** I watched the Syracuse-Ohio State game last night and saw that the Orange finally decided to play without a lid on the basket, shooting about 50% from the field, including 3-pointers. Their defense, always tough, is getting better every game. I noticed that Buddy Boeheim, the coaches son, never made an appearance. Buddy came to the Orange billed as a sharpshooter, deadly from 3-point land. That description is close. His shooting eye IS dead. His field goal percentage is an anemic 10.3%.
Another observation: the officials were horrible. They missed some obvious fouls, called non-existent violations and the ones they did call were ticky-tack fouls. I think Sidibe was called once for heavy breathing in the lane. Coaches often resort to a zone defense to protect their players when they're in foul trouble. Syracuse always plays zone yet they were called for 28 fouls as opposed to Ohio St.'s 17.
Speaking of Sidibe, the announcers gave him at least 3 different pronunciations. Dolezaj had 4. Their preparedness left an awful lot to be desired.
** We are at the start of what I like to call The Silly Season, when rumors fly and and agents salivate. Like last year, there will be a number of players who will be left without offers and even more who will be forced to sign for a lot less money than their agents promised them. There are two big names out there - Machado and Harper, both looking for 10 year deals in the neighborhood of $300 - $400 million. Naturally, when you talk about this kind of money, the Yankees are always rumored to be in the mix. The New York sports writers post article after article speculating on things the Yanks could or should do. One writer suggests that the Yanks should sign them both. Sure, like Hal Steinbrenner has a spare $700 million in his other pants. If they should do that, imagine what the Yankee defense would look like: five outfielders and five infielders and a lot of no-hitters.
Only problem with these two guys is they both come with baggage. Harper is very volatile and tends to let up when he's angry and Machado is even worse. A Washington National teammate actually attacked Harper in the dugout after he gave something less than a full effort on a ground ball. If he did that with NY, Gardner would go after him with a bat. Machado has been trying desperately to back off of his "I'm no Johnny-Hustle" remark after the World Series. That will play well too.
Now there's a rumor that the Yanks are looking to get Robinson Cano back from the Mariners. Oh yeah, That would make three guys walking to first base every night.
Finally, a sad goodbye to "The Toe," Ronald Torreyes, the most popular guy on the team. He was traded to the Cubs for something to be named later. a player, money or used equipment. Little Torreyes, listed at 5'8" (He isn't. 5'5" is more like it) is famous for his high fives in the dugout with 6'7" Aaron Judge. A scrappy player, he never let you down when he played.
Curtis Granderson has been named as MLBPA's Marvin Miller Man of the Year award for the third time. The award is given annually to a player for his contributions to the community as well as on-field performance. He is the first three time winner. For someone who is universally recognized as one of the finest gentleman in the game and very productive, I don't understand why he has played for six different teams in his 15 year career. I guess that's just baseball.
Syracuse vs.Colgate 77-56. Apparently is was the toothpaste not the college.
***THEY SAID IT***
"According to research published in Current Biology, people burn the most calories in the afternoon.
Oh, yeah? Ever see the Oakland Raiders play at 1 p.m. on Sundays?" -- Dwight Perry
" John Daly told the Charlotte Observer he played better golf back
when he was a drunk. Presumably in those days he used a putter, a wedge
and a designated driver." -- RJ Currie
"In the Panther’s 52-21 loss to the Steelers, Carolina’s Kyle Love fell
asleep on the sideline. Love will be fined $5,000 and charged with
impersonating a Cleveland Brown.” -- Alex Kaseberg
"Kansas has hired ex-LSU football coach Les Miles. He has the luxury of
going from a place where the expectation is ‘Beat Alabama’ to a place
where the expectation is ‘Beat Anyone.’ ” -- Pat Forde, Yahoo Sports
"What do you call a game between state rivals Mississippi and Ole Miss that ends in a lopsided 35-3 score? A Miss-match" -- RJ Currie {RJ is currently locked in a battle with Dwight Perry for the title of King of the Puns - CP}
"Washington coach Jay Gruden, saying there is no guarantee Reuben Foster
will play for Redskins “We hold our standards very high…” And he said it with a straight face." -- Janice Hough
- CP
