sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to Earth's Rotation Day!
The fact that the earth rotates on its axis is common knowledge today, but until the mid-nineteenth century, it was merely conjecture. French physicist Jean-Bernard-Léon Foucault, commonly known as Léon Foucault or Jean Foucault, is known for proving through his experiments that the earth rotates on its axis.
On January 8, 1851, Foucault performed an experiment in the cellar of his home, in which he swung a five-kilogram weight attached to a two-meter-long pendulum. He put sand underneath it to mark the pendulum's path, allowing him to see any changes in it. He observed a slight clockwise movement in the plane—the floor, and thus the earth, were slowly rotating; the pendulum kept its position. His experiment showed that the earth rotated on its axis. No longer was it just a hypothesis.
Shortly thereafter he demonstrated his findings. He sent out invitations to members of the French Academy of Sciences, and they attended a demonstration on February 3, 1851, at the National Observatory in Paris. Here Foucault showed his findings with an eleven-meter long pendulum.
SU News
ACC Basketball Power Rankings: UNC surges to the top; where does SU fit? (PS; $; Waters)
The North Carolina Tar Heels took away all the intrigue as far as which team would be No. 1 in this week’s ACC Power Rankings.
The Tar Heels recorded two very impressive wins this past week and took down last week’s No. 1 team.
But beyond that, the rankings were anyone’s guess. Teams are still trying to separate themselves from the pack at this early juncture in the conference schedule.
Speaking of the pack, there is the Wolfpack of N.C. State. The Pack made a big move up the rankings thanks to a 2-0 week.
And what about the Syracuse Orange, which went 0-1 last week? Read on.
Here’s a look at how I’d rank the ACC this week.
1. North Carolina
Record: 11-3 (3-0)Last week’s rank: 2
Last week’s result: Win 70-57 at Pittsburgh; Win 65-55 at Clemson
This week’s schedule: Wednesday at N.C. State; Saturday vs. Syracuse
Why No. 1? The Tar Heels eliminated all doubt as to which team should be atop the Power Rankings this week with a pair of impressive victories last week. Both came on the road; first, at Pittsburgh and then at last week’s top-ranked team Clemson.
2. Duke
Record: 11-3 (2-1)Last week’s rank: 3
Last week’s result: Win 86-66 vs. Syracuse; Win 67-59 at Notre Dame
This week’s schedule: Tuesday at Pittsbugh; Saturday vs. Georgia Tech
Why No. 2? Duke picked up a pair of wins against Syracuse and Notre Dame. Mark Mitchell had a huge week. The sophomore forward scored 21 points against Syracuse and then came back with 23 points in the win at Notre Dame.
3. Clemson
Record: 11-3 (1-2)Last week’s rank: 1
Last week’s result: Loss 95-82 at Miami; Loss 65-55 to North Carolina
This week’s schedule: Wednesday at Virginia Tech; Saturday vs. Boston College
Why No. 3? Clemson, ranked No. 1 last week, falls a couple of spots after dropping both of its games this past week. It was a rough part of the schedule for the Tigers with a game at Miami and another at home against North Carolina. So no one is panicking despite the losses.
One thing Clemson fans might be concerned about, though, is that All-ACC center PJ Hall fouled out of both games. Clemson needs him on the floor if it expects to beat the top teams in the conference.
4. Wake Forest
Record: 11-3 (3-0)Last week’s ranking: 5
Last week’s result: Win 84-78 at Boston College; Win 86-82 OT vs. Miami
This week’s schedule: Tuesday at Florida State; Saturday vs. Virginia
Why No. 4? Wake Forest extended its win streak to nine games with wins at BC and at home against Miami. Miami was at No. 4 last week, so the Deacons leap-frogged over the Hurricanes even though the game was in Winston-Salem.
Freshman guard Kevin “Boopie’' Miller scored 17 in the win at BC and then erupted for 27 against Miami.
5. Miami
Record: 11-3 (2-1)Last week’s rank: 4
Last week’s result: Win 95-82 vs. Clemson; Loss 86-82 OT at Wake Forest
This week’s schedule: Wednesday vs. Louisville; Saturday at Virginia Tech
Why No. 4? Under normal circumstances, a 1-1 week including a road loss in overtime wouldn’t result in a drop in the rankings. But Miami’s loss was to the team sitting right behind it in last week’s Power Rankings. So the Canes dropped a notch.
It should still be noted that Miami played both games last week without high-scoring junior Wooga Poplar. He has a sprained left ankle and is expected back soon.
6. North Carolina State
Record: 11-3 (3-0)Last week’s ranking: 9
Last week’s result: Win 54-52 at Notre Dame; Win 76-60 vs. Virginia
This week’s schedule: Wednesday vs. North Carolina; Saturday at Louisville
Why No. 6? N.C. State is one of just two teams that remain undefeated in conference play. (Wake Forest is the other). This is the Wolfpack’s first 3-0 start in ACC play since the 2012-13 season.
7. Syracuse
Syracuse guard Quadir Copeland doesn't even know where to rank the Orange. Or he's appealing a foul call in SU's game at Duke this past week. Scott Schild | sschild@syracuse.com Scott Schild | sschild@syracuse.com
Record: 10-4 (1-2)
Last week’s ranking: 6
Last week’s result: Loss 86-66 at Duke
This week’s schedule: Wednesday vs. Boston College; Saturday at North Carolina
Why No. 7? Syracuse still hasn’t lost at home, but the Orange’s only game last week was on the road at Duke. The Orange struggled in the same areas against the Blue Devils as it had in previous losses to Tennessee, Gonzaga and Virginia; namely, 3-point shooting and turnovers.
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The Ostrom Avenue Podcast Episode 169: Ostrom Avenue Take Factory | Syracuse Basketball (waer.org; podcast; The Ostrom Avenue Take Factory)
Ethan Frank, Jordan Leonard, and Hudson Ridley debut a new segment on the podcast called the "Ostrom Take Factory" where each host gives three takes about Syracuse basketball for the guys to discuss, agree or disagree with, and debate in the short or long term.
The Juice Online - Podcast: Flaherty says new Syracuse coaching staff doing a 'great job' (r1vals.com; podcast; The Juice on the Cuse)
Syracuse football has continued to stay hot on the recruiting trail, landing several high-profile transfers, and on Saturday, 2024 four-star defensive back Marcellus Barnes Jr. committed to the Orange.
The recruiting momentum under new head coach Fran Brown has not been lost on the alumni base, and we spoke with former Syracuse linebacker Jake Flaherty on today's The Juice on the Cuse Podcast, presented by Rivals and Bleav. Flaherty appeared in 48 games for the Orange between 2005-08 and was elected team captain in his senior season.
"They're doing a good job getting out there and we're seeing that now with some of the recruits we're getting," Flaherty said. "The fact that we have a Ohio State quarterback who led a team to being 11-1, I think they're doing a great job."
Flaherty also discussed an open invitation that Brown extended to Syracuse football alumni. Brown plans on hosting four practices that alumni can attend.
"I know there are some guys who commented on the lack of accessibility to the program after they left and not being able to go to closed practice," Flaherty said. "It sounds very welcoming and the one thing I've gathered from this guy, he's just a straight shooter and he's keeping it real."
We also preview Syracuse basketball's upcoming matchup with Boston College and discuss potential starting lineup changes.
(soundcloud.com; podcast; WLNI)
College sports columnist for Saturday Road, Brett Friedlander joins The Sportsline to talk bowl season and ACC men's basketball, including what the NCAA could do to fix college football's calendar problem, on why he thinks the ACC is stronger in basketball this season compared to previous years, and why he's not sure what to think of the UVA Cavaliers hoops team in '23-'24.
MBB: ACC Standings 2024 Jan 7th (RX; HM)
MBB: ACC Standings 2024 Jan 7th
Let's take a quick look at the current ACC Men's Basketball Standings:
| Standings | ALL | ACC |
| Team | W - L | W - L |
| NC State Wolfpack | 11 - 3 | 3 - 0 |
| 8 North Carolina Tar Heels | 11 - 3 | 3 - 0 |
| Wake Forest Demon Deacons | 11 - 3 | 3 - 0 |
| Miami Hurricanes | 11 - 3 | 2 - 1 |
| Florida State Seminoles | 8 - 6 | 2 - 1 |
| Virginia Cavaliers | 11 - 4 | 2 - 2 |
| 14 Duke Blue Devils | 10 - 3 | 1 - 1 |
| Boston College Eagles | 10 - 4 | 1 - 2 |
| 16 Clemson Tigers | 11 - 3 | 1 - 2 |
| Syracuse Orange | 10 - 4 | 1 - 2 |
| Virginia Tech Hokies | 9 - 5 | 1 - 2 |
| Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | 8 - 6 | 1 - 2 |
| Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 6 - 8 | 1 - 2 |
| Pittsburgh Panthers | 10 - 5 | 1 - 3 |
| Louisville Cardinals | 5 - 9 | 0 - 3 |
Interesting:
The top 3 spots are all North Carolina teams, but Duke isn't one of them.The next two spots are occupied by the two Florida schools. What's odd about that is how poorly FSU played in non-conference (6-5), yet they are currently tied with Miami for 4th place.
Meanwhile, Clemson and Pitt are the anti-FSU teams: great out of conference, but struggling so far in conference (especially Pitt).
Bottom Line:
The ACC season is still very young, so a lot could - and likely will - change in the coming weeks.https://www.si.com/college/syracuse...etballs-remaining-schedule-net-rankings-23-24 (SI; Della Penna)
A breakdown of where SU currently sits in the NET rankings and their remaining schedule. Note, NET rankings listed are as of January 5, 2024.
Here is your disclaimer that I will be a complete nerd in this article. If crunching the numbers isn’t your thing and you don’t really understand College Basketball’s NET Rankings, I have you covered! (Plus, next time one of your friends asks what a Quad 1 win is, you sound brilliant when you explain it to them).
However, regardless if you were good at Math in high school, Syracuse fans understand the product on the court. The Orange are winning the games they’re supposed to, but not coming out victorious against superior opponents that could result in Syracuse missing the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season.
During the season’s first two months, Syracuse is 10-4 but ranked 77th in NET. Before we go deeper into SU’s schedule let’s break down what NET even is.
This is the sixth season the NCAA has used NET to evaluate programs instead of RPI. It’s a much more accurate depiction of how good a team actually is. NET looks at factors like opponent, location, and winner to determine a team’s value index score. These findings are shown in the quadrant system, which organizes those factors to provide a better look at the quality of wins and losses. That’s why teams who punch their ticket to March Madness maximize Quad 1 wins and limit Quad 3-4 losses.
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Syracuse Basketball: 5-star PG, top-25 overall player, setting official visit is huge (itlh; Adler)
Syracuse basketball coaches offered a scholarship to 2025 five-star point guard Tyler Jackson from Baltimore in late April of last year, and he has said on numerous occasions in interviews that he’s had an interest in visiting the Orange.
That trip to the Hill has reportedly come to fruition. Per top national recruiting analyst Joe Tipton of On3, the 6-foot-3 Jackson plans to take an official visit to the ‘Cuse on January 27, which is all kinds of awesome.
Jackson’s trip to Central New York will be his first official visit. In mid-December, he went on an unofficial visit to Southeastern Conference member Auburn.
Listed by recruiting services as either a point guard or a combo guard, Jackson is a consensus top-35 national prospect and a top-five player at his position.
Syracuse basketball will soon host 2025 5-star PG Tyler Jackson on an official visit.
Jackson, as a sophomore during the 2022-23 season, was named to the Baltimore Catholic League’s All-League second team while helping lead the Saint Frances Academy in Baltimore to the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (“MIAA”) A Conference title.
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Syracuse men’s basketball: elite 2025 G Tyler Jackson schedules official visit (TNIAAM; Sigel)
Syracuse football might not be the only team picking up some big-time recruiting wins. Class of 2025 guard Tyler Jackson has scheduled an official visit to Syracuse for the NC State game, according to Joe Tipton of On3.
Jackson, a four-star prospect, is ranked as the 25th-best player in the class, according to On3’s industry ranking, which takes an average ranking of the four major recruiting outlets.
He’s a DMV native, and played his sophomore season at St. Frances in Baltimore. He transferred to Atlanta for his junior year, where he suited up for Overtime Elite.
Adrian Autry has had Jackson on his radar for a while, and officially offered him a scholarship once he became the head coach last year.
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Other
How much snow fell (so far) in Upstate NY’s first storm of 2024? Search 285 places (chart) (PS; Coin)
The first snowstorm of 2024 was expected to bring 12 inches of snow to parts of Upstate New York.
It didn’t disappoint.
A foot or more of snow fell in several locations in the Hudson Valley, which had been forecast to be hardest-hit by the coastal storm. In Central New York, the snowiest spot was Marcellus, with 11 inches.
The sortable and searchable chart below contains an incomplete and unofficial tally of reports compiled by the National Weather Service this morning. The observations come from a variety of sources, including trained spotters, volunteer weather-watchers, public officials and others. Snow is still falling, so some of these totals will likely increase.
If you’d like to add your measurements to the weather service database, you can file a storm report online.
Enjoy the snow now: It will melt rapidly by midweek as a powerful storm brings warm temperatures, heavy rain and high winds to Upstate New York late Tuesday.
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People line up to order fast food from a Chick-fil-A restaurant at the Iroquois Travel Plaza rest stop on the New York State Thruway in Little Falls, NY. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)AP
Is New York trying to force Chick-Fil-A to open on Sundays? What that bill really says (PS; Cazentre)
A bill making its way through the New York State Legislature aims to regulate future contracts for food concessions on the State Thruway. It also mentions the national restaurant chain Chick-Fil-A by name.
But, despite some headlines and social media posts, the bill would not force the Atlanta-based company to reverse its long-standing policy of not opening its restaurants on Sundays.
The bill introduced in the Assembly and Senate would require that future contracts for Thruway food vendors specify that rest stop concessions must be open seven days a week. The bill also sets that requirement for concessions at the Port Authority of New York-New Jersey.
The bill, as written now, would not affect the Chick-Fil-A locations that are already open on the Thruway. Those restaurants operate as part of a 33-year contract the Thruway Authority signed in 2021 with Applegreen, an Irish convenience store company. Applegreen manages leases as part of the Thruway’s ongoing $450 million project to renovate 27 rest stops across the state.
Chick-Fil-A’s leases are with Applegreen, not the Thruway itself. Applegreen’s current contract makes no mention of seven-day operations.
In addition, the bill has no impact on Chick-Fil-A or any other restaurants and businesses operating elsewhere in the state.
“We are not talking about businesses on the corner of Main Street,” said state Sen. Michelle Hinchey, a Democrat from the Hudson Valley who sponsored the bill in the state Senate. “We’re talking about the businesses on the state Thruway that are utilized as a public good.”
It makes sense, Hinchey says, because Sunday is often the busiest travel day of the week on the Thruway.
“If there is going to be a food establishment on the Thruway, they should be open on the busiest day,” Hinchey said. She noted that even in rest areas that have other food options, a Sunday closing for one can create longer lines and wait times for service at the others.
But the bill has come under attack, including from those who believe it violates religious freedoms. Chick-Fil-A’s closed-on-Sunday policy is attributed to its founder’s Christian faith.
