sutomcat
2024 Iggy Award (ACC Tournament Record)
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Welcome to National Poisoned Blackberries Day!
It’s time to eat as many blackberries as you can find and stuff in a pie. After September 29, those celebrating the feast of Michaelmas warn you not to eat them.
On the list of forgotten holidays, Michaelmas falls somewhere below Arbor Day and the winter solstice. But just as American Popemania is rousing hoardes of non-Catholics, Michaelmas affects the secular world. A religious holiday celebrated by some Christian churches, it is a centuries-old event with a peculiar food history.
In medieval England, farmers used Michaelmas as a way to delineate the changing of the seasons—made sense, as it fell around the change of seasons. Michaelmas was a time to finish the reaping and start preparing for winter.
But the rule against eating blackberries after September 29 comes not from seasonality but from the story of the Archangel Michael, for whom the day is named. Michael, the greatest of all angels, defeated the angel Lucifer in a huge battle and banished him from heaven, the lore goes. At that point Lucifer became the devil. When Lucifer bounced onto the floor of hell, he landed in a thorny blackberry bush. (Naturally when you land in hell, you land end-first in a bunch of thorns.) This made him so mad that he spit on the bush and cursed its fruit.
SU News
CBS Sports adds Syracuse basketball to preseason top 25 (TNIAAM; Cassillo)
Yes, it’s still Syracuse Orange football season. So basketball-only folks, get off my lawn.
That said, hoops is just around the corner, and pundits are starting to revisit early projections in advance of the season starting in a little over a month.
One of those outlets to take a second look at the Orange basketball program: CBS Sports.
Gary Parrish released a revised top 25 today, and after being unranked last time, Syracuse comes in at 21st this time around. Said Parrish:
“The addition of Nebraska transfer Andrew White helped ease the losses of Michael Gbinije and Malachi Richardson. He averaged 16.6 points and 5.9 rebounds for the Huskers last season and will fit nicely beside Tyler Lydon.”
He’s right about that. While expectations were there for SU prior to White’s addition, the news of the Nebraska transfer joining the fold has created a whole different bar for the team to jump over this coming season.
Syracuse is surrounded by some familiar foes in Parrish’s rankings, including UConn (no. 19), and Cal (no. 22). There are a total of five ACC teams in the poll, starting with Duke at no. 1, then North Carolina (no. 6), Virginia (no. 9), Louisville (no. 16) and the Orange. SU’s ACC/Big Ten challenge opponent Wisconsin comes in at 12th as well.
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Recruiting: Syracuse contending for 5-star forward Billy Preston (TNIAAM; Cassillo)
As you already know, the Syracuse Orange have a lot of spots to fill on the basketball roster for 2017. A couple weeks back, we ran down a list of notable names Jim Boeheim & Co. were pursuing. That’s far from exhaustive, however.
Another player you can add to the watch list? Billy Preston.
The five-star forward is an Oak Hill Academy product, though he’s originally from Santa Ana, Calif. (Orange County). You may recall Oak Hill as prep school powerhouse that’s produced the likes of Carmelo Anthony, Eric Devendorf and a host of other NBA and collegiate stars.
According to Adam Zagoria, Preston has opened up his recruitment and has his list to five schools: Syracuse, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland and hometown USC. Zagoria mentions he’ll be attending Kansas’s Midnight Madness-type event “Late Night in the Phog.” Preston also mentions his talks with Maryland coach Mark Turgeon, and the fact that he visits USC frequently when in L.A.
Preston’s 12th overall on the 247Sports composite rankings, and is surrounded on both sides by 2017 names Syracuse fans should be familiar with by now (Hamidou Diallo, Nick Richards, Lonnie Walker, etc.). He’s a 6-foot-8, 220-pound power forward, though he could probably play the three or four for the Orange, depending on the needs of next year’s team.
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New York Knicks have Carmelo Anthony excited about post-Olympic success (PS; AP)
Carmelo Anthony couldn't wait to get started.
Maybe that's because he looks at the New York Knicks and sees real NBA talent around him for the first time in a few years.
Or perhaps it's because he knows his most successful seasons have come following the Olympics.
Whatever the reason, Anthony is talking like someone who believes his team is going back to the playoffs — and maybe going far once they get there.
"Like I said yesterday, I haven't been excited like this in a long time to actually get going and ready to create something," Anthony said Tuesday after the Knicks held their first practice.
The Knicks haven't been exciting at all recently. Anthony had never missed the postseason until New York fell just short in 2014, and now he's been shut out three straight years. The Knicks tumbled to a 17-65 finish two years ago, when Anthony was limited to 40 games before knee surgery, and went 32-50 last season.
Anthony often tried to carry the scoring load himself during those last two seasons, but he doesn't see a need now. The Knicks traded for Derrick Rose, signed players such as Joakim Noah, Courtney Lee and Brandon Jennings, and expect big things from Kristaps Porzingis after his All-Rookie campaign.
Anthony has repeatedly said how excited he is to play with Rose, who believes he can make the game easier for the 32-year-old forward.
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Other
National Coffee Day 2016: How to get free coffee, other deals today (9/29/16) (PS; Herbert)
Happy National Coffee Day! Restaurants across the U.S. are celebrating the annual tribute to java by giving away free cups of coffee and other deals on Thursday, Sept. 29.
Here's a list of where you can get free cups of joe and other special deals across New York:
Cumberland Farms: Text FREECOFFEE to 64827 to receive a coupon for a free hot or iced coffee in any size at the gas and convenience store chain.
Dunkin' Donuts: The national coffee chain is celebrating 66 years of business by selling medium cups of coffee for 66 cents.
Gloria Jean's Coffees: Get a free small cup of coffee of the day or a free 8-ounce white chocolate cookie chiller from 2 to 5 p.m.
Krispy Kreme: Participating Krispy Kreme locations will give customers a free 12-ounce cup of coffee and a free glazed doughnut Thursday.
McDonald's: Very few golden arches locations are offering free coffee today (Hawaii is one state where you can get them), but Mickey D's restaurants in Pennsylvania and New Jersey are donating 100 percent of all McCafé drip coffee proceeds to Covenant House, a shelter specializing in serving homeless youth.
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