The New York wrestling community has always considered itself strong, with quality athletes and coaches at all levels. I should know; this is where I grew up and competed. With a large population base and a long history of quality wrestling programs, it seems right that the NCAA Div. I Championships should be hosted in Albany, the state's capitol.    However, something feels a bit off about the event. The major local college, which now calls itself the University at Albany, no longer sponsors a wrestling team. In fact, according to the local newspaper, all five area schools that had wrestling in the past no longer sponsor the sport (Fulton-Montgomery, Hudson Valley, RPI and Union also let wrestling go).    In fact, the tournament is co-hosted by the MAAC (a conference without wrestling), Siena (a college without wrestling) and Rider (a very good wrestling school that happens to be in New Jersey).    The athletic director at Rider, Curt Blake, is a key individual in college wrestling who has done a lot for the sport. He used to be a Div. I college wrestling coach at Colgate Univ., a college not too far away in Central New York. I should know; my older brother wrestled for Blake at Colgate and I attended a summer wrestling camp there. As you might guess, Colgate no longer has wrestling, either. (Are you seeing a pattern here?)    It was not long ago that SUNY-Albany, as it was then called, was a leader in amateur wrestling. Then a Div. III school, Albany was a strong competitor on the national level, led by Coach Joe DeMeo. Many of its athletes and alumni were making news of the national level in Greco-Roman. Stars like Shawn Sheldon and Andy Seras were qualifying for Olympic teams. Major international wrestling events, like the Greco-Roman World Cup and the U.S. Greco-Roman Nationals, were held in the city. The local club, the Adirondack Three-Style Wrestling Assocation (ATWA) was developing top talent for colleges and the international scene. The quality of the high school wrestling was top notch. You could truly call this place a wrestling "hotbed."    Then, as in so many other places, it happened. Albany dropped its wrestling team. As with most drops, there are the regular excuses, such as "moving up to Div. I," or "budget" or "commitment to Title IX." Wrestling, the most successful sports program on the entire Albany campus, the team that brought national and international acclaim to the school and the region, was history.    The Albany-Times Union, which published a tremendous 12-page special NCAA Wrestling section this morning, somehow missed this story in the edition (granted, they may have done it earlier…) There are big stories about the NWCA Title IX lawsuit, the dropped wrestling program at Syracuse and the weight-cutting issue. But nothing about SUNY-Albany, and the tragic loss of its program.    The region still has very good wrestling. In fact, the newspaper is following three local stars very closely. They happen to compete for Oklahoma State (Pat Popolizio), Pittsburgh (Carl Fronhofer) and Princeton (Greg Parker). All had to leave the city and the state to chase their wrestling dreams.    No matter how successful this event will be, no matter how tremendous the memories of the completion of Cael Sanderson's brilliant career, there will be something eery to those of us who can remember. The ghost of the SUNY-Albany team and its athletes will be on the mats and in the stands. For me, there will be bad karma, a feeling of sadness and loss. And there is the one nagging question: "Why?"    FROM THE NOTEPAD: Downtown Albany is a mix of the old and new, with some impressive architecture from the past mixed in with some big and modern buildings. This is the state capitol, and the center of New York politics… It was fun flying out here, as I shared my flight from Chicago with wrestling people including teams from Illinois, Northern Illinois, Boise State, Northwestern as well as tournament officials. Even more interesting was the fact that the on-flight television show featured a television ad for the 2002 World Cup in Spokane, complete with action shots of our top freestyle stars… The announcing team for this year's event will include Sandy Stevens and Don Blasingame, the pair that have done a superb job announcing the Junior Nationals and other key events… They will be holding a Fanfest in the streets of the city during the championships, which should be fun. That is, if the weather cooperates and we don't have a snowstorm or super-cold weather, which is still possible here in upstate New York…