The Academy Road

The Academy Road

The Academy Road

Recent Recent Stories Stories

Get to Know Jenn Fredrickson Hutchins

January 6, 2024

For the last 25 years, Jenn Fredrickson Hutchins has been an integral part of The Albany Academies. Her tenure started with a paper copy of her resume sent to the address...

The Road to Success of our Middle School Robotics Teams

January 5, 2024

  Both of our middle school robotics teams competed this weekend at the FLL Masterpiece Challenge at Shenendehowa High School. “The Coding Turtles” and “The...

Throwback Thursday

January 4, 2024

Adam Penrose '02, played baseball for The Albany Academies under esteemed Coach Dorwardlt. Now, he follows in his mentor's footsteps as the Varsity baseball head coach, marking...

Snack Shack is Back!

January 3, 2024

Visit the Snack Shack and support the 9th grade's fundraising. Ms. Marchetti's Room (AAG 50-06) E Block Lunch H Block 3:00-3:30

Albany Academy Cadets Suffer Narrow 2-3 Loss to Voorheesville

Albany Academy Cadets Suffer Narrow 2-3 Loss to Voorheesville

September 29, 2023

*Albany, NY* – The Albany Academy Cadets soccer team faced a tough challenge against Voorheesville, resulting in a narrow 2-3 loss. Despite the setback, the team showed...

NFL Championship Picks

Nick: By about 4:00pm on Sunday, Dirty Mike had taken a dreadful beating with his picks. He was 0-3 and seemed to have foolishly picked the underdog Jets versus the heavily favored Patriots. 0-4 seemed inevitable. But the Jets shocked everyone and won so Dirty Mike gets to pick another week of games. But this is no ordinary week. This is Championship Week.

Tom: Due to his dreadful week of picks, which brought countless shame and scorn to this otherwise reputable newspaper, I was unwilling to ask Dirty Mike back for another week. After several hours of begging, I agreed to allow him to pick for another week, but under one condition. I would be picking too.

Green Bay Packers (12-6) at Chicago Bears (12-5) Sunday 3:00 on FOX

Nick: Last week I was pretty confident that the quarterback nicknamed Matty Ice and his number one seeded Atlanta Falcons would beat the Packers. Well the Ice melted and the Falcons got thoroughly embarrassed at home. But think of it this way: if the Bears had just been able to beat the Packers in Week 17, the Packers would have missed the playoffs and the whole playoff bracket would have changed. That game was only won 10-3 by Green Bay at home, so this game will probably be close. The weather conditions are predicted to be bad and the Soldier Field turf is one of the worst, so look for a sloppy game with low scoring and a lot of defense. This game won’t be the Aaron Rodgers showcase that it was in Atlanta. The Green Bay running back, who I correctly predicted wouldn’t be a factor last week, again won’t be a factor. This game will come down to who makes the least mistakes. I would trust Rodgers to get me to a Super bowl. I wouldn’t trust Jay Cutler to make me an ice cream cone, much less get me to the Super Bowl. I see Cutler throwing a late pick to seal this one. It’ll be a defensive struggle in the cold, Packers win 20-13.

Tom: Don’t expect my pick to be fair and unbiased because, as many of you know, I am a Packers fan. Instead of weighing each team against each other, I will be telling you why the Chicago Bears, who led the league in plays of zero or negative yards, will lose this game. Quite simply, it is because of Aaron Rodgers, a supreme being among mere mortals. Rodgers has been superb this postseason, leading a Packers team that is excelling on both defense and offense. They eviscerated the highly overrated and playoff-inexperienced Atlanta Falcons in a truly impeccable offensive show. It’s not the high-powered offense, but the silently dominant Green Bay defense that will win this game for the Packers. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, aka Jay Cutler, will struggle mightily, forcing running back Matt Forte to step up. Without a dominant performance from their running back, or some magic from Devin Hester, the Bears will be outmatched in this game on all levels. Look for Matthews, Woodson, and the boys to smother the already weak Bears offense. Packers 24, Bears 14.

New York Jets (13-5) at Pittsburgh Steelers (13-4) Sunday 6:30 on CBS

Nick: The Jets and Packers both have a legitimate shot at meeting in Dallas for a matchup of 6 seeds in the Super Bowl. They both got impressive wins over number one seeds last weekend. But the Jets had the more impressive victory. They beat the best team in the NFL during the regular season. They beat a team who had embarrassed them 45-3 in the same stadium a month earlier. They beat a team that had the best quarterback and coach in the league. Beating Matt Ryan and Mike Smith at home is one thing. Beating Tom Brady and Bill Belichick at home is a whole different challenge. But the Jets did it and they did it handedly. The Jets beat these Steelers at Heinz Field 22-17 in Week 15. Now granted, the Steelers were missing Troy Polamalu, whose picture is in the dictionary next to the word GAMECHANGER. The Steelers aren’t a bunch of Sister Leopoldas. They are tough, but the Ravens should have beaten them last week. If the Ravens hadn’t hit the snooze button in the middle of the third quarter then would be in Maryland. The Steelers can be beat. If the Jets can beat the big bully in New England, then they can take out Big Ben in Pittsburgh. Jets fans have waited too long for this. The three times they’ve been to the AFC championship since 1968 have been losses. They lost in 1982, 1998 and 2009. But these Jets are different. Their momentum will carry them through this game. Mark Sanchez will play another clean game and will run off the field like Broadway Joe did. The defense will confuse Big Ben like they befuddled Brady and perplexed Manning. This game will also be a close one. But like Rex Ryan said on Sunday “Same Old Jets back to the AFC Championship. The only difference is this time we plan on winning.” Oh yes they will. Jets 23-17.

Tom: In this intriguing AFC Championship, both teams are facing off after impressive statement wins over division rivals. The Steelers outlasted the Ravens, while the Jets, behind a suffocating defense, defeated the hated Patriots. But the Jets’ win was much more meaningful. After a weak of smack talk, many foolish analysts (I’m looking at you Tom Jackson) were unsure if the Jets and their foot-happy coach Rex Ryan could back up their talk. Well, they did, and now they get to take their talents to Heinz Field. The Jets beat the Steelers on their home turf during the regular season, but that was without Mr. Head and Shoulders, Troy Polamalu. Though Polamalu will certainly have an impact, I think the Jets’ hopes of making the Super Bowl fall upon their quarterback Mark Sanchez. The Sanchise will have to get into a rhythm early against a Steelers defense with a strong pass rush. LT and Shonn Greene must support their rookie quarterback with a strong running attack, while the defense must try to contain the tricky Ben Roethlisberger. I believe the Jets can stifle Rashard Mendenhall, but Big Ben poses a huge problem with his ability to make plays downfield outside of the pocket. But I think the Jets will prevail in a close one and will punch their tickets to Dallas. Jets 17, Steelers 13.