SU WOULD NEED “A” GAME TO BEAT NORTH CAROLINA STATE
Syracuse U.’s hopes for a trip to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament could be on the line Wednesday night at the Carrier Dome against an underrated opponent in North Carolina State.
This will be a “bubble game” in the competition for a bid to The Big Dance.
According to ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi’s latest rankings, NC State is among the “last four in” (with Kansas State, UCLA and USC) for the 68-team tournament and Syracuse is among the “first four out” (with Boise State, Nebraska and St. Bonaventure).
Entering Wednesday night’s game (9 p.m., on News Radio WHAM 1180), Syracuse has a 17-8 record (including 6-6 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) and North Carolina State is 16-9 (6-6 in the ACC). The Wolfpack have quality wins over Arizona, Clemson, Duke, North Carolina and Notre Dame. SU’s lone quality win was at Louisville.
Tale of the Tape
Points per game – Syracuse 68.9...NC State 80.9
Points allowed per game – Syracuse 63.4...NC State 74.1
Average victory margin – Syracuse +5.5...NC State +6.8
Field-goal percentage – Syracuse .422...NC State .462
3-Point FG percentage – Syracuse .321...NC State .340
Free-throw percentage – Syracuse .723...NC State .705
Rebounds per game – Syracuse 38.6...NC State 36.6
Blocks per game – Syracuse 5.6...NC State 3.9
Turnovers per game – Syracuse 12.4...NC State 12.2.
Syracuse has a slight height advantage, a zone defense that can befuddle unprepared opponents and the Dome-court advantage...NC State shoots better from the field and is significantly deeper, with nine players averaging at least 15.1 minutes per game...Syracuse will try to slow the tempo of the game to help protect against foul trouble...SU is favored by 5 ½ points. I have no idea why.
Bob’s pick – North Carolina 68, Syracuse 57. I hope I’m wrong and that the inconsistent Wolfpack are due for a poor effort.
THANK GOODNESS, APRIL 6 WILL BE OUR 124th CONSECUTIVE OPENING DAY
Rochester was a member of the New York State League from 1885 through 1899. It was the forerunner of the International League.
Rochester’s one and only season in “major league baseball” was 1890 as a member of the American Association. The Hop Bitters drew poorly (a ban on home games on the Sabbath didn’t help), posted a 63-63 record (including 40-22 at home), owner Henry Brinker lost money and Rochester returned to the minors the next season.
Shortly after the 1892 season, the wooden Culver Field burned down. Rochester was without a suitable stadium and without pro baseball in 1893 and 1894. They were the last years without a pro baseball Opening Day in Rochester.
Rochester’s teams in 1897 and 1898 opened to optimism but drew so poorly that they finished the seasons in Montreal and Ottawa, respectively.
The Bronchos won Rochester’s first baseball pennant in 1899.
April 6 at Frontier Field will be Rochester’s 124th consecutive year with Opening Day baseball.
A spring and summer without pro baseball in Rochester would be a difficult void to fill.
WALLY MOON DIES...1953 RED WING TO STARDOM WITH CARDINALS, DODGERS
Former Red Wings star Wally Moon died Friday at his home in Bryan, Texas. He was 87.
Moon was familiar in baseball for his unibrow (probably the best in MLB history), for topping two future Hall of Famers in balloting for 1954 National League Rookie of the Year, and for hitting home runs called “Moonshots” for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Veteran Red Wings fans might recall his 1953 season for Rochester: .307 (119-of-387), 83 runs, 24 doubles, 8 triples, 12 HRs, 61 RBI, 14 stolen bases in 131 games. The Red Wings won the IL pennant (97-57 record) and had a team-record 19-game winning streak (outscored opponents 152-65 in the process).
Despite his strong season for Rochester, the St. Louis Cardinals instructed Moon to report to the minor-league camp for spring training in 1954. He brashly told the Cardinals that he’d be reporting to the big-league camp and would retire if he wasn’t given a chance and failed to break camp with St. Louis.
Moon had a hot spring to beat out popular veteran Enos Slaughter for a starting job in the outfield. Slaughter was traded to the Yankees and unhappy St. Louis fans booed Moon during pre-game introductions on Opening Day.
Moon silenced the fans with a home run in his first at-bat. He went on to hit .304, with 106 runs, 12 HRs, 76 RBI and 18 stolen bases and was selected National League Rookie of the Year, easily outpolling Ernie Banks, Gene Conley and Hank Aaron.
Later in Moon’s career, as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, he was famous for his “Moonshots” at the Los Angeles Coliseum. He was a left-handed hitter and – on the advice of friend and former Cardinals teammate Stan Musial – he developed an inside-out swing to loft pop-fly home runs over the ridiculously close left field fence (251 feet away and a 42-foot high screen). In 1959, 14 of his career-high 19 HRs were hit at the Coliseum – most of them to left field.
Moon played in three All-Star Games. He was a .289 career hitter with 142 HRs and 667 RBI in 1,457 major-league games.
WOULD BAKER MAYFIELD BE WORTH THIS MUCH?
Might the Buffalo Bills interested in drafting 2017 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Baker Mayfield and what might they give up to get him?
Jay Skurski of The Buffalo News this week suggested that Buffalo could package the No. 21, 22 and 53 overall picks in the 2018 draft plus a second-round pick in 2019 to the Indianapolis Colts for the No. 3 pick in the 2018 draft. The Bills would select Mayfield, after Cleveland picked USC quarterback Sam Darnold and the New York Giants picked UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen.
I wouldn’t give up that much for Mayfield. Would you?
ARENA FOOTBALL LEAGUE STILL IS ALIVE...BUT BARELY
The Arena Football League began in the summer of 1987 had a successful run. There were a league-most 19 teams in 2007 and a developmental minor-league af2 from 2000 to 2007 (including the Rochester Brigade: 4-12 in 2001, 7-9 in 2002 and 3-13 in 2003). There was some national TV exposure and the future looked bright.
But the Arena Football League proved to be a fad and gradually contracted. The league remains alive – but barely.
Only four teams will begin the 31st Arena Football League season April 13 (Washington Valor at Baltimore Brigade) and April 14 (Philadelphia Soul at the expansion Albany, N.Y., Empire). The Tampa Bay Storm is taking this season off and the Cleveland Gladiators will skip the 2018 and 2019 seasons (at least).
The four surviving teams will each play 12 regular-season games and all four teams will make the playoffs. The teams with the best records will have the option of opening the first-round two-game series at home or on the road.
SHORT SHOTS
The Minnesota Twins reportedly are talking trade with Tampa Bay for starting pitcher Chris Archer. He wouldn’t come cheap but he’s the sort of power pitcher the Twins have been lacking in their starting rotation.
On this date in sports (February 14), 131 years ago (1887), the Cubs sold Mike “King” Kelly to Boston for a record $10,000...67 years ago (1951), Sugar Ray Robinson defeated Jake LaMota for the middleweight title...24 years ago (1994), Barry Bonds and jockey Julie Krone were selected top athletes of the year at the ESPY Awards.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...
Wednesday, February 14
Jadeveon Clowney (25)...Alshon Jeffery (28)...Tyler Clippard (33)...Marian Gaborik (36)...Richard Hamilton (40)...Milan Hejduk (42)...Gheorghe Muresan (47)...Drew Bledsoe (46)...Lonnie Johnson (47)...Kelly Stinnett (48)...Richard Smehlik (48)...Petr Svoboda (52)...Calle Johnasson (51)...Jim Kelly (58)...Walt Poddubny (58)...Val James (61)...Lucius Sanford (62). Frederick Douglass was born on this date 200 years ago (1818) and died in 1895 at age 78.
Thursday, February 15
Marcus Gilbert (30)...Johnny Cueto (32)...Russell Martin (35)...Amy VanDyken (45)...Jaromir Jagr (46)...Mark Price (54)...Darrell Green (58)...Brian Propp (59)...Tony McKegney (60)...Pat Tilley (65)...Ken Anderson (69)...Ron “Penguin” Cey (70)...John Hadl (78). Susan B. Anthony was born on this date 198 years ago (1820) and died in 1906 at age 86.