SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Racers of the American Basketball Association (ABA) will wrap up their regular season this Sunday at home against the New Hampshire Kingz at 3 p.m. All of the Racers’ home games are played at Saratoga Central Catholic on Broadway.

Saratoga’s penultimate game will be the prior day, Feb. 22, on the road against the Connecticut Surge. Their game against the Binghamton Bulldogs on Feb. 16 was cancelled due to the snowstorm.

The 12-6 Racers are currently #21 in the ABA’s national rankings and are the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference White Division. They’re expected to begin competing in single-elimination playoff games in early March.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Skidmore College women’s basketball team clinched a spot in the Liberty League playoff tournament last Friday when they defeated William Smith College, 56 to 45. Then they beat RIT the following day, 63 to 46, in their penultimate game of the regular season.

Against William Smith, the Thoroughbreds were led by seniors Cassie Davidson and Sarah Chambers, who both scored 15 points. The pair also combined for 16 rebounds, 8 steals, and 3 assists. The victory extended Skidmore’s winning streak against William Smith to 9 straight.

At RIT, the Thoroughbreds had five players in double figures, led by Chambers with 13 points, 8 boards, 4 assists, and 2 blocks.

2025 is the fourth year in a row that Skidmore has qualified for the playoffs. The team will finish its regular season on Feb. 22 at home against St. Lawrence and Clarkson. The game is the annual Big Green Scream event, as well as Senior Day.

The Liberty League Tournament will begin on Feb. 25.

AMSTERDAM — The Amsterdam Mohawks of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) have signed three local ballplayers to their 2025 roster.

Michael Mack, a graduate of Saratoga Springs High School and currently a freshman at Northeastern University, will pitch for the Mohawks this summer after recovering from an injury. The right-handed, former Suburban Council Pitcher of the Year has a low 90s fastball “with legitimate secondary pitches,” according to the Mohawks.

Joining Mack on Amsterdam’s pitching staff will be Ballston Spa native and Stony Brook University freshman Matt Sgambati. The right-hander pitched for Albany last season in the PGCBL. He’s a Christian Brothers Academy grad who posted a .95 ERA and hit .380 during his senior season.

Also appearing on the mound in Amsterdam this summer will be Joe Gold, another B-Spa native and Christian Brothers Academy alum. Gold pitched for the Mohawks in 2023 as a high school senior, showing off a 93 m.p.h. fastball and an effective breaking ball. He’s currently a sophomore at Boston College.

The 13-time PGCBL champion Mohawks will open their 2025 season on May 29 at the Rao Family Stadium at Shuttleworth Park in Amsterdam.

GLENS FALLS — A black Cybertruck adorned with “Anthony Constantino for Congress” stickers pulled into an empty parking space near the Cool Insuring Arena in Glens Falls last Friday night, signaling that MAGA world had rolled into town.

The guests of honor at the arena’s “Cage Wars 69” mixed-martial arts (MMA) event were the 21st congressional district hopeful Constantino, and Roger Stone, a man once dubbed the “boastful black prince of Republican sleaze.” Stone – whose long career in conservative politics has landed him a front row seat to the Trump, Reagan, and Nixon presidencies – was dressed, per usual, to the nines, with a gray and blue suit draped over his famous back tattoo of Richard Nixon’s face.

His mentee Constantino was clad in all black, with a “fight fight fight” t-shirt appropriately referencing both the MMA event he self-financed (reportedly to the tune of around $50,000), as well as the memorable words shouted by Donald Trump after his assassination attempt last year at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. 

Stone and Constantino posed for photos inside the arena in front of a step and repeat banner that featured a picture of Constantino. Then the aspiring congressman entered the octagon through a cloud of smoke and multi-colored lights as the song “We Are the World” blared, delivering a campaign speech to thousands of spectators.

“I watched on the sidelines for eight years as people were very disrespectful to our favorite president and, more importantly, to his supporters,” Constantino said while imitating Trump’s signature hand gestures. “I ended up deciding to speak up after he was shot. I saw him shot in Butler and I immediately spoke up and endorsed him. It became the most viral endorsement of the 2024 campaign cycle.”

Constantino’s rapid ascendancy to political fame began around the end of last year, when he stationed a 100-foot-wide, lit-up “Vote for Trump” sign atop the Amsterdam, New York headquarters of Sticker Mule, a printing company he owns. The sign and the subsequent kerfuffle it inspired resulted in a New York Times article that caught Trump’s attention. When Elise Stefanik was nominated to serve as Trump’s United Nations ambassador, thus likely leaving a vacancy in the 21st congressional district (which now includes the northeastern parts of Saratoga County), Constantino decided to leverage his celebrity into a bonafide political career.

“I want to be honest. I’m interested in running not just to be your congressman, I’m interested in being the best congressman in the United States of America,” Constantino said to the chattering, half-interested crowd.

Constantino elaborated on some of his political priorities, which include bringing high-speed internet and cellphone service to the district to encourage the creation of internet businesses and remote jobs; securing the Canadian border to prevent “drugs, crime, terrorism, and low wage workers from pouring into our district”; cutting regulations that hinder the sale of raw milk; finishing the Fort Drum missile defense system; and enticing people to live in New York to help offset the state’s recent population loss. 

Regardless of how the thousands of fight fans felt about the political nature of the event, none could complain about the cost. Admission to the event was free, and the arena entrance was stocked with complimentary “Constantino for Congress” merch. Constantino later said that the 4,000 people in attendance constituted “the biggest amateur MMA event in [New York State] history.”

The fight card included Joe Crabill defeating Stephen Persaud in the main event lightweight title contest via unanimous decision, Malang Susso beating Alex Williams in a co-main event welterweight title fight, and Arben Loga besting Husan Jamshidov via unanimous decision in a flyweight championship bout.

The event was held at the Cool Insuring Arena after Cage Wars’ former host, the Rivers Casino & Resort in Schenectady, severed ties with the fight promoter earlier this year. The casino said the decision to send Cage Wars elsewhere was strictly business, but Constantino has alleged it was politically motivated.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Matt Karpousis, a 2023 Skidmore College grad, has returned to his alma mater to become the Thoroughbreds’ new baseball pitching coach. Karpousis was previously a pitching coach at Camden County College for the 2024 season.

As a player from 2020 to 2023, Karpousis registered 16 innings pitched, with 6 strikeouts and a 7.31 ERA. He was part of playoff qualifying teams in both 2022 and 2023.

“I really enjoyed my time here at Skidmore as a player and can’t wait to begin my first season now as a coach,” Karpousis said in a statement.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) held its Winter Executive Committee meeting at the Embassy Suites in Saratoga Springs last week. The committee voted on numerous topics including regional rotations, rules, and championship host sites.

The Executive Committee approved an earlier start to the Fall 2025 season. The new start date will be August 18 for all sports.

NYSPHSAA has received support from the New York State Education Department for football to have a 16-week season starting with the Fall 2025 season.

Language in the NYSPHSAA Handbook was changed to allow foreign exchange students the opportunity to compete as student-athletes at the sub-varsity level

Visions Veterans Memorial Arena (Section IV) was approved for Competitive Cheerleading for the 2026-2028 championships; MVP Arena (Section 2) was approved for the Girls and Boys Wrestling Championships for 2026-2028; and Cicero-North Syracuse High School (Section III) and Icahn Stadium (Manhattan) were approved for the Outdoor Track and Field Championships for the 2027 and 2028 season, respectively.

For Flag Football, numerous new rules were voted on and unanimously approved for implementation, including a 14” length minimum of flags.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Hall of Fame jockey Johnny Velazquez and his wife Leona will be this year’s recipients of the newly renamed John Hendrickson and Marylou Whitney Award due to the couple’s support of the New York backstretch community. The award will be presented at the 18th Annual Fundraising Brunch on Aug. 13 at the Saratoga National Golf Course.

In 2013, Velazquez became the all-time leading rider at the Saratoga Race Course with his 694th career win. In August 2022, he became the first jockey to win 1,000 races at Saratoga.

The annual award was originally known as the Marylou Whitney Award but it was renamed by the New York Race Track Chaplaincy after the sudden passing of her husband John Hendrickson last year.

“Like his late wife, John had a special place in his heart for the backstretch community and we thought renaming the award in this way was a fitting tribute to his legacy of humanitarian spirit,” said Ramón Dominguez, president of the Board of the NY Chaplaincy, in a news release.

Velazquez, who serves on the New York Race Track Chaplaincy board of directors, has won two Eclipse Awards as the nation’s outstanding jockey (2004, 2005), as well as six Triple Crown races and 21 Breeders’ Cup races. He has been an active member of The Jockeys’ Guild for many years and currently serves as the co-chairman of the organization. Leona has served on the Belmont Child Care Association board and her family has been active in a variety of backstretch organizations for several decades.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Racers of the American Basketball Association (ABA) were elevated to a #19 ranking for the week ending Feb. 2. They had previously been ranked #23. The ABA’s ranking system spotlights the top 25 teams out of about 150 teams nationwide.

The Racers are currently 12-6 on the season, with at least four of their losses coming at the hands of higher ranked teams. Three of the losses were to undefeated teams ranked #2 and #5.

Saratoga’s next home game at the Saratoga Central Catholic gym is scheduled for Feb. 16 at 3 p.m. After that contest, the Racers will only have two more games remaining before the playoffs begin.