sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2011
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This undated image taken by the Hubble telescope shows Pluto and its moons: Charon, Nix, and Hydra.
Welcome to Pluto Demoted Day!
August 24, 2006 was a sad day for Pluto. Formerly known as a planet, Pluto was downgraded to a dwarf planet that day. August 24 is now recognized as Pluto Demoted Day. Use the day as an opportunity to learn about Pluto, its new status and its connection to central Illinois.
Although Pluto is no longer a planet, there are still many interesting facts to learn about it. Pluto was discovered in 1930. Until 2006, it was classified as the ninth planet in our solar system. Pluto cannot be seen without the use of a telescope, and not much is known about what it is like. In 2005, NASA sentNew Horizons, an unmanned spacecraft, to Pluto, but it will not approach Pluto until 2015. The dwarf planet has a tilted orbit, and at times in its orbit, it is closer to the sun than Neptune and Uranus. It takes Pluto 249 years to make one trip around the sun.
These days, Pluto is regarded as a dwarf planet. To qualify as a dwarf planet, an object must be fairly round and orbit the sun. Unlike a planet, a dwarf planet has not cleared the area around its orbital path. Also, it is not a satellite, also known as a moon. The decision that cost Pluto its planetary status also outlined three categories of solar system objects: planets, dwarf planets and small solar system bodies.
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SU News
Diagne Might Still Be Eligible (PS; Waters)
Questions surrounding a class that Moustapha Diagne took in Senegal before coming to the United States three years ago have put the Syracuse recruit in limbo, according to a report.
On Thursday, Syracuse University officials announced that Diagne, a 6-foot-9, 240-pound freshman from Sparta, N.J., would enroll in a two-year school instead of coming to Syracuse this year.
Jason Hasson, Diagne's coach at Pope John XXIII High School in Sparta, N.J., told the New Jersey Herald that the NCAA has not ruled Diagne ineligible.
According to Hasson, the NCAA is still in the process of determining Diagne's eligibility because of an issue with a course that the native of Senegal took in his home country before coming to the United States in 2012.
"It had nothing to do with his Pope John transcript; he did very well at Pope John, he was a very good student," Hasson told the New Jersey Herald. "It was just a question
about a class he took over there (in Senegal). One single class."
Hasson said the decision to enroll in a two-year school was necessary because Diagne's student visa required him to be enrolled in a college by Aug. 20. Diagne has been in Senegal, visiting family for the first time since he left his home. He needed to enroll in a college in order to return to the United States.
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Moustapha, the NCAA Will Get to You When They Get to You (TNIAAM; Keeley)
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If you'd have told us that Moustapha Diagne was ineligible to play for the Syracuse Orange because he didn't get a good-enough test score or had bad grades, I think we could live with that. It's what we assumed was happening because it happens rather frequently (See: Football, Syracuse). We would have been bummed but at least that's something we can understand.
But that's not why Diagne will not play for Syracuse this season. Diagne will not play for Syracuse because, according to his high school coach, the NCAA took too long to decide whether or not he's eligible. And as he puts it, this is not a special case. There are tons of scholarship kids who are just finding out this week whether or not they've been approved by the NCAA to play. For football players like Marquise Blair, they had to wait until football practice had already started at most colleges. For basketball players like Diagne, they're finding out (or not finding out) as enrollment deadlines are approaching or have already passed.
"If this is an organization that is supposed to be promoting kids, they sure did a poor job with this one, hanging a kid out to dry..."
That's Doug Haas, Blair's high school coach, speaking for everyone.
The truth is I could write another 3,000 words about how terrible the NCAA is at their purported job but it won't do much good. For some weird reason they remain in control and for some weird reason the universities, coaches, players and alumni let them.
In the meantime, I think we've all given up expecting the NCAA to go above and beyond for student-athletes. None of us expect the NCAA to take care of them or promote them properly or do anything other than try to monetize them. That's the system we've all agreed to and until we change it, it is what it is.
But it is fair to ask the NCAA to do the bare minimum requirements of their supposed job. To ensure student-athletes with the ability to play sports at the university-level are given approval to do so, and if determined that they cannot, those student-athletes are provided with enough time to make other plans. That's really basic. It's the kind of thing a team of three or four people could knock out in June and July if they really worked hard at it. You know, like they're supposed to.
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What is the Impact of Losing Moustapha Diagne? (thejuice)
Brad Bierman: As each week of the summer flew by with Moustapha Diagne back to his native Senegal in part to mourn the deaths of his father and sister over the past year, we started to get less confident that he would join the other three members of a highly anticipated Orange freshmen class.
First, we started to hear of the NCAA clearinghouse reviewing his academic transcript, then the specific words “is expected to” in reference to arriving on campus for the start of classes Aug. 31 coming from his host family in New Jersey (never a good sign, along with the word “intend”), and the fact that the official athletic department website had posted its online player profiles of the three other newcomers but conspicuously absent was Diagne, albeit he was out of the country for a good chunk of time.
The official SU release acknowledging Diagne would not be enrolling was also noticeably ambiguous, totaling just 23 words.
Assuming Dajuan Coleman stays healthy and can contribute this season, and that remains a big question mark until we see if he can physically hold up to the rigors of game action, there will still be times when the coaching combination of Jim Boeheim, and for some games Mike Hopkins, is faced with rotating four other frontcourt players, none over 6-9. At just nine scholarship players everyone will need to contribute when called upon this season, and there’s no room for another significant injury against a tough non conference and ACC schedule.
» Related: How will Trevor Cooney do in his senior season?
Steve Auger: Even before taking the court to start its season against Lehigh on November 13, the Orange already suffered its first loss. And it’s a big one. Literally.
Syracuse announced on Thursday that 2015 basketball recruit Moustapha Diagne will enroll in a 2-year school instead. At 6-foot-9, 240-pounds, Diagne was expected to play an important role manning the back line of the 2-3 zone in what is already a thin front court heading into the season.
The question that now looms over Jim Boeheim’s already thin roster is what to make of the front court situation? Among the uncertainties is how Dajuan Coleman’s surgically repaired knee will hold up. Coleman appears to be the lynch pin to not only the Orange’s zone defense but also its low post scoring. The Syracuse staff has to be hoping that not only does Coleman stay healthy but that he also has a break-out season like Rakeem Christmas did last year.
Speaking of players poised to make The Leap, Tyler Roberson should gobble up minutes and shots as he can handle provided he stays out of foul trouble. The Roberson who dropped a combined 35 points while grabbing 19 boards in two games against Duke last year would be a welcomed regular to SU box scores. And while we’re on the topic of Tylers, 6-8 freshman Tyler Lydon could now see more minutes while providing some perimeter scoring. And then there’s Chino Obokoh. After 18 DNPCDs (Did Not Play, Coach’s Decision) last year, who knows what to expect from him.
