2005 - 2006 Daily Rants Continued

The Great New York State Golden Snowball Contest 2005 - 2006

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2005 - 2006 Snowfall Season

Any Cheese to go With My Whine - Continued

A Few Snow Pictures from Syracuse's 2005- 2006 Season

4/29 - I'm still receiving emails about the contest which is great.  One I received from Mrs. Bertrand, a teacher from the Pittsford area inquiring about Rochester's snow stats.  It's great to see her science class students have an interest in the weather in good ole New York.  A shout out to all the students in her class from the Snow Dude

Another email from Tom and Kathie brought up a great point and also pointed out a flaw in some of the stats in the chart.  If you look above at the chart you will notice that the "Normal Totals to Date" are higher than the "Normal Seasons Average" stats.  Obviously that can't be right so I'll have to get in touch with NOAA to see where the discrepancy is and FIX IT.  I have a feeling I should of left the old Normal Seasons Averages alone but I changed them when I found a page on NOAA that had different averages than I had on the site.  I'll research it and get it straightened out.  Thanks Tom and Kathie for bringing that to our attention.  An awesome weekend is in the forecast so get out and enjoy it and have a super weekend all!

Easter Sunday -  All the stats are up to date and It's time to wrap it up for the season.  This is one of the earliest dates that the contest has been called.  With Syracuse leading by almost 4 feet of snow over second place Buffalo, I can't see dragging our great NY contest on any longer.  More to come on Monday.  We wish you and your family a Happy Easter.

4/10 - Once again I slacked off and big time at that.  Five days went by before I did an update on here which only means one thing, the season is a snowflake away from being called.  Most likely we will be calling it a lot earlier than normal because of the big lead Syracuse has this year.  Don't forget the rule though once we call the Great Golden Snowball Race over.  If we say it's all over and another city other than the one we decided won ends up getting some late snow to go in the lead, Both cities get the 100.00 cash prize.  I don't see that happening this year but ya just never know.  The official snowfall season (Year) actually runs from July 1st thru June 30th believe it or not.  The latest I personally can remember it snowing is on Mothers Day one year when we were having a family cookout years ago .  Look for something to be posted soon.  Have a super week all.

4/5 - Binghamton is the only city so far to pick up any snowfall this month and only 3/10 of an inch at that.  It looks like the next several days will be a hit or miss for a little bit of snow but nothing major in the forecasts that I have seen.  It's cold for this time of the year with temps normally being around 50 degrees for high and 31 for the lows.  Next week is looking to be the start of some warmer weather that hopefully will stick around for good.  Right now the temp is 34 with a wind chill of 25 degrees.

It's hard to believe but looking out my window my grass is already to be cut.  As a matter of fact if it gets any higher I'll have to rake up the grass.  The yard has been too soft and too wet to cut though but it's so cold out right now, maybe the ground has frozen over again.  Nah, lets wait a little longer besides I hate getting all the funny looks from people driving by on our busy road shaking their heads saying look at the idiot cutting his lawn when it's going to snow.  One thing I know is there isn't a smell that compares with the first grass cutting of the season and the chances are I'll be smelling it very soon.  Have a great day all.

4/3 - Sorry about the lack of updates the last couple of days but obviously there hasn't been anything to update.  There's a real possibility that another snow update might be coming as soon as Tuesday and Wednesday with a cold front expected to drop a little bit of sloppy snow and slush.  I think this is the time of year wear anxiety about the weather starts setting in.  We get tossed a few nice sunny warm teaser days to get our hopes up but then the bubble gets popped and we slide back to the normal crappy weather we are all use to .  Anyways the bubble is popped with rain, some thunderstorms and of course snow in the forecast for the next couple of days.

One nice thing though about the teaser days was that the weather was nice enough to get some baseball and softball games in.  Friday I caught my sons game at ESM and they looked good including my son Chris.  A lot of hard hitting and good defense to pull off the victory.  On Sunday I was able to catch my daughters first ever college softball games at Herkimer college.  She played good at third base and her swing looks better than it ever has.  The whole Herkimer team looked good against a pretty good team from Massachusetts and if they keep hitting like they did on Sunday they should have a great season.  One of the girls, Janine crushed 2 homeruns over the fence which is a great way to start her college softball career.  All 3 pitchers looked good also.  Go Herkimer - Go ESM!!!  Have a great week all.

3/31 - March came in like a Lion and is going out like a Lamb, make that a baby lamb.  Wow, it's 78 degrees as I type and I'm already whining how hot it is .  That's what I do best is whine about the weather.  Yesterday was my kind of day with the temp being in the mid 60's and sunny as could be.  Lets hope April brings us some normal temperatures and plenty of sunshine.  Hey, enjoy the weather while it lasts and have a great weekend.  I'm off to watch my sons first baseball game of the season

3/28 - Could this be the end of the snow season?  Hopefully but probably not.  50's in the forecast now for the rest of the week with the possibility of mid 60's on Friday.  Wait!  It gets even better!  Warm plus sunny for a few of the days.  That just seems, so, so, so un-normal for our area to have more than a day of sunshine at this time of the year but I'll take it.  I mentioned the other day about my son having their first game of the season on Friday and if the showers hold off it will be awesome to be out there watching the game.

More good signs of spring being here is that the Robins were fighting for territory rights in the neighborhood this morning.  Either that or some kind of mating ritual.  I believe Robins stay together for life but I could be wrong.  I normally am.  Speaking of the birds and the bee's, the one way that I can tell that warm weather is here to stay is when I start seeing a lot of bee's.  Not just a couple here and there but lots of them and every day.  So far I haven't seen any bee's yet but I'm hoping it will be soon that they start buzzing around.  Hey, enjoy the week all and get out and do something while it lasts.

3/26 - Finally!!!  There has been a change in the line up.  Binghamton, the southern most city in the contest has over taken Rochester for 3rd place picking up 8/10 of new snow.  Looking at the stats I can see why.  Rochester is more than 18 inches off it's normal average snowfall for the season while Binghamton is over it's average by a snowflake.  The big question now is can Bingo take away second place from Buffalo? 

Also looking at the stats I see that if the end of the snow season can go out as average we are all looking at around another 10 - 13 inches of snowfall.  Right now Syracuse's average for this date should be around 104 inches and the average yearly snowfall is around 117 inches which leaves another 13 or so more inches of snowfall total to go.  The same goes for most of the other city's.  Doesn't that just make your day to hear that.  Hey, Have a Great day all.

3/25 - Nothing snow wise other than Binghamton picked up another 2/10 of snow to move closer to Rochester and Buffalo.  Lets talk baseball.

There is a fundraiser today for a local kid, make that young man who has been invited to play on a baseball team representing the USA that will be traveling to Brasschaat, Belgium between May 23th - 30th. His name is Keith Para and he is a fantastic pitcher who currently plays for Mohawk Valley Community College.  For any of you parents out there I'm sure you are aware at how expensive a trip like this can be.  For that reason a fundraiser is being held today 3/25 between 2:00 - 6:00 PM at Bella Luna's in East Syracuse (the old Astro's Bowling alleys).  I'll be posting more here as to how you can donate to help offset the costs of travel if your interested.

3/24 - Looking at the snow stats Rochester better start doing a snow dance or something because they are pretty close to dropping down to 4th place, just a step above Albany.  Binghamton posted another 3/10 of an inch and just might slip by Roc City who is only 6/10 of an inch ahead of them.  Take away the 50 + inches Syracuse received in December and we would have a pretty close race all around. 

A stat worth mentioning is how easy Albany has had it this year.  So far this season first place Syracuse has had almost 8 feet more snow than Albany has.  How about one more good Nor' Eastern to make the lawmakers in our great states capital have to shovel for a change.  Hey, have a super weekend all!

3/23 - Talk about being on the mark.  Check out Binghamton's snow stats for this season and their average for the date.  Dead on which is pretty amazing this late in the season to hit the average on the nose.  More snow for Syracuse, Buffalo and Rochester since the last update.  Not a whole lot but it's still falling pretty regularly in the Golden Snowball city's.

My son has his first Varsity game of the season a week from Friday.  Only 8 days away!  With a chance of snow in the forecast all the way up until next Wednesday, the 29th, for some reason I don't see it happening.  Hmmm, maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part because I know what it is like to watch the games this time of the year and it's not as fun as it could be.  My daughters college team starts next week also I believe.  One word even if it isn't a word comes to mind as I think about watching the games.  BRRRRRR!!!!

3/22 - There's a big question that's been bugging me for a couple of years now that's brought up again.  Should Utica be included in the New York state Golden Snowball contest.  This year I started a poll on it and as I type, 64 % say yes and 36% say no.  I just verified the votes so the percentages should be all up to date.  Utica has a good argument for their case to get in and without a doubt would be a worthy opponent reporting 106.8 inches of snowfall for this season so far.  They have a population of almost 60,000 which is more than the population of Binghamton which has 46,300. 

The biggest problem that I see is that the stats that we use to determine the winner come from NOAA.  Utica would have to find a way to make their snow stats official.  I'll be taking to NOAA to see what it would take to make that possible which could be a first step to joining the coveted contest.  So in other words I'll continue to lose some sleep trying to figure out the question that has been bugging me for a couple of years now.  Should Utica be included???

3/21 - A friend called last night to ask me who won the contest this year.  I had to remind her that although Spring has finally arrived the Golden Snowball contest lives on.  It's a no call until the risk of major snowfall is over with and as all of us New Yorkers know the chances are we will be watching a few of our kids baseball games with winter coats still on and blankets wrapped around us.  Yeah I know, shut up your telling me but unfortunately it's the way it is.  All of the cities except for Albany picked up a little more snow yesterday and second place is still up for grabs.  As for Albany, I'm starting to wonder if the city is even in NYS.  Maybe I'll book my vacation there next winter and get some golfing in.  In reality I think we know who the champ will be once again this year but the calendar still shows March and the GSB contest continues. 

3/20 - Happy Spring All .  Yup, today at 1:26 PM look out the window and say good bye to winter and hello to Spring.  It will be a white spring her in Syracuse.  We broke the daily record for yesterday picking up another 5.9 inches to put the total at 123.1 inches on the season.  Binghamton set a date record also for the 19th with 3.9 inches of new snow which put them just above average snowfall for this time of the year.  Albany has a real shot at receiving half their average snowfall for the year.  Hard to imagine what 30 inches in a season would feel like.  Buffalo and Rochester are trying to catch up to their averages but I think they might come up short.  At this late into the snow game it's looking pretty good for Syracuse seeing how they have almost 4 feet of snow more than second place Buffalo but then again it is New York where anything can change over night.  It's still way too early to call it but I have a feeling it might be called earlier than normal this year.  Hey, Have a Great Week All and think Spring!

3/19 - Congrats to Syracuse for once again hitting it's Annual snowfall average.  As of March 18th the snow stats stand at 117.2 surpassing their yearly average of 116.9 inches once again making a statement and showing why we are the snow capital of the United States when it comes to major city's with over 100,000 people.  It's still snowing in Da Cuse and hopefully some of the other GSB city's so look for some new snow totals come tomorrow!

3/18 - St Patty's Parade Day All in Syracuse.  If you get a chance head out to the city and have some fun.  Dress like you are going to the Antarctica because it will be cold, make that freezing with winds to make it around 15 degrees out.  If you happen to see me down there say hi and I'll buy a round.  I'll be the one with some green on.  Cheers and have a great weekend!  Below is how our day goes sometimes!

Tips and Tales of St Patty's Day Downtown

St Patrick's Day Weekend is here in Syracuse.  Unfortunately only one of the few times I get to get out and enjoy Downtown Syracuse.  A bunch of us every year, about 20 or more of us which is a mix of men and women normally hit a local soda pop bar early in the day.  OK day meaning morning what can I say?  Yes in the morning and don't be coming to any conclusions.  It's only once a year we do this.  Anyways family and friends come to town just for this day downtown.  From Virginia, Poughkeepsie, Boston and so on.   St Patty's Day downtown is so much fun that people come from all over the country for it.

Here is how the whole day plays out or should I say is suppose to play out.  It hardly ever goes as planned which makes it even more fun.  We normally start out at the Park Hill Tavern in East Syracuse where we get dropped off by our designated driver for the day.  Normally one of our kids who BTW get paid well for for driving us but it is well worth it.  Don't drink pop and drive.  We catch the bus from the Park Hill to the city.  So far in the 15 years give or take that we have been doing this I don't think we have ever caught the bus we intended to.  Either all of us aren't there yet or we weren't watching for the bus and we miss the one intended.  Once we even got on the wrong bus and ended up in NYC.  Well not NYC but definitely the wrong bus that had a lot of detours on the way.  It would of been faster walking there that year.

Finally we end up downtown for the Parade.  Once we were even fortunate enough to see the parade.  That was only because when we got off the bus the parade happened to be right there.  Don't get me wrong, we do see the parade it's just that we watch it from inside the fine city bars that are heated and by the way are always packed when we arrive there.  I just wanted to point out that we are not the only ones that start out early in the morning on St Patty's Day .  One thing we do before we start is we each pitch in 20 bucks a person and elect two people to be in charge of buying the drinks all day. The bars are crowded so it would be foolish for 20 + people to go in together and stand at the bar, or should I say attempt to stand at the bar.  Another note is that the first 20.00 we pitch in won't be the last and when I say drinks I'm talking soda pops of course .  Tip - One thing I have learned about being elected to the Most important job of the day which is by far buying the drinks is that the first round you buy make sure you order the opposite of what the people wanted.  You'll be the bad guy for a little while but it is well worth the shame, the boos and dirty looks of not being able to order a round of drinks correctly when they impeach you from that position and you get out of ordering the drinks for the rest of the day.  Trust me, someone else will take over   As for being the bad guy, sooner or later someone else will do something stupid to earn the title of bad guy so you'll be off the hook in no time. 

Most of the day pretty much consists of freezing our tails off but having a Super time in the process.  The way we do St Patty's day is pretty much just bar hop all day and test out all some of the different variety's of brews that are on tap at the bars.  I suppose you could say that we aren't there so much as to have fun but let's say we are doing research work on the brews.  Maybe this year we will even take notes on our research.  I do know that most of the men with us prefer the darker soda pops.  Another good tip is to elect a leader to lead your group to the different bars.  Someone who actually knows their way around the city of Syracuse.  Remember, most of the time it is pretty cold out and for some reason almost always without fail the wind is blowing pretty good.  The worse thing is to make a wrong turn and walk for a half a mile or so only to find out you have to go back the other way.  For that my Brother in-law normally gets elected and does a fine job most of the time but every now and then he makes a wrong turn.  That's normally a good thing for who ever is the bad guy at the time enabling him to pass the title over to my brother in-law for getting us lost.  Like I said the "bad guy or gal" gets passed along throughout the day and always has a ton of laughs to go along with it.  Jeez, now that I am typing and keep seeing the word elected.  I'm starting to see that St Patty's Day is actually a fine example of the democracy in progress with all the elections we have going on.  Most of the time the person being elected isn't and to be frank doesn't want to be elected

   All in all we hit maybe 5 - 7 bars.  We'll normally order appetizers, wings or something at one of the bars early and then end up at Clarks sooner or later for one of their great roast beef sandwiches.  If you go to Clarks don't let the lines fool you.  They rock at moving the customers along and you have your food in no time.  The roast beef is well worth standing in line for.  It's truly awesome.  I wish I could plug all the bars that we hit but to be honest with you I'm just a follower the whole day hoping I don't get lost or left behind and never really check out the names of the bars we hit.  I can only guess that any bar you end up in you'll have a great time.  One thing that bothered me a bit last year is that during the day a lot of the bars weren't playing Irish songs.  I don't know what was up with that.  To the bar owners Please at least play Irish music in the daytime.

The biggest tip I can give is to dress warm.  When your ready to leave the house and feel that your dressed up warm enough, go back and grab 3 extra coats.  Only then will you be prepared for a great St Patty's day downtown.  Then again I think it was a couple of years ago when the temps went up to 60 degrees and here was the Golden Snowball dude carrying a coat and 2 sweatshirts around looking like a fool.  I did try the "can you hold this for a second while I do whatever" trick but that only worked for so long.  I should of trusted the weatherman that time.

The day downtown or sometimes night downtown (depending on how much research some of us have done) will end with one of us calling our designated drivers to come pick us up.  We use to try and catch or call a couple of taxis to get home but that is another story or two in itself.  The last time we called for two taxis only one showed up.  Being the gentlemen that we are (yes only gentlemen in our group ) we told the ladies to go ahead and we would suffer and wait it out until the next taxi shows up.  Well what are the chances of not one of us having a watch on and you all know how time flies.  Before we knew it almost a couple of hours went by.  Anyways I'm sure you already figured out that the ladies weren't too happy with the men.  Something to this day I haven't figured out because we all thought the women would of been impressed with how patient we were waiting for the taxi to arrive.  Everyone knows men aren't known to be patient and so what if our patience was being displayed at a hopping bar.  That shouldn't even come in to the picture should it   That was the end to taxi's being used for the ride back to town.

Summary Finally - Sorry about the rant.  I really could of kept going on.  To sum it up I always thought St Patrick's day was a great big party downtown.  After typing this up I discovered it's actually a democracy process in the works with all the electing we do in our group along with research work.  Research on the different brews of beer downtown.  The research work by far is the hardest part of the day.  Now knowing that it's not the Big Party that I always thought it was I probably won't be able to enjoy it like I have in the past.  I'll give it my best shot though

3/16 - A little bit of snow for all the Golden Snowball cities since the last update.  There's a pretty good chance that within the next day or so Syracuse will once again hit it's average snowfall for the season.  Most of the other cities still have a lot of work left in order to hit the seasonal snowfall averages but I wouldn't count them out just yet.  COLD is in the forecast for at least a week, maybe even longer.  With the way the winds have been blowing the chances for more lake effect snow lingers on.  Doesn't that just make your day to hear me say that.  Look for Spring some time around July in the Tug Hill area.  Here in Syracuse I just saw my first Robin of the year.  Poor little bird must not of checked it's calendar before returning to town in Syracuse.

Let the Madness begin!!!  Being cooped up in the house this time of the year isn't too bad.  Just think, 12 hours of basketball today on the tube including our beloved Syracuse Orangemen.  It looks like all of the sports gurus are calling this game close and from the line that Vegas has on the game it could be just that.  A close game.  At last check the Syracuse game was an even pick according to the Vegas odd makers.  Looks like we could be in for another nail biter but I'm pretty confident in the guys to move along to Saturdays game.  Good Luck Syracuse!  Let's Go SU, Kick Some Butt!

3/14 - I hope you all enjoyed the Spring that just went by.  It's back to winter now and it looks like it might stick around for awhile.  Binghamton is already posting 3/10 of an inch for today but that's about it.  It's snowing in Syracuse right now and most of the city's should see some snowfall during the next couple of days.  By the end of the week chances are that Syracuse will finally hit the average.  Second place is still up for grabs between Buffalo, Rochester and Binghamton.  Windy, cold and snow off and on the next couple of days so enjoy it before Spring arrives.  It won't be long now.  Yeah right!

On the basketball front I'm getting a little tired of the lack of positive comments about our game against Texas A & M.  I keep hearing look what happened last year with Vermont.  Get over it already!!!  This is a new year and a new team.  It isn't gonna happen.  SU has indeed taken the turn after the De Paul loss.  Another thing that people keep bringing up.  Am I looking past A & M?  No but I ma confident in the Orangemen and if your read below and throughout the site you will see that not once did I give up on Syracuse.  I knew all year long what kind of potential this years team has had along.  It just took them awhile to find the potential themselves.  Well they are the real deal now.  Enough of the "I wonder what team will show up" remarks.  There isn't 2 teams!  There is one and that's the one that you seen come out strong in the final game of the season and the team you saw win the Big East tournament.  All that's left to say is Good Luck Syracuse.  Winning the Big East in the fashion that you won it was one of the most exciting basketball I have seen.  Anything from here on is just a bonus to us fans.  Have a Great Week All!

3/13 - A Happy Birthday goes out to Daddy's little girl Danielle today!  Alright 19 isn't little anymore but you know how it goes.  Happy Birthday DanniD and I hope you had a great day!

3/12 - WOW says it best about what just happened in the Big East tournament.  I could say disbelief is another word but for those of us who kept on believing in the Syracuse Orangemen that's not a word we know.  You can read all of our rants here at the Golden Snowball website and you will see that we never gave up on Da Cuse or the players.  All season I said they have a better team than what was showing up for some of the games and it looks like that team has finally peaked.  Maybe all they needed was for Boeheim to put a fire under their butts like he did in the first news conference talking about Gerry being over rated.  Well that myth was busted like a lot of bubbles were this weekend and Gerry stuffed a basketball in their mouths and shut up all the naysayer's.  I'm not gonna go on about McNamara because by now the whole country knows who he is and what he is about.  Leadership, hustle and a kid who just doesn't quit.  For that matter the whole SU team was that right down to the players who didn't even get a chance to play and kept the spirit going from the bench.

What a SU TEAM tournament and I do mean TEAM.  Watkins, Devendorf, Roberts, the overrated McNamara, Nichols, Josh Wright, Gorman, McCroskey, Onuaku all had some roll big or small in the Big East now know as the Gerry McNamara Tournament victory.  What's really cool about all of this is that SU probably picked up another 5 million fans across the country showing their determination and never quit attitude in all 4 games.  Enough said it's time to go watch Duke lose to make this the perfect weekend.

3/9 - Nothing new to report so let's talk hoops.  Sorry but get use to it!  It's March and it's madness in the Big East with everyone fighting for a bid to the NCAA tournament and only a few invitations to go around.  Yesterday's games showed the madness starting out with Gerry McNamara hitting what I call an impossible shot to give the Orangemen a win.  More madness or just plain old mad followed in the post conference with Coach Boeheim slamming the assistant coaches who voted for McNamara as the most overrated player in the Big East.  Good for you coach .  Perhaps your point could of been made a little differently than it was but still, Good for you.  At this point in Gerry's college career and with the awesome career he has had nobody should have to be defending him.  He's proven himself time after time and I can't remember too many players who have been able to make things happen on the court even when he is struggling offensively like he does.  I watched that game winning shot about 10 times and still can't believe what happened.  Never mind that he drove between two players dribbling the ball be hind his back to get a one footed 3 pointer off.  Watch the replay and you will notice that he also had to shoot the ball over a Cincinnati player who challenged the shot.  To keep this short he had to beat 3 players to make the game winning shot and he did it.  He did it because he is Gerry McNamara, one of the under rated players on the team.  More to come but the UConn, Su game just started.  Lets Go Kick Some Butt SU!

3/8 - No new snow once again but don't let that fool you.  Temps are expected to hit the 50's within the next day or so but don't let that fool you.  It's still only March so the chances are pretty good that more snow will be coming down the road.  For some reason I was thinking the St Patricks Day parade in Syracuse was this weekend.  I got all excited when I saw the temperature might hit 60 degrees and then realized the parade isn't until the 18th .  There is nothing in the world like being downtown St Patty's day when it's warm out and the big party gets to move outside.  Most likely it will be the normal 30 something degrees with gusty winds come the 18th, but hey, it's still a blast.

I wonder if the Syracuse Orangemen are as nervous as some of us fans are about the game today.  Less than an hour away from tip off and more important Syracuse's chances at a bid to the NCAA tournament.  If they can play a game like they played against Villanova they will win.  For once I would like to see us come out and start a huge run right off the get go.  The players know what's on the line now so they have their own destiny in their hands.  Let's Go SU, Kick Some Butt!

3/6 - No changes in the snowfall totals since last updated so lets talk about the Syracuse Orangemen and their chances at a NCAA bid.  No doubt the game on Thursday against DePaul hurt them pretty bad But,  They still have a shot in my opinion even after yesterdays loss to Villanova.  Most of the talk from the sports know it alls was that they needed to win Sunday in order to have a shot at getting a bid.  My opinion is that if they can make a good showing in the Big East tournament then they should be in.  A good showing meaning winning 2 games and not getting blown out in the third game which might be easier said than done.  If there is any such thing as a good loss, yesterday was pretty close to that.  They came out and played pretty good basketball against the #4 team in the country and after Dukes two great losses this week Villanova will be either a #3 or #2 ranked team.  Su played Villanova tough and had a shot at winning right up until the last 3 minutes of the game.

The bad news is they are in the toughest bracket in the Big East tournament .  Their first game is against Cincinnati which will be a tough game but winnable if the Orangemen play like they did yesterday.  If they do beat Cincinnati they will have the pleasure of playing Connecticut, the #1 team in the country.  If they beat them they are in, no question about it.  The big question is can they get in with just a win over Cincinnati?  I'll give them a 45% chance if they can beat Cincinnati convincingly!  So lets hope they play the best 2 games of the season and who knows maybe 4 wins for a repeat of the Big East Championship.  Yup, I never give up do I?  Have a great week all!  Below is the seeding for the Big East Tournament!  You can get the printable brackets at http://www.suathletics.com/Pdfs/basketball/mbasket/2006/3/5/06-mbb-bracket.pdf

3/5 - SU - Villanova starts in about 2 minutes.  GO SYRACUSE!  You can do it!  You can do it!

3/4 - Only a couple of tenths of snow here and there since the last update.  One thing I missed yesterday is that Binghamton got back on track and is a little over an inch above their normal for this time of the season.  Only two cities, Syracuse and Bingo are on track to hitting their annual average snowfall totals.  Syracuse is only 5.6 inches away from their annual totals so that should be a snowshoe in for them.  I still think all the city's with the exception of Albany have a shot at hitting their normal snowfall and a couple being a little over it.  Rochester finally hit the 70 inch mark but is still just under 10 inches off their normals for this time of the year.

Don't forget to vote for Gerry McNamara for the Cousy award.  You can vote at http://www.cousyaward.com/.  Never mind the game the other night against DePaul.  He's a hustler, a team leader, a great kid, talented and the list goes on and on.  All the quality's in which the award is about so go vote.  At last check he was in 4th place.  Enjoy the weekend all!

3/3 - Go Buffalo and Binghamton!  Both had a decent day snow wise while the rest of us got shut out.  Binghamton set a record for the the date picking up 7.2 inches of snow blowing away the old record of 4.5 inches set in 1994.  Buffalo so far is reporting 4.5 inches since last update which they needed because Rochester was closing in fast for second place.  Looking at the stats Syracuse still holding a commanding lead by almost as many inches over second place as the number of points the SU Orangemen got blown out by last night by DePaul.

Speaking of SU!  Pitiful is the only word that comes to mind for last nights game.  No defense at all.  For one of the lower teams in offense in the Big East to score almost a million points on us is ridiculous.  SU has dug themselves in a whole right now when it comes to getting a pass to the NCAA tournament.  A win last night most likely would of been key to getting a bid but the whipping that they took put them back on the bubble and they will need to either beat Villanova on Sunday or have a Great Big East tournament.  If neither happens then it's hello NIT's.  Let's all hope that isn't going to be the case.  Have a great weekend all and Good Luck Syracuse against Villanova!

3/1 - Good Bye February and Hello March!  Did February seem mellow to everyone.  Well believe it or not it was the 10th snowiest February on record for Syracuse according to one of my favorite sites at http://mep1.phy.syr.edu/~rsholmes/snow.html and the 3 rd snowiest in the last ten years.  Here in Syracuse March came in like a lion with some heavy snow still falling right around midnight  so it will be interesting to see if it goes out like a lamb. 

Our capital Albany was the big loser/winner for February picking up only 3.9 inches for the month.  Man the state lawmakers have it easy over there don't they?  Syracuse did another butt kicking in February picking up 34.8 inches of new snow to bring the total to 108.3 and less than 7 inches off their norm now.  Rochester came in second place with 28.8 inches and are now less than 2 inches away from over taking Buffalo who had 26.3 inches in Feb.  Binghamton slipped way behind a chance at second place with only 12.5 inches for the month of February but still have a long shot at catching Bingo and Buffalo.  Only one question come to mind right now looking at the stats.  Do the people in Albany have to wear sunscreen year round?  Have a great day all!

2/27 - Buffalo finally hit the 70 inch mark and is only 9 inches away from catching up to their average numbers.  A couple of inches for most of the cities since the last update.  I'm still losing sleep over January just from thinking what could of been if we had a decent January.  Yeah, I know I need to really get a life huh if I'm losing sleep over what most would consider a nice winter so far.  But just think if we had any sort of January snowfall most of the cities would be well over average.  Remember, Albany beat the rest of us for total snowfall in January .  I know it's time to move on and see what the rest of the season has in store for us all.  Right now Syracuse is only 14.2 inches away from their average annual totals but the rest have a lot of catching up to do to hit theirs.  Will it happen is the big question!

2/26 - Wooo Hooo!  Syracuse has finally made it over the 100 inch mark and is still on pace to have a higher than normal annual snowfall.  Syracuse as of late Saturday evening surpassed the 100 inch mark adding another 3.2 inches to their total.  Buffalo and Rochester also picked up a few inches and believe it or not Albany even added something to their score picking up over an inch of snowfall and the good news is there is still some in the forecast for today and tonight.  I know that 100 inches or more is expected but after the wimpy January snowfall total of 12.1 inches there were some doubters that we would reach our average.  Not this Snow Dude?  There was never a doubt although I'm sure a lot of you noticed I removed the count down to 200 inches over a month ago.  That was  wishful thinking after the December we had on my part.  We had a real shot at beating out Buffalo for the bragging rights of the most snow in a season between the 5 cities until that dreaded January showed it's lame face.

On the Cuse front Syracuse lost yesterday to Georgetown and are still a game away from 20 wins.  It's not too often you will here me complain about the officials but anyone within a block of my house most likely heard me complaining.  Two words come to mind, They Sucked!  That thing with the shot clock right before half was a joke and I won't even get into it.  Another joke was when Roberts had his arms straight up on defense and the GT player leans into him and Roberts gets called for the foul.  I won't even bring up the player being faked out of his shorts, jumping 10 feet in the air and landing on McNamara.  Nope I won't bring up all the other bad calls that happened in the game because I'm not one to complain about the officials.  Hey, have a super week all!

2/24 - More snow to add to the totals for everyone but Albany.  Albany hasn't reported more than a trace of snowfall in a long time and so far for the month of February they only have 1.6 inches.  That's coming off a the month of January in which Albany beat the rest of our cities for total snowfall for the month.  Buffalo continues to pick up some snow from the lake but unfortunately it's also reaching Syracuse so they are only gaining a little at a time on Da Cuse.  If all goes according to the forecasts Syracuse should pass the 100 inch mark sometime this weekend.

So far for the season Syracuse is still on pace to at least hit their average annual snowfall.  It's hard to believe in what seems to be a mild winter they are 10 inches over their normal average for this time of the year and they are only a few inches off last seasons total of 137.6 inches for this time in the season.  Buffalo is still about a foot off their average for this time of the year, Rochester is around 15 inches below normal but almost 30 inches below last years totals.  Binghamton is close and is less than 7 inches off their average and Albany is around 20 inches away from their normal snowfall totals.  My guess is Syracuse, Buffalo and Rochester will be over their normal annual snowfall this season with Binghamton being right on average and Albany will end up having a below normal snowfall.  Just a hunch from the Oracle who is normally wrong when it comes to predictions.  Have a Great Weekend All and plan on doing some shoveling.

2/22 - A few inches for Buffalo and a couple inches for Rochester since last update.  Just under an inch for Syracuse, something for Albany and nothing for Bingo.  Time is starting to play a factor in the NYS Golden Snowball Award contest.  A few inches here and there just isn't going to do it for the city's chasing Syracuse.  I think the next couple of weeks is going to be a make or break for any city thinking of stealing the long sought after trophy from the Mayor of Syracuse's office.  I think it's time to up the ante to see if we can get the other city's to at least start trying.

Here's the deal.  If Albany wins this year I'll double what goldensnowball.com donates normally to a good cause making it $200.00.  If Binghamton wins I'll add an extra $75.00 to the normal amt donated by us.  As for Buffalo and Rochester, if either of your city's win I'll add another $50.00 to sweeten the pot to the normal $100.00.  So in other words everyone, start cheering for Syracuse to lose .  The snow contest that is!  Don't ya dare cheer against the orangemen.

2/21 - Wooo Hooo Syracuse Orangemen!!!  What a game last night wasn't it?  A close game all the way through right down to a crucial missed free throw by Gmac, the number 2 ranked free throw shooter in the nation I believe.  Gerry had a bad game offensively but what happened at the end sums up his career at Syracuse.  HUSTLE!  That's what McNamara is all about and always has been about even when he isn't having a great game.  Enough about him though.

Roberts stepped up to the plate last night, make that he stepped up to the basket last night and showed us what we all knew he could do all along.  Aggressively take the ball to the hoop and rebound!  There were some good passes inside to him and he finished it up without hesitation.  WTG Terrence.

Devendorf for 3 games straight now has play good team basketball and continues to make wiser decisions on offense than he was making.  To me this really is the key of Syracuse's game, Eric knowing when to drive and when to pull the ball back out.  The last 3 games he seems to be proving that he can do just that.  Great job Eric and awesome job SU!  Keep the TEAM playing going and the win streak rolling.

Ummm, Ooops!  Oh Yeah, this is a weather site huh? No new snow to report since last update.

2/20 - Sorry about taking a couple days off but it was well needed and it felt pretty good to take a little break from the computer.  Syracuse picked up close to 5 more inches since the last update and just an inch or tow here and there for the other city's.  The lake effect never really got going for the 5 GSA cities that could of resulted in a good dumping over the weekend .  WeatherT in the forum is thinking that something could be in the works for this coming weekend so lets hope that pans out for us all.  WeatherT is been pretty accurate this season with his long term forecasts so look for something to develope.  At least until it doesn't happen .

On the Orange front, SU takes on West Virginia tonight.  Another needed win for us once again.  From here on out they are all needed.  The only unranked team that we will be playing the rest of the season counting the Big East Tournament will be DePaul so the Orangemen have a tough road ahead of them trying to get back on track for the NCAA tourney but something that is still achievable.  A goal this guy thinks will indeed be achieved.  Go Cuse!!!

2/17 - Hold on to your hats!  Make that hold on to your roofs, your hat don't stand a chance today.  The wind is going nuts on all of the GSB city's.  Yeah, I know, like I had to tell you that huh.  This is crazy and someone make it go away PaLease.  How long to I have to hide in the basement, I mean how long do I have to clean the basement for before it starts letting up?  So far NiMo (it will always be NiMo to me) is reporting something like 67,000 without power in the CNY area.  Widespread damage from the wind with some tree's and power lines down.  The temperature earlier this morning was at 60 degrees and right now here in Da Cuse it's at 32 degrees.  At one point the winds here were sustained at 44 mph and rihgt now they are at 35 mph and of course it's the gusts that have me cleaning the basement for so long .

Around my neighborhood gusts of 64 mph were reported which isn't nothing compared to Lowville which reported a gust of 81 mph and the Rochester area reached 77 mph. That's just nuts and dangerous to say the least.  Stay away from trees and power lines!  Better yet just stay home and clean the basement or something!  Check your local news for more weather updates.

2/15 - Looking at all the cities snow stats I noticed that since February the totals are starting to catch up pretty good and are getting close to the normal totals for this time of the year.  All except for Albany that is.  Syracuse has been over their normal most of the season, Binghamton has been right around their averages all season and Buffalo and Rochester are right around a foot below the normal but that could change this weekend if the expected lake effect snow pans out.  With that said, I still have confidence that this seasons snowfall for most of the Golden Snowball city's will be over their yearly averages.  No doubt though that January put a huge dent in all of our totals.

Another big game for SU tonight.  At this point in the season they are all big games.  I'm looking for another win tonight and another good performance from all of the players.  Watkins seems to be playing with more authority now under the basket, GMac looks to be back in form again, I really, really liked the way Eric Devendorf was moving the ball around more and the way he played the last game and I think that was a BIG part of the win over St. Johns.  McCroskey seems to have gotten his thoughts together and is ready to move on as we all are.  With no more distractions lets see the kids play now like we all know they can play.  As a team and a good team at that.  We need a good a good performance tonight from Roberts, Josh and Nichols to make it a decisive victory.  Nough said!  Go Syracuse!!!

2/14 - Buffalo is still rockin and rollin adding almost 4 more inches of snowfall to their totals as Rochester and Binghamton watch their chances for second place start to slip and slide away.  WTG Buffalo!  Like I've mentioned before, as long as the lakes Great Lakes aren't frozen over this season is far from being a shoe in for Syracuse and the trophy is still up for grabs along with the cash prize.  Buffalo is finally less than 30 inches away from first place and remember one good lake effect storm in the Buffalo area can drop over a foot of snow on them.  A ton of snow could be in the works fro this coming weekend for all of us but right now it's way to far off to tell whether it will come together or not so stay tuned.

Syracuse, like Albany also pulled off a close one last night.  It doesn't get any more exciting than the Orangemen's win last night over Rutgers.  With something like 0.4 on the shot clock Roberts hit a big one from pretty deep out.  To me it was like time stopped when he got the basketball in his hands.  Although he probably only held the ball for a second or so, it seemed like at least 10 5 went by.  After watching Roberts shoot free throws, one of which was an air ball and most of the others coming up wayyy short the only thing going through my mind was please reach the basket.  Shame on me for even thinking that huh.  Ya, OK!  They seemed to pass a little more than they have been passing but IMO their still not moving the ball around enough in order to get some good looks and shots.  Still a lot of forced shots last night and what is it with the driving up the middle every time.  Mostly Devendorf and McNamara who sat out most of the game with an injury, driving in the paint which is ok once in awhile but jeesh, not every time down the court only to have the other teams defense collapse and trap us.  It might of worked earlier in the season but don't cha think the other teams have that number by now?  I know enough of the couch coaching as usual.  Either way it was a good win and a well needed win.  I still think SU has an awesome team this year and will be going a long way. All just my opinion of course.

More Cheese to go with My Whine

2/13 - Not much to report other than Albany and Bingo picked up less than an inch since the last update.  Syracuse.com brings up a good point today on one of their blogs articles about the blizzard that New York City just had the pleasure of being part of.  You know the one that we Didn't get to be part of.  According to their stats, right now NYC is at 38.6 inches on the season after this weekends storm putting them over Albany's total of 26.2 so far this season.  My question to you, is it time for a little shakeup in the Golden Snowball contest?  Should the contest be based on all of New York State's cities with a population over 100,000 people?  For some reason upstate NY doesn't seem to like changes as you can see in our poll asking whether Utica should be included in the contest because their population is larger than Binghamton.  To my surprise over 40% oppose the change.  I truly didn't expect to see those results and I still have to go through all the votes to make sure they are legit but I was expecting something like 10% would oppose it.  Anyways, more to come on all that down the road.  As for the storm that the East Coast just got, I can't tell you how depressed I am about us not being part of it.

If you caught the Syracuse game yesterday against St Johns you caught a good performance by the Orangemen who by the way got to be part of the Blizzard.  You might be thinking that they played a team that was struggling just like us which is true, but ST Johns has a pretty decent defense and Da Cuse handled it.  What I liked most about the game besides G-Mac finally getting it together was that Eric Devendorf in my opinion played his best game of the year.  Why?  Because he passed the ball, he pushed the ball around like he should be doing.  According to the stats he had no assists but that is irrelevant because by moving the ball around he set up some good shots for the other players.  He wasn't out of control this game and it paid off for him racking up 18 points shooting going 9 for 11.  The rest of the team played solid with 4 in double digits and defense looked good right up till the end of the game.  They also had 17 assists compared to their average of just over 12 which should be a wake up call as to what will work for them.  Way to go guys and make this game the start of a run of victory's!  Have a Super Week All!

2/12 - Not much to report other than a few tenths of snow here and there.  Smadsen from the forum was at it again giving us some great new stats on winter storms for the Golden Snowball cities.  You can check them out at http://www.goldensnowball.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=148 .  When I have a chance I will add them to the main section of goldensnowball.com.  Whne you have some spare time feel free to drop by the forum, we have a great group there from all over the New York State!

Syracuse plays St. Johns today in the middle of the NYC blizzard.  Lets hope all that snow makes them feel like it's a home game for them.  Time is running out for the Orangemen and they need some wins badly.  After checking out the stats in the Post Standard something stood out like a 60 degree day in the middle of January.  Well actually a lot stood out but what stood out the most to me is what I have been whining about for most of the season.  Passing!!!  The only team that is below us in assists and turnovers is S Florida who hasn't had a win yet in the Big East.  According to the Post Standard Syracuse is averaging only 12.6 assists a game and 16.1 turnovers a game.  From the games I've seen, most of the turnovers have to be from inside the paint where we keep getting trapped when we drive up the middle.  As for the assists, obviously not enough passing and moving the ball around to find an open man.  So in four words, all I can say from the comfort of my couch is "Pass The Freaking Ball"  Nough said from the couch coach and GO SU!

2/11 - Buffalo is on a run now and starting to distant themselves from Rochester and Binghamton picking up another 3.1 inches of snow.  If they continue their pattern they should catch Syracuse sometime in July .  Really they still have half of a snowballs chance of catching Da Cuse if they can get some good lake effect.  Remember at last check the lakes haven't frozen over yet so their snow should continue as long as the cold winds continue to come in over the lakes.  One thing of note is that Buffalo has already beaten their January snow totals which wasn't too hard to do.  Go Buffalo!!!  Enjoy your weekend all!

2/9 - An inch here and there to add on to a few of the city's totals since the last update.  It looks like more snow is on the way with the possibility of some more lake effect later this afternoon and tonight forecasted for the Syracuse area and up north.  It shouldn't be anything like the last storm up north but any amt of snow works for me.  How about you?  Yea, I know, shut up your telling me.  Lets see if it can go far enough south to get Binghamton back into second or third place.  This is the time of year when the inches will start adding up and hopefully get the snow totals back to where they should be.

The Orangemen dropped another game last night and it wasn't pretty.  G Mac sat again for a good part of the game and the shots just were not falling.  I think last night was the first game I watched where I didn't scream at the TV.  Not even once.  That's not good when I'm to that point this time of the basketball season.  One thing I will say is UConn deserves the number one rank.  They do look good and they are playing great as a team.  SU will find it sooner or later, lets just hope that it's sooner.  Go SU! 

2/8 - Finally a little bit of a change in the lineup and it's about time.  Rochester slipped ahead of Binghamton by just 1/10 of an inch.  Binghamton now gets to become the new neighbor next to last place Albany .  I really thought the way Buffalo's winter has been going that they might of dropped down from second place but some late snowfall helped them to actually gain on Rochester and Binghamton.  Some of the totals from yesterday's lake effect are Syracuse with 6.3 inches, Buffalo had 4.3, Rochester reporting in with 2.3, Bingo had 1.3 and just a trace for Albany.  The big battle this year so far has been for second place.  Syracuse still holding onto a commanding lead of over 32 inches.

Speaking of Syracuse it's a big game for them tonight and I think they have a real chance to knock off UConn.  I'm serious!  I still think they have a much better team than what's been showing up this season and all they need to do is to play like a team.  Enough of the driving up the middle every time.  It's not working, lets face it.  Too many turnovers and that's part of the reason.  Move the ball around the outside and spread the players out more.  That's what's going to give us the open shots.  Go back to the basics of actually catching a pass underneath the basket and then making the shot.  No missed lay-ups or dunks.   Jeeeesshhhh!  Tonight Syracuse knocks off the number 1 team, WooooHooo Go SU!

2/7 - Finally some decent snow fell in some of the cities.  Right now the totals are only from around 12am this morning fro Syracuse, Albany and Binghamton and from around 5am for Rochester and Buffalo so the totals aren't finished.  Right now here in Da Cuse there's around 6 - 8 inches of new snow with more expected today.  Rochester so far has another 2.6 inches, Binghamton reports only .3 inches, a tenth for Albany and hard to believe but it's been the same ole story all season for Buffalo who is reporting just a trace of snow. 

I'm starting to feel sorry for Buffalo which is saying a lot because they always were one of our main competitors in the Golden Snowball contest.  Smadsen posted a picture (Click Here) of the radar last night which pretty much sums up their season.  Tons of snow falling all around them and they just can't seem to get in on the action.  Also Tina from the Tug Hill area reported measuring 37 inches of snow up her way which has me pretty jealous but of course I'm use to them kicking butt by now.  More snow is forecast for today but it looks like they just dropped the numbers down a bit.  If possible I'll do a night time update on the snow graph above when all the totals come in.  Enjoy the bright white day all!

2/6 - Surprisingly there isn't a lot to report yet but that will be changing.  Most of the stats reported so far are from early the early am.  If I get a chance I will try to do an update later this evening.  Smadsen from Buffalo made a post in the Golden Snowball forum stating that not a whole lot of snow yet there but all around him is getting pounded with snow.  The Tug Hill and North are getting pounded at last report with some receiving between one to two feet of snow so far and more expected.  The lake effect snow bands are suppose to drop to the south and should reach Syracuse if all goes well, or bad depending on your frame of mind.  Meteorologist WeatherT from the forum who has been pretty much dead on with this storm, forecasting this storm as far back as a week ago so make sure you check out to get the latest updates from WeatherT and another meteorologist Daver.  Plus updates from our members living in he cities of the Golden Snowball contest for current weather conditions.  Also TugHillTina who keeps us informed on the weather in the Tug Hill area.  Have a super week all and drive safe.

2/5 - Happy Super Bowl Day All!  Still nothing to report snow wise but come tomorrow morning there should be some new snow totals.  Lets all hope that Buffalo can catch up to Syracuse to make this years snowball race a close contest.  All the cities are now well below their average snowfall except for Syracuse who at one time I think was something like 40 inches over their average.  Well right now they are only a couple inches over their average for this time of the year.  With the new storm coming today and tonight it looks like Buffalo is still the front runner to benefit from it along with the north country.  Take it slow driving tonight if your heading out for the Super Bowl.

I have to admit I don't a favorite team in this years super bowl.  I suppose I'll be cheering for Pittsburg but that will all depend on what the score means if you get my drift.  Lets start a brain wave thing going today.  Everyone who visits here today think 7 and 3.  7 - 3, 7 - 3.  Not that there is any reason to think 7 and 3 but it could be fun to see if the score at the end of any quarters of the football game end with 7 -3.  This is kind of just an experiment and come the end of the game think 7 and 3 as hard as you can .  Hey if this experiment works we'll all try to think World Peace next time.  Have a great day all and keep an eye on the weather, especially those of you out in the Buffalo and Tug Hill area.

2/4 - It's a good thing that this website is just kind of like a hobby for me and not how I make a living because the way this winter has gone I'd be broke.  Well actually I am broke but I'd be worse off.  The weather looks like it could or should be changing for some of us starting later tonight and possibly throughout the whole week.  At least up until Tuesday if the forecasts are right.  It looks like Buffalo will make out the best with a storm that should start effecting them later tonight and tomorrow.  Rochester and Syracuse appear to be a hit or miss depending on the temperatures as to whether it's going to be a lot of rain or some snow.  Right now it's looking really good according to the forecast for up North so hopefully the snowmobile trails will get pounded with enough snow to get them sledding again.  Some more good news is that the lake effect machine should start up again and go on until at least Tuesday with the cold air coming in over the lakes.  Lets hope so at least.  Have a great Super Bowl Weekend All!

2/2 - Something pretty freaky happened in January if the stats are right that I checked.  Something other than the freaky low snow totals.  Albany, yes Albany the city who routinely takes last place in the Golden Snowball contest kicked all of our butts in January having the highest snow total for the month.  They pulled it off in style to, picking up just enough snow on the last day of the month to slide past Binghamton and Rochester.  Congrats Albany on making a lame month a little more memorable.  January 2006, the month that Albany kicked some butt!  Lets hope we have some better weather in February or should I say snowier weather!  Better weather has different meanings to different people .

1/31 - Well March is finally almost over.  Oh wait, that was January huh?  Good riddens to one of the lamest, most disappointing January I can remember .  Syracuse starts the season off with one of the snowiest Decembers on record and then we all get a January that left me crawling on the ground looking for words to type here .  Some facts on January 2006!

Albany had more snow than Syracuse and Buffalo and almost beat Rochester and Binghamton.  Buffalo had the worst January out of all of us with only 7.1 inches unless it snows before today is over.  The thing with Buffalo is their snow normally starts to wind down a bit as the lake freeze over BUT, the lake hasn't frozen over yet.  That's how bad January was at producing lake effect snow.  PITIFUL!!!  Will February be able to rescue this season?  We can only hope so.  Below are the stats up until today, the 31st.

1/30 - What Is Going On With The Orangemen?  Forget about the snow or lack of for awhile, right now it's time to figure out what is going on with the Syracuse basketball team.  I was so psyched and I suppose I still am about the team we have or should I say should have this year.  Granted the Big East by far the best conference in the nation but that's no excuse for the Orangemen to lose 4 games in a row is it?  NOOOO!!!!  They have way too many offensive weapons to lose 4 basketball games in a row.  A couple of games they definitely weren't playing team ball but yesterday in my opinion they did play team ball.

Can you miss lay-ups and win?  Perhaps some teams can but obviously we can't so stop missing the gimmies guys.  Can you miss slam dunks and win?  We can't and that needs to stop happening.  I'll go back to the old days when I use to coach and help coach little league baseball and softball.  Most of the season was teaching the kids the basics even though they were taught during all the practices.  It's a simple 1,2,3 thing.  Be ready for the ball, catch the ball and then throw the ball.  Most kids were looking to throw the ball before they caught the ball.  I know it sounds stupid but S.U. needs to go back to the basics right now.  How many passes has Watkins missed this season taking his eye off the ball because he is thinking about shooting it before he even has it?  Enough times and it's not just him it's a lot of the players making the basic mistakes that are hurting them throughout the game.  1 = Be Ready, 2 = Catch the Ball, 3 = Throw the ball.

The thing about number 3 in baseball and basketball is you throw the ball but you need to know where to throw the ball.  With basketball you need to know where and when to throw the ball.  In other words if you don't have a shot then don't force the shot.  Pass the dang thing off and then pass it again until you have a decent shot and if it's a lay-up or a slam dunk then make it PALEASEEEE.  IMO Watkins and Roberts need to make things happen more than they are right now and don't get me wrong they are working hard as is the whole team for that matter but the mistakes are killing them.  More passes on the outside, not one pass and shoot or drive up the middle only to have the defense collapse in leaving no shot and no place to pass the ball.  It worked earlier in the season but it's not working now.  The other teams have our number.  Move the ball around with good crisp passes until there is a shot.

I still think we have one of the best teams in the nation right now and it's time for the players to start showing the nation just how good they really are and what they can do.  It's time to start winning the games that we should be winning and better yet to start winning the games that people think we shouldn't be winning.  Let's go guys, it's time to start showing them that Da Cuse is in the house from the beginning of the game until the end.  I know, enough of the Couch Coaching.  Go Syracuse

1/28 - All of the stats should be up to date now.  Right now it's a good race for second place with Binghamton less than a couple of inches away from Buffalo and Roc City right there with the both of them.  Syracuse and Bingo are the only 2 citys above their average snowfall for this time in the season.  It should be interesting to see what becomes of the weather come Sunday and Monday.  I've seen a couple of different forecasts.  Some calling for an icy mix, others saying rain to snow.  Lets hope it's the rain to snow and not a lot of freezing rain or ice.  A gorgeous day here in Syracuse today with the sun shining.  Have a great weekend all!

1/26 - Well it's about time some halfway decent snow fell isn't it?  Still nothing like the numbers were looking for but at least it's bright white outside again.  Rochester picked up just under 5 inches, Binghamton grabbed 3.8 inches of new snowfall, Syracuse shows 3.4 for yesterday, Buffalo once again missed the heavy stuff which stayed just south of them and picked up just 1.6 inches which is better than nothing.  Albany received just 0.3 inches of snow.   From the sounds of it the Tug Hill area did ok and the sleds should be able to get back on the trails without beating up their machines on the trails.

The race for second place is pretty tight right now with Buffalo holding on to a tiny lead of just over 2 inches.  I don't think they can hold on to second place or even 3rd place for that matter.  I have a feeling that Rochester and Binghamton will take them in the next week or two.  Syracuse still has a commanding lead but this is New York weather we are talking about and anything is possible. Some lake effect that hits Buf and Roc City but misses Syr and it's a close race.  Better yet a nor" Eastern that hits Bingo and misses Da Cuse and again it's a close race.  In other words, don't think it's over yet because it's not even close to being a lock up yet for Syracuse.  Have a great bright white day all!

1/25 - Not a whole lot to report as of this morning but there will be some changes coming once all the snowfall reports come in.  So far here in Da Cuse probably less than an inch.  Hopefully the other cities are making out better and start playing the catch up game.  It looks like the Tug Hill area might be finally getting some long awaited snow.  The month of January has had to suck for those that own snowmobiles.  Hopefully they will be able to catch up on their riding miles from here on out.  Rumor has it that it might be a good February for snowfall so we'll have to wait and see how that plays out.  Below are some updated stats showing how lame January has been so far.  Looking out the window right now right around Noon at looks like a snow band might of finally reached us.  Lets see if it last.  Take it slow driving all and stay safe!

1/24 - Albany continues it's butt kicking for the month of January picking up 5.2 inches yesterday.  Binghamton grabbed 2.3 inches of new snow and is only 4 inches away from Buffalo but that might change come tonight and tomorrow if Buffalo can get into the Lake Effect snow that might start hitting us later on today.  Hopefully the snow will hold off until after the rush hour.  If the snow and wind hit at the right time tomorrow morning, who knows, the kids just may get a day of from school

One of our members in the forum, Steve, aka - Smadsen took the time and gathered a bunch of stats up from NOAA.  What's so cool about the stats is that we can now go way back to 1940 and see which city would of won the Golden Snowball award.  Plus now we know which cities won the snow contest when it was first started back in the late 70's by Meteorologists from Rochester.  When looking at the stats one of the seasons that stands out to me the most is the 1982 - 1983 season where Binghamton won the trophy and Albany came in second.  I pretty much figured Albany would of came in last every year but that isn't the case at all.  I'm guessing that season was probably like this January has been.  Very little lake effect snow and snow coming from the south which normally benefits the more southern and eastern cities which would be Binghamton and Albany.  Anyways check out the new section at http://www.goldensnowball.com/yearly-winners-golden-award.htm it's pretty cool and a Big Thanks to Steve for taking the time to put the stats together for all of us.

1/22 - Nothing new to report other than January so far has been one of the wimpiest on record so far most of the Golden Snowball cities.  As for the season, what a difference a month makes.  All of the cities with the exception of Syracuse are now under their average snowfall totals for the season which is so hard to comprehend after the start that most of us had.  Syracuse will also be falling below the season average pretty soon.  In less than a week if something doesn't change soon.  Below are some pitiful stats for January 2006 so far and they are not pretty.  This weather has to be hurting the people who snowmobile and the skiers.  Hopefully the snow dance tonight will fix that problem and get the snow flying again for all the GSB cities, the Tug Hill area and the rest of the fun places.  I wonder if green is showing in the Tug Hill area?  That doesn't normally happen until probably around July! 

1/20 - Nothing new to report snow wise so a Big Happy Birthday to my oldest son Shane who turned 21 today .  Maybe I should use the instead of the cake picture.  It's kind of scary now that he is of legal age but he has been responsible and I know it will continue.  He is also going to college to be in law enforcement so enough said about that.

Shane, have a Super 21st birthday and don't over do it and enjoy your day!  Everyone else have a great weekend!

1/19 - Talk about me slacking off.  I almost went 2 days without an update which isn't too unusual except for the fact it doesn't happen too often when there is snow to report.  Rochester picked up a well needed 3.1 inches of snow to move closer at the chance of sledding past Binghamton and Buffalo.  They both better be worried because the chances are one of them is going to end up right down there with Albany sometime soon.  Syracuse and Buffalo picked up around 2 inches since last updated and zip showing for Albany and Binghamton.  Stay Tuned!

1/17 - 2/10ths for Rochester and that's it.  It's time to take matters into my own hands now.  Something that only can be performed 2 times a season or else it won't work.  It's time for my snow dance ritual which has a 88% success rate of bringing measurable snow within 2 days after doing it.  This is something that has never been disclosed up until now.  It is done late at night to spare any of my neighbors the embarrassment of having to live next to me .  So come Sunday night if we are not back on a decent weather snowfall pattern I will resort to it and hope that I don't get arrested or worse yet sent off to an institution for a mental checkup.  This is for real by the way!  Oh come on like none of you skiers or sledders have ever done it before.  Yea right!  Anyways, the little guy below almost has the snow dance down pat!  Hey have a great day all!

1/16 - More snow for everyone.  Not a whole lot but an inch here and there will start adding up.  Syracuse has passed Albany's annual snowfall but Albany continues to have the most snow for the month of January which has had my jaw to the floor for the last few days in shock.  One thing I keep hearing from friends and family because of how lame the winter weather has been the last several weeks is that this is going to be a below average snowfall season.  I really don't think it is going to be.  We had a few weeks with not much accumulation of snow but it seems that happens a lot.  I know I said it before and I have to say it again.  Right now 4 of the 5 cities are over last years totals for this date.  Right about now last year is when some decent amts of snow started to fall and lasted throughout most of February.  Below are this years totals and last years up until January 16th.

I just noticed how close the race was last year at this time, WOW.  Anyways, as you can see that although it seems like we are having an off season, in reality we are pretty much on pace to at least hit last years numbers if not higher.  Hey, you think it's easy being the bearer of bad news , Have a Great Week All!

1/15 - Albany pulled out a victory when all was said and done yesterday picking up 3 inches of new snowfall.  It hit 60 degree's on Friday in Syracuse and right now it is 10 degrees F outside.  Pretty typical CNY weather isn't it.  I'll still take it over those 90 degree days we had last summer .  SMadsen from the forum who is from the Buffalo area mentioned that right now for January they only have a measly 3.2 inches of snowfall which if it stands would be the lowest recorded snowfall for them for the month of January.  Lets hope it doesn't stand and that the other cities catch up to make this a close race again.  Looking at all the city's for the month you would never guess who has the most snow so far.  Albany has more snow than the rest of us for January and Syracuse is wimping out big time with only 2.8 inches have way through the month.  Pitiful I tell ya!

Syracuse looked really good last night against cincy.  No doubt the Mac attack played a big part of the game but once again they played as a team finding the player that was open and feeding Gerry the ball when he was on fire.  Defense looked better also not waiting until the second half this game to turn it on.  They played good D in m opinion through out the entire game.  Unfortunately Eric Devendorf got into foul trouble pretty early and ended up sitting a lot but that's what makes this team so dangerous this year, they have weapon after weapon that they can bring on to the court.  Great games guys and keep it going against UConn and Pitt this week.

1/14 - Finally some nice weather moved into the Golden Snowball City's areas .  Yup, we're back to winter, for a little while that is.  What a difference a day makes. High 50's yesterday and today as I type its in the 20's all around.  Buffalo so far on the day is showing 1.6 inches of snow, Rochester is reporting 1.9 inches and Bingo and DaCuse just a tenth here and there.  It's about time the western city's started to make a move even if it is just and inch or so.  Keep in mind that some of us are still above or close to last years totals at this time of the year and all of us were above average at the end of the season.

SU against Cincinnati tonight, Go Orangemen!  Step up the defense, go to the bench more than usual to rest the starters a little more than normal and it should be a good one.

1/12 - What the is going on here.  I walk outside to get the paper and I have the urge to cut the grass.  Not even a trace of winter is to be seen anywhere other than the Christmas lights that are still hanging on the house.  It's 50 degrees as I type and I think if my back wasn't bothering me I would grab my son and look for the nearest open golf course.  There are some good conversations going on in the forum right now as to whether Lake Erie will freeze over this year, an over and under on whether Rochester has enough time to come from behind and pull ahead of Buffalo and Binghamton and some fun predictions.  I'm starting to think this nice weather is my fault and that I should apologize for it.  If you remember from a previous post I mentioned that my darling daughter is going to winter school at Herkimer college.  Well with her commuting back and forth I have to admit that I have been hoping that it doesn't snow because of her driving there.  So if it is indeed my fault then I have to say I am very sorry about the nice weather .

Go Syracuse Orangemen!!!  Another good win for the team last night against Notre Dame.  A little lack of defense in the first half but halfway through the second they clamped down pretty good to force some big turnovers.  Gerry had a good game and was on with the 3 pointers last night.  The rest of the team also looked pretty good on offense.  I don't know what the numbers were from the free throw line for Syracuse but they hit them towards the end of the game when they needed them.  Eric Devendorf continues to impress me and seems to play better and better each game if that's even possible.  Hard to believe that Eric is a freshman isn't it.  I still think by the end of his basketball career he will be one of the best players to come out of Syracuse.  That's a 4 year career Eric so don't even think anything different .  If SU keeps playing as a team and along with the deep bench they have this year I see a great season ahead.  That's all from the couch coach and have a great day all!

1/10 - All the stats should be up to date including something I've been putting off, the Average Season Snow Totals.  I know, it's about time.  While updating them something interesting popped up.  Buffalo and Rochester's annual average snowfall totals have actually went down since I started keeping stats on them or should I say started borrowing the stats from NOAA.  Syracuse, Binghamton and Albany's annuals all went up.  If I am correct and remember that doesn't happen too often below are the differences from when I started the website in 2002 until the end of 2004 which can be found at  http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/online/ccd/avgsnf.txt .

Syracuse - Old Annual Average - 111.9 ---- New Yearly Average - 116.9
Buffalo - Old Annual Average - 97 ---- New Yearly Average - 93.6
Binghamton - Old Annual Average - 81 ---- New Yearly Average - 84.7
Rochester - Old Annual Average - 100.3 ---- New Yearly Average - 92.8
Albany - Old Annual Average - 62.7 ---- New Yearly Average - 64.1

So if these stats are right and I'll do some more research on them, then it's a pretty interesting trend that could be starting up.  Think about the high Hurricane activity that's been going on the past couple of years which tends to come up the northeast coast.  Makes me wonder if there are more snow events doing the same thing, coming up from the south and effecting the more southern and eastern city's in the winter season.  Where is this all going?  I don't have a clue, I'm just rambling on .  Maybe a weatherman can clue us all in.  Cheers All!

1/9 - Sorry about the lack of updates the last day or so.  It won't happen again!  Of course it will happen again, you all know me.  Anyways a little bit here and there as the totals continue to keep adding up.  People are starting to think that this will be an easy winter but I'm not falling for it.  Most of us are still above last years snowfall pace at this time of the year and look at the totals for last year.  Something's gotta give soon because this weather just isn't gonna last, mark my word. Have a great week all.

1/7 - New snow for all the citys except for Albany.  I must of jinxed them yesterday when I said they were getting the most snow for January.  I'm sure they won't mind.  An inch here and there with Rochester picking up the most snow with 2.2 inches.  Binghamton continues to sneak up on Buffalo now being less than 4 inches away from over taking them.  I'm hoping for a storm that hits all the city's except for Syracuse to get this seasons contest a little closer.  Syracuse is still holding a commanding lead in the Golden Snowball contest but it has narrowed a little bit over the last couple of weeks. 

One thing I noticed while doing stats today is that although some of us are below our average snowfall for this time of the year, most if not all of us are well over last years totals at this time which is pretty relevant.  If you look at last year final totals we were all over the season average's.  So in other words right now compared to this time last year Syracuse is 3 feet over what it was last season, Buffalo has 10 inches more than this time last year, Binghamton is over by over 15 inches and Rochester is over last years totals by over 8 inches.  In other words we are all on pace to have more snow this year than last year.  The big question is when will it start pounding us again.

A Big Happy Birthday to my son Christopher who turns 17 today and my sister Debby who turns the Big  5 0.  Happy Birthday Chris and enjoy your day both of you!  Have a great weekend all!

1/6 - Albany continues to add a little bit here and there and added another 1/2 an inch since the last update.  They've finally made it over the 1 foot mark since January started but they are also over 6 inches under their normal snowfall for this time in the season.  Syracuse started out the season at a record pace but since winter began has had about as much snow as the tropics might get.  Only 0.1 inches of snow so far for January.  So far Albany has had more snow in January than Syracuse has had.  As a matter of fact Albany and Binghamton have had more snow than Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo combined.  Pretty pitiful if you ask me.  Yea, I know ya didn't ask .

Everyone has heard of summer school right?  Well how about winter school?  My darling daughter has just finished her 1st semester at college and guess what, she has to go to winter school .  Better yet I get to pay for the extra course that she needs to take not to mention the money it is costing me for gas for her to commute back and forth each day which is about 15.00 a day for 3 weeks which comes to another 215.00 on top of the class tuition.  All I can say is and and that she better get an A in WINTER SCHOOL. Enough said about that, for now anyways!

New Years Resolution Update if anyone is following it.  Progress is being made on my smoking habit.  The last 2 days I have cut down from just over a pack a day to 12 cigarettes a day.  I tried going cold turkey and just quitting completely which lasted about 4 hours or should I say when I was told how much WINTER SCHOOL would be costing me .  I know it was just an excuse to have a smoke but smoking only 12 a day is a pretty good start.  That's about 50% of what I use to smoke and the goal for next week will be to get down to 5 smokes a day.  No luck on the other 2 resolutions though.  I still eat like a pig and I think I actually am gaining weight .  Hey, have a super weekend all!

1/4 - Albany has been rocking lately and believe it or not has the most snowfall for January so far beating out the rest of the city's .  Rock City better get a move on because it will be pretty embarrassing to lose to Albany.  No offense meant towards you Albany fans of course.

If I'm not mistaken and normally I am