Monday, November 26, 2018

Sports this 'n' that

Congratulations to the Glens Falls Indians on winning their 2nd Class B state title in 3 years after beating Batavia, 55-32, on Saturday at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse. It was QB Joe Girard III's final football game, as he'll be playing basketball at the same venue beginning next season. In fact, Orange basketball coach Jim Boeheim and assistant Gerry McNamara were in attendance at the game, a perfect transition, if you will for Girard as he finishes his gridiron career.
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In a week of high scoring football games at the college level, an SEC game between LSU & Texas A & M turned into a basketball game if the final score is any indicator. The Aggies beat the Tigers, 74-72, on Saturday night, another case where defense had the night off.

Meanwhile, long time Big 10 rivals Ohio State & Michigan had their annual end-of-season game in Columbus, with the Buckeyes, a home underdog, spoiling Michigan's chances of sneaking into the College Football Playoff with a 62-39 win. Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh might want to talk to his brother, John, coach of the Baltimore Ravens, about figuring a way to beat Ohio State......
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Speaking of Baltimore, the future seems to be now. Rookie Lamar Jackson, out of Louisville, is 2-0 as a starter for the Ravens, who are chasing Pittsburgh for the AFC North title. It appears that Joe Flacco is being phased out in his 11th season out of Delaware.

The front-running Steelers, however, took one on the chin Sunday, dropping a 24-17 decision to Denver, which has been dealing with hard luck this season, chasing Kansas City and the LA Chargers in the AFC West. Five weeks remain, and plenty of time for more maneuvering.....
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Kingston won the Lansingburgh Holiday Basketball tournament on Saturday, beating the hosts, 71-53. The Knights fall to 1-1 as they will begin Colonial Council play this weekend. In the consolation game, Shaker beat Bishop Maginn, 73-46. It wasn't a packed house in North Troy, but that can be blamed on a lack of newspaper coverage.
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Speaking of which, El Cheapo Media has fumbled their high school sports listing for this week. LaSalle's hockey team begins their regular season schedule with the annual trip to Plattsburgh on Friday, but what does El Cheapo do? They have Friday's game backwards, reporting that LaSalle is home. Wrong-o, hedge fund breath! The Cadets play two games in the Plattsburgh area to start the season every year. They have a matinee at Beekmantown on Saturday before returning to the Capital Region. I guess El Cheapo laid off their proofreaders in the sports department.......
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RPI has advanced to the NCAA Division 3 football quarterfinals after upsetting Brockport, 21-13, on Saturday. Next stop is in the Baltimore suburbs against Johns Hopkins, better known as a lacrosse power, on Saturday. The only way anyone will know how the Engineers fare will be by listening to the game on the school's radio station. It would be an achievement if RPI brought home its first national title in any sport since the 1984-5 hockey team, but we'll see........
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Union College, speaking of hockey, won the Friendship Four tournament in Ireland over the weekend. This week, the University at Albany's men's basketball team visits the Emerald Isle for a tournament. Can lightning strike twice?
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Most observers are writing off, or have written off, Green Bay, and that was before they lost to Minnesota on Sunday night. Too many State Farm commercials, getting dumber by the year, have reduced Aaron Rodgers to not-quite-has-been status. They're saying the same thing about Eli Manning with the Giants, and Big Blue is 3-8 after getting swept by Philadelphia on Sunday. The Jests are playing out the string after dropping to 3-8 as well in a loss to New England. Patriots over Jets is met with a yawn at this desk, since the most selfish QB in the league, Tom Brady, doesn't believe in diversifying his offense. I get he's a gamer, but as Kenny Rogers sang 40 years ago, you've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, etc., and pad the stats on something else once in a while.......

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