One tired bunch of Patroons...

[panchess]

..thanks to the wonders of the USBL, the Patroons have their fifth game in five days, all on the road. The 22nd game that was originally an off day was rescheduled as a game in Gary.

Therefore the road trip has been the following:

Friday: at Gary, a loss
Saturday: at Jackson, a win (738 mile trip)
Sunday: at Gary, a loss (738 mile trip)
Monday: at Dodge City, a loss (864 mile trip)
Tuesday: at Enid, OK, TBA (203 mile trip)
Wednesday: Off day (finally)
Thursday: at Salina, KS (208 mile trip)
Friday: home vs. TBA (1440 mile trip)

I personally doubt the Friday home game will be played on Friday, but that is quite a road trip. Home teams have a big advantage in the USBL, for sure.

[Ken, Steelheads fan]

..thanks to the wonders of the USBL, the Patroons have their fifth game in five days, all on the road. The 22nd game that was originally an off day was rescheduled as a game in Gary.

Therefore the road trip has been the following:

Friday: at Gary, a loss
Saturday: at Jackson, a win (738 mile trip)
Sunday: at Gary, a loss (738 mile trip)
Monday: at Dodge City, a loss (864 mile trip)
Tuesday: at Enid, OK, TBA (203 mile trip)
Wednesday: Off day (finally)
Thursday: at Salina, KS (208 mile trip)
Friday: home vs. TBA (1440 mile trip)

I personally doubt the Friday home game will be played on Friday, but that is quite a road trip. Home teams have a big advantage in the USBL, for sure.

The most tired thing about the Patroons is their uniforms. They could use a few days off to iron-on their numbers again...sorry, couldn't resist.

USBL teams have twelve man rosters vs. CBA ten man rosters. More players can be rested. I think Albany's losses on the road have more to do with Albany not being a very good team.

[bectond]

The most tired thing about the Patroons is their uniforms. They could use a few days off to iron-on their numbers again...sorry, couldn't resist.

USBL teams have twelve man rosters vs. CBA ten man rosters. More players can be rested. I think Albany's losses on the road have more to do with Albany not being a very good team.

Dude are you serious , 12 man or 10 man rosters make no difference. 5 games in five days is insane. You run about 6 miles per game than you have to take a 12 hour bus trip, run another 6 miles then jump back on the bus for 12 more hours on a bus and do it all over again for a whole week. Come ON!!!

I think I said the CBA was in better condition than the USBL last you and you said, hogwash. Well ask the Patroons, (Who played in both leagues) which league is better.

[HAC]

..thanks to the wonders of the USBL, the Patroons have their fifth game in five days, all on the road. The 22nd game that was originally an off day was rescheduled as a game in Gary.

Therefore the road trip has been the following:

Friday: at Gary, a loss
Saturday: at Jackson, a win (738 mile trip)
Sunday: at Gary, a loss (738 mile trip)
Monday: at Dodge City, a loss (864 mile trip)
Tuesday: at Enid, OK, TBA (203 mile trip)
Wednesday: Off day (finally)
Thursday: at Salina, KS (208 mile trip)
Friday: home vs. TBA (1440 mile trip)

I personally doubt the Friday home game will be played on Friday, but that is quite a road trip. Home teams have a big advantage in the USBL, for sure.


My schedule shows Albany vs. Kansas on Wednesday, April 25.

[HAC]

Dude are you serious , 12 man or 10 man rosters make no difference. 5 games in five days is insane. You run about 6 miles per game than you have to take a 12 hour bus trip, run another 6 miles then jump back on the bus for 12 more hours on a bus and do it all over again for a whole week. Come ON!!!

I think I said the CBA was in better condition than the USBL last you and you said, hogwash. Well ask the Patroons, (Who played in both leagues) which league is better.

And seriously, four or five of those players probably aren't anything special.

[Ken, Steelheads fan]

Dude are you serious , 12 man or 10 man rosters make no difference. 5 games in five days is insane. You run about 6 miles per game than you have to take a 12 hour bus trip, run another 6 miles then jump back on the bus for 12 more hours on a bus and do it all over again for a whole week. Come ON!!!

I think I said the CBA was in better condition than the USBL last you and you said, hogwash. Well ask the Patroons, (Who played in both leagues) which league is better.

All the USBL teams have similar schedules. Albany will just have to deal with theirs. Talentwise, I still think the USBL is better (if I ever said that 8) ). The USBL will be able to draw NBADL talent soon.

Ask the Patroons? I don't think so. Aren't these the same guys that emailed-in their performance instead of playing hard in the finals? Fought amongst themselves during a game? Went above and beyond the call of duty to defend a coach who insulted one (some?) of their own fans? Maybe another organization can be asked.

I know. We can just ask Jamario Moon which is the better team/organization--Steelheads or Patroons? 8)

[bectond]

Panchess was amazed (as I am) that the Patroons have five road games in 5 days. They are being forced to travel from Lake Michigan to the Gulf Coast and back over the course of one weekend.

Are you defending this type of scheduling?

Are you implying that 2 additional roster spots makes any difference with that kind of travel requirement?

I don't get your point about the CBA Finals either, are you implying that the Patroons would have mailed in their USBL games anyway?

[HAC]

Five road games in five different locales is baloney.

I've followed the USBL for the past nine seasons and I don't believe I've ever seen one as jacked up as Albany's.

And I just talked with Flax and the Cagerz/Albany game is Wednesday, not Thursday.

Don't expect a flood of NBDL players to hit the USBL. It's never happened before and it won't happen this season. Many of those guys prefer the East Coast anyway and there isn't much available out there in this league.

[HAC]

Are you implying that 2 additional roster spots makes any difference with that kind of travel requirement?



More guys to take turns at the wheel of the van!

[Ken, Steelheads fan]

Panchess was amazed (as I am) that the Patroons have five road games in 5 days. They are being forced to travel from Lake Michigan to the Gulf Coast and back over the course of one weekend.

Are you defending this type of scheduling?

Are you implying that 2 additional roster spots makes any difference with that kind of travel requirement?

I don't get your point about the CBA Finals either, are you implying that the Patroons would have mailed in their USBL games anyway?

No, I am not implying that the USBL Patroons would have mailed-in their USBL games anyway. The USBL Patroons are not very good and are a few player transactions away from being better. However, I AM saying that the CBA Patroons lacked heart (among other things). My point is that I wouldn't place much value on the opinions of this organization after what happened near the end of the CBA season.

Yes, I am saying having a twelve man roster helps when so many games are bunched together. CBA teams often travel with only seven or eight players and such a schedule would be a major strain on personnel. This is not the CBA though.

BTW, the Steelheads are playing five road games in six days beginning April 30th. It's not five road games in five days, but it's pretty close. Good organizations learn to cope while others seek to postpone games...by the way, why ARE the Patroons postponing the Friday game after their road trip if it's true Thursday is a travel day? Ya' gotta have heart.

HAC,
There should be a few NBADL players in the USBL this season.

[mike reed]

Globe Trotters Have Less Games In 7 Day Span.....

[HAC]

HAC,
There should be a few NBADL players in the USBL this season.

They want some of Gary's $700 average weekly salaries.

Cagerz might get one, and if he shows up he will be a big help and one of the better players in the USBL.

We'll see.

[panchess]

..I got the Thursday off the Patroons web site, so that is wrong. Six games in six days. Wow.

The Gary-Jackson-Gary-Dodge City leg in four days, with each game 700 miles apart, makes this trip so bad. Driving around Kansas and Oklahoma for three straight isn't nearly as bad. I never said the USBL Patroons were a great team, but who would know with this schedule. Not only are their opponents at home, they all had days off before the Patroons came to town, with the exception of the first Gary game.

The CBA Patroons mailed in their last game, it is fair to say. They got beat in the other two, but played hard at home. I know. I was there. Yakama simply was the best team in the league this year, and deserved their title.

The travel difficulties, I assume, are the opponents. Albany was scheduled to play Long Island, who folded, and I assume an opponent couldn't be found to fill the date.

The Saturday game in Brooklyn is on the USBL site, but not Albany's.

[HAC]

..I got the Thursday off the Patroons web site, so that is wrong. Six games in six days. Wow.

The Gary-Jackson-Gary-Dodge City leg in four days, with each game 700 miles apart, makes this trip so bad. Driving around Kansas and Oklahoma for three straight isn't nearly as bad. I never said the USBL Patroons were a great team, but who would know with this schedule. Not only are their opponents at home, they all had days off before the Patroons came to town, with the exception of the first Gary game.

The CBA Patroons mailed in their last game, it is fair to say. They got beat in the other two, but played hard at home. I know. I was there. Yakama simply was the best team in the league this year, and deserved their title.

The travel difficulties, I assume, are the opponents. Albany was scheduled to play Long Island, who folded, and I assume an opponent couldn't be found to fill the date.

The Saturday game in Brooklyn is on the USBL site, but not Albany's.

That's a lot of driving, a professional truck driver could not legally log that much driving and he's not playing a game every night.

[gunnar1073]

Aren't we due for a Brooklyn wholesale roster change soon?

[HAC]

Aren't we due for a Brooklyn wholesale roster change soon?

Probably a little bit early. I'll give them two more weeks.

[nksports]

Globe Trotters Have Less Games In 7 Day Span.....

The just got drilled 103-70 to Cagerz. 1,227 attendance in Salina (semi-fair for them). Albany shot roughly 25 percent from field (24 of 73), 1-12 3-point range.

[panchess]

..until Brooklyn on the road. Like the Beastie Boys song, you "can't stop 'til Brooklyn." Albany basically will have played half their road schedule in 10 days.

The aforementioned Steelheads road trip is five games, starting on Thursday, June 7 and ending Wednesday, June 13. That's seven days, not six. A game in Oklahoma Thursday, games in Dodge City Saturday and Sunday, and back to Oklahoma Tuesday and Wednesday. Basically fly out there, and bus between two cities (unless they bus it to Oklahoma from Gary to start, they play on the 5th in Gary).

How that road trip compares to the Patroons six games in six nights in six cities odyssey across mid-America is beyond me.

At least the USBL ends their season with a tournament. The Patroons will certainly be used to the grind.

[Ken, Steelheads fan]

...BTW, the Steelheads are playing five road games in six days beginning April 30th. It's not five road games in five days, but it's pretty close. Good organizations learn to cope while others seek to postpone games...by the way, why ARE the Patroons postponing the Friday game after their road trip if it's true Thursday is a travel day? Ya' gotta have heart...

Come on, panchess! Do you think I would get something like that wrong? This is what I said above. I'm talking about the Gary road trip beginning April 30 and ending May 5th. Five games in six days.

Let's face it. The Patroons aren't a very good team right now. They were tired against the Cagerz. A well rested Albany team would have probably lost by only thirty points instead of thirty-three points. The Cagerz ARE a very good team. Maybe Albany will acquire some better talent soon to correct the situation.

I also think Albany has been heavily influenced by the new ABA mentality, which is now also the CBA/ABA mentality. It is sort of a whiney, we don't care about our public perception, we don't have to play negative mentality.

I still don't understand why Albany had to postpone their Friday, April 27th game. Travel concerns?

[panchess]

..only shows three games in that time period, two at Jackson (30th and 1st) and one in Albany (4th), with the dates against Long Island and Boston gone. There is also a date with Brooklyn (7th). I would guess another game in Albany might be scheduled to make one additional date up, given that Albany played Gary twice there already. Maybe one in Brooklyn too.

Bizarrely, since the Patroons joined the USBL, they have played two home games (one against a team that existed for one game, and made up largely of, to quote Lee Corso, Patroon rejects), 12 road games, and one neutral-site game. Albany has now made-up road dates for two folded franchises (Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs and New Jersey Meteors), and won one road game, at least.

A third team, Jackson, got locked out of their arena and the Patroons went to Mississippi not knowing for sure if it would be played.

What CBA whining? I haven't heard that. The CBA teams play their games and move on. When Utah folded, the schedule was adjusted in short order (except for two cancelled games), with Albany moving one date (unfortunately to the beginning of the Valentine's Day snowstorm). A different date was lost due to two feet of snow hitting the region. The rest were played as scheduled.

Currently, the USBL season is almost two weeks old, and the Patroons have eight open dates (out of 30) in their posted schedule. They have had to move a home date due to lack of an opponent (to be fair, it happened with the Utah Eagles too). Maybe we'll have some word this week, but it's more like the ABA than the CBA in the USBL when one-third of your future schedule is TBA.

[Ken, Steelheads fan]

..only shows three games in that time period, two at Jackson (30th and 1st) and one in Albany (4th), with the dates against Long Island and Boston gone. There is also a date with Brooklyn (7th). I would guess another game in Albany might be scheduled to make one additional date up, given that Albany played Gary twice there already. Maybe one in Brooklyn too.

Bizarrely, since the Patroons joined the USBL, they have played two home games (one against a team that existed for one game, and made up largely of, to quote Lee Corso, Patroon rejects), 12 road games, and one neutral-site game. Albany has now made-up road dates for two folded franchises (Pennsylvania ValleyDawgs and New Jersey Meteors), and won one road game, at least.

A third team, Jackson, got locked out of their arena and the Patroons went to Mississippi not knowing for sure if it would be played.

What CBA whining? I haven't heard that. The CBA teams play their games and move on. When Utah folded, the schedule was adjusted in short order (except for two cancelled games), with Albany moving one date (unfortunately to the beginning of the Valentine's Day snowstorm). A different date was lost due to two feet of snow hitting the region. The rest were played as scheduled.

Currently, the USBL season is almost two weeks old, and the Patroons have eight open dates (out of 30) in their posted schedule. They have had to move a home date due to lack of an opponent (to be fair, it happened with the Utah Eagles too). Maybe we'll have some word this week, but it's more like the ABA than the CBA in the USBL when one-third of your future schedule is TBA.

Whining? I'm referring to all the whining Albany did during the season--all involving Coach Ricahrdson. Lack of desire to play games? Take your pick: the snowstorm game that was never made-up, the playoff format that was shortened last minute, and Albany quitting instead of playing hard at Yakama.

I feel that the Patroons took their cues from the incoming ABA teams. The Dakota teams and Idaho were no longer around to set the standard.

[HAC]

Hey, take the ABA and CBA whining to another board.

The USBL has enough problems to whine about.

[Ken, Steelheads fan]

The following are some of Albany's much needed player movements:
http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3462172

Now the Patroons should look a little less tired on the first game of a road trip.

[Paul S]

Sounds like the Albany Patroons make sure the guy has an valid drivers license first and if he has experience driving a white Ford F-350 van with 6 players to Mississippi then veering right and heading for Kansas.

[panchess]

..is what they must have learned from the road trip.

Eric Williams was at center court and introduced to the crowd at the Albany-Yakama playoff game. I know the owner wants him back for next CBA season, and I was surprised he didn't start the season with the team.

Surprised Deng Gai slipped as low as the ABA.

Kansas is now scheduled for two games in the Armory in June.