Leading off today: As part of the run-up to the Empire State Games this month, Rick Carpiniello of
The Journal News has waded into the annual "coaches are playing favorites" controversy and found
a sticky situation.
With ESGs coming to Westchester County for the first time, there naturally is more interest than usual in team selection down there, and Carpiniello caught wind of some of the complaints that have been showing up in various blogs and on message boards.
One of the more frequent complaints we've seen or heard has to do with the Hudson Valley girls lacrosse team, coached by Joe Corace of Mahopac and John Callanan of Suffern. Players from those two schools account for 11 of the 20 players on the roster, with three more among the 11 alternates..
"I guess the blogs, they were saying there are kids complaining," Corace told Carpiniello, jokingly adding, "If I was going to write something, it might be, 'If you spent a little less time blogging and a little more time practicing, maybe you would have made the team.' "
Ouch. That may be somewhat accurate, but it might also be a bit too flip. Callanan makes a case that Suffern was blessed with a talented junior class this year and Mahopac brings a lot of defensive skill to the roster. But
