No question Demon baseball coach Jon Paul Davis gets the most out of NSU's visits to play at LSU.
Tuesday night's down-to-the-last pitch 2-1 loss to the nation's preseason No. 1-ranked Tigers, still No. 4/5, illustrates that point as far as on-the-field performance.
What happened earlier in the day is also noteworthy. On their last trip to LSU, Davis invited retired Tigers' baseball coach Skip Bertman to speak to the Demons during their pregame meal. The Daily Demon covered that memorable event in which the Skipper, mastermind of five College World Series champions, held the Demons spellbound with a talk about teamwork.
On Tuesday at lunch, the NSU team went to T.J. Ribs, next door to the office building where another LSU legend and Louisiana Sports Hall of Famer spends daytime hours. Basketball coach Dale Brown was kind enough to come over and address the Demons following their lunch.
Coach Brown focused on the individuals, challenging them and inspiring them to be at their absolute peak, as competitors and more important in their lives.
Looking at the game Tuesday night, you'd have to say he had instant impact!
There are not any finer speakers anywhere than Bertman and Brown. What a privilege for the Demon players who got to hear both; and what unselfishness by these men to share their gifts with NSU baseball.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Birth announcement!
Former Lady Demon soccer player Jill Lowe is a mommy! This morning in Alexandria, Jill Riggs and her husband Phillip became parents. Sarah Jeane Riggs arrived at 8:14 at Cabrini Hospital, weighing in at 7 pounds and stretching out 20 inches. Reportedly she was already kicking ...
Mommy is teaching elementary school in LaSalle Parish.
Mommy is teaching elementary school in LaSalle Parish.
Happy anniversary!
To quote CBS Sports announcer Jim Nantz's prelude to "One Shining Moment" after Florida's 2006 NCAA Final Four basketball national championship win:
"The shared experience, always the best ... Northwestern State, the little guys playing like a giant, they made us all take notice. It's doubtful they'll ever be underestimated again."
St. Patrick's Day, 2006. Auburn Hills, Michigan. As if you didn't remember. From my seat, a few snapshots and reflections to enjoy:
Memories of the usually placid Southland Conference commissioner Tom Burnett pounding his fist in joy on the press table, venerable Demons athletic trainer Ed Evans hugging Vic the Demon, assistant coach Mark Slessinger's wild dance across the court, Voice of the Demons Patrick Netherton trying to shut off my mike so anyone listening could understand what had just happened, and SID assistant Brian Seiler dashing to the locker room to retrieve Jermaine Wallace (no explanation needed) for CBS's postgame interview keep flashing through my mind ...
As well as the gleams on the faces of CBS announcers Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery, who had really been blown away by our coach in their visit the day before the Iowa game. It was great working with Verne, who of course was a fixture in Dallas and didn't have to be told where Natchitoches was or how to say it.
In fact, his wife had often traveled here as a regional marketing rep for Lincoln Mercury.
Every time a new model came out, she toured the regional dealerships in east Texas and north Louisiana to be sure the salesmen knew all about the features on the new car.
The next morning, Verne told me that when he got back to the hotel late that evening, after broadcasting three more games, he called his wife in Colorado, as he always does. The first thing he told her was, "Honey, the team from Natchitoches won."
After our loss to West Virginia, he thanked me for having had the chance to do our games. I just don't think that happens all the time. Neither does the head coach having the SID deliver handwritten thank you notes to the CBS announcers, producer and director before the second game in the tournament.
Great memories. They come up every year at this time.
What a great reason to always celebrate St. Patrick's Day!
Doug Ireland, SID
"The shared experience, always the best ... Northwestern State, the little guys playing like a giant, they made us all take notice. It's doubtful they'll ever be underestimated again."
St. Patrick's Day, 2006. Auburn Hills, Michigan. As if you didn't remember. From my seat, a few snapshots and reflections to enjoy:
Memories of the usually placid Southland Conference commissioner Tom Burnett pounding his fist in joy on the press table, venerable Demons athletic trainer Ed Evans hugging Vic the Demon, assistant coach Mark Slessinger's wild dance across the court, Voice of the Demons Patrick Netherton trying to shut off my mike so anyone listening could understand what had just happened, and SID assistant Brian Seiler dashing to the locker room to retrieve Jermaine Wallace (no explanation needed) for CBS's postgame interview keep flashing through my mind ...
As well as the gleams on the faces of CBS announcers Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery, who had really been blown away by our coach in their visit the day before the Iowa game. It was great working with Verne, who of course was a fixture in Dallas and didn't have to be told where Natchitoches was or how to say it.
In fact, his wife had often traveled here as a regional marketing rep for Lincoln Mercury.
Every time a new model came out, she toured the regional dealerships in east Texas and north Louisiana to be sure the salesmen knew all about the features on the new car.
The next morning, Verne told me that when he got back to the hotel late that evening, after broadcasting three more games, he called his wife in Colorado, as he always does. The first thing he told her was, "Honey, the team from Natchitoches won."
After our loss to West Virginia, he thanked me for having had the chance to do our games. I just don't think that happens all the time. Neither does the head coach having the SID deliver handwritten thank you notes to the CBS announcers, producer and director before the second game in the tournament.
Great memories. They come up every year at this time.
What a great reason to always celebrate St. Patrick's Day!
Doug Ireland, SID
Monday, March 16, 2009
How's spring football going?
We're just two practices into spring drills for the NSU Demon football team under first-year coach Bradley Dale Peveto, but more people than ever want to know what's going on.
Veteran Demon Sports Network sideline reporter Britt Brittain watched most of the first practice last Wednesday and was entertained. Yes, that's the right word - entertained. As he said afterward, and on the local sports talk radio show "Sports On Call" on 100.7 KZBL FM, it was the most fun football practice he has seen in at least 15 years; which may mean go way, way back because there was a time when Britt was so busy he didn't have a chance to watch football practice!
For an outside/inside perspective, check the story link below from Sunday's Alexandria Town Talk. Jeff Matthews has been covering NSU sports since 1998 and hasn't seen nearly as many practices as Britt, but his account gets across the same message. It's high energy, it's fun, and if you can, you'll want to see for yourself. The first extended scrimmage is Saturday morning.
For now, check the link from Sunday's Town Talk:
http://www.thetowntalk.com/article/20090315/SPORTS10/903150319/1006/SPORTS
Veteran Demon Sports Network sideline reporter Britt Brittain watched most of the first practice last Wednesday and was entertained. Yes, that's the right word - entertained. As he said afterward, and on the local sports talk radio show "Sports On Call" on 100.7 KZBL FM, it was the most fun football practice he has seen in at least 15 years; which may mean go way, way back because there was a time when Britt was so busy he didn't have a chance to watch football practice!
For an outside/inside perspective, check the story link below from Sunday's Alexandria Town Talk. Jeff Matthews has been covering NSU sports since 1998 and hasn't seen nearly as many practices as Britt, but his account gets across the same message. It's high energy, it's fun, and if you can, you'll want to see for yourself. The first extended scrimmage is Saturday morning.
For now, check the link from Sunday's Town Talk:
http://www.thetowntalk.com/article/20090315/SPORTS10/903150319/1006/SPORTS
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