College Sports

According to reports by The Athletic, Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly is leaving the Fighting Irish high and dry smack in the middle of a possible shot at a National Championship. Kelly is bolting from South Bend, Indiana and heading to Baton Rouge to lead the LSU Tigers for a bundle of cash.

The acronym G.O.A.T. is thrown around a lot in sports. The cadets at Army West Point in New York attempted a GOAT prank, but came up a bit short in their ruse.

Anytime you notch that first win of the year, it's a big sigh of relief for that head coach or manager. It just is. It's something that you want to get out of the way. Monday night, Siena men's basketball coach Carm Maciariello's team got their first win. It was an important step in Coach Carm's process.

Congratulations to Rachel Love of Saratoga High School's varsity girl swimming team. Rachel has been selected as the 104.5 The Team Student Athlete of the Week. Thursday was a big day for our 104.5 The Team Student-Athlete of the week. The standout senior signed her National Letter of Intent to attend Texas A&M in the fall. Congratulations to Rachel for being able to continue her standout athletic career at the highest of collegiate levels.

One coach will take the sidelines for the very first time in the lead chair. The other looks to secure an allusive MAAC Championship that has been snagged from his team's grips the past two seasons. Fans will eagerly return to their seats that have collected dust since March of 2020. Tuesday night, empty basketball venues will be a thing of the past for the Capital Region's two Division I basketball programs.

Monday was a big day for sports wagerers that reside in the State of New York. After watching the New York Racing Association successfully launch their mobile app and seeing their fellow enthusiasts in other states being able to bet on NFL games right from their phones, New Yorkers can finally join the party. On Monday New York State Gaming Commission gave the OK for 9 operators to launch mobile sports betting sites for the state.

This week the University at Albany announced an expanded partnership with ESPN Radio 104.5 the Team that will feature a new basketball coaches show throughout the 2021-22 season. Head coaches Dwayne Killings and Colleen Mullen, along with select student-athletes, will join ESPN Radio 104.5 The Team's Charlie Voelker and Dan Bahl every Monday from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. live from City Line Bar & Grill for a weekly segment entitled 'Drive the Lane with UAlbany Hoops'.

Playing Division I opponents in exhibition games is nothing new for the College of St. Rose basketball program. The Division II program, nestled in Pine Hills section of the City of Albany, has made the I-90 trip to the Carrier Dome to take on Jim Boeheim's Syracuse Orange for a preseason matchup. Trust me, Boeheim doesn't waste time. If an exhibition opponent isn't going to challenge his players like he needs, they aren't playing his team in the preseason. That is why I could never understand why Siena nor UAlbany would play St. Rose in an exhibition.

Home cookin' will hopefully mean a lot. It hasn't been on the menu for Coach Greg Gattuso and his team very often this season. The UAlbany Great Danes will be home for back to back weekends for the first time this year, as the team hosts Maine for their annual ‘Pink Game’ to raise awareness for breast cancer and the American Cancer Society. The Great Dane fan base is also hoping that this will be the game where their team turns the corner with a victory.

Ok, maybe I don't like polls very much, especially when they are mid-major Division I polls. There are always so many variables. First, they are done by coaches, who are not always the most objective folks when it comes to other programs or coaches. Now throw in the new "Pandemic" rosters, featuring 6th year grad students and the "wild west" in recruiting created by the NCAA transfer portal, well, fans could be in for some of the best basketball we have seen in these conferences, maybe ever.

My perspective may be tainted from working in mid-major Division I college athletics for a long time. I do believe in free enterprise. However isn't high school, even more than college is about educating our youth enabling them to be better adults? Should we have a 14 year old thinking about making a profit on his or her basketball skills or using those abilities to help make their team better? I'm not sure there is a right or wrong answer with this one. I just know it begs a question.

It has been a long time since fans have watched the Siena Saints or the UAlbany Great Danes in person. It was weird last year calling the UAlbany games with Rodger Wyland for ESPN3 & 104.5 FM The Team. There were no fans and it seemed like nobody else was talking, just us. However, the strangeness is beginning to dissipate as fans have returned to sporting events. Things aren't perfect but we are truly getting back to some sense of normality in sports venues.