Sports writer - Grant writer

Tag: Binghamton

The Baldwins Are Taking Over Everything I Like

The Baldwin family is taking over my life.

Tuesday afternoon, I received an email from Billy Baldwin, Binghamton class of 1985. Not exclusively to me, of course, but to me and thousands of my fellow Binghamton alums. Billy, who is the lesser known Baldwin by far (at Binghamton, when anyone would ask what he had been in, the stock answer always was, “the guy that dies in Backdraft“), has taken quite the shine to his alma mater as of late. His biggest contribution of note was when he led a successful campaign to save the wrestling program when America East stopped sponsoring the sport.

Now, Billy “Backdraft guy” Baldwin has emailed his fellow alums to lobby us to give to the Binghamton capital campaign. (Video wasn’t embeddable, so here is a linked screenshot.)

My first reaction: shouldn’t he be lobbying for himself? You really don’t see him in much anymore. Then I realized his more famous brother probably helps him out.

My second reaction: Paul Reiser wasn’t available? Tony Kornhesier? Heck, Progressive Insurance Flo? (Yes, all Bearcats.)

But that being said, it’s a good cause, given the dire straits outgoing NY governor Patterson has left the SUNY system in. Kudos to Backdraft Baldwin.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle Twitter account shared a blog post about the new Wegmans (the greatest grocery store in the history of mankind) commercials, starring…30 Rock’s Alec Baldwin.


According to the Democrat and Chronicle, the Baldwin-Wegmans collaboration came about when Baldwin mentioned to late night talk show host David Letterman that his mother refuses to live anywhere without a Wegmans close by, and then went on to pontificate about the wonders of the store.

This is a big get for the store so wonderful it was my baby brother’s first word. (You think I’m joking.) But the way this week is going, I half expect to get a video of Stephen Baldwin asking me to buy Buffalo Bills tickets next.

Strike Three, Shame On Me

09photo-home_260No one knew where I went to college until the basketball players started stealing condoms and dealing drugs.

I am not exaggerating. I have lived in Boston for five years, and only twenty percent of those I run into have actually heard of Binghamton University, the State University of New York branch I graduated from. That is, until the university hired men’s basketball coach Kevin Broadus, and his prize recruits started finding themselves in the back of police cars. Continue reading

Finding Their Identity: What the America East Championship Means to Binghamton University

The artsy, older girlfriend of the emo guitarist I had a crush on who lived on the second floor of my residence hall and I got into an argument one day back my senior year of college at Binghamton University.  We were in a friend’s car, and we were all about to go our separate ways after a Sunday afternoon brunch; I, to a Bearcats men’s basketball game, artsy girlfriend to a poetry reading, and the rest of the group to study – which meant watch cable TV with books open on their laps, the number one symptom of senioritis.

As the car prepared to turn into the gym parking lot, artsy girlfriend said to us all, filled with self-importance, “I wish people wouldn’t go to the basketball games. Binghamton doesn’t need sports.”

I took the bait. “Oh, of course we do. It puts the university on the map to the general public.”

“I didn’t hear of Binghamton through sports, ” huffed artsy girlfriend.

“Well, neither did I, but we also live in New York State. What about those in other parts of the country? They don’t know Bingo from Adam.”

“Well,” she pointed to me. “I don’t want those people, people that only find out about colleges because of their basketball teams, to come to my university. They don’t contribute anything.”

Continue reading

A Fellow Western New Yorker Weighs In (A Sorta, Kinda, In A Way Guest Post)

I am always surprised at the reaction my now-year-old post, Obviously, Massachusetts Schools Neglect to Teach Geography of Areas outside of New England (or No, Western New Yorkers are not Yankees Fans.), still gets.  The most viewed and most commented post ever on this blog, the discussion it’s encouraged is great!

Jon emailed me earlier this week with a comment too lengthy to be posted as a comment, and I thought it was cool enough to be my first sorta, kinda in a way guest post ever.  I’ll also link to this in the comments section of the original post as well.

Thanks, Jon for such a well thought out response to the article, and for another view into being a Western New York sports fan. The comment, which includes one of the best descriptions of why Western New Yorkers tend to flock to Boston, after the jump. Continue reading

“Being a Jets Fan in Binghamton Sucks” and Other Search Engine Fun

Let’s ignore the Buffalo Bills lost to the freakin’ Dolphins today, shall we? I was having a glorious sports weekend, which included the FWSNBN becoming the star of the season thus far for the Boston University men’s hockey team, and then – bam, the Bills had to go lose. Unacceptable, Mr. Edwards, just unacceptable. I will not be buying your jersey t-shirt anytime soon.

Or maybe I will.

So in an effort to ignore the silly annoying Bills (really guys, you had to go lose to the Dolphins?!), I will devote this evening’s post to the amusing search engine phrases that my blog comes up as referencing. The best, of course, being from two weeks ago:

“Being a Jets Fan in Binghamton Sucks.” Continue reading

© 2024 Kat Cornetta

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑