ValleyCats Welcome Sports Illustrated's Peter King and NFL Night

TROY, N.Y. - The National Football League season is just over a month away and the Tri-City ValleyCats, Single-A affiliate of the Houston Astros, will do its part to prepare the Capital Region for football. On Monday, August 3, the ValleyCats will host its first NFL Night with football themed promotions, prizes and guests.

Highlighting NFL Night is Sports Illustrated's senior writer and NBC football analyst Peter King. King joined Sports Illustrated in 1989 after serving as the football beat writer for Newsday (1985-89) and the Cincinnati Enquirer (1980-85). King has also enjoyed stints on the HBO series, Inside the NFL, and is the co-host on The Opening Drive on Sirius NFL Radio.

King decided to attend the ValleyCats' NFL Night after his followers on Twitter voted "The Joe" as the location to "tweet up" with the NFL insider. King will be discussing the upcoming football season with his section of fans and will throw out a first pitch. Fans are invited to meet the Sports Illustrated writer throughout the game.

In addition to King's appearance on Monday, the ValleyCats will be implementing football themed promotions into its between-inning entertainment. Footballs will be kicked into the stands and fans will have the chance to win VIP tickets to New York Giants' training camp at the University at Albany.

Fans are invited to wear their NFL jerseys to the game in support of their favorite players and teams. All fans who wear a NFL jersey will receive a $1 discount on their ticket.

First pitch is scheduled for 7 pm. Gates will open an hour earlier. Tickets for Monday's game are still available and may be purchased at the Joseph L. Bruno Stadium Box Office, calling (518) 629-CATS or by logging onto www.tcvalleycats.com.