Another gem from the fine folks at Holy Shirt!
Lately you've just gotten previews and postgame reactions from this notebook. Time to remedy that, as we're back with several topics to catch you up if you've been missing a Syracuse fix in a relatively light week for Syracuse basketball.
Signing Day
I hate following the recruiting beat. There are many, many sites and blogs dedicated to rating each player and class. It's all crap. Until these people play you'll never know how good they'll be. But it does do some good to become familiar with the kids that will be joining your favorite team next season. The full list of our incoming players is here.
New Uniforms
Nike, the controlling overlords that really run the athletic department, have allegedly got yet another new Syracuse basketball uniform set in the can. As evident by these shots you can see a slight tweak of what we're already sporting. I could care less what the team wears. It could be potato sacks with Syracuse written across it. But under no circumstances should you EVER change uniforms in the middle of a season. Just don't it.
Boston College
It seems like only last Thanksgiving that Syracuse, and more specifically Diamond Ferri, gave BC a delightful loss as a going away present as they left the Big East for ABC. Orange::44 Correspondent John Brennan was actually at the game and couldn't have had a better time in enemy territory. Alas, that was all the way back in 2004. It prevented them from going to the Fiesta Bowl. Well, we're playing that Boston College again. So in honor of the renewing of the rivalry the Syracuse version of the BC Fight Song:
(Sung to the tune of the real BC fight song)
For Boston, for Boston.
The outhouse on the hill.
For Boston, for Boston.
The suck, and always will.
So here's to the outhouse on the hill.
BC SUCKS AND ALWAYS WILL.
For Boston, for Boston.
The outhouse on the hill.
State of the League
If you would have told me South Florida would be in the top half of the league at this point I would have called you crazy. Even more crazy, I'm glad we've already played them and it was in Syracuse. Not that Syracuse needed to be terribly worried as we were still a top 5 team then, but still. Either way, USF now has won four league games in a row, including at #8 Georgetown. DePaul is rightfully at the bottom of the league again after Rutgers picked up their one and only league win in the RAC against Notre Dame this past weekend. Only ten of the 16 teams in the league are above .500 in conference at this point, with four teams sitting at exactly .500. Villanova is at the top, still undefeated in conference play at 9-0. Syracuse just behind with their only loss to Pittsburgh, a team that has lost their last two, both on the road. They very well may fall out of the rankings next week. Otherwise, currently the league has four teams in the top ten. Clearly this is the best league and it should be an exciting second half for the league and Syracuse.
NCAA Tourney
We should not expand the tournament to anything remotely close to 90 plus teams. I'm all for expanding to four play-in games and they don't play the #1 seed, but maybe the #12 seed. Something different. But no way should we go more than that. It will water down the product to which we are talking about teams with 18 or 17 wins making the tournament. It shouldn't happen.
Big East Lacrosse
Syracuse was the unanimous selection as preseason favorite to finish first in the league. No kidding? Never would have guessed that. Oh wait, Syracuse will start the season ranked #1 or #2 nationally, they are two-time defending National Champions, and are a team ready for the three-peat. Lacrosse is set to fire up with a scrimmage this weekend, and will start officially later this month with an intriguing game against Denver. Should be a good one and a fun start to the season. Also, congratulations to Providence, the first ever last place selection. Go get 'em.
Selling Out
In this case it isn't a bad thing. Syracuse has announced that the Carrier Dome is officially sold out of tickets for the Villanova tilt coming later this month. A match up that would feature #2 Villanova v. #3/4 Syracuse, potentially #1 v. #2 at that point, will be simply electric and hopefully you either have a ticket or a seat reserved on your couch. 34,616 have been sold, and I imagine it will take forever to go to the bathroom, which I can only assume will be bad as people have all day to drink as this is a 9:00pm tip. I'll be right there with you people. Either way, you're gonna wanna look good and wear orange. So you can purchase the excellent shirt above to fulfill both. You can order online right here.
Thanks for joining me on another omnibus journey through the daily disaster that in Syracuse University athletics. Stay tuned for coverage of the Cincy game, including a Q&A with the only Cincinnati blog out there, coming soon.
Labels: Athletic Department, Basketball, Big East, Carrier Dome, Drinking, Football, Lacrosse, NCAA Tournament, Recruiting
lovely shirt which i like the color very much