sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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- Aug 15, 2011
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Welcome to Curmudgeons Day!
A curmudgeon is a cantankerous, difficult, and bad-tempered person, who is usually also an old man. They are celebrated on Curmudgeons Day, which takes place on the birthday of W.C. Fields, a comedian and actor who was known for his curmudgeonly demeanor. On Curmudgeons Day, people act as curmudgeons, celebrate curmudgeons they know, and celebrate W.C. Fields.
W.C. Fields was born as William Claude Dukenfield on January 29, 1880, in Darby, Pennsylvania, just outside of Philadelphia. He took on his new name when he began working in vaudeville in 1898. Throughout his career, he was known for portraying anti-social and cantankerous characters in his stage and screen roles, and his real-life persona wasn't too far removed from this demeanor. He was also known for his affinity for alcohol, which ultimately had a hand in his declining health and eventual demise at the age of 66. Today he is often placed in the same class as comedic luminaries Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton.
SU News
The story of why Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim doesn’t hold morning shootarounds (PS; Waters)
On the morning of March 23, 1981, the Syracuse University basketball team neared the end of its shootaround in preparation for that night’s game against Purdue in the semifinals of the National Invitation Tournament.
Why is that important? It’s the last time that Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim held a shootaround on the morning of a game. And, according to legend, Danny Schayes is the reason why.
“We were just shooting around,’’ Schayes, a senior on that Syracuse team, recalled. “There were just two baskets and about 14 or 15 guys shooting, so there were a lot of basketballs bouncing around.’’
As Schayes went up for a shot, a stray ball rolled underneath him. He came down and twisted his ankle.
“It was bad,’’ Schayes said. “It was a big deal.’’
Schayes played that night, as he described it, “on one-and-a-half legs’,’ and Syracuse outlasted Purdue 70-63 to advance to the NIT championship game against Tulsa.
“It just got more and more sore,’’ Schayes said. “By the Tulsa game, I could barely get up and down. I was pretty useless for that one.’’
Tulsa beat Syracuse, 86-84, in overtime to claim the NIT title.
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NCAA tournament projections: Could Washington and Syracuse meet in the first round? (seattlestimes.com; Allen)
There’s a lot of basketball left in the season, but an intriguing first-round matchup for Washingon is still in play.
Jerry Palm at CBS Sports is predicting a first-round matchup in the East region between No. 8 Washington and No. 9 Syracuse, which would be the first game between UW coach Mike Hopkins and his mentor Jim Boeheim, the legendary Orange coach. Hopkins, who played at Syracuse, spent 22 years as an Orange assistant before taking over the Huskies in 2017.
Just seven weeks remain before Selection Sunday when the 68-team NCAA tournament field will be announced March 17.
Here’s a look at where Washington stands in other NCAA tournament forecasts:
ESPN bracket guru Joe Lunardi projects UW as a No. 9 seed in the Midwest region playing a first-round game against No. 8 Nebraska in Columbia, S.C.
Michael Beller at Sports Illustrated projects Washington as a No. 9 seed in the East region paired against No. 8 Mississippi.
Howie Schwaab at Fox Sports tabs the Huskies as a No. 9 seed against No. 8 Florida State in the West region.
Andy Katz at NCAA.com projects UW as a No. 9 seed facing No. 8 Mississippi State in the West region.
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The Best of WAER Sports Podcast- Plenty of Talent North of the Border (waer.org; podcast; Kloss)
News coverage recently has had a relentless spotlight on the Mexican border, but today on The Best of WAER Sports Podcast we're turning our attention to the Canadian border. From Andrew Wiggins to Tristan Thompson, college basketball has recently sent a number of canadian born players to the NBA . WAER's Cooper Boardman reports that this lastest wave of players has helped put Canadian talent at the forefront of college basketball.
Also this week, Syracuse Men's Basketball hasn't landed a five-star recruit since 2015. Why has it been so long and will this trend continue? WAER's JD Raucci investigates.
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Syracuse Must Take Advantage of Next Four Games – Orange Fizz – Free Syracuse Recruiting News (orangefizz.net; Shults)
After upsetting Duke and taking down Pittsburgh and Miami, everything looked to be going Syracuse’s way. All it took was a blowout loss to Virginia Tech for fans to come back down to earth. Thanks to SU’s inconsistencies in non-conference play, the next four games are contests SU can’t let slip away.
On Wednesday, SU travels to take on a Boston College team that has some momentum after winning its last two games. Before taking down Florida State and Wake Forest, BC was the worst team in the ACC. Now, defeating a mediocre Demon Deacons team and a Seminoles team that’s fallen off the face of the earth isn’t anything to brag about. But it shows that Syracuse can’t take Boston College lightly.
After that the Orange travel to Pittsburgh to take on a Pitt team that put up a good fight in the Carrier Dome. The Panthers also have an extra day to prepare against the 2-3 zone. The squad’s led by a couple of freshman guards who went 8-24 against SU in the Dome. But that was their first time playing against the zone. With a little bit more experience, and the home crowd behind them, Pitt could pull off the upset.
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On The Block On Demand (espnsyracuse.com; radio; Axe)
Brent opens the show talking about the Syracuse loss to Virginia Tech over the weekend and what is and isn’t concerning about the loss. Later, he’s going around the sports world in H0T Takes, including a weird Stephen A Smith rant.
The Daniel Baldwin Show (espnsyracuse.com; radio; Baldwin)
On today’s show the guys talk about looking for a new producer of the show. Dawn from Owera Vineyards in Cazenovia joins the show to talk about the daily activities at the vineyard. A medium, Vincent Genna, talks to the guys about what being a medium means, if he can predict the outcome of the Super Bowl, and if Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is doing any sort of cheating this week while preparing for the game. Etan Thomas calls in to the show to talk to the guys about Syracuse’s loss at Va Tech. Lastly, the guys play “So What?” and so so so much more!
Williamson powers Duke past Notre Dame :: WRALSportsFan.com (wralsportsfan.com; AP; Anderson)
Zion Williamson flew unimpeded again.
For Notre Dame, there was no chance at grounding him. For Mike Krzyzewski, there's no need to even think about grounding him.
Final 1 2 T
2 Duke 46 37 83
Notre Dame 28 33 61
Preview | Boxscore | Recap
Leaders Duke Notre Dame
Points Z. Williamson 26 J. Mooney 14
Rebounds 2 tied with 9 J. Mooney 11
Assists T. Jones 5 P. Hubb 4
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Is the ACC the best conference in college basketball this season? (newsobserver.com; Giglio)
The ACC has been the best conference for college basketball, at least since it broke up the Big East before the 2013-14 season.
No other conference can match the ACC’s success in the NCAA tournament, which ultimately decides conference superiority. Twenty games into the season, it looks like there are five teams who are capable of winning the national championship.
In alphabetical order: Duke, Gonzaga, Michigan, Tennessee and Virginia.
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Carolinas hoops: Tuesday’s regional college basketball games (charlotteobserver.com)
TUESDAY’S COLLEGE GAMEDAY
No. 9 NORTH CAROLINA (15-4, 5-1 ACC) at GEORGIA TECH (11-9, 3-4)
McCamish Pavilion, Atlanta, 7 p.m. Fox Sports Carolinas
The Tar Heels shouldn’t need worry about 3-point defense, as the Yellow Jackets rank 336th of 351 Division 1 teams in 3-pointers made per game (5.3). The inside battle between UNC’s Luke Maye and Georgia Tech’s James Banks III, who’s second in the ACC in blocked shots, could be interesting.
No. 3 VIRGINIA (18-1, 6-1 ACC) at No. 23 N.C. STATE (16-4, 4-3)
PNC Arena, Raleigh, 7 p.m. ESPN2
Something to watch in this game: The Cavaliers lead the nation in 3-point field goal defense, holding foes to an average of 24.9 percent. But the Wolfpack is second in the ACC (and among national leaders) in 3-point accuracy, hitting 49.1 percent of their shots.
PITTSBURGH (12-8, 2-5 ACC) at CLEMSON (11-8, 1-5)
Littlejohn Coliseum, Clemson, S.C., 9 p.m. ESPNU
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Five Takeaways: Is the Grind of ACC Play Getting to Pitt? (pittsburghsportsnow.com; Saunders)
Pitt is in the grinder of the ACC schedule.
The Panthers have faced some of the best teams in the nation over the last four weeks, and thus their 2-4 record is probably not as a bad as it otherwise may seem.
The Panthers have faced current No. 2 Duke, No. 11 North Carolina, No. 21 NC State and No. 23 Louisville twice. They also played Florida State — which was just 15 vote points out of the Top 25 — and faced Syracuse, which also received votes this week, on the road.
That kind of stretch will reveal the warts in even deep, experienced teams, and the Panthers are neither. But there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.
Three of Pitt’s next five games are against teams with losing records in conference, as they’ll visit 1-5 Clemson, 2-4 Boston College and 1-6 Wake Forest. Their other two games, against Syracuse and NC State, are at home against teams that Pitt narrowly lost to on the road. It’s a five-game stretch that could see the Panthers take some serious steps to right their 2-5 record in ACC play.
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North Carolina coach Williams Beyond The Hardwood (msn.com; video; Williams)
North Carolina head coach Roy Williams has led the Tar Heels to three national championships (2005, 2009 and 2017) since becoming UNC’s head coach in 2004. Over his 31-year career as a head coach, Williams has developed four National Players of the Year, 17 first-team All-Americans and 28 NBA first-round draft picks. Coach Williams not only develops the best players in the world, but also helps other youth develop through basketball and accomplish greatness in other professions. Coach Williams shared his experiences with youth basketball camps with the ACC Digital Network in this feature presented by New York Life.
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Other
A polar vortex normally spinning above the North Pole is draping itself across the US later this week with cold temperatures expected in some places not seen in a generation–or in modern record.
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