Knowing what you're eating

It's good.

That's my No. 1 point of identification for what I eat. If it tastes great, I really don't need to know what's in it. Or even what it is. That's a good rule of thumb in these parts, considering sometimes what goes into dishes.

But even I should be able to tell the difference between chili and taco soup.

But it was good, and that was enough for me.

That cooking contest written about below - the dish of dispute was taco soup.

I want more now.

I just saw my buddy Coach Black enjoying more, so contrary to reports, not ALL of the taco soup was consumed at the pot luck supper Sunday evening. Just all of the soup that was brought TO the supper was wiped out ...

So, an appeal ... to taco soup queen April Offutt, and to runner-up finishers Lisa Cooley (wife of offensive coordinator Todd) and Leslie Larose (girlfriend of defensive line assistant Carey Melvin) ... if you have leftovers, the Daily Demon ain't too proud to beg!

PS - I split my vote 1/3, 1/3 and 1/3. It was ALL great!

Coaches' wives competitive too

OK, this isn't a news flash - goes to figure if you're the spouse or significant other of a coach, you probably are more than a little competitive.

So, to "spice" up the weekly Sunday evening football coaches' family pot luck supper, the women decided to have a chili cooking contest. I'm not sure about the ground rules, but everybody showed up with corn in their chili, well received. And each crock pot was emptied quickly.

There were four entries - one, Megan Quinn, withdrew when her pot of sauce for her chili went tumbling in the car heading to the fieldhouse. She still had enough to serve, but not to challenge.

The winner in a nail-biter - April Offutt. The vote went 6-5-5. There were really no losers.

There to watch Trey play in the NBA

Memphis is 8 hours away, but the drive flew by Wednesday for NSU basketball coaches Mike McConathy, Mark Slessinger and Jeff Moore.

They made the 16-hour round trip to be there as their former player Trey Gilder broke the glass ceiling and made his first steps into the NBA.

Gilder played more than 4 minutes, made his only shot (about a 17-footer on the left wing), had a rebound and a steal. It came at the end of a thumping of the home team by the Detroit Pistons, but the Grizzlies announcers on Fox Sports South were very complementary of Gilder and his emergence from the NBA Developmental League.

Trey shot 63 percent for the Grizzlies' Vegas Summer League team, turning heads, and he didn't disappoint in preseason camp to make the team's 12-man active roster. NBA teams now keep 15 players overall during the season; three are inactive.

Hall of Fame Vignette

Of the many functions that I attend throughout the year as Athletic Director, one of my favorites is the NSU Athletics/Graduate N-Club Hall of Fame ceremony. To hear the inductees so humbly acknowledge the impact that NSU has had on their lives, not to mention the coaches, family members, and others whose influence they also credit for putting them in a position to be so successful, is wonderful. Also, as a true sports enthusiast, I really enjoy hearing the "war stories" that inevitably are told as part of the ceremony. Perhaps my favorite this past Saturday was the one baseball/football inductee Steve Graf told about a practice tackling drill in which each player was to select a partner. He talked about looking for the skinniest teammate he could find and thus chose a defensive back named Darrell Toussaint. As Steve recalled, it took one tackle for him to realize that he made a bad decision and that he quickly learned why Toussaint, who was inducted into the NSU Hall of Fame a few years ago, was commonly known as "The Blade." "He just cut right through me," recalled Graf. Track/football standout Al Edwards' touching tribute to his grandmother, softball great Kellie Shotwell's enduring regret - with a chuckle - that Coach Rickey McCalister never let her hit because she was too valuable as a pitcher (NSU only gave four total scholarships for softball at that time and she was the recipient of one of them), and golf All-American Bob Konsdorf's comments about his business career and about how it has seems as if every phase of his business life has in some way been tied back to golf are among the highlights that stand out in my mind. One final thought - I encourage all Demon and Lady Demon fans to put this event on their calendars in the future - it will be well worth your time!

Greg Burke, Athletic Director

Former Demons Support

After catching up with one former Demon, current McNeese AD Tommy McClelland (he tongue in cheek wanted to know if we had found a long snapper as good as him since he graduated), during pre-game warm-ups prior to the NSU-McNeese game,I was pleased to run into several other ex-Demons, as well. The pride of Orange, TX, #56 Roy Locks, was the first former player I greeted, shortly before seeing former Demons Charlie Brooks, Chris "Booger" Brown, and Ed Queen (told Ed I still remember him running down McNeese great B.J. Sams on a reverse back in '03 down there). Finally, good friend and supporter Gant Gremillion was on the sidelines with a seven-year old buddy from Covington. Gant was the winning bidder for a sideline pass for two to a Demon game at Coach Bradley Dale Peveto's auction fund raiser last spring. Gant's wife, Jenny, and one-and-a-half year old daughter were sitting out the game....in the future when that happens, Gant will have to worry about where the two of them are shopping and how much damage they are doing!

Greg Burke, Athletic Director