Leading off today: The warmups took longer than the actual contest Monday in Brighton when a Section 5 girls soccer game suspended two days earlier resumed.
Vicki Beatham scored in the 13th round of penalty kicks to send Pittsford Sutherland (8-10) past Brighton (11-4-3) in a Class A quarterfinal upset.
The game was scoreless through regulation and overtime, then tied 9-9 in penalty kicks Saturday night before a lightning storm suspended play.
Brighton's Mary Flanagan and Pittsford's Lauren Graupman each made a save in the 11th round. In the next round, Brooke Wolff scored for Brighton but Grace Dunnigan answered for Sutherland to make it 10-10. Brighton's 13th attempt missed off the left post; Beatham followed by connecting inside the left post.
Sutherland, which also won in penalty kicks in a first-round win vs. Honeoye Falls-Lima, will play Pittsford Mendon in the semifinals.
Following up: Are you going to believe me or your lying eyes? That appears to be the message from Westchester Community College officials who are trying to distance themselves from a scandal that's already cost two former New York scholastic stars their scholarships and may have implications for others.
The Journal News reported Monday WCC is reviewing the transcripts and academic eligibility of dozens of its students-athletes over recent seasons after the paper revealed that two star basketball players had their athletic scholarships yanked from Florida A&M University because of phony transcripts.
The scandal resulted in assistant WCC coach Richard Fields being fired Oct. 16. A WCC spokesman said Fields admitted providing a phony transcript for former Mount Vernon standout Jamell Walker and forging an administrator's signature on an eligibility form for him. The New York State Office of the Inspector General is investigating.
Walker and Damien Davis, a highly regarded player from Wings Academy in the Bronx, were juniors on the Florida A&M team until the school pulled their scholarships after contacting WCC officials Oct. 15. The transcript supplied to FAMU reportedly show far more credits for Davis than he actually earned at WCC.
Here, though, is the best nugget from Monday's story: WCC spokesman Patrick Hennessey insisted at least twice in recent days that Walker never played basketball for the junior college -- despite the newspaper providing links to YouTube.com videos showing Walker playing and being interviewed wearing his WCC jersey. The Journal News also cited stat sheets and a news article documenting Walker played on the team.
"There's no rules violation because he wasn't on the team," Hennessey said. He said the college "can't explain" why Walker is in the videos. "He was not an official member of the team. He did not play in a game."
Try telling that to Walker's high school coach. Bob Cimmino of Mount Vernon told the paper he watched Walker play twice for WCC.
Stars and scares: One of the best girls basketball players the state has ever seen had to be carried off the court during an all-star game Sunday, but the injury may not be as bad as initially feared.
Lauren "Boogie" Brozoski, the Long Island Lutheran senior guard bound for the University of Michigan, came down awkwardly while taking a shot during the third quarter of the Metro Classic at Archbishop Molloy High School and grabbed her knee in obvious pain.
"It looks like it's a hyperextended knee," Slater said. "She is going to see the doctor again Monday and we will see after that. She was able to go out to dinner with her family after the game though."
Brozoski was the NYSSWA's 2013 state player of the year in Class A and shared the 2014 Class AA honor with Bianca Cuevas of Nazareth.
After initially being treated on the court, Brozoski was unable to put any weight on the leg and had to be carried to the bench, nychoops.net reported and a NYSSWA source at the game confirmed. But L.I. Lutheran coach
