sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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- Aug 15, 2011
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Welcome to Ball Point Pen Day!
Ballpoint Pen Day celebrates the achievement of László and György Bíró, two Hungarian brothers who were the architects of the ballpoint pen. The consensus is that Ballpoint Pen Day takes place on June 10th because it was on June 10, 1943, that László Bíró applied for a patent for his pen.
László Bíró first tried to stop pens from smudging by attempting to use newspaper ink in fountain pens. This proved ineffectual as the ink was too thick for the pens. With the help of his brother, Bíró then created the ball and socket for the ballpoint pen. A metal ball at the end of the pen sat inside a socket, which allowed it to rotate. Quick-drying ink rolled onto the surface the pen was placed on, while more ink was gathered on the side of the ball that faced the inside of the pen, which then rolled onto the surface, repeating the process. Bíró invented his first ballpoint pen in 1931, which he showcased at the Budapest World Fair that year.
Bíró aimed to produce his pens in Hungary with business partner Andor Goy, but with rumblings of World War II approaching in 1938, Bíró fled to Argentina after being unable to find refuge in Europe. He formed a company to manufacture his pens and applied for a patent for them in 1943. The pens were believed to work well not only on land but in the air, not leaking in flight as other pens did. They were demonstrated to the Royal Air Force in London and the U.S. Air Force in Washington, D.C., and then went into production for the Allies.
Ballpoint pens went into commercial production in 1945. The first commercial ballpoint pen was the Reynold's Rocket, which was first sold at Gimbels in New York City. Early pens were rather expensive, but their price dropped over time. Bíró sold his patent to Marcel Bich, who created Bic pens, further spreading the popularity of ballpoint pens around the world. Ballpoint pens eventually supplanted the fountain pen as the most popular pen. Today they are used all around the world and are considered to be affordable and reliable. Some ballpoint pens sell for mere pennies, and they are able to write about 50,000 words or 100 pages on average. In a nod to their creators, they are sometimes called "biro" pens. But the Bíró brothers not only have a pen named for them—they have a whole day dedicated to them today!
SU News
X
Class of 2027 WR Tank White commits to Syracuse football (247sports.com; McAllister)
Class of 2027 Melbourne (FL) Central Catholic wide receiver Tank White has committed to Syracuse football, he announced on Friday. White is the Orange’s first commitment in the 2027 cycle. He picked Syracuse over offers from Boston College, Penn State, Pittsburgh, UCF, USF and West Virginia. White is currently an unrated prospect as most of the 2027 class has yet to go through the formal evaluation process.
White is listed at 6-0, 180 pounds. He was offered by Syracuse back on April 4th and was already a highly coveted prospect despite just finishing his freshman year as is evidenced by his impressive offer list. This is the earliest Syracuse has received a commitment from a player since 247Sports has been in existence.
This is the latest example of the recruiting acumen of head coach Fran Brown and his staff. The Orange has done a tremendous job of landing early commitments, as is evidenced by already having three class of 2026 recruits committed. They include four star prospects Izayia Williams and Demetres Samuel as well as three star running back D'Antae Sheffey. That class is currently ranked third in the nation for that cycle.
Syracuse's 2025 class is already 19 players deep and ranked 13th in the nation. The Orange received many of those commitments before and during spring ball, much earlier than has been the norm.
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Syracuse football picks up commitment from rising high school sophomore out of Florida (PS; Leiker)
A rising high school sophomore has verbally committed to Syracuse football.
Tank White, a Class of 2027 prospect out of Melbourne, Florida, announced his commitment Friday afternoon on social media. He’s the first in his class to commit to the Orange.
White labels himself as a wide receiver, free safety and defensive back, per his bio on X, formerly known as Twitter. His high school roster has him listed as a wide receiver, running back and outside linebacker.
White (6-foot, 180 pounds) is not currently rated in the 247Sports Composite or individually by any major recruiting service.
He has five other Power 4 offers, though, from Boston College, Penn State, Pittsburgh, UCF and West Virginia.
As a freshman at Melbourne Central Catholic, White had nine catches for 92 yards and a touchdown on varsity, according to stats listed on the team’s MaxPreps page. He had two tackles, one interception and two passes defended on defense.
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Syracuse football 'gonna be big time in a few years,' new 2027 commit Tank White says (itlh; Adler)
Syracuse football head coach Fran Brown and his top-flight staff are on the board with their 2027 class.
On Friday, talented athlete Tank White from Florida revealed via his X page that he has verbally committed to the Orange.
The 6-foot, 180-pound White, who says he plays wide receiver, free safety and defensive back, attends Melbourne Central Catholic High School in Melbourne, Fla.
It should be noted that 'Cuse coaches have made the Sunshine State a priority in their recruiting efforts, as two of the team's verbal commits in the 2026 cycle also hail from Florida.
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ESPN: Pump Breaks on Expectations For Syracuse Football (orangefizz.net; Aitken)
The expectations for Syracuse football in 2024, the inaugural season of the Fran Brown era, are all over the place. Some have predicted a 12-0 record, in large part due to the easiest Power 4 schedule.
Other projections aren’t as favorable, though. For example, ESPN’s Football Power Index expects the Orange to go 6-6.
Another prediction has come from ESPN, this time from Always College Football with Greg McElroy, a podcast. This one falls in between the highs and the lows.
In terms of Syracuse’s strengths, McElroy highlighted how much talent the Orange have added in the offseason.
“I look at where Syracuse is from a personnel standpoint compared to where they were a year ago,” McElroy said. “Syracuse’s personnel compared to last year is significantly better at the top end. I mean significantly better.”
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Syracuse football: QB Kyle McCord receives high praise in latest quarterback rankings (TNIAAM; Tomaiuolo)
We’re under 90 days until Syracuse Orange football takes the gridiron for the first time under head coach Fran Brown. With Ohio State quarterback transfer Kyle McCord now in the Orange backfield, August 30 can’t come soon enough.
But just how excited should SU fans be about its new QB? According to ESPN, McCord is worth all the hype.
In a ranking of all the quarterback rooms in the country, the Worldwide Leader of Sports placed McCord and Syracuse within the top 30. Using a tier system, the Orange made it into “Tier 5B” along with Florida State, NC State and Notre Dame. The author notes that Tier 5B “represents the cream of the crop of the 2024 portal movers.”
McCord took over the starting gig last year for the Buckeyes, posting 3,170 passing yards, 24 touchdowns and six interceptions in 12 games. On3 ranked him in the top 10 of QB transfers this offseason, and McCord chose SU last December.
The article also notes that while many viewed McCord’s tenure at OSU as a disappointment, his numbers were much better than most people think.
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Why Brady Denaburg Is Syracuse's Biggest X-Factor (orangefizz.net; Papillo)
There is so much to talk about when it comes to Syracuse football right now. From strong recruiting classes, to the hype around Kyle McCord and the offense, and even a polarizing 2024 schedule, orange may as well be the new black. But, there’s one area that hasn’t been talked about as much that could make or break Fran Brown’s inaugural season. That being, Brady Denaburg and the special teams unit.
Back in February, the Orange hired James Vollono, a man with over 20 years of coaching experience, to become the new special teams coordinator. Vollono comes over from Troy, where the Trojans took home back-to-back Sun Belt Conference championships under his leadership on special teams. Vollono enters a special teams room at Syracuse with not much roster turnover, but where he could have his own impact.
“I want to relay Fran Brown’s messages,” said Vollono. “Detailed, Accountable, Relentless, Tough. We want to put the R in that on special teams, we want to be relentless.”
Vollono enters his SU career with a top 20 punter in the nation in Jack Stonehouse. However, he has some work cut out for him with his kicker.
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(youtube; podcast; Joe Broback CFB)
Fran Brown takes over a Syracuse Orange team that hopes to be a surprise team. Brown made noise in the transfer portal, and there's plenty of optimism surrounding his new program. We take a deep dive into the program, looking at the depth chart, top returning players, added talent from the transfer portal, and break down the team’s 2024 schedule. #syracuse #collegefootball
Ranking the Top-10 Best Players on Syracuse Football's 2024 Roster | Syracuse Orange Podcast (youtube; podcast; Locked on Syracuse)
Syracuse Football has drastically improved its roster - on paper - for the 2024 season. Head Coach Fran Brown brought in 4-star transfers Fadil Diggs and Kyle McCord. The Orange also get Oronde Gadsden back from injury, and retained defensive leaders linebacker Marlowe Wax and rover/defensive back Justin Barron. Jackson Holzer ranks the ten best players on Syracuse Football's roster for next season on this edition of the Locked On Syracuse Podcast.
The Best Three Players on Syracuse Football's Roster are...? (youtube; podcast; premieres at 9 AM EST; Locked on Syracuse)
Syracuse Football has drastically improved its roster - on paper - for the 2024 season. Head Coach Fran Brown brought in 4-star transfers Fadil Diggs and Kyle McCord. The Orange also get Oronde Gadsden back from injury.
Syracuse vs Rutgers | NCAA Football 06 Syracuse Orange Dynasty | S1:E9 (youtube; simulator; Playbook Gamer)
Syracuse and Rutgers play for first place in the 2006 Big East
Insanely Jacked College Football Recruit With Massive Biceps Looks Like He Was Built In A Lab (brobible.com; Weir)
Antoine Deslauriers is committed to Syracuse in the college football recruiting Class of 2020. The future Orange linebacker is extremely jacked with biceps so big that that he looks like a create-a-player in a video game.
You would think that he was built in a lab!
Deslauriers, hailing from Georgia, has 19 scholarship offers including Auburn, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Florida State and Missouri. It seems as though the Orange are going to keep him from flipping, but there is still a long way to go.
He committed to Syracuse back in April and took a visit to upstate New York over the weekend. While there, Deslauriers took a few photos that sent the college football world into a frenzy.
At 6-foot-1, 225 pounds (probably bigger), the three-star recruit is absolutely shredded.
F1rst Team performance on Instagram: "1 Step closer ✅"
901 likes, 6 comments - f1rstteam on June 1, 2024: "1 Step closer ✅".
www.instagram.com
Antoine Deslauriers reacts to viral photo from Syracuse official visit (247sports.com; McAllister)
One of Syracuse football's biggest recruiting wins this cycle is linebacker Antoine Deslauriers. The Canadian native who is now playing in Georgia picked the Orange over offers from Auburn, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Maryland, Miami, Michigan State, Missouri, NC State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M and others. He has been committed since late April but took an official visit during the first weekend of June. A photo from that visit has since gone viral (shown below), with many people suggesting he looks like a create a player from a video game.
"Friday, there's an account on Twitter called No Destination," Deslauriers said. "It's got like 2.2 thousand followers. He reposted my picture and was probably one of the first ones who talked about the Madden create a player. I don't know where it kicked off from but after that there were a lot of accounts. There was a big account on Instagram saying "Road to Glory player NCAA 25." With that, it kind of kicked things off because they put me on their post and collabbed with me. I just think it kicked off from there. The picture did it's work itself. People really bought into it. Then MaxPreps, 247 and some of the big accounts started posting it and tagging me in it. From there it just grew.
"I really did try to use that to get out content that I thought would be good for me. The team around me really helped me. I'm just really grateful and thankful that it happened."
In addition to accounts with large followings posting about the picture, the comment sections were hilarious as well. In those comment sections, though, were comments from some well known people. That included one Carmelo Anthony who said, "Welcome home!"
"I always been told I have kind of a special physique," Deslauriers said. "I've always stood out a little bit. I never thought it was like that much of a big thing, but seeing all these big people reacting to it and all these big accounts making a big thing out of it, I think it's special. I think it tells me I'm doing something right and I'm on right track to making an impact on college football."
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College Sports Only (Football, Basketball, Olympic Sports) on Instagram: " @collegesportsonly for more! ⚾️ Syracuse LB commit Antoine Deslauriers is straight out of “Road to Glory.” #sports #ncaa #ncaafootball #cfb #collegefootball"
932 likes, 22 comments - collegesportsonly on June 8, 2024: " @collegesportsonly for more! ⚾️ Syracuse LB commit Antoine Deslauriers is straight out of “Road to Glory.” #sports #ncaa...".
www.instagram.com
ACC News
No runner-up 10-2 ACC team should bump 9-3 SEC teams from the Playoffs (bamahammer.com; Evans)
Game results in the 2024 season might improve the reputation of the ACC. High ranking projections for SEC football teams might not come to fruition. There are seven regular season games between SEC and ACC teams. If Clemson wins its two, which includes beating Georgia and North Carolina State knocks off Tennessee the reputation of the ACC will get a boost.
More realistic is ACC teams beating Vanderbilt and South Carolina, along with maybe Florida and Kentucky, while Georgia, Tennessee, and Ole Miss beat their ACC opponents. Such results would not change the ACC's stature. That stature is the ACC is not one of a Power Four. Along with the Big 12, the ACC is on the lower tier of a Power Two + two more conferences which are stronger than the Group of Five (plus Washington State and Oregon State).
Challenging the ACC's football competitiveness matters little now. It could matter much in December when the final 12-team CFB Playoff field is set. If the Playoff Selection Committee has some precise use of Strength of Schedule (SOS) to rank teams, it is not known.
SEC football fans may not know all the selection process details but there should be no debate that SOS should matter greatly. If it does, no 10-2 ACC runner-up should bump a group of potential 9-3 SEC football teams from the Playoffs.
The reason why is simple. Achieving a 9-3 record is more difficult for an SEC football team, than is reaching a 10-2 record for an ACC team. In the preseason, SOS projections can be flawed but based on ESPN's current FPI, the SOS for ACC teams is far lower than most SEC football teams.
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Penn State football 2025 RB commit is taking an official visit with ACC foe (basicbluesnation.com; Chapman)
There has been some drama surrounding each of the Penn State football 2025 recruiting class running back commits. Earlier this week it was reported that Kiandrea Barker and Arkansas had a mutual interest, however, Barker shut that down by locking in his commitment to the Nittany Lions. While Alvin Henderson has taken an unofficial visit with Auburn since his commitment to Penn State. A likely ongoing battle until the finish line for him. Now, Rivals has reported that Tiqwai Hayes is currently taking an official visit to Stanford this weekend.
Penn State football 2025 RB commit is taking official visit with ACC foe
Tiqwai Hayes made his pledge to the Penn State football team on September 25, 2023. The three-star running back from Aliquippa, Pennsylvania was awarded a prestigious honor when named Mr. Football PA earlier this year. On3 ranks Hayes as the No. 15 player in PA and a top-50 running back in the 2025 recruiting class.
While he has been steadily committed to the Nittany Lions a new report on his Rivals profile states that he started an official visit on Friday. But he is not in Happy Valley, instead, he is at Stanford visiting the Cardinals. This of course doesn’t mean he is reconsidering his pledge to Penn State, it is something to keep an eye on over the next several weeks.
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Better Know an ACC Opponent: Duke (writeforcalifornia.com; Kranz)
In case you’ve blissfully forgotten, the Pac-12 is dead and Cal is now in a conference named after the other side of the country. If you’re reading this, it means that this new reality is not a deal breaker for you. Over the rest of the off-season, we’ll profile each and every member of this conference that Cal has joined, that will definitely 100% exist it its current form for years if not decades.
Previously: Boston College; Clemson
Give me the basics
The university we now know as Duke was founded in 1838 under a different name, before a tobacco magnate donated a bunch of money and they changed the name of the school in honor of his family. Scholars have since debated whether a private university founded on railroad robber baron money is more or less morally objectionable than a private university founded on Tobacco money.
Stanford University has failed to launder their early reputation via a series of soulless VC tech disruptors. Duke has failed to launder their early reputation through a series of the most annoying basketball players to ever walk the face of the earth.
Do they have any relevant history with Cal?
Gee, would there happen to be an iconic picture associated with a Cal/Duke game that all Cal fans are familiar with? And that would become even funnier in retrospect when the antagonist in that picture eventually became the rage-meme head coach of Arizona State?
https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch...61f2-69ef-4d7f-b65f-ef687899fd2b_300x300.jpeg
The 2nd most prominent game Cal has played against Duke came in the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament in 2010, when Jerome Randle and the Pac-10 champion Bears had the bad fortune of drawing a Duke squad that happened to be the best team in the country and eventual NCAA champion. Cal didn’t have anybody who had a prayer of matching up against Brian Zoubek, and the Bears fell pretty easily. But to be fair, so did pretty much everybody else until Duke finally got tested by Butler in the national championship game. Sigh, I loved that team, they deserved a longer run in March.
On the football side, Cal and Duke played a home-and-home back in the early 60s, when Marv Levy was struggling as Cal’s head coach. Cal lost on the road, then eked out a tie in Berkeley, and those two games represent the full sum of Cal’s football history against Duke.
You may remember me from such Pac-12 teams as:
This comparison probably doesn’t work culturally, because I have a hard time thinking that a small private university in North Carolina with fewer than 7,000 undergrads as much in common with a land grant public university in Tucson with 42,000 undergrads, but this is about athletics, and Duke and Arizona go together like two peas in a pod.
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2024-25 ACC Bowl Schedule (RX; HM)
2024-25 ACC Bowl Schedule
FBSchedules posted the official 2024-25 bowl schedule, which was released yesterday. Here are the ACC bowls, along with CFP playoff games, in a calendar format:
| MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT | SUN |
| Dec. 16 | Dec. 17 | Dec. 18 | Dec. 19 | Dec. 20 | Dec. 21 | Dec. 22 |
| CFP 1st Round | CFP 1st Round | |||||
| CFP 1st Round | ||||||
| CFP 1st Round | ||||||
| Dec. 23 | Dec. 24 | Dec. 25 | Dec. 26 | Dec. 27 | Dec. 28 | Dec. 29 |
| Fenway 11am | ||||||
| Pinstripe noon | ||||||
| Pop-Tarts 3:30 | ||||||
| Military 5:45 | ||||||
| Dec. 30 | Dec. 31 | Jan. 1 | Jan. 2 | Jan. 3 | Jan. 4 | Jan. 5 |
| Sun 2:00 pm | CFP Quarterfinal | 1st Responder 4:00pm | ||||
| CFP Quarterfinal | Gator 7:30 | Duke Mayo 7:30pm | ||||
| CFP Quarterfinal | CFP Quarterfinal | |||||
| Jan. 6 | Jan. 7 | Jan. 8 | Jan. 9 | Jan. 10 | Jan. 11 | Jan. 12 |
| Orange (Semifinal) | Cotton (Semifinal) | |||||
| Jan. 20 | ||||||
| Championship | ||||||
On the one hand, bowls continue to be deemphasized as attention is focused on the expanding college football playoffs. On the other hand, the time slots for the remaining ACC bowls are arguably better than what they had before, with four on Saturday and two more in prime time.
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Years Since Last Championship - 2024 Update (RX; HM)
Years Since Last Championship - 2024 Update
As you know, football and men's basketball are the two biggest money-making college sports. When I did this analysis in 2019, the ACC was on top of both sports. Five years later, what does it look like?
Football Championships
| Years since last Football Championship | ||
| Conf. | years | graph |
| Big Ten | 0 | |
| SEC | 1 | o |
| ACC | 5 | ooooo |
| Big XII | 18* | oooooooooooooooooo |
| Pac-12 | 19* | ooooooooooooooooooo |
Since the last time a Big XII or Pac-12 team won the national title in football, the ACC has won it 3 times. In fact, in the last 10 seasons, the ACC has two titles (both by Clemson), the Big Ten has two, and the SEC has the other six. If we go back 11 years, the ACC has 3 titles.
[Note: the last national champions for the Big XII and Pac-12 were Texas and USC, respectively. Neither of those schools will remain next season. Of course, the Pac-12 is basically gone. The last national champion team that will actually be in the Big XII was BYU, who won it in 1984.]
Basketball Championships
| Years since last Men's Basketball Championship | ||
| Conf. | yrs | graph |
| Big East | 0 | |
| Big XII | 2 | oo |
| ACC | 5 | ooooo |
| SEC | 12 | oooooooooooo |
| Big Ten | 24 | oooooooooooooooooooooooo |
| Pac-12 | 27 | ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo |
For some years now it's been a three-conference tournament between the Big East, Big XII, and ACC. In the last 10 seasons, the ACC has won 3 MBB national titles, the Big XII has won 2, the Big East has won 4, and the NCAA Tournament was canceled in 2020.
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SEC could add two ACC teams in expansion, but it's not who you might think (allfortennessee.com; Pickard)
The next round of conference realignment is already unofficially underway. The Southeastern Conference could look to add two more teams, this time from the Atlantic Coast Conference, but it might not be who you expect.
Most fans assume the SEC would add Florida State and Clemson to the conference next, but the SEC doesn't seem interested. Part of that could result from Florida and South Carolina working to block each program from joining the SEC or conference priorities.
Rumors have been swirling for months about FSU and Clemson leaving the ACC. They've almost publicly been campaigning with the SEC and Big Ten for a spot in one of the two power conferences, but nothing has been official yet.
Brett McMurphy went on The Paul Finebaum Show and made it clear that both programs are leaving the ACC, and it's not an "if they leave" scenario but a "when they leave" scenario.
"They're gonna leave," McMurphy said on . "It's not if, it's when. Sources with the ACC told me, no surprise, the ACC is going to fight this to the bitter end. Obviously, at some point, they're going to have to settle, but the ACC is going to delay that settlement as long as they can.
"Because as soon as they do reach a settlement and there is a number established for Florida State and Clemson to exit, then that opens the door for other schools to leave. The North Carolina schools, the Virginia schools. Certainly, the SEC would have interest. I don't think they have interest in Florida State or Clemson because they've already got Florida and South Carolina."
McMurphy believes the North Carolina and Virginia schools have an edge over Florida State and Clemson, which is a bit surprising given that both FSU and Clemson are and will be College Football Playoff contenders for the foreseeable future.
Instead of adding additional schools in states it already has, the SEC could look to expand its footprint into states with no SEC teams. Knox News' Blake Toppmeyer writes that Clemson and FSU are candidates for expansion but not frontrunners.
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Josh Pate On NEW Contenders In ACC (Late Kick Cut) (youtube; podcat; Late Kick)
FSU and Clemson have run the ACC over the past few years, but on Late Kick Live Ep 519 Josh Pate responded to a viewer question about possible new teams joining the tier-1 conversation in the ACC title picture. Could Miami get it together under Mario Cristobal? What about NC State or Virginia Tech? Let us know what you think in the comments below and be sure to SUBSCRIBE to the channel and CLICK THE BELL for notifications as we bring you multiple live shows per week!
Why did North Carolina vote to NOT sue Florida St, siding against ACC? l College Football Podcast (youtube; podcast; Locked on College Football)
When the ACC brought the idea of a lawsuit against FSU for attempting to leave the league, everyone but Clemson was in favor of it--or so we thought. North Carolina chose not to vote, so what does that say about their feelings towards the ACC right now?On today's episode of Locked On College Football, Spencer McLaughlin goes on to talk about the future--and present--of the Pac-12. What should Oregon State and Washington State be thinking about as the Mountain West gets set for media days next month? (Of which they aren't a member at this time). 9:20
Other
New design of exit 3 in DeWitt
New exit, stoplight, wider Lyndon Corners: Big changes are coming to the DeWitt exit from I-481 (video) (PS; Breidenbach)
The New York state Department of Transportation is about to dramatically change the way 60,000 drivers travel each day past the DeWitt Wegmans and on and off Interstate 481.
In the video below, the DOT’s Betsy Parmley explains what the state plans to do at Exit 3.
These changes are part of the massive project to rebuild Interstate 81 in Syracuse. Parmley, an engineer, is the head of the project, budgeted to cost $2.25 billion.
The goal is to tear down the aging elevated Interstate 81 that runs through downtown Syracuse. But first, the state is building up I-481 to handle more high-speed traffic around the city.
Traffic engineers designed a new Exit 3 they hope will result in fewer crashes and backups, especially during the evening commute to the eastern suburbs.
Some of the changes are intended to reduce crashes as cars crisscross lanes to exit and enter the highway. The biggest difference will be a new traffic light for everyone heading south from I-481 to Route 5 as well as drivers heading east and west on Route 5.
Crashes are significant on this stretch of I-481 – about 28 a year, or 2.89 accidents per million vehicle miles. That’s higher than the state average of 1.22 for similar stretches of highway, DOT studies show.
About half happen during the evening commute – mid-week in daylight and mostly in dry weather. About 75% are rear-end collisions, records show.
If you’ve ever driven there, you know why. For starters, drivers who want to exit I-481 south to Route 5 east have to cross a lane full of drivers coming on the highway. Traffic backs up and drivers don’t keep a safe distance.
Then, once you make it down to Route 5, you have to rely on the courtesy of other drivers to let you in. If you want to get to Wegmans, you have to cross three lanes of drivers eager to get home to Manlius.
In short, it’s a nightmare.
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Ever heard of ‘zombie deer’? Here’s what’s infecting them (and why you shouldn’t use the z-word) (PS; Featherstone)
When researchers in April published a paper raising the possibility that two Texas hunters had died from eating deer infected with Chronic Wasting Disease, Krysten Schuler braced herself for the tsunami of “zombie deer” headlines she expected to soon follow.
“These things crop up from time to time and the media goes bonkers about it,” said Schuler, a CWD researcher and co-director of Cornell University’s Wildlife Health Lab.
CWD is a highly contagious and fatal brain disease found in deer species such as caribou, elk and moose. Animals in latter stages of the disease become emaciated, stumble around or act listless, drool excessively, and exhibit no fear of humans. Thus, the “zombie” moniker.
The flood of zombie deer stories based on the recent research paper added a significant new wrinkle to the familiar horror story: zombie deer are now infecting humans.
Evidence for this remarkable claim is scant, Schuler said. Authors of the research paper—actually a modest case report presented at a conference and later published in the journal Neurology—readily admit there’s “no conclusive evidence of cross-species prion transmission.”
Prions are misfolded proteins that accumulate in the brains of infected animals, causing damage to neurons and ultimately death. Animals with CWD transmit prions to other deer through their feces, urine, and saliva. Prions can survive for long periods in soil and can even be absorbed by plants.
Prion diseases also occur in humans, most notably variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, or vCJD, which comes from consuming beef infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, only 233 people worldwide have died from vCJD, the vast majority in the United Kingdom in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
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