Le Moyne and lament: Syracuse loses to Division II school

By Ron Kantowski

Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009 | 12:11 p.m.

NOW

Le Moyne beat Syracuse in basketball Tuesday night.

It's always news when Fred Sanford's son single-handedly beats a college hoops juggernaut. I'm sure Grady, Bubba and Rollo were proud.

Actually, Fred Sanford's son was Lamont. Le Moyne is a Division II school situated just 3.5 miles from the Carrier Dome on the Syracuse campus. Because Le Moyne is a NCAA Division II member, the loss won't count against Syracuse's record.

The game was considered an exhibition. It doesn't count, period.

But I'll bet it counts to the Le Moyne players. And I'll bet it counts to the Syracuse players who knew the better team, at least on Tuesday night, won.

By the way, UNLV will host Division II Washburn of Topeka, Kan., at the Thomas & Mack Center on Tuesday night in another game that doesn't count.

Good tickets are still available.

THEN

One of the Le Moyne College traditions is "Moving In Weekend" when older students carry the boxes and suitcases of first-year students into the dormitories.

In the pantheon of college traditions "Carrying the Boxes" would probably rank somewhere behind "Dotting the I" at Ohio State.

But I'd put it ahead of "Kissing the Toe" which is what seniors at Wells College in upstate New York do to a statue of the Roman goddess Minerva on the last day of classes.