sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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- Aug 15, 2011
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Welcome to Hug a Bear Day!
Today is Hug a Bear Day! While we do not recommend venturing into the wild to hug a live bear, this is the perfect day to give a big hug to your favorite teddy bear!
Did you know that the ancient Egyptians are credited with making the first plush toys? Although no remains of stuffed toys have been discovered in Egypt, paintings on the tombs suggest they did have animal toys. Modern stuffed animals were first introduced in the 1830’s, but they were homemade with cloth and straw. In 1880, Germany began manufacturing stuffed animals that closer resembled the cute toys we still purchase today. Stuffed animals were not popular in the US until 1906, when President Theodore Roosevelt inspired the production of the first “Teddy Bear”.
Celebrate Hug a Bear Day by snuggling up with your favorite Teddy Bear or purchase a new cuddly bear! You can even give out extra big bear hugs to your friends and family. Happy Hug a Bear Day!
SU News
Nick Richards
Nick Richards set to announce decision and other basketball recruiting updates (desertswarm.com; Sills-Trausch)
The early signing period (November 9-16) is nearly upon us, which means those who have committed will send in their Letters of Intent, and those who haven’t but plan to sign early will be making their choices.
For the Arizona Wildcats, they are expected to get LOI’s from their current four-member class of DeAndre Ayton, Brandon Randolph, Ira Lee, and Alex Barcello.
Looking ahead, Nick Richards will be announcing on November 10 and has trimmed his list down to a final three of Arizona, Kentucky, and Syracuse. All signs point to a Kentucky selection as it’s the only school he visited.
It's TIME! Next week Thurs at 2pm I will make my college announcement at The PATRICK school in NJ. ✍ ️pic.twitter.com/2efFGTGZ4Y
— Nick Richards (@iamnickrichards) November 3, 2016
With Richards off the board, our attention now turns to those remaining:
- Lonnie Walker: Everything I’m hearing on Walker is it’s more of a when not an if. He indicated committing in the early signing period in prior interviews, so we’ll see if that holds. He’s taking an official to Kentucky this weekend and then one to Syracuse next weekend. Possible announcement dates could be Nov. 15 or 16.
- Brian Bowen: He told me he really enjoyed his visit to Tucson. He’s also visited North Carolina State. Michigan State is the heavy favorite on 247Sports, but I'm not convinced. He’ll be at December’s Hoophall event in Scottsdale so we’ll have some more then. (Alex Barcello and DeAndre Ayton will also be in that tournament.)
- Hamidou Diallo: I spoke to Diallo’s coach earlier in the week and he said visits won’t be planned until after January 1. He’ll obviously be a late period signee. It’s a toss up right now but UConn may have the slightest of an edge due to proximity.
Syracuse Basketball: Three takeaways from Syracuse's first exhibition game | isportsweb (isportsweb.com; Godnick)
Exhibition play began for the Syracuse Orange last Tuesday, and it contained nothing but lessons to be learned, and observations for the future. Syracuse opened up the season against Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and to nobody’s surprise, the Orange came away with an 83-65 victory. The game doesn’t count in the record books, but it was a needed experience that the Orange used as a test-trial.
The Orange are famous for their stealthy 2-3 zone, something coach Jim Boeheim has been utilizing for as long as fans can remember. The zone makes Syracuse unique, and with the right personnel, its maneuvers are nearly impossible to beat. The predictable zone was not in play for the entirety of the game on Tuesday, as Boeheim decided to change things up, early and often.
The game started with the Orange playing a man defense, which didn’t go as planned. The Orange got down early 22-10, and the defense was at fault. The Crimson Hawks, the Orange’s opponent, got in the lane with ease, creating open layups, and open threes. After a few subs and a timeout, Boeheim knew it was time to change it up—but not to the zone.
Syracuse then came out in a full court press, which fell back into their expected 2-3 zone. The press was inconsistent to say the least, as the Crimson Hawks found ways to beat it over the top, leading to open threes. However, as the game moved on, the Orange tightened things up, and started to create steal after steal, leading to easy buckets.
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Basketball around the Beltway: Hoyas on road to redemption (wtop.com; Preston)
In his decade-plus guiding the Georgetown men’s basketball team, coach John Thompson III has seen plenty of highs — the 2007 Final Four, the 2013 regular season Big East title — and lows, like getting upset in the NCAA Tournament by the likes of Ohio and Florida Gulf Coast.
But nothing like last season’s winter of discontent: a 15-18 campaign marked by early-season losses to Radford and Monmouth and punctuated by a six-game losing streak to end the regular season. That the Hoyas more than held their own against eventual national champ Villanova for more than a half in the Big East Quarterfinals offered little consolation; the longest offseason since JT3 arrived on campus was underway.
How do you deal with (and bounce back from) the nightmare that was last winter?
“We’re not going to keep picking that scab,” Thompson said. “But we’re not going to forget about it and throw it away. It’s almost like a book sitting in the corner of my desk — it’s there and you can learn from it, but we’re not going to keep rehashing last year.”
While he wouldn’t specify which tweaks and changes to how his approach will change, there are two new members on Thompson’s coaching staff. Anthony Solomon comes over from Notre Dame, while Akbar Waheed joins the program after assisting at Hofstra.
One thing is unquestioned: the Hoyas are going to return to success by stopping teams.
“I think our defense really let us down last year as much as anything,” Thompson acknowledged. “And when we’ve had good teams we’ve been very good defensive teams. Last year we were not a good defensive team … and we fouled too much.”
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Other
Afro-pop, synthwave, Ladies Night and more: 5 shows to see this week (PS; Poorman)
Does the bitter end of election season find you antsy and looking to cut loose? Stop in for some free, soothing late night sounds at Al's tonight.
Then, once the polling stations close, more of the city's finest local venues have plenty of exciting offerings for your purposes of election celebration and/or catharsis later in the week.
Music, after all, is a great unifier; a spiritual cleanser; a totally legal drug.
Synthwave, man.
Buddhish
You may have caught acoustic trio Buddhish this summer at the New York State Fair or many an Overpass Fest open jam on the Onondaga Creekwalk. The fledgling local band's sound should prove palatable for fans of Dave Matthews Band, Jack Johnson and Dispatch — it's sunny and best enjoyed in shorts and sandals. But just because it's getting colder in Syracuse doesn't mean these spirited buskers are going into hibernation. Instead, they're building their rep indoors. Buddhish plays a free show tonight at Al's.
When: 10 p.m. tonight
Where: Al's Wine & Whiskey Lounge, 321 S Clinton St., Syracuse
Tickets: Free
Cold River City with RUHA
The six musicians in Colorado outfit Cold River City claim they were "born to groove." Listening to their songs, that makes sense. I can confirm that these guys (and girl) groove hard, at once channeling the greats of R&B, straight blues, funk and jazz, with often surprising but always fluid instances of hip-hop in their ever-growing catalog of danceable tracks. Come catch Cold River City at Funk Downtown this Wednesday if that sound salad seems tasty. Local duo RUHA is set to open. Doors at 7, tunes at 8.
When: 8 p.m. Wednesday, November 9
Where: Funk 'N Waffles Downtown, 307 S Clinton St., Syracuse
Tickets: $7
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