sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to National Pastry Day!
It’s National Pastry Day! Did you know that pastries have been around since 2600 B.C.? The Egyptians made doughnut-like pastries out of crude flour and honey, and then dipped them in wine.
In the 7th century, pastry-making developed as a culinary art form in the Middle East. It spread to Europe after the Crusades, and French and Italian chefs developed their own version of the recipes and experimented with new techniques. There are now many different types of pastry including shortcrust, flaky, puff, choux, and phyllo.
Make a trip to your favorite local bakery to pick up your favorite kind of pastry in honor of National Pastry Day!
SU News
What’s caused SU’s recent NYC struggles? (TNIAAM; Cassillo)
We don’t need to go over the fact that the Syracuse Orange lost to the UConn Huskies at Madison Square Garden on Monday. If you’ve spent any time on the internet since that ugly 52-50 defeat, you’ve been reminded of it plenty.
But it’s worth noting that Syracuse has been struggling in New York City -- its “home away from home” -- of late. The Orange have lost four straight in the five boroughs, including two this year (UConn at MSG and South Carolina at Barclays). Going back a bit further, they’re 2-5 in their last seven downstate games. And they haven’t won by double-digits in Madison Square Garden since a 95-70 regular season drubbing of St. John’s in 2012. Since 2012, they’re 7-7 in Manhattan and Brooklyn (7-6 at MSG).
What’s the cause of these struggles, considering they’ve done just fine in other neutral site games during that stretch? On other neutral courts, they’re 19-6 in the same period of time, including two Final Four trips, and Battle 4 Atlantis and Maui Invitational titles.
It can’t be the quality of opponents. Those preseason tournaments above and the NCAA Tournament runs were also against excellent teams -- arguably better teams than just about any they’ve faced at MSG. And Syracuse’s own squads have been pretty good in that stretch (again, see Final Fours) too.
So is it just that some players can excel with the pressures of MSG and others can’t?
From 2009 through 2011, Syracuse was 11-4 at the Garden, with teams that all failed to make it past the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16. This, again, is in contrast to the recent squads, who’ve thrived in the NCAAs, but can’t seem to get it together in New York.
But those teams from 2009 through 2011 had characters and personalities — characters and personalities that could (and did) thrive on stages like MSG. This is far from scientific, but given the quieter, more humble nature of many of SU’s recent standouts, perhaps the bright lights are just a little too bright.
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Coleman's recent uptick could be Syracuse's best since Christmas - The Juice Online (the juice; Cheng)
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim had few positive things to say following Syracuse’s 52-50 loss to UConn on Monday night at Madison Square Garden.
From lamenting about the lack of production at point guard to the reluctance of Tyler Lydon shooting the ball, Boeheim had plenty to choose from.
But Boeheim, never one to be effusive, approached that territory when asked to describe Dajuan Coleman’s performance.
“I thought he was good out there rebounding the ball,” Boeheim said. “He was great inside. He did a good job.”
Coleman, did, in fact, do a good job.
With 10 points and 16 rebounds, it was the third straight game that Coleman had put up gaudy numbers. It started with 12 points in a 77-60 loss to No. 17 Wisconsin and continued through to a 15-point, 6-rebound game against North Florida.
Over the past three games, Coleman has averaged 12.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, while playing 29 minutes per game. Compare that to his first five games, when he averaged just 13.8 minutes per game, 6.8 points and 5.6 rebounds.
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The Confidential (atlanticconfidential.com)
Duke has had amazingly bad luck with injuries so far this season. Its star-studded, four player freshman class have all suffered injuries. Frank Jackson has played through a foot injury. Marques Bolden and Jayson Tatum had foot issues as well. And the most promising freshman, Harry Giles, has yet to take the court at all.
In addition, star Grayson Allen is suffering from a turf toe injury. He has played but not practiced, and his performance has been notably affected.
Despite all of this, Duke has prospered and is one great clutch shot from being undefeated.
The Blue Devils have leaned on a core of seniors Matt Jones and Amile Jefferson, junior Allen, sophomores Luke Kennard and Chase Jeter and freshman Jackson.
With so many injuries, the Blue Devils only went 6-7 deep into December.
However, the core has proved remarkably tough-minded and united. Jefferson, heretofore a reliable rebounder and defender, has emerged as a consistent offensive force. He’s averaging 15.6 ppg and 10.3 rpg. Additionally, his coach, the legendary Mike Krzyzewski, says that Jefferson is the team’s best communicator. After Duke’s victory over Michigan State, Spartan coach Tom Izzo was suitably impressed: “There’s a lot of prep work to dealing with those guards at Duke and any time you deal with them. Then all of the sudden, I think you’ve got to give Jefferson. To me, he has been a key guy for them right now. I think he does a lot of quiet, good things, and I really like him.”
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Other
Down to 2 final options, the state grows closer to deciding the fate of Interstate 81 (DO; Burke)
Posters with information about the potential future of Interstate 81 in Syracuse lined the perimeter of the cafeteria in Cicero-North Syracuse High School on Tuesday evening as local residents filed in and out, hoping to learn more about what might happen to the major highway.
In one section of the cafeteria were posters labeled “viaduct alternative,” and in another were posters labeled “community grid alternative.” Those are the two remaining options — dwindled down from the 16 options originally presented in 2014 — being considered for replacing the highway’s elevated portion in Syracuse. A draft environmental impact statement is likely to be made available in early January and a final decision is expected sometime in 2017.
“There’s a lot of information that is being collected and needs analysis,” said Gene Cilento, the NYSDOT Region 3 public information officer.
The viaduct alternative option would consist of replacing the current viaduct with a wider version, while the community grid alternative would involve removing the elevated highway near Almond Street and distributing traffic onto the city grid.
Both options include some of the same plans, which have been dubbed the “common features.” Among them is a plan to connect Interstate 690 and I-81 near North Syracuse by building a new set of ramps, something that has come up as a point of controversy. The Syracuse Common Council on Monday passed a resolution calling for the New York State Department of Transportation to reconsider that aspect of the reconstruction.
If the viaduct alternative is pursued, the existing I-81 viaduct will be demolished and reconstructed between Colvin and Spencer streets. The new viaduct, according to the NYSDOT, would include four 12-foot travel lanes and 10-foot-wide shoulders. Some curves would also be straightened out. Almond Street would be reconstructed and amenities to the street would be explored.
If the community grid is pursued, the existing viaduct will be demolished and traffic will be rerouted around the city on Interstate 481, which would become I-81. Almond Street would become a surface street and amenities would be explored.
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Promenade’s heating systems helps keep pathway clear of snow during storms (DO; Muller)
Syracuse’s extreme winter weather will not be enough to stop student’s access to the University Place promenade, owing to a heating system installed beneath the new walkway.
The system uses a heated fluid to melt snow that accumulates on the promenade, said Joseph Alfieri, director of Syracuse University’s Division of Campus Planning, Design and Construction.
When snow builds up on the promenade, the heated fluid is run through a series of plastic tubes beneath the walkway. The heat generated by the fluid melts the snow creating a limited need for salting and shoveling.
“This type of system is quite common,” Alfieri added in an email. Similar heating systems have been installed at the entrances to SU campus buildings, the Mount Olympus stairs, the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry campus and Crouse Hospital.
Repeated use of salt to clear snow on pathways not only damages exterior walkways, but also damages interior flooring, Alfieri said, adding that the use of similar heating systems at entrances to campus buildings has already reduced the cost of floor maintenance.
“Avoiding damage caused by salt in the building has saved Recreation Services treadmills, and will increase the life of the terrazzo floors at Dineen Hall,” Alfieri said.
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