Leading off today: Pete Dorwaldt longtime coach at Albany Academy and formerly the Section 2 baseball chairman, died yesterday after an 18-month bout with cancer,
The Times Union reported. He was 68.
Dorwaldt won 416 games at Albany Academy, sixth in Section 2 history.
"It is a sad day not only for baseball, but one for athletics in general in Section 2," said state baseball chairman Ed Dopp, who replaced Dorwaldt as Section 2 chairman. "Pete was a good man. He, and his legacy, will be greatly missed."
Conspiracy theory: I think even Oliver Stone would take a pass on lending any legitimacy to this conspiracy theory. But The Advance mentioned it today, so we will, too.
St. Peter's pulled a 62-49 upset of St. Michael's yesterday in the Archdiocesan AA girls basketball final, but there was little at stake beyond pride with both teams already assured spots in the CHSAA tournament.
The CHSAA title game will be held at Christ the King, so idle minds speculated St. Michael's would be better off losing to St. Peter's, therefore playing Christ the King in the quarterfinals March 13 at a neutral site instead of in the championship at CTK.
As the newspaper noted, there are some holes in the theory, not the least of which is that no one in their right mind ever wants to play the Royals any sooner than they absolutely must. Even in its slightly weakened state these last couple of seasons, CTK is still one of the 50 best teams in the country.
And this from St. Michael's coach Apache Paschall: "I've played ball for too long. I've coached for too long to do that. It's too competitive. ... That would be disgusting. ... I have too much respect for Bob Daggett. I know he would despise something like that and if he were on the other side, he wouldn't want to lose either."
Championship Sunday on area rinks: Canisius, Niagara-Wheatfield and Kenmore East pulled down Section 6 federation championships on a busy hockey Sunday throughout New York.
Senior captain Nicholas Burns’ second goal of the game, 2:24 into the second overtime, allowed Niagara-Wheatfield to shock former three-time state champion Williamsville North, 4-3, for the large-school crown. Canisius beat Bishop Timon-St. Jude, 4-1, for the Catholic schools. Kenmore East began the day with a 3-1 win over Williamsville South for the small schools title.
Elsewhere, J.T. Stenglein scored twice as Greece Athena/Odyssey (24-0) defeated Fairport, 3-1, for the Section 5 Class A championship. Stenglein gave the Thurnder a 2-1 lead on a power-play goal with 1:05 left in the first period.
Ryan Michel's power-play goal with 8:31 left stood up as West Genesee edged Baldwinsville in a Section 3 final, 3-2.
Rob Fine scored the winner with 7:53 left, and all three forward lines produced goals in the third period at West Point as Mamaroneck came from behind again to defend its Section 1 title with a 4-1 win vs. White Plains.
In Division II, New Hartford and Queensbury stayed on course for a potential clash in the state final in Utica in two weeks. Mike Zalewski scored four goals as New Hartford routed Syracuse Corcoran, 9-0.
Queensbury earned its third straight Section 2 championship with a 3-2 triumph over Glens Falls. Kevin Valenti's second goal of the game, off a rebound with 1:11 left in the second period, was the winner. Queensbury had won the clubs' two regular-season games by a 12-2 total
