http://cnylink.com/blogs You can listen to Phil Blackwell, Eagle Newspapers' sports editor, at 10 a.m. every Saturday on WHEN, AM620 en-us 60 Mon, 15 Mar 2010 06:02:45 -0700 Random Thoughts When the New York State Public High School Athletic Association basketball championships get decided this weekend, it will have a heavy Section III flavor - at least in Glens http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1268701365 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1268701365 Sun, 14 Mar 2010 08:02:22 -0700 Random Thoughts Never mind anything else - when it comes to hockey in New York State, regardless of gender, Section III rules ..or at least it rules the parts where state tournaments are http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1268622142 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1268622142 Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:37:24 -0800 Random Thoughts Give some truth serum to John Haas prior to the Section III Class AA final, and he could tell you that the prospect of his Cicero-North Syracuse boys basketball team facing Utica http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1268239044 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1268239044 Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:04:56 -0800 Random Thoughts One bit of unfinished business in the whole Section III basketball playoffs - but it proved quite momentous, and not just because the overall boys Class C championship was on the http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1268190296 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1268190296 Sun, 07 Mar 2010 08:32:11 -0800 Random Thoughts The exact moment Anthony DelCoro's too-strong, too-high 3-pointer banged off the backboard and swished through the net at the end of the Section III Class AA final, all the other http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1268022731 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1268022731 Sun, 07 Mar 2010 07:12:14 -0800 Random Thoughts Section III had a whole lot to be proud of on Saturday, between the rink and the oval In wildly varying circumstances, two ice hockey teams and a string of talented indoor track http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1267974734 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1267974734 Sat, 06 Mar 2010 09:01:14 -0800 Random Thoughts Add up the five Section III girls basketball title games that were played Saturday at Utica Memorial Auditorium, and you'll find just one genuine surprise - but a day full of http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1267938074 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1267938074 Fri, 05 Mar 2010 07:41:13 -0800 Random Thoughts Around noon on Monday, March 1, 2010, what was expected for a couple of days officially came to pass. Syracuse was the home of the nation’s top-ranked men’s college basketball http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1267803673 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1267803673 Thu, 04 Mar 2010 07:34:12 -0800 Random Thoughts Simple, really - five game on Saturday to determine the five Section III girls basketball champions. And all of them have great storylines and match-ups that make it worth the http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1267716852 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1267716852 Wed, 03 Mar 2010 07:54:47 -0800 Random Thoughts Since they start first, we'll commence our look ahead to the Section III boys basketball finals by considering the six boys games on the docket. First, the big news is that we're http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1267631687 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1267631687 Tue, 02 Mar 2010 02:57:25 -0800 Random Thoughts As if the wait for the Section III girls basketball semifinals wasn't taxing enough, a little snowstorm (okay, it was 18 to 24 inches in most parts) pushed back the proceedings http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1267570645 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1267570645 Tue, 02 Mar 2010 02:19:48 -0800 Random Thoughts In a previous entry, I took note as to how the Section III hockey championships occurred in a small vacuum, with all the attention placed on Vancouver. Similarly, it was quite http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1267568388 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1267568388 Mon, 01 Mar 2010 01:02:42 -0800 Random Thoughts Amid all that snow, a talented body of Section III wrestlers and boys swimmers set out to their respective state championship meets last weekend - the grapplers to downtown http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1267477362 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1267477362 Sun, 28 Feb 2010 06:24:12 -0800 Random Thoughts Yes, yes, we know absolutely everything involving pucks or sticks paled next to that epic we saw in Vancouver on this last day of February. It was breathtaking stuff - Canada http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1267410252 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1267410252 Thu, 25 Feb 2010 05:54:31 -0800 Random Thoughts In front of a raucous, joyful audience of 19,000 in person, and millions more across the home and native land, Canada played Russia in the men’s hockey quarterfinals Wednesday http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1267106071 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1267106071 Wed, 24 Feb 2010 09:07:24 -0800 Random Thoughts Every couple years or so, the powers-that-be in Section III football examine the picture for flaws and blemishes, then try to make what it considers to be necessary changes. Such http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1267031244 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1267031244 Tue, 23 Feb 2010 09:15:39 -0800 Random Thoughts Consider the Section III boys basketball semifinals to be a three-course meal - a Thursday appetizer of two games, a Saturday dessert of two more games, and a big Friday meal of http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1266945339 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1266945339 Tue, 23 Feb 2010 06:17:37 -0800 Random Thoughts After a busy and exciting opening week of the Section III girls basketball playoffs, 20 teams remain and await this weekend's semifinal round. They spilt it up quite nicely, with http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1266934657 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1266934657 Sun, 21 Feb 2010 08:25:34 -0800 Random Thoughts Our continued look at the Section III basketball playoffs will go through two distinct parts. Here, we'll go over what happened in the quarterfinals and, in a later entry, we'll http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1266812734 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1266812734 Sat, 20 Feb 2010 08:17:04 -0800 Random Thoughts They started at 10 a.m. at Jamesville-DeWitt and didn't end until close to 9 p.m. In those 10-plus hours, five Section III girls volleyball championships were handed out, three of http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1266725824 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1266725824