sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2011
- Messages
- 25,216
- Like
- 108,671
Welcome to Monkey Day!
Monkey Day celebrates not only monkeys, but all simians, which include New World monkeys, Old World Monkeys, and apes. The day exists to bring awareness to the animals, and to show love and care for them. It was created by artists Casey Sorrow and Eric Millikin, when they were art students at Michigan State University in 2000. At first the day was celebrated by students at MSU, but it eventually gained a wider following after its creators' artwork and alternative comics, which featured Monkey Day, were published online and at exhibits. Today it is celebrated all around the world.
SU News
SU basketball has issues. It has also played a difficult schedule. What needs fixing? (PS; $; Ditota)
Syracuse has a week to practice and prepare following a brutal stretch of early season games.
The Orange is 5-5 with Lehigh (1-8) and Cornell (8-2) left before the ACC swings into serious action.
Keep in mind that the Orange, at this point, has played the nation’s 26th-toughest non-conference schedule, according to Kenpom.com. The only Power Five (plus the Big East) teams whose non-conference schedules are deemed more difficult than the Orange’s right now are Michigan State (8th), Villanova (13th), Alabama (17th), Michigan (18th), Notre Dame (23rd) and Ohio State (24th).
SU has played three teams in Ken Pomeroy’s current Top 30 and is 1-2 in those games (Ls to Villanova, Auburn; W over Indiana).
With Lehigh figuring to give Syracuse a bit of a break on Saturday, there are things to consider about why the Orange is 5-5.
Syracuse has not been a good second-half team
In its five losses, opponents are outscoring the Orange by an average of 14 points (229-160) in the second half. In three of those games, including SU’s last two defeats, the Orange held a halftime lead.
Opponents that have beaten SU are shooting 50.9% overall in the second half and 41.3% from the 3-point line. Those same teams shot 35.2% in the first halves of those games and 32.6% from the 3-point line.
...
A Not Too Early Look At Syracuse Basketball’s Tournament Resume – Orange Fizz – Daily Syracuse Recruiting News & Team Coverage (orangefizz.net; May)
If you asked any Syracuse Basketball fan before the season began what they thought the Orange’s record would be after ten games, they wouldn’t have said 5-5. Yet, that is where SU is. After some disappointing losses, namely to Colgate, Georgetown and VCU, Syracuse’s NCAA Tournament resume is already hurting.
Yes, it is only December, but it’s never too early to check on the resume, especially with a lackluster start. So, let’s examine it.
In Jim Boeheim’s 46 years of coaching at Syracuse, his team has only lost five non-conference games before league-play twice. It happened in 2016-17, where SU went on to finish 19-15 overall and miss the NCAA Tournament. Now, it has happened again, and there are still two more non-con games that could trip up the Orange.
Two of Syracuse’s losses so far are warranted. Auburn is the No. 13 team in the country and has only lost once. Villanova has three tallies in the loss column, but the Wildcats are still No. 9 in the AP Top-25 poll. Those are two Quad 1 losses that are expected and won’t hurt the resume much.
What will hurt Syracuse are the other three losses. VCU is 6-4 so far and is 74 in the NET rankings. Colgate is 4-7, ranks 178 in the NET, and has some bad losses to Niagara, Cornell and Pittsburgh. Georgetown also has some horrible losses, including Dartmouth and Saint Joseph’s. The Hoyas are 5-4 and 172 in the NET.
...
SYRACUSE BASKETBALL GETS EXPOSED AT GEORGETOWN! Can The Orange Still Make NCAA Tournament? (youtube.com; podcast; Locked on Syracuse)
Syracuse Basketball blew a 10-point halftime lead in a very frustrating loss at the Georgetown Hoyas on Saturday. How fed up are the guys with the state of the program? Where do the Syracuse Orange go from here and how likely is the path to the NCAA Tournament after a 5-5 start? Plus, we discuss the lack of bench minutes, Buddy Boeheim's shooting slump, Cole Swider, Benny Williams & Frank Anselem's big game. Tyler Aki and Tim Leonard discuss it all and more on the Monday edition of the Locked on Syracuse Podcast.
ACC Men’s Basketball Power Rankings: Week 6 - Sports Illustrated Virginia Cavaliers News, Analysis and More (SI; Newton)
We are a little over a month into the college basketball season and it is time for some power rankings in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Last week: 0-0
Duke has been idle for two weeks since losing to Ohio State on the road in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, but the Blue Devils maintain the top spot in the power rankings for two very impressive victories over Kentucky and Gonzaga during their seven-game winning streak to start the season. Duke has three more tune-up games against South Carolina State, Appalachian State, and Cleveland State before the start of ACC play.
Last week: 1-0
North Carolina began the season 3-0 before suffering back-to-back losses to ranked teams Purdue and Tennessee on a neutral floor. Since then, the Tar Heels have responded with four straight wins, including resounding victories over Michigan and Georgia Tech, which have the Heels knocking on the door of the Top 25 once again. UNC plays Furman before a huge game against UCLA on Saturday.
Last week: 1-0
Wake Forest won six-straight games to start the season, capped off by an overtime victory against Oregon State. The Demon Deacons suffered their first and only loss against LSU, before defeating Northwestern in overtime and putting together their best performance of the season in a blowout 80-61 win on the road at Virginia Tech. The Deacs have won three in a row and nine of ten to start the season and they are certainly exceeding expectations so far.
Last week: 2-0
Miami was not competitive in a pair of losses to Dayton and Alabama back in November, but the Hurricanes have looked solid since the beginning of December, winning four straight games, including five-point wins against Penn State and Clemson. The Hurricanes host Stetson before beginning ACC play with three straight home games.
Last week: 0-1
Each of Louisville’s last four games have been decided by single digits, with the Cardinals going 2-2 in those games. Louisville defeated Maryland and picked up an important win at NC State in the ACC opener, but the Cards also lost at Michigan State and at home against DePaul.The Cardinals have two opportunities for more comfortable wins against Southeastern Louisiana and Western Kentucky before playing a huge rivalry game at Kentucky on December 22nd.
Last week: 1-1
Each of NC State’s three losses this season have come by less than four points. The Wolfpack are making a habit of playing close games, as seven of their ten games have been determined by 10 points or less, including two overtime contests. NC State came very close to becoming the second unranked team to knock off No. 1 Purdue last week, coming up just short as the Boilermakers escaped with the overtime win.
Last week: 0-1
Virginia’s last three games have been determined by a total of five points and the Hoos are giving a renewed meaning to “Cardiac Cavs” once again. The Cavaliers seemed to be hitting their stride after winning four straight games, including a pair of major conference wins against Georgia and Providence, but the last three games have been quite a mixed bag. UVA went 1-2 in three very winnable games, losing by one at home against Iowa, beating Pittsburgh by one at home, and losing on the road at JMU by three. Shooting struggles continue to vex Tony Bennett’s Cavaliers this season.
Last week: 1-1
With the exception of a close win at Maryland and a blowout victory against Cornell, the last few weeks have not been good for the Hokies. Virginia Tech was competitive in back-to-back single-digit losses against Memphis and Xavier, who were both ranked teams at the time. But, Virginia Tech looked flat in a blowout loss at home against Wake Forest and the Hokies stumbled again in a loss on the road at Dayton on Sunday. The road only gets tougher for the Hokies as they face St. Bonaventure and then play at Duke and at North Carolina on back-to-back weekends.
Last week: 0-1
The Seminoles had a tough task trying to beat Purdue on the road in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge two weeks ago, but you can bet Leonard Hamilton expected his team to compete a little bit better than their lopsided 93-65 defeat in West Lafayette. That loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Seminoles and turned into a three-game losing streak as Florida State lost back-to-back games by three points or less to Syracuse and South Carolina.
Last week: 0-1
Boston College’s victory over Notre Dame last week looks even better now after the Fighting Irish knocked off Kentucky on Sunday. Beyond that win, though, the Eagles have struggled to find their groove this season, including two losses to Rhode Island, a loss to Utah, and most recently, a 79-68 loss at St. Louis on Saturday. BC hosts Albany on Monday before traveling to Wake Forest next week.
Last week: 1-0
Before Notre Dame’s big win over Kentucky on Sunday, the Fighting Irish had lost three straight games and four out of their last five. However, the last three losses had each come against major conference opponents. The win over the Wildcats showed what Mike Brey’s Irish are capable of. Time will tell if they can play to that potential as the season progresses. Notre Dame plays Indiana on Saturday.
Last week: 0-2
Syracuse picked up two straight impressive wins in extremely different fashions, beating Indiana 112-110 in double overtime and winning at Florida State 63-60. Since then, however, the Orange have lost back-to-back games against Villanova and Georgetown. After a tough stretch of six-straight games against major conference opponents, Syracuse plays Lehigh and Cornell before beginning the full ACC schedule.
...
Albany vs. Boston College Condensed Game | 2021-22 ACC Men’s Basketball (youtube.com; video)
The Boston College Eagles lost a tough game to Albany, 61-57. BC was cold from the field, shooting just 38.6% from the field and only 31.3% from 3-point range. Jaeden Zackery led the Eagles with 15 points. Quinten Post scored 13 points and grabbed 7 rebounds, and T.J. Bickerstaff had a team-high 11 rebounds for the Eagles.
Syracuse Basketball: The ACC currently stinks, and that’s bad for Orange (itlh; Adler)
Syracuse basketball owns a .500 record at this juncture in the 2021-22 campaign, which has many Orange fans understandably frustrated.
But ‘Cuse fans aren’t alone in their misery, as a ton of Atlantic Coast Conference squads have put forth sub-par marks so far in the present stanza.
Often thought of as perhaps the No. 1 or No. 2 league around the country, the ACC is far from that this year. Yes, Virginia won it all in 2019, and the same goes for North Carolina in 2017 and Duke in 2015.
And, of course, Syracuse basketball went to a Final Four in 2016 as well as Sweet 16s in 2018 and 2021 while a member of the ACC. However, save for Duke, the ACC by and large is struggling this year.
...
Duke basketball: Entire ACC still mooching off Blue Devils (balldurham.com; Giles)
If not for the Duke basketball program, the ACC would currently have zero representatives in the AP Top 25 Poll. Yes, remarkably, for the fourth consecutive week, the No. 2 Duke Blue Devils (7-1, 0-0 ACC) are the only ranked ACC team.
And the UNC Tar Heels (7-2, 1-0 ACC) are the only team from the conference among the 13 “others receiving votes” in this latest edition, which came out on Monday. UNC trails only the Wisconsin Badgers in this regard, in effect making the Tar Heels No. 27 in the country at this juncture.
Although most experts had projected yet another relatively down year for the conference, remember that the Preseason AP Top 25 Poll included four ACC teams: Duke at No. 9, UNC at No. 19, the Florida State Seminoles at No. 20, and the Virginia Cavaliers at No. 25.
Duke basketball jump without even playing
Despite not taking the court since a Nov. 30 road loss to the now-No. 15 Ohio State Buckeyes, the Blue Devils rose from No. 3 to No. 2 this week, now trailing only the reigning-champ Baylor Bears. Duke’s move results from the former No. 1 Purdue Boilermakers coming up short away from home against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Thursday night.
...
Other
Signs like these are sprouting up across Central New York in the wake of New York's new mask / vaccine mandate.
Here we go again: How CNY bars and restaurants will handle new mask/vaccine mandate (PS; Cazentre)
For the owners of bars and restaurants, it’s a classic case of choosing “the lesser of two evils.”
To comply with Gov. Kathy Hochul’s newest mandate to combat rising Covid cases, all business owners, including bars and restaurants, must decide today whether to enforce the wearing of masks, or opt to require proof of vaccination as a condition of entry.
“It really is that lesser of two evils,” said Jeffrey Rogers, owner of The Angry Garlic restaurant in Baldwinsville. “I’m putting up the sign that says, due to the state mandate, masks are required. I’m not going to go with showing proof of vaccination, which in my opinion is almost an invasion of privacy.”
It’s no longer enough, as it has been for much of this year, for businesses like restaurants to post signs asking people to mask up if unvaccinated or feel free to not wear one if vaccinated.
“A business or venue must choose whether it will implement a full-course vaccine requirement or a mask requirement, which applies to both patrons and employees and then must be followed in its entirety throughout the facility at all times each day,” the state Health Department posted in a series of FAQs on the new mandate.
Bud Loura, a local dining industry consultant, said he’s hearing that places that are primarily restaurants are leaning to the mask mandate, while bars are gearing up for vaccination proofing.
“It seems like a almost a 50-50 split,” said Loura, whose company is RestaurantQB.
Many large-scale businesses, like supermarkets and malls, have already made the decision to go with the mask option due to difficulty of monitoring multiple points of entry.
But either option can be difficult to enforce, especially during busy times at a restaurant, operators say.
The mask mandate allows customers to remove the face covering when eating or drinking in their seats, but it requires to to be on at other times..
...
Monkey Day celebrates not only monkeys, but all simians, which include New World monkeys, Old World Monkeys, and apes. The day exists to bring awareness to the animals, and to show love and care for them. It was created by artists Casey Sorrow and Eric Millikin, when they were art students at Michigan State University in 2000. At first the day was celebrated by students at MSU, but it eventually gained a wider following after its creators' artwork and alternative comics, which featured Monkey Day, were published online and at exhibits. Today it is celebrated all around the world.
SU News
SU basketball has issues. It has also played a difficult schedule. What needs fixing? (PS; $; Ditota)
Syracuse has a week to practice and prepare following a brutal stretch of early season games.
The Orange is 5-5 with Lehigh (1-8) and Cornell (8-2) left before the ACC swings into serious action.
Keep in mind that the Orange, at this point, has played the nation’s 26th-toughest non-conference schedule, according to Kenpom.com. The only Power Five (plus the Big East) teams whose non-conference schedules are deemed more difficult than the Orange’s right now are Michigan State (8th), Villanova (13th), Alabama (17th), Michigan (18th), Notre Dame (23rd) and Ohio State (24th).
SU has played three teams in Ken Pomeroy’s current Top 30 and is 1-2 in those games (Ls to Villanova, Auburn; W over Indiana).
With Lehigh figuring to give Syracuse a bit of a break on Saturday, there are things to consider about why the Orange is 5-5.
Syracuse has not been a good second-half team
In its five losses, opponents are outscoring the Orange by an average of 14 points (229-160) in the second half. In three of those games, including SU’s last two defeats, the Orange held a halftime lead.
Opponents that have beaten SU are shooting 50.9% overall in the second half and 41.3% from the 3-point line. Those same teams shot 35.2% in the first halves of those games and 32.6% from the 3-point line.
...
A Not Too Early Look At Syracuse Basketball’s Tournament Resume – Orange Fizz – Daily Syracuse Recruiting News & Team Coverage (orangefizz.net; May)
If you asked any Syracuse Basketball fan before the season began what they thought the Orange’s record would be after ten games, they wouldn’t have said 5-5. Yet, that is where SU is. After some disappointing losses, namely to Colgate, Georgetown and VCU, Syracuse’s NCAA Tournament resume is already hurting.
Yes, it is only December, but it’s never too early to check on the resume, especially with a lackluster start. So, let’s examine it.
In Jim Boeheim’s 46 years of coaching at Syracuse, his team has only lost five non-conference games before league-play twice. It happened in 2016-17, where SU went on to finish 19-15 overall and miss the NCAA Tournament. Now, it has happened again, and there are still two more non-con games that could trip up the Orange.
Two of Syracuse’s losses so far are warranted. Auburn is the No. 13 team in the country and has only lost once. Villanova has three tallies in the loss column, but the Wildcats are still No. 9 in the AP Top-25 poll. Those are two Quad 1 losses that are expected and won’t hurt the resume much.
What will hurt Syracuse are the other three losses. VCU is 6-4 so far and is 74 in the NET rankings. Colgate is 4-7, ranks 178 in the NET, and has some bad losses to Niagara, Cornell and Pittsburgh. Georgetown also has some horrible losses, including Dartmouth and Saint Joseph’s. The Hoyas are 5-4 and 172 in the NET.
...
SYRACUSE BASKETBALL GETS EXPOSED AT GEORGETOWN! Can The Orange Still Make NCAA Tournament? (youtube.com; podcast; Locked on Syracuse)
Syracuse Basketball blew a 10-point halftime lead in a very frustrating loss at the Georgetown Hoyas on Saturday. How fed up are the guys with the state of the program? Where do the Syracuse Orange go from here and how likely is the path to the NCAA Tournament after a 5-5 start? Plus, we discuss the lack of bench minutes, Buddy Boeheim's shooting slump, Cole Swider, Benny Williams & Frank Anselem's big game. Tyler Aki and Tim Leonard discuss it all and more on the Monday edition of the Locked on Syracuse Podcast.
ACC Men’s Basketball Power Rankings: Week 6 - Sports Illustrated Virginia Cavaliers News, Analysis and More (SI; Newton)
We are a little over a month into the college basketball season and it is time for some power rankings in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
1. Duke
Overall record: 7-1Last week: 0-0
Duke has been idle for two weeks since losing to Ohio State on the road in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, but the Blue Devils maintain the top spot in the power rankings for two very impressive victories over Kentucky and Gonzaga during their seven-game winning streak to start the season. Duke has three more tune-up games against South Carolina State, Appalachian State, and Cleveland State before the start of ACC play.
2. North Carolina
Overall record: 7-2Last week: 1-0
North Carolina began the season 3-0 before suffering back-to-back losses to ranked teams Purdue and Tennessee on a neutral floor. Since then, the Tar Heels have responded with four straight wins, including resounding victories over Michigan and Georgia Tech, which have the Heels knocking on the door of the Top 25 once again. UNC plays Furman before a huge game against UCLA on Saturday.
3. Wake Forest
Overall record: 9-1Last week: 1-0
Wake Forest won six-straight games to start the season, capped off by an overtime victory against Oregon State. The Demon Deacons suffered their first and only loss against LSU, before defeating Northwestern in overtime and putting together their best performance of the season in a blowout 80-61 win on the road at Virginia Tech. The Deacs have won three in a row and nine of ten to start the season and they are certainly exceeding expectations so far.
4. Miami
Overall record: 8-3Last week: 2-0
Miami was not competitive in a pair of losses to Dayton and Alabama back in November, but the Hurricanes have looked solid since the beginning of December, winning four straight games, including five-point wins against Penn State and Clemson. The Hurricanes host Stetson before beginning ACC play with three straight home games.
5. Louisville
Overall record: 6-3Last week: 0-1
Each of Louisville’s last four games have been decided by single digits, with the Cardinals going 2-2 in those games. Louisville defeated Maryland and picked up an important win at NC State in the ACC opener, but the Cards also lost at Michigan State and at home against DePaul.The Cardinals have two opportunities for more comfortable wins against Southeastern Louisiana and Western Kentucky before playing a huge rivalry game at Kentucky on December 22nd.
6. NC State
Overall record: 7-3Last week: 1-1
Each of NC State’s three losses this season have come by less than four points. The Wolfpack are making a habit of playing close games, as seven of their ten games have been determined by 10 points or less, including two overtime contests. NC State came very close to becoming the second unranked team to knock off No. 1 Purdue last week, coming up just short as the Boilermakers escaped with the overtime win.
7. Virginia
Overall record: 6-4Last week: 0-1
Virginia’s last three games have been determined by a total of five points and the Hoos are giving a renewed meaning to “Cardiac Cavs” once again. The Cavaliers seemed to be hitting their stride after winning four straight games, including a pair of major conference wins against Georgia and Providence, but the last three games have been quite a mixed bag. UVA went 1-2 in three very winnable games, losing by one at home against Iowa, beating Pittsburgh by one at home, and losing on the road at JMU by three. Shooting struggles continue to vex Tony Bennett’s Cavaliers this season.
8. Virginia Tech
Overall record: 7-4Last week: 1-1
With the exception of a close win at Maryland and a blowout victory against Cornell, the last few weeks have not been good for the Hokies. Virginia Tech was competitive in back-to-back single-digit losses against Memphis and Xavier, who were both ranked teams at the time. But, Virginia Tech looked flat in a blowout loss at home against Wake Forest and the Hokies stumbled again in a loss on the road at Dayton on Sunday. The road only gets tougher for the Hokies as they face St. Bonaventure and then play at Duke and at North Carolina on back-to-back weekends.
9. Florida State
Overall record: 5-4Last week: 0-1
The Seminoles had a tough task trying to beat Purdue on the road in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge two weeks ago, but you can bet Leonard Hamilton expected his team to compete a little bit better than their lopsided 93-65 defeat in West Lafayette. That loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Seminoles and turned into a three-game losing streak as Florida State lost back-to-back games by three points or less to Syracuse and South Carolina.
10. Boston College
Overall record: 6-4Last week: 0-1
Boston College’s victory over Notre Dame last week looks even better now after the Fighting Irish knocked off Kentucky on Sunday. Beyond that win, though, the Eagles have struggled to find their groove this season, including two losses to Rhode Island, a loss to Utah, and most recently, a 79-68 loss at St. Louis on Saturday. BC hosts Albany on Monday before traveling to Wake Forest next week.
11. Notre Dame
Overall record: 4-4Last week: 1-0
Before Notre Dame’s big win over Kentucky on Sunday, the Fighting Irish had lost three straight games and four out of their last five. However, the last three losses had each come against major conference opponents. The win over the Wildcats showed what Mike Brey’s Irish are capable of. Time will tell if they can play to that potential as the season progresses. Notre Dame plays Indiana on Saturday.
12. Syracuse
Overall record: 5-5Last week: 0-2
Syracuse picked up two straight impressive wins in extremely different fashions, beating Indiana 112-110 in double overtime and winning at Florida State 63-60. Since then, however, the Orange have lost back-to-back games against Villanova and Georgetown. After a tough stretch of six-straight games against major conference opponents, Syracuse plays Lehigh and Cornell before beginning the full ACC schedule.
...
Albany vs. Boston College Condensed Game | 2021-22 ACC Men’s Basketball (youtube.com; video)
The Boston College Eagles lost a tough game to Albany, 61-57. BC was cold from the field, shooting just 38.6% from the field and only 31.3% from 3-point range. Jaeden Zackery led the Eagles with 15 points. Quinten Post scored 13 points and grabbed 7 rebounds, and T.J. Bickerstaff had a team-high 11 rebounds for the Eagles.
Syracuse Basketball: The ACC currently stinks, and that’s bad for Orange (itlh; Adler)
Syracuse basketball owns a .500 record at this juncture in the 2021-22 campaign, which has many Orange fans understandably frustrated.
But ‘Cuse fans aren’t alone in their misery, as a ton of Atlantic Coast Conference squads have put forth sub-par marks so far in the present stanza.
Often thought of as perhaps the No. 1 or No. 2 league around the country, the ACC is far from that this year. Yes, Virginia won it all in 2019, and the same goes for North Carolina in 2017 and Duke in 2015.
And, of course, Syracuse basketball went to a Final Four in 2016 as well as Sweet 16s in 2018 and 2021 while a member of the ACC. However, save for Duke, the ACC by and large is struggling this year.
...
Duke basketball: Entire ACC still mooching off Blue Devils (balldurham.com; Giles)
If not for the Duke basketball program, the ACC would currently have zero representatives in the AP Top 25 Poll. Yes, remarkably, for the fourth consecutive week, the No. 2 Duke Blue Devils (7-1, 0-0 ACC) are the only ranked ACC team.
And the UNC Tar Heels (7-2, 1-0 ACC) are the only team from the conference among the 13 “others receiving votes” in this latest edition, which came out on Monday. UNC trails only the Wisconsin Badgers in this regard, in effect making the Tar Heels No. 27 in the country at this juncture.
Although most experts had projected yet another relatively down year for the conference, remember that the Preseason AP Top 25 Poll included four ACC teams: Duke at No. 9, UNC at No. 19, the Florida State Seminoles at No. 20, and the Virginia Cavaliers at No. 25.
Duke basketball jump without even playing
Despite not taking the court since a Nov. 30 road loss to the now-No. 15 Ohio State Buckeyes, the Blue Devils rose from No. 3 to No. 2 this week, now trailing only the reigning-champ Baylor Bears. Duke’s move results from the former No. 1 Purdue Boilermakers coming up short away from home against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Thursday night.
...
Other
Signs like these are sprouting up across Central New York in the wake of New York's new mask / vaccine mandate.
Here we go again: How CNY bars and restaurants will handle new mask/vaccine mandate (PS; Cazentre)
For the owners of bars and restaurants, it’s a classic case of choosing “the lesser of two evils.”
To comply with Gov. Kathy Hochul’s newest mandate to combat rising Covid cases, all business owners, including bars and restaurants, must decide today whether to enforce the wearing of masks, or opt to require proof of vaccination as a condition of entry.
“It really is that lesser of two evils,” said Jeffrey Rogers, owner of The Angry Garlic restaurant in Baldwinsville. “I’m putting up the sign that says, due to the state mandate, masks are required. I’m not going to go with showing proof of vaccination, which in my opinion is almost an invasion of privacy.”
It’s no longer enough, as it has been for much of this year, for businesses like restaurants to post signs asking people to mask up if unvaccinated or feel free to not wear one if vaccinated.
“A business or venue must choose whether it will implement a full-course vaccine requirement or a mask requirement, which applies to both patrons and employees and then must be followed in its entirety throughout the facility at all times each day,” the state Health Department posted in a series of FAQs on the new mandate.
Bud Loura, a local dining industry consultant, said he’s hearing that places that are primarily restaurants are leaning to the mask mandate, while bars are gearing up for vaccination proofing.
“It seems like a almost a 50-50 split,” said Loura, whose company is RestaurantQB.
Many large-scale businesses, like supermarkets and malls, have already made the decision to go with the mask option due to difficulty of monitoring multiple points of entry.
But either option can be difficult to enforce, especially during busy times at a restaurant, operators say.
The mask mandate allows customers to remove the face covering when eating or drinking in their seats, but it requires to to be on at other times..
...
