top of page

A Year in the Making: Upstate Sports Zone


A year ago today, Upstate Sports Zone made its way into the Sports World. At first it was all unknown of what would happen. But look at where we are today, and what 3 guys have been able to create. Countless amounts of hours and dedication to perfection (and it still isn’t perfect). The evolution of this outlet has been tremendous, from logos, to website development to social media pages and even general outlook on how we approach work. But where do we start in explaining what has even been going on in the last year? Let us explain.

“The Sheet That Started it All”

Who thought that one red pen and one sheet of graph paper would have created something life changing? From name choosing, to members to even what we were going to cover, this sheet says it all.

The Development of Our Logo

Jake Martino Takes On Madison Square Garden

One of the greatest destinations that I have ever taken and has brought my career to a whole new level was the March Madness East Regional Finals in NYC. The games took place at the World Renowned Madison Square Garden, and boy, that place is huge. I think I got lost a couple of times. It was a great experience for me because I really felt what it was like to be a professional. Dressing like one, and spending all my time dedicated to being at that top level. For me now it is usually one article from myself every couple days, but when I was there it was one every hour. I learned more about journalism and what actually happens behind the scenes then I ever have before. The games were just as exciting, the buzzer beater by Chiozza was just breathtaking. Being the only 15 year old there, it was tough to adapt to my surroundings, but I made myself known. Enjoying the city life and the journalism life is something I would definitely do in my future after that weekend.

- Jake Martino

Upstate Takes on the MAAC Tournament

One of my favorite experiences, and as a Co-Owner and Writer of Upstate Sports Zone was being apart of the media for the MAAC Men’s Basketball Tournament at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York. The MAAC Tournament was such a great experience and my first on the national stage. The tournament was from Thursday, March 2nd until Monday, March 6th. The first round was on Thursday, but it really started to heat up on Friday and Saturday. The favorite Monmouth was such a fun team to watch. Justin Robinson was such a dynamic scorer and I knew he’d get a shot in the NBA and now look at him, he’s playing for the Miami Heat in the Summer League. We obviously were subtly rooting for Siena as we had been to there regular season games, and they were our hometown team. Siena had been fun to watch as well, but they had their ups and downs. I was confident in them and I felt as though their home court advantage would be a huge help in this tournament, and boy it was! Siena upset #1 Monmouth in the semifinals on Sunday. On the other side of the bracket Iona, Siena’s rival defeated St. Peter’s (another fun team to watch) to advance to the Championship game on Monday to face Siena. That Monday night was unforgettable. #4 Siena vs #3 Iona, rivals. We would watch two great teams in the MAAC Championship, which was being broadcasted on ESPN that night! The crowd was absolutely electric! The crowd was painted in yellow, and they were louder than ever! The game came down to the very final seconds. But the excitement wouldn’t stop there. The game would go into overtime! I mean what a game! This was no doubt the best basketball game i had ever been to! Not to mention Jay Bilas was in the building, commentating the game for ESPN, and Baltimore Orioles legend and Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. was sitting courtside! In OT both teams were going back and forth, back and forth. It came down to the last possession. Siena had the ball but they were down 4. Senior Marquis Wright dribbled down the floor and took the final shot. It went up and floated in the air for what seemed like hours. The ball finally fell. Perfectly through the hoop. Nothing but net. Wright had made his last shot as a Siena Saint on their home court, against his school’s rival, in the conference championship game. What an ending to a tremendous era. Wright collapsed to the floor in tears. It was a tremendous game, and such a great experience. I was happy I got to be there, at such great games, interviewing such great players, talking to great coaches, and meeting great people (Yes, I met Cal Ripken and was beyond excited). The most important thing though, was that I got to do what I love, with my good friends and co-workers (Jake and Kaleb). I am so glad that I got this opportunity, not only to be at the 2017 MAAC Men’s Basketball Tournament, but to write about sports, one of my biggest passions!

-Camdyn Ames

Camdyn Heads to Queens to Catch Premier High School Basketball at Dicks Nationals

Going down to Queens to watch the Dicks National High School Championship was an awesome expierience. Both teams (La Lumiere and Montverde) were very very solid basketball teams and had many very good players that were being looked at by the top Division 1 colleges in the nation. Sophomore RJ Barrett from Montverde Academy (FL) was one of my favorite players to watch. Barrett is the number 1 ranked prospect in the class of 2019 on ESPN.com. He took over in the second half for Montverde. He showed how dominant he can be. On the other side of the floor was Brian Bowen, the number 13 ranked recruit in the class of 2017 by ESPN, and Jalen Jackson, the number 8 ranked recruit in the class of 2017 by ESPN. La Lu also had Jalen Poole, a Michigan recruit who was money from 3-point range. La Lu’s star studded lineup was too much for Montverde as they took home the Dick’s National Championship.

From the Beginning: Siena Regular Season Basketball

Well being as young as we are in comparison to the average aged media personnel there and in that kind of business it was just an eye opener to the things we can do as a company. I believe that getting to go to those games made people accept us as a company and not just another failed attempt. As for myself it was just an experience. The times we talked to Jimmy, I mean that's crazy that man is a D1 college basketball coach and he was telling other people how great we are. Also I looked at who was in that press room after those games and those are local news broadcasters and newspaper writers who make a living out of this. The opportunities we have just from attending those games are tremendous. I loved attending those games and taking pictures and writing articles and live tweeting about every game. All in all I get to go to D1 basketball games and watch soon to be NBA players. It just amazing to think about

-Austin Walsh

The First Ever Article on Upstate Sports Zone!

Will There Be a Fire Sale in the Bronx? By Jared McCabe

Our Stats:

Members: 10

Facebook Likes to Date: 201

Twitter Followers to Date: 375

YouTube Subs to Date: 40

Instagram Followers to Date: 131

#TBT The First Ever Upstate Sports Zone Podcast!

Upstate Sports Zone Top 5 Photos from Our First Year- Jake Martino

Follow Us
Upstate Sports Zone on Social Media!
Never miss a beat in the sports world..
  • White Twitter Icon
  • White Facebook Icon
  • White YouTube Icon
  • White SoundCloud Icon
  • White Instagram Icon
  • White Snapchat Icon
Recent Articles
bottom of page