sutomcat
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Welcome to Ash Wednesday!
Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, observed in many Western Christian denominations. It takes place forty-six days before Easter, and may take place anytime between February 4 and March 10. Depending on denomination, it is observed with religious services, a ritual with ashes, and fasting.
In ancient times, ashes were used to express grief. The sprinkling of ashes on heads takes place in numerous places in the Bible. Christians continued the tradition as a sign of repentance. Christians in Western Europe were receiving ashes on the first day of Lent by the tenth century, although not yet in the Catholic Church. In 1091, the Catholic Church joined the ritual, after Pope Urban II ordered ashes should be given in Rome. The day soon came to be called Ash Wednesday. Some denominations stopped giving out ashes after the Reformation, sometime around 1600, but still observed Ash Wednesday as the first day of Lent.
SU News
COMMENTARY: Syracuse should not pass up chance at Glens Falls (poststar.com; Tingley)
Next to my own bed, I’ve spent more leisure time at the Glens Falls Civic Center than any other place in the world.
So, I know what I am talking about when I say the Syracuse University basketball team would have an experience like none other if it came to play in Glens Falls.
Yes, I’m inviting them, if Mayor Dan Hall hasn’t done so already, and he probably has.
Here’s the deal: Syracuse University is shutting down the Carrier Dome on March 1 so it can put on a new roof.
With a 15-12 record, the basketball team may not qualify for a slot in the NCAA Basketball Tournament. That means that Syracuse could be offered a chance to host a game in the National Invitation Tournament on March 17 or March 18. If that happened, it would need a place to play.
Enter Glens Falls.
It has an open date on March 18.
Unfortunately, Syracuse University Athletic Director John Wildhack poured a bucket of cold water on the idea, saying it was “highly unlikely.”
I figured he was being loyal to the fans in the Syracuse area.
Or maybe it was about the money, since games at the Dome regularly draw more than 20,000.
But I think he is being shortsighted, especially after stumbling on some recent attendance numbers when Syracuse was relegated to the NIT.
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How lunch with Jim Boeheim helped Pitt’s Jeff Capel understand Syracuse’s zone (triblive.com; DiPaola)
Jeff Capel didn’t get where he is today by wasting a rare opportunity.
Perhaps that valuable character trait will help Pitt’s coach and his players Wednesday night when he matches wits with Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim at Petersen Events Center.
Capel has had a long relationship with Boeheim, who’s won 961 games in 44 years at Syracuse, second in Division I men’s basketball only to Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski.
Capel said he first talked basketball with Boeheim 15 years ago when Pitt’s coach was an assistant to Villanova’s Jay Wright on the U.S. gold-medal winning team at the 2005 World University Games in Turkey. At the time, Boeheim was the chair of the youth division of USA Basketball and Capel was the head coach at VCU.
Both men were in Colorado Springs, Colo., for training when a thought struck Capel. Why not ask Boeheim to lunch and pick his brain about the zone defense?
“I didn’t know how to teach zone,” Capel said. “I never really played it in college (at Duke).
“I learned how to teach the zone by watching coach Boeheim’s instructional video. I figured. I have him. Let me ask him.”
No college basketball coach knows zone defense better than Boeheim, whose 2-3 configuration has been confusing teams for 4 ½ decades.
The coaches, separated in age by 30 years, have talked basketball with each other many times, including while Capel was an assistant on Krzyzewski’s staff at the World Cup in Spain in 2014 and at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
“I’ve had great interactions with Jeff many, many times during the Olympic experience,” Boeheim said. “They were always really good times.”
Now, the two are ACC rivals, with Boeheim, 75, winning all four games against Capel’s Pitt teams.
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Syracuse Basketball: Pitt Panthers (part 2) crystal ball predictions (itlh; Staff)
Paul A. Esden Jr, Site Expert (14-13)
Syracuse was in quite the rut, but now they’re working their way out of it. The last time the Orange played the Pittsburgh Panthers they were in the middle of a five-game winning streak. It’s time to get back on a record-breaking streak and who better to do it against?
In their last matchup against each other Syracuse struggled from deep (5-of-21), coughed up 13 turnovers, and Elijah Hughes had one of his worst outings of the season. He scored 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting, didn’t make a three-pointer (0-for-4), and struggled with turnovers.
This time around Elijah Hughes is on his game. In the last game, Syracuse dominated at one point leading by as many as 20 points before allowing things to become close late. This game will be a lot closer than people think, but Hughes will help Syracuse make things happen.
The key will be containing the array of weapons Pitt has in its arsenal. The Panthers have three players that average in double figures and one player is just outside of that. Syracuse’s 2-3 zone has had its fair share of ups and downs, but the interior looked solid in their last outing thanks to a solid effort from Bourama Sidibe.
Syracuse gets the series sweep with the 74-69 victory over the Panthers.
Joe Arrigo, contributor (19-8)
Syracuse is in must-win territory, which isn’t any breaking news to Orange fans. With four games until the ACC Tournament, Syracuse needs to go 4 and 0 in order to be back on the bubble.
A lot of people have completely written off the Orange from making the Big Dance, but not me. I think winning the next four games, and advancing to the semi-finals of the ACC Tournament could be enough for the committee to put them in.
Think about this, CBS pays millions of dollars to host March Madness. If they want Syracuse to be in over a team like Rhode Island or Richmond, they will do so.
As for this game against Pittsburgh, I think it is going to be a lot tougher than what it may look like. Pittsburgh at home is always tough to beat, no matter what kind of season they are having.
Syracuse is obviously desperate for wins, but so are the Panthers. Jeff Capel will have his team ready to win. If Syracuse doesn’t come ready to play, they will definitely lose this game. However, that won’t happen. Syracuse will show up and play like their lives are on the line. The end of the season is going to be very interesting in my opinion.
FINAL SCORE
SYRACUSE 73 Pittsburgh 68
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https://floridastate./news/fsu-basketball-in-control-of-its-destiny-to-win-acc-regular-season-title (; Williams)
The last 24 hours have been a whirlwind for the Florida State men's basketball team.
On Monday night, the No. 6 Seminoles knocked off No. 10 Louisville with an amazing second-half comeback. That victory gave FSU a half-game lead in the ACC standings, just ahead of No. 7 Duke.
It was expected that the Blue Devils would reclaim the top spot on Tuesday, but that wasn't the case. Instead, Duke was upset by Wake Forest in double-overtime, 113-101.
With Duke's surprising loss, Florida State is now on top of the conference standings with a 14-3 record, a half-game up on Louisville and one game ahead of Duke.
Most importantly, FSU is now in complete control of its destiny in the ACC with three regular-season games left -- at Clemson, at Notre Dame, and home vs. Boston College.
If Florida State wins all three, it will claim the school's first ever ACC regular-season title and a No. 1 seed in the conference basketball tournament to be played in Greensboro, N.C.
Louisville has two games remaining against Virginia Tech and at Virginia. With the tiebreaker advantage, FSU would need to lose twice and the Cardinals win out for Louisville to have a chance at claiming the title.
Duke plays at Virginia this Saturday and finishes at home against N.C. State and North Carolina. The Blue Devils would need to win out, combined with an FSU loss, to finish on top of the standings.
Next up for the Seminoles is a trip to Clemson this Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET.
Inside the Chart – Georgia Tech vs. Clemson (ramblinwreck.com; Demetra)
He sensed the indecision in that imperceptible way only point guards can.
Jose Alvarado crow-hopped behind a screen from James Banks and saw NC State’s defenders caught at an awkward angle. Their uncertainty may have only lasted a split second, but Alvarado knew to pounce. The junior lowered his shoulder and drove the right side of the lane, getting a half-step on his defender Markell Johnson. His layup missed, but it had the collateral effect of forcing center D.J. Funderburk to come over and challenge the shot. That allowed Banks to have an uncontested look at two tip-ins in front of the rim, the second falling gently through the net.
The basket gave Tech a 56-55 lead with 2:41 left. The Yellow Jackets didn’t look back the rest of the game.
Or the game after that.
Or the game after that.
Or the game after that.
Remarkably, Georgia Tech (13-14, 7-9 ACC) hasn’t trailed at McCamish Pavilion since. With wire-to-wire wins over Morehouse, Virginia Tech and Louisville, Tech has led for the last 122 minutes and 41 seconds at home, a span of more than two hours. With a three-game homestand looming, it could serve as a powerful springboard as the Jackets look to break from the pack in the ACC standings. It could also be a much-needed antidote against Clemson (14-12, 8-8 ACC), which has won three straight games by an average of 17.6 points. The Tigers shot 68.9 percent in a blowout win over Boston College Saturday, a game in which they never trailed either.
Enjoy the top five notes from my chart as the Yellow Jackets work the late shift to try to stop a five-game losing streak against the Tigers (9 p.m. ET, Georgia Tech Sports Network from Learfield IMG College):
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No. 7 Duke Upset by Unranked Wake Forest in 2OT as Olivier Sarr Scores 25 Points (BR; Goldberg)
For the second time in a row, No. 7 Duke suffered a road loss to an unranked opponent as Wake Forest secured a 113-101 upset in double overtime Tuesday.
The Demon Deacons trailed by nine points with 81 seconds remaining in regulation but went on a furious run in the final minute, capped by a Brandon Childress game-tying three.
Childress was 0-of-10 from the field before that shot but came through when it mattered and ended with 17 points.
After an evenly matched first overtime period, the home team picked up its defense in the second overtime and nailed its free throws to finally pull out the victory.
Olivier Sarr had 25 points while Chaundee Brown added 24 to help Wake Forest (12-15, 5-12) earn by far its biggest win of the season in an otherwise lost year.
Duke (23-5, 13-4) had five players in double figures but struggled once Vernon Carey Jr. fouled out with almost four minutes left in the second half. It caused the team to fall behind Florida State and Louisville in the battle for first place in the ACC while creating question marks heading into March.
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Other
People swim in Onondaga Lake after jumping from a boat, Wednesday July 22, 2015. In all about 50 people took the plunge into the lake. Michael Greenlar | mgreenlar@syracuse.com
Onondaga Lake beach plans to be unveiled Saturday (PS; Coin)
County officials are ready to show the public drawings of what a beach might look like at the north end of Onondaga Lake.
The Onondaga County Office of Environment will hold a public meeting from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Salina Town Hall, 201 School Road, Liverpool.
Travis Glazier, director of the environment office, said the county will present final results of a feasibility study looking at how many people might use a beach and how much it would cost. He said the county will also give “cost estimates and detailed schematics of what a beach site would look like.”
The Onondaga County Legislature will have the final say on whether a beach is built. When legislators in 2018 accepted a $330,000 state grant to conduct the feasibility study, they made it clear they weren’t committing to building a beach yet.
A beach would be another step in the county’s revitalization of the shoreline after the lake bottom was cleaned up and the sewage treatment plan upgraded. The county has opened the amphitheater and is adding more segments to the Loop the Lake trail.
Swimming from shore has been banned since 1940, but a massive cleanup of toxic chemicals and sewage over the past two decades has made the lake safe for swimming again, scientists say.
Preliminary results of an online survey, done as part of the bigger study, suggested that tens of thousands of people would swim at an Onondaga Lake beach each summer -- even though most who took the survey said the lake isn’t safe for swimming.
The county’s consultant combined results from the survey with Onondaga Lake Park attendance data to show that at least 31,800 people would be likely to swim at a beach. That’s comparable to the county’s existing beaches at Jamesville Beach Park and Oneida Shores, Glazier said last April.
