News & notes

 Atlanta Hawks star Kevin Huerter is hosting an event at Clifton Commons in Clifton Park on Saturday. The "518 Hoopfest" is free & open to the public. Registration is required for boys & girls ages 6-17 for the on-court activities at the event, which runs from 9 am to 12 noon.

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Some schools are getting started today with tennis for the women, and men's & women's volleyball. Men's & women's soccer will get underway later this week.

Monday's high school golf scoreboard:

Women:

Colonial Council:

Albany Academy def. Ichabod Crane, 153-172.

Foothills Council:

Johnstown def. Broadalbin-Perth, 101-104.

Suburban Council:

Guilderland def. Shaker, 134-166.

Saratoga def. Colonie, 141-149.

No final score was reported for the Troy-Columbia match. Instead, the medalist was Troy's Annalese Short, who carded a 49 for the 9 holes. Columbia's Sarah Powls recorded a 50. We're hoping to get some clarification.

Men:

Colonial Council:

Cobleskill-Richmondville def. Catholic Central, 103-203.

Voorheesville def. Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk, 199-227.

Foothills Council:

Broadalbin-Perth def. Johnstown, 169-186.

Patroon Conference:

Maple Hill def. Catskill via a reported tally of 7-5.

Suburban Council:

Shaker def. Guilderland, 240-263.

Saratoga def. Colonie, 244-284.

Columbia def. Troy, 81-99. Columbia's Travis Taylor was medalist with a 39.

Wasaren League:

Mechanicville def. Cambridge by a reported score of 5-2.

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Mike Morrissey will become the youngest baseball coach in Section II when he takes over the Colonie program in 2022. He succeeds Kevin Halburian, who has retired after 12 seasons with the Garnet Raiders.

News & notes

 The Troy Fighting Irish's playoff game vs. Broome County, which was to have been on Saturday in Watervliet, was postponed. The team only cited a "recent surge" in Albany County as the reason for the postponement, which, of course, means COVID-19.

With the league championship game scheduled for September 11, the playoff vs. Broome County is likely to be reset for September 4. Stay tuned.

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Ian Anderson was back on the mound for Atlanta on Sunday, coming off an extended stint on the injured list (shoulder). Anderson went 5 2/3 innings, giving up 4 hits and walking 2, with no strikeouts, as Atlanta shut out San Francisco, 9-0.

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While we're waiting on the result of today's golf meets between Troy High & Columbia, Troy, per Schedule Galaxy, has one less women's golf meet on this week's calendar.

The meet vs. Bethlehem was supposed to be the last one for the women this week, set for Friday, but it's been cancelled. It's been reported that there was a positive COVID test at Bethlehem last week, but on the cross-country team, not the women's golf team. Hopefully, we'll learn more soon enough.

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The Tri-City Valleycats had a chance to reclaim first place in the Atlantic Division of the Frontier League on Sunday, as they once again had to dig out of a deep hole vs. Sussex County. However, the Miners prevented the sweep, and escaped with a 11-9 win. The 'Cats remain a half game behind first place Equipe Quebec, which lost to Washington, 7-1.

The 'Cats will be without outfielder Chris Kwitzer for the rest of the season, playoffs included, after Kwitzer was involved in a bench-clearing incident in Friday's game vs. the Miners. The Frontier League announced prior to Sunday's game that Kwitzer was suspended, and, unlike the major leagues, there is no appeal. Tri-City has the usual Monday off day today before opening a series vs. New Jersey Tuesday night.

High School Fridays: Friday's scoreboard, 8/27

 Some schools were right back on the links Friday for a 2nd day of golf.

Foothills Council:

Broadalbin-Perth def. Gloversville. Team totals were not reported.

Suburban Council:

Guilderland def. Averill Park, 261-283.

CBA def. Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, 285-306.

Bethlehem def. Colonie, 262-288.

Saratoga def. Shaker, 240-244.

Ballston Spa def. Columbia, 246-285.

Women's golf:

Suburban Council:

Bethlehem def. Colonie, 201-205.

Non-league:

Broadalbin-Perth def. Mohonasen, 147-194.

News & notes

 Have the Tri-City Valleycats peaked too soon?

In losing 2 of 3 to the Washington (PA) Wild Things, Tri-City has fallen out of first place in the Frontier League's Atlantic Division, 1 1/2 games behind the red-hot Equipe Quebec, which beat the NY Boulders on Thursday, while the 'Cats suffered a 12-5 blowout loss to the Wild Things.

Tri-City returns home to play Sussex County tonight. Radio station WROW, which hasn't reported 'Cats results all season, has been giving away tickets to tonight's game, sponsored by Yankee Trails, a station sponsor. The ticket giveaway ends today.

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Siena College is looking for a new play-by-play announcer for men's basketball on the radio. 

A. J. Kanell has left after five seasons to go to work for the Pac-12 Network, where he'll immediately set to work this weekend. Kanell's predecessor at the radio microphone, Robert Lee, now handles TV for Siena, which has their games airing on ESPN3, and locally on WNYA. Valleycats announcer Joe Mixie currently calls the women's games on radio, and could conceivably be a front runner to move over to call the men's games. Lee's current partner on Siena telecasts, former WRGB sports anchor Kelly O'Donnell, might get looked at, too, but we'll see come November or sooner.

Stay tuned.

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Thursday's 518 scoreboard:

Men's college soccer:

UAlbany 1, Fairfield 0.

Siena 2, Sacred Heart 1.

Women's college soccer:

Central Connecticut State 2, UAlbany 1.

High school golf:

Foothills Council:

Queensbury def. Scotia-Glenville, 173-185.

Patroon Conference:

Taconic Hills def. Hudson. They're using a different system in the Patroon, it appears, as Taconic Hills was credited with a 12-0 shutout.

Suburban Council:

Guilderland def. Troy. Score not reported to the press.

Averill Park def. CBA, 261-271.

Shenendehowa def. Columbia 236-289.

Western Athletic Conference:

Duanesburg def. Schoharie, 182-199, or, under the alternate system, 10-5.

Wasaren League:

Hoosick Falls def. Waterford, credited as a 5-0 shutout.

Mechanicville halved Tamarac, credited as a 3.5-3.5 draw.

Women's golf:

Suburban Council:

Guilderland def. Troy. Score not reported to the press.

Shen def. Columbia 158-175.

A quick reminder that today's Shen-Troy meet at Frear Park has been postponed, rescheduled to September 20. The information was not relayed to local press outlets.

Troy High sports update, 8/26

 Golf season began for Troy High today at Frear Park. That's the good news. The bad? It was the same old story.

We don't have the full results as of now, should have them tomorrow, but Troy's men's & women's teams lost their openers to Guilderland.

Friday's home match vs. Shenendehowa has been postponed, and rescheduled for Monday, September 20, with a 4:15 pm start. I'm guessing a scheduling conflict, either with either school or Frear Park, is the cause. The Flying Horses, then, are now idle until Monday, when they open the road portion of their schedule at Columbia.

Troy's volleyball team has added a road match at Lansingburgh (Colonial Council) on Saturday, September 18, with an early bird start at 8 am.

News & notes

 Another Section II alumnus has made it to the big leagues.

Kevin Smith (no relation to the actor-filmmaker) was called up by Toronto earlier this month. Smith was used as a pinch runner in a loss to the Chicago White Sox Tuesday. He's currently batting .100 (1-for-10) in limited use.

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Ye scribe has spent some time playing miniature golf over the years, but you might need a strong constitution to play at Puff Puff Putt in Wilton.

That's because, according to an article in today's Albany Times-Union, the owners are allowing players to use recreational marijuana on the course.

To be perfectly honest, I've never gotten the appeal of marijuana, or, cannabis, or, pot. In high school, there would be the wise guys who'd accuse me of being on the stuff, but those clowns were way off base. I don't like the smell. Gross!

Anyway, as a public service, I'd recommend this nugget from the 70's to play over the loudspeakers at Puff Puff Putt:

Fitting, don't you think?

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High school golf kicks off this week, as fall sports gradually rolls out between now and September 10. We'll be keeping an eye on the teams we cover. Results will start appearing as early as tomorrow.

News & notes

 Capital region wrestling fans starving for live action before WWE hits town on September 12 will get a warmup from New York Championship Wrestling, which will have a live card Friday at the Watervliet Dome. Hometown star Foxx Vinyer, who has appeared with All Elite Wrestling and Ring of Honor, will be one of the featured attractions. Also, for the nostalgia buffs, the Rock & Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) will face the Stepdads.

Tickets are $25 each at the door. Bell time is 7 pm. DVR Smackdown if you have to, and you might make it home in time for AEW Rampage.

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The Tri-City Valleycats are regretting this weekend's trip to Canada.

The Atlantic Division leaders were bushwhacked by Equipe Canada in a 3-game sweep. The cumulative score in the three games was 35-12. Ouch!

Prior to Friday's game, the 'Cats announced that catcher Oscar Campos' 2nd tour of duty with the team has ended with his signing with the Mets, and assigned to their Brooklyn farm team, now in the Atlantic League. In all, 11 players have signed with major league clubs since the season began, so the road from the Joe to the Show is still open.

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Apparently, there were other commitments prohibiting the Troy Fighting Irish from playing their regular season finale at Watervliet High on Saturday, so the Irish returned to their old home, Lansingburgh High, for Saturday's game vs. Auburn. It was all moot, as Auburn forfeited the game due to lack of available players or COVID.

I'm beginning to suspect that it's actually a case of the Irish needing a temporary home, if 'Burgh had to renovate their field for the forthcoming season. Don't ya wish they had a press department?

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Some school districts in Section II, such as Albany, Bethlehem, & Niskayuna, are requiring that student-athletes trying out for, in particular, volleyball & football, be vaccinated, or in the process of same. One report last week said that Nisky was only offering football & volleyball as "high risk" sports, leaving out men's & women's soccer, but that might've been an oversight. We'll have to wait & see when games begin in two weeks.

News & notes

 The Troy Fighting Irish wrapped up the regular season Saturday night with a win over Broome County. The two teams will meet again in a playoff game, right back in Watervliet, as the Irish are looking for a Northeastern Football Alliance title.

They would get more respect if the local press did more than just lip service for them. Just sayin'.

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Word from the Atlanta Braves is that Ian Anderson (Shenendehowa) is at least a couple of weeks away from rejoining the team, in time for a September push. Anderson's been out with shoulder issues the last few weeks.

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Troy High has released its bowling schedule for 2021-2:

November 30: @ Colonie.

December 1: Home opener vs. Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake.

December 7: @ Shaker.

December 9: Averill Park.

December 14: @ Saratoga.

December 16: @ Ballston Spa.

December 23: @ Albany.

January 4: Schenectady.

January 6: Guilderland.

January 11: Shenendehowa.

January 13: @ Columbia.

January 18: Niskayuna.

January 20: Senior Day vs. CBA.

January 27: @ Bethlehem.

Home matches are at Uncle Sam Lanes.

Also, the men's basketball team will play a home & home series vs. Schenectady this season. The schools have added a game at the Pat Riley Center on December 30, in addition to the game at Zotto Memorial Gym already announced for January 18.

Now, you have to hope they'll still have their YouTube channel in place.

LaSalle 2021-2 hockey schedule

 LaSalle's hockey team, for now, will return home to Hudson Valley Community College, barring any changes in health guidances due to COVID-19, for the 2021-2 season. Tim Flanigan's club will open with three scrimmages in four days during Thanksgiving week at HVCC.

After that comes the annual tradition, resuming this year after a year off, of spending the 1st weekend in December at Plattsburgh State to play Plattsburgh and Beekmantown.

The schedule:

December 4: vs. Beekmantown @ Plattsburgh State.

December 5: vs. Plattsburgh @ Plattsburgh State.

December 8: Home opener vs. Bethlehem.

December 11: @ Capital District Jets.

December 18: CBA.

December 22: Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake-Ballston Spa.

December 27: vs. Brattleboro @ Union College (Mohawks tournament).

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

January 7: @ Albany Academy.

January 14: @ Shenendehowa.

January 15: Jets.

January 19: Adirondack.

January 22: Mohawks.

January 28: "Guilderville".

January 29: @ Saratoga.

February 2: @ Queensbury.

February 5 @ CBA.

February 11: Senior Night vs. Albany Academy.

February 12 @ Bethlehem. Face-off at 4 pm.

The playoffs will begin with play-in games on February 19, with the quarterfinals set for February 23-24, sites to be determined. The semi-finals & finals are scheduled for Union College at the end of February. The "Cadets For Vets" event will either be January 15 or 22, as that also returns after a year off.

News & notes

 The Albany Athletics hadn't won a Northeast Stan Musial World Series since 2016. The Braintree White Sox won the last three heading into Sunday's final, and had the support of the partisans in nearby Weymouth in winning their 4th straight title, 9-0. 

Colonie High alum Kyle Lambert started, and took the loss. 

Congratulations to the A's on another outstanding season. Now, if they could figure a way to beat Braintree......!

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Some of the Tri-City Valleycats' between innings entertainment, such as the Mayors' Race before the home 6th inning, or the Hot Dog Race before the home 8th, are worked, kind of like pro wrestling.

In the latter case, "Relish" never won. Until Sunday.

Poking fun at Sussex County pitcher Max Herrmann having been tossed from Saturday's nightcap for using a foreign substance on his cap, the 'Cats' entertainment crew finally let Relish win one, albeit by DQ after either Ketchup or Mustard was penalized for having a foreign substance on the cap.

Well, after 19 years, Relish was waaaaaaaaay overdue.

Speaking of Herrmann, he was suspended by the Frontier League for 6 games. There are no appeals, apparently, and Herrmann won't be eligible to pitch again until next Sunday's game vs. the 'Cats, who beat Sussex County, 8-2, yesterday, opening a 2 1/2 game lead in the Atlantic Division. Sussex County saw their division lead over Washington shrink to 1 1/2 with the loss.

News & notes

 A few weeks back, Seattle Mariners pitcher Domingo Santana was the first major league player to be ejected from a game for using a foreign substance on the mound under MLB's new guidelines.

Those same guidelines are being used in the minors and in independent leagues such as the Frontier League, and, on Saturday night, Sussex County's Max Herrmann became the 2nd pitcher throughout baseball that we know of to be caught.

In the 2nd inning of the 2nd game of a doubleheader at Bruno Stadium, Tri-City Valleycats manager Pete Incaviglia, acting on the advice of his players & coaches, had umpire Dave Simon check Herrmann. Seconds later, Herrmann was sent to the showers, forcing Miners manager Bobby Jones, a former major leaguer with the Rockies & Mets, and having had a history of feuding with Incaviglia, to go to the bullpen sooner than he would've liked.

Employing a little gamesmanship, Jones had Tri-City closer Trey Cochran-Gill checked in the top of the 7th. Cochran-Gill came back clean, and the 'Cats salvaged a split of the doubleheader, 9-6, after losing the opener, 4-1.

The teams close out the series today, but the Miners will be back in town August 27-29 for the Valleycats' final home weekend of the season.

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The Albany Athletics rolled through the Albany Twilight League season undefeated. Now, they're on the cusp of winning the national Stan Musial tournament in Weymouth, Massaschusetts.

The A's have to win a game today to avoid elimination and reach the finals, as their only loss this season came in the tournament.

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Different league, same result.

The Albany Empire, in their first season in the National Arena League, captured the league title in front of the home fans at Times-Union Center, taking down the Columbus Lions for the 3rd time this season, 79-62. Congratulations to coach Tom Menas and his staff on a terrific season.

Check the video:

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The NYS Dept. of Education is recommending, but not mandating, that high risk sports such as football & volleyball be pushed back again this fall due to surges in COVID-19 cases.

According to media sources, Section II plans to forge ahead with the fall season, which will start with golf later this month. Football begins September 10, with soccer starting a week prior.

But, as the Albany Times-Union's Chris Churchill reports today, town officials in Guilderland are dealing with opposition to mask mandates in the city's school system. Unlike in the south, some parents have rational, logical solutions, such as designated play areas for students. Unvaccinated, masked students would need to socially distance, of course, but vaccinated kids would be given room to roam.

Whether or not this affects the athletic schedule in Guilderland remains to be seen.

News & notes

 The Tri-City Valleycats might want to consider petitioning Hudson Valley Community College to add a roof to Joe Bruno Stadium

The 'Cats were rained out yet again Friday, pushing the start of a weekend series vs. Sussex County to today, with a 1st pitch at 4:35 pm.

But, if you were expecting to see former MLB player and manager Lou Piniella, it's not happening. Piniella has scratched for today, and will not be in person for his induction into the NYS Baseball Hall of Fame. Piniella, who won 2 World Series as a player (Yankees, 1977-8) and 1 as a manager (Cincinnati, 1990), will be replaced by another inductee with ties to the Yankees. 

Tino Martinez succeeded current Miami manager Don Mattingly at 1st base with the Yankees from 1996-2001, and appeared in 5 World Series during that stretch, with the Yankees winning 4 of them. Martinez also played for Seattle, St. Louis, & Tampa Bay before retiring with the Yankees after the 2005 season. His last appearance of note in the 518 drew a huge crowd at Colonie Center a few years ago.

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Former Albany Academy star Dion Lewis has announced his retirement after 10 seasons in the NFL.

Lewis, who played last year with the Giants, mostly on special teams, won a Super Bowl with New England, which stupidly let him walk after the 2016 season. He also played for Cleveland, Philadelphia, & Tennessee before signing with the Giants.

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I'm starting to think there's a clause in WCWN/WRGB's contract for Mets games.

For the 2nd time in a month, a Mets game set to air on WPIX didn't air in the 518, as the two network affiliates opted to air first run network programming. Luckily, the game, won by the Dodgers, 6-5, in 10 innings, was available on SNY's website.

Tonight's game will definitely air on WCWN with a 7:10 pm first pitch.

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Former WNYT sports anchor Andrew Catalon, now with CBS, is doing Buffalo Bills pre-season games with ex-Bill Steve Tasker on color commentary.

Due to storms in the 518, the satellite feed from Detroit, where the Bills beat the Lions last night, was messed up, making things uncomfortable for Bills fans here. Hopefully, that won't be the case for their next game, a matinee one week from today.

News & notes

 The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) has made some rules changes for the 2021 season due to COVID-19.

In the event a game is cancelled during football season, for example, the team that cancels would have to forfeit unless the game can be rescheduled within 24 hours of cancellation. If both teams mutually agree to cancel due to both teams having COVID issues, the game would be declared a no-contest, and would not be reflected in either team's record, while if it's just one team, the forfeit would be considered a loss in the league standings, but the NCAA's by-laws would declare it a no-contest just the same.

With the season set to start next month, we'll see how it affects UAlbany, the only CAA team in the 518.

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Speaking of UAlbany, former Troy High star receiver Dev Holmes, cut twice by the Great Danes, has landed as a graduate transfer at Division II New Haven. We'll see if an NFL team takes a flier on him next year.

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The Tri-City Valleycats can't seem to shake the rain in the northeast.

The 'Cats, leaders in the Frontier League's Atlantic Division, were supposed to play a doubleheader vs. New Jersey Tuesday night to make up an earlier rainout. Unfortunately, the same rain that forced a suspension of the Mets-Nationals game at Citi Field in the 2nd inning, forced an early end to game 1, with the Jackals besting Tri-City, 6-4. They'll try again later this afternoon.

News & notes

 Any chance the Troy Fighting Irish had of a perfect season went down the tubes Saturday night in a 32-9 loss to the Brooklyn Seminoles in a non-conference game.

The only way we found out was via the Seminoles' Facebook page, as the Irish have not listed the result on their social media pages.

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The Tri-City Valleycats were without manager Pete Incaviglia Sunday as the completed a sweep of the Sussex County Miners, 4-3, to hold on to first place in the Atlantic Division of the Frontier League.

Incaviglia & his counterpart, the Miners' Bobby Jones, got into a bit of an altercation on Friday in which Incaviglia accused the Miners' skipper of stealing signs, which, in his mind, might explain how Sussex County had gotten the jump on the 'Cats earlier this season.

Both managers will also be absent for Friday's game, also at Bruno Stadium.

News & notes

 It may not be the same league as two years ago, but the Albany Empire are a game away from another championship.

Albany hosted Carolina in a semi-final game at Times-Union Center on Saturday night, and, as the game progressed, they found out that the Columbus Lions, a team Albany's already beaten twice this season, would be the opponent in next week's title game. Columbus eliminated the Orlando Predators earlier to advance.

Enjoy the video. Joey Haas subs for Tom Goslowski working alongside Andrew Santillo on the call.

With the 55-41 win, Albany will host Columbus in the championship game next Saturday.

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A pair of Section II alumni were part of the US Olympic team this year.

Rudy Winkler (Averill Park) placed seventh in track & field, while Emma White (Duanesburg) took home a bronze medal as part of a track cycle pursuit team. Oh, the stories they'll have when they return home from Tokyo, if they haven't already. Closing ceremonies will be shown on tape delay on NBC tonight, but you can watch it online now.

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As reported in The Land of Whatever on Saturday, Saratoga resident Bobby Fish was released from his NXT contract by WWE on Friday, three days after his last match had aired on television. Fish, 44, has been plagued by injuries since signing with WWE in 2017. 

Seems WWE's doing some shuffling with the financials, leading to rumors of a possible sale of the company, a family owned franchise for decades, and there are also rumors of NXT being revamped with a new format. The latter part doesn't make much in the way of business sense, or any kind of sense, since NXT was revamped in 2013 to veer away from the reality competition it was originally created to be in 2010.

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The Tri-City Valleycats have finally figured out a way to beat the Sussex County Miners, which makes a prospective playoff matchup between the two clubs next month even more appealing.

Tri-City blew out the Miners, 12-2, on Saturday night. Juan Silverio gave the hosts all the runs they really needed with a first inning grand slam, and the 'Cats cruised from there. The teams will wrap their current series today at 5:05, and then will reconvene at the Joe on Friday.

News & notes

 The Troy Fighting Irish are now 6-0 after a road win over Broome County, 18-6, on Saturday night. We obtained the information from the Northeastern Football Alliance's website, since the team has not posted the result to their social media pages as of press time.

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The Tri-City Valleycats are still in first place in the Frontier League's Atlantic Division, despite getting swept by the Washington Wild Things over the weekend. The next stop is a three set with Equipe Quebec, their first series in the Great White North, starting Tuesday. Tri-City then comes home, and will play the Sussex County Miners on consecutive weekends, August 6-8 & 13-15.

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The Valleycats have announced a special guest for the August 14 game vs. Sussex County. No less than World Series winning player & manager Lou Piniella, who won two titles with the Yankees as a player (1977-8), and guided the Cincinnati Reds to the 1990 title in an upset over Oakland.

Let's take you back to October 1978, when Piniella, and not the more celebrated Reggie Jackson, was the star for a night:

Unfortunately for card collectors, Finnegan's Sports Cards of Colonie, which has supplied the 'Cats with cards from 2002-19, didn't do it this year, due to the changing marketplace, which has seen retailers like Target & Walmart stop carrying new cards due to new "investors", flippers & box breakers who are re-selling their cards on eBay at the advice of a YouTube influencer, Gary Vee. They only concern themselves with their bottom lines, and have no respect for more experienced collectors, as well as kids, who get shut out at the retail level. Retailers like Walmart and Rite-Aid only carry collectible card games such as Yu-Gi-Oh! or Pokemon these days for this reason.

News & notes

 The Albany Dutchmen's season ended Thursday night, as their finale at Amsterdam was rained out in the 2nd inning with Albany leading, 3-1. Albany finishes in third place in their division, and with a .500 record after their last two games were rained out.

There's always next year.

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On the other hand, the Times-Union Center was rocking Saturday night, as the Empire extracted revenge on the Jacksonville Sharks, collecting a receipt for their only loss of the season. Albany finishes 7-1 for the regular season, and will host Carolina next week at the TUC after a 58-56 win.

Check the video. The sound kicks in after the national anthem. (Don't ask)

Tickets have already gone on sale for next week's playoff game.

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After sweeping the New York Boulders earlier in the week, the Tri-City Valleycats have hit the skids in the Pittsburgh suburbs.

Pete Incaviglia's club has dropped back below .500 after losing, 6-2, to the Washington Wild Things on Saturday night. The two teams will close the series today at 5:35 pm before Tri-City makes its first trip into Canada to play Equipe Quebec on Tuesday.