section 2

It's a huge night in Section 2 high school boys basketball. Arguably the two best match ups of the year in both class AA and A. On the AA side it's the reigning suburban champion Shenendehowa Plainsmen hosting the Colonie Raiders, who have championship aspirations themselves...

Every Friday as we head into a busy night of Section 2 boys high school basketball we bring 'Big Game' James Allen onto Big Board Sports morning to show to give us some insight on what match up and players to watch. This week Allen previews the headliners, Saratoga at Bethlehem, and Shaker at Colonie...

The nominee's for the prestigious McDonald's High School All American basketball Game have been announced by the event organizers, and a local Capital Region product finds his name on the short list. Guilderland native Andrew Platek was one of nine players from the state of Massachusetts to be nominated for the annual showcase that will take place March 29th in Chicago...

The Coaches vs Cancer movement has trickled down from the college basketball to the high school level as Section 2 teams are rallying together to raise cancer awareness and raise funds to fight the deadly disease. Longtime Shaker boys basketball head coach, Jeff Holmes, is heading up a committee that is aiming for 100% participation among Section 2 basketball teams...

Each week we get a litmus test of Section 2 boys basketball as 'Big Game' James Allen joins Big Board Sports. The Times Union reporter has been covering 518 hoops since the late 1980's and continues to have his fingers on the pulse of all the area's best teams and players...

Section 2 boys high school basketball is in full swing and the level of play has been very high. In particular, the Suburban Council has a crowded upper half of talented teams. It seems that Colonie, Shaker, Schenectady, Shen, and Saratoga all have expectations of competing for a league and sectional crown...

Nobody in New York's Capital Region has had the close up view on the area's best young players the way that Steve Dagostino has. Dagostino, the owner of Dags Basketball training company, has made a habit of bringing the top talent in the 518 to his private facility to help the young players grow...

For the first time in Capital Region history three different Section 2 high school football teams have won state championships. Troy (class A), Glens Falls (class B), and Cambridge (class D) all won their respective title games in the Carrier Dome in Syracuse this past weekend...

Nobody in upstate New York covers Section 2 high school football as closely or for as long as 'Big game' James Allen. Throughout the fall season Allen has been coming on Big Board Sports every Friday to deliver the latest news and projections as it relates to 518 football...

Nobody in the Capital Region covers high school football like 'Big Game' James Allen of the Times Union. Allen stopped by Big Board Sports in his weekly Friday slot to serve up reaction to the class AA Super Bowl between Troy and Shaker from the night before, tell us how well he expects the Flying Horses to play in the state tournament, as well as preview some of the other Section 2 playoff match

Who would be your starting five basketball players in a hypothetical pickup game containing only hoopers from the 518? First things first, this is both an impossible and unfair conversation. The concept of creation is more scientific than trying to pin down five and only five players, but Thursday morning on "Big Board Sports" I figured I would try anyway...

Congrats to Saratoga's Tim Stauffer and Schenectady's Casper Wells.  Both Capital Region natives are on Major League Baseball rosters for the 2011 season.