Buckets of Ink

New interview to hear

2010-07-01T06:26:00.003-04:00

Former big leaguer Doug Glanville was one of the smartest players ever in the show -- an Ivy Leaguer, in fact.

Check out my recent talk with him.

I consider Glanville as an impressive writer and storyteller.

More sports interviews you would enjoy hearing

2010-06-23T07:20:00.001-04:00

It's hard to think of a more influential young (ish) sports journalist this side of Bill Simmons than Will Leitch, who founded Deadspin, writes for New York magazine and Sporting News, and just published another book, Are We Winning?

I recently got a chance to chat with Leitch.

Meanwhile, I also caught up with former Yankee P.R. man Marty Appel -- who may have been hung up on by George Steinbrenner more than anyone ever.

Posada to Cooperstown

2010-06-14T04:55:00.002-04:00

It's somewhat pat at this point to argue for the Hall of Fame candidacies of the Yankees' aging Core Four -- Jeter and River are both first-ballot locks, and Andy Pettitte could make it in (HGH notwithstanding) should he decide to stick around for a season or two longer and pitch at this level (he's 8-1 already this season).

But what about Jorge Posada, arguably the third-best catcher in Yankee history, behind only Yogi and Bill Dickey and now ahead of Elston and Thurman in the pecking order of all-time greats?

Defectors point to his fading defense and pitch selection, but having witnessed another great Posada moment in person yesterday -- his second grand slam in as many days, keying the Yanks' 9-5 win over Houston -- I'm convinced he'll be recognized with immortality someday.

He's no slam dunk, but has there been an overall better catcher over the last 20 years? Piazza is an offensive legend, and Ivan Rodriguez is another surefire pick. But Posada is still performing at a tremendously high level for a man of almost 39.

A five-time all-star with five World Series rings, Posada is going to look better and better as this era takes its place in baseball history.

A wild baseball year

2010-06-03T09:08:00.001-04:00

In one night, Ken Griffey retires and a kid pitcher for the White Sox pitches the third perfect game in a month -- 1880 was the only previous season with even two perfect games -- only to have it taken away on a blown call with two dead in the ninth.

Two more sports interviews

2010-05-14T09:29:00.002-04:00

One of the cool parts of my job is getting to talk to sports experts.

Here are two more:

WFAN's Joe Benigno, a one-time call-in fanatic who turned that pedigree into a career.

And Michael Shapiro, whose new book details the time when baseball nearly had a third major league.

Two baseball interviews

2010-04-06T07:51:00.002-04:00

It's baseball season once again, and I have been busy reading and interviewing other humans on this glorious topic, including Tim Wendel, who searched for the fastest fastball, and Jason Turbow, who explored unwritten rules in the game.

Banning the Orlando Sentinel

2010-03-25T07:59:00.002-04:00

More from the world of coaches bullying the media -- here's Urban Meyer douching out on some reporter for a pretty harmless report.

The reporter's side of it is here.

I love these coaches; they want everything to be the big leagues until they get some negative coverage, at which point their borderline pro athletes are just poor kids. (Requisite I'm 40 clip here.)

Lollerskates, Roflocopter, Rollerderby? One of these things is not like the others

2010-03-15T11:13:00.000-04:00

Down the street from The House The Saints Built, is a naming-right less venue that plays host to a circus of different acts, chief among them the Albany Patroons.

But Saturday night, the Patroons were replaced with wild hair, plunging necklines, and fishnet stockings.

No, Dennis Rodman was not in town - it was time for Roller Derby.

The Albany Allstars rolled their "B" team, the Department of Public Hurts, against the Utica Rollergirls in a hard fought bout amongst Thruway rivals, that saw the Rollergirls squeak out a win in exciting and dramatic fashion.

Or, depending on the team you supported, you saw a gutsy comeback dashed at the last second by a missed call.

Either way, it was worth the cost of admission.

(For a crash course in Roller Derby, see wikipedia).

From the moment you cross the threshold into the Armory, there are girls on eight wheels everywhere, ranging from players to promotors, it seemed like the model t was popular again.

Once inside, the thing that struck me from the outset was how small the track was. It was only about 5 minutes into the first of three periods that I began to think about how exactly I could improve the product I was being presented with. Despite active scoring for both teams, things just didn't seem all that exciting. Further dampening the entertainment were the color commentators who seemingly travel with the teams to provide running commentary and somewhat inaccurate interpretations of what is going on during the Jams.

That said, it is understandable that the announcers would have trouble assessing exactly what was going on, they only seemed to highlight the confusion amongst the referees overseeing the proceedings. The officials, six in total, with support staff to keep track of penalties, conduct a surprising number of activities simultaneously: One referee circles the infield with the players that are a part of the pack, using his arms to signal its general length. One official each is assigned to each team's Jammer, and are charged with keeping track of the points scored each time through the pack (which includes people who are in the penalty box as well, though this was not entirely clear to me). At times one or two refs followed the action calling penalties and ensuring that the line marking the track was not surreptitiously cut by the enterprising Jammer. Finally, there is one official that keeps track of team scoring each jam, copying down the fingers held up by each of the Jammer refs.

As a side note, at the show, commonly known as a bout, the official keeping team score seemed to be a big wig of sorts and was wearing a suit and round sunglasses. After about 4 seconds of deliberation, my party and I determined he was Don Johnson's stunt double, and possessed his portable radio just in case he was needed back on the set of Nash Bridges to fall through a pane of glass.

Because, the atmosphere inside the Armory was like being stuck in a time warp. As if the Hot Tub Time Machine was broken and merged the 80's but kept all the people from 2010. The players themselves were edgy, but the music provided before the show was decidedly classic rock. The musical entertainment by Albany based Fluid Motion, a ten-piece horn rock band ala Chicago. While it was performed well, the band was plagued by microphone issues that bookended each song with buzzing feedback that dampened the performance.

As for the bout itself, the show is pretty much as advertised: people skating around a track running into each other. It's more complicated than that, (I mean six refs?) but without a doubt the entertainment was delivered.

The timing could not have been better for a great showing as the Department of Public Hurts (DPH) and the Utica Rollergirls went down to the wire, with utica pulling it out on the final jam to snatch back victory after watching a 22 point lead deteriorate due to penalties.

The game was not without its difficulties though, as the officiating and penalty tracking seemed to be at times a guessing game at best, and at its worst ended up costing DPH the bout.

The issue at hand is the lack of audible notification for the end of the jam. To my eyes, on the final jam it appeared that time ran out, and then the Utica jammer passed a mess of people on the track and was credited for the points. Moments later, it was a two point victory for Utica. Whether there was an official time keeper and the scoreboard was wrong, it was never explained. At another point a white-board displayed that Utica scored 10 for the jam, but the scoreboard credited them only three.

So human errors aside (baseball season is coming after all), it was a good time and I plan on going back again. As for the conflagration of seemingly diametrically opposing elements, (and all those girls in fishnets) I'll enjoy the show.

The next bout is Saturday April 3rd, as the Empire Skate Troopers play host to the Boston B Party. Tickets at $10 for adults, $12 day of the event. $4 for children under 12. Wear royal purple and some fishnets.

Siena heads to Spokane

2010-03-15T07:12:00.003-04:00

For the fifth straight year, the Capital Region sends one of its own off to the NCAA Tournament.

Siena will face Purdue in the opening round, while one of its former standouts reaches the NBA.

Here's a copy the story I filed from Selection Sunday:

LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. (AP) _ The Siena College men’s basketball team has been seeded No. 13 in the South Region of the NCAA Tournament, as the Saints look to advance past the first round for the third straight year when they meet fourth-seeded Purdue.

The game will be held Friday in Spokane, Wash. Game times were not immediately announced.

“They’re a very impressive team. A lot of talent,” said Siena coach Fran McCaffery, who watched the seeding announcement at an on-campus really. “They really defend.”

It’s the second straight year the Saints (27-6) will face a team out of the Big Ten. Siena is 2-4 all-time against teams from that conference, but has never faced Purdue.

As a nine seed, the Saints defeated eighth-seeded Ohio State 74-72 in a double-overtime thriller in last year’s first round before falling 79-72 to top-seeded Louisville in the second round.

“They play a tough man-to-man defense, and they’re a great team,” said senior forward Alex Franklin, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference player of the year, who averages 16.3 points per game. “It’s going to be a good matchup for us.”

Purdue (27-5), which fell 69-42 to Minnesota in the Big Ten semifinals, is ranked sixth in the most recent AP poll. But the Boilermakers, who opened the season 14-0, are without second-leading scorer Robbie Hummel, lost for the year with a torn ACL.

They still earned one of 34 at-large bids.

"What we’ll see is a team that’s ready to play with the players they have,” McCaffery said.

Purdue has won 12 straight first-round NCAA matchups (one of which was later vacated). E’Twaun Moore leads the team with 16.6 points per game.

“We’re definitely confident,” said Siena forward Ryan Rossiter, who averages 13.9 points and 11 rebounds per game. “It’s crazy. It was a long wait to find out who we’re playing, but it’s definitely very exciting.”

Siena, which won its third straight Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title to claim the automatic bid to the NCAAs, has also had success as a No. 13 seed in recent years.

In 2008, the Saints shocked Vanderbilt 83-62 in the first round as a 13-seed.

“I guess 13’s our lucky number,” Franklin said.

Siena does it again

2010-03-08T21:41:00.001-05:00

Siena has done it again -- escaped a halftime deficit in the MAAC Tournament.

And this time, the Saints needed overtime.

And this time, they're going to the NCAA Tournament -- for the third straight year.

Siena just dumped Fairfield to win its 38th straight home game.

Siena in deep trouble

2010-03-08T19:58:00.003-05:00

The Saints have made a nasty habit of going down at the half during this MAAC Tournament, and now they need a turnaround in a hurry if they're going to come back from their biggest halftime deficit of the season, 39-28 to the impressive Stags of Fairfield.

Everything is on the line for the host Saints, who are looking for their third straight trip to the NCAAs.

Three-peat? (Sorry, Pat)

2010-03-08T18:31:00.002-05:00

The Siena men's basketball team sits just 40 minutes from its third straight MAAC title and trip to the NCAA Tournament.

All it needs is its 38th straight win on its home floor on this, the last MAAC tourney game to be played in Albany for at least the next five years.

Standing in the Saints' way is Fairfield, looking for its first trip to the dance since 1997, when it nearly shocked top-seeded North Carolina in the opening round.

Here we go.

Siena lives

2010-03-07T18:02:00.003-05:00

The host and top seed Siena Saints got behind at halftime for the second straight day, this time 30-28 to fifth-seeded Rider, Siena's opponent in the final two years ago.

But as is their wont in this building, where Siena has won 37 straight now, the Saints came back to win 72-62.

Ryan Rossiter pulled down a monstrous 18 boards to go with 10 points, eclipsing an impressive 20 and 14 performance from Rider's Mike Ringgold.

Which means Siena will play either Niagara or Fairfield tomorrow with a three-peat on the line.

Marist wins. Yawn.

2010-03-07T15:57:00.002-05:00

Five straight titles, six in seven years.

That's what Marist's women's team accomplished earlier today.

As my pal Andy pointed out on press row, that means any player in the MAAC over the past five seasons who wasn't on Marist has no idea what the NCAA Tournament is like.

Damn.

Marist looking for number five

2010-03-07T11:45:00.002-05:00

If it's Sunday morning, it must be the MAAC women's championship, where Marist finds itself for the seventh straight year.

The Red Foxes need a win over Fairfield to take their fifth title in a row.

We shall see.

Philly Franatic

2010-03-06T22:48:00.002-05:00

I don't typically have time to go to the press conferences during these first busy days of the tournament -- they happen to coincide with my filing time and the next tipoff, all of which seem to occur at the same time since we're shoving six games in one day -- but I had a feeling there might be some rhubarb at Siena's presser after the homestanding Saints escaped Manhattan.

Luckily, Buckets of Ink broham 2nd and Short has the rundown on what went on in the game and in the press conference.

Here's what I saw:

-Manhattan, a nine seed, putting a huge scare into Siena, which has now won 36 straight games on this floor but desperately needs to get to 38 in order to validate this era with another NCAA trip.

-Manhattan playing like complete jerks -- showboating after jumpers, cutting too close to the Siena bench, jawing. Thing is, it seemed to be working. Manhattan wasn't taking any 12-point lead over Siena in Siena's building on talent alone, that's for sure, and the priggishness must have helped. That didn't translate into a similar 3-point output in the second half, though.

-Siena coach Fran McCaffery -- who has had some blowhard moments in his past -- sending most of his roster to the locker room rather than shake hands with Manhattan at the end of the game. He tersely said it was for safety reasons, but I saw him rolling his eyes while he and Manhattan coach Barry Rohrssen walked feet away to their respective radio and TV interviews, and I saw him say something that rhymes with 'mucking grassholes.'

Here's my take: Fran, an emotional coach to begin with, takes a lot of heat during these few days in March. He has the best team, the pressure of an entire city on him to go back to the NCAAs, and the rest of the league constantly griping about how unfair it is for Siena to host. So my guess is his sensitivity is heightened.

Siena's victory in the title game, should it come sometime Monday night, will be more of a relief for him than anything else.

College basketball truths

2010-03-06T20:24:00.004-05:00

There are some truths in college basketball, truths that are nowhere more apparent than here at the MAAC Tournament, where today (actually, tomorrow by we time leave) I'll see six straight games, truths such as the following:

-No one ever travels. If you're whistled for steps, you will be shocked, and your gaping visage will demonstrate that to the ref.

-A 3-pointer is only a stupid shot if it doesn't go in.

-Your team will go on a run and at least make a comeback possible. I don't care if it's 40-15 in the first half. At some point, it'll be a two possession game, your fingernails will be chewed off, and the under-four-minute media timeout will be the longest commercial of your life.

-It is physically impossible to go up for a third try in the paint without drawing a foul.

-You will sit near somewhere who seems to just know that the Saints can't possibly win this game if Joe Blow doesn't score exactly X number of points, or if the Saints don't score on this very possession.

-The women's game looks like it's played underwater if a men's game immediately follows.

-Any foul of any type, no matter how egregious, is a 'bailout' if it's called with three seconds or less left on the shot clock.

-Missing the free throw on a 3-point play is like missing your kid's piano recital.

-Calling the other team's cheerleaders ugly is still funny. 'Warm up the bus' isn't.

-It's a disappointing night if the mascot doesn't eat somebody.

Siena comes on

2010-03-06T19:19:00.003-05:00

Siena overcame what was once at 12-point deficit to beat Manhattan 78-61 and stay alive in the MAAC tournament.

My suspicion is that this is the type of scare that, if survived, sends great teams cruising, like when Josh Duell nailed that 3-pointer against Loyola two years ago -- the loudest I've ever heard this arena.

We'll see how that turns out tomorrow.

Trouble in paradise?

2010-03-06T18:08:00.003-05:00

Host and top seed Siena finds itself down to ninth-seeded Manhattan 40-36 here at halftime, meaning it'll have to claw back in the second half if it wants to keep its hopes for a third consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament alive.

It's not as bad as it could have been for the hosts -- Siena was down 40-31 with 1:45 to go.

Rider drops St. Peter's

2010-03-06T17:21:00.002-05:00

Rider has topped St. Peter's in the men's quarters here, 69-57, advancing to the semis for the third straight year.

Host Siena is next, facing Manhattan in front of a solid but not sold-out crowd.

Men's quarters under way

2010-03-06T14:18:00.001-05:00

We're into the men's quarterfinals here at the MAAC Tournament.

The women's final is set:

Marist (of course) is back in the final for the seventh straight year, the top seed having coasted past Niagara earlier today 69-47. Marist will face No. 3 Fairfield, which beat second-seeded Iona by four.

The highlight of the day, of course, will be Siena's first game on its home floor, where the Saints have won 35 straight and back-to-back MAAC titles.

First up, though, is the 4-5 game between St. Peter's and Rider.

Day two, a marathon

2010-03-06T10:15:00.001-05:00

Welcome to day two of the MAAC tournament here in Albany, where I'm settled in for six games today. Got to the arena at 8:30 and I won't leave til after midnight.

Ah, March.

Right now, we're at halftime of a compelling Iona-Fairfield women's semifinal.

Its 29-all at the break.

I have always felt bad for Iona, which would have been in the NCAAs a few times in the last five years if not for sharing the MAAC with perennial juggernaut Marist.

More to come.

The gang's all here

2010-03-05T14:33:00.002-05:00

Greetings from the MAAC tournament here in downtown Albany, where there's something of an elegiac feel in the air; this is the last year the tournament will be here until at least 2015.

This also figures to be host Siena's last hurrah with a core of all-time school greats like Edwin Ubiles and league player of the year Alex Franklin -- a core that has won NCAA games the past two seasons.

I'm currently watching the Marist women -- with their five titles in six years, and four straight -- struggle with ninth-seeded Canisius in the opener, a rematch of last year's final.

More updates throughout the weekend.

Binghamton to Stay Home

2010-03-02T05:28:00.002-05:00

Binghamton University announced Monday, March 1st, that it will not be sending its men's basketball team to participate in the conference tournament, terming themselves a distraction to the other teams attempting to win the auto-bid tournament.

It is being termed a voluntary move, but if there is further action it will be clear then that this was just the first step in a more comprehensive punishment. At this time it appears the women's team will be unaffected by this. They play Stony Brook 3/5 in Hartford for the America East quarterfinals, 8:15 EST tipoff.

Why can't regional teams ever get ranked before the final week of the season?

2010-02-25T06:44:00.003-05:00

My coffers want to know.

Anyway, I covered a surprisingly good Hartford-UAlbany women's game last night. The 3-12 Great Danes hung around until the final minute, but fell to the nation's No. 24.

Penalty kick

2010-02-11T10:13:00.003-05:00

The Soccer Hall of Fame is packing up and leaving Oneonta, New York, storing its exhibits in a warehouse in North Carolina and perhaps postponing the 2010 inductions.

Yikes.

It's a far different story from what they were saying two, three years ago.

Rats gone

2010-02-10T17:05:00.003-05:00

The saddest sports city gets sadder today.

The River Rats are moving to North Carolina, potentially leaving Albany without a team for the first time in 17 years.

Just add 'em to the scrap heap already populated by Firebirds (twice), Patroons (twice), Yankees, and countless others.

But wait!

A new team is on the way, apparently. Stay tuned.

Media tiff

2010-01-18T12:53:00.002-05:00

This is some of the most compelling media-school access arguing I have ever witnessed, and believe me, I have seen a good amount of it. Most college basketball programs I have covered -- my area of expertise on media-school fights -- are small enough that print and TV happily do separate interviews. It's a different target you're trying to hit, and the room is so small, not everyone can crowd the coach at the same time.

But on-camera/off-camera is always a big issue -- and I think the Channel 10 director was right to stand his ground. Why address the media if you're going to do it in a ham handed way?

Go Jets

2010-01-17T12:02:00.002-05:00

The Jets haven't won the Super Bowl since the third one.

It's been five years since they could even entertain such thoughts.

I don't want to wait another five.

Get it done, kids.

Jets or Bengals?

2010-01-05T09:48:00.003-05:00

Fireman Ed will be in attendance when the Jets take on the Bengals in the second half of their home-and-home, do-or-die (for New York) series this weekend, thanks to Mr. 85.

But will he bring back a win?

I'm starting to sense a feeling out there in the sports world that the 9-7 Jets will find a way to beat Cincy and at least get into the second round of postseason.

On the other hand, it's not as if the Bengals were exactly trying Sunday night.

This week, they will be.

As a Jet fan, I keep my hopes low -- just getting this far was unexpected. They needed tons of help and they got it.

It's all up to them from here on in.

Thank you, Jets

2009-12-28T12:07:00.002-05:00

It's not often we Jets fans have a chance to tune in for the 16th game of the year with a trip to the Super Bowl still possible, but after yesterday's 29-15 win over the Colts, all that remains for New York is a win over already-clinched Cincinnati next week for a trip to the playoffs.

Who'dathunk it at 7-7?

Missing Matsui, Wang

2009-12-15T08:51:00.003-05:00

The cynic says Hideki Matsui's knees are beyond repair, have been for two seasons already. The cynic says he's 35, due to decline, expendable because he clogs up the DH slot on an old and creaky team. The cynic says, "Let the Angels sign him for $6.5 million. We'll get younger. They'll have another lumbering DH past his prime replacing another."

But me? I say the Yankees errred when they let Matsui walk when he was willing to stay, even in a reduced role for a reduced salary, and now they'll have to overpay Johnny Damon to make up a 52-homer deficit created when Matsui and Damon became free agents.

I say you keep Matsui on a one-year deal and see who gets hurt -- A-Rod, Damon, Jeter, Posada -- because someone always gets hurt, the way Xavier Nady and Travis Lee and Chien-Ming Wang (who, by the way, they also didn't take a chance on, a decision that could come back to bite them) did in seasons past.

I say an eighth year of tremendous clutch hitting, even if it was only 100 games, was worth it for six, seven million. The guy didn't win the World Series MVP by accident. He owned the Red Sox. In a big spot, he was Jeterian. He won you the pennant in 2003 and clinched the series in '09.

His outfield days behind him, at 35, Matsui still has a year or two or three of top offensive output left, I think. He's extremely popular in the clubhouse.

So maybe Matsui gets hurt next year and the Yankees look smart here. Maybe not. Maybe he hits .290 with 22 homers and 87 RBIs for the Angels and then you have to face him in the ALCS. Maybe Matsui stays healthy and A-Rod gets hurt.

You see my point. It would have been worth the risk to keep him.

I think the Yankees had two choices:

Save what for them is a pittance and get slightly younger, or keep your team primed to defend its world title.

By choosing the former, the Yankees -- coming off a revenue-infusing title, with tickets again at a premium -- worsened their team for 2010.

Cynics will be happy that the slow and run-down Matsui is out of the Bronx.

Me? I'll just miss watching him play.

Disagreements

2009-12-09T07:37:00.002-05:00

UAlbany got creamed by Siena again last weekend.

Surprise, surprise.

I've seen the Great Danes beat Siena exactly once, and that was the historically terrible Siena team, and I've been covering/watching this game for most of the last decade. I've also seen UAlbany lose in overtime more than once.

So, yes, it's a lopsided "rivalry," kind of in the same way that the Mets and Yanks are rivals.

UAlbany's been D-I for a decade with two titles and one legendary 30 minutes against UConn in the NCAAs in 2006 that seems like a long, long time ago. The Danes play in a 4,500-person gym. It's a state school through and through.

Siena plays at the posh -- for this area -- downtown arena. It is probably going back to the NCAA Tourney this year, where last year it flirted with knocking off top-seeded Louisville for a trip to the Sweet 16. Two years ago, it shocked No. 4 Vanderbilt in the first round.

It has beaten Stanford twice in my lifetime, once in the NCAAs.

These two teams are nearby geographically, but play 20 games, and Siena would win probably 17 of them. And that's true most years.

But I have to agree with my friend 2nd and Short and disagree with my other friend, Times Union Siena beat writer Pete Iorizzo.

It still makes total sense for UAlbany to play Siena every year, even if they always lose. For one, it is the biggest local sporting event of the year. The coaches may complain about the hype, but for most apathetic fans in this area, it's the last time they'll pay attention until March.

Meanwhile, UAlbany gets to face a consistently talented team, one that might make the Top 25 this year. Will Brown has always scheduled teams like North Carolina, Syracuse, Kansas -- teams that will beat his team up but strengthen it, including in the R.P.I. category.

There's nothing to lose for the Danes -- they win and they shock the region. They lose and it's almost expected at this point.

But giving up the game? That'd be worse than losing by 30.

Sweet Jeet

2009-12-01T08:02:00.002-05:00

My last baseball idol is reaching that point of his career when the whole of the sport is taking notice of his greatness. One day, and this is not an exaggeration, people will be telling their grandkids that they saw Jeter play at the old Stadium the same way boomers talk about Mantle.

So Derek Jeter, who has a pretty nice life off the field, too, is the first solo baseball player to be named SI's Sportsman of the Year since 1995 and the first Yankee ever (somehow).

What made the 2009 championship so special for me was that the guys I grew up watching almost two decades ago as minor leaguers in Albany, now on the back end of their careers, were still productive. Jeter, at 35, had one of his top four seasons ever. He won a Gold Glove after years of criticism about his defense. He finished third in the MVP voting.

And he won his fifth ring. All without steroids, silly photo spreads or tabloid excess.

Sure, you can quibble with the magnitude of the award...and it is maddening that the great Mariano Rivera has never won it. But Jeter? He's the kind of player who should be on this cover every year.

This sounds like a book

2009-11-24T14:19:00.000-05:00

Wow. Just wow.

In which Sherlock Holmes is referenced

2009-11-21T19:43:00.001-05:00

"Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay does not want to resign with Toronto after his contract expires after the 2010 season, according to reports."

Yeah, no shit.

Bad news is no news

2009-11-18T11:41:00.003-05:00

Another installment of bad news for those of us who care about newspapers:

The numbers for the upcoming Vancouver Olympics are poor.

No, not the time trials.

The credential requests:

Newspapers not requesting credentials:

• The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
• The Baltimore Sun
• Boston Herald
• The Charlotte Observer
• The (Colorado Springs) Gazette
• The (Hackensack) Record
• The Hartford Courant

• The Indianapolis Star
• The Kansas City Star
• Los Angeles Daily News
• Newsday
• The Palm Beach Post
• St. Petersburg Times

Frankel, a racing giant, dead

2009-11-17T08:31:00.002-05:00

Hall of Fame horse trainer Bobby Frankel has succumbed to lymphoma, leaving a giant hole in the trainer standings anywhere they run major races.

Remembrances from within the sport are rolling in, as are laurels from without.

Racing is a strange sport because death is always a possibility. Jockeys hold their lives along with the reins every time they head out for a maiden claimer and a $10,000 purse. Horses are put down after falls almost routinely. And trainers, most of them, never retire, not knowing quite how to live without 4 a.m. trips to the stables.

That means you have legends of the sport still saddling winners into their golden years -- guys like H. Allen Jerkens, Shug McGaughey, Wayne Lukas.

Heck, racing's golden boy, Bob Baffert, is 56.

So death is not unusual in racing. It's just that you hate to see it come when people are still capable of winning graded stakes, still showing up for work in the early dawn, still grinning in the winner's circle after a major stake.

MMA Meets USMC

2009-11-10T01:39:00.003-05:00

A quick story over on MMAjunkie.com about some MMA fighters hosting some seminars on hand to hand combat with newly deploying Marines. It reads a bit like a press release but still a heart warming story about a sport that is normally known for blood.

"Brawl" breaks out at HS women's soccer game: fantasies remain unfulfilled.

2009-11-10T00:37:00.003-05:00

Is there a reason the AP picked up this story but only wrote one sentence to accompany it? Fans fought as well, but there's no good video of that.

http://sports.yahoo.com/video/player/sow/Featured_Videos/16549647

Thumbs up

2009-11-06T11:02:00.000-05:00

I posted my World Series thoughts at our sister blog.

Looking back

2009-11-04T08:11:00.002-05:00

Recently, there was an unexpected sports editor change at the newspaper I worked at for more than four years and still freelance for now and again.

When I began there in 2004, the sports desk was in another time of transition, interviewing for a new sports editor, who came on board maybe three months after I did.

He was gone less than two years later, blindsided with a box to clear off his desk.

The new editor -- and I should say here that I got along with both them fine, and that both gave me great opportunities to write and learn -- was waiting for the first to leave on the day of the firing.

Awkward.

Anyway, with the second editor of my tenure now gone, I thought I would look back at what I accomplished, reporting-wise, during his time.

Off-hand, this is probably the best piece I could remember from those years.

Now that I'm working in radio and doing less writing, I probably won't have a close relationship with editor No. 3, as I won't be in the office (over summers, it was 40-plus hours of high-stress, close contact work).

Google this.

2009-10-30T06:11:00.003-04:00

My life is hopelessly intertwined with Google. I have a google enabled phone that keeps track of my google calendar, along with my google contacts and my gmail account.

Well it just so happens google has done it again, as they now provide calendar overlays for google calendar that will keep track of your favorite teams, showing you when they are playing as well as providing results for previously played games.

That works out well for me because I in theory want to go see the Albany River Rats but it is always a spur of the moment thing so I can see, in one place, just how my work schedule prevents me from doing that.

It's nice and I highly encourage Buckets readers to incorporate it into their daily lives if they haven't already.

Hockey? On my Internet?

2009-10-28T22:33:00.003-04:00

NHL Live Streaming, available on Yahoo!

Just in case you are someone like me who doesn't get versus (or any other channel for that matter) and are trapped at work with an internet connection, you can watch live streaming NHL games on Yahoo! Sports.

The quality is not great depending on the tv feed and your internet connection, but it's better than nothing.

And best of all, free. It is brought to you by Versus and Yahoo, and of course there is NHL.com's Gamecenter, but for $160, or $20 monthly installments.

One for the thumb for your favorite four

2009-10-28T16:57:00.002-04:00

Please surf on over to Picked Off to read about my affinity for the Yankees' core.

Baseball overload

2009-10-28T01:10:00.002-04:00

With the world series set to start in NY tonight at 8, now is as good a time as any to examine a few of the story lines that are going on in the world of baseball.

First of all, as a Mets fan, I really don't have a rooting interest and instead am hoping for massive brawl that injures all the regular players for each team. I do want to see Pedro Martinez pitch well, but beyond that I don't really care who wins. With that said, I think it is going to be Phils in 7.

Now, with the world series starting, I am reminded that home field advantage has been determined by the All-Star game, just one of the many things wrong with the administration of the game itself. As anyone who follows baseball may know, there are baseball purists who seem to disagree with any type of technological change because "that's the way the game has been played," which makes about as much sense as accepting wrong calls as "part of the game." There is a simple solution here, return the All-Star game to "exhibition" status and if the game looks like it is going to end in a tie, get a home run derby going.

Second, I was reading an article over on Slate about camera angles on television, it's worth the quick read and makes a valid point using video evidence.

For Mr. Pickus, in addition to your Yankees in 6 pick (guessing), I'm setting an over/under on Lidge blown saves at 1.5... which side you got?

Don't be fat

2009-10-23T14:42:00.002-04:00

If you're going to carry on a workplace relationship with a former Mets general manager, hit the gym a few times beforehand. Otherwise, the tabloids will make you pay.

The boy who cried payroll

2009-10-12T09:38:00.004-04:00

The Yankees eliminated the Twins last night with a three-game sweep in the ALDS. As the tabloids haven't let anyone forget, it's the first playoff series win in an almost unfathomable five years for the Bombers. They are looking to make their first World Series since 2003, and looking to win their first since 2000.

History will tell us this was an easy series for the Yanks, but really, it was Minnesota that bailed New York (and over-anxious manager Joe Girardi) out of a longer, more stressful ride to the next round. Say what you want about A-Rod's newfound clutch hitting or Jorge Posada's continued doggedness or Derek Jeter's Jeterness, but this series was as much about Minnesota's high-profile mistakes as it was the Yanks' home runs.

There was Nick Punto's inexplicable turn around third that likely cost the Twins a big inning. There was Game 2's boneheaded out at second by Carlos Gomez that literally took a run off the board. There was Joe Nathan's transformation into Armando Benitez (two games, two innings, five hits, two earned runs, one homer and one walk, which did nothing to lower his lifetime 8.59 ERA in postseason).

And yet...

Here's St. Paul Pioneer Press columnist Tom Powers crying payroll the day after the Metrodome closed for baseball forever:

Exxon Mobil flattens Barney's Filling Station. Aunt Edna's garage sale is overwhelmed by the Wal-Mart down the block. And the New York Yankees sweep the Minnesota Twins.

Once again the little guys are denied even a moment in the sun, or the frigid Minnesota evening as the case may be. The working stiffs with the lunchboxes were run over by a fleet of limos as they waited for the light to change.

Viva capitalism.

Yikes. Powers remembers who represented the A.L. in last year's World Series, right? He remembers that the big-spending Mets won a cozy 70 games, right?

The Twins have won five divisions in eight years, won a thrilling one-game playoff to eclipse the Tigers because the pre-gaffe Punto made a fancy play at the plate and because Brandon Inge didn't get a call when the ball stroked his jersey.

In this series, the Twins didn't get a call down the line. Is that capitalism's fault, or that of a more pressing issue, terrible October umpiring?

Sure, the Yanks could absorb a Justin Morneau-esque loss to their lineup, and the Twins clearly couldn't. But that doesn't change the fact that even Carl Pavano, the Yanks' own one-time D.B. Cooper, threw well enough to win, giving the Twins another top-notch start.

As Powers writes, however, the Yankees should have been compelled to drop Game 3 because the Angels had already clinched their ALCS spot (?????):

Still, there was hope that the Yankees might eventually suffer a letdown because the Boston Red Sox were eliminated by Los Angeles on Sunday. Nothing gets the Yankees' blood boiling like a series against their archrivals.

Um, OK. Let's forgive that inanity and focus on Powers' point here: The Twins lost to the better team, which is better because it spends the most money, which is allowed by the sport. Whether they should have pushed to a Game 4 or even 5 is not, however, a question of payroll.

Nathan needs to stop doing his Trevor Hoffman impression in big spots if Minnesota wants to win three of five from teams like New York. And you can't give away runs or outs; a week ago, Punto was a fundamentals genius. Did his smaller-than-Teixeira's paycheck cause him to lose his acumen once he saw pinstripes?

The bottom line is that mom's chicken soup never will pull in as much revenue as Pfizer. The big conglomerates almost always win.

Which is to say, in Powers' world: the Rays never beat the Red Sox in Game 7 of the ALCS, the Marlins never won the 2003 World Series at Yankee Stadium, the Twins haven't reached the playoffs ahead of bigger-market teams like Chicago and Detroit, the Indians and Tigers never won Division Series against New York, and the Mets didn't blow the '06 NLCS to the 83-win Cardinals.

Long story short?

The team whose bullpen -- Phil Coke, Phil Hughes, at least in Game 3, Joba Chamberlain, none of them making anything ahead of the anti-Nathan, Mo Rivera -- didn't implode, wound up winning.

Good journalism

2009-10-09T14:17:00.003-04:00

I was against the new Yankee Stadium from the start, from the day news broke that the Steinbrenners were ready to build. I didn't like them selling out their history. I didn't like them reducing capacity when ticket demand was at an all-time high. I didn't like the public money. I didn't like the money grab that accompanied putting most of the seats in expensive areas.

I go to a game to watch baseball -- to keep score, listen to the broadcast, to root for Jeter, Rivera, Posada, Pettitte.

So I really identified with this piece.

Hero meets Buckets

2009-10-05T11:12:00.001-04:00

Recently, I got the chance to interview a childhood hero, Bernie Williams, who comes to town this week on his concert tour.

But don't worry -- I touched on baseball, too.

Check it out!

Ambivalence

2009-09-30T09:15:00.003-04:00

This news that UAlbany plans to hold a media practice -- reporters and anchors taking to the court under the tutelage of Will Brown and Co. -- has me feeling ambivalent.

On the one hand, it's sure to be both instructive and hilarious...there's nothing more I'd rather see than some of my ink-stained friends from years of covering the Great Danes trying to work off the years of free pizza and subs they've been towning before the games.

On the other hand, is this just a tactic to co-opt a skeptical media corps that is starting to ask more questions about Brown's high transfer rate? The honeymoon from the 2006 and '07 NCAA Tournament trips can't withstand another starting point guard getting arrested for lighting fireworks in his dorm room.

Yeah, kid

2009-09-28T09:28:00.000-04:00

A.L. East champs.

Tomorrow, the World (Series).

A football life

2009-09-24T08:39:00.002-04:00

Some people do the same thing for almost 50 years and hate it. I've never gotten that sense in my dealings with Blase Iuliano, the former coach of a local football team who retired after nearly four decades and was back on the sidelines less than a year later.

Read all about his second life as a college assistant here.

Elation and heartbreak

2009-09-17T06:05:00.002-04:00

There are some videos, namely Charlie Bit Me, that capture the entire range of human existence: love, rage, understanding, humor, brotherhood.

Ladies and gentleman, there is another Skywalker.

Rachel in a thriller

2009-09-07T07:15:00.002-04:00

This wasn't a Derby or a Belmont with a Triple Crown on the line, but Saratoga Race Course on Saturday sure felt like an important place to watch a race.

That's because some 31,000-something people turned out to see Rachel Alexandra, perhaps the greatest filly of all time (certainly in 30 years).

Out of all the thousands of races I've seen at the Spa, this was the most intense from the crowd's point of view. That counts all the Travers, that counts Funny Cide's homecoming, even last year's run by horse of the year Curlin in the same race, the Woodward.

If I could liken it to anything it'd be the reaction Fourstardave got toward the end of his remarkable career (he won a race at the Spa every year for nine straight years).

The crowd for Rachel Alexandra -- winner of 10 of 13 lifetime races, including the Preakness and Haskell and several other graded stakes -- wasn't overwhelming, but it was impassioned. The line at the rail was dozens of people deep, and the frenzy in the final furlong of the race, when it looked like the great filly might fall to the boys after all, was captivating.

I blame race announcer Tom Durkin for this, at least partly. He was amped up from the start. On the other hand, with Rachel on the lead through a blistering opening quarter, I'd be announcing at 11, too.

After she held on by a neck, the relief in the crowd was palpable. After all, she was 1-4. But no one came to see her lose, to see Saratoga live up to its moniker as the graveyard of favorites.

They came to see greatness, and that's what they saw.

Horses running the wrong way

2009-09-02T06:20:00.002-04:00

I recently got back from a great trip to Australia, which, sports-wise, included watching the big Australia-New Zealand rugby match (the Tasman rivals collide!) with a native Australian provided explanation and a trip to the racetrack.

Here's my account of the latter.

Horses, humans accomplish feats

2009-08-14T06:33:00.002-04:00

Bob Baffert is going to the Hall of Fame this morning.

He is a special thing in horse racing: a transcendent star. Most people outside of the niche would at least recognize his face, if not his accomplishments or top runners. (Do yourself a favor and watch the 1998 Belmont Stakes, where Baffert loses the Triple Crown by a nosehair. I still get goosebumps from this race. I defy you to find a better stretch duel or a better race call.)

Anyway, as far as media relations go, Baffert has been hit and miss with me.

When I first met him at an event at Hollywood Park in 2005, he was awesome, and even gave me info for a dispatch back to Saratoga. Two years ago, when Silver Charm went to the Hall, he was again fantastic (by phone). This year, and granted he's been busy, I didn't get a call back for three weeks.

Anyway, each year for the past five years I have researched and written on the Hall of Fame class, and this year's class of six is among the most compelling.

Here are the pieces, with one bonus:

Ben Nevis II, a jumper.

Tiznow, the only back-to-back Classic winner.

Baffert, winner of 10 Triple Crown races.

Silverbulletday, Baffert's best filly.

Janet Elliot, the first female trainer.

Eddie Maple, the underdog jock.

And check out this piece about horse racing in Baghdad.

It's just the devil

2009-08-07T12:43:00.002-04:00

I know this video isn't new, but I was thinking about Stephon Marbury and how demented his life is. Also, one of this blog's contributors -- is someone a contributor if they only contribute once a year? -- is a big Knick fan who could get a kick out of seeing Marbury clearly ruin someone else's life for once.

Skip ahead to 1:40 if you want to know how hit-and-runs happen.

Tiny humans do things

2009-08-04T08:53:00.001-04:00

Extry, extry, read all about it.

You're a tremendous slouch

2009-07-30T05:59:00.003-04:00

I have been trying my hand at amateur joke writing for the past couple years or so, submitting them to some sites and contests, including that of sports columnist Norman Chad.

Chad is a fantastic read who prides himself on TV, beer, gambling and his many wives. I mean, it's good column fodder.

He always ends his column with "Ask The Slouch," in which readers submit funny sports questions and he answers them. The winner gets $1.25 and passing fame.

I've been trying to get a question in for a long time without luck.

Here's an actual email I had with Chad:

Me: Any chance the Clippers can get conscientious objector status before the draft?

Chad, weeks later: My apologies -- if I had gotten around to tis (sic) one in time (I sometimes fal ((sic)) hopelessly behind on my e-mail load), it had $1.25 written all over it. So I owe you one. Thanks for reading.

Goo punch. I wrote back that now I can't make the rent, which is only sort of true.

"That's the first time he's even been close to being on fire"

2009-07-20T06:03:00.002-04:00

Oh, Carl Ross, ye of great defense but little discipline, what have you done this time?

Here are my two lasting memories of Carl Ross:

1) At the NCAA Tournament in 2007, with UAlbany -- supposedly the Sweet 16 upset special of the tourney -- down 40-something to Virginia, Ross was so late, so beaten on a rotation, that his defense on a long-range shooter who was lining up yet another three-ball was to shout "Byah" as said Cavalier let go of another swish.

That abomination wasn't Carl Ross' fault -- as I recall, most of Jamar Wilson's 25 points were in extended garbage time, and the team was down something like 18-0 to start -- but that day was an indictment of a player coach Will Brown thought had been dogging it in practice all year. In fact, he pulled his scholarship after the season, which is becoming a trend, especially among his junior college transfers.

2) During the 60-59 American East title, a classic at Vermont, Carl Ross played out of his mind defensively, slapping the floor, getting in Catamounts' grills, keeping every point possible off the board. In that tiny Patrick Gym, he took up acres of room on the floor. Brent Wilson got the credit for the brilliant move when he threw the ball downcourt as time expired, but it was Ross who set the play up. It was his finest moment in the UAlbany uniform.

Now we get word -- reported first by our ASP bretheren; kudos -- that he was arrested on UAlbany's campus (for some reason) with fireworks. It's a felony. And the Times Union gives us this gem: "Police charged with Ross, also identified as 'Cool C,' with felony criminal mischief for allegedly tossing an M-80 into the trash bin, causing more than $250 in fire damage. He also was charged with misdemeanor arson and unlawful possession of fireworks, a violation, according to court papers."

Cool C????????

"After being confronted with evidence showing his M-80s mirrored the one used in the fire, Ross became quiet and admitted firing the explosive near a basketball court, but not near the trash bin, the court papers said."

Oy vey. Just like Brown said: He could never take responsibility.

If anything, however, the effect on the team's current point guard is of greater concern. Mike Johnson will skate, but when he starts slowly, you can bet the Big Purple Fans will bring up Firecrackergate.

Notes on a scandal

2009-07-13T06:53:00.002-04:00

I suggest you head over to Buckets pal 2nd and Short and read about the end of newspapers from a newspaper insider.

Callen axed

2009-07-08T06:09:00.002-04:00

The Great Newspaper Death continues locally, with another round of layoffs at the Capital Region's flagship paper, the Times Union.

This time it's very high-level editors getting the ax, among others, including sports editor Bill Callen and two sports copy editors, I'm told.

Callen has his detractors around these parts, particularly UAlbany fans who feel that the TU's Siena coverage borders on deism, but when you're on the top, you get the most scrutiny.

It's sad, but true: the TU is the last newspaper around here that looks to have a future past 2010. In sports, it's the last paper consistently (the Gazette has cut back in some spots) sending multiple staffers to major events like the Triple Crown, the NCAA, the Super Bowl, the Breeders' Cup.

But even they are down to bare bones.

Best Damn Sports Show ends

2009-07-01T08:05:00.004-04:00

The lowbrowfest that was never really the best or about sports has ended. Yawn.

The thing is, every time I flipped past Fox Sports and saw a Best Damn countdown or clip, I thought it was a rerun anyway.

They probably stopped making new episodes of this in 2005.

Be honest -- would you notice the difference?

Updated list

2009-06-29T10:22:00.004-04:00

Finally got to check out Camden Yards thanks to a bachelor party on Saturday, when the homestanding O's beat the crosstown (sort of) Nationals 5-3.

I found it to be a magnificent looking park. You can see just how the once-revolutionary style -- downtown, framed by the city, open, some standing room, good sightlines -- was so enticing for other teams.

Here's my updated list:

Yankee Stadium (RIP)
Shea Stadium (RIP)
Olympic Stadium (RIP)
Rogers Centre
New Yankee Stadium
Dolphin Stadium
AT&T Park
Oakland-Alameda Coliseum
Camden Yards
Citizens Bank Park
Dodger Stadium*

*I've walked on the field and had dinner in the right field Stadium Club with Tommy Lasorda, but didn't see a game there.

Soccer? In My Peanut Butter?

2009-06-28T20:50:00.004-04:00

This afternoon Team USA Soccer briefly flirted with relevance, striking fear into the hearts of Brazilian supporters and stirring dreams of grandeur amongst soccer faithful in the US.

Unfortunately, soccer is a game of two halves and Team USA saw the upset heard round the world slip away from them conceding three goals in the second half, in what was described on one site as "the NIT of soccer," the finals of the Confederations Cup.

Much was made of the sound defeat of Spain in the semi-final round after the US team lucked into the knock out phase out of group play.

The question really though is will soccer ever get over the hump here in North America? Certainly there is a devoted, if small, fan base for MLS, so there is a start. But, the mainstream media and casual fans won't take notice until USA soccer can string together a few big wins. They don't have to win the world cup for teams to notice, but they do need to look like they aren't just catching teams on a bad day and capitalizing, and until there is a more even effort from the team, that just isn't going to happen. Every win and loss should not bring speculation as to the job security of the US coach Bob Bradley.

"We continue to try and move ourselves forward, and playing these kind of games only helps," U.S. coach Bob Bradley said. "But it still feels pretty lousy to let this one get away."

And such is the state of American soccer. They are like the team you like that just can't seem to make it over the hump and do some damage in the playoffs. I'm not asking for a championship, just a little respect. Can't get no respect.

Tribute from one golf writer to the next

2009-06-24T06:53:00.003-04:00

Here's a heartfelt tribute from Times Union golf scribe Pete Dougherty on retiring Troy Record golf writer Mike Dyer.

It's a classy move by Dougherty. Having edited some of Dyer's rough copy -- that's putting it lightly -- I agree that his quotes are always crazy.

One thing Dougherty doesn't mention is that Dyer is believed to be the only Capital District sportswriter with a Hall of Fame vote. He covered the Mets for years. The 1986 world champs marked his final year on the beat as his paper folded after the World Series.

And yes, he always votes for Keith Hernandez somehow.

One more thing. Who retires to Buffalo?

Just a bit outside

2009-06-23T08:11:00.000-04:00

Thankless

2009-06-22T07:04:00.002-04:00

Covering youth sports is the most thankless job in newspapers.

For every team photo you run, there are 15 more squads angry that they weren't on the front page. For every coach you feature, there are a dozen backbiters waiting with off-the-record screeds about said coach's inability to coach.

Et cetera.

The fruits of said labors: here, here and here.

It's hard getting ballplayer on the phone

2009-06-18T07:23:00.001-04:00

Very interesting.

Just check the dates on these two stories.

Human wants to return to highest level of competition within his athletic field

2009-06-15T07:49:00.001-04:00

Get the less-confusing scoop here.

Braves Scrooge Glavine over

2009-06-03T18:23:00.002-04:00

Man, the Braves are obtuse. They sign Tom Glavine, coming off two surgeries, at a tremendous discount, let him slowly work his 43-year-old body back into health over months, and then cut him...to save money for some phantom hitter they might acquire later on?

The guy pitched there for 16 years. Maddux and Smoltz are retired and a Red Sock, respectively. You're chasing the Mets and Phillies with Derek Lowe and question marks. But $2.25 million is too steep?

He just threw 11 scoreless innings in rehab starts. He has 305 wins. I get that Glavine at 43 is not even Glavine at 39 with the Mets, but still. Jamie Moyer got people out until this year, and Glavine is a lefty in the NL. That has to be worth at least a few starts pre-All-Star break.

In 2009, it's almost a free shot. If he went 10-7 the rest of the year with 4.00 ERA, which is not out of the realm of possibility, the Braves would look like geniuses.

It's worth the risk when you're 26-25 and just 4.5 out of first in a crappy N.L.

This is akin to the Red Sox cutting David Ortiz mid-season. Oh, wait. That's about to happen, too.

Anyway, Glavine is going into Cooperstown with a red A on his hat. Let the guy get a chance. Can't wait to see him wind up somewhere silly. Oakland, anyone?

The end of glossy glossaries

2009-05-29T09:49:00.003-04:00

Some big-time schools are done with printed media guides. Are our area schools going to follow suit? I hope not. Then some SIDs I know would be either more or less miserable, and I don't know if they come equipped with any other settings.

Too close to home

2009-05-28T08:07:00.001-04:00

Boy, does this piece shake Buckets writers to their core.

Is Pete Dougherty being tongue-in-cheek?

2009-05-27T08:11:00.002-04:00

Times Union golf and sports media writer Pete Dougherty has me confused on his blog. Here's the offending graf with my boldings and italics:

When the rain in Arlington finally stopped and the Yankees-Rangers game got under way after 10:30 p..m., WTMM — as it is contractually obligated — switched the audience away from the NBA to air the baseball. The NBA game, despite going into overtime, was long over before the baseball in Texas concluded, so listeners were left hanging. (For those whose only source of information is local radio, the Magic won, 116-114.)

Uh, if your only source of information is local radio... ... ... how do you wind up checking a blog on the internet?

Heyman: Without editor

2009-05-23T11:55:00.002-04:00

Jon Heyman breaks most baseball news, but he needs an editor over at SI:

"So where do the principle players go from here?"

Yikes.

MLB.TV - I think I'm in love

2009-05-21T17:41:00.003-04:00

My first experience so far with MLB.TV has been an amazing one so far. Granted, there isn't anything really exciting going on right now, it's a 2-2 game top 5 A's and Rays from the Trop. But the most amazing thing is that I am watching this game at work, where we won't even spring for SNY on our Dish Network feed so that we can watch the Mets.

(Surprisingly a lot of Mets fans in this workplace.)

That being said, this now alleviates my entertainment concerns while I'm at work because usually I listen to Howard Stern on my Sirius Internet radio, but since it is Thursday, and I am working all weekend, you can see the problem here.

2-2 middle 5.

So some of the features so far include live picture in picture, and the ability to watch up to four games at once, so at 7 when 5 games start I'll be able to pick and choose. I'm particularly interested in being able to watch my AL team, the Angels. Also included is in game highlights from other games. In all, this just means I'll be watching a lot of baseball now.

I particularly recommend this for anyone who is trapped in shift work, like me.

O'Meara out at Saratogian

2009-05-20T09:49:00.004-04:00

Breaking news out of The Saratogian...horse racing writer Brendan O'Meara has been fired 71 days before the Saratoga meet, as he so succinctly puts it. Details are sketchy, but reading between the lines of his blog and what I know about the state of the newspaper, I have a feeling something like this happened:

Brendan probably posted a blog complaining (rightly) that the paper cut Triple Crown coverage, and the comments weren't taken lightly.

I'm not exactly a disinterested party in this, but I don't have any inside information -- this is just a guess.

For his part, O'Meara has been downright jubiliant in his subsequent posts, but that might be a defense mechanism. Who knows. Most people who leave that paper do so with jubilance, but being fired is always a shock. I was there when the last sports editor was fired in 2005 and it was done out of the blue, in a back room, with no real warning. He had moved from Oregon to take the job a year before. The incoming sports editor was there by the afternoon.

This time, I can see where O'Meara's coming from: O'Meara (with whom I have worked, though not in nearly a year, during which time we've spoken by e-mail once or twice) moved up here to a tiny paper to cover horse racing, did an excellent job, then found out the budget for Triple Crown races and the Breeder's Cup -- one of the job's only perks -- was slashed.

It puts the paper in the lurch, as no one on staff excepting some freelancers and part-time columnists has covered a full Spa meet -- which starts in the end of July -- on a beat before.

But what about Brendan? In case you haven't noticed, this isn't the best time to be finding a job in journalism.

Copy editors don't work on Sundays

2009-05-11T05:59:00.002-04:00

Poor Times Union. The cutbacks aren't helping the product. Just ask the normally compelling Pete Iorizzo, who was out in Syracuse for Siena's first-ever NCAA Tournament game.

Two lowlights (not doctored, merely bolded):

"He helped Siena hang around for three quarters before bowing Syracuse 11-4 in an NCAA Tournament first-round game Sunday at the Carrier Dome."

"This being Siena's first postseason game in program history. With Syracuse being a perennial lacrosse power, a much more lopsided final score wouldn't have been surprising."

Buckets of quote

2009-05-10T15:19:00.001-04:00

Check out a certain Buckets writer in print. In a different sort of way.

Ramirez Gone

2009-05-07T14:21:00.006-04:00

Reports broke this afternoon that Los Angeles Dodgers OF Manny Ramirez tested positive for a performance enhancing drug, and will be suspended 50 games effective immediately.

He will be set to return July 3rd, 7.7 million dollars lighter in the wallet.

Ramirez told reporters that it was a drug prescribed for a personal matter by a doctor in Miami, and is not appealing the suspension.

The taint that comes from this positive test seems to cast a cloud of suspicion over all of Manny's numbers in his career, dating back to his Cleveland Indians days.

He's got some 'splainin' to do, but I'm sure this will be swept under the rug.

I myself am tired of all the reports. I've been burnt out on players that have tested positive and I don't care what they do to themselves at this juncture. With the rewards being so great, this is akin to Roman gladiator spectating. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that every player is on something, though I would be let down a bit.

As silly as it is, people idolize sports stars. It's worth remembering that...

What really happened with the press box massacre

2009-05-06T14:59:00.002-04:00

One of the Baltimore Sun reporters who got the ax in the middle of an Orioles game last week gives a play-by-play here.

Heartless, fascinating, gut-wrenching -- a snapshot of the dead newspaper business in 2009.

Post goes to war

2009-05-05T20:50:00.002-04:00

The Mets are banning the tabloids from the clubhouse, trying to shield million-dollar athletes from bad vibes.

Classically, the New York Post makes some waves -- even pwning the Daily News.

Girardi needs to chill

2009-05-03T18:09:00.003-04:00

Second-year Yankees manager Joe Girardi has developed a reputation as a guy without a sense of humor, a smart baseball man who nevertheless found himself out of Florida after one season in large part because of his difficult personality.

Now he's lashing out at Selena Roberts and her new expose on A-Rod:

"I have some issues with it, that it's interesting how the book date got moved up now," Girardi said, "and I get tired of answering these questions. I don't understand why someone would write a book like this anyway, and some people may not care to hear that but I don't understand."

What Girardi fails to realize is that A-Rod has brought this type of scrutiny on himself, by living an increasingly false life -- and Roberts will demonstrate, no doubt, that lying about steroids is probably only the tip of the iceberg.

Of course he understands why this book was written: the most famous and best player in his sport has opened the door to such scrutiny by being less than honest, practically begging reporters to go digging. Now, they have.

A-Rod could have taken the wind out of Roberts' sails months, years even, ago, by being forthright about his past. He declined that opportunity. Meanwhile, the Yankees as an organization had a strong inkling that Rodriguez had been illegally bulking up, and yet they signed him to a 10-year deal worth a big chunk of the bank bailout. So they're on the hook here somewhat as well.

This is A-Rod's mess, to be sure, but his employer can't divest itself of the cleanup -- not as long as the Yankees keep signing his checks and awaiting his return with bated breath.

UPDATE: Well said, Joel.

Just wondering

2009-04-27T07:52:00.002-04:00

Is it hot seat time for Joe Girardi?

Probably not -- not yet, anyway, despite a three-game sweep to Boston. Especially since his team is A-Rod-less and has a mini-triage set up in the training room.

You can't blame Girardi for CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira underperforming, but you can blame him for stuff like bringing in Rivera in the eighth with one strike pitch already thrown to the batter.

Remember, Girardi, who hasn't made the playoffs with this team, got a free year last year (a luxury Joe Torre never had).

Which means 9-9 better be the last time this team -- spender of 1.5 billion clams on a new ballpark and a third of that on three players -- is anywhere near .500.

As Tuna Parcells once said, you are what your record says you are, and Girardi's record to this point says he might be overrated. Ask yourself this: in what one possible way has Girardi improved upon the Torre years and the Torre way, even in the non-championship seasons?

No, I can't think of an example, either.

Ironic correction

2009-04-24T08:50:00.002-04:00

This has nothing to do with sports, but oh, the irony.

The Times published a story on the anniversary of one of English's most enduring style guides this week, then followed it up with...a correction.

How the story ends:

'Or, as Mr. Rosenblatt put it, "you really ought to know the rules before you break them."'

What follows:

Correction: April 23, 2009

Because of an editing error, an article on Wednesday about a 50th-anniversary edition of the book “The Elements of Style” misspelled part of the publisher’s name. The publisher is Pearson/Longman, not Pierson/Longman.

The article also overlooked an element of style in The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage in referring to Roger Angell’s introduction for the fourth edition of the book. He wrote the foreword, not the “forward.” (As The Times stylebook notes, a “foreword” is the word before Chapter 1.)

Delicious.

First impressions

2009-04-20T07:11:00.004-04:00

After taking in my first game at New Yankee Stadium on Sunday, I can say unequivocally that whatever Yankee people say, the new ballpark was beautiful, spacious, breathtaking and chock full of amenities -- but it was not necessary.

Oh, it's a modern marvel that evokes the original stadium before the 1970s makeover, but I stick by my original question: Why?

Case in point: the old Yankee Stadium was drawing more than 4 million fans a year, none of whom seemed to mind the creakiness or the massiveness of the upper deck or the long lines. We came because the team was perennially good, not to get a $54 steak at a sports bar in center field that obstructs the view of an entire bleacher section.

(As a bleacher creature myself, let me say that the obstructed view is a major annoyance. I was thrilled to get a seat for $5, but to build a stadium in 2009 with hundreds of people on both sides blocked by some restaurant seems shortsighted. The monitors along the wall helped, but still. They built this thing to do away with the ills of an ancient stadium, not replicate them across the street.)

Beyond the glorious backdrop and the fact that this new ballpark is evoking Coors Field, most of the new amenities don't apply to my tax bracket. On gameday, I'm simply not going to spend money on the overpriced gear in the many gift shops, nor buy a $17 margarita, nor wait for a table at the Hard Rock Cafe, nor purchase $9 nachos (which gets you maybe 14 chips), nor buy a strip steak even if I can see the butcher carving the meat in a window, nor ever, ever use one of the 400 new luxury suites.

When I go to a game, I sit in the cheap seats, keep score and listen to the radio. I bring my own food and water. I'm there for the baseball. I care about what happens on the field.

All of which is why I never wanted the old stadium, with its 26 champions and ghosts and intimidating noise, to close. Walking past the stadium I had gone to maybe 40 times in my life, empty and shuttered, to get to the new one was nothing short of depressing.

And by the way? The class differences at the new stadium are visually shocking. You could literally see where the ticket prices jumped to absurd levels (the $1,000 and $2,500 seats). It was like being at the beach and noticing the darker water where the floor gets deeper and deeper.

Except that the priciest seats were mostly empty -- whole sections on the field, empty for the fourth game ever in a new stadium on a weekend game ... it's almost incomprehensible. This is what the Yankees have wrought, even as they insist that 80 percent of their expensive seats are already sold. What boggled the mind was that the middle and upper decks were stuffed to the gills, as were the bleachers, including the obstructed view seats. Subtracting some 5,000 seats and making the majority too expensive for even the most die-hard fans is one way the Yankees have ensured that even they will feel the economic crunch.

This is a stadium with standing room areas; let's see if we can fill in the best seats first.

Overall, the place feels corporate, sterilized. Maybe that will fade when the fans have sweated through a few Octobers, rocked the place a few times after an ALCS walkoff. For now, the bleachers are farther away, a perfect symbol of the way intense baseball fanhood has been superseded by dollars and nonsense at the new stadium.

The stadium, however, excels in its open-air feeling. Gone are the dingy tunnels and cramped stairwells; the Great Hall with gigantic pictures of teams and greats past reminded me of a museum's colonnade. Ah, speaking of museums --- I arrived at 10:30 a.m. for a 1 p.m. game, but already the lines to monument park and the new Yankee museum had been cut off. I suspect when I return in August those attractions will have slightly shorter waits.

And oh, the frieze. What a sight. I think we can all admit what the old stadium lacked after the renovation was that classic frieze, since they moved it out to center field only. Now, the top of the stadium grabs your eye. It does indeed look like a crown. If you look at it long enough, you can almost see Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra stepping into the box beforethe most regal of backdrops.

So yes, the new Yankee Stadium is everything they say it is. Beautiful. Expansive. State-of-the-art. I liked it. It's going to be a great place to watch games for the rest of my life, and all of us will get used to it eventually. A couple World Series in the building should loosen its belt a little.

It's just not old Yankee Stadium, which is the only thing I really want it to be.

Pirates in the News

2009-04-14T03:58:00.001-04:00

Aldo the Wonder Dog
2009-04-13 07:41:53 AM

The triple play featured some horrible baserunning. Bruce made a bonehead baserunning mistake Saturday as well. Jack's DP was a much better play IMO.As far as the Pirates being better, six games in and only one horrendous pitching performance. Every other game they've managed double digit hits. There's some hope there. Still, when I heard the news that three pirates were shot by Navy Seals, I was hoping one of them was Andy LaRoche.

Pirates turn triple play in 8th (via Fark)

Bill Madden, bipolar

2009-04-08T07:56:00.004-04:00

New York Daily News baseball writer Bill Madden in Tuesday's paper, after the Yankees lost their opener to Baltimore:

That was the pitcher the Yankees paid $161 million for, and certainly not the one who struggled Monday with his command, his velocity and, seemingly at times, even his batterymate. During a laborious 19-pitch first inning, in which Sabathia survived a leadoff single to Brian Roberts, a walk to No.2 hitter Adam Jones and two wild pitches, he and Jorge Posada appeared to be crossed up on pitch selections

Did somebody say bad omen? After a 24-10-1 spring - the Yankees' best Grapefruit League winning percentage since the great 1961 team - Girardi had sufficient reason for feeling good about this Yankee team, with its new Rolls Royce-like fleet of starting pitchers and Mark Teixeira providing $180million worth of stellar defense at first base and steady, patient hitting.

But it was as if Sabathia's pratfall had a spillover effect on just about everyone else.

...

Before the game, Girardi said the reason he sensed there was a good feeling in the clubhouse was "because there was such a bad feeling at the end of last season and we don't want to repeat that experience."

Maybe not. But Game One of 2009 seemed all too familiar to 2008, beginning with the starting pitching. This wasn't what anyone envisioned.

Bill Madden today:

But I'm here to quell any early panic among the pinstriped legions while at the same time offering a historically certified declaration to Sabathia and Teixeira: Opening Days are overrated. In fact, you could even say opening months are overrated.

How can I make this assertion? Because it seems like the Yankees have a history with much-celebrated, high-priced free agents who flop in their debuts, but eventually get it together and wind up earning their money and even going on to the Hall of Fame.

Two prime examples: Catfish Hunter and Goose Gossage. As much [as] (sic) was made of Sabathia possibly feeling the pressure of that $161 million contract Monday at Camden Yards, probably no player in the history of baseball had more Opening Day pressure than Hunter in 1975.

Dude, Bill, I love your column ... but you were the one making Opening Day's disaster into some type of free agent apocalyptica. You can't fan the predictable New York media outcry flames on Monday and then pretend it came from the Post only 48 hours later, when you claim such games are overrated.

Happy baseball season!

2009-04-06T08:38:00.000-04:00

Enjoy!

Why newspapers need to stop laying off copy editors

2009-04-01T07:44:00.005-04:00

I didn't mean for the last several posts to become grammar nitpicks, but it's irresistible. Especially since I spend hours a week teaching SAT students why New York got "its" third win of the year, not "their," and why the Yankees won "their" 26thtitle, not "its" 26th title.

Anyway, today's Times Union preview on the UAlbany lacrosse homecoming game:

"The Great Danes (5-2 overall, 1-0 America East) will play its third straight game without all-league attackman Corey Small, who is recovering from surgery on March 16 to relieve compartment syndrome in his right calf."

Oops.

Klapisch needs an edit

2009-03-26T08:51:00.003-04:00

Shocked to see some bad errors by the normally insightful and compelling Bob Klapisch.

Writing about Derek Jeter, he wonders (without a question mark), "How soon before the captain’s inability to get to balls to his left officially sabotage ground-ball pitchers such as Chien-Ming Wang and Andy Pettitte."

Obviously, he means sabotages.

Then there's this:

"Jeter is 35"

Jeter is 34, actually.

And they whither (sic) with the wind

2009-03-23T07:15:00.003-04:00

Don't get me wrong, Pete Iorizzo is probably the best writer and reporter at the Times Union sports desk, and one day he's going to inherit the place, but he and his editors dropped the ball, so to speak, in what will be his most read game story of the entire Siena season. (I believe -- believe -- this is the second time in recent weeks they made this error, but I couldn't check for sure as the TU archive only goes back a couple of weeks.)

Check it:

Before the game, Cardinals coach Rick Pitino had told his players, "Guys, they're not going to go away."

"And they didn't, obviously," Pitino said.

Indeed, Siena also trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half and went to the locker room down 42-35 at intermission.

But nor did the Cardinals whither.

"Whither," of course, means "where."

"Wither," of course, means "to wilt" or "to lose vitality."

"Whiter," of course, means "more white."

I don't know what the hell "hither and yon" means.

Gazette gives UAlbany fans brief respite from depression

2009-03-23T06:06:00.004-04:00

Face it, UAlbany fans, watching Siena nearly stun Louisville to reach the Sweet 16 has you on your heels. Just two years ago, you were the toast of the town, a two-time NCAA team that nearly shocked UConn in'06 and was rewarded with a 13 seed (which accomplished nothing) a year later.

Now, Siena has back-to-back NCAA victories, not just trips, and nearly became the first MAAC team ever to reach the Sweet 16 yesterday in the nine seed's 79-72 loss to No. 1 Louisville.

Siena fans will be back to their entitled and bragging ways for the next five years no matter what happens. Even if Fran McCaffery stays. Even if UAlbany beats Siena the next five times.

Until the Great Danes make some tournament noise again, we're back to having Siena as the big brother of this town, UAlbany a blip on the radar that sometimes serves as a nice distraction while the Saints are retooling.

Well, the Gazette's parochial people-in-a-sports-bar-watching-their-team story at least has some laughs:

“C’mon boys get it up, get it up,” shouted Leo Gaylord at the large-screen television at Katie O’Byrnes tavern in Schenectady.

Unfortunately for the fans, Siena didn’t pull off the upset, but Gaylord, 44, a Siena College alumnus from Niskayuna, said he was proud of the team anyway.

Siena fans: Gaylords getting it up since 2009.

Troy Record predictably drops the basketball

2009-03-20T07:41:00.002-04:00

Not that this is a surprise, but the Troy Record -- already the Capital Region's distant third paper, and it's not even close -- has completely blown this week, refusing to send its college basketball reporter, who covered both local programs himself this year, to the NCAA Tournament.

Instead, the Record, owned by the bankrupt and miserly JRC, is running week-old quotes gathered in Loudonville before Siena headed to Dayton, Ohio three days ago.

It's not unusual for reporters to stockpile quotes and news for slow days and sidebars, but it is absurd for the paper not to staff Siena's game, especially after the Saints beat Vanderbilt in a huge upset just one short year ago.

While most of the Capital Region media are sending copious stories back home from Ohio (which is close enough that the reporter would have driven, I've heard), the Record is screwing its readers and itself.

What happens when Siena beats Ohio State and, God forbid, stuns Louisville to get into the Sweet 16? Is that when the story is important enough? This is a March Madness bet you can't possibly win.

Of course, this is the same company that last year kept The Saratogian -- a newspaper that exists solely because of horse racing -- from covering the Kentucky Derby for the first time in decades, only to relent in time for the next two Classic races (as long as the reporter slept on friends' floors) because of reader outrage.

That they can't anticipate the outrage and circulation cuts this time is outrageous.

Raffa to transfer

2009-03-18T17:39:00.002-04:00

According to the Times Union college sports blog, Freshman point guard Anthony Raffa is set to transfer and according to his father, he has already been released from his commitment to the school, on the condition that he speak with no America East, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference or North East Conference schools.

This marks another recruiting dud for coach Will Brown, who seems to be shuffling players in and out in an attempt to find a new identity for this team, whatever that may be.

Official comment from SID Brian DePasquale is that nothing is official yet. Ha.

More as things develop.

Strange Times - Rats host Penguins

2009-03-14T16:47:00.006-04:00

It's another one of those times in the sports world where things have hit a lull, the proverbial calm before the storm, at least where the major sports are all leading up to their playoff, but baseball has not quite started yet.

Similar to the time in July where only baseball is going but football training camps have not quite started yet.

So, in order to get more out of touch with more work and more in touch with the sporting world again, I took in an Albany River Rats game, seats directly behind the Rats bench.

The atmosphere was kind of sad to be honest. Granted it was a Friday game, but for a team competing to make the playoffs there was little to no support from the fans. It was like being back at my high school JV hockey games, where no one really has a rooting interest.

The Rats played host to Wilkes-Barre, AHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins, in what was a boring game early. The shots on goal at the end of first period were WBS:15 ALB:02... I put the zero in there for emphasis. The rats attempted to dump and chase, but simply did not chase well enough. Midway through the second, after falling behind 3-0, the Rats switched to a more aggressive breakout from their zone, letting the wingers try to beat the defense into the zone, and got a goal out of that, but it was too little too late. The Penguins players simply beat the Rats players in all the little scrums for loose pucks and rode out an easy victory. Rats goaltender Justin Peters shined making some great saves to keep the game close in the second period before letting in a soft rebound goal late in the third that effectively was the nail in the coffin.

Overall, the experience as a fan was a bit of a bust. I was hoping for a win and more energy but I also didn't feel like I had any stake with this team either, like a guest instead of a fan. I suppose that is my own fault. Considering what the team has been through with the bus crash, it would be understandable if they were searching for some motivation to salvage the season.

Also, the seats behind the bench were good, but seeing the action in the corners was difficult, but thankfully the jumbotron allowed for another angle to not miss a moment.

Finally, my guest for the game asked me, "is that an opera singer?" when the PA system started to play the standard "Let's Go Rats" soundbite that has been in use for as long as I can remember.

The River Rats are offering a 20-percent discount to fans who pay in full for next season's season tickets before the end of this season. The team is in its 16th season in Albany.

I'll be attending March 31 as the Rats make up their rescheduled game against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

UPDATE: Here's the link to the Times Union game story that captures the lackluster mood the team has been in, and down 16 points with 16 games to play may spell the end of the line for the Rats.

The General is a homer

2009-03-13T08:14:00.002-04:00

Robert "The General" Lee is a good guy. I like eating dinner with him at the Siena games.

He's also a good broadcaster. He knows his college basketball. He's always prepared for games no matter who his partner is.

But I think he's gone too far in admitting his homerism (maybe the giant, gold S pin he wears was a tip-off) on his Times Union blog:

"One of the positives of calling the game from upstairs for the tournament was I felt less guilty about gesturing positively after good Siena plays. Usually when we’re down on the court, I try to avoid things like fist pumps or other obvious motions. Only the folks in the nosebleeds got to see Tom and I celebrating the Saints victory."

I also like Tom, who's former Siena player Tom Huerter, a member of the 1989 team that beat Stanford in the NCAA Tournament. But he does gesture when they're courtside. That's never stopped him. I've seen him because I usually sit near them. Maybe he deserves a pass since he is a Saint for life.

The General, meanwhile, is an obvious Saints fan, but I'm disappointed that he felt being far above the court meant he could pump his fists on every dunk or rejection.

Most play-by-players root for their teams. Why would you want to call games for a bad team? It's not exciting. But the best ones keep it a secret.

You think Vin Scully has to pump his fist when the Dodgers win in extra innings?

The Saints are dancing

2009-03-10T00:10:00.003-04:00

For the fourth straight year, the Capital Region has an NCAA Tournament team.

The Siena Saints are back in the dance for the second straight year, topping Niagara 77-70 Monday night.

More tomorrow.

UPDATE: It was another ridiculously late night and absurd morning rise for me (I'm talking leaving the arena sometime after 1 and getting up at 4), but who cares? It's March, and I've seen a mid-major clinch an NCAA trip in person for the fourth straight year.

Here are my observations after five seemingly endless days watching basketball, followed by local media links for your perusal.

*The Siena Saints deserve a ton of credit for the way they have handled expectations for two straight years, during which time they've beaten a ranked Stanford team, won a MAAC title, won BracketBusters, beaten Vanderbilt in the NCAA Tournament and won 21 straight games on their own floor. They are not just a great MAAC team, they are a great NCAA team, and it will shock no one if they win another game in this year's March Madness.

*Niagara, however, arguably should have won last night. It opened up an early lead, knocked Siena to the mat and then let it off the hook. The 9-of-37 3-point shooting doomed them. An ailing Kenny Hasbrouck was 1-of-10 in the first half, and you knew he'd come around eventually, so being tied at 33-all at halftime was a disaster for Niagara.

*Purple Eagles coach Joe Mihalich is the best coach in the league, and he nearly went to the NCAA for the third time in five years. And so I think he's right about one thing: Siena probably doesn't win that game on any other court, not after that start. This is why you have to take the MAAC seriously when the bigwigs talk about finding a neutral site: behind the scenes, losing coaches are furious when the home team walks to the title. Certainly, Siena loses last year's semifinal game if it's not at the Times Union Center.

*At the same time, the TU (rhymes with P-U) is easily the best place for the MAAC to have its tourney. It's centralized, there's a lot of media attention, Siena draws better than everyone else, and the other locations being bandied about -- New Jersey, Mohegan Sun -- are silly. The tourney comes back next year before going to Bridgeport, Conn. After that, no one knows, but maybe it's time to just leave it in Albany permanently and then have the highest seed host the final, as in the America East. Then there'd be no bitching from the No. 2 seed, a 25-game winner, which has a good point -- 60 percent of games are won by the home team.

*When is Rider going to take the next step? Two years in a row they've had the league's best player (Jason and now Ryan Thompson) but both times they've looked rattled when the spotlight shone.

*Whoever told ESPN that 9 p.m. is a better time to start the game than 7 is a jerkface.

*The Siena fans, who are as entitled as they could be for a team that has a grand total of five NCAA trips in 34 seasons, are now going to be unbearable for the next five years at least.

*How bad was the officiating? It was unbelievably awful at times. More than a few teams lost momentum or their grip on a lead because of an ill-timed or stupid call.

*Any local media boss who decides to save money and not staff the tournament -- I'm looking at you, Troy Record -- is making a terrible mistake. Just look at what almost happened when No. 16 UAlbany nearly beat No. 1 UConn three years ago. There's nothing stopping this team, which is as hot as any team has ever been in the MAAC, from winning two games. Suck it up.

*No MAAC gift? I hate recessions. In the past, I got a nice notebook and a jump drive just for bothering to show up.

*St. Peter's is depressing. They have less than 10 fans in town for the tournament every year, even when they went to the title game in 2006.

*Songs I never want to hear again: "I Want it All," "Final Countdown," "Eye of the Tiger," "When the Saints go Marching In," anything by the vastly overrated 9-year-old Anthony Gargiula.

Media links

Fan stories are a waste of human effort, ink, and breath.

Siena surely benefited from a lucky scheduling coincidence.

Hasbrouck thinks the Saints are an all-time MAAC team.

But it wasn't exactly a Willis Reed situation, no matter how badly the local writers wanted it to be.

Josh Duell and his bulging waste have had a sick NCAA career -- he was on the Vermont team that beat Syracuse and the Siena team that beat Vandy. Now he gets a third try.

Hey Pete, maybe writing "gimpy" in a story about Kenny Hasbrouck isn't the best idea.

Niagara wins classic

2009-03-08T22:47:00.004-04:00

Niagara beat Rider 93-89 in double overtime in one of the best college basketball games I've ever seen in person.

More on that later after I get four hours of sleep.

UPDATE: OK, so I only got two hours of sleep, but my heart is warmed by the fact that the 17th of 18 games I'll cover over five days was an instant classic. I mean, it was an amazing sports spectacle -- two overtimes, a prayer banker that somehow went in from 30 feet to tie it, more twists and turns than a Bourne movie, every second and every play critical.

There were 15 ties and 15 lead changes, and still Rider had a chance for the win with a couple seconds to go.

By the way? These tournaments are so weird to cover; it's like spending three days in a casino without stepping outside. I've averaged something like 14 hours a day at the arena, a blur of pep bands and box scores and deadlines and whistles, and of wins and inevitable losses, the latter of which cause tears and end careers, which is always tough to watch. By game three of a six-game day, you have no idea where you are or what time it is.

Now, however, we have just one game left, tonight's Niagara-Siena tilt (EPSN2, 9 p.m.). The top two seeds and the league's last two champs are meeting in a rematch of the 2007 title, won by Niagara by four points.

It should be Siena's to win, especially after Niagara needed 50 minutes to advance less than 24 hours from the championship.

Or should it be? Remember, the Purple Eagles blew Siena out 100-85 just two weeks ago, the Saints' second MAAC loss. And it's not as if the Saints -- who now have a hobbled Kenny Hasbrouck at the two guard -- were challenged in the quarter- or semifinal rounds.

We shall see.

For now, I'm going to post local and visiting media links for you from all over this college basketball weekend in Albany -- and nationally. Ah, March.

Media roundup

Niagara's Tyrone Lewis wanted to use the glass. Yeah, right.

Will the Purple Eagles have enough legs under them tonight?

Will Hasbrouck be OK? Either way, he's playing.

The Saints can only hope Ronald Moore keeps it up.

Siena has trailed for a grand total of eight seconds in the entire tourney.

Niagara is in the title game for the fifth time in 11 seasons.

UAlbany, which lost to UMBC in a semifinal heartbreaker, is losing the last two players who were on both championship teams. Man, time flies.

The Great Danes couldn't score when they needed to -- right to the very end.

The Danes made it quite far for being so flawed, though.

The Marist women, yawn, won another title. Brian Giorgis is on his way to the Hall of Fame.

Tiki Mayben doesn't care that he was playing 13 miles from his high school.

UAlbany might host the America East again sometime soon, and the Times Union Center wants it back after hosting in 2010, but the commissioners of both leagues don't love giving a team homecourt advantage.

Waiting for Selection Sunday is hell if you don't have an autobid.

See you tonight, kiddies.