NYSPHAA

Back in June, the Columbia High School captured the New York State high school baseball Class A Championship by defeating Walter Panas High School by a score of 5-1. It was the Blue Devils first state title in baseball since 2004, a good reason for a special celebration.

A close friend of mine calls it, "the pursuit of the little trophy." The definition is basically, "adults pursuing personal/school accolades gained through the athletic performance of kids." This story seems to fit that phrase. Seven senior softball players choose going to their senior prom over the possibility of playing in a state championship game on Saturday. Then the athletic director, who is supposed to be an educational administrator, publicly questioned their decisions?

Christian Brothers Academy in Albany won its second consecutive Section 2 Class AA football title in November. The Brothers reached the state semifinals but were defeated by Newburgh Free Academy 25-20. Rumblings of recruiting violations usually surround successful programs. Some of it is sour grapes. Some of it is legitimate.

Patrick Beilein was a shooting star in the collegiate coaching circles. He was a standout basketball player at West Virginia and his father, John, was a collegiate coaching legend, as well as having a stint leading the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA. The younger Beilein was beginning an ascent of his own in the coaching ranks by leading the Division II LeMoyne Dolphins to 3-straight NCAA tournaments. Patrick Beilein's "dream" came true when he was named the head coach of Niagara University's hoop team in 2019. 16 days prior to the start of the Purple Eagles season, without ever coaching a game, Beilein resigned.

Last week, three people were injured in a shooting after a high school football game in Newburgh, New York. The violence occurred in the parking lot after the September 30th game between Newburgh Free Academy and Warwick High School. According to Newburgh police reports at least five shots were fired. Now that shooting is impacting future sporting events.

There were 24 games on the Section 2 high school football schedule for the final Friday of September. Big road wins, close games and upsets highlighted the halfway point of the gridiron season. Other games saw some of the Capital Region's most highly ranked teams continue to roll in 2022.

There were 38 teams suiting up in Section 2 for Friday night football this week with some pretty dramatic match-ups for WEEK 2. The biggest game of the evening was #1 CBA visiting #3 Shaker, played in front of a packed house in Latham. There were two big upsets, including one road-team victory in Ravena.

Student-athlete administrative decisions can often be tricky. What seems to be an obvious answer, often comes with other complications. Gender equity is one of those issues. However, that is the job and you have to be as judicious according the rules and policies laid out by your school and the conference you participate in. The Albany School District Athletic Director is in one of those positions and from comments that were allegedly made, the coaches may be upset, as well as the student-athletes.

Eight Capital Region high school basketball teams had made it to their respective classes' Final Fours in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association championships this weekend. The 15 boys final four and championship games were played at the Cool Insuring Arena in Glens falls starting on Friday. The 15 games for the girls were played at Hudson Valley Community College, Friday through Sunday.

No offense to the fine people of Binghamton but the New York State Public High School Athletic Association boys basketball championship is back where it belongs, Glens Falls. The championship left the north country for the southern tier in 2017. A few years and a pandemic later, the boys are back home at the Cool Insuring Arena. The girls basketball championships continue to enjoy the awesome facilities at Hudson Valley Community College. Let's take a look at which Section II teams are playing this weekend.

The snow fell hard on Saturday morning in the Capital Region. The storm delayed many of the scheduled New York State Public High School Championship quarterfinal basketball games. However, the weather-pause didn't cool off 8 out of 10 red-hot Section 2 boys and girls basketball teams. Here are the results.

The Section 2 girls basketball champions have been crowned. Up next will be completing the dream of winning a state championship. The New York State Public High School Athletic Association has set the brackets. Let's see who, when and where are the Capital Region girls high school basketball champions going.

The Section 2 champions have been crowned. The celebrations were fun but it is back to business for some Capital Region high school boys basketball teams. The next goal will be winning a state championship. The New York State Public High School Athletic Association has set the brackets. Let's see who, when and where are the Capital Region champions going.

The high school basketball season can be long and grueling from November through March. Now add the lose and go home stress of any sectional tournament, and the result will be a ton of ups and downs. There are amazing accomplishments that haven't happened in 55 years and tremendous disappoints for teams that were basically expected to win. These boys and girls are 15 to 18 years old. When you get to this stage of the season, these student-athletes, along with their dedicated coaches have put a lot into their season. It means more.

Some of the best memories of tournament basketball come from the upsets. Watching the pure jubilation of high school or college athletes when an underdog knocks off a favorite is always very cool. Watching the disappointment on the other side, is too often pushed to the side.

Thursday night there was a slate of 8 Section 2 girls basketball championship games, just prior to the impending storm. As snow dumped on the Capital Region on Friday, Section 2 wasted no time to quickly reschedule the day's slate of games. Let's start with the rescheduled games and then we'll recap Thursday night.

As the pending snowstorm targets the Capital Region on Friday, local high school basketball teams are trying to make their weekend mean something in the Section 2 championships. On Wednesday, there were 8 games on the schedule in boys basketball and another 8 for the girls.

Coaches tell their players all of the time, you never know. If you do your jobs, play smart and execute properly, good things happen, like a #13 seed can upset a #3 seed on their home floor. That's why you play the games. Upsets happen in the NBA. They happen more often in college and certainly more than that in high school sports. Tuesday night had a few examples in the Section 2 championships.

There were nasty snow squalls mixed in with some bone-chilling wind but that didn't stop the teams playing on the first sectional Saturday of 2022. The Section 2 high school basketball championships continued on schedule. There were 16 games on the docket, all in girls basketball.

It's time to breakout your favorite high school sweatshirt or hat. You old rivalries are heating up. Mid-February means the best in Capital Region high school basketball will be battling it out in the Section 2 boys and girls basketball tournament. Tournament play starts on Friday. Let's start with the boys and the Class AA Bracket. Will #1 Green Tech run the table or will #2 seeded Niskayuna have eyes of their own on the title?

I'm all for rules, as much as the next person. However, you have to know the ramifications of the rule and understand who the rule is punishing, as well the concept of the violation before implementing the rule. What is the rule supposed to accomplish? Nassau County, high school football had a rule designed to prevent teams from running up the score. It sounds fine on the surface but when you understand each circumstance, a blanket rule doesn't work.

As the temperature drops, the rivalries in high school hoops heat up. Tuesday night was no different on basketball floors in the Capital Region. There were 29 boys games on the docket and another 22 for the girls. A big shout out to Tamarac boys basketball for their #1 ranking in Class B in New York State. Congrats to Coach Eric Medved and the Bengals!

The one of the best things for high school student-athletes is getting to compete for your school against the next town over or a long-time rival. Numerous times, athletes from different schools have talked to me about their moms and dads competing against those same schools and therefore passing down the rivalry. Friday night, we start to get into the meat of the high school basketball season with plenty of those rivalries on local courts.

Wednesday night was a light night on the local high school basketball courts and score reporting was even lighter! Thank you to everyone that reached out to me @charlievoelker on Twitter to request scores to be posted. We are working on getting regular reporting of scores and highlights.

Most high school basketball players didn't get to play in front of their friends and family last season, some didn't get to play at all. Though wearing masks is being required at most schools, at least these seniors will be able to play with fans in the stands. Tuesday night features two of the Capital Region's better boys basketball teams meeting up. One played last year. One did not.

It's a long road to get to play at the Carrier Dome Last weekend for a New York State Public High School football championship. There were some close games and strong performances. Section IV won all three of their match-ups while Section I won only one.

This week's 104.5 Student-Athlete of the Week has been extended to a team this week. The lone remaining team from Section II high school football is the Schuylerville Horses.

The New York State Public High School football championships are set this weekend for the Syracuse Carrier Dome. It's down to 10 teams from high schools across New York State, not including Long Island or New York City. The five match-ups this Friday and Saturday will feature 3 teams from Sections I and IV each, with one representative from Sections II, III, VI and VII filling out the bracket.

The Holiday Season seems to bring out the best and the worst, in some cases, but let's focus on the best. The 'Best' is the category that I put Cicero-North Syracuse boys basketball coach Kyle Martin in this season. No, I am not talking about winning basketball games. I am talking about winning in life.

The New York State Public High School football championship semifinal games are set for this weekend, well sort of. Section III's Class AA champ Cicero-North Syracuse's opponent will be determined Tuesday night but we'll get to that. The teams, the locations and the times are set and the 'Road to the Dome' continues to get shorter.