We started watching at T.J.'s Ribs, the popular LSU sports-themed Baton Rouge restaurant made famous as the home of Billy Cannon's 1959 Heisman Trophy. (Did you know, BTW, that he has a granddaughter in school at Northwestern?).
It was a bland ESPN-televised game between Arizona State and UCLA, only of interest because a friend was cheering for the Bruins.
That wasn't good for the friend, not when we saw ASU score a couple of defensive touchdowns on the way to a 14-3 lead. We polished off dinner, then dessert, and headed back to the hotel.
Got back to the room, and UCLA was back within 17-9 and was first-and-goal. Good for the Bruins, until the Sun Devils got a spectacular interception and 100-yard return for a 24-9 lead. At that point, early in the fourth quarter,it was stick a fork in UCLA time, and the channels changed to catch high school football playoff scores and watch some college hoops (ironically also involving Arizona State, this time getting whipped by Baylor).
Commercial time and a sweep back through the channels to see what the football score was -- 31-9, and Arizona State's going in for more. Not just more, Arizona State was going in to score its first offensive touchdown of the game. Still not sure what happened, just that the Sun Devils had posted their fourth defensive TD to make it 31-9.
They settled for a field goal. Meanwhile, ESPN's researchers, scrambling back in Bristol, found this was the fifth time in NCAA history, so far as they could find, that a team had scored four defensive touchdowns in a game. The last time, according to their research, was 2003 when Northwestern State did it in a win over Southeastern Louisiana.
Thankfully for the Lions, the final 87-point Demon tally in that bizarre game wasn't mentioned. Thankfully for the Demons, the ESPN team overlooked the 2007 loss to Nicholls in which the Colonels ran back four interceptions thrown by the Demons for TDs.
But so far as a national TV audience was told Friday night, the Sun Devils' feat was a college football rarity last achieved by the Demons in 2003.
Announcer Sean McDonough referred to the graphic and referenced Northwestern State as the last team to accomplish four defensive TDs.
So thanks to David Pittman, Bruce Woods (twice) and Ed Queen for their roles in getting more national attention for NSU, five years later. I hope they and teammates were watching, along with then-SLU coach Hal Mumme, who foolishly insisted on continuing to throw even with the game out of hand. So it was that Woods and Queen, both freshmen backups, scored after halftime when the Demons weren't trying to put offensive points on the board.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Friday, November 28, 2008
Eyes, ears open in Baton Rouge
Scenes at the Baton Rouge Holiday Inn, where the Demon basketball team is staying during the LSU Invitational...
... also lodged here Friday night, a fascinating pairing: the Southern football team (they stay here before every home game) and the Grambling band, before tomorrow's epic Bayou Classic at the Superdome
... the Centenary and Troy basketball teams are here, too. Tough 64-58 loss to LSU tonight for the valiant Gents, who got to shoot 3 free throws to 19 for LSU. Ouch.
... as radio voice Patrick Netherton and I pulled up in the Netherton Cruiser to check in Friday evening, Troy coach Don Maestri was standing out front, waiting on his sister to arrive. The gregarious Netherton, who had volunteered to run in and see where in the world room 217 was, stopped to visit with the affable Trojans' veteran coach, a New Orleans native.
It quickly evolved into a 15-minute visit. A few of the highlights:
1) Maestri was relieved Coach Mike McConathy got win No. 500 Friday against Alcorn. He laughed and said he didn't want his team facing a Demons' squad eager to breach that milestone.
2) He expressed much admiration for McConathy, whom he's known for many years during his 27 seasons in college hoops, some as an assistant to Wimp Sanderson at Alabama.
3) He told a story about a pre-season meeting at Alabama when Sanderson told the staff the Tide's goal was a fifth-place SEC finish. Maestri questioned his boss. Wimp pointed out that a fifth place finish in the SEC would earn an NCAA Tournament trip, maybe a national ranking and a contract extension. Then Maestri understood.
4) Maestri also recalled being a little boy growing up in New Orleans, trick-or-treating down the street on Halloween Night, 1959, and suddenly hearing people screaming in joy and streaming out into the street. The next house he visited, he was told why. He's one of the few people I've met remembering Billy Cannon's legendary run who was NOT in Tiger Stadium ... or so they claim!
Doug Ireland, SID
... also lodged here Friday night, a fascinating pairing: the Southern football team (they stay here before every home game) and the Grambling band, before tomorrow's epic Bayou Classic at the Superdome
... the Centenary and Troy basketball teams are here, too. Tough 64-58 loss to LSU tonight for the valiant Gents, who got to shoot 3 free throws to 19 for LSU. Ouch.
... as radio voice Patrick Netherton and I pulled up in the Netherton Cruiser to check in Friday evening, Troy coach Don Maestri was standing out front, waiting on his sister to arrive. The gregarious Netherton, who had volunteered to run in and see where in the world room 217 was, stopped to visit with the affable Trojans' veteran coach, a New Orleans native.
It quickly evolved into a 15-minute visit. A few of the highlights:
1) Maestri was relieved Coach Mike McConathy got win No. 500 Friday against Alcorn. He laughed and said he didn't want his team facing a Demons' squad eager to breach that milestone.
2) He expressed much admiration for McConathy, whom he's known for many years during his 27 seasons in college hoops, some as an assistant to Wimp Sanderson at Alabama.
3) He told a story about a pre-season meeting at Alabama when Sanderson told the staff the Tide's goal was a fifth-place SEC finish. Maestri questioned his boss. Wimp pointed out that a fifth place finish in the SEC would earn an NCAA Tournament trip, maybe a national ranking and a contract extension. Then Maestri understood.
4) Maestri also recalled being a little boy growing up in New Orleans, trick-or-treating down the street on Halloween Night, 1959, and suddenly hearing people screaming in joy and streaming out into the street. The next house he visited, he was told why. He's one of the few people I've met remembering Billy Cannon's legendary run who was NOT in Tiger Stadium ... or so they claim!
Doug Ireland, SID
Monday, November 24, 2008
National exposure for Chief Caddo
http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/gallery/featured/GAL1149018/13/32/index.htm
The biggest trophy in sports, anywhere, keeps bringing attention to Northwestern.
Chief Caddo was on ESPN's SportsCenter last Thursday before he risked life, limb and his home standing ground at Saturday night's NSU-Stephen F. Austin football game.
Check Gary's Gallery Tuesday for some neat shots of the postgame celebration with the Chief. I swear you can see a slight grin on his usually stoic face.
The trophy was among 32 featured on the CNN/Sports Illustrated photo vault last week. The link takes you to a picture shot by Sports Illustrated here in 2000 as part of their millenium series -- this one was celebrating the biggest and best things in sport.
Great to see some of those former Demons, including All-Pro Terrence McGee and current assistant coach Roy Locks, in that shot!
The first person (Greg Burke, you're not eligible, and neither are Ed Evans, Dustin Eubanks, Sam Goodwin, or Thomas Foster) to name all the Demon players in the photo, e-mailing the list to me at ireland@nsula.edu, will win a Demon T-shirt. We'll also put all the other correct entries in a drawing on Dec. 1 and some other observant person will get a T-shirt.
Have fun!
Doug Ireland, SID
The biggest trophy in sports, anywhere, keeps bringing attention to Northwestern.
Chief Caddo was on ESPN's SportsCenter last Thursday before he risked life, limb and his home standing ground at Saturday night's NSU-Stephen F. Austin football game.
Check Gary's Gallery Tuesday for some neat shots of the postgame celebration with the Chief. I swear you can see a slight grin on his usually stoic face.
The trophy was among 32 featured on the CNN/Sports Illustrated photo vault last week. The link takes you to a picture shot by Sports Illustrated here in 2000 as part of their millenium series -- this one was celebrating the biggest and best things in sport.
Great to see some of those former Demons, including All-Pro Terrence McGee and current assistant coach Roy Locks, in that shot!
The first person (Greg Burke, you're not eligible, and neither are Ed Evans, Dustin Eubanks, Sam Goodwin, or Thomas Foster) to name all the Demon players in the photo, e-mailing the list to me at ireland@nsula.edu, will win a Demon T-shirt. We'll also put all the other correct entries in a drawing on Dec. 1 and some other observant person will get a T-shirt.
Have fun!
Doug Ireland, SID
Long break, sorry
A dearth of Daily Demon blog postings, OMG!
Mea culpa. Lots to catch up on, and lots more to look forward to in the weeks ahead.
Let's get rolling!
Mea culpa. Lots to catch up on, and lots more to look forward to in the weeks ahead.
Let's get rolling!
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