I'm not normally one to follow women's basketball and especially to comment on it, but I was quite impressed with the win over D State yesterday.  In fact I thought it was a typo when I saw it so I had to go and look it up.   The Lady Orange held Delaware St. to three 2nd half point en route to a 87-17 victory.  Wow...I'm sure coach Q was happy with that result.  SU Athletics has the story.

We may not have won the contest, but we won the war in our household.  Here is a conversation between my wife and daughter the other day:

It was a beautiful fall sunset and Lorrell told Loriana to look out the window at it. 

Lorrell: "What color is the sky honey"

Loriana" "Orange, my FAVORITE COLOR"

Lorrell: "I thought purple was your favorite color"

Loriana: "I now have two favorite colors.  Orange AND Purple."

Mission Accomplished.

It looks like I'll be doing my best to plant the seeds of a lifetime Orange fan this weekend. The first thing about football she learned two seasons ago was "Boooo, Greg Robinson, Booooo"  Plus  I've already taught my daughter that anytime she sees someone in an orange shirt, she should say "Go Orange".  Now this weekend I'll be taking my almost 3 year old to her first SU football game.  We will be accompanied by her mother, and my friends Josh and Colleen, who will be bringing their 4 month old to the game (they are much braver than I).  

It should be an adventure, and who knows, maybe we will even track down the good doctor for the award winning picture.  Go Orange.

So I had the "pleasure" of attending the SU WVU game at the dome today.  It was the third time I've been in attendance at a home game this year.  I am shocked and dismayed at the lack of student attendance at the games.  The entire end zone student section was barren today and that is just pitiful.  I can't believe how little support the students are giving their fellow students as Doug Marrone continues try and rebuild the program. 

The SU WVU game is the biggest rivalry historically for the SU Football Program.  Sure Rutgers pisses us off more now, but WVU is still our biggest rival.  I'm not sure if the students are on break this week, but I know the section looked just as bad when Maine was here.  Now, maybe I'm a bit jealous that  didn't go to a college with a D-I football progam, or any football program for that matter, (I went to St. Bonaventure)  but I'm guessing that there should be enough over privledged kids up on the hill to fill the small number of student seats available to them.  It kills the atmosphere at the start of the game with all the empty seats in the end zone, lower level.  It looks like crap on TV and it looks bad to recruits.  If the students are not going to show the support, reward the loyal fans who bought the $100 upper endzone seats and have been steady attendees to the game. 

via photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net

One more aside.  While I appreciate those students who did show up, clap your freaking hands and put your keys away.  Loud aggressive cheering will make a lot more noise and impact, than a tired key shaking ritual that should be buried with the wave!    SU Students show up or transfer to Georgetown!

I was as disappointed as anyone yesterday when the news broke that Jonny  Flynn would not be returning to the Orange to lead us to a National Championship caliber season.  In fact I think more than a few F-bombs were dropped both mentally and audibly yesterday afternoon.  After sleeping on it for a night, I still contend this team is top 15 if not top 10 caliber.   Even in losing three starters, you can make the argument that they are still returning 5 starters for next year.

Of course you have the front court of Arinze Onuaku and Rick Jackson who both started this season for hte Orange.  Add to that Wes Johnson, who Boeheim feels is the best athlete on the team, and who started at Iowa State before the transefer.  That is one of the best front courts in the Big East if not the nation. 

The back court tandem of Scoop Jardine and Andy Rautins both bring starting experience to the team as well.  So in losing three starters, SU is still returning five guys who have started at the division one level.  That is wholy impressive.

By nature I'm a guy who sees the glass as half full, unless my beer is empty then it is a travesty, but after sleeping on it for a night, I'm still very excited for the team next season.  Add to the experience returning, a healthy and more experienced Kris Joseph and Mookie Jones, plus the best point guard recruit minus Flynn since Jason Hart and this team should be just fine.  In fact we may start out off the radar screen an bit and those teams always do better at Syracuse. 

Now back to work and back to my big orange glass of Kool-aid that gets me through the day!

As the post mortem continues in an earlier post about the 1998 Tennesee SU football game, it got me to thinking about the most painful moment in SU Basketball history.

I was all of 10 years old at the time, and SU Basketball was all I ever talked, thought, or dreamed about.  I'd go to sleep at night to the tones of Doug Logan on the ariwaves as I'd listen to the hoops team on the mighty 570 WSYR.  Of course growing up south of Cortland cable was never going to come to us and most games were not on TV at the time so Doug Logan painted many a picture of a rowdy Carrier Dome for me.

I vividly remember that year's final four, what with the Big East dominating it with half the teams in it.  I drew up posters, I screamed at the TV, my mom, my dad, anyone who happened to get in the way.  What a sweet and precious victory over Providence and what do you know my Syracuse Orangemen were going to be playing for the National Championship. 

Those of us who grew up in Central New York can vividly remember the community spirit and the excitement in the community.  It never even reached that level in 2003.  Remember this was before the probation, only 8 years into the Dome's existence and only about 10 years into Syracuse being a national basketball presence again.  It was truly magical especially for a 10-year old kid.

So we settled in around the 19 inch color Zeinith in the living room that fateful night in late March 1987 to watch Syracuse be elevated to its rightful place as the best team in the world when it came to college basketball.  I made signs, I dressed in orange from my head to my toes.  We were going to dominate and destroy Bob Knight and the Hoosiers.

A funny thing happened on the way to the coronation.  The details of the ebb and flow of the game have faded over the past 21 years, but the kick in the balls that I felt when Keith Smart hit that jumper is still as painful today as it was that fateful night.  I cried, I threw things, I cried some more.  I belive that was also the first time I uttered the phrase "They are call f**king FREE Throws Coleman!". 

1996 was a lot of fun to watch and let's face it most of didn't expect that team to beat Kentucky, 2003 eased much pain, but to this day when I hear Keith Smart, my stomach just turns right over.

That my friends is my worst moment in Syracuse Sport history.

Art Jones is coming back

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There has been a lot of hand wringing over DOCTOR Daryl's hiring of Doug Marrone to be the new head football coach at SU.  Oh NO not another NFL coordinator with no recruiting ties they say. 

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