sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to Thomas Crapper Day!
Yes its true. Today we celebrate the man behind the porcelain throne – Thomas Crapper.
Though credited by many as the inventor of the flush toilet, Crapper was not, but he did popularize the WC (water closet).
He was a shrewd businessman, salesman and self-publicist. In a time when bathroom fixtures were barely spoken of, he heavily promoted sanitary plumbing and pioneered the concept of the bathroom fittings showroom*
Crapper did hold numerous patents that helped modernize indoor plumbing. His company, Thomas Crapper & Co. Ltd., is still creating reproductions of his original designs.
BTW – About the word Crap …
…is old in the English language, one of a group of nouns applied to discarded cast offs, like “residue from renderings” (1490s) or … probably extended from Middle English crappe “chaff, or grain that has been trodden underfoot in a barn” (c. 1440), deriving ultimately from Late Latin crappa, “chaff.”
Yet another purported explanation is that Crapper’s flush toilet advertising was so widespread that “crapper” became a synonym for “toilet” and people simply assumed that he was the inventor.*
SU News
Syracuse men's basketball opponent preview: What to know about No. 6 Florida State (DO; Grossman)
Looking for its first marquee win of the season, Syracuse (12-9, 4-4 Atlantic Coast) hosts No. 6 Florida State (18-3, 6-2) in the Carrier Dome on Saturday at noon. The Seminoles are coming off a shocking loss to Georgia Tech on Wednesday, while SU edged Wake Forest in the Dome on Tuesday night.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Orange’s matchup with FSU.
All-time series: Syracuse leads, 6-2
Last time they played: In what was widely termed a must-win game for SU to make a solid impression on the NCAA Tournament selection committee, the Orange fell on the road, 78-73, to Florida State in last year’s regular season finale. Of course, Syracuse earned the Tournament bid some thought it lost that night in Tallahassee, Florida, but the Seminoles’ young nucleus carried the hosts on this night.
Malik Beasley led FSU with 20 points as Dwayne Bacon and Xavier Rathan-Mayes each chipped in 16. Florida State shot 50 percent in the second half, outscoring the Orange by nine en route to the five-point win. Michael Gbinije keyed a late second-half rally in which SU cut the deficit down to two with 32 seconds left, but even his 16 points in the second stanza weren’t enough.
Florida State report: The Seminoles are one of the biggest surprises of the college basketball season. A team that wasn’t ranked until the third week of the season, FSU won 14 of 15 games (including six of seven against ranked foes) to achieve the program’s highest ranking since the 1992-93 season. Leading FSU’s furious ascension is Bacon, a sophomore guard who’s scored double-digits in his last 30 games. His remarkable consistency has translated to a team-leading 17.1 points per game and a 45 percent shooting clip from the field.
Six-foot-10 freshman forward Jonathan Isaac is hauling in 7.8 rebounds per game, anchoring the frontcourt for a Seminoles team that’s second tallest in the country according to Kenpom.com.
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Beat writers offer grim predictions in Syracuse's date with No. 6 Florida State (DO; Staff)
After a close win over Wake Forest, Syracuse (12-9, 4-4 Atlantic Coast) stays at home to take on No. 6 Florida State (18-3, 6-2) on Saturday at noon. Here’s how The Daily Orange beat writers think the game will end.
Connor Grossman (13-8)
Chopped
Florida State 84, Syracuse 65
After more than a month of harmony in the Carrier Dome, Syracuse finally loses on its home court for the first time since falling by 33 to St. John’s on Dec. 21. Florida State has proven itself over and over again as one of the nation’s best teams — facing six ranked conference opponents in succession and winning five of those contests — and Syracuse’s season has simply gone the opposite way. SU didn’t do much against similarly-ranked teams like Notre Dame and UNC to offer much hope that it can stand up to a quality conference opponent. Perhaps SU will hang around for the first 20 minutes, but expect the Seminoles to close out this one handily.
Matt Schneidman (10-11)
Six gods
Florida State 75, Syracuse 66
The No. 6 Seminoles won’t shoot 28.2 percent (20-of-71) from the field again like they did in a shocking 22-point loss to Georgia Tech on Wednesday night. Florida State, led by Dwayne Bacon, Xavier Rathan-Mayes and freshman standout Jonathan Isaac, is one of the most shocking teams in the nation in terms of how it started the season. From Dec. 31 to Jan. 21, Leonard Hamilton’s squad won five of six games, all against ranked ACC teams. What won’t be shocking, though, is the result in the Carrier Dome on Saturday afternoon.
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Taurean Thompson develops scoring from inside to return to starting rotation, aid Orange's interior presence (DO; Schneidman)
Taurean Thompson’s third rebound of the night, and maybe his most important of the season, set him up for a second chance.
Eight seconds remained in the game and Syracuse led Wake Forest by two, as Thompson skied for the rebound off Dinos Mitoglou’s missed free throw. He was fouled, with almost a full court length to walk before he tried to do what he couldn’t just minutes before.
With 2:53 remaining and SU up two, Thompson missed a pair of free throws and Mitchell Wilbekin hit a go-ahead 3-pointer 20 seconds later. This time, though, the freshman hit both from the charity stripe to put the Orange up four and seal an 81-76 win over Wake Forest in SU’s first conference game decided by single digits.
In four of Syracuse’s last six games, Thompson has scored four or fewer points. That’s from a forward who is in the lineup primarily for his offense. But after an 18-point showing against the Demon Deacons on 70-percent shooting from the field, Thompson’s stock is back on the upswing as Syracuse (12-9, 4-4 Atlantic Coast) prepares to host No. 6 Florida State (18-3, 6-2) Saturday at noon.
“Taurean played great in the middle,” sophomore Tyler Lydon said. “He was active today in the middle, came up with some big stops for us and was able to knock down some shots.”
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John Gillon has an opportunity to end Syracuse's point guard discussion (DO; Schwedelson)
On Syracuse’s two most pivotal possessions against Wake Forest on Tuesday night, John Gillon generated the offense.
With a minute and a half remaining, he drove the lane to suck in the defense. Then he kicked the ball out to Tyler Lydon at the top of the key, who passed it to Tyus Battle, who passed it to Andrew White, who hit a 3 to give SU the lead for good.
The next possession, Gillon dribbled at the top of the key and drew two Demon Deacons. Then he passed to Lydon on the left wing for another 3-pointer. Gillon ran the point the way he’s shown potential to throughout the season. But Tuesday night was the first time he helped lead Syracuse to a single-digit victory.
“The point guard is the guy who has the ball the most,” Lydon said, “so he needs to lead the team.”
Gillon’s struggles have been magnified by the Orange’s (12-9, 4-4 Atlantic Coast) up-and-down season. While he’s played more of late, SU still hasn’t found consistency at the point guard spot. His play against Wake Forest showed another glimpse, one that Syracuse will likely need in order to upend No. 6 Florida State (18-3, 6-2) on Saturday at noon in the Carrier Dome.
After the Orange’s 17-point loss at No. 9 North Carolina, SU head coach Jim Boeheim said, “What’s the difference?” when asked about playing Gillon over fellow point guard Frank Howard. Five days after that, Gillon played just 10 minutes compared to Howard’s 29 in an 18-point loss at then-No. 15 Notre Dame.
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SU may be seeing more script in the near future (TNIAAM; Cassillo)
Syracuse Orange basketball fans have long been clamoring for a return to some of the program’s more traditional looks.
The last 10-plus years have largely consisted of Nike templates and block lettering. The uniforms haven’t been bad, but they’ve lacked the character and personality that some of Syracuse’s previous jerseys (National Title uniforms, script) had.
We’ve seen the script, particularly, return in fits and starts. After starting 25-0 in 2013-14, SU and Nike rolled out two-color uniforms to take on lowly Boston College. Syracuse lost that game and we haven’t seen those orange script jerseys (or the accompanying blue short) since.
Syracuse wearing these Nike Hyper Elite throwback uniforms tonight against BC Nike rolls out retro uniforms for Duke, Kentucky, UNC, Syracuse and more (PHOTO) / pic.twitter.com/mBFDHXOuJG
— Sporting News (@sportingnews) February 20, 2014
Last year, the team wore script “Pearl” warm-up shirts to honor (and raise money for) the late great Pearl Washington. Various parties sold quite a few tees, which made the sight of the script (even if it was a “Pearl” shirt and not strictly a “Syracuse”-branded one) far more prevalent around the Dome and elsewhere.
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SU doesn’t have ESPN 100 recruit for first time ever (TNIAAM; Sigel)
As if this season could get any worse for the Syracuse Orange men’s basketball program...
The Orange — for the first time since the rankings were created in 2007 — hasn’t signed a Top 100 player in the ESPN rankings.
In every single rankings from 2007-2016, Syracuse has had at least one player sign with the school. Until this year.
2007: Donte Green (17), Jonny Flynn (23), Scoop Jardine (48), Rick Jackson (51)
2008: Kris Joseph (50), Mookie Jones (67)
2009: DaShonte Riley (58)
2010: Fab Melo (14), Dion Waiters (15), C.J. Fair (63)
2011: Rakeem Christmas (20), Michael Carter-Williams (21), Trevor Cooney (65)
2012: Dajuan Coleman (14), Jerami Grant (37)
2013: Tyler Ennis (20), Tyler Roberson (31), B.J. Johnson (82)
2014: Chris McCullough (24), Kaleb Joseph (50)
2015: Malachi Richardson (23), Moustapha Diagne (58), Tyler Lydon (76), Frank Howard (94)
2016: Tyus Battle (35), Matt Moyer (74), Taurean Thompson (75)
2017: None
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Syracuse basketball is long shot for NCAA tournament, but bracketologist shows path (PS; Waters)
At this point in the season, the Syracuse Orange is not projected to receive an NCAA tournament bid.
The Orange isn't even on the NCAA bubble.
So just how far removed from the conversation regarding at-large bids is Syracuse? Patrick Stevens, a college basketball writer who projects the NCAA tournament field for the Washington Post, pondered that question.
"That's a tough one,'' Stevens said Wednesday. "If I was to throw a dart out there, I'd say well out there.''
While Syracuse's hopes are faint, the Orange still has a path to an NCAA bid, according to Stevens. Syracuse, which improved its overall record to 12-9 with a win over Wake Forest on Tuesday, still has 10 regular-season games remaining plus the ACC tournament. The Orange is also a respectable 58th in KenPom.com's rankings.
The NCAA selection committee is expected to lean more on the advanced metrics of sites like KenPom.com and less on the antiquated RPI formula.
The key -- and challenge -- to Syracuse's difficult road to an NCAA bid is the Orange's remaining schedule. Syracuse will play six teams currently ranked in KenPom's Top 50 and all 10 of SU's games will be against teams in the KenPom's Top 100.
"The quality of the teams they're going to play gives them a chance to make up ground,'' Stevens said. "But whether they can do it is another question.''
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Other
Could Utica NY be home to a Foxconn factory? (PS; Tribune News Service)
New York state's top economic development official confirmed Wednesday that the state is trying to convince Foxconn Technology Group to build a planned $7 billion flat panel screen factory outside Utica.
Taiwan-based Foxconn, which makes parts for Apple, is planning to build a U.S. factory that would make the flat panel screens.
Pennsylvania has said it is already in the running for the factory, although New York state with its growing high tech economy would appear to be an ideal location as well.
Howard Zemsky, the CEO of Empire State Development, New York's business development agency, said Wednesday during a visit to Utica that New York had put its hat in the ring.
"Of course, we're going to pursue this aggressively," Zemsky said, according to the Utica Observer-Dispatch. "We're not going to be spectators."
Jason Conwall, a spokesman for ESD, confirmed Zemsky's comments.
The Utica area is poised for such a project after a previous deal the state had to lure a computer chip company called ams AG to the Marcy Nanocenter site outside of Utica fell through last fall.
The state had already approved roughly $600 million to essentially build the factory for ams for free, and the state intends to reserve that funding for the site for another tenant. Zemsky said that Foxconn isn't the only potential one.
"Anyone who is serious about fab or high-tech manufacturing is looking at Utica," Zemsky said, according to the Observer-Dispatch.
