SB Nation User Blog: NunesMagician

Dwight Freeney And Marcellus Wiley Rep New York

NunesMagician — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:56:38 -0000

Dwight Freeney And Marcellus Wiley Rep New York

Syracuse's Freeney and Columbia's Wiley represent NY State on the College Football Live Tour. Well...at least they got an SU guy in there.

Pat Forde May Have Forgotten What The World Rivalry Means

NunesMagician — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:16:22 -0000

Pat Forde listed what he thinks are the hottest rivalries in college basketball today. #1 is Kentucky - Louisville. Fine, sure. #2 is Michigan State vs. Purdue. Okay. #3 is Kentucky vs. Tennessee. What is this, women's basketball?

Whatever. So Forde makes it all the way through his his top ten and then lists out a bunch of honorable mentions. Guess which rivalry doesn't make the list? Yep, Syracuse vs. Georgetown. The Syracuse-Georgetown rivalry in which Syracuse students have stormed the court after winning multiple times in recent years. The Syracuse-Georgetown rivalry in which Eric Devendorf was almost lynched inside the Verizon Center this past season. You know, that one. Not a mention.

Oh, but you know what rivalry did make the honorable mention list? Rutgers vs. Seton Hall.

See now, I don't think you were paying attention so I'm going to write that again. Rutgers vs. Seton Hall.

Let me make sure you got this. One of the red-hottest rivalries in all of college basketball is between Rutgers, who finished 11-21 (2-16) last season, and Seton Hall, who finished 17-15 (7-11). One of the hands-down best rivalries in all of the land is between two teams that have been to the NCAA Tournament a combined three times in the last ten years (all Seton Hall).

Pat, on behalf of Syracuse, Georgetown, Big East and college basketball fans everywhere, I say to you...

H/T: Jon

Ricky Rubio Staying In Spain For Two Years

NunesMagician — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:00:09 -0000

Ricky Rubio Staying In Spain For Two Years

The Minnesota Timberwolves' top draft pick, Ricky Rubio, 18, will remain in Spain to play for his DKV Joventut basketball team for the remaining two years of his contract rather than try to move to the NBA this season, El Periodico reported today.

The Jonny Flynn Era begins in Minnesota!

Syracuse Football: Owning Noon Since 1996

NunesMagician — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:14:18 -0000

More Syracuse football games at noon. What else is new? We already know that Minnesota and Penn State will be noon kick-offs. Now, according to the St Pete Times' Greg Auman, the Orange's October 3rd game against South Florida will also be a nooner as well. The game is "being considered for Game of the Week" which means all eyes are on Syracuse to be in somewhat-relatively decent shape by then to make this one slightly appealing.

The good news I suppose is that you probably won't have to change your alarm clock too often for Saturdays.

UPDATE: The Big East Game of the Week schedule has been released and apparently Syracuse is the star attraction. The Orange have already locked down three GotW placements and are under consideration for a few more. Here's the games locked in:

October 3rd -USF at Syracuse

November 14th - Syracuse at Louisville

November 28th - Syracuse at UConn

The games under consideration are West Virginia (Oct. 10th), Cincy (Oct. 31st), Pitt (Nov. 7th) and Rutgers (Nov. 21st). That's every Big East game right there.

H/T: Matt G.

Summer League, When Syracuse Rules The NBA

NunesMagician — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:45:46 -0000

The NBA Summer League begins on July 10 and runs through July 19. And in that time, Syracuse will just about double the amount of alumni it has in the league, technically-speaking. Some of the faces are new, some are a little older. But all will be rooted for.

Obviously, Jonny Flynn and Paul Harris will rep the Timberwolves. Donte Greene returns to summer league for the Kings where he originally made his mark last year. Some old friends also make returns to the Summer League in an attempt to catch on in the NBA. Demetris Nichols is apparently back, this time for the Raptors according to Mike Waters. And Darryl "Moose" Watkins is gonna give it a go for the Rockets, who are in need of some help down low now that Yao Ming is gone.

Wither Terrence Roberts?

It doesn't look like any of the teams play each other during the nine-day schedule, but hopefully they all find a little time to get together and take in a Cirque de Soleil show.

Daily Links - Melo's Rich, Love For Kris Joseph & SU Alums Help Recruiting

NunesMagician — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:12:29 -0000

Former SU stars Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Freeney make SI's 'Fortunate 50' list - syracuse.com
Sports Illustrated released its annual list of the 50 highest-earning American athletes on Wednesday. Former Syracuse University standouts Dwight Freeney and Carmelo Anthony are among the 22 basketball players, 14 major leaguers, nine football players, three golfers and two NASCAR drivers on this year's 'Fortunate 50.' The list is based on salary, winnings, bonuses, endorsements and appearance fees.

Dick Vitale: 5 sophomore who will step up - ESPN
Dick Vitale's interns were kind enough to include Kris Joseph in their list of breakout sophomores for the '09 - '10 season. He is very active, a good offensive rebounder who can excel in transition."

SU Alums help make the recruiting push - The Riverhead News-Review
Shay said Syracuse pushed for Cater. The coach said he received calls from such Syracuse alumni as former all-American quarterback Don McPherson and Babylon High School's former coach, Hans Wiederkehr, who pushed for Cater to join the Orange. "They really pulled out all the stops," said Shay.

Arena Wars: Carrier Dome vs. Gampel Pavilion - NCAA Division I Mens Basketball - CBSSports.com
This week in Arena Wars, Syracuse's Carrier Dome takes on Connecticut's Gampel Pavilion. Is this even a contest?

Andy Katz: Cincinnati joins UK, Arizona as recruiting winners - ESPN
The addition of Stephenson, assuming he's eligible, should put Cincinnati in the thick of the chase for third in the Big East. Maybe I'll be wrong, but I'm conceding the first two spots to Villanova and West Virginia. After that, though, Cincinnati, Georgetown, Connecticut, Notre Dame, Pitt, Louisville and Syracuse can make a case for third.

RB Sleepers - AthlonSports.com
Can [Delone] Carter find the form that pushed him to 713 yards and four scores in 2007? If so, he should be the workhorse for an Orange offense looking for steps in the right direction.

Three Idiots on Sports: Ebay Item of the Week: Dirty or clean? How do you like it Orange fans?
With this week's Ebay Item of the Week you can let everyone if your dishes are Michael Graham Hoya dirty or GMac clean.

WIVB.com | Blogs " Blog Archive " NFL Love for UB Pair
The other two WNY players with draft potential are Arizona TE Rob Gronkowski and Syracuse WR Mike Williams. Williams has been very productive as a receiver on some bad Orange teams. He sat out last year after a grade issue, but is back and starting in 2009. He is big and athletic, traits NFL teams love.

NBA.com Wolves Announce 2009 Vegas Summer League Roster
The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced the team’s roster for the 2009 NBA Summer League presented by EA Sports. Flynn and Harris set to play together. Again.

Why the Wolves hold the power in the Rubio situation - Canis Hoopus
Let's get a few things straight here concerning the Rubio "situation".

Recent SU grad Steve Andress posts a highlight package on Eric Devendorf. Nice look back:

Syracuse vs. Georgetown Twice In A Season: What A Concept!

NunesMagician — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:36:56 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Roberson - AP

Browse more photos »

The 2009-10 Big East Basketball match-ups are out and SU fans are doing sombersalts. Or at least they will be in a minute.

Home Connecticut, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Providence, St. John’s, USF, Villanova

Away Cincinnati, DePaul, Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame, Providence, Rutgers, Seton Hall, West Virginia

Let's break it down. Your three home-and-home opponents are Georgetown, Louisville and Providence. We (re: I) complain when USF or DePaul are on this list so I'll take it. You get two historical opponents and a third quality one in the Cardinals. And of course, SU vs. G'town twice in a season...as God intended it.
No road trips to UConn, Villanova or Pittsburgh, only games in the Dome. Thanks Big East Scheduling Gods!
Speaking of, that's a VERY soft Big East road schedule in general. I approve.

So, piece what we know already with this new, here's what we're looking at so far:

HOME: Albany, Memphis, Connecticut, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Providence, St. John’s, USF, Villanova

AWAY: Cincinnati, DePaul, Georgetown, Louisville, Notre Dame, Providence, Rutgers, Seton Hall, West Virginia

NEUTRAL: Ohio State/Cal/UNC (2 games), Florida

Thoughts?

Team USA Squeaks By Mexico 55-0

NunesMagician — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:26:26 -0000

Team USA quarterback Bryce Petty trying to avoid Mexico defenders. Scott Shaw/The Plain Dealer

View full size photo uploaded July 2, 2009

To their credit, Mexico was able to collect five times as many yards as France did against the Americans earlier this week. Unfortunately, that still only amounts to 35 yards of total offense, not nearly good enough to beat the USA who put up 41 points at the half en route to a 55-0 win. The US moves on to the finals of the Junior World Championships to take on Canada for the right to be called the best in the world.

Though, based on what we've seen so far, that's not exactly saying much.

The Americans have outscoured their two opponents 133-0 so far and about the only blemish on the tournament has been a sizable amount of penalties. But that's just nitpicking really because there isn't much else to criticize.

Good news/bad news in the form of running back David Wilson. Good news is that Wilson tore it up again in this game for 146 yards and 3 TDs, which gives him 327 yards and 7 TDs total. Bad news is, he committed to Virginia Tech, whom Syracuse plays again starting next season. Harrumph.

Speaking of Syracuse, incoming Orangeman Shamarko Thomas returned an interception for a touchdown, one of three defensive touchdowns on the day.

The Canadians advanced to the finals by inching past the Japanese team 38-35. Japan had rallied from a 31-21 deficit but was unable to finish the upset. While the win was emotionally-thrilling for the Canadians, it doesn't bode extremely well given how well the Americans have played. I mean, look at what the US did to Mexico and Mexico beat Sweden 41-0. Thank God we didn't play Sweden, otherwise we might be at war with them right now.

The highlight (or lowlight) of the experience was discovered thanks to Dan who found out the game was being live-streamed on the Interweb. If by chance you are available on Sunday to watch the championship game, I highly recommend you tune in. The play-by-play commentators are bad. I mean Best In Show bad. So bad they actually started openly apologizing at one point. It's really something to witness.

For the record, Sweden also beat France 24-14 and Germany handed New Zealand their 2nd-straight loss by at least 45 points, making their trip the least enjoyable out of everyone. France and New Zealand will play Saturday for the right to prove who is the worst nation in the world at American Football. Catch the fever!

So Who's Repping New York State, College Football Live?

NunesMagician — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 22:43:53 -0000

Tomorrow, ESPN's College Football Live 50 State Tour stops in Colorado where they'll chat with former Buffalo Kordell Stewart to talk about college football within the state borders. The day after, July 3rd, they'll be focusing on the state of New York and all of the great college football tradition therein. One question though...who are they going to be talking with?

In almost every stop on the tour, one or two local legends have been singled out to represent the state and their school. Matt Leinert talked Southern California, Frank Beamer chatted Virginia state football, Chris Speilman talked Ohio State/Michigan during the Ohio stop. There have been a couple stops where no specific person has been brought out and the segment moved by so quickly you would have thought John Saunders and Andre Ware were in a rush to get somewhere (like the Arkansas one).

But surely, between Syracuse and Army (and to a lesser extent Cornell, Colgate, Buffalo et al.), there's enough going on in the history of New York college football that requires a sit-down interview and some in-depth analysis. Yes, Army was the longtime traditional power for many years. But let's face it, when anyone thinks of college football in New York state, they think of Syracuse (for better or worse). #44, the famed running backs, the 1959 National Title, Donovan McNabb, the Carrier Dome...there's too much history here to just gloss over it.

They've gotta be talking to Jim Brown, right? It's all too perfect. Brown has been talking to anyone with a TV or radio signal over the past couple weeks...so he's available. And he just so happens to be arguably the greatest running back of all-time. So there's that.

I mean, I guess you could talk to Donovan and that would be fine. But he's as much related to Philadelphia now as he is Syracuse.

Working for the Orange is the recent fanpoll results that have Cuse winning two of the three categories up for grabs. Best All-Time Team (1959) and best all-time player (Jim Brown), all the more reason to have him on the program.

We'll find out soon enough but hopefully SU gets some respect when the discussion of New York college football comes up. I mean, we are New York's College Team, are we not???

Rene, Ross...Oh! Both Commit To Syracuse.

NunesMagician — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:05:22 -0000

Photo Credit: Bernie L. Augustine & SILive.com

View full size photo uploaded July 1, 2009

Even I think that headline is too much of a stretch. And I wrote it. And kept it. And published it. And am now drawing attention to it.

The verbal commitments roll on for Syracuse football. First up, according to Donnie Webb, KR, PR and general ATH Steven Rene from Brooklyn has committed to play for the Orange. The Canarsie High School all-purpose back is considered one of the top prospects in NY and also held offers from Temple, Rutgers, Boston College, Oregon, Hofstra and Stony Brook. Rene earned All-City and All-Borough honors and was selected as the Old Spice Red Zone player of the year, so you know he smells great.

In fact, Rene is on record as recently as two weeks ago saying Rutgers was his favorite at the time.

"Rutgers," he said when asked about his favorite. "I went to their spring game and I saw their facilities when they gave me a tour around. The coaches have called me and they write me and e-mail me, telling me they want me to come to their camp."

Apparently not enough. In the Rivals' article Rene says he's not anywhere near close to making a decision. Then, he visited Syracuse:

"Everything was perfect," said Rene of his unofficial visit to the Syracuse campus on Tuesday. "The campus, the facilities, the Dome ... everything was a major shock. As soon as walked into the building, I saw the big trophies, the pictures of Ernie Davis, Donovan McNabb, Keith Bulluck ... it was wonderful. It was inspirational, especially Ernie Davis. He was a running back, the same position I play. It was awesome. I could see myself playing there."

Probably shouldn't have used the line about we're going to re-name the new basketball facility The Rene Center. Might be a little much, but hey once he's signed we can go back to Melo.

All you really need to know about Rene can be found in this highlight video. The very first highlight is him kicking off...and then barreling down the field and flattening the kid who catches it.

Let the bodies hit the floor, let the bodies hit the floor, let the bodies hit the floor...

SU wasn't done today with all the verbal commitment. According to Donnie, kicker Ross Krautman of Ramapo High School in New Jersey also made the decision today. And it's where Krautman was last week that makes this one so sweet.

Syracuse football fans will like this - after winning a kicking camp a few days ago at Rutgers University, Ross Krautman made a verbal commitment on Wednesday to sign with the Orange in 2010.

He is the younger brother of former Syracuse University kicker Ricky Krautman.

Sorry Rutgers, all your in-state recruits are belong to us again. Ross was 37 for 37 PAT's with 25 touchbacks this past season. He is 79/80 on PAT's for his career. He says Syracuse has always been his dream school.

Here's Krautman kicking at the recent Rutgers camp with Greg Schiano looking on. Teeheehee...