sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day!
National Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day is observed annually on the last Monday in January. The primary purpose of bubble wrap is to protect fragile items either in shipping or storage. People also get enjoyment from popping the bubbles in bubble wrap.
Engineers Marc Chavannes and Alfred Fielding sealed two shower curtains together in 1956 in the town of Hawthorne, New Jersey. This technique created a smattering of air bubbles which the engineers initially thought would make a great wallpaper! Sales for the wallpaper never materialized, so they moved to selling the product as greenhouse insulation.
The Sealed Air Corporation was founded in 1960, but Air Cap (name before it became Bubble Wrap) wasn’t used for shipping until IBM starting shipping the 1401 computer in 1961. Bubble Wrap is a trademarked brand of Sealed Air Corporation.
SU News
Observations from Florida State’s failed comeback attempt at Syracuse (tomahawknation.com; Weiler)
The Florida State basketball team very nearly pulled itself out of a seemingly insurmountable deficit as the Seminoles rallied from 18 down at the half to nearly steal a victory from the Syracuse Orange inside the cavernous confines of the Carrier Dome on Saturday. What put the ‘Noles so far behind the eight ball for the second straight game and what keyed the near-comeback?
Above the Rim
- Going up against a zone defense for the second time this week presented many of the same issues we saw in Wednesday’s loss at Georgia Tech, particularly in the paint. Jonathan Isaac led the Florida State bigs with 19 points, but 11 of those came either from 3s or the free throw line. Senior forward Jarquez Smith was FSU’s next highest scoring big man with six points. Outside of those two, the Seminoles’ interior presence at the offensive end was negligible. In the first half, FSU converted on a dismal 27.2% of its layups (3-11), a stat which can be used to explain what separated a win from a loss in this instance. Not by coincidence, the ‘Noles moved away from the interior game in the second half, shooting 17 three-pointers and 10 two-pointers over the final 20 minutes of the game. However, the shift proved to be too little, too late as the ‘Noles could not come up with the clutch shot or stop they had the chance at on numerous occasions.
- It gets more and more difficult to argue that Isaac has become the most important player on this Florida State team. This was evidenced on Saturday not only by the 20-4 run Syracuse ended the first half on after Isaac left the game with asthma complications, but also by his ability to help the team in a wide variety of ways. He scored FSU’s first nine points of the second half and played a huge role in making the game competitive once again. He also stepped up in a big way on the glass, adding 12 rebounds to his 19 points for his fourth double-double in five games, and continued to excel at the free throw line where many other key Seminoles have struggled of late. His 8-10 performance from the charity stripe accounted for nearly half of FSU’s converted free throws and maintained his team leading 82% conversion rate on free throws. Coming into FSU, Isaac was lauded as a potential top-five draft prospect mainly for his potential. Lately, however, he has flashed the next step in his development on a more consistent basis.
Schwedelson: Court storming after FSU win shows Syracuse fans expect less (DO; Schwedelson)
Winning is better than losing. Having fun is better than not. But when fans rushed the Carrier Dome floor on Saturday afternoon, it didn’t reflect a program that has reached two Final Fours in the past four seasons.
The Orange had just beaten No. 6 Florida State by 10 points. SU hadn’t beaten a Top 25 team all season. It finally checked off a marquee win from its season-long to-do list. Students among the crowd of 24,798 led a rush onto the court named after the coach who built this program.
After the game, Jim Boeheim himself said he had no problems with fans storming the court. It’s college basketball. It’s 18- to 22-year-olds. It’s supposed to be fun, and perhaps it was. But respectable teams expect to win home games.
“It’s better than when we get beat and they all go home at halftime,” Boeheim said, “So yeah, I like that better.”
But it’s also better to be good enough to inspire just a little hope for a fan base that has little else to do in wintertime than fawn over its squad. But it hasn’t done that this season. With a record five nonconference losses leading to SU’s worst 20-game start under Boeheim, Syracuse (13-9, 5-4 Atlantic Coast) had fallen to a new low.
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FSU Basketball Recap: Noles Drops Second in a Row, Losing to Syracuse (chopchat.com; Urbina)
FSU basketball drops their second game in a row, falling to the Syracuse Orange by the final score of 82-72.
FSU basketball fans were looking forward to the schedule easing up a bit. Unfortunately, thus far, things haven’t gone as expected.
The Seminoles looked like world-beaters just a week ago. They were 18-2, with multiple wins against top 25 opponents. With games against two struggling teams in Georgia Tech and the Syracuse Orange on deck, it felt like the team was about to make a run at a top five ranking.
Well, Georgia Tech blasted Florida State, dominating the matchup from start to finish. And the first half against Syracuse looked like much of the same. FSU’s offense was pathetic in the opening 20 minutes, with more turnovers (11) than field goals made (10). They trailed the Orange by 18 at the break.
The second half was better, but still nowhere near enough to steal a road win. In the end, Syracuse defeated Florida State 82-72. The loss drops the Seminoles to 18-4, and 6-3 in conference. With a road game against a tough Miami team looming, FSU’s chances of winning the ACC regular season title are starting to dwindle.
There have been a multitude of problems with the team’s last two performances, but it has to be noted: winning road games in the ACC is not easy. Heck, Georgia Tech just beat a top 15 Notre Dame team. And furthermore, Florida State was only favored by two against ‘Cuse. To call that a huge upset? Hardly. The sky is not falling yet, and the Seminoles are still in the driver’s seat for at least a three-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Regardless, some aspects of today’s game were disconcerting. Here are five takeaways from Florida State’s second consecutive loss.
I stormed the court and here’s why (TNIAAM; Gilberg)
Why do we love sports?
It’s a question we fail to ask ourselves enough. Too often we get caught up in the results of a possession, a game, a season, we forget why we even care so much in the first place.
For me, and I am going to assume for many of you, I love sports because it offers a sense of belonging. As a fan, you truly feel as if you are a part of that team you root so hard for. You are tied to them, through all the highs and through all the lows. When they win, you win. When they lose, you lose.
As a result, sports, even from just a fan perspective, can be emotionally draining – but, it can also be emotionally rewarding too.
Syracuse basketball fans know both of these feelings very well. Less than a year ago, the Orange shocked the world when they received an NCAA Tournament bid and made the Final Four. Prior to Saturday, however, this year’s team looked like it may not even make the NIT.
Syracuse entered Saturday’s contest with a 12-9 record, having lost three of its last five games. One of those nine losses was a 33-point defeat to St. John’s. None of those wins came on the road, as – for the first time in the Jim Boeheim era – the Orange have yet to win a game away from the Carrier Dome, losing eight straight to start the season.
Syracuse may be one of the most prestigious basketball schools in the country in terms of its history and past success, but the Orange have severely underperformed and struggled on the court this year, plain and simple.
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ND Frosh Luke Harangody
Irish Rewind: Balance key for Notre Dame in Carrier Dome conquest (ndinsider.com; Nole)
An arena that had been a college basketball house of horrors for Notre Dame far too long quickly and convincingly turned Tuesday into its personal playground.
Doing almost everything right in the first half against Syracuse, the Irish sprinted to 61 points, the most during coach Mike Brey's tenure, then scored their final 24 points at the foul line in a 103-91 victory.
It was the most points scored by Notre Dame in 13 visits to the Carrier Dome, where many of the 23,274 in attendance offered only boos after 20 minutes of blistering basketball by the visitors.
"We stayed together, stayed in character and it just happened," said Irish freshman guard Tory Jackson, who scored a career-high 19 points on his 19th birthday. "We kept our foot on the pedal and they couldn't stop us.
"They gave us one punch, but we came back with two, three, four punches."
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Autry watches 2017 prospect Duarte; 2nd visit could come Saturday (TNIAAM; Sigel)
Syracuse Orange assistant coach Adrian Autry watched 2017 prospect Chris Duarte at the National Prep School Invitational on Sunday, sources told TNIAAM.
Duarte scored 38 points in front of the SU assistant in a win for Redemption Christian Academy. Autry caught up with Duarte after the game, who could be on campus as soon as Saturday.
“There could be a visit this Saturday, but nothing is final yet,” a source said. “He had to cancel his second trip a few weeks ago due to a game that came up. He wants to get back.”
The Orange hosts No. 12 Virginia on Saturday for a Noon ET matchup at the Carrier Dome.
Duarte, a 6-foot-5 prospect, can play the point, 2-guard or three. He had a triple-double earlier in the week in just 20 minutes. He finished with 13 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists.
Duarte is a very good shooter from 3-point range, as he hit seven earlier on Sunday at the NPSI.
Western Kentucky, UConn and Providence were among the other schools in attendance watching him play.
He has offers from Arizona, Kansas, Temple and Southern California, among others, according to Scout.
Duarte, along with Eric Ayala and Howard Washington, are the names to keep an eye on for the remainder of the 2017 recruiting cycle.
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Other
Celebrity Wake Up Call -- Historic Hotel Syracuse Emerges From Hibernation (forbes.com; Shiels)
What do Presidents John F. Kennedy and Dwight Eisenhower have in common with Elvis Presley, the Rolling Stones, and John Lennon?
They each stayed at the Hotel Syracuse.
And now, after a two year, $76-million restoration, guests can, once again, too. What is now the Marriott Syracuse Downtown is opening its’ doors to guests – famous and anonymous, again, after ceasing to operate as a hotel in 2003 after ownership changes and bankruptcies. During its’ dark period it was named to the National Register of Historic Places at the same time a reporter called the empty, worn hotel a “ghost ship sailing through town.”
Syracuse is the population hub of Central New York and hosts the annual Great New York State Fair. With an active corporate community, including Lockheed Martin, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Syracuse University, the city deserved a quality, upscale, hotel of record.
“Bringing this hotel back to life was the goal of a committed group of stakeholders which included the city, the county and the state,” said Ed Riley, owner and developer of the hotel. “The hotel will once again be the gathering place for our community within which new generations will create their memories as past generations have.”
The intent was to make the hotel appear as it did when it opened in 1924. The same way it looked when Charles “Lucky” Lindbergh checked in; and as it did subsequent decades when legendary comedian Bob Hope sauntered through the doors.
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