Orangeyes Daily Articles for Thursday for Basketball

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Welcome to National French Fries Day!

Grab the ketchup! This Thursday, July 13, is National French Fry Day, which means there's lots of starchy goodness to be had.

That's music to the ears of any fast food addict. The average American eats roughly 30 lbsof french fries per year, so retailers are eager to lure shoppers in with discounts and giveaways.

Whether you prefer regular style, waffle fries, curly fries, or chili-cheese, there are plenty of freebies and deals to be found.

McDonald's - Order via the french fry king's app and get a free medium fries not only on French Fry Day, but every day through Sept. 7.
Burger King - No free fries here this year, but for just $3.49 you can get two cheeseburgers, a small drink and, well, you guessed it, a small order of fries.
Arby's - Want free curly fries? Just order a Brown Sugar Bacon Sandwich and Arby's will throw 'em in gratas. You'll also get a drink.
Dairy Queen - A small order of fries will run you just $1 on the 13th at select locations.
BurgerFi - Buy any burger or hot dog at the national chain on French Fry Day and they'll include a free regular fries.
Wienerschnitzel - Through the end of the month, you can get $1 off chili-cheese fries at the chain. Be sure to download this coupon first.
Bob Evans - Sweet potato fries are what's being offered at this restaurant chain. Download and print the coupon here and get a free order on the 13th with any other purchase.

SU News

Vaught's Views: Calipari gets credit for producing pros (glascowdailytimes.com; Vaught)

This year’s NBA draft produced three more lottery picks for Kentucky and coach John Calipari. In eight years at UK, he’s had three No. 1 overall picks, 24 first-round picks and 31 players drafted overall. No other school can match those numbers in the same time period.

So who deserves the credit for that? Is it Calipari for what he does for the players once he gets them to Kentucky? Is is parents, high school coaches, AAU coaches or trainers who spent years helping those players hone their skills and lay the foundation for the draft success? Is it both?
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Three major Kentucky recruiting targets in the 2018 recruiting class — Immanuel Quickly, Cam Reddish and Louis King — are also on their team. The fathers of all three players were also in Egypt.

King, a 6-8 forward out of New Jersey, does not have a UK offer like Quickly, Reddish and Romeo Langford, another high school senior on the team, do. But he would like to have one. Kansas, Syracuse, North Carolina State, Seton Hall, Connecticut and Maryland are some of the schools that have already offered the top 15 player in the 2018 recruiting class.

“I think a lot of people are sleeping on Louis King. I think he is doing really well,” Paul Washington said. “I think he’ll get a Kentucky offer, and probably really soon. You don’t want to sleep on him.”
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Ranking Syracuse basketball's non-conference opponents for 2017-18 season (PS; photo gallery)

Ranking Syracuse's 2017-18 non-conference opponents
Syracuse's non-conference schedule should be much improved compared to last year's slate of non-ACC games. In a Syracuse.com story published Wednesday, noted statistician Ken Pomeroy said Syracuse's non-conference schedule could climb from last year's low mark of 248 out of 351 teams to a more respectable 144 ranking in 2017-18.

While most fans will look at Syracuse's high-profile opponents like perennial power Kansas, which is coached by Bill Self (pictured), Pomeroy said the reason for the improvement was the elimination of several games against teams ranked outside the top 200.

As a follow-up to that story, it seemed only natural to rank the teams on Syracuse's non-conference schedule. Using Pomeroy's preseason rankings, here is a look at the teams Syracuse will face prior to the start of ACC play.
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Wilkerson-New: Hopes blossom for everyone at basketball's Peach Jam (greensboro.com; Wilkerson-New)

If there was any doubt that I had arrived at the right destination, those worries were quickly put to rest as I pulled into the parking lot at Riverview Park Activities Center.

As I threw my voice recorder and a day’s worth — let’s be honest, a week’s worth — of Jolly Ranchers into my bookbag, I noticed a familiar face in the next parking spot. The former mayor of Dunk City, Southern California coach Andy Enfield, was grabbing a shirt out of the trunk of his rental car.

It’s obvious on the trek to the massive brick building, Oregon State windbreakers and Towson polo shirts mixing into the crowd as it funnels into a walkway lined with Nike banners featuring Kevin Durant’s face.

This is Peach Jam, and this is a big deal — big enough to bring Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and assistant Jeff Capel to center court, big enough to bring the nation’s next basketball superstars to a recreation center that you can’t simply get to with a flight or two.

The on-site store sells every color of Nike basketball shoe a teenager could imagine.

Peach Jam itself sells something bigger for everyone: the elite and not-yet-elite coaches come to Augusta with the opportunity to keep their programs on top or the chance to find one player who will turn the tide.
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Other

Onondaga County selling naming rights for War Memorial; veterans in the loop (PS; Kramer)

For the right price, the War Memorial will be changing its name this season.

Onondaga County Deputy Executive Bill Fisher said on Wednesday that officials would like to slap a corporate name on the building as soon as the upcoming season.

The new moniker would take the form of "(Fill in the blank) Arena at the War Memorial.'' That's similar to the approach taken by the Rochester Amerks, who play in Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial.

Fisher wouldn't specify what he thinks the War Memorial naming rights might bring. He said NBT Bank pays $150,000 a year to put its name on the Syracuse Chiefs' baseball stadium.

Fisher said income brought in via a rights deal would be put back into the facility.

"It allows us to do more of our wish list (of improvements) than we could without that,'' Fisher said.

He said the idea has been on the county's radar for several years but more pressing War Memorial projects -- such as installing new dasher boards and extending the ice surface -- took precedence.

"We've tried to be strategic about spending money on what has to be done, and then getting to the wants in a strategic manner without breaking the bank,'' Fisher said.
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Syracuse Crunch, Onondaga County nearing deal for needed War Memorial upgrades (PS; Kramer)

The Syracuse Crunch and Onondaga County officials are closing in on an agreement that will extend the hockey team's lease and lead to much-needed improvements in the War Memorial.

Crunch owner Howard Dolgon and Deputy County Executive Bill Fisher both indicated on Wednesday that talks are going smoothly and a new pact could be reached within a matter of days.

The Crunch, which is entering its 24th season, has seven years left on its current pact. SMG, which runs the 66-year-old War Memorial for the county, would like to tack on three more seasons.

Among other things, the extension would be a further sign of the Crunch's commitment to Syracuse and spell out the cost-sharing burdens for an integrated new scoreboard and marquee system.


"It's a friendly negotiation. We're not adversarial. We're partners in this,'' Fisher said.

"I've made clear that the Crunch will work with them on a lease extension,'' Dolgon said. "I can certainly understand their desire to lock in a high-profile tenant such as us. We are all on the same page, which is a good place to be.''

Fisher updated the county's facilities committee at a meeting Wednesday. If all goes well, the ways and means committee can approve necessary funding for upgrades later this month and then full Legislature could give its full stamp of approval at an Aug. 1 meeting.

The big-ticket item this summer will be a new scoreboard, a bauble that will also include a synchronized video system coordinated with a new set of new marquees that are planned for the War Memorial, Oncenter and Civic Center. The current scoreboard is seven years old and parts of its video screen was broken for much of last season. Its current video capabilities are also sorely outdated.
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