sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to William Wilberforce Day!
Wilberforce was a deeply religious English member of parliament and social reformer who was very influential in the abolition of the slave trade and eventually slavery itself in the British empire.
William Wilberforce was born on 24 August 1759 in Hull, the son of a wealthy merchant. He studied at Cambridge University where he began a lasting friendship with the future prime minister, William Pitt the Younger. In 1780, Wilberforce became member of parliament for Hull, later representing Yorkshire. His dissolute lifestyle changed completely when he became an evangelical Christian, and in 1790 joined a leading group known as the Clapham Sect. His Christian faith prompted him to become interested in social reform, particularly the improvement of factory conditions in Britain.
SU News
High school football: Courtship for Mentor QB Tadas Tatarunas is in full gear (herald.com; Kampf)
The love life of Tadas Tatarunas is off the charts.
Few are the days Mentor’s junior quarterback can go to the mailbox without receiving a letter from someone telling him how great he is, how much they want him to come see him and spend the foreseeable future with them.
Sooner or later, he will make the decision based on who is best for him.
He’ll take the leap of faith.
No, it won’t be in the form of a marriage license. It will be a national letter of intent.
Such is the life of a big-time football recruit, where top-notch players are wooed by colleges across the nation hoping to secure their services on the gridiron.
A 6-foot-5, 215-pound quarterback, Tatarunas is going through the courting process otherwise known as recruiting. He’s receiving letters, taking visits and weighing the pros of cons of where he would like to play college football.
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Tatarunas spend his spring break this past April visiting Northwestern, Purdue, Indiana and Notre Dame. He has also visited Ohio State, Rutgers, Syracuse and Miami (Ohio).
Tatarunas remembers receiving his first letter — from Purdue — before his sophomore season. There’s been a steady run of love letters ever since.
“It’s exciting when you go on visits,” Tatarunas said. “You feel like you’re the man on campus. They show you a lot of love.” A lot of factors go into making a decision on where to go to college to play, including the system a team runs and how it fits one’s skill set, opportunity to play, comfort level and a biggie many overlook — academics.
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Syracuse football 2016: why the Orange will finish 4-8 (TNIAAM; Szuba)
Ed. Note - This week, TNIAAM writers are taking a stab at telling you why this football team will finish with a specific record, so don't get all huffy about this prediction. Yet.
So Syracuse is going to go 4-8 this season again. You can take that to the bank. That's all you need to know, my work is done.
But if we really want to get into it, I suppose we can. You've seen the 2016 Syracuse Orangefootball schedule already, but let's break this down game by game.
Colgate: Syracuse opens its season against Colgate in just 10 days. Colgate won the Patriot League last season, but not sure that matters much in the big scheme of this conversation. Syracuse wins by double-digits. We all rejoice. (1-0)
Louisville: It's early. This is still a bad sign. Louisville is a cut above Syracuse on the gridiron and the Orange fall even at a win and a loss a piece. The offense doesn't look nearly up to snuff in this one, and the defense is virtually run off the field. Sads all around. (1-1)
USF: Last season it was thought that Syracuse would be somewhat competitive with South Florida. However the Bulls dominated the Syracuse defense and put up 45 points in the process. Expect South Florida to take this one away from the Orange again even if they are on the road. Quinton Flowers and Marlon Mack show last year was no fluke. Expect pain. (1-2)
Connecticut: Uconn't be serious. Connecticut football is about as good as its "sixth borough" slogan. (Hint: not very good). Syracuse rolls into PAWS ARF and grabs the win to get back on track following a couple losses. (2-2)
Notre Dame: L. Notre Dame's among the nation's top 10 to 15 teams. For an Orange squad that's probably going to struggle on defense, that's a recipe for disaster -- one that comes to life at MetLife Stadium. But hey, hope to see some of you at the game! (2-3)
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Tracking UConn's Football Opponents: A Look At Syracuse (Sept. 24) (courant.com; Anthony)
Date/site: Sept. 24, time TBA, Rentschler Field
2015 record: 4-8 (2-6 ACC)
Coach: Dino Babers, first season (19-7 in two years at Eastern Illinois, 18-9 in two years at Bowling Green).
The skinny: The Orange played 15 true freshmen and put together an encouraging start to last season, winning their first three games (Rhode Island, Wake Forest, Central Michigan) and playing well in a Week 4 loss at home to LSU, the start of an eight-game losing streak. Syracuse’s only other victory was the season finale over Boston College, and soon Scott Shafer was out as coach.
As a coordinator under Doug Marrone, Shafer did nice things with the Syracuse defense. In three seasons as coach, he was 14-23. Now the program is in the hands of Babers, a 1983 Hawaii grad who will try to do at Syracuse what he did at Eastern Illinois and Bowling Green: run the up-tempo “veer and shoot” offense he learned as an assistant under Art Briles at Baylor in 2008-11.
Babers knows nothing but finishing first. Eastern Illinois finished atop the Ohio Valley Conference in 2012 and 2013, and Bowling Green won the Mid-American Conference in 2014 and 2015. Last season, Bowling Green finished 10-3 after a blowout loss (58-27) to Georgia Southern in the GoDaddy Bowl. The UConn game will be the first on the road for Syracuse, which plays Colgate, Louisville and South Florida at the Carrier Dome the first three weeks. The last meeting between these teams at Rentschler Field was a 28-21 UConn victory. Scott McCummings went to quarterback for UConn in the fourth quarter and had two touchdowns runs to produce the victory.
2015 statistical rankings: Total offense, 118th; Total defense, 98th.
Famous alumni: Joe Biden (U.S. vice president), Marv Albert (sportscaster), Megyn Kelly (news anchor), Donovan McNabb (football), Dick Clark (TV), Jim Brown (football), Dwight Freeney (football, Bloomfield), Tebucky Jones (football, New Britain), Al Davis (Raiders owner), Floyd Little (football, New Haven)
Players with state ties: Junior WR Ervin Philips (West Haven), freshman OL Evan Adams (Norwalk)
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Opponent Preview: The Syracuse Orange (bcinterruption.com; Staff)
Today we talk with John Castillo, our friend from Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician about Syracuse football. They are a program in flux, with a new coach, a tough schedule, and a couple of Orange Eagle trophies. What does 2016 hold for the Orange?
BCI: Scott Shafer is gone, replaced by Dino Babers. What's been the biggest change early in Babers' approach to the Orange?
TNIAAM: Obviously Dino Babers comes in as an experienced head coach, so he has his established staff and systems that he can just carry over (vs. starting from scratch as first-time head coach Shafer had to do). Babers's big change is all about speed and endurance. This team is going to be running a no-huddle attack with upwards of 80 snaps per game (vs. less than 70 in Shafer's offense). For a team built to grind it out, it's a huge shift but one the players seem very willing to take up.
BCI: What's the QB situation like with Syracuse this year? Last year unraveled a little bit after Terrel Hunt was hurt, but who is coming back and who is the guy to start?
TNIAAM: Eric Dungey is back, and is slated to start barring some sort of injury issue again. You guys didn't get to see him last year, but he's hands-down our best option on the roster, and a player that stands to benefit a lot from an offense that stresses quick releases. While the offensive line replaces some pieces, Dungey is still likely to get hit less, so that increases the likelihood he's both healthy and productive. Beyond him, Zack Mahoney returns, and freshman Rex Culpepper comes in, though he'll likely redshirt. Since Mahoney's an option QB, you may see (pro-style passer) Austin Wilson as the no. 2 on the depth chart.
BCI: The defense had its moments but by and large wasn't very good either. How's that shaping up this year?
TNIAAM: The defense probably won't be very good again, but at least they'll be on the road to fixing things. Instead of the constant blitzing of the old scheme, Babers brings a Tampa-2 with him that will emphasize much better coverage and run-stopping. So the long-term gains are clear there, but we don't have the personnel to implement it all just yet. The secondary's young and needs time to learn how to cover receivers. The linebackers are experienced, but are geared to blitz, not play in coverage. The defensive line is woefully inexperienced and thin, which is the biggest trouble area.
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Former Liverpool, Syracuse coach George O'Leary getting statue at UCF (PS; Axe)
George O'Leary is set to join a list that includes Nick Saban, Bobby Bowden and Steve Spurrier as football coaches that have statues of their likeness on campus.
The University of Central Florida announced on Tuesday that they will build a statue for O'Leary.
O'Leary, a former head coach at Liverpool High School from 1977-79 and an assistant coach at Syracuse University from 1980-86, had a record of 81-60 in 12 seasons with UCF.
Scott Frost, once rumored to be a top candidate to replace Scott Shafer at Syracuse, replaced O'Leary as UCF head coach after an 0-12 season in 2015.
The school reached seven bowl games under O'Leary, the biggest being a win over Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl in 2013. It was UCF's only appearance in a BCS-level bowl game.
A group of private donors organized the effort to add a statue of O'Leary. It is expected to be unveiled sometime in 2017 and will likely sit near Bright House Networks Stadium.
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Detroit News top prep football players 1-20 (photo gallery; detroitnews.com)
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15. Allen Stritzinger, 6-1, 185, Sr., RB, Warren De La Salle: Big things were expected from Stritzinger after a strong showing during his sophomore year when he ran for 1,356 yards and 20 TD, including a 175-yard effort in the Division 2 title game win, but he never got going last season due to an ankle injury. Now, Stritzinger is fully healthy and ready to go. Stritzinger will play at Syracuse for with former Michigan running back Mike Hart as his position coach.
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Other
NY State Fair: butterflies, birthing, Bloody Marys, what's new and what moved at the fair (video; PS; Trimble)
With a $50 million facelift, the New York State Fair is just days away from opening. The cow birthing center has moved. The grandstand has given way to a massive midway allowing for many more rides, and did someone say butterflies? Be prepared for thousands of them flocking all over you if you dare. When that's all done, head over to the Empire Room where Bloody Marys await.
