Fashion is a big part of sports. People and fans often buy shirts, jerseys, and other clothing items to express pride in their favorite team or athlete. Because of this, sportswear has become a main player in today's fashion scene. If you want proof, look no further than the sneaker industry. Companies, like Nike and Adidas, sell millions of dollars worth of sneakers on a daily basis. Many sneakers are associated with superstar athletes, like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James. Sneaker fans, commonly known as "sneakerheads", often scramble to major retail footwear stores to buy the latest and greatest sneakers in order to keep up with the rest of the sneaker community. Trading, bartering, and selling sneakers of all sorts is also a daily practice throughout most sneaker communities. Here in Syracuse, one new store is capitalizing on the rising local sneaker community. This morning on North Salina Street, Ambition Upstate opened its doors to a small line of anxious customers. People were greeted with a live deejay, NBA 2K on PS4, and, of course, a fresh supply of top of the line sneakers. Within minutes of opening its doors, the store became packed and sales started flowing for the new local start-up. Their sneaker selection features the best from Jordan, Nike, Adidas, Reebok, and other popular brands. As of this morning, there was even a pair of Adidas Yeezys available that were valued at over $2,000. For owner Nicholas Giarrusso, Ambition Upstate is more than just selling sneakers. With crime in Syracuse on the rise and the city's youth surrounded with negatives, Giarrusso's goal for Ambition Upstate is to serve as a safe spot for people to hang out, listen to music, play some video games, and shop for sneakers. He explained that the love for sneakers was a great jumping point to start the store and unite people from across the Salt City. Giarrusso and management are planning on hosting NBA 2K tournaments every month and creating events to bring sneakerheads from all over Syracuse into his shop and off the streets. At the moment, Giarrusso is using social media and word of mouth to get people into the shop. However, he plans on hitting the streets and spreading the word about Ambition Upstate on the SU campus, Downtown, and other popular areas. He also hopes to work with local media in the near future. Located at 613 North Salina Street, Ambition Upstate is open Thursday through Sunday 11am to 6pm. The Syracuse Crunch have needed to play lights out to even clinch a playoff spot. Really, even being in the running for the playoffs is an accomplishment all on its own. The Crunch, who suffered a nine game losing steak in the middle of the season, are now in the fourth spot of the North Division, which enters them in the race for the Eastern Conference wild card. However, that nine game losing streak, along with a record that barely sits above .500, has them on the short end for the stick when it comes to wild card. This past weekend did not help them either. The Crunch fell to both the Toronto Marlies and Rochester Americans at the Old Barn. Meanwhile, the Portland Pirates put together three more wins, propelling them out of the wild card race and into a divisional playoff spot for the Atlantic Division. Unfortunately for the Crunch, Bridgeport moved into the wild card race and have control of the spot based on a better win percentage. At this moment, the Crunch are out of the playoffs.
Through all the negative news, the Crunch were able to find some bright light this weekend. On Sunday, Joel Vermin and Jeff Tambellini tallied two goals each and propelled the Crunch to a 7-3 victory over the Comets in Utica. While beating the Comets is always a great thing, it also reopened the race for the AmeriCU Galaxy Cup. During the Crunch's nine game losing streak, they also fell behind Utica four games to one in the Galaxy Cup series. Since then, the Crunch have been fighting just to keep Utica from clinching the Cup for the third straight year. They have done the improbable and beat the Comets three straight games to even the series at four games a piece. When it comes to the tiebreakers, the Crunch and Comets are pretty much even all the way. They both each have two wins at home and two wins on the road in the series. The only advantage goes to Utica, who leads the total goals scored category 24-22. While the Crunch have a important weekend of matches with Toronto and Albany this week, the next weekend will decide who wins the Galaxy Cup. The Crunch travel to Utica on Friday, April 15th for a 7pm match-up before returning home Saturday the 16th to host the Comets at 7pm. Of course, both teams can win a game and keep the series knotted up. If that happens, tie breakers will decide the fate of the trophy. For the Crunch, sealing it up with two wins would not only secure the Galaxy Cup for the first time, but would also help them claim a playoff spot. While the Cup is important, both teams are trying to get a spot in the postseason. Of course, the Crunch need to take care of business this weekend and take down the Marlies and Devils. If they do that and then come away with two wins against the Comets, they have a very slim chance of still making the playoffs. If the Comets keep winning, they will wrap up the third and final North Division playoff spot. So, there is a lot to play for as the season winds down for the Crunch. This weekend, the Crunch host Albany on Friday and then invited Toronto into the War Memorial on Saturday. Both games slated for 7pm starts. Thanks/Credits: theahl.com syracusecrunch.com Picture: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CTs84UZXIAAidYh.jpg The Rochester Americans proved to have the Crunch's number for the final time this season, pounding them 5-1 Saturday night. The lone bright spot for the Crunch came from Jonathon Drouin, who continued his hot streak with his ninth goal in nine games. Like Friday night, Portland won, moving the Crunch farther from a playoff birth. In less than 30 minutes, the Crunch play the Utica Comets in the Utica Aud. If the Comets beat Syracuse, they win the AmeriCU Galaxy Cup for the third straight season. If both the Crunch and Americans lose today, Utica clinches a playoff spot. Puck drop is at 3pm.
Down in Pittsburgh, the Rochester Rhinos picked up right where they left off last season, beating the Riverhounds 1-0. The lone goal of the game came from Christan Volesky in the 7th minute while Adam Grinwis picked up his first shutout win of the season. The Rhinos now travel to Virginia for a match against the Richmond Kickers next Saturday. Kick-off is set for 5pm. Thanks/Credits: syracusecrunch.com theahl.com rhinossoccer.com uslsoccer.com The Syracuse Crunch had their five game winning streak snapped last night, falling 4-3 to the AHL leading Toronto Mariles. Despite goals from Jonathon Drouin, Matt Taormina, and Tye McGinn, the Crunch could not halt the powerful North Division leaders. With the loss, the Crunch remain in the fourth spot of the North Division, still fighting for the Eastern Conference wild card spot. However, Portland won last night, making the Crunch's chances to claim the spot smaller. The Crunch host the Rochester Americans tonight at 7pm at the War Memorial.
The Rochester Rhinos will start their USL Championship defense tonight, taking on the Pittsburgh Riverhounds on the road. The new look Rhinos will look for a huge performance from Syracuse Silver Knight Kenardo Forbes along with team captain Tony Walls, Asani Samuels, and Grant Van De Casteele. Kick-off is set for 7pm and can be seen on the USL's new Match Center. Thanks/Credits: theahl.com syracusecrunch.com rhinossoccer.com uslsoccer.com |
Nicholas Episcopo
Broadcasting Graduate Archives
November 2018
Categories |