Leading off today: This qualifies as a rare swing and a miss from the media outlet that probably qualifies as the best in the state when it comes to covering high school sports.
Newsday has rolled out an in-house fantasy football game tied to the performances of many of Long Island's best scholastic players.
Trust me when I say it's a bad idea, and one that shouldn't make it to the finish line this fall.
Other media have tried it over the past 15 or so years, and all have failed. Their fatal flaw was that they opened the contest up to readers or listeners, some of whom displayed abusive behavior on social media toward 17- and 18-year-old athletes who didn't do enough to secure victories.
Thankfully, Newsday is limiting the contest to 10 of its own staff members, all of whom are presumably responsible users of social media such as Facebook and Instagram.
But what about their responsibilities as reporters and editors? Did anyone who signed off on this consider that the appearance of impropriety can be as bad as impropriety itself?
Does unconscious bias creep into game reporting in the form of a mention that ordinarily wouldn't be made? The accuracy of game stats supplied by the schools can be a hit-and-miss proposition under ordinary circumstances. Now, do we have to wonder whether statkeepers might find an extra yard or five for a running back or QB to register another fantasy point?
Yes, I know that might sound silly to some. But there's the potential for this to go askew, so why would a staff that covers more games and does more enterprise reporting than any other outlet in New York risk having this blow up in its face?
Dept. of Coincidences
Timing being everything, this popped up in my Facebook memories today.
However, it was merely a joke:
Connetquot's mascot decision splits the difference
Connetquot's school board voted on Tuesday to compromise with the State Education Department by tweaking the name of the high school's teams. The 3-2 vote did away with the Thunderbirds name and adopted the T-Birds moniker, which had already been in use informally.
In the process, the board managed to upset parties on both sides of the debate over the state mandate to do away for Native American mascots and other imagery; longtime residents have strenuously opposed kicking Thunderbirds to the scrap heap, and some state officials and groups connected to Native Americans contend T-Birds violates the spirit if not the letter of the new policy.
According to the New York Post, the state and the school district arranged the deal in June in exchange for Connetquot dropping its legal action against the state. The arrangement came shortly after Secretary of Education Linda McMahon enlisted the Department of Justice to investigate the statewide ban.
We're always happy to help
We made some updates to our week-by-week schedule pages on
RoadToSyracuse.com, the NYSSWA's football website yesterday to reflect changes forced by dropped programs and canceled games heading into Week 1.
That massive undertaking is pulled together each summer by Steve Grandin, and his work paid off when Peru's football team was left scrambling 10 days before its opener as Canton pulled out of its scheduled matchup due to low roster numbers.
The development sent Peru coach Ryon O'Connell scurrying for a backup plan.
"When we found out that we didn't have a game versus Canton, that they weren't able to play us, we started looking around the state to find a game, using the Road to Syracuse website," O'Connell said.
The search led to Peru connecting with Kennedy Catholic of the CHSFL. The teams will face off at noon on Saturday at Shenendehowa High, whose administrators stepped up to make their field available as a convenient neutral site for both teams.
• The combined Southampton/Ross School varsity football team will sit out the 2025 season because it does not have the required number of players, Newsday reported.
The squad was supposed to open at Miller Place on Sept. 11.
Lawmakers, Alabama high school regulators at odds
State lawmakers are
threatening consequences if the Alabama High School Athletic Association doesn't change a rule that says athletes who change schools using financial aid such as the CHOOSE Act lose a year of eligibility.
A $7,000 tax credit in the CHOOSE Act allows students to change schools and cover their expenses, and state Senator Chris Elliot said those funds enable students to get a better education.
"It is tough for me to see where the Alabama High School Athletic Association thinks their rules trump the law of the state of Alabama, which says nothing shall impact a player's eligibility," Elliot said. "It is just as clear as a bell."
Fellow state Senator Lance Bell said colleagues are considering dismantling the AHSAA. "That's just a kick in the teeth," Bell said. "That's why we specifically put in the CHOOSE Act that these kids are entitled to do anything and everything (they did) at the school they left."
