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.

News & notes

 Less than 24 hours after Siena defeated Merrimack to claim the MAAC championship and an accompanying bid to the NCAA tournament, coach Gerry McNamara's name has come up in relation to the prospect of returning to his alma mater, Syracuse, as their next head coach.

The Orange dumped another former player, Adrian Autry, on Wednesday after Syracuse had been eliminated from the ACC tournament in a loss to SMU in the 1st round. McNamara had been an assistant under Autry before leaving for Siena in 2024, and it wouldn't surprise anyone if he actually took the opportunity to return to Syracuse.

Stay tuned.

Troy High completed a perfect season in unified bowling by winning a regional tournament on Wednesday. 3 matches won added to the team's total, as they finished 11-0 on the season.

Varsity stars Aiden Couture & Jamari Flowers got in on the fun, as Troy ran away from the field. Congratulations to coach Don Poutre and the Flying Horses.

Wednesday's college scores:

Baseball:

Skidmore 8, Rockford 6.

Skidmore 19, Hiram 6 (8 innings).

Women's lacrosse: 

UAlbany 16, Wagner 4.

Rhode Island 7, Siena 6.

Softball:

Skidmore 10, Suffolk 9 (8 innings).

Rhode Island College 12, Skidmore 9.

Siena 5, UAlbany 4.

News & notes

 Siena won the MAAC men's basketball title Tuesday with a 64-54 decision over top ranked Merrimack to punch its ticket to the NCAA tournament in Atlantic City. Gavin Doty led 4 Saints in double figures with 23 points. Riley Mulvey (Albany Academy) added 11, as only 6 players were in the game for 2nd year coach Gerry McNamara. Justice Shoats only had 9 points in playing all but 2 minutes.

On the women's side, Fairfield won the tournament Monday night, taking down Quinnipiac 51-44. Jillian Huerter (Shenendehowa/Rutgers) was named tournament MVP. As a junior, Huerter has a chance to win back-to-back titles next season.

Both the men & women will find out their NCAA opponents on Sunday.

Bill Arsenault is reporting in the Albany Times-Union today on the progress of former Troy High multi-sport athlete Austin Francis. Now a senior at New Jersey Tech, Francis leads the team in batting with a .405 average (17-42). The only question is whether or not Francis will be drafted this summer.

Tuesday's state regional scoreboard:

Women's basketball:

Class C sub-regional:

Greenwich 64, SS Seward 34. The Witches await the winner of today's game between Moriah & Lisbon Central. The game will be played Saturday at either Clinton Community College or SUNY Potsdam.

Class D sub-regional:

Schroon Lake 62, Saratoga Catholic 33.

Men's basketball:

Class C sub-regional:

Berne-Knox-Westerlo 67, Mount Academy 28. BKW awaits either Lisbon Central or Northern Adirondack at either Clinton CC or SUNY Potsdam, likely Saturday.

Class D sub-regional:

Chapel Field Christian 44, North Warren 41.

The rest of Tuesday's college action:

Siena placed 8th at the Sacred Heart Spring Break Invitational golf tournament, won by Manhattan.

Men's lacrosse:

Georgetown 16, UAlbany 8.

Softball:

Washington & Jefferson 4, Russell Sage 3.

Russell Sage 4, Dean 1.

News & notes

 It was just a matter of who was hungrier. Troy High, which hasn't had a sectional title in women's basketball in 13 years, or Bethlehem, which hasn't won a women's title in 11.

The Eagles had something to prove in returning to Hudson Valley Community College Monday night, after upsetting Columbia on Saturday. They also were looking for some payback after Troy came to Delmar on January 21, and defeated Bethlehem. Instead of Troy looking to collect a receipt from Columbia, it was now their turn to hand out a receipt.

When the final buzzer sounded, somewhere between 9 & 9:30 pm, the Eagles were champions for the first time since 2015, taking down the Flying Horses, 58-56.

For Troy and coach Will Harris, they have the nucleus for another run next season, their 15 game winning streak coming to an end in heartbreaking fashion. 20-3 represents the team's best record since 2013, when they went all the way to the state title.

In Monday's opener, Mechanicville (Wasaren League) downed Corinth (Adirondack League), 54-41, to claim the Class B title.

Now, it's on to state regional play.

Women:

Class AAA: Shaker vs. Baldwinsville @ HVCC, Friday at 8 pm.

Class AA: Bethlehem vs. Oswego @ HVCC, Friday at 6:30 pm.

Class A: Albany Academy vs. Peru @ HVCC, Friday at 5 pm.

Class B: Mechanicville vs. Saranac @ HVCC, Saturday at 11 am.

Class C: Greenwich vs. SS Seward @ Averill Park, tonight at 7:30 pm.

Class D: Saratoga Catholic vs. Schroon Lake @ Averill Park, tonight at 6 pm.

Men:

Class AAA: CBA vs. Bishop Ludden @ HVCC, Saturday at 6:30 pm.

Class AA: Amsterdam vs. Nottingham @ HVCC, Saturday at 5 pm.

Class A: Hudson vs. Peru @ HVCC, Saturday at 3:30 pm.

Class B: KIPP Capital vs. Saranac Lake @ HVCC, Saturday at 2 pm.

Class C: Berne-Knox-Westerlo vs. Mount Academy @ Shenendehowa, tonight at 7 pm.

Class D: North Warren vs. Chapel Field Christian Academy @ Shen, tonight at 5:30 pm.

Speaking as we were of Bethlehem, two of their distinguished alumni have been proven winners.

While she didn't score during the tournament, Claire Hutton helped Team USA win the SheBelieves Cup in women's soccer over the weekend. Maren Louridas has helped Navy to the Patriot League semi-finals in basketball. Louridas only played 5 minutes in a 76-66 win over Boston University on Monday, and was held scoreless after a feature article appeared in the Albany Times-Union.