sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to Poinsettia Day!
Poinsettia Day celebrates the beautiful red flowering plant that has come to be associated with Christmas, the poinsettia. The plant is native to Mexico, where it was used by the Aztecs; its flowers were used to produce red dye, and its sap to treat fevers. Franciscan missionaries in Mexico used it in the 17th century as part of nativity processions, the first time it became associated with Christianity. A story has been passed down about a poor Mexican girl who didn't have anything to honor baby Jesus with at a procession. An angel told her any gift from the heart was a good gift, so she gathered weeds from the roadside. When she placed them around the manger they transformed into poinsettias. In Mexico the flowers are called La Flores de la Nochebuena, or the Flowers of the Holy Night, and are displayed on December 12, the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe. This day marks the beginning of the Christmas season.
Poinsettias take their name from Joel Roberts Poinsett, a botanist and the first Minister to Mexico, who sent cuttings of the plant back to his home in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1837, William Hickling Prescott, a gardener and historian, was asked to rename the plant and named it after Poinsett, because of his achievements in government and horticulture. By some odd coincidence, Poinsett died on December 12, the same day as the Day of the Virgin Guadalupe, and the same date that would become National Poinsettia Day.
SU News
‘Autry Day’ in D.C.: SU basketball coach beats a rival, then watches son play across town (PS; Waters)
Two basketball games in two arenas in two different parts of the nation’s capital with a little shopping wedged in between.
“Autry Day,’’ Syracuse coach Adrian Autry dubbed the family’s day-night double-header.
Autry started things off, leading the Syracuse Orange against the Georgetown in a game that tipped off at 11:30 a.m. at the Capital One Arena.
In the stands were his wife, Andrea; children, Adrian Jr. and Nina; Andrea’s parents William and Vondelere Reid; her aunt, Brenda West, and a host of friends who planned to make a day of basketball.
The day would consist of the Syracuse-Georgetown game, Autry’s first as head coach of the Orange, and then a dash across town to watch Adrian and Andrea’s son, Trey, play for the George Washington University Revolutionaries in a game against Coppin State at GWU’s Charles E. Smith Center.
With a little shopping wedged in between the two games.
At 11:30 Saturday morning, Andrea Autry settled into her seat behind the Syracuse bench to watch her husband lead the Orange in its rivalry game with Georgetown. It was the first time this season her parents had been to a Syracuse game.
“We all sat with each other,’’ she said. “We all cheered with each other. It was nice. I got to see some friends. We had a good time.’’
Andrea Autry is a Georgetown graduate; as is her sister. Their father, William Reid, earned his law degree from Georgetown. But there were no signs of split allegiances as Reid proudly wore a Syracuse shirt.
“It was very easy cheering for Syracuse,’’ his wife, Vondelere, said. “We were pulling for Adrian.’’
Adrian Jr. graduated from Syracuse in 2019. He played for the Orange as a walk-on when his father was still an assistant to Jim Boeheim. He’s already been to games in Syracuse and Hawaii this season. He wasn’t going to miss the annual SU-Georgetown tilt.
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Maliq Brown pokes the ball away from Georgetown's Ismael Massoud during a game in Washington, D.C., on December 9, 2023. Syracuse's Justin Taylor also defends. dnett@syracuse.com
Brown leads SU in steals, a category usually reserved for guards (PS; $; Ditota)
The Maliq Brown crew stretched over two Capital One Arena sections. They came to cheer the sophomore big man who keeps steadily and stealthily impacting Syracuse games this season.
Tasha Brown said she distributed some 100 tickets for Saturday’s game at Georgetown. Maybe 50 more secured seats on their own. Some Maliq fans came from his hometown. Some came from Brooklyn.
Tasha and Preston Brown, Maliq’s parents, sat behind the bench.
So did Maliq’s sister Zaria, brother Preston, Jr. (PJ) and PJ’s girlfriend Halle. They were surrounded by grandparents, aunts and uncles, godparents, cousins, friends and a Blue Ridge School contingent that included Brown’s previous head coach Cade Lemcke and the entire Blue Ridge team.
Brown is from Culpeper, Virginia. He played high school basketball close to Charlottesville, Virginia, where he was once a budding quarterback prospect.
“It means a lot,” Brown said of the support. “Coming back to the DMV area, like an hour and a half from home, still having the same amount of support I would have in Syracuse, it feels good.”
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https://www.si.com/college/syracuse/basketball/bleav-in-syracuse-episode-95 (SI; podcast; The Bleav in Syracuse)
Bleav in Syracuse podcast episode 95, presented by Bet Online, is out! We discuss the key takeaways from Syracuse men's basketball's wins over Cornell and Georgetown as well as women's basketball's 8-1 start. We also go a little off topic to analyze the end of the Buffalo Bills/Kansas City Chiefs game including Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid's reactions. You can subscribe and listen on your favorite podcasting platforms as linked below.
(youtube; podcast; Field of 68)
Ian and Johnny recap the 99th Syracuse-Georgetown showdown, including the Orange's fantastic defense on Jayden Epps, JJ Starling's career day and the new face down low at the 5 spot.
30 Minutes In Orange Nation 12-11-23 (ESPN; radio; Orange Nation)
Steve and Paulie start the show talking Syracuse-Georgetown and what they made of the big win. Then, the guys react to some comments from Coach Autry after the game. Later, a quick recap of Syracuse football’s big recruiting weekend and some predictions as to which positions will be addressed next.
Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images
Syracuse men’s basketball: Autry, Cooley openly endorse renewed Orange-Hoyas rivalry (TNIAAM; Chiappone)
Something felt different about the 99th matchup between the Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team and the rival Georgetown Hoyas this past weekend.
Georgetown coach Ed Cooley seemed to notice it too.
Less than two minutes later, Cooley went from one fiery remark to another:
“I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to this goddamn game next year.”
Syracuse defeated Georgetown on the road for the first time since the 2017-2018 season, but the result with the most implications wasn’t the final score. It’s what didn’t show up on the stat sheet: the energy, the intensity... the feeling of a rivalry reborn.
It felt like it was back. But is it too early to say so?
The answer to that question would be of course, especially with both the former Big East rivals under brand new coaching: Cooley with G-Town and Adrian Autry with Syracuse. Some time and patience will be needed as both Cooley and Autry — two individuals with decades of experience competing in the Big East — aim to bring new life to two historic programs.
And, in the process of hoping to turn the page of the recent struggles for both ‘Cuse and G-Town, Autry and Cooley are hoping to also bring a renewed energy to the Orange and Hoyas rivalry.
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A Defense of Naheem McLeod (orangefizz.net; Aitken)
Syracuse basketball fans have gone through the full range of emotions with Naheem McLeod. When the Florida State center transferred to SU last spring, there was euphoria and hope. In the early season, especially the Maui Invitational, there was disappointment. Recently it seems like there’s been anger.
Today, with still almost a full week until the Orange’s next game, there’s a chance to calm down and evaluate the start of the season objectively.
Let’s start at the time of McLeod’s transfer. Syracuse fans were ecstatic to hear the news, thinking that the ‘Cuse had already found a replacement for Jesse Edwards. Expecting McCleod’s production to match Edwards’ was too optimistic, and set SU’s new center up for failure. In his last year with the Seminoles, McLeod averaged 3.8 points and 2.7 rebounds in 13 minutes per game. In his pre-Syracuse career, the junior had just six total games where he broke into double-figure points. A jump from that to Jesse Edwards’ 14.5 points and 10.3 boards per game would be a miracle. Because of the hype right after McLeod’s transfer, there was no way he could live up to the expectations.
This isn’t just a situation of wanting too much. There have been several disappointing performances from Naheem McLeod. However, he never really got a chance to mesh with the rest of the team in live game situations. In the season opener against New Hampshire, the center played just 10 minutes. McLeod looked solid when he played, but head coach Adrian Autry said it wasn’t an ideal matchup for him. That was a mistake. When you’re trying to get a player used to a much bigger role, they should be on the court as much as possible, even if the matchup isn’t perfect. That trend of a lack of chances has continued, with McLeod’s only games with at least 20 minutes of playing time coming in Hawaii.
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MBB: AP Poll 2023 Dec 11 (RX; HM)
MBB: AP Poll 2023 Dec 11
Time for hoops.
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3 new shows coming to Syracuse: Cirque du Soleil, Disney’s ‘Descendants,’ more (PS; Herbert)
The Oncenter has announced three new shows coming to Syracuse in 2024, including Cirque du Soleil and a musical based on Disney’s “Descendants.”
“Cirque du Soleil: Corteo” will be presented at Upstate Medical Arena at The Oncenter War Memorial from April 4-7, 2024. The acrobatic show is a joyous procession, a festive parade imagined by a clown featuring fun, comedy and spontaneity situated in a mysterious space between heaven and earth.
Tickets for “Cirque du Soleil: Corteo” go on sale Monday, Dec. 18, at 10 a.m. through Ticketmaster or in person at the Solvay Bank Box Office at The Oncenter (760 S. State Street Syracuse, NY 13202). Prices range from $49-$129; additional fees may apply.
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“Descendants: The Musical,” based on the popular Disney Channel Original movies about the teen children of famous Disney villains, will take The Oncenter Carrier Theater stage Jan. 19-21, 2024. The musical comedy will feature characters and songs from the films, centered on high school students whose parents include Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Jafar and Cruella De Vil as they choose whether to follow in their wicked footsteps or learn to be good.
Tickets for “Descendants” are on sale now via Ticketmaster or in person at the Solvay Bank Box Office at The Oncenter. Prices range from $49 to $79; additional fees may apply.
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West Genesee voters approve school repairs, golf course purchase (PS; Moss)
West Genesee Central School District voters approved two ballot referendums Monday, giving the green light to millions of dollars in school repairs and the purchase of a nearby golf course.
Voters approved the repairs proposition 64% to 36%, or 2,100 votes to 1,177. They approved the golf course acquisition by a narrower margin — 53% to 47%, or 1,737 votes to 1,552.
The $43.5 million in repairs will mostly be concentrated at West Genesee High School and Camillus Middle School. They include reconstructing the high school’s lower stadium and replacing a field scoreboard, along with improvements to the roof, kitchen and flooring. The public address system, chiller, kitchen wall and floor, lighting control and emergency lights at the middle school will all be replaced.
District officials said the state will pay for about 80% of the repairs. The remainder will be covered by $2 million from the capital reserve fund and about $5.3 million from a tax hike.
Plans are less clear for the former Westvale Golf Course, a sprawling 117-acre property next to the high school.
David Bills, the district superintendent, pitched the $4 million purchase as a way to unlock more land for the district. He previously said potential uses include a transportation garage, athletic fields or combination of a nature center and walking trails.
The district will draw $916,752 from its fund balance to pay for the golf course, along with $3,433,248 in borrowed money, to be repaid over 30 years.
The course was previously owned by siblings Gary Hewitt and Debbie Anthony. The golf course has been in operation since 1930 and in Hewitt’s family since 1951.
