Devendorf Scores 49, Career High

Former Syracuse stud Eric Devendorf dropped 49 points to lead the Pistons over the Giants in some excellent New Zealand Basketball League action. The Pistons are the Waikato Pistons while the Giants hail from the city of Nelson, for what it's worth.

Devendorf left 'Cuse with a year of eligibility left presumably to test the draft waters although it probably had more to do with Coach Boeheim's inability to protect him from anymore choking incidents. He went undrafted, shockingly, before grabbing on to the D League. That didn't last long and he was unceremoniously cut a month or two back.

I know he was widely hated but when he was nailing 3's in that 6 OT thriller against UConn just one year ago it was damn near impossible not to pull for the guy.

Fla/ Cuse Recap

Syracuse took down the Gators in St. Pete last night, 85-73. I thought this would be a close one, and for the most part it was. The Syracuse zone always kinda creates a boring game (in my opinion) but it worked pretty well against the Gators tonight. The game was filled with back and forth runs, but Florida never could retake the lead in the 2nd half.
Chandler Parsons led the Gators with 22 points and Rick Jackson led the way for the Orange with 21 pts and 11 boards. Gator coach Billy Donovan played at Providence College and so I hate him and thus any loss by Florida makes me giddy. Too bad he never took that job with the Magic and screwed that franchise all up, a la Rick Pitino and the Celts (another PC prick...Donovan's coach on the Final Four team).
This wasn't as entertaining as Kentucky/UConn, but all in all those were two fantastic nights of college basketball. Looking forward to conference season starting soon and inching closer to March Madness.


In other notable games...
URI defeated N'Eastern by 3 (yikes!) 79-76
#19 Cincinnati def Miami(OH) 63-59
#12 Michigan State def Oakland by a landslide 88-57

Be back this weekend with a preview of the big games.

Former Duke Cheerleader Now Starting QB Of Syracuse

Greg Paulus is now the starting QB of Syracuse. I know before he decided to go to Duke, he was a hell of a QB in high school and even contemplated to go to Notre Dame who heavily recruited him. He may have some rust on him because he is four years removed from playing football, but since Syracuse has been awful at football, they might as well get the pub. The real question is.... Does this make Greg Paulus less gay? I think not.

Syracuse Gets Stud 7 Footer

And his name is Fab Melo


These Highlights are all I need. He is going to be sick.

Coach by Day...Superhero by Night?

According to a firsthand witness Jessica Banks from Wellesley, MA; at approximately 8:30 PM ET on Sunday July 12th, at the restaurant Sonsie in Boston, MA, an aggravated 'homeless' looking male began shouting into the restaurant's open terrace dining area for a brief time before losing his match and being shooed away by what appeared to be a restaurant manager.

The focus of this article however focuses on a particular customer very close in proximity to the event; Head Coach for the Syracuse University Orange Men's Basketball Team, Jim Boeheim. According to Banks, Coach Boeheim was accompanied by three others in a Rolls Royce wielding a large diamond wrist watch and a flat ring sporting another diamond with the number "3" on it upon entry to the terrace dining section of the restaurant.

At an identified time into the dinner, the 'homeless' male began his shouting match into the restaurant. The male continued yelling, "Are you threatening me?! Are you threatening me?!" in a very ungrammatical, irate fashion. Other customers sat quietly and "awkwardly" as the male allegedly, according to Banks, seemed to be directing his rant at someone specific.

Being in such close proximity to the aggressive male, Boeheim then turned slightly toward Banks and a friend who where sitting at the neighboring table. In between Boeheim's knees was a "huge" black pistol with what appeared to be light, laser or site on top. "It looked like it weighed 5 lbs," said Banks. Boeheim kept the gun low, out of sight and "about to cock it".

Upon the male retreating to his shopping cart by the curb and walking away, the restaurant manager went straight to Boeheim's table, apologized, and made him aware that someone is patrolling the surrounding sidewalks. Boeheim tucked his concealed weapon back into his "bermuda shorts".

Possibly in humor or potentially serious, Boeheim turned to the other male at his table and said, "I was about to put two in him..." The male responds, "...yeah thats cool just don't shoot me."

A potentially hazardous situation for a Hall of Fame coach. Jim Boeheim has been coaching the Syracuse Orange for 33 seasons including 25 NCAA appearances, winning seven Big East Regular Season Championships, five Big East Tournament Championships, and three trips the National Championship Game with one victory in 2003. Boeheim also ranks third all-time in career wins with a 799-288 wins to loss ratio (.735) and served as an Assistant Coach for the 2008 United States Men's National Basketball Team in the Summer Olympics that won gold.

Jim Boeheim is by no doubt one of the best basketball coaches of all-time. We as fans can only be thankful that he did not have to use necessary force. It is clear that there have been more than a few gun related incidents involving sports figures and although Boeheim used correct judgment, refrained and appeared to only use it in self-defense, the 'what-if' always remains. Strictly as a precedent, we can refer to one of the most notable mistakes that has occurred in the past year, Plaxico Burress, and from there make opinions of our own.

-Scott Beer
DuelingCouches.com

Source: Jessica Banks & unnamed 2nd witness

(DuelingCouches.com is guaranteeing to be the only known source and the first to publish this story. All credits must be published and sourced appropriately.)

*Below is a photo taken by Jessica Banks via camera phone before the incident:

I Hate Joe Paterno

Until today I really never had anything to back up my hatred for Joe Paterno, but today he gave me all the ammo I needed. Penn State was up 48-13 over Syracuse (what the hell happened to them), and its 4th and 12, so you kick the field goal right? Well not if you're JoePa, he goes for it and scores a TD. WTF??? Is that necessary? Has Syracuse not been embarrassed enough? I just thought it was classless, and I know what all you Patriot haters are going to say...Well Belichick did that all last year. Yes, I agree that I even questioned those, but there is a big difference between pro and NCAA football. Those kids aren't getting paid. They aren't going to for their big contract. This was unnecessary, and I just thought classless, by a guy who just needs to retire. Screw you JoePa...

-BMack

Jim Boeheim: Shut Up!

Jim Boeheim's Syracuse Orange(men) were once again left out of the NCAA Tournament. My friends in Central New York have argued that they were "snubbed" but it's difficult to make that case. Once again, the Orange will set NIT attendance records because there's nothing else to do in Syracuse.

Boeheim is one of many coaches, fans, and analysts who think that the NCAA Tournament should be expanded. Are you fucking kidding me?

See, Boeheim knows that simply being Syracuse and being in the Big East isn't enough anymore. At large bids are going to more and more mid-major conferences. As mid-majors grow in power, luring recruits to upstate New York has become more and more difficult for Boeheim. Simply getting into the tournament is a huge attracting factor for recruiting, one which Boeheim has lacked for two years now.

So instead of working harder, coaching better, and driving his players further; Jim just wants the tournament field expanded. But he forgets that it's the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT. The tourney determines the best team in the country, and 65 teams already have a shot at being that team. Do 128 teams deserve such a shot? NO!!!!!!!!!!

I hate teams whining and bitching about being snubbed. Virginia Tech was this year's biggest complainer. "We won 9 ACC games, blah, blah, blah." Next year, try winning 10 or 11 ACC games, and maybe beat a good team just once. Could you imagine the 8-8 Philadelphia Eagles complaining about not getting into the NFL playoffs, then campaigning for more teams to get in?

No matter how big the field is, there's always going to be "snubbed" teams. That's because it's difficult to determine the difference between 65th and 66th best. 65th gets you in, 66th leaves you out. So even if you think you're the 65th best team, sorry, but you didn't do enough to prove that you deserve a shot at the national title. Shut the fuck up, win the NIT, and get on with your fucking lives.



You can't spell suck without S-U.


-The Commodore