off and LSU coach Brian Kelly admonishing his players after practice to "respect the brotherhood" of the team. While the first rule of Fight Club is you don't talk about Fight Club, I'm sure you want a story and we've got the story right here. While I don't condone fighting, I also don't think a practice dustup is that big a deal, or something that indicates a torn team fabric. It was, predictably, during the sweltering hot outdoor portion of Monday's practice (the Tigers spent the first nine periods indoors because of the heat) and guys were just a little cranky. It was probably the most intense practice we reporters have viewed so far this August, and passions were running high in general. On to the next bout on our card ... The preseason USA Today coaches' poll was released Monday, with the LSU Tigers coming in at No. 5. It is an impressive amount of respect for LSU, coming off a 10-4 season with an SEC West title and an overwhelming 63-7 win over Purdue in the Citrus Bowl. The AP preseason poll (of which yours truly is a voter) comes out next Monday. Our Wilson Alexander gives his impressions of the pugilistic and non-pugilistic parts of LSU's practice Monday, including the big impression being made by defensive tackle Maason Smith as he comes off that season-long knee injury in 2022. The college sports world has gone into blender mode lately, with another flurry of conference realignment and the probably demise of the Pac-12. I've got some thoughts in today's column, along with those from some LSU and SEC coaches. LSU men's basketball team got its summer exhibition trip to The Bahamas off to a winning start Monday with an 86-82 victory over the Puerto Rican national team. Meanwhile one of LSU's recruits for next year, 2024 Olympic hopeful Zoe Miller, had her own big win taking the bars title over the weekend in the U.S. Classic outside Chicago. She also won a bet from Simone Biles, who won the all-around title, but not for beating Biles on bars. And yes, there's video. Finally, our Michael Johnson has a photo gallery from Monday's practice. That's all for today, a pretty busy Monday. Less than four weeks now from LSU's Sept. 3 season opener with Florida State, it's just going to get busier. And we're going to have LSU sports covered like a blanket for you. Don't need a blanket with this oppressive summer heat, you say? Well, you do need us. So subscribe, read and tell your friends. Until next time, Scott Rabalais | 