sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2011
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Welcome to National Beer Lover's Day!
- Germany serves beer ice cream in popsicle form. Its alcoholic content is less than that found in “classic” beer.
- In 1962, Iron City beer was the brand used to test-market the concept of tab opening aluminum cans. By 1970, over 90% of all beer cans were self-opening.
- Prohibition, beginning on January 16, 1920, lasted 13 years, 10 months, 19 days, 17 hours, and 32-1/2 minutes, and was rescinded on December 5, 1933, at 3:32 p.m.
- Centuries ago in England, pub visitors used a novel innovation that enabled them to get their beer served quickly. They used mugs with a whistle baked into the rim, the whistle being used to summon the barmaid. It has been suggested this practice gave birth to the phrase “wet your whistle.”
- A beer lover or enthusiast is called a cerevisaphile.
Scott Shafer returns with Middle Tennessee: 'Win this game we'll be best friends for life' (PS; updated; Carlson)
When his defense was rolling Scott Shafer was passionate, fiery, tough and hard-nosed. When his teams were struggling, he was over-emotional, hot-tempered, illogical and hard-headed.
His defenses thrived, and his head coaching career died, on edges of the same sword.
"Don't you change," Shafer used to tell his former Syracuse players as they annually transitioned from role players to starters to stars. "Don't you change."
Shafer used the phrase so frequently that former player Rob Trudo drops it casually when he plays video games.
Now at Middle Tennessee State, his eighth school and his 24th year of coaching at the college level, players describe the same Shafer. He's back in the defensive coordinator position, utilizing the same blitz-heavy scheme and connecting with players in the same way they appreciated during his time at SU.
Anyone familiar with Shafer's pride won't be surprised to know what Saturday's game means to him.
"Win this game," Middle Tennessee linebacker D.J. Sanders remembers Shafer telling the team over the summer, "and we'll be best friends for life."
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Syracuse Football: Top 10 Plays of Week 1 Versus CCSU (video highlights) (itlh.com; Peelman)
Syracuse Football won its first game of the season versus Central Connecticut State on Friday. ITLH replays some of the best moments of game
Syracuse football runs a lot of plays. Against Central Connecticut State, the Orange ran 93 plays, according to Syracuse Athletics Official Twitter feed. So when Head Coach Dino Babers says that Orange is the New Fast, he means it!
Need Further proof? Syracuse Football was up 21-0 with 2:46 still left in the first quarter. Now I know that CCSU was an inferior opponent, but still, that’s pretty impressive work from a high-octane offense.
Furthermore, Syracuse Football scored 31 points in the first half and 19 in the second half. If you blinked then you missed them. Heck, when I watched the replay of the game later, I almost missed touchdowns skipping commercials. That’s how fast this team can score if they are pressed to do so, and if Eric Dungey (cough, cough) stays healthy and uninjured.
Don’t remember the highlight plays that led to the final 50-7 result? We wouldn’t blame you if you did because the plays happened fast. Don’t worry though because we got you covered with the 10 best plays from Friday’s game.
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For 2 MTSU football assistants, Syracuse trip has extra meaning (dnj.com; Bacharch)
Whatever Scott Shafer is feeling about his return to Syracuse, he’s keeping it close to the chest.
Shafer, MTSU’s first-year defensive coordinator, coached at Syracuse from 2009-15. He first served as the team’s defensive coordinator for four years before being promoted to head coach. He was eventually fired in November 2015. The Orange went 14-23 in Shafer’s three years at the helm of the program.
So Saturday’s 2:30 p.m. matchup between MTSU and Syracuse at the Carrier Dome promises to carry extra weight for the 50-year-old native of Painesville, Ohio. Yet he has not opened up about it publicly, offering no more than, "It’s just a business trip."
“I’ve been pleased with the work our guys have put in the past two days of practice,” Shafer said. “We had a good Sunday and a good Tuesday and I’m looking forward to getting after this next bunch.”
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Yeah, I’m Going to Talk About Football Scheduling | Otto's Grove (.com; Kelly)
It’s a favorite pastime of Syracuse fans, columnists, bloggers, and message board enthusiasts. Over the last couple years I’ve tried my best to avoid the subject simply because other people cover it so thoroughly that it would feel like pure redundancy. But a couple days ago, a column was published by the Daily Orange that’s gained some traction among the Syracuse fanbase, for varying reasons.
Yes, folks, I’m going to wade into the dangerous waters of football scheduling.
Now before we begin, let me make it abundantly clear that I’m not going after this Daily Orange writer or his column, really; it’s a well written piece, but it also suggests that the author may be fairly new to Syracuse football or doesn’t have a wide enough grasp of the way college football scheduling is typically done.
The general premise of the column, if you haven’t read it, is that Syracuse should stop scheduling FCS programs like Central Connecticut and find better opponents to help build the program and pack the Carrier Dome. That’s nice in theory, and all, but it’s a flawed premise for a couple reasons.
The first flaw in the premise is that to be a big-time program, you shouldn’t play FCS schools. But if you look around the nation, it’s not just common, but basically expected that Power 5 schools will play an FCS school on an almost yearly basis. No, not every program does… but an awful lot of the big boys do.
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Syracuse Football: Attendance for CCSU One of Worst Ever for Orange (itlh.com; Peelman)
Syracuse Football had one of the lowest attendances for a season opener ever on Friday. Inside the Loud House has the details
Syracuse football had a good day on the field in Friday’s season opener. The one thing the team lacked?
A true home crowd to support it. According to Syracuse.com, there were 30,273 butts in the seats. However, anyone who watched the game may find that number extremely generous.
To put that number in perspective, if it was indeed true, that attendance is the fifth lowest for a season opening game since the Carrier Dome opened. That is a pretty sad statistical fact that I’m sure the Syracuse football squad isn’t pleased with hearing.
People may point out that The New York State Fair and it was the Labor Day weekend so many were visiting family, but is that the real reason attendance was so low?
Is it the fact the Orange went 4-8 last year? Or maybe its because the game was broadcast on Watch ESPN and people could watch it from the comfort of their own homes?
Whatever the reason, it’s extremely sad that the home team barely felt like the home team in its own facility. Especially when they are pretty much destined to win, and win-big like they did 50-7.
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Syracuse vs. Middle Tennessee Fearless Prediction & Game Preview (collegefootballnews.com; Fiutak)
This has to be a shootout, right?
Middle Tennessee was held in check by Vanderbilt last week in a rough 28-6 loss, but there’s too much talent, too much firepower, and too much in place for a team good enough to win the Conference USA title to be that mediocre offensively.
Syracuse ripped apart Central Connecticut to shreds, going off in a 50-7 win with all the key parts playing exactly like they were supposed to. With this, and then Central Michigan next, this is when the Orange have to get everything in place and rolling before going to LSU and NC State.
This is the first time the two teams have played.
One Reason Why Middle Tennessee Will Win
Get ready for the offense to open it up again.
QB Brent Stockstill was held in check by the Commodores, but WR Richie James wasn’t, catching ten passes for 112 yards and a score as the only part of the offensive puzzle that worked.
Central Connecticut was never going to be able to throw the ball on the Syracuse secondary, but Stockstill will.
This might be an improved Orange D, but it’s still going to have to prove it can handle a real, live attack that can stretch the field. Stockstill should be fine if he gets time – the Syracuse pass rush is okay, not great.
One Reason Why Syracuse Will Win
Either Vanderbilt’s passing game is special all of a sudden, or Middle Tennessee has a few problems in the secondary.
The Blue Raiders sent everyone to stop Vandy star RB Ralph Webb, and it worked, However, Kyle Shurmur went off, throwing for 296 yards and three scores in a nearly perfect performance.
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Other
The yellow line indicates what NASA calls "the most likely area of aurora extent" of the northern lights Thursday and Friday nights. The area encompasses nearly all of Upstate New York.
Did you miss the northern lights in Upstate NY? You'll get two more chances (PS; Coin)
Viewing of the northern lights appeared to be largely a bust overnight in Upstate New York, but you'll get two more nights to catch them.
Due to a particularly strong solar flare causing the northern lights, NASA has extended its geomagnetic storm watch through early Saturday. The lights are likely to be seen as far south as the Southern Tier, NASA said.
This solar flare is particularly intense, meaning the light show extends farther south than normal. NASA rates it as a G3, or strong, geomagnetic storm. When that energy hits the earth's poles, it causes the electromagnetic show known as the northern lights.
There's no guarantee how far south the lights will actually reach. At midnight last night, it was only as far south as southern Canada, according to NASA's space weather site.
Rain and cloudy skies also dominated across Upstate late Wednesday and early this morning. Would-be aurora viewers are also battling the nearly-full moon, which throws light into the sky and dims the northern lights.
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