Today is National Cat Day! “What greater gift than the love of a cat?” Charles Dickens once mused. Cats are one of the most beloved human companions of all time. They were first domesticated in the Middle East’s Fertile Crescent as early as 12,000 years ago. When humans relied on hunting as their main source of food, dogs were most useful – but when the first agricultural societies emerged, cats became invaluable. Domesticated cats became responsible for keeping grain stores free of mice and other rodents. Today, cats can be found in 34% of American households, making them the most popular house pet in the United States.
Pet lifestyle expert and animal welfare advocate Colleen Paige establishedNational Cat Day in 2005. In honor of the occasion, celebrate cats and the unconditional love and companionship they give to their owners. If you don't own a cat, volunteer at your local animal shelter or make a donation. It’s the purrrrfect way to show you care!
Reggie Northrup immediately felt a “sharp and aching” pain in his left knee. He didn’t yell, scream or cry, but he feared the worst.
“I just grabbed my knee and I was like, ‘Something’s wrong,’” he said. “It was my first real injury.”
Northrup suffered what turned out to be a torn ACL in the fourth quarter of Florida State’s 59-20 loss to Oregon in the Rose Bowl Game on Jan. 1. But he recovered quickly and was back with the team by the middle of the summer.
Through seven games this season, the middle linebacker leads the Seminoles (6-1, 4-1 Atlantic Coast) in tackles. Northrup and FSU will host Syracuse (3-4, 1-2) on Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee.
Immediately after his surgery, Northrup had a moment of uncertainty. He questioned whether he’d ever be the same player.
“But that was probably the only time I had any doubt,” he said. “ … I was motivated. I didn’t want to go out like that.”
The very next day, he began rehabbing the knee and a rigorous process began. Time that Northrup would typically spend sleeping or enjoying free time became hours of rehab.
It included a number of daily strength exercises, such as calf presses, leg presses and squats. He’d also take on different hydrotherapy exercises in FSU’s training pool and regularly received treatment from the Seminoles’ team trainers.
...
On Tuesday, Shafer said Florida State running back Dalvin Cook is “right up there with Fournette.”
“Boy, he’s a talented young man,” Shafer said. “… Once again, great vision, like all the great running backs. He’s very elusive. He can take the outside zone play and run around a lot of angles as well as anyone in the country.”
Cook is second in nation in rushing yards per game with 148.1 behind only Fournette. The Orange (3-4, 1-2 Atlantic Coast) will have to figure out a way to stop Cook when it visits No. 17 Florida State (6-1, 4-1) on Saturday at noon in Tallahassee, Florida.
During the two teams’ meeting last year in Cook’s freshman season, he ran for 122 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. After coaching against him in a game and with the season he’s having now, Shafer called him, “the complete package.”
...
Below, Dylan Kidd (who you should follow on Twitter) from SB Nation's excellentTomahawk Nation, stops by to share everything we'll need to know around the Seminoles. We answered some questions over there too, and can share that link once it's live.
Sorry to reopen this wound: What went through your mind as that final play against Georgia Tech unfolded? We've lost our last two games on the last play -- but obviously not like that.
I was in the stands in Atlanta, so it was a particularly interesting experience for me. I was actually really confident that Aguayo was going to make the kick. He’s one of the best we’ve ever had, and I know he looks forward to those kind of huge moments to make a game winning kick – even from 56 yards. I was disappointed when I saw the kick blocked because I wanted that moment from him, and briefly started to think about whether I thought FSU would win in OT, when I saw the Tech kid pick the ball up and take off. As soon as he did, I knew there was going to be a problem.
...
Editor’s note: Syracuse football has six wins in its last 19 games. Facing the struggles of the present, The Daily Orange took a look back at some of hard times of the past in part four of this series.
Flurries of snow pelted the Yankee Stadium grass as Doug Marrone turned to the mass of Syracuse players behind him, his index finger in the air with the 2012 Pinstripe Bowl Trophy at his back.
Some players hoisted their helmets in the air while others donned their new championship hats. Running back Prince-Tyson Gulley raised his right hand to the sky with the MVP trophy at his side. Safety Ritchy Desir, mounted on a teammate’s shoulders, tipped his cap to the crowd. In a moment of bliss, everything was right for the Orange.
A second Pinstripe Bowl win in three years. SU defeating West Virginia, 38-14. Marrone sitting at the interview table postgame, expressing excitement to enter the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2013.
“I thought he was about to try to start a dynasty where he graduated from,” Gulley said Tuesday. “… And I thought that was the original goal.”
But Marrone bolted for the Buffalo Bills’ head coaching job, not telling any players and eventually taking seven Syracuse coaches with him. A team eight days removed from cementing a program turnaround was left searching for answers amid the shock.
...
Today is National Cat Day! “What greater gift than the love of a cat?” Charles Dickens once mused. Cats are one of the most beloved human companions of all time. They were first domesticated in the Middle East’s Fertile Crescent as early as 12,000 years ago. When humans relied on hunting as their main source of food, dogs were most useful – but when the first agricultural societies emerged, cats became invaluable. Domesticated cats became responsible for keeping grain stores free of mice and other rodents. Today, cats can be found in 34% of American households, making them the most popular house pet in the United States.
Pet lifestyle expert and animal welfare advocate Colleen Paige establishedNational Cat Day in 2005. In honor of the occasion, celebrate cats and the unconditional love and companionship they give to their owners. If you don't own a cat, volunteer at your local animal shelter or make a donation. It’s the purrrrfect way to show you care!
Reggie Northrup immediately felt a “sharp and aching” pain in his left knee. He didn’t yell, scream or cry, but he feared the worst.
“I just grabbed my knee and I was like, ‘Something’s wrong,’” he said. “It was my first real injury.”
Northrup suffered what turned out to be a torn ACL in the fourth quarter of Florida State’s 59-20 loss to Oregon in the Rose Bowl Game on Jan. 1. But he recovered quickly and was back with the team by the middle of the summer.
Through seven games this season, the middle linebacker leads the Seminoles (6-1, 4-1 Atlantic Coast) in tackles. Northrup and FSU will host Syracuse (3-4, 1-2) on Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee.
Immediately after his surgery, Northrup had a moment of uncertainty. He questioned whether he’d ever be the same player.
“But that was probably the only time I had any doubt,” he said. “ … I was motivated. I didn’t want to go out like that.”
The very next day, he began rehabbing the knee and a rigorous process began. Time that Northrup would typically spend sleeping or enjoying free time became hours of rehab.
It included a number of daily strength exercises, such as calf presses, leg presses and squats. He’d also take on different hydrotherapy exercises in FSU’s training pool and regularly received treatment from the Seminoles’ team trainers.
...
On Tuesday, Shafer said Florida State running back Dalvin Cook is “right up there with Fournette.”
“Boy, he’s a talented young man,” Shafer said. “… Once again, great vision, like all the great running backs. He’s very elusive. He can take the outside zone play and run around a lot of angles as well as anyone in the country.”
Cook is second in nation in rushing yards per game with 148.1 behind only Fournette. The Orange (3-4, 1-2 Atlantic Coast) will have to figure out a way to stop Cook when it visits No. 17 Florida State (6-1, 4-1) on Saturday at noon in Tallahassee, Florida.
During the two teams’ meeting last year in Cook’s freshman season, he ran for 122 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. After coaching against him in a game and with the season he’s having now, Shafer called him, “the complete package.”
...
Below, Dylan Kidd (who you should follow on Twitter) from SB Nation's excellentTomahawk Nation, stops by to share everything we'll need to know around the Seminoles. We answered some questions over there too, and can share that link once it's live.
Sorry to reopen this wound: What went through your mind as that final play against Georgia Tech unfolded? We've lost our last two games on the last play -- but obviously not like that.
I was in the stands in Atlanta, so it was a particularly interesting experience for me. I was actually really confident that Aguayo was going to make the kick. He’s one of the best we’ve ever had, and I know he looks forward to those kind of huge moments to make a game winning kick – even from 56 yards. I was disappointed when I saw the kick blocked because I wanted that moment from him, and briefly started to think about whether I thought FSU would win in OT, when I saw the Tech kid pick the ball up and take off. As soon as he did, I knew there was going to be a problem.
...
Editor’s note: Syracuse football has six wins in its last 19 games. Facing the struggles of the present, The Daily Orange took a look back at some of hard times of the past in part four of this series.
Flurries of snow pelted the Yankee Stadium grass as Doug Marrone turned to the mass of Syracuse players behind him, his index finger in the air with the 2012 Pinstripe Bowl Trophy at his back.
Some players hoisted their helmets in the air while others donned their new championship hats. Running back Prince-Tyson Gulley raised his right hand to the sky with the MVP trophy at his side. Safety Ritchy Desir, mounted on a teammate’s shoulders, tipped his cap to the crowd. In a moment of bliss, everything was right for the Orange.
A second Pinstripe Bowl win in three years. SU defeating West Virginia, 38-14. Marrone sitting at the interview table postgame, expressing excitement to enter the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2013.
“I thought he was about to try to start a dynasty where he graduated from,” Gulley said Tuesday. “… And I thought that was the original goal.”
But Marrone bolted for the Buffalo Bills’ head coaching job, not telling any players and eventually taking seven Syracuse coaches with him. A team eight days removed from cementing a program turnaround was left searching for answers amid the shock.
...
