Syracuse football is a wounded deer, limping into the Southern zone this mid-November. Players are hurt, players have left and so has the attention. When Halftime Snack feels the blues, we turn to music. What songs are out there:
I CAN’T DRIVE 55: Sammy Hagar’s fast paced number hasn’t been referenced in New York papers this much since Michael Jordan made a triumphant return to Madison Square Garden. Coming out of his first retirement in 1995, Mike dropped a double-nickel on the Knicks. The Daily Orange and the Post-Standard [10] had that number in nearly every article about the Pittsburgh game. Check out Haggar’s driving. [11]
FIXING A HOLE: The Beatles hit from the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album is the ring tone on head coach Doug Marrone’s cell phone. OK, that statement has no factual merit, but it’s a easy sing that lifts your mood. Marrone's injury-riddled group bears little resemblance to the squad he spent the summer molding. The latest big move was inserting third-string running back Averin Collier at tight end (fancy pants name: “U” tight end).
JUMP AROUND: The football team’s drama has been wiped off by the high-wire act taking place on the Carrier Dome hardcourt this week. Perhaps inspired by this 1990s House of Pain joint, the Syracuse men’s basketball team looked like the Harlem Globetrotters in wins over Albany and Robert Morris. Halftime Snack especially loves the two-foot, one-hand Statue of Liberty dunk that Wes Johnson has been serving on defenders. Watch my man Everlas [12]t get his career started in a Larry Bird jersey.
RUSSIAN ROULETTE; Rihanna is back, gracing the cover of Glamour [13], after a well-publicized beating. And so are the two Syracuse quarterbacks, who thus far have run a battered Orange offense. “Take a breath, take it deep, calm yourself,” the beauty sings on her hit single. Greg Paulus and Ryan Nassib have combined to complete 35 of 59 passes (59.3%) in two road games in 2009, amassing just 88 passing yards per game with one touchdown and five interceptions. Play this at halftime on Saturday for comfort. [14]
SLICES:
Louisville 6, Syracuse 0 - Welcome to the bottom of the Big East. I just hope Delone Carter is not the next senior getting a visit from the Reeper. The race is on between Marrone bringing in his own talented players and the end of the world (according to the Mayan calendar, it is 2012 [15]). Who will win? We'll take Coach Marrone.
Game of the Week – Steve Spurrier's Gamecocks chomp a piece out of the visiting Gators. Pete Thamel of The New York Times recently wrote [16] about there being "no elite team that scintillates the masses."
Heisman Watch – Freshman wow! Pittsburgh running back Dion Lewis makes faster cuts than any college back since LaDainian Tomlinson was raising up dust storms in west Texas. Are Tony Dorsett’s Pitt records safe? (UPDATE: Halftime Snack had incorrectly stated Noel Devine was the Pittsburgh running back - we regret this error.)
They Said It – ““If you’re watching the news and this comes on, turn the channel.” —Lousiville basketball coach Rick Pitino, talking about his adultery scandal, and not the football game on campus this weekend.
"I think I'd have moved it.“ —Mike Pereira, head of NFL’s referees, conceding that Donovan McNabb got robbed of valuable yardage on a sneak against the Cowboys.
