The Knickerbocker Arena’s inaugural performer was the great Frank Sinatra. Ol’ Blue Eyes wowed the SRO crowd, most of whom paid top dollar to see the critically acclaimed performer in the new building on 51 South Pearl Street. The Albany Patroons became the Knick’s first sports tenant, a building which would later become home for…
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For Micheal Ray Richardson, all it took was an interview from the Times Union five years ago…
Five years ago, Micheal Ray Richardson was the head coach of the Albany Patroons. He had taken the Patroons to their first Continental Basketball Association finals in nearly twenty years; the last time Albany went to the CBA finals, Richardson was actually a player for the Patroons and helped Bill Musselman win his fourth consecutive…
Read MoreIf Mike D’Antoni quits the New York Knicks… why not hire Micheal Ray Richardson as his replacement?
Okay, wasn’t it a few short weeks ago that everybody was heralding the New York Knicks as the new team to be reckoned with in the NBA – oh yeah, Jeremy Lin and Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudamire and Tyson Chandler … oh yeah, the Knicks are going to win it all, bay bee… Yeah,…
Read MoreThe night that Scott Brooks dunked on Ron Cavenall
NBA fans know that Scott Brooks is the head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and that he was the winning coach of the 2012 NBA All-Star Game – his West squad took a low-scoring 152-149 All-Star Game victory, and I’m sure Brooks was as pleased as punch when his Oklahoma City charge Kevin Durant…
Read MoreDid President Barack Obama call Albany’s most famous professional sports team the “Albany Pantoons”?
Every president has these moments. They get to have a ceremony honoring a team that just won a sports championship, the captain of the team provides the President with a custom-made jersey with the President’s name on it, and the President says a few words. So recently, the Dallas Mavericks paid a visit to the…
Read MoreJohn Strickland’s Sneakers
John Strickland was many things. He was a beloved basketball player and a legend of the Harlem Rucker League (the EBC to the uninitiated). He was a star for the Albany Patroons, and then spent two seasons with the Halifax Rainmen, before his untimely passing last year. And thanks to Nike, you can now buy…
Read MoreDecember 3, 1982 – the first home game for the Albany Patroons
If you’ve found this blog post, this means that you’ve discovered the art of blog time travel. So hop in the way-back machine with me, to a time when the Washington Avenue Armory was the local basketball hotbed. They could have been called the Albany Senators or Albany Leprechauns, but the fans chose “Patroons” in…
Read MoreReunion in Toronto
As I spent my Thanksgiving weekend in Ontario, I decided to do some touristy things once I had a true day off. I visited the CN Tower – yes, I can see my house from up there, ha ha ha – and I shopped at a store called Canadian Tire, where I gave them my…
Read MoreWhat I’m going to be doing this weekend that Kobe Bryant and LeBron James aren’t doing…
I’m very proud of my support and love for professional basketball. I’ve been a fan of minor league hoops for nearly 30 years; I’ve worked with the Continental Basketball Association when the Patroons returned to the Washington Avenue Armory. And while Kobe Bryant looks for a pro hoops team for which he can earn a…
Read MoreFormer Calder Cup-winning Albany River Rat Cale Hulse is on a reality TV show? Wow…
Once upon a time, there was an American Hockey League team called the Albany River Rats. They played a hard-nosed, attacking style of ice hockey, and they packed the Knickerbocker Arena in downtown Albany every night. Ah, the memories. Steve Sullivan. Bill Armstrong. Pascal Rheaume. Mike Dunham. Corey Schwab. You know… back when the local…
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Chuck The Writer 
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