News & notes

 Proctors' GE Theatre in Schenectady hosted the Capital District Sports Women of The Year awards ceremony Monday night. Alvia Landy (Columbia) collected the final award of her high school career, as she was named Grand Scholastic Sports Woman of The Year. Landy will continue her athletic career at Wagner this winter.

Siena's Grace Dobrzynski was named Grand Collegiate Sports Woman of The Year, the 3rd Siena athlete to earn the award in the event's 5 year history.

Newly retired WRGB anchor Liz Bishop, who started her career as a sports anchor-reporter, was also feted.

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South Glens Falls' Hayden Knapp is in Bandon Dunes, Oregon this week for the US Women's Amateur Golf Championship after playing in the Junior PGA last week in Indiana. Unfortunately, Knapp, who will enter her sophomore season at South High next month, failed to make the cut after she was over par each of the first two rounds. Foothills Council play starts later this month or after Labor Day.

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On Tunnel to Towers night at Bruno Stadium, the Tri-City Valleycats feasted on New Jersey pitching, routing the Jackals, 14-7.

Wes Albert went 6 innings to pick up the win. Oscar Campos, just off the IL, and Chris Burgess hit two homers each, and Jake Reinisch had one as well, to lead the 13 hit attack.

Game 2 is tonight at 6:30 pm.

News & notes

 All that's left is a contract signing.

UAlbany & Siena will continue the annual Albany Cup series in 2025, and, once the contract is finalized later this month, the two schools will continue their spirited rivalry on the court for a few more years.

UAlbany athletic director Mark Benson said there will be a formal announcement within 2 weeks, right before the start of the new school year.

Stay tuned.

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Hoosic Valley grad John Rooney (class of 2015) has made the big leagues, but not with the Miami Marlins.

After the trade deadline came & went on Thursday, Rooney was quietly dealt to Houston over the weekend, and could see his first action as early as tonight, as the Astros are in Miami to play the suddenly surging Marlins. Rooney signed with Miami as a minor league free agent earlier this year after being in the Dodgers' system since being drafted in 2019 out of Hofstra.

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In an unprecedented move, Union College's women's hockey team will play their first 10 games of the season in the new M & T Bank Center. The Garnet Chargers were to play a home & home series vs. Merrimack October 3-4, but now both games will be in Schenectady. For what it's worth, they will have their annual home & home series vs. RPI November 7-8.

News & notes

 You might've noticed how CDTA rerouted some of their buses over the weekend due to the CrossFit Games at MVP Arena. Unfortunately, as for the Games themselves, other than athlete profiles, coverage was scarcer this year. No results are available at press time.

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The Tri-Village 10-&-under baseball team is heading to Hoosier Country.

The unit from Bethlehem will be competing in the Cal Ripken World Series, starting Thursday, and running through Sunday, August 17, after winning a state tournament. Unfortunately, the Ripken tournament doesn't get the same kind of press coverage as the Little League Baseball & Softball World Series, which begin this week.

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Halfway through the Saratoga meet, Irad Ortiz's lead in the jockeys race has shrunken to three. Ortiz had the day off yesterday, while brother Jose had a winner bring his total to 29 for the season

Ricardo Santana, Jr. had two winners on Sunday, as did Flavian Prat. Racing resumes on Wednesday.

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When NFL preseason action kicks in this weekend, we will remind that you'll be able to see Bills & Giants preseason games on local television. WXXA has the rights to the Bills, likely shared with WTEN as scheduling allows, while WNYT/WNYA have the Giants.

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The Tri-City Valleycats return home Tuesday having trimmed Quebec's lead in the Frontier League's North Division to 5 1/2 games after taking 2 of 3 from the slumping Capitals. Tri-City defeated Quebec, 6-3, on Sunday night. Arlo Marynczak (Bethlehem/Siena) was activated from the IL for the start, but went three innings, as he's on a pitch count. Connor Wilford went 4 1/3 innings in relief to pick up the win.

The New Jersey Jackals return for Tunnel to Towers Night Tuesday.

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Troy High basketball coach Jamil Hood is keeping busy in the offseason.

Hood hosted a youth basketball tournament in Albany over the weekend, hoping to curb youth violence in the tri-cities, and was interviewed by WNYT.

News & notes

 The Tri-City Valleycats aren't having it so easy in Quebec this weekend.

The 'Cats & the Capitals have split the first two games of their weekend series, with the North Division leaders winning, 8-3, on Saturday night.

The rubber game of the series is today at 5:05 pm.

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Matt Gage (Broadalbin-Perth/Siena) pitched 2/3 of an inning at Citi Field Saturday against the Mets, but again, San Francisco manager Bob Melvin should've left him in there a bit longer to stem the tide. The Mets blew out the Giants, 12-6, to even the weekend series, and clinch the season series between the two teams.

The series finale is today at 1:40 pm (SNY).

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It was quite the day Saturday at Saratoga.

Mechanicville native Chad Brown moved back atop the trainers standings, saddling 4 winners, including Whitney winner Sierra Leone. Brown now leads mentor Todd Pletcher, 15-14, heading into today's 10 race card.

On the jockeys' side, the Ortiz brothers remain 1-2, but the gap is narrowing, as Jose had a riding triple, while Irad didn't make the winner's circle until the 13th & final race of the day. Flavian Prat had 4 winners on the day, including riding Sierra Leone in the Whitney.

Irad Ortiz, Jr. remains atop the leaderboard with 32 wins, followed by brother Jose with 28. Prat is 4th with 15, and Dylan Davis remains in the middle of the pack with 10.

Post time today is 1:10 pm.

News & notes

 After a profile in Thursday's Albany Times-Union, trainer Amelia Green, a protege of Todd Fletcher, picked up her first win at Saratoga, and didn't waste any time, either.

Green saddled Minorinconvenience, ridden by Ricardo Santana, Jr., in the Thursday opener. Santana finished the day with a riding triple, while Dylan Davis had a riding double. Irad Ortiz, Jr. was shut out, while brother Jose closed to within six of his brother.

Today's 10 race card begins at 1:10 pm.

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In case anyone wondered, former Shenendehowa pitcher Ian Anderson cleared waivers, and was sent back to Triple A Gwinnett by the Atlanta Braves back in May. Meanwhile, twin brother Ben is one step closer to his major league debut.

Ben Anderson was promoted to Triple A Round Rock by the Texas Rangers on Thursday. There's always the possibility both will be in the bigs in September. The Rangers still have an outside shot at the playoffs, while the snake-bitten Braves have been all but written off as a playoff contender, but, if recent history is any barometer, don't be so sure.

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Former major league catcher Paul LoDuca, who played with the Dodgers & Mets, among other teams, is in Saratoga for the meet as a trackside reporter. LoDuca interviewed the Saratoga Catholic baseball team between races on Thursday, as the Saints were honored for their state title run back in June.

News & notes

 The Tri-City Valleycats rode homers from Chris Burgess and Ian Walters to help Duke Brotherton on the mound, as the 'Cats defeated the Boulders, 6-5, on Wednesday night.

Weather permitting, the series wraps tonight at 6:30 pm.

Update, 3:41 pm: Tonight's game has been rained out, and will be made up as part of a single-admission doubleheader on Tuesday, August 19, when the Boulders make their last visit (maybe) to Troy.

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10 races make up today's card at Saratoga, with 1st post at 1:10 pm. On Wednesday, Jose Ortiz had 2 winners to brother Irad's 1, trimming the latter's lead in the jockey race to 7 (29-22). Todd Pletcher has taken sole possession of 1st in the trainer standings, with 12 winners.

In other Saratoga news, the late George Conway, trainer of War Admiral, is being inducted into the National Racing Hall of Fame on Friday. Conway and War Admiral's rivalry with Seabiscuit was central, albeit with some Hollywood creative license in the 2003 bio of the latter horse.

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Training camp opened at UAlbany Wednesday, with 2 more QB's in camp for interim coach Jared Ambrose.

Jack Shields transferred from Buffalo, and Colin Parachek likewise from Marshall. Shields is a graduate transfer who appeared in 3 games with Buffalo last season, but didn't throw a pass. He'd previously spent 3 seasons at Old Dominion. Parachek redshirted last season, and his lone pass in 2023 was an interception. Transferring to Albany reunites him with receiver Caden Burti.

The Great Danes open at Iowa August 30.

News & notes

 Former Northville women's basketball coach Jim Zullo plead guilty to charges of harassment in the 2nd degree Tuesday, and was fined $120 in court costs. The discharge of the case, per the Albany Times-Union, requires that Zullo cannot make contact with his former player, the victim in this case, Hailey Monroe, for one year. That shouldn't be too hard, as Zullo, since being dismissed by Northville, has retired to Florida.

Photo courtesy Daily Gazette.

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As week 4 of the Saratoga summer meet begins today, Irad Ortiz, Jr. is opening up a lead in the jockeys' race on brother Jose. Ortiz has had 28 winners, while Jose has 20. Dylan Davis is well back with just 6.

In the trainers' race, Chad Brown and his mentor, Todd Pletcher, are tied at 11 winners apiece. Linda Rice is in 3rd with 9.

9 races on today's card, leading off with a steeplechase race in the opener. First post is at 1:10 pm. Bring sunscreen.

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Shaker High already has two alumni in the major leagues in Tommy Kahnle (Detroit) & Jeff Hoffman (Toronto). There may be a 3rd in the bigs soon, if the world champion Los Angeles Dodgers have anything to say about it.

The Dodgers signed Tommy Case as an undrafted free agent after Case had taken part in the MLB Draft League with Trenton, a former Class AA affiliate of the Yankees.

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The Tri-City Valleycats saw their six game winning streak end Tuesday afternoon in an 8-6 loss to the equally hot NY Boulders. The 'Cats, with the fewest errors in the Frontier League, were uncharacteristically sloppy with 3 errors in the field.

We should note that with Oscar Campos on the IL, the 'Cats welcomed back catcher Chris Burgess a few days ago in a trade with Three Rivers. Campos is expected back next week.