sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to Vietnam Veterans Day!
Vietnam Veterans Day commemorates the sacrifices of Vietnam veterans and their families and is part of a national effort to recognize the men and women who were denied a proper welcome upon returning home more than 40 years ago.
Most states celebrate “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day” on March 29 or 30 of each year. Though there is some debate, March 29 is generally viewed as a more appropriate date, as it marks the final withdrawal of U.S. troops from Vietnam in 1973. It is also the date President Nixon chose for the first Vietnam Veterans Day in 1974.
The chart below contains enacted legislation and resolutions from 41 states and Puerto Rico to designate a Vietnam Veterans Day.
SU News
For Syracuse, Four Victories But Little Vindication From Self-Righteous National Press (nytimes.com; Tracy)
Tenth-seeded Syracuse’s rise from a team that many thought did not merit a spot in the N.C.A.A. men’s basketball tournament to a surprise Final Four participant — the result of its 68-62 upset of top-seeded Virginia on Sunday night — deserves every ounce of marvel being thrown its way.
It is not just that the Orange are a year removed from a self-imposed postseason ban, or that the university’s announcement of that punishment was followed by N.C.A.A. findings that outsiders had paid former players and that former staff members had done their homework. Nor is it that Coach Jim Boeheim missed nine games (during which the Orange were 4-5) this season because of penalties related to that case.
It is that three weeks ago, the mere idea that Syracuse (23-13) deserved to make the tournament was an open question. It was ranked 72nd in the Rating Percentage Index. It had bowed out of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in the first round, after its third loss to Pittsburgh this season. Its last victory over a tournament-bound team had come in January.
With Syracuse now headed to the Final Four in Houston, the conventional wisdom is that the N.C.A.A. selection committee’s decision to include the Orange has been vindicated. It looked past the red flags on Syracuse’s résumé and saw the early wins over Connecticut and Texas A&M, the conference wins over Notre Dame and Duke, the respectable No. 41 rating on the statistics site KenPom.com (the equivalent of a No. 39 because two potential at-large teams, Louisville and Southern Methodist, were out of the selection equation while serving their own postseason bans).
But what if that is exactly the wrong lesson? With no disrespect to the committee — or to Syracuse — what if the takeaway is that any team could do what Syracuse just did?
From one angle, the lesson is that Syracuse, an athletic team with hot shooting and a proven defensive scheme, was deserving all along. But an alternative lesson is that in a cramped, crazy, single-elimination tournament featuring teenagers, in which one of the leading title contenders was out after its first game, none of that really matters.
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Syracuse and Oklahoma Fans Snapping Up Final Four Tickets, Nova Fans Not So Much (vuhoop.com; Ewart)
Villanova Wildcats fans who are still looking to book their trip to the Final Four should be prepared to spend good money. Tickets for the Final Four are expensive even on their face, but if you have to resort to the resale markets, the prices only skyrocket.
According to SeatGeek.com, fans were paying an average of $803 for tickets to the Final Four games in Houston this weekend. Just for the semifinals, fans are paying an average of $515 with an average resale price of $455 on sales of title game tickets.
Of course, you can find tickets for cheaper, if you are willing to sit in the upper reaches of a stadium built for NFL football, tickets are available for as low as $286. The SeatGeek averages include fans who are buying more premium-priced seats closer to the action.
In fact, prices have dropped at least slightly since the field was set for Houston; proof that practically nobody had picked this group to reach the Final Four.
The average price of tickets for this weekend is more than five-times what people paid, on-average, to buy tickets to a Villanova home game this season. They're a discount over last season's semifinals though, when resale prices were about 75% higher.
SeatGeek's data also shows that about 10% of the resale purchases of tickets have been scooped up by fans located in Oklahoma -- the second highest percentage of purchases after the local Texas markets at 30%. New Yorkers accound for 9% of the resold tickets, which suggests a strong Syracuse presence (though, surely some of those are also Villanova fans). Only 5% of purchases tracked by SeatGeek were bought by fans in Pennsylvania.
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Five Things to Know About North Carolina (photo gallery; PS; Carlson)
BRICE HAS BEEN NICE
North Carolina forward Brice Johnson has likely been the biggest obstacle for the Orange in two losses to the Tar Heels. His ability to make free-throw line jumpers has forced Syracuse's defense to come away from the rim, leaving openings for his teammates. His efforts against Syracuse aren't abnormal either. He ranks 15th in the NCAA in field-goal percentage, hitting 61.4 percent of his shots.
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Progress Breakfast Highlights Downtown Syracuse Development (twcnews.com; Vivacqua)
Downtown Syracuse has seen plenty of growth when it comes to new businesses and living space. And that progress will be on full display this morning as the Downtown Committee hosts its Progress Breakfast. Brad Vivacqua has more from Sky Armory, where the breakfast will be held.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- If you live or work in downtown Syracuse, you've probably noticed quite a bit of development in the city. The Syracuse Downtown Committee is holding its second "Progress Breakfast" Tuesday morning after the first one was a success last October.
Officials say more than $340 million is currently being invested in downtown redevelopment activities. Some of those projects include work at the former Excellus Building, Hotel Syracuse, and the Amos Building near Clinton Square.
Attendees at the breakfast will hear from new city entrepreneurs who are connecting ways to improve living and working space downtown.
"We've also had twenty new retail businesses open in just this last year so certainly downtown is feeling a whole new energy. And so people that haven't been to downtown in maybe a year or two years, when they come back, they're going to see such a different atmosphere and such a different energy coming out of downtown Syracuse," said Downtown Committee Executive Director Merike Treier.
Officials say more than 3,200 people now live downtown while the community has seen a 40 percent increase in residents the last five years.
If you'd like to attend today's breakfast, it will take place at Sky Armory at 351 South Clinton Street at 8 a.m. Tuesday morning. You can get tickets at the door for $25.
Three of the city's newest entrepreneurs from Common Space, TCGPlayer.com, and Wolff's Biergarten will be speaking at the event. There will also be some time for networking as well.
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