This is simply the best Glens Falls team ever
Crandall Library packed with citizens hoping to hear from Stefanik
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Panama High School is a tiny specks in western New York with just 197 students in grades 7 through 12.
It so far west it's closer to Cleveland than Binghamton.
It's a suburb of Jamestown, a city the size of Glens Falls, but geographically closer to rural Pennsylvania.
But Panama High was on basektball Broadway Saturday night - Binghamton instead of Glens Falls - hoping to be crowned the king of smallest schools.
Panama blew a big lead to scrappy Bridgehampton but prevailed, 78-69. What followed was that rare moment of unadulterated joy we rarely get to witness and even more rarely get to experience.
As I watched, I wondered how many of us ever get to be that happy even for one single moment our entire lives, and then perhaps more darkly, whether any of these young men would ever be this happy again. You'd like to think this is the springboard to a life lived well, but life doesn't always work that way.
The billion-watt smiles were nothing unique for me. It has never been a once-in-a-lifetime event for those of us lucky enough to make the state tourney an annual ritual. It's why I remain angry by its move to Binghamton a second time.
I'm selfish that way.
I saw it again Sunday morning as Marcellus, a Class B school just north of the Finger Lakes in central New York, won its battle with Woodlands, 63-58.
I'm looking at the photo again right now as the Marcellus players bounce up and down with toothy grins that will last for days. But as I look closer, really close, you see that their gaze is locked on each other, sharing this moment with each other forever.
I'm hoping they never forget the view.,
I'm hoping they never forget the feeling.
But I wasn't here to see Panama, or Marcellus, this journey was about completing my own mission.
Twenty years ago, I became totally captivated by a young Glens Falls player who could swish a basketball from somewhere out on Sherman Avenue.
By Jimmer Fredette's junior year, I was a basketball groupie. Once or twice a week, I headed down to Glens Falls' old basketball barn after dinner to see Jimmer and his teammates play. My wife said more than once I loved Jimmer more than her.
"But he can shoot better than you," I told her.
There may have been a year or two after when my allegiance faded, but by the time Joe Girard III was a freshman I was back. Anyone who visited me, talked to me, walked by me in the supermarket got an earful about this rare talent and I dragged more than one person into the Glens Falls balcony to see for themselves.
One of those was my friend David Woods. He was a Glens Falls graduate and former player who likes football better, but he came and kept coming with me year after year after year.
By the time Girard was a senior I began whispering the unspeakable to David: "I think Joe Girard is a better high school player than Jimmer."
This is all subtext to this weekend in Binghamton.
Joe Girard and his teammates won Glens Falls' first state championship in 2019 in Binghamton, then came home to Glens Falls a week later to win a Federation title before all of Glens Falls; at least it seemed that way.
It was another glorious event in the annals of Glens Falls sports history.
To put all this into context, Glens Falls has been to the state tourney five times. They are the Duke University of the Capital District in my eyes. Last year, even without a such a prodigious scorer as Girard, it produced a perfect 27-0 season for the ages and a second state championship.
Four of the five starters returned this year. There was only one acceptable scenario in Glens Falls - Do it again.
Perfection - again.
Never lose - again.
But in January, I made a difficult decision. I was going to spend most of the winter in New Orleans with my son. My one hesitation was missing the games of this team for the ages and my weekly visits with David.
Other than a brief non-league scare from a team from New Jersey, no one came close during the regular season of beating Glens Falls.
A month ago, I calculated that Glens Falls would be in Binghamton, and more importantly that David and I needed to be there, too.
So after Glens Falls won the Section II championship, but still needed two more wins, I booked a flight home and reserved a hotel room in Binghamton.
I knew Glens Falls.
I knew they would be back.
On Saturday morning, I picked up David and we talked for the entire three-hour ride to Binghamton like only old friends can.
Glens Falls was only up seven at the half in Saturday's semifinals. It surprised us, but we knew Glens Falls could play better. They won by 20.
When Glens Falls took the court for the state championship game Sunday morning, I mentioned how serious the Glens Falls players looked.
They were here on a business trip I told David.
It was sealing the deal, fulfilling its destiny.
Because here is what you have to realize.
Glens Falls wasn't just playing a tough Mount Sinai team, it was playing the ghosts of a dozen other great Glens Falls teams.
Coach Rob Girard told Pete Tobey this week his team had the opportunity to accomplish something historic.
"Their legacy is well above most other teams, but to think of what they can really accomplish with two games left is incredible, and I don’t think anybody would’ve ever thought that. It’s definitely pretty special,” Girard said.
Perhaps, that weighed on the players' minds.
The expectations that come with being perfect, not once, but twice.
The expectations with not just being a state champion but maybe the best Glens Falls team of all time.
It led Mount Sinai by six at the half but their shots didn't fall as usual and Mount Sinai refused to buckle to Glens Falls' constant pressure. So with 3:17 left in the third quarter, Glens Falls found itself clinging to a one-point lead.
After 53 straight wins over two years, it appeared Glens Falls might actually be human.
They showed little emotion.
But there was an intensity to their play, a purpose like always.
After all, this was a business trip.
Glens Falls scored 18 of the next 20 points and it was over quite suddenly.
When Girard substituted his entire starting lineup with just over a minute to play, there was joy, some celebration, but not like Panama's a night earlier or Marcellus's that morning.
For me it seemed like relief.
The burden had been lifted.
They had fulfilled their destiny as the greatest team in Glens Falls history.
There is no argument.
Real Stefanik
With Rep. Elise Stefanik still AWOL from the 21st Congressional District, reporter Thomas Dimopoulos posted some context on Facebook from his coverage of Stefanik over the years.
Dimopoulos worked for me in our Saratoga bureau at one time and here is what he posted in response to the open chair town hall that was held yesterday in Glens Falls where Stefanik was invited but not expected to attend:
As US Rep. Stefanik preps to leave Saratoga for the UN - where perhaps we will soon learn just what this country's diplomatic mission is re: the UN - I felt compelled to go in search of, and revisit the old reporters’ notebooks and files of a time when the congresswoman did visit the local community. Here are two springtime files:
April 5, 2018: Elise Stefanik is the guest at a “Coffee with Your Congresswoman” event in Moreau. During the 90-minute public town hall, Stefanik asserts she is an advocate for “bipartisan immigration reform alongside my Democratic colleagues,” supports over-the-counter access to birth control, and respects varying opinions on issues as well as the right of people to share their viewpoint. “I understand there are passionate issues, strong beliefs on both sides of the aisle, and I respect your position.” Asked about the “demeanor” of President Donald Trump, Stefanik replies that Trump tweets too much and that “when it comes to his rhetoric - I use very different rhetoric when I talk about Issues. I try to focus on substance.”
May 14, 2019: The Congresswoman is attending a GOP fundraiser in a Hudson River restaurant in the village of Schuylerville. A group of a couple of dozen men, women, children and dogs stage a protest on the sidewalk outside. Some carry signs. One reads: You Need To Remove The Dictator Now. As the gathering gets underway, a large water truck pulls up and parks at the curb. A man gets out of the vehicle, unleashes a big hose and for the better part of the next 90 minutes engages the short stretch of sidewalk in front of the restaurant with the most dutiful and continuous power-washing effort you will ever see. This send the small group of men, women, children and dogs across to the other side of the street, where there is not much sidewalk to speak of, but who nonetheless stand there for the duration, holding signs, ignoring a guy in a black pickup truck shouting that their “children are being brainwashed,” and telling them that Obama was going to jail “when all that Hillary stuff comes out.” The event was held about 200 yards from a sign marking The Surrender Tree - the location where the British surrendered their weapons and marked the “turning point” of the revolution and the historical beginning of America as a democracy.
Empty chair
Citizens concerned about Rep. Elise Stefanik's failure to represent them in Congress filled the Crandall Public Library community room on Sunday.
Stefanik was invited to attend but did not appear. She was represented on the stage by a chair with her photo on it.
“For the time being, Congresswoman Stefanik is still our representative. Yet, she has continued to ignore the outpouring of concerns from her constituents and has refused to hold a Town Hall despite repeated requests," Indivisible ADK/Saratoga steering committee member Rene Rountree said. "We held this event because we wanted NY21 residents to have a chance to make their voices heard regardless. We’re thrilled with the incredible attendance and engagement today and hope she and our other elected officials take notice.”
Apartment complex
The complex would be a more affordable option than most of the more recent building projects around the region.
Getting real
My play, The Last American Newspaper, got real over the weekend as I was finishing up final edits to the script in preparation for the dramatic reading at the Capital Repertory Theater in Albany on April 2.
When I went on line to link to tickets on a Facebook post, I noticed that the play had been cast.
Even though I knew it was coming, it was a bit disconcerting to see my name as one of the characters and realize I would soon have a dramatic alter ego.
Jeffrey Binder will be playing me and has quite a professional resume including Broadway roles in The Lion King and Mary Poppins.
Nick Baroudi, who plays my buddy Mark Mahoney in the play, is a Queensbury native who has made a couple of independent movies - one was featured at the Adirondack Film Festival - while also starring in Dial M for Murder last summer at the Adirondack Theater Festival.
Dennis Schebetta is a Skidmore College professor who also starred in ATF's Dial M for Murder last summer.
Brenny Campbell, who is playing Mary Joseph, has performed off-Broadway.
Eliana Rowe, who is playing reporter Lydia Moore, was the lead in the Harriet Tubman performance at the Capital Rep last year.
And Dan Girard, who is playing reporter Don Lehman, lives in Troy and has been seen in Capital Repertory Theater productions and at Adirondack Theater Festival.
The reading will take place, Wednesday, April 2 at 7 p.m. at the Capital Repertory Theater. Tickets are just $5.
Here is the cast list:
“The Last American Newspaper”
Adapted by Ken Tingley from his memoir.
Directed by Marcus Kyd
Stage Managed by Sara FriedmanCast
Ken Tingley – Jeffrey Binder
Mark Mahoney – Nick Baroudi
Mary Joseph – Brenny Campbell
Stage Directions: Kathleen Carey
Don Lehman – David Girard
Lydia Moore – Eliana Rowe
Will Doolittle – Dennis SchebettaTo get tickets (just $5): https://tickets.proctors.org/TheatreManager/95/login?venue=376
Ken Tingley spent more than four decades working in small community newspapers in upstate New York. Since retirement in 2020 he has written three books and is currently adapting his second book "The Last American Newspaper" into a play. He currently lives in Queensbury, N.Y.
Enjoyed reading your take on GFHS basketball, but I would go one step further. I’ve always been a devotee of high school basketball (I attended a large high school In Benton Harbor MI, and for four years of tryouts always made the final 20, and, yes, for four years was one of the last 5 cut 😢 BHHS produced the likes of former pro Chet Walker). My two sons played some high school basketball, one playing on a team that lost a squeaker in an Ohio regional final. In every community in which we lived, from the Midwest to East Coast, I have followed the local high school basketball teams.
This year, son Tim and I took in several GFHS games, including trips to Section II playoff games.
Here is where I go a step further, Ken, in your evaluation that they are the best GF team ever. They are THE best high school team I have ever seen—bar none!
Their disciplined, aggressive, intimidating defense was outstanding, and I have never seen a more balanced scoring offense. .And 53 wins without a loss!
Congratulations, Black Bears! As Mohammad Ali said, “It’s hard to be humble when you’re so great!”
Thanks for expressing the depth of appreciation and humanity in the realm of sports, especially the local team with which you share so much history.
Also, I was at both $tefanik events cited in Dimopoulos' coverage--and now can see myself as a player on a team. I have moved on, but the game continues--thanks to all the current folks who showed up at Crandall.
Imagine being on a team with Trump as coach--what value system drives his strategy? What tactics does he employ to "win?" What is the joy in winning if the game is rigged? Or you hire and extort the refs? Or use violence to intimidate?
Thinking of Trump's so-called golf triumphs at his own club that he needs to announce, and also the visual of Putin "scoring" a hockey goal because no one challenges him on the ice, or even tries to take the puck away and the goalie pretense of being in net. Why would grown men need to live life this way, unchallenged, pretending? No wonder we never see Trump smile like the young men pictured in your recap.