Congratulations, Antonio Brown. You’ve achieved something only one other man in Albany sports ever accomplished.

It’s official. Yesterday, the National Arena League took action against the troubled Albany Empire. After weeks of shenanigans and off-field drama that made the team – and the league – a national laughingstock, the NAL has expelled the Albany Empire from their organization. Can’t say as I didn’t see this coming. Nah, I didn’t see…

Read More

Caption Time: What’s in the trophy?

You know … I could write a blog post about how the Albany Patroons set a new team franchise TBL scoring record against the Newfoundland Rogues on Friday (134-108) … and then surpassed it last night by beating Newfie again (135-108) to advance to the TBL Regional Finals … But I want to share this…

Read More

“Hey, Reading Rebels … NIGHT NIGHT!!”

Earlier this year, the Reading Rebels came to Albany and played the Albany Patroons in a hard-fought battle. Albany had a nearly insurmountable 20-point lead; but the Rebels actually clawed their way back and won the game on a last-second shot. And I remember the Reading fans who came to the Armory. They were boasting…

Read More

Jumping houses and Antonio Brown

There is an old “dad joke” that goes something like this. “How many animals can jump higher than a house?” Well, the answer is – “All of them, houses can’t jump.” There is another old “dad joke,” about the shock jock radio DJ who said if he received $5,000 for a charity fundraiser, he would…

Read More

The Antonio Brown / Albany Empire prop bet I’m willing to take this Saturday

In gambling parlance, “prop bets” are wagers that go outside the norm of standard peri-mutuel wagering. The Super Bowl is full of these “prop bets” – everything from “Will the National Anthem performance run over or under 90 seconds?” Or, “Will a field goal or extra point kick hit the uprights?” (Spoiler alert – that…

Read More

Antonio Brown can’t get out of his own way

I wrote this blog post a few weeks ago, and back then I thought I had seen all the insanity possible regarding Antonio Brown and his ownership of the Albany Empire. Hoo boy, was I wrong. See, in those scant few weeks since I last wrote a blog post, Antonio Brown has had issues paying…

Read More

Antonio Brown and the Peter Principle

There’s a thing about Albany-based sports leagues and teams. If you do right by the fans, if you treat your players and your organization with respect, if you pay your bills, and at least put something competitive on the field or on the diamond or on the pitch, this area will support you. But if…

Read More

You can’t spell basketball without BSL.

I’ve worked with several independent and minor basketball leagues over the years. I started when the Albany Patroons were in the Continental Basketball Association, then I moved to the Premier Basketball League, then joined up with the National Basketball League of Canada, continued to work with the Patroons while they existed in the North American…

Read More

Just remember it’s now “In all of us command,” not “In all thy sons command.”

Last night, the Albany Patroons lost a close game to Academie d’Alma, a prep team in the TBL. I mean, it gives the Patroons their second loss of the season, but they’re still dominating the TBL’s Northeast Division. I arrived at the Armory to find that the person in charge of the paper running stats…

Read More