Seems all anyone wants to talk about these days is Syracuse's basketball schedule. Why do we schedule so many easy games early? Why do we schedule so many games at home in November? Why do we never leave the state until December? I think I've figured it out. It's not about strength-of-schedule. It's not about taking it easy. It's not even about winning. Jim Boeheim has created a living, breathing defiance to the face of organized religion in the form of his early-season basketball schedule. Let's take a look:
St. Rose (exh) - Jesuit
Le Moyne (exh) - Jesuit
Siena - Catholic
St. Joseph's - Jesuit
Fordham - Jesuit
Colgate - Baptist
That's before we even get to St. John's, Notre Dame, Seton Hall and Providence. I don't know what happened to Jim Boeheim as a child, but the fact that he has spent his adult life "luring" little religious colleges "into his home" with the promise of "treats" such as national exposure and revenue and then "screwing them" by defeating them in mostly embarrassing ways...well, I'd tell you to read between the lines but its all right there for you.
I can't imagine Daryl Gross minds, after all he is a man of science (DOCTOR!). Now that I think about it, its probably only a matter of time before the Syracuse dance teams start doing their "Hooray For Evolution" routines at halftime. And before anyone else gets any smart ideas, I think I'm gonna get started on those "Jim Boeheim Hates Jesus" t-shirts right now. Cha-Ching!
Speaking of the Orange's early-season schedule, Cuse Country makes a great point today. Shouldn't Syracuse traveling to NYC be given more weight than it is when it comes to "out-of-state" travel?
If Kentucky played a tournament in Columbus, Ohio every year, they’d get credit for "leaving the state," but they would have only traveled two-thirds as far as Syracuse does to play Ohio State in the Garden next week.
Oh and of course, Joe Lunardi can't let it go either (requires ESPN Insider). Great, fine. Can we all agree that we'll play Virginia or South Carolina or Michigan on the road in every season moving forward and call it a day? Great. Grand. Good.