Mohawk Valley becomes lacrosse capital

The Mohawk Valley will host three college lacrosse tournaments and another key NCAA Division I matchup this weekend.

On Friday, Hamilton College plays St. Lawrence at noon in a Liberty League semifinal. The league championship will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday at Hamilton.

In Herkimer, HCCC hosts both the men’s and women’s Region III tournaments this weekend. The HCCC women play Broome at noon on Saturday, followed by the HCCC men against Monroe at 2:30 p.m. The women’s title game will be played at noon Sunday, with the men’s title game to follow at 3 p.m.

Also on Saturday, Colgate hosts Syracuse at 1 p.m. at Andy Kerr Stadium. The Raiders won the Patriot League championship last weekend, and the Orange enter the game ranked No. 2 in the nation. Tickets are $4 for adults, $2 for children. The game will be televised by Time Warner-Channel 26.

Mr. Nice Guy in Cooperstown Thursday

If you’re at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown on Thursday, look closely at the white-haired gentleman checking out all the artifacts.

Chances are, it’s former major league manager Dick Williams.

The 78-year-old Williams, a member of the Class of 2008, will take his orientation tour Thursday in preparation for his July 27 induction. Williams managed six teams over 21 seasons – every year except one from 1967 to 1988. He left the game with 1,571 wins, two World Series championships and a reputation for being one of the toughest managers of his generation.

Nowadays, however, Williams can’t stop smiling. His election to the Hall seems to have softened the former tough guy, who had no shortage of enemies during his days in the dugout.

Many of those “enemies” now call Williams the best manager they ever played for. His Hall of Fame election was long overdue.

Roger's rotten legacy

Another day, another bombshell for Roger Clemens.

Singer Mindy McCready has confirmed the New York Daily News’ report that says Clemens and McCready had a long affair, leaving Clemens with virtually no credibility heading into his defamation suit against Brian McNamee.

Has this guy told anyone the truth about anything in the last decade?

No one has fallen this far this fast since M.C. Hammer.

Roger, you should have known: You can’t touch that.

Missing Posada

The extent of Jorge Posada’s injury is unclear, but a shoulder problem for a 36-year-old catcher is a bad sign.

Posada has averaged almost 143 games a season the last eight years, a tremendous load for a catcher. No one questions his work ethic, but catchers tend to break down quickly (Johnny Bench, Mike Piazza) at a certain point and are never the same afterward. The Yankees have committed more than $50 million to Posada through 2011, so it might be time to consider moving him to first base to prolong his career.

No matter what happens, though, the Yankees are sure to get more mileage out of Posada than the Giants will out of Barry Zito. The 2002 AL Cy Young Award winner has lost so much life off his fastball that he can no longer throw the ball inside. This velocity dropoff was documented as far back as 2006 with the Athletics, but that offseason the Giants committed $126 million to Zito through 2013.

By comparison, Carl Pavano and his four-year, $40 million contract with the Yankees – which works out to about $8 million per win in New York -- looks like a bargain.