News & notes

 Saturday's Mets-Astros pre-season game aired on WTEN, which was all well & good, but it should've been over on WXXA instead.

Why?

Fox23 had 3 hours of infomercials booked opposite Mets-Astros, which, in turn, bumped an NCAA women's 1st round basketball game to Cozi TV (Spectrum channel 1240). Seems to me they were afraid that if the game spilled past 4 pm, (and it did, just barely), they'd miss part of Fox's hyped Flag Football Classic, marking the return of Tom Brady to the field in a mere flag football game, and they'd rather diss basketball fans than risk missing even a minute of the alleged greatest player in football history.

For what it's worth, Houston won the game.

One title down, two to go.

Two Section 2 teams play today for state basketball titles, and the games, apparently, will be running concurrently in Binghamton & Troy.

Saturday's scores:

Women's Class AA semi-finals:

Bethlehem 50, Nyack 46. The Eagles play North Tonawanda today at 11:45 am at Hudson Valley Community College for the title.

Women's Class A semi-finals:

Tappan Zee 60, Albany Academy 52.

Women's Class C finals:

Frewsburg 59, Greenwich 52. Frewsburg was down 3 at halftime before taking the lead in the 3rd quarter, holding the Witches to 9 points each in the 2nd & 3rd quarters after making defensive adjustments.

Men's Class AAA finals:

CBA 78, Fairport 67. Galal Cancer & the Brothers completed a perfect season, which may be a first in school history. Austin & JJ Osinski had 21 points each to lead CBA, which won its first state crown since Cancer led them to the title as a player in 2010.

Men's Class AA semi-finals:

Penfield 62, Amsterdam 54.

Men's Class C semi-finals:

Berne-Knox-Westerlo 100, North Salem 66. BKW had 5 players in double figures, led by Jayden Buie & Dayne Coates with 22 points each. They'll play Cooperstown this morning at 11:45 at the Visions Center.

Women's lacrosse:

Burnt Hills 16, Valley Central 13.

Colleges:

Baseball:

RPI swept Vassar, 10-6 & 2-0.

NJIT 5, UAlbany 4. Austin Francis (Troy High) went 2-4 with 2 RBI.

Siena split a doubleheader with Niagara, winning the first game, 10-9 (10 innings), then dropping the nightcap, 9-6.

Wisconsin-LaCrosse 15, Union 3 (7 innings-mercy rule).

Softball:

Chicago 6, Union 5 (8 innings).

Union 10, Knox 2 (6 innings-mercy rule).

Siena split a doubleheader with Iona, winning the opener, 1-0, then losing the 2nd game, 5-0.

UAlbany split with Bryant, losing the opener, 6-3, before rebounding in the nightcap, 9-3.

RPI swept Utica, 5-0 & 9-2.

Men's lacrosse:

Skidmore 16, RPI 12.

UAlbany 10, UMBC 6.

Siena 15, Binghamton 9.

St. Lawrence 11, Union 10.

Women's lacrosse:

Union 10, Skidmore 9.

UAlbany 19, UMass-Lowell 10.

Fairfield 11, Siena 7.

Women's basketball:

Notre Dame 79, Fairfield 60. Jillian Huerter (Shenendehowa/Rutgers) played all but 4 minutes and scored 12 points in a losing effort, as the MAAC champs are 1 & done in the NCAA tournament.

News & notes

 Unified Sports has been a thing in Section 2 the last few years, as more & more schools are getting involved, such as Troy & Albany, whose unified bowling teams won divisional titles this season, while Troy captured a tournament a few days ago to complete a perfect season.

But, there's probably a few of you wondering what exactly unified bowling or basketball is. Well, it turns out, that Unified Sports is an organization working with the Special Olympics. The unified bowlers are prospective Special Olympians playing alongside varsity partners in bowling. What exactly entails unified basketball, I don't really know, but what I do know is that Troy is fielding a unified team in basketball, starting either later this month or next month.

Unfortunately, unified sports in Section 2 don't get much love from the media, but they should, given the success of Troy's & Albany's teams in bowling. 

Now, we have to hope Troy posts their unified basketball schedule on the Colonial Council website.......!

Friday's state basketball action:

Women's Class C semi-finals:

Greenwich 56, Tuckahoe 54. The Witches play for the title tonight vs. Frewsburg at 6 pm.

Women's Class B semi-finals:

Yonkers Montessori 67, Mechanicville 38.

Men's Class AAA semi-finals:

CBA 68, Mamaroneck 48. The Brothers will play Fairport for the title tonight at 7:45 pm.

Men's Class A finals:

Westhill 54, Hudson 42.

Men's Class B finals:

Marcellus 62, KIPP Capital 47. Marcellus wins its 2nd straight state title.

Men's Class AA semi-finals:

Amsterdam 63, Rye 54. Amsterdam will play Penfield for the title tonight at 6 pm.

Colleges:

Baseball:

UAlbany 10, NJIT 5. Austin Francis (Troy) had a sacrifice fly in a losing cause, and was otherwise 0-3.

RPI 9, Vassar 5.

Niagara 3, Siena 2. Tyler Sausville (Colonie), transferring from Xavier, got the start for the Saints, went 7 innings, but got a no-decision with 5 strikeouts. The bullpen cost the Saints the game. The series is being played at Central Park in Schenectady due to Siena's field being unplayable.

Softball:

Siena swept a doubleheader from Iona, 3-2 & 1-0. The Lady Saints have won five in a row.

News & notes

 It wasn't the tomato can squash most people assumed it would be. Not even close.

Siena, in fact, led by 11 at halftime, only for top seeded Duke to whittle away the lead in the 2nd half before taking the lead with 6 minutes left in regulation time, and holding on to eliminate the Saints, 71-65.

Duke coach Jon Scheyer, who won a national title as a player 16 years ago, admitted that Siena's Gerry McNamara outcoached him in the first half. Siena placed three players in double figures, led by Gavin Doty with 21 points.

The Duke women's team will face the College of Charleston, with Glens Falls grad Sophia Tougas, today. The Lady Devils are favored by 30, or more than double the spread of the men's game.

Siena finishes 23-12.

In a game for bragging rights in the city, Russell Sage defeated RPI, 10-4, in softball Thursday. The two teams are close in terms of records, even though they play in different leagues.

Playing their 4th game on the same court in the last two weeks, you'd think Shaker would've had more of an advantage on defending state champion Albertus Magnus heading into Thursday's Class AAA semi-final at Hudson Valley Community College.

Nope.

Coach Jaimee Shipley had to get the kleenex out in overtime, as the Lady Bison's season came to an end, 64-60, losing to Albertus Magnus. Shaker finishes 21-3.

In men's state semi-final action, KIPP Capital moved a step closer to history in beating Carle Place, 52-43, on Thursday in Binghamton. Indavier Barnes, who came to KIPP with coach DJ Jones from Green Tech, led the Trailblazers with 25 points. Next up is Marcellus, tonight at 6 pm.

Class A's Hudson moved a step closer to a state crown as well, defeating Tappan Zee, 57-45. They'll play Westhill for the title tonight at 7:45 pm.

News & notes

 We've talked about how the revived United States Basketball League (USBL) has flown under the radar, even while adding the NY Phoenix to the league, with play to start soon. They're not the only league.

The American Basketball Association (ABA) is best known for introducing the red, white, & blue basketballs back in the day, and their most famous players included Rick Barry and Julius Erving, both in the Hall of Fame.

Today's ABA, however, ain't what the original was. Not even close.

We have a team from the 518 in the new ABA, the Saratoga Racers, but you haven't heard about them because the ABA doesn't generate enough media attention. They're winding down their season, but, as Chuck Miller explains, there's something screwy going on, or so it'd seem.

The American Basketball Association screwed over the Saratoga Racers. – Chuck The Writer

As Chuck notes, the Racers have filed a protest. Pray it succeeds, as it'd expose the ABA as not only a shell of its former self, but should be put out of its misery, and if that happens, I'm sure the USBL or The Basketball League, home to the Albany Patroons, would welcome the Racers.

James Allen is reporting today in the Albany Times-Union that Albany High is looking for a new varsity men's basketball coach.

Sean Brown was notified over the weekend that he will not return for the 2026-27 season, ending a 13 year run in Albany. Prior to that, he'd spent 4 years at LaSalle (2004-8), with a stint as an assistant at Russell Sage in between high school jobs.

Speaking of Albany, they're touting the fact that they, too, fielded a championship team in unified bowling, but not in the same division as Troy. Let's get the media involved, guys!!

Curling is a sport most often associated with the Winter Olympics, which took place last month in Italy, or as a national sport in Canada. However, there are club leagues here in the 518.

Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara spends his off time playing in the Schenectady Curling Club, for example. RPI has a club of their own, featured in today's Albany Times-Union. This represents a rare case of the sport getting coverage outside the Olympics. Too bad the media ignores this in season, too.

News & notes

 The prospects are there for an embarrassment of riches for Section II at the state basketball tournaments. 10 teams remain after Saturday's play, and if all 10 win, it will be the largest bounty in Section II history.

The lineup:

Women:

Class AAA: Shaker vs. Albertus Magnus, Thursday at 4:15 pm at HVCC.

Class AA: Bethlehem vs. Nyack, Saturday at 3:15 pm.

Class A: Albany Academy vs. Tappan Zee, Saturday at 11:45 am.

Class B: Mechanicville vs. Yonkers Montessori Academy, Friday at 3:15 pm.

Class C: Greenwich vs. Tuckahoe, Friday at 11:45 am.

Men:

Class AAA: CBA vs. Mamaroneck, Friday at 3:15 pm at Visions Veterans Memorial Arena.

Class AA: Amsterdam vs. Rye, Friday at 11:45 am.

Class A: Hudson vs. Tappan Zee, Thursday at 7:45 pm.

Class B: KIPP Capital vs. Carle Place, Thursday at 4:15 pm.

Class C: Berne-Knox-Westerlo vs. North Salem, Saturday at 3:15 pm.

College hockey season officially ended in the 518 on Saturday when Union was eliminated by Princeton, 5-2. The Garnet Chargers were ranked 20th, according to recent polls.

Siena hosted a watch party for the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday night. They might as well have had smelling salts, Maalox, or Pepto-Bismol on hand, because, as usual, Siena, being a mid-major school, was dealt a bad hand.

That's because Siena is the #16 seed in the East Regional, which begins Thursday afternoon. Their opponent? Overall #1 seed Duke. Now, it's been 37 years since Siena upset a power conference team (Stanford) in the 1st round, but Duke, a perennial contender from the Atlantic Coast Conference, is NCAA royalty in basketball.

The NCAA does this to mid-major colleges every year, and are unwilling to change. They let the Power 4 (ACC, SEC, Big 10, Big 12) fill as many slots as possible, because the bloated field is meant to attract television ratings. Thursday's game can be heard on WJMZ, and seen on WRGB in the 518, at approximately 2:50 pm.

We recommend Siena consider the patron saint of mid-majors everywhere:

The late Rodney Dangerfield's whole schtick was about lacking respect. Siena University can feel his pain.

Shaker grad Jeff Hoffman didn't see the mound last night for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic semi-finals, but there's always a chance he might pitch in the championship game tomorrow vs. the winner of tonight's Italy-Venezuela matchup (FS1, 8 pm). Hoffman was added to the roster Friday to replace Clayton Kershaw, who didn't see action in the previous 5 games for Team USA.

Sunday's college scores:

Baseball:

NY University 16, Russell Sage 2 (7 innings).

Rider 12, Siena 7.

Yale 15, UAlbany 7.

RPI split a doubleheader with Keane State, losing the opener, 11-7, before winning the nightcap, 10-3.

Water polo:

Siena 19, Iona 16.

Softball:

UAlbany swept Mount St. Mary's, 12-8 & 13-1. The 2nd game ended via mercy rule after 5 innings.

News & notes

 Growing up in the 70's, I can remember when WTEN carried Mets games, using the WOR feed from New York. At one point, the station also had the rights to the Yankees.

Fast forward to now. WTEN & WXXA are both owned by Nexstar Media, which has a two year contract with the Mets to have their WPIX games air on Nexstar owned stations. With Fox carrying the USA-Canada game in the World Baseball Classic Friday, WTEN aired the last 90 minutes of Mets-Marlins. Why? 

Because the station was unwilling to break up its news block leading to ABC's World News Tonight, and so the game was picked up in progress at 7 pm. Miami won, 1-0, and the broadcast signed off just after 8:30 pm. A rerun of Judge Judy or its follow-up, Judy Justice, filled the remaining time alotted. Celebrity Jeopardy! was shunted over to Cozi (Spectrum channel 1240) for the evening. Figure Fox23 gets the next game tomorrow.

Friday's state regional basketball results:

Women's Class A:

Albany Academy 60, Peru 32. This was over at halftime.

Women's Class AA:

Bethlehem 64, Oswego 41.

Women's Class AAA:

Shaker 61, Baldwinsville 35.

Thursday at Hudson Valley Community College:

Shaker will play the winner of today's game between Baldwin & Albertus Magnus. Tip time is scheduled for 4:15 pm.

Next Saturday:

Nyack vs. Bethlehem, 3:15 pm.

Albany Academy will meet the winner of tomorrow's game between Tappan Zee & Plainedge. Tip time at HVCC is set for 11:45 am.

Men's action resumes today at HVCC. The schedule:

Class AAA:

Bishop Ludden vs. CBA, 6:30 pm.

Class AA:

Nottingham vs. Amsterdam, 5 pm.

Class A:

Peru vs. Hudson, 3:30 pm.

Class B:

Saranac Lake vs. KIPP Capital, 2 pm.

Class C:

Berne-Knox-Westerlo vs. Northern Adirondack @ Clinton Community College, 4 pm.

Union dropped game one of the ECAC quarterfinals to Princeton, 5-2, on Friday night. The Garnet Chargers need to win tonight & tomorrow to advance to the next round.

More college results:

Union:

Baseball: Swept a doubleheader from Stockton, 14-5 & 7-6. The 2nd game went 10 innings.

Siena:

Baseball: Lost to Rider, 4-3.

UAlbany:

Baseball: Defeated Yale, 2-1.

An era is ending: Catholic Central School makes more changes

 Declining enrollment has been the bane of the Roman Catholic Diocese the last few years. It wasn't so long ago that Bishop Maginn in Albany closed its doors, for example.

Now, Catholic Central is moving their high school program out of the Latham campus they've shared with St. Ambrose since 2021-22.

With just 22 students in grades 8-11, meaning no seniors, and no commencement this season, the diocese is moving Catholic Central's high school program to Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons in Schenectady, starting in September.

In terms of sports, Catholic Central has been diminishing as a brand the last few years. Women's soccer & softball have been functioning under the Holy Trinity banner the last few years, with Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons the other half of Holy Trinity. ND-BG plays most of its sports in the Western Athletic Conference, which is where Bishop Maginn was a member until their closure. Catholic Central had been a member of the Colonial Council since 2015, following the dissolution of the Big 10. A year removed from a sectional title in women's basketball, Catholic Central sank near the bottom of the standings this season, due largely to transfers and graduation the previous summer.

This season, Catholic Central did not field teams in men's basketball or men's bowling due to the lack of available players.

What's likely to happen next? The Crusaders will become part of Holy Trinity, probably in all sports, save for football, which was discontinued a few years back, meaning a shift from the Colonial Council to the WAC. With the shift to Latham (classes started there in 2022), Catholic Central moved their home basketball games to the Riverside Center in Mechanicville prior to the 2024-5 season, likely taking the court floor dedicated to living legend Don Bassett a few years earlier, with them. Now, they'll move home games to Schenectady, starting in the 2026-7 season.

One chapter is ending. The next one will soon begin. Stay tuned.