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 142 minutes, 58 seconds... appproaching 3 full hockey games played last night/this morning at the Times Union Center.

 It's a shame someone had to lose. 

Ordinarily, I can't stand that cliche.. but this is one time it was true. 

River Rats and Phantoms played one of the great hockey games of all time last night, and not just because it was a long game, in fact, the longest ever in the AHL.

Just consider some of the stats:

Michael Leighton 101 shots face, 98 saves

Scott Munroe 67 shots face, 65 saves.

There it is right there...you can't get outshot 101 to 65 and expect to win...funny

Leighton estimates he drank 15 bottles of Gatoraide last night.  The guy is unbelievable, played every second of the game then still join us outside of the locker room and answered all out questions.  By the way, he was the 2nd star in last nights game.  98 saves = 2nd star.  What's a guy got to do to get first star?

Leighton's save total is an AHL record.  The old Rats record?  41 Saves by Frederic Henry back in the last playoff game in Downtown Albany prior to this series.  Leighton had 41 saves 3 shots into overtime.  We still had a full game and another period to play.

Rats forward Marc Cavosie, the Cohoes native and former RPI star is getting to be an old hand at these games.  He played in the 2nd longest game in AHL history, 134:56, in 2003 when he was with the Houston Aeros.  Marc quick to point out that the Aeros lost that game, and then went on to win the Calder Cup.

Oh the things a guy comes up with after 5 hours and 38 seconds of hockey.

Game winning goal scorer Ryan Potulny said he played a game like this, a 5 overtime game in high school.  His team won making him 2-0 in 5 overtime games.  That's gotta be a record on some level, right?

Game Six in Philly, about 36 hours after Game 5 ended.  Count on all the players being ready.  After all.. they're hockey players!

Whether Roger Clemens is lying or not, I don't really care.  What I do care about is how Congress continues to force itself into places where it's role is very unclear.  What is the end game in today's show court, as one Congressman called it.  To make Clemens look bad?  To make McNamee look bad?  To justify the Mitchell report?  I have no idea.  The "this is for our children" line coming from the Congressmen is bunk too.  If we totally clean steroids and HGH from baseball, which by the way is not going to happen, but let's just say we do.  What benefit is that to my children or to yours?

Oddly enough, I as wrote in this space before, every politician who spoke at the hearing today has a November date with their own destiny, election day.  Surely, they're not grandstanding for their own benefit?

Republicans fired away at McNamee, Democrats, took on Clemens, especially House Oversite Chair Henry Waxman (D-California), who gaveled Roger to silence at the end of the hearing.  Clemens said he didn't use, McNamee said he provided and injected Clemens, blah, blah, blah.

Kudos to the congressmen and women who stood up and questioned the role of the House Oversight Committee in this area.  One member indicating that the committee was off track and more on a witchhunt than involved in cleaning up steroids. Bravo, a voice of reason.

Five hours of testimony today to get what?  Several congressmen said the day ended in a draw... which means nothing really got done, which actually sounds like a typical day on the Capital Hill.

Friday night in a TV sports department is a challenge on any night.  Especially at FOX23 where we not only put together a half hour high school sports show, but also our regular 10:52 slot on FOX23 News at 10.  Fortunately, our team works well together and everything usually turns out fine.

Usually.

Last night was not one of those nights,  Astute FOX23/Times Union High School show viewers noticed a distinct lack of action in the girls basketball section of the show.  Talk about a logistics mess.

First, when we went to Cohoes for the Colonial showdown between the Tigers and Knights...the boys were playing.  Wait a minute, weren't the girls supposed to be up on the hill tonight was the question.  The answer.. yup they were, at 6pm.  Yes folks the old mid-season boys and girls double header.  Now I would advocate that we play boys and girls varsity doubleheaders every game.  I also understand why it would be very difficult to do that.  In any event, I never checked with the schools to see what was up, so that one got messed up as the did our planned coverage of Guilderland-Ballston Spa boys, which was not at Guilderland, but part of a b-g DH at B Spa.(like those abbreviations?)

Then we had a crew in Ravena for a news story.  That crew was to go to Maginn to catch the boys playing the Falcons, then over to AHS to see the girls play.  Only one problem, the girls started at 7pm instead of 7:30, meaning by the time we got there...no game.  Our photographer on the scene, Joseph Mahar, hightailed it (at the speed limit of course) over to Colonie where he caught the last 1:43 of the Raiders matchup with Niskayuna.  Fortunately, it was a close game, so there was a bit of a story still to tell. 

Not done yet.  The boys got a taste of Murphy's Law too.  We made a stop at St. Mary's in Amsterdam to get the Harlem Knights basketball team in action. Those guys are great and very entertaining.  Had a full house at St. Mary's too, so that ended up being a very good call.  From there, Gloversville for the Knights/Dragons (never can remember which nickname to use) played a rivalry game with Glens Falls.  Our crew had a little bit of difficulty getting from point a to point b. So, by the time they got done at Gloversville and hustled down 30a and 5 to get to Fonda.. whoops.. that game was over already.

We fought the law and this time the law won.  Hope you still enjoyed all the great action from a Friday night.

One other quick note - checked out Rensselaer's new gym at a wrestling match the other night.  The Rams should be very proud of their new home.  Very bright with a large set of bleachers on one side, a smaller set on the other.  The blue on the floor and in the air ducts really jumps out at you.  Also the table and chairs seating above the large bleachers is a very nice touch.  We'll see the Rams basketball team play Cairo-Durham there this Friday night.  Could be the headliner on the show.  Go from here to the high school sports show page and vote on the You Make the Call FOX BOX question.

Stay warm!

RB 

When basketball recruits come to Siena for a visit, one of the first places they go off campus is downtown to the Times Union Center.  There, they see a 14,000 seat first class facility with a jumbotron scoreboard and banners hanging from the rafters.  As impressive a facility as there not only in the MAAC, but in all of New York, excepting the Carrier Dome.

But once the games start... where is the home court advantage?  Siena has some trememdously loyal fans; fans who not only go to every home game, but travel to most of the road games as well.  Yet they can only make so much noise on their own.  Where is the noise from all the other fans who are at the game.

Case in point: 1:43 left in the game, Siena's Ryan Rossiter gets a rebound basket to cut Fairfield's lead to 1, time out Fran McCaffery.  At that point, the fans should be on their feet, screaming their heads off in approval.  And if not there, certainly when the Saints come back out on the floor after the timeout.  A few sections were up, but many were just sitting there waiting for the game to restart, not exactly providing a boost for the home team.  A home court needs to be loud and involved to reallly make a difference. 

Take a few minutes and see a Saint Rose game. 

The Dirty Dugout guys and girls are always involved in the game, understanding the situation and supporting the Knight with loud voices.  Granted, the Nolan Gym only seats 1,000 so it's easier to make the place fill with sound.

It's time for the cocktail party atmosphere to end and for fans to get involved again.  Not only to benefit the basketball team, but to benefit everyone in the area.  I understand not every Siena opponent brings out the venom of the Saints faithful, but I guarantee the fans at Duke are every bit as loud when Cornell or Albany come to town as they are when it's an ACC game.

Most fans never had a chance to experience what it's like to play division I sports in front of a big crowd.  For the those who spend the money to come to the TU Center, this is that chance to be part of the team. 

See, and maybe, hear you at the next game.

RB

      Like I know???

  I can tell you this, it's not Joe Torre's fault. He was a good hitting catcher/1st baseman/third baseman.  He was not and is not a pitcher, especially a relief pitcher...and that's where the Yankees biggest problem lies.

  Didn't Yogi Berra says 50% of the game is 90% pitching.. or something like that.  Not that the Yanks are hitting those home runs over the wall (Whoops that's from the Mets song), but the starting pitching, (excepting Andy Pettitte today) has been ok.  Hello bullpen.. anybody home.. would anyone like to help.

  Loved the site of Farnsworth tossing his glove when he got pulled Friday night after putting 2 runners on.  Hey pal, you're lucky your teammates aren't throwing their gloves at you.  I know you're trying, but come on.  How about a 1-2-3 inning once in a while.  A stat I heard the other night.. He's got 2 (1-2-3) innings this season...2!

  Scott Proctor is one of our favorite guys.  He was fantastic at the Center for Disability Services telethon.. but on the mound right now...ouch!

  In his past four outings, Proctor is 0-2 with a 10.38 ERA allowing 10 hits and walking three without a strikeout in 4 1/3 innings.

  "Right now I'm just throwing like (junk)," he told the Newark Star Ledger. "You can't expect to throw the ball down the ... middle and expect to get an out out of it."  

  After Saturday's loss, Proctor took his glove and other things belonging to him out to the field and set them on fire.

 Hey.. whatever works, and nice symbolism too.

Who gets the blame?  Gator, Cashman.. how about we just place it where it really belongs.. on the pitchers themselves.  They dug this hole.  It's up to them to figure out a way out. The Red Sox are probably out of reach now.  They can't let the wild card get away.. can they??

 Even though I work for a ClearChannel owned station, I don't have a ClearChannel radio show with which to use as a bully pulpit to rail against my competitors.  Even if I did, I would keep those thoughts to myself.

But not everyone has done that with regard to the Will Brown-UAlbany-St. Bonaventure coaching situation.  As you may or may not know by now, that story came to a close late Thursday night when Brown decided to stay at UAlbany, earning himself a contract extension, more money for himself and his staff.

Throughout the search, there were many rumors spread on message boards and much conjecture by fans as to what Will Brown would do.  It's our job to sort through all of the information and weed out only what we can confirm as fact.

Here's how it works at FOX23.  Any and every story we report that doesn't come directly from the person the story is about is independently double sourced.  There is no tossing stuff out there with the hope of being right.  We have to know we're right.

For example, we heard last night at about 7:30 from several sources in Atlanta(site of the Final Four, currently coach haven) that Brown would not take the Bonnies offer and would stay at Albany.  Not good enough.  Too many of those sources were talking to each other and perhaps passing an incorrect rumor.  So we got a second source from the western NY area. However, since that source was a bit too close to the Atlanta gang, we decided to take extra care. Why?  Integrity is job one.  Always has been, always will be.  My colleague, Brent Martineau, who has worked tirelessly on this story, finally confirmed the story and called it in so we could bring it to you at the end of our 10pm newscast.

When we reported on Monday that Brown had discussed an offer with Bona, it's because we knew, through trusted sources, that he did.  It may not have been a written contract style offer, but even discussing parameters of an offer is the same as making an offer.  We reported such.

We also, after confirming it with two sources, said that Brown was going to interview with Quinnipiac.  This was also true at the time, but because of the timing of the job situation, Brown decided not to take the interview.  A change of mind after our report.  Brown alluded to this in his comments last night.(www.fox23news.com, see sports in video on demand for the entire interview)

There is nothing we take more seriously that being accurate.  School classes that I speak to hear it on every visit.  I would rather be second and right than first and wrong.  It's a fundamental of journalism. 

Are we wrong sometimes? 

Yes. 

Does that make us work harder to make sure we get the truth? 

No. 

We are working with maximum effort every single day to make sure every fact is correct.  That never changes or wavers.  If you don't or can't trust what we tell you, then we've failed.

If ever you have a question about something we've reported, please call me at the station or e-mail me and we can talk about it...in a two-way conversation. 

  Congratulations to Will Brown and the UAlbany team. The 13th seed in fantastic and a load of respect for a program that's only been Division I since 2001.

  The 13 is a direct response to Albany's performance last year against UConn, and rightfully so. The Danes nearly made themselves into a trivia answer by defeating the #1 seeds.  That team has banked respect for the entire program.  That respect manifested itself yesterday in a 13 seed.

  Remember what happened the last time an America East program got a 13th seed in the NCAA tournament??  The answer, if you don't know, later..

  Which brings me to my next point.. Syracuse got jobbed.  I'm pretty sure anyone who knows me knows that while I like the Orange(my wife is a grad), I can't stand the fact that the media in this market treats Syracuse like they're located in Rotterdam Junction, not 135 minutes away. 

But that's not the point here. 

Fairness is the point here. 

 Syracuse won 10 Big East games. Forget the often spoken and accurate accessment that Syracuse doesn't play any decent teams in the non-conference schedule.  This, by the way, is born out in the fact that none of SU's non conference foes got NCAA at large bids (Penn and Holy Cross got in by winning their conferences).  The Orange still won 10 Big East games, including a win over Georgetown (15-1 in the last 16 games).

Here's two teams SU could have replaced.  Arkansas is in at 7-9 in the SEC.  Old Dominion is in from the CAA. They too beat Georgetown, but lost to Marist, and a James Madison team that finished 7-23.  The Monarchs did finish 24-8.    I guess the Orange losses to Drexel, Oklahoma State and a pretty bad UConn team really hurt in the end.  Instead, it's NIT Wednesday night against South Alabama.  For you SU fans, I hope the Orange come ready to play and to prove the NCAA committee wrong.  We only need look back to the NIT in 1997 to know why I make that statement. (Florida State 82 Syracuse 67 at the Dome).

  Now to the biggest crock of the entire tournament.  Niagara in the PIG. (That's short for play in game).  The Purps have won 11 straight including the MAAC title game.  I realize the MAAC, as a whole, is down this season, but that should not have taken Niagara this far down.

 A colleague, who I respect, suggested the NCAA did this because they, and TV, did not want two predominately black colleges in this this game.   What century is this?  I can't believe that would even be a consideration.  But it does offer a reason for something otherwise unexplainable.

  I am sick of two schools who earned the right to be in the tournament by winning their conference tounrament getting stuck in this game.  Why can't we put the last two at large schools in the PIG and let them fight it out for spot 64. 

OK, the complaining is done.. Let's get on with the tournament...

Here's the answer to the above...(#13 Vermont 60, #4 Syracuse 57). 

   After a 4 hour drive in whiteout conditions, we made it back from Bridgeport, tired from the ride, but no worse for the wear.

   Major shoutouts to Siena for their effort in the finals against Niagara.  The Purps have won 11 straight games now, one of the hottest teams in the country.  The Saints feel, rightfully so, they should have won the game.  If for a bit more rebounding (20 O-boards for Niagara), it might have happened.

  Since I'm here, I have to get this off my chest.  It was wonderful to see the fan support last night.  A bunch of familiar faces were in their usual spots, travelling to support the team.

  I also saw something rarely seen at a Siena game... a huge, loud presense from the student body.  There are those students who do a great job to making every game, getting painted up, being loud, making most every home game.

  For those of you who do make it to most all the home games... please stop reading and go do something else.

  Now.. where are the rest of you when Iona comes in January, or Canisius in February.  We said 8 bus loads of fans came to Bridgeport.  We just as easily and accurately could have said 8 bandwagons came to Bridgeport.

  Yes, as I'm told by one of our photographers, Mike Wickham(Siena '04 I think), there's studying to be done and papers to be written and it's hard to get to the TU Center and blah, blah, blah.

  They can only be your Saints if you make them your Saints.  It's not "We love our Saints, but only in March."  Be a fan, make the effort as so many of you did last night.  Make it a resolution for next year.  Get to a few more games.  The TU Center is a huge recruting tool for the mens basketball program. It's up to the students to help make it a place other team don't want to play.

  Thank you, drive home safely and please always tip the waiter...