Syracuse, NY -- Just a thought while waiting for this weekend's NFL Draft (not) - the last time Syracuse University failed to have a single player selected by an NFL team was 1975. There were a couple of close calls for sure. Kicker Dave Jacobs was taken in the 12th round by the Denver Broncos in 1979. In 1992, defensive tackle George Rooks was taken in the 10th round by the New York Giants. Today, there are only seven rounds but 31 teams. As Syracuse receiver Taj Smith told me a couple of weeks ago at spring practice, it only takes one team to love you. Let the clock begin.

- You can take the Orangeman out of the country, but you can't take the Massachusetts out of the player. Diamond Ferri is still racking up the "yaa-hds" on the "rah-stah" of the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL. Here's a face-to-face "in-tah-view" with Ferri on AlouettesTV. (Thanx Ben).

- Man, talk about your endless emotional roller coaster. Former SU linebacker Jerry Mackey can't get off. The New York Jets have released Mackey once again. Is it just me, or does it seem like this makes the 10th time the Jets have cut the former Orangeman?

- Former SU wide receiver Jared Jones is teaching by day and catching passes by night for the Albany Conquest of af2 (the other Arena Football League). Jones was named the league's offensive player of the week earlier this month. He had 325 all-purpose yards in a victory over Peoria. (Thanx Tim).

- Undefeated Dallas meets undefeated Philadelphia Monday night on ESPN2 which can only mean one thing - former SU linebacker Clifton Smith (Philadelphia) gets to knock heads with former SU defensive end Duke Pettijohn and defensive tackle Rick Simpkins (Dallas). Both teams are 7-0. Game time is 8 p.m.

- Lots of former Orangemen will gather in Syracuse once again for the ProAct Foot Ball charity gala on June 14. The lineup includes Floyd Little, Roland Williams, Anthony Smith, K.J. Smith, Scott Schwedes, Gerhard Schwedes, Kirby Dar Dar, Robert Drummond, Damien Rhodes and Troy Nunes with others still making plans. This year's event will benefit Roland Williams' "Youth LifeLine America Foundation." It's a sports camp that teaches football and life skills to at-risk youth. The 6th Foot Ball will be held at Mirbeau Inn and Spa in Skaneateles. For more info, contact Lauren Russo Duby at 315.423.7022 or drop her an email at lrdeventstudio@msn.com.

- Donnie Webb

By the time Jovan Miller had made a decision on college last year, the Syracuse Orange was out of football scholarships. So, the former multi-sport CBA star decided to suit up for the SU men's lacrosse team. Dave Rahme profiles Miller.

Syracuse plays its final regular season home game Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Carrier Dome, hosting the UMass Minutemen. The game will be televised on Time Warner 26.

Fans, get in the forum and talk Orange lacrosse.

The madness that is the Syracuse Online Blogger Awards has been going on all day and comes to a close on Day 1 right here in this blog with the award for the best Jim Boeheim quote of the year.

I think it is appropriate that Sean from TNIAAM selected me to reveal this category seeing that I am the only one that gets to cover this team from somewhere other than my mom's basement (see what I did there? Bloggers are lazy! Hilarious!)

It should be noted that these nominations were submitted before Boeheim came on my radio show on April 9 and said he knew when Donte Greene came out of high school he was going to declare for the NBA draft after one year and was wondering what the big deal was.

Ahhhh....Boeheim. As an attendee of many of the Boeheim press conferences over the years, I can assure you that had I asked that very question in any of his press conferences prior to the season ending, he would have bitten my bloody head off.

Anyway, without further ado, the winner of the "SOB" for best Boeheim quote!!!

Continue reading "The SOB's: Best Jim Boeheim Quote" »

Post-Standard reporter Meghan Rubado found this gem on YouTube and immediately thought it blog-worthy. If you're a fan of Lost, you'll love it. If you're not a Lost fan, you'll still get it.

Credit the boys over at www.troynunesisanabsolutemagician.com for this one.

Mike Waters
mwaters@syracuse.com

OK, shameless plug time.

The NFL Draft is this weekend (maybe you heard about that) and several former Orangemen and Central New Yorkers are hoping to hear their name called and get a shot at the NFL.

We have a number of those players coming on my radio show over the next couple days.

Listen for Taj Smith, Dowayne Davis, and Joe Fields from the Orange on the program today (Thursday).

Former Onondaga H.S./Michigan star Mike Hart and SU's Jameel McClain will be on the show on Friday.

You can listen online by clicking right here and don't forget to jump in the brand new live chatroom right here on Syracuse.com during the show. The show airs from 3-6 p.m.

Look for more on these interviews, including where to find the podcasts, right here in the blog.

Hope you can tune in.

Axeman
baxeman@yahoo.com

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