Syracuse Orange Blogger Awards: Best Freshman

As one of the many first year blogs to join the Syracuse corner of the interwebs this past year, it is only fitting that a rookie present the SOB for “Best Freshman”. The winner of this year’s Best Freshman award will be following 2007 winner Paul Harris and 2008 winner Jonny Flynn (and by following, I don’t mean heading to the NBA Draft. I hope).

Here were this year’s nominees:

The 2008-09 Syracuse Orange Freshmen: Mookie Jones, Kris Joseph and Brandon Reese.

MOOKIE JONES: Mookie is a 6-6 small forward from Peekskill who didn’t get much playing time on a deep Syracuse team this season. Jones appeared in nine games, the last of which was the January 7^th game against DePaul. His season was cut short by a hip injury that required surgery in February and will seek a medical redshirt for this past season (meaning he can become the first ever two-time S.O.B. nominee for Best Freshman!). He averaged 4.1 points in 9.9 minutes per contest, including season highs of 21 minutes and 9 points against Colgate.

KRIS JOSEPH: Joseph, or Kris-Jo as he calls himself, is a 6-7 forward who came to Syracuse from Montreal via Archbishop Carroll in Washington D.C. Joseph saw the most action of any freshman, appearing in 34 of Syracuse’s 38 games. Joseph’s best game was against Florida in the C.B.E. Classic in Kansas City- playing 26 minutes and finishing with 10 points and 5 rebounds against the Gators. He was also brought in as a center in the epic 6-OT game against UConn after sitting on the bench for nearly 3 hours.

BRANDON REESE: Reese is a 5-11 walk-on guard from Davie, FL who appeared in 16 games. His season highlight was playing in front of his family and friends in the first round of the NCAA tournament against Stephen F. Austin which was played in Miami.

With how the season played out there was very little debate. On to the results:

The Orange Empire Extends It’s Tenticles To Detroit

Last night the citizens of Detroit voted for a new head of their city. And these wise citizens elected the greatest of all Syracuse greats, Dave Bing as their mayor. This is the second best thing to happen in Detroit this year (the first being UConn losing in the Final Four).

In all seriousness Bing has a tough road ahead of him. The last mayor resigned and later went to jail for lying in a civil trial regarding an affair with a staffer. Not only that, but apparently the Detroit economy is having a bit of a rough patch. I believe it was in the papers.

By far the best quote about this election:

“I don’t like either one; it’s like tossing a coin. But I’ll give Bing a chance,” Bonnie Brookslee, 78, said after voting.

This sounds like the point guard situation for SU next season. Are we sure Bonnie Brookslee isn’t really Jim Boeheim?

So Syracuse now can claim both the Mayor of Detroit and the Vice-Presidency as it’s own. Maybe if our favorite lawyer/blogger gets his act together, he can take over the vacant seat on the Supreme Court.

It’s Like The Oscars For Syracuse Blogs

Its no Save Our Bluths, but these S.O.B.s are sure to entertain.

It’s May. Which means in the world of Syracuse athletics, nothing much is going to be happening other than Orange lacrosse. The football team has already had their spring workouts and the drama revolving around the basketball team is hopefully done until Jonny Flynn goes to a crappy NBA team.

But there is one big thing going on in the world of Syracuse blogging: the 2009 Syracuse Orange Blogger awards! This year’s S.O.B.s are sure to be entertaining after the Orange made their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2006. And just like this version of the S.O.B.s, this years awards feature guest presenters like yours truly. I’m no Richard Belzer, but I will be presenting the results from the “Best Freshman” voting on Wednesday. So stay tuned for that and make sure to check out all the other awards as well.