News & notes

The Troy CYO recognized two former Section II high school basketball players among their Persons of the Year on Monday night.

Sabrina Wolfe (Troy High Class of 2017) just finished her sophomore season at NY Tech. Elijah Burns, formerly of LaSalle, will be playing basketball at Siena in the fall after sitting out the 2018-9 season. Congratulations to both for their contributions to the community.
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When the Tri-City Valleycats left for Aberdeen, Maryland following Monday's 10 inning thriller over Staten Island, they left some of the momentum behind.

The 'Cats squandered a 3-1 lead, as Aberdeen scored three runs in the seventh against the Tri-City bullpen to pick up a 4-3 win. Manny Ramirez (no, not the former slugger) started, and pitched 4 2/3 innings of no-hit ball before reaching his pitch count limit.
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Whomever writes the sports copy for WROW morning co-host Ben Patton to read fumbled with Tuesday's Mets-Braves game. The Mets beat Atlanta, 10-2, but Patton, without double-checking, read it the other way. Attempts to contact the station to alert Patton to the error were met with busy signals.

Human error. It happens.
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The Troy Fighting Irish, 2-0 after dispatching Auburn, 13-12, on Saturday, return home to Lansingburgh High this Saturday to face the defending Northeastern Football Alliance champion Syracuse Strong. Attendance will be slim due to the Valleycats being home that same night, hosting Vermont.

Speaking of Lansingburgh, the school board approved a revised 2019-20 budget Tuesday night. Here's to hoping they have come to their senses and added funding for the cheerleaders and school band, in addition to junior varsity football.
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Over in Johnstown, the school board there also approved a new budget, but it also will require residents to do some fund raising in order to keep all of the school's sports programs.

Why should sports be sacrificed in these budgets, anyway? As I have personally witnessed, high school sports does its level best to bring the community together, especially during football season.

Take Lansingburgh, for example. Last year, their varsity football team went without a win, and with the lack of a band, cheerleaders, and a junior varsity squad, it was depressing to be there on a Friday night, in sharp contrast to Troy High across town, where Picken Field is always rocking during football season. Soccer & lacrosse? Not so much, but that's another story or two.
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The Albany Dutchmen finally got a monkey off their collective backs in beating Glens Falls, 6-5, on Tuesday night at Siena. This after blowing out Watertown, 14-4, on Monday. The Dutchmen are off today before playing the second half of a home & home vs. Glens Falls tomorrow.