WILMINGTON, N.C. ? Last season's American Idol winner, David Cook, was tossing a baseball around near UNC Wilmington's athletic offices at midday Thursday when he met one of the idols of the local soccer community ? UNCW Head Coach Aidan Heaney.

      Cook is in town as part of the annual Azalea Festival concert series and will perform before a packed house Thursday night at Trask Coliseum. Heaney, the 2008 CAA Coach-of-the-Year, grabbed his camera and the rock singer-songwriter was glad to oblige.

      Heaney responded by presenting a soccer jersey to the newest fan of the Seahawks, who rose to fame quickly last year after winning the seventh season of the reality television show by beating David Archulete and Brooke White.

      Cook is a 2006 graduate of the University of Central Missouri and played baseball in high school near Blue Springs, Mo.