sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to Fat Thursday!
Taking place on the last Thursday before Ash Wednesday, which begins Lent, Fat Thursday is a Christian feast that is primarily celebrated in European countries. It is similar to Fat Tuesday, which is celebrated the following week, but in many European countries, it is the more important holiday of the two. It also is associated with Carnival. As much fasting is done during Lent, Fat Thursday is a day for getting together and eating sweets and other foods that are eschewed during that season. Commonly eaten foods include pączki, berliners, and angel wings.
The holiday is given different names in various European countries, where distinct foods are associated with the day. The day appears to be most widely celebrated in Poland, where it is known as Tłusty Czwartek. Pastries and doughnuts from bakeries are eaten, especially pączki. The tradition of eating doughnuts on the day began in the seventeenth century. In parts of Germany, it is known as Weiberfastnacht. People wear costumes, and celebrations in the streets and in pubs begin at 11:11 a.m. It is known as the "women's carnival" and there is a tradition of women "taking over" town halls. In some parts of Germany, the holiday is also known as Fetter Donnerstag.
SU News
Crushed by Cardinals: SU loses to Louisville 90-66 (Brent Axe recap) (PS; Axe)
Syracuse basketball’s ACC losses since the calendar flipped to 2020 had been by an average of 3.8 points.
So what do we make of Louisville’s 90-66 blowout victory over Syracuse on Wednesday night at the KFC Yum Center?
Was it an anomaly, the bad night every team is afforded in league play that Syracuse had held at bay for 15 games, or something deeper about the flaws of this team?
“You’re going to have a bad game,’’ Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said Wednesday night. “Every team in the country is going to have one unless you’re Baylor, maybe, or Kansas. Everybody else is going to have a game or two.’’
The scores may have been close, but the air has been coming out of Syracuse’s balloon longer than that.
Syracuse’s 24-point loss to Louisville was the worst of the 2019-20 season.
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It's officially ACC Tourney title or bust for Syracuse making the Big Dance (D&C; Johnson)
Watching the beginning of the Louisville-Syracuse you would've thought it was the Cardinals that were desperate to remain in the running for the NCAA Tournament.
Louisville (22-5, 13-3 ACC) was tougher, played harder and exploited season-long weaknesses for the Orange in a 90-66 loss for Syracuse.
Now all that's left for the Orange (14-12, 7-8 ACC) is to win the ACC conference tournament and receive the league's automatic bid or prepare for the NIT. To be fair, even if Syracuse was able to defeat the 11th-ranked Cardinals, its at-large chances were still slim.
That's what happens when you lose to teams like Oklahoma State and Georgetown in non-conference while not being able to seal the deal against league opponents like Florida State.
Coming off two upset losses to Clemson and Georgia Tech, Louisville let its defense set the tone early, forcing five Syracuse turnovers en route to a 12-5 lead.
Joe Girard brought the Orange within 22-17 midway through the half, but the Cards responded with a 10-2 run to move ahead 32-19.
Back-to-back 3s from Girard and Buddy Boeheim settled Syracuse down as the Orange went into half only down 41-34.
Louisville went back ahead by double digits as Jordan Nwora and Malik Williams scored the first five points after the break. Williams, in particular, was a load to handle for the Orange as the Cardinals did an excellent job with passing and finding gaps in the zone.
Four quick points from Williams grew Louisville's lead to 51-40 with less than 15 minutes remaining. The Cardinals weren't done flexing their muscle in the second half.
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1 year later, Boeheim accident that killed Jorge Jimenez leaves a void: ‘Something’s missing’ (PS; Libonati)
Jorge Jimenez has been dead longer than some of his friends knew him, and yet they can’t forget him.
He used to play a slot machine with a big-toothed green ogre on it at Yellow Brick Road Casino, and his friends still do. Play it and you’ll win, he used to tell them.
When Jimenez showed up at his friends’ apartment, he’d turn on “Calentando La Habana” by El Chacal and dance. He imbued parties with an energy his friends haven’t found since.
They remember his favorite meals, like arroz congri (Cuban rice and black beans).
Sometimes, though, a nightmare slides in where a dream should be: A SUV dodges between a car and a guardrail and Osvaldo “Ivan” Rivera can see Jimenez, he says.
The nightmare jolts Rivera from his sleep. He screams. He walks to the window. That’s where his wife, Mayra Quinones, finds him some nights.
“Something's missing,” said Alberto Brinones, another friend of Jimenez. “It's emptiness.”
Jimenez will forever be linked to Syracuse University basketball coach Jim Boeheim. On Feb. 20, 2019, Boeheim was driving home on Interstate 690 after a game. He swerved to avoid a car that had crashed and died in the middle of the highway. Jimenez was trying to run from the car to the median when Boeheim’s SUV hit and killed him.
On this anniversary, Brinones, the driver of the crashed car, talked with Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard for his first interview since the crash. Rivera, a passenger in Brinones’ car, joined him.
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Orange Watch: Ask former Syracuse assistant Mike Hopkins; Consistency is tough - The Juice Online (the juice; Bierman)
Item: Onetime Syracuse player, assistant coach, and interim head coach (4-5 official record) on two occasions, Mike Hopkins is finding that his third time around as head coach at Washington is not necessarily the charm. After being named the Pac 12 Coach of the Year in back-to-back seasons taking Seattle by storm, the Huskies (12-14, 2-11) are in last place in the standings, and will look to snap an eight-game losing streak Thursday night hosting Stanford.
He’s the epitome of consistency. Syracuse basketball goes out on the court through thick and thin, year after year, and wins 73% (72.8%) of the time under Jim Boeheim in 44 seasons heading into Wednesday night’s game at No. 11 Louisville (7:00 p.m. ET / ESPN).
That’s 73% of the time. Pretty good odds. There’s only been four, four-game ‘Cuse losing streaks during that eternity of a career, and never has a Boeheim-coached team dropped five straight games.
In fact, there are only two other seasons closely resembling the current 14-11 campaign; 1981-82 and 1996-97 which resulted in records of 16-13 and 19-13, respectively, each with lackluster NIT appearances.
Unless something crazy happens at the ACC Tournament in three weeks, it will disappointingly be another NIT SU season, and this year without the benefit of the Dome to call home.
Which brings us back to Mike Hopkins. Despite handing current No. 1 Baylor its only defeat way back on Nov. 8 in Anchorage of all places, there will be no post-season in his third year at Washington barring something unexpected occurring as the regular season winds down.
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Other
Utica’s Nexus Center: $44 million sports center to open in 2020 (PS; Weaver)
Gov. Andrew Cuomo today announced expanded plans for a $44 million Nexus Center – the future site of a massive sports center that will host ice hockey, box lacrosse, soccer and other youth team events.
The governor had announced plans for the center a year ago. Then, it was billed as a $22 million facility.
Today’s announcement shows how the project has grown. Now plans include enough room and amenities to host two dozen hockey and lacrosse tournaments each year, according to Cuomo.
The governor estimated the center would bring more than 320,000 annual visitors who will spend an estimated $26 million a year in the Mohawk Valley region.
The project is similar to one Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon has proposed for Central New York. McMahon’s idea, though, is to build a sports complex that caters to outdoor sports, such as lacrosse and soccer. The facility would also have indoor space for basketball courts and track and field events. It would provide sheltered practice space for spring sports.
“It actually complements what they’re doing,” McMahon said today. “We understand every aspect of what they’re doing. I’m excited for them.”
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