Daryl Gross thinks Nike is extraordinary

Extraordinary. It is a word that isn't often used these days. It might be used to describe some yuppie restaurant or dessert bar but it isn't something that I would use in a day to day conversation. I think that most people in the blue collar town that is Syracuse would tend to use words such as "great" or "awesome" as opposed to extraordinary regardless of the fact that some of our local towns sound like they come from England where I imagine them using extraordinary to describe their tea and crumpets.

DOCTOR Daryl Gross would actually prefer if you start using the word extraordinary in regular conversation. In fact, it is his mission that Syracuse Athletics and the word extraordinary are used so often in the same sentence that he has named the new magazine of Syracuse University Athletics, "bE".

I appreciate that the Athletic Department has started a new magazine to keep us updated on what is going on with their programs however the presentation is once again just another piece in the DOCTOR Daryl Gross self-promotion machine. It all starts with a picture on the cover of the bad DOCTOR holding what looks like a 3-D rendering of the Carmelo Center.

Inside you will find a letter from DOCTOR Daryl Gross explaining the new magazine and talking about some of the features you will see in the magazine including a word from all of our great coaches. Noticeably absent from the coaches listing was swimming and diving coach Lou Walker. No bother though, I'll just tell the kids that are still competing in NCAA events for the Syracuse swimming and diving team that they are irrelevant.

The one positive thing I will say about this magazine is that it really is not like most magazines or really anything you would expect out of the Athletics Department. There were no advertisements in the entire thing. I was shocked as I was flipping through the pages to not find Billy Fucillo next to a picture of Patrick Shadle from last year saying "It's HUUUUUUUUGE!" Hell, even the "Heavy Hitters" of Alexander and Catalano are conspicuously absent. (Anyone remember when their slogan was "We're two, for you"? no homo.)

I was impressed. That is, until I got to the feature on Nike. Like most other Syracuse related material these days, there was a big old Nike Swoosh in the middle of the page. They talked with the Director of College Marketing for Nike who told us nothing that we didn't already know. I'm really not sure what the piece on Nike had to do with the fact that Syracuse Athletics is Extraordinary, but then again I guess DOCTOR Daryl Gross had to pay for the circulation somehow.