| They may have lost a little luster with recent results, but ESPN/ABC still considers the annual LSU-Alabama football game appointment viewing. SEC TV assignments for the Nov. 9 weekend were revealed Monday, with the LSU-Alabama game getting a 6:30 p.m. kickoff in Tiger Stadium. The game was picked despite LSU's come-from-ahead 38-23 loss Saturday at Texas A&M to drop to 6-2 and 3-1 in SEC play. Meanwhile, Alabama (6-2, 3-2) will come to Tiger Stadium with two SEC losses already on its ledger for the first time since 2006 — the season before Nick Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa. Both teams are idle this weekend. It is also likely to be the first time since 2006 that one or both teams aren't ranked in the top 10. Bama is currently No. 14 in the AP poll and LSU is No. 16, with the first CFP rankings due out next Tuesday. Still, this is always one of the highest-rated college football matchups and that isn't likely to be different this time. With the Tigers having an open date this Saturday, admittedly our LSU newsletter today is a little light. Our other items for you are an updated version of Wilson Alexander's story about the abrupt and unexplained departure of Brian Kelly's long-time chief of staff, and Wilson's weekly request for questions for his ever-popular mailbag feature. I would consider it a personal favor if one of you sent in a question about black holes or quantum physics. Thanks. Thanks for reading and subscribing. While this is an open date week, basketball will take more of a center stage this week as the regular seasons for the LSU women and men draw closer, so please be on the lookout for those stories. Until next time, Scott Rabalais | 