Siena Saints

In the preseason MAAC men's basketball coaches poll, Siena was picked to come in sixth place. The Saints don't often get their deserved respect but they roll into Rider Friday night in second place in the conference with less than 2 weeks remaining in the regular season. Coach Carm and the green and gold are the last team to defeat Rick Patino and the first place Iona Gaels, who have won seven straight since.

The way Siena is constructed the point guard position is the biggest piece to the puzzle, and without McCollum things just don’t run as smoothly as they should.

It was a terrific game plan by Siena head coach Carmen Maciarello, who once again out coached Rick Pitino.

In November, Kathy Hochul became the first woman elected governor in New York State history. Hochul has weathered the storm, after taking office in the middle of Andrew Cumomo's tumultuous last term. The 57th governor of the Empire State delivered her State of the State address last week. So, what do Hochul's constituents think of the governor's job performance? A new Siena Poll has the answer.

It's still early in the MAAC conference schedule, but Siena is off to an impressive start. The Saints are built around Javian McCollum.

Anytime you can put 9,500 fans inside the MVP Arena and have a competitive game for the Albany Cup, it’s a win for the Capital Region basketball fans.

The names on the front of the jerseys will be the same but almost everything about this year's Albany Cup between Siena and UAlbany in men's basketball will be different. Since 2001, the two institutions of higher learning, separated by about 5 miles, battled 17 straight years in men's hoops. 16 times the game has been played in downtown Albany, in what is now the MVP Arena, Siena's home court during the season. In 2016, the game was played the only time at the SEFCU Arena, on the campus of UAlbany.

Head coach Carmen Maciariello has plenty of good parts including veteran leadership from Jackson Stormo and Jayce Johnson.

For the second time in less than three years, Siena College will be looking for a new college president. The Loudonville, NY college of 3500 plus undergraduate students swore in a new leader in July of 2020, in the middle of the worst of the pandemic. Now, foreseeably on the other-side of the societal shut-down, former U.S. Congressman, Chris Gibson is stepping down as president of the college after this academic year is completed.

Being a student-athlete is not easy at any level. Competing in a sport with the best of your peers can be extremely challenging, physically and mentally. High school student-athletes are going through intense bodily chemical changes as they grow and compete at the same time. Collegiate student-athletes are usually on the back end of the growth spurt but most are living on their own for the first time and are faced with brand new expectations, challenges and temptations.

He stands six foot, six inches tall. On top of a regulation collegiate baseball pitchers mound, make that seven and a half feet and he is listed at 245 pounds. Siena's #47 throws from the left side and with his imposing size, can be a challenge for any hitter. Niagara University certainly found that out last Saturday.

On Tuesday, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced that current President Mark Emmert would step down by June 30, 2023. Running an organization that governs the athletic operations of hundreds of a colleges across the country, with different financial models, is an impossible task for the most part. However, having worked at one of those institutions' athletic department for a few decades, Emmert doesn't get a pass for his performance or lack there of.