sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to National Keto Day!
National Keto Day was started by The Vitamin Shoppe, a nutritional products retailer, as "an annual observance of the popular high-fat, low carb ketogenic (keto) diet that has been shown to offer a number of health benefits, including weight loss, blood sugar maintenance, and cognitive support." Additionally, it was established "to celebrate the ever-growing keto community and help demystify the diet for potential newbies." It takes place early in the year, at a time when people are looking for ways to achieve their health and wellness goals for the upcoming year.
The day is celebrated in Vitamin Shoppe stores and on social media. Followers of The Vitamin Shoppe's Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter pages receive tips, recipes, and nutritional information related to keto on the day. Participants in the day take photos of themselves with their favorite keto foods or supplements and post them to Instagram using the hashtag #NationalKetoDay. During the first year's celebration, in 2019, The Vitamin Shoppe donated $5 for every post made with the hashtag, to Blessings in a Backpack, an organization that provides food to hungry elementary school children on the weekends. They set the limit at $25,000, and they met their goal.
SU News
All-American Bowl Defensive End Francois Nolton Sets Syracuse Official Visit (SI; McAllister)
Syracuse football will host one of the best pass rushers in the 2022 class for an official visit the weekend of January 14th. Miami (FL) Edison defensive end Francois Nolton tells AllSyracuse.com says he take the trip to get a closer look at the Orange.
Nolton is participating in All-American Bowl practice this week, with the game set to air at noon on Saturday, January 8th on NBC. Nolton is a former Florida Gators commit who reopened his recruitment when Dan Mullen and staff were let go. He also holds offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Miami, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Pittsburgh, South Carolina, TCU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, USC and others.
During his senior season at Edison, Francois accumulated 80 tackles, 28 tackles for loss and 25 sacks. His primary recruiter at Syracuse is Nick Monroe.
"Coach Monroe, our relationship is great," Nolton said.
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ESPN Syracuse: 30 Minutes In Orange Nation 1-4 on Apple Podcasts (apple.com; podcast; Steve & Paulie)
Steve and Paulie liken SU's QB situation to that of one hosts' favorite NFL team. Then, AllSyracuse.com's Mike McAllister joins the show to share his thoughts on a comment Dino Babers made yesterday and much more.
Watch: Breaking down FSU QB AJ Duffy, new transfer portal commits (tomahawknation.com; Little, AB & Rowland)
The end of the early signing period used to mean that coaching staffs could step back, take a sigh of relief, and have a minute with their families before spring rolled back around. However, in the days of the transfer portal, that no longer remains a possibility.
The Florida State coaching staff is no exception. They have been hot on the trail overhauling this roster one transfer at a time. In the past couple of weeks, three transfers have inked a spot on FSU’s 2022 roster. Two of those signees have been receivers adding the smooth striding Deuce Spann and the massive hybrid tight end Johnny Wilson. They also signed floor-raising defensive back right from under the nose of their ACC Atlantic foe Louisville.
In other FSU newcomer news, four-star quarterback commit AJ Duffy outshined some major competition this past week in the Under Armour All-American game. He was lauded for his accuracy and decision making which he showed off on a national stage this past Sunday.
With these major events in FSU football news, it means there's new football to be watched and when there's FSU football to be watched there is no one better to do it with than the guys at the Triple Option.
Kelly Gramlich and Eric Mac Lain talk ACC football - Gramlich and Mac Lain (captivate.fm; podcast; Mac & Kelly)
Mac & Kelly recap all 6 ACC bowl games & talk with the Executive Director of Bowl Season, Nick Carparelli, on the future of college football and bowl games.
Head coach Mike Elko's coaching staff looks to have its offensive coordinator go along with the other previously announced coaches.Photo by Marianna Barrett | The Chronicle
Report: Duke football to hire Kevin Johns as offensive coordinator (dukechronicle.com; Piazza)
Head coach Mike Elko is close to officially adding a new member to his coaching staff.
Kevin Johns will be hired as Duke's offensive coordinator, The News & Observer's Steve Wiseman reports. Johns has been the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Memphis for the past three seasons where he led the team to a No. 22 national ranking in total offense in 2020 and a No. 38 ranking this season.
During his Memphis tenure, Johns mentored quarterback Brady White, who threw for over 4,000 yards during Johns' first season as coordinator of the Tigers in 2019. Johns has spent time as the offensive coordinator at Texas Tech, Western Michigan and Indiana as well, and has been on a college coaching staff since 1999.
Elko has also brought on Robb Smith as defensive coordinator, Lyle Hemphill as the safeties coach and Harland Bower as the defensive ends coach.
Florida State football: Alex Atkins discusses promotion to offensive coordinator (tomahawknation.com; Nevitt)
Florida State football had a couple coaching changes in December which shook up the look of the offensive staff. Offensive line coach Alex Atkins was promoted to offensive coordinator after the departure of Kenny Dillingham to Oregon. Today, Atkins spoke to the media for the first time to discuss his new role. Here’s some of what he had to say:
On new position: “I am fired up for the new position. Appreciative of Mike Norvell and ready to get this thing started.”
On dynamic of play-calling: “As O-line coach, I was already pretty involved in the offensive game-plan. Now, I’ll be involved in all aspects of it.”
“I’ll still be on the field, coach will still be on the field, so the dynamic won’t change much. We’ll have eyes and ears in the box as well.”
On offensive line improvement: “The improvement is coming because we’re building continuity... it has to be a process of learning. We’re finally at a point where we have guys returning and also a good young group coming in.”
On Tony Tokarz: “He’s been with coach Norvell for a long time. Everything, that was just a home run for us, especially for me with the relationship I have with Tony.”
On AJ Duffy: “It felt like he was here when he wasn’t here just because he was so active in recruiting, game-planning, after games asking questions. He’s a ball guy.”
On Mike Norvell: “Every coach feels like they have a voice. Everyone will be listened to. He wants to hear more football things and ways he can help us improve. It’s a personnel driven offense.”
On Jordan Travis: “What I love about Jordan is that those players love watching Jordan. He inspires them to overachieve. He has developed. He still has years of eligibility remaining and he’s gotten better with every year he’s been here.”
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ACC football power rankings: Pittsburgh ends 2021 season on top (247sports.com; Howe)
The ACC was one of the weaker conferences this season, with Clemson missing the CFB Playoff for the first time since 2015. Only five out of 14 ACC teams finished with an above .500 record, bowl games included. 10 out of 14 teams reached bowl eligibility but four teams had bowl games canceled due to COVID-19 protocols.
Seven teams in the conference finished with a losing record and two finished with a .500 record. The ACC finished with a 2-4 record in bowl games.
Using the most up-to-date edition of CBS Sports' College Football Rankings, check out the final ACC power rankings below.
14. DUKE (3-9)
The Blue Devils finished the campaign 3-9, their third straight losing season. Quarterback Gunnar Holmberg completed 67% of his passes this year for 2,358 yards with seven touchdowns and eight interceptions. Mike Elko is the new head football coach at Duke for the 2022 season, marking the first time he has held a head coaching job in his career. Elko was hired away from Texas A&M, where he had spent four seasons under Jimbo Fisher as the Aggies' defensive coordinator.Elko will be tasked with replacing Cutcliffe, who spent 14 years as the head coach of the Blue Devils. In that time, Cutcliffe made it to six bowl games, posting a record of 3-3 in those games. That included his best season of 10-4 in 2013, when he took the Blue Devils to the Chick-fil-A Bowl. But as of late, things have not been good for Duke. He left with a 77-97 career record at Duke.
13. GEORGIA TECH (3-9)
The Yellow Jackets finished their season with a 3-9 record, marked by six straight losses to end the year. Their only wins came against Kennesaw State, Duke and North Carolina. Quarterback Jeff Sims was the team's top performer, completing 60.1% of his passes for 1,468 yards with 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Quarterback Jordan Yates also threw for 908 yards with six touchdowns and three interceptions.12. FLORIDA STATE (5-7)
The Seminoles turned in another disappointing 5-7 season but finished the year strong winning two of their last three and almost taking down Florida. Five-star cornerback recruit and No. 1 overall prospect in the 247Sports Composite Travis Hunter flipped his commitment last minute from Florida State to Jackson State. Hunter is the first composite five-star in modern recruiting rankings history to commit to an FCS program, joining a Jackson State team on the rise under coach Deion Sanders.“Florida State has always been a beacon for me,” Hunter wrote in an announcement. “I grew up down there, that’s where my roots are, and I never doubted that I would play for the Seminoles. It’s a dream that is hard to let go of, but sometimes we are called to step into a bigger future than the one we imagine for ourselves. For me, that future is at Jackson State University.”
11. SYRACUSE (5-7)
Syracuse finished the season with a 5-7 record and lost their final three games of the year with a chance to go to a bowl game on the line. Orange quarterback Garrett Shrader finished the season having completed 52.6% of his passes for 1,445 yards with nine touchdowns and four interceptions. He also rushed for 781 yards and 14 touchdowns. Syracuse's real star on offense was running back Sean Tucker, who carried the ball 246 times for 1,496 yards (6.1 yards per carry) and 12 touchdowns.10. BOSTON COLLEGE (6-6)
Boston College finished the season with a 6-6 record and clinched a bowl game appearance in the Military Bowl against East Carolina. Unfortunately for BC, the bowl was canceled due to COVID-19 protocols. The Eagles were led by a tandem of quarterbacks, with Dennis Grosel throwing for 1,216 yards with six touchdowns and seven interceptions and Phil Jurkovec throwing for 914 yards with seven touchdowns and four interceptions. Running back Pat Garwo led the team on the ground with 1,045 yards and seven touchdowns.9. VIRGINIA (6-6)
Virginia started the season 6-2 and lost their last four games of the season, ending with a 6-6 record. The Cavaliers were set to play in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl against SMU but the game was canceled due to COVID-19 protocols. Quarterback Brennan Armstrong turned in a monster season in 2021, completing 65.2% of his passes for 4,449 yards with 31 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also rushed for 251 yards and nine scores on the ground. Wideout Dontayvion Hicks led the team with 1,203 yards on just 57 catches while Keytaon Thompson had a team-high 78 receptions....
Pac-12 Commish Talks about ACC FB (RX; HM)
Pac-12 Commish Talks about ACC FB
In the article "George Kliavkoff Q&A: New Pac-12 commish ‘impatient’ with league’s football failures" posted by the LA Times, the Pac-12 commissioner mentioned the ACC twice (note: I added some bold and italics highlights).
1. In answer to this question:
COMMENTS: I'm glad to hear that the Pac-12 is ready to rejoin the rest of the P5 in playing 8 conference games and 2 P5 non-conference. It will make it easier for the ACC to stay on that schedule as well.
2. Next, he was asked:
COMMENTS: I don't remember hearing this of the ACC before; I can only assume it's based on the fact that the conference is so bad at football right now?
The Playoff 21 (RX; HM)
The Playoff 21
Four years ago I poste an article listing the 19 teams which played in every BCS or CFP playoff game since 1998. This year they finally added, not one, but twonew teams!| Team | Conf. |
| Clemson | ACC |
| Florida State | ACC |
| Miami | ACC |
| Virginia Tech | ACC |
| Michigan State | Big Ten |
| Nebraska | Big Ten |
| Ohio State | Big Ten |
| Michigan | Big Ten |
| Notre Dame | Ind/ACC |
| Cincinnati | American |
| Oregon | Pac-12 |
| Southern California | Pac-12 |
| Washington | Pac-12 |
| Alabama | SEC |
| Auburn | SEC |
| Florida | SEC |
| Georgia | SEC |
| LSU | SEC |
| Tennessee | SEC |
| Oklahoma | Big XII |
| Texas | Big XII |
It's still a pretty exclusive club, but it's nice to have two more schools join in (and the fact that they weren't from the SEC is an added bonus!)
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Other
Hidden Gems of CNY: Some of Syracuse’s best Chinese food is found in the back of this Eastwood sports bar (PS; $; Miller)
Who says you must have chicken wings or a cheeseburger with your beer at a neighborhood sports bar? Why not a healthy order of Kung Pao chicken to go with your pint of Utica Club? Why not pair a plate of crab rangoon with a side of pork and shrimp shumai with your 16-ounce can of Pills Mafia?
Thanks to a few readers with high standards, we have found some of the best Chinese food in Syracuse. It’s hidden in the back of Chadwick’s Sports Bar & Grill on James Street. That’s right, in the back of Chadwick’s, a Pittsburgh Steelers bar that’s been quenching Eastwood’s thirst since Nov. 4, 1995.
We might still be in the Year of the Ox, according to the Chinese lunar calendar, but at Chadwick’s, this is the year of whatever the hell you want!
“You got that right,” said Steve DeStefano, an owner of Chadwick’s. “When they took over the kitchen, I said you can make whatever you want, but you have to have wings, burgers and cheesesteaks.”
They have that and then some. And Dim Sum.
Su Su and her husband, Henry Su, moved to America 20 years ago. They grew up in the Fujian Province across from Taiwan in the southern part of China. That’s where they learned to cook.
When they moved to Syracuse, they opened Lee’s Chinese restaurant on North Salina Street, next to Rocky’s News & Cigars. In July 2020, just before bars and restaurants reopened during the pandemic shutdown, Su and Henry answered a kitchen-for-lease ad Steve put in the newspaper. They signed a two-year lease that day and waited for restrictions to lift before opening.
Now that it’s pretty much business as usual, you can call ahead and take the food to go, or you can order at the window overlooking the kitchen and eat at the bar or one of the high-top tables.
Su and Henry call their cooking “Asian fusion,” but they keep the spirit of their home. It’s similar to the Americanized Chinese food you find at any takeout restaurant, but they say theirs is more authentic because they create the recipes without mimicking the standard menu.
“Some of these dishes you can find at Chinese restaurants all over, but we make everything from scratch,” Su Su said through Chris Wang, a journalism student from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School. He was serving as my interpreter and my dining companion during my second trip to Chadwick’s.
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