Sure, old folks will whine that the Big East has too many teams and March Madness emasculated the regular season. But even if they ain’t the biggest games of the year anymore, Georgetown/Syracuse can still make for the biggest game of the night.

In last night’s resumption of the rivalry, the Hoyas got crushed by the host Orangemen, 73-56. The New York Post ran a wondrous photo next to its game writeup that captures the domination, but doesn’t speak well, if a photo can speak, of Austin Freeman’s chances at the next level. Orangeman and local prep star Arinze Onuaku appears to be swatting Freeman’s jump shot…with his elbow.

How come Syracuse has always recruited out of this area at least as well as Georgetown? Two current Syracuse players have roots local to us — Onuaku of Episcopal and Kris Joseph of Carroll (who put up a team-high 15 points). Before them came Dave Bing and Sherman Douglas of Spingarn and Lawrence Moten of Carroll and on and on. Heck, we’ll claim Carmelo Anthony of Oak Hill, too.

And let’s not forget the greatest D.C. product ever to play ball for the Orangemen: Wilmeth Sidat-Singh. What a story that guy had. Somebody should write it up.

Awesome Syracuse trivia: Last night’s win over Georgetown gave Syracuse a 20-1 record on the season. If I’m reading Wikipedia right, in his 24 34 years as Syracuse coach, Boeheim has now won 20 games or more 22 32 times.

His only off years: 16-13 in 1981-1982 and 19-13 in 1996-1997. I mean, if you look up consistency in the dictionary, well, you should feel pretty stupid for not knowing what “consistency” means. At your age? Geezus Chrysler…

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Another New York/D.C. rivalry that ain’t what it once was: Just up on youtube: Lots of raw footage from the most famous of the DeMatha/Power Memorial basketball games, the one played on January 30, 1965, at a sold-out Cole Field House. In that game, DeMatha ended Power’s 71-game winning streak.

(AFTER THE JUMP: That #33 from Power looks soft? Any other career options for the kid? Snyder calls his Dream Seats “the best value in sports entertainment?” Really? Do we need more high school all-star games? U2 is now the official band of NASCAR? Really?)

The real kick from the black and white reel comes in seeing a teenage Lew Alcindor, #33 for Power Memorial. I’m no Sonny Vaccaro, but, based on these clips alone, I really don’t think this Alcindor has much of a future in basketball. Sure, he’s real big, and that will get him through high school. But he looks soft. His heart’s not in basketball. Too bad. Maybe he should take up acting.

Butt seriously: If you get at all excited about local sports history, this new old footage is NSFW.

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Via Dan Snyder’s message board, ExtremeSkins.com, the Redskins have sent out a letter to premium ticketholders in hopes of retaining their patronage and staying out of court.

Here ’tis:

On behalf of the Washington Redskins, thank you for your continued passion and loyalty. The Redskins continue to lead all NFL teams in attendance, as our fans maintain their support of the Burgundy and Gold. With the hiring of Head Coach Mike Shanahan and General Manager Bruce Allen, The Future is Now!

In 2009, Premium Members were offered unique Member-only events with Players and Coaches, a private event at Six Flags, and flag football games at FedExField. Plus, members were eligible for Monthly Drawing – including great Redskins memorabilia and a trip to the Super Bowl!

In 2010, Premium Membership will continue to be the best value in sports entertainment with more exciting promotions and entertaining events built around your team. Premium Members will have even more access to the team during draft day, training camp and special events throughout the year. Please continue to check www.redskins.com/premiumclub to stay updated on your Premium membership benefits.

A number of exciting enhancements and events are schedule for FedExField this season, several of which are based on suggestions received from many of you. You can look forward to:

New Stadium Upgrade:
* New HD Video Scoreboards; state of the art HD picture perfect videoboards, 100 feet wide (3 times wider than the current screens) showing more and faster replays, out of town scoress and fantasy stats! See enclosed brochure for details.
* Brand new Club Level end-zone party decks with great views of the field and room to stand with friends!
* New automated parking and traffic management system to expedite travel to and from the stadium.

College Football Games:
FedExField is pleased to announce two major college football games in 2010. Virginia Tech will host Boise State and Penn State will face Indiana. Plus, other great games are scheduled for 2011 and beyond. Some of the best seats in the house are reserved for Premium Members.

The Redskins want your Premium Membership experience to be an unforgettable one. If you need any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact ys at 301-276-6800. Again, thank you for your loyal support. Please enjoy the enclosed gift , and we look forward to seeing you on opening day 2010.

Hail to the Redskins!!!

I wonder who wrote that whopper about Snyder’s Dream Seats being “the best value in sports entertainment.” Probably somebody who got laid off from “The Tonight Show w/Conan O’Brien.” Or Redskins COO David “That’s the Ticket” Donovan.

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DCSportsFan.com, the ambitious clearinghouse for all things prep and jocky, is looking to sponsor an all-day slate of junior high and high school all-star basketball games.

Here’s a call to arms posted on the site:

We are currently in talks to start an day of all-star games this March for 8th graders, an underclassman game (9th & 10th) and an upperclassman game (11th & 12th).

All games will be covered by DCSportsFan and featured on the site the next day with video highlights, pictures, game recaps, interviews and much more.

If you are interested in getting involved as a player, coach, ref, sponsor or anything else, contact Todd Bradley at editor@dcsportsfan.com.

The location for the event has not been finalized yet, but we will post more information when it’s confirmed.

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Good golly, has NASCAR fallen off the beaten path or what? In the marketing campaign for its upcoming Daytona 500 telecast, FOX Sports has selected “Bad” from U2 as the theme music. Who made that call? If the dude/-ette who did worked for PBS, would”Masterpiece Theater” sign on to “That Smell” from Skynyrd? We can dream, can’t we?

And what’s wrong with “That Smell” anyway, NASCAR and FOX?

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