News & notes

 It should surprise absolutely no one that Virginia bound Kennedy Swedick was named female athlete of the year by the Albany Times-Union in today's edition. Being a 3-time state champ in golf will do that. Let's hope we get to see her on the ACC Network in ACC golf meets with the Cavaliers.

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Abraham Nova lost via unanimous decision on Friday in a bout for the WBO's North American Featherweight title. ESPN's Joe Tessitore (CBA) acted like Nova was ripped off by the judges. I didn't see the fight, but I've a feeling this was more of a case of the judges deciding that Nova didn't do enough damage to Andres Cortes, his opponent, to warrant any positive result. Nova drops to 23-3 overall.

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The Tri-City Valleycats snapped a 6 game losing streak in beating Sussex County, 6-1, Saturday at Bruno Stadium.

Arlo Marynczak (Siena/Bethlehem) closed the game with 2 innings of scoreless relief. The rubber game of the series is this afternoon at 5 pm. Bring your sunscreen.

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The Albany Firebirds had a chance to clinch the Arena Football League regular season title Saturday, but fell short against the Billings Outlaws. Albany drops its 2nd straight, 36-35, and now must travel to Orlando for a rubber match with the Predators next Saturday night.

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518 Alumni Watch:  Courtesy of the Times-Union, here's a quick overview of how some of our local talents are faring in major & minor league baseball:

Luke Gold (Ballston Spa/Boston College): Since we last checked, Luke is hitting .254 for West Michigan in the Detroit Tigers chain. He has 10 HRs and 35 RBI.

Brian O'Keefe (Colonie): Currently at Omaha (Kansas City's top farm team), O'Keefe is hitting .252 with 7 HRs and 27 RBI.

Zach Remillard (LaSalle): The Chicago White Sox sent Zach to their top farm club in Charlotte, where he's currently hitting .135, with 1 homer and 6 RBI in 30 minor league games.

Kevin Smith (Columbia): Batting .230 for Scranton/Wilkes Barre (Yankees), with 2 HRs & 14 RBI in 39 games. We shan't be surprised if Smith is recalled to the Bronx before the season is over.

Adam Zebrowski (CBA): Catching for Rome in the South Atlantic League (Atlanta farm team), Adam is hitting .225 in 55 games with 5 HRs & 30 RBI.

Speaking of the Braves, Ian Anderson (Shen) is nearing a rehab assignment.

Ben Anderson (Shen): Pitching for Frisco in the Texas League (Rangers), Ben is 4-4 with a 4.30 ERA in 12 games, 52 1/3 innings, with 35 strikeouts. Based on that, he might be a year or two away from the bigs.

Matt Gage (Broadalbin-Perth): At Oklahoma City (Dodgers), Matt is 1-2 with a 3.52 ERA in 15 games, 15 1/3 innings, with 20 strikeouts.

Jeff Hoffman (Shaker): Did not appear in Philadelphia's 12-1 pounding of Arizona on Saturday. Hoffman, for the season, is 3-0 in 32 games with a 0.86 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 31 1/3 innings.

Tommy Kahnle (Shaker) has appeared in 12 games for the Yankees since coming off the injured list, with a 3.86 ERA in 9 1/3 innings with 11 strikeouts.

Michael Kennedy (Troy): Pitching for Bradenton, Kennedy is 1-5 with a 4.70 ERA. Despite the inflated ERA, the Pirates prospect has 60 strikeouts in 53 2/3 innings.

John Rooney (Hoosic Valley): Rooney has appeared in 28 games for Oklahoma City, with a 2-2 record, a 4.31 ERA, and 35 strikeouts in 31 1/3 innings. Rooney could, along with Gage, be in LA come September.

Dale Stanavich (Amsterdam): Stanovich has pitched in 7 games for Pensacola (Marlins) to a 4.35 ERA in 10 1/3 innings with 14 strikouts.

Danny Watson (Columbia): Also in the Yankee chain at Somerset, Watson has pitched in 8 games with a 1-2 record, and a 5.87 ERA through 7 2/3 innings and 6 strikouts in 8 games.

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Troy High got the Rodney Dangerfield treatment as the Times-Union announced its softball & baseball all-stars this weekend. Senior Katie Pryor was the lone Troy player named, and made the first team in softball, a clear indicator of how badly and how quickly Troy softball had fallen this season.