sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to National Polka Day!
Polka is a form of dance that involves a series of peppy and quick steps, done along with a partner. The music for the dance is rocking accordion style music. This fast-paced duet dance form is said to have originated in the 1800s in Bohemia. It is also said that a girl named Anna Slezak was the one who invented this dance in the year 1834. The dance then gained popularity in ballrooms around the world. The dance is a series of triple steps performed to the tune of polka music played on the accordion. The dance is great fun and a rigorous exercise too.
SU News
Former Syracuse coach Dick MacPherson dies at 86 (cbssports.com; Sallee)
Richard F. "Dick" MacPherson, who helped rebuild the Syracuse football program for 10 seasons from 1981-90, died Tuesday in Syracuse at the age of 86 due to natural causes.
MacPherson took over a Syracuse program in 1981 -- that was 34-55 over the previous eight seasons -- and turned it into one of the most successful programs of the 1980s. He led the Orange to five bowl games in his 10 seasons and a 66-46-4 record during his 10-year tenure.
"Coach Mac was much more than a football coach. He was everything to everybody, including his family, our community, our football program, and college football," said Syracuse director of athletics John Wildhack in a release. "He left an indelible impact on everyone he touched. Coach Mac and his family will forever be part of Syracuse Athletics and the Syracuse community. Our thoughts and prayers are with Sandra, their daughters and their grandchildren."
His best season with the program came in 1987, when he led Syracuse to an 11-0 regular season record, produced a quarterback in Don McPherson who finished second in Heisman Trophy voting and tied Auburn 16-16 in the Sugar Bowl to finish the season ranked fourth in both major polls with an 11-0-1 record. Second-ranked Miami beat No. 1 Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl to claim the 1987 national title.
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Jim Boeheim remembers Coach Mac: 'One of those rare guys everybody loved' (PS; Ditota)
Jim Boeheim remembered Dick MacPherson the way most people remember Coach Mac:
"He was just the greatest guy," Boeheim said today in a phone conversation. "He was just one of those rare guys that everybody loved. He was one-of-a-kind, a special human being. He obviously did a great job coaching football. And he was just a unique individual."
MacPherson, the former Syracuse football coach, died Tuesday at age 86. The two Syracuse coaches interacted throughout their careers at Syracuse and continued their friendship after MacPherson left the Orange to coach in the NFL. MacPherson returned to Syracuse to live after his stint with the New England Patriots and was a radio broadcaster for Orange football games.
MacPherson guided the SU football team from 1981 to 1990. Boeheim will enter his 42nd season as the Orange head coach.
"I enjoyed doing things with him over the years," Boeheim said. "He was really a one-of-a-kind guy."
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Former Syracuse football coach Dick MacPherson dies at 86 (si.com; AP)
Former Syracuse football coach Dick MacPherson has died at 86.
The university said he died Tuesday in a Syracuse hospital with his family at his side. Cause of death was not released.
MacPherson resurrected a declining football program in the 1980s and restored Syracuse to national prominence before returning to the NFL.
Known for his jocular personality and off-beat comments, MacPherson arrived at Syracuse before the 1981 season. The Orange has slumped through a decade of mediocrity, with only three winning seasons. In 1959, Syracuse was the undefeated national champion. Between 1967 and MacPherson's arrival, the Orange made only one bowl trip.
After two seasons of transition, MacPherson produced a winning team in 1983. By the time he left in 1990, he had a 66-46-4 record, the school's second-winningest coach.
For The Love Of The Dome: ‘A Syracuse Football Story’ (itlh.com; Edsen Jr)
The roots of football run deep not only through Syracuse football history, but also for one man and his family. Here’s his story
I started writing for Inside the Loud House last October, but my love affair for the Syracuse football squad started in November of 2008. I took my family to the last game of the season that year. It was the Saturday after Thanksgiving and the whole family was together. It was a great afternoon.
On the way home that evening my wife suggested that we look at season tickets, I’m sure she realized that as soon as the words left her mouth I would be purchasing them that evening.
One of the more memorable moments when my son’s Oswego Buccaneers played a game in the Dome. The stands were practically empty but my heart was filled with joy as I watched him pace the sidelines.
My disbelief of the lack of dedication of Cuse fans is well documented last year in several letters to the fans. It was hard for me to understand how the Loud House could be half full as one of the most prestigious college football programs in the nation.
For my son and I who counted down the days until the Spring game which allowed us to end the painful months of living without football. We walked the field and met Doug Marrone, Ryan Nassib, and Dino Babers.
Last year we shook hands and took a selfie with our Heisman hopeful Eric Dungey. My son and I
would eagerly await the “envelope” every year that contained the fresh booklet of our season tickets.
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For The Love Of The Dome: ‘A Syracuse Football Story’ (itlh.com; Weisleder)
Syracuse’s coaching staff has taken the NCAA recruiting world by storm this offseason. Dino Babers has figured out the right algorithm to change the game
Over the past five NFL seasons, pass-catching backs have taken the league by storm, especially those on teams that feature quarterbacks who excel at scrambling and throwing on the run.
A few pass-catching running backs that have seen plenty of success include:
- Arizona’s David Johnson
- Pittsburgh’s Le’Veon Bell
- New York’s Matt Forte
It’s obvious that Dino Babers and Syracuse’s recruiting staff recognized this trend, and know that if it works in the NFL, it must work in college.
Eric Dungey showed the college world that when healthy, he is one of the scariest two-way
quarterbacks in the NCAA.
Going into his junior season, Dungey will have plenty of options to throw to on short notice, one of which is junior running back Dontae Strickland.
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Syracuse Football Commit: Hassan Hall, RB (Tale Of The Tape) (itlh.com; Esden Jr)
The Syracuse football squad added some beef to their backfield with their latest addition, Hassan Hall. ITLH goes to the tale of the tape to break him down
Dino Babers continues to add toys to his chest on the Syracuse football recruiting front. The latest acquisition being a talented running back.
So who exactly are the Orange getting?
Hassan Hall, RB
- 3 star prospect
- Hall chose Syracuse over Georgia Tech and Louisville
- SU now has 3 running backs in the 2018 class
Hall possesses elite acceleration and lateral quickness and clearly isn’t afraid of contact. Hall is versatile and shows his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield throughout his tape.
Although there’s a difference between catching flare routes and running wide receiver patterns. An explosive first step offensively and shows raw fundamentals defensively. Officially he’s labeled as an athlete.
45 second mark he’s lined up as a rover standing outside linebacker and he shows tremendous patience and lets the play develop. Throughout the tape he’s a good tackler. Classic profile tackle, squares up his feet, and then drives through and to the ground.
While just in the highlight reel he’s lined up at outside linebacker, in the slot, in the backfield, and zone cover corner. His best plays came at tailback and running in a read option based option attack. Fortunately for Hall, Eric Dungey and the Syracuse offense worked a lot of option football last year.
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Syracuse Orange Quarterback Eric Dungey on training
Syracuse Orange quarterback Eric Dungey on the lesson learned about getting his body ready for football and cupping
Clemson's losses could open door for FSU, Louisville in ACC (wtop.com; AP)
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney understands why preseason questions about the Tigers focus more on who’s gone from last year’s team instead of who is filling those roles.
The reigning national champions have big holes — the kind that could clear a path for Florida State or Louisville to climb atop the Atlantic Coast Conference’s heavyweight division and win the league title in 2017.
“Guys, there’s change every year,” Swinney said during last month’s ACC media days. “It’s a new team.”
The Tigers’ thrilling 35-31 comeback win against Alabama did more than give Clemson its second national title. It capped a four-year run that has the ACC — a league best known for basketball — on level footing these days with the football-power Southeastern Conference. The ACC has won two national championships and has two Heisman Trophy winners in that span, including reigning trophy winner Lamar Jackson of Louisville.
Now it’s up to the ACC to maintain its newly claimed stature.
The Tigers (14-1) have played in two straight national title games but must replace star players such as quarterback Deshaun Watson and linebacker Ben Boulware. They’ve ceded the league-favorite status to the Seminoles (10-3), who return 18 starters on offense and defense. And the Cardinals (9-4) lurk right behind with Jackson’s return with the chance to join Ohio State’s Archie Griffin as the only two-time Heisman winners.
And that’s all in the Atlantic Division, part of an imbalanced alignment that has made the league’s Coastal Division a perennial undercard.
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2017 will be a big year for Mark Walton — the ACC's best running back - ACCSports.com (accsports.com; Geisinger)
Miami running back Mark Walton followed up his stellar freshman season (10 total touchdowns) with an explosive, All-ACC performance in 2016.
In Mark Richt’s debut season in Coral Gables, Walton was the team’s MVP on offense. Walton scored 14 touchdown on the ground — the most of any returning ACC running back — and was one of just 15 qualified players to average more than five yards per carry.
What lies ahead for Walton in 2017?
Well, Richt, the Hurricanes and the weight of the team’s lofty expectations hope it’s grand things. They have plenty of reasons to be optimistic.
YAC-ety Sax
The fact of the matter is, you need more than one player to bring down Mark Walton. According to Pro Football Focus, Walton ranked third in the ACC last season in yards per attempt after contact: 3.43.
FSU RB Jacques Patrick leads returning ACC backs with his 4.03 yards after contact, per carry from last season. pic.twitter.com/hDlVhJ450h
— PFF College Football (@PFF_College) June 29, 2017
Here’s the thing, though: Jacques Patrick and Jeremy Smith — the two players ahead of him — weren’t anywhere close to Walton when it comes to volume of carries. Patrick and Smith carried the ball a combined 118 times last season.
Walton, alone, ran the ball 209 times in 2016; he was one of only 51 players to rack up 200-plus carries a season ago.
It’s an impressive feat for a high-volume player, like Walton, to combine durability, productivity and efficiency.
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2017 CFN Five-Year Program Analysis Rankings: ACC (collegefootballnews.com; Fiutak)
CFN ACC Five-Year Program Analysis Rankings
14. Wake Forest
FBS Wins: 17
Attendance Score: 2.75
Quality Wins: 5
Elite Wins: 0
Bad Losses: 1.5
Bad Wins Score: 3
Elite Losses Score: 2
Conference Win %: 0.250
Drafted Score: 2
APR Score: 9.692
Five-Year Program Analysis Score: 34.20
– 2017 Wake Forest Preview
13. Virginia
FBS Wins: 131
Attendance Score: 4.31
Quality Wins: 7
Elite Wins: 0
Bad Losses: 2.5
Bad Wins Score: 1.5
Elite Losses Score: 0.75
Conference Win %: 0.225
Drafted Score: 3.5
APR Score: 9.648
Five-Year Program Analysis Score: 34.43
– 2017 Virginia Preview
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Demon Deacon Newcomers Contributing in Camp (wakeforestsports.com)
Preseason practice No. 11 went off without a hitch on Tuesday morning at Wake Forest’s McCreary Field House as the rain kept the squad indoors for a second straight day. And head coach Dave Clawson was again pleased with the team’s practice session.
“I thought we came with a work ethic,” said Clawson. “We’re working on a lot of things. We got some middle of the field work today. We got some jet and orbit sweep motion work, we got some press work today. You’re building a toolbox, you’re getting all these things ready that you’ll see during the course of the year and that’s what camp is about.”
This early in camp, the coaching staff remains focused on putting together the roster of players that will battle through the ACC schedule each week. And determining which newcomers to the program will be able to contribute to the team this fall.
“It’s getting young guys ready to go,” said Clawson. “Today on our live periods and team periods we had four offsides. They were all by freshman defensive lineman who’ve never played a snap. These guys are good, they’re strong, they’re talented but they need to learn it’s hard. You have to get lined up every play, know your assignment, know what to do, how to do it and there’s got to be attention to detail. That’s the difference between a young team and an older team. That’s where we need redshirt freshmen to play old this year. That was a problem last year. When we got banged up and had to play redshirt freshmen, they weren’t ready. (Safety) Jessie Bates was. Some guys were but in general, that class, when they had their limited 10 to 15 snap roles, they were fine. When they had to step into 40-50 snap roles, they weren’t fine.”
The staff continues to evaluate the class of incoming freshmen and assess their ability to contribute or determine whether they should redshirt. Clawson talked about the freshmen and their current status.
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Other
What's most popular song where you live? YouTube maps out Upstate NY's favorites (PS; Herbert)
What's the most popular song where you live?
The New York Times has compiled YouTube data to map out the most streamed videos in every zip code in America. Since streaming music is the way most of today's most popular artists reach their audiences, it shouldn't be surprising that most of the acts are pop, hip-hop and country.
In Upstate New York, we looked up the most popular music video in more than 20 cities, including Syracuse, Albany, Buffalo, Rochester and Binghamton. See the list below to find out if your tastes match up with your hometown.
Data is based on the most-watched YouTube videos between January 2016 and May 2017.
Syracuse
Nicki Minaj - 'Truffle Butter'
(Also most popular in Skaneateles, Cicero and other nearby towns.)
Buffalo
Drake - 'Started From the Bottom'
(Also most popular song in Troy.)
Ithaca
Coldplay - 'Hymn for the Weekend'
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Saratoga Springs
The Chainsmokers - 'Closer' feat. Halsey
(Did you know Chainsmokers singer Drew Taggart is a Syracuse University alumnus?)
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