sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to Patriots' Day!
Patriots' Day is a holiday commemorating the battles of Lexington and Concord, which took place on April 19, 1775. The shots fired at these two cities on the outskirts of Boston were the first shots of the American Revolution. Following the war, Lexington Day and Concord Day began being celebrated in their respective cities. The cities later petitioned Massachusetts Governor Frederic Greenhalge to create a state commemoration. He created Patriots' Day, which replaced Fast Day. It was first celebrated on April 19, 1894. The new holiday also originally commemorated the anniversary of the Baltimore riot of 1861, where some of the first bloodshed of the Civil War took place, and four members of the Massachusetts militia died. In 1938, the Massachusetts legislature passed a bill making the battles of Lexington and Concord the sole focus of the day.
Until 1969, the holiday was celebrated on the actual anniversary of the battles, but it since has been observed on the third Monday of April in most states that officially commemorate it. As of 2018, it is a state holiday in Maine and Massachusetts. Schools in Wisconsin observe it on April 19 (if it's a weekday) by having students learn about the battles and their importance to American history. Those in Florida are encouraged to celebrate the day, although it isn't an official holiday there. Connecticut began officially observing the day in 2018.
SU News
Syracuse great Donovan McNabb on the Fran Brown era: ‘I love what I’m seeing from the very beginning’ (PS; $; Carlson)
Syracuse football great Donovan McNabb connected with Fran Brown for the first time shortly after he was hired to lead the SU program. They have communicated monthly ever since.
McNabb, in town this weekend because he is one of three honorees receiving the school’s highest alumni honor (George Arents Award), spoke to the football team on Friday morning. He will attend the team’s spring game next week.
More importantly, McNabb said, he won’t be the only one.
One of the biggest reasons McNabb is optimistic about the program’s future under Brown is his willingness to rebuild burned bridges with a past generation of Syracuse football players.
Those connections, McNabb believes, are key to ensuring the program has appropriate financial support and that young players understand they are playing for something larger than themselves.
“He wants us to be involved,” McNabb said. “I think that’s something we’ve been looking for as alums. We want to be able to come back to our school and know that we had a hand in it.”
McNabb said the school’s relationship with former players suffered -- he used the word died -- under the four coaches that followed former head coach Paul Pasqualoni. He said former players felt they weren’t welcome and were frustrated by slights like being unable to get tickets.
McNabb, who noted he was on the school’s Board of Trustees when Pasqualoni was fired in 2004, said he doesn’t believe it was the decision to move on from the long-time coach that alienated former players.
Most, he believes, knew the Pasqualoni era was reaching the natural end of its shelf life.
McNabb said he believes the coach who replaced Pasqualoni, Greg Robinson, was so intent on changing the Syracuse football culture that he closed the program off. And the poor results that followed meant the doors stayed shut.
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Three-star defensive-lineman transfer Isaiah Raikes, a New Jersey native, is one to watch for Syracuse football fans. / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Syracuse Football: DL transfer Isaiah Raikes, former 4-star prospect, one to watch (itlh; Adler)
Talented defensive lineman Isaiah Raikes is in the transfer portal again, and it wouldn't surprise me if Syracuse football coaches get involved with the 6-foot-2, 320-pound native of Woodbury, N.J.
Raikes, a former four-star prospect in high school who is rated as a three-star transfer, had been playing at Southeastern Conference member Texas A&M. Per 247Sports, the junior entered the portal on December 21 of last year.
On January 9 of this year, he committed to Southern California, a Pac-12 Conference school that is moving on to the Big Ten Conference. However, on Friday evening, 247Sports national reporters Matt Zenitz and Chris Hummer said via X that Raikes had entered the portal again.
Once that news hit, I saw a lot of comments from my fellow Orange fans on social media and in chat rooms that they think the 'Cuse coaching staff will pursue Raikes. Stay tuned.
Several Syracuse football coaches, like transfer Isaiah Raikes, hail from New Jersey.
A couple of notes for context here. Multiple Orange coaches, including head coach Fran Brown and assistant head coach/defensive coordinator Elijah Robinson, come from the Garden State.
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Syracuse Football: Top-50 WR to officially visit in June along with 4-star recruits (itlh; Adler)
The month of June will prove a busy one for Syracuse football coaches as it pertains to top recruiting targets taking official visits to the Hill.
One of the latest developments surrounding this theme centers on 2025 three-star athlete/wide receiver Tyler Williams from Florida, who is ranked in the top 400 nationally in his class by the industry-generated On3 Industry Ranking.
Recently, the 6-foot-2,190-pound Williams said via his X page that he plans to take an official visit to the Orange during the weekend of June 14 to June 16. He is one of numerous highly rated 'Cuse targets who will officially visit the program throughout the month of June.
Williams, a standout at Sumner High School in Riverview, Fla., received a scholarship offer from the new Syracuse football staff on January 20, 2024. Not too long ago, he disclosed on his X page a top 13 that consists of the 'Cuse, Miami, Alabama, Georgia, UCF, Missouri, Auburn, Ole Miss, Florida, West Virginia, Georgia Tech, Louisville and Texas A&M.
Syracuse football has scored an official visit from 2025 three-star athlete/wide receiver Tyler Williams.
While Williams holds more than 30 scholarship offers from a wide range of high-major programs, per 247Sports, he does appear to be high on the 'Cuse. Last month, he took an unofficial visit to Syracuse football, then told 247Sports' Mike McAllister that the Orange is "up there" in his recruiting process....
AmeriCU Spring Game 2024 | IT'S GAME WEEK! Get your first look at Fran Brown's new-look Syracuse Football team at the AmeriCU Spring Game on Saturday, April 20 at 7 PM! Claim... | By Syracuse OrangeFacebook
ACC News
National Analyst: ACC ‘One of the More Intriguing Leagues’ in 2024 (theclemsoninsider.com; Oliver)
This national college football analyst sees the Atlantic Coast Conference as “one of the more intriguing leagues” in 2024.
CBS Sports analyst Danny Kanell appeared on ACC Network’s ACC PM show recently and gave his big-picture take on the ACC, as things stand right now in the spring.
Kanell, the former Florida State and NFL quarterback, feels the conference is “probably more wide open than it’s been in recent memory” because of the amount of talent FSU lost from last year’s ACC Championship team.
Chief among the departed Seminole stars is Jordan Travis, the longtime starting signal-caller in Tallahassee who is, of course, being replaced by former Clemson quarterback and Oregon State transfer DJ Uiagalelei.
“Unfortunately we saw how bad it looked (in the 63-3 Orange Bowl loss to Georgia) without all those players that were getting opportunity that are going to be playing in the NFL next year, without Jordan Travis, who was lost to injury,” Kanell said.
“So, there’s a lot of question marks, and of course, DJ Uiagalelei coming back to the conference is a very interesting storyline and one to keep an eye out on. So, I’m really kind of curious to see what Florida State looks like. But there is a trust level in Mike Norvell and the program that he’s built up. Once again, they have a really strong class in the portal led by DJU, led from a bunch of Alabama transfers that are coming in.”
Kanell added “there’s a bunch of different storylines” he can’t wait to see unfold for the ACC in 2024, including Miami with Washington State transfer Cam Ward at quarterback, and Clemson with quarterback Cade Klubnik in his third year in the program.
Heading into the 2023 season, the Tigers had won seven conference titles in eight years dating to 2015, before FSU ultimately claimed the conference crown for the first time since 2014.
“I think it’s a really intriguing year for Florida State, and the ACC specifically,” Kanell said. “Clemson’s not gonna sit back and just be OK with Florida State having taken that mantle, and they’re expecting big things out of another year from their young starter, and Dabo Swinney, another winning culture.
“Miami Hurricanes, getting Cam Ward, who I thought was the best quarterback available this past portal season. To win that battle – because he was sought-after by Florida State, by Ohio State, by every school out there that needed a quarterback – Cam Ward was kind of the prize of the class and Miami landed him.”
FSU was left out of the four-team College Football Playoff field last season despite going undefeated during the regular season and then beating Louisville in the ACC title game.
The good news, Kanell noted, is the ACC won’t have to fret about missing the playoff under the 12-team format beginning this fall that will include the five highest-ranked conference champions, plus the next seven highest-ranked teams as determined by the CFP Selection Committee.
Rather, Kanell says the discussion will be centered around whether multiple ACC teams should make the expanded playoff.
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Will Cam Ward Elevate Miami In 2024? ACC Football Coaches Ranked, FSU & Clemson ACC Settlement? (kagstv.com; podcast)
Will Cam Ward Elevate Miami In 2024? ACC Football Coaches Ranked, FSU & Clemson ACC Settlement?
Rx: How to Settle with FSU+Clemson (RX; HM)
Rx: How to Settle with FSU+Clemson
Let's say everyone agrees that it's no longer feasible for Clemson and Florida State to remain in the ACC. "Too much water has gone under the bridge", so to speak. The relationship has become too toxic. Still, there is the matter of settlement. Here's how I suggest it could/should go.
1. Exit fees
This is what the ACC gets to keep, and it's about $130 million per school. FSU in particular will argue that's too much money, but they agreed to the formula and, to be honest, the damage done by their exit is probably far greater than $130M, so I doubt any judge outside of Florida will have any issue with it.If you take the exit fees from the two departing schools and divide it equally among the 12 remaining schools, you get approximately $20 million each (probably less after legal fees, etc.)
2. Grant of Rights
This is grossly misunderstood by most fans, and I think it stems from misinformation from the early days of the Big XII GoR. What this contract ultimately does is grants the media rights of home games to the conference in exchange for a grouped contract. It isn't a damage in the same way as the exit fee, it's just a matter of who controls the media rights. Florida State is Beyonce' and the rest of the ACC is Destiny's Child (I guess that makes Clemson Kelly Rowland and the ACC itself is the manager?). No one's saying you can't leave the band - but if you don't finish the tour, you'll be on the hook for a bunch of tickets!Here's the problem: FSU wants to go solo, but they can't afford to cover all those tickets that have already been sold (they aren't quite as rich as Beyonce'). Yet the other girls in the band don't trust them any more. What to do? You need a settlement! After going over lots of ideas (and even posting one that got a lot of attention), here are my thoughts...
a) Any settlement must involve the folks who rented the concert halls and sold the tickets - in this case, that's ESPN. If FSU and Clemson want to get completely out of their GoR, they'd need to buy back all those tickets (er, television rights), which as we know by now would cost hundreds of millions of dollars. This is the real cost of moving to the Big Ten, and it ain't cheap, folks!
However, if FSU and Clemson still agree to perform in those same venues - only with a different band (say, the SEC) - and if we further assume that the ACC still gets paid the same as they agreed to before, it's possible to move them without causing too much damage. The ACC doesn't get the big GoR payment in this case, but they could claim a portion of the increased revenue from the new band. The idea tossed out by Chris Lambert was to send 50% of the SEC payout back to the SEC in 2025, decreasing to 0% in 2036.
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Top 101 CFB TV Games of 2023-24 (RX; HM)
Top 101 CFB TV Games of 2023-24
Right after the season ended in January, the website FootballScoop published a list of the Top 100 most-watched college football games of 2023-24. Now that basketball season is over, I have some time to actually analyze the data...
| Viewers (Network) | Visitor | Home | Comment |
| 27.76 million (ESPN) | Michigan | Alabama | Rose Bowl |
| 25.05 million (ESPN) | Michigan | Washington | CFP Final |
| 19.07 million (Fox) | Ohio State | Michigan | |
| 18.77 million (ESPN) | Washington | Texas | Sugar Bowl |
| 17.52 million (CBS) | Georgia | Alabama | SEC CG |
| 10.39 million (ESPN) | Florida State | Georgia | Orange Bowl |
| 10.03 million (ABC) | Colorado | Oregon | |
| 10.02 million (Fox) | Michigan | Iowa | Big Ten CG |
| 9.98 million (NBC) | Ohio State | Notre Dame | |
| 9.96 million (Fox) | Penn State | Ohio State | |
| 9.72 million (ESPN) | Ohio State | Missouri | Cotton Bowl |
| 9.3 million (ESPN) | Colorado State | Colorado | |
| 9.25 million (ABC) | Oregon | Washington | Pac12 CG |
| 9.17 million (ABC) | LSU | Florida State | |
| 9.16 million (Fox) | Michigan | Penn State | |
| 9.09 million (CBS) | Alabama | Auburn | |
| Viewers (Netwk) | Visitor | Home | Comment |
| 8.82 million (CBS) | LSU | Alabama | |
| 8.76 million (ESPN) | Texas | Alabama | |
| 8.73 million (Fox) | Nebraska | Colorado | |
| 8.01 million (CBS) | Tennessee | Alabama | |
| 7.89 million (ABC) | Oklahoma St | Texas | Big 12 CG |
| 7.87 million (ABC) | Oklahoma | Texas |
Sporting News’ Ranking of ACC Quarterbacks Is Not Kind to Cal (SI; Curtis)
The Sporting News recently posted a ranking of Atlantic Coast Conference quarterbacks for the 2024 season, and Cal’s signal-callers got no respect.
The Golden Bears’ quarterback is ranked 18th in a conference that will have 17 football schools in 2024. The Sporting News included Notre Dame in its ACC QB rankings, even though the Irish are not ACC members in football. However, Notre Dame is an ACC member in virtually every other sport and will play five ACC teams in football in 2024.
In any case, Cal’s quarterback situation is ranked last in the ACC.
The Sporting News puts Fernando Mendoza as Cal’s starting quarterback with North Texas transfer Chandler Rogers as his backup. Mendoza is considered the Bears’ No. 1 quarterback this spring, although Rogers is competing for the starting job.
Here is what The Sporting News said about Cal’s quarterback:
18. California
Starter: Sophomore Fernando Mendoza (8 career starts at Cal)Backup: Junior Chandler Rogers
Situation heading into the fall: Mendoza started off 2023 as the third-string quarterback, but became a starter in Week 6 and never relinquished the job. The offense scored 40 points in three of his eight games and he finished the season with 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Chandler Rogers transferred in after starting at North Texas, but he will need to unseat Mendoza to become QB1.
Interestingly, two quarterbacks Cal faced last season in the Pac-12 are ranked first and fourth in The Sporting News rankings.
Ranked No. 1 is Cameron Ward, who is now with Miami-Fla. When Ward was Washington State’s quarterback last fall, Cal beat the Cougars 42-39. Ward went 34-for-59 for 354 yards, three touchdowns and one interception (on a Hail Mary pass), but he was sacked six times. Mendoza was 14-for-21 for 150 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
The Sporting News’ No. 4 ACC quarterback ranking went to D.J. Uiagalelei, who is now at Florida State after leading Oregon State to an 8-4 regular-season record that included a 52-40 victory over Cal in Mendoza’s first collegiate start. Uiagalelei had a big game, going 19-for-25 for 275 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions, while Mendoza went 21-for-32 for 207 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
Cal will face Uiagaleile and Florida State in the Golden Bears’ very first ACC game, on November 21, and Cal’s second ACC game will be against Ward and Miami on October 5, which will be Cal’s first home ACC game.
Nine of the 18 projected starting quarterbacks in The Sporting News’ ACC rankings are transfers who played at other schools a year ago. That does not include Cal, which could have a transfer as its starting quarterback if Rogers beats out Mendoza by the time it faces Florida State in its fourth game of the 2024 season.
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Virginia Tech Football Spring Game Recap | ACC DARK HORSE? (youtube; podcast; ROC Boys)
Brent Pry and the Virginia Tech Hokies Football Program wrapped up their spring game this Saturday Afternoon. Taking a look at some of the biggest takeaways.
More ACC-ESPN Documents Become Public Tomorrow! Portal Mania In 48 Hours! Leon County #2 in 8 days! (youtube; podcast; Flugaur)
More ACC-ESPN Documents Become Public Tomorrow! Portal Mania In 48 Hours! Leon County #2 in 8 days!
Other
Syracuse police officer and a deputy killed in shooting in Salina (PS; Moss, Kirk, Eisenstadt, Knauss, Stevenson)
Two police officers were killed Sunday night in a shootout on a suburban street in Salina.
A Syracuse police officer and an Onondaga County sheriff’s deputy were both killed when they went to follow up on a traffic stop where the driver sped away, said Syracuse Police Chief Joe Cecile.
The officers were not identified.
The trouble started with a traffic stop at 7 p.m. in the city’s Tipp Hill neighborhood, Cecile said. That’s when Syracuse police tried to pull over a car, but the driver refused and sped off. Police took the plate number, which led them to a home on Darien Drive, a short street with tidy lawns and basketball hoops in the driveways.
There, police saw guns in the back of the car, Cecile said. And then, from inside the home, they heard the sound of a gun being readied to fire, he said.
Gunfire filled the little neighborhood as the officers and the suspect exchanged shots. The two officers and the suspect were all hit. The suspect also was killed, Cecile said. He did not identify the man.
“This is our worst nightmare come true,” said Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh. “Our thoughts right now are with the families of those two officers, those heroes.”
Police gave some details about the two officers who were killed. The Syracuse officer had three years on the force. He was ambitious and hard-working, Cecile said.
The deputy had been with the department for a considerable time. “He was just a great guy,” Shelley said.
Shelley said the house, at 4945 Darien Dr., had been secured and there was no threat to the neighborhood, but that police were still going through the scene just after midnight.
“It’s just a very sad day for law enforcement,” Shelley said.
He and the others spoke at midnight down the hill from the emergency room in front of the Wallie Howard Forensic Center. That’s where the officers’ bodies had been brought for autopsies.
Howard, the officer for whom the center is named, was the last officer shot and killed in the line of duty in Onondaga County. That was more than 30 years ago.
That streak was broken with what seemed to be such a routine call:
“We’re chasing cars every day,” Shelley said. “Every day ...”
One of the officers who responded to the scene reported seeing AR-style magazines in the back of a car, and sounds of “racking” coming from a house, according to 911 center dispatches.
After the shootings, police from multiple agencies swarmed the area on Darien Drive.
Shortly after 9 p.m. a vehicle was rushing a person to Upstate University Hospital, according to 911 center dispatches. Police were rushing to shut down an Interstate 81 ramp to clear the way for the vehicle.
One dispatch from the 911 center described the call as a mass casualty incident. That would indicate three or more victims. Multiple ambulances were dispatched to the area.
A sheriff’s deputy responded to a home at 4945 Darien Drive around 8:20 p.m. to assist Syracuse police, according to 911 center dispatches.
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Samsung wins $6.4 billion CHIPS grant for Texas project. Is Micron next? (PS; $; Weiner)
The federal government has agreed to provide Samsung Electronics up to $6.4 billion in grants to help build a cluster of computer chip plants and research facilities in Texas, President Joe Biden’s administration plans to announce today.
Samsung, one of the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturers, becomes the sixth company to reach a preliminary agreement with the U.S. Commerce Department for funding under the federal CHIPS and Science Act.
Under the deal, Samsung agreed to invest almost $45 billion to build four new plants in Taylor, Texas, and expand an existing manufacturing plant in nearby Austin, according to U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
The non-binding agreement with Samsung is a key milestone for the federal program, clearing the way for officials to focus on reaching deals with Micron Technology and Texas Instruments in the coming weeks.
The companies are the two largest remaining applicants seeking CHIPS Act funding for leading-edge chip projects who have not yet announced a deal for federal subsidies.
Micron has announced plans to invest up to $100 billion to build a complex of four computer chip plants in Syracuse’s northern suburbs.
When fully built, the mega-complex in the town of Clay would directly employ up to 9,000 people and create up to 40,000 spinoff jobs in other industries, according to Micron.
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