Syracuse Orange football bowl bound for the first time since '04

It's time to turn the page in Syracuse football history.

It is officially the Doug Marrone Era.

With a 13-10 win over Rutgers, November 13, 2010 in Piscataway, NJ, the Syracuse Orange become bowl eligible for the first time since 2004, back when Syracuse Athletics first dropped the "Men" in "Orangemen" to be known simply as the Syracuse Orange.

With 1:07 on the clock, Syracuse freshman Ross Krautman nailed a 24 yard field goal to seal the win. It was the Orange's fourth Big East victory, also for the first time since '04, when the Orange team was run by a man by the name of Paul Pasqualoni. Second year head coach for the Orange Doug Marrone is the former offensive coordinator for last year's NFL Super Bowl champs the New Orleans Saints.

A straight shooter with no time for nonsense, Marrone was determined to bring back to Syracuse the winning football organization that was developed under Pasqualoni. And boy did he deliver! Proving that football is truly a "game of inches" and that it is of utmost importance to master the realm of "small ball" such as special teams and basic offensive and defensive football fundamentals, Marrone has lit a fire under this Syracuse Orange team that doesn't appear to be going out anytime soon. It has even been rumored that Marrone demanded the players show up early to practice, make it to every class on time when able, (excluding time taken off for games) and to be clean-cut and ready to play football each and every day.

And what a difference the coaching style of Doug Marrone has brought to this team! Not sure of what bowl they may be headed to, QB Ryan Nassib is quoted as saying, "We're very excited! We're not concerned about what bowl we go to, we're just happy to be able to make it to one."

Along with the 24 yard winning field goal, Syracuse kicker Krautman also booted a career-long 48 yard field goal in the game for the Orange, who go into bowl eligibility 7-3 on the season and 4-2 in Big East Conference standings. Nassib has been the face of the Orange's newly aggressive offense, but let's not forget it's the little things that win games and send teams to higher places, in this case a field goal clinched the win.

Ryan Nassib threw for 214 total yards including a short four yard touchdown pass to Antwon Bailey. RB Delone Carter as well as Bailey rushed for decent field position to set up Krautman for the winning field goal.

Head coach Doug Marrone has brought his team to 7-3 overall, with four wins on the road in the Big East Conference. Marrone has achieved five true road wins on the season for the Orange (one in Akron) last achieved in 1992 under Pasqualoni.

Marrone now has more wins with (11) in less than two seasons than previous Syracuse Orange coach Greg Robinson had in four years with (10) wins (ESPN Stats and Information).

Rutgers, with a touchdown and a field goal in the match up, tried to employ a wildcat offense towards the end of the game out of sheer desperation. Unfortunately for Rutgers, a 12 yard run by Mohamed Sanu and a six yard run by Jeremy Deering to put Rutgers within field goal range proved to be too little too late for this year's outstanding Syracuse Orange defense.

The Orange, Marrone, and Nassib wait with baited breath to assume their rightful bowl position in this exciting 2010 Syracuse football season.

-C.T. Minardi

The Terps are back!

It's official. The Maryland Terrapins are back in action this year. On Saturday 10/30/10, against Wake Forest in College Park, Maryland, the scene started out like any other college football game. What ensued was proof that the Terrapins (now 6-2, 3-1 ACC standings) are in great shape and in contention for the ACC Atlantic Division Title.

Right out of the gate, the Terps grabbed two interceptions and returned them for touchdowns.

The score more than tripled to 48-7 Terps by 9:15 left in the 3rd quarter. Where is Chris Berman from ESPN to say "WWWWhaaaatt!!"

This exponential increase in points happened in the blink of an eye after the score was 10-7 Maryland, as the Terrapins scored 38 points in 18:15 following the second pick returned for a touchdown. Not only did Maryland close the day with two defensive touchdowns, the mighty Terps also blocked two punts!

In a flash, it was........

Danny O'Brien (#5, QB for Maryland) to LaQuan Williams in the end zone for a touchdown.

Ralph Friedgen, head coach for Maryland, looked like he was watching a game of pong as the Terps bounced from end zone to end zone.

2nd string QB for the Terps, #11 Robinson, finishes out the game and continues to put the hurtin' on Wake Forest.

With Jamarr Robinson in control, RB Davin Meggett makes it 54-7 Maryland with a little less than 3:00 minutes in the 3rd!

At this point, every touchdown was scored by a different Terp.

After the extra point, making the score 55-7, Maryland, Wake Forest tries to muster up some steam with a 40+ yard punt return. Wake Forest's starting quarterback Taylor Price was given decent field position with a fighting chance to chip away at the Terps score. Wake Forest is winless on the road, with all of their away games shut-outs, however, none quite like this. Price is backed to pass and.. what's this!? Maryland defensive back Antwine Perez comes up with the Terp's 4th sack of the game!

It's 3rd and 19 with one minute left in the 3rd quarter. Taylor Price for Wake Forest is backed to pass.... however, cannot convert on this crucial 3rd down.

Wake Forest decides to go for it on 4th down.... and scores! Via a pass from Price to WR Terrence Davis to break a 45 point scoring streak by Maryland to make the score 55-14 Terps. This long overdue touchdown pass was Davis's first collegiate career touchdown.

However, the Terps turn around and score again with about 7:00 minutes remaining in the game, making the score an unbelievable 62-14, as D.J. Adams, a redshirt freshman from Florida, rushes for the touchdown. At this particular point, 8 different Terps had scored TD's without ANY of them repeating.

Wake Forest, who's name (believe it or not) is the "Demon Deacons" fall to 1-4 ACC and 2-6 overall, while Maryland sports almost the exact opposite at 3-1 ACC and 6-2 overall.

Wake Forest loses their 6th consecutive game, as the Terps match their highest score ever in an ACC game. Go Terps!

The Maryland Terrapins will play the Miami Hurricanes this Saturday at Miami.

-C.T. Minardi

Big East Opener! SU vs. USF

Saturday in Tampa Florida the Big East college football season kicks off with Syracuse University and the University of South Florida. Both teams go into the game 3-1 on the season. SU is looking for its first 4-1 start since 1999. This is also SU head Coach Doug Marrone's first Big East game coaching the Orange.

Q.B's for the University of South Florida and Syracuse University are B.J. Daniels and Ryan Nassib, respectively. This game was a defensive struggle as I predicted, punctuated with exciting offensive plays later in the game. New quarterback Nassib for the Orange showed his moxy in the SU driver's seat and SU rising stars Delone Carter and Marcus Sales showed thousands of screaming fans what SU football is all about.

And what a defensive struggle it turned out to be! Early in the game, SU safety Max Suter gets a sack with about 8:15 left in the first quarter. Unfortunately, as a turnover on downs progressed, SU was called for roughing the kicker, giving USF an automatic first down.

Then the boys in Orange come up with another sack! This time by Brandon Sharp # 91. He has two sacks on the season, and brought SU's total sacks to ten, at this early point in the game.

However, the penalty-plagued Orange began their offense sluggishly, but continued to play top-notch D, resulting in the tension filled battle this game would prove to be.

USF comes up with the first points on the board with a field goal early in the second quarter after a scoreless first quarter. In last year's match-up between the two teams at the Dome in Syracuse, USF came up with five interceptions. Not this time! SU began to find their offensive rhythm and continued to do a great job defensively, applying pressure to the pocket and forcing B.J. Daniels to make some hasty decisions, as Holmes comes up with another sack for SU towards the end of the third.

Both teams had trouble converting on 3rd and long, as well as converting in the red zone. Each team was also penalty-prone towards the end of the second half, but whats this!! A few SU penalties later, freshman Jeremy Wilkes # 28 reads B.J. Daniels' offensive rhythm and comes up with a pick for the Orange, giving them a chance to even up the score, now 9-6, USF.

In the fourth, Ryan Nassib to Marcus Sales for the touchdown.

The crowd goes........... silent?

Sales puts the Orange up 13-9 after a successful field goal, a lead the Syracuse Orange would hold on to for the remainder of the game.

Ryan Nassib went 5 for 5 on passes including the winning TD pass on his closing drive.


10/10/10 This day in history: Former Central New York Onondaga Central High School football star Mike Hart gets his first career touchdown for the Indianapolis Colts.

Thank Goodness it's Sunday!

This year's first NFL Sunday pitted the Washington Redskins against the Dallas Cowboys. From the beginning, it was all Redskins. Redskins Quarterback Donovan McNabb threw for 171 yards. It was a good win for the Redskins who were coming off of a pre-McNabb season of being 4-12, and going 0-6 in the NFC East. McNabb, who hails from Syracuse University, did well in the pocket with a 60% completion percentage on passes over 10 yards.

This is the third time in a row Donovan McNabb has played against the Dallas Cowboys! He is the first player to face the same team three times since the 1970 merger. His former team, the Philadelphia Eagles, lost 24-0 to the Cowboys at the end of the 2009 regular season, then 34-14 the following week in the playoffs! Bringing it around to the first NFL Sunday, you would think McNabb would have a feel for the Cowboys defense. It's amazing that this game wasn't a blowout. The Redskins and Cowboys have always had a rivalry, and Sunday McNabb and the 'Skins did not disappoint!

McNabb found receiver Santana Moss and Chris Cooley pretty well in the pocket against the Cowboys predictable single man coverage. McNabb was with the Eagles for 11 years. Lets hope he finds his niche with the Redskins and gives us more of his exciting, cliffhanger style football we've come to expect from him.

And what a cliffhanger this game was! Injured Cowboy DeMarcus Ware left the game with 4:31 left in the fourth quarter with what appeared to be a mild concussion. Little did he know all the action was about to unfold!

The Redskins offense could be described as fluid, with a nice mix of completed passes and smart running plays. In fact, the only mistake the Redskins made was a botched field goal attempt early in the game. Though they didn't get an offensive touchdown, the Redskins clinched the game with another field goal from their 39 yard line for a score of 13-7 Redskins.

But what's this!? The Cowboys take possession and a 31 yard completion is made to # 19 Miles Austin, who gained 146 yards total in the game for the Cowboys. It is at this point the Cowboys employ a hurry-up offense to try and bridge the 66 yard gap between them and their end zone.

The scene is now 2nd and 10, Cowboys QB Tony Romo is backed to pass and throws, and it is caught at the 31 yard line by Bryant. Now 53 yards away, The score is 13-7 Redskins, so a field goal attempt is not worth it. The Cowboys continue to fight, however they are plagued by penalties late in the game and even a completed touchdown pass by Romo is voided after an offensive holding call. This was a tough break for the Cowboys, who fought till the very end but just didn't play smart football.

Next Sunday night is sure to top this one......

It's the Indianapolis Colts vs the New York Giants.....

Pitting brother against brother!

Manning vs Manning!

Move over Ken and Ryu. ...This is sure to be one for the ages!

Favre Returns to the NFL and the Vikings!

After another cliffhanger with the media hot on his trail, Favre's first throw last night signaled his triumphant return to football. The throw was to RB Adrian Peterson for a gain of 13 yards. Favre was expected to go ten plays in the preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers, however, Favre only went four plays due to a sack by the 49ers defensive line. The rest of the game didn't go the Vikings way either. The second string QB's for the Vikings were struggling, and on a third and two, 49ers QB Nate Davis threw a bomb for a 60 yard gain that probably sealed the deal.

It is official! B. Favre, Inc. is back in business. The 40-year-old hall of famer still has some fight left in him. Make that a lot of fight. So don't touch that dial! Favre will go a few more plays this Saturday, at home against Seattle.

At halftime last night, Favre sits down and talks to NFL commentator Al Michaels. Brett Favre is back with a new multi-million dollar contract. When asked by Al Michaels, Favre said of his contract, "I've always made a lot of money. But that in itself was not the deciding factor." Favre claims he returned to football after rumors of his supposed retirement for the comradeship, the whole football experience which is a rush that cannot be achieved any other way than lacing up and going out onto the field.

The Vikings are glad Favre decided to come back. A living legend, Brett Favre is confident that this year will be a success for the Vikings. Favre is only hopeful he can live up to the numbers he put up last year, which include an impressive 4,202 passing yards, with 33 touchdown passes, and a 68.4% completion percentage! These numbers are staggering considering they tie and even surpass some of the years when Favre was considered "in his prime." In Favre's words, "My three MVP years did not compare to what I did last year."

After leading the Minnesota Vikings to an NFC Championship game last season but losing to now Super Bowl defending champs the New Orleans Saints, Favre still has a chip on his shoulder especially considering his last throw in the heartbreaking game was an interception.

This year, Favre, head coach Brad Childress and the rest of the Vikings hope to take it one step further, all hopeful that Favre can lead the organization through an extremely competitive league this year, and Favre might as well have a bullseye on his forehead, especially when it comes to the Saints. Interestingly enough, the Vikings will take on the New Orleans Saints Thursday September 9th in the NFL Regular Season Kickoff Event!

Former Indianapolis Colts head coach turned NFL commentator Tony Dungy had this to say of Favre, "Brad Childress wanted Favre to play. Childress said, 'You can't win the lottery if you don't buy a ticket."

Will Favre be the winning ticket for the Vikings this year?

Or are the odds stacked against him?

Will a QB who will be turning 41 throughout the regular season be able to handle the beatings men half his age are dishing out?

The truth is that with age comes wisdom, and the Vikings need Favre to propel them this year with the veteran leadership that only the B. Favre can offer.

-C.T. Minardi

Looking for Number 600

Alex Rodriguez is looking to become the 7th player in history to reach 600 home runs. Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey, and Sammy Sosa are the only players to have earned more career home runs than Rodriguez.

So let's get the steroid thing out of the way first. Bonds and Sosa have both been plagued and possibly discredited by alleged steroid use. In February 2009, A-Rod publicly admitted to using "performance enhancing drugs" in response to allegations that he was juicing during the 2001-03 MLB seasons when he was with the Texas Rangers. Now at 599, A-"Roid" Is on the brink of a milestone in his career by getting his 700th home run.

The question is, do people care? Has Rodriguez's reputation been permanently scarred because of confirmed performance enhancing drug use? Does it matter whether the substance he used was HGH (Human Growth Hormone) or Anabolic Steroids, both banned from MLB because they are said to give players an unfair advantage?

Is A-Rod not a true Yankee?

The fact remains that Alex Rodriguez is an amazing athlete, and, steroid use or not, it takes a real stand-up guy to admit his mistakes.

Football players use steroids too! Recently, four players for the Oakland Raiders, linebacker Bill Romanowski, center Barret Robbins, and defensive tackles Chris Cooper and Dana Stubblefield have tested positive for a new steroid called tetrahydrogestrinone, or THG.

That doesn't make it okay, but there is a biased opinion when it comes to MLB players like A-Rod who are in the limelight. Why don't we hear more about football players taking roids?

At a time when America's favorite pastime, baseball, was seemingly gaining popularity, it also attracted scrutiny. Performance enhancing drug use may forever taint the face of baseball unless fans and critics are able to leave the past behind.

This afternoon, A-Rod will get another shot at 600 against the Rays.

As the future of baseball develops, the question remains whether or not MLB greats like Alex Rodriguez go down in history as heroes or cheaters?

Fans can look towards A-Rod's 600th home run and beyond to answer that question.

-C.T. Minardi

NBA Free Agency begins! Where will LeBron go! What about Dwayne Wade? Lebron is reported to make a decision by July 5th. That's tomorrow!

As the excitement builds over Lebron's monumental decision, the rumors are circling around the possible trades of other big names in the NBA such as Dwayne Wade of the Miami Heat and Amar'e Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns.

Lebron will most likely stay with the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, it has been said by Lebron himself that he will go with whatever team pays him the most money. To quote Lebron himself, "At the end of the day the (NBA) is a business." Ideally, the point of a business is to make money. It's time for Lebron to put on the suit and tie and start negotiating. As the sun begins to set on the summer of Lebron, the future of the NBA depends on it.
Unsubstantiated rumours of Lebron's possible trade to Chicago have been circling the NBA world for quite some time. Though it seems logical, only King James has the power to follow his destiny. While a few highly sought after championship rings seem likely if James signs with the Chicago Bulls, as he will be playing alongside current Chicago Bulls Derek Rose and Joakim Noah, he may lose some of his hometown hero credibility in Cleveland. Lebron is expected to announce his long-awaited decision between Tuesday and Thursday.

On the other hand, Dwayne Wade has been said to be sought after by the Bulls. It has been reported that Wade is 'leaning towards" Chicago, and why not? Wade is from Chicago, and has family there. He would also gain the support of Rose and Noah, and Chicago has the cap to sign him. However, Wade has said time and time again that he will remain loyal to the Heat, but will dollar signs blurr his vision when it comes time to make a deal? Only Dwayne Wade knows the answer.

In the meantime, it is a fact that Amar'e Stoudemire is on the verge of signing with the new York Knicks with a 5-year, 100 million dollar maximum contract. This should be the best news Knicks fans have heard in a while, besides the 2010 drafting of former S.U. gaurd and 3-point shooting machine Andy Routins. If Stoudemire decides to become a Knick, Stoudemire will be the icing on the cake to a now impressive Knicks 2010-2011 lineup, which also includes former Stanford small forward Landry Fields.

Of course, not every contract this year is picture perfect. Take Joe Johnson's offer of 119 million dollars from the Atlanta Hawks, to stay in Atlanta. While Johnson shows he has skills, there is no way Johnson is worth more than the likes of Lebron, Dwayne Wade or Dirk Nowitzki. It is official that Johnson has taken this deal. Hawks fans should be pleased to know that this 6'7", 240 lb. sharp shooter who was originally drafted to the Celtics in 2001, will continue to put in work for the Atlanta Hawks.

While Joe Johnson can hang his hat in Atlanta, the sports world will not sleep until the end of the week when Lebron James's decision will become final.

-C.T. Minardi