Karl Malone's Hall moment included Grambling legend Willis Reed

Willis Reed hasn't played in the NBA in more than 30 years, but the New York Knicks great dished out an unlikely assist Friday night. He introduced Louisiana Tech product Karl Malone for induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. Reed played college football just a few miles down the road, at Grambling.

Reed said he received a surprising phone call while the former Utah Jazz standout was fishing in Alaska. "Being a homeboy," said Reed, 68, who, like Malone, is also a Louisiana native, "he likes to hunt and fish like me. That's one of the things I admired about Karl is his great work ethic. "But I thought he would've asked (former Jazz coach Jerry) Sloan or (teammate John) Stockton."



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First Port City Classic boasts new title sponsor

Grambling, LA - Louisiana Tech Sports Properties announced yesterday that Community Trust Bank is the title sponsor of the inaugural Port City Classic which will be played Sept. 4 at 6:00 p.m., at Independence Stadium in the first ever match-up between Grambling State University and Louisiana Tech University.

Mason Ellenberger, general manager for LA Tech Sports Properties, said that CTB is expanding their support of both Louisiana Tech and Grambling State with this commitment. This will be the first time the two schools will face each other in Tech's 108-year history of intercollegiate football.

"Community Trust Bank is honored to be the title sponsor of this historic matchup between Louisiana Tech and Grambling State," said Lance Hall, Regional President of CTB. "These great Universities play such a vital role in Lincoln Parish and in the state of Louisiana, and CTB is excited for the opportunity to strengthen these partnerships."

Ellenberger stressed that more key sponsorship opportunities still exist for the game, including VIP corporate hospitality. For more information on sponsorship opportunities, interested parties should call Ellenberger at 318-257-5331 (x2000).

The contest will serve as the season opener for both teams as LA Tech opens the Sonny Dykes era while Grambling State and Rod Broadway begin pursuit of a SWAC title run.

"I am really looking forward to playing Grambling for the first time in school history," said Louisiana Tech head coach Sonny Dykes. "Shreveport is a great place to host the game. The Shreveport-Bossier City community's support is critical to our success, and I can't wait to play in such a great facility as Independence Stadium."

Ironically, Dykes will be making his head coaching debut at the same facility that his father Spike made his head coaching debut.

Tickets for the contest are on sale and can be purchased by calling the Grambling State Ticket Office at 318-274-2625, Monday – Friday 9:00am to 4:00pm.

Grambling soccer stuns Louisiana Tech

GRAMBLING, LA – A pair of goals in the final four minutes of regulation and a failed clear of a corner kick in the third minute of overtime allowed Grambling State to overcome a 2-0 deficit and defeat Louisiana Tech 3-2 in overtime Tuesday afternoon at the Lady Tiger Soccer Field. “(Grambling) was the better team today,” Tech head coach Kevin Sherry said. “They wanted it more. They played harder and deserved to win.”

Despite dominating possession and outshooting the Lady Tigers 30-14, a squad mostly made up of reserves in the last few minutes could not hold a 2-0 lead for Tech (4-2). Grambling (1-4) played with only 10 players the entire match. “I take full responsibility for this loss,” Sherry said. “I tried to rest my starters late in the game, and I shouldn’t have done that. That said, we kind of had this loss coming. We’ve gotten away with playing poorly the last two games, and it finally caught up with us.”

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