Courtesy the Albany Times Union

(February 3, 2010) Capital OTB is launching a new sports talk show Thursday morning on its cable TV channel, featuring local high school and college teams, along with coaches and sports writers.

Hosting the show, "Capital OTB Sports," will be Anthony Mormino. The show will air live on channel 12 from the OTB Teletheater in Albany from 9 a.m. to noon on Monday and Tuesday and from 9 to 11 a.m. Wednesday through Friday. The show will be live streamed at www.CAPITALOTB.com.

OTB officials said the plan is to sell advertising for the show.

"Our belief is that now that we are putting on a sports talk show, we will be able to access additional advertising dollars that will help the corporation," Capital OTB President and CEO John Signor said Wednesday.

The show's focus on high school and college teams and their coaches should draw listeners and advertisers who have a connection to the schools, Signor said. On the other hand, he hopes members of the public who watch the show in person at the teletheater will "stick around and watch horse racing and become a horse racing fan," he said.

Last year, sponsorships of shows airing on the OTB station brought in $70,000, which was $50,0000 more than advertising on 2009 shows, Signor said.

Capital District Regional Off-Track Betting Corp. is a public benefit corporation with parlors in 16 counties and the city of Schenectady. It realizes roughly $160 to $170 million a year in wagers and distributes profits to the municipalities within its region.

"We benefit the counties, and we benefit the Capital Region," Signor said. "We try to keep that focus even in our sports talk show."

While national sports will be touched on, the focus will center on local sports, Signor said, including Siena College and the University at Albany basketball, RPI and Union College hockey, and Section 2 boys and girls basketball. Local athletes, such as Jimmer Fredette of Glens Falls, who plays basketball for Brigham Young University and is the nation's leading scorer, and Talor Battle, a former Bishop Maginn standout who plays basketball for Penn State University, will also be subjects.

Horse racing information and news will be included as the final segment of each show.

Appearing on Thursday with Mormino, who hosts a Sunday morning radio show on ESPN's 104.5 FM and has been an OTB handicapper since 1992, will be Siena men's basketball Coach Mitch Buonaguro and Times Union sports columnist Mark McGuire, who will discuss local college sports, including Union and RPI hockey, and give his thoughts on Sunday's Super Bowl between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers.

Also on the program will be James Hart, president, founder and coach of the Albany City Rocks AAU program. Hart will talk about coaching Fredette and Battle, who played for the team. Times Union sports reporter James Allen, who covers high school sports, will be a regular guest.

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