Waaaaahhhhh - Jay Cutler Cries His Way Out of Denver

According to Mike Florio at Pro Football Talk, Broncos owner Pat Bowlen has agreed to trade Jay Cutler. While I could care less about the Broncos, I do care about the fact that this story has over-shadowed every other NFL story for the last month -- all because poor wittle Jay got his feeling hurt.

Let me ask you this - what has Jay Cutler accomplished in the NFL? The answer - not much. I've got as many playoff appearances as Jay Cutler.

Yet this grown man, and his agent Bus Cooke (of Brett Favre fame) have made a major issue over the fact that a new coach looked into the POSSIBILITY of maybe seeing if a quarterback he had coached for YEARS was available.

Un-f-ing-believable. The worst part about this whole situation is that apparently it worked. If there's any justice in the world, Cutler will get traded to Lions and spend the next 10 years getting his ass kicked.

In the meantime, after an SU loss, I'd like to formally request our good friends at Orange44 rename their segment Cue the Crying Cutler.

Information Overload

The intertubes are just flat out crazy these days. For sports fans there are a million different places find to news or opinions on your favorite teams. From the mainstream media, to blogs, to internet message boards, to social networking sites such as Facebook and now the Twitter explosion, if you want sports news and can't find it, you're lazy - or as dumb as Bill Simonson.

The other day we were contacted by a sports aggregation site called Buzztap, which basically scours the internet and compiles the last sports news. For Syracuse fans, you'll want to bookmark this page to stay up to date on the latest information and blog posts on the Orange.

For those of you on Twitter, you'll want to subscribe to the Syracuse Buzztap feed. While we're here, for those wary of Twitter, let me assure you there's nothing to fear. Basically you get news and nonsense fed straight to your desktop or phone, allowing you one more unnecessary, yet oddly fascinating thing to distract you day and night.

My two favorite celebrity sports Twitter feeds are Shaq's - which is down right hilarious most of the time, and Charlie Villanueva's - which is a combination of free ticket offers, too much information, and just general oddness. Plus, let me assure you that you haven't lived until you've seen the madness that goes on at Hoya Suxa twitter feed. Being funny is hard - being funny in 140 characters or less is nearly impossible, but Glaude pulls it off.

Of course, if this is too much work for you, just hit TNIAAM everyday, Sean is an animal and doesn't miss a thing.

Iraqi Information Minister Alive - Living in Michigan

Let's take a quick math quiz shall we? In what land is --

0 greater than 3?

2 greater than 5?

1 greater than 2?

In the land of Bill "Huge" Simonson - that's where. I'll admit it, ever since he made the ridiculous proclamation a few weeks ago that the Big 10 was better than the Big East, I've been sucked into the retarded vortex that Simonson operates in. Apparently the guy is a radio host in Michigan who subscribes to the lowest common denominator theory of broadcasting -- say something patently false, repeat it with impunity, and let the audience come to you.

Since the tournament started Simonson has been steadfast in his contention that the Big 10 was a better basketball conference this year, facts be damned. Before the tournament started, he made the claim even though the Big East had 3 number 1 seeds to the Big Ten's zero. After the Big East sent an NCAA record 5 teams to the sweet sixteen, he repeated the claim, although the Big 10 had only 2 teams left.

And his latest bit of deep thinking claims that since Michigan State beat Louisville, it clearly proves how the Big 10 is the better conference.... even though the Big East has 2 teams in the final four and the Big 10 has one.

He conveniently fails to mention facts like UConn easily handled Purdue, the Big Ten saw 5 teams bounced in the first weekend, including an over-seeded Illinois team that lost to a 12 seed and the fact that no one on the planet, save a couple of people who can't spell, agree with him. Yet he presses on, because in his own words it is "appalling are all of those Big East homers out there who still think the Big Ten is inferior."

It's too bad that for Bill that there's near universal consensus that the Big East was the best conference this year, and among the best ever. So, let's give Mr. "Huge" credit for one thing - he just goaded me into a post defending the obvious -- which is clearly his goal. But hey, it's not the worst thing he's ever done -- it's not like he ever assisinated the character of a West Point cadet -- oops, maybe he did. Stay classy Mr. Huge, your name certainly doesn't match your IQ.

Meet Your New Starting Quarterback

According to Donnie Webb, the new starting quarterback for the Syracuse Orange is redshirt freshman Ryan Nassib.

A new coaching staff, a new quarterback and a new start for the Orange. That's OK by us. Hopefully Marrone brought a little of that Drew Brees magic dust that he can sprinkle on Nassib's helmet - although right now, we'll settle for "not sucking."

Giddy over Doug

Chins up Cuse fans. Let's put Friday night's debacle behind us. Donnie's spring practice reports have me fired up and ready for some Orangemen Football. The Little Engine That Couldn't, Greg Robinson, made it his policy to close off practices from fans and reporters. Well Doug has opened the doors to the Orange faithful and media. The resulting reports from Donnie Webb have given us some coaching staff quotes that will make you forget Greg Robinson quicker than you can say "flash."

Coach Marrone

"Sometime today? You guys are killing me."

"Nice guys don't play this game."

"It sucks to be me,"

"Stop trying to find ways to lose,"

Coach Conley

"...that's the first time I've seen you hit somebody in a year."

You Rang LeBron???

Kudos to Matt Gelb at the Daily Orange hoops blog, who either read or stumbled upon, an interesting nugget in Mitch Lawrence's NBA column in the NY Daily News -- LeBron James might be calling Jonny Flynn and urging him to sign with his agent.

I don't read Lawrence and I have no idea he consistently comes up with good information or if he just flat out makes stuff up like Peter Vecsey, but you should take everything you read in a NYC tabloid basketball column with a grain of salt. Especially a throw away item like this. We here at T3I want nothing more than another year of Flynn wearing an SU uniform -- but if it is true and King James comes a calling you do one thing - listen.

However, no matter what Jonny decides to do, can we all agree to just let the process play out and not rip the guy to hell? He's had two excellent seasons so far and if he decides in the end that it makes sense to play basketball and cash a check for doing it, we should all wish him nothing but the best.

That being said, hey Mo Williams, sexy it up a bit baby - your man LeBron is showing love to another point guard, so it's time to get the romance back in your life. Make sure LeBron only has eyes for you - until next year anyway.

Reflections of an Idiot: The Syracuse Basketball Season

It's been a couple of days now since Oklahoma took Syracuse behind the woodshed and ended the Orange's 2008-09 season. I didn't post anything on the game because there wasn't much to add. It doesn't take a genius to understand that Syracuse didn't make shots -- many of them wide open -- and Oklahoma did. Plus OU has the best player in country and that always helps.

So, with the season over and the next one 8 long months away, it seems appropriate to offer a few opinions on how things played out and speculate on what lies ahead. This post turned out to be really long, so if you've got a short attention span, just check back later - we'll see if we can find a video of someone getting hit in the nuts for you. For those that are still with me, let's get going.

Ride the Roller Coaster

The season began with the Orange coming off back to back NIT appearances, unranked, and filled with question marks. Would Andy Rautins and Eric Devendorf make full recoveries from ACL injuries? Would SU be able to at least slow down teams on the defensive end? How would they react to a tougher than normal out of conference schedule?

Before Christmas we got answers to all these questions and they were the answers we were looking for. Early season wins over Florida and Kansas, followed up by a win on the road against Memphis, demonstrated the team could handle a tougher December schedule. They also demonstrated that Rautins and Devo were back. The defense, while not great, was better -- and varied -- as the team played both man to man and zone and at times played each well. The only hiccup was a home loss to Cleveland State on a 60 foot shot at the buzzer. Its worth noting that the Vikings would go on to win a game in this year's NCAA tournament. The strong start ultimately kept Syracuse out of the dreaded "bubble" conversation when they were struggling through their mid-season slump.

Once the Big East started the Orange continued their strong play by beating 4 lower-echelon Big East teams -- getting through the "soft" part of their conference season unscathed. While beating teams they should beat isn't normally a reason to get excited, it was telling. There were no bad losses this year. The team proved early that they weren't going to give away games that would come back to haunt them. This hadn't been the case the previous few years. Expectations quickly rose.

However, rough seas were ahead. Syracuse went through a brutal stretch of conference games, going 3-7 against the best teams in the best conference in America. Arinze Onuaku has hurt, Eric Devendorf turned the ball over more than Josh Wright and Michael Edwards combined, and the Orange couldn't get a stop when they needed one. In fact they couldn't get a stop ever, during one 3 game stretch they managed to give up 100 more more points twice.

With the Orange struggling, the dreaded NIT whispers starting, and a fan base beginning to melt down, SU did something they haven't done the past two seasons -- they righted the ship. The Orange won 9 out of 10 going into the Oklahoma game, including the epic 6 OT battle against UConn. In a season that was on the verge of collapse, the team took a step back from the brink, gathered itself, and played its best basketball of the season. It was a statement that Syracuse basketball is back.

Redemption

In a lot ways, the roller coaster season was also a season of redemption for many individual players. Kristof Onganeat, a favorite of fans and bloggers everywhere, came into the season having finished his junior year strong. His hustle, rebounding, desire and willingness to do the dirty work endeared him to all.

Once the season got rolling however, things weren't so smooth. Around the rim the Waffle was stale. He couldn't finish a thing, missing lay up after lay up. It got to the point where teams didn't have to guard him and he found himself mired at the end of Boeheim's bench. We all thought we'd seen the end of meaningful minutes for our favorite Belgian import. We were wrong. During that 3-7 stretch, opportunity knocked on Kris' door, and he answered.

The lay ups started going in, the hustle and desire were stronger than ever, and Kristof became the glue that held the resurregent Orange team together. Plus, he wasn't afraid to drop a hard foul on someone going to the rim. His toughness and desire were part of the cure to what ailed the Orange. SU wouldn't have had their season ending run with his contributions.

Likewise, the man everyone loves to hate, Eric Devendorf, redeemed himself as well. A season that started under a cloud of controversy devolved into discpiplinary proceedings, a 2 game suspension and a return to the court that included more turnovers than positive plays. It culminated with a 9 turnover game against Providence. But a funny thing happened down the stretch, Devo cut down his turnovers, starting making more shots than ever and became a lethal offensive weapon for the Orange. Likewise, Andy Rautins rebounded from a knee injury and a slow start to become the dangerous outside shooter the team could have sorely used the year before. His overall game is something that's overlooked at times, but Andy proved this year he is a heady player, an adept passer and someone that's poised to truly breakout next year.

The Cast

When talking about the invidual performances of this team, Jonny Flynn is the first guy you have to talk about. He clearly improved on a fantastic freshman year, becoming more of a team leader, a true floor general, and a guy that is quick enough to get to the rim on anyone. If he decides to come back next year, Syracuse starts the season in the top 10.

Arinze had a solid, not spectacular season. He needs to work on making quicker decisions in the post, free throw shooting (obviously) and down the stretch his conditioning looked like it could use some work. However, he is a solid, solid big man, and they are hard to find. There's no reason to believe he won't be even better next year either.

The enigma that is Paul Harris continued this year. The victim of being overhyped coming out of high school, Harris again showed stretches of dominance matched by stretches of being AWOL. I am as guilty as anyone of taking him for granted when he's playing well, and getting on him when he's not. Why that is, I'm not sure. His jumper, while flat as a pancake is improving, while his decision making remains questionable. He has a ton of talent, and broad shoulders to take the verbal beating Boeheim delivers, but next year is make or break for Paul.

Rick Jackson got better as the season went along. He's already got an array of low post moves and a willingness to rebound. If he can continue to get stronger, and add a 12 foot jump shot to his game, watch out.

I've already touched on Andy, Eric, and Kristof. The jury is still out on the young guys on the roster. Mookie Jones was shut down with a hip injury, but before that, he showed a quick trigger and the makings of a good shooting stroke, but it was clear he wasn't quite ready for major college basketball. He could become a very good college player or a complete bust - I have absolutely no feel for how his career is going to play out.

Kris Joseph struggled down the stretch and didn't play much, but early in the season he displayed a well rounded game. You have to believe he will develop into a solid player as his career progresses. He reminds me of a more athletic Ryan Blackwell.

The Present and Future

There are very rare occurences when a sweet 16 appearance can be considered a disappointing and this season was not one of them. While the blow out loss to Oklahoma was a tough way to end the year - this team showed heart and guts that ulimately made this an enjoyable, and successful season.

We don't know exactly what next year's team will look like, but we will know soon enough. Regardless of what happens, there is no arguing that next year's team will be good, and deeper than it's been in years. Adding Wesley Johnson, Scoop Jardine, a healthy Mookie Jones and a cast of 3 recruits to this squad virtually assures us all that this team is going to be good for years to come.

In the future we may very well look back at this season, and the run they put together to end the season, and see it as the prelude to a great run. I certainly hope so. This turned out to be a solid season and the future is bright for Syracuse basketball.

Pretty Woman II

Millionaire meets hooker. Millionaire falls in love. Boring.

Sham Wow guy meets hooker. Hooker bites his tongue. Sham Wow guy smacks hooker. Hooker presses charges. Now we're talking blockbuster.

7:30 get here

Fridays drag on long enough in the office. Tack on a big time Cuse game happening and its likely your day in the office will drag on longer than the last two minutes of an NBA game. We at T3I want to do our part to lower workplace productivity, and more importantly help you get through the work day for tonight's battle with the Sooners.

Here's some junk to check out:

* First up, NCAA on Demand. Put "Syracuse" and "Basketball" into their search engine and check out a ton of old Cuse tournament games available for purchase. I'm ordering the '87 Regional Final vs. North Carolina....Little Champ's first taste of the Final Four.

* Blake "Rupaul" Griffin

* Anyone else ever have the irrepressible desire to have every NCAA bracket at the tip of your fingers? Go ahead, print yourself out a copy....use the boss's ink. It's great to have on hand when settling arguments with your idiot friends.



* Have you checked out Jimmy B's official website yet? If not, it's sure to kill some time until lunch.

* I just replayed the '87 title game on whatifsports and the Cuse came away with an impressive 102-91 victory. Sherm led the way with a 21/12 double-double.

* Looking for a new Cuse hat?

* The best historical site for SU Hoops...you can waste a lot of time here

* How about a photo gallery of SU's 2003 Regional in Albany?

So pull up that fake spreadsheet and have some fun. It will be 7:30 before you know it.

Cuse BINGO

From what I've read on the internet (so it has to be true), CBS's #1 team of Jim Nantz and Clark Kellogg will be calling the South Regional action this weekend. For those of you not able to be there in person, we invite you to play Cuse BINGO at home. Cross out an item when you see or hear it during Friday night's game.

Ebay Item of the Week

Photo: Syracuse.com

Now I know what to dress my 2yo son in when he misses dunks on his Little Tikes basketball hoop

Doug Houge Puts His Hittin Shoes On

Donnie Webb is reporting that Syracuse tailback Doug Hougue and wide receiver Dan Sheeran have been moved to linebacker.

Houge's position been the topic of debate on internet message boards ever since he set foot on campus and physically, he's certainly has the size to play the linebacker position. Sheeran on the other hand is making a move you don't see too often - because unless your name is Anquan Boldin or TO, wide receivers are rarely confused with linebackers.

The move certainly speaks volumes about the need to address a position that was a constant weakness under Greg Robinson. It also makes you wonder how one coach can project a player as a wide out and another sees him as a run stopper - but we can get into that speculation some other day.

May you enjoy the move and knock someone's head off Doug, we'll be rooting for you.

Photo: http://www.syracuse.com/

Syracuse - Oklahoma Blog Tour

I had a little time on my hands tonight, so I thought I'd see what other blogs are saying about this Friday's Syracuse-Oklahoma game. Here it goes:

* Statsheet is running the latest AP Story on the game.

* Storming the Floor profiles Oklahama as well as Syracuse who, according to the site, has a 50-50 chance of making the Final Four.

* The NY Times blog the Quad debunks myths about Oklahoma.

* In case you missed it, Sean gives us all more information on Blake Griffin. Here's one more nugget, he's a Cleveland Cavaliers fan, I think it's safe to say we can call that the LeBron effect.

* Gambling 911 previews the game - yet fails to mention who you should actually gamble on.

* And this guy isn't exactly doing his part to portray law enforcement in Oklahoma in a positive light.

Bracket Busted

As you know by now, the entire Sweet 16 is almost all chalk, which means one thing - EVERYONE's bracket is still fine. Mine is fine, yours is fine, your neighbor's is fine. No high seeds are gone, and very few people have final four teams that have been eliminated....well except for those misguided folks who thought Wake Forest had a run in them.

However, don't feel bad Wake Forest believers - the rest of your picks are certainly better than this guy's.

Steve Lappas Breaks Down SU-Oklahoma

I never really liked Steve Lappas, he kind of looks like a rat. As a coach, he turned around a bad Manhattan program and then went on to have mild success at both Villanova and UMass, but managed to get run out of both places. He's now working for CBS and in the clip below he breaks down the Syracuse - Oklahoma game. Much to my chagrin, there's nothing to mock here, he provides an informative and balanced break down of the game. While you check that out, we'll be out surfing the internet looking for more things we can mock - for now take 3 minutes and check it out.

The Curry Family Continues Their Quest to Dominate March -- Headlines

Last year's NCAA tournament darling Stephen Curry and his Davidson Wildcats notably failed to qualify for this year's big dance, and just a few days ago were eliminated from the NIT by St. Mary's. His younger brother Seth plays for Liberty, a team that managed to get eliminated from the College Insider.com Tournament post season tournament (if you haven't heard of this thing -don't ask) on the same night that Davidson bit the dust.

While Seth is the younger, and to date less celebrated than his brother, the kid can play -- as he lead all freshman in the nation in scoring at 20.2 points per game.

So, with both teams eliminated from further competition, that should conclude March 2009's coverage of the Curry family and their basketball exploits......except that Seth announced today he's transferring - to seek out higher competition. Clearly Jerry Fallwell cannot be pleased.

Which leads us to a very important note about next year -- if Stephen declares for the NBA draft, and Seth spends the year sitting out because of NCAA transfer rules, we are looking at a Curry-less March. Meaning no puff pieces from the media, no pundits picking their teams as "sleepers" and most importantly, no crowd shots of Mrs. Curry. So too tide you over until then.......

The NFL Wants You to Put a Stupid Dish on Your House

We interrupt our NCAA-centric blogging with breaking news which completely pisses me off - the lack of access to the NFL's Sunday ticket will be extended to 2014.

DirecTV will continue to have exclusive access to broadcast out of market NFL games, and for millions of fans like yours truly who root for teams that aren't local, this means one thing - you will continue to be forced out of your house if you want to see your team play on most Sundays.

Now, any reader of this blog knows I enjoy spending time in bars, and all 3 idiots have been known to knock back a few adult beverages back from time to time, but being FORCED TO if you want to watch your favorite team for a few hours on a Sunday is bullshit.

The new agreement does make some concessions to cable subscribers, most notably, according to the report on the NFL web site, people can pay to get the Sunday Ticket over the internet if they live in places such as apartment buildings or in residences where poor sightlines make satellite unavailable. How they determine that is anyone's guess.

Also, the Red Zone channel will be available on cable - for what fee we don't know - which provides live cut ins to games where teams are close to scoring. While these concesssions do represent progress, it's still not enough, and here's why -I want to watch these games -- and pay for the privilege of doing so but -- I DON'T WANT TO PUT A FUCKING SATELLITE DISH ON MY HOUSE.

For a league that gets so many things right from a fan's perspective, the NFL's continued failure on this issue is infuriating, mostly because as a consumer I don't have any choices. As a cable subscriber I can pay for and watch every LA Clippers game, or every Vancouver Cannuck game (is hockey still played?), but if I want to watch the Eagles, I have to go to a bar. That makes sense.

However, I know that when Sunday in September rolls around, I'll be running to that watering hole like Amy Winehouse runs to her crack dealer -- and like Amy, rehab isn't an option. But screaming at Roger Goodell on this dopey little blog is so - hey Roger, on this issue you FAIL.

And tell your PR people that making up retarded, not even close to truthful quotes like this -- "This new content enhances our tradition of being the most pro-consumer, widely available sport on television," -- does not help. I may be an idiot, but I'm also a customer who would actually like purchase your product, and because of this deal, I cannot. Dummy.

This Should Put a Smile On Your Face Monday Morning

Photo: Deadspin

In Case You Missed It

There was an insane finish in the NYS High school basketball playoffs, when Newburgh knocked off Mount Vernon on a half court heave at the buzzer - and they used that momentum to beat Niagara Falls in the state title game today. At least our two favori te Niagara Falls natives, Jonny Flynn and Paul Harris won today. The Saturday game winner is below.

Make it to the Sweet Sixteen Chat

If you are looking for a place to talk to anonymous strangers and say evil things about the Arizona State Sun Devils, this is your web site. Show up nerds.

Who Wants to Be a Cuse-a-naire?

Today's Arizona State-Syracuse matchup is the featured pick in ESPN's "Streak for the Cash" fantasy game.

Hopefully "Streak" players fare better than this guy:

What I Learned From Round 1 of the NCAA Tournament

Well, the first round of the greatest 3 week sporting event in the nation is in the book and while we didn't see a ton of upsets, we did see some great basketball. Here's what I've learned so far:

* Oliver Purnell is a horrific tournament coach. John Belien, a terrific coach in his own right, handed Ollie his lunch on Thursday, as Purnell completely botched the ending of the game v. Michigan. He is still winless in the NCAA Tournament. I guessing he's going to stay that way.

* Staying on the coaching theme, Fran Dunphy's Temple team came up short. I love the job Dunphy does in the regular season, but good God man - win a tournament game sometime will ya? Yes, I always end up picking Penn, and now Temple to upset someone, I'm always disappointed.

* I should have believed in Cleveland State - and Rutgers should have believed in Gary Waters. Granted, he didn't have much success at Rutgers, but compared to Fred freaking Hill, he's John Wooden. Rutgers basketball - a century of ineptitude.

* Siena's Ronald Moore huge balls - Sam Cassell style huge balls.

* I learned to remember how good an NCAA tournament win is - as SU easily dispatched Stephen F. Austin.

* The Big 12 had the best first round, going 6-0. The Big East put in a strong performance at 6-1, God only knows what happened to W. Virginia. The much vaunted ACC went 3-4 and the SEC should stick to football.

* I learned that even in a loss, North Dakota State's Ben Woodside is really good.

* And I learned that drinking beer for 12 hours while watching hoops is awesome, until the next day. Actually I already knew that........

I'm planning on doing a live chat tomorrow for Syracuse's game against Arizona State - so feel free to drop in.

Do Not Mess with Stevie's Mascot or Cheerleaders

The Syracuse Orange may be heavy favorites in their first round match up against Stephen F. Austin, but that hasn't stopped the Lumberjacks from scoring a couple of significant victories.

After hearing about my asinine attempt a few years back to predict who would win the NCAA tournament based on which team has the tougher mascot, reader Tom passed along a link from eCollegeFinder- which is doing a College Basketball Nickname Brawl.

For Orange fans, the news isn't good. First round opponent Stephen F. Austin and their Lumberjack mascot are beating poor Otto. In fact, according to the site - "This might be our most one-sided match up of the first round." I haven't seen many Lumberjacks that couldn't take down an Orange, but then again, I don't know if the Lumberjack knows about the new, bad ass Otto that showed up recently.

Meanwhile, over at Fan IQ, the Syracuse and the Stephen F. Austin cheerleaders are going head to head in a similiar competition and things aren't going so well over there either. The lovely ladies that cheer on the Lumberjacks are DESTROYING the Orange cheerleaders 80% to 20%. This is a performance that even Walter Mondale would find pathetic. At least we've still got the competition on the court, which should favor the Orange -- and here's your gratuitous shot of the competition

NCAA Basketball and Porn - a Natural Combination

With the tournament set to tip off in just 12 hours, we've got a pool you might want to think about entering -- the BracketologyXD pool is offering a first prize of a weekend in Las Vegas, and a meet and greet with the 2007 Penthouse Pet of the Year Heather Van Deven. You might want to put in a bid on the eBay item of the week below, this tournament is too important to screw up.

This is Heather, if you want more revealing photos, they aren't hard to find in the internet. Trust me, I already checked it out for you. I'm good like that.

Ebay Item of the Week

Here's an idea. I auction off my bracket picks to the highest bidder so they can use them in their office pools. Sound ridiculous? It hasn't stopped this guy. Suprsisingly NO ONE has bid on these.

In related news, I'll be auctioning off my thoughts on next week's winning Mega Millions numbers.

Get Well Soon Ty

With all the medical attention being paid to North Carolina starting point guard Ty Lawson's injured toe, we here at T3I thought we'd do our part and send the little guy a get well card. Seeing as the Tar Heels are a completely different team without him and they happen to be in the same bracket as Syracuse, here's hoping he makes a full recovery.............in May.


Image and pithy saying courtesy of SomeEcards - when you care enough to hit send.

The 6 Million Dollar Opponent

Lee Majors and his chest hair will be no match for the Orange.

The Russianator's great overview of the Orangemen's first round opponent is a must-read as you prepare for Friday's matchup. To further prepare you T3I has uncovered some video footage of Steve Austin in action this year:

A Big Out-of-Conference Win vs. Sasquatch (Thats gotta help the RPI):

When Daryl Gross Markets the Syracuse Orange Holiday Album, You'll Know Where He Got the Idea:

Steve Austin Rocking Out to Richard Marx:

Don't Be That Guy: Bracket Edition

"What's this? You're wearing the shirt of the band you're going to see? Don't be that guy." ~ Jeremy Piven (Droz) P.C.U.

It's that time of year again. Your office is buzzing with the excitement that is March Madness office pool. While you are working on coming up with a good excuse for calling in sick on Friday, consider these guys you don't want to be while completing your brackets. A special thanks to my fellow idiots the Russianator and Boss (yes he's alive people) for their help with our list.

Mr. Going Out on a Limb: This is the wild and crazy guy who really goes out on a limb come tournament time. He has all four #1 seeds making the tournament. We know it happened last year (that makes one time in the history of the 64-team field) -- but its as thoughtful as a Whitman's Sampler on Valentine's Day. Come on people you are better than that.

It's Not the Heat It's the Humidity Guy: This is the guy in your office who is the master of the obvious. They are famous for letting you know "That 9 beating an 8 really isn't an upset you know." Really? His other famous words...."You know a 12 always beats a 5." Thanks pal.

Power Conference Guy: This so-called basketball fan sees names like Gonzaga, Xavier & Creighton and assumes that this is their first trip to the dance. His bracket is dotted with UCLAs, Minnesotas, Texas and Clemsons. He's often suggesting Happy Hour locations in chain restaurants...I think you get the idea. Anyone up for some riblets at Applebee's?

Daddy No-bucks Guy: This is the guy who refuses to participate in the office pool because he "never gambles." It's $5 people, suck it up. My bet is you probably have $5 in change in your car right now.

Xerox Guy: This is the guy that fills out 20 different bracket sheets, but remarkably has the same final four in each one. If the economic mess has taught us anything....diversify that portfolio!

Leave it to Junior Guy: He lets his 12yo fill out the bracket, he usually ends up winning.

Fantasyland Guy: He picks his brackets according to "which mascot would win in a fight." T3I disclosure: The Russianator admits doing this once.

Local Yokel Guy: This guy's bracket will feature the local teams overacheiving their way one to two rounds further than anyone else would deem reasonable. This buckeye state resident has Ohio State in the Final 4 , Dayton in the Elite 8, with Cleveland State and Ohio U. getting to the Sweet 16. He also has no chance of winning the pool so you keep feeding him multiple entries to build up the cash take. Many of us know his cousin:

Cuse is in the House Guy: My gambling career has taught me many lessons. Among them, betting and your favorite team never, EVER, mix well together. Don't pick Cuse to win it all until those "Final Four 2nd chance" pools come out.

Abbreviation Guy: This guy abbreviates every selection he makes as he fills out the bracket...Michigan is "UM", Texas A&M is "A&M", Oklahoma State and Ohio State and Oregon State are all "OSU" --- come on people your not getting charged by the megabyte here. This guy frequently doubles as a ...

WAG (Wrong Abbreviation Guy): Western Kentucky is not UWK, nor is New Mexico "NMU" --We'd seriously ban guys like this if we could.

Tom Hanks (aka the Hopeless Romantic): This guy who picks his alma mater to win it all - and his alma mater is a 15 seed.

Mr. I Told You So: It's a fun scene when everyone at the office is huddled around a TV or computer watching a big-time upset unfold. This guy will let you know that he had this upset all along on one of his 239 brackets he filled out.

The Boston College Eagle Guy: The fix is on with him as he's a natural point-shaver. This is the guy who tries to pick all the losing teams because he's trying to get the last place booby prize. To quote Herm Edwards - you PLAY TO WIN THE GAME.

So please, make sure you pick some upsets, and get those abbreviations correct. We beg you, please don't pick an all #1 seed Final Four.

Let us know who we missed.

Previously on Don't Be That Guy:

Super Bowl Party

Carrier Dome

Fantasy Football

Cleaning Out the Inbox

Here that T3I, we get bombarded with e-mails -- and by bombarded I mean 2 or 3 e-mails a week. We get so many I usually forget to check the account on a daily basis, but by all means, don't let that stop you. If you've got something you want us to see, or if you just want to tell us we suck - our e-mail address is over on the right - have it. We are always happy to have material to throw up here.

That being said, over the past couple of days, we got a few pretty good e-mails, so its time to share. The first comes from our good friends over at the Sports Hernia, who wanted to share Kristof! doing his best Greg Louganis impersonation.




The second quality thing that came our way comes from one of my favorite readers - my Uncle Dave -- who passed along a video that has been making it's way around the intertubes, but whenever Hitler and T.O. are prominently involved, I'm posting it. Enjoy.

Getting to Know Stephen F. Austin

The third seeded Syracuse Orange are headed to Miami to play the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Since I'm guessing you don't know much about Stephen F. Austin, sit back and leave the Googling to us - we're good like that.

Location: Nacogdoches Texas

Students: 10,600

Nickname: The Lumberjacks

Founded: 1923

Conference: Southland

Record: 24-7, 13-3 in conference

NCAA record: 0-0, this is their first tournament appearance

Coach: Danny Kaspar, who is in his 9th year at the helm, and is also the owner of an awesome mustache

How They Qualified for the Tournament: The Lumberjacks won both the Southland regular season and conference titles, and knocked off Texas-San Antonio 68-57 to earn the automatic bid.

Best Player: Matt Kingsley, a 6-9 forward, who was named Southland Conference Player of the Year and MVP of the conference tournament. Kingsley averaged 16 points and nearly 8 boards a game. He had 33 points in a game against Jackson State earlier this year, when he went 15-16 from the field.

Notable Wins: They beat NCAA tournament participant North Dakota State 112-111 in 3 overtimes (only 3 - what a bunch of pansies). In addition to the 3 extra periods, ND State guard Ben Woodside managed to drop 60 points on the Lumberjacks in this one. Other than that, they've beaten no one you've ever heard of - the Southland isn't exactly the Big East and their strength of schedule is 242.

Notable Losses: They played Texas A&M tough, losing by 7. They also lost by double digits to Arkansas and Texas Tech.

Statistical Comparison: Every stat you'll ever want to see how the teams match up can be found here.

Prediction: Pain

Going to Miami...

Put the Snuggies away and break out your T3I Speedos. The Cuse is going to Miami.

Syracuse - Officially Dangerous

An epic Big East Tournament run is over and selection Sunday is just a few short hours away. In the post-game press conference after the Louisville game, Jim Boeheim said that "five years from now, there's going to be two things people remember about this Syracuse basketball season. Two and only two -- the Connecticut Syracuse game and how we do in the tournament." He's absolutely right. Which brings us to the next question - just how much damage can this team do in the big dance?

Obviously, I'm wearing Orange colored glasses, but the answer is pretty damn far. This team has beaten two teams being considered for number one seeds, and they had a third potential number one seed in Louisville on the ropes last night before running out gas. Unlike past years, there's no true beast in college basketball that has truly dominated the competition. North Carolina would be the closest, and as we saw yesterday, they aren't the same team without Ty Lawson. While Lawson says he'll be ready to play, will he be the same? Only time will tell.

Right now Syracuse represents a dangerous match up for opponents because Andy Rautins and Eric Devendorf can spread out a defense with their ability to shoot ball, which opens up lanes for Jonny Flynn to drive to the hoop, and right now there's not a human on the planet that can stay in front of him. Paul Harris brings rebounding, Kristof has been playing like he's hair is one fire -- doing the little things no one else on the team wants to do -- and Arinze Onuaku is finally healthy. You also cannot discount the emotional lift that UConn game gave this team. When you beat a team in 6 overtimes and you didn't lead until the last one, that's all I need to know about this team's will to win.

The last 5 years of Syracuse basketball haven't gone as well as anyone would have liked --but for the first time since the 2004-05 season, this team is officially dangerous. After the elation of making the tournament wears off, no team is going to want to see Syracuse staring back at them in their bracket - and that feels awesome.

A few other miscellaneous thoughts running through my head.

The Fatigue Factor

I'm sure people will bring up the fatigue factor of Syracuse essentially playing 5 games in 4 days and that hurting their chances in the NCAAs -- and use 2006 as an example. I personally don't buy that argument. The 2006 team lost because Gerry McNamara was injured, not fatigued. Gerry was also that team's primary scorer and carrying the weight of the offense. Other than 4 days in NYC, that team struggled all year, had a losing conference record and was memorably ass raped by 40 points by an average DePaul team.

The fact the Boeheim uses an extremely short bench demands that this team be in shape - and they are. There have been no reported injuries (knock on wood) and I expect them to be pumped up and ready to go. They've been waiting 3 years for this tournament, they'll be ready.

Boeheim

As I said, the last few years have been frustrating --since the upset loss to Vermont, the team has been screwed out of an NCAA tournament bid, been plagued with injuries and inconsistency and made back to back appearances in the NIT. It hasn't been fun, but it points out something that we all lose sight of -- winning college basketball games isn't easy. Don't believe me? Ask a St. John's fan. There are nearly 350 schools playing Division I college basketball, competing for players and trying to make the NCAA tournament. We're so damn lucky that Jim Boeheim has been able to lead this program to nearly 800 wins, 3 final fours and a national title. There's a fine line between being a perennial contender and being St. Johns - and it's coaching that makes the difference. For every coach like Boeheim that has had success, there are 20 guys like Norm Roberts and Fred Hill - guys that can't coach their way out of wet paper sack.

While it's great to have a Syracuse team back in the mix - we shouldn't be surprised, because the guy with the whiny voice and glasses who prowls the sideline knows what he's doing.

Get your brackets ready people, it's going to be fun.

What if?

Picture courtesy: www.truthaboutduke.com

A few thoughts from the week that was the Big East Tournament.

What if it was Duke winning a 6 OT game this week? Scary thought. I can only imagine:

• Dick Vitale takes the advice from the makers of Levitra and calls his doctor about a certain something lasting longer than 3 hours
• A new ESPN movie, "Screw You Giants-Colts, the New Greatest Game Ever Played."

What if Devo's shot vs. UConn counted?

• The Russianator's cat lives
• Productivity soars in CNY on Friday
• Calhoun takes being a jerk to an even higher level
• Three words: Doris Burke lapdance

What if the McDonald's Filet-o-Fish commercial wasn't so creepy?

• I wouldn't be haunted by that song when I'm trying to fall asleep
• I might go get some nuggets

What if Joe Lunardi was a mentally stable adult?

• I wouldn't be watching him right now dressed up and pretending to be a judge on ESPN

What if Bob Huggins brought more than one suit to NYC?

• We'd have nothing to talk about during our Idiot chat

B.E.T. Championship Chat

Yes, we're going for another chat. Remember, you're dealing with idiots here.

The 'If You're Not in a Bar' Chat

If you are home at 9:30 tonight, and not out doing something most people do on a Friday night -- interacting with other humans -- stop in for a live game chat during the Syracuse - West Virginia game. Hopefully it's over before 1:30 in the morning but I can't promise you anything. As for me, we are going to a St. Patrick's Day Parade/drinking fest tomorrow, so I'm trying to be good.

Did You Know?

Did you know that Syracuse is undefeated in games that go 6 overtimes? Really, its true.

Huskies Hatin' Chat

Stop back a little after nine tonight for the SU game -- we'll be here, typing.........and giving Hasheem Thabeet the evil eye from our living rooms.

Cuse-SHU, Big Apple Idiot Chat

9:00, stop by.

Madness, coming soon.

Friends of Idiots- Raft and Verne

The guys over at Awful Announcing posted CBS's broadcast teams for this year's edition of the greatest sporting event in the world. For those of you too lazy to click on the link, here are the CBS pairings along with a little Idiot analysis.

Jim Nantz/Clark Kellogg: We are so ecstatic that Billy Packer is done with CBS that we can even tolerate Jim Nantz for another year. Clark always gives love to Syracuse, so that scores points in our book.

Dick Enberg/Carter Blackburn/Jay Bilas: Jay has established himself as one of the best commentators in the game today. You get absolutely no Vitale-like ACC spin from this Duke grad. I've caught a little bit of Carter doing games on CBS College Sports this year. I didn't know much about him, but a google search reveals he's a Cuse grad. That alone makes Dick Enberg say "Oh my."

Verne Lundquist/Bill Raftery: I'll watch any game these two guys do. Verne has lost a bit off his fastball as of late, but he's still a class act. And Raft....tell me you wouldn't have a blast going out for beers with this guy?

Gus Johnson/Len Elmore: Gus Johnson can make the WNBA exciting. Ok, let me try that again. Gus Johnson could make Syracuse football exciting. That's better. Len, keep hitting the snooze button.

Kevin Harlan/Dan Bonner: Kevin Harlan's best work was in those "Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!" monster truck commercials. Bonner is a solid color guy.

Ian Eagle/Jim Spanarkel: Why do I always picture NY Jets games when I hear Ian Eagle's voice?

Craig Bolerjack/Bob Wenzel: Bob Wenzel is just as good of an announcer as he was a head coach.

Tim Brando/Mike Gminski: Yikes. G-Man at least bring back your old killer beard.

Greater Than - a Trial Run

Welcome to a new feature here at T3I, called "Greater Than." Combining the greatest elements of blog commenters at sites like Deadspin and the Big Lead with pure unadulterated laziness on my part, the feature is self explanatory and will run whenever we feel like running it - or never again. Let's give it a run......

Nine team Big East Tournament > 16 team BET

Bill Rafferty > Dick Vitale

Fake Rick Reilly Twitter page > Rick Reilly

Siena Saints > Davidson Wildcats

Barking Dog > John Celestand

National Wheelchair Basketball Association > America East Conference

Al McGuire's corpse > Tom Brennan

New uses for VCRs > intended uses for VCRs

Working in a fast food joint > playing for Lane Kiffin

Bloggers using steroids > pro athletes using steroids

Jay Wright > Fred Hill..............actually

Homeless alcoholic bum on the corner > Fred Hill.

Did You Know?

That 16 seeds are now undefeated in first round games of the Big East Tournament? It's true, as DePaul dumped Cincy 67-57 to get the Garden Party started. It was their first win in-conference all season.

Big East Tournament Eve

I LOVE the Big East Tournament the way Matthew McConaughy loves walking around without a shirt. There's nothing better than sitting in Madison Square Garden sucking down over priced Bud Lights, scarfing down nachos and watching great college basketball for hours on end. In between sessions you can spill out onto the streets of the greatest city in the world and get something to eat, or get yourself into all sorts of trouble, then trek back in for more college hoops.

I attended the event for 11 years in a row before my streak came to end last year. Through a combination of my family having less tickets, Dr. Gross upping the donation limits you have to fork over to the school to get tickets and an expanded conference, getting decent seats became harder to come by. Plus, what amounts to a week of eating, drinking, and sleeping in NYC hotels adds up. So sadly, this will be the second consecutive year I'll watch from home, but I know someday soon I'll make my return. If you've never been, you really should go at least once, take my word for it.

The tournament is set to start tomorrow, and while I HATE the expanded field (for reasons like it starts on a Tuesday, incorporates double byes, and forces some teams to win 5 games in row) I still love the event. So let's get properly motivated for the Garden Party.

Great Ensembles

Our friends over at Hugging Harold Reynolds compiled some great ensembles of the BET over the last 15 years. The list is no where near complete and should stir some great debate, so go check it out and leave any thoughts you have below. They choose the 2002-03 Syracuse team as having a great cast, although that team was bounced by UConn in the semi-finals. I would like to extend kudos to the Bootsy Collins reference, that is one of the great all-time names in Big East history.

Reliving the past - Personal Memories

The Good

The first great memory I have is the 1998 tournament. With Syracuse playing St. John's the building was packed with Red Storm fans and the atmosphere was electric. It was a back and forth game until unlikely hero Ryan Blackwell (one of the least athletic skinny guys I can remember) hit a buzzer beater to give SU a semi-final victory advance the Orange to the finals. I was almost late for the game because I made the mistake of dragging my then girlfriend with me. Sadly, the UConn Huskies would best them in the finals and that relationship didn't last, but it was an awesome way to spend Friday night. I was hooked.

Obviously, the highlight of any Orange fan's BET memory is 2006, when Gerry 'Not 10 F-ing Games' McNamara made the back page of the NYC tabloids 4 days in a row, carrying SU into the NCAAs in a year when they were left for dead. From the one footed runner to beat Cincinnati, to the bomb that got them into OT against UConn (a game Marcus Williams could have won for the Huskies) to the comeback win versus G'town and the final win against Pitt, it was 4 days I will never forget. I wonder if my boss will mind if I wear my Overrated???!! shirt to work this week? He may not have a chance.

The 2005 tournament win by the Orange was sweet, as it was the first one I actually witnessed in person, and SU's first tourney win since 1992, but in retrospect, the awful loss a few days later to Vermont in the NCAAs will always overshadow that win. Probably because Champ and I were there and I got heckled by a fat woman in a Vermont sweatshirt. I still hate her.

And any great list of memories would be incomplete without mentioning the first tournament I attended in 1997 - as a much younger man. The Big East had 13 teams back then, so the first round of games on Wednesday started at 11 - which was when my buddy Chris and I started drinking. Needless to say, in between sessions, when most people went and got dinner, we went to a strip club where an 'entertainer' took Chris' hat and tried to place it over her surgically enhanced asset, only to realize the hat wasn't big enough. Of course we got pictures and no you can't see them.

The story does have a happy ending, we stumbled back into the Garden for the late games and UConn was awful that year, so we proceeded to heckle 4 humorless UConn fans in front of us to the point where I think they were ready to fight. Oddly, we didn't see them the rest of the week.
The Bad

In 2000 (I think it was 2000) Syracuse had the noon game versus Georgetown. My train was late and I didn't get into the arena until about 12:30 and 90 minutes later, that little bastard Kevin Braswell almost single handedly eliminated the Orange. The anticipation I had on the train ride down lasted longer than SU. That blew.

1997 was also bad, all I remember is Todd Burgan falling down a lot and Tim Thomas crushing SU as Nova eliminated the Orange and sent them to the NIT, a year after an unexpected trip to the final four.

The Ugly

UConn fans. With the State of Connecticut being a commuter train ride away, when the Huskies get rolling - and they usually do - the Garden becomes filled with a punch of preppy douchebags wearing pea coats and button downs, and drunk students all doing the UConn chant. The building quickly becomes a home game for these obnoxious people and if you've ever experienced it, you know it's almost unbearable. The good news, since they are close, if the Huskies are gone, these people are too. They don't stick around. Sadly, they usually don't get eliminated quick enough.

The Videos

Here's a recap from last year of great plays in Big East Tournament history:



And here's a couple of obligatory 2006 videos - enjoy the tournament everyone.

Good Things Happen When I'm Gone

The moment you've been waiting for is finally here - I have arrived back on U.S. soil after a little sojourn in the Caribbean sun. Actually you should be begging me to get the hell out of here because during the week I was gone Syracuse went 3-0 and looked pretty damn good doing it.

Thanks to some fine - and by fine I mean absolutely terrible - work by Delta Airlines and the Montego Bay airport - it took exactly 24 hours to return home. So while it might take a couple of days to get back in the swing, let's ease back into the blogging with a few random things that are running through my still cloudy mind.

* I'd like to thank the University at Albany Great Danes for ending Vermont's season once again. Yes, we're still bitter about 2005 - since Tom Brennan brings it up 2,000 times a year in March.

* I was so fired up by the work of the Danes, I watched their conference semi-final loss to UMBC this afternoon (the 5 mile trek to the arena was far too much work) - which was a mistake. Napoleon Dynamite scored more with Summer Wheatley than Albany did this year, and their terrible offense cost them again today. It was like watching a Big 10 game, only with smaller, slower, even less athletic players. America East fever - catch it. Speaking of catching it......

* Since I'm sure you haven't heard it anywhere - T.O. is coming to Buffalo. To the Axeman and all the diehard Bills out there think of it this way: TO is the hot chick you meet 15 minutes before the bar closes. You're drunk, her body looks tight and you take her home and have a great time. However, the next morning, with a clear head you realize she's a pain in the ass who talks too much about herself, has more miles on her than you realized and may have some motives you aren't yet aware of.......oh and she also happens to have a raging case of herpes. RAGING. Good luck with that.

* According to the limited amount of ESPN I was able to sneak in on vacation, ARod, T.O. and Manny Ramirez are the only 3 guys now in participating in professional athletics. Apparently all the other fine athletes of the world have retired......

* And even if I was retired and had nothing to do, I still wouldn't give a crap about the World Baseball Classic. WHY, WHY, WHY would anyone care about this??? I care 1,000 times more about the Heineken factory in Holland than the Dutch baseball team. March is a time for brackets, beer, and too many crowd shots of Stephen Curry's mom. That's it - that's the list......If you need your baseball fix, a lazy spring training game in the Florida sun will work - Todd Jones in a dome in Canada will not.

* Paul Harris had a nice week - popcorn on Sunday, a Terrence Stansbury in game dunk on Tuesday and a double-double in the win over Marquette on Saturday. Even Chuck Norris would be impressed with that.

* In NFL news, the Philadelphia Eagles continue to stockpile mid-round draft picks, sign average players to short term contracts and let the cornerstones of the franchise sign elsewhere. Hey, at least they'll be under the salary cap that could very well disappear in 2011. You have to love Joe Banner, Jeff Lurie and Andy Reid. After 10 years together, their quest for being consistently slightly above average is right on track.

* Shaq's Twitter feed slays me on a daily basis. That's probably why a quarter of a million people have subscribed. Shaq is so entertaining these days I'm almost willing to forgive him for Kazam. Almost.

* The new, unimproved Big East tournament starts this week. With the sixth seed, Syracuse gets to play night games for however long they are in it -- which means my work week just got more productive.

* And I'll close with a quick travel story. That blurry picture you see above - that's a meal voucher that Delta gave me after our initial flight Saturday was 2 hours late, causing us to miss our connecting flight and requiring an overnight stay at a scuzzy, smelly airport Ramada in Queens. In all actuality, even with the initial delay, we still could have made our connecting flight had there been any competent Delta staff on duty at JFK Saturday night -- yes, I'm talking to you Bernardo. Anyway, the meal voucher could be used at the restaurant of the aforementioned scuzzy, smelly hotel. If you look closely you can see its for $7.00. The chicken fingers at the bar cost $17.95. Thanks Delta, thanks a lot. And go fuck yourselves.

* Ahhhh - it's good to be back.

Chat Soup- Marquette Style

Friday Time Killing Trivia: March Madness Edition

In our ongoing mission to lower workplace productivity, T3I presents some trivia for yout to ponder as you finish up those pesky TPS reports.

Enjoy. Answers can be found in the Comments section.


1. Since the NCAA began seeding teams in 1979, in which year did Syracuse receive their worst seed?

2. On their way to the '96 Final Four, who did Syracuse defeat in their first round matchup?

3. True or False. Syracuse has been a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

4. Since 1986, how many years has Duke has played 1st/2nd round games in the state of North Carolina. (This question is respectfully dedicated to Dick Vitale who consistently bashes Syracuse for never leaving the state of NY during December. Also, Dick is quick to point out that our 2003 title run included a stop in Albany. Get lost Dick.)

5. Another question for Mr. Vitale. Why should you be outraged over the Syracuse tournament losses in '85, '92 and '00?

6. 1991, Syracuse becomes the first #2 seed to lose in the first round. What #1 seed would go on to win this region?

7. Had Syracuse beaten Vermont in 2005, they would have faced this Big10 team in the 2nd round.

8. Syracuse lost to Duke in a 1998 Sweet 16 matchup in what soon-to-be Major League Baseball stadium?

Happy Friday everyone. Don't work too hard.

Before there was Paul...

Youtube and ESPN are all over Paul Harris's slam dunk contest-like performance from last night. His first jaw dropper reminded me of a personal favorite performer of the Idiots, mid '80's NBA Slam Dunk contestant Terence Stansbury. Our man Terence only lasted three short years in "The Association," however he always put on a show in the dunk contest while in the shadow of MJ and Dominique.

Paul, throwing it to yourself is nothing. Try doing it reverse:



Give me your tired, your poor...

Ebay Item of the Week

Greg, I just can't quit you.



Now, the winning bidder is likely to be:

A) A member of the Robinson family
B) Some Idiot blogger that posts for a crappy blog (hmmmm)
C) One of those identity thieves that freecreditreport.com is trying to protect us all from
D) A reference checker from the University of Michigan

Cuse-Cincy Review

Photo: Dennis Nett, Post-Standard

87-63, good guys.

I settled in for an afternoon of hoops today at my parents house (yes, I came up from the basement) hoping to come up with some of the cutting edge, spot-on analysis that you've come to expect from this crappy blog.

Unfortunately for me I fell asleep on the couch about one minute after tip off and awoke with about 2:30 left in the game (thank you ChampSon and his 4am wake up times this week). So here's what I learned from watching about 150 seconds of this game:

• I had forgotten how comfortable my parents couch is, very conducive for sleeping
• Pillsbury sugar cookie dough is pretty damn tasty
• John Celestand is still a stranger to the English language

That's it. Now for some real analysis check out the crew from Syracuse.com, especially once Axe gets his recap up. Also, be sure to stop over to Orange44. Brian is always dead-on with his post game reactions and analysis. It's a welcome change from reading the crap we peddle here.