Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017: Catching up on some good recent reads

   Leading off today: Mike Zacchio of The Journal News followed up Tuesday on the issue of whether NYSPHSAA championship soccer games should be played out until one team prevails rather than crowning co-champions after half an hour of overtime.

   It's a good piece and covers the bases. As often happens, though, I found a nugget in there that intrigued me even more than the primary topic.

   The Pearl River girls were involved in one of three Sunday title games across the state that ended with co-champions being declared since the NYSPHSAA does not go to penalty kicks if overtime fails to break a tie.

   I found it very interesting that Pirates coach Tim Peabody had his team work on penalty kicks in practices leading up the final fours weekend in Cortland. He knew the rule about crowning co-champions but told Zacchio he did not relay that detail to his players ahead of time because he didn't want them to be disgruntled about the possibility of sharing a state title.

   "They have to realize this is sometimes the way things work in life, Peabody said. "You do your best, and you're matched by somebody equal."

   As a player, I think I'd probably want to know an important detail like that going into the championship game. On the other hand, I completely understand why a coach might not want to put that fact out there ahead of time.

   I suppose it could make for some fun theoretical discussions amongst coaches, players, ADs and parents, and I don't think there are any wrong answers.

   Speaking of good reads: Roxanne Noeth is the new boys basketball coach at Byron-Bergen, and there's little doubt that she has the background for the job.

   As Roxanne Chupp, she was s star player for the Section 5 school's girls team in the 1980 and followed up with a strong career for legendary coach Phil Kahler at St. John Fisher College, one of the top Division III programs in the nation in that era.

   She was a college assistant for three seasons after graduation and served as the assistant boys coach at B-B the past two seasons while her son Colin was a player on the team. She was selected to be head coach after Chad Smith left to become an assistant at Livonia, his alma mater.

   "We interviewed four people for the job and she was far and away the best candidate," said Principal Pat McGee, himself the team's coach from 2009-13. "Woman, man, I don't care. It doesn't matter. If you can coach, you can coach."

   Said Noeth: "I just feel like I have teaching in me. I think that makes a big difference dealing with players ... it makes it easier to communicate."

   She joked that she is most excited to be able to stand up on the bench this winter and even yell at a referee, which is supposed to be off limits for assistants. Her regular-season debut will be Nov. 24 at Warsaw's tournament.

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   Calling all helpers: We will begin work soon on the 2017 New York State Sportswriters Association all-state football teams, and this is our annual request for assistance.

   As usual, we are asking reporters to send in their selections (we will not publish your picks, just use them in the selection of our teams) by Dec. 15. Since the all-area teams picked by various publications tend to be dominated by players (usually from the skill positions) from large-school teams, getting lists of top players from the five classes, including linemen, will help speed up our process.

   Similarly, it would be helpful if the respective league or sectional chairmen could send copies of all-league teams.

   All material should be emailed to sgrandin55@aol.com. Printed information can be mailed to: Steve Grandin, 28 Orenda Spring Drive, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866. If you have any questions or suggestions, please do not hesitate to let us know by return email.

   The all-state teams will be announced in early January.

   Staying put: I've received the question a few times since early summer and finally got around to checking on the answer: Yes, the Syracuse CBA boys lacrosse team will remain in Class D next spring despite winning a NYSPHSAA championship at that level last spring.

   Each section in the NYSPHSAA is required to have a policy for determining classifications for non-public schools, and Section 3's policy goes into great detail. The key factor in CBA's status is that decisions are made in two-year cycles, with certain exceptions such as a drastic change in enrollment.

   After records of 13-6 and 10-7 the previous two seasons, CBA was moved from Class C to the newly created Class D for the 2017 season. The Brothers' status in boys lacrosse is due for review again after the 2018 season. Having won the most recent state title would make them a candidate under the criteria to be moved up in 2019.

   Extra points: In a rather surprising development, no venues submitted proposals recently when the NYSPHSAA solicited requests for bids to host its 2019-21 competitive cheerleading championships. The organization recently reopened the process, setting a Dec. 1 deadline for submissions.

   The 2018 competition is slated for March 3 at Onondaga Community College's SRC Arena.