Syracuse

How times change. In a little more than four years, paying high school or prep school recruits to choose a particular college or university went from a felony to an encouraged practice.

Girard is averaging 17.5 points per game which is the 5th highest in the ACC. Girard will need to deliver again on Tuesday when the Orange host North Carolina.

When you are a small, family owned supply store with a total of 17 employees, located in Chittenango, New York, you don't often get 22,000 on-line sales transactions in one weekend. So, when Ryan Powell began looking at the sales reports from New Year's weekend, he knew something wasn't right. In fact, he knew something was very wrong.

Trainers' jobs can change in an instant, and in a time of crisis, former Syracuse trainer Denny Kellington delivered treatment that ended up being life-saving.

The one-time thriving higher education industry in the United States is in decline. According to the publication Inside Higher Ed, colleges across the nation are closing on an annual basis. Eighteen four-year universities shut their doors from 2019-20 to 2020-21. The number of community colleges dropped by 26 over that same period. A common issue is financial instability, the same problem that is shutting down a prestigious liberal arts college in upstate New York.

A few prominent members of the Buffalo Bills were spotted courtside in Syracuse this week, and Upstate New York fans took to Twitter to share their reactions.

Patrick Beilein was a shooting star in the collegiate coaching circles. He was a standout basketball player at West Virginia and his father, John, was a collegiate coaching legend, as well as having a stint leading the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA. The younger Beilein was beginning an ascent of his own in the coaching ranks by leading the Division II LeMoyne Dolphins to 3-straight NCAA tournaments. Patrick Beilein's "dream" came true when he was named the head coach of Niagara University's hoop team in 2019. 16 days prior to the start of the Purple Eagles season, without ever coaching a game, Beilein resigned.

Back in the late 1980's, I went out to visit some college friends that lived near Syracuse. As we drove around, I saw this beautiful body of water. Being summertime, I suggested that we should go swimming. The car load of friends broke into laughter. "The lake's dead!" one friend exclaimed. "And you'll be if you swim it." Looking at the polluted, lifeless body of water was like a punch in the stomach. People that lived around the lake dealt with that feeling everyday, until now.

Unless something drastically changes, Syracuse will struggle because they can’t consistently score the basketball.

Rob McClanaghan always seemed like a go-getter. He was a walk-on for Jim Boeheim at Syracuse and later took his learned skills to becoming a trainer for some of the NBA’s biggest stars. Now McClanaghan is being accused of a horrific crime that allegedly occurred at a Boston hotel last week.

What a difference a year makes. Carmelo Anthony played for one season at Syracuse University. In that 2002-03 season, Melo averaged 22 points and 10 rebounds, leading head coach Jim Boeheim's team to their third National Championship. Melo left a few months later in the NBA draft as the 3rd overall pick of the Denver Nuggets. However, Anthony will always be on the Mount Rushmore of Syracuse basketball. Now his son may continue that Orange legacy.

You don't expect rare elephants to be born in Upstate New York. However, that is exactly what happened at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse. Twin male Asian elephants were born and survived for the first time in a United States facility. The survival rate for twin elephants is about 1%. Mali and Doc are the proud elephant parents of the rare duo.