sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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National Spumoni Day is dedicated to spumoni, the molded ice cream that originated in Naples, Italy. It usually consists of three layers of ice cream—cherry, pistachio, and chocolate—that customarily are mixed with fruit, nuts, and whipped cream. Unlike typical ice cream, spumoni is sliced instead of scooped. It was first introduced to the United States in the late 19th century, and is also popular in Argentina, another country with many Italian immigrants. Besides being eaten on this special day, it is popular as a Christmas time treat. Neapolitan ice cream is derived from spumoni, and takes its name from the city of Naples. Its flavors differ from spumoni, being made with strawberry and vanilla instead of cherry and pistachio, most likely because these were the most popular flavors in the United States when it began being made.
SU News
Syracuse basketball is a major player for 2025 four-star guard Acaden Lewis, who recently visited, analysts and insiders say. / Reggie Hildred-USA TODAY Sports
Syracuse basketball is major contender for 4-star DMV guard Acaden Lewis, experts say (itlh; Adler)
Syracuse basketball is currently seen as a key player in the recruitment of 2025 four-star guard and top-40 national prospect Acaden Lewis from Washington, D.C., according to a top national analyst and several insiders I've spoken with in recent days.
The fast-rising Lewis, earlier this summer, revealed a top eight of the Orange, Kentucky, two-time defending national champion UConn, North Carolina, Duke, Tennessee, Michigan and Auburn.
The 6-foot-3 Lewis has taken unofficial visits to several schools, including the 'Cuse on August 1. Recent media reports indicate that he will soon disclose his official-visit schedule.
Naturally, if Syracuse basketball hopes to prevail for Lewis, the Orange staff will likely need to get him on the Hill for an official visit at some point. He is a standout rising senior at the nationally ranked Sidwell Friends School in D.C. and played quite well this spring and summer for the 17U squad of the Oxon Hill, Md.-based Team Durant in Nike's EYBL league.
Syracuse basketball appears to be in a solid spot with 2025 four-star guard Acaden Lewis.
Earlier this week, national analyst Rob Cassidy examined Lewis' recruitment at this juncture. Cassidy labeled the 'Cuse and UConn as "major players" for Lewis, noting that "both programs feel near-locks to get official visits from the four-star guard when he releases his travel agenda in the coming weeks."
To be fair, Cassidy also says that other suitors in Lewis' top eight certainly have a shot at prevailing for the DMV product. One important facet to monitor here is what happens with other 2025 guard targets who are being pursued by those teams in Lewis' top eight.
For example, UConn is in the hunt for five-star shooting guard Meleek Thomas. Five-star shooting guard Jasper Johnson has a top five that includes Kentucky and North Carolina, and reports state that he plans to make his college decision known next week.
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Syracuse Basketball: A deep dive on new 'Cuse big man Petar Majstorovic from Serbia (itlh; Adler)
Syracuse basketball has boosted its front-court depth ahead of the upcoming 2024-25 season.
In recent days, SU Athletics announced that Petar Majstorovic, a 6-foot-9 center from Haguenau, France, who was born in Serbia, has signed a national letter of intent to play for the 'Cuse.
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The Orange's 2024-25 term will officially begin when Syracuse basketball welcomes nearby Le Moyne to the JMA Wireless Dome on Monday, Nov. 4.
First and foremost, a huge congrats and welcome from 'Cuse Nation to Petar!
Syracuse basketball has added a skilled big man for the upcoming term.
With Majstorovic on board, it's likely that head coach Adrian Autry and his top-flight staff may have wrapped up their 2024-25 roster. Following last season, when the Orange went 20-12 overall, seven players hit the transfer portal, while sophomore point guard Judah Mintz decided to pursue a professional career.
In the team's 2024 recruiting class, the 'Cuse has brought in two high school seniors, four college transfers and now Majstorovic. This means the Orange still has one 2024-25 scholarship left, but I'd be a little surprised if Syracuse basketball coaches end up landing another player at this juncture.
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Opening day of 2024 New York State Fair likely to be the coolest in 37 years (PS; Coin)
If you’re a die-hard fan of opening day of the New York State Fair, you’ll probably want to pack a jacket and umbrella on Wednesday.
The high temperature is expected to be 64 degrees Wednesday afternoon. The fair hasn’t seen an opening day that cool since 1987. Normal temperature for Aug. 21 is 80 degrees.
“We’re actually in a very cool, chilly pattern, and we’re expecting some showers tomorrow,” Dave Nicosia, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said Tuesday. “You’re talking low 60s at the fair, up to 10 mile an hour winds, and it’s likely going to be wet at times.
“It’s not going to be an ideal.”
The good news is that after Wednesday, the weather keeps getting sunnier and warmer. The high will be in the 70s on Thursday and will approach the mid 80s by Saturday and Sunday. There’s no rain in the forecast beyond some lingering showers early Thursday.
“By the weekend, it’s going to be gorgeous,” Nicosia said.
The odds are good that the next two weeks will be warmer than normal for most of the continental U.S., including New York. according to the weather service.
The fair ends on Labor Day.
Why garbage day will soon change for 11,700 Syracuse households (PS; $; Boyer)
About 25% of Syracuse households with municipal trash service will have new pickup days next month.
City officials this week will start sending postcards notifying all residents whether garbage day will be shifting for their home. Changes, the result of a data-driven analysis of all Syracuse sanitation routes, go into effect the week of Sept. 9.
Syracuse has not conducted a comprehensive overhaul of its trash pickup map in decades, officials said, and the result is an inefficient mish-mash of routes. The number of pickups on Monday and Tuesday, for example, is almost double what is done on Fridays. Individual routes on a single day can have high variation, as well, with one route having 300 stops while another has 800.
To address the problem, the city’s Department of Public Works teamed with its Office of Analytics, Performance and Innovation. A technology company that specializes in fleet management, New York City-based Rubicon Global LLC, was also brought on board as a consultant for $40,600.
The project had a goal of minimizing the number of residents who would experience a garbage pickup day change while creating as much consistency among routes as possible. The new map changes the trash schedule for 11,697 households out of 44,770.
These maps show the current city of Syracuse trash collection schedule on the left and the future schedule on the right. Starting clockwise from the top, the orange area corresponds to Monday pickup, purple is Tuesday, red is Wednesday, green is Thursday and blue is Friday. Changes start the week of Sept. 9. (Provided by city of Syracuse)Provided by city of Syracuse
The revised routes will save about 17,000 miles each year, which translates into roughly $10,000 in annual fuel savings as well as reduced maintenance needs for trucks.
The new map allows the city to service all households with 12 unique routes per day instead of the current 15. That frees up three crews that collectively make about $607,000 yearly to work on other sanitation tasks.
“Now those folks can be dedicated to litter picking or picking up tires, or picking up bulk requests,” said Corey Driscoll Dunham, Syracuse’s chief operations officer. “I think it plays into this idea of sanitation being more than just your weekly pickup. Sanitation is an effort to try and keep the city overall clean, so if we can dedicate more resources to that, then that’s a win.”
The city’s communication plan for the new routes include two postcard mailers to every household regardless of whether its day is changing. The first mailers go out this week and a second will follow in about two weeks.
The village of Manlius is facing a state deadline regarding the future of its four swans. File photo: January 17, 2024. (N. Scott Trimble | strimble@syracuse.com)N. Scott Trimble | strimble@syracuse.com
Manlius swans update: Their future is up in the air as NY deadline looms (PS; $; Doran)
The four growing cygnets living at the Manlius Swan Pond are swimming around on a state-issued permit that comes with an Aug. 31 deadline.
That’s when the village is supposed to make a decision: Either have the swans sterilized or keep two of the same sex, so they can’t reproduce.
It’s a choice the village mayor says he thinks is unfair, and he met with officials from the state’s Department of Environmental Conversation in April to make that point. He agreed to sterilize future babies, but he wants to keep two adult swans on the pond in hopes they will breed.
Manlius Mayor Paul Whorrall said the state DEC told him at that meeting that they would discuss it and get back to him.
The DEC confirmed the meeting with syracuse.com | The Post-Standard and said it’s continuing to communicate with the village about the swans’ future.
Yet that April meeting was the last time Whorrall says he heard from the DEC. So he’s not planning on making any changes, even after the deadline passes.
“We made concessions, and agreed to the stipulations they wanted when they renewed our permit‚” he said. “I’ve asked the village board their thoughts three times, and they all say ‘we are sticking to our guns.’”
The state is trying to reduce the population of mute swans, which are invasive, compete with native waterfowl, destroy plants and can be aggressive. The village had been the only community in the state permitted to keep mute swans and allow them to breed.
The status of that special permission changed when a group of teens took the baby swans and killed and ate Faye, a female swan, over Memorial Day weekend in 2023.
That left her mate, Manny, and the four cygnets, who were quickly returned to Manlius. Manny grew aggressive with his offspring and was removed. The remaining cygnets (two girls, Faith and Fayette, and two boys, Noa and Liu) needed the state’s approval to stay.
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Esports making waves on campus at Syracuse University (cnycentral.com; Croston, Fowler & Culver)
Esports has made its way to Syracuse University.
On Monday, SU announced that the Orange will join the 'Power Esports Conference', a competitive gaming league between eight Division I schools, including Michigan State and USC, among others. Additionally, coming this fall, Syracuse will offer an 'eports major.' The esports initiative at SU offers competitive gaming opportunities, but the major provides its students with a curriculum combining the business and communications areas within the esports industry.
Dr. Joey Gawrysiak oversees all aspects of esports at the university and teaches within the Esports Communications and Management degree program as the ‘Executive Director of Esports’. Before joining the teaching staff at Syracuse University, Dr. Gawrysiak was a professor and director of esports at Shenandoah University from 2011–2023.
"Esports has really taken off in a couple of different ways, whether it's in person, watching online, streaming, or just competing, the esports ecosystem continues to grow,” Gawrysiak said.
Gawrysiak added that much of the growth within the esports industry is outside of the competitive gaming piece – broadcast production, content creation, and graphic design.
“[SU esports students] get a really high quality experience,” added Gawrysiak. “We're just out there to offer as many opportunities as we can in a structured environment so that all of our students can benefit from what e-sports can be.”
