sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to National Tequila Day!
Today we celebrate tequila, a liquor distilled from the Mexican blue agave plant. A sweet sap from the plant's heart called "aquamiel"—meaning "honey water"—is used to make it. Tequila is actually a mezcal, although not all mezcals are tequila. Any spirit made from an agave plant is a mescal, but in order for it to be considered tequila, it has to come from the blue variation of the plant. The Mexican government allows labeling something as tequila if it has at least 51 percent agave-derived sugar—the rest can be cane or corn sugar. Mexican law says that for a spirit to be considered to be tequila, it also must be manufactured in one of five Mexican states: Jalisco, Michoacán, Nayarit, Guanajuato, or Tamaulipas.
SU News
Industrious point guard Jalen Carey prepares for starting spot with Syracuse basketball (archynewsy.com; Szuba)
Earlier this summer Jim Boeheim told Adam Zagoria that Carey would probably start at the point guard this upcoming season. His minutes were just a few minutes from his freshman season. Boehiem and the assistant coaches noted that his freshman year went on.
Alas, there’s preceded to Carey’s situation at Syracuse where talented freshmen guards have been used sparingly. Former guys like Michael Carter-Williams and Dion Waiters their first seasons at SU before blowing up their sophomore campaigns. Carey is hopeful he can make the second year jump.
"I just want to be one of those next guards. In terms of the season I just want to get acclimated and the new guys just trying to be the leader on the court. "The main thing is just helping the team win, whatever I feel like I can do to help the guys win," He said. "Just be a great teammate and help the team win. That’s all I’m about is winning. ”
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Boeheim's Army invades the Syracuse Mets game, takes part in meet and greet with fans (cnycentral.com; Hauswirth)
The Syracuse Mets returned home from a week-long road trip which saw the hometown baseball team win both road series.
They had finally clawed back to .500 on the year, ready to capitalize on a week's worth of home games in front of a welcoming fans.
On top of that, it was Boeheim's Army night at NBT Bank Stadium, as fans were allowed to get autographs and snap pictures with their favorite former Syracuse University basketball players.
"We're excited to see the fans," Boeheim's Army coach Ryan Blackwell explained. "The fans are excited to see us. I think it's good for us to get out and see everybody before the games start this weekend. It kind of adds to the excitement, getting people to be more ready while building anticipation for these upcoming games."
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Watching Boeheim’s Army in TBT? We explain the different rules (PS; Ditota)
With Boeheim’s Army playing home games this weekend at Onondaga Community College, The Basketball Tournament will reach a new live audience.
To help navigate the different rules and regulations governing TBT games, we’re providing this handy guide to make you a smarter basketball consumer.
Generally, the games are officiated with guidelines straight out of the 2018-19 NCAA rule book. There are a few differences -- one of them a huge one -- and we’ll concentrate on those here. We’re also saving the Elam Ending for last in this discussion.
The Clock
The games consist of four nine-minute quarters (until the fourth quarter) and a 10-minute halftime. Teams get three 30-second timeouts, two of which can be carried over to the second half. They also get one 60-second timeout.
The Fouls
Each player gets six personal fouls before he is disqualified. And because the games are guided by quarters and not halves, on the fifth foul of each quarter, all non-shooting fouls automatically result in two free throws.
Official reviews
Yes, there will be stoppages as officials examine specific plays on video for specific violations (think flagrant fouls). In NCAA games, certain plays can be reviewed in the last two minutes of each half. In TBT games, they can only be reviewed when the Elam Ending’s target score is within three points.
Goaltending
TBT follows international rules about goaltending, which means this: The ball can’t be touched on its downward flight to the basket (same as the NCAA and NBA), but once it touches the rim, all bets are off. Anybody can touch it, whether it’s in the cylinder or not.
3-point line
The college 3-point line is moving for 2019-20 to 22 feet, 1 3/4 inches. But the TBT distance remains what it was in the college game last season -- 20 feet, 9 inches.
Elam Ending
OK, here’s the big one. The Elam Ending completely changes the way games conclude. It works like this: Once the game clock ticks under four minutes in the fourth quarter and there is a stoppage in play (savvy teams often take timeouts), the target score is set. That target score is decided this way: By taking the leading team’s score and adding eight points to it. The clock is then stopped and teams play to a number, rather than an expiring clock.
So, say the clock stops at 3:45, for whatever reason. The score is 75-68. The target score then becomes 83. The number is slapped on a big board courtside. And whichever team reaches 83 first wins the game.
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PHOTOS: Boeheim's Army prepares for The Basketball Tournament in Syracuse this weekend (PS; photos; Nett)
The Basketball Tournament will be in Syracuse for the first time, with Boeheims Army acting as the host team. Games start July 25-27 on the campus at Onondaga Community College. Fans lined up nearly two hours before the Met's game at NBT Bank Stadium to get autographs from the players.
Boeheim's Army started full-squad practices on Tuesday, July 27, 2019, at the Melo Center in preparation for The Basketball Tournament. This season, early-round games in the tournament are being played at Onondaga Community College. After practice, the team appeared at the Syracuse Mets game at NBT Bank Stadium to sign autographs for fans. Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com
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Syracuse brought in a crane for Carrier Dome renovations. #OrangeNation named it. - The Juice Online (the juice; Sen)
Orange Nation Twitterverse is a wonderful place. When Syracuse disappoints or overachieves, fans are always active on Twitter.
So when Syracuse brought one of the biggest cranes in the entire country to help with renovations to the Carrier Dome, we felt the need to properly name the crane. And the only proper place to turn was of course the #OrangeNation Twitterverse.
We received some excellent suggestions, from coaches, athletes and fans. Now, we reveal our Top three crane names:
No. 3 Conrad McCrane
Conrad McCrane
For you millennials, the late great Conrad McRae played at Syracuse from 1989 to 1993. He was a McDonald’s All-American in high school, and as a senior at Syracuse, he averaged 12.3 points and 6.9 rebounds.
McRae was selected in the second round by the Washington Bullets. What a great way to honor the shot blocker from Brooklyn than naming the huge Dome crane after him? Thank you Sean and Brian.
No. 2 The Dome Crain-gerThe Dome Ranger is one of the most iconic Syracuse fans. With his cowboy hat and mask, he pumps up the crowd in each game. The fans are just as much a part of the Dome as the athletes. So a shoutout to the Dome Ranger is very appropriate.
No. 1 Kueth Crain-y
This is my favorite for many reasons, but the biggest of them all is because Kueth Duany was an integral part of the 2002-03 National Championship team. Out of the starting five, Duany is often the forgotten one.
Carmelo Anthony was the superstar. Gerry McNamara became one of the biggest fan favorites of all time. Hakim Warrick became a legend after the blocked shot with 1.7 seconds left. Even Craig Forth is well known because he was “that goofy tall guy who played center.”
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The Most Inexplicable All-ACC Vote That Ever Happened, Part I (DBR; King)
We have lots of ways to evaluate success in sports. Wins and losses are the most important metrics in team sports; some would say the only metric.
But we also value individual accomplishments. We have objective, stats-based criteria. There may be some disagreements on scoring decisions but with that exception everyone agrees on which athlete has the most touchdowns, the most home runs, the highest rebound-per-game average.
But there are more subjective barometers. All-Star teams, All-America teams, all-conference, MVP, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year.
All selected by human beings, fallible, inconsistent human beings, a few with an agenda or a bias, most doing the best job they can.
But still human beings.
Which brings us to ACC basketball.
Duke has been involved with some of the league’s more curious decisions in this area.
Look at 2002. Duke’s Jason Williams won every national player of the year award. But he did not win the ACC Player of the Year Award. The media gave 41 votes to Maryland’s Juan Dixon, 38 votes to Williams, four votes to Duke’s Mike Dunleavy and one vote for NC State’s Anthony Grundy.
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Jackets and Kentucky Finalize 2-Game Series (ramblinwreck.com)
Georgia Tech’s men’s basketball team and Kentucky have agreed to play a two-game series over the upcoming two seasons, beginning with the Yellow Jackets traveling to Lexington this December, and the Wildcats playing in Atlanta during the 2020-21 season.
Kentucky, which has won the NCAA Championship eight times, most recently in 2012, will host the Yellow Jackets Dec. 14 at Rupp Arena this season, and Tech will host the Wildcats in a “Holiday Hoopsgiving” event Nov. 27, 2020, at State Farm Arena in downtown Atlanta. Kentucky becomes the third Southeastern Conference opponent on the Yellow Jackets’ pre-conference schedule this season, joining Georgia (Nov. 20 in Athens) and Arkansas (Nov. 25 at McCamish Pavilion). With its pre-conference schedule nearing completion, Tech also hosts Nebraska on Dec. 4 for the Big Ten/ACC Challenge and Ball State on Dec. 18, and the Jackets travel to Hawai’i to play in the Diamond Head Classic Dec. 22-25, where they will face Boise State in the opening round.
The former Southeastern Conference rivals have met 71 times previously, the fifth-most meetings for the Yellow Jackets against any non-ACC opponent. The Wildcats have a 56-15 advantage since the teams first met in 1924, but the Jackets won the most recent contest, 86-84 on Dec. 9, 2000 at Philips Arena in Atlanta.
Nine of Tech’s 15 wins over Kentucky came between 1955 and 1964 under legendary coach John “Whack” Hyder, three of those against Wildcat teams ranked No. 1 in the nation. The teams have met 34 times in Lexington, including three games at Rupp Arena, and 29 times in Atlanta.
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NCAA Basketball Mailbag: Projecting ACC race, Memphis success and more (bustingbrackets.com; Rauf)
The NCAA Basketball Mailbag is back and we’re breaking down all the biggest questions of the offseason and looking ahead to the new year.
It’s been a while since we did our last NCAA Basketball Mailbag following the Final Four and, even though we’re in the college basketball lull of July, there’s still plenty to discuss.
From projections for the season ahead, coaches with a lot on the line, and recruiting that just finished up, we touched on a myriad of topics on all of your minds.
So, without further ado, let’s dive in and discuss the team that has ruled headlines more than anyone else going into next season – the Memphis Tigers.
I think Penny will be successful at Memphis and will be there for as long as he wants to be. Personally, I think concerns about him are overblown – he’s proven himself at every level and has paid his coaching dues.
At the same time, winning a championship is extremely tough, and it’s even harder doing it in your first time around. We’ve seen so many talented freshmen classes fall short of a title and the only two that won – the 2012 Kentucky team and 2015 Duke team – had two of the best and most experienced coaches every in Coach K and John Calipari.
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I think Louisville will win the league but Duke will be the preseason favorite. Though they have another roster consisting of mostly freshmen, Coach K has proven he can win with those rosters and he probably has the most talent. That said, Louisville has the best mix of talent and experience, which I think bodes well for them.
Virginia will be good again even without the talent of last year’s group. Tony Bennett is still Tony Bennett and he has the core in tact for what should be great teams in 2020-21 and 2021-22. They’ll still finish in the top third of the conference – the development of Mamadi Diakite and Kihei Clark will determine where they fall in that mix – but I don’t think they’ll be able to make it out of the first weekend.
(Side note for Virginia: look out for freshman Casey Morsell. He’s going to be a star sooner rather than later.)
As for Syracuse…they’ll be lucky to find themselves on the familiar NCAA Tournament bubble this year. There’s a real chance they finish in the bottom third of the conference this year.
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Other
Wegmans to begin plastic bag ban at 2 stores on Monday (PS; Herbert)
Wegmans is getting a head start on New York state’s upcoming ban on plastic bags at all grocery stores.
Wegmans will begin its pilot program removing all plastic bags from two stores beginning Monday, July 29, at its locations in Ithaca (500 South Meadow Street) and Corning (24 S Bridge St). Paper grocery bags will continue to be available, but 5 cents will be charged for each bag.
The company will similarly stop providing plastic bags at other stores later this year. New York’s ban on single-use plastic bags takes effect March 1, 2020.
Wegmans says its goal is to convert all customers to reusable bags before the end of the year. In the meantime, money collected from sales of paper bags will be donated to the Food Bank of the Southern Tier.
“We are determined to do what’s right by encouraging all of our customers to switch to reusable bags, the best option to solve the environmental challenge of single-use grocery bags,” Wegmans said in a statement. “A consequence of a plastic bag ban will be an increase in the use of paper bags, which for a host of reasons, are bad for the environment. In stores where a small fee is charged, reusable bag usage goes up dramatically. If, together, we can make that happen in our 46 New York State stores, it will have an immeasurable environmental impact for decades to come.”
The Rochester-based supermarket chain said in a press release that the company is already required to charge a 5-cent fee for paper and plastic bags in Maryland. Two in three (65 percent) of bags used at its Germantown, Md., store are reusable, compared to a 20 percent average in its New York state stores.
The company says eliminating single-use bags, both paper and plastic, helps the environment in multiple ways:
- It takes seven tractor trailers to transport the same number of paper bags as plastic bags carried by one tractor trailer.
- It takes greater resources and energy to make and recycle paper compared to plastic.
- Paper bags do not breakdown in landfills.
- Paper bags are harmful to waterways due to the chemicals used in the manufacturing process.
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