sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2011
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Welcome to Eat a Cranberry Day!
Eat a Cranberry Day is today. Cranberries are good for you. How many cranberries will you eat today?
Native to North America, cranberries are grown in bogs, and are primarily grown in New England. When the pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, they found Native Americans harvesting them, and eating them. Native Americans also used them as dyes for clothing, and for medicinal purposes.
SU News
Eagles Open as 3.5 Point Favorites Over Orangemen (bcinterruption.com; Rubin)
That sound you just heard was your jaw hitting the ground.
With one game left in the regular season, gamblers have had nothing to work with off the Boston College Eagles. Despite being 3-8 on the year, BC is 5-6 against the spread, including 4-0 in games considered "road games." After losing by only three to Notre Dame on Saturday, the Eagles cemented themselves as one of the hardest teams to bet against, especially in road games.
As a result, Vegas gamblers installed Boston College as 3.5 point favorites over theSyracuse Orange for their season finale at the Carrier Dome on Saturday afternoon.
While the BC success at covering the spread on the road would be optimism for Eagles fans, Syracuse remains one of the toughest outs against the spread at home. Also 3-8 on the season, the Orange are 6-5 against the spread this season after losing by 13 against a 12 points spread to NC State last weekend. But that game was on the road, and Syracuse enters Saturday with a 5-1 record at home.
Both BC and Syracuse enter the weekend on the string of long losing streaks. After opening the season 3-0 with wins over Rhode Island, Wake Forest, and Central Michigan, the Orange lost eight in a row. They hung tough with then-eighth ranked LSU but ultimately lost by 10. They took Virginia to three overtimes but lost by six and dropped decisions by 10 points or less to Pittsburgh and Clemson, ranked #25 and #1, respectively.
Boston College won three of their first four games of the season, although two were against FCS opponents. After beating Maine and Howard, the Eagles lost, 14-0, to Florida State, before rallying for a win over Northern Illinois. Since then, they've lost only three games by ten points or more, dropping by 17 to Clemson (then fifth in the nation), 16 to Virginia Tech, and 16 to NC State. They most recently lost by only three to Notre Dame this past weekend.
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All is Not Lost for Young BC Football Team (bostonglobe.com; Vega)
Heartache and frustration resonated in Steve Addazio’s voice as he sat in Fenway Park and conducted a postmortem of Boston College’s 19-16 loss to Notre Dame on Saturday night.
Although it allowed ND to amass 447 yards of total offense, BC’s top-ranked defensive unit forced the Irish to commit five turnovers, but it came as little consolation for the Eagles (3-8).
“I don’t like where we are in terms of our wins and losses right now,’’ said Addazio. “But I like where this team will progress and grow to.’’
The Eagles have one more game to play, Saturday at Syracuse (3-8). Addazio managed a faint smile when he discussed the future of a team that began the season young and inexperienced and then was hammered by injuries to key personnel while playing an unrelenting schedule against one highly ranked opponent after another.
And so having to play the Irish at Fenway Park offered the beleaguered Eagles no quarter.
“To come in here and play the fourth-ranked team in the country the way we played them speaks a lot to who this football team is,’’ Addazio said. “We went to Clemson and we played our tail off against Clemson, as well. Then we were battling Florida State, as well, early on. That was a 7-0 game that ended up being a 14-0 game.
“But we’re playing hard and we’re playing physical as a team. That’s what we do.’’
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Scott Shafer Not Doing Himself Any Favors (TNIAAM; Keeley)
Following another game peppered with unsportsmanlike penalties, SU coach Scott Shafer got testy with a reporter at the post-game presser. All of a sudden, that fiery demeanor doesn't mean what it used to.
"I think we lost our composure and that starts with me."
Scott Shafer was discussing the multiple penalties and ejections that occurred late in the Syracuse Orange's 42-29 loss to the N.C. State Wolfpack at his post-game presser. A couple minutes later, Shafer would become visibly-agitated with a reporter's question about whether or not he has discussed the recent spat of unsportsmanlike penalties with Syracuse AD Mark Coyle.
"No, hell no. We're fightin'. I told you, Stephen, I made a mistake. I'm embarrassed by it. I'm not sure..." He trailed off and laughed passive-aggresively while looking off to the side. "Nice question, once again." Then, as he walked away from the podium, he added,"Good job, Stephen. Helluva job." According to the Daily Orange, Shafer then walked over to his family, including son Wolfgang, who "glared at the same reporter and said a few more words under his breath."
By all accounts, Scott Shafer has the right to be frustrated. Following a 3-0 start (their first in 24 years), his Orange squad has rattled off eight-straight losses. He will have now overseen consecutive losing seasons and might possibly oversee consecutive 3-9 results. Not exactly the kind of position a college head coach wants to find themselves in headed into the final year of their contract.
The saving grace for Shafer this whole time has been the perception that he runs a good program and that his team plays a "hard-nosed" style of football personified not only by toughness but the pride it carries itself with. Those ideals have taken a big hit in recent weeks with news that two players have been indefinitely-suspended on drug policy violations and with Shafer and multiple SU players taking unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in the last two games.
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Look Inside the Home of Famed Furniture Maker Gustav Stickley (PS; photos; Moriarty)
