sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to National Hot Chocolate Day!
National Hot Chocolate Day fittingly takes place in winter, as the drink is often associated with cold weather. Although the names "hot chocolate" and "hot cocoa" are often used interchangeably, there technically is a difference between the two. This difference is not legal, however, and the two are often mislabeled at stores, most often with hot cocoa being labeled as hot chocolate. The difference lies in that hot chocolate contains cocoa butter, and hot cocoa does not. Hot cocoa uses cocoa powder that is made by removing cocoa butter from ground cocoa beans. Hot chocolate is made from bar chocolate, which has cocoa powder, sugar, and cocoa butter in it. These differences give both their distinct flavor and texture. Hot cocoa is thinner and more chocolatey but is less rich. The richness in hot chocolate comes from the higher fat content, which comes from the cocoa butter.
SU News
Axe: This year, Syracuse vs. Duke is just a game (PS; Axe)
It was anything but just a game last year.
Duke’s trip to the Carrier Dome in 2019 was preceded by a dizzying amount of hype.
Syracuse University put on a weeks-long campaign to break the all-time attendance record at the Carrier Dome and it worked as the SU-Duke game sold-out well in advance of its February 23, 2019 date.
ESPN’s College GameDay was set to make its first trip to the Carrier Dome in five years. Fans were ready to see Zion Williamson, the biggest star college basketball had produced in years. Syracuse’s upset of then No.1 Duke in overtime earlier in the schedule only added fuel to the fire.
Then tragedy struck.
Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim was driving home on Interstate 690 East in Syracuse following the Orange’s game against Louisville on Feb. 20, 2019 when he hit Jorge Jimenez with his SUV. Jimenez was a passenger in a car that had been involved in a previous accident. He and other three people had gotten out of a car and onto the highway. Jimenez died from his injuries.
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https://sujuiceonline.com/2020/01/31/syracuse-orange-v-duke-blue-devils-predictions-2-1-20/ (the juice; Staff)
Syracuse will try to start a new winning streak when it hosts No. 9 Duke at the Carrier Dome (8:00 p.m. ET / ESPN) on Saturday. Ahead of the game, The Juice Online’s Bierman and Wes Cheng give their predictions below.
Brad Bierman
Season Record 2-2
Just when it seemed things were falling into place for this Syracuse basketball team with a five-game winning streak, and unblemished ACC road record, and a jump into double-bye territory for the ACC Tournament (top four teams), comes the ball bouncing the wrong way in the final seconds of Tuesday night’s 71-70 loss at Clemson.
Now big, bad No. 9 Duke invades the Dome in front of another expected overflow crowd (31,000 plus tickets already have been sold), where the teams have split their four previous games in conference play.
You want to know our latest definition of “old.” We remember sitting with Vernon Carey Jr.’s dad Vernon in Hawaii in 1999 as several members of the initial High School All American football team were our guests in Maui. That was before Vernon Sr.’s collegiate career at Miami followed by being a No. 1 NFL draft choice and an eight-year run with his hometown Dolphins from 2004-2011.
Now in retirement, Sr. can enjoy the time he spends watching Jr., Duke’s monstrous 6-10, 270 lb. center, develop a pro basketball career, while also absorbing the benefits of playing for Coach K and the Blue Devils for at least one season.
Carey Jr. has put up a nice freshman year so far in 20-games, currently averaging a team-leading 17.4 ppg and 8.5 rpg, and is projected in most circles to be a top-20 selection in June’s NBA Draft.
For Syracuse, there’s no time like the present to play to the big atmosphere and grab a head-turning victory, and we think the ‘Cuse will respond to the crowd but come up just a little short.
Even before we saw that there was a four-overtime game this week (George Washington over Davidson Wednesday night), wee were thinking of a double-overtime doozy in the Dome, with Duke getting by Syracuse 91-86.
Wes Cheng
Season Record 11-2
Duke has only lost three times this season. The first was an unthinkable home loss to Stephen . Austin in November in overtime which snapped Duke’s 150-game home winning streak against nonconference opponents. They also suffered back-to-back ACC losses to Clemson and Louisville earlier in the month.
The Blue Devils have otherwise been spotless, passing non-conference tests against then-No. 3 Kansas to open the season, and later then-No. 11 Michigan State in the ACC/Big 1o Challenge.
The one unifying theme in Duke’s losses has been sloppiness on offense. The Blue Devils average 13.3 turnovers per game on the season, but in those three losses, they committed 22 turnovers against Stephen . Austin and 16 each against Clemson and Louisville.
Normally, that would bode well for the Orange, which has had a long history of forcing turnovers with its vaunted 2-3 zone. But after a frustrating road loss to Clemson, KenPom dropped Syracuse in its defensive rankings down to 131st in the country, which is even worse than Syracuse’s 2016 effort (119th nationally).
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Next Up - Syracuse (DBR; King)
We saw this article today that asked if Duke had replaced Georgetown as Syracuse’s #1 rival.
We’ll leave that up to them; we will say we’d rather play Syracuse than Maryland. Syracuse fans are loud and passionate but you don’t feel threatened. Maryland was never quite safe. People actually got attacked there. One year when Wake was about to pull off an upset, the ushers advised Wake Forest fans to hide under their seats.
Syracuse isn’t like that. They just love their basketball and, well, we love them for that. They’ve been a nice presence in the ACC and Jim Boeheim may even have found a few restaurants he likes down here.
This year’s team struggled early but has coalesced around the offensively dynamic trio of Elijah Hughes, Buddy Boeheim and Joe Girard. Hughes, who started at ECU before moving back north, has become a very good player and will be difficult to stop.
Hughes, a 6-6 junior, is shooting 37.3 from the bonusphere, 43.2 percent overall and is definitely a guy who can take over a game.
Boeheim, the coach’s son and a 6-6 sophomore, is well ahead of expectations. He can flat out shoot it and while he’s not immensely athletic, he knows how to get a shot off.
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Duke vs. Syracuse: Keys and storylines for 2019-20 matchup (bustingbrackets.com; Johnson)
Duke takes on Syracuse in a big-time ACC matchup. What are the keys and storylines to the game?
As Duke travels north to play Syracuse on Saturday, they write the next chapter in a budding rivalry that has produced some memorable games recently. The two coaches who sit atop the wins list in NCAA men’s basketball are good friends, but also fierce competitors who will have their teams ready for another battle that neither can afford to lose.
From the two classics in 2014, think the Rasheed Sulaimon shot to force overtime and the CJ Fair foul to force the explosion of Jim Boeheim, to last year’s upset of a Zion-led squad in OT; the matchups between Duke and Syracuse have the chance to produce fireworks. They have the chance to make Game of the Year type moments, of the regular season anyway, and proven that rankings don’t necessarily matter.
That is always a good indication of a true rivalry; when you can throw away the standings, put aside the analysis and prognostications to just lace ’em up and play ball. When there is a buzz and energy surrounding the game that transcends the records and rank of the teams playing.
That’s exactly what’s expected in New York on Saturday night as a crowd thought to swell over 30,000 will take in this latest installment of the compelling series. The hype has been tempered a bit by the Orange’s loss at Clemson although the Blue Devils would know how they feel, having suffered their own defeat at Little John Arena earlier in January.
The ‘Cuse were riding high, having won five straight including three on the road. They have won four on the road overall and no matter how down the ACC may or may not be, four straight road wins in a power conference is still an impressive feat. Now they welcome a Duke team fresh from a rare mid-season bye week and a hard-fought victory over the Pittsburgh Panthers at home.
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Other
New Get Air location gets a rough opening date at Destiny USA (PS; Tampone)
Indoor trampoline park chain Get Air plans to open its Destiny USA location this fall, the mall said today.
A sign advertising Get Air has been up at Destiny since late last year, but the mall had not officially announced the tenant yet. Get Air is taking over space previously occupied by Cowboys Saloon on the third floor of Destiny’s expansion section, across from Margaritaville.
The 22,000-square-foot venue will feature multiple trampoline courts, including space just for younger kids, a ninja course, rock walls and trampoline-assisted dodgeball and basketball.
Get Air already has a Syracuse-area location at a shopping plaza across from Driver's Village in Cicero. That location will stay open even after the Destiny site arrives, Get Air staff said.
The chain has locations across the U.S., including at Crossgates Mall near Albany. Crossgates and Destiny are both owned by Syracuse-based Pyramid Management Group.
Get Air opened in Cicero in 2015.
