It's here. Just past midnight on July 22, the opening of the college football season.
OK, the season doesn't actually kick off until Aug. 30, but the official excitement begins today for Northwestern fans with the 2008 Southland Conference Football Media Days Kickoff Luncheon here in Houston at the Hilton North hotel.
Monday, the league's sports information directors had a five-hour meeting to discuss policy and procedures, get some inside info on pending announcements by the SLC office, and have our annual debates on the proper paths to choosing SLC athlete of the week winners and the constant search for better ways to provide our fans with information on their favorite teams.
Later today, you'll be pleased about the announcement of a new television venture by the conference, one which will provide much more exposure for the prime sports of football and basketball and the initial forays into TV coverage for baseball and volleyball.
Credit to Demons athletic director Greg Burke and his colleagues on the SLC's Television Committee for looking out of the box to enhance TV opportunities for the conference.
We'll see the official preseason polls and All-SLC teams announced. We'll hear from former Texas A&M head coach R.C. Slocum, a McNeese graduate who got his start in coaching under Demon legend Johnnie Emmons at Lake Charles High School. Hopefully I'll have a chance to talk about that with Coach Slocum.
We'll be proud of the two players here representing the Demons, senior linebacker Mack Dampier and senior receiver Dudley Guice. Beginning Wednesday evening, viewers in north and central Louisiana should be able to see comments from head coach Scott Stoker and at least one of the players on local TV sportscasts, thanks to a satellite feed of interviews Wednesday afternoon.
Tuesday evening at 5, the popular local sports talk show Sports On Call will originate from here, with guest host and Voice of the Demons Patrick Netherton welcoming several guests to talk about the SLC football scene in 2008. If you aren't in the Natchitoches/Many/Winnfield area to listen over the air, you can listen online at www.bdc-radio.com where programming on Sports On Call is streamed live.
Netherton and Demon Sports Network sideline reporter Jack "Britt" Brittain are here. Monday night, we had dinner with former Lady Demon basketball/track and field athlete Becca Hayes, who is a pediactric ICU nurse in Houston, and friend of NSU Rich Jenks, who has helped encourage several recruits to look at Northwestern even though he's a very proud Ragin' Cajun fan and UL-Lafayette graduate. Then we took in the Astros-Pirates major league baseball game at Minute Maid Park, watching my beloved Buccos crack three ninth-inning homers in an improbable 9-3 comeback win.
Doug Ireland, SID
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