Sports this 'n' that

For the 2nd straight season, ESPN is seeing a member of their football broadcast team leave for a coaching job that he once held.

This time, college football studio analyst Mack Brown is leaving to begin his second stint at North Carolina, taking effect next season, hoping to reverse the Tar Heels' recent misfortunes on the gridiron. However, if Jon Gruden's struggles in his 2nd tour of duty in Oakland are any indicator, Brown will have a long road ahead of him in tobacco country.
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A correction on recent notes on Troy High.

The boys' basketball team's game at Bethlehem last night was actually a scrimmage, but was not designated as such per Schedule Galaxy, which needs to specify such things going forward. Greg Davis' club begins their season, as per usual, in the first week of December. The women, meanwhile, open at home on Friday vs. Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake.
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This is how bad things are at Bishop Maginn these days.

Once a power in the now-defunct Big 10, Maginn now plays in the Western Athletic Conference. Enrollment is down, thanks largely to the emergence of charter schools such as Green Tech. The performance on the court, as a result, is a far, far cry from those glory days, which weren't that long ago.

After their boys' team was blown off the court at Lansingburgh twice over the weekend, the Maginn women came to North Troy Tuesday, and were similarly dismantled by Lansingburgh, 40-19. Not a good start to the season for the Griffins, who will begin league play next week.
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While the Capital District High School Hockey League welcomed back Albany Academy this season, other schools are in the mix as well, but joining forces with pre-established teams.

For example, after changing their name from Tri-Falls to Adirondack last year, the conglomerate of Hudson Falls, Glens Falls, & South Glens Falls has added Warrensburg. Niskayuna-Schenectady is now Niskayuna-Schenectady-Albany after adding a handful of players from Albany High. An article in the Daily Gazette reports that the Mohawks have had fewer players from the Electric City in the last year or two due to declining interest.

"Guilderville" (Guilderland-Mohonasen-Scotia-Glenville) has added players from Schalmont & Voorheesville to their roster. The Shaker-Colonie Jets are now the Capital District Jets after welcoming players from Averill Park, Tamarac, & Columbia, the latter of whom has not fielded a team since the 80's, when their program merged with Troy's, for all the good that did. There just aren't enough kids in each of the individual schools to field separate teams, which otherwise would expand the league into two divisions within itself. Queensbury is in division 2, and thus doesn't play in the Section II tournament.
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Now's a good time to announce that starting next month, we're launching a new blog devoted to local sports. Watch for it.