Kudos to Record sports editor Kevin Moran and his staff for putting together a terrific 48-page high school football preview section, which is available today in print and online.

The section is a must-read for fans of the Friday night lights.

Among the section highlights are:

-- The end of an era: One final season for Shenendehowa icon Brent Steuerwald; (ABOVE)

-- The La Salle Institute Cadets return with 21 of 22 starters from last year as they kick off their 2011 season;

-- The Lansingburgh High School Knights expect to make another super run this season; and

-- It make take Troy High School's Flying Horses a few weeks to come together, but they have the talent to contend.

My thanks also to our sports reporters Laura Amato, Andrew Santillo, Ed Weaver, correspondent Mike Cioffi and Assistant Sports Editor Tim Martin for their work on the section.

Welcome aboard to Laura, our new high school sports reporter, who will be spending a lot of Friday nights under the lights. Say hello when you see her out at a game.

Praise also goes to Chief Photographer Mike McMahon and photographers Jim Carras and Jeff Couch for their terrific photos.

Thanks also to the local advertisers who supported this section!

It’s not every day that Capital District residents get to see a World Series championship trophy – especially when that trophy belongs to a Major League Baseball team on the west coast.
For more than a decade, Record Sports Editor Kevin Moran has worked hard to get MLB to recognize the contributions the city of Troy has made to America’s pastime – from the Troy Trojans of yesteryear to the San Francisco Giants of today — through a series of stories and columns as well as petitions that were available online, in print and in local business establishments.


Thanks to a collaborative effort between The Record and the Tri-City Valley Cats, Kevin’s dream came true Thursday when the 2010 World Series trophy won by the San Francisco Giants went on display at the Joseph L. Bruno Stadium for two hours.
Fans who lined up to see the impressive trophy got an added visual bonus: The ValleyCats’ 2010 New York-Pennsylvania League trophy was also on display.

For Kevin, his family and The Record staff, it was a terrific day. Several of us from The Record went up to The Joe to share the excitement of the day with Kevin, the ValleyCats, the city of Troy and Hudson Valley Community College.
You could feel the excitement building at The Joe just before the recognition ceremony got under way prior to the public viewing of the trophy.


A performance by several members of The Racing City Chorus from Saratoga Springs added to the ambiance of the occasion.


Spotted among the crowd were Troy Mayor Harry Tutunjian, City Councilman Mark McGrath, city of Troy Deputy Director of Public Information Jeff Pirro, George Rogers of the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation, Rensselaer County Executive Kathy Jimino, Rensselaer County Historian Kathy Sheehan, Rich Crist of the Rensselaer County Legislative Majority Office who was there as Dad, Troy GOP mayoral candidate Carmella Mantello, baseball fan Joe Conners of the former St. Patrick’s parish in Troy, HVCC President Drew Matonak, Troy Police Capt. Terry Buchanan, ValleyCats owner Bill Gladstone, ValleyCats vice president and general manager Rick Murphy and everyone’s favorite mascot, Southpaw.


Kevin’s family – wife Diane, mother Jean, brother Brian and niece Amanda – was on hand to share in the celebration with him as well as his some of the members of his staff, reporters Ed Weaver and Andrew Santillo and sports clerk Mike Cioffi. Publisher Jim Murphy, digital specialist Tom Caprood, reporter Cecelia Martinez, photographer Jim Carras and I rounded out the contingent from The Record.

We did spot a few Record alums in the crowd: former national advertising rep Bill McDonough and his wife Maureen and former photographer Tom Killips.

It was great to see Tom, who has been a big San Francisco Giants fan for longer than the 30 plus years I’ve known him. He was proudly dressed up in a true San Francisco Giants sweatshirt with an emblem proclaiming them as the 2010 World Series champs.







And how cute were the members of the Twin Town Little League who came dressed up in their baseball uniforms?

During the speeches, Kevin spoke about how Thursday was a great day for Troy and for baseball history in the Collar City and gave credit to Murphy, the ValleyCats, The Record and the San Francisco Giants for everything coming together.

I should also mention how grateful we are to Rick Murphy and Bill Gladstone for their help in getting the Giants to agree to bring their trophy to The Joe.

In his brief speech, Murphy recalled when Kevin asked for their help in getting the trophy here.


“I thought it was a great idea, absolutely,” he said. “Understanding the history of baseball in this area and … adding the fact that we had just won the New York-Penn League championship, it was a perfect match. And for us to be able to partner up with The Record, and through (Kevin’s) efforts and through our connections, it all came together. So, it was a great team effort.”

Thanks also go to Mayor Tutunjian, Jeff Pirro and Vic Christopher for their assistance with this effort.

And finally, a big thank you to the San Francisco Giants for bringing their trophy to upstate New York on a cloudy, drizzly day. This team and their fans are class acts and we are grateful that they were able to share a little bit of baseball history with us.

For more than a decade, Record Sports Editor Kevin has worked hard to get Major League Baseball to acknowledge the Collar City for its contributions to America’s national pastime.
On Thursday, the city of Troy gets that recognition when the San Francisco Giants bring their 2010 World Series championship trophy to the Joseph L. Bruno Stadium for a public viewing from 5 to 7 p.m.
The visit is the result of a collaborative effort between Kevin and the Tri-City ValleyCats. Team owner Bill Gladstone and general manager Rick Murphy used their contacts to reach out to the Giants about a possible visit to upstate New York after Kevin and his staff launched a petition drive to get the Giants to bring the World Series trophy to Troy.
A native and resident of Watervliet, Kevin has worked for The Record since March 1987. He was one of the best high school reporters this paper has ever had and he has done a terrific job as our sports editor. Whether it’s rooting for the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, the Cannoneers of Watervliet, or his alma mater, the LaSalle Institute Cadets, Kevin is a true sports fan.
Kevin, Publisher Jim Murphy and I will be up at The Joe Thursday night for a look at the trophy. Stop by and say hello.
While you’re there, enjoy some food, the music of a barbershop quartet and peruse a table of some old baseball artifacts.
The ValleyCats promise it will be a good time!

P.S. The Collar City’s many contributions to Major League Baseball, from the Trojans to the ValleyCats, are detailed in a 24-page, glossy magazine, “A Shared History: From the Trojans to the Giants, Welcome Home,” produced by The Record’s sports staff. Copies of the magazine will be included in our Thursday edition. I hope you check it out. Even a big basketball fan like me found the magazine a fascinating read.