University at Albany Great Danes bus is readied Wednesday.

The University at Albany men's basketball team is on the road to Philadelphia today and The Record is, too.

The Great Danes and Coach Will Brown are heading off to the NCAA college basketball tournament where they are slated to play the Blue Devils of Duke University at 12:15 p.m.  Friday in the Wells Fargo Center.


Record college sports reporter Andrew Santillo leaves this afternoon for the City of Brotherly Love to report on the Great Danes' journey.

Andrew Santillo

Andy, an Ithaca College graduate, has been a member of our sports staff since September 2006. After a busy winter covering the Great Danes and the Siena College Saints, he is excited about the opportunity to cover the NCAA basketball tournament for The Record and our sister newspapers in the New York cluster - The Saratogian, The Oneida Daily Dispatch and The Daily Freeman in Kingston - as well as the rest of the Digital First Media company.

In his tournament preview story today, Andy writes that the Great Danes, who are seeded No. 15, are up for the challenge of facing the big men of Duke, which is the No. 2 seed. Check out his story here.

In the coming days, don't forget to check out Andy's coverage in The Record in print and online at www.troyrecord.com


You can also follow Andy on Twitter at @AndrewSantillo. If you have any questions or comments about the Great Danes appearance in the Big Dance, don't hesitate to email him at asantillo@troyrecord.com

Here's wishing the Great Danes well in the NCAA tourney and don't forget to check out Andy's coverage of their run.

We also offer best wishes for success to the Great Danes women's basketball team, who are also competing in this year's NCAA tournament. Seeded No. 14, they take on No. 3 UNC at 2:30 p.m. Sunday in Bob Carpenter Center in Newark, Delaware.


 

Rebecca Eppelmann, The Record's audience engagement editor, wants to help all of us get in shape -- and she promises me that it doesn't have to hurt to get there.

This Thursday at 6 p.m., we are inviting both seasoned and amateur runners to join us in our Community Media Lab on the first floor of our downtown Troy building for a session on how to avoid injuries.

Dr. Tim Maggs, a specialist in Sports Biomechanics, will present a hands-on injury prevention seminar that will focus on how to prevent and care for all types of running injuries, figuring out “good” vs. “bad” pain, and the importance of stretching.

Maggs has been a Sports Chiropractor for 35 years, is a national lecturer on fitness and conditioning, worked in the New York Giants (professional football) strength department, was the founder and director of the Team Stick Kenyan Running Program, gives 25 seminars a year to doctors on the importance of structural biomechanics, and has completed 16 marathons.

In addition, he has developed the: Structural Management Program, Structural Fingerprint Exam, and the Maggs Muscle Management Program.

As The Running Doctor, Dr. Maggs has contributed to: New England Runner, Florida Running & Triathlon, Chiropractic Economics, Chiropractic Products, Pace Setter and American Chiropractor magazines; and a frequent contributor to many other running publications.

Maggs is heavily involved in the Training Challenge for the Freihofer’s Run for Women and frequents their Saturday training sessions for consultation with participants.

Space for this seminar is limited, please RSVP at http://bit.ly/Zk9PI8

Free parking for the session is available in The Record's lot on Broadway between Fifth and Sixth avenues.

 

Well ... he gave it his best -- and so did you!

I wanted to let you know that Record sports reporter Ed Weaver lost in the "Sweet 16" round of the Tri-City ValleyCats Media Bobblehead Bracket Buster Tournament.

My thanks to all of you who voted for Ed, who came in seventh in the first round of voting but lost to  Steve LaPointe of CBS 6 in the Sweet 16.

Here are the results from the round of voting that ended Sunday:


Greg Floyd (CBS 6) defeats Doug Sherman (CBS 6)
Rodger Wyland (News Channel 13) defeats Bruce Jacobs (104.5 The Team)
Tim Wilkin (Times Union) defeats Quinn & Cantara (PYX 106)
Benita Zahn (News Channel 13) defeats Drew Brill (News 10)
Marisa Jacques (YNN) defeats Sean & Richie (107.7 WGNA)
Bob Kovachick (News Channel 13) defeats Mike Bono (YNN)
Steve LaPointe (CBS 6) defeats Ed Weaver (The Record)

Chuck & Kelly (News Talk 810 & 103.1 WGY) defeats Ken Schott (Daily Gazette).

A lot of good people -- and some tough choices -- remain in the competition, so don't stop voting now!

The next round of voting goes through Sunday, March 24 and the pairings follow:

(1) Greg Floyd of CBS 6 vs.  (9) Chuck & Kelly of News Talk 810 &103.1 WGY;
(2) Rodger Wyland of News Channel 13 vs. (10) Steve LaPointe of CBS 6;
(3) Tim Wilkin of the Times Union vs. (6) Bob Kovachick of News Channel 13, and
(4) Benita Zahn of News Channel 13 vs. (5) Marisa Jacques of YNN.

The winner will be announced on April 8.

If you want to pick up one of the media bobbleheads, you'll have to be among the first 1,500 fans through the gates at The Joe Bruno Stadium on Monday, Aug. 1.

On Sunday, the madness begins for college basketball fans when the teams selected to play in this year's NCAA Basketball Tournament are announced.

Here at The Record, our version of March Madness has under way for more than a week.

Sports reporter Ed Weaver, who has covered RPI hockey and the Tri-City ValleyCats for us for several years, is participating in a special brand of March Madness as part of a promotion for local New York Penn League baseball team. He is competing in the ValleyCat's 2013 Media Bobblehead Bracket Buster Tournament.

Ed is one of 16 personalities from local print, radio and television media competing for the bobblehead honor. Each personality has chosen a charity to represent throughout the tournament and Ed is competing on behalf of the American Heart Association. The winning personality's charity will receive $1,500 cash and partial game sponsorship of the bobblehead giveaway night. The second place charity gets $1,000; the third place, $500.

At the end of the preliminary round of voting to determine the bracket seedings for the tournament, Ed came in in seventh place.

We're thrilled that Ed, a true baseball fan and a constant at the ValleyCat games, has been asked to participate in this event on behalf of a worthwhile charity.
 
The current round of voting for the 2013 Media Bobblehead winner goes through 9 p.m. Sunday, March 17. The winner will be announced on April 8.

We're all voting for Ed and we hope you will, too. Click HERE to a link to the BobbleVote Round of 16. You'll find a lot of worthy candidates and terrific charities who will benefit from this effort.
 
By the way, the winning media personality will be given away to the first 1,500 fans through the gates at The Joe Bruno Stadium on Monday, Aug. 1.