Albany Events

We should all be sympathetic to a person's struggles with addiction. We should all celebrate with that person when they get things together and move on to recovery. However, when that person, while a NBA player; was accused of braking a beer mug over someone's head in a bar; shot and killed a man while drunk playing with a shotgun and was convicted of trying to cover it up; made tens of millions of dollars playing NBA basketball but did not pay the child support that he owed to his two daughters, and now you are going to honor him in your collegiate athletic Hall of Fame? St. John's University is out of touch.

ESPN's "College Game Day" has been a Saturday morning staple for millions of collegiate football fans for 35 years. The campus spirited show, that debuted in 1987, has not been broadcast live from a location in New York State north of the United State Military Academy in West Point. Well, if things go well on Saturday, one campus northwest of there may get their first visit from the popular ESPN show.

Bethlehem High School graduate and bench coach for the Tampa Bay Rays, Matt Quatraro is no stranger to the Major League offseason interview process for managerial openings. Over the past few years, Quatraro has been a lead-dog finalist or among the top candidates for the New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Oakland A's. There is a reason for so much interest. Matt is really good at what he does and now he may get his chance to lead the Miami Marlins.

Hunting and fishing are outdoor sports that are often passed down from generation to generation. As gun legislation and safety laws are argued about in the media, some parents wonder if it is safe to hand the hunting tradition down to their children. Well, at least in New York State, hunting has never been safer.

There is a big football game on Saturday at noon on ABC-TV. It features #14 Syracuse taking on #5 Clemson. This is the best Syracuse Orange football team in at least the last 4 years and maybe in decades. Clemson football star head coach, Dabo Swinney, may have summed it up best on Tuesday, “Dino’s got ‘em going, man. He’s got an offense that can score. He’s got a scheme that creates challenges.” Handsome praise from a coach that has enjoyed the highest pinnacle in college football.

The baseball fields at Magee Park in Delmar are usually hopping late into October with as much Little League fall baseball as they can fit in before the ground hardens from the cold temperatures. One cool event, that is in its second year, puts the spirit of the league's enthusiastic players into one last fun Halloween party. Saturday October 29th, Tri Village Little League will host a "Trunk or Treat". Over two dozen cars will be decorated in Halloween style with volunteers in costume.

A few jabs at an opposing fanbase can always be fun, especially when you have history on your side. Kansas City Chiefs' fans had to feel particularly confident going into Sunday's game vs. the Buffalo Bills, with their team being victorious in three of the last four meetings between the two AFC powerhouses. That confidence obviously only ballooned when Chiefs' quarterback Patrick Mahomes ended the Bills magical Super Bowl quest in a matter of 13 seconds last January. Well, sometimes over-confidence backfires.

Brooklyn Nets point-guard Ben Simmons is a 3-time NBA All Star. The 26 year-old, who owns a 16 point-per-game average with nearly 8 assists, seems to be getting used to being a social media target for "haters." Few people have sympathy for the struggles of those pulling home $35.4 million each year playing professional basketball. However, even when Simmons claimed struggles with mental illness, many critics showed zero compassion. Now the 6'11" star is trying to use that negative energy to drive his success.

It's been a long road for former Shaker High School pitcher, Tommy Kahnle, since he became one of the most valuable middle relievers in all of Major League Baseball in 2019. That year, the Latham native pitched in 72 games for the New York Yankees amassing 27 "holds" with an impressive 3.67 ERA. Kahnle's money pitch, the knee-buckling change-up, was amongst the best in baseball. Then after only one game in the COVID shortened 2020 season, injury struck his valuable right elbow and his relationship with the Yankees ended.

In the course of coaching a premier college basketball program for nearly five decades, it would be easy to assume that one would get pretty good at assessing their team's chances from one year to the next. On Wednesday at the ACC Men's Basketball Media Day, Boeheim told several reporters that this year's squad of Orange will go to the Big Dance in March. After suffering his first losing season since taking up the profession at Syracuse, the 77 year-old coach is ready to get his team back to playing tournament basketball.

It is the worst when you go on a long trip, you get on the plane, and oh no! You forgot something. So, there had better be a good reason when you are an NFL team, returning from a game in England, and you get on the plane without your punter. Well, for New York Giants there seems to be and explanation.

Obviously, the New York Mets wanted and expected to go further in the playoffs than they did, especially after a 101 win regular season. However, the baseball gods don't often cooperate with Amazin's best laid plans. Hence, on Sunday night, instead of strategizing to beat the Los Angelas Dodgers, general manager Billy Eppler and manager Buck Showalter began the process of figuring out how to get this team to play a few weeks deeper into October. In other words, how do they make a run at the 2023 World Series? That's what owner Steve Cohen expects in the next two years. What questions are Eppler and Showalter facing?