Orange Empire
Syracuse has been in the news more then the usual, especially on ESPN. A scandal involving your best basketball player and getting a new coach will do that to you, and while I would rather ESPN talk about the ‘Cuse being ranked 13th in the country as opposed to their best player NOT hitting a young female, press is press.

That would be a good place to start, the fact that the JRB is a joke organization. Can anyone bring forth evidence that Devendorf actually struck this female? Well three eye witnesses can say that he did NOT hit her, what does this girl have to back up her ridiculous claims? I hope at least a sign that she actually got hit, but no serious damage visible. Well I hope she called the police right away, but that never happened either. Ok but she had to except medical treatment, I mean this thug who is only good for dribbling a ball hit her for Christ’s sake! Wait, no she didn’t do that either because she was too wasted. I know Devendorf is supposed to be a pampered athlete and this case is supposed to send a message, but no one has a shred of evidence to support this “poor victim”. Would it have been smart too just walk away from the conflict? [which according to eyewitness accounts was started by her, not Devendorf] Yes it would have, and Devendorf might want to consider anger management as suggested by coach Boheim but should not be suspended for getting into a yelling match. If we all lost our jobs for getting into a verbal tussle with someone then the economy would really be in the shoots because all our jobs would be lost. Yelling at a drunk girl is not grounds for being suspended for a basketball season. Boeheim sure does have a situation on his hands, but in watching him talk to the media it is refreshing to see him back Devendorf in full, Jimmy B. sees Devendorf as more then a thug.

It baffles me how people view the justice system, I have had people tell me that just because he is a pampered athlete that he should be suspended, damn the facts. I’ve had people admit to me that the evidence does not come close to lining up, but because the justice system favors “men who bring home the money” that he should be suspended. I go back to the Duke case to explain a motive for this girl to set up Devendorf, some people will do anything for attention. The Duke case ended with the girl being exposed and hopefully this happens in this instance.

The other reason that we have seen more of the Hill in the news is that a new coach has graced us with his presence. Now at first glance Doug Marrone looks like a Greg Robinson part two, a coordinator who has never been a head coach before, and yes Turner Gill looks like a better choice right now but I feel cautious optimism about this guy because he doesn’t seem like a guy who is filled with quirky clichés that every coach uses. He is not only an alum but also grew up in Syracuse and genuinely seems like he wants nothing more then success for the program. When introduced he could not stop gushing about how this was the greatest day of his career, and anyone who will leave warm and high octane New Orleans for cold and dismal Syracuse has to be committed. I stand by my comment that Turner Gill would be a much better candidate but I think Marrone can lay a solid groundwork for a possible program revival.

Just a thought