So they actually played that Pinstripe Bowl in Yankee Stadium yesterday; I just thought that game was an early April Fools’ prank, but Syracuse and Kansas State actually showed up and played a really good game. But as time wound down, K-State trailed by 8, needing a TD and the 2-pt conversion to tie. They got the TD, and then this happened.

Walsh is gonna be pissed when I tell him that his mighty mighty Orange were handed a bowl victory, but watch that video and tell me how that justifies a 15-yard penalty. How is that “excessive celebration”? It’s barely a celebration at all. Granted, it’s tacky as hell, but that flag was unwarranted, and it changed the complexion of the game.

This is exactly what we saw coming as soon as these rules were passed; officials would be taking the game out of the players’ hands, and the evidence doesn’t get more clear-cut than this. K-State was flagged and penalized 15 yards; their potentially-game-tying 2-pt conversion was attemped from the edge of the red zone. If we have a choice between exuberant players and exuberant referees, which would you rather see? Oh, wait. This is college football. Nobody in that sport cares what we think.

The Big 12 has saved itself from the threat of extinction, and Big East Commissioner John Marinatto could not be happier. He who has assembled the greatest football conference in history, was so moved by Big 12 Commissioner Dan Beebe’s wheeling and dealing, that he decided to send Beebe the gayest gift he could possibly think of:

If the Big 12 had folded, the Big East may have soon followed in a domino effect of teams leaving for superconferences that would have changed the college landscape forever. A college landscape that may not have included the Big East.

So on Tuesday, Marinatto showed his appreciation with a small gesture. His office sent 10 red and 10 white roses to Beebe and the Big 12 conference with a card that simply read “Unity.”

“The color combination signifies unity and 10 — rather than a dozen — represented their new membership number,” Marinatto told FanHouse Wednesday. –FanHouse

10 white roses, you say? That’s some pretty poetic symbolism, John. Soon, you’ll be able to get into some complex ideas, like how things that are white are good, and black things are evil. Just like the LAPD would have you believe.

As an undergrad of a Big East school, I would love nothing more than to see the football conference fold. Have you ever watched a Big East football game? It’s terrible. So terrible, that Duke Basketball superstar flop artist Greg Paulus started for Syracuse last season. I’d love to make a joke about it, but that’s just so infuriating I’m about to have an aneurysm. Marinatto was the working for the conference when they let all of their best football teams leave for the ACC, so you know he’s business savvy. Tony Hayward and the BP boys could have at least convinced Boston College to stay. More Greg Paulus highlights after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

I said four months ago that Greg Paulus wouldn’t play football anywhere in Division I. I was wrong.

First-year head coach Doug Marrone made the announcement Monday night with a statement through the sports information office.

Because he graduated from Duke in four years and did not redshirt, he received a waiver from the NCAA, allowing him to play football at Syracuse for one season without having to sit out a year. via, via.

Paulus, who was a four-time all-state quarterback in New York, certainly has the natural ability to play the position; I’m just curious how the Syracuse program benefits as a whole. Can he be that much better than the three or four guys on the roster that have been playing football all along? Maybe. Maybe it comes down to star power, as Doug Marrone will take any marquee player he can get to help lay the foundation for his program, not only on the field, but also at the box office and on the highlight shows. And that’s fine. But it utimately will be Paulus’ arm that keeps Marrone’s ass employed. But at least now he’ll have a few more interested spectators watching.

Apparently, Greg Paulus is heading to Syracuse for his one year (maybe) of college football so he can continue living the dream of being a sub-par Division I athlete. And since everyone except me is engaged in autoerotic acts in the presence of this story, I’ll just blockquote what I had to say about it last month.

Granted, [Syracuse is] a smart play on his part, visiting a BCS school with a first-year head coach and a need to make some headlines any way it can. But that situation doesn’t change the fact that (a) NCAA teams’ spring practice sessions are over, (b) Paulus would need an eligibility waiver signed by whatever school would take him, and (c) he’d only be eligible for one season–provided he wasn’t forced to sit out.

This will probably happen, and he could very well play. His competition for the starting job should come from redshirt freshman QB Ryan Nassib who, we can deduce from basic logic, is less of a douchebag than Paulus. Also less of a douchebag than Paulus? Everyone. Only the NCAA can save us now by refusing his waiver, but I think there’s a better chance of me turning into a Taiwanese cop and appearing on The View.

|as first seen from Holly @ Dr. S|

We had to get to the game between Syracuse and UConn in the Big East tournament last night. This game looked like Syracuse had won it, but when a last-second three was declared no good after video review, the game went to overtime. Six overtimes.

There were the numbers, from the 3 hours, 46 minutes it took to play the game that ended at 1:22 a.m., to the combined 244 points, 102 of which came after the regulation buzzer, to the eight players who fouled out, to the six who registered double-doubles.

And that wasn’t nearly all. Just ask Syracuse point guard Jonny Flynn, who had 34 points and 11 assists in a game-high 67 minutes, only 3 fewer than were played.

“I just wanted to get the game over with,” he said. “I was thinking, `Lord, just get this game over with. Whoever wins the game, let’s just get it over with.’ “

I don’t understand why a game becomes epic just because it was longer. But that standard, when applied to highways, sub sandwiches, and male genitalia, seems to work just fine. Oh, Syracuse won, by the way. What did they win? A chance to play West Virginia tonight in the semifinal round. And maybe the admiration of their peers. Which is nice, but you can’t buy stuff with it.

Actually, this is a rather impressive dunk from Paul Harris of Syracuse en route to his Orange’s pimp-slapping of Rutgers from Tuesday night. But I’m not nearly as impressed as these guys calling the game. Settle down there, fellas. I don’t think broadcaster semen comes out in the drycleaning.