SYRACUSE ORANGE SPORTS

Latest News, Updates and Opinions on Syracuse University Athletics

The Oakland University Golden Grizzlies are coming to the Carrier Dome for the first time tonight at 7:00. Oakland, which is located in Detroit, was a Division II school until 1997, when it moved up to D-I and joined the Summit League. The Golden Grizzlies are coming off an overtime win over Oregon on Monday.

» Mike Waters' Scouting Report: Syracuse vs. Oakland

» Related story: Golden Grizzlies thriving in D-I

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Continue reading "SU men's basketball team hosts Oakland tonight" »

Organizers of what is essentially the CBE Classic final four announced tickets are still available for the Kansas City site next week. And they've also announced a two-for-one deal they hope will help fill those empty seats.

In those games, Syracuse plays Florida at 7 p.m. on Monday. Kansas and Washington follow. Winners play at 10 p.m. on Tuesday; the losers go at 7:45. (All the times are Eastern.) SU or Florida or Kansas has won four of the last six national championships. Florida, of course, claimed two of them back-to-back.

During a conference call featuring all four coaches of those teams, SU coach Jim Boeheim was asked about the stamina his point guard displayed last year in logging all those game minutes. A writer asked whether there was a plan this year to give Jonny Flynn a rest.

Here's what the SU coach said:

"There is a plan, but I don't know if it'll go into effect. Jonny's pretty unusual. We'd like to rest him a little bit and we will try to. But I'm sure there will be some alterations in that plan."

Boeheim cited the multitude of television timeouts as instances where Flynn could catch his breath. He also suggested Flynn could bear the weight of multiple minutes.

Continue reading "Notes on CBE Classic in Kansas City and other Orange stuff" »

According to a report in the Daily Orange, SU football players Mikhail Marinovich and Niko Rechul have stopped working at their hookah bar until after the football season is over. The pair opened Hollywood Hookah near the SU campus two weeks ago.

The article says the SU Athletic Department told Marinovich and Rechul to stop giving interviews to the media, and SU's Office of Athletic Compliance send a cease and desist letter to the Daily Orange for using the names and photos of SU student-athletes in articles related to Hollywood Hookah.

» Full story: Football players temporarily stop working at hookah business

» Related news: Syracuse hookah smoking lounge caught fire on Thursday

» Readers' letters: Hookah hazards

The 2008 season has been a record breaking one for the Syracuse University field hockey team. The Orange won the most games in school history, broke the record for goals scored in a season with 114, and at one point was the top team in the national polls. Up next is the first trip to the Final Four in school history.

No. 3 Syracuse will take on No. 2 Wake Forest in the national semifinal game at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Louisville, Kentucky. If the Orange wins, it will face the winner of Maryland-Iowa at 1 p.m. Sunday.

The Post-Standard's Bill Palka has more on the Orange's historic run and how the community is embracing the team.

» Latest tournament news

More Orange field hockey:

» The Daily Orange: With Final Four on horizon, Orange soaking up support from community
» The Daily Orange: For Vokjevic, ride to SU ends at Final Four
» Talk about the Orange's first trip to the Final Four in the forum

Donnie Webb: No, SU does not need an Eastern football guy:

Instead of focusing on residency, shouldn't the objective be hiring the best coach available, someone that's a relentless and fearless recruiter, who has the expertise and experience to fix the program on the field and off it with recruiting?

» Read Donnie Webb's full story

Dave Rahme: Yes, SU needs to hire an Eastern football guy:

It is crucial that the man Gross hires have a keen understanding of Eastern football and Syracuse's precarious perch in the pecking order for a limited amount of talent when compared to the bonanza annually produced in California, Florida and Texas.

» Read Dave Rahme's full story

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Continue reading "Does SU need to hire an Eastern football guy to replace Greg Robinson?" »

Syracuse, NY -- Had a terrific chat with outgoing Big East Conference commissioner Michael Tranghese earlier this week and we covered a few topics including the obvious one here at Syracuse.

We all suspect the Big East Conference is a tad anxious about the Syracuse situation, which has clearly tainted the league's image because of the team's futility. Who Daryl Gross hires to replace Greg Robinson as Syracuse's head coach is being watched closely in Providence (home of the Big East office), though Tranghese said this is not so much a critical situation for the Big East as it is for Syracuse.

"Everybody asks me," Tranghese said. "This is a big hire for Syracuse. It's not a big hire for me. Hires aren't made for us. It's a big hire for Syracuse. They've obviously struggled. I think they need to make a hire that can get them back into a highly competitive mode.

"Every time we have coaching vacancy, I tell our schools - you cannot make a mistake. If you do, you pay a huge price. You've just got to get it right."

Continue reading "Tranghese: Big hire for SU, not the Big East" »

To the point

The Orange needs to get out to a better start than it did last game against Richmond. The upset-minded Golden Grizzlies are coming off an overtime win at Oregon.

An assistant coach familiar with Oakland provided an "On the Court" tip as well as a rundown on the Golden Grizzlies' starters and bench.

Prime matchup
Point guard

Johnathon Jones Jr., 5-11, 165: Probably one of the best players in that league. Very athletic. A scoring point guard. Not a great shooter but loves to go one-two and pull-up for his shot.

Jonny Flynn So., 6-0, 185: Flynn's 27 points against Richmond were just one shy of his career-high which he set last season against Siena and Pittsburgh. His 13 free-throw attempts tied the most he's ever attempted.

Continue reading "Syracuse basketball: Orange Scouting Report" »

This is uncharted territory for the Syracuse University football team. The Orange has a lame-duck football coach.Greg Robinson joined the college game's pink-slip pack Sunday, his bill come due for a 9-36 record. Among the losses was a 34-10 setback at Notre Dame in Robinson's inaugural campaign of 2005. Back on that November day there was still reason to believe Robinson would revitalize a Syracuse team that had lost its luster. Now, we know differently.

Meanwhile, Charlie Weis is undergoing his own trial by smoke, if not fire, in South Bend. The former offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots took over the struggling Irish at the same time Robinson got the Syracuse job, and for two seasons he was the toast of the town ... or would have been if his 19-6 record had included a victory or two in a bowl game.

Continue reading "The Show Must Go On In South Bend" »