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Leading off today: Randy Holden, who coached Corning East to the state Class A football championship last fall, is retiring from coaching.

Holden, 54, was 123-74-4 in 21 seasons at the school, including 43-4 since 2003. Corning East played in state finals in 2003 and 2005 before winning the '06 championship over Cornwall, 27-14.

"I put a lot of pressure on myself and with that being said, I realize that maybe I'm not getting as much out of the wins as I should and certainly the losses seemed to taste much more toxic," he told Corning's The Leader.

Holden will also step down as a lacrosse assistant but will continue teaching. He did not rule out a return to coaching down the road; he's interviewd for college positions in the past.

The paper said offensive coordinator Tim Hughes appears to be the front-runner to become head football coach.

Shakeup at Cambridge: Cambridge High is overhauling its coaching and administrative roster to address the issue of proper certification, The Times Union in Albany reported.

The issue of certification has cost basketball coaches Tim Ogilvie (boys) and Shannon DeGregory (girls) their positions and the paper said AD Bruce Sausville will be replaced by Tony Bochette, the junior varsity basketball coach.

Football coach Doug Lukewill resume coaching the girls basketball team, which he led directed in the 1990s. Bill Lanchantin, an eighth-grade boys' basketball coach, has applied to replace Ogilvie. Cambridge won the Section 2 Class C title in 2006 and reached the semifinals this season. Before Ogilvie's arrival, Cambridge consistently finished near the bottom of the Wasaren League.

Punishment fits the crime: Being free to choose does not make you immune from the consequences. That's the message that some Clarkstown North softball players are hearing loud and clear in the aftermath of losing their team awards because they blew off a sectional playoff game in order to attend their prom.

The Journal News reported on the issue Tuesday and followed up with an editorial this morning, and it looks as though the district administrators made the right choice

following the May 31 loss to Yorktown in the Section 1 Class AA semifinals.

As is often the case with spring schedules, the senior prom and the playoff game ended up being scheduled for the same day. Though you can't just reschedule a prom, you can adjust the sports schedule. And that's what Clarkstown North administrators did, getting Yorktown and sectional officials to agree to a 2 p.m. start (on a school day) instead of the original 4 o'clock time.

Though at least two team members made it to the 8 p.m. dance just fine, four others elected to skip the game in order to maximize the amount of time they had to get ready and/or attend pre-prom events.

As per school rules spelled out in the code of conduct for at least the last seven years, the four were no longer regarded as being members of the team. That made them ineligible for the post-season awards they thought they would be receiving at the annual varsity sports dinner.

"Everything I've worked for is like, gone," senior Audrey Bampoe told the newspaper.

Sorry, kid. That's what happens when you decide to just mail it in. And please don't make a federal case out of this one or else we'll have to bring in rebuttal witnesses from Kenmore West.

At the James "Ace" Morabito softball tournament three weeks ago, 11 Kenmore East girls commuted to and from Binghamton overnight so that they could play on Saturday morning, attend the junior prom on Saturday night and return to the tournament site early Sunday to continue competing.

I don't know if they were in any condition to help their team on Sunday, but at least they showed heart and some loyalty to their teammates.

Extra points: Bucky Gleason wrote a short column in The Buffalo News this morning titled "Who robbed Michelle Wie of childhood?" Here's my short answer: Blame her family and advisers, who've built a financial empire on the young golfer's shoulders. . . . Brewster junior soccer player Jessi-Ann Bettcher, 17, returned home with her new heart Tuesday. Bettcher went through a five-hour heart transplant procedure on May 22.

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