News & notes

The Albany Empire had most of their games on cable television last season, particularly the CBS Sports Network. This year, all of the Empire's home games will air on local television.

Starting with Saturday's home opener vs. Columbus, WNYA, which also airs a select number of Siena men's basketball games, will carry Empire football, per the Albany Times-Union. However, there has been no announcement of the broadcast team for the games. All we can say for now is, stay tuned.
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Last month, after Carmen Maciariello was promoted to head basketball coach at Siena, MAAC Rookie of The Year Jalen Pickett stated he was committed to staying at Siena.

Last week, Pickett decided to declare for the NBA Draft, coming in June, mostly for research purposes. Funny thing was, Kevin Huerter said the same thing last year after his sophomore season at Maryland, and then was drafted by Atlanta.

Pickett is exploring his options, and new NCAA rules allow players to hire an agent, but if they don't formally enter the draft, they then must sever ties with the agent before the next season to retain college eligibility. I guess it's a way to try to stem the tide of one-&-done's, most of whom usually wash out when the reality doesn't match the hype. For the sake of Siena and its fan base, Pickett should stay and play the full four years.
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The Albany Patroons, down 1-0 to Raleigh in the Basketball League playoff semi-finals, need to win tonight to save their season. As bad as attendance has been, per reports, having the game on a school night isn't the smartest of moves, but the Patroons have no choice. The Washington Avenue Armory has a circus coming in this weekend, forcing the Pats to play a mid-week playoff game tonight and likely also tomorrow if they win.

Like, what? The Capital Center wasn't an option? Then again, the Pats don't have the money to afford renting space in the city's newest venue........