That smoke you are smelling is the aroma from ESPN’s website servers, cooking at full temperature as everyone changes their brackets to downgrade Syracuse after the Fab Melo news today.
Even before the tournament has started, it’s clear that Twitter will be the de facto “news wire” for updates of all kinds: scores, injuries, missed shots and inevitably, academic eligibility questions like Melo’s, which just adds to a very weird year in upstate New York.
The question is, how will Syracuse be affected by Melo’s absence? They got beat by Notre Dame during the season when Melo missed three games due to “an academic issue” but he only averages 7.8 points per game. But then he also averages 5.8 rebounds and possibly most important, 2.9 blocks per game. So can Syracuse survive without its signature big man? Will they become the first first seed to fall in a first-round game? Or will they complete the strangeness of the season and take the title?
Whatever happens… we know we’ll hear about it on Twitter first.
UPDATE from the New York Times which says Melo is probably out at Syracuse. Love the throwaway line at the end of the story: “The announcement is likely to force some late scrambling in office pools.” ya think?
[…] Your team’s NBA prospect center apparently forgot to go to class. Shouldn’t they make a rule that tells us about things like this before the seedings come […]