Troy High fall sports schedule (aside from football) 2020

We previously have posted the football schedule for Troy High for 2020. As of press time, there are no plans for a game or a scrimmage during week 0 (Sept. 4-5). The season will start for volleyball, women's tennis, and golf, though, before Labor Day, and the soccer season  will start Sept. 8.

Again, everything is tenative due to coronavirus.

Soccer:

Like in basketball, the men's & women's games will be at opposite sites.

Sept. 8: Women's home opener vs. Shenendehowa. Men @ Shen.
Sept. 10: Men's home opener vs. Schenectady. Women @ Schenectady.
Sept. 15: Men vs. Colonie. Women @ Colonie.
Sept. 17: Men vs. Guilderland. Women @ Guilderland.
Sept. 22: Women vs. Albany. Men @ Albany.
Sept. 24: Men vs. Ballston Spa. Women @ Ballston Spa.
Sept. 26: Women vs. Shaker. Men @ Shaker.
Sept. 29: Men vs. Niskayuna. Women @ Niskayuna.
October 1: Men vs. Columbia. Women @ Columbia.
October 3: Women vs. Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake. Men @ Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake.
October 6: Women vs. Bethlehem. Men @ Bethlehem.
October 8: Women vs. Averill Park. Men @ Averill Park.
October 13: Men's Senior Night vs. Christian Brothers Academy.
October 15: Women's Senior Night vs. Saratoga. Men @ Saratoga.

The women's swimming & diving team, winless last season, is merging with Averill Park this year, according to Schedule Galaxy. However, the schedule is incomplete as of press time, as are the remaining fall sports (volleyball, golf, women's tennis, & cross country track). We'll be checking back soon for the full schedules, if they're able to compete.

Lansingburgh football 2020 schedule

In the interests of equal time, since we cover LaSalle & Troy High quite a bit, we have Lansingburgh's football schedule for the 2020 season. They have opted to play a game on week 0, rather than a scrimmage---as far as we know.

Information culled from the Colonial Council's Lansingburgh page.

Week 0 (Sept. 4): Home opener vs. Hoosic Valley.
Week 1 (Sept. 11): Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk.
Week 2 (Sept. 18): Schalmont.
Week 3 (Sept. 25): @ Cobleskill-Richmondville.
Week 4 (October 2): Broadalbin-Perth.
Week 5 (Saturday, October 10): vs. Holy Trinity @ Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons.
Week 6 (October 16): @ Hudson.
Week 7 (October 23) Senior Night vs. Niskayuna, as the Silver Warriors complete the Collar City Hat Trick, as they play at Troy & LaSalle in weeks 1-2.

Of course, the schedule is tenative, pending the status of sports in the 518 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

News & notes

Siena College has gotten the green light to prepare for their 2020 fall sports season, per the Albany Times-Union. Now, the question is whether or not the area's other colleges (UAlbany, Union, RPI, etc.) will similarly be ok'd to begin practice for the fall season.
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There may be hope for baseball in the 518 this year after all.

The Saratogian and The Record, in their Sunday editions, reported that Saratoga-Wilton Youth Baseball plans on beginning a short season as soon as they get the go-ahead from the governor's office. Spring Youth Baseball, in Troy, erring on the side of caution, is waiting until September at the earliest to begin their fall schedule.

The downside to Spring's plan, however, is that youth baseball in general doesn't get the same kind of press coverage it used to back in the day, and the local press is more interested in football & soccer during the fall season. Also, some parents might also be parents of Troy High or LaSalle athletes, creating a conflict of interest if high school sports begins as scheduled in September.

Stay tuned.

News & notes

Add the Northeastern Football Alliance to the summer leagues that have cancelled for the 2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Troy Fighting Irish announced on their website that the 2020 regular season has been cancelled, and the Irish would go directly to national tournament play sometime this fall if the situation changes enough to allow it.
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The Independent Collegiate Baseball League hasn't started yet, and Amsterdam manager Keith Griffin may have to sit out the season due to travel restrictions that have been put back in place this week. The league still has no idea when the season will start, though. Stay tuned.
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Local boxer Abraham Nova won his bout on ESPN's Top Rank Boxing Thursday night in Las Vegas. Oh? You didn't know? I guess boxing has fallen off the local radar.
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If and when Albany Academy begins the 2020 NEPSAC (New England Prep School Athletic Conference) football season, they'll do so with a new coach, as Rich Puccio was hired on Thursday. As we stress regularly here, personnel changes at the high school level are kept in house and only made known to the press with press conferences when needed. It ain't like college or pro sports, where everything is under scrutiny.

Now, if only NEPSAC could be bothered to get a regional TV deal made available in the 518......!

Tiz the winner

As expected, Tiz The Law, owned by Sackatoga Stables of Saratoga, won the Belmont Stakes Saturday afternoon, rallying to win by 4 lengths at the wire.

For the owners, it completed a career Triple Crown 17 years in the making, after Funny Cide won the Kentucky Derby & Preakness in 2003.

This year's Derby isn't until September 5, but will Tiz The Law race again before then? Saratoga and the New York Racing Association (NYRA) hope so. The August stakes schedule for Saratoga has been shuffled somewhat with the announcement that the Travers, billed as the Midsummer Derby, will be contested a couple of weeks earlier than usual this year, on August 8. The Jim Dandy, a traditional prep for the Travers, switches spots on the calendar, and will be run the weekend of August 22-23, with the Kentucky Derby to follow two weeks later.

When Saratoga begins its season July 16, there won't be fans in attendance, just like at Belmont, and so it is at this point uncertain whether or not that will change by August 8. For NYRA and their media partners, including NBC, it would be a wish fulfilled if it does.

News & notes

There will be summer baseball. But you have to travel to see it until the Valleycats are ready.

With the Albany Twilight League and the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League shuttered for 2020 due to coronavirus, a four team league is being formed that will play games in Glens Falls & Amsterdam only. Those two cities have teams in the PGCBL, and will play against a pair of Albany based ATL teams. Games will be played at Shuttleworth Park in Amsterdam and at East Field in Glens Falls, which has a rich minor league history.

Now, we'll soon see if the games will be available online. Stay tuned.
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Two sport star Madison Rifenberick was named Validectorian of Troy High's Class of 2020, according to The Record. Rifenberick was a key contributor to the school's softball & women's soccer teams the last four years, although her softball career was cut short with the 2020 season cancelled. Next stop for Rifenberick will be Columbia University. Congratulations.
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Local horseplayers will be keeping a close eye on tomorrow night's Belmont Stakes. Morning line favorite Tiz The Law is owned by Jack Knowlton's Sackatoga Stables, the same folks who nearly scored a Triple Crown several years back with Funny Cide, However, Knowlton and his company won't be at Belmont due to coronavirus, and will watch the race at home.

The Belmont will be broadcast on NBC and, locally, on OTB TV (Spectrum Cable channel 1250).
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Former Queensbury multi-sport star Brett Rodriguez (class of 2016) was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Seattle Mariners, but with so much uncertainty over whether or not there'll be a 2020 season, Rodriguez, like everyone else, is waiting to report to training camp, per the Glens Falls Post-Star. Best of luck to Brett.

News & notes

Saratoga Casino & Raceway will resume live cards next Thursday, June 18, with the plan for racing on Thursday & Sunday afternoons until further notice. Before then, track announcer Mike Sardella is almost certainly going to resume his weekly column for The Saratogian/The Record to help promote the reopening.
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If anyone has cared to notice, OTB TV in the 518 has discontinued the tape delays of daily briefings on COVID-19 by Governor Andrew Cuomo and Albany County Executive Dan McCoy. As the 518 is into phase 2 of reopening, and phase 3 likely to start next week, barring any sudden complications, coupled with likely complaints from bettors watching at home about losing up to two hours of racing coverage per night, you might as well figure this was inevitable.
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And, now, this message from the Tri-City Valleycats:



With Major League Baseball's entry draft having concluded last night, the delay in starting the season will give the Astros and the 'Cats extra time to figure out who's coming to Troy. However, the season is delayed largely because MLB can't figure out how to come to terms with the first shortened season in 25 years (not since the end of the 1994-5 strike). At this rate, NFL training camps could open before the first pitch is thrown. Stay tuned.
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Amsterdam's Justin Foscue was drafted by Texas Wednesday night during the MLB Entry Draft. As of right now, he's the only Section II ballplayer to go in this year's draft. Foscue last played with the Amsterdam Mohawks of the Perfect Game Collegiate League.
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Stock car racing returns to the 518 tonight with live racing at Albany-Saratoga Speedway. Fonda Speedway will open their season Saturday.

Admission at Fonda is as much as $35 for non-members, probably the same or lower at Albany-Saratoga, but you can get around that and watch the races online at www.dirttrackdigest.tv for as little as $10. Too bad they can't get a TV deal.....

News & notes

UAlbany has earned a bid to take part in the James Naismith Hall of Fame Classic, which this year will take place at Mohegan Sun Arena. The Great Danes are part of a field that also includes Long Island University, Quinnipiac, Minnesota, Marquette, and Rhode Island. Pretty heady stuff. More details as we get closer to the event.
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We're still a month away from thoroughbred racing at Saratoga, but tragedy has already struck.

A van carrying 10 horses from Florida to New York hit a concrete median along the New Jersey Turnpike Sunday, and crashed. The subsequent explosion killed all 10 horses, including Hot Mist, who'd just won her first race at Tampa Bay Downs, and Under The Oaks, the daughter of Triple Crown champion American Pharoah. Under The Oaks had been housed at Gulfstream Park.
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Local stock car drivers are making headlines, even though local tracks such as Fonda & Lebanon Valley aren't yet cleared to begin their seasons.

Per the Daily Gazette, the local drivers are winning races out of state, such as in Louisiana, warming up for the inevitable start of the season in the 518. Stay tuned.

For the Valleycats, the waiting game continues......

With Major League Baseball's 1st year entry draft, reduced from 40 rounds to 5 this year, set to start on Wednesday, it's increasingly unlikely that the NY-Penn League will start its season on time.

The league, and, for the benefit of the 518, the Tri-City Valleycats, were supposed to receive some sort of information on Friday, but, with MLB still unsure about their own season, creating fresh tension & friction between owners and the players' union, no announcement is forthcoming any time soon, per Mark Singelais of the Albany Times-Union.

Valleycats GM Matt Callahan, in speaking with reporters, has expressed interest in converting Bruno Stadium for other activities, including movie nights, which have not drawn very well due to lack of promotion, in the even there is no season. Phase 2 of the 518 reopening the economy earlier this week included outdoor dining under social distancing restrictions, while Phase 4 would open the door for the 'Cats to begin play, if at all possible, and that's still a ways away.

All we can say for now is, stay tuned.

News & notes

For the 2nd straight year, Siena will have a graduate transfer on their basketball team, only this time, it's on the women's team.

Isis Young, in her 6th and final year of eligibility, is transferring from Syracuse, and will play for coach Ali Jacques this season. Given the success local product Elijah Burns had last season with the mens' team, can lightning strike twice? We'll find out for sure this winter.
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Former Albany Academy hockey coach Brett Riley has found a new gig.

Riley, as reported last week, will be the first coach for Long Island University's hockey team. Riley left Albany Academy three years ago, when they were only playing in the New England Prep School Athletic Conference (NEPSAC). Since the Cadets returned to Section 2 play, Dave Rider has been the head coach. Best wishes to Riley.

LaSalle hockey 2020-21 schedule (preliminary)

As of right now, the schedule is actually incomplete, and needs verification, which we're hoping to get soon. It's only the first week in June, but LaSalle Institute's hockey schedule, such as it is, is out. Coach Tim Flanigan, of course, is hoping for a better season after winning just four games last season.

As you'll see, the season is set to start on Black Friday, November 27, but this is where the information needs to be verified. LaSalle would have the earliest home opener, in terms of time, in Section II history if the start time for their match vs. Geneva is correct. 7:15 am? On Black Friday? Surely they jest!

The popular Cadets For Vets promotion will return, likely on January 16, against the Capital District Jets. As of right now, there's only one Battle of The Cadets scheduled, pending the date for a game at Academy, as Dave Rider's club rolls into town on January 30.

Here's the lineup, as presently constituted:

November 27: Geneva/WFL (7:15 am?), Mohawks (7:15 pm).

December 5: vs. Beekmantown @ Plattsburgh State.

December 6: @ Plattsburgh.

December 11: @ Bethlehem.

December 19: CBA.

December 22: Bethlehem.

December 28: vs. Tupper Lake @ Union College (Mohawks tournament).

December 29: vs. Brattleboro @ Union College (Mohawks tournament).

January 6: @ Saratoga.

January 13: Shenendehowa.

January 16: Capital District Jets (Cadets For Vets IV).

January 23: Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake/Ballston Spa.

January 29: @Adirondack.

January 30: Albany Academy.

February 3: Queensbury.

February 6: @ CBA.

February 13: Mohawks (Senior night).

The Mohawks will host Geneva in a lunch time special on November 28, but LaSalle has that day off and so far is renting out Conway Arena for that date. The rest of the dates should be filled by the time we get to Thanksgiving. Stay tuned.

News & notes

Add the Albany Twilight League to the summer sports entities that will sit out 2020 due to COVID-19. The league made the announcement Tuesday night, after holding out hope that their 90th anniversary season could be played. The 8 team league, which is a Stan Musial league for 18-up, plays one game a night at ancient Bleecker Stadium, but play now won't resume until 2021.
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Capital OTB should see a spike in online & Phone-a-Bet action today with the return of live racing at Belmont Park. Whether or not the OTB parlors in the 518 will be among businesses reopening under Phase 2 today is another matter altogether. With the Belmont Stakes 2 1/2 weeks away, NYRA has gotten the go-ahead to get the track warmed up for the first major event of the year in the Northeast.
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The Tri-City Valleycats should know by the end of this week if the 2020 NY-Penn League season will be played. The team is supposed to open the season on the road in 2 weeks. They do have the capacity for audio streaming, but I would recommend adding video streaming for home games, and the same applies for the rest of the teams in the league, which extends all the way out to West Virginia and Ohio. If fans cannot be admitted, there's no sense leaving them in the dark. Just sayin'.
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Russell Sage College will be fielding a baseball team in 2021, as baseball is one of a group of new sports added to the school's athletic program. Sage has had baseball before, but it was cut some years back due to budget cuts. College & high school budgets in the 518 are very fluid, so there's no telling if this will stick in the long term.

Having been to Sage's gym for a high school basketball game, I'd say some upgrades are in order......
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Former Columbia High and UAlbany standout Casey Bump was named the new softball coach at Siena College last week, after 7 seasons as an assistant to head coach Bill Lajeunesse, who retired at the end of the 2019 season. Bump's debut season will be in 2021, of course.

Meanwhile, the College of St. Rose hired former New Hampshire star Whitney Edwards as their new women's basketball coach, hoping to turn around a program that has had some rough years recently.
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There must be something about the University of Maryland that has 518 players looking to move elsewhere.

2 years after Kevin Huerter turned pro after his sophomore season, former Niskayuna standout Olivia Owens is transferring from Maryland to Kentucky for next season, swapping the Big 10 for the SouthEastern Conference, and a better chance at television exposure on the ESPN family of networks, especially ESPNU (Spectrum digital channel 370) and the SEC Network (channel 384). Mark it on your calendars when the schedules come out!