Leading off today: I suppose we should feel fortunate to get a game like this in the last week of March, but it would probably be more riveting by a factor of 10 if it were played in the third week of June.
In the annual early-season clash of Long Island boys lacrosse powers, Massapequa knocked edged Chaminade 13-11 in Mineola on Wednesday.
Massapequa is the defending NYSPHSAA Class A champion and Chaminade won the CHSAA championship last spring. The teams shared the No. 1 spot in the final New York State Sportswriters Association rankings.
"When March 2 came around we said it's a new team," Massapequa coach Tim Radomski told Newsday. "Those guys graduated, we did a lot of good things last year, but now it's your turn to prove you guys can do the same thing."
Junior Ryan Tierney scored three of his four goals in the first half as Massapequa built an early 4-0 lead and took an 8-4 advantage into halftime. He also added two assists.
Seniors Paul Dilena and Carter Hawthrone had two goals and four assists apiece in the win. Chaminade's Jack Tigh had three goals and two assists.
"It's a great measuring stick for the season," Radomski said. "They're a great team and we just want to see where we're at going into the season when we play against Chaminade. It's a great rivalry."
Following up: Former Jamesville-DeWitt boys basketball coach Bob McKenney was never provided with any details as to why he was told to resign or be fired from a job he held for 19 seasons, he said Thursday.
McKenney, who led J-D to five NYSPHSAA championships, canceled a news conference but released a statement saying that a "review" of his program was cited by AD John Goodson and an assistant superintendent as the basis for an ultimatum to quit or be fired he received on March 10.
McKenney resisted and said he never heard back from administrators until four days ago when he was summoned to a meeting with Goodson and Assistant Superintendent Peter Smith and again asked to resign. After he refused, the district issued a statement Monday saying McKenney would not be rehired.
"There was no discussion regarding the review of the program or the program itself," McKenney's statement said. "When I inquired as to the reason they were requesting my resignation, I was told there was not one specific reason and that after a 'review' of the program, the district felt they needed to 'go in a different direction' given the 'culture' within the basketball program," the statement read.
Also from the statement: "While it is within the discretion of the administration to go in a different direction, I can
