In the neighborhood

One of the fun things about this job is that whether it's by e-mail, telephone or in person, I encounter so many former NSU athletes.

This week, without being able to go to the Purple Pride Tour Stop in Baton Rouge last night, I've already run into Marcus Spears, Yetta James and Steve Graf.

Now there's an eclectic mix!

Big Spears, one of our all-time football greats and a future nominee for the College Football Hall of Fame, dropped by the office Monday morning with the ubiquitous Thomas Foster, the longtime fieldhouse man who is a big brother to many NSU football players. Marcus was in town to help with a weekend clinic for area kids who are trying to show their stuff to college coaches. He is living in Houston, where he's involved with some business ventures and is planning to be here with bells on for the Sept. 1 Centennial Celebration. He also is eagerly awaiting the Sam Goodwin Roast next spring.

Yetta was at the same I-49 convenience store getting the same catfish that I had ordered moments before for supper Monday night. She and her son had just emerged from a rugged softball game -- she still plays hard, judging by how dirty she was! She reminded me she has the oldest record on the books in Lady Demon track history, her 5,306 point total in a 1988 heptathlon competition. The next oldest mark is from 1993.

Graf had dropped his kids by the coliseum for a basketball clinic, and we visited for half an hour about Demon football (he was a hard-hitting safety from 1979-80) and baseball (he was a hard-hitting outfielder from 1980-83, and reached the Class AA level with Montreal, I believe). He is emerging as a leading outdoorsman in the area and hosts a weekly outdoors radio talk show on the Demon Sports Network flagship station, 100.7 KZBL, each Wednesday from 4-5.

Doug Ireland, SID