sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to Bitcoin Pizza Day!
Bitcoin Pizza Day, celebrated mainly by the cryptocurrency community, takes place on the anniversary of the date that cryptocurrency was used to pay for goods for the first time. On May 18, 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz of Florida posted in the bitcointalk.org forum, offering 10,000 bitcoins in exchange for some pizza, saying in part, "I'll pay 10,000 bitcoins for a couple of pizzas.. like maybe 2 large ones so I have some left over for the next day." His call was answered, and on May 22, 2010, he posted, "I just want to report that I successfully traded 10,000 bitcoins for pizza." A teenager named Jeremy Sturdivant, who went by "jercos" on the forum, sent Hanyecz two Papa John's pizzas, and received 10,000 bitcoins in return. Sturdivant paid about $25 for the pizza, and the 10,000 bitcoins he received became valued at $41.
SU News
SU hires former AD, who’s crossed paths with Brown, to head up football ops (PS; $; Leiker)
Syracuse football has hired Ryan Kelly as its new senior associate athletic director for football operations, a team spokesman told syracuse.com.
An Albany native, Kelly spent the majority of the past academic year serving as Long Island University’s athletic director. He’s been working with SU since before the spring game, the spokesman said.
Kelly crossed paths with Orange head coach Fran Brown at Temple (2015-16) and Baylor (2016-18) where he held football operations roles.
He started his career at Coastal Carolina (2014-15) as a recruiting assistant and later spent four years (2018-21) as the American Athletic Conference’s director of football operations.
In 2021, Kelly joined LIU as assistant AD for sport administration. He was promoted to deputy athletic director and then to AD.
Kelly replaces Brad Wittke, who left in March to become Cincinnati’s chief of staff. Wittke worked at Syracuse for just over eight years having joined the program at the same time as ex-head coach Dino Babers.
Kelly is a graduate of Norwich University, where he played both football and baseball for four years.
SU Football Hires Former LIU AD; Excitement Grows (orangefizz.net; Horning)
Fran Brown’s connections continue to benefit Syracuse. The first-year SU football head coach will reunite with former Long Island University athletic director Ryan Kelly, whom Syracuse has hired to be its new senior associate athletic director for football operations, per syracuse.com.
The Albany native joined the LIU program in 2021 and served as the athletic director over the past year.
Kelly worked with Brown at Temple from 2015-16 and then at Baylor from 2016-18.
He replaces Brad Wittke, who worked with SU football under former head coach Dino Babers. Wittke left in March to join Cincinnati.
This hiring is another instance of Coach Brown’s connections, whether he directly brought Kelly in or not, that has endured a spot on Syracuse’s staff or athletic department. Brown also brought in Jeff Nixon as SU’s offensive coordinator, who was previously the New York Giants running backs coach.
In addition to the new staff hires, there’s a lot for SU football fans to be excited about as the summer starts.
New blue seats are replacing the old benches throughout the Dome, enhancing a new-look gameday experience. Fans also get to watch new and highly-recruited players, including former Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord, on a weekly basis. Plus, a new head coach has emerged as an active community member and the number one recruiter in the country.
For the younger fans, how about the recently released trailer video for EA Sports College Football 25? Syracuse was featured in the middle stretch of that piece where Kyle McCord handed off the football inside a packed JMA Wireless Dome. More than 10 years have passed since the last edition of the popular video game.
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Former Syracuse football recruiting lead to serve as UTEP’s Director of Player Personnel (report) (PS; $; Leiker)
Former Syracuse football recruiting lead Gino Gigliotti is set to become director of player personnel at University of Texas-El Paso (UTEP), according to a report by ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Thamel cited anonymous sources in his report. UTEP has not announced the hiring, but Gigliotti reposted Thamel’s report on X, formerly known as Twitter, where he also changed his profile to reflect his new job.
Gigliotti joined the Orange recruiting staff in 2019. He was promoted to be the recruiting quality control assistant in 2020, and then promoted again in 2022 to director of recruiting.
Gigliotti stayed on Fran Brown’s staff assisting with recruiting efforts through the early signing window in mid-December.
Prior to Syracuse, Gigliotti worked as a recruiting and video technology intern and then analyst at Coastal Carolina from 2017-18. He was a manager and defensive quality control coach at his alma mater, SUNY Cortland, in 2016.
Campus Tour | iSchool, Tennity Ice Rink, Ernie Davis Hall | Syracuse University (youtube; video; Syracuse University)
Alexandra Miller-Thomas '26 takes you on a student tour of her favorite spots on the Syracuse University campus as an applied data analytics major in the School of Information Studies (iSchool). Stops include Ernie Davis Hall, the iSchool, Tennity Ice Rink and more!
ACC News
Sources: ACC joins Big 12, to settle House v. NCAA (ESPN; Thamel)
The ACC has joined the Big 12 conference as the second named party in House v. NCAA to vote to settle that case and related antitrust cases, sources told ESPN on Tuesday.
With those votes formalized, a path is underway to forge a new era in college sports. There will be four more votes this week -- three more from the Power 5 leagues and one from the NCAA board of governors.
The ACC presidents voted in person in Charlotte at their meetings Tuesday evening.
Big 12 presidents and chancellors voted virtually Tuesday afternoon to unanimously approve, with departing members Texas and Oklahoma abstaining. The 12 continuing members from this year's conference all voted to pass.
The settlement is widely expected to pass, which will chart a new course for college sports in establishing a framework for schools to share millions of dollars with their athletes in the future and create a fund of more than $2.7 billion to pay former athletes who were not allowed to sign name, image and likeness (NIL) deals.
Sources have consistently indicated to ESPN that there's little resistance on the conference level, and the NCAA is also expected to pass the settlement measure. (The Pac-12 will vote as a full 12-team league, as currently constructed, as it was when the House v. NCAA case was filed.)
Sources told ESPN that Big 12 presidents and chancellors were briefed in recent days on a 13-page term sheet that contains the settlement language.
The key parts of the settlement include the NCAA paying for more than $2.7 billion in back damages over a decade, about $1.6 billion of which will be withheld from schools.
There's also roughly $20 million in permissive revenue sharing that's expected to begin in fall 2025. This revenue sharing will give athletic departments the direct ability to pay the players, a massive paradigm shift for college athletics.
The point of the schools settling is to avoid even bigger damages down the road, which legal experts considered a likelihood considering the NCAA's poor record in court cases.
Leagues need only majority votes to approve the settlement, and the detractors in conferences aren't believed to have enough momentum to sway to a no vote, per ESPN sources.
But there's still an aura of uncertainty hanging over the landscape, as school presidents are meeting both virtually and in-person this week.
On campuses, school officials are meeting and scrambling to figure out how to adjust to the new paradigms. Schools in bigger leagues need to find nearly $20 million to budget for athletes and figure out how to divide it. Smaller leagues are adjusting on how to cover costs, as the NCAA is withholding varying money from schools in all levels of Division I to cover the costs.
There's no clarity on Title IX's role in revenue sharing, how roster caps will work and what enforcement of NIL will look like. (NIL is expected to continue to exist in addition to the revenue sharing.)
Sources have indicated it will be at least six months until these details are worked out, likely longer. There also are expected to be several other steps before Senior District Judge Claudia Wilken can approve the settlement. All Division I athletes have the opportunity to object to the terms or opt out of the class.
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FSU Amends Second Complaint In ACC Lawsuit, Ridicules Conference Management (si; Bakich)
Florida State University has amended a second complaint in its lawsuit against the Atlantic Coast Conference. This move comes after Leon County Judge John C. Cooper dismissed FSU’s case against the ACC without prejudice, allowing the public institution to refile with clearer language and a stronger argument as to why this case should be held in Leon County as the ACC is headquartered in Mecklenburg, North Carolina (Charlotte area).
The school wrote in its second amended complaint:
“FSU and the ACC argue this dispute is now very simple. The Court need only construe two contract provisions from two separate contracts to resolve it. First, under the Grant of Rights, whether the media rights to FSU’s home games after it leaves the ACC are ‘necessary’ for the ACC ‘to perform’ its ‘contractual obligations’ under the ESPN Agreement. Second, under Article 1.4.5 of the ACC Constitution, whether the self-described ‘liquidated damages’ ‘withdrawal payment’ ($140 million) is a penalty. Fortunately, the ACC concedes both,” the amendment begins.
It would go on to mention the ACC stated on April 9 that “ESPN doesn’t have the right to broadcast anything” once FSU leaves the conference. Therefore, Florida State argues, “Because ESPN has ‘no right’ to FSU’s home games after FSU leaves the ACC, those media rights are not ‘necessary’ for the ACC to perform the ESPN Agreements. Hence, the media rights to FSU’s home games after it leaves the ACC never transferred to the ACC in the first place.”
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3 ACC football teams that will disappoint in 2024 (saturdayblitz.com; Muldowney)
Spring ball is officially in the books and official visit season is about to fire up which means now is the perfect time to talk about some ACC football teams that are sure to disappoint this upcoming season.
All jokes aside, the ACC has some legit contenders heading into the 2024 season but the league feels more top-heavy than it's been in a while. There are the usual suspects (Clemson and Florida State) tabbed as early contenders for the conference title and then there are some up-and-comers (Louisville and NC State) who people have been raving about.
Today, I'm going to take a look at some contenders who I think are going to fall short of expectations in 2024 and be labeled as "disappointments" when it's all said and done.
3. Louisville Cardinals
Let me preface this by saying that I truly believe Jeff Brohm is the right coach for this job and he's going to lead the Cardinals back to relevance on a consistent basis.We saw that in 2023 when he led Louisville to the ACC title game and 10-plus wins. He's a great coach and worked wonders in his first year with the Cardinals, but I think that was a mirage because the roster out-performed expectations by leaps and bounds. I think we'll see Louisville take a step or two back this season.
Tyler Shough will be leading the offense at quarterback but I just think this team out-performed its 2023 expectations by so much that there's nowhere to go but backward in year two.
Louisville will play Notre Dame, Miami, Clemson, and Kentucky on top of some tough road games that could be traps like Virginia, Boston College, and Stanford. This schedule is setting up to see at least four losses, in my opinion, if not more.
We may see a slight sophomore slump by Brohm with maybe an 8-4 or 7-5 campaign.
2. Clemson Tigers
Another offseason, another transfer-less recruiting class for Dabo Swinney and Clemson.If you haven't heard by now, Swinney told the media that he doesn't use the transfer portal because the guys in it aren't good enough to play for Clemson. Which is wild when you consider how good some transfers have been over the years like the past two Heisman Trophy winners and five of the last seven to win the coveted award. But hey, they're just not good enough for Clemson.
That mindset, in my opinion, is going to hold Clemson back for yet another season and the Tigers are going to rely way too much on the current roster which was given no upgrades outside of the 2024 recruiting class and most of those guys won't play right away as it is.
Clemson is expected to be a top 10-15 team this season and push for the ACC title, but as long as Swinney is avoiding the portal, I think the Tigers will continue to disappoint. I mean, they already have since the 2020 season.
1. Miami Hurricanes
And here we are at my No. 1 team that will likely disappoint the most this season: Miami.The Hurricanes are coming off a 7-6 season with a loss to Rutgers in the Pinstripe Bowl. The Hurricanes were expected to contend for an ACC title last season under Mario Cristobal but finished ninth in the ACC standings which was just a horrible display of coaching and on-field production.
Cristobal's team added Cam Ward which will likely improve the offense tenfold but I just don't think he's going to be able to carry the Hurricanes by himself. He is going to need more help.
I'm having a hard time buying into Miami being the biggest threat to Florida State in the ACC this season but that's what some people are saying. Cristobal isn't just going to magically turn into one of the best coaches in the country overnight.
Miami is going to be overrated to start the year and unranked to end it.
If the ACC dissolves, one writer says Duke football should jump to the Big Ten (usatoday.com; Haley)
The future of ACC football seems a little unsteady right now after Florida State declared its intent to leave the conference, but could there really be college football without the conference in the near future?
Tar Heels Wire’s Zack Pearson went through each football team in the ACC on Monday and weighed in on whether they’d be a better fit for the SEC or the Big Ten.
According to Pearson, the Blue Devils would be the best fit in the Big Ten alongside bigger basketball programs like Purdue, Indiana, Iowa, and Michigan. Even though the article specifically related to football, the Tar Heels Wire writer included Duke’s status as a member of The Association of American Universities, something shared by nearly every member of the Big Ten, as a reason for the pairing.
“The issue for Duke is that it is not a big market in terms of viewership,” Pearson wrote. “If they get a chance to move to the Big Ten, it would be smart.”
Duke fans will need to keep an eye on the ACC’s developments to see if anything changes in Durham.
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Where things stand with NC State football entering summer ahead of 2024 season (fayobserver.com; Baxley)
N.C. State football is expected to enter the 2024 season among the top 25 teams in the nation, according to several post-spring rankings.
The Wolfpack, which has won at least eight games in four consecutive seasons for the first time in program history, returns several starters from a team that finished with a 9-4 record, including a 6-2 mark in the ACC.
N.C. State also added several highly-touted additions from the transfer portal ahead of its 12th season under head coach Dave Doeren, which begins Aug. 29 against Western Carolina at Carter-Finley Stadium.
Here are some post-spring observations about the Wolfpack before it heads to the ACC’s preseason football event in Charlotte on July 25.
Grayson McCall, Noah Rogers, Jordan Waters among Wolfpack’s 15 transfers
Of the Wolfpack’s 15 incoming transfers, quarterback Grayson McCall (Coastal Carolina), running back Jordan Waters (Duke) and wide receiver Noah Rogers (Ohio State) are expected to be among the team’s top contributors. In the spring game, McCall settled in by completing 16-of-20 passes for 205 yards and connected with UConn transfer Justin Joly for a touchdown. Rogers had seven catches for 133 yards and Waters finished with 69 yards and a touchdown. After an up-and-down year offensively in 2023, the Wolfpack should be better positioned to consistently score this season. N.C. State's transfer class is ranked seventh nationally, according to On3.com.
What about returners KC Concepcion, Davin Vann?
Along with its impressive haul via the transfer portal, N.C. State was able to keep two of its top returners from last season in wide receiver KC Concepcion and defensive lineman Davin Vann. Continuity is key for a program that has been able to consistently field a winner. Concepcion, the 2023 ACC Rookie of the Year, is expected to be one of the top playmakers in the nation. Vann could be even more important as he tries to help the Wolfpack navigate the loss of veteran linebacker Payton Wilson, an NFL Draft pick this spring. With Concepcion and Vann back, N.C. State has a pair of players on both sides of the ball capable of showing the new guys what it takes to succeed under Doeren.
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FSU vs ACC: BOTH Sides AGREE? (Legal EXPERT Updates) (youtube; podcast; Double Fries)
FSU filed their amended complaint against the ACC in Leon County. Doug Rohan of Rohan Law joins us with the very latest updates!
SOURCE: ACC Kicking Out Duke, Wake Forest, Syracuse to Retain Clemson, Florida State, ESPN Possible (youtube; podcast; Locked on Big 12)
If the ACC were to kick out Duke, Wake Forest, Syracuse, and Boston College, the conference would undergo significant changes with both positive and negative implications. The primary motivation for such a move would likely be to strengthen the conference's football profile, as these schools have historically underperformed in football compared to ACC powerhouses like Clemson and Florida State. By removing these teams, the ACC could potentially invite more competitive programs that bring stronger football reputations and larger fan bases, thus enhancing the overall brand and television appeal of the conference. This could lead to more lucrative media deals and increased revenue for the remaining and new member schools.
Other
The Len-Ski pizza at Trappers 2, our 20th stop on the CNY Pizza Tour. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)(Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)
CNY Pizza Tour, stop #20: The kids are alright at this slappin’ pizzeria (PS; $; Miller)
Kids these days get a bad rap. You hear it all the time in the restaurant business: “They don’t want to work hard,” or “They’re disrespectful,” or “They lack basic skills.”
That’s not how Jen Wood sees it. She owns Trappers II Pizza & Pub in Minoa. She finds these youngsters hard-working, open to new ideas and creative. Jen’s husband Aaron bought T2 in 2010. The bar had once been part of a local pizzeria chain along with the original Trappers in East Syracuse, the Wildcat in Camillus and Stingers in Manlius. When Aaron died in 2020, Jen vowed to keep this place going, and she relied on all these young employees to help.
“I have faith in them, just like I was taught,” she said. “We don’t have a lot of turnaround here. I don’t expect them to stay forever. Get your foundation and move on. Come back to work here if you want, or come back as customers.”
Two of those employees — Corbin Leonard and Hunter Borkowski — came up with their own recipe that landed on T2′s specialty pizza menu last month. The Len-Ski is their variation on the chicken, bacon & ranch, the most-ordered pizza here.
Jen’s daughter, a junior at East Syracuse Minoa High School and midfielder on the varsity lacrosse team, says the Len-Ski is her team’s favorite pizza on the menu. As these kids today would say, it’s slappin’.
OK, let’s get slappin’
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Douglas Development plans to convert the former Syracuse Boys Club at 430 E. Genesee St. (left) and the former Utica Mutual Insurance building next to it at 420 E. Genesee St. into 57 apartments. (Rick Moriarty | rmoriarty@syracuse.com)Rick Moriarty | rmoriarty@syracuse.com
Syracuse OK’s $2.6M in tax breaks for apartment project in historic downtown buildings (PS; $; Moriarty)
The Syracuse Industrial Development Agency approved $2.6 million in tax breaks on Tuesday for a project that will turn two vacant buildings overlooking a city park into apartments.
The agency voted 5-0 to grant exemptions consisting of $1.8 million in property taxes over 10 years, $720,000 in sales taxes on construction materials and $96,205 in state mortgage recording tax. Jemal’s Fayette Park LLC, an offshoot of Douglas Development, sought the exemptions for the $16.7 million project.
The developer plans to turn the five-story former Boys Club of Syracuse at 430 E. Genesee St. into 36 apartments and the two-story former Utica Mutual Insurance building at 420 E. Genesee St. into 21 apartments.
Both buildings face Fayette Firefighters Memorial Park and are eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.
Phil Gardiner, development director for Douglas Development, said construction will start after the developer closes on a HUD loan late this summer and will take about a year to complete.
Rents have not been set, but the developer has pledged to adhere to a new city zoning requirement that 10% of the apartments be priced so they are affordable for people making 80% of the area median income.
Gardiner said he also expects the project to be eligible for state and federal historic preservation tax credits. The building at 430 E. Genesee St. operated as the Boys Club of Syracuse from 1923 until the mid-1980s.
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The UK’s first 300mm semiconductor fabrication line at Pragmatic Park, Durham, UK.Andy WIlson
NY names first director of new state agency to develop semiconductor industry (PS; $; Racino)
Gov. Kathy Hochul has named a leader for the new state agency tasked with developing New York’s semiconductor industry and coordinating efforts around Micron’s $100 billion investment in Central New York.
Merideth Andreucci will become the first executive director for the Governor’s Office of Semiconductor Expansion, Management and Integration (GO-SEMI) within Empire State Development.
Andreucci comes from the state’s Energy and Research Development Authority, where she worked as the assistant director of economic development to champion clean energy manufacturing in New York.
Before that, Andreucci was the program development manager at the Golisano Institute for Sustainability at the Rochester Institute of Technology. She also spent five years at ESD working in part to attract semiconductor companies to the state as the senior director of industry development.
“As an economic development professional who’s been working in Upstate New York most of my career – to have this type of opportunity is truly a treasure,” Andreucci told Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard prior to the governor’s announcement. She’ll be paid $180,000 a year in the position.
Hochul announced the creation of GO-SEMI during her State of the State address in January 2023 and charged the agency with:
- Leading and centralizing efforts to implement the Micron project, which recently saw a $6.1 billion award announcement from President Biden’s administration.
- Developing and advancing policies to attract the semiconductor industry and its supply chain.
- Coordinating workforce development and community investments among local, state, federal and private partners.
- Creating, attracting and retaining a much-needed, highly skilled workforce.
The new office will initially draw from the expertise of ESD staffers who have been working to lure semiconductor companies to the state for the past several years.
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