Then we turned into a football school. The basketball program was penalized by the NCAA for recruiting infractions and slipped from its perch as a truly elite national program. Enter Paul Pasqualoni, promoted to head football coach to replace the departed Dick MacPherson, who guided the Orangemen to a 20-4 record in his first two seasons, including New Year's Day bowl victories over Ohio State and Colorado. Regular-season victories over Florida and Texas in those seasons served notice: we could play with anyone.

Then the basketball team advanced, quite unexpectedly, to the 1996 national championship game, and it was clear we were a basketball school. This was the team we cared most about, if only because expectations had been so high in the mid- to late-'80s.

But that was just after Donovan McNabb's freshman year, when he led 'Cuse to a 9-3 record, including a 41-0 bowl victory over Clemson in the Gator Bowl, again on New Year's Day. The next season, he'd lead Syracuse to nine wins in its last 10 games, while the 1996-97 basketball squad failed to even make the NCAA Tournament. Yep, we were back to being a football school. Two more years of Donovan, Heisman hype and consecutive Big East championships, leading to appearances in the Fiesta and Orange Bowls. In 1997, we started the season by thumping Wisconsin, 34-0, streaked through the midseason with consecutive victories over East Carolina, Rutgers, Temple and West Virginia by a combined score of 206-20. Granted those opponents weren't the 1995 Cornhuskers or 1993 Seminoles, but 206-20 says a lot about your program. In 1998, we would embarrass Michigan in its first home game after winning the 1997 national championship, and later bitch-slap Miami, 66-13, in McNabb's final home game.

The next year, the football team would lose to Rutgers. A year later, consecutive losses to Cincinnati and East Carolina. In 2001, they turned in a fine record, 10-3, but one that included a 33-9 loss to Tennessee and a 59-0 loss at Miami. In 2002, they'd lose to Temple. Our football program had crashed worse than tech stocks.

Thankfully, just before the football team put the finishing touches on a 4-8 record in 2002, Carmelo Anthony was beginning his Syracuse "career." He scored 27 points in his first game and 20 in his last, the latter involving some net-cutting in New Orleans. The hoops program was back among the elites. The Carrier Dome, Jim Boeheim and a crowd that can stretch in the 30,000s have always been there, but a new generation of recruits was introduced to the backbones of the program.

Today, several players from that national championship team remain on the No. 6-ranked Orange, coming to, yes, New York City, this Thursday and Friday for the final rounds of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Madison Square Garden. They do so on the heels of the football team being embarrassed at Temple, 34-24, on a day when Syracuse could've moved into the driver's seat for the final Big East football championship. We're a basketball school again, with the best rep since Coleman left town to (allegedly) piss in the middle of restaurants. Meanwhile, the football program is floundering. Seems to me we could use a man like Donovan McNabb again.

Today's Sports Links:

• ESPN Predicts Destinations for MLB's Top 50 Free Agents — I guess they're 0-for-1, as Omar Vizquel signed with the Giants and not the Red Sox. I'm kinda thinking that wrapping up Carlos Beltran — along with already-signed Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez — through the end of the decade might be a good thing for the Yankees. Can't say I'm overly thrilled with the options available at the positions the Bombers really need help — starting and lefty relief pitching, second base and a new designer steroid for Jason Giambi.

• College Basketball's Least Rootable Teams — SI on Campus writes up some shoddy programs in college hoops, a sport can leave you with a film of guilt sometimes, unless you completely turn a blind eye to an often seedy recruiting process, athletes who never plan to honor a four-year commitment, and weeknight games played over a period of several months. Also see: Most Rootable Teams

• NFL First Half 'Ricky' Awards — Bizarre happenings at the midway point of the NFL season. The Saints make a few appearances, which really isn't a surprise to anyone who's watched them at all in the, oh, last five years or so.

• ESPN Motion: Bill Walton on Ron Artest — Big Red defends Artest because he's only 25. But the best part of the video: Walton using his favorite words: "terrible," "horrendous" and "egregious." Also, Bill says the NBA represents "hope" and "peace." I love this guy. I think he should do stand-up.

• Pick MLB's Blooper of the Year — MLB.com provides highlight clips of the biggest blunders of the 2004 season (not including the signing of Kevin Brown). Of course, I love Manny Ramirez cutting off Johnny Damon's throw on an inside-the-park home run, but this was the first time I saw a fan in Colorado steal a ball out of Vinny Castilla's glove. Dude, chill! It's a $10 ball, for god's sake. It's not gonna change your life.

• Jersey Giants — A survey of the best-selling NFL jerseys. Ya know why Brian Urlacher's is always up there? Because Chicago is a huge city and they hasn't been another Bears player worth touting since Neal Anderson retired. Seven losing seasons in their last eight? Ugh. Even the Chargers and Bengals have reached .500 more often (2) in that time. As a bonus, this link includes a picture of Tara Reid's hard nips.

• Q&A: Mike and the Mad Dog After 15 Years — I don't know how well-known Fatman and Froot Loops (as they are known by Don Imus) are outside of New York, but their weekday afternoon sports talk show is so popular here that it's syndicated live on the YES TV network. Mad Dog is good for about four factual errors an hour. The best was when he could pronounce Jerome Iginla's name during the NHL FInals. Wasn't like that was Iginla's first playoff series, either.