Sports this 'n' that

 It used to be that it was the Yankees that would scoop up as many free agents as possible in an effort "buy" themselves another World Series under the late George Steinbrenner.

Now, however, it is the Los Angeles Dodgers and their current ownership group, which includes NBA legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson, who are trying to corner the free agent market.

Earlier this week, there'd been reports that outfielder Kyle Tucker would return to the American League, this time with Toronto, or stay in the National League, albeit with the Mets. Nope. On both counts.

Instead, it was the Dodgers who gave Tucker a deal, with opt outs after years 2 and 3. Yeah, that smells like Scott Boras Badenov, the king of the opt-outs, did it again. 

As a consolation prize, the Mets signed 2nd generation player Bo Bichette (Toronto) to a 3 year deal on Friday. A shortstop by trade, Bichette will instead play 3rd base, which would signal that Mark Vientos is the likely heir to Pete Alonso at 1st, with Alonso now in Baltimore, thanks for Boras. The deal also leaves Ronny Mauricio & Brett Baty without positions, other than DH, and likely, trade bait. Remember, the Mets' signing of Marcus Semien (Texas) made Jeff McNeil expendable, and while Baty has played some second base, he's still not polished enough to warrant a starting spot.

With the exception of Vientos, at least the Mets can boast an all-star infield (Bichette, Semien, Francisco Lindor) this season.

While it's winter here in the US, it's summer in Australia. As the Australian Open begins play this week, an unexpected hero emerged, but not for her play on the court.

Qualifier Zeynep Sonmoz of Turkey was in her first round match vs. 11th seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova, with the latter about to serve, when Sonmoz noticed on of the ball kids had collapsed. She called time, and, aided by the ball judge and other officials, helped the lad to the side of the court, where they collapsed again, due likely to the heat.

If tennis doesn't pan out, she could be a nurse.

Sonmoz ended up winning the match, upsetting Alexandrova.

Saturday's AFC divisonal playoff between Buffalo & Denver went to overtime before the Broncos, the top seed, defeated the Bills, 33-30.

However, that wasn't the headline this morning.

On one side, the Broncos lost starting QB Bo Nix for the season due to a broken ankle. On the other, Bills fans were complaining about their team getting screwed late when Denver's Ja'Quan McMillian intercepted Josh Allen. Or did he?

At the very least, it could've been ruled a contested catch, which, by rule, would favor the offense. Not so in this case, as McMillian literally picked the receiver's pocket after a tackle. Yes, you can say the refs botched it, which is nothing unusual, but to read of CBS' Gene Steratore declaring that, yes, it was a pick, will have conspiracy theorists crying foul.

The winner of today's game between New England and Houston almost certainly will advance to the Big Game in three weeks, with ex-Patriot Jarret Stidham at QB for Denver.

Around here, the Tri-City Valleycats will employ a junior PA announcer for an inning during each game.

The NHL's Buffalo Sabres took it a step further on Saturday during a matinee vs. Minnesota.

A Kids' Day promotion enabled pre-teens to handle PA announcements, including goals & penalties, during the 2nd period of a game that the Wild ultimately won, 5-4, in overtime.

Would that other teams would follow the example, and, well, maybe they will.......

Notes from around town

 Troy Mayor Carmella Mantello confirmed today that HBO's The Gilded Age will return to Troy to film season 4 in the coming weeks. The filming of the first three seasons has brought some revenue into the city's businesses, so it makes sense to do it for one more season.

A popular downtown business has reopened in a new location.

Slidin' Dirty, which closed their 1st Street location a ways back, has moved into the former food court at the Hedley Building on River Street. Something tells me a promotion involving the Tri-City Valleycats might return in 2026. We're digging.

With a week to go before Christmas, one of the elementary schools in town is having a little bit of fun on the school district's YouTube channel.

Seems Jack Frost paid a visit.......

Methinks the theatre arts department at Troy High had something to do with this. Pretty heady, funny stuff.

Sports this 'n' that

 Last year, it was domestic abuse. This year, busted for DUI.

It's clear Atlanta OF/DH Marcell Ozuna, once a promising superstar in Miami and St. Louis, has some issues that require top priority attention.

File photo courtesy Yahoo!.

Ozuna was arrested in the early hours of Friday morning, after Atlanta had beaten the Mets. He didn't play in the series vs. the NL East leaders, nor was he in the lineup vs. Houston last night, another win for the defending World champs. His defensive play, or lack of it, landed him on the bench, and manager Brian Snitker didn't even bother using him as a DH or a late inning pinch hitter in the Mets series.

Roughly translated, the DUI could be Ozuna's ticket outta town. Stay tuned.

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We've seen it happen all season in the major leagues. If you're not vaccinated, you can't get into Canada to play.

For the 2nd time in less than a month, that reality has hit the Tri-City Valleycats, as they are playing the first 7 games of a 10 game road trip in the Great White North, opening with a blowout win last night over Trois-Rivieres. Catcher Austin Elder and pitcher Ryan Hartman, the latter signed earlier this week, and beginning his 2nd tour of duty with Tri-City, are not vaccinated, which could hurt the 'Cats if they make the playoffs next month.

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Meanwhile, the WWE also had to make some adjustments to last night's Smackdown card, calling up Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne, 2-time NXT women's tag champs as part of Toxic Attraction, to replace Zoey Stark & Nikkita Lyons in the WWE women's tag tournament. Stark is in the concussion protocol after getting screwed by Jayne & Dolin's partner in crime, Mandy Rose, on Tuesday, and Lyons----wait for it----is not vaccinated.

While the husband & wife team of Karrion Kross & Scarlett appeared via videotape, this was because they, too, are not vaxxed (by choice). Tag team champions Jey & Jimmy Uso were scratched due to their legal issues preventing them from getting into Canada.

With Clash at The Castle coming up in 2 weeks in Cardiff, Wales, one wonders if Kross will even be on the card. Lyons will return to NXT on Tuesday.

If you've been vaccinated, your card is your ticket to summer pleasures

It's been almost two months since I received my 2nd dose of the Pfizer vaccine, with no side effects. In light of the Center for Disease Control's amended guidelines, I still carry a mask when I travel, just to be safe. Have to have it when you're riding on a bus, for example. It's called erring on the side of caution. The vaccination card that was issued after the first shot now serves as a golden ticket, if you will, for dining at certain restaurants and attending sporting events or other activities this summer and forward.

All I need, really, is to get a plastic case big enough to hold the card so I can carry it.

Personal feelings aside, there are still some unfortunate pockets of resistance to the vaccine that actually will slow the healing process.

The biggest line of resistance consists of anti-vaxxers, people who have a problem with vaccines in general because of some misinformation that spread online a ways back. I'd not be surprised if some of these people are also members of Donald Trump's Legion of The Brainwashed, because they're gullible enough to believe any lie that comes along. In my mind, I think some of these folks have never gotten past the stage when they were children of fearing the needles that the vaccines are carried in.

Unfortunately, some of these anti-vax knuckleheads have a problem with businesses that are requiring proof of vaccination, including one in the home district.

Matt Baumgartner owns the Troy Beer Garden, formerly Wolfe's Biergarten, on the corner of King & 4th streets. He has a cocktail lounge, the Berlin, on the 2nd floor, set to open later this month, where he's politely asking for people to show proof of vaccination.

Photo courtesy of Bill Dowd, via the Albany Times-Union.

After Baumgartner made his announcement on Thursday, he's been flooded with threats from anti-vax clowns, most of them from out of state, and Troy police are looking into these threats. Baumgartner is doing the right thing, looking out for the safety of his clientele and employees, but the anti-vax tin-heads don't see it. According to the Albany Times-Union, Baumgartner has said that some of the threats come from Florida, which is run by a deranged governor in Ron DeSantis, one of the biggest Trump apologists and sycophants there is, putting politics and state revenue ahead of public safety while bowing at the altar of Citizen Pampers.

And if these anti-vax morons have a problem with just dining out in our fair city, they most likely will have a collective cow over the return of live sports and theatre productions. The Tri-City Valleycats are setting aside certain sections at Bruno Stadium for vaccinated fans, starting with the home opener on June 4. Again, it would be a good idea to bring your vaccination card with you when you're buying advance tickets. The Bruno Stadium box office is open Monday-Friday from 9 am-5 pm. I would imagine the Troy Fighting Irish semi-pro football team will follow suit. Troy Foundry Theatre has a production debuting outdoors (weather permitting, of course) on Wednesday, running through May 30, and vax cards are likely to be required.

To the anti-vaxxers, I have to ask. Why would you risk your health believing a lie?

Sports this 'n' that

 After today's game, the Boston Red Sox will supposedly begin a search for a new manager. Again.

Ron Roenicke, hired to replace the suspended Alex Cora, will not return next year, not after the under-manned Sawx, who lost ace Chris Sale to Tommy John surgery, and dealt David Price & Mookie Betts to the Dodgers in the off-season, finished, as most expected, in last place in the AL East.

But are the Red Sox playing with fire by even considering bringing Cora back? He's already at the top of a list, assuming there really is one, to replace Roenicke next season. Mind you, no one's considering Carlos Beltran for a job after the Mets were forced to divest themselves of their former star for his part in Houston's sign stealing scandal three years ago. Cora apparently didn't play as much of a role, even after leaving for Boston in 2018, but took responsibility for not cutting things off when he should have. And maybe that plays a part in his return.

Penance is a good thing, after all.

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

Speaking of the Mets, fans are split regarding whether or not rookie skipper Luis Rojas will return next year. One would have to believe that incoming majority owner Steve Cohen, bringing back former GM Sandy Alderson as team president, might want his own guy in the dugout to erase the stench of three underachieving seasons under Rojas, and, before him, Mickey Callaway, who's now in Anaheim as Joe Maddon's pitching coach, and missing the playoffs again.

The Mets were eliminated Saturday in a doubleheader sweep at the hands of last year's champions, the Washington Nationals, who have gone from first to worst, as the most the Nats can do now is a 4th place tie with New York, should they win on getaway day today.

If there is a positive to this underachievement, it's the fact that the Mets found themselves another front line starter in rookie David Peterson, who outdueled fellow rookie Ian Anderson and veteran Patrick Corbin in his final two starts of the season, to complement ace Jacob deGrom, who will not win his 3rd straight Cy Young after misfortune bit him over and over again in his final three starts, including yesterday.

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

The Las Vegas Raiders have barely settled into their new home, and already they're dealing with scandal.

It's not the fact that coach Jon Gruden was fined for not wearing a mask on the sidelines, but there are other COVID-19 protocol violations that the NFL is investigating.

You know what they say. If you're not looking for trouble, trouble finds you anyway.

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

As reported over at Tri-City SportsBeat yesterday, former Tri-City Valleycat Hunter Pence, after a 14 year major league career that saw him go from Houston to Philadelphia to San Francisco to Texas, and back to San Francisco, officially retired, days after the Giants had cut him, ending his 2nd tour of duty with the team.

Hunter's 1st taste of pro post-season came with the Valleycats in 2004, his rookie year. He won two World Series with the Giants in 2012 & 2014, and was a multi-time all-star. His future likely includes a coaching job with, if not the Giants, but maybe with Houston.

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

The final dominoes fell in college football, as the Pac-12 & Mid-Atlantic Conference (MAC) both reversed field, and will play shortened seasons this year. It's all about revenues for the member schools, more so than, say, political pressure, even as each league has schools in swing states in the coming election. The MAC, for example, has teams in Ohio & Michigan, same as the Big 10. The only politics these leagues would rather be concerned with, you see, are the politics that keeps their teams out of the College Football Playoff, which has been dominated by the SEC & ACC. 

A little of this and a little of that

We talked about this over at Tri-City SportsBeat the other day.

Under a proposal put together by executives from the Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, & Baltimore Orioles, 42 minor league teams would be contracted or eliminated in a cost-saving measure under the cover of some of these clubs not having "adequate facilities" that don't measure up to major league standards.

Understandably, New York lawmakers, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, are raising cain, and so are their counterparts in other states. The New York-Penn League, home to the Tri-City Valleycats, has been spared, one of five teams in the NY-P League to avoid the cut list. Speaking of which.....

• Appalachian League (advanced Rookie): Bluefield Blue Jays, Bristol Pirates, Burlington Royals, Danville Braves, Elizabethton Twins, Greeneville Reds, Johnson City Cardinals, Kingsport Mets, Princeton Rays
• California League (advanced A): Lancaster Jethawks
• Carolina League (advanced A): Frederick Keys
• Eastern League (Double-A): Binghamton Rumble Ponies, Erie SeaWolves
• Florida State League (advanced A): Daytona Tortugas, Florida Fire Frogs
• Midwest League (full-season A): Burlington Bees, Clinton LumberKings, Quad Cities River Bandits
• New York-Penn League (short-season A): Auburn Doubledays, Batavia Muckdogs, Connecticut Tigers, Lowell Spinners, Mahoning Valley Scrappers, State College Spikes, Staten Island Yankees, Vermont Lake Monsters, Williamsport Crosscutters
• Northwest League (short-season A): Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, Tri-City Dust Devils 
• Pioneer League (advanced Rookie): Billings Mustangs, Grand Junction Rockies, Great Falls Voyagers, Idaho Falls Chukars, Missoula PaddleHeads, Ogden Raptors, Orem Owlz, Rocky Mountain Vibes
• Southern League (Double-A): Chattanooga Lookouts, Jackson Generals
• South Atlantic League (full-season A): Hagerstown Suns, Lexington Legends, West Virginia Power 

Yes, each of the teams that are at the forefront of this proposal would lose some of their minor league teams, and, of course, it's all about the dolla-dolla bill.

There are some people that don't see this happening, and baseball as a whole would be better if it didn't.

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

It's not as if producer Greg Berlanti has enough content on the CW already, but WarnerMedia, which co-owns the network, might as well offer him some stock shares, because they're adding another of his shows to the roster next year.

Stargirl, set to debut in the spring, will be repurposed on CW, airing the day after each episode drops on DC Universe, according to published reports, meaning that it will also stream on the CW website, and air On Demand on your cable system.

Based on a character created by co-executive producer Geoff Johns 20 years ago at DC, the story revolves around Courtney Whitmore (Brec Bessinger, ex-Bella & The Bulldogs), who discovers that her stepfather, Pat Dugan (Colgate pitchman Luke Wilson), is the former Stripesy, partner to the Star Spangled Kid. Originally, Whitmore adopted the SSK monicker before shortening it to Stargirl in the books.

Series also co-stars Joel McHale (Card Sharks, ex-Community, The Soup) as Starman, the grown up SSK, Lou Ferrigno, Jr. (S.W.A.T.), and Henry Thomas ("E.T.", The Haunting of Hill House).

Expect a new Stargirl comic book from DC to go along with the show when it debuts, probably in April or May.

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

Everyone agrees that 2003's Birds of Prey, from the producers of Smallville, was a bust. DC still believes in the franchise, which is why it's being relaunched again in 2020, but not in the way anyone thought. 

What was planned as an ongoing series for DC's new Black Label imprint was sliced down to a 1-off, out in January, followed by a Harley Quinn-centric miniseries, five issues in length, out in February, timed to coincide with the movie, "Birds of Prey (and The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)" (whew). Yes, it's pricey, but DC's not taking too many chances, even though Harley's become rather overexposed of late, as DC is making the same marketing mistake with her as Marvel and DC have with other "hot" characters over the years.

By the way, Rachel Skarsten, one of the stars of the 2003 Birds, has resurfaced on CW's Batwoman.

Community Movie Night: Rookie of The Year (1993)

The Tri-City Valleycats and Hudson Valley Community College hosted Community Movie Night, sponsored by Rensselaer County, tonight, the second consecutive year this event has taken place.

Tonight's feature was "Rookie of The Year", a 1993 baseball comedy about a Little Leaguer who, after a freak accident, gets a whirlwind tour of the big leagues.

Every kid dreams of playing for his favorite sports team. For 12 year old Henry (Thomas Ian Nicholas), that dream would be to play for his hometown Chicago Cubs. A freak accident in a pickup game leaves him with a broken arm, which, when it heals, turns him into a fireballing pitcher who breaks 100 mph on the radar gun.

For the Cubs owner (Eddie Bracken), it's a one in a million miracle. The general manager (Dan Hedaya, ex-The Tortellis), after seeing Henry's early success, decides to exploit the boy. So does Henry's prospective stepfather, who now doubles as Henry's manager-agent. But, Henry's success is initially at the expense of a veteran pitcher he idolized (Gary Busey), who eventually wins the heart of Henry's mother.

Here's the trailer:



Yes, that's John Candy, uncredited, doing the play-by-play. Daniel Stern (The Wonder Years, "Home Alone") directed, and also has a comedy relief supporting role.

While the Valleycats have promoted the event on their website, there hasn't been much press support, and it's been nearly 2 weeks since the season ended. Most of the families camped out in left field to watch the movie, some bringing blankets or lawn chairs. Same thing happened 14 months ago when they screened "The Sandlot", another 20th Century Fox movie from the same period.

"Rookie of The Year" gets a B.

On DVD: The Sandlot (1993)

The Tri-City Valleycats & Rensselaer County hosted a community movie night tonight at Bruno Stadium, the next-to-last event at the venue this year. There'll be a dog walk coming up soon to end the season.

Anyway, the feature attraction was 1993's "The Sandlot", a coming-of-age comedy-drama populated mostly with a group of unknown young actors. Writer-director David Mickey Evans also serves as narrator as the adult version of Scott Smalls, the newcomer to a neighborhood whose youth play an ongoing game of baseball during the summer.

The gang's somewhere between Our Gang and The Bad News Bears (the 70's version), but without female members. Scott has arrived in town with his mother (Karen Allen, "Raiders of The Lost Ark") & stepfather (Denis Leary, in one of his first movie roles). The core of the story centers on "The Beast", a ginormous English mastiff which captures baseballs, among other things, and when Scott makes a mistake involving his stepfather's prized autographed baseball, one signed by a certain Yankee legend.....!

Here's the trailer:



I could honestly do without the gross-out humor in the middle of the film, but it was a popular trope by the 90's. There were two DTV sequels, in 2005 & 2007, respectively, and Evans returned only for the first of those sequels. The Valleycats devoted a night earlier this summer to the film as it marked its 25th anniversary, and used clips for the rest of the season.

Rating: B+.

Sports this 'n' that

The Tri-City Valleycats won their 3rd NY-Penn League title Sunday night, completing a two game sweep of the Hudson Valley Renegades with a 4-2 victory in 12 innings. In contrast to the slogs we often see in the majors, the 'Cats & Renegades played those twelve innings in a little more than 3 1/2 hours. It took about that long at Bruno Stadium on Saturday for a nine inning game. Go figure.

Tri-City manager Jason Bell, thus, duplicated the feat of Ed Romero, who, like Bell, took the 'Cats to the promised land in just his first season. Romero stuck around for two more division titles after that before leaving the Astros organization. Will Bell return next year? Or will Houston move him up the ladder? We'll find out soon enough. Congratulations to the 'Cats.
==============================
The Mets erred on the side of caution Sunday by holding back ace pitcher Jacob deGrom from pitching in the rain against Philadelphia. The Mets won the game with what amounted to "bullpen day", a pitching trend that started earlier this year in Tampa Bay. Ex-Valleycat Vince Velasquez couldn't hold the lead his offense gave him, and was tagged with the loss in a 6-4 Mets win. DeGrom, considered by many a candidate for the Cy Young Award despite an 8-8 record, goes tonight--weather permitting--vs. Miami.
===============================
Troy's other summer sports team, the Fighting Irish, advanced in the Northeastern Football Alliance playoffs, beating Auburn for the 3rd time on Saturday night at Lansingburgh High. That's the good news. The bad? The Irish have to return to Syracuse to play the top seeded Strong, who've inflicted the only losses on Troy this season, this weekend. Bad enough that they have a small, devoted following, and that the local press ignores semi-pro football these days, but if they had any hope of increasing attendance, it evaporated thanks to the Valleycats.
================================
The NY Giants welcomed back former head coach Tom Coughlin on Sunday. Coughlin is now in the front office of the Jacksonville Jaguars, who beat Big Blue, 20-15. Meanwhile, the Evil Empire (New England, of course) opened their season by beating Houston. Buffalo opted to start inconsistent second year quarterback Nathan Peterman vs. Baltimore, and got blown out of the yard. On the night his latest State Farm ad premiered, Aaron Rodgers drew comparisons to basketball legend Willis Reed by returning from a leg injury in the second half to lead Green Bay past Chicago, 24-23. While everyone assumes New Orleans would win the NFC South, Tampa Bay made a statement of their own in upsetting the Saints. As my brother opined in reading the score, defense took a day off in that game.
================================
Two weeks into the high school football season, and we can already see how some teams are treating opponents like Little Sisters of The Poor. Shaker, for example, eager to be top dogs in Class AA again now that Troy is in Class A, has rung up 131 points (average: 65.5 per game) while allowing just 14. Schalmont, after blowing away Lansingburgh on Friday, have averaged 37 points a game in their two wins.

Meanwhile, over in Class A, parity seems to be the order of the day, as Troy, LaSalle, Amsterdam, & Columbia, among others, are all 1-1 after 2 weeks. Troy plays LaSalle on Friday, and will get Columbia three weeks later.

Sadly, it seems El Cheapo Media is not taking any chances, and didn't send anyone to cover either of Troy's first two games. They're focusing instead on LaSalle. Troy school superintendent John Carmello's vendetta against El Cheapo, dating back 18 months now, is to blame. Just as El Cheapo has the #3 paper in the home market, Troy High, thanks to Carmello's actions, is now the low priority for El Cheapo. Shouldn't be that way, but it is. We just have to hope things change, and soon.

Sports this 'n' that

The NFL season officially begins tomorrow when the Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles host the Atlanta Falcons.

However, the real drama remains off the field. Players are still looking to make statements regarding racial/social injustice, but continuing to use the football field as a platform won't sit very well with President Manchild (Donald Trump), who, nearly two years into his term, still doesn't understand that the White House is not a board room, and as President, he has to treat everyone equally as citizens of this country, not employees.

Here's an idea. Save the protests for off the field. The players can get themselves booked for speaking engagements to address the issue. Being on the networks that serve as the league's media partners (i.e. ESPN/ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox) won't be enough. Forget about ESPN, for that matter. Let's put Richard Sherman, now with San Francisco, on CBS' Face The Nation. Let's have the man who started this thing, Colin Kaepernick, appear on Meet The Press.

Eliminate the on-field protests, which, thanks to President Manchild, has inflamed fans enough such that ratings have gone down the last two seasons, and, contrary to a Yahoo! article circulating today, really has little or nothing to do with ex-QB-turned-insurance salesman Peyton Manning, and then, the ratings go up, and fans will return. Simple as that.
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The Tri-City Valleycats return to the NY-Penn League playoffs tonight, and welcome back an old friend in the process.

Jim Pankovits, the man who led the 'Cats to their first league title 8 years ago, returns to Troy as the manager of Pinckney division champ Mahoning Valley. The Cleveland Indians' affiliate didn't play Tri-City during the regular season, so this is as fresh as a new loaf of bread. Start time is a half-hour earlier than normal, 6:30 (ET), to accomodate parents whose children have to start school tomorrow. Top seeded Hudson Valley plays Auburn in the other semi-final series.
=======================================
Troy High's soccer teams are still looking for their first wins of the season, nearly 2 full weeks into the season.

The boys have yet to tally a goal in two games, shut out by Guilderland in the home opener last night, 5-0, and have been outscored, 12-0, in the two losses. Meanwhile, the ladies finally put one up on the board, but it wasn't enough, as the Lady Horses lost to the Lady Dutchmen, 2-1. Maddie Rifenberick had 25 saves, and Abby Burns, daughter of football coach Bob Burns, broke the scoring draught. However, Troy had just 2 shots on goal the entire game, unable to consistently break the Guilderland defense.

The boys' result was not reported to the papers as of press time, but the girls' result was. Go figure. The ladies return home tomorrow night to host Shaker, while the boys are in Latham for an after school match.
=======================================
Back to Kaepernick. The former San Francisco QB has landed a deal with Nike, but the brainwashed (or, worse, brainless) Trump supporters are burning what Nike items they already have in protest. Can't these people get a clue? Kaepernick's initial reason for protest has been lost, thanks to Trump redirecting the message into disrespect for the country in order to push his own agenda. He keeps coming back to it every time something doesn't go his way. A narcissistic control freak shouldn't be in the White House to begin with, but, rather, in a rubber room, or a church confessional, take your pick.

Meanwhile, WWE superstar Titus O'Neil, one of the more civic minded of Vince McMahon's troupe, is working with police in his home state of Florida to collect unwanted Nike merchandise. O'Neil (Thaddeus Bullard, Jr.), a former football hero at Florida, would be a good candidate to represent WWE in any debate on racial injustice.

Sports this 'n' that

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones thinks it might be in the best interests of everyone involved if they trimmed the preseason to just 2 games, 3 for the teams playing the Hall of Fame game, obviously, and expanding the regular season to 18. His son disagrees, and so do I.

Now, Jones wants to err on the side of player safety, but if he thinks most injuries occur in August, he's way wrong. The only way an 18 game schedule works, in this writer's opinion, is if you move the start of the season to before Labor Day, in lockstep with college football.

But, who is Jones kidding? Some teams pamper their millionaire stars by letting them choose when they'll play in the preseason (i.e. Patriots, Giants) to better protect them from injuries. As it is, the season starts the weekend after Labor Day, and runs through the holidays, thanks to the addition of bye weeks in recent years. In short, this ain't gonna work.
======================================
Mets owners Fred & Jeff Wilpon have already waved the white flag on the season, and for the second time this month, made a trade with division rival Philadelphia, this time sending outfielder Jose Bautista to the Phillies for cash or a player to be named later. The Mets pulled "Joey Bats" off the Atlanta scrap heap earlier this year, and he helped the Phils in his first game Wednesday night as they beat Washington.

Meanwhile, the Wilpons are catching heat from representatives for minor league infielder Peter Alonso, who's been tearing up the minors this season. Apparently, the no-name agents don't understand the whole concept of teams preserving major league service time for prospects like Alonso, who will not be with the big club come Saturday when the rosters expand. There's already a logjam at his position, first base, as the Mets are using Wilmer Flores, who has played all four infield positions with the team, and erstwhile outfielder Jay Bruce, and Dominic Smith will likely get some time when he returns on Saturday. Then, they were also looking at Yoenis Cespedes at first before he was sidelined for the year. That said, the Mets feel there wouldn't be enough time for Alonso to get a look in the final month of the season, and he'll have equal opportunity for a shot in spring training next year.

It wasn't so long ago that baseball's biggest pain in the neck, Scott Boras, was crying the blues on the same subject when it came to the Cubs' Kris Bryant, one of his bazillion clients. Boras doesn't care about team policy. He just wants more than his fair share for himself, moreso than his clients. That's been a reality for a long time. Teams are looking to protect their investments in players before they hit the free agent market, but it wouldn't surprise me if Alonso's agents decide they want their guy moved to another team. Do yourselves a favor, guys. Your 15 minutes are already up. Go away.
====================================
Took a look at the Class A predictions posted by James Allen in today's Albany Times-Union. Despite one returning starter (sophomore DB/RB/KR Xavier Leigh), Allen sees Troy High running the table again, winning the Capital Division. If Allen's math is right, it'd be Troy vs. old nemesis Burnt Hills in the A Super Bowl in November at Shen. LaSalle is tabbed to finish 3rd in the Capital, but I'd not be surprised if John Audino's club actually exceeds expectations.

Meanwhile, Troy High's other sports teams are looking for a win.

The boys' soccer team opened on the road Tuesday morning, and were shut out, 7-0, by Ballston Spa. The Scotties also blanked Troy's women's team, 2-0, and swept a volleyball match in straight sets. As of press time, the result of Troy's volleyball match vs. Averill Park, while it may be in today's Times-Union, isn't in El Cheapo Press just yet. The volleyball team opened with a non-league win, also in straight sets, over Catholic Central last week, so they're 1-1 on the season overall, 0-1 in the Suburban Council. The girls' tennis results have not been reported, but given recent history, I'd say they're also winless.
=====================================
As of this morning, the Tri-City Valleycats are on the verge of ending a two year playoff draught.

Jason Bell's club beat Lowell, 7-0, Wednesday, to lower their magic number for clinching the Stedler Division title to 2, meaning a Valleycat win tonight, coupled with a Vermont loss, would give the 'Cats their first division title since 2015. This after getting blown out of Bruno Stadium on consecutive nights by Aberdeen. The team is so sure of a postseason that they started selling "potential" playoff tickets a week ago. Five games remain, still enough time for a collapse, but you just never know.

Sports this 'n' that

Here is the sad reality of semi-pro football in the 21st century.

Aside from a season opening puff piece that El Cheapo Media did when the season started, the Troy Fighting Irish are relegated to low priority status. It's bad enough during the balance of the regular season, when you're competing with the Tri-City Valleycats across town and, when Arena Football is in session, the Albany Empire, who have become a proven draw in their first season.

Even though Saturday's home finale vs. Auburn started well after the Travers had ended at Saratoga, no one at El Cheapo Media, or any other media outlet worth their press credentials, for that matter, could be bothered to travel to Lansingburgh High, the Irish's home field. No television cameras to be found, a far, far cry from the 70's, when the Metro Mallers, at the peak of their popularity, had a weekly half hour magazine show on WAST (now WNYT). There are no programs to be had, so, unless you were able to print the roster off the website, you had to rely on the PA announcer to see who's who.

For what it's worth, the Irish finish the regular season at 8-2 after beating Auburn, 54-28. Yes, the scores resemble the Arena game, or a lopsided high school or college game. The two teams will meet again, right back at Lansingburgh, on September 8, in the first round of the Northeastern Football Alliance playoffs.

The Irish's, and the league's, for that matter, Facebook page hasn't been updated recently. Troy's only losses were a season sweep at the hands of division champion Syracuse. Here's to hoping they'll draw a bigger crowd in thirteen days.
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Such hopes, though, could be problematic if the Tri-City Valleycats also have a post-season berth. With nine games left, Tri-City holds a four game lead over Lowell in the Stedler division after dropping a 7-6 decision in 10 innings to McNamara Division leader Hudson Valley on Saturday. The 'Cats close the home portion of their schedule starting tonight vs. Aberdeen. The regular season ends Labor Day at Vermont, with the playoffs starting two days later. After the home finale Tuesday, Tri-City returns to Lowell for a three game series that could decide the division, so, stay tuned.
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Saratoga, they say, is the "Graveyard of Favorites". That held true Saturday, as Catholic Boy won the Travers in a mild upset. Local trainer Chad Brown's duo of Good Magic & Gronkowski, the latter named for New England Patriots star Rob Gronkowski, finished near the back of the pack. After all the hype, Wonder Gadot, the filly named for Wonder Woman and film star Gal Gadot, finished last. No one saw that coming.

For what it's worth, Patriot haters are probably happy Gronkowski finished 8th.
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The Little League World Series wraps today with South Korea meeting Hawaii. No one saw that coming, either. The New York tabloids wasted space hyping the team from Staten Island, but they fell in the US semi-finals to Georgia. As the late Walter Cronkite put it, ever so deftly, that's the way it is.
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Speaking of the Patriots, how is it possible that the NFL's Evil Empire can have three pre-season home games? They host the Giants on Thursday, but the starters likely won't see much action. Both are 2-1, after the Giants beat the Jets on Friday, and the Pats fell to Carolina. Let's remember that Patriots owner Bob Kraft is also on a couple of committees, and thus his team will get preferential treatment, particularly just one road game in August.

Meanwhile, the NFC East figures to be a little more competitive now that the Washington Trumpets have signed Adrian Peterson. The defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles have struggled of late, losing by a count of 5-0 the other night, and it looks like they're ready to move on from Nick Foles as their starting quarterback. Getting Carson Wentz back can't come soon enough for them, it seems.

A Cyclone without a storm (Brooklyn @ Tri-City, 8/21/18)

It was hockey night at Joe Bruno Stadium on Tuesday night, and a baseball game broke out.

With the obligatory joke out of the way, the Tri-City Valleycats sported special Team USA hockey style uniforms for Tuesday's game vs. the Brooklyn Cyclones, with proceeds to benefit the MS Foundation. Having snapped a four game losing streak in beating Brooklyn on Monday, the 'Cats sought to maintain the late season momentum with two weeks left in the regular season.

With one out in the home 1st, Enmanuel Valdez doubled into the gap in left center, and came around on a single by Carlos Machado to give Tri-City an early 1-0 lead. In the 2nd, with the hosts now up, 2-0, Drew Ferguson, on an injury rehab assignment and his 2nd stint with the 'Cats (he was drafted by Houston in 2015), slammed a 2 run homer into the berm in left center, scoring Andy Pineda ahead of him. Ferguson figures to be going back up the ladder in short order.

In the 4th, Michael Wielansky belted his 2nd homer of the year in virtually the same area as Ferguson's bomb to increase the lead to 5-0.

Both starters, Tri-City's Brett Daniels and Brooklyn's Jose Butto, were lifted after 4 innings. Brooklyn reliever Tommy Wright shut down the Valleycats the rest of the way, and all told, each side registered 10 total strikeouts. Shawn Dubin, the 2nd 'Cats pitcher, picked up the win with three strong innings of relief. Daniels had not allowed a hit in his 4 innings, giving up just a walk while fanning three. Dubin gave up a run on three hits while walking two and striking out three. Matt Moclair was shaky, giving up a run on his own error in the 8th, and walked three. Luis DePaula picked up the save in the 9th.

In the spirit of the night, the 'Cats used the theme music from NBC's NHL broadcasts, and put up a goal light on the video board when the 'Cats scored. You had to be there.

Sports this 'n' that

Major League Baseball began a tradition last year with the introduction of the Little League Classic, a regular season game played at the home of the Little League World Series, Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

This year's game capped a 5-game, 4-day series between the Philadelphia Phillies, whose NY-Penn League team plays in Williamsport, and the Mets. The Mets knocked the Phils out of a tie for 1st in the NL East with an 8-2 win. Jason Vargas, the weak link in the Met rotation this season, picked up the win, a little more than 24 hours after Jacob deGrom pitched a complete game gem against the Phils. And everyone thinks the Mets won't make the playoffs? There's still a little more than a month to go, and, as the Yankees proved 40 years ago, a lot can happen in that amount of time.
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Meanwhile, the Tri-City Valleycats are hanging on to 1st place in the Stedler Division of the NY-Penn League by a thread as they entertain Brooklyn tonight after getting swept by second place Lowell over the weekend. Including tonight, the 'Cats have just six home games left, as they will visit the Hudson Valley Renegades after their series with Brooklyn finishes on Wednesday. Would they still get in as a wild card? I'm not so sure.
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As of press time, Saturday's Northeastern Football Alliance game between the Troy Fighting Irish and Syracuse Strong had not been reported. Syracuse is the only team to beat Troy this season, and that was at Lansingburgh High earlier this summer. The Irish return to Lansingburgh for the home finale vs. Auburn on Saturday night, and a loss to Syracuse would give the Strong the division.
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Vince McMahon needs to get a clue.

It was one thing that Roman Reigns finally took down Brock Lesnar and ended the latter's overlong Universal title reign Sunday at Summerslam, even with Braun Strowman looming with the Money in The Bank briefcase. Lesnar disposed of Strowman, preventing a cash-in and the likely coronation of Strowman as the new standard bearer for the company, ensuring that McMahon finally got what he wanted, and that was Reigns as the top dog for Monday Night Raw. McMahon's myopic tunnel vision has gotten Reigns nothing but scorn from the internet community the last four years, and it's going to take a long time before Reigns, who was a college football star at Georgia Tech (real name-Joseph Anoia) before turning to wrestling, mirroring the career path of his much more famous cousin, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (a Miami grad), can be redeemed in the eyes of the fans.

On the other hand, McMahon engendered even more apathy over on Smackdown in the women's division. After Becky Lynch had earned a title match vs. Carmella, Charlotte Flair came off the disabled list at the end of July, and was inserted into the title match at Summerslam. The end result? Flair won the title, and Lynch, with a rabid Brooklyn crowd behind her, turned on her friend after the match. Obviously, McMahon wanted the opposite reaction, and didn't get it, and this is where he needs to really find a few clues. Today's fans are a lot smarter than the 72 (soon to be 73 later this week) year old promoter would care to admit, and it shows in places like Brooklyn, Chicago, Montreal, etc., where audiences will cheer for whomever they want, not specifically the ones McMahon has anointed as the crowd favorites. In Brooklyn, the crowd turned on Flair, the daughter of Hall of Famer Ric Flair, right along with Lynch.

Do I have to say it? It's way past time for McMahon to retire.

Of course, the bigger headline in the aftermath of Sunday night wasn't Reigns finally beating Lesnar, but rather, former UFC star Ronda Rousey reducing Raw women's champ Alexa Bliss to a quivering schoolgirl in claiming the title, and becoming the 2nd fighter to win titles in both WWE & UFC (Lesnar, of course, is the other). People will complain about this, too, feeling that Rousey, who's also an actress in her spare time (her latest, "Mile 22", opens this week), was rushed to the title if only to get some attention on ESPN, FS1, etc., but the sad truth is that this is exactly what McMahon craves at his advanced age. He wants to keep his company relevant, even if his main roster brands have been eclipsed by NXT.

And, on that note, Triple H (Paul Levesque) should be the one running the main roster now. He is the man in charge of NXT, and has turned it into an even bigger phenomenon than WWE itself was in the glory years of the 80's and in the Attitude Era. However, McMahon stubbornly, defiantly, clings to the only success he's had, thinking WWE will crumble without him. Someone should get him a sedative and send him to the retirement home.

Sports this 'n' that

Sometimes, sports editors don't know when to shut down the hype and promote reality.

For example, Brooks Koepka won the PGA Championship on Sunday, but the headlines were more about the guy who came in second. You might've heard of him. Some fella named Tiger Woods.

The hype machines stopped short of declaring that Tiger was back. This was his highest finish in Lord knows when, and he was just 2 shots shy of catching Koepka and forcing a playoff. If Woods can play consistently in each tournament he enters going forward, then we'll conclude he's completed his comeback from injury.
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Before sweeping the Vermont Lake Monsters on the road, and I neglected to mention this the other day, the Tri-City Valleycats added some new video footage to hype the crowd. You might've heard of this guy, too.......



That's a vintage tape of Ric Flair at the peak of his powers back in the day. Like most of the videos the 'Cats use on their scoreboard, they pulled it, as I did, off YouTube. Guessing the above clip is from the early 90's, when he first adopted the short-hair look he has now. When the 'Cats come home on Wednesday, we'll see if it finally brings good fortune.
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The local NBC affiliate has carried NY Giants preseason games the last several years. No one wants the Jets, it seems, so the Fox affiliate decided to experiment by picking up the feed for a Buffalo Bills preseason game on Thursday. Rookie QB Josh Allen was impressive, but the Bills ultimately lost to Carolina. The Giants, by the way, lost, too, dropping their preseason opener to Cleveland, which picked up Ex-Bills QB Tyrod Taylor in the offseason.
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It's going to seem weird seeing the Mets and Philadelphia play their Sunday night game this coming weekend. Why?

The game is being played in Little League country. Williamsport, Pa., where the Little League World Series was scheduled to begin today. The Phillies do have a NY-Penn League team in Williamsport, and that's where the game will be played, not on a Little League field. ESPN's Karl Ravech will be calling the Little League World Series this week, and likely will anchor Baseball Tonight from there, too.
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Ignored as usual by the press, the Troy Fighting Irish went about their business on Saturday, spanking Broome County, 49-0. The Irish are 7-1 with 2 games left in the regular season. While the Valleycats get the majority of the local fans for their home games, Saturday had to be an exception with the 'Cats out of town. Since El Cheapo Media can't be bothered to do anything more than a pre-season preview every year, the Irish are always going to be treated like the red headed step children of local summer sports.
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We have to close with some sad news from WWE.

Former 2-time tag team champ Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart passed away earlier this morning from complications caused by Alzheimer's disease at the age of 63. It's believed that Natalya, Neidhart's daughter, who was scheduled for a feature match on Monday Night Raw tonight, is headed home and will be scratched from the card. We have more on this over at Saturday Morning Archives, including this 1989 promo....



Rest in peace, Jim.

Valleycats get bowled over (Hudson Valley 10, Tri-City 3, 8/10/18)

The Tri-City Valleycats had their final weekend home game of the season Friday night. Unfortunately, the visiting Hudson Valley Renegades, in first place in the McNamara division of the New York-Penn League, decided to play more like a first place team than they had in the two previous games in the series.

Designated hitter Erik Ostberg got the scoring started in the visiting first off Tri-City starter Shawn Dubin with a three-run homer into the Renegades' bullpen to give Hudson Valley a quick 3-0 lead. Dubin just didn't have it on Friday, going three innings, giving up the three runs on three hits while striking out four. His wildness was a harbinger of things to come.

Hudson Valley starter Miller Hogan was lifted after four innings due likely to pitch count, but he had kept the 'Cats in check. Hogan was perfect through three innings before Trey Dawson singled to start the home fourth. The early exit denied Hogan a well deserved win, which instead went to the Renegades' bullpen, which bent, but didn't break as the Valleycats tried to make a game of it late.

Hudson Valley right fielder Jordan Qsar, a Tampa Bay draft pick out of Pepperdine, had a night to remember, getting his first professional RBI's in consecutive plate appearances. Qsar had a sacrifice fly in the sixth for his first RBI, then tacked on a solo homer off Brett Daniels in the eighth. Fans were already streaming for the exits by then, as the Renegades salvaged the final game of the series, 10-3.

Next up for Tri-City is a quick weekend series at the Vermont Lake Monsters before the All-Star break. This year's NY-P All-Star game takes place in Happy Valley, with the State College Spikes as the host team, on Tuesday. After that, the Connecticut Tigers, shockingly, make their only visit to Troy this year on Wednesday & Thursday.

Sports this 'n' that

Nearly a week ago, President Trump did what he does best, inflaming his fan base, by shredding CNN's Don Lemon and newly minted Los Angeles Laker LeBron James. He continued his attack on the cabler by labeling Lemon the "worst interviewer" on television, which is questionable. However, in the course of that interview, we found out that James was starting a school for at-risk kids in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, and when Trump went to Ohio last Friday for a rally, he made sure not to mention James by name, or discuss the subject.

Now comes word, via Yahoo!, that more than 4,000 fans have signed a petition suggesting the 33 year old NBA star would replace Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. They forget that James went directly from high school to the NBA 15 years ago, and with the lack of college education, probably wouldn't be considered for the job.

In between, Trump has been ripped by a number of athletes not just in basketball, but other sports, too. James is also developing and/or producing television shows for cable and broadcast television, including a forthcoming Showtime miniseries that takes a line from Fox News' Laura Ingraham's criticism of James earlier this year, Shut Up & Dribble. James' production company has landed a deal with CBS for a competition series, and also produces NBC's The Wall.
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Condolences to the family of NHL Hall of Famer Stan Mikita, who passed away earlier this week as a result of Lewy's Body dementia, the same disease that claimed radio & cartoon legend Casey Kasem a few years back. Mikita made a cameo appearance in the 1992 movie, "Wayne's World", a nod to his being a hockey icon in Chicago.
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The Los Angeles Rams are prepared to start the season without star defensive lineman Aaron Donald, who is holding out for either a contract extension or a new deal altogether. I wish the player agents would just stop pulling these attention grabs in pre-season, and negotiate in private, away from the press, then get a deal done.
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Yes, the Tri-City Valleycats are still clinging to first place in the Stedler Division of the New York-Penn League after taking 2 of 3 from Connecticut, but a series against Hudson Valley, set to start tonight, could wind up infringed upon by rain. What else is new? It's the Renegades' only visit to Troy this year, and that could prove problematic, schedule wise, as we wind down toward the post-season.
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Mets manager Mickey Calloway may think Jason Vargas is just having a bad year.

Vargas, on his 2nd tour of duty with the team, fell to 2-8 last night after losing to Cincinnati. He only pitched 1/3 of an inning due to a mammoth rain delay as a thunderstorm came downstate, and had the teams cooling their heels for nearly 2 hours.

According to a report in today's New York Post, Calloway is open to putting Vargas in the bullpen in the season's final weeks, but is committing himself to keeping Vargas in the rotation otherwise, headed into next year. In this writer's opinion, Vargas' best days are behind him, and his future lies in the bullpen, after all.

Another report making the rounds says that it's expected that Calloway will return next year, writing off this year as the product of too many injuries. However, given the heat that owner Fred Wilpon and his son, Jeff, have gotten from the fan base, you'd think they were the 2nd coming of M. Donald Grant, the cheapskate representing the Payson family in the 70's when they owned the Mets.
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Cody Rhodes may be a villain most of the time in the wrestling ring, but outside the ring, he's becoming a hero to the masses, not quite his late father, Dusty, but a hero just the same.

After reading a message on social media from a disabled fan in New Jersey, Rhodes pledged to ensure that the fan would get to see the September 1 All In event on PPV. The card continues to take shape as of this writing, 3 1/2 weeks before it takes place, and it was revealed on Monday that the program would start with a hour-long broadcast on free TV, specifically WGN America (check listings), while the show otherwise will be on Fite TV, and streaming online at a number of sites, including Ring of Honor's Honor Club streaming service. Rhodes will challenge NWA champion Nick Aldis on the card, while ROH champ Jay Lethal will face the winner of a battle royal taking place early in the card.

Rhodes will also return to the CW's Arrow this season, reprising his role as Derek Sampson, who fought the Green Arrow (Stephen Amell) on a couple of occasions in season 5. Amell, by the way, is also appearing at All In, on a break from production on season 7 of Arrow.

Valleycats win one, lose one (Lowell @ Tri-City, 8/4/18)

The hometown got a respite from the persistent rains of the last couple of weeks on Saturday when the sun shined on Joe Bruno Stadium, enabling the Tri-City Valleycats and Lowell Spinners to play a twi-night double-header, the first half making up for Friday's rainout.

In the opener, Nivaldo Rodriguez retired the first 11 Lowell batters he faced until Lane Milligan singled, then came home on a double by Ramifis Berroa. In all, Rodriguez went six innings, giving up just the run on two hits with three strikeouts and two walks. The 'Cats chased Lowell starter Taylor Ahearn after three innings, scoring three runs in the second and one in the third to take an early 4-0 lead. Jeremy Pena put icing on the cake in the fourth, greeting Spinners reliever Victor Garcia with his first pro home run, a two run shot into the Valleycats' bullpen. Riley Cabral labored through the seventh, but Tri-City prevailed, 6-3.

In the nightcap, Tri-City's Mark Moclair was brilliant, but limited to three innings due to pitch count. It took the Spinners until the fifth inning this time, against reliever Carlos Hiraldo, before finally getting a hit. Michael Wielansky put the 'Cats on the board in the home fifth, but Hiraldo tired in the seventh as Lowell tied the game. The Spinners won it in the eighth (minor league double-headers are seven innings, not nine, each) with a run off Tim Hardy to gain a split of the double-header with a 2-1 verdict. Valleycats pitchers combined for fifteen strikeouts in the game.

Tri-City goes on the road today to play the Connecticut Tigers before returning to The Joe on Wednesday night.

Sports this 'n' that

With three games remaining until the playoffs begin on Wednesday, the Albany Dutchmen sit in 2nd place in the East division of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League. Today, they're in Glens Falls for a double-header to make up for a rainout last week. Friday's home game vs. Utica will not be made up. The Dutchmen sit 3 games behind East leader Amsterdam with two days left in the regular season. Even if they sweep all three remaining games, that doesn't mean they can catch up.
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When rains also washed out Friday's game between the Tri-City Valleycats and Staten Island Yankees, more than one person, I'm sure, questioned whether or not the baseball gods wanted these two teams playing each other again this season.

Then came another deluge on Saturday, which bumped the regularly scheduled game off the schedule. The July 22 game at Staten Island that had been suspended in the top of the second inning was completed Saturday, with the baby bombers winning, 2-0. They also won the first half of the Sunday double-header by the same score before the 'Cats salvaged the nightcap.

Meanwhile, outfielder Gilberto Celestino, one of the 'Cats' best players (team leader in stolen bases, 2nd in HR's, etc.) was part of a trade package that Houston dealt to Minnesota on Friday. Celestino could still make it to the bigs, but just not with Houston. Yet. Stranger things have happened, of course.
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The Mets traded infielder Asdrubal Cabrera on Friday. Problem was, it was to a division rival, NL East-leading Philadelphia. It would've been nice for Cabrera, at the time of the trade the team leader in HR's for the Mets, to return to the American League, where he began his career (Cleveland, Tampa Bay). As it is, he's on his 3rd different NL East team (Nationals, Mets, Phillies) in the last five years.

On the other hand, ESPN's Buster Olney reported Sunday that the Mets now aren't likely to deal away their two best pitchers, Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard, and, to be honest, they shouldn't. That would seal the casket on the season, in ye scribe's opinion. Zack Wheeler, who was virtually a 1-man show in a Sunday win over Pittsburgh, is still being talked about as a possible trade candidate. I don't think so. The Mets need to stand pat going forward, and worry about fixing their farm system in the off-season.
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Right around the All-Star break, Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Josh Hader had to answer for some long deleted and forgotten tweets made before he got into the big leagues. In the wake of a similar imbroglio involving filmmaker James Gunn, two more players have found themselves having to apologize for tweets dug up by a bunch of social media nannies.

Atlanta Braves pitcher Sean Newcomb pitched a 1-hitter for 8 2/3 innings Sunday vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers, but the focus after the game wasn't the gem, but some 7-8 year old tweets involving racial and gay slurs. This morning, we are learning the same thing happened to Washington infielder Trea Turner.

It seems there's a few get-a-life's that are burrowing through Twitter archives, looking for dirt on pro athletes just because they think it's important to them, if not anyone else, to "get the message" out. As I wrote regarding Gunn 10 days ago, a couple of conservative jackasses decided to knock him down a few pegs just because he's not a fan of President Trump. The hypocrisy of the Geezers on Parade and the sycophants pledging loyalty to President Donald John Archie Bunker Trump is sickening. To the anonymous so-called "social justice warriors" making life miserable for pro athletes for the same reason, find something better to do. Just because you're miserable doesn't mean you can force others to feel the same way.
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Finally, a Dunce Cap is headed to incoming NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Owens, who now is telling the media he felt butt-hurt because it took three years for him to enter the shrine, and that certain media types cast him in a negative light. Well, I look at it this way. Owens was a great player. The first mistake he made was leaving the San Francisco 49ers to chase the money. The fact that he presented himself as a me-first prima donna didn't endear him to a lot of the media, including gadflies like Phil Mushnick, for example. Did Owens really think the media wouldn't hold his on-field clowning against him? That he also did a reality TV show wasn't helping. So his ego is bruised. Big whoop.

Sports this 'n' that

The Mets have sent a message that, after a strong start to the season, and falling into last place in the NL East at the All-Star break last week, they don't see themselves as contenders going forward. They dealt former closer Jeurys Familia to Oakland on Saturday for prospects and international slot money, with the Athletics taking on the remainder of Familia's salary.

On the field, the Mets split the first two games of the Bronx half of the Subway Series with the Yankees before heavy rains forced postponement of last night's game. The makeup date has been announced as Monday, August 13, and likely will be on ESPN, as would've been the case last night. Next up for the Mets will be a series vs. San Diego, starting tonight. Weather permitting, of course.
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Speaking of the Yankees, their NY-Penn League team also split the first two games of their series in Staten Island vs. the Tri-City Valleycats. The baby bombers won Friday, 7-1. Saturday's game was rained out, so they tried a double-header Sunday. Tri-City won the opener, 10-1, and they barely got the second game started before it was suspended after 1 inning due to rain.

WROW morning co-host Ben Patton had the latter score backwards this morning. Hopefully, some 'Cats fans have straightened that out by now. Anyway, it was Tri-City's final visit to Staten Island, but they won't have to wait long to see if they can finally make up the remaining game. The baby bombers will be in town on Friday to open a series. Before that, Tri-City welcomes Auburn on Tuesday after a day off today, finishing with the last Camp Day matinee of the year on Thursday.
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The worst case scenario happened to the Albany Empire Saturday night, in a 47-40 loss to the Washington Valor. The cumulative score of the two games means that Washington advances to Arena Bowl, despite being  a last place team in a 4-team league. Well, there's always next year.
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High school football season is still more than a month away, but unlike at this time last year, schedules have not been made available for public purview.

Take Troy High, for example. The 2-time Class AA state champs drop down to Class A this year, but if MaxPreps is to be believed, and that's not guaranteed, their home opener isn't until week 3 vs. LaSalle, after starting the season on the road at Schalmont and Amsterdam. However, MaxPreps doesn't have the entire schedule, so who knows?