The time has come to do something about the imbalance in Section II boys basketball.

I don’t mean the imbalance between the Big 10 and the Suburban Council in class AA or the imbalance between the Colonial Council and several smaller leagues. I mean the imbalance between the public schools and some of the largest private schools.

Look at this year’s class AA and class A finals. Bishop Maginn vs. Christian Brothers Academy (for the second year in a row). Albany Academy vs. Bishop Gibbons... Continue Reading

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Let’s dive into another round of random thoughts from around the Capital District sports scene. Ready? Take a deep breath, and hold on.

• If Times Union Center general manager Bob Belber is successful in getting the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference to hold its basketball tournament in Albany on a yearly basis starting in 2010, what is this going to do to Section II’s hopes of hosting more state high school wrestling tournaments?

Sadly, I think it’s going to wind up costing this region the opportunity to bring the state wrestling tournament back, much like the New York Giants’ training camp has effectively kept the Empire State Games out of the region.
It’s all about the timing, really... Continue Reading

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I’m desperately trying not to get my hopes up for a possible Siena victory Friday against Vanderbilt at the NCAA Tournament.

It’s not that I want Siena to lose. I just don’t want to get my hopes dashed like last year when I thought that UAlbany was going to beat Virginia in the first round because the Great Danes were a No. 14 seed. I forgot that one great player (Jamar Wilson) does not make a great NCAA team.

Fortunately for Siena, it doesn’t have one great player. It has four very good players who can have a big game – Kenny Hasbrouck, Edwin Ubiles, Alex Franklin and Tay Fisher.

The thing is, the Saints are going to need big efforts from those four and anyone else that takes the floor if they have any hope of beating Vanderbilt... Continue Reading

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I was hoping for (but didn't expect) Siena to beat Vanderbilt in Friday's opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

I sure as heck didn't expect Siena to lead wire-to-wire and win by 21 points 83-62. And I think it goes without saying that no one else expected that to happen, either.

Sure, the Saints had a nice start by scoring the first five points... Continue Reading

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Now that the area boys lacrosse coaches have had their say, here's my two cents on what will happen in the Suburban Council this season:

Gold Division
We'll start from the bottom and work our way to the top.

5. Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake. The Spartans will be better in the second year of varsity lacrosse at the southern Saratoga County school, but they still have a long way to go to reach the top of this division.

4. Bethlehem. The Eagles lost a lot of scorers to graduation, which means they'll spend at least half the season getting their offense in synch. Add in the fact that they also have to break in a new goaltender, and you begin to understand that this is going to be a big rebuilding project.

3. Colonie... Continue Reading

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