News & notes

 More than a year after Dr. Roger Ramsammy was sacked, Hudson Valley Community College finally has a new president.

College of St. Rose grad Michael Brophy comes over from Hillbert College in Buffalo to take the HVCC job, which goes into effect August 1. Brophy spent seven seasons at Hillbert, and helped increase the school's enrollment by 30%, per the Albany Times-Union.

For sports fans, Brophy will need to win them over by doing just one thing. Reopening Robert Conway Arena. Ramsammy took some bad advice, and closed the rink stripping away revenues to the school from public skating and renting the rink to neighboring LaSalle Institute.

Stay tuned.

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Speaking of LaSalle, this might explain why as of now, the skating Cadets only have one home game scheduled for Knickerbacker Arena in Lansingburgh next season, with that game being senior night in February. If coach Tim Flanigan & his staff were aware of Brophy or anyone else coming in, this might've put off a full commitment to the Knick.

We'll have LaSalle's 2025-6 hockey schedule up at a later date.

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The Tri-City Valleycats have won 6 in a row, and took down the Florence Y'alls, 6-2, on Tuesday night. The series continues later today.

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Section II has crowned the last of its baseball champions for 2025, as Ballston Spa defeated top seeded Niskayuna to win the Class AA title, 4-3, Tuesday at Bruno Stadium.

The night wasn't a total loss for Nisky, however, as they claimed the Class A men's lacrosse title with a 14-3 win over Shaker. Also, Schuylerville claimed its 4th straight Class D title, beating Stillwater-Mechanicville, 14-5. The B & C titles will be decided today at Shaker.

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As the Belmont Racing Festival gets underway today at Saratoga, former baseball player-turned-horseman Jayson Werth is back in town.

Werth owns 2024 Belmont winner Dornoch, and is part of a racing syndicate, Icon Racing. His stable, Two Eight Racing, references his uniform number, 28, which he wore with Philadelphia & Washington during his career. Will he have another horse in this year's Belmont? Will Dornoch run at Saratoga this year? Stay tuned.

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State regional pairings up to the moment:

Women's lacrosse:

Class A: 

Niskayuna awaits the winner of today's game between Plattsburgh & Cicero-North Syracuse. Nisky will play at Queensbury on Saturday at 11:30 am.

Class B:

Columbia will play Watertown at Queensbury Saturday night at 7 pm.

Class C:

Queensbury is also idle until Saturday, but their potential opponents have not been revealed yet. The Lady Spartans will play at 4:30 pm.

Class D:

Albany Academy is also awaiting an unnamed opponent for a 9 am game at Queensbury on Saturday.

Softball:

Class AAA:

Shenendehowa vs. White Plains, Saturday at 11 am at North Rockland High.

Class AA:

Burnt Hills vs. Whitesboro, Saturday at 5 pm at Luther Forest.

Class A:

Ichabod Crane vs. Camden, today at 5 at SUNY Onondage Community College.

Class B:

Chatham awaits the winner of today's game between Canton & Saranac. The game will be at either St. Lawrence University or SUNY-Plattsburgh on Saturday, time to be determined.

Class C:

Stillwater vs. Lisbon Central, today at 5 at Luther Forest.

Class D:

Argyle vs. Eldred, Saturday at noon at Monroe-Woodbury High.

Baseball:

Class AAA:

Saratoga vs. Cicero-North Syracuse, Saturday at 6 pm at SUNY-OCC.

Class AA:

Ballston Spa vs. West Genesee, Saturday at 7 pm at Bruno Stadium.

Class A:

LaSalle vs. Jamesville-DeWitt, Thursday at SUNY-OCC at 6 pm. A LaSalle win sends them back to The Joe to play Rye Saturday.

Class B:

Mechanicville vs Saranac, Thursday at 4 at Plattsburgh High.

Class C:

Saratoga Catholic vs. Tupper Lake, Thursday  at 4 at The Joe.

Class D:

North Warren vs. Lake Placid, today at 4 at Plattsburgh High.

Men's lacrosse:

Class A:

Niskayuna awaits the winner of today's game between Plattsburgh and West Genesee. The game will be played Saturday at Lynch Middle School in Amsterdam at 3 pm.

Class D:

Schuylerville will await an opponent to be named.