sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to National Guacamole Day!
National Guacamole Day celebrates the avocado-based dip or spread, guacamole. It was first made by the Aztecs, who lived in what is now central Mexico, between the 14th and 16th centuries. Appropriately, the day is celebrated on Mexican Independence Day. The name guacamole means "avocado sauce" in Nahuatl, the Aztec language, and many times it is simply called "guac" in the United States. To make the dip, avocados and sea salt are mashed with a mortar and pestle, and ingredients such as garlic, onion, tomato, peppers, lemon or lime juice, cilantro, chili or cayenne pepper, and cumin are added. The most popular avocados for making guacamole are Hass avocados. Guacamole is most often served with tortilla chips, but it can be used in many other ways. Besides National Guacamole Day, a great amount of guacamole is consumed on Super Bowl Sunday and Cinco de Mayo. The popularity of guacamole in the United States has grown in recent years, and this can partly be attributed to a lift on a ban on the importation of avocados, as well as the growth of the Latino population in the United States.
SU News
Syracuse Basketball: Jim Boeheim is way more than a basketball coach (itlh; Adler)
Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim made a lot of sincere remarks in an Esquire interview, including some thoughts on February’s fatal car accident.
On the court, Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim is often viewed – at times, unfairly – as a complainer and a whiner.
As a stodgy curmudgeon who frequently dukes it out with referees. He gets lambasted for acting abrupt and upfront in press conferences, and for occasionally lashing out at reporters.
Okay, fine, that’s fair enough.
Some critics throughout Central New York, and in the media, bemoan when his Orange has mediocre regular seasons or, conversely, puts forth brilliant campaigns that unfortunately end with early Big Dance exits.
Boeheim is stubborn, they say, by always playing that trademark zone defense. His ‘Cuse offenses are stagnant. He can’t recruit with the blue bloods of the sport. His guys don’t fare well in the NBA. He’s only captured one national championship in more than four decades roaming the Syracuse sidelines.
I could go on and on and on.
I’m a proud Orange alum, I cheer fervently for the ‘Cuse hoops program, and I adore JB. His basketball IQ is extensive, he gives a ton back to the Syracuse community through his foundation, and in all honesty, I think that Boeheim is misunderstood.
When he calls it quits, I will miss him tremendously. So, too, will an abundance of other Orange fanatics, even if they don’t realize it now. For better or for worse, there’s a personal element to Boeheim that is, sadly, overlooked, and that candidness came out in an article written by Tom Chiarella that published on Esquire’s Web site earlier this week.
Boeheim spoke about changes in collegiate basketball, one of which is the transfer portal that provides an avenue for student-athletes to move from school to school. JB had this to say:
“I think it’s great for kids to go if that’s what they really want, but what if they just work through it? Would it have worked out better? Brandon Triche played very little here when he was a freshman and he became a great player for us. We had a kid leave here and go to Vanderbilt, he didn’t play, and Vanderbilt didn’t win a conference game last year.”
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5 predictions for the 2019-20 Big 12 men's basketball season | NCAA.com (ncaa.com; Katz)
Baylor forward Tristan Clark only played in 15 games last year after suffering a knee injury midseason. But in that time, he still averaged 14.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game on 73.7 percent shooting. Yes, you read that correctly.
Andy Katz believes that Clark is the most underrated player in the Big 12 heading into the 2019-20 season. Check out the rest of his Big 12 predictions below.
2019 CONFERENCE PREDICTIONS: 5 Big East predictions | ACC | Big Ten | Pac-12 | SEC
Andy Katz's 2019-20 Big 12 predictions
Player of the Year: Devon Dotson, Kansas
Freshman of the Year: Jahmius Ramsey, Texas Tech
Underrated: Tristan Clark, Baylor
Five important non-conference games:
Kentucky at Texas Tech, Jan. 25
Baylor at Florida, Jan. 25
Seton Hall at Iowa State, Dec. 8
Oklahoma at Wichita State, Dec. 14
LSU at Texas, Jan. 25
Bold prediction: Eight of 10 teams will enter February with a chance to make the NCAA tournament. Not all eight will, but at least eight will still be in contention.
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ESPN updates Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings (247psports.com; Flaherty)
The college basketball season is nearly here: Within the next few weeks, teams across the country will begin their seasons with Late Night practices and special tip-off events. And a little over a month after that, the season will start in full.
In other words, it's still prediction and talking season, though that season is winding down. And so ESPN released what writer Jeff Borzello called the network's last "Way-Too-Early" rankings before the start of the season, listing his predictions for the nation's top 25 teams before practices begin.
And while the rosters are largely set — only one team made a massive jump in these rankings after a recruiting coup and reclassification that helped to fill out a squad with many moving parts — there are any number of other questions that can only be answered once teams actually hit the court. Just how will these newcomers fit into their teams? Can graduate transfers heading around the country have anywhere near the same impact that Texas Tech's crop had a year ago? And what exactly will the new 3-point line mean? Who will it benefit, and who will it hurt?
In just a short amount of time, we'll have answers to those questions. But for now, it's still fun to take aim at just what might come to pass in the 2019-20 season.
25. LSU
(Photo: John David Mercer, USA TODAY Sports)
Javonte Smart, Skylar Mays and Marlon Taylor makes for a pretty dynamic backcourt. And incoming 247Sports Composite five-star Trendon Watford should pair well with the combination of Emmitt Williams and Darius Days at the 4/5 spots: Williams, a former five-star himself, could see a massive jump with the Tigers’ low-post departures.
24. Colorado
Colorado’s case is pretty easy to sum up. Per Borzello: “…the Buffaloes return all five starters and every rotation player from a season ago. They won 12 of their final 15 games last season and were outstanding defensively down the stretch.” With McKinley Wright and Tyler Bey looking like stars, don’t sleep on the Buffs.
23. Washington
The Huskies lose four of five starters, but add in something few teams can claim: three former five-star players. Kentucky transfer Quade Green will join 247Sports Composite top 10 players Isaiah Stewart and Jaden McDaniels, while lone returning starter Nahziah Carter will be depended on for consistency.
22. Marquette
Marquette has seen its stock sky high, plummet, then rise this offseason. A team many were projecting as top 5-10 dropped off after losing Sam and Joey Hauser, with most pushing Marquette out of the top 25. But the addition of Utah graduate transfer Jayce Johnson helps, and Utah State transfer Koby McEwen will add to All-American Markus Howard’s supporting cast.
21. Saint Mary’s
Four returning starters, including Jordan Ford and matchup problem Malik Fitts is a great place to start. Saint Mary’s was going to miss last year’s NCAA Tournament before catching fire late and winning the West Coast Conference Tournament, but that kind of returning production could lead to an easier time around this year. Getting Aaron Menzies, a 7-foot-3 center, eligible helps as well.
20. Xavier
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Other
2019 NYS Fair crime: A confused thief, a tree climber and a ‘Crappy Plumber’ (PS; Dowty)
Another all-time attendance record. And another year in which the wacky mixed with the downright ugly at Central New York’s biggest annual party: The New York State Fair.
One guy was arrested while apparently sneaking stolen Syracuse University swag back into the fairgrounds. A college kid climbed a tree at Chevy Court for a country concert and refused to come down. Then there’s the dad who punched a ticket window repeatedly after his son lost a bracelet to ride the Midway.
On the serious side, one man is facing a hate-crime for smashing a gay couple’s car window at the Breaking Benjamin amphitheater concert. And guy wearing a “Crappy Plumber” T-shirt is charged with intentionally slamming a car door on a 10-year-old’s leg.
The good news? Overall arrests were down nearly 36 percent from a year ago, from 47 arrests to 30. Things look even better when compared to 2017, when there were a whopping 79 arrests.
But there was still plenty of mischief. And, according to police, much of it was fueled by alcohol. (Surprise! Surprise!)
Here’s a rundown on the most noteworthy crimes during the 2019 state fair:
A confused thief?
Anthony Gardynski, 20, of 101 Bennett Ave, Syracuse, had his hands on some lucrative loot: 18 Syracuse University logo jackets valued at $50 each, troopers said.
But the accused thief didn’t get far with them on Labor Day: he was caught trying to throw them back over the fence into the fairgrounds.
Two ambulance workers were on break when they spotted Gardynski throwing two boxes with the stolen jackets over the fence, from the railroad tracks into the fairgrounds, troopers said.
When troopers confronted him, Gardynski took off running, troopers said. He then wrestled with them after being caught.
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