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Obviously, Sean and I spend a lot of time here on the site. Whether it's planning, editing, writing, commenting, (in my case) ranting... there's always something to do on TNIAAM. All of that work resulted in some articles, which are not our "top," or "best" or even "favorite" posts. Rather, they're just posts we thought might be worth revisiting more than others. We thought they were pretty good. Hopefully you did too. (and if you'd rather read things by other people on TNIAAM, check yesterday's list)
These aren't ranked. They're just chronological. There are 15 of them. That might be too many. Sorry.
Sean & John's TNIAAM Articles They Wrote in 2015
On Stuart Scott & The Days When SportsCenter Mattered
About 99 percent of what's written here is about Syracuse. When it's NOT about Syracuse, Sean usually writes it, and writes it pretty well (in my opinion). Stuart Scott's passing was a tragic event, and the loss of a good man -- one that had a lasting effect on sports broadcasting, whether you realize it or not. If nothing else, this one should serve as a reminder of that.
Syracuse Sanctions, The Conversation We're Having & The Conversation We're Afraid to Have
In the wake of the NCAA's sanctions against Syracuse, TNIAAM and Twitter were minefields of opinions. Many of which were extreme or entitled or angry or all of the above. But the one confusing thing for Sean was if people were willing to direct so much vitriol at Syracuse and Jim Boeheim, why not the NCAA in this case? Why can they be the hero for the same reason they're typically the villain? This was nine months ago and the same questions remain. What gives?
The Ten Best DOC Gross Quotes After Stepping Down as Syracuse AD
On his way out the door "by his own free will," DOCTOR Gross acted like DOCTOR Gross one last time, protecting the #BRAND at all costs. The theme of Syracuse Athletics in 2015 was blame and who gets it. Various important parties took blame and fault for what happened (the NCAA sanctions, losing football seasons, etc.)... all except Gross. These 10 quotes would be hilarious fiction. Instead, they're frightening truth.
44 Questions For Syracuse University Following Their 44 Flip-Flop
Rather than write another lengthy (warranted) diatribe after another stupid mishap by Syracuse Athletics, Sean just went the bulleted list route. Some were serious, some less so. But for those with short attention spans (maybe a good portion of us at this point), it was a succinct, easy takedown of what a mess SU made of its most sacred, storied tradition. They've still yet to answer most of these questions.
NunesMagician Q&A With New Syracuse Athletic Director Mark Coyle
Excited to welcome a new athletic director into the fold, TNIAAM eagerly requested some time with Mark Coyle when his appointment was announced. Syracuse obliged, and thus, we introduced ourselves (and this community) to a new administrator for us to torture interact with positively. While Coyle wouldn't go as far as to say he hated Georgetown on day one, we'll assume he does by now.
Want Syracuse Football to Improve? Maybe Just Start Emulating Baylor.
Weird for the former conductor of the former Baylor slander train to pine for his alma mater to emulate the Bears. And yet, I spent a good amount of time talking about some easy steps for Syracuse to take just like they did anyway. You guys seemed sort of receptive to it, despite our location in Central New York instead of Texas. It also gave me another chance to yell about scheduling, which is sort of a hobby at this point.
ACC Football Power Rankings: "Can Your Coach Buy a Properly-Fitted Pair of Khakis?"
The offseason's a slog at times. And that's how you get an article that openly debates how well the ACC's 14 football coaches wear khakis for about 1,000 words. If nothing else, Scott Shafer did not rank poorly in this regard (third overall), so for that he should be commended.
Syracuse Football: How Scheduling Tough & 2-10 Predictions Are Connected
After predicting the Orange would go 2-10 in 2015, Fox's Stewart Mandel was harassed by Syracuse Twitter for such a downtrodden outlook on the team. Sean reminded you that the reason he didn't see much in SU was because every time he sees us on TV, we're getting shellacked. That wasn't the case in 2015, clearly, but the results still ended up on the losing end, and that's all that matters in college football.
So Here's Why Disliking The Graduate Transfer Rule Is Just The Dumbest Thing
Scott Shafer said something silly about graduate transfers, which was worse because he's had a grad transfer QB during his tenure. He's not the only coach or person to say as much, which is where we join this article. Sean's far from the first or last person to campaign for college players' rights, but this post may have done it best on TNIAAM, at least. Hopefully the NCAA sees these points some day.
Syracuse Football: Scott Shafer Needs To Get Out Of The Car Every Once In A While
We wrote a lot about Syracuse's coaches in 2015, because there was a lot of spotlight on them... in various ways, many of which, not so good. As Shafer shouted about "3-0! 24 years!" and played up his "told you" card on the media far too early, we worried about his sense of perspective. This caused a lot of yelling in the comments. I'm not going back in there, but you can peruse as you'd like.
The LSU Game Proved The Value of Tough Scheduling, Now Comes The Hard Part
More scheduling stuff? Yes. This time, we admitted that there were actually some benefits to scheduling tough teams. But not without a caveat. That caveat showed itself well before year's end, however, as the team failed to live up to the lofty, inflated expectations established by a 10-point loss to LSU. You laugh now, and you should. Losses, then and now, are still losses. And wins are wins. For a brief moment, we all forgot that.
Syracuse Football: Beware The Eric Dungey Mythos
More couching by your favorite internet buzzkills. Everyone (myself included) was quick to praise Dungey for a game he didn't even play in, but first, we needed to step back and remember those that came before him. We didn't really heed the warning, though, and the results led to even more consternation from the fan base. We'll never learn, but maybe that's what makes us faithful fans?
Syracuse Football: Should The Orange Consider Shutting Eric Dungey Down at Some Point?
The answer was, of course, yes, as we came to realize against Louisville. If we wanted/want any sort of future with Dungey at the helm. If we want to see him have a successful career and life. If we can see the long game of being a fan of this team. Dungey's shut down was a must. It's just a shame it took a meaningless hit in a blowout to hammer it home for the (now former) Orange staff.
Syracuse Football: Orange Suddenly Have Big Advantage in Northeast Recruiting
We'll continue to say this until proven otherwise, because the promise of nice things feels good. Northeast football is not an exciting brand in any way, and hasn't been for some time. By hiring Dino Babers, Syracuse brings a spread offense to the region that no one else has. That has the potential to be pretty awesome for us, especially from a recruiting standpoint.
TNIAAM Chats With New Syracuse Orange Football Coach Dino Babers
Hey, we got to talk to Dino Babers! He spent some time making fun of me and my newfound intolerance for cold, dropping knowledge on some Clint Eastwood deep cuts, and giving us a rough outline of what's coming to Syracuse. Looking forward to a (hopefully) long and optimistic relationship, Coach!
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Hope you enjoy revisiting at least a few of these. If not, we'll give it another try in 2016.
Thanks for reading and being part of TNIAAM, as always!