Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician: FanPosts

Bill Raftery has Jonny Flynn's back.

2009-01-07T00:20:38Z

So, last night during the Notre Dame/Georgetown game, the normally sane Jay Bilas said Tory Jackson is the best all around PG in the Big East. Raftery replied with a "wha?" but gave Bilas a chance to back off the statement. (Bilas later stated that Jackson "may be the best PGin the league) Bilas went into detail about getting his teammates involved. Raftery let him finish, then quipped, "you must not have seen Syracuse play this year."

Indiana Syracuse 1987

2009-01-06T17:07:24Z

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.

college pass ing game

2009-01-06T15:34:39Z

this is difficult for me to concede . sorta like chief joseph: i will fight no more for ever! howsomever, i will admit, i was amazed, totally, at not only the utah pass attack, but even the longhorn aerial attack i saw last nite. with utah, they were playing pretty good sec defense, and a overall pretty good team, that had been ranked numero uno for quite a while. they did have that samoan power back run in for a td. but the utah qb himself, runs very seldom after being injured couple of years ago. seemed like a very unbalanced offense to me, but they really did a job on the bama defense. and not only is the SEC the best conference, around, they have a great reputation for quick defensive lineman ala tim green and freeney. so being a run option kind of guy, was very impressed by the quick passes of utah. and same thing with UT win last nite, the mcoy kid did run into end zone for td, and has some scramble ability, but in general, it was like 400+yards in air, and like 80 on ground. not well balanced, but they won. and the last drive using the sidelines, for time constraits was state of the art. so ... even tho i am a opton run first guy, gotta admit.. i think this somewhat horizontal short pass stuff was what grob was striving for, and just never achieved. i could have swore that osu, with a far more balanced attack, was gonna win. seems like now a days, the really sophisticated pass attacks with primo personal, such as usc, ut, and utah, are quite difficult for many teams to stop, ala the high scores seen in the big 12

9 teams in the top 25

2009-01-05T23:58:57Z

Since the Big East put 9 teams in the top 25 it's become clear that something unbelievable is about to happen when they play the Big East Tournament in MArch. One of those 9 teams won't have to win 4 games in 4 days for the title. No, one of those 9 teams will have to win 5 games in 5 days for the title.

The question remains now if the quarterfinal round of Big East play will not only be a great round of basketball, but the greatest day of conference tournament basketball EVER. If we stopped right now the matchups could look like.

Pitt/ WVU

UConn/Marquette

Syracuse/Georgetown

ND/ Villanova

All those teams are currently in the top 25 and all have marquee wins. These are the OOC opponents beaten by those teams. Wisconsin,Ohio state, Memphis twice, Gonzaga,Texas, Kansas,Miami, Florida State and Florida.

I for one will be taking Thursday March 12th off of work.

Has anyone seen DePaul play this season?

2009-01-05T21:52:49Z

Should we be worried about a trap game or do we rebound from a close USF game and blow them out? They are 8-7, 1-3 on the road.

It looks like this team cant shoot the three (Memphis)

DePaul (8-7, 0-2 BIG EAST) shot .351 from the field and just 3-for-19 free three-point range.

Odd on we play zone the whole time?

They dont have a true point guard, with three guys avg 2 assists per. Hopefully this is where Johnny breaks out of his funk

Devo gets to go against home town home boy Jabari Currie

Their two best players are 6'5" forward Dar Tucker, who seems to be a match up problem if we go big as Ricky wont be able to cover him and Kristof could have a tough time, and 6'10" 255 center Mac Koshwa. Any time your center is named Mac... hes got to be good.

So the question of the day:

Poll

How does SU do in the DePaul game?

Tennessee-Syracuse 1998

2009-01-04T18:27:47Z

ESPN Classic showed the 1999 Fiesta Bowl/BCS National Championship this morning and it got me thinking about the Tennessee-Syracuse opening game tilt earlier that season.

That game remains, despite all the tomfoolery of the Robinson era, as the most frustrating Syracuse contest I ever witnessed. For whatever reason, I still have a vivid memory of this game. In a season full of "what-ifs," this game stands head and shoulders above the rest in terms of moments in time that could have changed the course of what should have been a potential national title shot for the Orange.

The list of "what-ifs" is freaking unbearable when you compile them:

What if the flag isn't thrown on Will Allen for pass interference on Tennessee's final drive? It was Allen's first start, and the play came on a fourth and 17. Maybe the New York Times relayed the play the best:

Allen came over the back of Wilson, and two officials waved it an incomplete pass, but the back judge threw his flag. That gave the Vols a fresh set of downs at the Syracuse 46, and after they moved down the field, Hall kicked his game-winner with four seconds left.

What if McNabb doesn't fumble like 5 snaps from center? Is the 20-point flurry in the 4th quarter even necessary?
What if Syracuse punches it in from the 2-yard line (the fucking 2-yard line!) on its final drive in the 4th quarter rather than settling for a 19-yard field goal attempt from Trout? (By the way, Trout's performance in that game is woefully underappreciated). That drive went 7 plays and almost 60 yards; it also pulled about three minutes off the clock leaving Tennessee with only about 2:00 left for its final effort.
Speaking of failed drives, let's shoot back to the start of the third quarter when Syracuse opened up the half with a 60-yard drive that halted at the 10 and resulted in another Trout conversion. What if Syracuse punches it in? Syracuse is then looking at a 17-14 lead (its first of the game and Tennessee needs to now play from behind with a green quarterback making his first start.
What if the SEC officials doing the game don't smack Syracuse with a couple of "uniform infractions?" I know these weren't exactly turning points, but c'mon: that shit is ridiculous.
What if McNabb doesn't have to throw for 300 yards? Syracuse only ran for 147 on the day (Jamal Lewis had about 140 by himself), and as everyone knows, the hallmark of the DeLeone offense during that era was pounding the ball all game.
Back to Trout: His 41-yard blast in the 4th quarter was the end result of a drive that started with a 75-yard kickoff return (I can't remember if it was McIntosh or Johnson that returned it). That drew SU within 31-30. That drive started at the UT 25 and consumed 3 plays for 1 (1!) freaking yard. Again, another great opportunity for 6 that was totally squandered.

I'm sure there's other parts of this game that I'm missing, but you get the picture. Awesome game, but Christ, what could have been. Just had to get this off my chest.

music says it all

2009-01-02T00:33:39Z

If you want to know who won the Rose Bowl, without actually watching the game. Allyou have to do is hear whose music each band played at halftime. One band played a Queen medly the other played "Almost Easy" by Avenged Sevenfold. I you have never heard of A7X check them out, great great music. Ok , so apparently I need to type twenty more useless words to qualify for a fan post, must be at least 75 long I think I got it.

holiday bowl/opton juco qb?

2008-12-31T20:15:20Z

could have been a stirring win from behind. but belloti as usual, prouved what a fool he really is! recruiting qbs like dixon and masoli will lead within a year or 2 to a total nadir of quaker backer duck football. and as we have prouved more then once, at good ole SU- its senseless to even bother to recruit a juco qb like masoli. much less to have a opton-oops dual threat mobile" qb such as masoli run up huge yardage with the spread opton. 106 yards alone from just the qb, as well as his aerial assault on a pretty darn good cowboy osu team. and to reiterate- it is very possible to get a AS degree in forest tech/surveying from ESF/SU! but what i dont unerstand, is that coaches like belloti.. consistly recruit really good talent while running the opton type attack , as well as say wvu, VT.. and of course the GT coach, who won consistly with it year after year at navy, and tonite is playing LSU in a bowl game. according to all the experten" on this site, u have a catch 22. namely, that if dont recruit a drop back statue who hops ala grob " in the pocket, your future is limited. since of course, every qb in hs, wants to play a pro set on college so he can go on and be a big star in the nfl. of course, as far as i am concerned, u can have a game manager"qb" , not really a big talent, but i f u have a fine defense, running attack, special teams, and kicking game, it can take u all the way to the top.

Doug Gottlieb: Huge Douche, or The Hugest Douche?

2008-12-30T19:08:34Z

We needed a better know thy enemy on Doug Gottlieb.

This morning I was perusing ESPN.com articles on account of 3/4s of my office took the week off and its dead here, when I came across some of Doug Gottlieb's writing. It was an article about point guard play this year where I expected to find some good Flynnformation (yes I combined Flynn and Information, and yes, you can use my new word). Well I couldnt see it because Im not an ESPN Insider, nor will I be on account of I dont want to pay to support Gottlieb.

This lead me to do some searching on the guy. The logical place to start was "Why is Doug Gottlieb such a douche bag?" in google... Then I checked out his wikipedia page.

What did that turn up? Well I was expecting to find he was molested as a boy by a homeless man wearing a syracuse shit he got from Salvation Army or Jimmy B didnt recruit him, the "best of the west pg" who happens to be jewish with an eating disorder (the last part of that is still under investigation) and would be a great fit for this school.

So what did he do? The same thing any other jewish teen would do (Sean)... get in with the Catholics!

After signing a national letter of intent with Notre Dame, Gottlieb was the starting point guard for Notre Dame during the 1995-1996 college basketball season. He started all but four games for Notre Dame during that season.

Well that didnt work out because of some credit card issue. Something about stealing, and $900 later hes getting his AA degree at Golden West College. Well on his way to be a substitute teacher for retarded kids.

But coach Sutton gave him another change at college ball, he went to OSU and was played some ball in europe... whatever no one cares.

Why the beef with SU?

Wikipedia says:

Gottlieb and Syracuse University basketball coach, Jim Boeheim have traded barbs ever since 2005 because of Gottlieb's criticism of Syracuse's soft preseason schedule and Boeheim's comments regarding Gottlieb's difficulties at Notre Dame. Gottlieb and Boeheim refuse to discuss their feud publicly.

A facebook group expands on the feud by chronicling his hypocrisy

March 6 - "Syracuse might have beaten G-town but there still not dancing"

March 7 - "With the win over Uconn Syracuse as stamped its ticket, and should be looking at a 10 seed"

March 11 (Selection Sunday) - "Syracuse doesnt deserve tog et in and the comity got it correct."

Bob Wolfley at JSOnline mentions our beef along with those of other coaches

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim took a swipe at Gottlieb because the analyst said many Big East teams, including Syracuse, played non-conference schedules so soft they are "fraudulent."

Jimmy B has just as much right to call him out as he does to question our schedule. His conviction of misdemeanor fraud is public knowledge.

So who else hates him?

There is a nice USA Today article which gets into his verbal diarrhea.

From there we learn he likes Triple Venti Soy Caramel Macchiatos.

It also details how he ended up at ESPN with a business degree (sorry Newhouse didnt want you)

Gottlieb, who has a business degree, began his broadcasting career in 2002 on WWLS 640-AM, "The Sports Animal," outside Oklahoma City, hosting a midday show until ESPN offered him an audition and hired him.

His thoughts on broadcasting:

"I am the way I am because I would watch guys (while growing up) and think, 'Why don't they just say what they are really thinking?' " Gottlieb says. "Why does everybody have to talk in code?"

Well Doug, its not code, its called Tact and you dont have any. You dont call people idiots or cast jusdgement (especailly someone in your postion) You really cant criticzise teams for being poor from the charity stripe when you shot 46% at OSU. Players for bad decisions when you got kicked out of ND.

Doug has a need to bother people even when not on TV

When he finishes work late at night and the East Coast is asleep, Gottlieb calls his father, a basketball coach for four decades, or his brother in California during the 30-minute ride home.

Its a syndrome.

Dead Spin has a nice Doug Gottlieb chat

Mike Rutherford at Card Chronicle said during an SU Nova game:

Doug Gottlieb is here to remind us how much we loathe that annoying, loud, spiky-haired guy at the bar

DYK Doug has a facebook profile? He has yet to confirm me.

Some of the facebook groups about Doug: Doug Gottlieb: Jerkoff, Doug Gottlieb is the biggest douchebag in the world (answers my question), Fuck Doug Gottlieb: Tru Syracuse Hater, Doug Gottlieb is a piece of shit!!!!, Doug Gottlieb has no penis and several others.

I feel bad for the two dudes with the same name. Thats almost as bad as being named John Clayton.

What do we learn from the facebook groups?

This guy is so smug and a pompous prick. He loves attention, getting it by making smart ass comments with confidence. And no, this part isnt from wikipedia. This is fact.

Well there you go. Its fact. So says some kid on facebook.

We also learn:

DID YOU KNOW? (Doug Gottlieb Edition)....

* Behind powerplants and automobile engines, Doug Gottlieb is the 3rd leading cause of global warming?

* Doug Gottlieb is 0-4,628 at the urinal?

* Doug Gottlieb slept with Davis from The Real World Denver?

* Doug Gottlieb takes his coffe with a two cubes of sugar and a small carafe of sperm?

* The spokes of Doug Gottlieb's childhood bicycle were adorned with Billy Bean baseball cards?

*Doug Gottlieb is a no-talent ass clown?

Yup.

So besides being the "guy who wore his shorts backwards" Doug Gottlieb is a Douche Bag and if I see him around CT, Ill let him know.

Lets try and use this post to document when he rips cuse and rip him back.

Poll

Huge Douche or The Hugest Douche?

Really Dicky V?

2008-12-30T15:14:31Z

As confrence play starts, Dicky V explains the four phases of baseketball. You know, out of confrence, confrence, confrence tourney and ncaa (what did you expect something about the game as opposed to scheduling?)

The sad thing is I read this whole article clinging to hope I would get some sort of expert insight.... Dumb.

So please Dick, let us drink from the chalice that is your infinite wisdom:

• Syracuse was picked eighth in the Big East preseason coaches poll. A look at the Orange resume shows big Ws away from the Carrier Dome -- over Florida, Kansas (at the CBE event in Kansas City, Missouri) and at Memphis. Syracuse missed the big dance the last two seasons, but Jonny Flynn is leading the team back into the tourney picture.

From ESPN - Dick Vitale: Second Season Starting

And for all of you who tear him up, you should watch it because hes the best. ESPN said so

Dick Vitale, college basketball's top analyst and ambassador, joined ESPN during the 1979-80 season.

From his bio.

See that "college basketball's top analyst" Take that gameday crew!

DEVO is expected return TUESDAY!?

2008-12-27T18:01:56Z

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3794810&campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines

I didn't think it would be so soon.

Looks like Cuse' fans are getting their wish this holiday season. In yo face SU Judicial Board. I just hope he learned his lesson and does not mess up again. With his reinstatement I think we are primed for a big east run. The front court is going to open up big time with Devo back (I mean Rautins has been spectacular but...He can't drive the lane as well).

That bracketology may not be far off.

Nunes' grammar worse than Mike Williams?

2008-12-26T20:28:14Z

I’m just wondering how someone knocks Williams’ grammar and then types, “in theory, his streak of nin consecutive games with a touchdown is still alive…right?” What the hell are “nin consecutive games?”

The sad thing is that you have a degree, spell check and can go back and correct the mistake on a computer. And I’m sure you speak in perfect grammar. Oh, and you even have your degree without even being an SU athlete that gets in for free. Sad.

Mike Williams to return to SU in January

2008-12-25T14:56:34Z

Looks like Mike will be back for spring ball. All kidding aside, good for him. The Story is below from Syraucse.com

http://blog.syracuse.com/orange-segment/2008/12/mike_williams_is_returning_to.html

New Syracuse football coach Doug Marrone has only been on the job for 12 days, but it has seemed like the 12 days of Christmas for SU fans.

Defensive tackle Arthur Jones announced that he is staying for his senior season. Now, suspended star wide receiver Mike Williams says he's returning to Syracuse in January.

"When I come back out of that Carrier Dome tunnel, I might cry, man," Williams said. "That's going to be very emotional for me. That means I made it back and took advantage of that second chance."

Williams was suspended for a semester for violating the University's Academic Integrity Policy last fall. He was informed before the team's annual spring game.

"It was hard for me to take. I packed my bags and was going to give up and not do spring ball."

"I got claimed of cheating," Williams said. "I had my notes out before the exam. It was before the test happened...I'm not blaming nobody or nothing, it was my fault for having the notes out and I took responsibility."

The second-team All-Big East selection in 2007 says he was required to take classes and maintain a C average while away from Syracuse and prove to the school that he learned from his mistake before in order to reapply for the spring 2009 semester.

"Midterm grades came out and I got all Bs. It looks like I'm back in Syracuse in January."

But it wasn't easy.

"A lot of times I thought I'm done, my career is over, everything is over," Williams said.

Williams looked into the possibility of transferring to a FCS Division (formerly Division I-AA) school because he could be eligible to play immediately.

"But I feel like I'm dedicated to the program," he said. I let them down already and I need to come back."

He thought about enrolling at Onondaga Community College, just six miles from SU, or back home in Buffalo, but Williams took a bus all the way to Springfield Technical Community College in Massachusetts.

"If I would've went to OCC the media would've been there. I didn't want to be in the spotlight and I wouldn't have been able to focus. I felt like I had to get away from all that to get back into Syracuse."

Williams caught a touchdown in a school-record nine straight games in 2007, but Saturdays this year were lonely. There weren't any fans cheering for him when he reached the end zone. There wasn't a feeling of pride to put on an Orange jersey and do what he loves. The only feeling was an empty one.

"It was tough watching," Williams said. "Sometimes I'd turn the games off at halftime because I wasn't out there playing and helping them. I felt like I just left them out to hang. When I was suspended I let everything go down the drain."

But the thought of never stepping on the field again made him appreciate his life at Syracuse, and motivated Williams to become a better person and better athlete.

"It bettered me overall. I didn't treat it as a joke at SU, but overlooked some of the opportunities that I had," Williams said. "It's a privilege to have a full scholarship. I'm from a very bad place and you don't get many opportunities. That's why this second one I'm going to make well worth it in school and football. I've been working real hard."

Hard work can get him back into Syracuse University, but he hopes that Syracuse University fans and teammates will welcome him back. Williams would call many teammates to wish them luck before games and they would wish him good luck in Springfield. But he knows some Orange men are still upset that he let the team down.

"I've got to gain their trust back. I'm sorry to my teammates, and coaches I might have put in jeopardy. I hope people in Syracuse forgive me for it and I apologize to the fans and the university.

If actions do indeed speak louder than words, he's just not asking for forgiveness.

"I have to prove myself again. I'm not going to be another athlete who messed up his chances," Williams said. I'm going to cherish my time. You don't have a job before you have the interview and this is my interview. They say hard work pays off, and if that's true it's going to be a better Mike Williams."

On and off the field.

grobs ny wall"

2008-12-24T14:34:58Z

marrone is gonna have his work cut ouf for him and his staff. kinda sad to see, only one su kid on the big east all freshman team.. hopefully, we can re assert ourselves in both lawn guy land" and also new joisey". and of course, thru the years, strangely enough, some of the best SU players, freeney, little, etc, have come from mass and ct. if we can unearth say every year, 4-5 florida players that FSU, miami, gators, south and central florida, and fau have not picked off all ready.

nicht versteh?? non capisce'?

2008-12-23T20:05:28Z

i feel sad about this, but just like after grob was hired, and i started to get cynical. kinda funny, all these types jumping on the marrone bandwagon over on syracuse .com. i just guess i got to question.. the spence and adkins hires. but i am sure they are both happy, since they were both gone at clemson and respectively tennesee. just is kinda odd, hiring coaches who as far as i know, were either fired, or gonna be fired at both colleges. and i might add.. all these folks happy to take coaches from clemson and tennesee. the truth of the program was, both programs were rapidly approaching door mat status ala SU. and why would this adkins abruptly leave GA for a one year job at troy state? i dont get it. but i figure we are gonna see yet more of the ye ould cronyism" ala grob. as well as outmoded and obselete nfl offenses designed to mystify-yuk-yuk.. college defenses.. just like grob and the thrilling dink pass offense.

Big News

2008-12-23T17:57:08Z

Art Jones is coming back

The SU Athletics page has the news that Art Jones is back for his senior season. That is a huge commitment from him as he was an easy 2nd round draft pick in my opinion. He will be a vital leader and an anchor on that D-Line as the cuse tries to turn the ship around. It also shows great faith in Doug Marrone by Jones.

Here is the link to the story:

http://suathletics.com/News/Football/2008/12/23/fbjonesreturns.asp?path=football

Cleveland State gets Paid

2008-12-22T23:50:45Z

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?id=3775030

"On Monday in Syracuse, in Cleveland State's only money game of the season, the Horizon League's Vikings traded leads all night with the undefeated Orange. After Syracuse erased a five-point margin in the final minute, the visitors won 72-69 on Cedric Jackson's miracle 60-foot buzzer-beater, which immediately generated thousands of YouTube hits and was promptly inserted in national highlight reels. What nearly all the postgame stories missed, though, was that Cleveland State earned a bigger reward than "SportsCenter" time, and head coach Gary Waters was hesitant to divulge the details.

"Let's just say it was the maximum … six figures," said Waters, before joking: "I don't want to get Syracuse mad; they haven't sent the check yet."

Why Did DOCTOR Daryl Gross pay cleveland state 6 figures to come beat us and make every highlight show in America? Im sure colgate would've done it for half

strike zwei/dos/dieu/2 vs marrone

2008-12-22T21:11:05Z

numero uno being that he came here from the nfl. number 2 is the garrett barnas deal. thats flatout dishonarable as well as disgusting. if nothing else, i am a big fan of PSU's jo paterno since he votes republician. but they have had kids hurt in hs they they honored the scholarship offer , anyways, even tho there was no way they could college sports . and apart from legree.. this means u are gonna have to continue the pathetic win the nfl way".. nonsense, thats made SU football the laughing stock of college football for years now. and i totally agree with the harpur college coach. he is just doing what comes natural, standing up for his kid. what just happened, u wait and see, is gonna be used by a vast multitude of opposing coaches as far as how su treats kids they are trying to recruit. these new guys may not realize it, but they just set back SU football back big time. and i am not impressed by this new guy from clemson whatsoever. cept for the woodrow dantzler" ?? was that his name? all that freaking clemson has been doing for years is a typical nfl type of stale offense. dude dont impress me as some kind of genius with outside the box unique thinking. and the harpur college coach was right on the money, when he declared SU football as the detroit lions and doormat of college football. truth hurts. far as i m concerned, this juco kid had more athletic talent than all the rest of the qb recruits currently on the team.figured he might be a year 2008 version of bill hurley or marven graves, as far as style of play and size. these new guys are allready a embarrasment.

So Far, So Much Different

2008-12-22T16:43:47Z

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.

I however have been duly impressed with the new head coach's first week or so on the job and it couldn't be more different than that last coordinator that took over the post. The thing I'm most impressed with is that Doug Marrone seems to be avoiding the biggest mistake DOCTOR Daryl and Greg Robinson made. Marrone is hiring a high quality staff. Just the addition of Spence as OC last week ensured that Marrone's staff would have WAY more experience at the college level than Robinson's ever would.

The difference between Brian "Look at my pretty rings" Parini and Rob Spence is lightyears. Spence has been in the game for way longer, understands the college game and values the climate controlled ban box that the Dome should provide as an advantage.

Marrone understands where he is lacking when it comes to experience and he is surrounding himself with people who can and will complement his skills. Add Spence's hiring to Anselmo, Conley and Jackson and this staff is going to be a strong asset to Marrone as he tries to bring this team back from the brink. It has only been a week, but I'm very encouraged by what I see.

Gary P made me LOL

2008-12-21T06:23:24Z

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The final buzzer sounded, the two coaches met at halfcourt and -- though I didn't see it with my own eyes -- that's when Dan Wolken of the Commercial Appeal swore he read Jim Boeheim's lips, and that the Syracuse coach told John Calipari that Memphis is "the worst shooting team" he's ever seen.

Naturally, I asked Boeheim to confirm.

"No, I didn't say that," he said. "I said they might be."