cwdickens

As I watch this weekend of UAlbany sports unfold, I have asked myself how is my contribution going to help. Further, as this spring sports moves on, I have given more consideration of not renewing my season tickets for Football, MBB and MLAX. I will give consideration to WBB season tickets, which I have done in the past. Further, I will continue to go to MSOC and WSOC on ability to make the games. Once again, time to send an individual message by not renewing is coming sooner vs. later.

Based on recent results, when the UVM MBB, WBB, MLAX and WLAX hear UAlbany is their next opponent and they find their inspiration to prevail. Lastly, are the UVM coaches flat out better recruiters, mentors and game times coaches? I think so, while only marginally in WBB. That being said UVM Men's Ice Hockey. well they are bad, real bad. It is their football problem.

Oh my Lord .... a Final Four Team played at HVCC against UAlbany. The FAU Owls move on with a win over Kansas State.

Great Danes hold on against Vermont for the 12-9 win.

Can we now say, "The Dane Train is a Dane Wreck"? As mentioned earlier in this thread by another blogger, many of the Great Dane Men Sports are wrecks in their own right. How can this sports administration expect us to contribute during March Matchness?

UAlbany WLAX holding on at 7-3.

At 9-2, I have seen enough, at least I did not have to watch this in person. No need to see more.

On a more positive note UAlbany WLAX lead 6-3 against Vermont at the half.

If the game continues in the way of the first quarter, many of us will asking why did Benson extend Scott's contract. As much as I appreciated our past success by Scott, our future is looking like we are headed for the bottom of the canyon.

Five goals - five minutes begs the question how did they prepare for this game?

I started chuckling to myself when I had a passing thought wondering if Killings would attempt to reach out to Joseph Girard III, never would have thought Girard III would leave Syracuse with eligibility left; however, who would ever thought Syracuse would handle the existing of Jim Boeheim as poorly as they. COLLEGE BASKETBALL Girard enters draft, portal Syracuse guard will maintain eligibility while exploring options By Mark Singelais GIRARD Syracuse guard Joseph Girard III, the former Glens Falls High star, announced Friday “after much consideration and reflection” he is entering the NBA draft process while maintaining his college eligibility. Girard tweeted he will also enter the NCAA transfer portal to keep his options open and gather as much information as possible. “From the time I was a little kid, I’ve been committed with a relentless pursuit to play the game of basketball at the highest level,” Girard said in a Twitter post. “My focus has been and continues to be living out that dream.” Girard, a senior, has one season of college eligibility left because of the extra year granted by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He scored 1,652 points over 125 games during his Syracuse career, an average of 13.2 points per game. He also had 445 assists, an average of 3.6 per contest. Syracuse went 17-15 this season and missed the NCAA Tournament. Orange coach Jim Boeheim stepped down after the season to end his 47-year tenure. Syracuse promoted associate head coach Adrian Autry to head coach. “I want to express my utmost gratitude to my family, coach Boeheim, and Orange Nation for the past four seasons,” Girard tweeted. “Thank you to every fan and supporter who has impacted me in a positive manner and has helped me shape who I am today. I am confident in God’s plan and trust that the next chapter will be amazing.” Efforts to reach Girard, his father, and Boeheim were unsuccessful. “I can’t thank @JG3 enough for the passion and dedication he’s shown Syracuse these last four years,” Autry tweeted. “I’m excited for him to continue his basketball career, and I am forever grateful for the impact he’s had on this program.” Girard is the state’s all-time high school scoring leader with 4,763 points. He led Glens Falls to the Class B state title in 2019. ▶› msingelais@timesunion.com A 518-454-5509 A @MarkSingelais

UALBANY LACROSSE Men, women vs. Vermont Danes’ teams had their seasons ended by Catamounts in 2022 By Mark Singelais James Franco / Times Union Junior Katie Pascale leads UAlbany into Saturday's home game against Vermont, which beat the Danes in the 2022 America East championship. Jim Franco / Times Union Coach Scott Marr said that the Danes could get back defenseman Wil Pepe, a senior from Shaker who hasn’t played this season because of a broken collarbone. ALBANY — “Beat Vermont” could be the rallying cry for the University at Albany lacrosse teams on Saturday. The men and women each play the Catamounts, who ended their seasons a year ago. The UAlbany men (2-4 overall, 1-0 America East) take on Vermont (3-4, 1-0) in Burlington at noon, the same time the Great Danes women (4-5, 0-0) face the Catamounts (4-4, 1-0) at John Fallon Field. “Oh yeah, for sure,” UAlbany women’s junior midfielder Katie Pascale said. “Really looking forward to watching (the men), too, obviously. That’s a huge opponent for them this season, too. But they’re rooting for us, too.” On the men’s side, Vermont has beaten UAlbany seven straight times, most recently a 17-7 rout in the America East semifinals in Burlington last year. The Catamounts have knocked the Great Danes out of the past three conference tournaments. UAlbany coach Scott Marr said the Danes need to “play within ourselves” to change the outcome against Vermont. “Sometimes when you end up losing a couple of games and the playoff games we’ve lost to them sometimes guys try to do too much to make it happen,” Marr said. “I think we just need to play within ourselves, within our own game, within our system and hopefully we do things the right way. A lot of those games have been one goal, two goals, so we’re right there with them. They’re a little different of a team this year and so are we.” The UAlbany women defeated Vermont 16 straight times until the Catamounts edged the Great Danes 12-11 in last year’s America East championship game at John Fallon Field. “Those feelings are still there, but we’re a new team,” Pascale said. “We have new girls on it. We’re ready to attack them with this new group and we’re really looking forward to it.” Vermont and UAlbany were picked to finish 1-2 in the America East women’s preseason coaches’ poll with the Catamounts receiving four first-place votes and the Great Danes getting the other three. The Vermont men were chosen by the America East coaches to win their third straight title, getting all seven available first-place votes. Coaches can’t vote for their own team. UAlbany tied UMBC for second in the men’s poll. But the Catamounts experienced significant turnover with star midfielder Thomas McConvey transferring to Virginia and goalie Ryan Cornell, the 2022 America East Defensive Player of the Year, graduating. Attack Michael McCormick (40 goals) also graduated. Now Vermont is led in scoring by senior Brock Haley and graduate student David Closterman, who have 13 goals each. Junior goalie George Egan has started the past two games, a 12-4 loss to UMass and a 16-10 league-opening victory over NJIT. “They lost some pretty good pieces,” Marr said. “They’ve kind of lost a little bit of what we would call their ‘stretch’ on offense. They don’t have quite the same shooters they had last year, so their offense kind of changes a little bit that way. Obviously, the goaltender’s a huge part because (Cornell) was a very good player and kind of their energy guy. They had to deal with some transition and losing some guys and we really didn’t. We’ve kind of maintained our same group we’ve had for the last year or so and we added some good pieces in our freshman class.” UAlbany could get back a valuable player on Saturday in defenseman Wil Pepe, a senior from Shaker who hasn’t played this season because of a broken collarbone. Marr said Pepe practiced this week and will travel to Vermont, though it was uncertain whether he’ll play. Marr, whose team beat UMass Lowell last week, said Saturday’s game won’t necessarily decide home field in the America East Tournament, which is hosted by the No. 1 seed. “I think Bryant and UMBC will have something to say about that, too,” Marr said. “Those are really good teams right now. ... I think it’ll be more wide open than being a two-man race.” UAlbany vs. Vermont ■› Women: Saturday, noon at John Fallon Field, Albany ■› Men: Saturday, noon at Virtue Field, Burlington, Vt. ▶› msingelais@- timesunion.com A 518-454-5509 A @MarkSingelais

In the State of New York, you are required to take a state exam for your license.

Mar 25 (Sat) 12:00 PM AE vs Vermont Albany, N.Y. John Fallon Field AE.tv Live Stats Preview Game Notes Game Program History Weather Forecast: Saturday Rain and snow before 2pm, then rain and sleet likely between 2pm and 3pm, then rain after 3pm. High near 38. East wind 6 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow and sleet accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Not a good day for the Great Danes losing a pair 8-10 and 7-14 ouch.

The FAU Owls move on to the Elite Eight with a win over Tennessee.

There will be only two games played this weekend, both on Sunday.

No reason to go to www.sienasaints.com or their social media accounts for a game recap, there is none. As if, both games never happened.

/images/logos/UMassLowell.png?width=80&height=80&mode=max Mar 26 (Sun) 1:00 PM AE vs UMass Lowell Albany, NY UAlbany Field History /images/logos/UMassLowell.png?width=80&height=80&mode=max Mar 26 (Sun) 3:00 PM AE vs UMass Lowell Albany, NY UAlbany Field History History

Please note the change concerning Friday's game location and times. Games will now be played on-campus with a doubleheader on Friday starting at 12:00 PM

Get out the broom, an UAlbany sweep today Game 2: 8 - 4

UAlbany Great takes Game One: W, 4-1

Weather Forecast for Burlington VT: Saturday A chance of snow before 1pm, then a chance of rain and snow between 1pm and 2pm, then rain after 2pm. High near 39. Light and variable wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 80%. At least the Great Danes have played in far worse weather this year.

Winning this match-up on Saturday, would be understating the importance of this conference game. Mar 25 (Sat) 12:00 PM AE at Vermont Burlington, Vt. ESPN+ Live Stats History

UAlbany launches two nursing programs By Rachel Silberstein Will Waldron / Times Union This fall, University at Albany will launch two new degree programs to help alleviate the nurse workforce shortage in New York state. ALBANY — This fall, University at Albany is launching two new degree programs — a bachelor of science in nursing completion program and a master of science in population health nursing — to help alleviate the nurse shortage in New York. Nearly 30,000 registered nurse positions requiring a bachelor’s degree were posted throughout New York state in the 12 months leading up to October 2022. That demand comes amid a growing call for the nursing workforce to have a strong understanding of the social determinants of health and health equity, university officials said Monday. As one of the most diverse public research institutions in the country, UAlbany and its School of Public Health are uniquely positioned to fill this unmet need, according to UAlbany President Havidán Rodríguez. “New York state is facing a severe shortage of health care providers, including nurses,” he said. “Together with the fact that our state’s population is aging rapidly, with the proportion of New Yorkers in the 65+ age bracket the largest it has ever been, there is a critical and urgent need to bolster our health care workforce. “With the creation of the nursing program at UAlbany, we are poised to help solve the nursing shortage by providing a pathway for existing nurses to attain advanced degrees to expand their skill sets and career options.” State initiatives to address the health care workforce shortage are also expected to drive interest in the nursing field over the next few years.Gov. Kathy Hochul last year announced a scholarship program for nurses, part of a broad effort to grow the state’s health care workforce by 20 percent over the next five years. Registered nurses throughout the state will also soon be impacted by the “BSN in 10” law. Passed in 2017, the law requires all registered nurses practicing in New York to obtain a baccalaureate degree in nursing within 10 years of obtaining their initial license. By 2027, when the first cohort of nurses reaches that deadline, the Capital Region is expected to see a surge in demand for degree-completion options, according to Mary Gallant, UAlbany’s interim dean of the School of Public Health. “Given that the Capital Region is home to numerous hospitals and medical facilities, there has long been high demand for a nursing program at UAlbany,” Gallant said. “Further, the pandemic has underscored the importance of a strong understanding of public health among those working in the health care field.” The program will be led by Director and professor Jessica Castner, who comes to UAlbany following a yearlong residency as the Distinguished Nurse Scholar-in-Residence at the National Academy of Medicine. “Demand for health care workers is soaring, yet, in 2021, nursing schools across the country turned away 91,938 qualified applicants from baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs due to a shortage of faculty and other resources to accommodate them,” Castner said. “This shows that while demand for such programs is growing, our capacity to train nurses, as a nation, is insufficient. At UAlbany, we are ready to help fill this gap.” Through the School of Public Health’s partnership with the Department of Health, nursing students will have access to unique clinical placement opportunities related to public health and population health. By coordinating with Hudson Valley Community College, UAlbany’s biggest transfer partner, the BSN completion program will give students graduating with their associate degree in nursing from HVCC a pathway to pursue bachelor’s and master’s degrees at UAlbany. Students of the program will have opportunities to undertake research alongside faculty who are leaders in their fields. Students will have the option to enroll in the completion program on a full- or part-time basis beginning this fall. Coursework completed during their nursing associate degree programs will be counted toward the BSN.