NC9 Sports Chat

Could a loss be a good thing?

PHRankin — Mon, 05 May 2008 20:59:00 GMT

Post by Steve Infanti - Players and coaches will tell you that there's no such thing as a good loss -- especially a loss right before the playoffs. But one could argue both the Le Moyne and Syracuse men's lacrosse teams could actually benefit from being upset over the weekend.

First, for Syracuse. The Orange dropped a seed by losing to Colgate on Saturday. Instead of earning the #2 overall seed, SU has to settle for being the #3 seed. In reality, their road to the Final Four appears to be easier than Virginia's road as the #2. If form holds, Syracuse would face Notre Dame in the second round instead of Maryland. Both are good teams, but Maryland clearly is a more dangerous program come tournament time. The Terps have reached the Final Four in three of the last five years. Not to mention the fact that they have already beaten the likes of Virginia and North Carolina this year. Notre Dame, on the other hand, is 4-12 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. I like SU's chances in that bracket.

Le Moyne's situation is less about the opponent and more about the Dolphins. Had Le Moyne rallied to win Sunday's NE-10 title game over Bryant, there was a chance (albeit a slight chance) that the Dolphins would have headed into the Division-II semifinals overconfident. Now, there is absolutely no possibility of that happening. This loss to Bryant forces the Dolphins to re-focus and prepare harder than ever for the tournament. It just so happens that they will get to play Bryant in the semis, which again, is a good thing. The revenge factor, the home field, the rebounding from a loss -- it all plays into Le Moyne's favor.

So, you see, while a loss may not be a good thing, in some cases it may not be a bad thing either. We'll find out for sure if I'm right in another couple of weeks.

Mike Hart Heading to the NFL

PHRankin — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 01:46:00 GMT

Post by Steve Infanti - We've all heard the knocks against him. He's too slow, he's too small, he's injury prone … blah, blah, blah. Yet all Mike Hart continues to do is prove people wrong.

He heard the same things when we was at Onondaga Central High School. What did he do? He set just about every New York state record, as well as a couple of national records along the way. Hart's OCS teams went 46-1 during his time on varsity, earning three state championships.

He heard the critics when he committed to Michigan. "He didn't play against top-notch competition in high school," some recruiting experts said. What did he do? Hart went out and became the all-time leading rusher in Michigan school history. He is one of only four running backs in Big Ten history to rush for more than 5,000 yards in his career. He went more than 1,000 consecutive carries without a fumble.

You get the picture. Everywhere Mike Hart goes, he succeeds. But because he ran a 4.67 40-yard dash at the NFL combine those critics are louder than ever that he has no chance of succeeding at the next level.

Apparently, the Indianapolis Colts disagree. On Sunday, the Colts took Hart in the 6th round with the 202nd pick overall. The same kid who finished fifth in the Heisman voting as a junior is now the 202nd best player available after his senior year?

I understand that there are concerns about his size and his speed and his durability. I also know that all that criticism just adds fuel to his fire. Will he make it in the NFL? Only time will tell, but I'm certainly not going to bet against him.

Selection Sunday; CBS Cheerleading for the ACC?

shaunganley — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 17:40:00 GMT

Posted by Steve Infanti - Just like many of you, I spent Selection Sunday in front of the television anxiously anticipating the field of 65. Since I knew Syracuse wasn’t going to be a part of it, I was able to form a more objective opinion about the bracket as a whole this year -- more so than most years when I’m scrambling to book a hotel and airfare to go cover the Orange.

When all the dust settled, my initial reaction was that the committee did a pretty good job of getting the field of 65 right. There was no one team that I felt was unfairly snubbed (which certainly wasn’t the case last year). Overall, I think the committee did a good job identifying the best 34 at-large teams.

Of course, I still have a few questions when I look at the bracket. Like, how can a bubble team such as South Alabama not only get in as a 10-seed, but then earn a virtual home game in Birmingham? Or look at Davidson, another 10-seed playing in Raleigh just around the corner from its home court. If I had a couple minutes with selection committee chair Tom O‘Connor, those would be a couple of the questions I would raise. What I wouldn’t do is what Billy Packer did on the CBS broadcast and spend my time with Mr. O’Connor harping on why the ACC only got four teams in and the Big East got eight.

Was I the only one who thought Packer sounded like an ACC cheerleader? Maybe his first question to O’Connor was fine, but then he asked a follow-up question as well. You need to keep in mind that Packer is the main college basketball analyst for ACC television broadcasts all season long.

His point was that the ACC was the #1 rated conference in the country while the Big East was rated fifth by the RPI. Ok, so both conferences are good and both conferences got the teams in that should’ve gotten in. Packer seemed appalled that eight bids went to the Big East. I wanted to yell through my television set that the Big East has 16 teams in it. I wish O’Connor had reminded him of that fact. Half of the Big East got in (rightfully so) while a third of the ACC got in (four of its 12 teams -- and rightfully so). The ACC’s rating is helped by the fact that it essentially had two top five teams in the country all year long (Duke and North Carolina). From top to bottom though, at least this year, the Big East is a better conference.

The only possible argument Packer could’ve been making was that Virginia Tech deserved to get in over Villanova. But when you look at the numbers, they didn’t deserve to get in. The Hokies only had one win against the entire NCAA tournament field. On the flip side, they had four losses against teams rated outside of the RPI Top 100. As for Villanova? The Wildcats had a higher RPI than the Hokies, they had more wins overall, more wins over the Top 50, more wins on the road, and more wins in their last 10 games. It seems like a pretty sound decision to me.

So, what are your thoughts? Were you happy with the committee’s decisions? Is there anything you would change?

Ok, it’s time for me to go start filling out my bracket. Let the madness begin...

Tiger Does it Again.

shaunganley — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 19:13:00 GMT

Posted by Steve Infanti - Another win, another trophy, another record on Sunday. Woods ran away with the Accenture Match Play Championship beating Stewart Cink in the finals 8&7 -- that's the largest margin of victory in the event's history. In fact, it's the fourth straight tournament in which he's set a scoring record.

Tiger's current winning streak started on September 3, 2007. That's right, he hasn't so much as finished second in almost six full months. It's crazy to think that Woods could win everything he plays in this year, or is it? According to the Associated Press, when asked if a "perfect season" was in reach, Tiger replied: "That's my intent. That's why you play. It you don't believe you can win an event, don't show up."

Woods is so good that he makes the impossible seem possible. He has accomplished just about everything in the game of golf -- except for winning the Grand Slam (all four majors) in the sane year. Tiger is playing so well that the Grand Slam is "easily within reach" -- those are his words.

So, what do you think, is this the year? Will Tiger capture the Masters, the British Open, the U.S. Open, and the PGA Championship by season's end?

I'm certainly not going to be the one to say that he can't do it...

S.U. Fans Storm The Court

PHRankin — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 06:27:00 GMT

Post by Steve Infanti - Several people have asked me my opinion the last few days about the post game scene at the Dome on Saturday. Essentially the question is: Should the students have stormed the court after beating nationally-ranked Georgetown? I’ve heard the arguments on both sides and my position is that it doesn’t really bother me.

I know some will say they prefer to take the “act like we’ve been there before” approach after a big win. Heck, this program isn’t even five full years removed from winning a national championship. However, I see no problem in showing a little extra enthusiasm after knocking off the hated Hoyas – as long as it’s done safely. As long as precautions are taken to make it a “controlled celebration” (to ensure that no one gets hurt) then I’m fine with it. The students like it, the players like it, and the television cameras like it.

It’s true that this wasn’t a landmark win for the program, but it was still a very big win in front of a very big crowd. I’ve been going to Syracuse University basketball games my entire life and I can tell you that the atmosphere in the Dome on Saturday was one of the most electric that I can remember. It was the kind of win that has the Orange back in the NCAA Tournament conversation -- the kind of win worth celebrating if you’re an SU hoops fan.

So what do you think about the “court storming”? Was it justified?

Either way, there are just two more chances to watch this team play at home this season. Hopefully just two, and not a game or two more.

CNY's Paulus the Key to Duke's Success?

shaunganley — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 14:34:00 GMT

Posted by Steve Infanti - When the new college basketball polls come out Monday, don't be surprised if you see a new team stealing some of Memphis' votes for that #1 ranking in the country. Duke made a rather convincing argument last Wednesday winning at #3 North Carolina by a double-digit margin. The Blue Devils are now 21-1 on the season with non-conference victories over the likes Illinois, Marquette, Michigan, and Wisconsin. They have steamrolled through everyone in the ACC beating only one team (Maryland) by less than 10 points. Duke's only loss is by a single point on the road at Pittsburgh back in December.

Before the season started, many expected Duke to be good -- but not this good. A big reason for the team's success has been the play of former CBA star Greg Paulus. Here's a kid who just knows how to win, plain and simple. He's not the fastest, strongest, or ever the best shooter on the floor at any given time…. but he finds a way to beat you. Take that UNC game, for example, from Wednesday night. All Greg did was bury a career-high six three-pointers in one of the most hostile environments in all of college basketball.

Depending on how closely you follow Duke, you know that Greg has been the target of some criticism down in Durham (especially last year). Some like to say that he's overrated. Remember Jim Boeheim's rant at the Big East Tournament a couple years ago when someone made the same suggestion about Gerry McNamara? Well, I'm not implying that Duke wouldn't have 10 wins without Greg Paulus this year, but I certainly don't think they'd be 21-1 right now.

My opinion might sound a little biased seeing as though I spent several years covering him in high school at CBA. But I happened to come across this article on the web the other day by one of the top writers on CBSsports.com.

http://cbs.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/10624699

I think there are some very good points in the article. Let me know what you think? Is Greg Paulus overrated or unfairly criticized? You know my opinion, what's yours.

Of course, there's one way he could silence the critics once and for all… by earning a trip to San Antonio in early April.

HS Seniors Sign on with Football Programs

shaunganley — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 19:32:00 GMT

Posted by Steve Infanti - Today is national letter-of-intent signing day for high school seniors. Greg Robinson is adding about two dozen players to his program and he's starting to change the perception that all of the good local talent leaves town. Robinson got commitments from seven New York recruits including some of the best players in CNY -- CBA's Marcus Sales, Utica Proctor's Deandre Preaster, Auburn's Nick Lepak, and Pulaski's Ian Allport. Really with the exception of Onondaga Central's Latavius Murray -- all of the top local talent decided to stay home and play for the Orange.

Most of the well-known recruiting services have SU's class ranked in the top 50 nationally, which is saying a lot considering Syracuse is coming off its third straight losing season -- a 2-10 season at that. One thing Coach Robinson can offer these guys is playing time, and in some cases, immediate playing time. That's a big reason why he was able to sign the top recruit in all of New York State, Averin Collier. Collier passed up the opportunity to play with his brother at Pittsburgh because he sees a chance here to get on the field right away as a running back (with both Delone Carter and Curtis Brinkley still recovering from serious injuries).

So what do you think? Will this class be able to help turn the SU program around? Well, only time will tell... but at least it's a step in the right direction.

Section III Football Flexes Its Muscle

shaunganley — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 14:28:00 GMT

Posted by Steve Infanti - For the second time in four years, Central New York is home to a pair of state football champions. A pair of unlikely football champions at that.

For Bishop Ludden and West Genesee it’s the first state title in program history. Both head coaches told me in the Dome afterwards on Sunday that they didn’t expect this degree of success this season. In fact, Steve Bush admitted he thought his team would have a difficult time contending in the league standings, let alone in the postseason. Both Ludden and West Genny were underdogs heading into the state finals. Heck, both were underdogs from the moment they won sectionals.

What this shows is that when athletes work hard together and buy into the team concept – the sky’s the limit. Of course, it helps to have talent too… but you get the point.

Sure, both teams had several playmakers, but neither had one star that carried the load. Bishop Ludden head coach John Cosgrove said that he expected to have 50 players try out for football this season, instead he only got about 30. And it took all 30 of those guys working hard together to get this done.

It reminds me of the state championship basketball team that I played at Ludden on back in 1994. We didn’t have a superstar, we just really played well together. I remember our coach, Pat Donnelly, telling us that very few athletes ever get to experience a state title and that it’s something no one can ever take away from us. Well, now the same holds true for these latest state champions.

Congratulations to all the parents, coaches, fans, and athletes from both school communities. You’ve made Central New York, and this Ludden-grad, very proud.

Is there really such a thing as an "upset" in college basketball anymore?

PHRankin — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 00:34:00 GMT

From Steve Infanti - The new season is little more than a week old and already we've seen Michigan State lose to Grand Valley State, Cincinnati beaten by Belmont, nationally-ranked USC lose by 15 to Mercer, and the most surprising of them all -- mighty Kentucky falling by 16 at home to Belmont.

And there have been plenty of near misses already this season as well. #5 Georgetown struggled to beat William & Mary in its opener. 11th-ranked Marquette trailed IUPUI by five points with 13 minutes to go before rallying to win by 8. Heck, even Syracuse was tested by a St. Rose (a Division II school) in its first exhibition.

The point is that no longer are there any "easy games" in college basketball. Some national analysts (aka ESPN's Doug Gottlieb) have gotten on Jim Boeheim for his early season scheduling. Coach Boeheim looks at the first part of the season as a way for his team to get ready for the Big East. You could argue that the conference schedule these days is demanding enough -- you don't want to make it next to impossible for your team to get to that magical 20-win plateau.

Syracuse has one major non-conference game on its fixed schedule (a trip to Virginia on December 5th), with the potential for at least two more “quality” games in New York. At the very least, SU will play Ohio State in the semifinals of the NIT Tip-Off Tournament.

They'll worry about that game next week. For now, the Orange can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that they actually made it to New York. That was not a given ... just ask Kentucky.

High School Foootball Excitement

Steve Infanti — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 16:13:00 GMT

Posted by Steve Infanti - This is my 8th year covering the Section III football playoffs for NewsChannel 9. I can't remember a more exciting championship weekend. Four of the five games this weekend were decided by 10 points or less. The only game that wasn't featured the winning team rallying from a 20-point first half deficit to win by 11.

In case you missed it, here's a brief recap:

Class D:
The weekend started with a Friday evening affair between top-ranked Onondaga Central and Dolgeville. The Blue Devils have more sectional titles (14) than any other Central New York school. But could they stop Latavius Murray? That was the big question. They did a nice job containing him (40 yards on 12 carries in the first half), but I'm not sure there's a team in the state (in any class) that can "stop" him. Dolgeville made the most of a couple OCS turnovers to take a 21-14 lead into the fourth quarter. But when the game was on the line, Murray carried his team to victory. He scored on an 8-yard run and on a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter to will the Tigers to their second straight sectional crown 28-21.

Class A:
Speaking of carrying his team to victory, that's exactly what Carthage tailback Robert Grimm did during the nightcap on Friday. Grimm rushed for 243 yards on 41 attempts including two touchdowns as the Comets held on to beat New Hartford 21-14. The Spartans were coming off back-to-back upsets. They beat ES-M in the opening round, then Whitesboro the week after. Carthage is one of three unbeatens remaining in Section III (Onondaga and Cazenovia being the other two).

Class C:
Saturday's action started bright and early at 11am with a shoot-out. Bishop Ludden started slowly falling behind to unbeaten Mount Markham 20-0. But the Gaelic Knights rallied behind their big playmakers Daquan Grobsmith and Wendall Williams. Grobsmith ran for 156 yards and four touchdowns, while Williams caught five passes for 107 yards and a touchdown. It's Ludden's first sectional crown in football since 2000.

Class AA:
This was maybe the best game of the year. This game featured two lead changes in the final minute. C-NS took the lead on a Laquan James touchdown run with 54 seconds to play. West Genesee then marched right back down the field and got a game-winning 23-yard field goal from Luke Cometti with one second remaining. It's West Genny's first sectional football crown in almost two decades and the first for head coach Steve Bush (former SU assistant under Paul Pasqualoni).

Class B:
If West Genesee-C-NS was the best game, Westhill-Cazenovia was the most-hyped game. Both teams came into this one unbeaten and ranked among the top four teams in the most recent state poll. Westhill's Dale Ross was once again fantastic. The senor tailback rushed for 227 yards after his record setting 569-yard performance last week against Marcellus in the sectional semis. Cazenovia's starting defensive unit had allowed a total of three touchdowns over the course of the last two years before Westhill found the endzone five times (once on special teams). The Cazenovia offense though had enough fire-power to win the game 44-34. Next up for the Lakers is a rematch with Chenango Forks -- the same team that edged Caz by a field goal in last year's state regionals.

So who do you think has the best shot now of winning a state title this season? If you go strictly by the rankings, the three remaining unbeatens have the best chances at a state title. But let's not forget what happened last year when Auburn went from not being into the playoffs, to being the lone state champion from Central New York. Will we see another unlikely champion this season? The kids from Camillus certainly hope so.

Excitement Builds for Basketball Season

Steve Infanti — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 16:55:00 GMT

There is no question SU will be an exciting team to watch this upcoming basketball season. There’s no shortage of talent on the roster. So much has been made about the terrific recruiting class coming in – and rightfully so, but let’s not forget that Jim Boeheim has to essentially replace four starters from last year’s squad. Syracuse lost its “Big Three” to graduation (Demetris Nichols, Daryl Watkins, and Terrence Roberts), as well as Andy Rautins to injury. So who will fill the void?

We know Eric Devendorf can score, but can he be the leader that Coach Boeheim needs him to be?

We know the freshmen are talented, but will they be able to adjust quickly to this high level of major college basketball?

If opponents go zone on defense, who will step up and consistently knock down the “3”?

Is it a problem that SU really only has one true center on the team in Arinze Onuaku?

These are all questions that need to be answered and will get answered over the course of the next several months. Fortunately, that happens to be one of Jim Boeheim’s strengths as a coach. He takes what he has, and he finds a way to make it work. He maximizes his players’ strengths and minimizes their weaknesses. That’s what the early part of the season is all about, finding out what role each guy fills on the team and what combinations work well on the court together.

Despite some of these questions, if you ask me, I think Syracuse will be just fine. In talking with Eric Devendorf this preseason, he seems hungry to do whatever it takes to make a deep run into the NCAA Tournament this year. The freshmen, especially Johnny Flynn and Donte Greene, seem poised beyond their years. Both have shown the ability to connect from long range, which should help take some of the pressure off of Devendorf on the perimeter. Scoring shouldn’t be a problem, but everyone on this team will have to rebound. Syracuse will be so athletic and versatile that it will be able to play without on a center on the floor at times, but even the guards will have to play “big” – something Paul Harris is particularly good at.

In other words, the Orange should be good, with the potential to be very good. And they’ll need to be very good in order to compete in the upper echelon of the Big East. The preseason Top 25 coaches poll was released on Friday. Five Big East teams make the list, Syracuse isn’t one of them (the Orange just missed out on the poll checking in at #27).

So what do you think? How will Syracuse fare this season?

It won’t be much longer before we find out. SU’s preseason opener is set for Sunday, November 4th. See you in the Dome…

Who will replace Joe Torre?

Steve Infanti — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 20:19:00 GMT

Whether you love the Yankees or hate the Yankees, you have to respect their manager -- make that former manager. Joe Torre went to the postseason all 12 years he was in the Bronx, that includes 10 division titles and four World Series rings. In many ways, Torre was a victim of his own success. He set the bar incredibly high with five World Series appearances during his first six years on the job. It came to be expected. The Steinbrenner family has been growing increasingly impatient to win another championship. Call it the "seven-year itch." The Yankees, of course, haven't won a ring since 2000. With the "drought" now at seven years, the Steinbrenners decided that it was time to make a change.

Sure, they made it appear as though they asked him back. But they intentionally made an offer that they knew he would turn down. If they truly wanted him back, then they would have been willing to negotiate with him last week rather than offer him a "take it or leave it" deal. Torre admits that $5 million is a lot of money. But when you're asked to take a significant pay cut ($2.5 million in this case), you can't help but get the sense that your boss (actually, The Boss in this case) is not happy with the job that you are doing. Since it was only a one-year offer, the questions about job security would never have gone away next season. That is not fair to Torre and that is not fair to Torre's players -- to have to answer those questions on a regular basis.

Speaking of the players... they are clearly disappointed with the decision. And I'm not just talking about his players. Even David Ortiz from the rival Red Sox went on the record saying that he thought pushing out Torre was a mistake. This could really come back to haunt the organization. Some key free agents may decide to go elsewhere now because Torre is leaving. Guys like Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte -- even Alex Rodriguez had grown very fond of Torre. These guys may not be back in pinstripes next season because Torre won't be there to manage them. It won't necessarily be the only reason, but certainly could be a reason.

It's not that Joe Girardi or Don Mattingly or whomever they get to replace Torre won't be capable of doing a good job. It's that Torre had a relationship with his players that can't be built overnight. He's much like Phil Jackson in that he knows how to manage egos. The Yankees are basically an all-star team, much like the Lakers were when Kobe and Shaq played together. Torre doesn't just know baseball, he knows his personnel.

The Steinbrenners and their money will likely field another very competitive team when the 2008 season begins. By this time next year though, I can't help but wonder if they'll be regretting the decision they made a week after their 2007 season ended.

Reacting to Syracuse's Loss to Rutgers 10/15/07

Steve Infanti — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 14:36:00 GMT

Posted by Steve Infanti - If you left the Carrier Dome on Saturday shaking your head, you're not alone. In his press conference following that 38-14 loss to Rutgers, Greg Robinson admitted that he and his coaching staff would spend the next 24 hours searching for answers. "When I see the same things happening, then is that the players? Is it the coaching? Or is it both? I don't know." Robinson made several similar comments on Saturday in the heat of the moment discussing who's to blame for the poor results. He added, "Is this the players' fault or is it the coaches' or what is it? I don't have the answers right now, but I'm gonna really look."

Well, after dissecting the film on Sunday, the coach again met with the media and this time he was a bit more diplomatic with his comments. "There are some things that we could've done better as players in protection situations. There's things we could've done better in route running that would've helped. And there's things that we could've done better as coaches." Robinson refused to go into further detail when pressed about the "blame-game" citing his "24-hour rule." As in "you have 24-hours to celebrate a win or dwell on a loss, then it's time to move on."

Speaking of moving on, Syracuse must now get ready for a much-improved Buffalo team. Buffalo, much-improved?! That's right, this team is 3-4. The Bulls have shown they can score points (they're averaging better than 25 points per game) and they've shown that they can move the ball (Buffalo racked up 395 yards against Penn State --- the Nittany Lions have the nation's 7th-ranked defense) Most importantly, the Bulls have shown that they know how to win. They're coming off of back-to-back victories and are enjoying their best season since joining the Division-1A ranks in 1999.

I was just like you, before the season I looked at this Buffalo game as a guaranteed win for Syracuse. That is certainly not the case anymore. In fact, Las Vegas odds makers have Syracuse as an early 4.5 point favorite. SU last played Buffalo in 2005. The Orange won that game 31-0. You gotta believe that this game will be much, much closer. The football program at Buffalo has definitely taken a step forward since 2005. Can we say the same about the football program at Syracuse? We may have a better idea about that by this time next week.