sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to International Day of Pink!
International Day of Pink aspires to create a more inclusive and diverse world. It promotes acceptance, equality, and taking a stand against bullying. Pink shirts are worn in solidarity with the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, who continue to face hate, discrimination, bullying, and violence. Keeping the clock from turning back on human rights, educating youth not to repeat the mistakes of the past, encouraging youth to challenge social norms and ask more of their educators, and demanding more from policymakers are some goals of the day.
David Shepherd and Travis Price, seniors at Central Kings Rural High School near Cambridge Station, in Nova Scotia, Canada, started International Day of Pink after they saw a freshman being bullied and threatened with getting beat up for wearing a pink shirt. They bought 50 pink shirts at a discount store and sent emails to their male friends asking them to wear them to school. Their line of thought was that 50 people couldn't be bullied at once. But the "sea of pink" ended up being much larger than they had anticipated. Not only were the 50 shirts worn, but many other students wore pink as well.
SU News
Oronde Gadsden II done for spring after second surgery (PS; $; Leiker)
Syracuse football tight end Oronde Gadsden II is done for the spring after undergoing a successful surgery to remove the screws inserted in his right foot to repair his Lisfranc injury.
Orange coach Fran Brown shared the news following Tuesday’s practice when Gadsden was seen back in tennis shoes and working out with trainers rather than participating in drills.
Gadsden had been absent from Thursday’s practice. Having the surgery done now puts him on pace to be available for summer workouts when they begin in late May.
“If I wait until after spring ball, then that puts us back more and then now we’re in the summer and he’s not able to workout at his max capacity,” Brown said Tuesday. “Then I wouldn’t be helping him work on his mental and physical toughness also ‘cause there’s some things he need to build up mentally to be right and if he becomes a better blocker, he’ll have a good future in life.”
Brown said Gadsden “could practice now, but [he’s] not doing that.” He mentioned that he had him workout the first few weeks of spring ball mainly to work on his blocking, which has been a point of emphasis for the now-redshirt junior ever since he made the transition to tight end ahead of his sophomore season.
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The Juice Online - 3 observations from Syracuse Football's 4/9 practice (r1vals.com; Tramdaks)
Syracuse football has just passed the halfway point of spring practices.
Here are a few takeaways from Tuesday's practice and media availability.
Standards and accountability
The "standard" was something that EDGE coach Nick Williams and head coach Fran Brown emphasized during their media availability.
Brown mentioned that today was the first day of practice where they were able to get through all the plays he wanted to cover. This is undoubtedly a step in the right direction, demonstrating that players are starting to acclimate to his scheme and the overall practice structure.
"I don’t care about what you used to do at all," Brown said. "That doesn’t concern me. What concerns me is what we're doing now, and you're not upholding the standard."
The sentiment aligned with accountability.
During practices, Brown and the other coaches emphasized both, and it was palpable during 1-on-1 drills between the WRs and CBs.
WR room thin
Wide receivers Jackson Meeks and Oronde Gadsden did not participate in practice.Gadsden is still recovering from a Lisfranc procedure, while Meeks will miss the remainder of spring ball after suffering a hairline fracture in his left foot.
Meeks had emerged during spring practice as a potential No. 2 option behind Gadsden.
With the duo out, Zeed Hayes and Ta’Ron Haile got extra reps.
Haile looked comfortable in 1-on-1s, and as a freshman, it seems he has the tools to be a legitimate option in the future.
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Syracuse football WR Jackson Meeks will be out for spring following surgery (PS; $; Carlson)
Syracuse wide receiver Jackson Meeks will undergo surgery this week to repair a hairline fracture in his foot and will miss the rest of SU’s spring football practices.
Syracuse coach Fran Brown shared the plan for Meeks on Tuesday after the wide receiver attended practice in a walking boot. During the period of practice that was open to reporters, Meeks rode an exercise bike.
“He’s got to go get surgery,” Brown said. “He has a hairline fracture. He’ll be out four weeks. He kept trying to practice and kept saying, ‘I’m good, Coach, I’m good.’ I said, ‘Let’s get an MRI.’ They found something in it.”
Meeks, a transfer from Georgia, was one of two critical players whose practice status had changed on Tuesday, joining tight end Oronde Gadsden II. Gadsden had screws removed from his foot following surgery to repair a Lisfranc injury and joined Meeks on the exercise bike. He will also be out for the rest of the spring.
Brown said Meeks first suffered the injury last year and played through it during Georgia’s season.
“Last season he was playing on it,” Brown said. “He got treatment for a whole year. He’s had a break in his foot for a while and played on it. He’ll get surgery today just so he’ll be ready for summer workouts.”
Brown said they agreed to have the surgery now so that Meeks would be healthy for the team’s summer conditioning program. The coach said improving the team’s mental and physical toughness continues to be a major emphasis this offseason.
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Syracuse football: Why captains Marlowe Wax and Justin Barron returned for 5th seasons (TNIAAM; Ostrowski)
When the Syracuse Orange hired Fran Brown and his top assistant Elijah Robinson, the most immediate question was which top players the duo would retain for 2024. The answer came quickly.
Within a three-day span, Oronde Gadsden, Justin Barron, and Marlowe Wax all announced their intent to return to SU for the coming season. Gadsden was somewhat expected coming off a major foot injury, but the other two played complete, healthy years while leading the ‘Cuse defense. Wax led SU with 108 tackles and four forced fumbles, while Barron locked down enemy airspace with eight pass breakups and an interception.
There’s always the risk of having your NFL stock drop while trying to finish off your college career on a high note - Mikel Jones is a recent example. But that didn’t deter either vet from spending a year playing for the new age Orange.
Marlowe is looking at the decision from another perspective: having a chance to play in more of an NFL-style defense, put together by two coaches with SEC experience:
Syracuse’s Rover echoed the same sentiments:
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Fran Brown says SU still building mental toughness, notes history of ‘not finishing’ after first scrimmage (PS; $; Leiker)
Fran Brown knows the reputation Syracuse football has when it comes to the second half of the season.
“We’ve had a history of starting off fast and then not finishing,” Brown said Tuesday, which some could consider an understatement of the tumult the Orange has faced in the late Octobers and Novembers of recent memory.
The acknowledgement, though, is a valuable one and came as Brown dissected what he saw in the team’s first scrimmage Saturday.
He noted early in his Tuesday remarks that he felt some things fell off in the latter part of the scrimmage as the team got into more situational work — more sacks were given up, players were slacking — and how that is a reflection or microcosm of those larger issues the team has faced in the recent past.
That answer spiraled into a larger discussion through follow-up questions of the team’s standards and what Brown would like to see in the second half of spring ball with just six practices and the spring game to go.
“If you don’t uphold the standard, you won’t be here,” Brown said. “If I don’t uphold the standard, I won’t be here. That’s kind of what we talked to ‘em about today... I don’t give a freak what you used to do. This is what we’re doing now because this is what I’ve seen done to win a national championship. And remember that’s what we’re all about.”
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Gadsden, Meeks OUT for rest of Spring Football Practice (youtube; podcast; Orange Zone)
Tommy Sladek, Ashley Wenskoski and Samantha Croston bring you another busy show of The Orange Zone Podcast. Hit the time cues below if you want to jump to a certain part of our conversation.
Jack Stonehouse "The 315" 4-9-24 (ESPN; radio; The 315)
Brian stopped by Syracuse Football practice to talk to r-Jr Punter Jack Stonehouse. The two talked about an injury Jack has been dealing with as well as injuries to other members of the team. Brian & Jack talked about the portal, transfers coming/going and more!
Newhouse after Noon 4-9-24 )ESPN; radio; Newhouse after Noon)
Michael Ostrowski, Jackson Holzer, and Jacob Kaye start off today’s show assessing what Syracuse men’s basketball has done, and will do, in the transfer portal. Then, Connor McGahan, James Wildhack, and Dylan Beyer break down last night’s MBB National Championship game before giving their predictions for the Syracuse football season.
Matthew Hawn, 2025 OT out of CBA, Commits to the Syracuse Orange (youtube; podcast; DT)
Dan Tortora (DT) welcomes Matthew Hawn, 2025 Offensive Lineman out of Christian Brothers Academy (CBA) in Syracuse, NY, following his commitment to the Syracuse Orange football program...
Fran Brown continues to change Syracuse's recruiting narrative (orangefizz.net; Frank)
Syracuse currently has the 10th-ranked recruiting class in the class of 2025. Let that sink in for a second. Tenth. Ahead of Tennessee, Georgia, Miami, Wisconsin, and Texas among a number of other high-profile schools. There is still plenty of work to be done for the Orange and every other program, but at this point, it is not crazy to say that SU has a chance for an extremely highly rated class, plus whatever transfers they bring in next year as well.
Sorry to bring up snow on a day when it's going to be nearly 80 degrees (thank god), but I chatted with 3 of the 5 commits to come out of the Orange's snowy, end-of-March recruiting weekend about their visits and overall recruitments.
ReadSU doubled its Class of 2025 following a snowy weekend. What did recruits think? ‘I love the snow’
— emily leiker (@emleiker) April 9, 2024
Obviously, a negative about Syracuse is the weather. We all know how brutal it gets from November until the end of March, and sometimes into April and in October, but that isn’t stopping Fran Brown from getting his message across to recruits about why they should play for the Orange and work with him and his coaching staff.
“They talk to them about going there in the cold. ‘Don’t get up, it’s going to be cold,’ ” Brown said via Emily Leiker of syracuse.com. “We don’t want to hide anything. Let’s see what it’s like to be in the snow. Then you realize it’s not as cold as people say it is. We play inside anyway. You’ll see guys from Florida, Texas, all over the place out there diving in the snow, having fun.”
This past winter was not as snowy as years past, but there was still plenty of precipitation throughout Central New York, especially when everyone thinks the temperatures are going to turn, and then all of a sudden you wake up and there are eight inches of snow on the ground. But, that doesn’t seem to matter.
“The snow really isn’t a problem,” Byron Washington, an offensive lineman from Texas, told syracuse.com. “I love the snow. My logic is, if you’re in the snow you can put on jackets to make yourself warm. But if you’re in the heat there’s nothing you can do.”
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Are Syracuse's Recruiting Numbers Inflated? (orangefizz.net; Aitken)
I hate to be the negative Nancy and the person who can’t just enjoy the good things. But, at times the reality check is necessary, and in the case of Syracuse Football’s 2025 recruiting rankings, it’s time for everyone to come back to earth. Fran Brown has done a great job and that can’t be missed. But, right now the Orange have the 10th-best 2025 class in the nation. That just seems way too high, and when you look deeper into the players committed to SU the truth starts to reveal itself.
247Sports makes it clear that it’s system tries its best to avoid “heavily rewarding teams that have several more commitments than others.” The system isn’t perfect, however. The large number of commits, 12 to be exact, is the second most of any team in the country, behind just Notre Dame. As much as the system tries to not favor teams who have more commits, it does. Of the Orange’s 12 commits, one is a four-star, 10 are three-star, and one isn’t ranked. When you look back at the 2024 rankings, 11 of the top 15 teams have at least one five-star and all of them have at least 10 four-star commits.
It’s great that Brown has brought in the large number of recruits he has but there also has to be an emphasis on the quality of recruits. This year is without a doubt ten steps up from the past but as time goes on, expect the recruiting rankings to drop.
To compare SU’s top ten ranking at 247Sports to other services, On3 has the Orange ranked 26th, with no four-stars and just seven three-stars. Rivals is the highest on the ‘Cuse overall, ranking it 10th with two four-stars. ESPN ranks SU 13th in the country, but ranks none of the commits as top-300 players.
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ACC News
Florida State lawsuit vs. ACC to continue in Tallahassee (tampabay.com; $; Baker)
Near the end of arguments in Tuesday’s seven-hour legal hearing between Florida State and the ACC, a hypothetical scenario started to feel real.
What if dueling lawsuits between the Seminoles and their conference keep unfolding simultaneously in Florida and North Carolina?
“Then we do have chaos,” ACC attorney James Cooney said.
Buckle up.
A Leon County judge, John C. Cooper, denied the ACC’s motion to postpone FSU’s lawsuit against the league in Tallahassee. Cooper’s ruling from the bench comes less than a week after a Charlotte judge issued his mirror opinion: that the ACC’s lawsuit against FSU will continue in North Carolina.
That means the nine-figure future of the Seminoles, the league and nationwide conference realignment will continue playing out in two different courtrooms in two different states under two sets of applicable laws — at the same time. The dueling lawsuits between Clemson and the conference in both Carolinas add complexity to when, how and if two of the ACC’s biggest heavyweights could leave.
The ACC had hoped for a different outcome when it sued FSU on Dec. 21, a day before Florida State’s trustees met to sue the conference first. Cooper took issue with some of the ACC’s filing.
He had questions about whether the conference followed its voting protocols before or after it filed its complaint in Charlotte. The ACC’s presidents and chancellors approved an amended lawsuit against FSU during a special Jan. 12 virtual meeting. ACC officials have said the vote was unanimous among present members … but have not said who was present.
On Tuesday, Cooney said 12 members were there. That means three of the 15 members were not. FSU wasn’t invited, according to emails obtained by the Tampa Bay Times. Clemson said it never authorized the suit, so the Tigers weren’t there, either. That leaves one other, unspecified ACC school that sat out the vote.
Regardless of the participants, Cooper said it seemed like part of a rush to the courthouse or forum shopping — two things that are legally frowned upon.
Other factors were at play, too. Cooper suggested the state of Florida’s broad open records law could mean some documents — like the TV contract between ESPN and the ACC — should be public in Florida but maybe not in North Carolina. That contract is a sticking point in this dispute and has made some key figures tricky to pin down.
FSU initially said its total cost to leave the ACC would be $572 million (an exit fee of about $130 million, plus withheld TV revenue through 2036). Or, as FSU attorney Peter Rush said, that’s 12 years of TV rights for “what should have been the national champion’s home games” — a reference to the Seminoles’ College Football Playoff snub.
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Friedlander: Be like UConn? It’s time for the ACC to stay in its lane and start focusing on hoops instead of football (saturdaydownsouth.com; Friedlander)
This is going to go completely against the grain, because everything that has happened in college athletics over the past decade – from the insanity of conference realignment to the even more insane amount of money that’s being thrown around – has been centered exclusively around football.
But at a time in which the ACC is battling to stay out front of both a negative national perception and the grim reaper, maybe it’s time for the league to stop chasing its tail and get back to its roots. And start concentrating on doing what it has always done best.
Playing basketball. Ideally, as well as UConn, which just repeated as national champion Monday night for its 6th NCAA championship in the past 25 years. UConn, by the way, has posted 12 consecutive losing seasons as a Group of 5 football team and has never appeared in the final AP poll.
Nevertheless, the Huskies are the undisputed king of college basketball — the perfect example that a basketball-first mentality still works.
Basketball, after all, is the sport that has provided the ACC with its identity since its inception in 1953, providing us with such celebrated traditions as cutting down nets to celebrate championships, postseason conference tournaments, pointing to the passer and Midnight Madness.
It has originated popular phrases such as “Survive and Advance” and Tobacco Road while producing some of the greatest players and most colorful coaches the game has ever known.
Expansion has watered down the product somewhat, for sure. That doesn’t change the fact that the ACC still has a place among the nation’s elite. No matter what internet trolls want you to believe.
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Best ACC FB Rivalries, 2024 (RX; HM)
Best ACC FB Rivalries, 2024
Realignment has messed up a lot of good college football rivalries, and few conferences have been hit harder than the ACC. There was a time when Clemson played both South Carolina and Georgia every season, when Pittsburgh played both Penn State and West Virginia, SMU played 6 different teams in the state of Texas, and Miami played both Florida State and Florida. And don't get me started on the loss of West Coast rivalries because of the break-up of the Pac-12! Still, there are some natural rivalries both inside the ACC and on the schedule out-of-conference. Here's a table giving one of each for every ACC school (as of 2024, because that can change, too!):
| ACC School | ACC Rival | OOC Rival |
| Boston College | Syracuse | Notre Dame |
| California | Stanford | UCLA |
| Clemson | Florida State | S Carolina |
| Duke | N Carolina | Northwestern |
| Florida State | Miami | Florida |
| Georgia Tech | Clemson | Georgia |
| Louisville | SMU | Kentucky |
| Miami | Florida State | Florida |
| N Carolina | NC State | S Carolina |
| NC State | N Carolina | W Virginia |
| Notre Dame | Pittsburgh | USC |
| Pittsburgh | Syracuse | W Virginia |
| SMU | Louisville | TCU |
| Stanford | California | USC |
| Syracuse | Boston College | Rutgers |
| Virginia | Virginia Tech | Maryland |
| Virginia Tech | Virginia | W Virginia |
| Wake Forest | NC State | Vanderbilt |
Let's go down this list one school at a time to see why I picked these rivals...
Boston College
- It may not be the biggest game on the schedule, but when BC plays Syracuse, it doesn't matter; that's how I know it's a rivalry.
- Notre Dame and BC are both Catholic (though not the same); when they play each other it's called the Holy War (not to be confused with that game in Utah).
- Geographically, the closest power conference team by far is Stanford. This game also has a name: simply "The Big Game".
- UCLA is technically Cal's "little brother" in the UC system.
- After decades of big games, Florida State has replaced NC State and Georgia Tech as Clemson's biggest ACC rival.
- Nothing will ever replace S Carolina as the Tigers' biggest rival overall.
- The N Carolina campus is only 11 miles away from the Duke campus. They play for the "Victory Bell" trophy, too.
- Duke doesn't really have any true non-conference rival in football, but they do play Northwestern regularly and both are private schools, so let's go with that.
- The games against Clemson may have higher stakes, but come on: Miami is still the team Noles love to hate!
- OK, they may have the Florida Gators even more!
- The Yellow Jackets seem to have this collegial rivalry with a lot of ACC teams, but Clemson is the closest and they have a long history in football.
- Georgia - the game is called "Clean Old-Fashioned Hate". What else do you need to know?
- I picked SMU because the Mustangs and Cardinals have moved in the same circles over the last few decades and they are both city schools.
- Kentucky is the hated in-state SEC rival. They hate each other so much they didn't even play for several decades!
- Florida State hates Miami, and the feeling is mutual.
- Florida used to be the #1 rival for the Canes, and is still up there, they just don't play as much.
- Say what you want, Tar Heel fans, you know NC State is your #1 rival!
- S Carolina (aka "little Carolina") is the closest thing UNC has to a non-conference rival.
- N Carolina is #1, without a doubt.
- W Virginia is one of the few OOC rivals that cycles onto the Wolfpack's schedule regularly.
- I picked Stanford just because; I might as well have picked BC or Pitt or even Miami...
- USC is the #1 rival, period. Some Irish fans will tell you it's the only one that matters.
- Syracuse is the most-played ACC team by far, so let's go with them.
- W Virginia edged out Penn State for the #1 rival (but it's close)
- Louisville - again, this has more to do with moving in the same circles
- TCU is the real #1 rival, hands down!
- California is a short drive (if you can avoid the traffic), and the Big Game is, well, big!
- USC is the other big private school in California, so naturally they are the #1 for the Cardinal.
- Boston College may not be the most important or highest-priced ticket, but it's the ACC game Orange fans most hate to lose.
- Deny it all you want, you know Rutgers is your regional rival, and you hate them with a passion!
Other
The cheeseburger pizza from Robbie T's in Jamesville. It's the latest stop on our CNY Pizza Tour. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)(Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)
CNY Pizza Tour, stop #14: Is there a nicer guy in the pizza business than Robbie T? (PS; $; Miller)
Pizza-makers are a lot like the folks selling ice cream in the summer: They’re almost always happy. And good luck finding a happier pizza guy in the business than Robbie T.
Robbie Thompson has been serving pizzas, calzones, wings and subs from his brick-covered pizzeria in Jamesville for the past 38 years. Sure, most of his customers live in the eastern suburbs, but he has a loyal following from all over Central New York. Maybe it’s because he greets everyone when they walk in. Maybe it’s because he applauds each customer for making a good choice when they order. It also may be how he wishes them “the best day ever” as they walk out.
“I don’t know what to say; I love what I do,” Robbie said after last Wednesday’s lunch rush. “Pizza makes people happy. I know it makes me happy, and I like making people happy.”
Robbie, 59, has this uncanny power to match faces to names AND remember what they ordered the last time visited.
“The guy over there likes the garlic pizza, and he likes the pulled pork pizza,” he said, pointing to two laborers enjoying their lunch break at a window seat. “And you ... I remember you came in with the self-proclaimed pizza queen of Central New York and got a pepperoni pizza and wrote how I placed 95 slices of pepperoni on the pizza. I also talked you into a sausage, roasted red peppers and ricotta cheese pizza. That was a good choice.”
Yes, you did, Robbie. That was three years, three months and 20 pounds ago.
(I also bought a third pizza for my family dinner that night. But who’s counting?)
OK, enough talk about what we ate in the past. What are we eating today?
Address: 4625 North St., Jamesville. (315) 463-3171
Do they deliver: No, but if you call ahead, your food will be ready when promised. He also has a few tables for in-house dining. Oh, and bring cash. He doesn’t take credit cards.
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Syracuse Rush has opened an indoor soccer facility at the former Will & Baumer candle factory on Buckley Road in Salina.Rick Moriarty | rmoriarty@syracuse.com
Indoor soccer is lighting up landmark candle factory; apartments nearly ready to rent (PS; $; Moriarty)
Add indoor soccer to the multiple new uses of the former Will & Baumer candle factory in Salina.
The Syracuse Rush soccer club opened an indoor facility for league play and training programs in November in a former warehouse on former candle company site at 100 Buckley Road.
The soccer facility is the first re-use of the complex, which has been vacant since the church candle maker moved to Tennessee in 2009 after 153 years in Salina, including nearly 100 years at the Buckley Road site. But it won’t be the last.
Pascarella Development began work last year to turn two of the factory’s buildings into up to 250 apartments, with plans to build commercial space, including a brewpub, in other buildings on the historic property overlooking Onondaga Lake.
Vittorio Pascarelli, a member of the family-owned development company, said apartments in the former administration building, which he has named the “mansion” because of its stately manor, will be ready for occupancy late this spring.
Rents have not yet been set, but Pascarelli said he hopes they will be in the $1,400 to $1,500 range, including utilities.
“Our goal is to make them an affordable, comfortable place to live,” he said.
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