sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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- Aug 15, 2011
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Welcome to Groundhog Day!
Groundhog Day (Canadian French: Jour de la Marmotte; Pennsylvania German:Grundsaudaag, Murmeltiertag) is a traditional holiday celebrated on February 2. According to folklore, if it is cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day, then spring will come early; if it is sunny, the groundhog will supposedly see its shadow and retreat back into its burrow, and the winter weather will persist for six more weeks.[1]
Modern customs of the holiday involve celebrations where early morning festivals are held to watch the groundhog emerging from its burrow.
In southeastern Pennsylvania, Groundhog Lodges (Grundsow Lodges) celebrate the holiday withfersommlinge,[2] social events in which food is served, speeches are made, and one or moreg'spiel (plays or skits) are performed for entertainment. The Pennsylvania German dialect is the only language spoken at the event, and those who speak English pay a penalty, usually in the form of a nickel, dime, or quarter per word spoken, with the money put into a bowl in the center of the table.[3]
Groundhog Day was adopted in the U.S. in 1887. Clymer H. Freas was the editor of the local paper Punxsutawney Spirit at the time, and he began promoting the town’s groundhog as the official “Groundhog Day meteorologist.”[4]
SU News
Syracuse vs Virginia Tech: 5 Things to Watch (photo gallery; PS; Waters)
The Syracuse Orange will host Virginia Tech at 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Carrier Dome. Syracuse (15-8 overall, 5-5 ACC) has won five of its last six games, while Virginia Tech (12-10, 4-5) has lost its last four.
Syracuse is coming off a narrow 60-57 win over Georgia Tech on Saturday. Virginia Tech played at Pittsburgh on Sunday night and suffered a 90-71 loss to the Panthers.
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Is Frank Howard the PG of the Future? (TNIAAM; Gilberg)
Normally when a player finishes a game missing his only field goal attempt and recording only a single point he doesn't draw rave reviews. And yet, following Syracuse's 60-57 win over Georgia Tech Saturday, that was exactly the case for Syracuse backup point guard Frank Howard.
Howard, who's in the midst of his freshman season at Syracuse, played admirably for the Orange, recording six assists, three rebounds, and one block in 14 meaningful minutes of play. The six assists were a season high for Howard, who looked extremely confident and comfortable with the ball in his hands – evident by his zero turnovers.
Syracuse men's basketball head coach Jim Boeheim praised Howard during his postgame press conference following the Orange's win.
"Frank Howard made some of the best passes we've seen in years here. When he stops shooting 10-foot floaters, he'll stay in the game," Boeheim said. "I thought he was tremendous in the first half. He made some great passes, that's why we recruited him. He's a tremendous passer. He had six assists in 14 minutes. That's like getting 12 points. He was tremendous out there."
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A Top 50 RPI Doesn't Guarantee an NCAA Bid, But It's Close (TNIAAM; Cassillo)
As of last night, the Syracuse Orange have a 15-8 record, a couple big wins, an RPI of 41 and a strength of schedule (SOS) of 28 (according to the NCAA). With or without any NCAA Tournament Committee consideration for the team's time without Jim Boeheim, SU will certainly be hanging around the bubble come March. We know this.
But based on past NCAA Tournament results, we can at least get a better idea of their -- and any bubble team's -- chances should those (admittedly, pretty solid) numbers hold.
Top-50 Finishes are Key
Since the 1999-2000 season, just 70 teams with a top-50 RPI come Selection Sunday have missed the NCAA Tournament. That's just nine percent of all teams in that stretch with a top-50 RPI, or an average of 4.4 teams per season missing. It's also heavily influenced by a weird two-year stretch (2006 and 2007) where 16 top-50 teams missed the Big Dance. You may recognize one of them immediately. In 2007, Syracuse had an RPI of 50 and a SOS of 2, yet were famously left out. Outside of that two-year stretch, the average was just 3.4.
Top-40s are Even Better
All top-50 profiles were also not created equal. Those top-50 teams that have been left out were largely (67 percent) rated 41-50. That doesn't mean they were less worthy of a Tourney bid because of that slightly lower rating. But there's a slight correlation to be made between where you fall in that spectrum and your guarantees to get an invite. Some of the more notable exceptions to that theory, however: 2006 Missouri State (21), 2015 Colorado State (29), 2007 Air Force (30) and 2006 Hofstra (30). Those four teams have something in common, however...
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Other
Former Henninger Basketball Coach Joe Mazella to be Character in Tim Green's Next Book (PS; Weidner)
It seems like kind of an odd association, but former Henninger High School boys basketball coach Joe Mazella will be the name of a teacher in Tim Green's next book - "Left Out."
Green, the Skaneateles lawyer/author/speaker whose latest literary focus is writing books for young people and speaking to students on the virtues of reading, said Mazella's name was selected after he held a five-day contest on Facebook, where followers could vote.
The former Syracuse University football star, who played in the NFL before launching successful careers as a lawyer and author, said he began writing books for "middle grades" - kids from 8 to 14 years old - about 10 years ago.
At first, Green used names of his children and their friends as characters. Several years ago, he came up with the idea of holding online contests to come up with names.
"One day I thought, instead of making up names why not solicit names from people who follow my Facebook page," he said. "Sometimes its just someone who has a lot of friends on Facebook. But it seems like lately it ends up being, more often than not, someone like Joe who was wildly popular."
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