sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to National Spaghetti Day!
Today is National Spaghetti Day! Did you know that in the year 2000, 1.3 million pounds of spaghetti were sold in American grocery stores? If all of those packages were lined up, they would circle the Earth nine times!
The first historical reference to boiled noodles (found in the Jerusalem Talmud) suggests that the Arabs invented the dish thousands of years ago. What’s remarkable about this record is that it actually refers to dried noodles purchased from a vendor, which means that pasta has been sold in stores since at least the 5th century!
Today we associate pasta with the Italians, who have revolutionized the dish and invented a wide variety of pasta shapes. These include farfalle, conchiglie, rotini, penne, tortellini, and, of course, spaghetti. Spaghetti is the most common round-rod type of pasta and in Italian, “spaghetti” means “little lines.” Spaghetti is traditionally served with tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese, but you can also add meat, garlic, oil, and pepper for extra flavor.
To celebrate National Spaghetti Day, make spaghetti and meatballs for dinner or head to your favorite Italian restaurant. Enjoy!
SU News
What Happened to Michael Gbinije? (insidetheloudhouse.com; Stone)
Through the first 10 games of the season, Michael Gbinije was averaging 19.8 points on 51% shooting and 51% from behind the arc. He was a deadly assassin who seemingly couldn’t miss from outside at any range. He also hit 71% of his free throws.
In the five games since, he’s averaging just 13.6 points on 36% from the field and an abysmal 22% from beyond the arc. He’s also 10/22 from the free throw line for an inexcusable 45%. He’s also averaging 3.8 turnovers per game and just doesn’t look comfortable.
So what happened that curbed Gbinije’s production? I can point to three main factors that have caused him to have such a serious slump.
1. He’s Returning to Earth
He had such an insanely hot start to the season, it was pretty much inevitable that he would have a lull at some point in the season. When you’re averaging 20 points a game and taking over five 3’s per contest, it’s nearly impossible to sustain a 50%+ shooting percentage. There is virtually no one, even in the NBA, that can sustain those kind of numbers.
Even Steph Curry, who’s as good or better than anyone in the history of the NBA from beyond the arc, is only a 44% 3-point shooter. Ray Allen, arguably the most clutch and deadly 3-point shooter ever was a career 40% 3-point shooter. So if you were expecting him to maintain that level, you were fooling yourself, regardless of how good Gbinije’s stroke is.
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Frank Howard Day to Day with Illness (TNIAAM; Keeley)
Frank Howard has been feeling ill for 2-3 weeks and sat out the Miami game due to some kind of virus.
One Syracuse Orange player noticeably absent from the team's loss to the Miami Hurricanes was freshman Frank Howard. The freshman was found on the bench wearing a white polo and navy sweat pants instead of his uniform andyou can blame some kind of virus for the absence.
"The doctor is still trying to figure it out...They'll let me know probably this week."
That sounds, uh...promising? Unfortunately, this isn't some kind of recent bug or Chipotle-related illness. Howard has actually been dealing with some kind of illness for some time now.
Howard said he hasn't felt well for "about 2-3 weeks."
"It's just kind of everything," he said. "I'm kind of nauseous and I've got headaches. I feel light-headed and fatigued."
Syracuse is already a team that doesn't have a lot of depth and while Howard doesn't play big minutes, it's good to have him available, especially as Michael Gbinije continues to rack up the wear and tear.
In the meantime, best to not get too specific about what kind of illness Howard has. Let's use Syracuse Football injury rules for now...
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Other
Wind Chill Drops Below Zero in CNY as Coldest Air of Season Descends (PS; Coin)
Does it feel like February yet?
The high today will only be about 12 degrees. We haven't had a high temperature that low since Feb. 20, when the warmest it got was 5 degrees. That was in the midst of the coldest month on record in Syracuse.
At 5 a.m., the temperature at Hancock International Airport was 9 degrees. A north wind made it feel like minus 3.
Wind chills will likely stay below zero all day as that north wind increases to about 15 mph in early afternoon, with gusts up to 25 mph. Tuesday's early morning lows are expected to be in single digits again, but the high temperatures, thanks to what the National Weather Service calls "abundant sun," will be in the low 20s. That's still about 10 degrees colder than normal for early January.
And while this blast of Arctic air feels particularly cold after of our record-warm December, it's nowhere near record-breaking. The coldest Jan. 4 on record was in 1981, when the temperature fell to minus 18.
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