SPORTS BRIEFS: Albany Sports Hall of Fame banquet Monday

Albany Sports Hall of Fame banquet Monday

The Albany Sports Hall of Fame will induct three new members Monday night at its annual banquet, which will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased by contacting Sonya Spillers at 229-344-3198.

Richt, Fox in Albany on Tuesday

University of Georgia head football coach Mark Richt and men’s basketball coach Mark Fox and various other University administrators will be featured guests at the annual UGA Days tour at the Albany Civic Center on Tuesday.

Registration begins at 5:30 p.m. for pre-registered and walk-up registrants. The first 300 pre-registered attendees can take photos and get autographs from the coaches.

The events are open to all Georgia alumni and fans.

Albany State baseball beats Miles in SIAC Tournament

Sophomore Jonatan Galan collected three hits, including a solo home run, to lead the Albany State Rams to a 3-2 win over Miles College in the opening round of the 2015 SIAC Baseball Championship Tournament on Thursday. With the win, ASU, the East Division’s No. 3 seed, improves to 17-31 and advances in the winner’s bracket where they will face either Benedict or Kentucky State.

Miles, the No. 2 seed from the SIAC West Division, falls to 16-26 overall. The Golden Bears will play the loser between BC and KSU.

Miles scored a run in the bottom of the first and second innings to take an early 2-0 lead. Albany State finally got on the scoreboard in the top of the third when Reise McDaniel hit a single to score Jeremy Arrington and cut the Rams’ deficit to 2-1. Galan smashed his homer at the beginning of the next inning to tie the score at two.

In the eighth inning, Albany State recorded what would eventually be the game-winning run. After Galan hit a triple, Terence Worthy nailed a sacrifice to send him home for a 3-2 edge. ASU was able to hold the Golden Bears at bay the rest of the contest.

Galan also had a single to go with his homer and triple. Cullen Coulter (5-6) was the winning pitcher for the Rams. The team had seven hits and one error.

Albany State will play tonight at 6 p.m.

Patriots honored at White House

The Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, minus quarterback Tom Brady, were honored by President Barack Obama at the White House on Thursday.

Amid some jokes about deflated balls, coach Bill Belichick’s wardrobe and Rob Gronkowski, the president congratulated the Patriots for their sustained success and for their thrilling 28-24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX in February.

“The Patriots organization is as good an organization as there has ever been in professional sports,” Obama said, referencing the Patriots’ four Super Bowl titles under Belichick and owner Bob Kraft. “To be able to maintain that kind of consistent excellence is a rare thing in any field, including on the football field. It’s a testament to ownership; it’s a testament to a Hall of Fame coach.

“I’m particularly grateful that Coach decided to dress up today,” Obama joked about Belichick, whose game-day attire usually consists of a hoodie with cutoff sleeves. “We had some scissors if he wanted to cut the sleeves off. Formal hoodies are allowed.”

Obama then got in his obligatory jab over the Patriots’ underinflated-ball controversy: “I usually tell a bunch of jokes at these events; but, with Patriots in town, I was worried that 11 out of 12 of them would fall flat.”

The president credited the Patriots for overcoming the distractions of that controversy as they prepared for the Super Bowl.

He mentioned a few Patriots by name, saying he told hard-partying tight end Rob Gronkowski “to keep his shirt on.”

He finished with mention of Malcolm Butler’s game-saving interception, saying with his best New England accent, “I think it’s fair to say that Malcolm has earned a lifetime of free drinks in every bah in Bahston.”