April Month In Review

April is always one of the best months in sports simply for what's going on. Baseball season is beginning, the NBA and NHL playoffs are just getting going, March Madness rolls over into April; for those of you in college towns, spring football holds their first practices and of course the NFL Draft.

With that said, a lot has gone in CuseAdelphia during the month of April. Six CuseAdelphia teams are in action and winning. Now this post comes in May, the day of the 76ers elimination from the playoffs, but the Sixers reached the playoffs for the first time in several years.

The 76ers, the Flyers, and Syracuse Lacrosse are all having tremendous bounce back years after terrible 2007s for those teams.

The 76ers completed only a five game turnaround, but their late season surge through March and April put them in the playoffs for the first time since 2005. The youthful bunch of players created some lasting memories with Andre Iguodala's thunderous slams down the lane and Thaddeus Young's emergence.

The Sixers under new GM Ed Stefanski reached the playoffs looking to pull off an absolute shocker by taking down the two seeded Detroit Pistons. Things looked good early for the 76ers after Game One. A frenetic comeback in the Motor City meant Philly would head into Game Two with a 1-0 lead.

Game Two ugly. Sixers lose badly.

Game Three. Things are much different. Mo Cheeks' crew figures out what they did in the second half of Game One and blow the Pistons out of the gym.

Then things got ugly. Really ugly again. For the next three games it would be terribly ugly.

The Pistons outscored the Sixers by 19 points in the second half of their Game Four win. Game Five was domination all game; Pistons by 17.

Game Six was the worst of all. The 76ers season was officially declared dead at 8:12 PM EST. A 10-0 lead for the Pistons was essentially as close as Philly would get the rest of the game, Pistons win by 23.

Syracuse Lacrosse has also made a very solid turnaround. After a 5-8 season in 2007, the Orange rebounded in 2008 in impressive fashion. SU finished April undefeated, beating their opponents on average 14-6.

The Orange have dominated behind the likes of Tewaaraton Trophy nominees Mike Leveille and Steven Brooks. Leveille has a team leading 61 points while Brooks has anchored the midfield all year. In goal, John Galloway has played increasingly well as the year has gone on.

The 'Cuse capped off the perfect April with an absolute handling of recent pain in the UMASS 16-3. The Orange scored the first nine goals of the game and scored more goals in each quarter than UMASS had the entire game.

Philadelphia's team in orange- the Flyers - also completed the best turnaround in the NHL this year. The Fly Guys were last, dead last in the entire NHL in 2007, but managed to reach the playoffs as the sixth seed in the East.

Being the sixth seed is one of the best seeds you can be in the playoffs. Often the third division winner is always barely worthy of the playoffs, and this year was pretty much no different. The Capitals needed a long winning streak at the end of the year to reach the playoffs, but that streak ended at the hands of the Flyers.

Seven games, several blown leads, one Alexander Ovechkin explosion, and one Daniel Briere goal scoring binge later the Flyers were moving onto the next round.

Now throw in four more games, three of which are Philly wins, lots of angry Canadians, some more blown leads, no Briere scoring binge, but rather one by R.J. Umberger and you get a 3-1 series lead against the Montreal Canadiens.

One CuseAdelphia team already has won a title. The Syracuse women's Lax team took home a Big East Championship in South Bend in dominating fashion. A 22-7 blow out followed by a 12-6 victory over rival Georegtown and the women have an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament.

Basically every scoring record you think of, Tewaaraton trophy nominee Katie Rowan broke it.

Two CuseAdelphia teams used April to get off to extremely solid starts.

The Phillies finished out April 15-13. Now that doesn't seem too impressive, but when you look at their past four Aprils, it's rather impressive. 11-14 in 2007, 10-14 in 2006, 10-14 in 2005, 10-11 in 2004. You get the picture.

The Phillies did it in probably the most improbably way: great pitching from both the starters and bullpen. The entire staff has posted a combined ERA of 3.79, the lowest its been in years.

The relievers have been much better; the Phillies' pen ranks first in the National League in ERA. J.C. Romero, Brad Lidge, Chad Durbin, Rudy Seanez, and Tom Gordon (minus the first week) have been lights out.

Cole Hamels is throwing his name in the hat for Cy Young during the early season with his 2.70 ERA and 36 strike outs in April.

Chase Utley and Pat Burrell have provided MVP moments throughout the entire month as the two are near the top of practically every offensive category. Utley ends the month with a major league leading 11 home runs.

The team that plays across the parking lot, the Philadelphia Soul of the AFL has been blistering hot. Two QB's Tony Graziani and Matt D'Orazio have combined for astronomical numbers in leading the Soul to an undefeated record through April.

Bon Jovi's team finished off the month with a 57-28 romping over the previously undefeated Dallas Desperados. Philly held Dallas scoreless in the first quarter, a monumental task in of itself.

The other football team in Philadelphia just completed the 2008 NFL draft with some disputed success. The Eagles set themselves up for a monster 2009 draft with the acquisition of the Panthers 2009 first round pick. The Iggles also got another second round pick in the same deal when trading away their first round pick to Carolina.

Now the Eagles only got one player that will have an immediate impact this year with DeSean Jackson, but it's still a major accomplishment to get one of the most explosive players in the draft half way through the second round.

The Birds also grabbed DT Trevor Laws who's a workhorse on the defensive line.

The later round picks weren't anything special, but the Eagles overall had a solid draft.

No matter how good all of CuseAdelphia's teams did, there's going to be a few bad notes that cannot go unmentioned.

In the same NFL draft, no members of the Orange heard their names called for the first time since 1975. Taj Smith, Jameel McClain, DoWayne Davis, and several others eventually found a home, but it wasn't for NFL draft level money.

Orange fans also learned they might hear the name of one of the fabulous freshmen from the 2007-2008 seasons. Donte' Greene declared he's making himself eligible for the 2008 NBA draft, but he left some hope for Orange fans when he didn't sign an agent.

Greene's team also found themselves sitting at home from the NCAA Tournament and NIT Tournament finals which both took place in April.

Finally on a sad note, we remember John Marzano who was found dead in South Philly home. The cause of his death hasn't been revealed yet.

Syracuse Isn't Going Bowling in 2008-2009

SU despite what looks to be a new and improved offense and well still a pretty sub par defense isn't going to one of at least 28 bowl games in the 2008-2009 season. Well that's according to Sports Projections.com

Sports Projections already has who they think will be playing in those wonderful bowls like the Papa John's Bowl and Pointsettia Bowl. Six Big East teams will make a playoff game with the only two being left out: Louisville and Syracuse.

Now it seems surprising that they are projecting six teams in bowl games this year from the Big East because this year is setting up to be an awful year for Big East football.

Pitt and West Virginia look like the only two teams that will consistently play Top 25 caliber football. After that Cincinnati and South Florida look like the next two best teams that could squeak into the Top 25 for a week or two.

A lot of projections have Rutgers and UCONN down towards the bottom of the Big East again in 2008. So at this point, it doesn't seem like more than five teams will be bowl eligible. The team that finishes sixth might squeak in with a 6-6 record.

Now SU probably isn't going to win six games, but it's a realistic chance in 2008. Look at the schedule: Northwestern, Northeastern, and Akron could easily be wins although Northwestern does look to be much improved in 2008 after having an okay 2007.

Penn State has a lot of issues on the field and off the field and everyone knows about Notre Dame's 2007, but of course the Fightin' Irish will also be much better in 2008.

SU could come away with three maybe even four wins out of conference if they can pull things together.

Then there is Big East play. Louisville is going to be very beatable, plus that game is in the Dome. UCONN and Rutgers also look beatable. If SU can take two of those three games and spring an upset against one of the top four teams in the league, they are suddenly bowl eligible.

Sean from Troy Nunes reported three more bowls are in the works with one of them having a spot for another Big East team. That means six spots would be guaranteed to bowl eligible Big East teams. Sean also pointed out that a team can use a win against a Divison I-AA team towards becoming bowl eligible once every three years.

The Orange becoming bowl eligible in 2008 is a distinct possibility. Will it happen? Better than 50% chance no. Is it a realistic possibility? 100% yes.

But for now, here's Sports Projections' Big East Bowl Projections:

Pointsettia Bowl: Utah vs. Cincinnati

Papa John's.com Bowl: Rutgers vs. Marshall

Armed Forces Bowl: TCU vs. UCONN

Meineke Car Care Bowl : Miami, Florida vs. South Florida

International Bowl: Bowling Green vs. Pittsburgh

Orange Bowl: Clemson vs. West Virginia

After looking closer at the projections. There's obviously a major flaw. There is no bowl given to the Big East number two team. Obviously they are forgetting Syracuse as the number two team in the Big East and left them out of a bowl game.

Haha who am I kidding?

2008 Syracuse Football Preview

1-10, 4-8, 2-10 are the records of the last three years of the Syracuse Football team under Coach Greg Robinson. His 7-28 record hasn't been enough to get rid of him to athletic director Darryl Gross. Gross still his faith Robinson can get the job done in 2008. Robinson ended 2007 on the right foot by pulling in some highly touted recruits. This class should go down as the top class of Robinson's short tenure.

Among some of the players Robinson received commitments from

• Four star running back Averin Collier. He's ranked 10th in the country at his position by Scout.com. He's also described as a very strong open field tackler, which means a switch to defense is always possible if he doesn't pan out as a running back.
• Four star wide receiver Marcus Sales who's ranked 27th at his position. He's a decently sized guy and could prove as another down field threat. Apparently he's a pretty good basketball player.
• Four star defensive end Romale Tucker is ranked 36th at his position by rivals. He's big at 6'4'' 230 pounds. He chose Syracuse over Virginia despite Virginia's strong season. Rival's lists him as an outside linebacker which puts him in the same boat as senior Jameel McClain.
• Three star DE Mikhail Marinovich is unranked in his class but has great size at 6'6'' and 210 pounds. With good old Mikhail, you'll be getting his family too.
• Three star WR DeAndre Preaster is 123rd in his class. Preaster is another tall wide receiver with good speed. The Orange beat out Ohio State and Pitt for this fairly local product.
• S.U. also picked up several strong two star recruits in the secondary and the offensive line.
• They also picked up two star recruit Ryan Nassib, a quarterback, out of Malvern, PA. Nassib was described by some as the best quarterback recruit this team has had since Donovan McNabb. The scouting agencies didn't agree, rating him just a star quarterback. From what I've read, he comes off as a pretty polished pro-style quarterback.
• Here's Scout's list of Syracuse recruits for 2008.

2008 Forecast:

This team can only get better from 2007. They will lose six impact seniors, two from the secondary, two from the defensive line, and two from the offensive line. They also lose Taj Smith who's declared himself eligible for the NFL draft. Even with that said, this team retains the rest of its skilled players and most of a young offensive line. The offensive won't be great, but it will be much better. Delone Carter will return from his hip injury for the 2008 season. He'll be one of the biggest question marks on this team. If he can return to form and pickup where he left off, he could become a dominant force for this offense. An established run game that only existed in a few games last year, will open up the passing game for Andrew Robinson and Mike Williams. The offense didn't even average 20 points a game in 2007, but with most of its parts still in place, could average between 21 and 25 points per game. Also with new offensive coordinator Mitch Browning, this team could have a new dimension to its running game. Browning worked wonders at Minnesota with running backs Marian Barber and Lawrence Maroney.

The defense in 2007 horrendous. They were at the bottom of the barrel in the FBS in most defensive categories. They couldn't stop the run, they couldn't stop the pass when they had to, they didn't cause turnovers, and they couldn't stop teams on the third down. With four of their best defenders gone, this team shouldn't improve much on defense. With a better offense, this unit shouldn't have to be on the field as long, and their performance should improve.

2008 Schedule:

The Orange opens the schedule with four non conference games home against Penn State and Akron, a road game at Northwestern and a game to be announced. There's a strong possibility that last game could be filled with Division I-AA Villanova. This schedule allows Syracuse to enter Big East play with two or three potential wins. Akron is a winnable game as is Northwestern, but the Wildcats are a decent program so it is still very likely this team will lose that game. Also Penn State loses some key players which makes this team somewhat beatable in the Dome. That game won't be much a home a game though, as Penn State faithful will probably make the short trip from PA and make this a border war and fill the Dome. Villanova should be a win, but anything is possible with a Greg Robinson coached team.

They also play Notre Dame towards the end of the season in South Bend. Notre Dame is also rebuilding which means a win for the Orange is a possibility.

The Big East looks to be pretty strong again. S.U. will have home games against Louisville, Pitt, and UCONN. They should be able to come away with a win against one of those three schools. They'll go on the road against South Florida, Cincinnati, West Virginia, and Rutgers. Rutgers will prove to be the most winnable game of the three without Ray Rice. This team at most can probably win three games in the Big East, but will probably win just two games.

In total this team could win as many as five games, three coming from the non-conference schedule and two from the Big East slate. I think they'll probably win only three or four games, but again five games is definitely possibly.

A few not so bold predictions in bold print:

1. Syracuse finds a role for Max Suter other than in kick returns. He'll make an impact at that position and will be named to the Big East second team.

2. The offense is explosive at times, scoring at least 30 points four times. The defense will stand be bad causing S.U. to lose two of those games.

3. Mike Williams will go pro after the 2008 season after he sets almost every single season Syracuse record for a wide receiver.

4. Arthur Jones will have another stellar season and will have his name thrown in the hat for Big East defensive player of the year.

5. Syracuse wins four games, Greg Robinson gets another year, and pulls in four more four star recruits.

How We Are Going To Do Things Here At CuseAdelphia

My goal for my fellow writers and myself will be at least 20 posts a week, we'll probably do a lot more during college basketball season because I'll be providing nightly breakdowns of games that are important to basketball fans. Here are some features we'll most likely be doing.

• Nightly games of interest for Syracuse fans.
• As we near selection Sunday breakdowns of how Syracuse compares to other teams in the nation.
• Our ballot for the weekly Big East Blogger Poll.
• Previews and post games for Syracuse men's lacrosse, basketball, football games, and women's basketball game.
• Our thoughts on the latest news in the Syracuse world.
• Recruiting news for Football and both men's and women's basketball.
• Turning to the Philly side, post game reactions to the Flyers with select previews for certain games.
• Previews and post games for Eagles games (yes I know there's one left.)
• A draft preview for the Eagles and 76ers.
• Reactions to 76ers news, transactions, and games.
• Daily Phillies news, post game reactions, and columns.
• I'll also be creating a daily link dump around 3-5 EST everyday including weekends.
• A 2008 preview and predictions for what's in store for Syracuse and Philadelphia sports.

We'll be posting new content on here within the next couple days.

I'd like to thank Troy Nunes and Inside the Iggles for letting readers know of us.

Anything else you'd like to see us do. Comment below or e-mail me at jsflemin@syr.edu.

For now, check out every single link to the right. They are all goodies, if they weren't, they wouldn't be on the blogroll.

Inaugrual Post

If somehow you stumbled across this site and see it very bare and boring, come back in about a week and you'll see a guide to Philadelphia and Syracuse sports. We'll hopefully be officially launching this site on January 1st, 2008.