Hello everyone. We sit here just about 24 hours away from the opening ceremonies at Kensico Dam, and I just wanted to check in with some information you’ll need all throughout Empires.

1. If you want to blog along with me, please check out our ESG Blog here.

I will blog there about women’s hoops from now throughout the Games. I expect to see almost every scholastic game (or parts) and as many of the open games as possible. Between those two teams and the Hudson Valley baseball team those are the only games I’m assigned to see.

2. We have a great new ESG website, which you can see here. It has video, story and blog links, maps, schedules, photos…just about anything you could possibly need.

3. Our preview, which is long and extensive in chronicling the 30-year history of the Games, will debut in tomorrow’s paper. I suggest you make it your manual if you intend on taking in the event.

I’ll be at the opening ceremonies tomorrow, so if you see me please make sure to say hello. Apparently there are still 700 tickets remaining to the OC, and obviously you can still get tixx to events, so here’s information on where you can get them. Also, several of the roads around the Dam will be closed, as you can see here.

If anyone has any questions, please let me know. If not, I’ll see you over at esgames.lohudblogs.com

I just got off the phone with Hudson Valley coach Dan Ricci, who seemed very impressed with the progress made by his squad so far this summer. There’s now less than two weeks left until the ESG’s open, so here’s what you need to know about the scholastic team:

— The lineup remains the same: Alaina Walker at PG, Caitlynn Moran at SG, Porsha Postell at SF, Brittany Shields at PF, and Emily Stallings at C

— HOWEVER, a big push has been made by the 6-foot-3 shot-blocking force Sophia Aleksandravicius to break into the lineup. Ricci said: “If she’s not a starter, then she’s considered like a starter because she’ll play just as much.” I hate to say it but…well…I told you this a long time ago.

— Good news about Shields, whose has recovered from the ankle injury that led to her Kirk Gibson-like moment against Dobbs Ferry in the Class C playoffs. Shields took a couple weeks off early this summer and Ricci said it served her well. She’s back moving around the way she had in the past.

— The team has two practices left (today and the day before the opening ceremonies) and one scrimmage (Monday vs. the Open team); most of the players were at the big AAU tournament at Penn State last week playing for their various AAU teams and they have another tournament coming up next weekend in Maryland

— Hudson Valley’s chief competition will yet again come from Western; the bad news for the HV is that perhaps the state’s best returning player, Rush-Henrietta’s Shenise Johnson, has joined Western this year after not playing last summer…Hudson Valley will have to take her out of her game to beat Western…

— Which leads us to the final point: Ricci said the team will play a run ‘n gun style because it’s strength lies in the backcourt; even Shields, the 4, is a superior ball handler (she played PG on the HV last summer), so basically the whole team can press and run downcourt for easy baskets…this is probably the only shot they have of beating Western, to hope they can wear Johnson down or force her into foul trouble