It's one line in the Demon football record book, in the year by year scores.
1962 - 10/26 - NSU 52, Mexico Poly 6.
The home games in the results are in all capital letters. Like the previous year:
9/23 - NSU 55 MEXICO POLY 8.
I never noticed this before.
The Demons played in Mexico. In Mexico City, precisely. And Joe Beasley and his brother Donald, and their teammates on the 1962 Gulf States Conference championship team featuring future Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end Jackie Smith, had lifelong memories.
Tuesday evening, it was great to see Joe back in town. He works in the oil industry overseas, literally around the world. He comes home to Natchitoches as often as he can, and constantly adds to his legion of friends of all ages.
Several of us shared memories of NSU and local sports. A story in the Tuesday Alexandria paper profiled local sports icon J.D. Garrett, the longtime Natchitoches Central coach and former Grambling All-America football star, who is universally admired, and there were plenty of tales of Coach Garrett from his playing days through today.
That got us into a discussion of the late, great Charlie Tolar, whose dad Guy used to take Joe and Donald to watch Charlie and Charlie Hennigan play with Billy Cannon and George Blanda for the Houston Oilers. Then Joe and friends talked about watching Cannon, Tolar, Hennigan and others in the Northwestern Relays on the cinder track at old Demon Stadium.
Plenty of great tales to share as time allows - but for now, back to Mexico.
"We played in a huge stadium. The night before, they had 110,000 to watch soccer there," said Joe. "There were about 30-40,000 for our game and it seemed almost empty."
He remembered throwing a TD pass to Jackie Smith. He also remembered Big Red's incredible athleticism, and how he was really a track star who ran the short and long hurdles, the 400, the relays and excelled there. Jackie, said Joe, was an incredible punter as well.
Since I'm late getting to the Demons' baseball game tonight vs. La. Tech, we'll stop now. There's also a surprise birthday party for another of my favorite people to discuss soon. Probably not tomorrow, as I'm headed to Alexandria to play in the Countdown to Kickoff Classic golf scramble supporting Demon football. Anything to support the Demons!
Doug Ireland, SID
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Sunday, May 04, 2008
BuffaloBills.com update on Demetrius Bell
Each of the last three days, during the Buffalo Bills' rookie mini-camp ending today, I've visited one of the better NFL websites around, www.BuffaloBills.com, to get the latest on 2007 Demon All-America offensive tackle and NFL Draft seventh-round pick Demetrius Bell. Check out this from Saturday's practice report by BuffaloBills.com lead journalist Chris Brown:
"....The offensive linemen were again getting some extra attention from Dick Jauron. The Bills head coach spent a good amount of time observing them during pass protection technique work. Seventh-round pick Demetrius Bell is very raw, but is making progress.
“ 'I’ve learned a ton the past two days,” said Bell. “I’m learning a lot in the classroom and on the field. Coach said I’m making improvement and I think I’m making improvements, but I still feel I have a long way to go.'
"Bell is still going through some of his techniques a bit robotically, so coach Sean Kugler is encouraging him to let his natural ability take over. But when you’re thinking about footwork and hand placement so much it’s hard to do that right away. Bell’s potential is encouraging in light of his obvious athleticism...."
When I read this, deja vu set in. On the Wednesday before the draft, we had an interview opportunity with D-Bell for the area TV stations. I remember him saying that the difference in his 2006 and 2007 seasons was that in 2006, his crash course in offensive line play, he was thinking all the time about technique and assignments and never felt comfortable. Last fall, his senior season, he said he was confident about what he was doing and was having fun. Obviously, he played well.
Now that he's totally immersed in football, the learning curve should be shortened.
BTW, one reason he can completely focus on football is that he will be going through commencement exercises Friday.
Doug Ireland, SID
"....The offensive linemen were again getting some extra attention from Dick Jauron. The Bills head coach spent a good amount of time observing them during pass protection technique work. Seventh-round pick Demetrius Bell is very raw, but is making progress.
“ 'I’ve learned a ton the past two days,” said Bell. “I’m learning a lot in the classroom and on the field. Coach said I’m making improvement and I think I’m making improvements, but I still feel I have a long way to go.'
"Bell is still going through some of his techniques a bit robotically, so coach Sean Kugler is encouraging him to let his natural ability take over. But when you’re thinking about footwork and hand placement so much it’s hard to do that right away. Bell’s potential is encouraging in light of his obvious athleticism...."
When I read this, deja vu set in. On the Wednesday before the draft, we had an interview opportunity with D-Bell for the area TV stations. I remember him saying that the difference in his 2006 and 2007 seasons was that in 2006, his crash course in offensive line play, he was thinking all the time about technique and assignments and never felt comfortable. Last fall, his senior season, he said he was confident about what he was doing and was having fun. Obviously, he played well.
Now that he's totally immersed in football, the learning curve should be shortened.
BTW, one reason he can completely focus on football is that he will be going through commencement exercises Friday.
Doug Ireland, SID
Friday, May 02, 2008
Buffalo TV, ESPN in on the D-Bell coverage
Viewers around north and central Louisiana should be able to watch their local NBC stations (KTAL in Shreveport, KALB in Alexandria) sportscasts this weekend for a feature story done by Buffalo's WGRZ-TV on Demetrius Bell.
The story will focus on Bell's amazing transition from a basketball player to an NFL Draft pick in two years. WGRZ reporter Matt Pearl requested a set of action photos of Bell on the basketball court.
Also provided were shots of Bell, then a redshirt, at the Demon basketball team's NCAA Tournament win over Iowa. Due to NCAA rules, there wasn't enough room behind the NSU bench to allow the redshirted players (Bell, Michael McConathy, Keithan Hancock) to be on the court, so they were given tickets to sit in the Demon fan section across the court from the bench.
If you look at the shots above, you can see an early indication of the agility that has the Bills excited.
Bell is in a black warmup, with a red shirt and a credential hanging from his neck, in the classic Doug Daniels photo of Jermaine Wallace's game-winning shot.
In the dogpile photo, that's Bell, in the black warmup, on top of Wallace a few seconds later at midcourt. To get there, D-Bell had to evade security (maybe they saw his pass, which allowed him access; retired NFL lineman and Demon great Marcus Spears didn't have a credential but none of the security had the guts to stop him from taking the court!) and slice through the photographers on the baseline to get out to midcourt.
In the final celebration photo, that's Bell hugging Wallace and laughing.
Pearl also asked for phone numbers for Demon football coach Scott Stoker and basketball coach Mike McConathy.
So the WGRZ package should be interesting. Pearl interviewed Bell after his first NFL workout Friday morning at rookie mini-camp and was very impressed with our hero. Bell is among 28 rookies, including 17 free agents (three offensive linemen) in camp this weekend.
NFL rules which prohibit TV stations from posting video shot at NFL training sites on their websites will prohibit the package from being available on the WGRZ website. Pearl said he is anchoring the weekend sportscasts and will contact our local NBC stations and ship them the story.
We also had a call from an ESPN reporter who wants to profile Bell. No word on how quickly this will air or what the story angle will be.
Doug Ireland, SID
The story will focus on Bell's amazing transition from a basketball player to an NFL Draft pick in two years. WGRZ reporter Matt Pearl requested a set of action photos of Bell on the basketball court.
Also provided were shots of Bell, then a redshirt, at the Demon basketball team's NCAA Tournament win over Iowa. Due to NCAA rules, there wasn't enough room behind the NSU bench to allow the redshirted players (Bell, Michael McConathy, Keithan Hancock) to be on the court, so they were given tickets to sit in the Demon fan section across the court from the bench.
If you look at the shots above, you can see an early indication of the agility that has the Bills excited.
Bell is in a black warmup, with a red shirt and a credential hanging from his neck, in the classic Doug Daniels photo of Jermaine Wallace's game-winning shot.
In the dogpile photo, that's Bell, in the black warmup, on top of Wallace a few seconds later at midcourt. To get there, D-Bell had to evade security (maybe they saw his pass, which allowed him access; retired NFL lineman and Demon great Marcus Spears didn't have a credential but none of the security had the guts to stop him from taking the court!) and slice through the photographers on the baseline to get out to midcourt.
In the final celebration photo, that's Bell hugging Wallace and laughing.
Pearl also asked for phone numbers for Demon football coach Scott Stoker and basketball coach Mike McConathy.
So the WGRZ package should be interesting. Pearl interviewed Bell after his first NFL workout Friday morning at rookie mini-camp and was very impressed with our hero. Bell is among 28 rookies, including 17 free agents (three offensive linemen) in camp this weekend.
NFL rules which prohibit TV stations from posting video shot at NFL training sites on their websites will prohibit the package from being available on the WGRZ website. Pearl said he is anchoring the weekend sportscasts and will contact our local NBC stations and ship them the story.
We also had a call from an ESPN reporter who wants to profile Bell. No word on how quickly this will air or what the story angle will be.
Doug Ireland, SID
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Sporting News exposure for D-Bell
Pick up this week's edition (dated April 28) of the Sporting News to enjoy a nice splash of coverage of Buffalo Bills rookie offensive tackle and NSU Demon All-American Demetrius Bell.
The edition has Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Prince Fielder on the cover.
On page 4, there's a two-page spread on SN's "To Know List" of "The pot of gold at the end of the draft." Four draft prospects are spotlighted. The text is downright inspiring to those of us who believe that not only will D-Bell make the NFL, he will prosper there for a long time, the good Lord willing.
The article begins: "These guys will be stars. Remember their names. They will be disrespected in this weekend's NFL Draft. None will be drafted on Day 1...."
Nebraska cornerback Zackary Bowman, Iowa defensive end Bryan Mattison and San Diego State quarterback are the other three underdogs spotlighted.
But it's Bell who is featured, with a photo taken of him running a drill at the NFL Scouting Combine in February. (We'll see if we can get our friends at the magazine to share the photo with us.)
"His ability jumps off the videotape ... give him two years to develop, put him at left tackle and your quarterback's blind side will be safe for 10 years," the paragraph analysis by SN writer Clifton Brown says.
Verrrrrrrryyy cool, and we believe, prescient.
The edition has Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Prince Fielder on the cover.
On page 4, there's a two-page spread on SN's "To Know List" of "The pot of gold at the end of the draft." Four draft prospects are spotlighted. The text is downright inspiring to those of us who believe that not only will D-Bell make the NFL, he will prosper there for a long time, the good Lord willing.
The article begins: "These guys will be stars. Remember their names. They will be disrespected in this weekend's NFL Draft. None will be drafted on Day 1...."
Nebraska cornerback Zackary Bowman, Iowa defensive end Bryan Mattison and San Diego State quarterback are the other three underdogs spotlighted.
But it's Bell who is featured, with a photo taken of him running a drill at the NFL Scouting Combine in February. (We'll see if we can get our friends at the magazine to share the photo with us.)
"His ability jumps off the videotape ... give him two years to develop, put him at left tackle and your quarterback's blind side will be safe for 10 years," the paragraph analysis by SN writer Clifton Brown says.
Verrrrrrrryyy cool, and we believe, prescient.
Monday, April 28, 2008
'98 Demon baseball champions feted
Left to right - 2008 Demon head baseball coach J.P. Davis, 1998 Demons Tom Batson, Ryan Anholt, Courtney Cowart, Brad Fontenot, Derek Nunn and Pete Wardell; and director of athletics (and author of this blog entry) Greg Burke.
How well I do remember the 1998 NSU baseball season......or actually it was the time prior to the season that sticks out in my mind the most. When Dave Van Horn left for a "can't turn down" opportunity to be the head coach at Nebraska on January 10 of that year, the Demons were 24 days away from playing their season opener. The reputation of NSU baseball which had been established under previous coach Jim Wells, and was then carried on by Van Horn, created a firestorm of interest in the job....even at that late date (an almost overnight list of 75 candidates for the position was compiled). Four interviews and slew of phone calls later, then Missouri assistant John Cohen accepted the offer to replace Van Horn exactly one week after Van Horn had departed and the rest, as they say, is history.
That 1998 team went on to win 40 games and NSU's sixth SLC title in eight seasons, and then ended up having its bubble burst by the NCAA selection committee for an at-large NCAA berth. A year later, the NCAA baseball tournament field was expanded from 48 to 64 - a year too late for the '98 Demons, who with a pitching squad that featured four draftees were custom built for NCAA Regional competition.
Six members of that 1998 title team returned to Brown-Stroud Field this past weekend to commemorate the 10th anniversary of that championship season. I wish more could have attended but between family obligations, work-related duties (i.e pitcher Harvey McIntyre coaches at Blinn Junior College), distance, and other conflicts, we were happy to welcome back pitchers Pete Wardell and Courtney Cowart, along with third baseman Tom Batson, first baseman/outfielder Derek Nunn, outfielder Brad Fontenot, and one of the best to ever wear the NSU purple in shortstop Ryan Anholt.
Derek and Brad, who was joined by his wife and fellow State Farm agent, Jamie, were in attendance at the Friday night game. Derek said that he and his family actually made an overnight stop in Natchitoches last summer while en route back from a Florida vacation to their home in Muskegee, OK (his hometown). They were impressed with the changes around campus.
On Saturday, the rest of the '98 alumni rolled in. Tom Batson, who I had enjoyed catching up with last June at an NSU alumni gathering in Houston, reminisced about the great '98 season and how fate deprived the team of an NCAA berth based on the size of the field. "TB" is in the home construction business in south Houston and was quick to tell Coach J.P. Davis that there is talent to be recruited in his hometown (to be more specific, Tom is from Alvin). NSU play by play announcer Patrick Netherton was pleased to finally meet Anholt after saying his name so many times on the radio (i.e. "That record is still held by former Demon Ryan Anholt"). In tow with Ryan was three and a half year old son, Colby. Staying at home with Mother Anholt/former NSU women's soccer standout Kelly was the couple's other son, 14-month Caden. Both of those young guys would certainly look great in purple in another 15-20 years or so! It's got to be in the genes between both parents!! Last but not least came the two pitchers - Wardell and Cowart - with wives and children complete with strollers. The Cowart's actually stayed with the Wardell's at their Natchitoches residence.
While the pre-game on-field recognition and between games (played a doubleheader Saturday) meal was nice for these guys, they might be the first to say that what they enjoyed most about this reunion was the opportunity to reminisce and visit. Once teammates, always teammates.....the beauty of intercollegiate athletics.
Greg Burke, Athletic Director
That 1998 team went on to win 40 games and NSU's sixth SLC title in eight seasons, and then ended up having its bubble burst by the NCAA selection committee for an at-large NCAA berth. A year later, the NCAA baseball tournament field was expanded from 48 to 64 - a year too late for the '98 Demons, who with a pitching squad that featured four draftees were custom built for NCAA Regional competition.
Six members of that 1998 title team returned to Brown-Stroud Field this past weekend to commemorate the 10th anniversary of that championship season. I wish more could have attended but between family obligations, work-related duties (i.e pitcher Harvey McIntyre coaches at Blinn Junior College), distance, and other conflicts, we were happy to welcome back pitchers Pete Wardell and Courtney Cowart, along with third baseman Tom Batson, first baseman/outfielder Derek Nunn, outfielder Brad Fontenot, and one of the best to ever wear the NSU purple in shortstop Ryan Anholt.
Derek and Brad, who was joined by his wife and fellow State Farm agent, Jamie, were in attendance at the Friday night game. Derek said that he and his family actually made an overnight stop in Natchitoches last summer while en route back from a Florida vacation to their home in Muskegee, OK (his hometown). They were impressed with the changes around campus.
On Saturday, the rest of the '98 alumni rolled in. Tom Batson, who I had enjoyed catching up with last June at an NSU alumni gathering in Houston, reminisced about the great '98 season and how fate deprived the team of an NCAA berth based on the size of the field. "TB" is in the home construction business in south Houston and was quick to tell Coach J.P. Davis that there is talent to be recruited in his hometown (to be more specific, Tom is from Alvin). NSU play by play announcer Patrick Netherton was pleased to finally meet Anholt after saying his name so many times on the radio (i.e. "That record is still held by former Demon Ryan Anholt"). In tow with Ryan was three and a half year old son, Colby. Staying at home with Mother Anholt/former NSU women's soccer standout Kelly was the couple's other son, 14-month Caden. Both of those young guys would certainly look great in purple in another 15-20 years or so! It's got to be in the genes between both parents!! Last but not least came the two pitchers - Wardell and Cowart - with wives and children complete with strollers. The Cowart's actually stayed with the Wardell's at their Natchitoches residence.
While the pre-game on-field recognition and between games (played a doubleheader Saturday) meal was nice for these guys, they might be the first to say that what they enjoyed most about this reunion was the opportunity to reminisce and visit. Once teammates, always teammates.....the beauty of intercollegiate athletics.
Greg Burke, Athletic Director
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