A case made for Rookie of The Year?

On Saturday night, Atlanta rookie Ian Anderson five days removed from his shortest outing of the season against Miami, turned in another gem, as Atlanta turned back the defending World Series champion Washington Nationals, 2-1. Anderson allowed only an infield hit by Asdrubal Cabrera in the 4th inning, while walking 3 and striking out 7, throwing a season high 99 pitches over seven innings before turning it over to the Braves' bullpen.

The Shenendehowa alumnus' next start figures to be this weekend against the Mets at Citi Field. Atlanta is also expected to get their ace, Max Fried, back as well, and will lean on Fried & Anderson to carry the pitching load in a postseason run. Anderson is 3-0 in 4 starts, and, had he had enough innings by this point, would be chasing the Mets' Jacob deGrom, as well as Fried and some other big names, like the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw, for the Cy Young. However, assuming he gets in 2 more starts in the final two weeks, for a grand total of six for the season, it's too small a sample size to consider, but you can bank on Anderson being a contender next year.

That leaves the Rookie of The Year. Last year's winner, Pete Alonso of the Mets, has been bitten by the sophomore jinx, as he's struggled at the plate, despite 11 homers with 2 weeks to go. Given the unusual circumstances of the season, even though six games still wouldn't be enough for the ROTY, there will be those in Atlanta, as well as here in New York, after Anderson dominated the Yankees in his big league debut, who will campaign for Anderson.

However, if MLB decides that Anderson hasn't logged in enough service time this season, it could allow him an opportunity at the ROTY and the Cy Young in 2021.

And, oh, by the way, Anderson's final start of 2020 would likely be a rematch vs. Miami. Even if the Mets don't make the playoffs, a scenario looming more and more likely with 2 weeks left, the National League tournament will be fun to watch, just because of Ian Anderson.

News & notes

There will be at least one fewer school playing soccer in the Suburban Council this season.

Bethlehem High announced Thursday that the school will not field men's or women's soccer teams or a field hockey team for the women, even though those sports are considered low-risk. Other low risk sports, such as cross country track, golf, tennis, & swimming, are on course for the season as practices begin in 10 days.

=============================

Former Bishop Maginn star Talor Battle is returning to Penn State, where he played his college ball, as an assistant coach, beginning this season. Battle didn't make it into the NBA, and disappeared off the local radar after his college career ended.

==============================

UAlbany has suspended athletic activities indefinitely due to a recent surge in coronavirus cases in the area around the campus. Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy is urging students to come forward with any information about where they might've caught the virus. Just the last thing county & state officials needed, as New York was "flattening the curve" until recent surges in Albany and Oneonta over the last couple of weeks.

News & notes

Former Saratoga High standout Anthony Weaver will be on the sidelines as a defensive coordinator for the Houston Texans as the NFL season begins tonight. Weaver's mission is to try to contain the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and star quarterback Patrick Mahomes. We're all expecting Mahomes and Houston's DeShaun Watson to light up the scoreboard through the air and on the ground, but the game is a litmus test to see how well Weaver's defense can contain Mahomes and the Chiefs' offense.

Kickoff is expected around 8:30 pm.
===============================
While Albany's entry in the National Arena League doesn't have a name yet, their coach is familiar.

Rob Keefe, who directed the Albany Empire to the ArenaBowl title in the Arena Football League last year, signed a few days ago to coach the new squad. Here's an idea. Why not stick with Empire?
================================
As the NFL season begins, and with colleges having started, high school football players will have to wait six months before they can play.

The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) announced late Wednesday that "high risk" sports such as football & volleyball, while they will begin practice as previously announced on September 21, won't be able to start their season until March, after the winter season ends. Spring sports (baseball, softball, lacrosse, outdoor track) will be delayed until April 19 to avoid overlapping.

Spring football is common in colleges, as that is usually to evaluate the next season's roster. It's going to be weird watching high school football on Friday nights in March & April instead of September through November, but these are the strange times we're in.

One Daily Gazette reader wrote in, and threw cold water on the plan, suggesting that all sports be postponed for this season, the better to alleviate the spread of COVID-19, well aware of what has happened on college campuses across the country, including at Oneonta, in recent weeks. I get what he's trying to say, but when you factor in that some, if not all, Section II schools are into merchandising these days as a form of fund raising and/or district revenue, not quite unlike the pros and colleges, there is bound to be some opposition to his idea at the administrative level, at least for now.

Stay tuned.

News & notes

It has been an interesting weekend for Shenendehowa graduates.

On Saturday, Justin Rohrwasser, a 5th round pick of the NFL's New England Patriots, was cut as the Pats worked to get their roster down to 53 players prior to their season opener on September 13. The very next day, Rohrwasser was re-signed, this time added to the Patriots' practice squad, so there's still a chance he could see some action this season.
====================================
Today, Ian Anderson had his shortest start in the major leagues, going just three innings for Atlanta against Miami. Anderson gave up 2 runs (1 earned), on 2 hits, walked four, and struck out four. Miami took the lead against the Braves' bullpen in the 4th, but Adam Duvall hit a pinch hit homer in the bottom of the 9th to send the game into extra innings. However, Miami ended up winning the game on a Miguel Rojas double, his 2nd run scoring hit of the day, giving the Marlins a 5-4 verdict.

Anderson remains undefeated at 2-0, and his next start should be this weekend.
======================================
UAlbany has been given the go-ahead to resume athletic activities, even though no fall sports will be played. The expectation, however, is that winter sports, such as basketball, should still be ready to go. We'll soon see.

They fought the Law and won

There won't be a Triple Crown winner in horse racing in 2020.

Sackatoga Stables' Tiz The Law was upset in the Kentucky Derby tonight by Authentic, who led all the way through the "Run For The Roses", and held off the public choice.

RACE 14

CHURCHILL DOWNS - Saturday, September 05, 2020
Purse: $3,000,000
Distance: One And One Fourth Miles
Track Condition: Fast

Pgm	Horse	Win	Place	Show
18	Authentic	18.80	6.00	5.00
17	Tiz the Law		3.40	3.20
9	Mr. Big News			16.80

Chart courtesy of Equibase.

For trainer Bob Baffert, Authentic gave him his 6th Kentucky Derby victory. In all probability, Tiz The Law will run in next month's Preakness in an effort to gain revenge, having suffered just his 2nd career loss.

News & notes

Sackatoga Stables' Tiz The Law has been installed as a 3-5 favorite for Saturday night's Kentucky Derby in Louisville.

Saturday night? Yep, to accommodate NBC.

However, Tiz The Law has drawn post #17, which may or may not be to his advantage. The race will be on NBC nationally, and OTB TV (Spectrum Cable channel 1250) will also have the live race call. Post time is shortly after 7 pm (ET)
=================================
While Troy High senior Xavier Leigh is waiting to start the 2020 (or 2021) season, he knows where his next destination will be.

According to the Albany Times-Union, Leigh has committed to the University of Massachusetts in Amherst for the 2021 season. Leigh led Troy to the Class A Super Bowl, where they fell to Queensbury last November.

There's talk now that the 2020 football season may be delayed until spring 2021 at the latest if the NYSPHSAA doesn't get a green light from Governor Cuomo soon. Guidelines, though, are set to be announced tomorrow.

News & notes

On Monday, the New York State Public High School Athletic Association announced that the winter sports season would be pushed back 2 weeks, from November 16 to November 30, to avoid any overlapping with the fall season. High risk sports like football & volleyball are still considered fall sports, as there is hope they will be able to play this season. I would guess no later than October, with no playoffs other than the sectional tournaments.

Basketball might also be considered high risk because of the physicality involved, and the season usually starts after Thanksgiving, so that might still start on time, or delayed at least a week. We'll see.

Update, 9/3/2020: Now, the NYSPHSAA is considering postponing volleyball & football until the spring, while waiting for further instruction from Governor Cuomo.
==================================
It's easy to assume that the Boston Red Sox are on the verge of tanking the season.

Two years removed from their last World Series title, Boston has one of the worst records in the American League, and NL East leader Atlanta is in town this week.

Shenendehowa grad Ian Anderson took the hill for his 2nd start of the season tonight, and pitched 6 innings, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits while striking out 8 and walking 1. Marcell Ozuna hit three homers to lead the Braves' offense, and the Sox were blown out of their own ballpark, 10-3.

Anderson, who grew up a Red Sox fan, now goes to 2-0 on the season. If my calculations are correct, his next start would be on Sunday, and if he goes every five days, barring rainouts, he won't pitch against the Mets at Citi Field in the Braves' last visit to New York this season (September 18-20), but he would get another start vs. the Red Sox at Truist Field the following weekend. Again, we'll see.