Congratulations to the Times Union in Albany for publishing an enormously fun all-star section covering the winter high school sports season.

   The 10-page section is available online as a PDF (warning: it's about a 12-meg download, so connecting to it via a dial-up account is a bad idea) and contains very short write-ups on all-stars in each sport as selected chiefly by reporters David Filkins and James Allen.

   But what sets this puppy apart from other all-star sections -- aside from the 10-page format -- is the photos of the athletes. With something like 165 athletes and coaches being recognized, this had the potential to be a borrrrrring layout of borrrrrring headshots. Instead, the paper more or less gave the athletes a license to pose as they wished, and then designed the photos in short strips of three and five images as if they snapped in one of those three-for-a-dollar photo booths at the neighborhood mall.

   What they got were lots of funny facial expressions and proof that kids have personalities. And the accompanying video of outakes from the photo studio puts the whole thing over the top.

   Proposed change in football: The football committee of the NYSPHSAA is proposing changes to the enrollment cutoffs that determine playoff classifications beginning in 2008.

Class	Current	Proposed
AA	1001-up	1051-up
A	625-1000	626-1050
B	401-624	441-625
C	276-400	281-440
D	up to 275	up to 280

   It's tricky to project enrollment numbers a year out, but the changes would typically push one or two Class AA teams per section down a class, which would somewhat correct imbalances within sections 1 and 5.

   The effect in the next two classes would be similar, with small B schools moving down into C. This would help virtually every section that participates in the state tournament balance out its class sizes, with sections 2 and 3 being the exceptions because those schools already have a lot of Class C programs.

   The change in Class D amounts to raising the limit by five students, which is not an insignificant change when you're talking about small school districts. In Section 3 alone, that could push as many as five schools down to Class D by the 2009 season, with perhaps one current D school growing enough to move up.

   Cardozo junior to Syracuse: Cardozo junior James Southerland, who averaged 17.6 points and 11.2 rebounds this season, has committed to play basketball for Syracuse University.

   Southerland is just 16 years old. At 6-foot-7 and 190 pounds, he's still developing physically, but a number of schools already had him on their radar screens. He's a 44-percent three-point shooter.

   Syracuse also has an early commitment from Kris Joseph, a 6-7 junior forward at Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington, D.C., The Post-Standard reports.

   This week's question: The new unscientific survey is posted on the NYSSWA home page. This week we're asking your opinion on which 2006 NYSPHSAA baseball champion is most likely to repeat: Massapequa, Poughkeepsie Lourdes, Fredonia, Watertown Immaculate Heart or Avoca.

   Extra points: Shenendehowa has been limping along with a short boys lacrosse roster. The Plainsmen fielded 13 players during Thursday's 8-5 loss to Saratoga but will get 16 players back for their next game following four-game suspensions. Six others are halfway through eight-game suspensions following allegations of trespassing and vandalism that occurred in a vacant home last month. . . . Watervliet AD Glenn Westfall, 54, will retire June 30 after 29 years at the school. He's been athletic director since 1989.

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