sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Today we celebrate those large, extinct reptiles: dinosaurs. Scientists believe they first appeared about 245 million years ago, at the beginning of the Middle Triassic Epoch, and existed for about 180 million years, going extinct about 66 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous Period. The period when they lived is called the Mesozoic Era. During this time they went through many changes, and various species of dinosaurs replaced other species. Some dinosaurs were bipedal, meaning they walked on two legs, and some were quadrupedal, meaning they walked on all fours. Some switched back and forth. Some were covered with feathers, while others had what was almost like body armor. Some ran fast, and others were slow; most were herbivores, but some were carnivores. There were at least 700 species of dinosaurs, and possibly more than 1,000.
SU News
Former Syracuse DB Trill Williams claimed off waivers by Miami Dolphins (247sports; Bailey)
Former Syracuse football defensive back Trill Williams has been claimed off waivers by the Miami Dolphins, the franchise announced on Monday. Williams was released by the New Orleans Saints with a failed physical designation on Friday.
One of the Atlantic Coast Conferences' most versatile and dynamic defensive backs for the last three years, Williams went undrafted last month before landing in New Orleans. His junior season at SU was cut short at five games due to a torn ligament in his ankle that required surgery, Williams said previously.
A product of Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, N.Y., Williams spent time at cornerback, nickelback and free safety during his time with the Orange. He recorded 93 tackles, including 3.5 for loss, to go with four interceptions, 10 pass deflections, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
Williams, who scored a touchdown in all three of his collegiate seasons, has a knack for playmaking that dates back to high school. His most prominent play with SU came last year when he strip-sixed Wake Forest's Kendall Hinton to seal a 39-30 overtime win in the Orange's season finale.
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Update: Saints, Syracuse star Trill Williams do not reunite (canalstreetchronicles.com; Jackson)
Psych. Reports now indicate that the Miami Dolphins swooped in to claim Trill Williams who was prepared to head back to New Orleans after being waived with a failed physical designation last week. According to the NFL's transaction wire, Trill Williams is now a Miami Dolphin. Meanwhile, the Saints instead re-signed Ken Crawley.
You are being redirected... (accnation.com; Staff)
In this early preview of ACC football the writers project the win/loss records for conference teams this season. We looked at who’s returning, who’s transferring (in and out),how teams ranked in recruiting and who are the promising rookies. Among other things we also looked at the coaching staffs, those changes and of course, the schedules. There may be one or more of us who consulted our Ouija boards as well so if things seem a bit off blame it on the spirits. Two things to keep in mind as we move forward. First, this isn’t last year. Forget about all the clumsy, unfocused efforts or lack thereof by any team. Second, because of number one, more teams are loaded and ready to roll. From returning players to spring practice to fans (likely) beginning to fill the stands, it’s a new year so let’s get going.
Let’s start with the easy part. There’s going to be a football season. The ACC is returning to the two division scheme, Atlantic and Coastal with each team playing 8 conference games and 4 non-conference. Each team will play 6 division, 1 permanent crossover team and a rotating opponent from the opposite division. There will be several repeat site games this season. Notre Dame has returned to being an Independent in college football but nonetheless, will play 5 games against ACC opponents.
Early Preview
The ACC kicks off their 2021 season on Labor Day weekend (Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday), September 2-6. There will be two neutral site games (Atlanta) as part of the Chick-fil-A Kickoff series. Those games? Miami takes on Alabama on Saturday and Louisville matches up with Ole Miss on Monday. The other neutral site game involves Clemson and Georgia at the Duke’s Mayo Classic (Charlotte) on Saturday.
For the past few years when ACC football was talked about it you usually meant you heard the same tried but true refrain. Clemson and then there’s everyone else. Now that saying is just truly tiring. Clemson hasn’t lost their shine but other teams are coming into the conversation. According to our ACC Nation Pigskin Prognosticators you should look for several teams to be on the rise this season. Let’s take a look at what kind of records teams are projected to have this year.
Win/Loss Projections
| TEAMS | WILL | CHRIS | XAYVEON | JIM |
| BOSTON COLLEGE | 9-3 | 6-6 | 8-4 | 10-2 |
| CLEMSON | 11-1 | 12-0 | 10-2 | 11-1 |
| DUKE | 3-9 | 3-9 | 4-8 | 2-10 |
| FLORIDA STATE | 5-7 | 7-5 | 6-6 | 3-9 |
| GEORGIA TECH | 5-7 | 6-6 | 5-7 | 3-9 |
| LOUISVILLE | 5-7 | 5-7 | 7-5 | 5-7 |
| MIAMI | 8-4 | 7-5 | 10-2 | 9-3 |
| NORTH CAROLINA | 10-2 | 12-0 | 9-3 | 12-0 |
| NC STATE | 8-4 | 9-3 | 5-7 | 8-4 |
| PITT | 5-7 | 4-8 | 6-6 | 7-5 |
| SYRACUSE | 3-9 | 4-7 | 6-6 | 2-10 |
| VIRGINIA | 8-4 | 8-4 | 8-4 | 8-4 |
| VIRGINIA TECH | 6-6 | 5-7 | 7-5 | 7-5 |
| WAKE FOREST | 6-6 | 6-6 | 4-8 | 7-5 |
Best Tailgate by State (2021) (RX; HM)
Fordham tailgates in one parking lot. Period. Someone was trolling.
Best Tailgate by State (2021)
RedditCFB tweeted out this graphic:BRUTAL. Absolutely brutal!
- FSU wins the state of Florida.
- Virginia Tech wins the commonwealth of Virginia.
- Louisville wins the commonwealth of Kentucky.
- UGA wins the state of Georgia - no real surprise there.
- U of SC wins the state of South Carolina? What say you, Clemson fans?
- Shocker: Appalachian State beats out Wake Forest, Duke, UNC and NC State!?!
- Penn State wins the commonwealth of Pennsylvania - another not so big surprise.
- UMass edges out Boston College in the commonwealth of Massachusetts? OK, that's plausible.
- but... Fordham beats out Syracuse in the state of New York? Come on, Orange fans!
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State of UNC Football (RX; HM)
State of UNC Football
The Tar Heels had a very effective offense in 2020, but lost quite a bit of it.ESPN has North Carolina ranked 13th nationally in their Football Power Index (FPI), with a 4.2% chance to make the College Football Playoffs! With the exception of the road game at Notre Dame, UNC is likely to be favored in every game this season. Most experts are picking them to finish either first or second in the ACC Coastal division as well.
What has brought about this football success? Two words: Mack Brown. The head coach has brought recruits (27 blue chips in the last three signing classes) and a belief that they can win every game to the Tar Heels in his second stint in Chapel Hill. Now with back-to-back top 15 recruiting classes (13th in 2020, 14th in 2021), they just might be able to actually do it.
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Why Georgia Tech is the ACC’s most underrated team in 2021 (247sports.com; Seats)
The Atlantic Coast Conference’s 2020 college football campaign, albeit abnormal, prevailed through the COVID-19 pandemic. With Notre Dame included in a ten-game conference slate, Clemson’s stranglehold of the league was challenged by the Fighting Irish through the regular season, but ultimately gave way to the Tigers’ sixth-straight ACC Championship.
Both teams represented the conference in the College Football Playoff last season, but Notre Dame decided to resume its independent status from here on. So with the Irish out of the picture, which ACC team should be on the rise this year? 247Sports’ Josh Pate is keeping his eye on one program that he's counting on to make a huge turnaround this fall.
During Sunday’s edition of Late Kick, Pate picked which ACC team he believes is the most underrated heading into the 2021 season.
“In the ACC, I’m going with a team that has won a combined six games in the last two years. Most underrated team in the ACC, give me the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets,” Pate said. “I’ve been waiting on year three, for two years now. Sounds kind of like a weird version of ‘In the Air Tonight’ by Phil Collins. You give me Georgia Tech as the most underrated team in the ACC this year though.
“This could be one of the nastiest schedules, easily in this conference, but it’s one of the nastier schedules in the entire country this year. They play at Clemson, they play North Carolina, they go to Miami, they go to Notre Dame, and have Georgia to end the year back-to-back. So you got Irish and Dogs at the end of the year, back-to-back, that’s the downside. But also, the plus side for me if I’m looking at them as a candidate for most underrated, is you don’t expect a lot from them anyway. You really don’t expect a lot from them when you look at the schedule, but I’m looking at ‘em and they’ve won six games combined the last two years. I want six wins-plus this year. That’s what I’m trying to look at.
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Other
How it could end for Destiny USA: Some unpleasant ways out for the struggling mall (Part 2) (PS; $; Moriarty)
The owners of Destiny USA are looking for a way out of their hole of debt and declining business.
Pyramid Management notified Syracuse government leaders recently that it has hired counsel to explore restructuring the debt on the huge shopping mall.
Destiny, the largest mall in New York and the sixth biggest in the U.S., owes $715 million to lenders. That’s 3.5 times the mall’s most recent appraised value of $203 million.
Pyramid has struggled to make its debt payments after shutting down for four months last year because of the coronavirus shutdown, losing several of its anchor stores and seeing its occupancy rate plunge to 62%.
A solution could involve convincing the lenders to forgive a lot of the debt, a move that might seem unlikely but is not unheard of. Other options involve bringing in more investors or owners, but those seem less promising. There’s always bankruptcy court.
Pyramid could take the lead on the solution or be forced to do something if it cannot make its payments.
The company declined to comment on its plans, but experts say here’s how things could wind up for Destiny.
Lenders foreclose on Destiny
Pyramid owes $285 million to the holders of municipal bonds issued by the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency to finance a big expansion of the mall that started in 2007. It also owes $430 million on two mortgage loans on the giant center.If the company defaults on any of its payments, its lenders could foreclose on the mall and try to seize the property.
Mall foreclosures have been happening more often since the pandemic.
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