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 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:54:07 -0800 Random Thoughts The words Bob Gibson doesn’t pop up in many football conversations, and it’s not because he shares the same first and last name with that baseball pitching great. Gibson, an http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1258649647 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1258649647 Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:47:09 -0800 Random Thoughts It happened on a Tuesday, on election night, out of view of most of sports nation, but by Wednesday the words LeMoyne 82, Syracuse 79 were on everyone’s lips, and lots of http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1258562829 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1258562829 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:48:44 -0800 Random Thoughts Mid-November, and we've been a bit spoiled around here. Aside from that cold snap around the start of the month, it's been rather quiet, even warm at times. Football likes to http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1258404524 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1258404524 Sun, 15 Nov 2009 05:05:38 -0800 Random Thoughts What had started, earlier this week, as a possible struggle for all of Section III's championship soccer teams in the state playoffs turned out quite well by the time Saturday http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1258333538 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1258333538 Sun, 15 Nov 2009 04:35:34 -0800 Random Thoughts Sharp contrasts could be made just over what happened to Section III athletes in cross country and field hockey when they ventured into the state championship realm on http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1258331734 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1258331734 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:04:10 -0800 Random Thoughts Tonight, when Chicago and San Francisco kick it off, so begins the second half of the NFL regular season for everyone not named Giants or Texans. So it's a good time to take http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1258045450 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1258045450 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:11:56 -0800 Random Thoughts They are having fun at the University of Cincinnati. Once a football afterthought, the Bearcats are now the ruling kings of the Big East, powering to a second straight conference http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1257955916 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1257955916 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:51:44 -0800 Random Thoughts Here we were witnessing another winning celebration as the New York Yankees finished off the Philadelphia Phillies for a 27th World Series title. And in other news, dog bites http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1257871904 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1257871904 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:45:12 -0800 Random Thoughts By Tuesday night, we knew the identity of all the Section III boys soccer champions. We also saw that getting those titles were not easy. In sharp contrast to the girls finals, http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1257914712 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1257914712 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:40:42 -0800 Random Thoughts Face it, Saturday was real, real busy, as far as deciding Section III championships - on the trails at Jamesville Beach Park, on the turf at Bragman Stadium, and in the pool at http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1257824442 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1257824442 Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:34:30 -0800 Random Thoughts For all those girls soccer teams that suffered through wet or Arctic (or sometimes, both) Section III playoff games in the past two weeks and made it to the finals at http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1257726870 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1257726870 Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:25:08 -0800 Random Thoughts In all honesty, the Section III football championships at the Carrier Dome on Friday and Saturday did not feature any thrillers, any last-minute drama. Just five teams proving to http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1257654308 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1257654308 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:02:02 -0800 Random Thoughts Unlike the girls side, where they all trek to SUNY-Cortland, the Section III boys soccer championship games spread out to different locales, depending on the participating team's http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1257534122 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1257534122 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:00:10 -0800 Random Thoughts And so 10 Section III girls soccer teams will be making the journey down I-81 to SUNY-Cortland, all of them in hot pursuit of Section III titles. Ideally, this is just the first http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1257480010 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1257480010 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:17:57 -0800 Random Thoughts This Election Day passed like so many others in my life – an early-morning visit to the polls, a lot of work to do in the morning, afternoon and night, and maybe a perfunctory http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1257344277 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1257344277 Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:03:45 -0800 Random Thoughts So it all comes down, in Section III football, to five championship games at the Carrier Dome, each of them rich with character and contrast, with plots and subplots tasty enough http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1257267825 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1257267825 Mon, 02 Nov 2009 04:45:49 -0800 Random Thoughts Yesterday, I wrote about how orderly the Section III boys soccer playoffs had been in comparison to the who's-going-to-get-surprised-next girls soccer tournament. Here's how http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1257209149 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1257209149 Sun, 01 Nov 2009 04:50:57 -0800 Random Thoughts The first week of the Section III boys soccer playoffs featured a lot of suspense, a lot of overtime and a few delays, but in the end most of the top seeds lived to see the http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1257123057 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1257123057 Sat, 31 Oct 2009 05:07:57 -0700 Random Thoughts Sure, it was the eve of Halloween, but there was nothing shocking about what took place in any of the 10 Section III football semifinals. Oh, some favorites got really pushed in http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1257034077 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1257034077 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:46:58 -0700 Random Thoughts All right, no jokes here - no shots at Philadelphia and its prickly fans, no jabs at New York and its heavily bankrolled self-importance. No, this entry on the World Series will http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1256748418 http://cnylink.com/blogs/pblackwell/view_blog.php?blog_id=1256748418