sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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- Aug 15, 2011
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Welcome to National Maple Syrup Day!
National Maple Syrup Day provides us with the opportunity to enjoy and appreciate this delicious American treat. This sweet and unique flavor originated in America. Native American Indians were the first to harvest and boil the sap of the maple tree into a thick syrup.
Watching or participating in a maple sap harvest, or demonstration, is a fun late winter event. They are held in February-March, when the sap is flowing. It is educational for the kids, too. During field demonstrations, some of the sap is boiled down into syrup. Best of all, free samples are often giving, poured over a pancake or vanilla ice cream.
Did you know? Sap of the maple tree, the same sap used to make maple syrup, makes a refreshing drink. Just put it in the refrigerator and pour a drink whenever you want. Or, have a drink as you harvest the sap from the tree!
How do you participate in National Maple Syrup Day? Pour real maple syrup onto your pancakes or waffles. Or, for an evening treat, pour warm maple syrup onto vanilla ice cream.
Please note, make sure you are using maple syrup, not pancake syrup. Unless the ingredients state otherwise, pancake syrup no longer contains maple syrup.(a surprise to many).
SU News
SU Basketball in Worst 50-Game Stretch of Jim Boeheim Era (TNIAAM; Keeley)
Despite some initial promise, the 2015-2016 Syracuse Orange basketball season hasn't quite gone as well as it seemed it might. Some of that might have to do with Jim Boeheim's absence. Much of it probably has to do with the lack of big-man depth and over-reliance on three-pointers. Whatever the case, it's starting to feel a whole lot like last season when SU finished 18-13 and would have missed the NCAA Tournament had they been eligible.
In fact, it's really starting to feel as though we're in the midst of a pretty rough stretch for the program. What might be shocking is that if you crunch the numbers, we've actually just completed the worst 50-game stretch in the history of the Jim Boeheim Era.
Mike Waters was posed with this question by Reader Chris and he did some deep digging in his mailbag to determine if it was true. Turns out it was.
Chris' math was correct. Syracuse is 28-22 in the last 50 games. That timeframe begins with the end of Syracuse's 25-0 start in the 2013-14 season. Syracuse finished that year with six losses in its last nine games. Then Syracuse went 18-13 last year. And then there is this year's 7-3 start for a 28-22 mark.
If my research is correct, Syracuse's previous worst record in a 50-game span happened back in the early 1980s.
Syracuse won 13 of its last 21 games in the 1980-81 season. The following year's team went 16-13. That's a 29-21 cumulative record. That had been the "record'' until this season.
Mike also points out that there have been two 30-20 runs, both of which took place in the 2005-2008 range, which happened to be the last time Syracuse was mired in NIT Limbo. SU made the NCAA Tournament during that stretch but only thanks to Gerry McNamara's heroics.
There's something to appreciate about the fact that the worst 50-game stretch in 40 years is still good enough to be a .590 winning percentage. But still, it makes you wonder why things have been so rough for so long given all the talent on the court.
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SU Basketball: Behind the Numbers (insidetheloudhouse.com; Jackson)
After ten games, what do we know about the Syracuse Orange basketball team? What does the data say about this team?
Like our Behind the Numbers article about the Syracuse Orange football team a couple of days ago, I am going to take a look at the basketball team’s statistics to try to find a way to predict what the team will do the rest of the year. This is the first weekly look into, so remember that only a limited amount of data has been fished through. Basketball has a ridiculous number of percentage statistics to wade through and it may take a few weeks to pinpoint the important numbers.
With that said, those of you who have been watching this team have probably noticed more 3-point shots than in previous years. This team does not seem to rely very much on its big men. Gone are the days of Derrick Coleman, Etan Thomas, Hakim Warrick, Otis Hill, Rakeem Christmas, Donte Green, Craig Forth, and Darryl Watkins hanging out in the paint, taking up space on both sides of the court, and just being a nuisance to other teams.
Without that strong middle presence, it is difficult for the Orange to create the space around 18 feet that they need for their wing shooters. The Syracuse offense has needed that to be successful, at least from a schematic standpoint for the entirety of Jim Boeheim’s career. That makes sense since size is the most coveted commodity in college basketball.
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Other
Ford Mustang Launched in 1964 and Was Destined to Be a Classic (PS; Peters)
Ford had no way to know its first Mustangs in 1964 were soon to be classics. But a good hint was the confusion that developed almost immediately because buyers weren't sure if their cars were 1964 or 1965 models.
Mike Croyle's Mustang is a perfect example. It's registered as a 1965 car but it's really a 1964 1/2. It's a classic and has been for years.
Croyle, of North Syracuse, has what he thought was a 1965 Mustang convertible but the more he learned about the car the more he realized it isn't a '65.
When he bought the car in 1999 the badge on the front fenders said 289, meaning it had a 289-cubic-inch V-8 engine.
"As I looked at the engine and did work on it I began to suspect that it wasn't a 289," Croyle said. The engine in his car is a 260 cubic inch V-8, the engine Mustang put in the Mustangs that rolled off the production line between March and July 1964.
Among other differences, "The engine has a generator while the later cars have an alternator," he said.
The discrepancies that highlight the first Mustangs developed because Ford found itself rushed to introduce the Mustang on April 17, at the 1964 World's Fairin Flushing Meadows, N.Y. In an effort to get the car ready for the show and into production it used bin parts, or parts that were commonly used on the Ford Falcon, a price leading so-called economy car of the time.
The 260 V-8 engine, for example, was optional for Falcons and it became optional on the first Mustangs. Instrument panel parts, such as a horizontal speedometer in the Mustang were lifted from the Falcon. Months later Mustangs would have a round speedometer.
There were many other parts too, that were common to the Falcon and Mustang. But as time went on Ford made subtle changes to the Mustang designed to not only make it a true stand-alone model but increase its quality.
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