sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to National #2 Pencil Day!
Each year, March 30th National Pencil Day honors the writing utensil that has done more than just teach millions the alphabet and draw straight lines. It’s also helped win wars and enabled amazing art.
Hymen Lipman received the first patent for attaching an eraser to the end of a pencil on this day in 1858. Before that time, pencils and erasers existed separately. Lipman combined the two making two tools much more convenient to use. The intuitive businessman also manufactured envelopes for his stationery shop and was the first to add adhesive to the flap of envelopes.
During World War II, Cumberland Pencil Company out of Kenswick, England produced pencils that were designed to function. However, the pencils were hollow with graphite on either end. Between the graphite, the makers had stowed maps to aid captured military personnel in their escape to freedom. Charles Fraser Smith designed them in 1942 and at night, when the factory closed, workers would assemble them under secrecy. The miniature maps detailed escape routes from prisoner of war camps and also included a miniature compass. Throughout the war, these small tools were issued to members of the Royal Airforce and sent to POW camps.
SU News
Class of 2021 defensive end Jatius Geer verbally committed to play football at Syracuse on July 2, 2020. (Provided Photo)
SU football recruits suffer through a lost season: ‘It’s pretty weird’ (PS; $; Curtis)
Justin Lamson and his teammates lifted weights on a scorching July day when their football coach delivered the news they anticipated for weeks.
“This is the situation,” Eric Cavaliere said, telling his players their fall sports season would be delayed until 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Lamson, a three-star, dual-threat quarterback at Oak Ridge High School in California, had solidified his future as a college player by making a verbal commitment to Syracuse University earlier that month. But his final season of high school football was in jeopardy — like many other seniors across the country.
The first person Lamson dialed up was his older brother, Colton, an offensive lineman at UC Davis. The Big Sky Conference, of which UC Davis is a member, recently decided to postpone its season to the spring.
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Storylines to follow as Syracuse football gears up for an unusual season (DO; Dabbundo)
Syracuse has successfully managed to keep coronavirus infection rates low among its athletes, but nationwide rates and players’ health concerns leave the fall seasons in serious doubt.
Two of the Power 5 conferences and many smaller leagues have already canceled their fall seasons. But the Atlantic Coast Conference, as well as Syracuse’s training camp practices that started Aug. 6, are continuing as scheduled.
Here are three storylines that emerged during this most unusual offseason and training camp for SU football:
The status of the 2020 football season
As of Thursday afternoon’s meeting with ACC Presidents, college football is continuing this fall as planned for the conference’s 15 members.
The Big 10 and Pac-12 announced Tuesday that both leagues were postponing their fall seasons and hoping to play in the spring. Two days later, the NCAA announced that all fall sports championships would be canceled. The decision does not affect the Power 5 conferences or the College Football Playoff should the SEC, Big 12 and ACC play their seasons.
The ACC has pivoted from its traditional schedule of eight conference and four nonconference games, instead scheduling nearly all conference games, with the exception of one nonconference game.
The conference also pushed the season’s start back a week. Instead of playing at Boston College on Sept. 4 to begin the year, the Orange will travel to North Carolina on Sept. 12.
“I’m confident that we’ll start,” defensive back Andre Cisco said. “I’m confident that we’ll get some games in. Anything can happen from there. We have a strong enough protocol to at least start.”
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SU football returns to practice after 2nd pause of camp (photos/video) (PS; $; Bailey)
The Syracuse football team returned to the practice field on Saturday and held its fifth session of preseason camp.
For the second time in just over a week, players sat out for two days over concerns regarding testing frequency as they inch toward a season during the coronavirus pandemic. This time, the decision not to take the field on Thursday and Friday was based on SU testing individuals within the program once every other week during the preseason.
Like last Friday, athletic director John Wildhack addressed player concerns in a statement. He said players, who were tested on Thursday in lieu of practice, will now receive tests weekly during the preseason as well as three times per week during the season. He said this issue was the result of a “miscommunication,” but did not elaborate.
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North Carolina Tar Heels — 2020 Syracuse Football preview - The Juice Online (the juice; Cheng)
BROWN’S BACK AND IT FEELS SO GOOD
Though Larry Fedora led North Carolina to a dream 2015 season in which they went 11-3 (8-0, ACC) and finished 15th in both the coaches and AP polls, he suffered a steep decline in the following seasons. North Carolina went a combined 5-18 in the 2017 and 18 seasons, which led to his dismissal and the re-hiring of former head coach Mack Brown.
The long-time Texas coach, who also was the head coach at UNC from 1988 to 1997, quickly turned around the Tar Heels, going 7-6 in his return season with a win over Temple in the Military Bowl. What’s even more encouraging is that UNC could’ve finished with an even better record.
All of its six losses came by seven points or less, and the Tar Heels finished the season on a three-game winning streak, averaging 50.6 points during that stretch. Recruits have noticed the revival at Chapel Hill, with Brown hauling in the No. 13 class in 2020 according to 247 Sports.
POTENT OFFENSIVE ATTACK
Brown will look to build on the last three games of 2019, with 10 starters returning from an Air Raid offense that averaged 474.0 yards per game (second in the ACC).
It starts with quarterback Sam Howell, who finished with 3,641 yards and 38 touchdowns in his standout freshman season where he was named ACC Rookie of the Year. He’ll hand off to a pair of potential 1,000 yard rushers in Michael Carter and Javonte Williams. Carter rushed for 1,003 yards and three touchdowns, while Williams finished with 933 yards and five scores.
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Syracuse in constant contact with priority target Umari Hatcher (247sports.com; McAllister)
One of Syracuse football's top targets in the 2021 class is three star Woodbridge (VA) Freedom wide receiver Umari Hatcher. Hatcher also holds offers from East Carolina, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan State, North Carolina, Penn State, Temple, Virginia and Virginia Tech, among others. Syracuse offered back in February, and have remained in contact on a regular basis ever since.
"The coaching staff that reaches out to me are the receiver's coach (Reno Ferri) and the head coach (Dino Babers)," Hatcher said. "They text me every day. They call every other day. They tell me about the school, academics and stuff like that."
The Syracuse offense has had extremely productive receivers each year of the Dino Babers era. Could Hatcher be the next in that line? He already sees a great fit between his skill set and the Orange offense.
"It makes it good," Hatcher said. "Everything's good about it. It makes me want to go there more. I watched some of their film, and when I was watching their film, I have seen a lot of routes that I run. So it just fits in with what I like to do. They play the kind of game I like to play."
Syracuse head coach Dino Babers taking such an active role in the Orange's pursuit of Hatcher shows how high he is on their recruiting board. Hatcher has taken notice.
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It is too bad ESPN lets unqualified, clueless gasbags discuss important issues on the air...
Paul Finebaum reacts to Syracuse football players opting not to practice because of coronavirus concerns.
Orange Hold First Padded Practice - Syracuse University Athletics (cuse.com)
The Syracuse football team took the next step in its progression toward the 2020 season on Sunday as the Orange put on full pads for the first time.
The roughly two-hour workout was Syracuse's sixth camp practice and featured mostly "thud" sessions (no tackling to the ground) with live reps sprinkled in during team periods. Because spring ball ended after just three practices due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sunday's practice marked the first time the Orange dressed in full gear since the team's 39-30 overtime victory against Wake Forest in the final game of 2019.
Quarterback Tommy DeVito didn't start against the Demon Deacons that day due to injury. The redshirt junior added 10 pounds to his frame in the offseason and is looking build off a sophomore campaign in which he ranked among the nation's best at taking care of the football. DeVito threw just five interceptions in 337 pass attempts. His interception avoidance figure of 1.48 ranked second in Syracuse single-season history. The Cedar Grove, New Jersey product wasn't picked off in any of Syracuse's last seven games. He carries a streak of 170 straight passes without an interception into the 2020 season, the third-best active streak in FBS football. Only Clemson star Trevor Lawrence (239) and Auburn signal-caller Bo Nix (191) have longer active stretches without a miscue.
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Colts: Waiving Kendall Coleman will come back to bite Indy if he signs elsewhere (horseshoeheroes.com; Carannante)
The Colts waived Kendall Coleman in favor of a kick returner on Saturday.
When the Indianapolis Colts scooped Syracuse pass rusher Kendall Coleman off the undrafted free agent market a few months ago, many dubbed it an under-the-radar move that could pay dividends faster than expected.
But just barely into training camp, the Colts have waived the Indianapolis native in favor of former Green Bay Packers cornerback Trevor Davis, who is primarily a kick returner. Teams will have 24 hours to claim Coleman before he becomes a free agent.
If another team signs him, Indy is going to seriously regret waiving him in the first place.
Colts legend Robert Mathis said this kid could’ve been the next great Indy pass rusher, and you’re going to risk him signing with another team already?! We quite honestly cannot criticize general manager Chris Ballard for all his genius work, but this is a bit of a head-scratcher for us.
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Re-visiting the Big 12 and ACC's Non-Conference Opponents (tide1009.com; Ogletree)
Just nine days ago, the attention of the college football world was fixed on which conferences would allow a non-conference game and which would not. Now, after one of the most tumultuous weeks in the history of the sport, 40% of the Power Five and FBS schools have chosen not to play football this spring.
Three of the Power Five conferences are, at this point, moving forward with football in 2020: the SEC, the ACC and the Big 12. The SEC announced it will play a 10-game, conference-only schedule, while the ACC and Big 12 will both allow teams to play on non-conference opponent each.
Tide 100.9 wrote about the ACC and Big 12's non-conference schedules last week, but much has changed since then. The Mountain West and Mid-American Conferences also postponed their fall sports seasons, and all 13 FCS conferences have canceled their conference schedules for the spring with six retaining the option to play non-conference games.
So, with this in mind, let's re-visit a potential non-conference opponent for every ACC and Big 12 team, starting with the ACC. Non-conference opponents could come from one of the six FCS conferences (Big Sky, CAA, Missouri Valley, Ohio Valley, Southern, Southland), three Group of Five conferences (Sun Belt, Conference-USA, American Athletic), or the opposite Power Five conference.
CLEMSON: The Tigers were one of only two ACC teams that had not yet announced their non-conference opponent by Aug. 6. According to a report in The State, The Citadel athletic director Mike Capaccio expects to be that one opponent. PROJECTION: The Citadel
FLORIDA STATE: FSU was scheduled to play Samford, a member of the FCS Southern Conference in Birmingham, Alabama. The SoCon is allowing its teams to play non-conference games, but Samford is not taking the option. Mercer, however, is, and it could be looking to replace the Power Five game against Vanderbilt that it lost. PROJECTION: Mercer
WAKE FOREST: The Deacs' initial opponent, Old Dominion, canceled its fall season despite the Conference-USA allowing it to play non-conference games. Wake Forest's new opponent needs to have a spot open on Oct. 10. Temple is a possible Group of Five opponent on that date, but Campbell is an FCS opponent that needs the game more from a financial standpoint and is closer in proximity. PROJECTION: Campbell
N.C. STATE: Liberty was the planned opponent here, but that could change after reports that the Flames' three ACC opponents are concerned about their COVID-19 testing protocols. N.C. State needs an opponent with an open date on Nov. 21. In-state FCS opponent Elon had its conference season canceled, so it works well here. PROJECTION: Elon
LOUISVILLE: Western Kentucky is scheduled to play at Louisville, and, unless the Conference-USA changes course, the Hilltoppers will remain the choice here. PROJECTION: Western Kentucky
SYRACUSE: Syracuse also has Liberty scheduled, but the Orange could be looking at a backup plan if the Flames' testing is insufficient. That plan could be Army, which is less than 200 miles away, is scheduled to play a four-game series against Syracuse from 2023-26, and only has five opponents as of Friday, according to the Times Herald-Record. PROJECTION: Army
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ACC Football: Preview and Predictions for 2020 Season (BR; Kenyon)
While the Clemson Tigers are clearly the program to beat in the ACC, the five-time reigning champions face a more challenging road to the conference title in 2020.
First, of course, there's the unknown amid the coronavirus pandemic. Will the season start? What about delays? Will the season finish?
Those are all important questions. And, quite possibly, the answers could prevent the ACC from completing its 2020 campaign.
If ACC football is played, though, B/R will be covering it. We're breaking down the best teams, biggest names, top stories—well, hello there, Notre Dame—and key information you should know about the conference and its potential 2020 season.
Biggest Stars
UNC QB Sam Howell
Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson
Heading into the season, Bleacher Report's Matt Miller considers Lawrence the best 2021 draft-eligible prospect. That reputation is fully deserved. Lawrence has 6,945 yards and 66 touchdowns to 12 interceptions in two seasons at Clemson. Last season, he also emerged as a mobile threat with 563 yards and nine scores on the ground.
Travis Etienne, RB, Clemson
Etienne turned a few heads when he decided to return for his senior season. In both 2018 and 2019, he eclipsed 1,600 yards on the ground. Similar to Lawrence, Etienne added another element to his game last season. The speedster caught 37 passes for 432 yards and four touchdowns.
Ian Book, QB, Notre Dame
Since entering the lineup in early 2018, Book has guided the Irish to a 19-3 record. He collected 3,034 yards and 34 touchdowns last season while throwing only six interceptions. And with 1,032 career rushing yards, Book is also a threat to run.
Sam Howell, QB, North Carolina
The ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2019, Howell helped UNC rise from an afterthought to a competitive team. Though the Tar Heels finished 7-6, they also never lost by more than seven points. It was a huge improvement from two straight nine-loss seasons. Howell tallied 3,641 yards and set a Football Bowl Subdivision record for true freshmen with 38 passing scores while throwing only seven interceptions.
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The NCAA Sent Another Warning To The ACC, Big 12, SEC (thespun.com; Holleran)
The NCAA continues to send warning messages to the three major conferences planning on playing football this fall.
While the Big Ten and Pac-12 have postponed their seasons to early 2021, the ACC, Big 12 and SEC remain committed to a fall season.
The NCAA has little to no control over college football. Unlike college basketball’s postseason, the NCAA does not run the College Football Playoff. Ultimately, the conferences are left to make their own decisions.
Still, it’s safe to say that the NCAA is not in agreement with the ACC, Big 12 and SEC. NCAA chief medical officer Brian Hainline had a blunt message for those conferences on CNN on Saturday night.
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Battle over playing 2020 college football season intensifies as no one can get on the same page (cbssports.com; Dodd)
It is now a nuclear-grade conflict of silliness, this debate over playing the 2020 college football season amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Actually, calling it a "debate" is an insult to civility.
It is a battle of the science of two conferences (Big Ten Pac-12) versus the science of three (ACC, Big 12, SEC). It is parents from half the Big Ten schools demanding answers as to why their sons aren't playing in the face of what is still a raging pandemic.
On Sunday, Heisman Trophy finalist Justin Fields took the battle to a new level. Ohio State's quarterback posted a petition calling on the Big Ten to "immediately reinstate the 2020 football season."
It had more than 121,000 signatures in the first four hours, and the number continues to climb.
If it all wasn't so befuddling, it would be sad. Ask Jon Drezner, the University of Washington's team physician and a member of the Pac-12 medical advisory board.
"We are in the middle of a pandemic, our country is one of the worst controlled on the planet," Drezner said. "We have more deaths than any country. We have cases surging all over the place. We haven't done what we needed to do to play fall sports.
"And that is really sad."
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From MattSarzSports (RX; HM)
From MattSarzSports
From MattSarzSports: "Some Rumblings and Ramblings on the FBS Conferences & Schools Not Playing Fall Football in 2020"
If you read Matt's blog (and you really should!) you'll know by now that he's more interested in the schedules than he is in the revenues, but this year is making him a little curious...
Would the Big Ten and Pac-12 be willing to simply add another year at the end of their current contracts? Matt says:
That makes sense. So those two conferences may end up taking a financial hit - especially if they can't play football in the Spring (see below; the Big Ten averages $440 million/year from TV rights fees - which could be in jeopardy if the conference can't fulfill its obligations this fiscal year).
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B1G's Worst Week Ever? (RX; HM)
B1G's Worst Week Ever?
When the Big Ten cancelled Fall sports (football in particular), they seemed to think that the rest of the FBS sports conferences would follow their lead... after all, they are the Leaders and the Legends, right? Well, suffice it to say that's not what happened. Here are some tweets to catch you up on what actually did...
This after Nebraska made a big stink about football being cancelled, and families of Iowa players petitioned the league to reconsider its decision as well.
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2020 Stadium Capacities (RX; HM)
2020 Stadium Capacities
A few college teams have announced plans for in-stadium capacity reductions, and it's beginning to look like 25% is the "sweet spot".
The University of Oklahoma Athletics Department... currently projects that it will reduce capacity at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium to approximately 25%. [LINK]
Baylor has switched to primarily single-game tickets for the 2020 football season and will open at 25 percent capacity at McLane Stadium due to COVID-19 concerns. [LINK]
Here's what 25% capacity looks like:
| X | X | X | X | ||||
| X | X | X | X | ||||
| X | X | X | X | ||||
| X | X | X | X | ||||
(NOTE: I'm assuming most fans will show up in parties of two or more - the larger the party, the more empty seats can be around them, so in this case bigger groups is better.)
This layout guarantees two empty seats between fans horizontally and 3 empty rows between fans vertically - the direction you breath most of the time. I don't think that spacing is safe in itself, but would still require masks for everybody in my opinion.
Still no official word from most ACC schools, but Virginia Tech is said to be considering up to 30% [LINK]. We may get a decision as early as today (8/17/20).
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Other
No State Fair? No worries! How to make Maurice’s Belgian waffle sundaes at home (PS; $; Miller)
Who says waffles are just a breakfast food? No one at the State Fair, that’s for sure.
The Belgian waffle sundae has long been one of the best bargains at the Fair. For $7, you can get this 1½-pound mountain of heaven.
Wahid Akl, who owns the Maurice’s Belgian Waffles stand in the Dairy Products Building, grabbed the idea for the waffle sundae from the 1964 World’s Fair in Queens. Maurice and Rose Vermersch brought the “Bel-Gem” to America. Their daughter, Mariepaule Vermersch, showed Akl how to make the world-famous waffles. He then built the sundae from the waffle up.
“The waffle itself is what makes it,” he said. “Ours is fluffy inside. It’s like air. Simple ingredients, but good ingredients, are what makes this so special.”
The waffle batter recipe remains a secret; the temp employees making the sundaes don’t even know how the batter is made.
Kate Parry has been working at the Fair for 10 years, and she’s made dozens of Belgian waffle sundaes. Last year, on the day before the Fair opened, she spent the morning washing and cutting fresh strawberries for the Belgian waffle sundaes. She didn’t mix in sugar, lemon juice or anything else; it was just strawberries.
“Some stands at the Fair will tell us to go easy on the ice cream or go easy on the strawberries. Not here,” she said. “We load them up. Presentation was fun. People take pictures of them before they eat just because they’re so big and look delicious.”
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