Sports this 'n' that

We've noted often in this space the last couple of years how some Section 2 schools aren't consistently reporting scores to the local papers and/or television stations. My own belief on this is that it shouldn't be just on the coaching staffs to send the reports in via phone or e-mail, or even a text, but also on parents who are attending the game to root for their teams.

Fortunately for high school soccer fans, Capital Region Soccer has all the updated standings, as they've managed to get the results that don't reach the mainstream press. For example, here's the updated Suburban Council standings:

Suburban Council   Blue	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
Saratoga	11	1	1	42	10	23
Shenendehowa	10	2	1	38	10	21
Shaker	10	2	1	35	6	21
Guilderland	8	3	2	19	8	18
Bethlehem	7	3	3	30	12	17
Niskayuna	5	6	1	21	20	11
Colonie	4	9	0	15	27	8
Columbia	0	12	0	6	65	0

Suburban Council   Gray	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
CBA	9	3	1	37	15	19
Albany	6	6	1	25	21	13
Schenectady	3	4	5	8	24	11
Burnt Hills	5	7	0	16	16	10
Ballston Spa	5	7	0	14	19	10
Troy	4	8	1	19	32	9
Averill Park	2	7	2	10	22	6
Mohonasen	1	10	1	9	37	3

As you can see, non-league results aren't included in the standings, though if you click on the Troy link, you'll see all the results are in. Overall, coach Mike Murnane's Flying Horses are 5-8-1 with 2 games left, having gone winless in their last 4 (0-3-1).

As suspected, Troy lost their home opener to Guilderland on August 29, and according to Capital Region Soccer, it was by a score of 1-0. Sure, it was a week before classes began, but that's no excuse for the coaches to whiff on sending the results to the Record or the Times-Union. Troy's road game at Schenectady was originally set for Sept. 26, but was delayed 4 days to Sept. 30 for unknown reasons, resulting in a 0-0 draw. The above standings are for boys' action only.

As for Troy's girls, they've dropped 3 in a row, scoring just 1 goal in that stretch, after Albany's women won their first game of the season last night, 1-0. It won't get any easier for the Lady Horses, not with Queensbury (Foothills Council) coming to town tomorrow for Senior Night. The girls are then on the road next week, knowing that a 1st round exit in the sectionals for the 2nd straight year is very likely. The upside for the Troy boys is that they can actually improve their standing at home, playing the two teams directly below them, with a chance to finish with a respectable record, though they'll be below .500 for the 3rd straight season.

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Condolences to the family of hockey announcer Dave Strader, who passed away Sunday. Strader started his career nearly 40 years ago in the public relations department of the then-fledgling Adirondack Red Wings of the AHL, starting a journey that led to his going national with the NBC Sports Network, and being the voice of the Dallas Stars the last two seasons. The ECHL's Adirondack Thunder, now associated with New Jersey, will honor Strader this season with memorial decals on their helmets, from what I've read. Strader will be missed.

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Back in the 60's & 70's, the Houston Astros, then a National League team, billed Jimmy Wynn as the "Toy Cannon". I think they've found a new "Toy Cannon" in 3-time batting champ Jose Altuve, who did most of the damage in game 1 of the Astros' ALDS vs. Boston with 3 homers, 2 off Red Sox ace Chris Sale. If this is any indication, the Sawx may be done sooner than expected, unless things change when they get home on Sunday..........!

You have to believe that Valleycats fans here in the home district are rooting for Houston, which has had a phenomenal season, rolling to the AL West title, and watching the maturation of other ex-'Cats, including George Springer. Former Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel starts today for Houston.

Meanwhile, the Yankees, who'd lost 5 of 7 to Cleveland in the regular season, fell last night in game 1. Seems manager Terry Francona knew what he was doing when he opted for Trevor Bauer, he of the injury plagued 2016 postseason, over ace Corey Kluber, who starts later today. Everything changes, I think, when the scene shifts to the Bronx on Sunday.