Rough Week for Syracuse

Well, all the good feelings the Orange and their fans must have had after they romped Notre Dame last Saturday at the Carrier Dome are likely gone. Since that win, they were beaten 78-60 at Pitt on Monday and then again today 67-57 at home against Louisville. While both opponents were ranked highly, the 8th-ranked Orange still have to be frustrated to not have earned a win in at least one of those games.

Now, let's be realistic, there was no way SU was winning at the Petersen Events Center on Monday. Pitt is too good at home and despite a great performance against Notre Dame, the Orange could not handle DeJuan Blair and Levance Fields. Pitt did lose to Louisville, but after today's game, it doesn't seem so shocking anymore.

Syracuse once again was stymied defensively by the Cardinals and had trouble with Earl Clark. Andy Rautins was a shocking 1-6 from 3-point range and left the game with an injury. Who knows where that will leave 'Cuse if he's gone for any length of time?

The schedule doesn't get easier. The Orange travel to face a Providence team that's 5-2 in the Big East. Then they host a West Virginia team that won at Georgetown. Following that, they visit Villanova and Connecticut, both of which are ranked right now, before coming home for a Valentine's Day affair against the same G'town team that romped the Orange 88-74 back on January 14th. Oh, then they play Nova again. At least that one will be at home.

This should be a fun few week Syracuse fans. It's time for the Orange to prove whether or not they are a legitimate contender or pretender as one of the elite teams in the Big East.
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First Post (Updated)

Alright, so for my first post, I'm gonna focus on a game I attended today that was quite the good time. The site was the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, NY where #8 Syracuse hosted #12 Notre Dame in a huge Big East match-up. Not only was the place amped up for the implications of a win here, but 30,021 people filled the Dome to watch this game. It wasn't the biggest crowd ever at the place, but my goodness, 30,000+ people to watch a basketball game?! That's impressive! It's hard to think how loud Madison Square Garden can get when there's a sold-out crowd of 19,763 and then you add another 10,000+ to that to get the size of the dome!

Syracuse dominated ND 93-74 and the place was rocking from start to finish. I give the 'Cuse a lot of credit. After a sloppy showing against Georgetown earlier in the week, they came out and exploited the Irish from start to finish and got help all around. Arinze Onuaku and Rick Jackson both played strong and dominated Luke Harangody down low. Kyle McAlarney was solid for the Irish, but Johnny Flynn played great once again as well.

My game ball goes to Jim Boeheim, the Orange Head Coach, however. Twice late the game, the Irish were threatening to tie the score, and Boeheim called much needed time outs. After both stoppages, Syracuse came out flying and dominated Notre Dame, energizing the crowd and separating the two teams once again. Great job by Syracuse, who I would not be shocked to see beat Pitt on the road Monday night. Still not likely, but I wouldn't be as surprised!

Other Tidbits:
For you football fans, the Giants lost defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo to the Rams today. Now, we'll see if the G-men D can still be as good as they were. The pass rush was pretty abysmal against the Eagles and it showed how much Osi and Strahan meant to that team. As for Jets fans, it seems pretty obvious Rex Ryan will follow Eric Mangini's reign in New York. He's a fine choice, especially with how good the Ravens have looked. He could be hired as early as Monday if Baltimore loses to the Steelers tomorrow.


And finally, Knicks lottery pick Danilo Gallinari took the floor tonight against the 76ers at MSG, his first action since October 31st, which coincidentally was also against Philly (a 116-87 road loss in which he had 2 points in just under 8 minutes). The Italian had 6 points in 15:14, shooting 2 of 4 from the field with both baskets coming from downtown. Good start for him. For the Knicks' sake, I hope he starts doing well. This team could surely use something positive to build on and look forward to!

One other thing, you really gotta feel bad for the Islanders. They sign Wade Dubielewicz to play goal for them with Rick DiPietro and Joey MacDonald already out with injuries. However, a rule said he must go through waivers first, and of course, he gets picked up by the Blue Jackets to back up Steve Mason. Tough break for Dubie who wanted to go back to the Isles, and even worse for the team, who had to recall Peter Mannino to back-up Yann Danis. Can things get worse for this franchise? Maybe they should move to Kansas City after all!

That's all folks. Until Tomorrow!