The Saltine Warriors

2011 Fantasy Football Power Rankings: Week 4

2011-09-28T19:21:00.003-04:00

Overall, a strong Week 3 showing, as we are starting to settle in to the season. This post will be shorter since I don't feel like wasting 3 hours and I'm not getting nearly enough feedback. Really guys, I don't hear from 85% of you but Mr. Brisson can enjoy the blog respond to me? (Shoutouts to him!) Regardless, I'm a trooper so I'm gonna gut it out and give you the goods anyways. Still over three quarters of the season to go though, so let's get down to this week's rankings!

10. Anthony Cifra - Owner, Pauly D - Last Week: 7 - Record: 0-3

Your bench production has been flip-flopped for three straight weeks, not much you can do there. However, as the only team with a 3-0 record, I leave you no choice but a 10th-place ranking. In brighter news, I see this as the situation at Cifra Barber Shop very soon!!

9. Bryan Flett - Owner, Get on ur knees - Last Week: 9 - Record: 1-2

Congrats on not being in last. Here's your sons in 10 years.

8. Josh Murray & Alex Cartini - Co-Owners, Ann Curry Hobo - Last Week: 4 - Record: 1-2

A decent week put up by you guys, however you still came away with the loss. Vick's health is a huge question mark going forward. It could be worse for you though.

7. Kevin Weinheimer - Owner, Jabroni Drive - Last Week: 6 - Record: 2-1

Congrats buddy.

6. Kevin & Michael Cartini - Co-Owners, T.B.D. - Last Week: 3 - Record: 1-2

I chalk up this loss to me. Not only did I not update our team in time since I found out Gates wasn't playing, but I failed to change our team name for a week for the first time in about 3 years. That's just bad managing by me. I'm sorry Dad, I won't let you down again!!

5. Conor Finn - Owner, Conny Walnuts - Last Week: 8 - Record: 1-2

Incredible team name, no wonder we lost to you. TF, TF

4. Nick Sindoni & Frank Majka - Co-Owners, Dead Girl Bananas - Last Week: 10 - Record: 2-1

Thank God for finally getting rid of TO and Peyton! Thank you! You're reward is a Top-4 ranking!! (and this)

3. Eric Reinauer & Anthony Spinale - Co-Owners, NewRochelleMerecats - Last Week: 2 - Record: 2-1

Two crushing ACL injuries for the New Rochelle Merecats in back-to-back weeks. Nevertheless, Eric is feeling positive about the upcoming weeks: "Spinale and I take Brady's haircut as a positive omen. I like... Ilikeitalot."

2. Scott Stanford - Owner, Daddy Tap - Last Week: 5 - Record: 2-1

The Daddy's back!!!

1. Miiike D'Imperio - Owner, Fannypacks - Last Week: 1 - Record: 3-0

Alright Mike, I see you. You stay eatin' for the time being.

Until next week,

The Commissioner

2011 Fantasy Football Power Rankings: Week 3

2011-09-20T20:19:00.007-04:00

10. Nick Sindoni & Frank Majka - Co-Owners, Dead Girl Bananas - Last Week: 6 - Record: 1-1

I can't put you guys any higher until you get rid of T.O. and Peyton. I just can't.

9. Bryan Flett - Owner, Get on ur knees - Last Week: 10 - Record: 1-1 Strong comeback win this week Flett! From worst to first! Well not really. But the goons is lurking.

8. Conor Finn - Owner, i'llwhipyourheadboy - Last Week: 5 - Record: 0-2

Does anyone else wonder if Jay Cutler used to watch Laguna Beach with his friends at Vanderbilt and joke about how hot Kristin was? Then joke about hooking up with her one day, only to somehow get engaged/call it off with her 7 years after the fact? Do you think the fact that she's doing this now pisses him off? I bet it does. I bet the fact that he looks like the cop from Dumb and Dumber also pisses him off. He really always seems pissed off.

7. Anthony Cifra - Owner, Pauly D - Last Week: 7 - Record: 0-2

Anthony's bench continues to outperform his starters, which is going to lead to an outburst if that keeps happening.

6. Kevin Weinheimer - Owner, Jabroni Drive - Last Week: 9 - Record: 1-1

Nice week for Weiny, who's looking good for that bet with Flett! Careful about counting your chickens before they hatch though, you wouldn't want to go out like this.

5. Scott Stanford - Owner, Daddy Tap - Last Week: 8 - Record: 1-1

Scotty comes back from a dreadful week to stick it to my team and get the most points of anyone. Well done.

4. Josh Murray & Alex Cartini - Co-Owners, Soup Kitchen AIDS - Last Week: 4 - Record: 1-1

As your names grow more and more disturbing by the week, your guys team is getting better and better. Cam Newton may be the pickup of the year. Speaking of disturbing, (but indescribably incredible) this may be my favorite human on earth. If you hate Xbox as much as him, click here. Or here. Or ESPECIALLY here. You could waste 5 hours watching his videos.

3. Kevin & Michael Cartini - Co-Owners, Charles Louboutin - Last Week: 3 - Record: 1-1

Let's get it Michael J.

2. Eric Reinauer & Anthony Spinale - Co-Owners, NewRochelleMerecats - Last Week: 2 - Record: 2-0

A sizable setback after Jamaal Charles goes down for the year, but in Eric's own words to me, "We will prevail. Failure is not an option."

1. Miiike D'Imperio - Owner, Fannypacks - Last Week: 1 - Record: 2-0

He stays in first until someone beats him. Nice week Miike, you're the best. Since you loved the Cowboys when you were younger (only to stab them in the back for the Eagles, who you stabbed in the back for the Jets), he's a present. I also found this video as a direct link, and I'm not quite sure to make of it. I'll let you guys make draw your own conclusions.

2011 Fantasy Football Power Rankings: Week 2

2011-09-13T20:16:00.012-04:00

What a terrific first week this was! Some ridiculous fantasy numbers were put up, including some by unlikely sources. As always, the creme rose to the crop though, as apparently Tom Brady took time off from sponsoring Uggs and getting hair extensions to break all sorts of Monday Night Football records and tell Cam Newton and his 400 yards to kiss his Woodhead. But all of that's over now, let's get to the rankings.

10. Bryan Flett - Owner, Get on ur knees - Last Week: 10 - Record: 0-1

Fletty puts up a putrid 65 points and lost by the biggest deficit in the league, courtesy of muah. However, he had a great waiver-wire pickup this morning on the player that I wanted, Mr. Ben Tate. Sh*t, you had to make SOME moves, Fletty. (By the way, that's my 2nd favorite announcer mistake this week. I can't wait until we get to my favorite.)

9. Kevin Weinheimer - Owner, Jabroni Drive - Last Week: 9 - Record: 0-1

It's not gonna get any easier this week with Frank and Nicky awaiting, but at least you beat the wicked witch in our Madden online franchise!! Biggest upset of 2011! (Ohhh, ouch. Sorry weiny, that was uncalled for).

8. Scott Stanford - Owner, Daddy Tap - Last Week: 4 - Record: 0-1

First he dropped Ben Tate riiight before his breakout game, then he still employs 3 defenses on the roster after choosing to start the only one to get him negative points in Week 1 ... are we sure Scotty's body hasn't been taken over by an alternate force? Either way, he was annihilated in Week 1, and judging by his Week 2 matchup, I don't see it getting much better for the Dad! BRING IT ON SCOTTY!

7. Anthony Cifra - Owner, Pauly D - Last Week: 8 - Record: 0-1

Anthony continues to make me think he's the smartest person in the league. He "pretends" to not draft, let's the computer auto-pick, then ends up with a stacked team every year. Seriously, WHO ELSE DRAFTS STEVE SMITH IN ROUND 9 AND GETS REWARDED WITH 30 POINTS?! We all realize Steve Smith scored 67 points THE ENTIRE YEAR last year, right? I CAN'T BE THE ONLY ONE, RIGHT!?!

6. Nick Sindoni & Frank Majka - Co-Owners, Dead Girl Bananas - Last Week: 7 - Record: 1-0

I know you guys put up 130 points, but I'm placing you here for 3 reasons: 3. Steven Jackson just got hurt, 2. You still have Peyton Manning on your bench, an 1. You dropped Ronnie Brown to pick up Terrell Owens. Yes, that Terrell Owens. I'm a little confused here.

5. Conor Finn - Owner, Manny Pacquiao - Last Week: 2 - Record: 0-1

What started off as a colossal points week ended up with a loss somehow, after Mr. Bundchen orchestrated 160 yards and 2 touchdowns for Wes Welker. Oh well. The future is still bright, since HE'S GOIN' FOR THAT K.O. OF MR. MAYWEATHER!

4. Josh Murray & Alex Cartini - Co-Owners, Ann Curry Hobo - Last Week: 6 - Record: 1- 0

Week 1 for Murray and Loggy, wow. WHAT A STATEMENT! The true test comes this week against the might New Rochelle Merecats. Then we'll see what you boys are really made of.

3. Kevin & Michael Cartini - Co-Owners, Sweet Chin Music - Last Week: 5 - Record: 1-0

After putting up 142 points, there's really only one thing to say to the haters (Mike) who said our team was weak. That's all.

2. Eric Reinauer & Anthony Spinale - Co-Owners, NewRochelleMerecats - Last Week: 3 - Record: 1-0

A strong initial showing for Senors Reinauer and Spinale, putting up 105 points. 105, that's all you might say? Take a look at their bench, which saw Deion Branch and James Starks a shade under 10 points each, Tony Romo with 17 and a half, and Mike Tolbert with a whopping 26 points. That's depth, my friends. If this keeps up, this is the makings of an impressive rookie campaign.

1. Miiike D'Imperio - Owner, Fannypacks - Last Week: 1 - Record: 1-0

Doughboy fresh still sitting on top, with his receivers on life support (Amendola out 8-10, injured Lance Moore, and Maclin not showing up). Miiike still put up 116 points despite all of the adversity, therefore he's still laying back and relaxing ... for now. Enjoy it while it lasts Mikey.

Those of you who actually read this will now be rewarded. Are you guys ready for my favorite announcer blunder of the week?

See you idiots after Week 2,

(^hehehehe^)

The Commissioner

2011 Fantasy Football Power Rankings: Post-Draft

2011-08-31T17:59:00.023-04:00

Welcome back to year two of updates for our fantasy football league on the Saltine Warriors blog! Weiny and I have successfully not posted anything since my Playoff Preview last year, so why the hell not keep it going.

Congratulations to our reigning champion Loggy, who came all the way from LAST PLACE in my post-draft rankings last year to win the league!! Clearly that means rankings are an indication of where the season is going.

We have a astonishing 14-owner league this year controlling 10 teams, meaning that competition is as fierce as ever. Judging by the way some of you drafted (or didn't draft) last night, you will need all the brains you can get.

Since our league name is too much in bad taste to post on this blog, we are calling it the 2011 Fantasy Football League... Let's just move on to the rankings. As always when I do this each week, I'm trying to hurt your feelings.

10. Bryan Flett - Owner, Get on ur knees - Drafted 9th

Draft Grade: D

Strengths: Wide Receivers

Weaknesses: Anyone else

HR Pick: Wideouts in rounds 2-4

WTF Pick: Round 6 - Ryan Grant

Overview: Way to spell your team name, Flett. (Note: I am referring to Flett's auto-draft when I say "he" in this section) I get what he was trying to do through 5 rounds. Grab a higher-tier Runningback, three straight great wideouts on newly formatted rosters filled with pass-catchers, then get the top of the mid-level Quarterbacks. Starting with Ryan Grant (who won't be starting by week 6) and then following suit, I don't like anyone on this team. No depth at all, and when Blanko finally returned to the draft, he quit after like, two picks. Get with it Flett, and take pride in your work damnit!

9. Kevin Weinheimer - Owner, Jabroni Drive - Drafted 7th

Draft Grade: C+

Strengths: Team name, Quarterback

Weaknesses: Experience (both kinds)

HR Pick: 14th Round - Robert Meachem

WTF Pick: Round 6 - Chad Ochocino

Overview: I like Chad, but I think you took him about three rounds too early. With guys like Jahvid Best, Marrio Manningham and Marques Colston still available, I think this was somewhat of a stretch. Plus, anyone who spawns the idea for such a ridiculous article to be written doesn't sound like someone I want on my team. As far as experience, AJ Green and Mark Ingram are rookies, who rarely produce well fantasy-wise in the NFL. On the other end of the spectrum, Santana (although I liked where you got him), Plaxico, Marion Barber, and Peyton Hillis' biceps are older/beat up and heading towards down years. Seriously, there's no way a Cleveland Browns player on the Madden cover isn't coming down with the curse.

8. Anthony Cifra - Owner, Pauly D - Drafted 4th

(Auto) Draft Grade: C+

Strengths: Starters

Weaknesses: Bench

HR Pick: Round 5 - Ben Rapelisberger

WTF Pick: Round 7 - Mason Crosby

Overview: I know it was autopick, but a defense and kicker in the 10th and 11th round. Literally no explanation. When people take kickers before the last two rounds it makes me feel like this. Upon talking to him after the draft, he wanted Vick but had to settle for Arian Foster's hamstring at #3 overall. If Arian's hammy can holds up, bet on Anthony wanting to serenade him at the end of the year.

7. Nick Sindoni & Frank Majka - Co-Owners, Dead Girl Bananas - Drafted 3rd

Draft Grade: B

Strengths: Defense ... (jk, QB obviously :-) lols)

Weaknesses: Receiver

HR Pick: 3rd overall - Tom Brady & Round 4 - Peyton Manning

WTF Pick: 3rd overall - Tom Brady & Round 4 - Peyton Manning

Overview: Taking Brady 3rd overall and Peyton Manning in the 4th round is either the greatest fantasy football strategy that no one has ever done in a 10-team, 1 QB league or the poorest and most comical decision anyone has ever done in a 10-team, 1 QB league. I really don't know how it will work out because it's unprecedented: it could be incredible, or it could be a massive disaster. In unrelated news, great to have you back Arinze! I missed ya big guy.

6. Josh Murray & Alex Cartini - Co-Owners, Ann Curry Hobo - Drafted 10th

Draft Grade: B

Strengths: Vick

Weaknesses: Runningback depth

HR Pick: Round 6 - Santonio Holmes (good value)

WTF Pick: Round 9 - Eli Manning (same BYE as Vick)

Overview: First off, what is it with Alex about refusing to draft kickers? Last year he did the same exact thing and I called him out in the recap. Then, he of course yelled at me and told me he planned on picking one up before the 1st week, "OBVIOUSLY KEVIN!" Whatever. I like the name, and I think you guys got the one guy who could potentially win you the league by himself, so obviously that's a bonus. Also, they have Murray's father in their corner, which is never a bad thing.

5. Kevin & Michael Cartini - Co-Owners, Charles Louboutin - Drafted 2nd

Draft Grade: B+

Strengths: Receivers (TE + WR)

Weaknesses: Runningbacks

HR Pick: Round 10 - Jonathan Stewart

WTF Pick: Round 4 - Antonio Gates (instead of Ahmad Bradshaw)

Overview: I talked to my Dad earlier today to give him my password for the league. Hearing him see the team list for the first time this season and slowly read everyone's name to me over the phone was fantastic. I told him to check everything out and e-mail me what he thought, and here's what he wrote, unaltered:

Ok - most teams look pretty even - except Sal and Alex who look to have
strong contenders. I like our starters, but our bench appears weak unless
they surprise us. A couple teams have two awesome QB's, like Alex and Sal,
which is tough to beat.

We will need to make some good trades to be in the top half of the league.

Interesting that one team has no kicker!

Can't wait to play - see you tomorrow.

Thanks Dad, can't wait to see you either! Also, for the record, the "Sal" he's referring to is Sal Marino.

**UPDATE FROM DAD UPON HEARING SAL WAS NICK & FRANK**

Had no idea who Sal was - thought he worked for one of the local TV stations as a sports guy??

4. Scott Standford - Owner, Daddy Tap - Drafted 8th

Draft Grade: A

Strengths: D

Weaknesses: Wide Receivers & Depth

HR Pick: Round 8 - Fred Jackson

WTF Pick: 3 defenses before 15th round

Overview: Scott nearly had a heart attack when he found out he was drafting 8th ("his worst drafting position"), but still managed to have one of the best drafts in the league. Even though I am slightly puzzled by him disregarding depth to have 3 of the league's best defenses, he came through with a great core of players. If you know The Dad, this isn't surprising. He has since calmed down and accepted his team, and is now looking for another wideout to push him over the top. Thank God, because can anyone else imagine Scotty growing a beard and ending up like this guy if his team missed the playoffs somehow?

3. Eric Reinauer & Anthony Spinale - Co-Owners, NewRochelleMerecats - Drafted 6th

Draft Grade: A

Strengths: Great value picks

Weaknesses: Possibly bench Wide Receivers

HR Pick: Round 13 - James Starks

WTF Pick: None

Overview: I can only imagine Eric and Spinale cackling in delight on the phone during the draft when guys kept falling to them left and right: Jamaal Charles at 6 overall, Roddy White at 15, Romo in Round 4 (!?), Starks in Round 13? Eric was probably throwing high fives with Big Chaz after each pick. Their runningbacks are absolutely stacked, and I'm placing them at #3 for right now but they're basically neck & neck with Conor. I've got my eye on you two (Please watch the first 45 seconds of that).

2. Conor Finn - Owner, i'llwhipyourheadboy - Drafted 5th

Draft Grade: A

Strengths: Overall extremely solid

Weaknesses: Runningback depth, team name

HR Pick: Round 8 - Mike Thomas

WTF Pick: Round 7 - Marshawn Lynch

Overview: While I'll Whip Ya Head Boy is a strong song, if you're gonna stoop to the level of Curtis, at least make it truly gangsta. That being said, I think Conor had a phenomenal draft. Great runningbacks and receivers, good tight end, two higher-level quarterbacks, and the obligatory random exciting guy. Oh, and we're finally cheering for the same team now! COME ON YOU GOOOOONERSS!!

1. Miiike D'Imperio - Owner, Fannypacks - Drafted 1st (again)

Draft Grade: A+

Strengths: Everything

Weaknesses: Absolutely none

HR Pick: Round 15 - Jerome Harrison

WTF Pick: None! He's perfect!

Overview: Mike really crushed it this year, I mean literally could NOT have drafted better. Last year's regular season champ is HUNGY FOR BLOOOD, and there is no stopping him this year, none. AP is too solid, Stephen Gostkowski may kick 40 field goals and the Chargers may not allow an offensive touchdown all year. Fubbies is going to be one happy camper this season.

This took me way too long to write, because I just end up getting trapped watching stupid shit like this. I'll be posting short recaps every week so make sure you all dedicate a solid 5 minutes on Tuesdays to ready my recaps. Unfortunately, I can no longer write them from Theater Class with Gus from Breaking Bad so I'll have to settle for lunchtime at work (had to do it).

Good Luck and God Bless,

The Commissioner

P.S. If anyone is angry at the position I put you in, remember that I came up with these spots in about 45 seconds.

Fantasy Football: Playoff Preview

2010-12-07T13:18:00.009-05:00

That time of year has come: playoff time. Consolations to Nicky and Weiny, you guys helped complete easily the best and most competitive season our league has ever had. Unfortunately, four people ended up at 5-8 and you guys just didn't have enough points to get in. Better luck next year.

As for everyone else, in the words of Magic Johnson, it's winnin' time. So without further ado, I present my playoff preview:

(1) The (Something) Tsunami vs. (8) Rocky Balboa

Come on, you know I had to break out my Rocky name at some point this season, right? I think I pretty much have a trademark using that name, since I'm the same person that once spent about 10 hours completing this picture:

The enemy has still not changed, my friends. Only this time it's round IV, and I'm coming for blood. However, Michael J and I will first take on the disgustingly named but fair-mannered The Dad, who lucked into the top spot this season, meaning he will receive at least half his pay back. Unluckily for him, though, that means he plays us instead of Flett.

We have a much better shot of knocking out Scotty than we do Miike in the first round, so I'm VERY happy with how this shook out. Once again, I'd like to thank Weiny for failing to insert any of his bench players in his Week 6 debacle against Scotty, allowing me to sneak into the playoffs and Scott to gain the best overall record. Really, there hasn't been a bigger non-move in the history of our fantasy league, so that's just fantastic.

As for the actual matchup of our two squads, Scotty obviously is projected to win. He has Arian Foster, Steven Jackson and Drew Brees, not to mention Miles Austin without Dez Bryant. However, he is also starting LeGarrette Blount, Malcolm Floyd and Johnny Knox, hardly the models of consistentcy this season. So what that we're starting a 5'7 white guy that was cut by the Jets during preseason in our flex spot? So what that our best player went down two weeks ago, followed by our biggest playmaker going down this week? So what that our quarterback looks like a Viking and got less than 2.5 points last week?

Rocky didn't have a shot to beat Apollo Creed, or Thunderlips, or Clubber Lang, or Ivan Drago. But you know what? He had heart, and he was the Italian Stallion. We have heart, we are mostly Italian, and by folly, we're both Stallions. Be careful Scotty, we're coming for you, with the Eye of the Tiger.

Prediction: Rocky Balboa - 97.54

The (Something) Tsunami - 95.03

(4) Need trades vs. (5) Wiley Ole Veteran

Memo to Murray: the trading deadline has passed. Conny's team has been on fire as of late, as he's won four of his last five, with the only loss came after being extremely unlucky and putting up 133 points. His team finally showed their Moxy after I chose him as the second best team in my post-draft recap. I also said I was the third best team, but that's besides the point.

Aaron Rodgers is going against Detroit, Peyton Hillis is going against Buffalo, and Desean Jackson won't do this again against Dallas. Peyton Manning is struggling mightily, and he isn't very happy about it. That doesn't bode well for Owen Wilson, so I see Conny running away with this one.

Prediction: Wiley Ole Veteran - 108.92

Need trades - 90.20

(3) Pauly D. vs. (6) Rodney Dangerfield

After putting a beatdown on me this week and taking the third spot, defending champ Anthony is looking to chop down Loggy and continue his run to the title. However, I actually see Alex coming out on top of this matchup by a slim margin. Anthony's team hasn't been playing up to par these past few weeks, being very inconsistent and up and down. Phil Rivers will put up a lot of points, as will AP and probably TO. However, Alex has a fully-rested Mike Vick, healthy Hakeem Nicks, and the two-headed monster of Knowshon Moreno and Chris Ivory, two of the league's best backs right now.

I flip-flopped my choice on this one, ultimately going with Alex if for nothing else other than the Mike Vick factor. This should be one of the week's best matchups, so I'm just preparing for the ride. Good luck to both of you, may the best man win.

Prediction: Rodney Dangerfield - 99.76

Pauly D. - 96.89

(2) The Brady Bunch vs. (7) i payed

I don't know what Flett's name means, because I'm pretty sure he was trying to say that he gave me money for the league, thus he paid. Nevertheless, last year it was Flett who had a phenomenal regular season only to lose to Alex in a first round upset. Could Flett turn the tables and pull this same tactic on Miike? We will have to find out. It won't be easy, given that for all intensive purposes, Mike has the strongest team in the league.

Brady is better than anyone fantasy-wise right now except for maybe Mike Vick, and the rest of his guys aren't too shabby either. Flacco ignores everyone else on his team except Boldin to the point that someone might throw a punch at him at some point, Manning has turned Jacob Tamme into Dallas Clark, Andre Johnson and Roddy White are both awesome, and McCoy and Chris Johnson are obviously as solid as can be. Basically, Mike is stacked. Which sucks.

Be careful though, Mikey, you have a long way to go before you can be crowned champion. You never know what can happen in the crazy world of fantasy, and given you're team name, Flett might come out swinging.

Prediction: The Brady Bunch - 125.00

i payed - 86.45

Let the games begin.

Good Luck & God Bless,

Kevin Cartini

Fantasy Football Power Rankings: Week 10

2010-11-09T13:29:00.013-05:00

What a Week 9 it was in the Red Room! This year has had by far the most parity of any, as the four bottom teams are all 3-6 and only one team has clinched a playoff spot. There was a lot of shuffling going on in the Power Rankings, so I tried to base it on the past week, overall record, and how favorable this week's matchup was to your chances of winning.

We're seeing Mr. Big Shot himself (Miiike) on the ropes after two straight losses, some comeback potential with Fletty and Conor, and The Dad taking over the number 1 spot with another impressive week. Without further ado, let's get it on.

10. Nick Sindoni - Owner, MarronToGetThrown - Last Week: 8 - Record: 3-6

Nick can't seem to catch a break, as his team reverted back to their old selves after a win and once again put up a dismal performance and gave him the lowest amount of points in a week. The good news is that you're not completely out of the playoffs yet, since FOUR teams are 3-6!! As a good luck charm, I give you Sal's cousin...

9. Conor Finn - Owner, Dont Sleep On Me - Last Week: 10 - Record: 3-6

Huge week for Conny a his team FINALLY played up to their potential and gave him a W, playing their best week of the season by far. In other news, his street has somehow turned into Fulton Street from Biggie's neighborhood in Bed-Stuy, after what has to be the 6th or 7th crime committed there in the past 5 years. It's unbelievable how that keeps happening. The moral of the story: don't mess with Crystal Drive, and don't mess with Texas!

8. Bryan Flett - Owner, im pever paying - Last Week: 9 - Record: 3-6

Last matchup in Week 1 was epic. We completed a trade after Week 3. Now in Week 10, Fletty is riding a 2-game win streak and trying to make the playoffs while Michael J. and I and trying to secure a position in 3rd place. Now, the rematch: Flett v. Cartini's, Round II

7. Alex Cartini - Owner, Rodney Dangerfield - Last Week: 6 - Record: 3-6

Loggy has had nearly 1000 points scored against him, so as tough as some of the other owners in the league have had it, no one has gotten screwed on a consistent basis as much as him. With a strong team overall but a sub-par record, he's gonna need a lot of help to make a strong push in the playoffs ... here's a pick-me-up.

6. Kevin Weinheimer - Owner, Thump Belton - Last Week: 7 - Record: 4-5

You may have defeated us this week, but we'll be back soon enough. We love the smell of defeat the day after. In other news, PREPARE FOR THE WEEKEND!

5. Josh Murray - Owner, The Choke Artists - Last Week: 5 - Record: 4-5

Another heartbreaking loss for Murray, who has decided to change his name to The Choke Artists. That's not very nice to call Peyton, Josh, since he's doing everything in his power to win you games! Don't disrespect him like that!! He doesn't like that very much!!

4. Kevin & Michael Cartini - Owners, See?IToldYouMike - Last Week: 3 - Record: 5-4

After moving all the way up to #3 after a 3-game winning streak, we were finally brought back to earth this week after a huge showing from Weiny's squad and ours doing absolutely nothing after a ravishing week of BYEs for our players. Ain't no thang though, Michael J. and I are just reacting like Kobe after Weiny's metaphorical clothesline. BRING ON FLETTY

3. Anthony Cifra - Owner, Pauly D - Last Week: 4 - Record: 5-4

Anthony has quietly put up the most points of any team in the league, as he's the only member to put up 1000 points so far. Even though his record hasn't shown it, I'm terrified of facing his team in the playoffs because of their ability to go off. Another thing that warrants mentioning is how his team has really taken flight after the Jersey Shore went off the air. I have no idea how this correlates, but it's slightly weird, no? I think he's conspiring with The Situation or Pauly somehow...

2. Mike D'Imperio - Owner, Duh Event - Last Week: 1 - Record: 7-2

Told you this day would come, Mikey. Everything goes right for 7 weeks in a row, and your luck is bound to turn sometime! Two game losing streak...your players suddenly cooling off...injuries beginning to pile up...LIONS AND TIGERS AND BEARS, OH MY!

1. Scott Stanford - Owner, The Something Tsunami - Last Week: 2 - Record: 8-1

And to think in Week 6, all Weiny had to do was insert a player and you could have been 4-2 instead of 5-1, making you tied with Miike right now... that's fantasy for you I guess! You've had a great run Scotty, they don't call you the guru for nothing. Congratulations on dethroning the Evil Empire and enjoy the number 1 spot. Don't get too comfortable though, because everyone wants to be King some day...

Good Luck and God Bless, and LET'S GO BOMBERS!

Kevin Cartini

Fantasy Football Power Rankings: Week 9

2010-11-04T13:43:00.008-04:00

10. Conor Finn - Owner, UhhAlwaysNextSeason? - Last Week: 8 - Record: 2-6

Yes Conny, I guess there always is next season... umm, this is awkward.. At least Notre Dame is playing well! Oh wait..

9. Bryan Flett - Owner, im never paying - Last Week: 10 - Record: 2-6

At least you and Conor are only two games back!!

8. Nick Sindoni - Owner, MarroneToGetThrown - Last Week: 9 - Record: 3-5

Suddenly Sal Marino is making some moves!! I don't know about trading Drew Brees though, that could come back to bite you. Although MJD is a great pickup.

7. Kevin Weinheimer - Owner, Thump Belton - Last Week: 7 - Record: 3-5

I had a great time at Syracuse's first exhibition game with my fellow Saltine Warrior. I will also have a great time beating up on your team this week with Michael J.

6. Alex Cartini - Owner, Steve Holt - Last Week: 6 - Record: 3-5

Had he picked up Stafford instead of Josh Freeman he would have gotten the victory. Reminded me of this 72 times this past weekend.

5. Josh Murray - Owner, Peyton's kids - Last Week: 3 - Record: 4-4

Mr. Murray met thy doom this weekend. Never mess with the bull, Murray.

4. Anthony Cifra - Owner, Pauly D - Last Week: 5 - Record: 4-4

Staying strong, still putting up a ton of points. Also, loving pictures of people pregnant with twins.

3. Kevin & Michael Cartini - Owners, See? IToldYouMike - Last Week: 4 - Record: 5-3

3 game win streak. The Creme ALWAYS rises to the top! TF TF

2. Scott Stanford - Owner, The (Something) Tsunami - Last Week: 2 - Record: 7-1

He has taken down the mighty Miiike! Alll, Hailll, SCOTTYY!! Better watch your back Mike, all of the sudden your luck is starting to turn..

1. Mike D'Imperio - Owner, Duh Event - Last Week: 1 - Record: 7-1

Nice name Mike. Reeealll cool. The Dad's comin for you Mikeyyy and HE HUNNGGGGYYYY!!!

DUH EVENT! DUUUUUHHHH

Good Luck and God Bless,

Kevin Cartini

Fantasy Football Power Rankings: Week 8

2010-10-26T13:52:00.011-04:00

10. Bryan Flett - Owner, im never paying - Last Week: 8 - Record: 1-6

Fletty keeps getting more tough luck, losing by less than 2 points in a battle of the 1 and 5s! Unfortunately, he lost the battle and therefore gets a spot in 10th place. There's always next year!

9. Nick Sindoni - Owner, The Underproducers - Last Week: 9 - Record: 2-5

Nick got some good luck, winning by less than 2 points in a battle of the 1 and 5s! Fortunately, he won the battle and therefore gets a spot in 9th place. I guess for you too, there's always next year!

8. Conor Finn - Owner, IWantMyMoneyBack - Last Week: 7 - Record: 2-5

Tough week for Conny as he put up the least amount of points out of anyone, then got his heiny whooped by Mikey. At least we got to see a wonderful show at Cornell with Fletty this Sunday, and at least I know how badly you want to beat me and fantasy so that I can still be inspired by you each and every week.

7. Kevin Weinheimer - Owner, Thump Belton - Last Week: 10 - Record: 3-4

Well it's nice to see Weiny actually had a full roster this weekend, but that didn't allow him to defeat Josh in an important matchup to go 4-3. You still got one big win over the weekend though!!

6. Alex Cartini - Owner, Steve Holt - Last Week: 4 - Record: 3-4

TeHe

5. Anthony Cifra - Owner, Pauly D - Last Week: 3 - Record: 3-4

Tony falls from 3rd to 5th after losing an absolute heartbreaker to Scotty. His team is still great though, so this could change soon. All I know is that Scotty better watch his back, if you catch my drift.

4. Kevin & Michael Cartini - Owners, The Nads - Last Week: 6 - Record: 4-3

You already know

3. Josh Murray - Owner, Peyton's kids - Last Week: 5 - Record: 4-3

Strong showing by Mr. Murray this week as he got a win versus Weiny. Unfortunately for him, Michael J and I stand in the way this week in a battle for 3rd place!!

2. Scott Stanford - Owner, The (Something) Tsunami - Last Week: 2 - Record: 6-1

The Dad EEEEKS out a close one versus Anthony, the likes of which we haven't seen since since this gem in week one. TF.

1. Mike D'Imperio - Owner, Belch Felch - Last Week: 1 - Record: 7-0

Another week, another win. Also, a huge win for Mike this weekend since he met this girl at Chuck's and bagged her a few hours later!! We'll see what you're made of versus Scotty...

Good Luck and God Bless,

Kevin Cartini

Fantasy Football Power Rankings: Week 7

2010-10-19T13:25:00.014-04:00

10. Kevin Weinheimer - Owner, Thump Belton - Two Weeks Ago: 5 - Record: 3-3

This scenario could have actually happened: Weiny inserts basically any applicable player on his bench at the W/R slot, wins this week against Scott WITH EASE and actually pulls into a 2-way tie with The Dad for 2nd place overall at 4-2. Really, that could have happened, even though Weiny has 547 Points Against to his measly 508 Points For.

What really transpired: Weiny doesn't insert anyone for CJ Spiller, INEXCUSABLE since he has a week to notice that the Bills have a Bye week, and loses by 3 freakin' points. Notice that Weiny could have put in Mike Williams (5 points), Robert Meachem (11 points), Roy Williams (13 points), Marshawn Lynch (10 points), and even Darrius Hayward-Bey, who only picked up 2.77 points BUT STILL WOULD HAVE GOTTEN WEINY A VICTORY SINCE HE ONLY LOST BY 2.69 POINTS! If you're keeping track at home, that means literally any guy on the bench that is eligible for the W/R spot would have won Weiny the game any shaken up the entire order of the standings in the process.

Weiny, as my fellow partner for this blog, I am absolutely ashamed and speechless about how badly you botched your team this week. For that reason, I have placed you in last on the power rankings to punish you. Don't pull a Cook or Bielak on us already!

9. Nick Sindoni - Owner, The Underproducers - Two Weeks Ago: 8 - Record: 1-5

Nick, tough luck this week with your Defense, Kicker, and W/R only getting you 2 points combined. That sucks. However, I applaud your ambition and refusal to give up, as I see you have some nice pickups for next week. In the words of my father: "Nick- great to see you today! Sorry about your team - looks like we should win. Michael J."

8. Bryan Flett - Owner, im never paying - Two Weeks Ago: 10 - Record: 1-5

Fletty, yes you are paying. And you have gotten nearly the worst luck all season, so keep you're head up! One of these weeks the tide is gonna turn your way

7. Conor Finn - Owner, IWantMyMoneyBack - Two Weeks Ago: 9 - Record: 2-4

Conny is picking it up as of late. For some reason, I just picture Conor driving around Crystal Drive with a victory sealed up bumping something like this with his hat backwards. Call me crazy.

6. Kevin & Michael Cartini - Owners, Kevin Durant - Two Weeks Ago: 6 - Record: 3-3

Two straight weeks in the mid-nineties and a switch at Quarterback will go a long way for our squad. We're coming, fellow Red Room members. And we are ready to pull off a long winning streak as we stay below the radar.

5. Josh Murray - Owner, Peyton's kids - Two Weeks Ago: 4 - Record: 3-3

That battle with Loggy this week was far, far too close for your comfort, as you lost a tough one. Big match-up for you this week versus Thump to get to 4-3.

4. Alex Cartini - Owner, Steve Holt - Two Weeks Ago: 7 - Record: 3-3

Loggy Boy continues to gain steam, as he's now won two straight and reminding people that he's almost a big boy! Unfortunately, you run into the two elder Cartini's this week, and the outcome is not going to be in your favor.

3. Anthony Cifra - Owner, Pauly D - Two Weeks Ago: 2 - Record: 3-3

It's T-Shirt Tiiiiiimeee! A bad week from your guys led to a loss from Conny, but you're still 3-3 overall and have a ton of points in your favor. I look for a big bounce-back win this week.

2. Scott Stanford - Owner, The (Something) Tsunami - Two Weeks Ago: 3 - Record: 5-1

We already went over how Scotty should have lost to Weiny this week, so i won't delve any deeper. All I have to say is sometimes Fantasy is all about getting the breaks, and The Dad has certainly built his squad into something to be reckoned with. Well played.

1. Mike D'Imperio - Owner, The Chase for 28 - Two Weeks Ago: 1 - Record: 6-0

So, so, sooooo lucky. Flett had you on the ropes and bowed out in the end thanks to CJ and his big second half. The luck is getting closer and closer to running out, however. And while Miike has 708 Points For on the season, easily the most of anyone, he also has only 517 Points Against, which is far and away the least in the league and a sign of how many breaks Mike has truly gotten. Talk to Flett about the regular seasons.

Until next week,

Good Luck and God Bless,

Kevin Cartini

Fantasy Football Power Rankings: Week 5

2010-10-05T13:47:00.010-04:00

A quarter of the NFL season has been completed, and I'm feeling less than happy about my team. I'm not ambitious today so I'm going through these rankings quickly.

10. Bryan Flett - Owner, Comeback of the year - Last Week: 10 - Record: 0-4

Flett caught the toughest break of anyone this week, scoring 110, which would have been enough to beat anyone but Scotty, whom he had the unfortunate timing of playing. Sorry Fletty.

9. Conor Finn - Owner, Dennis Rodman - Last Week: 8 - Record: 1-3

I was debating whether to place Conor or Nick here, and settled on Conor since he lost. Sorry Conny.

8. Nick Sindoni - Owner, Waste of $50 - Last Week: 9 - Record: 1-3

See Nick, it's not a total waste of $50!!

7. Alex Cartini - Owner, Charlie Manson - Last Week: 6 - Record: 1-3

Just bad luck with Vick, Pierre Thomas, and Andre Johnson. Sorry Loggy.

6. Kevin & Michael Cartini - Owners, Ron Ron Juice - Last Week: 5 - Record: 2-2

Thanks a lot, Ray Rice and Santana Moss! T.O. getting 30 freakin' points out of no where? Just unbelievable. I'm disgusted.

5. Kevin Weinheimer - Owner, Thump Belton - Last Week: 7 - Record: 3-1

Speechless. Let's just move on.

4. Josh Murray - Owner, Peyton's kids - Last Week: 3 - Record: 2-2

Unlucky week, still has considerably more points than Weiny, so he gets the nod for number 4.

3. Scott Stanford - Owner, The (Something) Tsunami - Last Week: 4 - Record: 3-1

The Dad is back in the top 3, and making all of us look like mortals.

2. Anthony Cifra - Owner, T-Shirt Time - Last Week: 2 - Record: 3-1

Slowly creeping up on Mike.

1. Mike D'Imperio - Owner, Man on Fire - Last Week: 1 - Record: 4-0

You're luck has finally run out Mike. You're going down this week, Cowboy. You 'vil lose.

Good Luck and God Bless,

Kevin Cartini

Fantasy Power Rankings: Week 4

2010-09-28T13:33:00.011-04:00

10. Bryan Flett - Owner, Comeback of the year - Last Week: 10 - Record: 0-3

Well Fletty, at least the Cowboys finally got a win. And you have a girlfriend.

9. Nick Sindoni - Owner, Waste of $50 - Last Week: 8 - Record: 0-3

Nick has one of the more depressing names in the league, as he has caught some bad luck in the first three weeks. Keep your head up Nick, at some point the luck will turn around and screw some people (cough, cough, Mike). Until then, I love you.

8. Conor Finn - Owner, Dennis Rodman - Last Week: 7 - Record: 1-2

Conny got a win this week, but it was against Flett. And just barely. So for now, I am still putting you in 8th place. But cheer up, it could always be worse!!

7. Kevin Weinheimer - Owner, Thump Belton - Last Week: 9 - Record: 2-1

In one of the more surprising turn of events this season, Weiny is now up to 7th! I said last week that he had a big matchup versus Nick, therefore I moved him up two whole spots. The good news keeps on coming, as the Orange are also 3-1 for the first time since 2003!! This isn't a bathing suit competition!

6. Alex Cartini - Owner, DWI's and Dog Fights - Last Week: 6 - Record: 1-2

As I currently write this recap in our Intro to Theater class, Loggy is actually sitting within 6 inches next to me. I have worked on this list the entire class, so I'm glad this is what senior year has come down to for me. Just to show my Mom and Dad I am making the most of their money, I'll prove that I'm still somewhat paying attention to this horrific class.

As for Alex's team, he has had HORRIBLE luck by getting nearly 400 points scored against him in the league. His team is good enough to be ranked 2 or 3 spots higher, which he has told me all class, but he's missing his defense and kicker in a showdown with Sal Marino this week. So I place you 6th, and you have no choice to be happy with that.

5. Kevin & Michael Cartini - Owners, Lexington Steele - Last Week: 4 - Record: 2-1

Struggling and treading water, but we still remain 2-1 with a favorable (in my mind) matchup this week against the human blowout himself. No AP = happy Kevin and Michael J. Until then, we will be performing a series of exercises to prepare for the rest of the season.

4. Scott Stanford - Owner, The (Something) Tsunami - Last Week: 3 - Record: 2-1

Scott and our next team have the exact same record and are within 1 point of each other for the season. So, I'm giving Scott 4th because he did not score as much as the next team the previous week. And because I'm still angry that Matt Forte got shut down but Greg Jennings didn't catch one pass after halftime. Oh well, it was a pleasure fighting until the end with you, The Dad. Just watch your back in Week 12...

3. Josh Murray - Owner, Peyton's kids - Last Week: 2 - Record: 2-1

Nice week for Josh, since he got the good graces to run into the saw that is Anthony Cifra and lost after scoring 106. Nevertheless, any team with Peyton Manning and a name to commemorate a fantastic video is good enough for 3rd place in my book! And for that matter, it really doesn't matter what anyone else but me thinks about these rankings anyways!

2. Anthony Cifra - Owner, Pauly D - Last Week: 5 - Record: 2-1

Great week for Anthony, as he happily texted me on Sunday that he team was "doing work." Couldn't have said so better myself. I am playing Tony the Barba this week without Peterson, so I'm ecstatic about that. Congratulations on the 3-spot jump, prepare to meet thy doom this weekend versus Michael J and I. It's T-Shirt time.

1. Mike D'Imperio - Owner, Willie Beamen - Last Week: 1 - Record: 3-0

At this point, I think Mike might have made a deal with the devil. Literally every single move he has made has worked out not only for the best, but as well as humanly possible. He trades for Anquan Boldin and he scores 3 touchdowns for the second time in his career. Maclin has 2 Touchdowns. His freakin' defense even scores a touchdown. This is all good for now, and he is certainly the number 1 player without question right now.

Congratulations on dominating the first few weeks, Mikey. However, just know that every break has gone your way so far. Could it be strategy and not luck? Sure. But just remember, what goes around comes around. You never know when your team may turn on you.

Good Luck and God Bless,

Kevin Cartini

Fantasy Power Rankings: Week 3

2010-09-21T17:19:00.012-04:00

An overall solid second week of football games as we had a few close games. There are now three 2-0 teams, four 1-1 teams, and two 0-2 teams. I like the symmetry in that. On to the rankings:

10. Bryan Flett - Owner, kevin C. is lame - Last Week: 9 - Record: 0-2

Fletty, I don't know what to say. You lost to last week's number 10, Weiny, and your receivers got you a combined 9.71 points. Needless to say, you need a little help there (and it may be on the way ;-)). Until then, I think this link sums up the team.

And change your damn name already.

9. Kevin Weinheimer - Owner, Thump Belton - Last Week: 10 - Record: 1-1

Weiny moves up a spot back to his week 1 ranking, which is the good news. The bad news: Weiny won a game and is still ranked this low. Look, I understand two other teams are winless, but this win was against Flett. Therefore, I think the 9th spot for Kevin is fair right now. Big matchup next week between Thump and our next spot...

8. Nick Sindoni - Owner, Will I win a game? - Last Week: 7 - Record: 0-2

Nick continues to fall in the rankings, as he has gone from the 6 spot week 1 to the 8th spot now. Having said that (™ Jerry Seinfeld), I still think Nick will be a big player later on in the season. Coming off a trade in which he picked up Steve Smith (Carolina) and Clinton Portis by giving up Anquan Boldin, I think he bounces back for a big win next week against Weiny. We'll have to wait and see, I guess.

7. Conor Finn - Owner, Dennis Rodman - Last Week: 6 - Record: 0-2

Conny Walnuts' drop in the polls has been absolutely jarring. He had the unfortunate luck last week of facing the buzzsaw that is Michael J and myself, so I can't blame him for that. However, he has some nice assets on the bench and once he figures out who needs to be playing each week, he should jump right back up in the polls. Maybe. TF TF

6. Alex Cartini - Owner, Gator's Bitches - Last Week: 8 - Record: 1-1

Big rebound week for Loggy, as he seems to have stumbled upon some diamonds in the rough. Michael Vick just got the starting job for good today, which is a huge stroke of luck at QB. Also, Hakeem Nicks is one of the top current wideouts and Darren McFadden is suddenly looking like an actual NFL runningback. Unfortunately, he still has Lee Evans and Ryan Mathews starting.

5. Anthony Cifra - Owner, Pauly D - Last Week: 4 - Record: 1-1

Tony lost a tough one to Alex this week, but his team is still looking good overall. AP and Philip Rivers will score big all year, as will Dallas Clark and Wes Welker. Anthony still needs a little more depth on the bench, but the starting lineup is solid. Good work!!!

4. Kevin & Michael Cartini - Owner, Lexington Steele - Last Week: 5 - Record: 2-0

A fantastic week in which we scored the second highest point total of anyone. As I predicted, we came back from a dismal week and performed as our team knows how to. I am making a new prediction that this week will bring more of the same. A showdown against our next ranked opponent will decide who shall move up next week!!

3. Scott Stanford - Owner, The (Something) Tsunami - Last Week: 2 - Record: 1-1

What promises to be a riveting matchup this week, Scott brings his squad up against mine and Michael J's surging warriors. Along with coming up with a new team name to combat his current filth, I spot a gaping hole in Scotty's quarterback position. Sorry The Dad, Carson Palmer just simply isn't gonna lead you to a title.

2. Josh Murray - Owner, Peyton's kids - Last Week: 3 - Record: 2-0

Nice week, Josh

1. Mike D'Imperio - Owner, Willie Beamen - Last Week: 1 - Record: 2-0

When Miiike texted me today asking to approve his trade and send it through, I was nervous for a second that he had ripped off one of the other members in the league. After all, on top of obviously just watching Any Given Sunday at some point this past week, why else would he be so anxious for me to put it through?? So when I checked and realized that he gave up Steve Smith and Clinton Portis to get Anquan Boldin, I was elated.

We'll see if Anquan can make it through an entire season without getting hurt, Mikey. And have fun with Beanie Wells in the starting RB/WR spot. Congratulations on being in first again, enjoy it while it lasts!!!

Good Luck and God Bless,

Kevin Cartini

Syracuse vs. Maine Pre-Game Thoughts

2010-09-16T13:15:00.008-04:00

I understand this is the first Syracuse-related post since last May. We know, we suck. Let's just move on.

I know I'm excited for Syracuse Football's friskiness this early in the season, as they take their 1-0 record to the Carrier Dome for the home opener against Maine. Not only is this game a must-win, but after the Black Bears and Colgate next week, SU has a legitimate shot to be 3-1 for the first time in God knows how long.

Yeah, they started off good against Washington last week only to fall flat on their face in the final three quarters, but at least they look like a real football team now. Some thoughts from the first couple of games:

- This team HITS. No more arm-tackling or trying to knock people down with the shoulder like they did during the Robinson era. Marrone has got these guys flying around and making actual tackles, which is a sight that is a given for most programs but was lacking at SU the past 5 years.

- The players are far more confident than they have been in the past. With all the talk of wanting to win a bowl, you had to wonder how much of it was just BS. Well, after two games I can see that they were all pretty serious. They're playing that they actually belong on the field and know that they have a true shot to end up on the winning end. This is understated in what it takes to have success.

- The loss of Aaron Weaver for the year is crushing. I liked him so far, and I felt like he brought a sense of leadership that wasn't possible for every guy to have, since he hasn't been here for the down years. I always hate ACL injuries, as I'm sure every Syracuse fan has had enough of recently, but this one really hurt. Time for other guys to step up.

- One of those guys looked on to fill the void left by Weaver is on the top right of this post, Syracuse's own Marcus Sales. After a promising start to his Cuse career, Sales has been in Marrone's doghouse all year. Now is the time he needs to make plays. Everyone saw that he was more than capable in the athleticism department, now it's just about if he wants it mentally.

- I will be in attendance for Saturday's game and all of the other home affairs this year. I am extremely pumped about this. You can only get the best feel of a football team when you are actually in the building, which I know both me and KShaw will be all year. I'm just hoping that the Orange can take care of business in the games that they MUST win, such as this opener.

- Last thing: One of my friends from high school, Jeff Falvey, is currently Sophomore Tight End on Maine. To say that Jeff is cocky would be the understatement of the century, which is why I know he wants nothing more than to come into the Dome and beat his hometown team. As well as being a dominant personality and overall physical specimen, Jeff is also quite the presence on twitter. Therefore, I think it would only be fitting to berate him with comments on his twitter page about how his Black Bears are going to get smoked this Saturday, all in good fun of course.

In all seriousness, I want Jeff to have a monster game this weekend, but obviously for his team to come up short. So let him know the same by going here, and get a few laughs from his old posts as well.

We'll have a post-game recap sometime next week, but until then, Let's Go Orange!

- Kevin Cartini

Fantasy Power Rankings: Week 2

2010-09-15T00:08:00.013-04:00

It was a grand first week of the NFL season, as we had both blowouts and barnburners! Like every week, there were 5 winners and 5 losers, and that most certainly will factor into my updated power rankings as we head to Week 2. I'm not making this nearly as long as the post-draft look at the league, so that could mean either good news or bad news for anyone depressed enough to read this. Let's just take a look at how things shook out:

10. Kevin Weinheimer - Owner, Thump Belton - Last Week: 9 - Record: 0-1

Well, I'm sorry to my fellow Saltine Warrior Weiny, but it looks like you're gonna be staring on the outside this year when the playoffs coming around. As much as I hate to say it after Week 1, I can pretty confidently say that you're team is in just about as bad of shape as you can be after the first game.

Not only did you score the least amount of points in the league, but you just lost your best running back for the year, and missed out on picking up his backup since Fletty shrewdly got him a day earlier. Things are not looking up my friend. On a brighter note, Syracuse football is 1-1 and should finish this month at 3-1! We gotta get on this damn blog for it's original purpose soon. I can't take another disparaging comment from your brother about my fantasy posts.

9. Bryan Flett - Owner, kevin C. is lame - Last Week: 8 - Record: 0-1

As if things couldn't get any worse for last year's regular season champ, Michael J and me go ahead and beat him by .29 (!!!) points yesterday in what has to go down as the closest fantasy game our league has ever seen. Literally, all Nate Kaeding has to do is make one field goal or 3 extra points, for one the the league's most explosive offenses, and Flett is going into Week 2 at 1-0.

Not only was this an incredible way to win a fantasy game, but it provided the highlight of my Sunday as I saw the Chiefs, in the last drive of the last game of the first week, make a four-down defensive stand in the final seconds to ensure our victory. In turn, I did a full-on yell and fist pump in the middle of my living room by myself, and also instantly thought of my choice for this week's new name for my father and me, which was all too easy (Harry Houdini. I know you dig it.)

I blame Flett's loss on bad karma for the horrible name he chose to don in Week 1, and by the way, he's yet to change it yet. So expect another loss in Week 2 Bryan, you filthy animal. (But nice pickup with Brandon Jackson)

8. Alex Cartini - Owner, Gator's Bitches - Last Week: 10 - Record: 0-1

Loggy was not happy with last week's review of his team as he angrily confronted me on campus earlier this week and explained that he had picked up a kicker off waivers. Good for you. Your team still isn't very good, but you did seem to find a nice gem in Hakeem Nicks. Once Andre Johnson gets going you have the potential to move up in the rankings, but that means Eli might have to continue to look halfway competent. And we all know that's not something he does very well.

7. Nick Sindoni - Owner, What Maryland Does - Last Week: 6 - Record: 0-1
Nick Sandoni dropped one spot not really because of his team, but simply because I didn't know where else to fit him in. Sorry, Nick. Your team actually put up a very well-rounded game, and Drew Brees will probably score a lot more for you in the future. However, I still think that Joseph Addai looks like a gorilla.

6. Conor Finn - Owner, The Brahma Bull - Last Week: 2 - Record: 0-1

Mr. Jet himself dropped the most spots in the poll this week, similar to his beloved Jets after their historically bad offensive display this Monday night. Sanchise indeed!! I think you should move up the rankings pretty quickly, as you still have one of the most talented/deep teams in our league. But I'm placing you 6th because there's no way I'm putting you ahead of the next team on this list, and that just goes without saying. Also, you're playing our team this week and I don't want you to get a big head before the HEAVYWEIGHT MATCHUP!

I wil ladmit that Dexter McCluster had a sweet return and I am very jealous you drafted him before me. He has wicked cool hair and a sweet name, so at least that's going for you.

5. Kevin & Michael Cartini - Co-Owners, Harry Houdini - Last Week: 3 - Record: 1-0
We already discussed how the most handsome Cartini men narrowly escaped Week 1, but I'm just writing it off as a mere fluke. As I say every year in this league, the cream always rises to the top. Anyways, I think our team played justt about as bad as you possibly could, and yet we're starting the season off on the right foot anyways. Gotta love that.

My point all along about fantasty football is that it's about depth. Look at how many guys got hurt for the year in week 1. Some of those guys were defensive players or non-fantasy difference makers, but in the big scheme of things, it's still the same principle. Injuries will happen, so you better be ready. And that's why when I look at the bench we've assembled, I still believe we are one of the best teams. Santana Moss, Massaquoi, Dez Bryant, Ahmad Bradshaw, and Kyle Orton all could have started this week and nearly doubled the starter's contributions. That, my friends, is what I call depth. I'm willing to bet that the starters will never play that bad collectively in the same week again, and that the only direction to go is up. The Brahma Bull, that means evisceration in Week 2. If YA SMELLLLLLLLLL, what Michael J, IS COOKIN.

4. Anthony Cifra - Owner, Pauly D. - Last Week: 7 - Record: 1-0

Tony had the highest jump of anyone outside of Scotty this week, after putting together a very nice showing. I still see depth as being somewhat of a problem considering neither Sidney Rice or Vincent Jackson is playing anytime soon, but he does have some very good starters that should put up big numbers all year.

In an unrelated note, I demand that as a league we mandate Anthony convinces Anthony Cianchetta and my roommate Drew Pero to re-enact this or else we kick him out of the league next year. Thoughts anyone?

3. Josh Murray - Owner, Dorothy Mantooth - Last Week: 4 - Record: 1-0

Josh had a nice little week for himself behind Peyton Mannings arm and Jamaal Charles' hair. The real wildcard is how well Jahvid Best will play each week. If he can keep putting up numbers like Week 1, then Josh's team is going to be a real problem. Unfortunately for you Mr. Murray, your bench still sucks. So better hope Randy Moss or Hines Ward doesn't get knocked out anytime soon!

2. Scott Stanford - Owner, The (Something) Tsunami - Last Week: 5 - Record: 1-0

The lesson, as always: don't bet against The Dad. I should have know a man of Scott's knowledge would know what the hell he was doing when he drafted, and he proved me wrong last week by jumping all th way to the number 2 spot. He seemed to have found two gems in Foster and Forte, although there's no freakin' way Arian duplicates that performance any other time this year. Take away 30 of his 40 points and Scotty has a very good but still human Week 1. Nevetheless, he built a real contender, and I do look forward to breaking you in Week 3.

1. Mike D'Imperio - Owner, Team No-Trade Clause - Last Week: 1 - Record: 1-0

Miiike stays in first after a big first week from (surprise) Chris Johnson. I think your name sucks, as you haven't been able to rip anyone off in a ridiculously one-sided trade yet, and I was even upset that you tried to only take away Calvin Johnson from me instead of Frank Gore. Even so, the number one pick is still the number one enemy, and until then, everyone will look forward to coming at you with that bulls-eye on your back. Getcha popcorn ready.

Check back later in the week as Weiny and me try to write something or at least call each other and talk about Syracuse football.

Good Luck and God Bless,

Kevin Cartini

Fantasy Football Power Rankings: Post-Draft

2010-08-30T22:26:00.037-04:00

I get that talking about fantasy football power rankings in the first post in about 5 months is somewhat confusing. However, since it's our blog, and about 75% of our readers are probably in the league anyways, I say screw it. I'm doing weekly updates and power rankings on the blog.

As the (somewhat) notorious commissioner, as well as easily the most successful member in league history (3 titles in 5 years baby), I hold myself to high standards when it comes to fantasy football. This weekly posting, usually on Tuesdays throughout the NFL season, will become another staple of the league that continues to get better each year. As we head into the 6th year of the league's existence, I am very excited for what is to come.

We've made a lot of important changes regarding the league this year, including a couple of biggies. Among those were a new league member (hello Nick), a $50 entry fee, the switch from two quarterbacks to one, and points per reception, just to name a couple of the wrinkles added this year.

Obviously, it's the pre-season and our draft was only held on Sunday night, so doing power rankings for the league is pretty much a blind guess. Whatever. This should still be entertaining enough for me to spend at least 15 minutes on.

From 10th to 1st, I am going to rank where I think each team stands after their draft. I'll also write a little recap of how I think each team drafted, as well as their position in the draft. Without further ado, here are my own personal power rankings for the Red Room League, as of Monday, August 30, 2010. Unbiased, of course.

10. Alex Cartini - Owner, Gator's Bitches - Drafted 9th

Sorry Loggy, just because you go to Ithaca right now doesn't mean you're as knowledgeable about fantasy football as me. You didn't come to the draft as prepared as you should have, and even admitted as much to me. Therefore, I'm sticking you 10th as of now. And that doesn't even count that you currently don't have a kicker starting for you.

Starting off with Andre Johnson is a huge acquisition, but I didn't like what you did with your next two choices, drafting Pierre Thomas and Ryan Mathews. I think both were a bit of a stretch, and that there were a ton of other guys that may have been better for you to get at that point. However, I think you did get one of the potential steals in Kevin Kolb. I predict he takes over Eli's starting spot by Week 8. Better luck next time.

9. Kevin Weinheimer - Owner, IN THE FAAAAAACE - Drafted 6th

Although I hate to say it, I really didn't think my fellow Saltine Warrior Weiny had the strongest of drafts. I liked the Michael Turner pick right after me at number 6, but after that, I'm not loving the team you assembled at all. Flacco has a chance to be a solid, top-10 QB, but the receiving core is full of questions. Reggie Wayne is past his prime and declined steadily the second half of the year, Percy Harvin is still suffering from Migraines (OUCH), and Robert Meachem is not even the top wideout on a loaded Saints offense.

Ryan Grant is a solid runninback, but you beloved Buffalo Bills tandem of CJ Spiller and Marshawn Lynch is not going to fair well in my opinion, as in, the Bills offense will struggle this year HEAVILY. I loved the Mike Williams pick for obvious reasons as a sleeper, as I wanted to take him on my team. Overall, I'm gonna stick you in 9th for now and see how the season plays out. Plus, we all know you have a genius trade that you will eventually pull off mid-season (like you do every year)!

8. Bryan Flett - Owner, kevin C. is lame - Drafted 4th

Flett came into the draft unprepared just like Alex, which to me shows he deserves this number 8 ranking. he also deserved to be ranked possibly even lower because of his unfunny and disparaging team name, but like I said, this list is unbiased (as far as you know).

Our favorite Delta Sonic employee came up with a strong first few rounds, taking Ray Rice, Romo, and Desean Jackson. However, the later rounds are where Fletty boy struggled mightily. At one point, he was angry that he drafted Chris Cooley, who by all means is projected to be one of the best Tight Ends with the addition of McNabb. I'm not in love with Steve Breaston starting, and Mike Sims-Walker is overrated in my mind. I don't think Flett has enough depth to withstand the long grind of a season, unless he makes some good pickups or Romo plays out of his mind all year. And seriously, we all know that would end in December anyways (hehe). So therefore, you get stuck in 8th, Fletty. Better luck next time.

7. Anthony Cifra - Owner, Pauly D. - Drafted 2nd

I was initially going to rank Tony the Barber much higher than 7th, but then I realized that he had 3 tight ends on his roster. Any time the number of tight ends equals the number of running backs on a team (both have 3), then I am definitely going to have to give you a poor ranking. Anthony employs both of the Bengals top receivers, the duo now known as TOcho, so he better hope Carson Palmer has a big year throwing the ball. Also, Anthony has Antonio Bryant, who was cut by Cincinnati hours before our draft on Sunday.

Having Adrian Peterson will obviously be a huge advantage, but outside of him I think there are only a few sure things on this team. Dallas Clark will put up numbers like always, Philip Rivers will be one of the best quarterbacks in the league, and I believe Wes Welker will be one of the biggest steals of the draft (getting the points per receptions). On the other hand, Larry Fitzgerald now has Derek Anderson throwing the ball to him (RED FLAG! RED FLAG), Thomas Jones doesn't even start, and both Sidney Rice and Vincent Jackson will miss a significant number of games this season. Add all of that up, and I see some great talent on top but a gigantic lack of depth for team Pauly D.

6. Nick Sindoni - Owner, What Maryland Does - Drafted 10th
Newly-crowned associate of Phil Martelli, Nicholas Sindoni, drafted from the turn position and did what I thought was a decent job with it. He got a top-23 quarterback in drew Brees, and drafted what I thought was a great value pick in Steve Smith (Giants). However, I thought there was better talent available than Mendenhall at number 10, and a lot of other questions arise as I peruse Nick's roster. Anquan Boldin over Calvin Johnson later in the 4th was absolutely perplexing, as he obviously has not yet proven he can play without Larry Fitzgerald.
Relying on Jonathan Stewart (a backup) and Joseph Addai (Donald Brown breathing down his neck) my prove to be risky. Donald Driver will definitely be a solid starter, and Vernon davis could be the top tight end by year's end. However, it was other moves such as drafting Donnie Avery (hint: ACL) and Steve Slaton (hint: now relegated to returning kicks in preseason) makes it hard for me to put Sal Marino in the top half of the league. Nonetheless, you're still the best fake brother anyone could ever have Nick.

5. Scott Stanford - Owner, The (Something) Tsunami - Drafted 3rd

First things first, congratulations to Scotty for having the most disgusting and uncharacteristic fantasy name, as he somehow found a way to top "Sean Taylor's Thigh." On to his team, where The Dad always proves he is one of the best researchers and most knowledgeable players in the league. While I think Scotty got some of the best sleepers in the draft, I must say, I was a bit baffled by his early strategy of not drafting a Quarterback.

I liked the MJD pick obviously, as well as the followup with Miles Austin. However, I thought drafting Marshall and Foster back to back was very risky. Foster is unproven and playing for a pass-happy team with a great receiving core, and Brandon Marshall is talented by also a psycho. I don't know if he will duplicate last year's amazing season on a new team especially after taking his talents to South Beach (™LeBron James). Malcolm Floyd should be good in Vincent Jackson's absence, and Antonio Gates will be solid as always. However, I think the quarterback duo of Alex Smith and Carson Palmer may win in real life but perhaps not translate as well to fantasy numbers. The depth on Scott's team is strong and that should prove to place him among the leaders by seasons end, but as of now, I'm sorry Scotty. I'm gonna have to place you at number 5 right now. Please don't assassinate me.

4. Josh Murray - Owner, Dorothy Mantooth - Drafted 8th

The toughest call of this list was between Josh and our next team, with me finally deciding on this after I realized Josh's best bench player was probably Jahvid Best. Nonetheless, I think Mr. Murray has a great starting lineup with no true holes. Blue chippers include Peyton Manning, Randy Moss, Tony Gonzalez, and Steven Jackson. I think Jamaal Charles, Hines Ward, and Derrick Mason are all above-average starters as well. I'm not in love with Brandon Jacobs, as I think he lost some of his fantasy luster last season with the emergence of Bradshaw.

Even the Giants fan in Josh would have to agree that Jacobs isn't what he used to be, goal line-carry argument noted. Kenny Britt, Chris Chambers, and Kevin Walter are all strong number two's with some good breakout potential as well. I see Josh's team as a solid contender right down to the end of the year, which should make Owen Wilson and Gary Brisson very proud.

3. Kevin & Michael Cartini - Co-Owners, Who's Finishing 2nd? - Drafted 5th

I know, I know, everyone is surprised to see myself and my dad ranked 3rd right now. Don't worry, I'm not trying to purposely downplay how badly I dominated the draft from a middle position, or how badly I felt that my co-owners seemed to be trying to hand us the title this year. I really believe we should be in this spot right now (again, as far as you know ;-)) With my Dad breaking his fantasy football virginity this year and joining me this year as co-manager, I could not be happier to debut the Cartini Dream Team with the squad I chose last night. Save for one pick (we'll get to that), I believe that we got the most depth in the league out of Sunday's draft.

Let's break down my first ten choices, Pick-by-Pick, because I took the time to write this enormous post, and what's a couple hundred more words?

1st Round, Frank Gore - debated on taking Rodgers or Andre Johnson here, ultimately deciding on Big Frank. Think he's gonna have a huge year.

2nd Round, Matt Schaub - owned Matt last year and think he's gonna duplicate his success, throwing to Mr. Johnson. Comfortable that we got an elite QB

3rd Round, Greg Jennings - gonna eat food based on Aaron Rodgers dominance this season

4th Round, Calvin Johnson - here's where I have no clue how I got the potential top wideout with the 35th pick, in a league that grants points to receptions. Really no idea how no one picked him before this. Thanks guys!

5th Round, Shonn Greene - again, baffled at how the starting runningback behind the league's best line, as well as a top 12 player at his position, is still available here. Again, THANKS GUYS!!

6th Round, Michael Crabtree - He dominated while getting his feet wet last year in his rookie season, so I'm expecting a monster year from Mr. Crabtree

7th Round, Santana Moss - gonna have a huge year as McNabb's go-to guy and best deep threat. I was excited to get him here

8th Round, Ahmad Bradshaw - here's my pick I got sucked into, the one bad choice I feel I made. I still think he eventually takes over Jacob's spot, so this wasn't a total waste.

9th Round, Jason Witten - originally I was gonna draft a tight end 3rd from last, but this was too good to pass up. Witten was in the top 10 in catches last year as a freakin tight end, so he's gonna rack up points this year as one of Romo's go-to's. Huge pickup right here

10th Round, Reggie Bush - loved, LOVED getting Reggie right here. terrible pick if this wasn't a points per reception league, but at this spot when he's getting .5 points a catch? Oh yeah. I think as a rushing/big play option for Drew Brees, Reggie's gonna be a great utility guy.

Other than those 10 guys, I thought my Dez Bryant and Kyle Orton picks could prove to be sleepers, and I'm expecting huge things from Fred Jackson as a backup. If we're lucky Massaquoi or Nate Washington will turn out to be diamonds in the rough. And you can never go wrong with a kicker of a high-scoring offense (Eagles) or that stifling, blitz-happy defense (Philly). Bonus points that the Eagles are my favorite team. Regardless, Mike and Kevin have the most depth in the league, no questions asked.

2. Conor Finn - Owner, Conor Finn's Team - Drafted 7th

Despite obviously having the most clever and deceptive team name, Conor actually convinced me on the phone earlier today that his team was for real. He's come a long way since we started this league back in 2005, and drafted a real beauty of a team on Sunday. I strongly, strongly considered drafting Rodgers with the 5th pick, since I believe he will be the top QB this year. I'm not in love with Cedric Benson and DeAngelo Williams with the next two choices, but they are both solid runningbacks. Receiving-wise, Colston, Bowe, and Mike Wallace are all solid number 1's with a chance to have good years. However, no elite guys mike come back to bite Conny in the hiney later in the season.

No one has to sell me on Brent Celek (certified man-crush) and Ronnie Brown is a very solid utility guy. Bernard Berrian, Austin Collie, Felix Jones, and Tim Hightower all have HUGE potential, so I'm really liking the depth that Conor has going for him. Conny Walnuts seemed to be high on Rookie Dexter McCluster when he drafted him, and he could be a nice little boost by the middle to end of the season. All in all, I must admit, it was a pretty impressive draft for a man that lists Lloyd Christmas among one of his life role models.

1. Mike D'Imperio - Owner, Team No-Trade Clause - Drafted 1st

You wanted it, you got it Mikey. Since Dough Boy Fresh continually claims that he has the best team each and every year, I figured I'd assist him by putting the target on his back early. This isn't even touching on how annoyed and pissed everyone was that he lucked into the 1st pick for the second year in a row (absolutely ridiculous) or his incessant one-sided trade proposals to the entire league.

Mike lucked into getting Chris Johnson (stabbing his boy AP in the back in the process), then picked up a few elite guys in Golden Boy (™Conor Finn) Tom Brady & Roddy White. His other boy Steve Smith was (somehow) there for the taking in round 5, which was a nice little steal. I think LeSean McCoy was a little bit of a stretch in the 4th (he's no B. Westbrook), and Beanie Weels & Jeremy Maclin still have a lot to prove. Justin Forcett and Clinton Portis were very nice picks for where they were drafted, and Santonio Holmes will be a strong addition in Week 5. Donald Brown, Edelman, and Chad Henne could also all be great sleepers. Regardless of how good your team really is Mike, you got what you wanted. Now let's see you try to back it up!

Well, there you have it. That's my ridiculously long and time-consuming recap of our league's draft. Look for a (much shorter) update every week from here on out. And if any of the people in the Red Room are pissed about what I had to say about your team, too damn bad. I missed a house viewing of Happy Gilmore for this shit. May the fun begin.

Good Luck and God Bless,

Kevin Cartini

COMING SOON...

2010-04-26T23:44:00.001-04:00

OK, so we get it. We sucked the past couple months. We will make it up to you this Summer. In the meantime, listen to the promo and get excited! The NEW Saltine Warriors, coming this Summer.

Halftime Update: Syracuse - Georgetown

2010-03-11T12:46:00.002-05:00

Just some quick thoughts on the first half of the Georgetown game:

- 11 turnovers. What the hell? I don't know if it's possible for Syracuse to play any sloppier than they have. They have a 3-point lead yet they've given up 18 points off of those turnovers. What does that tell you about the game? Our lead should be 10-plus right now, and would be if we could hang on to the ball.

- Let's give credit where credit is due: Georgetown's defense is stifling right now. They are swarming our big men and applying pressure to the guards, making everything difficult for Syracuse's offense.

- How about Wes coming out firing! He finished the half with 12 points on 5-8 shooting, including those two nice 3-pointers. We haven't seen him be this aggressive since the hand injury. As of late, Wes has nearly disappeared in the second half of games, so I'm curious to see what he's going to do in the 2nd half.

- Syracuse needs to get Rick and Arinze going in the second half. They were rendered basically useless in the first half, combining for just 5 points. More worrisome was the fact that we couldn't even get the ball inside to them, as about 6 of those 11 turnovers came on entry passes. The lackadaisical passes to the post have got to stop if Syracuse wants to win this game.

My take on the 2nd half? I say Syracuse settles down, the zone gets a little tougher, and they shake of the rust for a 10-point victory, 83-73. Let's hope this holds true!

Let's Go Orange!

- Jake the Snake

Cuse-Villanova Prediction

2010-02-26T19:48:00.002-05:00

Let's make this short and sweet:

Syracuse - 73

Villanova - 68

C'mon, you can't go against 34,616 screaming Orange fans can you?

- Jake the Snake

Syracuse - Villanova: Finally Upon Us

2010-02-26T01:55:00.012-05:00

I don't need to remind anybody how big the Villanova game is going to be. College Gameday. Anticipation for nearly 3 months. A sold out Dome. This list goes on and on for 'Cuse basketball fans, and now the day we have all been waiting for is finally almost here.

I'm sure I'm not speaking just for myself when I say how freaking excited I am going to be waking up Saturday morning. For those of you going to the game like KShaw, or are on the East coast, I have no clue how any of you will be able to handle waiting until 9 o'clock to get this thing under way. I get the privilege of waiting 3 less hours, as tip-off will be at 6pm for me and anyone else currently on the West coast.

We still have over 24 hours to go before this thing tips off, but damnit I can't contain my excitement enough not to go all out and preview this colossal matchup between the two Big East leaders. Come Saturday, I will be waiting the day away at Los Angeles TV station K-CAL at my internship, wearing Orange and acting downright giddy for when I get out of work at five to go watch the game with some fellow Syracuse fans. Until then, let's break this sucker down by 5 main points that I think will decide the outcome:

1. Frontcourt

Give the big advantage to Syracuse here. As it has been all year, our frontcourt will be the catalyst against the Wildcats on Saturday night, and in my opinion, will be the deciding factor of the game. If all goes as planned, Syracuse should not have a problem with Villanova's bigs. As what has become one of their trademarks, the Wildcats start only one true forward in Antonio Pena, who fills the "Curtis Sumpter" role of the 09-'10 Wildcats. Pena is a good player who is second on the team in scoring and averages about 11 points and 8 rebounds, but he by no means should give AO or Rick any trouble. Duke transfer Taylor King provides some decent size and a nice jumper, but he plays more like a guard than a big man who can threaten to defend any of our post players. Factor in Wes and Kris Joseph, and Syracuse's frontcourt should absolutely clean up against Villanova.

BIG Advantage: Syracuse

2. Backcourt

This is where things get tricky for the Orange. Villanova's roster is absolutely full of guards, and good ones at that. We all know about Scottie Reynolds, who thanks to Devo no longer being on our team, holds the distinction as "Guy everyone else in the conference thought should have graduated 2 years ago." It feels like Scottie has been around for about seven years, and it's safe to see we'll be glad to see him gone next year. Great player, we all know what he's capable of, and as Scottie goes, 'Nova goes.

Problem number two, in my opinion, is Corey Fisher. I've been watching him with a close eye since he (and I) were high school seniors, and I've always admired his game. He's Villanova's second leading scorer and very streaky, so if Fisher gets hot, then watch out. Syracuse is definitely going to have to keep an eye on his slicing drives and dishes to open shooters.

As previously mentioned, 'Nova sticks mainly with a four-guard offense, and can bring up to 6 guys off the bench without hesitation. Corey "Pissman" Stokes and Reggie Redding fill out the rest of the Cats starters, and both are nice complimentary players who are more than capable of having big games. However, none of the 'Nova players other than Reynolds and seldom-used freshman Isaiah Armwood is shooting above 40% from three, which will help out the 2-3 zone's cause greatly.

As for the Orange, our guard play this year from Andy Rautins has been absolutely stellar. We all know he's showing up for this big of a game, that's a definite at this point. As for Scoop and Brandon Triche, they're a little bit more of a dice roll. We've seen Triche have his ups and downs this year, so anything can happen with him in a big game. Scoop has played very strong all year, but as of late has been making some more than questionable judgement errors late in games. All three of our true guards are going to need to step up huge against the Wildcats' heavy-guard attack, or else the Orange may find themselves having to claw back from behind all game.

Advantage: Villanova

3. Bench

While not nearly the deepest by any means, Syracuse has the luxury of having two of the best bench players in the entire country. Save for a select few, Kris Joseph could start on almost any other team in the nation. Scoop has provided incredible leadership for a backup point guard, and is tied for the team lead in assists. Having two guys like that come off the bench is a sign of a true national championship contender. However, we all know that save for terrible foul trouble, 7-deep is as far as Syracuse will go, which could not be more opposite of Villanova.

The Wildcats have an incredible 11(!) players averaging double figures in minutes for the year, meaning that Jay Wright not only trusts his players, but expects them to perform in big moments. He'll need them more than ever in this game, which will have the biggest on-campus crowd to ever see a college basketball game. Taylor King has an ACC pedigree, so big games won't phase him, and freshman spark-plug Maliik Wayns (sadly not one of the Wayans brothers) contributes a great deal to Villanova's guard-heavy gameplan. Call me crazy, but as great as it would be to be able to throw in nearly anyone on my bench, I'm taking quality over quantity all day.

Slight Advantage: Syracuse

4. Coaching

Jay Wright is a great coach. I can't say enough about how much I like or respect Jay Wright for how far he's taken the Villanova program since he took over in 2001. I think he's one of the top 2 or 3 coaches in college under 50 years old, and I believe in the coming years he will get some great offers at bigger programs. Not only is he smart and gets the most out of any team he has to work with, the guy is second to none as far as suits go! I mean, look at this guy! He looks like he should be a model for an S&K Menswear catalog or something.

Now for Jimmy B, or as I like to now call him, Jim "I swear to God if I'm not Coach of the Year this season, I may just coach every game next year in my underwear to spite everyone" Boeheim. He's done an absolutely fantastic job this season, and if Syracuse wins the Big East, should seriously win Coach of the Year. It's that simple. They were picked to finish 6th in the conference! They've lost 2 games after losing their top 3 scorers from last year! We all know this, and we all agree, this has been Boeheim's year. As tough as this decision is, I'm going with the wily old veteran, in a season in which he's made all the right moves, in his own building for this one.

Slight Advantage: Syracuse

5. Intangibles

I mean, if you can't get up for a home game in which you have sold nearly 35,000 seats, on prime time national television, in front of the College Gameday crew, then you must not have a pulse. Syracuse WILL be up for this game, as will Villanova. The Dome will be louder than it ever has been, and the atmosphere will most likely be both indescribable and impossible to fully capture on television. And if you can't tell, yes, I'm just a tiny bit bitter that I won't be there to see this one, as my Dad, brother, KShaw, and thousands of others will be.

Being that it is our home court, and a victory would give SU a two game lead in the Big East standings, how can I not give the advantage to the 'Cuse for this one? Let's show the country how good we really are, fellas.

Huge Advantage: Syracuse

Now after saying all of that, I'll let KShaw give you some of his thoughts on the game, and what he anticipates the game being like from his season tickets inside the friendly confines of the Carrier Dome. He will also give a final prediction to how we see the game playing out. If you spent the time to read this entire breakdown, you can probably take a hint and figure out whom I'm leaning towards picking. Go 'Cuse.

- Jake the Snake

Making Things Interesting

2010-02-19T18:02:00.007-05:00

As much as I love this year's squad, man, do they like to keep games in doubt right to the final buzzer. In what has become somewhat of a trend as of late, we had a 23 point lead (!) before nearly blowing the entire thing and losing to hated rival Georgetown. Like seriously, this "making games exciting" thing needs to stop.

I was in class until halftime for this one, so I missed the great start by Syracuse, but I was watching for most of the good stuff. Here's some quick thoughts about what transpired:

For one, the foul count needs to be mentioned. Really Jim Burr, James Breeding, and Jamie Luckey, 48 freakin' fouls called? Isn't this supposed to be Big East basketball, where games are meant to be the survival of the fittest? We had DaShonte Riley playing in the last minute of a game versus our rival and the number 10 team in the country! Those last two fouls that were called on Rick and Arinze were absolutely minimal contact. This was a big game played with a lot of passion, so I think I speak for everyone when I say to "The Three J's," just let the guys play.
I think the fouls on our bigs were a huge part of blowing that lead, but regardless, letting a team come back from 23 in about 5 minutes is inexcusable. This is like the fifth time this year Syracuse has let a team come back when they should have won by about 20. Greg Monroe annihilated our post players, even causing the intolerable Dick Vitale to say he "has never seen Monroe want to win so badly." Yeah, that's probably because he's too busy watching the ACC, but regardless, it's never a comment that you want an announcer to be throwing out for someone playing your team. Sure, we've had our share of big victories this year, but we need to find that killer instinct of putting away games for good. And we better find it fast, because as much as I hate saying it, that's not a trait found in teams looking to make a Final Four run.
Huge, HUGE shot by Kris to close out the game with under 10 to go. After an otherwise very forgettable game, Kris Jo stepped up big time to close that one out. What I liked even more about his driving layup? I could feel it coming. I actually texted KShaw and my buddy Drew going into the timeout that Kris was going to score, and about 2 minutes later that's exactly what he did. He's really come on this year closing games out, even dating back to a couple huge jumpers versus North Carolina in the Garden. Not only can he finish in big spots, but Kris' Twitter also features at least one laugh out loud post per day. He's both clutch and hilarious. I continue to be pleased with the entire Kris Joseph experience.
Andy stepped up huge again, dropping 26 points and maintaining that key senior leadership throughout the game. I actually liked the small lineup we had on the court to close out the game. Rautins, Triche, Joseph, Johnson, and Jardine? Who are you leaving open out of that bunch? Any guy on the court could kill you if you slip up and leave them open. While we most likely won't see this again unless the foul situation is bad, I really don't mind going small for key scoring situations like the one last night.
Um, Scoop, just because you took over Paul Harris' jersey number doesn't mean you have to start performing like him with less than a minute in close games. Apparently Scoop felt like we all needed a reminder of just how many mental lapses good ole Dugga gave us in his time on the Hill, because he's had some near catastrophes in the past week. First the drive with 30 seconds left on the clock against UCONN, then it was a play at the end of yesterday's game. It may have been overlooked by many, but at the end of the game last night Scoop attempted to block Chris Wright's 3-pointer at the buzzer. You're up by 4 points Scoop, meaning the other team has literally no chance of winning unless you foul them and they hit a three. Why is he even within 5 feet of him there? Wright missed, Scoop didn't foul, the Orange held on, no big deal. But it's stupid habits and mental lapses like those that can completely blow a game. I'm begging you Antonio, please don't pull a Paul/Devo and go anywhere near a 3-point shooter in that situation ever again.
Last but not least, let's discuss Wesley. In what's becoming the elephant in the room, Wes once again had a lackluster 2nd half last night by scoring just two points, and those were on free throws. I absolutely love Wes as much as anyone. I've said multiple times that he is our best pro prospect since Carmelo, hands down. But if you're gonna be a star player and get all of the attention that comes with it, you need to finish games. Strong. Quiet second halves have become a constant trend with Wes in the past month. I know he's been battling injuries, and I know he still does great things like rebound, block shots, and play strong defense in the closing minutes. However, when the game gets tough, you need your star to put the ball in the bucket. Wes is almost too nice of a guy, a la Dwight Howard, to be the alpha dog when the time comes. He needs to start demanding the ball and putting up shots, because 0 field goals on the road trying to close out a game just isn't gonna get the job done. We all know you're better than that, Wes, so next time this happens, let's see a little fire out of you! Get mad, demand the ball, and go to work. No one is going to blame you for taking shots in the big moments. That's what All-American candidates do.

At the end of the day, Syracuse is still undefeated on the road and at 25-2, just clinched a bye in the first round of the BE Tournament. Despite that scare of a colossal collapse, we also need to remember we were leading by 23 as well. We just need to work on FINISHING. I'm willing to bet that JB and the boys will figure it out by March.

- Jake the Snake

TIMEOUT! Cuse-UConn Postgame Thoughts

2010-02-11T03:19:00.017-05:00

In the past couple years, no matter what the circumstances are when Syracuse and Connecticut face off, there never seems to be a shortage of drama.

Last year in Storrs, Kristof "The Belgian Hitman" Ongenaet inadvertently took out one of UConn's top players (Jerome Dyson) for the year, possibly costing the Huskies a chance at a National Title. In New York for the Big East Tournament, I think we all remember what epic occurrence transpired.

This year? We hang on to get a nice win in a game that should have been a blowout, along with the pleasure of listening to Huskies fans whine about a controversial call for the next year (or at least until this year's BE Tourney, should we meet up).

Look, I'm not going to go through the exact rules or specifics of a timeout call, since there are enough outlets that have already started that debate. What I can do is give you my take on the entire debacle, in 3 points:

A. First and foremost, this entire situation (no Jersey Shore) never should have happened. If my memory is correct, we were blessed with a Rick Jackson rebound off of a very difficult Andy Rautins fallaway 3-pointer. Rick got the rebound and kicked the ball out to Scoop with about 38 seconds on the clock, giving Syracuse a fresh :35 and a chance at taking basically the last shot of the game. If you're a Division I basketball player, why in the world would you ever be so mindless as to drive into 3 defenders as quickly as possible and try for a layup at that point in the game? C'mon, this is the stuff they teach you in middle school ball.

I love Scoop, and for the most part he's a very smart player, which is why this baffles me even more. The right play is to regroup on top, wait to make a move until the clock gets to about eight seconds left, or call a timeout right away to set up a play. Why risk a miss/blocked shot in the first place?

B. Everyone keeps talking about the "blown call" by the referee since he granted Boeheim the timeout after UConn had already gotten the rebound. I understand this logic, but if you're going to talk about blown calls, what about the referee not acknowledging the fact that Boeheim wanted a timeout 3 seconds earlier? Obviously in the heat of the moment, refs are focused on the game. However, it was apparent that Jimmy was running at the ref waving his hands and screaming for a timeout, which is something the official must have at least considered would be an option for SU, given the fresh shot clock.

This isn't even considering the fact that Scoop got smacked in the face by Gavin Edwards on the blocked shot (which I'm not complaining about, by the way. I agreed with the no-call, I'm just saying that if we're nitpicking supposed blown calls, it at least warrants mentioning).

C. For the small chance that like, three UConn fans are actually reading this, I get it. I feel for you. If this was Syracuse in the same situation with a call like that, no doubt I'd be just as pissed as all of you. I'd probably even go off an a tangent and dedicate about 4 posts to it. But at the end of the day, that isn't going to change the end result of the game. Refs make tough calls like these all the time, and it just so happened this one went for the Orange and against you guys.

Nobody has to be reminded that this has shaped up to be a pretty special year for Syracuse, and sometimes, you get luck and stupid things like this to go your way. I can remember plenty of instances in which Syracuse had bad luck go against them (see, NIT in consecutive seasons). This call happened to be one of the times that we caught a break, and that's that. At some point this year, a bad call is going to seriously "ruffle the feathers" of Syracuse fans, and everyone that tries to be objective once in a while will look back at this as one of the many breaks we've caught this year, and try not to make a huge deal out of it.

In summary, no matter how bad it may suck that the call went against you, there's no guarantee that UConn wins the game anyways. Yes, they'd have a chance at a last shot in a tie game, but they also played themselves into a 16-point deficit deep into the second half. Sometimes with colossal comeback attempts, you can only come so close before things fall out of reach again.

So there's my take on that entire debacle, and I think everyone can agree to just move on. I don't want to be listening to Pat Forde discuss this minor detail of a long season come this March. Here's some things I found interesting about the rest of this game:

Love the new uniforms. They're infinitely better than whatever the hell we've been wearing for the past 2-plus years, even if at first glance they're only slightly tweaked. My main argument for the updated threads would be the fact that we are no longer wearing skin tight cutoff tops with shorts that are big enough to fit a keg inside each leg. As KShaw's brother Mike once pointed out during the unveiling of the previous uniforms during the 2007 BE Tourney, "Paul Harris looks like he's 5'8 (in these new uniforms)" I thought that summed them up nicely. Good riddance.
I couldn't get over the fact that UConn basically has 4 players, yet somehow almost pulled off one of the bigger upsets in college basketball this year. I'm talking about Stanley Robinson (lottery pick), Kemba Walker (NYC handles), Jerome Dyson (terrific scorer), and Gavin Edwards (great hustle guy), who combined for a whopping 61(!) of UConn's 67 total points. Seriously, every other guy on that team this year sucks.
Speaking of Stanley Robinson, how freaking athletic is he?! I know we love Wes and his ups, as he can jump with the best of them, but dear Lord, I don't even think he's on Stanley's level! Not only did he have about three alley-oops over the top of our zone, but that reverse dunk he had in transition after faking out Rautins was just absurd. Since the multiple windmills he threw down against Syracuse last year, I officially jumped on the Stanley Bandwagon for no other reason than his ridiculous dunking ability. I'm calling it right now that if given the chance, he's winning the college dunk contest this year at the Final Four and the NBA's dunk contest next season.
Great game for Rick, as he continues to hum along and quietly finish every shot within 6 or 7 feet of the basket. His 15, 7 and 3 blocks in only 28 minutes are fantastic numbers. Also, Kris Joseph continued his hot streak of late as the super-sub of the year in the BE. I think he's going to really take off next year when he cracks the starting lineup with our departures.
I liked Brandon Triche's aggressiveness in the first 10 minutes, and I thought he was really playing well. However, he started making some turnovers later in the game and promptly cooled right off in the second half. We need to see a little bit more of the Brandon that came out of the gates that game, as it'd be huge to have him contribute like that in March.
FOUL SHOOTING! In a story that's as surprising as any, the Orange knocked down 23 of 28 free throws, which is basically unheard of from a Syracuse basketball team of the past 20 years. Seriously, at least for my short lifetime, I don't remember ever shooting that well with that many attempts in a game. It may have happened, all I'm saying is I can't think of it off the top of my head. Huge FTs by Wes and Kris down the stretch (they combined to go 10-10), as well as Big Rick stepping up and hitting 3 of 5 with his new form from the line! Gotta love that. Let's hope they can build on this showing and continue the hot-streak down the stretch run of the season.

I'll end with this one final tangent, and it's something I feel strongly about. If you had told me I'd be saying this 5 years ago, I would have absolutely thought you were insane, but here I am saying it: Andy Rautins is far and away the key to the Syracuse University Men's basketball team, and how far we go in March will be directly related to how far Andy carries us.

Coming out of J-D, I didn't go as far as some did and think Andy was somewhat of a legacy kid, just thrown a scholarship because of who his Dad was. But I NEVER saw it coming that his impact on the Orange would be as enormous as it has been this year. Wes Johnson may be the All-American candidate, star savior and future top-5 pick in this year's draft, Rick and Arinze may anchor the frontcourt with their sheer size and length, and Kris Joseph may be the out-of-nowhere surprise and star-in-waiting, but Andy Rautins is easily Syracuse's most valuable player.

Anyone who completely disagrees or doesn't understand this honestly must not have played competitive basketball in their life. While all of the aforementioned players are obviously a HUGE part of Syracuse's amazing team this year, none of this is possible without the leadership of Andy. He does all of the little things that ensure Syracuse wins, as evidenced by the complete collapse of Syracuse's lead last night when Andy went to the bench with 4 fouls. He may have only scored 8 points on the night, but the intangibles he does don't show up in a box score. Next time SU plays, focus solely on Rautins' every move for a few minutes. He talks on defense, he makes the extra pass, he gets the rest of his teammates pumped up, he is always in the right place at the right time, and he's not afraid to take the big shot when we need one.

If we're going to make the Final Four run that so many of us are already starting to plan for, then we need 2 things from Andy: his health, and him to stay out of foul trouble for every tournament game. If you don't agree that Andy makes this team go, I don't know what to tell you. He's going to really be missed next season.

Check back later this week for the return of SU Basketball Lookalikes and a new podcast featuring a special guest. Until then, let's enjoy the hard-fought win!

- Jake the Snake

The start of the "Juli Boeheim Big Head Campaign"

2010-02-03T09:18:00.003-05:00

Because you and I both know it would be awesome.

For the past couple of weeks, the Syracuse students have took it upon themselves to make big heads for the basketball games. We have seen Jim Boeheim (both past and present), Wes Johnson, Kris Joseph, even Bernie Fine is getting some love. But let me throw you a scenario.

Syracuse-Villanova. #1 vs. #2 game. Winner is the Big East regular season champion. #1 seed on the line. Syracuse needs every home court advantage they can get February 27th.

So why not use the BEST distraction in the Dome? This seems like a no brainer.

The power of Juli can undoubtedly make the opposition shoot free throws like Arinze Onuaku (sorry big man). The power of Juli can also undoubtedly remind the Syracuse players of just how awesome Jim is, resulting in them taking him more seriously.

So this is the beginning of the "Juli Boeheim Big Head Campaign". Calling all students: There is going to be ridiculous amounts of you in attendance February 27th. There should also be a ridiculous amount of you in attendance February 10th. The Saltine Warriors have been the brainstorm, now go make it happen.

YOU go try to shoot free throws with her smiling back at you...

-KW

Syracuse Downs Providence For Best Start In School History...

2010-02-02T22:59:00.005-05:00

My how things can change in seven months.

The Orange went from a preseason 8th place team (although not by my book seven months ago...), to a force to be reckoned with.

Lets face it. Syracuse is very, very good this year.

I have been away from the blogosphere due to a lack of a computer (damn you, iMac!). But thanks to the good ole Geek Squad over at Best Buy, I am back.

Tonight's game was nothing more than what was expected. Syracuse's favorite color analyst Doug Gottleib was on hand to watch Syracuse dismantle Providence in the second half, running away with a 17 point victory. It was a lackluster first half from the Orange, with many shades of Depaul still shadowing this team.

Not sure why a 34 year veteran coach with 800 wins has to tell the boys to stop giving up lay ups, but regardless the message got across and adjustments were made. In the second half, the Orange dominated in almost every major category, and the youth of the Friars showed.

The view from section 125 of the team looked just as good as it did all season long. The crowd could have been a little more energetic, but it is Tuesday. Against Providence. Enough said. A couple quick things, however:

Wesley's fall looked just as bad in person as it did on the tube. TK's post-game said it was his hip, which actually could turn out better than expected (looked like a shoulder from the stands). Regardless, it seems like Wes will be fine (although you could hear a pin drop after that undercut....scumbag)
Kris Joseph would start for any other team in the country. I made this statement earlier in the season, restricting it to Big East teams. But then it hit me. The Big East has two of the top three teams in the nation. His game is phenomenal.
Onuaku and Rick Jackson should be able to eat every big man alive in the Big East. Onuaku's M.O. (with the exception of Luke Harangody) has been that of thriving against inferior talent. Well big man, everyone should be inferior to you. Should be interesting to see if this game gets him some confidence for Cinci.
I hate officials. I can't stand the evening out of fouls. Syracuse enjoyed a 6-0 foul advantage until about 3:00 left in the first half, where Onuaku promptly picked up 2 quick fouls, along with Rautins, Joseph, and one more touch foul in there somewhere. Call the game even to begin with. Clowns.
Syracuse students looking to buy tickets for the Villanova game are being advised that their seats are for "long distance viewing". Looks like your on the other side of the 50 if you are looking to go (which you should still be).
A very Saltine source is telling me that there is a possibility of a video screen being put up in the backcourt area for that very Villanova game. If you want the atmosphere, but want to be able to see the game, this will not be a problem.
It has been decided that a Julie Boeheim big head needs to make an appearance at the dome. Make it happen, students.

On one final quick note, the Saltine Warriors are going to be undergoing a lot of changes in the next couple of weeks. Look for new layouts, pretty pictures, videos, facebook, twitter, all that fun shit.

Weeeeeeeeere baaaaaaaaaaack

-KW

Some SU - Pitt Thoughts

2010-01-04T23:08:00.007-05:00

Well, that's certainly not how the Orange wanted to end their unbeaten streak. As has been mentioned endlessly the past few days since the loss, Pittsburgh basically own us this decade, taking 11 of the last 14 total games.

It really wasn't much of a fun game to watch, and I couldn't really pay attention to the game as much as I had liked since I watched from a box at the Dome, so here a few of my thoughts in bullet form. KShaw was also in attendance from his perch atop Section 124, so neither of us had the luxury of getting all of the stats during the game.

I'll try to mention some of the stuff that jumped out at me while eating some of the Dome's delicious boxed popcorn.

Wes Johnson rocking the Space Jam Jordan XI's with black socks. Nice. I am quite envious that he got those when they came out a couple days before Christmas and I didn't.

The entire flow of this game was rocky from the start because of all the choppy officiating. I hate more than anyone to blame a loss on the refs, and that is definitely not what I am doing. However, anyone who said this game had rhythm or was in any way a great game of basketball to watch would be lying. The second half was filled with calls that could be considered touch fouls in any other scenarios. As the guys around me were shouting the entire game, "IT'S THE BIG EAST!" Let's leave some of the tick-tack calls at home.

The fouls called against SU in the second half weren't necessarily over the top, since they were about even with Pitt throughout. Instead, as I heard some call-ins after the game say, they were "momentum-stoppers" that ruined the comeback attempts in the second half. If those types of fouls are going against you when you play a strong, well-coached team, forget about coming back from double digits.

This is the first game we really got a glimpse at what could happen if SU is hampered by injury/foul trouble. Andy had something going on with his calf or shin, I believe, and was sorely missed when we needed to hit some 3's near the end of the game (although he's been kind of cold the past few games). Both big men fouled out, as both Arinze and Rick fouled out. Wes picked up a quick two fouls and ended the game with 4, while Scoop, Kris, and Triche all had 3. We know the team only goes seven deep for the most part, with Mookie used sparingly. In my opinion, I would have liked to seen Mookie come into the game a little earlier in order to spread the court and maybe give us some of that instant offense. Regardless, we saw that Syracuse is one injury or foul-plagued game away from being a lot weaker than the 13-1 squad.

Those are just some quick thoughts on the first defeat since the might Le Moyne Dolphins handed SU a lost in their exhibition. I think SU responds strong against Memphis this Wednesday and comes out with a quality non conference victory. Any other thoughts on the game?

- Jake the Snake

Syracuse - Seton Hall Prediction

2009-12-29T17:22:00.003-05:00

Alright, so here's some quick thoughts before tonights tip at 9.

For one, Seton Hall is for real this year. Going into the Prudential Center, Syracuse better bring their A game because they will not intimidate the Hall. Most Big East fans know they have struggled in recent years, but now in Year 4 under coach bobby Gonzalez, the Pirates are finally starting to blossom.

I watched the entire West Virginia - Seton Hall game this past Saturday, and I came away very impressed with both teams. I'll save my thoughts on WV for another day, but Seton Hall is much better than I expected. They have a fairly deep bench, as well as two prime-time talents in Jeremy Hazell and New Mexico State transfer Herb Pope.

Hazell went off for 41 points against WV, and every one of the was impressive. He has experience (Herb is already 23 years old) and the background (Harlem represent!) to make him a cold-blooded scorer, even in the clutch. Syracuse will definitely need to watch out for him at all times, as he is capable of scoring in bunches.

Their guards were also exceptionally quick, starting with Eugene Harvey and Jordan Theodore. At one point they went into a full court man press against West Virginia, and the Mountaineers were very flustered for a number of possessions. This was against Devin Ebanks and veteran Joe Mazulla, as well, so it's not like the Pirates were getting steals from inexperienced Freshman

The one thing Seton Hall is very bad at is free throws. If you think Syracuse is bad, wait until you see these guys shoot free throws tonight (hopefully). They could have won the West Virginia game outright if it wasn't for wretched foul-shooting in the second half and down the stretch.

Look for this game to be high-paced and entertaining, as the Big East's two leading scoring squads (88 ppg apiece) square off in JOISSEY. I see Syracuse controlling throughout and winning by just over double digits. As an irrelevant side note, I can only hope we get a guest appearance from The Situation, Paully D, and the rest of the Jersey Shore cast sitting courtside. Although that probably won't happen.

Prediction: Syracuse 90 - Seton Hall 79

- Jake the Snake

Podcast #2 - Midnight Madness

2009-10-19T17:21:00.005-04:00

It's been a long time coming for this second podcast, as the last one completed with Max Koch was done after last season's six overtime game. For that matter, it's been a long time coming for me to actually post something on this site (yikes).

KShaw picked up the slack for me big time, and although I have a moderately busy schedule, I'm going to do my best to keep up my end of the ship along with him. Here's our latest podcast, as we go over Midnight Madness, discuss what's next for Greg Paulus against Akron, and end on a positive note with a big honor tonight for KShaw's family.

Hope you enjoy.

- Jake the Snake

Ensue Chaos...

2009-10-12T09:23:00.005-04:00

Soooo... Now what?

Syracuse was beaten up, beaten down, beaten left, and beaten right by the West Virginia Mountaineers. What appeared to be a better matchup from the week before apparently wasn't, and Syracuse was not competitive in a 34-13 beatdown.

But of course that isn't the story. The story is not the dropped passes from the receivers, not the blowout to West Virginia, not even the 0-2 start to the Big East season for Doug Marrone and the Orange. I was afraid of this happening, but the debate is on, both in the media and within the Syracuse fanbase.

Should Greg Paulus be the starting quarterback next week?

As a comfort, this debate is not going on in the Syracuse locker room. Doug Marrone has already openly said that Greg Paulus is the starter.While a quarterback debate would definitely be normal with the play of the past two weeks with the starter, it is being magnified because of who our quarterback is. Even more than the question of who should be the starter, there is now the question of "Did Syracue bring on Paulus as a marketing tactic?". While this is completely ridiculous, it is being asked.

The focus being on Greg Paulus is not his fault, but it is there nonetheless. Many people insisted before seeing a down of football that Greg Paulus gives us a better chance than Ryan Nassib, and after this past week, those same people are abandoning ship a little bit.

Amidst the chaos, I bring a question of my own. If we play the rest of the season out like this, win a couple more games with Paulus at the helm, and finish not bowl eligible, was it worth it? The main reason that I was against this experiment was because in the long run I don't think that this does anything to help the team. If he could get Syracuse bowl eligible I would be all for it, but I did not think that would be the case. This isn't a team that was in the precepus of acheiving something great but missing that last piece to the puzzle. This was a team that was and is rebuilding.

To answer the starting quarterback question, I say you have to start Paulus now. You can't sign him, make him your team captain after two weeks of practice, then bench him after two bad games. Like it or not, he is the face of Syracuse football this year, and we have to stick with him. There have been games where he has exceeded expectations (mine anyway), and although the teams he had good games against are shaping out to be not as good as predicted, they are still division one football teams nonetheless.

Bottom line, Syracuse fans. Greg Paulus IS Syracuse Football this year. Love him or hate him, he is the captain of our team, and is going to be the starter. I will be the first one to admit that I was not a fan of bringing him on to begin with, but he's wearing Orange so we have to rally behind him.

Tune in to the Sports Corner on Supermix tonight from 7-10 to discuess this or anything else sports. Call in at 315-498-2626.

-KShaw

College Football Picks…

2009-10-09T19:01:00.001-04:00

Here is KShaw’s College Football picks for this week…

#17 Auburn over Arkansas

#14 Penn St. over Eastern Illinois

Boston College over #5 Virginia Tech

#15 Oklahoma State over Texas A&M

#16 Kansas over Iowa St.

#25 South Carolina over Kentucky

UCLA over #13 Oregon

#9 Ohio St. over Wisconsin

#19 Oklahoma over Baylor

#3 Alabama over #20 Mississippi St.

#11 Miami (FL) over Florida A&M

#2 Texas over Colorado

#10 TCU over Air Force

Florida St. over #22 Georgia Tech

#4 LSU over #1 Florida

Michigan over #12 Iowa

Rutgers over Texas Southern (WHO?!)

Pittsburgh over Conneticut

Louisville over Southern Mississippi

Syracuse 28

West Virginia 17

LET’S GO ORANGE!!!

Feel free to stop by section 333 and pay a visit.

-KShaw

Looking Ahead: West Virginia

2009-10-04T19:25:00.003-04:00

Next week is the biggest game of the season to this point for the Syracuse Orange.

After a dismal performance in a 34-20 loss to the South Florida Bulls last week, the Orange look to rebound in the Carrier Dome and win the Schwartzwalder Trophy against West Virginia. A win would put the team at .500 in conference play, give them a winning record at home, and build momentum on a quest to become bowl eligible. This can all start for the Orange on Saturday. Coming off of a 35-24 victory over Colorado, the 3-1 Mountaineers again look to cement themselves as a Big East contender.

The Mountaineers are led by running back Noel Devine. Rushing for 220 yards last week, the speedy junior from Florida has definitely inserted himself as an elite running back in the conference. While Devine torched the Orange for a 92 yard run in last season's 17-6 loss to the Mountaineers, Syracuse returns a defensive line that should be able to hold its own against the offensive line of West Virginia. Quarterback Jarret Brown is in his first full season at quarterback, and has seven touchdowns and five interceptions for a mediocre West Virginia offense so far.

The key match up in this game is going to be Greg Paulus versus the West Virginia defense. The Mountaineers boast a top 25 defense in total yards this season, with their run defense ranked in the top 12. A tough defense in the red zone should create problems for Paulus, who has had a tendency to force plays in that area of the field. Where West Virginia's run defense excels, their pass defense falters. Ranked out of the top 50 this season, a good match up should be created for Paulus with the Mountaineer secondary. Paulus has been superb so far this season with the long ball to Mike Williams, and those routes should continue to be there on Saturday. Syracuse will also look to throw screen passes to running backs Delone Carter, Mike Jones, and Antwon Bailey. The deceptive offense of Syracuse should be able to lure linebackers in to a run blitz, leaving the screens open.

With a 1-3 record versus FBS teams, Syracuse needs to go 5-2 the rest of the way to become bowl eligible. In order to achieve this, Syracuse must hold on to the ball and limit turnovers. Coming off of a 5 interception day, quarterback Greg Paulus is going to have to make smarter decisions if Syracuse is going to get back on track.

If Syracuse limits the turnovers, keeps Devine in check, and creates the big play they absolutely could come out a winner in this one.

Tune in to the Sports Corner on SuperMix Monday night from 7:00 pm-10:00 pm for a recap of last week's game, as well as complete coverage of this weeks match up against West Virginia.

-KShaw

Shameless self-plug

2009-09-24T09:48:00.000-04:00

I know, I know. My comrad and I have not posted on this blog in a month or so, and we are going to pick it up.

But todays post is coming from my Blackberry while I sit in class at Onondaga Community College. As you know from past posts, (see Anthropology 101 segments), I am not a big fan of paying attention sometimes.

So, I am typing this post to help promote a radio show. I am a member of the Communications program here, and am a part of a radio showed entitled "The Sports Corner". We are on air Monday nights from 7-10 pm, on OCC's interenet radio station SuperMix.

Tune in each Monday, as we are always looking for listeners and callers for the show. The number to the on-air SuperMix station is 315-498-2626. If you want more information, feel free to contact me.

To listen to SuperMix, goto http://www.supermix.us.

We love talking SU Sports, and hope you tune in.

Alright, now that I have that taken care of, a quick thought on Greg Paulus.

If you are a regular reader on this blog, or read us on Bleacher Report, you have probably read my post/article that talked about why Greg Paulus is bad for Syracuse Football.

While I think it's too early to tell wether or not it was the right move to bring him in, I have to admit that if he plays out the rest of the season at the level that he is at now then you can color this Saltine Warrior wrong.

I doubted, and if GP makes this team bowl elligible or leaves a positive impact on Syracuse Football, I will definitely be ready to sit here and eat my words.

Listen to SuperMix!

-KShaw

CFB Quick Picks

2009-09-05T11:03:00.001-04:00

#3 Oklahoma over #20 BYU
#5 Alabama over #7 V.Tech
#13 Georgia over #9 Oklahoma State
Maryland over #12 California

'Cuse prediction below...

LET'S GO ORANGE!

-KShaw

Syracuse Football Season Preview: Minnesota

2009-08-14T12:46:00.002-04:00

This is part one of an ongoing season preview of Syracuse University's 2009-2010 Football Season.

Syracuse Head Coach Doug Marrone will have his first game in Orange on September 5th against the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the Carrier Dome. The game will be the first of three straight for the Orange against Big Ten opponents.

Minnesota begins the campaign following a disappointing season, where the Gophers were 7-1 before losing their final five contests of the season. There should be a sense of optimism in Minneapolis with the Gopher's top offensive threats returning to the team this season. All Big-Ten freshman DeLeon Eskeridge returns in the backfield, along with Sophomore Shady Salamon, which should create a great dual-back sysetem. Top receiving threat Eric Decker enters his senior season needing two more catches to break the school record for receptions. And if that were not enough, Junior quarterback Adam Weber returns as the number four all-time Minnesota passer with 5,656 yards through the air.

Not only do the Gophers return threats on offense, but they also have multiple weapons on defense as well. Senior linebacker and leading tackler Lee Campbell returns to the huddle, as well as Junior defensive back and Kyle Theret, who was second on the team in interceptions, to the secondary.

Syracuse enters the season with first year head coach Doug Marrone at the helm. This is a very different Syracuse team from the one who went just 3-9 a year ago. All Big East reciever Mike Williams returns to the team, following a year in community college because of some off the field issues. Runningbacks Delone Carter, Antwon Bailey, and Averin Collier fill the shoes of the departed Curtis Brinkley, and junior tight end Cody Catalina will be blocking and receiving asset for the Orange. The biggest question for the Orange's offense is going to be at quarterback. Deemed an All-American Redshirt Freshman Honorable Mention status, sophomore quarterback Ryan Nassib was set to be the starter for the Orange, moving former starter from last season Cameron Dantley to the backup role. Since the addition of Syracuse native and former Duke point guard Greg Paulus however, things have been up in the air. While being considered the third string quarterback on the depth chart, Marrone seems very high on Paulus and it seems that there could possibly be a lot of changes at the quarterback position forthcoming.

On the defensive side of the ball, all Big East nose tackle Art Jones opted to not enter the NFL Draft to return for his senior season, where he should be a force on the defensive line for Syracuse. Look for Junior Max Suter to step up for the defense as a safety, along with Nico Scott in the secondary as a cornerback. Converted runningback Doug Houge is now a linebacker, and punter Rob Long enters the season sixth in division 1 football with an average better than 42 yards a punt.

The key for Syracuse to win this game is going to be to slow down the passing game of Minnesota. Wether Art Jones was in the middle of the defensive line or not, Minnesota's gameplan was going to be to pass the ball. With their top quarterback and reciever returning this season, it is going to be huge for Suter and company to check the receivers and minimize their big plays. All in all, I think it is going to be too big of a task for the Orange to overcome.

PREDICTION:
Syracuse- 14
Minnesota- 28

Predictions?

-KShaw

Why next season's Big East schedule makes Syracuse a contender...

2009-07-02T12:55:00.002-04:00

As we sit here in July, amidst warm weather, fireworks, and the sun, it seems the perfect time to talk about.... College Basketball?

The 2009-2010 Big East schedule has been released today, and after reading it there really is no reason to not believe that Syracuse is a main contender for next season. They loss of Jonny Flynn, Eric Devendorf, and Paul Harris definitely hurt. But look at the match ups:

Home Games

UConn

Georgetown

Louisville

Marquette

Pittsburgh

Providence

St. Johns

USF

Villanova

Away Games

Cincinatti

Depaul

Georgetown

Louisville

Notre Dame

Providence

Rutgers

Seton Hall

West Virginia

If you ask me I would say that it really doesn't get much better than that for the Orange. Outside of a trip to south bend against Notre Dame, and a home and home with Georgetown, how could this schedule be set up any better? Connecticut at home, Pittsburgh at home, Georgetown at home, Marquette at home, and most importantly, a showdown with the apparently loaded Villanova Wildcats at the Dome.

The Orange's home and home match ups consist of a depleted Louisville team without Terrence Williams and Earl Clark, a Georgetown team whom is coming off of an NIT year (but should be decent), and lowly Providence. You seemingly have all of the big dogs in the Dome, where the Orange excel.

Is Syracuse still predicted as the Big East favorites like said before the departure of Flynn, Devendorf, and Harris?

No.

But looking at that schedule I don't see how they can't be looked at as a possible #1 seed in New York City come Big East Tournament time.

-KShaw

Former Syracuse Player and Coach to Enter Greater Syracuse Hall of Fame

2009-06-30T16:00:00.004-04:00

“Eddie is a stickler for teamwork. His men understand it, and if a player attempts to star at the expense of the rest of the team, he is assailed immediately by the other members of the team as well as the coach. Syracuse teams play for points, not for press notices.”
-Excerpt from Syracuse Basketball by Rod Macdonald.

The legendary former Syracuse University basketball player and coach will finally get his due.

It has been announced today that Edmund Dollard, also known as “Eddie” to family, will be inducted in to the 2009 class of the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame. It has been a long time coming for the Syracuse native, who had a tremendous career as a player for the Orange from 1904-1908, as well as an even greater career as a coach from 1911 until 1924. His thirteen year tenure as head basketball coach saw the second highest winning percentage in school history, an undefeated season, and Syracuse University’s first ever National Championship.

In Dollard’s 17 years of association with the program, Syracuse compiled a staggering 188-75 record. Also a catcher for the University’s baseball team, Dollard was a proven winner wherever he went, lettering for four years behind the plate for the Orange.

As a player, Dollard was known for his defensive game as a lockdown defender. As a Coach, his unselfish demeanor transitioned beautifully. Dollard’s philosophy was geared very heavily towards team basketball, as well as having a great eye for the strengths and weaknesses of his opponents. His .724 winning percentage as a coach was the best in Syracuse University history, until current head coach Jim Boeheim topped it following the 2008-2009 season. As it stands, Dollard has been a tremendous part of a storied program that is one of the top-five winningest college basketball programs in history.

To see such a prominent figure in Syracuse Athletics history receive such an honor is truly gratifying. A graduate from Christian Brothers Academy, Dollard loved the city of Syracuse, all the way until his death in 1964. He was a caring and compassionate man with a love for the game and a love for both his direct family as well as his extended family on the court. Dollard can currently be seen on a picture at the Carrier Dome next to a video screen, where his 1918 National Championship team photo hangs.

The Hall of Fame induction dinner will take place in October.

-KShaw

Flynn to Minnesota...

2009-06-25T20:58:00.000-04:00

Full article coming... Congrats Jonny tear it up!

Let's keep out fingers crossed for Paul!

-KShaw

Three reasons why Greg Paulus is bad for Syracuse Football...

2009-05-14T14:34:00.006-04:00

So we've heard the majority of Syracuse's opinions on Greg Paulus:

1. Nothing to lose.
2. They have an extra scholarship to give to him.
3. He was national player of the year in high school.

Cool.

While these are somewhat true arguments, there are also many things that should raise red flags for Doug Marrone and the Syracuse Orange. Maybe I am out of my mind. Maybe I am tired of Greg Paulus. Maybe I think that he is a tad bit overrated. Nonetheless, I have compiled five key reasons why Greg Paulus coming (back) to town is bad for Syracuse University Football, NOT including the psychological effect of Ryan Nassib (Really the only argument I have heard against Paulus).

1. Circus- Greg Paulus coming to Syracuse has been working out very well media wise for SU. They have been mentioned on ESPN for something other than how terrible they are. While this is good, the local media in Syracuse have been outrageous. The perception of Paulus right now is completely overblown. Not Greg's fault, but after watching the "Greg Paulus Football/Basketball Marathon" on Timewarner Cable a few weeks back I realized something: Greg Paulus is being setup to fail completely. Don't believe me? Watch the backlash of fans if Greg does not win more than four games. And before you read this and think "Hey, he has to earn the starting spot first", stop kidding yourself. Ryan Nassib is royally screwed for this season and Paulus is going to be our starter. Good luck, Syracuse. You are now under the microscope for having one of the most known college athletes in sports. Media attention is great for a team, but not when it is soley focused on one player. Wether Syracuse wins or loses this season now is irrelevent. Greg Paulus is now the story instead of that team.

2. Hype- The Greg Paulus hype is putting Syracuse Football on everybody's radar. While some people see this as a good thing, I personally do not. When you are a basement dweller trying to come back, you don't want attention. You want to be Utah in the preseason, or Hawaii a few years back. You don't want one of the most hated college athletes in America as your quarterback for players to lick their chops at. Not only was Greg voted one of the most hated athletes, but he also was the national player of the year coming out of high school. Now don't get me wrong here, Greg Paulus was a very, very good quarterback. However. Greg Paulus was playing High School Football in the Central New York Area, specifically Syracuse. His numbers were fantastic, but would they be the same in Florida, California, or Alabama? He had greatly-hyped Bruce Williams and Llavar Lobdell as his High School teammates, and their transition to division one football has been mediocre at best. With Lobdell turning down the option to at one point take a scholarship to USC, he has been a decent reciever for the Orange but nothing more. My point is that Paulus has a lot of hype being brought to this team (not to mention it was four years ago) that he might have a difficult time living up to. The most talented player that he played against was Ray Rice, who had nothing to do with him because he was on the other side of the ball.

3. Size- If you ever watched Greg Paulus play for Christian Brother's Academy (again, see GregPaulusAthon on Timewarner), you would notice something very interesting. He never got touched in the backfield. Part of it was scrambling, sure. But I think it is safe to say that Greg Paulus had one of if not the best offensive line in New York State. At Syracuse, he will not have that. Marrone will have them improved from last year, sure. But he will get sacked. He is an undersized quarterback who realisticly has not taken a hard hit in football since probably ninth grade. It is kind of a big gamble if you bench Nassib the original starter to go with Paulus and have him break in half after two games.

All in all every reason I just gave could be discredited and I could look like the biggest moron on the planet, or it could turn out to make me look brilliant. It all depends on what Paulus does in the offseason. He SHOULD transition good to Marrone because of the coaching style of Coach K, but who knows if he can still play football. I'm not a fan of Marrone's decision to bring him on, but at the same time... Who am I? I think it is bad but "Hey we have nothing to lose right?"

-KShaw

DISAPPEARING DUGGA

2009-05-01T03:25:00.003-04:00

Where in God's name is Paul Harris? The man affectionately known as "Dugga" has completely disappeared from the map, and has not been seen since issuing the bizarre statement about "not really" even declaring for the draft.

Paul has never been one to be completely understood in anything he does, but this is getting just a little bit creepy. We had an update that he had been playing basketball at Niagara University a few weeks ago, and we got the alert from Syracuse.com saying that he had no idea how the University got word he was entering the draft.

Paul continues to be an enigma while Syracuse fans continue to search for answers. Surely, he has to be declaring for the draft now, right? There's no way he comes back to school without Jonny?

Honestly, I would believe nearly anything at this point, and that includes a tryout with the Bills as a Tight End or something. Let's not forget, Dick Vitale told Syracuse fans at least 17 times how great of a football player Paully would make if basketball didn't work out.

Let's just hope Paul is safe and sound and we end up receiving some type of news in the near future.

- Jake the Snake

Marty Blake's Take on SU Departures

2009-04-23T21:28:00.006-04:00

I just had the pleasure to sit in on a lecture, followed up by a question and answer session, with probably the NBA's most famous scout ever, Marty Blake. As you can tell from the picture on the right, Marty has been around for a while, as he is currently in his mid 80's.

In my mind, if I'm listening to an opinion on the NBA draft, I'm going with the guy who drafted Pete Maravich and discovered Scottie Pippen.

I spoke with Marty after the session about a few things, one of the topics of course being the future of our departed SU friends.

In Marty's paraphrased words, here's what he had to say about Jonny:

"He will eventually be a very good player in the NBA. Not so much right now, but he should come out. He can play."

What about America's favorite bad guy, Eric Devendorf?

"Who's the other guy there, the guard? Yeah, Devendorf. He can play too."

Now, Marty didn't specify the actual league Devo could play in, but it sounds to me that he thinks he's somewhat on the right track. We unfortunately did not get to discuss Paul, who at this point could be hiding out in a closet on the Maid of the Mist for all we know.

Regardless, it was a great chance to talk to one of the true legends of the NBA. Marty even inadvertently made a reference to a longtime joke that my Dad loves to pull, which is refer to Jimmy B as "Bo-heem." Just a spectacular night all around.

Let's hope "The Godfather of the NBA Draft" is spot on about Jonny and devo, eh?

- Jake the Snake

Enough is Enough, SU Fans: Leave Jonny Alone

2009-04-13T18:33:00.005-04:00

Like every single other Syracuse fan in the world, today was a very sad day for me. I learned of the news that Jonny Flynn was going to sign with an agent while eating lunch around 1 o'clock, after I received a text from KShaw. My first reaction, before doing anything else at all: well, it was an expletive.

However, unlike many other of these "so-called" Orange fans, another reaction quickly developed: a big smile on my face.

Now, that might sound crazy to some of you reading, but let me explain myself. I was not smiling because I was happy with Jonny's departure (God no), but rather it was a smile followed by a shaking of the head, almost like I was saying, "Yeah, I knew him staying would be too good to be true."

Think about it for a second: Syracuse is listed in the Top 3 in the country for nearly every outlet's (very) early college basketball rankings. The one catch that entire time? That JONNY FLYNN comes back. This goes beyond Paul and Eric, which we will cover in our season recap podcast later this week. For now, we are just focusing on Jonny and the unfair vilification that he has been quietly yet steadily receiving all day.

Now, I am as big of an SU fan as they come. Next year had me already psyched out of my mind for the type of team that we might have had. As long as we had our stud Jonny, we'd be fine, regardless of anyone else who came back. I had been holding out hope he would stick to his word and return for his Junior year, as he mentioned a few weeks ago. This is the one move I can't fully defend Jonny on, because if he really did not know his future at the time, he should have avoided the question differently. But I can understand his anxiety to get the question out of the way, however, as I would probably do the same thing if people bombarded me with it one hundred times every single day.

So you can imagine how tough it was for me to hear he had finally declared for good. However, you would be sorely mistaken to think I was surprised. I had been saying from the middle of the year that Jonny would declare for the draft, simply because of two things:

1. He had become a household name and seen his stock rise every week

2. The overall weakness of this year's draft comapred to the previous couple of years

This isn't Donte Greene coming out in a LOADED freshman class, this is Jonny Flynn coming out as one of the best point guard's in the country of a weaker draft. Yes, he may be out of the lottery, but this kid is a top 20 pick. That's saying something.

Look at the picture of Jonny I posted at the top of the page. Taken just about 2 years ago, he is simply a very good senior basketball player from Niagara Falls, New York, trying to accomplish his dream of playing basketball in college and beyond. I know the feeling, because two years ago I was in the same exact position as a high school senior. I've loved basketball my entire life, and if I had been as talented as Jonny or some of these other guys my age, making the NBA still would have seemed like a dream to me.

Flash forward two years. Jonny still has the same aspirations and goals that he had when he was just an ordinary kid from Western New York, only now, he has accomplished a little more. A sweet 16 run, countless highlights, countless records for Freshmen and Sophomores in the Syracuse record books, an amazing summer playing the likes of LeBron and Chris Paul. Jonny went from relative unknown, simply a "packaged deal" so Syracuse could sign "superstar" Paul Harris, to one of the best point guards in the entire country.

Take a step back and answer, what would you do? No, don't think like a selfish Syracuse fan for one second and put yourself in Jonny's shoes back as a senior in high school. This is your dream from the day you begin playing basketball. This is what you've worked for your entire life, a chance to get drafted in the National basketball association, in the top 15 no less!

Unless you are somewhat mentally challenged, you're declaring for the draft too.

When I read these posts on Jonny's facebook wall, I have to stop myself from getting legitimately angry at some of these people. The way they're berating Jonny, talking about "how good we could have been," or questioning "why go now when you could be number 1 next year," makes me absolutely sick. Who are any of you people to tell Jonny Freaking Flynn what to do with his life? If someone offers you millions to take your wildest dream job, with the caveat of quitting your current job, are you going to do that? ABSOLUTELY!

Syracuse fans need to really evaluate their priorities in life if spending their time questioning a 20 year old kid is the only thing they have to do with their time.

Could Jonny have handled the entire "I'm coming back thing" a little differently? Sure. Do we as fans have a right to be disappointed with how quickly our "2010 Championship Squad" fell apart in just a week? You bet. But does anyone in their right mind have the privledge to question a college Sophomore on a decision that not only sets up his family for life, but at the same time accomplishes one of his life long dreams? Not even close.

Good luck in the NBA Jonny, and thanks for all the memories these past few years. It's been a pleasure to watch you; I, along with any SU fan being true to themselves, respects your decision.

Tear up the NBA, we'll be watching.

- Jake the Snake

Why Jonny Flynn's departure is more accepted than Donte Greene's.

2009-04-13T17:25:00.002-04:00

Jonny Flynn's departure from Syracuse to the NBA comes with a sense of deja vu to Orange fans everywhere. For the second season in a row, Jim Boeheim is going to lose his leading scorer to the ranks of the NBA.

But why is the fan reaction so much different this season than last? The same people that wished nothing but the worst for Sacramento Kings rookie and former Syracuse guard Donte Greene are praising Flynn on his decision and wishing him nothing but the best of luck.

Donte Greene's legacy at Syracuse will be remembered as that of blowing a 20+ point lead to UMass at home in the NIT, and saying that he was leaving Syracuse because of him losing shots with Rautins and Devendorf coming back for the following season. Jonny Flynn? You think six overtimes, sweet sixteen, and best point guard in the best conference in the nation. Greene will be remembered by Syracuse fans for his lazy defense, and Flynn his massive amount of minutes logged for the Orange.

Regardless of memories, points, hype, or rankings, there is one stat that will always stand out to Syracuse fans when thinking of the two.

And that number is zero.

Zero Big-East Championships. Zero National Championships. Zero first team all Big-East selections. Zero All-American selections (disregarding Flynn's honorable mention). While Flynn's legacy may end up being cemented in to one six-overtime game, Greene's legacy is all but forgotten at Syracuse.

What do you think? Why is Flynn's decision more widely accepted overall than Greene's? How will Jonny Flynn and Donte Greene be remembered at Syracuse? Leave your comments below!

-KShaw

FUUUUUUUUUUUDGE

2009-04-13T13:24:00.006-04:00

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDGE

Standout Syracuse sophomore Jonny Flynn has signed with an agent.

Only a week after declaring himself for the draft, Jonny Flynn has signed with agent Leon Rose according to the Syracuse Post-Standard.

The news is crushing to Syracuse fans, who will most likely lose juniors Eric Devendorf and Paul Harris to the draft as well. Syracuse was predicted to be a top five team next season with five returning starters.

They will now in all likelihood return only two.

What does this mean for Syracuse fans? In all honesty, the preseason top five should be forgotten. Without Jonny Flynn at point guard, Syracuse will have to rely on the backs of red-shirt sophomore Scoop Jardine who is coming off of injury, and incoming freshman Brandon Triche out of Jamesville-Dewitt high school in the Syracuse area.

Prior to Flynn, Devendorf, and Harris leaving, Syracuse was dealing with roster issues as it had issued one more scholarship than it was allowed. With the three starters leaving, Syracuse will now have two open scholarships.

Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim, nor Flynn, Devendorf, or Harris have released any statements regarding the situation and have been unable to be reached for comment to the Post-Standard.

Flynn was most recently projected to be taken by the 15th pick to the Detroit Pistons according to www.draftexpress.com. Flynn will leave Syracuse ranked 38th all-time in school history for scoring, and as an AP All-American honorable mention selection.

-KShaw

Soooo... Where to begin...

2009-04-10T13:29:00.005-04:00

WOW.

So Jonny Flynn, Eric Devendorf, and Paul Harris have all declared themselves eligible for the NBA draft. As a Syracuse fan, you are probably thinking two things (at least this is what I thought):

1) Jonny Flynn OK, but why would the other two leave college early to NOT play in the NBA?

2) Where do we go from here?

We sort of had a feeling that this was coming from Paul Harris, seeing as how he was back home in Niagara Falls playing pickup games at Niagara University the last week instead of going to class.

But I must say, Eric Devendorf threw a curve ball at me.

I actually had this discussion with a buddy of mine while driving back from New York following the Big East Tournament. The argument was brought up of "Hey he has his degree, what does he have left to do at Syracuse now?", and I guess I see that point. But at the same time, why would you give up your dream of playing in the NBA when you can still take a shot at it? With one more year of eligibility left you would think he would return to Syracuse, be in the national spotlight every week as a top 5 team, and get some publicity and sharpen your image for next years draft. Apparently Eric and myself are on a different wavelength.

But in Eric's defense, at least he is going to have a degree from Syracuse University. The same can not be said for Paul Harris. Let me be the first person to say that I love Paul Harris' hustle and ability to do the small things for this team. Having said that, Paul Harris is not ready to play in the NBA. Not only is Paul Harris not ready to play in the NBA, but he has no college degree to fall back on if is professional career does not work out. Jonny Flynn will make millions playing basketball. Paul Harris more than likely will not. And when that is over, then what is he going to do? Call me a guidance counselor/old man, but Paul Harris' future could be potentially screwed if he does not get this degree. Playing in Europe can only be so fun for so long.

In terms of the player that I feel most comfortable about coming back next year, he is coincidentally the one with the highest NBA stock right now. Jonny Flynn could very easily be a lottery pick this draft, but for some reason I still think he will be back next year to lead this team. Granted I did say the same thing about Paul Harris, but I think I'm right about this one.

Now, there still is the possibility of all three of them coming back. The Syracuse Athletics press release yesterday stated that Flynn did not sign with an agent, but did not specify about the other two. This definitely hints that we are losing Harris and Devendorf, but it is not official since no players have said ANYTHING since all of this went down.

Now Syracuse basketball fans, where do we go from here? The possibility of losing Paul Harris sucks, but is manageable without him. Devendorf? That's kind of a punch in the gut considering he is 14th on the list of Syracuse all time scorers (also noting that if he averaged 17 points a game over a 35 game schedule he would pass Lawrence Moten for SU's all time leading scorer), especially since he is leaving to more than likely not make an NBA roster. His shooting and scoring ability will definitely hurt the 'Cuse next year. But I think it is safe to say that all of Syracuse are awaiting the decision of Jonny Flynn. To be blunt: Syracuse is a top 10 team with Flynn, and a #20-25 team without him.

No pressure though, Jonny.

-KShaw

WOW....

2009-04-09T15:57:00.002-04:00

http://www.syracuse.com/today/index.ssf/2009/04/syracuses_flynn_harris_and_dev.html

I'm speechless. Heard the rumors, did not think in a million years Paul Harris or Eric Devendorf would go in to the draft. The report does not confirm that they have signed with agents, but are hinting that they will in the coming weeks.

At the very least for Devendorf he is going to have a degree from Syracuse University in about a month or so. But Paul Harris? What are you going to do when you get sick of playing ball in Europe? Leaving before getting a degree for him is a terrible move in my opinion. You now have nothing to fall back on. I wish them both luck, but think they are out of their minds...

-KShaw

Basketball Season Wrap-up Coming

2009-04-01T22:50:00.007-04:00

With almost a week gone by of Syracuse's loss to Oklahoma in the NCAA Tourney, some questions have been answered but A LOT still remain. Namely, the biggest one surrounding the young lad directly to the right of this text. That's right Jonny, all eyes are on you.

Not even just specifically focusing on Jonny, but what about America's favorite guy to hate, Eric Devendorf? What about Do-It-All Paul, who KShaw just reported wasn't even in Syracuse today?

Then there's the topics of how the Orange will fare next season, with a great set of recruits plus other players that couldn't compete for injury/transfer reasons this year.

How about everyone's favorite moments from this season? The epic game vs. UConn? The highs and lows from this overall satisfying season?

Us Saltine Warriors particularly enjoyed this season more than many of the other recent ones, and I know we aren't alone. Coming in the new few days, we'll be putting out a podcast that discusses all the great moments from this past season, as well as some thoughts on next year plus the other SU sports. Get ready, because the Saltine Podcast Part II, this time with both Warriors, will soon be in full effect.

- Jake the Snake

Paul Harris Stalker Alert...

2009-04-01T21:52:00.002-04:00

Paul Harris has been spotted playing pickup games and working out at Niagara University all day today instead of being in class...

Take that for what it is worth...

-KShaw

David Legree: What's wrong with you?

2009-04-01T21:28:00.002-04:00

Rumors have become reality today as Donnie Webb from the Post-Standard has reported that sophomore quarterback David Legree has quit the football team.

Again.

As this deja vu hits Orange fans for the second year in a row, you have to think. What is wrong with this kid? In my opinion, Legree is lucky to be back in the first place. Marrone could have just as easily kept him out when he took the team and made an example of him.

But, hey. Lets be fair here. Maybe there is a legitimate reason. A new coaching staff definitely could merit transfers from players and is completely understandable. I mean, Legree didn't sign up to play for Marrone right? He signed up to play for the Greg Robinson staff. Oh but wait. Legree has now quit for two different coaches at Syracuse: Once on Greg Robinson, and now on Doug Marrone.

It is pretty obvious that this kid thinks he is better than he is, as his decision to leave the team comes only a day after he is named the third string quarterback on the depth chart. Too bad this kid didn't have any desire to compete and win, because I've seen him throw and he has a good arm. Someone should have told him that a depth chart in April can change completely come season time.

Don't believe me? Look at Andrew Robinson. Last year at this time he was our savior as our new starting quarterback replacing Perry Patterson. He is now a tight end. And then there was Doug Hogue. Last year at this time? Running back. Now? Linebacker.

But even looking beyond position changes, depth chart changes alone should have given the kid confidence. Cam Dantley has already been replaced as a starter. Point being, he could have earned his way to a starting position if he was as good as he thinks he is.

But now, he's done nothing but waste a free ride that he had to Syracuse University. Hate to say it David... But your not going to transfer to many exciting places if you are the third string quarterback for the Syracuse Orange... especially given the current state of the football program.

FYI: THe Orange are now down to two quarterbacks on the depth chart, but have incoming quarterback Charley Loeb from Lawrence Academy.

-KShaw