The NBA recently announced plans to add small 2-inch advertising patches on NBA team jerseys, starting as soon as the upcoming 2012-13 season. I’m really not a fan of corporate advertising on team uniforms, although I understand that in many cases it’s a necessary revenue stream for cash-strapped franchises. Several WNBA teams now feature full…
Read MoreAll articles filed in Albany Sports
Krzysztof Oliwa’s Toughest Opponent
When the New Jersey Devils installed their AHL affiliate in Albany in time for the 1993-94 regular season, hockey fans in the Capital District learned to appreciate and root for a tough, solid squad of blue-collar hockey players. I mention names like Steve Brule and Mike Dunham, Corey Schwab and Steve Sullivan, Matt Ruchty and…
Read MoreRemembering Fritz Walker
It’s November 21, 1989, and the Albany Patroons are hosting the Omaha Racers in the season opener at the Washington Avenue Armory. The Pats had a new coach, former General Manager Gerald Oliver, and most of their nucleus from the 1988-89 season (Mario Elie, Vince Askew, Clinton Smith). This would be last season for the…
Read MoreThe Albany Patroons’ first home game in Knickerbocker Arena
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…
Read MoreFor 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…
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