The Town Talk from Alexandria, Louisiana • Page 9

Bowl trouble, B-5 Unemployment up, B-8 Saturday, April 6, 1991 Alexandria Dailg Zmn talk Reasons Day Natchitoches honors NFL and former Demon star Tigers to face Til JI 1 JZV-' SUPPORT ri 'XX Wi '1 1 OUR TROOPS during his first year at NSU, which was Reasons' last. It was a game against McNeese State and current Saints' back Bu-ford Jordan. "Every play, they were butting heads," Goodwin said. "Jordan carried the ball 27 times, and Gary had 24 tackles in that game. It was one of the greatest one-on-one confrontations I've ever seen." Super Bowl win The linebacker, just three months after winning the Super Bowl, then turned over a check for $6,300 to Burke, fulfilling a pledge of $100 per tackle." "Gary Reasons has gone so many extra miles for us," said Burke.

"He's always there for us." Following a standing ovation from the crowd, Reasons took over the microphone. "Natchitoches has been a second home to me," said Reasons. "Everyone here has opened their hearts and homes. "The greatest treasure I got from here is my wife Terri, and we have three wonderful children." Reasons continually noted how much he enjoyed coming back to Natchitoches and that he remains an NSU public relations director on the road, selling the school. "Northwestern State, first and foremost in my heart, is a great place to go to school.

It's a special place. I love all of you dearly and I thank you very much." Reasons, one of three Demons to have his jersey retired, will get a chance to use his new golf bag this weekend in the Joe Delaney Memorial tournament in Shreveport. Delaney and Al Dodd are the other two. "I appreciate the golf bag," he said with a knowing grin. "My game is like Captain Kirk, to go where no man has gone before." Walk'of Fame Later, after a press conference, Reasons and Natchitoches Parish botanist Caroline Normon became the latest additions to the Walk of Fame on St.

Denis Street in Natchitoches. "I love Natchitoches and Northwestern," he told the I norma By Glenn Guilbeau Staff reporter BATON ROUGE Florida, the closest thing to a contender LSU has for the Southeastern Conference baseball title, will be here today for a 4 p.m. dou-bleheader at Alex Box Stadium." The Gators, 24-12 overall, are 6-2 in the SEC, only two games behind the 8-0 Tigers, who are 29-8 overall and ranked third in the nation in both the Collegiate BaseballESPN and Baseball America polls. A third game will follow Sunday at 2 p.m. The only other schools in the SEC race Kentucky, Georgia and Auburn are all tied for third with 5-4 league marks entering play today.

The Tigers still must travel to both Kentucky and Georgia. Not a plush seat While Coach Skip Bertman's LSU squad may be in the driver's seat, he doesn't think it's a plush one. "It's not comfortable because we're playing the second place team so we have to win two of; three to hold the lead and not-lose any ground," Bertman: said. "And number two, it's real early. We have 18 SEC games left.

I'd say we need about three more weeks to have a feeling for it." The Gators will counter LSU's improving offense with strong pitching in preseason All-American John Burke, a 3-2 right-hander with a 3.08 ERA, and SEC pitcher of the week Marc Valdes, a right-hander who gave up only two earned runs and struck out 12 in 14 innings last week. There's also freshman left-hander Ron Scott, who is 5-1 with a 4.34 ERA. Florida coach Joe Arnold has not said who will start what games, however. Bertman, who has lineups for both lefties and righties, will counter with Chad Ogea, 5-3 with a 1.99 ERA, left-hander Mark LaRosa, 5-1 with a 2.49 ERA, and troubled Paul Byrd, 3-1 with a 4.22 ERA. Byrd gave up back-to-back homers on back-to-back pitches in the Tigers' 6-3 loss to McNeese State last Tuesday night.

But Bertman says the junior corrected the problem Thursday in the bullpen. "He's tightened up his delivery by keeping his legs closer Please see TIGERS, B-4 "Charlie is remarkable not only because of his baseball talent, but because he's such a winner all around," Kane said. "I can't think of a single bad thing to say about him, he's such a solid person. He's as good a person as he is a baseball player. Charlie's best years are ahead of him his priorities are in the right place." Jones said that he realizes that playing pro ball is just a dream for most collegiate athletes, and that while he'd like to play in the major leagues, he'll be content with whatever awaits him in life.

"I realize that I might not play ball again after my career at Tech," Jones said. "But that doesn't mean it's not worth it by a long shot. I'll be able to say that I had fun, and that I was able to get a college degree. I just want to live my life the way God wants me to." By Michael A. Lough Staff reporter NATCHITOCHES Gary Reasons is accustomed to talking to strangers.

And his normal speech is laced with humor and fun. But Friday was no normal day for Reasons. It was his day, and a few times it became evident that talking was sometimes a struggle. Speaking to about 150 friends and boosters at lunch amidst Gary Reasons Day here, the New York Giants linebacker was obviously touched. "Northwestern State is very special to me and Natchitoches is very special to me," said Reasons, who twice paused to regain his composure.

"It's tough to talk about such special people. I'm used to doing speeches and being funny." So Reasons promptly put the crowd and himself at ease by making fun of his golf game (which might be redundant) and joshing with former teammate Gary Morgan. But there was no doubt that Reasons had become swept up by the festivities of Friday. It started with speeches at St. Mary's and Natchitoches Central High Schools and followed with the luncheon at the Holiday Inn.

Reasons, a three-time All-American at Northwestern State, was lauded by former coach A. L. Williams, current NSU coach Sam Goodwin, Natchitoches mayor Joe Sampite, NSU president Bobby Alost, his high school coach Ray Sefcik, NSU boosters Jim Pierson and Lane Miller, and NSU booster club executive director Greg Burke. Nth degree Alost proclaimed Reasons a member of the Nth degree, saying "that means you couldn't have done it better." Sefcik joked that nobody could find him since he retired after Reasons graduated from Crowley (Texas) High "I've been in hiding since he left; I'm looking for somebody else to make me a decent coach." But he added a serious note. "Gary never missed a practice or a workout in four years," Sefcik said.

"He never said, 'I'll He said, 'Coach, I will do it." And he did." Goodwin recalled a game Tech's RUSTON It's the dream of every college baseball player to start on a college team as freshman, but it's the rare athlete who is able to accomplish that goal in a big way. Louisiana Tech third baseman Charlie Jones is such a rarity, and the Alexandria freshman leads the Bulldogs in hits and RBIs while maintaining the best batting average of, Tech's starters. Jones is batting .378 and leads the team with 42 hits and 35 RBIs. His five home runs are second best on the team as are his eight doubles. He had a four-hit game against Hardin Simmons on April 2, the best for a Bulldog this season, and pushed across six RBI in the contest.

Jones has started in 31 of Tech's 34 contests. A strong, stocky player, Jones said he had confidence in Stephen Reed Staff photographer New York Giants linebacker and former NSU on the Natchitoches Walk of Honor Friday with football star Gary Reasons unveils his plaque his wife Terri. 'mm 000 fine, would Reasons wear the ever-popular "I Love Natchitoches sticker on his helmet in the next Super Bowl. He needed little time to think. "That wouldn't bother me a bit." Because, as Friday proved, he does love Natchitoches, and it feels pretty good about him, too.

Jones one tough cookie for a rookie "I didn't even expect to be playing this much. As a freshman you're lucky if you get to play at all. I always believed that hard work will result in good things, and I've been fortunate to get my foot in the door early." Charlie Jones ASH graduate Sampite then presented Terri with a key to the city. "As long," Reasons mused later, "as he doesn't give her a key to the shops." Reasons, easygoing and quick with humor, said he gets back to Natchitoches two or three times a year. He was asked that if fans paid the "We were fortunate enough to be able to intimidate other teams which played us because of our past success.

"Once I got to college, things were totally different because now I was the one who was a little intimidated," Jones continued. "The level of competition in college is so much higher, it's really a completely different game." With an athletic build suited to power hitting, the 5-11, 210-pound Jones admitted that he's a big swinger when he gets up to the plate. But he quickly added that just because he swings for power doesn't mean he's not a thinking-man's batter. "I'm a hacker when I'm up there at the plate," Jones said. "But that dosen't mean I'm not thinking about what I'm doing or that I won't adjust.

I understand what hitting the ball is all about." 1 I "i 1 himself before joining the Bulldogs, but that he never expected to reach such success so quickly. "I didn't even expect to be playing this much," Jones said. "As a freshman you're lucky if you get to play at all. I always believed that hard work will result in good things, and I've been fortunate to get my foot in the door early." Jones joined the Bulldogs after a successful career at Alex gathering about 50 in front of City Bank. "There are some really great people here, and I'm very humbled to see I'm here with them." His wife's parents still live in Natchitoches, prompting a crack from Sampite at lunch.

"Behind every successful man," he said, pausing for timing, "is a mother-in-law." andria Senior High School for which he played on two state championship teams. Jones' high school coach was Don Boniol, father of Tech place-kicker Chris Boniol. He said playing on a winning high school team allowed him to face quality prep opposition, but that the competition on the college level doesn't even compare to his days at ASH. "I played on a very good high school team which won two championships," Jones said. nection with a concert by country western singers Travis Tritt and Ronnie McDowell.

Curry finished sixth in the Bull Bash here last September, three months before winning the Nationals which were televised by ESPN. He'll be among the 46 bull riders competing Friday night with, among others, Terry Holland, the Carthage, Texas rider who taught Curry how to ride and who predicted Curry's success in the Nationals last December. Wisener said the surprising Please see Tompkins, B-4 Tech head coach Mike Kane said he had no reservations about starting the youngster at third base and that he knew all along what kind of potential Jones possessed. "We had no question that Charlie would come in and hit for us right away," Kane said. "We penciled him in at third base the day we signed him there was no hesitation.

"One of the things Charlie has shown is the future he could have in the game of baseball," Kane added. "One of the things many freshman go through is realizing what level they can reach right away, but Charlie has no such problem. If there is a better freshman hitter in the country, I'd like to see him." Kane was quick to add that one of Jones' most impressive qualities is that he is the "entire package" or complete student athlete who maintains a 3.8 GPA in engineering. The bull rider who shocked 'em all "In his first National Finals competition, he not only wins the points average and the championship, but he becomes only the second man in history to cover all 10 bulls." Bob Tompkins The Town Talk Picture this: tall, lanky Texan shows up at the National Rodeo Finals for the first time in his life to compete in the bull riding competition. The grizzled veterans smirk a little at his quiet confidence.

Yet, there's one veteran bull rider among them the man, in fact, who taught the lad most of what he knows about ridin' a bull who smiles to himself about the group's skepticism. He calls aside one of the writers who regularly cover rodeos and whispers: "Watch Norman, he's going to ride all 10 of 'em." Norman then goes out and, with a national TV audience watching, rides all 10 bulls, hanging on each one them for the minimum of 8 seconds, and wins in the sixth and tenth rounds. In his first National Finals competition, he not only wins the points average and the championship, but he becomes only the second man in history to cover all 10 bulls. Sounds like a fantasy? A script for a TV movie? Maybe Jt "V.J 4. -ar m.

so, but it happened. Norman Curry, a 26-year-old rider from DeBerry, Texas, turned the trick last December at the National Rodeo Finals in Las Vegas. In one week, he won $63,000. "I don't know where it all is now," Curry said the other day about that unprecedented prize-winning rodeo check. "I'm afraid it's gone to pay off my bills." Curry was in town the other day, along with bull riding promoter Kevin Wisener, to promote the '91 Bull Bash that'll take place Friday night at the Crossroads Coliseum in.

conr 1 Stephen Texada staff photographer Bull riding champ Norman Curry (right) listens to Kevin Wisener discuss Bull Bash..