BROOKLYN, N.Y. For the vast majority of this season, the masses have fixated on whether or not Wake Forest has notched enough quality wins over top-25 and top-50 opponents to be legitimate contenders for an NCAA Tournament berth by the time Selection Sunday rolls around.
Tuesdays 92-78 victory over Boston College in the first round of the ACC Tournament did nothing to qualm those concerns, although last weeks wins over nationally ranked Louisville and a well-respected Virginia Tech team should have taken care of any lingering anxieties on that front.
But what the Deacons 14-point win over Boston College did represent beyond Wake Forests first ACC Tournament win in three years was that coach Danny Mannings team will now officially rest in front of the selection committee Sunday with the all-important benchmark of having no poor losses.
The Eagles entered the conference tournament with 14 straight losses and an RPI above 200, and signified the last potential roadblock in that category for the Deacons. Tuesdays win was Wake Forests fourth straight, and the team has an RPI rating of 32. (The lower the RPI rating the better.)
No matter what happens for Wake Forest the rest of the week in Brooklyn, including during todays second-round matchup with the seventh-seeded Hokies, the Deacons (19-12) will be considered for an NCAA Tournament berth with a perfect 10-0 record against teams currently outside the RPIs top 100.
Currently, Wake Forests worst loss, according to RPI, is an 81-76 defeat on the road at Syracuse. The Orange, who earned the No. 8 seed in the ACC Tournament and open play against No. 9 Miami today at noon, currently ranks 80th in the RPI just one year after advancing to the Final Four.
When asked after the victory over Boston College what this particular benchmark means for his team and its NCAA Tournament hopes, Wake Forest sophomore John Collins was full of confidence while giving his respectful advice to the selection committee.
That means exactly what it says that were (an NCAA) Tournament team, Collins said. We have no bad losses. We finally got our big win against Louisville a top-25 win that was missing from our resume and I think it just shows that we can play with anybody in the country.
The last time Wake Forest qualified for the NCAA Tournament, which was in 2010, Collins was in the seventh grade. Now, the first-team all-ACC selection is one of the main reasons the Deacons can feel comfortable about their position on the much-talked-about postseason bubble.
In addition to having an RPI in the low 30s, which mirrors Wakes season-ending RPI of 31 in 2010 when the program was awarded a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Deacons are viewed favorably by analytics-based statistics this season.
According to KenPom.com, which charts the efficiency of all 351 Division I basketball teams on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court, Wake Forest is considered the 30th-best team in the nation.
The Deacons currently rank ninth in offensive efficiency, which is the first time that particular unit has ranked inside the nations top 10 since leading the country in 2005. This years performance comes while having also played the 15th-toughest schedule in the country to date.
While both the traditional numbers, which include 10 wins in what is widely considered the best college basketball conference in the country, and the advanced statistics look promising, Wake Forest sophomore Keyshawn Woods said he would prefer to leave nothing to chance.
Unlike 2010, when Wake Forest lost five of its last six games heading into Selection Sunday, this years version of the Deacons seems to be playing its best basketball of the season at the right time. Wake forest has now won four consecutive acc games for the first time since 2009.
I dont know, Woods said when asked if he thinks the Deacons have already done enough to secure a postseason berth. But I know if we win this tournament, then were in. Thats an automatic bid. ... Were playing well, were playing together and were just trying to win games so they have to put us in.
Beware the ides of March was famously scribbled by William Shakespeare in his play Julius Caesar as the ominous warning given by a soothsayer to the soon-to-be ex-Roman emperor as he made his way to the Capitol that fateful day in 44 BC. And although good old Bill probably thought it was far from a throwaway line, even the great poet and playwright could not have imagined the life its taken on the 500 years since.
Not only did Shakespeares words stick, they branded the phrase with a dark and gloomy connotation that will forever make people uncomfortable. Its probable that many people who use the phrase today dont know its true origin. In fact, just about every pop culture reference to the idessave for those appearing in actual history-based books, movies or television specialsmakes it seem like the day itself is cursed.
But the Ides of March actually has a non-threatening origin story. Kalends, Nones and Ides were ancient markers used to reference dates in relation to lunar phases. Ides simply referred to the first full moon of a given month, which usually fell between the 13th and 15th. In fact, the Ides of March once signified the new year, which meant celebrations and rejoicing.
Yet, when heroes in movies, books and television shows are faced with the Ides of March, its always a bad omen and is never good news. Several television shows have had episodes named The Ides of March. And its never good news.
In 1995 alone, the Ides-related episode of Party of Five was based around a cocaine-related death and featured a near-incident involving drunk driving. Xena: Warrior Princess had its protagonist facing threats from an ominous vision that showed her and her travel partner, Gabrielle, put to death by crucifixion. And Homer Simpsons rise to power within the ancient secret society known as the Stonecutters in The Simpsons episode Homer the Great leads to his self-proclamation as a G*d. In warning him of his inevitable downfall, Lisa plays the part of the soothsayer, quoting beware the Ides of March. Homer simply says No, and laughs it off (much like Caesar did in the play) but, like Caesar, he soon experiences a swift undoing.
Reverse side of a coin issued by Caesars assassin Brutus in the autumn of 42 B.C., with the abbreviation EID MAR (Eidibus Martiis on the Ides of March). (Credit: Public Domain)
In 2011, Columbia Pictures released a movie with the title about an idealistic campaign staffer (Ryan Gosling) who gets a harsh lesson in dirty politics while working for an up-and-coming presidential candidate (George Clooney). The movie involves quite a bit of figurative backstabbing, but its a pretty clear allegory for the death of Caesar. Again, death and destruction loom.
Did the death of Caesar curse the day, or was it just Shakespeares mastery of language that forever darkened an otherwise normal box on the calendar? If you look through history, you can certainly find enough horrible things that happened on March 15, but is it a case of life imitating art? Or art imitating life?
Perhaps it was Julius Caesar himself (and not the famous dramatist) who caused all the drama. After all, hes the one who uprooted Romes New Year celebration from their traditional March 15 date to Januaryjust two years before he was betrayed and butchered by members of the Roman senate.
For all of us in the Delaware Valley, were experiencing unseasonably warm weather this week. At a time of the year when heavy snow isnt uncommon, it has felt like April and May in Philadelphia. The same can be said for Western Pennsylvania, which happens to be hosting a pretty big hockey game this weekend.
Well, considering the Flyers poor form in 2017, Saturday nights Stadium Series contest has lost a little bit of luster. But there has never* been a bigger outdoor game played between the Flyers and hated Pittsburgh Penguins.
(*This is the first time the Flyers and Pens have played outdoors.)
Oh yeah, the weather. The forecast in Pittsburgh on Friday, when both teams are scheduled to practice, is supposed to be sunny and 76 degrees. In February. I am no John Bolaris (nor do I play one on TV), but that is a few ticks above the freezing point.
According to Sean Gentille of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, NHL vice president of facilities operations Dan Craig (not to be confused with ours) isnt worried about the mild Pittsburgh weather, considering he and his crew have handled a couple of games in California and Denver with mild temps.
The key word here is coolant:
We have all of our data that we have out of those three venues, Craig said. Were running the same truck, were running the same floor."
That pump truck, parked outside Heinz Field, circulates 300 tons of coolant through 365 feet of six-inch mains to tubes in aluminum pans, housed below the elevated ice deck. The trip takes 90 seconds.
That little baby back there can be a dragster, Craig said of the truck. Sometimes you have to watch, it can overrun you if youre not careful.
The good news for the NHL is that temperatures at Heinz Field are supposed to drop down closer to 40 degrees by the time the puck drops, but there is also another complication: Rain is in the forecast for Saturday morning, but for now, it looks like the precipitation will be gone before the game starts.
Lets hope so. You dont want to have this:
Craig has dealt with rainy weather for outdoor hockey games as well, with the 2011 Winter Classic between the Capitals and Penguins being one of those times. Per Gentille, Craig and his crews task is more about making sure condensation on the ice surface freezes quickly, removing whatever doesnt and then ensuring that the surface is suitably flat.
Host tells Kellyanne Conway to her face Trump"s wiretap theory is taking time away from Russia probe
White House adviser Kellyanne Conway on Monday walked back suggestions that the government used a wide range of tools to spy on President Donald Trump in the run up to November"s election, including "microwaves that turn into cameras."
Conway first implied such tools were used on Sunday when Mike Kelly, a columnist for The Record in Bergen County, New Jersey, asked whether she knew if Trump Tower was wiretapped.
"What I can say is there are many ways to surveileach other," Conway told the newspaper. "You can surveil someone through their phones, certainly through their television sets any number of ways. We know this is a fact of modern life."
She included "microwaves that turn into cameras" among her list of potential monitoring devices.
"We know this is a fact of modern life," she told The Record.
She walked back the comments in an appearance Monday on CNN"s "New Day."
"I"m not Inspector Gadget," Conway told host Chris Cuomo. "I don"t believe people are using the microwave to spy on the Trump campaign. However, I"m not in the job of having evidence; that"s what investigations are for."
refer to spying in general and not Trump"s situation specifically.
Trump accused former President Barack Obama of tapping the phones of his campaign headquarters in Trump Tower in a tweet earlier this month. He has not provided evidence of the claim and has demanded the Congress investigate.
Lawmakers set Monday as the deadline for the Justice Department to provide evidence to support Trump"s claim. It was not clear whether any proof would be provided.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer on Monday said that Trump "doesn"t really think that President Obama went up and tapped his phone personally," and meant to refer to general surveillance and not wiretapping specifically.
The Bachelor Nick Viall 2017 Season Finale Preview Story highlights
Nick Viall popped the question during the season 21 finale of ABC"s "The Bachelor" Monday night
Viall had to decide between Raven Gates and Vanessa Grimaldi
Vanessa Grimaldi.
Nick Viall popped the question to Grimaldi during the season 21 finale of abc"s "the bachelor" monday night. The proposal took place in Rovaniemi, Finland, after Viall broke the heart of Raven Gates by telling her she was not the one who had his heart.
But then Viall got down on one knee with tears in his eyes and told Grimaldi: "I do love you, I"m in love with you."
Then he asked her to marry him. She sobbed and said, "yes."
"I came here to find a love I"ve never felt before," Viall said earlier in the episode. "A love that has the strength to last a lifetime."
But not everyone seemed thrilled with the outcome.
"This could not be any more of a pre-written speech if she was reading off of notecards," one viewer said of Grimaldi"s response to Viall.
"I can only hope my own engagement is as romantic as knowing he hooked up with someone else 24 hrs ago, but still chose me!" another viewer wrote.
"I don"t know how he did it, but nick managed to lose the bachelor #TeamRaven," wrote another.
Update 11:45 a.m.: Burkittsville had about 6.5 inches of snow around 11 a.m., according to Mayor Debby Burgoynes measurement.
The county plows Main Street, she added, and local landscapers and residents generally clean up side streets, alleys and parking lots.
We didnt get that much snow, thank goodness. ... Its a farming community so everybody pitches in, she said, noting that people sometimes use farming equipment for snow removal.
Update 11:15 a.m.:Crews with Frederick"s Department of Public Works are still out and about clearing the snow emergency and trying to open collector streets.
According to a news release from Patti Mullins, a public information coordinator for the city, the snow emergency routes were the first priority while the snow was still falling.
The release said towing of cars that had not been removed from the snow emergency routes had also started around 9 a.m. Towing is done at the owners expense.
All city offices and parks and recreation sites are closed Tuesday due to to the snow. The parks and recreation commission planned for Tuesday evening was canceled.
The release warned residents not to move snow from private properties into the snow emergency route. Rules for property owners are listed on the citys website at: http://www.cityoffrederick.com/244/Snow-Removal.
City crews are removing snow in phases. Phase one is salting; phase two is plowing the emergency routes; phase three is plowing the collector streets; phase four is hauling and cleanup; and phase five is recovery, or final cleanup of problem areas.
As of about 11 a.m., crews had begun phase three.
The city has also launched its snow app that shows on a map where snow removal has occurred. Officials are currently testing the app on the citys website.
Police andutility companies weren"t reporting any majoremergencies or outages in Frederick County as the bulk of a snowstorm subsided Tuesday morning.
The majority of the storm was already leaving the area as of about 9:30 a.m., with much higher snowfall expected in regions farther north, said Jim Lee, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sterling, Virginia.
While a single report of about 10 inches of snowfall was logged by the weather service from a reliable spotter about three miles northwest of the city of Frederick, most totals fell between 6 to 8 inches, Lee said.
At least in Frederick County, not much more snowfall was anticipated.
We"re still going to see some scattered snow showers throughout the rest of the day. There"s a little bit of banding going on just to the east of you, but I would expect just another inch or two at the very most, and that"s just at the higher elevations, Lee said.
A total of 7 inches was reported in Walkersville, while a spotter in Middletown reported 8 inches, he said. Another report logged about 6 inches in the Ballenger Creek area.
In spite of the subsiding snowfall, the winter storm warning over much of the region will remain in effect until at least 2 p.m. Tuesday, Lee said.
Neither state police nor county sheriff"s deputies were dealing with any major snow-related emergencies as of about 9:30 a.m., according to Sgt. Stephen Johnson, a state police supervisor in the Frederick barrack.
Just people sliding around, but we"re getting them back on their way. My guys are all out with the county [sheriff"s office] and they"ve been relaying us information. I haven"t heard that there"s anything impassible out there just bad conditions in some places, Johnson said.
He said he would still advise residents to stay off the roads until road crews could more thoroughly clear them.
Pretreatment of county roads began at 8 p.m. Monday and the first county crews rolled out to begin plowing at about midnight.
It was estimated that about 80 percent of the county"s priority roadways those connecting or feeding into larger state routes were passable as of 6 a.m., according to a Frederick County press release at 9 a.m.
Another 15 percent of county primary roads connected to major residential areas and subdivisions were passable and 5 percent of subdivision roads were passable at that time, the release estimated.
As of 6 a.m. the county was using approximately 80 plows and 12 pieces of heavy equipment, supplemented by 40 contracted plows. There were also two county-owned and 22 contracted skid loaders in use.
FirstEnergy was reporting fewer than five power outages in Frederick County as of about 9:20 a.m., according to the utility"s website. A short time later than number dropped to zero.
Update 7:45 a.m.: The latest National Weather Service update includes a report of 8 inches of snow measured northwest of Frederick. That report, from a Weather Service employee, was as of 6:14 a.m.
Update 6 a.m.: The City of Frederick"s offices will be closed Tuesday, according to a news release. Mayor Randy McClement made the decision based on weather predictions that indicated sleet may continue to fall through the morning, the release stated.
Update 12:30 a.m.: Maryland State Police were called to Interstate 70, near Md. 180, to investigate a report of a dump truck that had rolled over. Police said no one was injured. The call went out at about 11:50 p.m. According to the Maryland State Highway Administration, all lanes were on I-70 west were closed in that area.
Update 11:20 p.m.: Despite a light accumulation of snowfall, roads remained relatively quiet for local law enforcement.
Neither the Frederick Police Department nor the Frederick County Sheriffs Office had responded to any snow-related calls as of 11 p.m., according to supervisors with both agencies.
The Maryland State Police responded to two minor accidents, according to Sgt. Todd Hill. One involved a vehicle crash with property damage and the other involved a vehicle that slid off the road.
Minutes later, around 11:05 p.m., troopers responded to a vehicle accident with a rollover on eastbound U.S. 340 near South Mountain Road.
Update 11 p.m.:Mount St. Marys Universitys campuses in Emmitsburg and Frederick will be closed "for all but essential personnel" on Tuesday, the school said in a press release Monday night. The Knott Athletic Recreation Convocation Complex and the national shrine of the Grotto of Lourdes also will be closed.
Daytimes classes and activities will be canceled. A decision on evening classes and activities will be made by late Tuesday morning, the school said.
Update 9:40 p.m.: Gov. Larry Hogan has signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency in anticipation of the snowstorm. The order took effect at 9 p.m. on Monday.
Our state is taking every precaution and coordinating all available resources to respond to this winter storm, Hogan said in a press release. We urge all Marylanders to use common sense and to stay indoors and off the roads. Now is the time to remain alert and regularly check for updated weather forecasts as conditions change.
The Maryland Emergency Management Agency is coordinating with other state agencies during the storm, the press release said.
Residents were encouraged to check the Maryland Emergency Management Agency"s website, mema.maryland.gov, for more information about preparedness. MEMA also is posting on its Facebook page and its Twitter feed, @MDMEMA.
The city of Frederick said the William R. Talley Recreation Center at 121 N. Bentz St., will open at noon on Tuesday. All classes and programs scheduled for the morning were canceled. The city will re-evaluate at 9 a.m. and announce updates.
Update 9:30 p.m.: Frederick County Public Schools will be closed Tuesday, according to a news release issued Monday night. Frederick Memorial Hospital will remain open throughout the storm, but many of its associated clinics will close on Tuesday.
All after-school and evening activities for FCPS are also canceled or postponed.
School-based daycare programs and Parks and Recreation programs in school gyms will make and announce their own decisions concerning their schedules, according to the release. FCPS employees are on code yellow. FCPS Facilities Services central office staff will contact designated emergency personnel with instructions about when to report to work.
Meanwhile, Lucy School in Middletown also will be closed on Tuesday.
Frederick Memorial Hospital will remain open throughout the storm, but many Frederick Regional Health Systems clinics will be closed on Tuesday. The Immediate Care locations in Frederick and Urbana are scheduled to open at 10 a.m. on Tuesday.
Among the closed clinics are the Monocacy Health Partners medical practices including:
Center for Breast Care
Center for Chest Disease
Dental Clinic
Endocrine & Thyroid Specialists
Internal Medicine Associates
Oncology Care Consultants
Orthopaedic Specialists of Frederick
Pain & Supportive Care Services
Parkview Medical Group
Surgical Specialists
Union Bridge Family Practice
Wound Care and Hyperbaric Medicine
Also closed will be the Prenatal Clinic; the Anti-Coagulation (Coumadin) Clinic; and the Cardio/Pulmonary Rehab program. Hospice of Frederick County also will be closed.
Update 5:30 p.m.: Maryland State Police announced it has implemented snow emergency plans for multiple counties, including Frederick, in advance of the expected snow.
The emergency plan went into effect at 3 p.m., according to a news release.
The snow emergency plan applies to any state highway designated by the Maryland State Highway Administration as a snow emergency route.
Declaration of a snow emergency means a person may not park a vehicle on any snow emergency route. Any vehicle parked along a snow emergency route may be removed by police or SHA personnel immediately.
Crews began towing any abandoned vehicles from the shoulders of snow emergency routes.
Update 5:15 p.m.: Mount St. Marys Universitys Emmitsburg and Frederick campuses will be closed Monday at 6 p.m. for all evening classes and activities.
The university will continue to monitor conditions and make a further announcement by 10 p.m.
Because of the imminent snowstorm, Frederick County government offices, Frederick County Public Libraries and the Frederick County court system will be closed on Tuesday, County Executive Jan Gardner announced at a press briefing on Monday.
The county landfill, run by the county Department of Solid Waste Management will be closed Tuesday, according to a Monday press release. All the department"s facilities at Reichs Ford Road will be closed.
Recycling pickups on Tuesday are being postponed. All collections will be postponed by one day later than they are usually scheduled, the press release states.
All Frederick County Public Schools afternoon and evening activities today have been canceled, the school district announced.
Initially, the district sent out an email stating that all activities must end by 8 p.m. today, but later revised its statement and issuing a blanket cancellation.
"Any activities or practices that are currently underway should be concluded and arrangements should be made to get all students home safely," the district email reads.
It has not yet canceled school for Tuesday.
About 8 to 10 inches was expected to blanket the region beginning Monday night into early Tuesday, Andrew Snyder, a National Weather Service meteorologist. said Monday. Areas of the county along the ridges of South and Catoctin mountains could get up to a foot of snow.
Southern Maryland would be largely spared from the storm, while the Interstate 95 corridor to D.C. could see snow accumulations closer to 4 to 6 inches, Snyder said.
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for parts of Maryland, including Frederick County, from 7 p.m. Monday to 2 p.m. Tuesday.
The brunt of the storm would hit Frederick soon after snow started falling Monday night, Snyder said. The heaviest snow was expected to end by 10 a.m. Tuesday, although scattered snow showers would continue through the afternoon.
The snow would coincide with a sharp drop in temperatures, with an overnight low in the upper 20s. Temperatures might rise to just above freezing by Tuesday afternoon.
Host tells Kellyanne Conway to her face Trump"s wiretap theory is taking time away from Russia probe
White house adviser kellyanne conway on monday walked back suggestions that the government used a wide range of tools to spy on President Donald Trump in the run up to November"s election, including "microwaves that turn into cameras."
Conway first implied such tools were used on Sunday when Mike Kelly, a columnist for The Record in Bergen County, New Jersey, asked whether she knew if Trump Tower was wiretapped.
"What I can say is there are many ways to surveileach other," Conway told the newspaper. "You can surveil someone through their phones, certainly through their television sets any number of ways. We know this is a fact of modern life."
She included "microwaves that turn into cameras" among her list of potential monitoring devices.
"We know this is a fact of modern life," she told The Record.
She walked back the comments in an appearance Monday on CNN"s "New Day."
"I"m not Inspector Gadget," Conway told host Chris Cuomo. "I don"t believe people are using the microwave to spy on the Trump campaign. However, I"m not in the job of having evidence; that"s what investigations are for."
Conway said her comment was meant to refer to spying in general and not Trump"s situation specifically.
Trump accused former President Barack Obama of tapping the phones of his campaign headquarters in Trump Tower in a tweet earlier this month. He has not provided evidence of the claim and has demanded the Congress investigate.
Lawmakers set Monday as the deadline for the Justice Department to provide evidence to support Trump"s claim. It was not clear whether any proof would be provided.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer on Monday said that Trump "doesn"t really think that President Obama went up and tapped his phone personally," and meant to refer to general surveillance and not wiretapping specifically.
