Lots of us around Natchitoches have our radios tuned in to 100.7 KZBL FM, not only because it’s the home of the Demon Sports Network, but because we enjoy the music and personalities.
KZBL showcases characters such as Johnny Earthquake, the alter ego of local attorney and band leader Rodney Harrington, an NSU grad from the mid-1970s. C-Rod, as friends have been known to call him, hosts “The Jammin’ with Johnny Show” Wednesday mornings from 8-9 and Friday afternoons from 4-5ish, often welcoming guests and co-hosts.
Today’s co-host was Greg Burke, our outstanding athletics director – and a huge rock music fan. Greg and Johnny introduced songs, asked music trivia questions of the listeners while giving away tickets to Saturday’s Demon football game, and visited about music and NSU sports.
GB the DJ had a couple of interesting dedications. The KZBL studio is located on Jefferson Street and at the same time Greg and Johnny were discussing the Demons’ game against Arkansas-Monticello, the UAM buses drove past the studio. Prompted by a caller, the co-hosts dished out the novelty song “The Boll Weevil” by Brook Benton. Seriously.
The song begins:
“Let me tell ya a story about a boll weevil;
Now, some of you may not know,
but a boll weevil is an insect.
And he's found mostly where cotton grows.
Now, where he comes from, hmm,
nobody really knows.
But this is the way the story goes.”
Really!
Burke also couldn’t resist dedicating the song “Simply Irresistible” to Lady Demon basketball coach Jennifer Graf. Before you get the wrong idea, you need to know that Graf and former assistant Kia Converse convinced the music-loving AD to join them in a karaoke contest singing that song while they were attending a Southland Conference spring meetings in Galveston a couple years ago.
Let’s just say GB is a much better DJ than a vocalist, or so I’m told.
He is a near-savant when it comes to his knowledge of 1970s and 1980s rock and pop music lyrics and artists. He traces it back to his days as a high school band member, but it can’t be sheer coincidence that he grew up in Alliance, Ohio – not that far south of Cleveland, home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Burke, an avid concert-goer then and now, told the listeners that one of his greatest regrets from his youth was passing up a free ticket to a mid-1970s Earth, Wind and Fire concert.
Can’t argue that!
The show went over the normal hour “because we can,” said Johnny. Good for Greg’s parents, who were in town all week from Ohio and no doubt were thrilled to hear their hard-working son plugging NSU athletics and enjoying one of his lifelong passions, music.
Friday, September 29, 2006
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Long run, long ago
Theophile Scott ran that kickoff back 96 yards, 65 years ago under the lights in Shreveport on a crisp Oct. 4 evening, and because he did, the Louisiana Normal Demons tied the Gentlemen 6-6.
He made five Centenary defenders whiff. Just ran right at them, and then left them nothing but air.
Seeing is believing. Wednesday, Mr. Scott was in his hometown for a book signing party at the Book Merchant in Natchitoches, and he dropped by the office with a little gift.
At my request, he brought a copy of the game film from that 1941 contest, and a DVD showcasing the long run.
Mr. Scott, also a great athlete at St. Mary’s School in Natchitoches before his days as a Demon, has written a stirring book called “Beat Tech.”
It tells the inside story of the great Demons-Bulldogs football rivalry between Normal and Louisiana Polytechnic Institute in the days before World War II.
Fans of both schools, Northwestern and Louisiana Tech, will enjoy this gem. It’s already a hot seller.
Mr. Scott is living in Shreveport now, and is a regular attendee at the Thursday Demon QB Club luncheons at Ralph & Kacoo’s Restaurant in Bossier City.
We’re going to have to show his run up there tomorrow. Truly, you have to see it to believe it. A lot more fans saw Billy Cannon’s Halloween run for LSU, but Mr. Scott’s long run was equally stirring in its own right.
He managed to come across the film several years after the play. Centenary had disbanded its football team a few years after the war, and never returned to the field. A friend at the college knew that a lot of equipment, film, and other things were being thrown away. Mr. Scott was coaching high school football and got a tip from his friend, who provided some equipment and a canister of film that wasn’t labeled.
Imagine his surprise when it turned out to be that 1941 matchup, with one of many great plays he made as a Demon.
We’ll make a copy of the game and have it available at Watson Library, and another copy will make its way to the Demon football offices. Maybe today’s Demons could get a kick out of seeing it!
He made five Centenary defenders whiff. Just ran right at them, and then left them nothing but air.
Seeing is believing. Wednesday, Mr. Scott was in his hometown for a book signing party at the Book Merchant in Natchitoches, and he dropped by the office with a little gift.
At my request, he brought a copy of the game film from that 1941 contest, and a DVD showcasing the long run.
Mr. Scott, also a great athlete at St. Mary’s School in Natchitoches before his days as a Demon, has written a stirring book called “Beat Tech.”
It tells the inside story of the great Demons-Bulldogs football rivalry between Normal and Louisiana Polytechnic Institute in the days before World War II.
Fans of both schools, Northwestern and Louisiana Tech, will enjoy this gem. It’s already a hot seller.
Mr. Scott is living in Shreveport now, and is a regular attendee at the Thursday Demon QB Club luncheons at Ralph & Kacoo’s Restaurant in Bossier City.
We’re going to have to show his run up there tomorrow. Truly, you have to see it to believe it. A lot more fans saw Billy Cannon’s Halloween run for LSU, but Mr. Scott’s long run was equally stirring in its own right.
He managed to come across the film several years after the play. Centenary had disbanded its football team a few years after the war, and never returned to the field. A friend at the college knew that a lot of equipment, film, and other things were being thrown away. Mr. Scott was coaching high school football and got a tip from his friend, who provided some equipment and a canister of film that wasn’t labeled.
Imagine his surprise when it turned out to be that 1941 matchup, with one of many great plays he made as a Demon.
We’ll make a copy of the game and have it available at Watson Library, and another copy will make its way to the Demon football offices. Maybe today’s Demons could get a kick out of seeing it!
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Wedding footnote, hoop scoop
Observation after assistant basketball coach Mark Slessinger’s wedding last Saturday night: first time we’ve ever seen Coach Sless completely satisfied with the officiating.
The Slessingers left this morning for their honeymoon in Jamaica. Head coach Mike McConathy literally had to tell Coach Sless to leave the office; he had come by for an hour on Monday afternoon, and again Tuesday morning!
Speaking of Coach Mike, he is one of the “featured speakers” for an Oct. 26 roast in Bossier City honoring one of his mentors, and a proud Northwestern alumnus, Coach Billy Montgomery, who represents Bossier Parish in the state legislature and is one of the state’s most influential and effective public servants.
The Slessingers left this morning for their honeymoon in Jamaica. Head coach Mike McConathy literally had to tell Coach Sless to leave the office; he had come by for an hour on Monday afternoon, and again Tuesday morning!
Speaking of Coach Mike, he is one of the “featured speakers” for an Oct. 26 roast in Bossier City honoring one of his mentors, and a proud Northwestern alumnus, Coach Billy Montgomery, who represents Bossier Parish in the state legislature and is one of the state’s most influential and effective public servants.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Scenes from a wedding
Assistant men’s basketball coach Mark Slessinger completed his best recruiting job Saturday evening when he exchanged wedding vows with the former Toni Purvis.
He’s a native Hoosier, growing up in Bloomington, Indiana, where his mom was an usher at Indiana basketball games, working the area immediately behind the bench where Bob Knight prowled for so long.
A Slessinger family friend at the wedding told a story about Coach Knight that sounded like something Mike McConathy would do. The man and his son got front-row seats for an early season Hoosiers home game, but got lost in Assembly Hall and wound up in a tunnel – the same tunnel the team used to access the floor from the locker room. The team was warming up, but there in the tunnel was Coach Knight, who quickly walked up, pleasantly asked if he could help, and actually walked the duo to their seats!
The new Mrs. Slessinger, BTW, is a North Carolina native. So if there’s a Hoosiers – Tar Heels hoops matchup, it could briefly stress family ties.
Toni’s father was a paratrooper who was stationed at Fort Polk in the mid-1970s.
The ceremonies were slated to be held outdoors, in the beautiful back yard of the Prudhomme-Roquier House on Jefferson Street, but a thunderstorm about an hour before the wedding moved things inside.
It also set up a funny moment. With the wedding party standing at the fireplace in the small living room, guests were watching from the wings, literally. Those who weren’t seated in the room were lined up on the staircase, or looking through windows from the porch (as I was) or looking in from the doorway to the anteroom off the living room (where coach McCoanthy was standing).
So Greg Burke, Chris Maggio, David Stamey, Andy Perot and I shared the perfect angle to see the funniest moment of the evening.
The groom was standing with his back to us, so that we could see the left side of his face as he looked forward. He was standing at an angle, with the bride and her attendants facing us. He was also facing coach Mike.
That set up McConathy, who waited until a few minutes into the ceremonies before catching Sless’s eye, and making the timeout signal, then using the 30-second timeout signal to bring a chuckle to the groom and those of us on the porch.
Our friend “Coach Black” was the official greeter for the ceremonies, decked out in a classy looking tuxedo. Also in attendance – new McNeese head coach and longtime NSU assistant Dave Simmons and his wife, Denise, who ruled the dance floor.
He’s a native Hoosier, growing up in Bloomington, Indiana, where his mom was an usher at Indiana basketball games, working the area immediately behind the bench where Bob Knight prowled for so long.
A Slessinger family friend at the wedding told a story about Coach Knight that sounded like something Mike McConathy would do. The man and his son got front-row seats for an early season Hoosiers home game, but got lost in Assembly Hall and wound up in a tunnel – the same tunnel the team used to access the floor from the locker room. The team was warming up, but there in the tunnel was Coach Knight, who quickly walked up, pleasantly asked if he could help, and actually walked the duo to their seats!
The new Mrs. Slessinger, BTW, is a North Carolina native. So if there’s a Hoosiers – Tar Heels hoops matchup, it could briefly stress family ties.
Toni’s father was a paratrooper who was stationed at Fort Polk in the mid-1970s.
The ceremonies were slated to be held outdoors, in the beautiful back yard of the Prudhomme-Roquier House on Jefferson Street, but a thunderstorm about an hour before the wedding moved things inside.
It also set up a funny moment. With the wedding party standing at the fireplace in the small living room, guests were watching from the wings, literally. Those who weren’t seated in the room were lined up on the staircase, or looking through windows from the porch (as I was) or looking in from the doorway to the anteroom off the living room (where coach McCoanthy was standing).
So Greg Burke, Chris Maggio, David Stamey, Andy Perot and I shared the perfect angle to see the funniest moment of the evening.
The groom was standing with his back to us, so that we could see the left side of his face as he looked forward. He was standing at an angle, with the bride and her attendants facing us. He was also facing coach Mike.
That set up McConathy, who waited until a few minutes into the ceremonies before catching Sless’s eye, and making the timeout signal, then using the 30-second timeout signal to bring a chuckle to the groom and those of us on the porch.
Our friend “Coach Black” was the official greeter for the ceremonies, decked out in a classy looking tuxedo. Also in attendance – new McNeese head coach and longtime NSU assistant Dave Simmons and his wife, Denise, who ruled the dance floor.
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