sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to Holly Day!
Today celebrates holly, the evergreen plant long associated with Christmas, and used in wreaths, boughs, and other trimmings. Before being connected to Christmas, it had many other associations, and has been used as a winter decoration since ancient times. Holly was identified with winter solstice festivals, which celebrated the lengthening of days. In Norse mythology it was associated with Thor, and was grown around the home as a way to prevent lightning strikes. It was used in the Roman festival of Saturnalia, dedicated to the planet Saturn, and the god of agriculture, creation, and time. The festival celebrated the darkest time of the year, but also the movement towards a time of sunshine and Spring. In ancient Gaul, Celtic people wore holly sprigs and wreaths as a way to ward off evil spirits. Holly historically represented new growth and eternal life, freshened the air, reminded people of the coming of Spring, and was believed to have magical properties.
SU News
Syracuse guard Quadir Copeland goes up for a shot in Sunday's game against Oregon in Sioux Falls, S.D. Copeland scored a career-high 15 points in the Orange's 83-63 win. Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.comdnett@syracuse.com
Copeland excites fans and teammates in SU's win over Oregon: ‘I couldn’t believe he made that play’ (PS; Waters)
In the aftermath of Syracuse’s 83-63 win over Oregon on Sunday, there was an intimate setting outside the Syracuse locker room.
A host of fans decked out in orange and hoping to get autographs or photos stood just paces away from the locker room door. The fans mingled an inclined hallway that led to the arena’s exit.
Little kids posed for pictures with 7-foot-4 center Naheem McLeod towering above them. Benny Williams signed all kinds of items from programs to sneakers.
The fans stood just a few feet away, listening in as reporters interviewed Kyle Cuffe, Maliq Brown and JJ Starling.
Just as Starling was asked about his reaction to Quadir Copeland’s Magic Johnson-like pass to Brown, which involved two ball-fakes and then a wrap-around pass, Copeland himself emerged from the locker room. The fans, who had been unusually quiet to that point, erupted in cheers at the sight of the smiling Copeland.
“That’s the reaction right there,’’ Starling said. “There you go. That’s the reaction. I know I had my mouth open and my hands on my head. I couldn’t believe he made that play.’’
In Syracuse’s win over Oregon, Copeland had performed as he often has this season, bringing energy off the bench and doing it with a flair that captures the hearts of fans.
He dished to Brown for a dunk. He found Benny Williams for a slam. He drove through Oregon’s press for a finger-roll layup. He pulled off a spin-move in the lane for another bucket. Then came the fake, fake, pass to Brown that had the crowd cheering and Starling’s mouth dropping.
“It wasn’t nothing,’’ Copeland said of the play. “I’d already seen him (Brown). I didn’t want to throw a crazy pass. At first, I was going to throw a behind-the-back pass, but I didn’t want to do that because I know how Coach (Autry) is going to get on me if it didn’t get there.
“I just wanted to get it there and the next thing you know I had to wrap it around.’’
Copeland, a 6-foot-6 sophomore, wound up with a career-high 15 points, but also contributed nine rebounds and five assists in the Orange’s win.
“I know I’m very excited when he’s playing like that,’’ SU coach Adrian Autry said. “He helps us. He’s a really, really good player.’’
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ACC Power Rankings: Where does SU stand after big win over Oregon? (PS; Waters)
There was potential for a lot of confusion in this week’s ACC Power Rankings.
The top two teams in last week’s rankings both suffered losses this past week. No ACC team recorded what could be considered a really impressive win except for Syracuse, which put a surprising hurt on Oregon in an 83-63 win over the Ducks on Sunday in Sioux Fall, South Dakota.
Because of that, there wasn’t much movement in this week’s rankings despite those two losses by the No. 1 and No. 2 teams this past week. The big question was: What to do with the Orange?
There’s a light schedule this coming week, too.
Here’s how I’d rank the ACC’s teams this week.
1. Clemson
Record: 9-1 (1-0)
Last week’s ranking: 1
Last week’s results: Loss 79-77 at Memphis
This week’s schedule: Friday vs. Queens
Why No. 1? Clemson finally suffered a loss this season as the Tigers fell on the road at Memphis. It was a close game and Memphis is now 8-2, so we’re not going to punish Clemson for finding the loss column for the first time this season. Maybe Clemson would have dropped a spot if the No. 2 team in the Power Rankings had notched a major win this past week, but that didn’t happen.
2. North Carolina
Record: 7-3 (1-0)
Last week’s ranking: 2
Last week’s results: Loss 87-83 vs. Kentucky
This week’s schedule: Wednesday vs. Oklahoma
Why No. 2? The Tar Heels had a chance to move into the No. 1 spot with a win over Kentucky. However, the Tar Heels spent most of Saturday’s game chasing the Wildcats. It’s the third loss of the year for UNC, but the losses have come against Kentucky, Connecticut and Villanova so we still think the Tar Heels are pretty good.
3. Virginia
Virginia coach Tony Bennett has the Cavaliers playing well again this season. (AP Photo/Andrew Shurtleff)AP
Record: 9-1 (1-0)
Last week’s ranking: 3
Last week’s results: Win 56-54 vs. Northeastern
This week’s schedule: Tuesday at Memphis
Why No. 3? There’s no reason to move Virginia up in the rankings. Even though Clemson and North Carolina lost, Virginia struggled to beat Northeastern.
4. Duke
Record: 7-3 (0-1)
Last week’s ranking: 4
Last week’s result: Win 89-68 vs. Hofstra
This week’s schedule: Wednesday vs. Baylor
Why No. 4? We’re still not entirely sure if Duke is just good or if the Blue Devils have a chance to be really good once they’re healthy. There’s no doubting Kyle Filipowski though. As long as Duke has Flip, it has a chance to be the best team in the ACC.
5. Miami
Record: 8-2 (1-0)
Last week’s ranking: 5
Last week’s results: Win 84-77 vs. LaSalle
This week’s schedule: Thursday vs. Stonehill
Why No. 5? Miami is really good when the offense is clicking. The Hurricanes scored 84 against LaSalle with Wooga Poplar leading the way with a career-high 25 points.
6. Syracuse
Record: 8-3 (0-1)
Last week’s ranking: 8
Last week’s results: Win 83-63 vs. Oregon
This week’s schedule: Thursday vs. Niagara
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https://www.si.com/college/syracuse/basketball/five-takeaways-syracuse-83-oregon-63 (SI; McAllister)
Syracuse made it three straight wins on Sunday afternoon, defeating the Oregon Ducks. Here are my five takeaways from the game:Offensive Versatility
1. Offensive Versatility
Sunday was the seventh time that the Orange had scored at least 80 points, but the last two games have been different. Head coach Red Autry has been looking for consistent secondary scoring after Judah Mintz all season long, and it seems like they’ve cracked the code. Instead of having it from one player to have a breakout performance, it’s been the bench to have a committee approach in offensive production. Cuse outscored Oregon 44-18 in bench points and had a 26-14 advantage against Georgetown.
Players like Quadir Copeland and Maliq Brown have filled the void for starters Chris Bell and Justin Taylor only scoring 12 points combined over the last two games. More consistent point production from other players is only going to make things easier for Mintz moving forward.
2. JUDAH MINTZ
Even when the defense knows what the sophomore guard is going to do, they still can’t stop him. Mintz draws the third-most fouls in the country by attacking the basket. He got to the line with ease again versus Oregon, going 8-11 from the charity stripe. Mintz struggled from the floor early shooting 1-5, but scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half. He told me earlier in the year that he knows he’s second half player that can be trusted in clutch situations but is working to have that same consistency all game long.
3. DEFENSE
Sunday was arguably the Orange’s best showing defensively, and it’s hard to think otherwise. Oregon came in as the 31st-ranked offense in the country with six players shooting over 36 percent from three. The Ducks were one of 16 programs in the country top 50 in field goal percentage and top 25 in three point percentage. The Ducks shot well under their season averages, going 14.8 percent from three (4-27) and 36.1 percent from the field ( 22-6). Coach Autry has said all season long that this is a great defensive team, and Sunday they proved that. Syracuse should see a huge leap in their defensive rating after a showing like they did Sunday.
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JJ Starling "The 315" 12-18-23 (ESPN; radio; The 315)
Syracuse sophomore guard JJ Starling joins Brian Higgins to discuss the team’s win over Oregon this weekend, his plans for the holiday season, and more.
A Syracuse basketball podcast: Oregon Duck hunting in South Dakota (TNIAAM; podcast; Staff)
The Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team improved to 8-3 on the season after securing a victory over the Oregon Ducks on Sunday afternoon. The Orange dismantled Dana Altman’s shorthanded squad with strong bench play and another strong scoring performance from its starting backcourt.
The TNIAAM crew assembled for another episode of A Syracuse basketball podcast.
https://saturdayroad.com/acc/updated-acc-basketball-power-rankings/(satrudayroad.com; Blackmon)
Two of the ACC’s 4 ranked teams (Clemson, North Carolina) lost over the weekend, and the other 2 (Virginia, Duke) struggled.
The continued struggles of the league’s best teams raises the question: Is there an elite team in the ACC this season?
KenPom ranks the league last among the Power 6 conferences, and only 3 ACC teams appear in the KenPom Top 25 (No. 12 Duke, No. 20 North Carolina and No. 25 Clemson).
The NET rankings suggest, as we did last week, that Clemson is elite, as the Tigers have 3 Quad 1 wins in 4 tries. No other ACC team has more than 1. In a college basketball nonconference slate increasingly defined by made for television, neutral court résumé opportunities, the league’s lack of quality wins is deeply concerning, especially if the ACC hopes to avoid another disappointing, 5-bid Selection Sunday.
There are signs the league can be better.
UNC has come close to beating 2 other outstanding teams, falling by 5 points or less to Kentucky and Villanova. Duke should get Tyrese Proctor back from an ankle injury in the next 2 weeks. Virginia might be the best defensive version of Virginia ever, providing Tony Bennett’s team time to figure it offensively. Miami hasn’t played its best basketball yet — but you know that the defending league champions will figure it out.
It just hasn’t happened quite yet. A disappointing weekend leaves the top end of these rankings largely undisturbed, but there’s still some movement in what was a busy and fun week of college hoops.
Here’s the latest batch of Saturday Road power rankings. Last week’s list is here.
15. Louisville (5-6, 0-1)
Last Week (LW): 15The Cardinals routed Pepperdine over the weekend, but the loss to Arkansas State midweek was an eyesore. It wasn’t that the Cardinals lost to a mid-major opponent. That’s happened plenty since the ill-fated Chris Mack era. It’s that the Cardinals lost by 12 in a game that never felt that close to a Red Wolves team that entered the game 3-7 and had lost its 2 prior road games at Power 6 competition by 29 (at Wisconsin) and 24 (at Alabama), respectively. The Cards trailed by 20 at the under 4 media timeout and the KFC Yum! Center looked like a factory of sadness. Louisville fans deserve better.
14. Notre Dame (4-6, 0-1)
LW: 14Micah Shrewsberry’s team led Georgetown by 8 in the opening half and fought hard to come back from a second-half deficit to force overtime at Purcell Pavilion on Saturday, but ultimately Georgetown’s ability to make timely shots (10-22 from deep) was the difference. Notre Dame is defending at a high level in Year 1 under Shrewsberry, having entered the top 100 in KenPom Adjusted Defensive Efficiency after struggling mightily in that area in the late years of the Mike Brey area. Its offense remains among the worst in college hoops (274th in Offensive Efficiency), however, and that is holding the Fighting Irish back.
13. Florida State (4-5, 0-1)
LW: 13The Seminoles continue their freefall. After beating Colorado to win the Sunshine Slam, the vibes around Leonard Hamilton’s team were upbeat and encouraging. Now, thanks largely to a 43% team field-goal percentage and too many turnovers (13 per game), the Seminoles have lost 4 straight. An 11-point loss at home to SMU, where the Noles managed just 18 points in the opening half, was the worst performance yet for Florida State.
12. Boston College (8-3, 0-1)
LW: 11The Eagles had the week off for exams. Their last game of the nonconference slate looms this week when lowly Lehigh visits Chestnut Hill.
11. Georgia Tech (6-3, 1-0)
LW: 9The Yellow Jackets’ dip is mostly about the “eye test.” Georgia Tech beat Penn State 82-81 in overtime this weekend, paced by the continued emergence of freshman Baye Ndongo, who had 12 points and 19 rebounds in the win. Ndongo flipped to Tech when Damon Stoudamire took the job, and he’s been beast-moding of late which, coupled with the fine play of Miles Kelly and Kowacie Reeves on the perimeter, has boosted Tech’s ceiling.
Still, the Jackets struggled to get stops late, and probably lose but for a controversial call that sent Kelly to the line with 12 seconds to play. A small dip, given the play of Virginia Tech and Syracuse, results.
10. NC State (7-3, 1-0)
LW: 8The Wolfpack competed with top 20 Tennessee on Saturday night in San Antonio, but were held to just 10 points over the game’s final 7 minutes and fell by 9 points. It was a sloppy game, with 22 turnovers and 36 personal fouls between the teams, but the Pack’s real problem was finding a scorer down the stretch. With no Terquavion Smith this season, NC State doesn’t have that answer yet — though it might be DJ Horne, who had 16 points on 4-7 from deep only to be let down by veteran backcourt mate Casey Morsell (6 points, 2-7 FG). Horne’s nice night against Tennessee polished off a great week: He had 22 in the Wolfpack’s win over UT-Martin last Tuesday.
9. Syracuse (8-3, 0-1)
LW: 11The Orange routed Oregon on a neutral floor in South Dakota on Sunday, led by Judah Mintz, who had 18 points, 5 assists, 4 steals and a hellacious alley-oop finish in the win.
Syracuse finished 185th in the 2-3 zone a season ago. This year, Adrian Autry’s group plays zone on only 14% of possessions, and they are the nation’s most improved defensive team as a result — defending at 52nd nationally, per KenPom.
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Former Syracuse center Jesse Edwards will miss four weeks because of broken wrist (PS; $; Ditota)
West Virginia University announced today on social media and on its sports website that Jesse Edwards will miss four weeks of the college basketball season because of a fracture in his right wrist.
Edwards is a fifth-year senior who transferred from Syracuse to West Virginia following the 2022-23 season. A starter at center, he averaged 14.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game before the injury occurred.
Oddly, Edwards broke his left wrist in a game against Boston College in February 2022. That wrist injury caused him to miss the rest of Syracuse’s season. An x-ray that year revealed a break of the Scaphoid bone, a small bone at the base of the wrist that can impact blood flow in the area.
Edwards needed surgery, a cast and could not play basketball for six weeks.
It’s unclear from West Virginia’s release how significant this latest injury is, though MetroNews, a website in West Virginia, said he would have surgery this week to fix the problem. The injury occurred during a game against Massachusetts on Saturday.
Edwards chose to leave the Orange for West Virginia after last season and has played well on a Mountaineers team that had a tumultuous offseason and has played with a limited roster for various reasons. According to the website ShotQuality, he is averaging 1.21 points per possession, which ranks in the 88th percentile nationally.
MBB: AP Poll 2023 Dec 18 (RX; HM)
MBB: AP Poll 2023 Dec 18
This week's AP Men's Basketball poll is out... I guess today is hoops day?
| AP TOP 25 MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL POLL | ||||
| RANK | TEAM | TREND | CONF. | THIS WEEK |
| 1 | Purdue | (10-1) | Big Ten | vs. Arizona W 92-84 |
| 2 | Kansas | (10-1) | Big XII | @ Indiana W 75-71 |
| 3 | Houston | (11-0) | Big XII | @ Texas A&M W 70-66 |
| 4 | Arizona | (8-1) | Pac-12 | @ Purdue L 84-92 |
| 5 | UConn | (10-1) | Big East | @ Gonzaga W 76-63 |
| 6 | Marquette | (9-2) | Big East | vs. St. Thomas W 84-79 |
| 7 | Oklahoma | (10-0) | Big XII | vs. Green Bay W 81-47 |
| 8 | Tennessee | (8-3) | SEC | vs NC State W 79-70 |
| 9 | Kentucky | (8-2) | SEC | vs. North Carolina W 87-83 |
| 10 | Baylor | (9-1) | Big XII | @ Michigan State L 64-88 |
| 11 | North Carolina | (7-3) | ACC | @ Kentucky L 83-87 |
| 12 | Creighton | (9-2) | Big East | vs. Alabama W 85-82 |
| 13 | Illinois | (8-2) | Big Ten | vs. Colgate W 74-57 |
| 14 | FAU | (9-2) | American | @ St. Bonaventure W 64-54 |
| 15 | Gonzaga | (8-3) | West Coast | vs. UConn L 63-76 |
| 16 | Colorado St | (10-1) | Mtn West | vs. CSU-Pueblo W 86-54 |
| 17 | BYU | (10-1) | Big XII | vs. Georgia State W 86-54 |
| 18 | Clemson | (9-1) | ACC | @ Memphis L 77-79 |
| 19 | Texas | (8-2) | Big XII | vs. LSU W 96-85 |
| 20 | James Madison | (10-0) | Sun Belt | @ Hampton W 88-71 |
| 21 | Duke | (7-3) | ACC | vs. Hofstra W 89-68 |
| 22 | Virginia | (9-1) | ACC | vs. Northeastern W 56-54 |
| 23 | Memphis | (8-2) | American | vs. Clemson W 79-77 |
| 24 | Wisconsin | (8-3) | Big Ten | vs. Jacksonville State W 75-60 |
| 25 | Ole Miss | (10-0) | SEC | vs. California W 88-78 |
| OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: | ||||
| 26 | Miami | ACC | ||
| 27 | Auburn | SEC | ||
| 28 | Colorado | Pac-12 | ||
| 29 | Utah | Pac-12 | ||
| 30 | Iowa St | Big XII | ||
| 31 | Ohio St | Big Ten | ||
| T32 | Michigan St | Big Ten | ||
| T32 | TCU | Big XII | ||
| 34 | Texas A&M | SEC | ||
| 35 | San Diego St | Mtn West | ||
| T36 | Northwestern | Big Ten | ||
| T36 | Providence | Big East | ||
| T38 | Alabama | SEC | ||
| T38 | Dayton | A-10 | ||
| T38 | Nevada | Mtn West | ||
| T41 | New Mexico | Mtn West | ||
| T41 | Grand Canyon | WAC | ||
| T41 | Washington | Pac-12 | ||
| T41 | Saint Joseph's | A-10 | ||
| T45 | South Carolina | SEC | ||
| T45 | Mississippi St | SEC |
MBB: More Links, News and Rumors 2023 Dec 18 (RX; HM)
MBB: More Links, News and Rumors 2023 Dec 18
Basketball News and More
From "biggest questions for every major conference at this point" on ESPN+
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Looking Ahead to the Schedule
Another big night of Men's Basketball games is coming up this Wednesday as #21 Duke takes on #6 Baylor in Madison Square Garden (7:00 pm on ESPN) and #9 UNC tangles with #11 Oklahoma in Charlotte (9:00 pm on ESPN). The NC State Wolfpack play host to a good St. Louis Billikens team as well that night.Prior to that, the #22 Virginia Cavaliers will try to do what Clemson could not as they visit Memphis Tuesday night (7:00 pm on ESPN2).
Concerned about the Hubert Davis era at UNC, but can't quite put your finger on it? Could it be that the Heels are just 2-13 in their last 15 games against top-tier competition? Check out "Tiers of Fears" on BlessYourChart.
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Latest Basketball RPI
Here's how ACC would rank under the old RPI system (from RealTimeRPI):| Rank | School | W-L | RPI | Conf |
| 1 | Purdue | 9-1 | 0.7924 | Big Ten |
| 2 | Clemson | 7-1 | 0.6982 | ACC |
| 3 | Kansas | 8-1 | 0.6956 | Big XII |
| 4 | Tennessee | 6-3 | 0.6931 | SEC |
| 5 | Memphis | 7-2 | 0.6927 | American |
| 6 | Houston | 11-0 | 0.6737 | Big XII |
| 7 | Texas A&M | 6-4 | 0.6664 | SEC |
| 8 | Princeton | 9-1 | 0.6652 | Ivy |
| 9 | Syracuse | 6-3 | 0.6627 | ACC |
| 10 | Dayton | 8-2 | 0.6609 | A-10 |
| 11 | Marquette | 7-2 | 0.6599 | Big E |
| 12 | Colorado St. | 8-1 | 0.6572 | MWC |
| 13 | Alabama | 6-3 | 0.6558 | SEC |
| 14 | Florida Atlantic | 8-2 | 0.6491 | American |
| 15 | Northwestern | 7-1 | 0.6462 | Big Ten |
| 16 | S. Diego St. | 6-2 | 0.6453 | MWC |
| 17 | Utah St. | 6-1 | 0.6378 | MWC |
| 18 | South Carolina | 8-0 | 0.6358 | SEC |
| 19 | Portland St. | 4-2 | 0.6347 | Bsky |
| 20 | Arizona | 8-1 | 0.6346 | Pac12 |
| 21 | Connecticut | 8-1 | 0.6319 | Big E |
| 22 | Creighton | 9-1 | 0.6318 | Big E |
| 23 | Indiana St. | 7-1 | 0.6263 | Mvc |
| 24 | Utah | 7-2 | 0.6252 | Pac12 |
| 25 | Mississippi | 9-0 | 0.6216 | SEC |
| 26 | Auburn | 7-2 | 0.6215 | SEC |
| 27 | Grand Canyon | 8-1 | 0.6212 | Wac |
| 28 | Gonzaga | 5-1 | 0.6204 | Wcc |
| 29 | Mississippi St. | 8-1 | 0.62 | SEC |
| 30 | Georgia | 7-3 | 0.6199 | SEC |
| 31 | Drake | 7-1 | 0.618 | Mvc |
| 32 | St. Mary's | 4-3 | 0.6172 | Wcc |
| 33 | Washington St. | 5-2 | 0.6158 | Pac12 |
| 34 | Oregon St. | 5-2 | 0.6157 | Pac12 |
| 35 | Wisconsin | 6-3 | 0.6152 | Big Ten |
| 36 | BYU | 8-1 | 0.6134 | Big XII |
| 37 | Illinois | 7-2 | 0.6093 | Big Ten |
| 38 | James Madison | 8-0 | 0.6055 | Sbelt |
| 39 | Duquesne | 7-1 | 0.6052 | A-10 |
| 40 | Appalachian St. | 6-2 | 0.6034 | SBC |
| 41 | Akron | 5-2 | 0.6032 | MAC |
| 42 | Louisiana Tech | 6-3 | 0.603 | Cusa |
| 43 | N.C. State | 5-0 | 0.6026 | ACC |
| 44 | Nebraska | 8-1 | 0.6023 | Big10 |
| 45 | Miami (FL) | 8-1 | 0.5976 | ACC |
| 46 | Eastern Wash. | 1-4 | 0.5969 | Bsky |
| 47 | Geo. Wash. | 8-2 | 0.5946 | A-10 |
| 48 | Boise St. | 4-2 | 0.5939 | MWC |
| 49 | Southern Ill. | 4-2 | 0.5937 | Mvc |
| 50 | McNeese St. | 4-2 | 0.5934 | Sland |
Other
Lake Placid, NY was recently named one of the most "Christmassy" towns in America.@lpholidayvillagestroll on Instagram | Provided photo
One of the most ‘Christmassy’ towns in America jingles all the way from Upstate New York (PS; Hernandez)
Bringing that ho-ho-hometown glory this holiday season is one Upstate New York village that was recently named one of the most “Christmassy” towns in America.
Lake Placid in the Adirondacks earned the number 3 spot on Mixbook, a photo book brand’s, top 75 favorite “Christmassy” towns in the United States.
While the area is beautiful any time of year, Lake Placid truly shines in winter, and is especially festive during the holidays. Nestled in the Adirondack High Peaks region, the snowy mountain views make for a picturesque backdrop. Mixbook notes its charming main street dressed in twinkling lights and seasonal decorations setting a storybook-worthy scene.
Lake Placid is so full of holiday spirit that a Hallmark-style Christmas movie was recently filmed at locations throughout the village.
Known for its Olympic history as a former host city, visitors get to use some of the same facilities as Olympic athletes with outdoor winter sports activities such as bobsledding, snowboarding, skiing and skating.
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An 85-year-old teams up with 2nd graders to erase $2.6 million in medical debt for 1,102 CNYers (PS; Dowty)
An 85-year-old woman recently joined forces with second graders peddling lemonade to wipe out more than $2.6 million in medical debt burdening 1,102 Central New Yorkers, most in the Syracuse area.
The lucky recipients of the four-month effort should get the good news via letter this week, just before Christmas.
This was the third campaign to erase medical debt from Judy Jones, of Ithaca. She said she targeted Syracuse and its suburbs this time following a report by a national think tank that shows 25% of adult city residents were burdened by unpaid medical bills.
The grandchild of a friend rallied three classes of Ithaca second-graders to the cause. The schoolchildren raised more than $400 selling lemonade during the springtime Ithaca Festival, donating half of the proceeds to erase medical debt, Jones said. (The other half went to help Ithaca’s homeless population.)
Others were so impressed by what the kids did that they donated thousands more, Jones said.
She built on the momentum to eventually collect more than $14,000, which she sent to the national non-profit RIP Medical Debt. The organization, founded by two former debt collectors, buys medical debt from collections agencies and forgives it for a tiny fraction of the cost, with the help of private donations like Jones’ campaign.
In this case, the non-profit paid 53 cents for every $100 owed, thus satisfying those debts.
...
