sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2011
- Messages
- 25,287
- Like
- 109,273
Based on an image from Orange Zone
Welcome to African American Coaches Day!
African American Coaches Day is celebrated every first Tuesday of February in the United States. This year it falls on February 6. This day addresses the need for the black community to embrace coaching to help spur business and personal development. Although its history isn’t documented, the significant day trashes baseless stereotypes throughout history that African Americans aren’t “good enough.” A mere scan through history books clearly shows they undeniably sit amongst the world’s most brilliant minds with super impressive accomplishments — hence the reason there are a ton of scholarships available for Black students. Picture Fritz Pollard: N.F.L.’s First African American Head Coach; Brooklyn Dodgers’ Jackie Robinson, the first African American to play major league baseball, and many more.
HISTORY OF AFRICAN AMERICAN COACHES DAY
In the 15th century, the word ‘Coach’ was derived from the Hungarian word ‘kocsi’, the shortened form of ‘Koczi szeter,’ translated ‘wagon of Kocs.’ It was a large comfortable four-wheeled carriage made by an unknown carriage maker from the village of Kocs, Komárom-Esztergom county, Hungary. But, records have it, its usage later spread to the French ‘coche’ and German ‘kotsche.’
SU News
SU football spring game date is set for first look at Brown’s team (PS; Mink)
The date for Syracuse football’s annual spring game has been set.
The Orange begins practice next month under first-year coach Fran Brown and concludes with the spring game April 20.
The NCAA allots 15 practices in the spring. The Orange is scheduled to start practice March 21.
The team’s practice schedule has circulated on social media as the program pushes for visitors — both alumni and recruits — to drop by and observe.
The Orange has one of the highest rates in returning production, according to a formula cooked up by ESPN’s Bill Connelly. That usually correlates to improved performance.
Syracuse is coming off a 6-7 season in which it fired eighth-year coach Dino Babers.
The school hired Georgia defensive backs coach Fran Brown on Nov. 28, and an influx of transfer acquisitions, including Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord, has helped reshape the 2024 roster.
The Orange also returns multi-year starters Marlowe Wax and Justin Barron on defense and Oronde Gadsden II, who earned preseason All-America recognition last year before suffering a season-ending foot injury that requires a lengthy rehab timeline.
The NCAA’s recruiting calendar is in a dead period through March 3, meaning no in-person recruiting contact is permitted on or off campus.
A second signing window opens Wednesday.
Starting March 4, recruits can visit campus and on-campus recruiting is permitted through April 14. Off-campus recruiting resumes April 15 through May 25.
Syracuse Football: 5-star target, nation’s No. 1 cornerback, makes college decision (itlh; Adler)
Na’eem Offord, a 2025 five-star player and the country’s No. 1 cornerback in his class who received a scholarship offer from Syracuse football coaches late last year, is headed to the rugged Big Ten Conference.
The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Offord, a standout junior at Parker High School in Birmingham, Ala., said via his X page that he has verbally committed to Ohio State.
Offord, a consensus top-10 national prospect in the 2025 cycle, has received more than 40 scholarship offers throughout his recruiting process, according to his bio on 247Sports.
On December 19, 2023, Offord said on his X page that the ‘Cuse coaching staff had offered him a scholarship.
Syracuse football hasn’t prevailed for five-star cornerback Na’eem Offord.
Per an article last December from MaxPreps national football editor Zack Poff, for the 2023 season, Offord was named to the MaxPreps junior All-America first team.
Offord’s ridiculously long offer sheet included some big-time heavyweights in college football, such as Alabama, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Southern California, Tennessee, Texas and many others.
When I wrote this article, both the industry-generated 247Sports Composite and the industry-generated On3 Industry Ranking placed Offord as five stars, No. 5 nationally, No. 1 at cornerback and No. 1 in Alabama within the 2025 class.
...
Torrey Ball "The 315" 2-5-24 (ESPN; radio; The 315)
Syracuse University’s Deputy Athletics Director Torrey Ball joined Brian today to talk about renovations currently being made to the JMA Dome. the talk ranged from seat back to tickets and much in between.
Newhouse after Noon 2-5-24 (ESPN; radio; Newhouse after Noon)
Jacob Charnow & Shane Holcombe start this week of Newhouse after Noon shows reacting to Syracuse men’s basketball’s 99-70 loss to Wake Forest and discussing what they believe to be the root of the problem. Then, Dan Shalam, Jazaleen Salinas, and Milo Hoffman talk Syracuse women’s basketball and whether or not Dyaisha Fair can carry the scoring load for the Orange all the way through March Madness.
ACC News
https://athlonsports.com/college-fo...ted-to-lose-oc-to-recent-acc-coaching-opening (athlonsports.com; Borba)
This past week, Boston College lost its head coach Jeff Hafley to the NFL ranks which put them in a tough spot.
They needed to move quickly to find his replacement, and they have appeared to have done just that in targeting newly-hired Ohio State offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien. According to a report by Rich Thompson of The Boston Herald, the two sides are “down to the minor details".
Thompson also revealed that the Eagles are spending some serious money in luring O’Brien away from Columbus where he's been all of five minutes.
“Heard @BCFootball and Bill O’Brien are down to the minor details. Possible @ACCFootball announcement on Wednesday. @BosHeraldSports. He won’t come cheap with a lot of incentives,” said Thompson.
This would be a major loss for the Buckeyes who were hoping O’Brien could help them end what has been somewhat of a skid over the past three seasons. The pen hasn't been put to paper as of Monday night, but all signs point to O'Brien replacing Hafley, which quite frankly could be an upgrade.
BREAKING: NLRB Rules Dartmouth Athletes are Employees (RX; HM)
BREAKING: NLRB Rules Dartmouth Athletes are Employees
From the Boston Globe:
...
Delaware Football to Play at Virginia in 2026 - University of Delaware Athletics (bluehens.com)
The University of Delaware football team will travel to Charlottesville in 2026 for a nonconference contest against the University of Virginia. The matchup will take place on September 26 at UVA's Scott Stadium and is the first game to be announced for the Blue Hens' 2026 schedule. It will be the first meeting between the two programs.
Delaware will be matching up with an ACC opponent for the second-straight season when it makes the trip to Charlottesville after playing at Wake Forest in 2025. The Cavaliers went 3-9 in 2023 with wins over then-No. 10 North Carolina and a Duke team that spent a majority of the season in the top 25. Virginia is just two years removed from qualifying for the Wasabi Fenway Bowl in 2021 and played in the Orange Bowl in 2019 after an appearance in the ACC Championship Game.
The Blue & Gold wrapped up the 2023 season with a 9-4 overall record and a 6-2 mark in CAA play, advancing to the second round of the FCS Championship for the second-straight season. The nine wins were the most since the 2010 season and it is the first time UD has had consecutive eight-win campaigns since 2003-04. Delaware's offense scored at least 40 points in five games this year and surpassed 500 total yards on four occasions.
The 2024 season schedule has been announced and season tickets memberships are on sale now. Renewing members must be renewed by February 29 to guarantee the same seating and parking locations as 2023. All fans who renew or purchase tickets by this date will have the option to use the virtual venue to upgrade, add or select new seats and/or parking spaces for the upcoming season.
The 2024 ACC Football Schedule Review (pittpov.com)
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) released the entire ACC 2024 football schedule on Wednesday January 24’th.
All the local Pittsburgh media outlets (including an article on the POV) made some comments on Pitt’s upcoming season. I will not be making comments on any team’s prospects for the upcoming season. Just their schedule and what I make of the ACC schedule.
As a reader of the POV, you know I like charts. After all, a chart is worth a thousand words. I will show two charts. In my mind, I just saved you from reading two thousand words. The first chart will include Pitt’s and their eight scheduled ACC opponents. The second will be the remaining eight teams.
With an early Labor Day and a late Thanksgiving weekend, there is fourteen weeks to fit in a 12-game schedule. That means two BYE weeks for most teams. Since Florida State and Georgia Tech are playing a week “zero” game in Dublin,
On to the first chart…
Did you catch the obvious problem in the above chart? Later, I will let you know why. It was not due to an error on my part. Next is the balance of the ACC teams.
The “problem” in the first chart was with SMU. They have three “BYEs’”.
I gather the team-by-team data from ESPN. I thought I missed a SMU opponent and went back to ESPN. No opponent was listed for week 3 (September 14th). I went to the ACC site – no opponent was listed. I finally turned to the FBSchedules website. That site tracks teams scheduling activities. I found the below.
Vanderbilt makes changes to 2024 non-conference football schedule (fbschedules.com)
Be sure to read the comments-SMU only had nine months to schedule a fourth OOC opponent. More on this towards the end of the article. To me, Vanderbilt dumped SMU due to SMU’s move to the ACC. Vandy’s schedule usually includes only one P5 opponent per season. With a 3-game series against SMU, that would lock in 2 P5 OOC games for the years involved.
As usual, Pitt’s schedule was the first I put into my spreadsheet. I was beginning to think the ACC pinheads had it out for Pitt. Two byes by the eighth week made for an all-conference six game season ending streak. I thought no way a North Carolina based team had that long streak of games without a break.
I was wrong.
Following is my take on ACC bye scheduling. There is some rhyme and reason in scheduling byes.
Cal has four ACC home games (Miami, NC State, Syracuse, Stanford). Stanford has four ACC home games (VT, SMU, Wake and Louisville). Of those eight teams. Miami, NC State, Wake, and VT have a bye week following their trip out west.
After their trips out west, Cuse (UConn) and Louisville (Pitt) play at home while SMU travels to Duke.
Excluding the six games played on non-Saturdays in week 1, there are nine Thursday (3) and Friday (6) night games Those nine games involve fourteen ACC teams. North Carolina, Clemson, and Virginia do not play a Thursday or Friday game.
Boston College, Syracuse, and VT plays in two. SMU plays BYU in an OOC Friday matchup. Of those nine games, there are byes preceding twelve of the team games involved. That means a total of 16 (including SMU’s missing OOC opponent) of the expected 37 BYEs are used. The balance of byes and OOC games are spread so that an even number of all ACC matchups are made.
Here is another chart that may explain the above in numbers
...
CFP: SMU revenue less than full Power 5 share (ESPN; Dinich)
The College Football Playoff management committee unanimously agreed upon an undisclosed amount of money for incoming ACC member SMU that will go to the conference, but it's still less than the revenue the CFP typically distributes to Power 5 schools, CFP executive director Bill Hancock said Monday.
The 11 presidents and chancellors who control the playoff must still unanimously approve SMU's revenue distribution for the next two years, which are the final two seasons of the current 12-year contract. SMU will eventually receive the full share when the new contract is done.
"I think everybody in the room felt like it was a fair accommodation," Hancock said. "They've spent a long time talking about it -- over three meetings."
The decision is significant because in the past, schools that made the leap from a Group of 5 conference to a Power 5 league also saw an increase in CFP revenue from roughly $1 million to $6 million. In 2022, the CFP voted to give full Power 5 revenue to incoming Big 12 schools UCF, Cincinnati, Houston and BYU. SMU and the ACC were under the impression they would get the same.
Hancock declined to say specifically what the monetary agreement was, and ACC commissioner Jim Phillips declined to comment after the meeting, as did SMU athletic director Rick Hart.
The 10 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick, who joined Monday's CFP meeting in Dallas by Zoom, have been discussing SMU's revenue situation for months. SMU had already agreed to forgo ACC television revenue for its first nine years in the league.
There is already a glaring CFP revenue gap between the Power 5 (Pac-12, ACC, SEC, Big 12 and Big Ten) and the Group of 5 (Conference-USA, Mid-American, Mountain West, Sun Belt and American Athletic Conference). Currently, about 80% of the CFP revenue goes to the Power 5, while 20% is allocated to the Group of 5. Now the commissioners have to determine how it will be shared amongst the "Power 4," as the Pac-12 is on the verge of extinction following defections to other leagues.
...
(youtube; podcast; Locked on ACC)
Armando Bacot Says ACC Runs Through Him & Chapel Hill; What Did Scheyer, Blue Devils Miss in Round 1
https://athlonsports.com/college-fo...back-who-plans-to-wear-unique-number-for-a-qb (athlonsports.com; Borba)
There will be a lot of things to get used to in the future when you tune in to watch Stanford football.
For starters, they are no longer in the Pac-12 and have joined the ACC following the massive wave of conference realignment that has seen the conference out West fall by the wayside. However, while looking ahead to the 2025 season, there is a chance that they will have a quarterback sporting one of the most obscure numbers possible.
On Monday, Stanford landed a commitment from 2025 four-star quarterback Bear Bachmeier. He ranks as the No. 11 signal-caller in the class, and as the No. 190 player in the country, and also happens to be the younger brother of Stanford receiver Tiger and Wake Forest quarterback Hank Bachmeier.
When it was revealed he was announcing his commitment, it was also revealed which number he will be wearing. As rare as it is to have a number promised to a recruit who just committed, the number he chose is even more rare. The youngest Bachmeier will be donning the No. 47.
A number he chose due to the fact he wore it during his youth days, and also helps motivate him to have a fullback-like mindset in terms of toughness. He compared his game to fellow California native, Josh Allen.
...
Links, News and Rumors 2024 Feb 5 (RX; HM)
Links, News and Rumors 2024 Feb 5
From the AP article "Big Ten, SEC forming joint advisory group to find solutions to college sports issues":
Of course, we all remember how it went the last time the Big Ten formed an "alliance". Watch your back, SEC!
What does this "advisory group" really mean? All Sports Discussion has a clear and level-headed explanation in "The SEC Big 10 alliance doesn’t mean much."
I guess the title kinda give it away just a little bit...
__________
Tony Altimore is at it again, this time with a graph showing the number of football games with over 4 million viewers for each power conference team:
Same song, different verse: Florida State, Notre Dame, and Clemson stand out among ACC teams. Also, water is wet.
__________
Finally, for you ACC basketball fans,
MBB: From "Purdue Flexes Its Muscle As Kentucky Faces Defensive Crisis", there's one ACC-related section...
...
Fixing The Notre Dame Football Schedule - Part One (theirishtribune.com; Regan)
There's much to be said about Notre Dame's schedule over the last 20-ish years. They've received repeated criticism for scheduling multiple mediocre opponents in a single season, dropping historical rivalries (looking at you, Michigan), and signing an ACC deal that sees them play 5-6 ACC teams (some not even rivals) a year through 2037. The following breakdown is sure to be controversial: feelings will be hurt, and accusations will be levied, but at the end of the day, the goal here is to fix Notre Dame's schedule going forward and set them up for success amidst college football's new future. Conference realignment and the inaugural season of the 12-team CFP are sure to mix things up in college football, and the Irish must do whatever they can to remain independent and relevant while trying to survive the chaos.
This analysis will be split into two parts, the first of which will cover Notre Dame’s rivals, specifically assessing which ones the Irish should leave behind, which ones the Irish should bring back, and how to maximize each matchup. Part 2 will address more significant changes to the schedule, and the ACC deal. There are endless unknown variables, complex contracts, and yet-to-be-had negotiations, so take all this with a grain of salt.
Current Situation
There are 3 main issues with the schedule that need to be addressed if Notre Dame is going to get over the hump and not just make the College Football Playoff, but win it all.
- Weak Strength of Schedule
- No Conference Championship
- Missing Rivalries / Rivalries to Move on From
- Maintain Notre Dame’s Independence
- Keep them Financially Viable for The Future
- Maintain a Clear Path to The CFP / Give Notre Dame a Legitimate Chance to Win It all
The genesis of this article came from the prevailing criticism from Irish fans and haters alike; Notre Dame's strength of schedule has been relatively weak in recent years. Some of the biggest critiques have been the annual matchup against a relatively weak Navy, often playing teams like Army, Airforce, and BYU, a rivalry with a declining Stanford, and a propensity to play 2-3 Group-of-5 teams a season. Unfortunately, these critiques have cemented into reality over the last 15-ish years. Between 2005 and 2023, Notre Dame averaged the nation's 25th toughest pre-season strength of schedule. While not abysmal, barely ranking within the top 25 of toughest opponents is a strike the Irish can't afford. Even if they were to win out, there would be a high likelihood the Irish lose a SOS comparison and could suffer in the CFP seeding process because of it. On the other hand, advocating for a schedule composed of all Power-5 conferences would be silly and would ultimately prevent the Irish from making it to the dance at all. There is a balance to be found.
No self-respecting Notre Dame fan would advocate in good faith for full-conference membership, no matter how attractive the BIG10's new media money is. Independence is at the core of Notre Dame football and is a cornerstone the program aims to maintain. Yet, changes need to be made if the Irish are to remain independent amidst a consolidating conference landscape. This is where increasing the overall strength of schedule solves multiple problems. Notre Dame must construct a more robust regular season schedule to compensate for their lack of a conference championship.
Most CFP contenders play 2-3 layup games per year, and while Notre Dame is typically within this 2-3 layup game range, their unique independent status means each regular season game holds more weight. Playing 2 Group-of-5 teams alongside Navy, Stanford, and whoever else the ACC decides to throw at them that particular year counts against them more than an Alabama team that, for example, may play 2 FCS teams and a Mountain West team, but cap the year off with a classic SEC championship against an until-then undefeated SEC opponent.
...
Other
Gavin Maloney
See new $2,900 a month apartments in one of downtown Syracuse’s oldest buildings (photos) (PS; $; Moriarty)
The building that housed Koolakian’s menswear shop for six decades is now home to three new apartments that overlook historic Hanover Square.
Contractor Gavin Maloney bought the building at 132 E. Genesee St. from the Koolakian family in 2021 and built the apartments on its upper three floors over the past two years at a cost of $1.6 million. Ed Koolakian, grandson of store founder George Koolakian and the store’s operator for many years, died in April 2020 at age 71.
The one-bedroom, 800-square-foot apartments are available to rent for $2,900 a month. They feature granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and solid-wood cabinets and millwork customer-built by Maloney.
Hanover Square is Syracuse’s oldest commercial district, and the former Koolakian building is one of the oldest buildings in the city. The front portion of the building is believed to have been built circa 1822. The rear portion was built in the 1890s, Maloney said.
The building housed what likely was Syracuse’s first photography studio in the 1840s, when photography was just in its infancy. In the 1860s, famed Syracuse architect Archimedes Russell had an office on the third floor. A hardware store occupied the building at the turn of the 20th century.
Maloney installed wide-plank wooden floors, complete with old-fashioned cut nails, in the apartments to give the floors the appearance of being original to the building.
The building’s 1930s-era windows have been kept, but with new glass that pretty much eliminates outside noise.
Each apartment has its own washer and dryer. The apartments are heated and cooled by energy-efficient electric heat pumps. Each also has a central humidifier that can be controlled by the tenants.
The apartments’ kitchens feature a large island with a farmhouse sink and stools for seating. The bathrooms come with heated tile floors and subway tile shower walls.
...
A CNY craft brewery closed last fall. Another local brewer plans to take the space (PS; $; Cazentre)
The Heritage Hill Brewhouse craft brewery is expanding from the hills of Pompey to a busy shopping plaza in North Syracuse.
Heritage Hill North is expected to open this spring in the former location of Full Boar Brewery and Taproom, which closed its spot in the plaza near Sweetheart Corners on Route 11 in November. Heritage Hill owner Dan Palladino is hoping to have it open in time for St. Patrick’s Day weekend.
The new location will be a taproom, serving the beers that are brewed at the original Heritage Hill location on Sweet Road in Pompey. It may use some aging tanks left from the Full Boar brewhouse, but there are no immediate plans to open a full-scale brewery there, Palladino said.
The new location will have a full bar, also serving New York-made wines, spirits, seltzers and ciders. Its kitchen will serve flatbreads, paninis, and charcuterie boards, along with some items, like pulled pork, that “mirror” the location in Pompey.
The taproom will also host live music, trivia nights, a mug club and serve as a gathering place for fans of Syracuse University sports and the Buffalo Bills.
This will be the third location for Palladino and the Heritage Hill brand. The original brewery and taproom opened in 2018 on land adjacent to the Palladino family’s crop and beef farm. Last year, a location opened in Syracuse Hancock Airport under the name Palladino Farms Restaurant. It is operated by the airport’s concession company, but served beers and menu items from Heritage Hill.
“This really allows us to continue to expand our brand, and helps us build an even bigger audience,” Palladino said, noting the plaza at 628 S. Main St. has a high volume of daily car traffic and is near the offices of the North Syracuse school district and many stores and shops.
“We have a lot of customers up at the hill (Pompey) who live in North Syracuse, Liverpool and Baldwinsville who say, ‘We love it here, but we wish you had a spot closer to us.’ “ Palladino said.
...
Hochul announces $200 million investment in I-90 corridor workforce (DO; Boehning)
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced New York state’s plans to allocate over $200 million to workforce development along the Interstate 90 corridor during a press conference at the PPC Broadband facility in East Syracuse Monday morning.
In the conference, titled “Our New York, Our Future: Invest in Central New York,” Hochul said the workforce development project would promote central New York’s involvement in the manufacturing industry. The city of Syracuse will be the “flagship” for these workforce developments, preparing people to work at the incoming Micron Technology plant, she said.
“Never forget that here, we are the risk-takers, or the dreamers or the doers,” Hochul said, referencing Micron’s investment. “We’re also the ones who were smart enough to land and make the largest economic development project in our nation’s history.”
Hochul said she opted to deliver the conference at PPC’s facility because it plans to invest over $7.3 million to expand its operations, creating over 100 new jobs at its Syracuse facility. She said PPC was one of the only manufacturers to stay in the region after several companies left for offshore labor, which increased unemployment rates in central New York.
“Geographically, Syracuse is the heart of New York state,” Hochul said.
Throughout her conference, Hochul emphasized several projects to promote manufacturing in the state, which she said was “at the core of (New York’s) DNA.” Randy Wolken, the president of Manufacturers Association of Central New York and co-chair of the central New York Regional Economic Development Council, said New York is on the “trajectory” to being one of the top five “manufacturing states” in the country.
In 2022, the company announced its plans to invest over $100 billion into the state. As part of its collaboration with New York, Micron has agreed to build on-site daycare centers to support its workers. Hochul said she believes the Micron partnership will have an impact on the state similar to the Erie Canal.
New York state has allotted hundreds of millions of dollars to repairing roads and improving public transportation in central New York, Hochul said. Most recently, the state announced it would continue with its Interstate 81 viaduct removal project — which was previously halted due to a lawsuit from Renew 81 for All.
...
