My faithful readers have spoken, and now I can reveal the results of this year’s Spotlight Sports Survey.
1. How will the Siena Saints do in their first year after Fran McCaffery’s departure?
A. NCAA Tournament appearance (19.2 percent)
B. NIT appearance (19.2 percent)
* C. Winning record (57.8 percent)
D. .500 or worse record (3.8 percent)
Good news for new head coach Mitch Buonaguro. As long as you can keep the Saints above .500, you’ll meet the expectations of most Siena fans.
2. Was Mitch Buonaguro the right choice to replace McCaffery at Siena?
* A. Yes (73.1 percent)
B. No (7.7 percent)
C. Not sure (19.2 percent)
More good news for Buonaguro: our readers believe he was the right guy for the job once McCaffery left for Iowa. That opinion may change if the Saints stop making regular appearances in postseason tournaments in the next few seasons.
3. Which former Siena basketball player will be the first to stick and stay with an NBA team?
* A. Kenny Hasbrouck (50 percent)
B. Edwin Ubiles (7.7 percent)
C. Jack McClinton (7.7 percent)
D. None of the above (34.6 percent)
The numbers started skewing in Hasbrouck’s favor once the Miami Heat signed him to a free agent deal following a strong NBA Summer League season. Even so, he won’t see much playing time on a team that include Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and some guy named LeBron James. Still, it’s cool that he’s part of that team and not some lame organization like the Los Angeles Clippers, the Memphis Grizzlies or the New York Knicks.
4. Which local college basketball program has a brighter future?
* A. Siena (84.6 percent)
B. University at Albany (11.5 percent)
C. Other (3.8 percent)
There was little doubt in my mind that most people would pick Siena as the program with the brightest future. After all, the Saints are the ones constantly getting national attention.
5. Which local college hockey team will get to the NCAA Tournament sooner?
* A. RPI Engineers (50 percent)
B. Union Dutchmen (38.5 percent)
C. Skidmore Thoroughbreds (0 percent)
D. None of the above (3 percent)
In a fairly close race, the Engineers get the nod over their ECAC rivals from Schenectady. But the shocker is that nobody picked Skidmore to get to the NCAA Division III Tournament before RPI or Union could get to the DI Tournament. What, you have no faith in the Thoroughbreds?
6. Can RPI and Union reach elite status in the NCAA hockey world?
* A. Yes their coaches are young and talented enough to do it (46.2 percent)
B. No their coaches can’t compete for the talent needed to do it (34.6 percent)
C. Not sure (19.2 percent)
Apparently, you believe that Seth Appert (RPI) and Nate Leaman (Union) can overcome the fact that their teams play in a league (ECAC) that is consistently overshadowed by Hockey East in terms of prestige and competitiveness. For their sake, I hope you’re right.
7. How many years will the Albany Devils be here (lease length is five years)?
A. More than 5 years (30.8 percent)
* B. 3-5 years (57.7 percent)
C. 1-3 years (11.5 percent)
You have faith that the Devils will at least stick around for three years. That should be encouraging news for the Lamoriello family ` Lou, who runs the New Jersey Devils organization, and Chris, who will be Albany’s general manager.
8. How competitive will the Albany Devils be?
A. Calder Cup contender (12 percent)
* B. Playoff team, but will be ousted in the first or second round (48 percent)
C. Non-playoff team (40 percent)
Now the bad news for the Devils: Not many area hockey fans think they will be hoisting the Calder Cup after this season. In fact, the number of people who think they will even make the playoffs is only slightly higher than the number of people who think they won’t make the playoffs.
9. Which minor league team has the best chance to thrive in the Capital District?
A. Albany Devils (23.1 percent)
B. Albany Legends (3.8 percent)
* C. Tri-City ValleyCats (73.1 percent)
The ValleyCats aren’t always the most competitive team in the New York-Penn League, but they are still the top draw among Capital District pro sports teams. Maybe it’s because of the 1,000 mascots roaming the stands during home games (and that’s only a slight exaggeration).
10. What pro sports league would succeed in the Capital District?
A. Major League Lacrosse (11.5 percent)
B. Arena Football League (19.2 percent)
C. NBA Development League (11.5 percent)
* D. None of the above (57.8 percent)
Apparently, a healthy percentage of people don’t think any of the options I named could work in this region’s sports market, even though we used to support minor league basketball when the players were only a phone call away from the NBA. Then again, when we don’t support the teams that we have (outside of the ValleyCats), it’s hard to imagine any pro league working here.
11. What major national/international sporting event could this region successfully bid for?
* A. NCAA Basketball Tournament (50 percent)
B. NCAA Hockey Tournament (42.4 percent)
C. United States Olympic Trials (3.8 percent)
D. 2022 Winter Olympics (3.8 percent)
Certainly Albany can get the NCAA basketball and hockey tournaments again, since we’ve already hosted those events in the past. But it would be nice if more people thought outside the box and considered the possibility of bidding for something involving the Olympics. Maybe once the Albany Convention Center is actually built
12. Who will run the Saratoga Race Course meet in 2011?
* A. NYRA (65.4 percent)
B. A private company (15.4 percent)
C. A state-run organization (19.2 percent)
Despite its financial instability, you believe that NYRA will survive to run Saratoga’s 2011 meet. Hopefully, it won’t take another last-minute state loan to do it.
13. What should be the maximum length for the Saratoga racing season?
* A. 6 weeks (68 percent)
B. 7 weeks (4 percent)
C. 8 weeks (28 percent)
Memo to NYRA: People don’t want a two-month Saratoga Race Course season. Six weeks is long enough. Thank you.
14. How many more years will the New York Giants train at UAlbany?
A. 1 year (46.2 percent)
* B. 2-3 years (50 percent)
C. 4 or more years (3.8 percent)
Whether the Giants actually exercise their option to return to UAlbany in 2011 depends on two things; if there is a 2011 NFL season, and if head coach Tom Coughlin staves off being fired one more time.
15. What will be the fastest-growing spectator sport in this decade?
A. Soccer (34.6 percent)
* B. Lacrosse (50 percent)
C. Hockey (15.4 percent)
My readers thought outside of the box on this one. Instead of going with soccer, more people chose lacrosse as the niche sport that could have a rapid fan base expansion over the next 10 years. The fact that lacrosse games don’t tend to end 1-0 might have something to do with it.
My thanks to all of the people who responded to this year’s survey. We’ll do this all again next summer.“