Author: Damon Amendolara
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Lydon Has to Play the Waiting Game in Denver
The latest in a long line of Syracuse basketball stars to be drafted into the NBA this season was power forward Tyler Lydon. He¬†impressed before joining the NBA, but his start to life in the big league has been pretty slow, and he must be prepared to play the waiting game for his opportunity to…
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Which Bowl Games Should Interest Syracuse Fans?
Syracuse fans were hoping for a bowl game this season, especially after the upset of Clemson. But the Orange slide through the final six weeks left them out of the postseason yet again. But because we are still unabashed college football fans, it’s worth noting the best games to watch. What's better? Watching the snow…
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Syracuse Football Ready to Snap Up Hot New Prospect Tyrone Sampson
Now that the offseason is upon us, it’s time to start looking ahead to the talent Syracuse will have in Year 3 under Dino Babers. Syracuse has been targeting what it hopes are potential stars in recruiting over the past year¬†and, in a just few weeks they may become Orange, since players are now able…
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Coach Jim Boeheim Confident the Orange Can Get Even Better
As it hit the nine-game mark of the season, Syracuse is on track for what is shaping up to be a potentially¬†successful campaign. The Orange are currently 8-1 and Jim Boeheim believes his squad can still improve significantly on their recent performances. After losing the majority of their offense last year with graduate transfers John…
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Auburn Football’s Atmosphere is Incredible, Can Syracuse Do That?
I’m a Syracuse football fan from the ’90s. I know many of you go back much further than that. But as an ’01 SU grad, I was smack dab in the middle of the Donovan McNabb, Rob Konrad, Dwight Freeney years. The Dome used to rock and sway when the Hurricanes or Hokies or Wolverines…
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Where Does Syracuse’s Upset of Clemson Rank All-Time?
Friday night was a moment in Syracuse history which won’t be forgotten in a long time. It was one of the best SU sports moments in recent memory. It may very well be the flashpoint of the next great era of SU football. Many old school SU fans were taken back to the day inside…
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Emergency FizzCast: Breaking Down Syracuse’s Monumental Upset of Clemson
After Syracuse’s massive upset over #2 Clemson, Tyler Aki and Jonathon Hoppe discuss how exactly it happened and what it means.
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LSU is Better Than Syracuse, But 21 Points Better?
We discussed¬†last week the questionable line Vegas¬†had created for Syracuse’s games vs. CMU. The Chippewas were coming off a dominant performance against a Power 5 team on the road, running by Kansas 45-27. SU was reeling after losing to MTSU at the Dome. It didn’t seem like the Orange should’ve been favored over any team…
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Why is Donovan McNabb the Butt of So Many Jokes?
If you’re a Syracuse fan, the last truly transcendent player in program history is Donovan McNabb. Dwight Freeney had an amazing SU career and went onto become one of the best pass rushers in the NFL. Chandler and Arthur Jones were sensational for the Orange as well, and carried that success into prolific pro careers.…
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Has Doug Marrone Finally Found a Home with the Jaguars?
The way it ended in Syracuse was uncomfortable. The way it ended in Buffalo was unbelieveable. And through all the tumult, a once popular Orange coach became a pariah in upstate New York. He took a flaming pile of trash that was left behind by Groobers, and turned it into a winner, one that went…
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Should Syracuse Be Double-Digit Favorites Over CMU?
There was renewed optimism in Syracuse after the opening night blowout over Central Connecticut State. The Orange seemed to move the ball at will, and hung a 50-burger at the Dome. However, after a dreadful loss to Middle Tennessee State last weekend, the question is should SU actually be huge favorites in this game? On…
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D.A.’s On-Air Eulogy for “Giant Among Men” Dick MacPherson
On Wednesday morning’s show on CBS Sports Radio, D.A. discussed the impact of Dick MacPherson on the most recent Golden Age of Syracuse football. He also noted that Mac’s legacy is about so much more than winning. It’s about kindness and relentless optimism.
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Watching Louisville Go Down in Flames is Really Fun
Syracuse has had its own well-documented problems with the NCAA. As a fan in college athletics, it’s impossible to sit in an Ivory Tower and suggest that all the other schools are breaking the rules and yours isn’t. We’ve seen it all. Hell, even Harvard had a cheating scandal. But watching Louisville try to throw…
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Why Hopkins Leaving for Washington Could Be A Good Thing for Syracuse
In the ultimate plot twist, Mike Hopkins is heading to Seattle to take over the Washington program and now suddenly the future of Syracuse hoops is very murky. It has been assumed (and announced, then unannounced, then kinda announced again) that Hop would be the successor to Jim Boeheim. But as ADs moved through, from…
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Syracuse’s Frustrating Season Ends Perfectly, Losing to Ole Miss in NIT
What could be a more appropriate ending to one of the most disappointing seasons in program history than what we just witnessed? A Syracuse team that was always more talented than the results showed lost at the Dome to the 5th-best team in perhaps the worst Power 5 basketball conference. Ole Miss may have stacked…
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Inconvenient Truth: Syracuse’s Biggest Problem Has Been Coaching
There is an uncomfortable wind blowing into Central New York¬†today, whipping around Orange Nation. Not only has the reality set in of no NCAA Tournament after the Selection Committee snubbed Syracuse last night, but that more egregiously this has become the new norm. We are one very gracious Selection Sunday away from three straight lonely…
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Is this Syracuse Season a Total Failure if No NCAA’s?
If Syracuse is left out of the NCAA Tournament tomorrow, will this season be a success? Not in most people’s eyes. This was a team coming off a Final Four berth last season, and Jim Boeheim openly glowed over the potential of this year’s squad. While midway through the season it looked impossible for the…
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I Think Syracuse is Playing in Dayton Next Week
Syracuse didn’t help itself out by losing in its first ACC tourney game. A win over Miami, I think, would’ve safely but the Orange in. Now it’s some restless nights for SU fans waiting to see how the musical chairs fill up over the next four days. But I think the Orange will eventually have…
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Why One CBS Analyst Thinks Syracuse “Is Definitely In” the Tournament
Brendan Haywood knows something about the ACC. He was an All-American player for UNC, and reached the Final Four in 2000. Now he’s an analyst for CBS Sports Network. I asked him if Syracuse should make the tournament after last night’s thriller. He left no doubt. “Syracuse is definitely a tournament team. They have enough…
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Watch the Phone Footage from Syracuse Fans of the Shot That Beat Duke
The series of camera phone footage from last night’s incredible buzzer beater is phenomenal. It made it’s way throughout SportsCenter and circulated around social media all night/day. Personally, I can’t get enough of it. Whether this enough to lock in SU to the field of 68 is another argument, but for now watching this over…
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ESPN “Wouldn’t Bet Against” Syracuse Making The Tourney
National experts on Bubble Patrol will have extra interest around CNY over the next two weeks. How much work needs to be done by SU in the regular season? How much will be left to do at Barclay’s in the ACC Tournament? Eamonn Brennan put it this way: “Syracuse [16-11 (8-6), RPI: 76, SOS: 58]…
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Legendary ACC Coach Hated Syracuse Addition, Now He Loves Us
Bobby Cremins accomplished almost everything in his twenty years at Georgia Tech. He won the conference regular season title. He won the league tournament multiple times. He was coach of the year three times in the ACC. He coached in the Final Four and put multiple players in the NBA. His time at Tech ended…
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The Rollercoaster Ride & All Too Brief Life of Syracuse’s Fab Melo
Every part of Fab Melo’s life was complicated. Every chapter was a twist or turn. There was nothing easy or simple about the big man’s journey, even when it appeared all was well on the outside. When Fab passed away over the weekend from an presumed heart attack at just 26 years old, it seemed…
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Is This the Start of the Most Shocking Turnaround in Syracuse History?
They did it again. The Cardiac Orange pulled another rabbit out of the hat, this time on a last-second buzzer beater by Tyus Battle that took a two-point loss on the road and turned it into a one-point win over Clemson. Syracuse has now pulled the trick so many times in the last two weeks,…
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Predicting the 5 Most Valuable Recruits of Syracuse’s 2017 Class
Tomorrow is National Signing Day, and while we know all the Syracuse commits won’t be difference-makers, there’s hope that this staff’s second class brings in a few studs. Here’s my projections for who I think will be the top 5 most valuable when their careers at SU are over. Tommy DeVito. He seems to have…
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Where Is Syracuse in ACC Recruiting Rankings as Signing Day Approaches?
To measure Syracuse against Florida State, Clemson or Louisville in a football sense is a losing proposition. The Orange program is nowhere near competing for championships, conference titles and Heismans¬†like those squads are. However, as SU tries to climb in the ACC it’s appropriate to look at where it stands with its other league opponents.…
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Naesean Howard Reminds us Signing Day Wins Can Be Fool’s Gold
Today,¬†Naesean Howard¬†is sentenced to 10 years in state prison. A little over two years ago he was kicked off the Syracuse football team. But in the spring of ’13, Howard was being compared to some of the all-time greats that played football in CNY. In March ’13, The Fizz ran a story comparing Howard to…
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Did Syracuse Just Fend off Harbaugh & Michigan for Melifonwu?
This is a huge win for Syracuse if it went toe-to-toe with Jim Harbaugh and came out with Ifeatu Melifonwu. The DB was courted late by Michigan, and flew to Ann Arbor this week for a campus visit. However, his high school coach Chris McMahon told syracuse.com:¬†“Syracuse is in great shape and we feel really…
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Watch Syracuse Commit Tommy DeVito on ESPNU this Signing Day
While Syracuse’s recruiting class might not get much national attention, at least one of its recruits will. Quarterback Tommy DeVito will be one of four players in studio throughout ESPNU’s day long coverage of National Signing Day. According to a press release today, DeVito, along with¬†Fred Hansard (Penn State) and A.J. Dillon (Boston College) will…
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Hey Ben Moos, If You Want to Catch Passes Come to Syracuse
Last month three-star TE Ben Moos was being recruited by Washington State, Syracuse and Utah. It seemed like a foregone conclusion he would end up with the Cougars. He’s in Wazzu’s backyard at Pullman (WA) High. And he has a bit of a family connection. His dad, Bill Moos, is the Athletic Director there. But…
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Mark Richt is Being Selfish and Hypocritical with Gus Edwards’ Transfer
Look, let’s be real. Gus Edwards is not likely to be the difference between Syracuse having a good season versus a bad one. In three seasons with Miami, he’s totaled less than 1,000 yards. If Edwards came in and gave the Orange 400 yards rushing in ’17, it would be his career high. Edwards injuries…
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How Worried Should Syracuse Be of Harbaugh Poaching Melifonwu?
(Photo – Telegram.com / Carl Setterlund) It’s obviously bad news¬†when Michigan – specifically Jim Harbaugh – has an interest in a Syracuse commit, The Fizz wrote about over the weekend. Three-star defensive back Ifeatu Melifonwu was playing hoops Saturday in Worcester (MA) and got a visit from the Wolverines coaching staff, including Harbaugh. Melifonwu was…
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Sorry in South Bend: Syracuse Gets Smashed at Notre Dame
Another day, another lethargic effort by Syracuse. The game was never in doubt, as Syracuse’s only lead was on the first bucket of the game. Notre Dame wins 84-66, which is the biggest margin of victory by the Irish over SU since ’98. SU was still in the game after halftime, but a horrendous first…
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Gus Bus Returns? Edwards Could Be a Positive Sign for Syracuse’s Future
The story popped this week that Miami (FL) running back Gus Edwards will¬†transfer and maybe Syracuse is on his list. The Staten Island product (Tottenham High) was recruited by the Orange four years ago, had committed to SU, seemed to be one-half of an¬†exciting package deal, and then switched¬†to¬†the U. These were the salad days…
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Fizz 5: The Most Important Games of Syracuse’s Non-Conference
Syracuse is coming off a Cinderella run to the Final Four, which energized all of Orange Nation. But since SU made it all the way to college basketball’s final weekend last year, are expectations unrealistic this season? Many figured last year would be a growing one, filled with young guys that weren’t quite read yet.…
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The Math Behind Syracuse’s Road to a Bowl
Coming into the season it seemed like an impossibility: Syracuse playing in the postseason. But at the bye week for the Orange it’s actually not an alternate universe that would have Dino Babers coaching in a bowl game in his first year at the helm. SU sits at 4-4 after consecutive ACC wins, and two…
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