sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to World Lion Day!
Guarding our temples, adorning our flags, decorating our coins and capturing our hearts, the lion is beyond doubt the world’s most iconic species. On almost every continent, and in thousands of cultures, the lion can be found demonstrating man’s fascination with this magnificent beast.
Despite the lions’ symbolic importance throughout the ages, today they are suffering from a silent extinction across Africa and India. Knowledge of the King of Beasts’ plight is little known.
World Lion Day is the first global campaign to celebrate the importance of the lion worldwide. Since the dawn of man the lion has played an integral role in our lives: symbolically, religiously, culturally, economically and biologically. To lose the lion from our world would be to lose part of our global heritage.
Wherever you may be, join us on August 10th to celebrate the lion, create much needed conservation awareness and help us save the King of Beasts and his kingdom.
SU News
Brisly's Back- Syracuse Football's speedy weapon should thrive in Babers' offense (cnycentral.com; Tamurian)
All you have to do is look at the final statistics for Bowling Green's offense in 2015.
Under Dino Babers, the Falcons' quarterback Matt Johnson threw the ball 569(!) times for just a hair shy of 5,000 yards. He completed 383 of those attempts.
It doesn't necessarily mean the Syracuse Orange will air it out in 2016, but it does at the very least mean more snaps for the offense.
In other words, more chances for Brisly Estime and the rest of Syracuse's talented playmakers to make their mark.
In 2015, Estime proved just as dangerous in the passing game as he was in the return game. He returned two punts for touchdowns (Rhode Island and Florida State).
Estime's 89-yard hookup with Eric Dungey was the longest play from scrimmage in the entire ACC in 2015.
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Allen Stritzinger excited to work with former Michigan star Mike Hart at Syracuse (mlive.com; Purcell)
Allen Stritzinger could not be more ready for his senior season of football. Pegged as the feature running back and top defensive back for Warren De La Salle this fall, Stritzinger heads into his final high school season without the stress and attention of the recruiting trail to deal with.
Back on June 26, Stritzinger committed to Syracuse University, selecting the Orange over the likes of the University of Michigan, Western Michigan and eight other schools.
"I'm comfortable now," Stritzinger said. "I'm more relaxed. I can focus more strictly on my season and focus on my team, you know, focus on the season more. I felt like, last year, that was kind of a problem for me. Going into the season and just thinking about recruitment instead of just thinking about the game."
Yet, Stritzinger is not fully avoiding a Michigan connection since he will be working under the eye of former Michigan running back Mike Hart, who is the running backs coach at Syracuse. For Stritzinger to be taught by someone he grew up watching, the thrill level has reached a fever pitch.
"Growing up and watching coach Hart play and things like that, it's just an honor to be under him and being able to get coached up by him."
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Syracuse football: Defense well positioned for 2017 breakout (TNIAAM; Cassillo)
Now that we’re done previewing the individual position groups on the Syracuse Orange defense, you probably have some (mostly worrisome) takeaways. The overarching themes of the defensive line and secondary were youth. The linebackers are experienced, but many aren’t tailored to fit this Tampa-2 scheme. This all sounds disconcerting if we hope to see any improvement from a defense that finished 99th in yards allowed per game and 69th in defensive S&P+.
But look at this post-spring depth chart, and what you’ll quickly notice is how few seniors are there on that defense. Hell, there aren’t even that many juniors, to be honest. Next year, assuming some improvement within the Tampa-2 and a gradual rise in overall athleticism and execution, could be a breakout year for this defense.
Bill Connelly’s made the point before that it’s not just about returning experience, but the production that experience accounts for, and what positions it plays. Experience is more critical on defense than offense. Experience in the secondary is an enormous advantage (as is having returning talent at quarterback and wide receiver). In 2017, Syracuse checks all of these boxes after undergoing a bit of a two- or three-year influx of youth. We’ve seen the excuses trotted out for why the Orange have lost games for the past two years. And we know why they could (hi, difficult schedule) this year as well.
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http://campusinsiders.com/news/syracuse-football-schedule-predictions-08-09-2016 (campusinsiders.com; Fiutak)
Syracuse comes into the season with a new coaching staff and a new attitude. Will the schedule work out well enough to go to a bowl game? Check out the preseason predictions for every game.
Sept. 3 vs. Colgate
Raiders should find a way to get into the Patriot League title chase if the defense can be up to snuff again, but they’re about to be hit hard by the Syracuse offense that’ll look solid – not sensational – right out of the gate.
Preseason Prediction: Syracuse 38, Colgate 6
Sept. 9 vs. Louisville
This would kick off the Dino Babers ACC era with a big, giant, massive win, but unfortunately the offense won’t be there quite yet to keep up the pace. The Friday night game will be fun and interesting, but the Cardinals will pull away in the second half.
Preseason Prediction: Louisville 37, Syracuse 27
Sept. 17 vs. USF
The Bulls have the running game and the defense to get control of the game and make it a good battle. They’ll keep the score down, but they won’t have enough firepower with the passing game to overcome a nice day from the SU air attack.
Preseason Prediction: Syracuse 27, USF 16
Sept. 24 at Connecticut
It’s on the road against yet another good defensive team from the American Athletic Conference, and it’s another game where the Syracuse defense will look great against a mediocre offense. It won’t be anything pretty, but the Orange will take their third win of the young season.
Preseason Prediction: Syracuse 23, Connecticut 17
Oct. 1 vs. Notre Dame (in New Jersey)
It’s sort of a Syracuse home game, except it isn’t, since it's being played in East Rutherford, New Jersey. At this point in the season, Notre Dame should be hitting its stride. It’ll be a fun environment for both teams, but the Irish will grind it out and make more of a muck game.
Preseason Prediction: Notre Dame 30, Syracuse 17
Oct. 8 at Wake Forest
The Demon Deacons will need this. They’ll be coming in on a little bit of a losing streak, and they’ll have a trip to Florida State coming up next. Syracuse will have the deep plays that Wake won’t. The Orange's defense won’t be anything special, but the offense will be terrific through the air in a scoring shootout.
Preseason Prediction: Syracuse 34, Wake Forest 31
Oct. 15 vs. Virginia Tech
And there’s the Syracuse team and the win that’ll change things up. Virginia Tech is the better team, and the Hokie defense should be able to make up for a sloppy day from the offense, but the Orange will come up with come up with a sharp day taking advantage of mistakes for the huge victory.
Preseason Prediction: Syracuse 27, Virginia Tech 23
Oct. 22 at Boston College
Syracuse will be on a roll after the win over Virginia Tech, but going to Boston College will end the fun in a hurry. The Orange won’t be able to grind with the Eagles and get by their defense up front, but with a week off to rest up, BC will finally win an ACC game again.
Preseason Prediction: Boston College 34, Syracuse 27
Nov. 5 at Clemson
The time off won’t do enough to help the Orange. Clemson will already have two losses and will be more than ready to start kicking it back in. Last year’s fight in the Carrier Dome was tough, but this will be a focused and strong effort from the defending ACC champs. They’ll coast after the first quarter.
Preseason Prediction: Clemson 38, Syracuse 17
Nov. 12 vs. NC State
The Wolfpack will need a relatively easy game at home – at least compared to the big boys faced on the road before this – but it’s not going to happen as Syracuse comes up with a terrific game from a balanced offensive run. The Orange get bowl eligible in a must-win with Florida State up next.
Preseason Prediction: Syracuse 37, NC State 31
Nov. 19 vs. Florida State
Syracuse will throw everything including the kitchen sink at the Seminoles in the final home game of the season. FSU will be too good, too talented, and too strong – waking up just in time to get the win – but Twitter will be buzzing about a possible upset until late.
Preseason Prediction: Florida State 30, Syracuse 23
Nov. 26 at Pitt
Syracuse will already have a bowl bid locked up, and the team should get better by the end of the season, but it’ll get hit by a Pitt team that plays like the team it was supposed to be all season long. The Orange will get a few nice drives, but they’ll settle for too many field goals.
Preseason Prediction: Pitt 38, Syracuse 12
2016 Prediction: 6-6
2016 ACC Prediction: 3-5
Syracuse football training camp: What we know after practice day three (TNIAAM; Menefee)
The Syracuse Orange football team completed its third training camp practice early in the morning on Aug. 8, so let’s take a look around camp with Syracuse.com and the Daily Orange. For what happened on Saturday, day one of camp, head over here.
Running backs
Ball security was a theme, with Chris Libonati and Jon Mettus of the Daily Orangereporting that both freshman Otto Zaccardo and sophomore Jordan Fredericks had some trouble, each fumbling once.
RB Dontae Strickland and Fredericks are in an interesting competition: they’re not only competing for playing time, but they’re also roommates, as Syracuse.com’s Stephen Bailey reports. Both also made significant weight changes over the summer:
Fredericks won the starting job as a true freshman last season, but struggled to adjust to head coach Dino Babers' hurry-up spread offense this spring. This summer, he cut about 20 pounds to get down to 210 and notices a difference in speed and endurance.
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Syracuse vs. Louisville: The official Orange Out t-shirt has been chosen (TNIAAM; Keeley)
This year's Orange Out will take place when the Louisville Cardinals visit the Carrier Dome to take on the Syracuse Orange on September 9. To mark the event, SU Athletics held a fan contest, asking for submissions for the official t-shirt design.
When the announced the finalist, we analyzed them and came away with this as our (and yours in the poll) winner.
That was one of two designs that Josh Latterell submitted and it looks like whoever made the ultimate decision agreed on the front but decided to go with the less unique back.
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Other
Exclusive: Look inside Syracuse's long-abandoned high school (PS; Moriarty)
Blackboards still cling to its walls. Stand in its hallways and you half expect a bell to ring and students to pour out of its classrooms any second.
But no students have sat in Syracuse Central High School's classrooms in 41 years.
Designed by famed Syracuse architect Archimedes Russell, the school opened in 1903 and served the city well for 72 years until it was closed in 1975, replaced by Fowler High School a little more than a mile away.
The school was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981, six years after its closing, but attempts to give it new life have gone nowhere.
A private developer launched a $7.4 million project in 1984 to transform the school into an office building called Greystone Square. The back of the stage in the school's auditorium was walled off to create a three-story atrium and office space behind it. For a brief period, that section of the building was leased to a few government and nonprofit organizations. But the project ran out of money and came to a halt in 1986, well short of completion.
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