sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2011
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Welcome to Bagpipe Appreciation Day!
Today we celebrate and appreciate the storied history of an ancient musical device, the noble Highlands Scottish Bagpipe. To some, bagpipes are viewed as obnoxious, migraine inducing tools of cacophonic destruction; the medieval equivalent of leaf blowers and car horns. For those of weak temperament and weaker hearts, there may be truth to these observations. But to true, full blooded aficionados the great booming drones and shrill piercing beauty of such a mad sonical device can inspire only one word: Epic. So on this day of appreciation, head on over to houseoftartan.com and use their free online program to make your very own Scottish clan tartan to better enjoy your bagpipe experience!
SU News
Broadcaster Michael Tricarico continues to hone craft with Auburn Doubledays (auburnpub.com; Houghtaling)
For Michael Tricarico, there’s often something to learn by listening back to his recordings.
Like many broadcasters, Tricarico listens back to his play-by-play to see what worked and where he can improve. Although it started simple with taping his own commentary as he played video games at age 4 and continued to progress as he started a sports show with his friends in high school, the Syracuse University student has had stints calling baseball games for the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs and the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod League.
Tricarico is continuing to hone his craft this summer as the Auburn Doubledays broadcaster.
“Even looking back to last year, I think that I’ve come a long way,” the 21-year-old said. “It’s fun to see the progress you’ve made, no matter what industry you’re in.”
While there were signs early on that he was interested in doing play-by-play, Tricarico never really thought about pursuing the career path until middle school. The North Syracuse native had fun doing the morning announcements in seventh grade, and his passion blossomed into a sports show focusing on Cicero-North Syracuse athletics in high school.
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Top 10 games of 2015-16: No. 4, an elite defeat (dailyprogress.com; Ramspacher, Reid and Dillman)
How does that old Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock song from the late 1980s go?
Joy and pain.
Like sunshine and the rain.
The lyrics sum up how Virginia fans must have been feeling during this game.
When UVa was dominating Syracuse for the first 30 minutes, giddy fans were, no doubt, starting to book their flights to the Final Four in Houston.
Then Syracuse went into a full-court press.
That, coupled with an electrifying performance from freshman Malachi Richardson, resulted in one of the most agonizing chapters in Virginia sports history.
Our No. 4 game checks in with a score of 22.7.
» Hype Factor 5 (average score on 1-5 scale): When the NCAA Tournament bracket was first revealed, Virginia was destined for a rematch with Michigan State at this stage. But when the second-seeded Spartans were upset by Middle Tennessee in the first round, the Cavs’ road to the Final Four seemed paved in gold. Left standing in their way? Crusty Jim Boeheim and a Syracuse bunch playing with nothing to lose. “The guys are really loose right now and we’re just excited and enjoying the moment,” Orange guard Michael Gbinije said beforehand. UVa beat Syracuse at JPJ in January. — Ramspacher
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Syracuse Basketball Recruiting: SU is 'Dream School' for 2017 PG Isaiah Washington (TNIAAM; Weinheimer)
The class of 2017 point guard has been watching Syracuse games since sixth grade, and says he hopes to get an offer that will change his life.
Class of 2017 point guard Isaiah Washington is generating a lot of interest from college programs.
Washington has brought in offers from Minnesota, New Mexico, Rutgers, and Seton Hall, with interest from Butler, Georgia Tech, Xavier, and Alabama. When asked about his current recruitment, he told 247Sports that he has one school that he dreams of playing for:
"I want to get an offer from Syracuse," said Washington, 6-1, 175 pounds out of Bronx (N.Y.) St. Raymond For Boys. "That is my dream school. I've been watching them since I was in sixth grade. I just compare them to St. Ray's. Hopefully if they offer and I get there, it will change my life."
While Syracuse is focused on Trevon Duval and Quade Green for the 2017 class, Washington seems like a guy with the kind of character Jim Boeheim loves. He is a player who knows what he wants, and appears to be a "Syracuse guy," which is the type of player that has potential to thrive for the Orange.
Here are some highlights of Washington
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Former Syracuse center Darryl Watkins signs two-year contract in France (PS; Carlson)
Former Syracuse center Darryl Watkins, fresh off a strong appearance with Boeheim's Army, signed a two-year contract to remain with Asvel Basket, a French team where he became a French all-star and a league champion last year.
Asvel Basket plays in the most competitive league in French and is run by San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker. It is based in a suburb of Lyon. The news was announced by the team in a release on Monday and by his agency.
Darryl WATKINS poursuit l'aventure avec @ASVEL_Basket ! Deux ans de plus pour "Mook" ! Darryl WATKINS poursuit l’aventure ! - Asvel Basket
— ASVEL Basket (@ASVEL_Basket) July 25, 2016
Darryl Watkins signs for two more seasons with the defending champs@ASVEL_Basket (France). Darryl WATKINS poursuit l’aventure ! - Asvel Basket @tonyparker@LNBofficiel
— Inception Sports (@Inception_Bball) July 25, 2016
Watkins averaged 21.6 minutes per game for the team last year, according to the website Eurobasket, averaging 8.4 points and 6.8 rebounds. That was enough for him to make the league's import all-star team.
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Heat's offseason reshuffling will create complex challenges for Erik Spoelstra (miamiherald; Skolnick)
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Meanwhile, the Heat has 11 players, among the 18 currently signed, who do not control their contractual status for the 2017-18 season. That includes Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson, both of whom the team will retain. But it doesn’t include Waiters, who is likely to waive his option and become free as well.
How does Spoelstra make everyone buy in, to find what he might call “purity of purpose,” with so many individual agendas? We’ll see. The Waiters agreement is the most interesting of all. There’s no question that, in this inflated market, the modest deal is a worthy gamble. The former No. 4 overall pick was projected to get one of those outsized, outlandish contracts that some NBA franchises would almost instantly regret. Instead, he got a make-good deal. That’s good, except that he might feel compelled to pad his scoring numbers for bigger salary numbers.
Somehow, Spoelstra and his staff — which has already lost two members, including master communicator David Fizdale — need to get Waiters to stay within the team concept while getting the newly-wealthy Hassan Whiteside to stay within it on defense. All while getting James Johnson, Derrick Williams and Wayne Ellington to accept specific roles while they naturally eye future paydays.
I covered Waiters in Cleveland for half of the 2014-15 season before he was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Cavaliers teammates privately cheered the trade, calling it “addition by subtraction,” so much so that J.R. Smith was considered a more reliable option. You thought Mario Chalmers had irrational confidence? Wait until you experience Waiters. He told Syracuse teammates to call him “Kobe Wade,” declared himself part of the best backcourt in the NBA while coming off a 33-win season, and called for the ball incessantly, unsuccessfully and comically while playing with the Cavaliers’ Big 3.
So why try with him? He’s just 24, and did make a positive playoff contribution for Oklahoma City. No one says he’s a bad guy, just that he needs to mature. It’s especially redeeming the way he’s never forgotten his rough Philadelphia roots — he’s lost three cousins, a close friend and a brother to violence. He’s always returned, staying in close touch with his first-grade teacher, and recently donating money to rebuild the playground where he began to grow his game.
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Other
Farmers at downtown Syracuse market say drought is affecting size of crops (PS; Byrne)
Central New Yorkers know about the lack of rain this summer, but the recent drought has done more than just turn neighborhood lawns brown. Farmers at theSyracuse Downtown Farmers Market Tuesday said that the lack of rain combined with the heat has affected the size of their crops.
After interviewing several farmers at the market, almost all of them said the drought has taken a toll on their crops.
Ben Paine, a farmer from Fulton, said the lack of rain is hurting all of their crops.
"We have to plant our fall stuff, and it's so dry," Paine said. "We've got to start pumping water, and it costs a lot more money using irrigation."
Another farmer, Mark Farrello, who was helping Paine at his stand, said that the size of the crops are much smaller than they usually are.
"The cauliflower should be this big," Farrello said, extending his hands into the size of a basketball. "The broccoli heads are a lot smaller too, because of the lack of the water. Everything is smaller."
Lory Daratt, with Daratt Farms in Cato, said that they're in need of some rain.
"With the corn, the ears are shorter than normal years," Daratt said. "We did get an inch of rain a week ago, and we got an inch of rain yesterday, which is helpful. We've been watering a lot of the stuff. We have ponds for irrigation, but the ponds are running dry as well."
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