sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Last night I had the pleasure of attending the Basket Ball, JB and Juli's annual major fund raiser. It was again held at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, NY. Spent almost all my time hanging out with syracusefan.com luminaries and legends. These include cto, who makes all things possible, VAOrange, Bill Orange, Jake and Mrs Jake, Rllbees and Mrs Bees, Tol and Mrs Tol, CherieHoops and Mrs CherieHoops, LurkerClara and LurkerClaraSignificantOther. A very prestigious group indeed.
The evening started with a VIP reception in the Showroom, hosted by cto. The VIPs all attended, including JB and the rest of coaching staff*, Juli, the players, Sean McDonough!, Bill Rafferty! and Charles Limbergh. Okay, I exaggerated a little there. Sharp eyed readers will detect the subterfuge.
*=Adrian Autry skipped the event because he was working, presumably recruiting...
!=co-emceees of the 2014 Basket Ball, more on them later
The VIP reception had an open bar, which featured a high quality domestic ginger ale of excellent vintage. I think they served other beverages as well though I can't be sure. Some of the drinks others had sure didn't look like ginger ale. Hor d'ouevers@ were served. I had deep fried mushroom ravioli with an alfredo sauce, mini crab cakes with a mayo/bay/lemon based sauce and coconut shrimp with a controversial orange chili sauce. The sauce was quite delicious and I am sworn to secrecy regarding why it sauce became controversial. But trust me when I say that sauce was dangerous and not to be trifled with. Let's move on before I accidentally spill the beans.
@=hardest word to spell in this post, thanks Google for giving me the correct spelling
We discussed the major matters of the day, including a fund raiser cto coordinated in Connecticut just prior to leaving for Turning Stone and the ball, the proper pronunciation of upstate New York communities, the weather, how best to hide a large bag filled with birthday presents during a formal ball, and recruiting (word is good news will be coming from a big guy for the class of 2015).
After a time, we moved to the Great Hall, where the public reception was held. More of the same food is provided, there are cash bars everywhere at your beck and call (always wanted to use that expression), you can get a free picture taken of you with the team, you can admire the large ice sculpture of the J&J logo, enjoy cheese, crackers, assorted vegetables, and even some Italian meats. At this time, I was able to sample additional treats, including philly cheese steak rolls with provolone dipping sauce, and Thai chicken lollipops with coconut peanut sauce.It was pretty cool.
After a time, we were herded into another large room, where everyone but me grabbed a couple of beers and we sat down for the awards and live auction portion of the evening.
Juli and JB was entertaining as always, talking about the team, the turnout for the event, (about 800 people, not quite as much as the record numbers from last year), support from corporate sponsors (record levels), etc. Dr Tim Damron was introduced and talked briefly. He is a local doctor engaged in research in the fight against cancer, and he is an example of how the J&J Foundation supports the fight against this disease locally. Dr Damron introduced Andrew O'Bryan, a freshman at Weedsport HS who was diagnosed about 4 years ago with osteosarcoma in one of his legs. Doctors were forced to remove it, but he played football this past season with a prosthesis.
The 2014 MVP Award winners were introduced. Jeff and Jennifer Rubin are Syracuse alums, orange to the core and committed to paying it forward to the CNY community. They had nice speeches and got cool J&J awards to take home.
JB introduced the co-emcees of the event, Bill Rafferty and Sean McDonough in a most acerbic manner. Bill and Sean took the stage and returned fire with great accuracy. Lots of funny stories ensued, with Rafferty at one time stopping, Sean, who was beating him about the stage with a series of verbal barbs, reminding him that they were supposed to be roasting JB.
JB then masterfully conducted the auction, aided ably by Rafferty and McDonough. Among the items auctioned off: away game on team charter for two, 2 season tickets for next season in front of Juli, a trip for two to the Final Four in Indianapolis, diner for 10-12 at Prime Steakhouse in Armoney Square, a pair of SU themed rocking chairs, courtside tickets for 4 for a 'choice of 3' home game (included a visit to the Melo Center for practice), and perhaps most memorable, the jackeet JB was wearing when he went temporarily crazy in the game at Durham. Members of the audience were very generous and hundreds of thousands of dollars were raised in a short time. Neil Gold in particular, stung by an insinuation by JB that cto had passed him as the biggest SU hoops fan on the planet, was particularly generous.
The entertainment part of the evening was next. A really talented 15 year old girl named Carly Rose Sonenclar sang her heart out for 3 songs. She is a talent, and her clain to fame is finishing second in something called X Factor. She was very impressive.
Carly Rose Sonenclar
After the entertainment, everyone went next door to eat dinner. It was a nice dinner, as usual. Great spinach salad with bleu cheese, dried cranberries. candied walnuts and balsamic vinaigrette. Not a salad guy but that was very good indeed.
The entree includes spears of asparagus wrap with prosciutto, grilled beef tenderloin, sauted shrimp and mashed potatoes pressed into a lined shell shape (that was my least favorite part of the meal, which is weird as I am normally very pro potato.
Dessert was a chocolate lovers delight. The program says it consisted of chocolate terrine, chocolate gel, chocolate panna cotta and chocolate angliase. All I know is it was a bunch of different kinds of chocolate, ranging from a thin sheet of white chocolate featuring the J&J Foundation logo, with a couple of soft, darker type chocolates to accompany it. I believe there was a dried raspberry paired with the chocolate too, which is always nice.
What else? The women of syracusefan.com were never more beautiful. McDonough is right when he talks about how the men of CNY have all over achieved landing their women. Juli had a great gown on that was apparently provided to her free by event sponsor Ferragamo, who also supplies JB with some clothes.
Over the course of the evening, cto brought SU football HC Scott Shafer and new SU Chancellor Kent Syverud to the table for introductions. Both are very unassuming, modest people who we found easy to like and connect with. Coach Shafer's support of OE in the hospital has made me a fan of his for life.
The two top sponsors this year were PPS, who does all the printing and promotional work for the J&J Foundation, and DestinyUSA, who started supporting the foundation last year and really stepped up this year. Couple this with the new uni presentation at DestinyUSA last week and it looks like Congel and company are cozying up with SU a lot more than in the past. Hey Bob, The DestinyUSA IPF would sound very good. Think about it.
The Prime Time Horns played tons of cover songs over a variety of musical genres. They were good, but maybe a little too loud for those of us that wanted to talk.
This is a great event I highly recommend to any SU hoops fan. If you want to talk to a player or a coach, get pictures with an SU legend or just talk SU hoops with fellow fanatics and maybe eat some great food and have an adult beverage or two, this is the place for you.
The evening started with a VIP reception in the Showroom, hosted by cto. The VIPs all attended, including JB and the rest of coaching staff*, Juli, the players, Sean McDonough!, Bill Rafferty! and Charles Limbergh. Okay, I exaggerated a little there. Sharp eyed readers will detect the subterfuge.
*=Adrian Autry skipped the event because he was working, presumably recruiting...
!=co-emceees of the 2014 Basket Ball, more on them later
The VIP reception had an open bar, which featured a high quality domestic ginger ale of excellent vintage. I think they served other beverages as well though I can't be sure. Some of the drinks others had sure didn't look like ginger ale. Hor d'ouevers@ were served. I had deep fried mushroom ravioli with an alfredo sauce, mini crab cakes with a mayo/bay/lemon based sauce and coconut shrimp with a controversial orange chili sauce. The sauce was quite delicious and I am sworn to secrecy regarding why it sauce became controversial. But trust me when I say that sauce was dangerous and not to be trifled with. Let's move on before I accidentally spill the beans.
@=hardest word to spell in this post, thanks Google for giving me the correct spelling
We discussed the major matters of the day, including a fund raiser cto coordinated in Connecticut just prior to leaving for Turning Stone and the ball, the proper pronunciation of upstate New York communities, the weather, how best to hide a large bag filled with birthday presents during a formal ball, and recruiting (word is good news will be coming from a big guy for the class of 2015).
After a time, we moved to the Great Hall, where the public reception was held. More of the same food is provided, there are cash bars everywhere at your beck and call (always wanted to use that expression), you can get a free picture taken of you with the team, you can admire the large ice sculpture of the J&J logo, enjoy cheese, crackers, assorted vegetables, and even some Italian meats. At this time, I was able to sample additional treats, including philly cheese steak rolls with provolone dipping sauce, and Thai chicken lollipops with coconut peanut sauce.It was pretty cool.
After a time, we were herded into another large room, where everyone but me grabbed a couple of beers and we sat down for the awards and live auction portion of the evening.
Juli and JB was entertaining as always, talking about the team, the turnout for the event, (about 800 people, not quite as much as the record numbers from last year), support from corporate sponsors (record levels), etc. Dr Tim Damron was introduced and talked briefly. He is a local doctor engaged in research in the fight against cancer, and he is an example of how the J&J Foundation supports the fight against this disease locally. Dr Damron introduced Andrew O'Bryan, a freshman at Weedsport HS who was diagnosed about 4 years ago with osteosarcoma in one of his legs. Doctors were forced to remove it, but he played football this past season with a prosthesis.
The 2014 MVP Award winners were introduced. Jeff and Jennifer Rubin are Syracuse alums, orange to the core and committed to paying it forward to the CNY community. They had nice speeches and got cool J&J awards to take home.
JB introduced the co-emcees of the event, Bill Rafferty and Sean McDonough in a most acerbic manner. Bill and Sean took the stage and returned fire with great accuracy. Lots of funny stories ensued, with Rafferty at one time stopping, Sean, who was beating him about the stage with a series of verbal barbs, reminding him that they were supposed to be roasting JB.
JB then masterfully conducted the auction, aided ably by Rafferty and McDonough. Among the items auctioned off: away game on team charter for two, 2 season tickets for next season in front of Juli, a trip for two to the Final Four in Indianapolis, diner for 10-12 at Prime Steakhouse in Armoney Square, a pair of SU themed rocking chairs, courtside tickets for 4 for a 'choice of 3' home game (included a visit to the Melo Center for practice), and perhaps most memorable, the jackeet JB was wearing when he went temporarily crazy in the game at Durham. Members of the audience were very generous and hundreds of thousands of dollars were raised in a short time. Neil Gold in particular, stung by an insinuation by JB that cto had passed him as the biggest SU hoops fan on the planet, was particularly generous.
The entertainment part of the evening was next. A really talented 15 year old girl named Carly Rose Sonenclar sang her heart out for 3 songs. She is a talent, and her clain to fame is finishing second in something called X Factor. She was very impressive.
Carly Rose Sonenclar
After the entertainment, everyone went next door to eat dinner. It was a nice dinner, as usual. Great spinach salad with bleu cheese, dried cranberries. candied walnuts and balsamic vinaigrette. Not a salad guy but that was very good indeed.
The entree includes spears of asparagus wrap with prosciutto, grilled beef tenderloin, sauted shrimp and mashed potatoes pressed into a lined shell shape (that was my least favorite part of the meal, which is weird as I am normally very pro potato.
Dessert was a chocolate lovers delight. The program says it consisted of chocolate terrine, chocolate gel, chocolate panna cotta and chocolate angliase. All I know is it was a bunch of different kinds of chocolate, ranging from a thin sheet of white chocolate featuring the J&J Foundation logo, with a couple of soft, darker type chocolates to accompany it. I believe there was a dried raspberry paired with the chocolate too, which is always nice.
What else? The women of syracusefan.com were never more beautiful. McDonough is right when he talks about how the men of CNY have all over achieved landing their women. Juli had a great gown on that was apparently provided to her free by event sponsor Ferragamo, who also supplies JB with some clothes.
Over the course of the evening, cto brought SU football HC Scott Shafer and new SU Chancellor Kent Syverud to the table for introductions. Both are very unassuming, modest people who we found easy to like and connect with. Coach Shafer's support of OE in the hospital has made me a fan of his for life.
The two top sponsors this year were PPS, who does all the printing and promotional work for the J&J Foundation, and DestinyUSA, who started supporting the foundation last year and really stepped up this year. Couple this with the new uni presentation at DestinyUSA last week and it looks like Congel and company are cozying up with SU a lot more than in the past. Hey Bob, The DestinyUSA IPF would sound very good. Think about it.
The Prime Time Horns played tons of cover songs over a variety of musical genres. They were good, but maybe a little too loud for those of us that wanted to talk.
This is a great event I highly recommend to any SU hoops fan. If you want to talk to a player or a coach, get pictures with an SU legend or just talk SU hoops with fellow fanatics and maybe eat some great food and have an adult beverage or two, this is the place for you.
