Leading off today: Be careful what you ask for, because the opera ain't over 'til the fat lady sings.
I know. I've mixed up my metaphors again. But if you think I'm confused, just imagine how the citizens of Horseheads feel right now. Some of them are going to have the phrase "do as I say, not as I do" thrown in their faces in the coming weeks.
As the Elmira Star-Gazette reported this morning, what started as an attempt by parents to more or less overthrow a coach has morphed into a hearing tomorrow night that will set the stage for a new code of conduct.
Student-athletes have long had to sign codes of conduct in order to participate, and most coaches are at least somewhat bound by rules of behavior spelled out in teaching contracts. So which rogue bunch will be most affected by a likely new behavior policy? Yep, the parents and spectators.
Committees have been meeting since November, and relatively new district superintendent Ralph Marino Jr. will report to the school board on Monday with initial findings. Marino's formal recommendation for action will follow in short order, and life will be different for fanatics, especially some folks who are trying to live out their dreams through their children.
"Enough has come out of this to make it a model process for a school district to take a look at what's good, what's bad, what's otherwise in the athletic program," consultant John Underwood told the newspaper. "A lot of it will be used as an example for teaching the rest of the state."
There certainly are a few places around the state that could use a little guidance. More than a few schools or districts have reputations for booster clubs that border on being terrorist organizations. And there are still others whose behavior at games is about as approrpriate as Kate Moss attending a Weightwatchers meeting.
The move toward a code of conduct began in late 2005 with parent complaints about a varsity coach. The matter reached the school board last spring -- about the same time that complaints started arriving from outside the district.
"There have been occasions at sporting events when we have had trouble accepting the conduct of our players and our guests, and we're concerned about it," Al Dedrick, Horseheads school board president, told the newspaper.
Translation: Horseheads was being labeled Horse's Butt. It was time to ask questions, form committees and hire a consultant to tie all the pieces together. The conclusion was the everyone needs to be held accountable, which is the message that will be aired tomorrow.
It's a safe bet that the athletes' code of conduct will be left pretty much intact. Coaches will find themselves faced with standards that may have to be negotiated in the next contract talks with the teachers union.
And parents are going to be told to shape up. It's somewhat telling that one of the more frequent comments
