Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Tale of the Tape: Syracuse at Minnesota



Welcome to this week’s ToT where the Syracuse Orange take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers. We need to go out and beat every one of them. We don’t even have to have a reason. Our players should have a license to beat the Gophers by the government of the United Nations. To win you must know your enemy, and in this case the enemy is a varmint. And a varmint will never quit, ever. They’re like the Viet Cong, Varmint Cong. So we will have to fall back on superior intelligence and superior firepower. In order to conquer the Gophers we need to learn to think like a Gopher. So let’s take a look…


They were…

Born on Date
Minn: 1851 vs SU: 1870
Otto’s Edge: Minn… although they didn’t have students until 1867 due to financial issues.

In the city of…

GPS
Minn: Twin Cities (Minneapolis-Saint Paul) vs SU: Salt City
Otto’s Edge: Minn… two is better than one

Where they hold the…

State Fair
Minn: in St Paul vs SU: in Syracuse
Otto’s Edge: Minn… because of heavy traffic from the fair, classes do not start at Minn until after the fair is over. I wish we did that for our first home game so people would show up.

People also enjoy going to the…

Mall
Minn: Mall of America vs SU: Destiny
Otto’s Edge: Minn… the largest in the US

Malls have plenty of…

Stores
Minn: Target vs SU: Wegmans
Otto’s Edge: SU… screw the French

The Target Center is where BBall was played by…

Former T-Wolves
Minn: ex GM Kevin McHale, ex HC Flip Saunders vs SU: ex players Jonny Flynn and Wes Johnson
Otto’s Edge: SU… they didn’t put the team in a hole

Getting out of a hole is easier when you have a…

3pt sharp shooter
Minn: Trent Tucker vs SU: GMac
Otto’s Edge: Minn… he could hit a shot with only 0.1 secs left

Sticking with BBall…

Former Pro Franchises
Minn: Lakers, NorthStars vs SU: Nationals (76ers)
Otto’s Edge: Minn… they eventually got replacements while Syracuse is now a one horse town

That horse has been playing since…

1st year of FB
Minn: 1882 vs SU: 1889
Otto’s Edge: Minn… although they do not have as many

All Time Ws
Minn: 651 vs SU: 692
Otto’s Edge: SU… however they have more

National Champs
Minn: 6 vs SU: 1
Otto’s Edge: Minn… who knew?

Speaking of which…

We’re going streaking
Minn: three straight titles from 1934-1936 (last team to do so). During that time they had a 28 game unbeaten streak with a string of 21 straight Ws.
Vs SU:  22 straight .500 or better seasons 1950-1971 and 15 straight winning seasons 1987-2001
Otto’s Edge: Minn… they also won back to back in 1940-41 with an 18 game W streak. Their last title was in 1960 in which they lost to Wash in the Rose Bowl (polls ended before Bowls back then).

They got to the Rose Bowl by winning their…

Conference
Minn: B1G vs SU: BE
Otto’s Edge: Minn… but the ACC is getting closer every day

In that conference each has been…

Conference Champs
Minn: 18 vs SU: 4
Otto’s Edge: Minn… they haven’t won since 1967 and haven’t been to the Rose since 1961

That has resulted in a…

Bowl Record
Minn: 5-9 vs SU: 13-9-1
Otto’s Edge: SU… pretty healthy lead

But we do not lead…

Head to Head
Minn: 2 Ws vs SU 1 W
Otto’s Edge: Minn… hopefully we even it up

Having only played 3 times we certainly are not…

Rivalry Trophies
Minn: Paul Bunyans Axe (Wisc 1948), Floyd of Rosedale (Iowa 1935), Governors Victory Bell (PSU 1993), Little Born Jug (Mich 1903) vs SU: Schwartzwalder Trophy (WV 1993)
Otto’s Edge: Minn… their rivalry with Wisc is the most played game in D1A. Since 1890 they have played 121 times (having only missed 1906). Before the Axe they played for the Slab of Bacon, a piece of wood with an M or W depending on how you held it. The trophy was lost in 1943. The schools also partake in the Border Battle, a year long competition for each sport in which 40 points are allocated. So the FB game winner gets 40 points and each basketball game is worth 20 points each.

Speaking of trophies…

CFB Award
Minn: Bronko Nagurski Trophy ( D MVP) vs SU: Mackey Trophy (TE)
Otto’s Edge: Minn… more important

But the most important trophy is the…

Heisman
Minn: Bruce Boo Smith (1941) vs SU: Ernie Davis (1961)
Otto’s Edge: SU… Davis was a part of

African American History
Minn: Bobby Marshall (1st Big 9 AA player and along with Fritz Pollard 1st AA in NFL) vs SU: Ernie Davis first AA Heisman winner
Otto’s Edge: Push… we are all winners here

Davis was coached by…

Best HC
Minn: Bernie Bierman (16 years, 93-35-6 record, 6 B1G titles, 5 National, 5 undefeated seasons) vs SU: Ben Schwartzwalder
Otto’s Edge: Minn… that was a great stretch

From college to pros…

NFL HC
Minn: Bud Grant vs SU: Tom Coughlin
Otto’s Edge: Minn… we all know about the four SB Ls by Grant’s Vikings but he also went to six Grey Cups winning four of them. He also played on the 1950 NBA Champion Lakers. In addition Tony Dungy went to Minn.

Grant is also a…

NFL HoFers
Minn: 6 (Bobby Bell, Carl Eller, Bud Grant, Bronko Nagurski, Leo Nomellini, Charlie Sanders) vs SU: 7 (Jim Brown, Kim Ringo, Larry Csonka, John Mackey, Al Davis, Art Monk, Floyd Little)
Otto’s Edge: SU… however they beat us in

CFB HoFers
Minn: 22 (Bert Baston, Bobby Bell, Bernie Bierman, Tom Brown, Fritz Crisler, Carl Eller, George Franck,. Paul Giel, Lou Holtz, Herb Joesting, Pug Lund, Bobby Marshall, John McGovern, Bronk Nagurski, Leo Nomellini, Eddie Rogers, Bruce Smith (not of Buffalo fame), Sandy Stephens, Clayton Tonnemaker, Ed Widseth, Dick Wildung (awesome name), Henry Williams)
vs SU: 14 (Biggie Munn, Buck ONeill, Ben Schwartzwalder, Joe Alexander, Larry Csonka, Ernie Davis, Vic Hanson, Floyd Little, Jim Brown, Tim Green, Don McPherson, Tad Jones, Howard Jones, Dick MacPherson)
Otto’s Edge: Minn… one of those for SU was a

Denver Bronco Great
Minn: Karl Macklenburg vs SU: Floyd Little
Otto’s Edge: SU… although they got a steal with the 12th round, 310th pick

Another great RB was…

Boston Pats Great
Minn: Gino Cappelletti vs SU: Jim Nance
Otto’s Edge: Minn… he is the AFLs all time leading scorer (mostly as a K) and a Top 10 WR. In addition he played DB and returned kicks.

While we are on Kicking…

NFL Ks
Minn: Chip Lohmiller vs SU: Gary Anderson, Olinda Mare
Otto’s Edge: SU… a Chip is something that you eat

Speaking of which…

NFL DL Great
Minn: Carl Eller vs SU: Freeney
Otto’s Edge: Minn… win goes to the Purple People Eater, for now

Let’s put the women and Cchildren to bed and go lookin for dinner
Minn: Lutefisk (Scandinavian fish dish) vs SU: Salt Potatoes
Otto’s Edge: SU… a potato is a vegetable and not a fruit like

Apples
Minn: Haralson, Honeycrisp (both developed at Minn) vs SU: Cortland, Empire, Northern Spy
Otto’s Edge: SU… NY is the 2nd biggest apple producing state

The Big Apple is where we play some of our home games…

No one, and I mean no one, comes into our house and pushes us around
Minn: TCF Bank Stadium vs SU: Carrier Dome
Otto’s Edge: Push… both are missed named. Ours does not have AC and theirs is not a bank.

Before that they played in a…

Dome
Minn: Metro vs SU: Carrier
Otto’s Edge: SU… really, you named it after metros?

Other Past Stadiums
Minn: Northrop Field (1899-1923), Memorial (known as the Brick House 1924-1981) vs SU: Archbold Stadium
Otto’s Edge: Minn… they had greater success in theirs

In the stadiums you can often hear the…

Fight Song
Minn: Minnesota Rouser vs SU: Down, Down the Field
Otto’s Edge: SU… no one likes a trouble maker

Someone often causing trouble…

Mascot
Minn: Goldy the Gopher vs SU: Otto the Orange
Otto’s Edge: SU… Goldy? Really?

The mascot often gets the crowd to…

Cheer
Minn: Ski-U-Mah vs SU: Let’s Go Orange
Otto’s Edge: SU… Ski is a Sioux battle cry and U Mah is for U of M

Orange is the…

School Colors
Minn: Maroon & Gold vs SU: Orange
Otto’s Edge: SU… which is often worn by the

Students
Minn: 52k  vs SU: 20k
Otto’s Edge: Minn… they are huge

Students live in
Minn: Dinkytown vs SU: South Campus
Otto’s Edge: SU… Dinkytown is just North of campus. The area has small business, restaurants, bars, and apartments that house mostly students.

They get around by…

Walkways
Minn: the Gopher Way (tunnels) vs SU: walking between snow banks
Otto’s Edge: Minn… also Minn has a busway that was created in 1992. However there were many accidents the first 5 years. So they used a new invention called stop signs to alleviate the problem.

Students are there for an…

Edumacation
Minn: 68th vs SU: 58th
Otto’s Edge: SU… boy being in the ACC is paying off already.

Which reminds me of the big dance back in St. Olaf to kick off Pretzel Week. It was covered in the…

School Paper
Minn: The Minnesota Daily (est 1900) vs SU: Daily Orange (1903)
Otto’s Edge: SU… they only prints M-Th with Friday being an online only version.

From print media to…

TV News
Minn: Aaron Brown vs SU: Ted Koppel and many others
Otto’s Edge: SU… always big news are elections

State once elected
Minn: Jesse Ventura, Al Franken vs SU: Hillary Clinton
Otto’s Edge: Minn… if Howard Stern runs as Jesse’s VP I might have to vote him President

Staying with VPs…

VP
Minn: Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale vs SU: Joe Biden
Otto’s Edge: SU… he is still in office (for the time being)

Other Politicians
Minn: Eugene McCarthy, Tim Pawlenty vs SU: Al D’Amato
Otto’s Edge: SU… NY is more important

An important position at a school is the…

School President
Minn: Rodney Erickson (PSU) vs SU: Donna Shalala (Miami)
Otto’s Edge: Push… both have FB programs in big trouble

Someone who was trouble for their opponent…

Pro Wrestling
Minn: Rick Flair, Brock Lesner vs SU: Mike Rotunda
Otto’s Edge: Minn… Wooooo!

Staying with wrassling…

Other sports known for
Minn: Hockey, Wrestling vs SU: Lax
Otto’s Edge: Minn… since we no longer have a wrestling program. Their hockey team has 5 titles and 20 Frozen Fours. Herb Brooks and 9 members of 1980 US team were Gophers. Side note: men’s hockey plays in Mariucci Arena while the women play in Ridder Arena (sounds like a dirty name), the 1st dedicated women’s hockey arena. Minn wrestling has been around 95 seasons.

A sport that has been around a long time…

Baseball
Minn: Paul Molitor, Terry Steinbach, Dave Winfield vs SU: has a minor league team
Otto’s Edge: Minn… Big Dave was my fav as a youngin

Miscellaneous Athlete
Minn: Tom Lehman vs SU: Myer Prinstein (Gold medalist 1900 Triple Jump, 1904 Triple and Long Jumps)
Otto’s Edge: SU… from little known to why are they known?

BBall player with celeb wife
Minn: Kris Humphries (Kim Kardashian) vs SU: Melo (La La)
Otto’s Edge: SU… Kris is no longer married

La La works with…

Musicians
Minn: Yanni, Bob Dylan vs SU: Lou Reed
Otto’s Edge: SU… Yanni, enough said.

While we are taking a walk on the wild side…

Adult stars
Minn: Dahm Triplets vs SU: Lexington Steele
Otto’s Edge: Minn… hey now!

Speaking of which…

Fictional Alumn
Minn: Larry Sanders vs SU: Veronica Corningstone
Otto’s Edge:  Push… those were characters played by

Actors
Minn: Loni Anderson, Henry Fonda, Ron Perlman, Robert Vaughn, Peter Graves vs SU: Vanessa Williams, Peter Falk, Jerry Stiller, Taye Diggs, Peter Weller
Otto’s Edge: Minn… this ToT will self destruct in five seconds.


But not before the category of the year…


WWTD?
Minn: cheer that the backup QB is starting vs SU: cheer that we finally run a college O
Otto’s Edge: SU… our situation is an improvement


And there you have it. Minnesota will win by a final score of 27-24. In the immortal words of Jean Paul Sartre, au revoir Gophers.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Tale of the Tape: Stony Brook vs Syracuse


Welcome to this week’s ToT where the State University of New York at Stony Brook takes on Syracuse University.


Born on Date
SB: 1957 vs SU: 1870
Otto’s Edge: SU… SB was founded as the State University Center on Long Island at Oyster Bay before changing location and names

Speaking of location…

GPS
SB: Long Island vs SU: CNY
Otto’s Edge: SU… LI is a PIA to get to and fro

While we are on PIAs…

Famous female talk show hosts
SB: Dr Laura, Joy Behar vs SU: Megyn Kelly
Otto’s Edge: SU… not quite as racey

Sort of a race…

We’re going streaking
SB: won three straight conf titles vs SU: lost seven straight games
Otto’s Edge: SB… hopefully we finally end ours

Staying with championships…

Conf FB Titles
SB: 4 (3 Big South, 1 Northeast) vs SU: 4 BE
Otto’s Edge: Push… tied up

And those titles were won in…

FB Conference
SB: Big South vs SU: Big East
Otto’s Edge: Push.. it doesn’t make sense that SB is in the Big South or that the Big East has very few Eastern schools. Thankfully both are moving on next year as SB is going Colonial (along with Albany) and SU to the ACC. SB was in the NEC prior to the Big South. For other sports SB is in the America East Conference.

While we are on Albany…

Biggest Rival
SB: Albany (5-9) vs SU: PSU (23-40-5)
Otto’s Edge: SB… they will be in the same conference going forward. Currently they are on a break though. The schools played each other from 1995-2007 then stopped when SB went Big South. They did meet each other last year in the playoffs with SB winning. Hofstra ended its FB program before a rivalry could develop. SB had played them 13 times losing every game.

SB doesn’t have much history because…

1st year of FB
SB: 1969 vs SU: 1889
Otto’s Edge: SU… huge difference

As is our…

All time Ws
SB: 142 vs SU: 691
Otto’s Edge: SU… easy call here

And more disparity…

No one, and I mean no one comes into our house and pushes us around
SB: LaValle Stadium 8,250 vs SU: Dome 49,250
Otto’s Edge: SU… they hosted last year’s Lax final where the Stallers robbed us of a championship

Sticking with Lax…

Conf Tourny Champs
SB: 3 America East vs SU: 1 Big East
Otto’s Edge: SB… pretty sad for such a storied program that we only have 1. SB beat Denver in the NCAAs in 2010 making it to the quarterfinals, their best finish.

SB has also had recent success in…

BBall
SB: won regular season America East in 2010 and 2012 making the NIT both seasons
vs SU: won an NCAA title
Otto’s Edge: SU… a lil more important

The closest to a major title for SB was in…

Baseball
SB: made CWS last year vs SU: made CWS in 1961
Otto’s Edge: SB… they still have the sport playing at Joe Nathan (alumn) Field.

While we are on names…

Last Name
SB: Seawolves vs SU: Orange
Otto’s Edge: SU… they became the Seawolves in 1994 when they moved to D1 sports. They were formally known as the Soundmen, Baymen, and Patriots.

The most famous Orange…

Mascot
SB: Wolfie the Seawolf vs SU: Otto the Orange
Otto’s Edge: SU… Wolfie? Seriously?

Orange is a…

School colors
SB: Scarlet and Grey vs SU: Orange
Otto’s Edge: SU… the best color around

And that is worn by…

Students
SB: 24,500 vs SU: 20,000
Otto’s Edge: SB… slightly larger school

However they don’t get as good of an…

Edumacation
SB: 111th  vs SU: 62nd
Otto’s Edge: SU… although SB is in the AAU and SU is no longer

Speaking of longer…

Philip Finch
SB: Michael Bamiro 6’8 345 vs SU: Zion Jones 6’4 335
Otto’s Edge: SB… beating Jones out by 4 inches

While we are on beating, as in ball carriers…

Bobby Boucher
SB: Arvin West vs SU: Shamwow
Otto’s Edge: SU… he will be missed next year


And finally this year’s category of the week…


WWTD (what would Tebow do?)
SB: claim that the Jets are LI’s team so people watch The Faces of Tebow premiering Wed night on the NFL Network (sadly not a joke)
vs SU: claim the Jets are NY State’s team so people in CNY watch
Otto’s Edge: SU… we know that the Jets are the JV team


There you have it. SU will pull out a low scoring, close game by a score of 13-6. Until till next time!







Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Tale of the Tape: Southern Cal vs Syracuse

Welcome back to the 2nd ToT of the season. Let's get started.


Born on Date
USC: 1880 vs SU: 1870
Otto’s Edge: SU… older and wiser

Edumacation
USC: 23rd vs SU: 62nd
Otto’s Edge: USC…  just not smarter

A common choice for major…

Undeclared
USC: shot there vs SU: Ben Stiller, son of Jerry (SU alumn), had a bit part
Otto’s Edge: USC… ok this category was a stretch but that show was awesome so it needed to be added. Judd Apatow is also a USC alumn.

Also appearing in the show…

Anchorman
USC: Will Farrell (alumn) played Ron Burgandy vs SU: Veronica Corningstone character went to SU
Otto’s Edge: USC… she is a smelly pirate hooker

Farrell was also famous for saying…

We’re going streaking
USC: 26 years with at least one athletic title (59-60 to 84-85) vs SU: Lax 22 straight Final Fours
Otto’s Edge: USC… they have the 3rd most school national titles all time and the most in men’s sports all time

While we are on Lax…

Non major sport awesome at
USC: Baseball 12 titles (most all time) vs SU: Lax 11 titles (most all time)
Otto’s Edge: USC… they have no peer, the next closest school has 6 titles. Players who went to USC include Aaron/Bret Boone, Randy Johnson, Dave Kingman, Fred Lynn, Mark McGwire, Mark Prior, Tom Seaver, and Barry Zito.

Staying with titles…

FB Champs
USC: Seven  vs SU: One
Otto’s Edge: USC… they have been good for a long time

Ever since…

1st year FB
USC: 1888 vs SU: 1889
Otto’s Edge: Push… it is basically the same

However not the same is our…

All Time Ws
USC: 780 vs SU: 691
Otto’s Edge: USC… well they have been playing longer so we should be behind

When you win you get to play in a…

Bowls
USC: 31-16 vs SU: 13-9-1
Otto’s Edge: USC… very impressive in both number and winning %

Many of those Bowls they got to by winning the…

Founding Member of
USC: P12 vs SU: Big East
Otto’s Edge: USC… at least the P12 has gone from 8 to 10 to 12 in their name unlike this other conferences

Conf Championships
USC: 38 vs SU: 4
Otto’s Edge: USC… they have been the Rutgers of the West

Speaking of West…

GPS
USC: Los Angeles vs SU: Syracuse
Otto’s Edge: SU… I just don’t get LA

Rap
USC: Westside vs SU: Eastside
Otto’s Edge: SU… I miss Biggie. Snoop Lion (formally Dogg) is a USC fan

Fans go to games at…

No one, and I mean no one, comes into our house and pushes us around
USC: Coliseum 93,600 vs SU: Dome 49,250
Otto’s Edge: USC… almost twice as big

Just like the…

Student Size (not a reference to height)
USC: 37k vs SU: 20k
Otto’s Edge: USC… they have the largest number of international students of any university

Internationally known but often confused as…

School type many people think
USC: Public vs SU: Public
Otto’s Edge: Push… both are private schools

The schools are known as…

Last Name
USC: Trojans vs SU: Orange
Otto’s Edge: SU… Trojans is my 3rd favorite name behind Orange and Orangemen

The schools are represented by…

Mascot
USC: Traveler vs SU: Otto the Orange
Otto’s Edge: SU of course…  Traveler is the white horse and official mascot. Many think that Tommy the Trojan is the school’s mascot.

Also supporting the team is the…

Band
USC: Spirit of Troy vs SU: Pride of the Orange
Otto’s Edge: USC… who play the greatest

Fight Song
USC: Fight On vs SU: Down, Down the Field
Otto’s Edge: USC… hearing it will ease the pain on Saturday

As we play…

Head to Head
USC: 3 vs SU: 0
Otto’s Edge: USC… including a W in the Meadowlands

Encouraging the teams and fans will be the…

Cheerleaders
USC: Song Girls vs SU: nameless
Otto’s Edge: USC… they can perform the perfect cheer

Also helping the team will be the…

Coaches
USC: John McKay, John Robinson, Pete Carroll vs SU: Ben Schwartzwalder, Coach Mac, Coach P
Otto’s Edge: USC… without them there would be no V in victory

Both schools shared HC…

Howard Jones
USC: coached from 1925-1940 winning 4 titles vs SU: coached in 1908
Otto’s Edge: USC… a little more success at USC

Under the coaches were…

Notable players
USC: Pat Hayden, Matt Leinart, Rodney Peete, Carson Palmer, Matt Cassel, Sean Salisbury, Frank Gifford, Steve Smith, Keyshawn Johnson, Lynn Swann, Johnny Morton, Fred Davis, Anthony Munoz, Tony Boselli, Bruce Matthews, Jack Del Rio, Clay Matthews (Jr and III), Brian Cushing, Ronnie Lott, Dennis Smith, Mark Carrier, Tory Polamalu, Joey Browner, Jason Sehorn, Jeff Fisher, Mike Holgren, Al Cowlings
vs SU: McNabb, Graves, McPherson, Moose, Csonka, Nance, Harrison, Moore, Monk, Kevin Johnson, Mackey, Gedney, Ringo, Flannery, Tim Green, Freeney, Bulluck, Conley, Darius, Gary Anderson, Mare
Otto’s Edge: USC… both have impressive lists

But each school is most known for being…

Tailback U
USC: Mike Garrett, OJ Simpson, Ricky Bell, Charles White, Marcus Allen, Reggie Bush vs SU: Jim Brown, Ernie Davis, Floyd Little, Joe Morris
Otto’s Edge: SU… actually USC won the category but had to vacate the win

Some of these guys won the…

Heisman Trophy
USC: 7 winners vs SU: 1 winner
Otto’s Edge: USC… they are tied for most all time if you count Bush’s vacated win

Also of importance to both schools is…

Numbers
USC: 55 (worn by Seau, McGinest, Caliborne) vs SU: 44
Otto’s Edge: SU… offense beats defense here

Staying with D…

Bobby Boucher
USC: TJ McDonald vs SU: Shamwow
Otto’s Edge: USC… he is the better pro prospect

Prospects are usually known as…

Blue Chips
USC: scenes filmed at school vs SU: JB a star
Otto’s Edge: SU… luckily JB didn’t get the acting bug like

Former RB turned actor
USC: OJ Simpson vs SU: Jim Brown
Otto’s Edge: USC… Nordberg had so much potential

Someone else with potential…

Hackett
USC: Paul was HC vs SU: Nate is OC
Otto’s Edge: SU… he hasn’t failed yet

Someone with connections to both Hacketts

TGD
USC: where he wishes he was AD vs SU: where he is AD
Otto’s Edge: Push… while his heart is out there, in order for him to go back he has to be successful here

Other connections between the schools…

Marinovich
USC: Todd vs SU: Mikhail
Otto’s Edge: USC… he had the better college career

Luke Jensen
USC: alumn vs SU: coach
Otto’s Edge: Push… dual hand Luke can be play for both sides

Sometimes he seems like he is on another planet just like…

Astronaut
USC: Neil Armstrong vs SU: Eileen Collins
Otto’s Edge: USC… first man on moon beats first female shuttle commander

He was a great American unlike…

Miss America
USC: Pat Nixon vs SU: Vanessa Williams
Otto’s Edge: Push… both vacated their title in controversy

Other notable Alumni
USC: Ron Howard, George Lucas, Macy Gray, Mark McGrath, LeVar Burton, Anthony Edwards, Michael Landon, Matthew Lawrence, Lisa Ling, Ted McGinley, Timothy Olyphant, Kelly Preston, John Ritter, Kyra Sedgwick, Tom Selleck, Ally Sheedy, Cybill Shepard, Robert Stack, John Wayne, Forest Whitaker, Norman Schwarzkopf, Cindy McCain, Bob Lorenz, Michele Tafoya, Salvatore Ferragamo, Barron Hilton, Rob Kardashian, John Carpenter, Joe Francis, Michael McDonald, Dr Drew, Robert Vaughn
vs SU: Dick Clark, Aaron Sorkin, Lou Reed, Taye Diggs, Peter Falk, Joe Biden, Bob Costas, Mike Tirico, Marv Alvert, Ted Koppel, Lisa Lampanelli, Lexington Steele
Otto’s Edge: USC… some really big names in Hollywood

Speaking of big…

Philip Finch
USC: Zach Banner 6’9 335 vs SU: Zion Jones 6’4 335
Otto’s Edge: USC… wow he is huuuuuge

Sticking with big…

Biggest Rival
USC: UCLA 46-28-7  vs SU: Colgate 30-31-5
Otto’s Edge: USC…  although some would argue that it is ND. USC has played UCLA, ND, Cal, Ore St, Stanford, and Wash all more than any team SU has played. UCLA and USC shared to Coliseum until UCLA moved to the Rose Bowl in 1982.

When they used to play each other both teams would wear their home…

School Colors
USC: Cardinal & Gold vs SU: Orange
Otto’s Edge: SU… let’s go Orange

Which is a chant heard more often for…

BBall Great
USC: Cheryl Miller  vs SU: Dave Bing
Otto’s Edge: SU… even though they also have Lisa Leslie

While we are on BBall…

Sports Management Alumni
USC: Jerry Buss, Frank McCourt vs SU: Al Davis, David Falk
Otto’s Edge: SU… very LA centric

Something else that is very LA…

Now let’s put the women and children to bed and go lookin for dinner
USC: Shelly Hwang (alumn) founded Pinkberry vs SU: Dino BBQ
Otto’s Edge: SU… there will be no chat and cutting tolerated here


And finally the category of the week…


WWTD (what would Tebow do?)
USC: bench alumn Mark Sanchez vs SU: run the Wildcat with Broyld
Otto’s Edge: SU… either way the Jets will score less than Tebow at the Playboy Mansion


And there it is folks, USC will win this one 27-14. Until next time…

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Cuse Cast LXII

KingOtto and Cuseman preview the season by breaking down each unit and the offering a prediction of things to come. Including the opener against Northwestern.

Length about 26:45















Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Tale of the Tape: Northwestern vs Syracuse


I want everybody in the place to put your hands together and make some nah-oys! I can’t hear you. I still can’t hear you! Give it up y’all for the return of the ToT!!!!!!!!!!!

Don’t call it a comeback, ToTs been here for years. Rockin its peers and putting suckas in fear. Some of y’all might know this, and some of y’all don’t. It’s that ol’ skool ToT with that new skool hit. And it goes a little sumptin like this…



Its the sport of kings, better than diamond rings. Football, Wildcats as in NW, SUs first opponent of the year. So with a new season upon us, what will SU do? Well the question isn’t what are we going to do, it’s what aren’t we going to do?

Born on Date
NW: 1851 vs SU: 1870
Otto’s Edge: NW… which was founded to serve the people of the Northwest Territory, hence the name.

Founded by? Anyone? Anyone?
NW: Methodists vs SU: Methodists
Otto’s Edge: Push… John Evans, who Evanston is named after, was one of the founders of NW. Then he became Governor of the Territory of Colorado, founding the University of Denver out there.

Speaking of Evanston...

GPS (location)
NW: Evanston vs SU: Syracuse
Otto’s Edge: NW... they have a tax exempt status and pay no property taxes to the city

Evanston is located on...

Lake
NW: Michigan vs SU: Onondaga
Otto’s Edge: NW… it is a Great Lake after all

Also on Lake Michigan is...

Major City
NW: Chicawgo vs SU: NYC
Otto’s Edge: SU… Orange is in the Apple! Too bad this game wasn’t played closer to NYC or we would win easily.

You can get around Chicago by using the...

Train
NW: Purple Line of the El vs SU: Elmira Express Ernie Davis
Otto’s Edge: SU… let’s see the Purple Line get a movie about it

Sticking with trains, as in minds....

Edumacation
NW: 12th in US News vs SU: 62nd
Otto’s Edge: NW… our academics have been dropping worse than our FB program

Communications School
NW: Medill vs SU: Newhouse
Otto’s Edge: SU… I dunno which is better but I do know we need a W somewhere

Some of those students run the...

School Paper
NW: Daily NW (1881) vs SU Daily Orange (1903)
Otto’s Edge: Push… I see both schools took a long time thinking up the name.

Sticking with names...

Team Name
NW: Wildcats vs SU: Orange
Otto’s Edge: NW... we should be the OrangeMEN!

A nickname often associated with ones manhood...

Mascot
NW: Willie the Wildcat vs SU: Otto the Orange
Otto’s Edge: SU… Willie sounds like a better name for South Carolina’s mascot

Also supporting the team is the...

Band
NW: NUMB vs SU: SUMB
Otto’s Edge: SU… our band hurts your ears only sumb of the time (that’s because they aren’t large enough to make a lot of noise). The NW band will leave you feeling numb. Bah dum dum.

Staying with numb, as in numbers...

All Time Wins
NW: 489 vs SU: 691
Otto’s Edge: SU… NW holds the all time record for Ls, points allowed, and point differential.

They have been losing since...

First Year of FB
NW: 1876 vs SU: 1889
Otto’s Edge: NW... at least they have been losing to real teams unlike our friends in Jersey

And more NW futility...

We’re going streaking
NW: Losing (34 straight games, 23 straight seasons 1972-1994) vs SU: Winning (15 straight seasons 1987-2001, 22 straight with .500 or better 1950-1971)
Otto’s Edge: SU… when they set the 34 game record in 1981 (losing 61-14 to Mich St), students rushed the field to celebrate, chanting “we’re the worst” and took down the goalposts.

Speaking of Mich St…

Hardest Loss
NW: 41-38 to Mich St in 2006 (biggest comeback in NCAA history) vs SU: home games being moved to MetLife
Otto’s Edge: SU… In that game NW was up 38-3 with under 10 min in the 3rd Q.

Mich State is a conf rival but not NWs...

Biggest Rival
NW: Illinois vs SU: NY State Fair
Otto’s Edge: NW… they used to play Illinois for the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk (until 2008), which has been replaced by the Land of Lincoln Trophy (seriously PC police?). Surprisingly NW only trails Illinois 46-54-5 all time. Also NW has played 8 teams (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Mich, Minn, OSU, UP, and Wisc) more times than anyone SU has played.

And those teams play in the...

Founding Members of
NW: Big Ten vs SU Big East
Otto’s Edge: NW… although we out bitches! BTW NW grads are likely the only ones in the B1G who can count to 12 and know how dumb a name the B1G is.

Conf Championships
NW: 8 vs SU: 4
Otto’s Edge: SU… the BE hasn’t been around as long otherwise we would have more. Even so we have more conf championships since 1936 (4 to 3) and NW had none from 1936-1995.

The conf champ goes to the BCS...

Bowls
NW: 1-9 vs SU: 13-9-1
Otto’s Edge: SU… NWs first Bowl game was the 1949 Rose Bowl. Michigan was the conf champ but the rule back then said a team couldn’t go consecutive years. So NW played instead. Otherwise they would be Bowless until 1995. Ironically the first Bowl was the only one they won. They upset an undefeated Cal team that was coached by Pappy Waldorf, who was NWs coach from 1935-1946 and their All Time W leader.

Sticking with coaches...

Former HCs
NW: Ara Parseghian, Dennis Green vs SU: Ben Schwartzwalder, Coach Mac, Coach P
Otto’s Edge: NW… overall their coaches had more success. Although our coaches were more successful while coaching for SU than they were for NW. Ara is 4th all time in Ws at NW with a 36-35-1 record.

Former player and current HC
NW: Pat Fitzgerlad vs SU: Doug Marrone
Otto’s Edge: NW... Also Fitzgerald won the Nagurski and Bednarik awards as a player. Plus the sportos, the motorheads, geeks, sluts, bloods, waistoids, dweebies, dickheads - they all adore him. They think he's a righteous dude.

While we are on Dudes…

Cleveland Brown Great
NW: Otto Graham vs SU: Jim Brown
Otto’s Edge: Push… Graham attended NW on a BBall schollie and was an All American in 1944. He also played 2 years of Baseball. Oddly he wore number 60 until the NFL put the rule in that linemen need to be numbers 50-79. His record with the Browns was 105-17-4, leading the team to 10 championship games in 10 seasons. He also played one season for the Rochester Royals (BBall), winning the league title.

Tecmo Super Bowl WR
NW: WR Curtis Duncan vs SU: WR Rob Carpenter
Otto’s Edge: SU… Duncan was almost impossible to get receptions for in that game as Hill, Givins, and Jeffires were the 3 best options.

Other Players of Note
NW: Paddy Driscoll, D’Wayne Bates, Steve Tasker, Napoleon Harris, Darnell Autry, Damien Anderson, Mike Adamle, Matt O’Dwyer, Luis Castillo, Barry Gardner vs SU: Donovan McNabb, Rob Moore, Joe Morris, Larry Csonka, Moose Johnston, Floyd Little, Jim Ringo, Tim Green, Ted Gregory
Otto’s Edge: SU… Driscoll is a HoFer, Autry finished 4th in the Heisman, and Adamle was host of American Gladiators but that still isn’t enough to beat out the SU players. Plus many more SU players of note were not mentioned above.

One of those players was…

Rob
NW: Conrad vs SU: Konrad
Otto’s Edge: NW… he is Eveready

Former FB players that turned actors
NW: Fred The Hammer Williamson vs SU: Jim Brown
Otto’s Edge: Push… both were Original Gangstas

They mixed sports and entertainment which is now a specialty of...

ESPN Alumni
NW: J.A. Adande, Kevin Blackistone, Rich Eisen, Mike Greenberg, Brent Musburger, Rachel Nichols, Dave Revsine, Michael Wilbon, Darren Rovell, Adam Rittenburg vs SU: Matthew Berry, Sean McDonough, Dave Pasch, Dave Ryan, Jayson Stark, Mike Tirico, Anish Shroff
Otto’s Edge: SU… sorry but you gave the world Rachel Nichols and need to be punished. Not only does she have no talent, she is hard to look at. Damn HD.

College Sports Writer
NW: Stewart Mandel vs SU: Pete Thamel
Otto’s Edge: Push… both work for Sports Illustrated which I didn’t know still existed.

Other Sports Alumni
NW: Luke Donald, Joe Girardi, Mark Loretta, Todd Martin, Debi Thomas, Matt Grevers vs SU: Melo, Derrick Coleman, Rony Seikaly
Otto’s Edge: SU… we certainly are more of a sports school

Sports Management Alumni
NW: Jerry Reinsdorf, Glen Grunwald vs SU: Al Davis, David Falk
Otto’s Edge: SU... two giants in their sport

Sticking with power...

School President Alumn
NW: Graham Spanier vs SU: Donna Shalala, Mark Emmert
Otto’s Edge: SU… nothing to say (whoops)

Political Alumni
NW: John Paul Stevens, William Jennings Bryan, Dick Gephardt, George McGovern, Adlai Stevenson, Rahm Emanuel vs SU: Al D'Amato, Joe Biden
Otto’s Edge: NW... they have bigger names despite SU having the current VP. Although their guys often lose, just like NW FB.

Sticking with failing...

Alumni that didn’t graduate
NW: Warren Beatty, Ann Margret, Cindy Crawford, Jane Curtin, Shelley Long, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jerry Orbach, Tony Randall, Hugh Hefner, Patti Davis vs SU: Lou Reed
Otto’s Edge: NW... that is a pretty nice list

Julia was on…

Seinfeld
NW: Elaine vs SU: Frank Costanza (Jerry Stiller)
Otto’s Edge: NW… she can drop him like a bag of dirt. Stiller also worked with NW grad Nicole Sullivan (Holly King of Queens)

Speaking of Queens…

Celebrity Apprentice
NW: Rob Blagojevich vs SU: Lisa Lampanelli
Otto’s Edge: NW… I liked him better after the show and her a lot less. Not that I thought she was funny in the first place.

From Queen of Mean to…

Miss America
NW: Jacquelyn Mayer, Katherine Shindle vs SU: Vanessa Williams
Otto’s Edge: NW… two to one and they kept their crowns

While we are on crowns, as in heads...

Highlander
NW: Clancy Brown played Kurgan vs Connor MacLeod namesake from Syracuse
Otto's Edge: SU... well he does win in the end

Other well known alumni
NW: Ana Gasteyer (SNL), Charlton Heston, Richard Kind (Cousin Andy Curb), Jayne Atkinson (Karen Hayes 24), Jane Badler (Diana V), Zach Braff (Scrubs), Richard Kline (Larry Threes Company), Seth Meyers (SNL), Stephanie March (Law & Order SVU), Garry Marshall (creator Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, directed Pretty Woman), Charlotte Rae (Mrs Garrett), Robert Reed (Mike Brady), Jeri Ryan, David Schwimmer, Jerry Springer, McLean Stevenson (Colonel Blake M*A*S*H), Arthur Anderson, Edwin Booz and James Allen (Booz Allen Hamilton), Charles Mayo (Mayo Clinic) vs SU: Stephen Crane, Marv Albert, Len Berman, Bob Costas, Ian Eagle, Marty Glickman, Megyn Kelly, Ted Koppel, Steve Kroft, Bob Shannon, Dick Stockton, Dick Clark, Taye Diggs, Peter Falk, Carl Gottlieb, Grace Jones, Aaron Sorkin, Steve Rubell, Lexington Steele
Otto’s Edge: Push… those are impressive lists

Fake Alumnus
NW: Jim Levenstein (American Pie) vs SU: Sonny Koufax (Big Daddy)
Otto’s Edge: SU… Koufax is a good egg. But he fights like a girl.

Sticking with Big Daddy...

Daily Show
NW: Stephen Colbert (NW Grad) vs SU: Jon Stewart (played SU grad in Big Daddy)
Otto’s Edge: NW... SU needs no association with the unfunny Stewart, even if it is a fake association

Speaking of fake...

Cheating
NW: two BBall players convicted of fixing games in 1995 vs SU: Carrier Dome has no AC
Otto’s Edge: SU… cheaters never win

Getting back to sports and a lack of winning…

BBall
NW: never made NCAAs, NIT QFs last year (best finish)  vs SU: haven’t won a NCAA title since 2003
Otto’s Edge: SU… I thought we have had it bad the last few years.

Greatest BBall player
NW: Evan Eschmeyer vs SU: Dave Bing
Otto’s Edge: SU… Mayor of Detroit takes this one

A sport NW is actually good at...

Womens Lax
NW: 7 of last 8 titles vs SU: lost in final to NW this year
Otto’s Edge: SU… we don’t have to play stall ball to win

While we are on women (not literally)...

Alpha Phi
NW: headquarters are in Evanston vs SU: founded the sorority
Otto’s Edge: Push… the real winners are male students

Now let’s put the women and children to bed and go lookin for dinner...

Eatery
NW: Unos Grill vs SU: Dino BBQ
Otto’s Edge: Push... the winner here is our stomachs

While we are on pizza…

Style of Pizza
NW: Chicago vs SU: NY
Otto’s Edge: SU… thin crust is better by far

After dinner we can have an...

Ice Cream Sundae
NW: Evanston claims invented vs SU: Ithaca, Buffalo, and NYC all claim invented
Otto’s Edge: SU... we have them outnumbered

Some people may top their sundae with marshmallows, which NW students used to throw during FB games played at...

No one, and I mean no one, comes into our house and pushes us around (Home Field)
NW: Ryan Field (47150) vs SU: Carrier Dome (49250)
Otto’s Edge: NW… their stadium size is closer to the size of their fanbase. Ryan field was built in 1926. Before 1997 it was named Dyche Stadium. Parts of the Express were filmed there.

Other NW traditions include:

-Painting The Rock, a giant boulder used as a canvas/billboard
-Dance Marathon, a 30 hour dancing fundraiser. I think this started to Save Ferris.
-Primal Scream, 9pm the Sunday before finals students scream
-Dillo Day, an annual festival in May the Saturday after classes end. It started in 1972 and features an all day concert.

Staying with students…

Student size
NW: 19k vs SU: 20k
Otto’s Edge: SU… holy crap we are actually bigger than an opponent

Getting back to ice cream, my best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with the girl who saw Ashton Broyld at 31 Flavors last night. They said that SU maybe be running the...

Offense
NW: no huddle Spread vs SU: possibly the same?
Otto’s Edge: NW... I will believe we have changed when I see it

From Offense to Defense...

Bobby Boucher (best defender)
NW: Ibraheim Campbell vs SU: Shamwow
Otto’s Edge: Push… both Ss should be fun to watch

Philip Finch (biggest player and likely eater)
NW: Neal Deiters 6’8 315 lbs vs SU: Zion Jones 6’4 335
Otto’s Edge: SU… I heard he likes a nice juicy steak, medium rare, with little brown potatoes on the right side of the plate, ketchup on the left where some people waste space with vegetables. And for dessert a roast beef.

Jones may very well affect the outcome and our record...

Head to Head
NW: 4 wins vs SU: 5 wins
Otto’s Edge: SU… hopefully it will become 6-4 or it will be a long ride home in the Bluesmobile

Blue is not a...

School Color
NW: Purple and White vs SU: Orange
Otto’s Edge: SU… purple? The only thing worse would be pink and green.



And finally this year’s category of the week...


WWTD (what would Tebow do?)
NW: use ESPN alumni for hype vs SU: use ESPN alumni for hype
Otto's Edge: SU... with us he would feel more at home because he can also failure to score



There you have it folks, SU will pull out a 29-19 victory. And remember the numbers never lie. Enjoy the season cuz it goes by pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. Then again that could be a good thing if our team sucks. Until next time danke schon, baby, danke schon.



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