Leading off today: Fresh off a fabulous season, the Archbishop Stepinac basketball program has found itself in serious trouble with the Catholic High School Athletic Association.
The program faces stiff punishments recommended in a letter from Kevin J. Pigott, president of the Boys' CHSAA Archdiocese of New York, LoHud.com reported Monday. The proposed sanctions include a 2027 postseason ban that would keep the Crusaders from pursuing a fifth straight CHSAA AA City Championship.
Additionally, head coach Pat Massaroni faces an eight-game ban during the league schedule and the team will not be able to travel out of state next season if the penalties are upheld.
It all stems from Stepinac's participation in the 17th annual Chipotle Nationals, a high-profile but unsanctioned event conducted April 1-4 in Fishers, Ind., a suburb of Indianapolis. The Crusaders lost their first-round game in the eight-team tournament to SPIRE Academy of Ohio.
The CHSAA basis for coming down hard on Stepinac includes:
• Participating in an event not sanctioned by the CHSAA or the National Federation of State High School Associations.
• Competing in an event that could have taken Stepinac beyond the end of the approved CHSAA basketball calendar.
• Entering a competition that would have required playing during the Paschal Triduum ahead of Easter Sunday had the Crusaders won the first-round game. That runs contrary to a policy established by Cardinal Timothy Dolan in 2015.
Pigott declined to comment and Massaroni has been instructed not to comment, the website reported.
In response, the CHSAA executive committee recommended a two-year probation for the athletic program, an eight-game suspension of Massaroni for league contests, and blocking Stepinac teams at all levels from competing in the 2027 CHSAA basketball playoffs.
The measures still need approval by the CHSAA's chief administrators council.
On the move
Mike Wheeler, 75-20 with two appearances in NYSPHSAA final as the girls basketball coach at Liverpool since 2022, is the new boys basketball coach at Cicero-North Syracuse, Syracuse.com reported.
He previously spent two decades as the coach of the Onondaga Community College women's program, posting a 509-128 record.
Wheeler replaces Kyle Martin, who stepped down in March, and inherits a program that is 87-36 over the past six seasons.
Milestones
• Wayland-Cohocton's
David Stewart become the winningest softball coach in Section 5 history on Thursday with victory No. 519, an 11-2 triumph against Livonia. The outcome improved Wayland-Cohocton's record to 8-0.
• Avon pitcher Jessie Crye recorded the 1,000th strikeout of her softball career while pitching a three-hitter over the weekend to defeat Williamsville South, 2-0. Crye is a Florida Gulf Coast University commit.
Finally back on their home field
Mexico finally returned to its home field Saturday and defeated Chittenango 5-4 to improve to 5-2 this season in Section 3 baseball action.
"I actually teared up a little bit when I walked over there, coach Michael Ostrom told Syracuse.com. "I'm like, 'Oh, my God. I haven't seen this in so long,'".
It was the team's first home game since May 16, 2023, a stretch of 44 straight road games (a 21-23 record) necessitated by drainage problems rendering the field unplayable.
Ostrom said school workers tinkered with the system before winter weather set in, plunging deeper holes to improve drainage for a field that sits lower than parts of the adjacent landscape. A creek beyond the outfield adds to the issue.
Ostrom said he once added up the mileage of the road trips and figured it would have been enough to travel to Florida.
Random thought
I suspect at any given time a double-digit percentage of people who pay property taxes don't like their school district superintendent, who recommends the budget that the school board puts before voters each spring.
This year, budget vote date for districts across New York is supposed to be May 19. At this point, however, the state still does not have a budget.
That doesn't necessarily mean the superintendents don't have a reasonable idea of how much state aid they can count on as the work to square revenue vs. expenses. But it does mean that they've been spending an inordinate amount of time this month scrutinizing budget lines while looking for contingency options if Albany doesn't deliver the expected revenue.
In that respect, cut him or her a break if they haven't been getting out to ball games, school concerts, and whatever lately. The job may pay well, but there are only so many hours in a day, and those hours spent well might save you a few bucks down the road.
