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Lemon, Goggins and Chibane sign with NFL teams

After not being selected in this years draft, three more Syracuse players signed with NFL teams as undrafted free agents.

As the NFL draft came to a close this weekend, many colleges players were left undrafted, including SU players Alec Lemon, Deon Goggins, Zach Chibane and Marcus Sales. But even though these players didn't hear their name called or receive of phone call from an NFL team, a few of them signed this weekend as undrafted free agents. 

Wide reciever Alec Lemon signed with the Houston Texans, defensive lineman Deon Goggins signed with the Atlanta Falcons and offensive lineman Zach Chibane signed with the Buffalo Bills. Wide reciever Marcus Sales has yet to be signed.

While none of these players had a really good chance of being drafted, the prospect of joining an NFL team as an undrafted free agent allows Lemon, Goggins and Chibane to once again prove their worth, and possible even make the team. 

These three newest members of the NFL  join fellow Orange players Justin Pugh, Ryan Nassib and Shamarko Thomas, who were selected in the first and fourth rounds, respectively. Pugh and Nassib joined the New York Giants, while Thomas joined the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now, a total of six players from last year's 8-5 SU football team will try and make their marks at the highest level of football.

Alexander taken in WNBA draft

The San Antonio Silver Stars selected former SU center Kayla Alexander with the eighth overall pick in the 2013 WNBA draft.

After a record-breaking senior season, Kayla Alexander is moving on to play basketball at the highest level.

The San Antonio Silver Stars picked up a sizable center in Alexander with the eighth overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft. Alexander is the second player to be taken in the program's history, first to be taken in the first round. Beth Record was taken in the fourth round of 2001 WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks

Alexander leaves SU the all-time leader in points (2,024), blocks (350), field goals (736), free throws made (552) and games played (140). She ranks second in rebounds with 970 and is part of a class that holds the record for most program wins with 686.

During the regular season, Alexander averaged 17.9 points-per-game, 8.7 rebounds-per-game, 2.9 blocks-per-game and shot 51.8 percent from the floor.

Outside of her remarkable individual statitistics, Alexander helped lead one of the best teams in SU women's basketball history. The Orange finished the season with a 24-9 record, the best winning percentage in program history (.75) and their fifth NCAA tournament appearance. 

Breaking: Carter-Williams declares for NBA draft

Sophomore guard Michael Carter-Williams decided Wednesday to declare for the NBA draft, according to SU head coach Jim Boeheim.

After a fantastic sophomore campaign, Michael Carter-Williams will enter the 2013 NBA draft, according to head coach Jim Boeheim.

“Michael has informed me of his intention to enter the NBA Draft,” Boeheim said. “He’s coming off a tremendous season and we appreciate all he’s done for Syracuse basketball.”

Carter-Williams came off the bench during his freshman year, but this season he started all 40 games for the Orange. At one point, he led the nation in assists and steals, and stayed near the top of the list for most of the season. Carter-Williams finished the season averaging 7.3 assists-per-game (fifth in Division 1), 2.78 steals-per-game (fourth in Division 1), 11.9 points-per-game and a team-best 35.2 minutes a game.

CBSsports.com predicts Carter-Williams will be drafted with the 13th overall pick in the draft, with most other experts having him fall in the same mid-first round area.

Carter-Williams leaves an already-depleted backcourt with the graduation of Brandon Triche. Redshirt sophomore Trevor Cooney, Duke transfer Michael Gbinji and incoming freshman Tyler Ennis will most likely take over for Carter-Williams and Triche at the guard positions.

Said Boeheim: “We wish Michael the best of luck as he pursues a pro career."

Coleman set to return as early as Monday, Boeheim says

After undergoing knee surgery, SU center Dajuan Coleman looks to return to action when SU travels to play Marquette Monday night.

Syracuse looks to get some interior depth with the return of its freshman center DaJuan Coleman.

After, a 57-46 loss to Georgetown Saturday night, head coach Jim Boeheim said Coleman should be set to play Marquette on Feb. 25.

"I think he could play now," Boeheim said. "I wanted to give him at least a couple days of practice and just see how he felt. But I really wanted to give him a week or so."

Coleman underwent knee surgery on Jan. 29 and has not played since then. His recovery time was expected to be about four weeks. Before his injury, Coleman averged five points-per-game and 4.4 rebounds-per-game.

The Orange have missed his presense. During his absense, Syracuse has only outrebounded opponents by about half a rebound (239-236) over the last seven games.

If he can play, Coleman will give the Orange some more depth at its post position, allowing CJ Fair, James Southerland and Jerami Grant to play outside the box more. 

SU-Georgetown game sells out

Long-time Big East rivals Syracuse and Georgetown play their last regular season game in the Carrier Dome in front of a record-breaking crowd.

It was only a matter of time before Syracuse broke the record for most spectators at an on-campus basketball game.

SU announced Tuesday that the men's basketball game between the No. 8 Orange and the No. 11 Georgetown Hoyas on Feb. 23 has sold out. The final ticket count of 35,012 breaks SU's previous record 34,616 fans set on Feb. 27, 2010 when the Orange hosted Villanova.

This marks the 72nd time a crowd of over 30,000 people will watch a basketball game in the Carrier Dome. Georgetown has been the opponent in 17 of those games.

The game will be the last Big East regular season game held in the Carrier Dome between long-time rivals Syracuse and Georgetown. Carmelo Anthony, the former SU star when the Orange won the 2003 NCAA championship, will also have his jersey retired. 

 

 

Breaking: James Southerland wins appeal, will play Sunday

After being ruled ineligible on Jan. 12, Syracuse forward James Southerland won his appeal on Friday and will be allowed to play against St. John's on Sunday.

It was a long, grueling six game stretch withouth senior forward James Southerland.

But now, according to a report by the Post-Standard Sunday, Southerland is allowed to play as early as Sunday against St. John after winning his appeal on Friday. There has been no word from the unveristy yet. Southerland was originally ruled inelligble due to academic reasons on Jan. 12, and it was later reported by the Post-Standard that the issue was a term paper from the previous year.

At the time of the suspension, Syracuse was 15-1. But during the stretch without Southerland, the Orange went 6-2, the two losses coming against unranked Villanova and Pittsbugh. Southerland is Syracuse's second leading scorer with 13.6 points-per-game.

The good, the bad, and the "eh" of Super Bowl ads

Here's The NewsHouse's picks for some of the best and worst ads from this year's Super Bowl

The Good

NFL, Deion Sanders get's re-drafted - It feels bad to give the NFL the award for best ad in an NFL-sponsored event, but you can't deny they did a good job. The incorporation of Deion Sanders, humor, and a giant afro made Leon Sandcastle's, who's just "an uglier Deion Sanders," NFL debut just one of the highlights of this year's ads.

Oreo, Cookie vs. cream debate - Everyone's experienced this great debate, but Oreo took it to the next level with the mayhem that ensues following a seemingly calm, not to mention quiet, agrument. The key to this ad's success with combining chaos as "inside voices," which provided for a pretty entertaining thirty seconds.

Taco Bell, Viva Young - Old people commercials tend to be funny, especially when they're doing things like sneaking out late at night or pressing up against a glass window at a diner, but this one was down-right hilarious. Taco Bell always brings its A-game when it comes to Super Bowl ads, and they don't disappoint this year.

The Bad

GoDaddy.com, Perfect Match - Nobody is surprised by to the annual GoDaddy commerical with a beautiful women doing some either dumb, funny or sexy, but this year's ad was none of these. Instead, you get Bar Rafeali kissing the sterotypical nerd in arguable the most awkward kiss of 2013. Not only was it weird, the smooching sounds were very disturbing.

CBS, 2 Broke Girls Super Bowl Spectacular - "Wait. Why are we doing this again?" Exactly. Just because "it's for the the Super Bowl," doesn't mean a commercial can just have pole dancing for no reason. There needed to be a point to the ad and there wasn't one.

The "Eh"

Pistachios, Cracking Style - Maybe it's because Gangnam Style is overplayed or maybe it's because pistachios commericials are usually original, but there was a general disagreement as to whether this commericial was good or not. Therefore, by default, it was considered an okay ad.

If you want to check out the rest of the ads from the big game, check them out here.

Freshman lead women's basketball over Seton Hall

Lead by Freshman Brianna Butler and Brittany Sykes, the Orange defeated Seton Hall 65-34 Wednesday night.

After about seven minutes of play, the No. 24 Syracuse (17-3, 5-2) women’s basketball team broke open a once tight ball game in the inevitable dismantling of Seton Hall (8-4, 3-5), 65-34.

Coming off a heart-breaking loss to 64-59 No. 25 Villanova Saturday, the Orange came into the Carrier Dome Wednesday night ready to battle the fellow Big East rival Pirates. The game was a back-and-forth battle for the first few minutes of the game, with teams trading lay-ups. It wasn’t until the 10:24 mark that Syracuse finally gained a lead of more than one point, going up 11-8 after two Shakeya Leary scores.

The Orange then went on a 10-2 run to go up 21-10 with less than five minutes remaining in the half. Syracuse closed out the half up by 9 points.

Syracuse extended its lead in the second half, beginning with a 21-5 run in the first ten minutes of the second half. Freshman Brittany Sykes lead the charge, scoring her first 12 points of the game during the run to extend the Orange lead to 49-22 with 10:53 left in the game. She finished the game with 14 points, 3 assists and 5 steals.

Fellow freshman Brianna Butler also had a good game for the Orange, scoring 14 points. Kayla Alexander extend her record for the most points in SU women’s basketball history with 13 points. She broke Nichole Michael’s record of 1,787 Saturday against Villanova, and Alexander now has 1,804 career points. Alexander also finished with 12 rebounds.

The Orange finished out the game with a 9-5 run to close out a 65-34 victory. Syracuse plays host to Providence Saturday in the Carrier Dome. 

Galasso to miss entire 2013 lacrosse season

Recent UNC transfer Nicky Galasso will miss all of the 2013 men's lacrosse season for the Orange due to injury

SU attackman Nicky Galasso will undergo surgery for a lower-body injury. The surgery will force Galasso to miss the entire 2013 season for the Orange.

Galasso, a native of West Islip, N.Y., transfered to Syracuse this season after spending the last two years playing for the University of North Carolina. During his time with the Tar Heels, Galasso recorded 65 points (30 goals and 35 assists), including 24 goals and 32 assists as a freshman in 2011. 

The Orange next play Ohio State and Robert Morris on Feb. 2 at 11:30 a.m. in Columbus, OH for its next two exhibition games.

Newcomers added to men's soccer team

Two recently-enrolled freshman were added to the men's soccer team roster Wednesday, will attend spring practice

After losing six student-athletes to graduation, the Syracuse men's soccer team has already started building its team for next season. Forward Alex Halis (Brampton, Ontario, Canada) and midfielder Mike Koegel (Chittenango, N.Y.) enrolled at SU earlier this month and will participate in spring practice, head coach Ian McInytre said Wednesday. 

"We are delighted to welcome Mike and Alex to our program this spring and we are looking forward to quickly integrating them both into our young squad," McIntyre said in a press release.

Both Halis and Koegel are freshman with four years of eligibility remaining. Halis is a member of the Canadian youth national program, and competeed for Team Canada in the 2011 U-17 World Cup. He also played club soccer for FC Sigma.

Koegel, who is listed as the third best soccer prospect in New York and in the top-150 prospects nationally by TopDrawerSoccer.com, played soccer at Chittenango High School. He will also be reunited with former Empire United Club teammates Alex Bono, Ben Ramin and Steganos Stamoulocatos.

McIntrye praised both Halis and Koegel. He said he was impressed with the talents each player can bring to his squad.

"Alex is an exciting, skillful player who is comfortable playing in a number of different attacking roles," he said. "Mike is a strong, physical player with good technique and I look forward to watching him make the transition to the college game." 

Coming off of the Orange's most succesful season in the McIntyre's era, Syracuse looks to build on its 14-6-1 record, starting with Halis and Koegel. The Orange begin spring practice later this month.