sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2011
- Messages
- 25,216
- Like
- 108,671
Welcome to International Artist Day!
For over a decade International Artist Day has honored the contribution artists have and are making to society.
On IAD, October 25, take an artist to lunch, or buy that painting that's been haunting you for the last month.
Visit a gallery, or go to the symphony. Participate in something creative outside your daily routine. Live Life!
SU News
How the proposed college football recruiting changes could be a boon for northern schools (yahoo.com; Wetzel)
The NCAA is considering a proposal that would dramatically alter the football recruiting experience.
Most notable is the creation of two early signing periods, including one that begins the last Wednesday of June in between a prospect’s junior and senior years of high school. For the most part, recruits are currently only allowed to sign a binding national letter of intent on the first Wednesday of February during their senior year of high school.
So far, the debate over the proposal has centered on balancing the benefits for college programs to lock up prospects early with the need for the recruits to maintain the flexibility they currently enjoy if they were to improve during their senior year or coaches leave their positions due to firings or job jumping.
The less-discussed and perhaps unintended consequence however is something coaches at northern schools believe will be a major boon for their programs:
The weather.
“This rule will help us,” Minnesota head coach Tracy Claeys said. “There’s no question about that.”
The way the current recruiting cycle works, the majority of official campus visits occur in December, January and early February of a player’s senior year. Syracuse coach Dino Babers, for instance, estimates three-quarters of his program’s official visits come in January.
That time of year in Central New York, or just about anywhere above the Mason-Dixon line, can be, well, tough … tough to get to, tough to walk around in, tough to get a kid to see the full scope of campus and the surrounding community. (The average high in Syracuse in January is 32 degrees. In Minneapolis, it’s 24. Snow and ice so regularly drop from the sky, it can wear out even the most hardened local.)
If suddenly a portion of those visits, perhaps even a majority, shift to May and June, as the proposal would allow? Now it’s an average of 78 in Syracuse and 79 in Minneapolis.
...
Syracuse football bowl projections: Where do the experts see the Orange heading? (PS; Axe)
The Syracuse University football team is feeling good heading into its bye week.
The Orange are 4-4, on a two-game winning streak and are the closest to a bowl game it's been since beating Minnesota in the Texas Bowlthree years ago.
"I think we've got a great chance," Aaron Roberts, a redshirt sophomore, told colleague Stephen Bailey of Syracuse's chances of qualifying for a bowl game. "We believe we can beat anybody. Those are great teams (remaining on the schedule); we're going to have to play great games. I think we can do it, though."
SU will need a split of its final four games (at Clemson, vs. North Carolina State, vs. Florida State, at Pittsburgh) to guarantee a bowl berth.
Syracuse will need a split of its final four games (at Clemson, vs. North Carolina State, vs. Florida State, at Pittsburgh) to guarantee a bowl berth.
With one victory, Syracuse could get in based on how many six-win teams there are and how the school's APR score ranks against other 5-7 teams.
...
Emergency PK Dungey
Last look at Syracuse football's win over Boston College (photographer's view) (PS; photo gallery; Cannerelli)
Syracuse football records: Which have been broken, which are in jeopardy with 4 games left? (PS; photo gallery; Mink)
SU vs. Bye Week: Orange open as 6.5-point favorites (TNIAAM; Keeley)
Dino Babers won’t be able to use Vegas in his locker room speech this time. This time, the oddsmakers are on SU’s side.
The Syracuse Orange (4-4, 2-2), winners of two-straight, host the Bye Week Fightin’ Byes (0-8) this weekend in the Carrier Dome. When they do they’ll be expected to win as they’ve been installed as 6.5-point favorites.
The Orange have turned their season around in recent weeks thanks to an upset victory over Virginia Tech in the Dome and big road win over Boston College this past weekend. With that, SU needs to win two of their remaining games in order to become bowl eligible.
Bye Week just can’t seem to get any momentum going. New head coach Beano Dabers is expected to install a “low and slow” offensive set that is supposed to confuse defenses by milking as much time as possible in between plays and then running really boring and uninspired playcalls. The system is still coming together but quarterback Derek Ungey and wide receiver Tamba Atta-Ewo are putting up mediocre numbers, a good sign for the squad.
Syracuse and Bye Week will play on Saturday at Noon. The game will be broadcast by The Bye Week Network, which is still looking for distribution. We’ll keep you posted.
Other
See an aerial view of spectacular fall colors near Syracuse (video) (PS; Long)
Fall colors are peaking in Central New York and what better way to view them than from above.
We took a drive south of Syracuse where areas like Jamesville, LaFayette and Tully are on full display, shouting vibrant hues of red, yellow and orange.
The I love New York tourism program expected a more than 50 percent change in Onondaga County this weekend with peak and near peak foliage anticipated in the Finger Lakes. However several days of heavy rain were expected to dampen color and knock down leaves. The weekly report is issued every Wednesday afternoon.
