The Daily Orange

For weeks, Greg Robinson deflected the criticism and the speculation about his job security, remaining defiant even as his fate as Syracuse head coach appeared a foregone conclusion. That attitude was gone as Robinson slipped into the Iocolano-Petty Football Wing auditorium Sunday afternoon.

His friends' band was minutes away from taking the stage at Funk 'n Waffles. But the show would have to wait. Upon hearing the news, Mitchell Gelkopf was too excited. As his friend in the band scurried down the steps to the restaurant yelling "It was about time!" a smiling Gelkopf stood in satisfaction.

His fate sealed, Greg Robinson pulled his captains aside Sunday to break the news. He would be fired at the end of the season, Robinson said. It wasn't out of the blue, but it still felt out of place. "It's still surprising to hear those words come out of your coach's mouth," said senior captain Jake Flaherty.

In the four years of Greg Robinson's tenure at Syracuse, he'd often remind people about his career before he came to be head coach of the Orange. He'd give subtle, off-hand anecdotes about defensive plays in Kansas City or Austin, Texas, or quarterbacks he's seen over the years in the NFL or college football.

Jim Brown probably spoke for much of the Syracuse fan base when he shared his thoughts Sunday about Greg Robinson's firing. "He's a great human being," Brown said in a telephone interview, "but the program is headed nowhere." The first step toward heading somewhere came with Sunday afternoon's announcement confirming the Orange's head football coach will not return next season.

No, Daryl Gross will not yet place certain guidelines for the next Syracuse head coach. Prior head coaching experience? Northeast ties? Younger rather than older? That's to be decided. Right now, the Syracuse athletic director has but one requirement for a candidate that fits the Syracuse profile.

When it was over, when his final game at the Carrier Dome had ended, Jake Flaherty trotted toward the Syracuse locker room and looked up at rows and rows of empty silver bleachers. Most of the 28,081 fans had fled, save for a small set of Connecticut supporters reveling in the Huskies 39-14 thumping of the Orange.

Jonny Flynn has a new set of worries for a new season. The Syracuse point guard, who spent last year beleaguered by an overflow of minutes, jokingly wondered after a balanced 85-51 win over Le Moyne if he would get enough touches this year. "I might never have to bring the ball up," Flynn said.

As Syracuse walked onto the court, it clearly had a distinct advantage. Arinze Onuaku, Paul Harris and even Kristof Ongenaet dwarfed their defenders. When the undersized Le Moyne squad opened in man-to-man, Harris' eyes lit up. "Oh, when they went man, that was like a blessing, honestly.

The win still hadn't settled in Ange Bradley's mind, but she ran out anyway. Bradley jumped on top of her pile of players and celebrated the Syracuse field hockey team's 3-2, dramatic overtime win over Princeton in the second round of NCAA tournament. Lying there in front of 322 spectators - on home turf for the last time this season - the pile of Orange players relapsed into comfort in front of Princeton's cage.

LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. - Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman knew Siena was not a season-opener he could write-off. The Saints' head coach, Gina Castelli was Hillsman's first boss. She knew his tendencies, his players and his attitude. And with 7:53 remaining in the first half, Hillsman and the rest of the Orange saw a scoreboard indicating just that.

LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. - When Quentin Hillsman courted then-high school senior Erica Morrow in attempt to lure her to Syracuse, the coach had a simple message for the Brooklyn native: he needed her to be "big time." Morrow certainly lived up to the moniker Friday.

Orange head coach Ange Bradley referred to it as coaching on the fly. It was something she hadn't come across all season, but the decision she made could secure the Orange a Final Four berth, or end its dream season. As the Orange approached its first overtime all season, Bradley had to choose the seven best players to represent the Orange in a short-sided period that would decide the outcome.

The normally quiet coach Jing Pu could not sit down on the sidelines. Needing a win to qualify for the Big East tournament, even Pu felt the pressure. "Jing was into it tonight," assistant coach Carol LaMarche said. "He yelled a little bit; jumped around a little bit, and I know he was a little bit nervous beforehand, but he will probably be able to sleep tonight.

Even though the Syracuse women's ice hockey team put together what seemed like a dream home-opening weekend 14 days ago against Sacred Heart, Paul Flanagan was apprehensive with regard to one aspect of the Orange's performance. "We were able to get by this weekend despite the penalties, but against better and more talented teams, we won't," SU's head coach Flanagan said two weeks ago.

When Megan Skelly blasted the puck past Mercyhurst goalie Hillary Pattenden, the Syracuse bench exploded at the Onondaga War Memorial. The Orange took an early 1-0 lead against the best team in its conference only 1:03 into Friday night's game.  It seemed as if this weekend would be the opportunity for Syracuse to make a name for itself in the Collegiate Hockey Association - but this first impression did not last.

Coming into the final weekend of the regular season, the Syracuse volleyball team dealt with the prospect that it could be the last time it plays this year. For the seniors, losing once would mean these matches would be the last of their careers.   That "win-or-go-home" mentality worked.