Dane Pound

Most of you probably saw this story on the AE Board but I figured I'd post it here too. Hopefully there is nothing to this as I'll take Brown at his quote "I have the best job in the America East Conference right now," Stony Brook an open door-TU

Dane96 thanks for the info. We'll head over a little early and check those things out. I don't know that Ithaca can be any drearier than here in the winter. I will tell Mrs. DP her presence is requested on the board although she'll probably be putting up a trip report up of Bing as she did last year after Boston. Alumni92-In the Trip Info forum there's links to Bing area resturants, hotels and whatnot if you need them. I hope you need that Sat. night hotel. I didn't think of it until this morning but the opening round games start today. Kind of nice to be able to skip them this year isn't it?

Just curious what everyone was planning for this weekend. Win or lose LadyDP (Mrs DP now?) will be staying in Bing this weekend. Not quite as exciting as a weekend in Boston but we'll probably find something good to do. The Albany-Bing should be the best of the bunch on Saturday. It's probably sacreligious to say this but we are going to skip the Vermont-Whoever game after ours as it probalby won't be that compelling. The highlight for this year's trip for my wife is a sidetrip to Ithaca and hopefully a visit to the famous Moosewood Resturant if we can get in. According to the Bing fans Ithaca is supposed to be a great town so we'll probably hang out there some on Saturday night. We'll catch the semis on Sunday regardless of who is playing but we are hoping to have a chance to wear purple again.

I agree AO. Really the same thing that happened his freshman year which was statistically outstanding. They defenitly pick upperclassmen over the underclassman although Sorrentine was a first team player his freshman year. That's actually the same basis for hoping for a POY award for Hutch. There are a couple of other people with higher scoring averages but she is a senior and leads in other categories.

Hutch has been amazing the past few games. I'm not sure if fourth in the conference in scoring, first in rebounds and blocked shots will win her Player of the Year but it should. This win also keeps hopes alive for third. Great not just for the high finish but it sets up a possible semi-final game with Hartford who they have played well the past few years. I'm looking forward to that tournament as well.

A note on the Albany site about the Luke Daquino being on the watch list for the Twaarton Award. He's one of 35 on the watch list, most are from traditional lax powers so it's a compliment right there. I think the UMass coach is on the selection committe so hopefully he has a big game that day. UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY MEN’S LACROSSE NAMES CAPTAINS FOR 2005 SEASON Albany, N.Y. – University at Albany men’s lacrosse coach Scott Marr announced on Wednesday, March 2 that Luke Daquino, Patrick McSweeney, Kevin Rae and Chris Kivlen will serve as team captains for the 2005 season. Daquino, a senior attacker, is a captain for the second straight year. He recently made the Tewaaraton Award Foundation’s Preseason Players to Watch list. The Tewaaraton Trophy is annually given to the nation’s top collegiate lacrosse player. Daquino, a first-team All-America East performer, has scored 50-plus points in three consecutive seasons, including 20 goals and 32 assists in 2004. McSweeney and Rae, a pair of second-team all-conference selections, led UAlbany to a second straight America East championship and NCAA tournament berth last spring. Rae, a senior goalkeeper, posted a .578 save percentage, and was named the America East championship MVP. McSweeney, a 6-foot-1, 240-pound defenseman, has started 25 of 26 games played over the last two seasons. Kivlen was a starter on defense for the first time last season as a junior. The Great Danes allowed 10.38 goals per game and stopped 77 of 94 man-down opportunities. UAlbany begins its 2005 schedule on Sunday, March 6 against Providence, the 2004 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion, at 1:00 p.m. The season opener’s site has been shifted to the University of Massachusetts’ Garber Field.

Of the othe guys on the leading scorers list Gause is going to the CAA Payton the Big 10 Young to the Patriot League-Lafayette I'm sure the level of competition they faces varies but it seems Connelly's team has played a pretty tough schedule. They played Camden at least once but I think they actually played them twice so he's put up those numbers against decent teams.

Well said GDG. Hopefully by Saturday I will get over the feeling that I was ripped off in some way but if the tourney goes to Boston or Burlington or Baltimore (or Albany for that matter) next year I'll be happy. I'm sure some of this is residual anger from the Pepsi Arena where Albany fans bought their tickets weeks in advance and were stuck upstairs while people who walked in the day of the game got better seats. That at least was a rivalry game and not supposedly a tournament for the whole conference.

I was surprised to have someone tell me the other day that when the NCAA's were in Syracuse they were able to drive out and buy tickets the day of the game. I would have thought they would have been long sold out. BTW, the tickets were only $40, less than the price of my all-session pass.

As you well know I've been irritated at the ticket situation for a while and it hasn't changed. I was not at all surprised to get my tickets to find that I'm in section 115 not the Albany section (as I requested), wherever the hell that is. There are no amenities the $33 million Event Center can posses to offset this ticket crap.

Thanks MTS. I won't tell anyone from the Siena board you were here since they'd give you a hard time We have a tough draw against a good Binghamton team at home. It is March Madness so anythings possible. As tough as it's been for Siena fans this year I'm sure you'd like nothing better than to knock Iona out of the tourney on Friday.

For being this week's Player of the Week. Hutcheson, Kurpniece Nab Women's Basketball Honors Albany’s Danielle Hutcheson (Phoenix, Ariz./Greenway) led the Great Danes to two victories on the week, averaging 19.5 ppg, 10.5 rpg and 3.0 bpg enroute to the Wilson Player of the Week award, while Laine Kurpniece (Riga, Latvia/ Secondary School 47) of Binghamton wins her first America East Rookie of the Week accolade. The honor is Hutcheson’s second of the season. She notched her ninth double-double of the season with a game-high 18 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks against Stony Brook and followed that with her third 20-point effort of the season, scoring a season-high 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting in a come-from-behind win over Northeastern. Hutcheson added eight rebounds, two blocks, two assists and two steals against the Huskies. Hutcheson helped the Great Danes snap a two-game losing streak and move into a tie for fifth in the standings. For the season, Hutcheson boosted her average to 15.0 points and 9.6 rebounds a game. Her 41 blocks are fifth on Albany’s single-season chart. For her career, Hutcheson is second all-time in scoring with 1,354 (one of only two players in school history to score 1,300 points).

Patch, I wasn't there yesterday. I considered going when there was a chance this would be for the third seed but I didn't make the trip. Actually from the reports of this game I was impressed with the way Albany competed. This game really didn't mean alot for the standings although it would have great to pull them up to .500.

James' triple-double fuels NU win-Boston Herald Danes lose, prepare for Binghamton-TU

AO, I hope you're right about the tickets being made available. I have heard several different times from several different people not to count on tickets being made available at UA. I already bought the all-sessions pass so for me the point is moot. Hopefully however wants the single game tickets can get them without much trouble. Why we would need to mess around with the Bing box office the week before the game when the tournament has been scheduled for a year is beyond me.

Danes don't look ahead-TU Albany rallies down stretch-TU Danes head to Beantown-Troy Record

I ordered my tickets but haven't received them yet. While we're on the subject does anyone else feel we're being screwed over by the way Bing is handling ticket sales? In years past we've been able to buy single session tickets for just Albany's game and then should Albany had won, buy another session ticket for the next day. I really felt the way they set it up this year they really forced you to buy the all-session pass or risk the game being sold out if we played Bing or sitting way up high in the Events Center with a bunch of Bing fans. The all-sessions pass wasn't a financial hardship for us but to see students post that they may not be able to go because they can't afford it pisses me off. How hard would it have been for Bing to make a couple of hundred tickets available to each school for their session ahead of time? The Boston schools did it and they didn't put much effort into the tournament. I don't understand it and I hope they run everything else better than they handled this.

That's exactly the point her lawyer made in yesterday's paper (Probe targeted ex-UAlbany leader-TU) She could have done it to augment her income or maybe setup a nice no-show job for herself. Since the ehtics investigation isn't ongoing anymore this is really just a he-said she-said thing and we'll probably never know what happened. From the court of public opinion standpoint she probably would have looked more innocent had she stayed and fought the charges instead of taking a job in another country. If she already had problems with Chancellor King you can certainly see why she wouldn't be willing to do that.

to be a Great Dane. Nice win by the women today over a scrappy Northeaster team. Hutch dominiated the first half, and Learn, Schumacher and co chipped in the second to pull away. 18-3 run to close out the game. I really like the press at the end of the game to take the Huskies out of what they were doing. Danes now in a tie for fifth with Vermont and still a chance to move up. Hopefully hold on to that first round tournament pass. Sorry to hear our veteran radio announcers make their last home call. Hopefully like the coaching staff you guys are bringing in some talented freshman next year to keep things going. I realize the season isn't over yet but nice job.

Jon Mueller was on Hoop Games last night talking about getting the program to sustain it's sucess of last year. He said last year went a long way in convincing local players that they don't have to go far from home to play at a high level of college baseball. He also mentioned a few transfers that have come in and should contribute. It's great that they do a segment on something outside basketball every week. When I was watching the show I was thinking that they could actually do a hoop games-like show on the spring sports. Maybe not every week, especially early in the season when the team is on the road alot but if we're going to have a top 25 lacrosse program and a top 100 baseball program why not give them the exposure?

Story in today's TU about Maree Jones-UAlbany to honor Jones-TU. Hopefully there's a decent crowd for senior day today.

After being down 7-3 in the first period the Danes come back to beat the Saints 14-11. Go Danes!

I guess this, not King, was the reason for her early departure. Case of Former SUNY Official Points to Ethics Law Loophole-NY Times

Thanks for the clarification. I always look forward to the show after the games although I usually miss the coaches interview. If I'm not mistaken Hutch is already the career leader for rebounds. Unless she goes wild in the remaining few games or the Danes go far into the tournament she'll finish second in career scoring. Probably had she not missed those games last year with the surgery she would be the career leader in both categories. A pretty amazing career.

nm