Third-hand story, but reliable sources.
Derrick Doyle is having a blast as a receiver in camp with the New Orleans Saints. The 2006 Demons' senior, who shattered our career receiving record as a four-year starter -- every game he played, he started -- checked in with NSU teammate Dudley Guice yesterday and said he was having a lot of fun and he hoped he could stay a while.
Guice passed that along to Brian Duvall, avid NSU supporter and the former fired-up public address announcer for baseball, softball and the random basketball games during his undergraduate days a few years ago.
Duvall is a regional trainer for Smoothie King, and has been in Natchitoches for more than a week now helping open the new Smoothie King store across from campus.
Doug Ireland, SID
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Brian Lawrence set for ESPN2 start Wednesday
If I read my pitching rotation right and can decipher a TV schedule, we should be able to watch former Demon Brian Lawrence pitch against his old team, the San Diego Padres, Wednesday evening.
Lawrence is slated to start for the New York Mets in a 6:10 CST game at Shea Stadium. Brian is 1-0 with a 5.06 ERA, and could easily be 3-0, as the Metropolitans have blown two leads after he's left the bump in his last two starts.
Lawrence spent four-plus seasons in San Diego, getting three Opening Day starting assignments for the club before departing in the 2005 offseason for a better deal in Washington.
In one of the mind-numbing posts of the day, I read a preview of Wednesday's matchup that remarked how odd it was that in 150+ major league starts, Lawrence had never faced the Padres. Duh ....
Somebody got paid to write that. I'm not going to call out the source, but if you google New York Mets pitching rotation, it won't take you long to find it.
Doug Ireland, SID
Lawrence is slated to start for the New York Mets in a 6:10 CST game at Shea Stadium. Brian is 1-0 with a 5.06 ERA, and could easily be 3-0, as the Metropolitans have blown two leads after he's left the bump in his last two starts.
Lawrence spent four-plus seasons in San Diego, getting three Opening Day starting assignments for the club before departing in the 2005 offseason for a better deal in Washington.
In one of the mind-numbing posts of the day, I read a preview of Wednesday's matchup that remarked how odd it was that in 150+ major league starts, Lawrence had never faced the Padres. Duh ....
Somebody got paid to write that. I'm not going to call out the source, but if you google New York Mets pitching rotation, it won't take you long to find it.
Doug Ireland, SID
Monday, August 20, 2007
Wrought iron
There won't just be a new entrance to Brown-Stroud Field, there will be a whole new look when you make it to the Demons' baseball field next season.
One of my favorite baseball players, current Astros manager and former Pirates infielder Phil Garner, had the nickname "Scrap Iron" because of his rugged approach to the game.
Maybe now one of the Demons who is especially tough will get the nickname "wrought iron" because of the fencing surrounding the ballpark?
Out with the wooden planks that bordered the facility. No, the actual fencing around the field won't change, but the fence around the "public access" areas of Brown-Stroud will be wrought iron, I was told in a Monday morning staff meeting.
OK, we won't exactly have the old "knothole gang" with people peering through knotholes in a wooden fence to watch the action ... but anybody wanting to watch from outside the confines will be able to, albeit from a far distance. The new fencing will definitely add to the great look for Brown-Stroud Field. It will be the first in a series of wrought iron fence installations at athletic facilities made possible by a generous gift.
Doug Ireland, SID
One of my favorite baseball players, current Astros manager and former Pirates infielder Phil Garner, had the nickname "Scrap Iron" because of his rugged approach to the game.
Maybe now one of the Demons who is especially tough will get the nickname "wrought iron" because of the fencing surrounding the ballpark?
Out with the wooden planks that bordered the facility. No, the actual fencing around the field won't change, but the fence around the "public access" areas of Brown-Stroud will be wrought iron, I was told in a Monday morning staff meeting.
OK, we won't exactly have the old "knothole gang" with people peering through knotholes in a wooden fence to watch the action ... but anybody wanting to watch from outside the confines will be able to, albeit from a far distance. The new fencing will definitely add to the great look for Brown-Stroud Field. It will be the first in a series of wrought iron fence installations at athletic facilities made possible by a generous gift.
Doug Ireland, SID
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Sign of progress at Brown-Stroud Field
Students are on campus, classes start tomorrow, football season is less than two weeks away, there's an exhibition soccer game here Friday night against Rice and I'm talking baseball?
It's because for the first time since 1990, there's not a wooden fence around Brown-Stroud Field, home of Demon baseball. Jim Wells insisted that a fence be built and admission be charged to baseball games after he took over as head coach. I remember thinking "this is going to be odd," and as it turned out, it was just another visionary move by the Grand Master of Demon baseball.
Just this past week, the wood slats on the fence have been removed, leaving only the row of brick columns which held them. Fresh wood will be back, I suppose, without interrupting facilities guru Chuck Bourg on the weekend to find out (I'll confirm Monday).
This is the first sign of what will be some significant changes to the old ball park in the coming months. There are some really interesting long term concepts that could become reality in time, but in the relatively short term we'll finally see the long-awaited new entrance to the park, complete with a ticket booth and a lovely facade. On the drawing board is a major addition providing ground-level concessions and bathrooms behind the Demons dugout along the first base line, along with renovated press facilities atop the grandstand. Director of athletics Greg Burke is working to blend a combination of allocated state funding and private donations, already in hand and on the verge of fruition, to make these long-needed changes happen.
Brown-Stroud Field has one of the nicest settings in college baseball, built into a hillside and bordering Chaplin's Lake with some majestic pines and big bushes providing an outfield backdrop as pretty as you please.
There have recently been major improvements to the facility, notably the new artificial turf infield, drainage system and dugout renovation a couple of years ago; the enhanced batting cages; and the covered grandstand and expanded permanent seating, including the field level VIP box seats, completed less than a decade ago. Adding the perfect accent in the last few years has been some great landscaping at the existing gate and along the permanent grandstand, which seats up to 1,000.
It's never going to be one of those "cookie cutter" facilities, which have their place, but to me, usually have a rather lifeless look. Dating back to the 1930s, Brown-Stroud Field is uniquely ours, and the subtle and not so subtle changes on the horizon will make it the envy of many teams who have newer facilities that lack the charm and personality and character our park has.
Doug Ireland, SID
It's because for the first time since 1990, there's not a wooden fence around Brown-Stroud Field, home of Demon baseball. Jim Wells insisted that a fence be built and admission be charged to baseball games after he took over as head coach. I remember thinking "this is going to be odd," and as it turned out, it was just another visionary move by the Grand Master of Demon baseball.
Just this past week, the wood slats on the fence have been removed, leaving only the row of brick columns which held them. Fresh wood will be back, I suppose, without interrupting facilities guru Chuck Bourg on the weekend to find out (I'll confirm Monday).
This is the first sign of what will be some significant changes to the old ball park in the coming months. There are some really interesting long term concepts that could become reality in time, but in the relatively short term we'll finally see the long-awaited new entrance to the park, complete with a ticket booth and a lovely facade. On the drawing board is a major addition providing ground-level concessions and bathrooms behind the Demons dugout along the first base line, along with renovated press facilities atop the grandstand. Director of athletics Greg Burke is working to blend a combination of allocated state funding and private donations, already in hand and on the verge of fruition, to make these long-needed changes happen.
Brown-Stroud Field has one of the nicest settings in college baseball, built into a hillside and bordering Chaplin's Lake with some majestic pines and big bushes providing an outfield backdrop as pretty as you please.
There have recently been major improvements to the facility, notably the new artificial turf infield, drainage system and dugout renovation a couple of years ago; the enhanced batting cages; and the covered grandstand and expanded permanent seating, including the field level VIP box seats, completed less than a decade ago. Adding the perfect accent in the last few years has been some great landscaping at the existing gate and along the permanent grandstand, which seats up to 1,000.
It's never going to be one of those "cookie cutter" facilities, which have their place, but to me, usually have a rather lifeless look. Dating back to the 1930s, Brown-Stroud Field is uniquely ours, and the subtle and not so subtle changes on the horizon will make it the envy of many teams who have newer facilities that lack the charm and personality and character our park has.
Doug Ireland, SID
Saturday, August 18, 2007
High profile pick thanks to Vick
Michael Vick's missteps led to a little attention from ESPN for former Demon Terrence McGee on an otherwise unremarkable interception the Buffalo Bills cornerback made Friday night.
The interception came on an underthrown pass in the Bills' exhibition game against the Atlanta Falcons. It came on a throw from Joey Harrington, suddenly thrust into the role of being the Falcons starting QB indefinitely due to Vick's legal crisis.
McGee has made many more extraordinary plays in his previous four NFL seasons, but few have been shown so early in a SportsCenter.
Our other Bill, quarterback Craig Nall, did not throw a pass last night. No indication of any problems for Craig, based on a quick browse of the internet, just a case of the Bills wanting to get starter J.P. Losman more playing time and rookie draft pick Trent Sullivan an extended audition. Craig was mentioned in the Buffalo News' blog earlier this week talking about how the Bills' new stretching program has helped safeguard his hamstring that he hurt last preseason, keeping him from seriously challenging Losman for the starting job.
Doug Ireland, SID
The interception came on an underthrown pass in the Bills' exhibition game against the Atlanta Falcons. It came on a throw from Joey Harrington, suddenly thrust into the role of being the Falcons starting QB indefinitely due to Vick's legal crisis.
McGee has made many more extraordinary plays in his previous four NFL seasons, but few have been shown so early in a SportsCenter.
Our other Bill, quarterback Craig Nall, did not throw a pass last night. No indication of any problems for Craig, based on a quick browse of the internet, just a case of the Bills wanting to get starter J.P. Losman more playing time and rookie draft pick Trent Sullivan an extended audition. Craig was mentioned in the Buffalo News' blog earlier this week talking about how the Bills' new stretching program has helped safeguard his hamstring that he hurt last preseason, keeping him from seriously challenging Losman for the starting job.
Doug Ireland, SID
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