BUD POLIQUIN

Post-Standard Sports Columnist on Local and National Sports

Put your feet up because this mailbag will take you a little while to read

by Bud Poliquin/The Post-Standard

Friday November 21, 2008, 1:50 AM

Syracuse, N.Y. -- It's Friday and as is the usual policy around here at this time in the week, I hand the reins to the reader before happily stepping aside.

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It's early, sure, but could that have been Donte's coming-out party?

by Bud Poliquin/The Post-Standard

Thursday November 20, 2008, 1:03 PM

Syracuse, N.Y. -- That rise from NBA ashes to NBA arrival didn't take all that long for Donte Greene, now did it?

One game does not a season make, sure. Especially in professional basketball, which features an endless campaign, continuous travel and the kinds of niggling hurts that make night-in-and-night-out excellence impossible to sustain. Unless, that is, you're one of the anointed. A Kobe. A LeBron. A D-Wade. That sort of creature.

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Devendorf's Tuesday was a memorable one . . . and not all for good reasons

by Bud Poliquin/The Post-Standard

Wednesday November 19, 2008, 10:47 AM

Syracuse, N.Y. -- Well, that was a Tuesday to remember for Eric Devendorf and for those admirers of Syracuse University's basketball-playing junior guard.

The good news? Devo lit up the Richmond Spiders for 22 points at the Carrier Dome in the Orange's comeback 76-71 triumph before 16,260 fans.

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A little bit on Randy Edsall, Scott Norwood and, sure, Alan Shore

by Bud Poliquin/The Post-Standard

Tuesday November 18, 2008, 12:06 PM

Syracuse, N.Y. -- On the day after Shaquille O'Neal, the Phoenix Suns' supposed Big Cactus who must have left part of his game in the Carrier Dome last month, grabbed one (1) rebound in 32 minutes and had three of his shots blocked by much smaller Utah Jazz people, I have these three morsels:

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Maybe Leo Durocher was right, after all. Maybe nice guys do finish last.

by Bud Poliquin/The Post-Standard

Monday November 17, 2008, 12:02 AM

Syracuse, N.Y. -- Let the record show that I very much like and, in fact, admire Greg Robinson, who in 12 days will officially become the ex-football coach at Syracuse University.

He's forever buoyant (at least publicly), mostly encouraging of his players, generally optimistic and quite professional in his dealings with the members of the great unwashed (i.e., the wretches who comprise the media). Beyond that, Robinson is, from all accounts, a terrific husband and father, not to mention a wonderful, church-going member of the community.

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It's that time in the week when the readers take over, so put up your feet

by Bud Poliquin/The Post-Standard

Friday November 14, 2008, 7:29 AM

Syracuse, N.Y. -- It's Friday and as is the usual deal in this corner of cyberspace at this time in the week, I step aside and let you, the reader, take over.

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Can the Orange win the national title? Out in Vegas, they say, 'You betcha.'

by Bud Poliquin/The Post-Standard

Thursday November 13, 2008, 8:09 AM

Syracuse, N.Y. -- Sorry about the blank space here on Wednesday, but life happened . . . and the next thing you know, it was Thursday.

Anyway, I'm back here in the online-commentary saddle, and I have a confession to make: As I'm a firm believer that gambling will pretty much get you nothing for something, I wager not at all. Except, you know, on the stock market . . . and that, of late, has yielded nothing but a fitting with my tailor for a barrel and straps.

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For those who think the NFL needs a small slice of oomph, here's an idea

by Bud Poliquin/The Post-Standard

Tuesday November 11, 2008, 11:46 AM

Syracuse, N.Y. -- In the current edition of Sports Illustrated, there is this amazing statistic: Heading into this past weekend's NFL schedule of games, the pro kickers had converted 588 of 590 PATs, which suggests the play has become more routine than just about anything in sports.

Wait. Forget just sports. There's more drama in pouring a packet of sugar into a cup of coffee than there is in the pro guys lining up for a point-after-touchdown kick. And so I wonder: Why doesn't the NFL just do away with the whole concept altogether and rule that to earn that precious point, clubs have to pass or run their way into the end zone from a yard or two away?

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