News & notes

 The Tri-City Valleycats downed the Empire State Greys on Sunday, 7-2, taking two of three games in the series.

Now, we're learning that there were some on-field fireworks as the benches cleared during Saturday's 'Cats win. The Frontier League, like Major League Baseball, is cracking down on any possible cheating, and Greys starter Ryan Sandberg was tossed for having some sort of foreign substance on his hand. In the 7th, Valleycats manager Pete Incaviglia started an incident when he flipped a ball underhanded to the Empire State dugout, and was tossed after a check of a 2nd Greys pitcher came up clean.

Incaviglia was suspended, per league rules, for Sunday's game, so nephew Tom probably filled in. Incaviglia will be back in the dugout when the 'Cats resume play on Tuesday.

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The Edison Country Club in Rexford hosted the state golf championships for women over the weekend. Ursuline, out of Section 1, won the team competition, and Section 1 took home a sectional title.

The individual title, though, stays in Section II with Albany Academy's Kennedy Swedick, who carded a 2 under par 70, and won the title by 3 shots.

The men's tournament in Elmira has not been reported as of press time.

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The soap opera continues for the Albany Empire.

Majority owner Antonio Brown was asked to leave the team's hotel on Friday due to reports of drug use and loud music. However, the matter was little more than a misunderstanding, and the team retains its residency at the hotel, with 2 months left in the season.

However, Terry Foster, who was named as coach the other day, turned it down after all, the 2nd man to publicly do so, and cited the Friday incident as the reason for his change of heart.

Foster, who was the defensive coordinator for the Iowa Barnstormers of the Indoor Football League, opted to remain in Iowa due to the "uncertainty" of the situation in Albany. Can you blame him? Lineman Maurice Leggett retired Friday, and was named interim coach on Sunday.

Meanwhile, there are negotiations with one of Brown's former teammates with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Reports have Maurkice Pouncey, and his twin brother, Mike, who played for Miami, signing with the Empire in time for Friday's game at Orlando, and apparently, their cousin, Justin, could be in the mix as well. On the other hand, one of Brown's associates, Ryan Larkin, who reportedly was at the center of controversy involving a local restaurant earlier this season, was let go at the end of last week. He had no real role with the team, which suggests he was there mostly to be a yes man for Brown.

This soap opera just never ends.