FROM THE PRESS BOX: PIGSKIN PICKERS FORECAST ANOTHER MOSTLY-GOOD WEEK FOR VALLEY FOOTBALL TEAMS (2021-10-22)
It’s Week 9 South of the Border, and Week 7 on the North side, and all four Valley teams are aiming to strengthen their postseason resumeS.
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FROM THE PRESS BOX: PIGSKIN PICKERS FORECAST A MOSTLY-GOOD WEEKEND FOR VALLEY TEAMS (2021-10-15)
It’s Week 8 South of the Border, and Week 6 on the North side, and there are three big games involving Valley teams tonight.

Waverly is on the road at Watkins Glen / O-M in a game to decide the Section IV, Division V title, while Tioga hosts Harpursville-Afton in a game with big Division VI title implications, and Athens hosts NTL large School-leading Canton. The six teams have a combined record of 32-3. ...more

FROM THE PRESS BOX: PROGNOSTICATORS UNANIMOUS ON WINS FOR THREE VALLEY TEAMS; SPLIT ON FOURTH (2021-10-08)
It’s Week 7 South of the Border, and Week 5 on the North side, and the big game of the weekend is tonight at Haggerty Field as Tioga, ranked No. 1 in the state in Class D, hosts arch-rival Newark Valley, ranked 14th, in a key divisional game. ...more

FROM THE PRESS BOX: WEEK 6 PICKS — A BUSY WEEKEND OF HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL (2021-10-01)
The second half of the NTL season begins tonight with Week 6 of action South of the Border, while Week 4 in New York State wraps up the first half of the 2021 campaign.
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FROM THE PRESS BOX: PART II OF WEEKLY PIGSKIN PROGNOSTICATIONS (2021-09-25)
After five games on Friday night, we have four more today, and two on Monday night.

The pigskin prognosticators had a perfect Friday night, with all four posting 5-0 records. ...more

FROM THE PRESS BOX: PART I OF WEEKLY PIGSKIN PROGNOSTICATIONS (2021-09-24)
Week 5 of the high school football season in Pa. is set to go off with just one hiccup, while Week 3 in New York has seen games postponed and shuffled to different dates due to Covid, injuries, and a shortage of game officials.
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FROM THE PRESS BOX: WEEK 4 PICKS — WAVERLY, SAYRE SQUARE OFF WITH DIVISIONAL FOES (2021-09-17)
It’s Week 4 of the high school football season in Pa., and Week 2 in New York.

There are several interesting games, with Waverly and Sayre both playing key divisional games. The Wolverines host Charango Valley, and with just four teams in the division, every one is a big one. ...more

FROM THE PRESS BOX: WEEK 3 PICKS — A FULL SLATE OF FOOTBALL (2021-09-10)
The New York State football season shifts into high gear this weekend, while teams South of the Border play their third game of the season.

After Week 2, there’s no place to go but up for the VSR band of pigskin-pickers. ...more

FROM THE PRESS BOX: WEEK 2 PICKS — ATHENS, SAYRE PLAY DIVISIONAL FOES, WAVERLY OPENS SEASON (2021-09-03)
Athens and Sayre are coming off big wins over non-league opponents in Week 1, and will face divisional foes this weekend, while Waverly opens its season at home tonight.
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FROM PRESS ROW: BOB BAKER WAS A TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOW (2021-09-02)
“You have big shoes to fill.”

It was a phrase I heard often in the early years after taking over for Bob Baker at The Daily Review.
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FROM THE PRESS BOX: LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS WORLD LOSES A FRIEND, ADVOCATE IN BOB BAKER (2021-09-01)
Longtime Daily Review sports editor Bob Baker, 64, passed away Wednesday after a long battle with cancer.

I toss around the expression “he’s a good guy,” or "he’s a great guy,” a lot — probably too much. When it comes to Bob Baker, I could say “he’s a great guy,” and it wouldn’t come close to measuring the goodness in the man’s heart. ...more

THE FINAL WORD: AN INTERESTING OPENING WEEKEND OF NTL FOOTBALL (2021-08-29)
There were some impressive performances in the first weekend of the NTL football season.

Sayre and Canton easily disposed of NTL foes, while Athens and Wyalusing rolled over non-league opponents. ...more

FROM THE PRESS BOX: WEEK 1 PICKS — PIGSKIN PROGNOSTICATORS PREDICT GOOD WEEKEND FOR VALLEY, NTL TEAMS (2021-08-27)
High school football action in one-half (South of the Border) kicks off tonight, and both Sayre and Athens have the luxury of opening at home.

In 2020, the Wildcats bounced back from a disastrous 1-10 record in 2019 with a 5-2 season, while Sayre was 1-2 — losing a pair of 3-point decisions and having three games canceled due to Covid. ...more

FROM THE PRESS BOX: BUCKLE UP! YEAR 13 AT VALLEY SPORTS REPORT COULD BE A VERY GOOD ONE (2021-08-16)
Today marks the start of Valley Sports Report’s 13th year of high school sports coverage in the Valley.

If things continue to return toward normal, and the powers-that-be keep their wits about them, the 2021-22 high school sports calendar could bring us some incredible action, and possibly one of the best years yet. ...more

THE FINAL WORD: PUTTING A BOW ON A (HOPEFULLY) ONE-OF-A-KIND 2020-21 (2021-08-16)
What a year.

The fact that I’m running my final season-ending awards for the 2020-21 season, on the opening day of fall practices for the 2021-22 season, should tell you something,

The 2020-21 school year started under a cloud of doubt, thanks to the Covid restrictions, but PIAA forged ahead and provided its student-athletes with an opportunity to compete. ...more

THE FINAL WORD: PUTTING A BOW ON AN ALMOST NORMAL 2021 SPRING SEASON (2021-08-14)
The spring season was not normal, but it was as close as the 2020-21 high school sports calendar would offer.
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FROM THE PRESS BOX: A GLIMPSE INTO THE CRYSTAL BALL AT THE 2022 SOFTBALL SEASON (2021-08-12)
Like baseball, the softball season was nearly normal in 2021 (aside from no state playoffs in N.Y.)
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FROM THE PRESS BOX: CRYSTAL BALL FORECASTS STRONG SEASONS FOR VALLEY BASEBALL TEAMS IN SPRING OF '22 (2022-08-11)
The 2021 baseball season was closer to normal than anything else in this wacky 2020-21 high school sports year.

It would have been completely normal had it not been for New York’s completely asinine decision to cancel the spring sports championships in mid-November (more than six months in advance), but that’s a topic for another day. ...more

FROM THE PRESS BOX: MIKE HUGHES BUILT FOUNDATION OF WAVERLY GIRLS BASKETBALL PROGRAM (2021-08-10)
The older you get, the more death plays a part in your life.

In the past 10 years, I’ve lost aunts and uncles, high school and college friends, former teachers and coaches, and my father.

On Sunday, while sitting on the tarmac at the Orlando Airport, my wife Nikki and I found out her uncle — former Waverly girls basketball coach Mike Hughes — had died. ...more

FROM THE PRESS BOX: VALLEY SPORTS REPORT MARKS 12TH ANNIVERSARY OF LAUNCH (2021-08-10)
Today is a birthday, of sorts — the 12th anniversary of the launch of Valley Sports Report.
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