| It’s hard not to be romantic about baseball. LSU baseball’s season opener Friday rapidly approaches, and it’s hard not to think of green grass, fresh popcorn and the pop of a ball into a leather glove. There’s also the shadow sport of baseball: the speculation and second guessing. To that end, our Koki Riley has his final projections for LSU’s season-opening lineup and pitching rotation going into Friday’s game against that traditional powerhouse, Purdue Fort Wayne. Down the street at the PMAC, the atmosphere is downright Dickensian for LSU basketball. It’s the best of times for the LSU women’s program, ranked in the top five and tied for first in the SEC. It’s the worst of times for the men’s program, which seems to keep finding new ways to lose. My column delves into the paths of these two divergent programs, especially what the future may hold for men’s coach Matt McMahon. There’s another top-shelf program at the PMAC: the LSU gymnastics team. And it’s now official, the Tigers will host Oklahoma in a No. 1 versus No. 2 showdown Friday night at 8 p.m. on ESPN2. Finally, the illustrious Jim Kleinpeter has a follow-up story on LSU softball’s successful first weekend, marked by a perfect game opener by freshman pitcher Jayden Heavener. Thanks for reading and subscribing and putting us in your will. Just kidding about the latter … maybe. Scott Rabalais | 