Leading off today: The New York State Public High School Athletic Association has made a move to tighten its transfer rules.

   The adjustment is to one of the waivers that student-athletes can apply for if they want to avoid sitting out an entire season in a sport, the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester reported Thursday.

   Students who transfer to take part in an educational program not offered at their old school can still play immediately, but the NYSPHSAA's new interpretation requires the new school to have a three-unit course in the educational program for the waiver to be granted.

   "It is going to force people into making the decision sooner rather than later," Section V executive director Ed Stores told the newspaper, referring to transfers by upperclassmen. "What really upset people was when a senior — a star player — came along. It led to all types of allegations, which you can't prove, about recruiting."

   Private schools are often accused of recruiting student-athletes to build powerful teams. Anthony Bianchi, AD at Rochester-area soccer, football and hockey powerhouse Aquinas, said the new interpretation does not appear to target private schools.

   "I'm at peace with it," Bianchi told the newspaper. "We do have three-course series for subjects like theology, a core (course), and we're proud of that. I'm hopeful that if people do want to attend Aquinas, it's not just to play sports. We don't want that."

   Alabama scandal growing: An Alabama football signee had a transcript grade changed and resubmitted to the university by counselors at Hoover (Ala.) High School, making him eligible, The Birmingham (Ala.) News reported.

   The second transcript was sent after Alabama compliance officials called Hoover saying the player — identified by the paper as freshman Josh Chapman — was unexpectedly ineligible, according to the high school's former principal.

   The grade change was "an honest mistake," said Richard Bishop, who has sued the school system over his firing as principal.

   Progress report: Summer is winding down, which means I need to get moving on site updates and upgrades in between shifts at my new part-time gig with FOXSports.com.

   You'll note that I've started making additions and updates in the reference section of NewYorkSportswriters.org. Work on that will continue through the weekend, followed by an overhaul of the links pages.

   I'll also be making relatively minor changes to the site's home page to accommodate the NYSSWA's Blog Squad, which launches today with the first entry from Mark Maier, an assistant football coach at St. Anthony's.

   Extra points: Shenise Johnson, the all-state first-team pick who has carried Rush-Henrietta to two straight state Class AA girls basketball championships, has narrowed her list of college possibilities to Georgia, LSU, Boston College, Miami (Fla.) and Syracuse. . . . RISE Magazine, a sports and lifestyle magazine for teen athletes, will launch a female-focused counterpart, GIRL, next month. It will be distributed to head coaches of female high school sports teams and an estimated circulation of 300,000.

   Chain reaction: In Section 5, Chris Ells has left Mercy to become AD at Greece Arcadia. The Arcadia job opened up when Mike Giruzzi left for the AD position at Hilton. . . . Nyack has appointed Mike Ramponi as boys varsity basketball coach. . . . Bill Bowe has been dropped as baseball coach at McQuaid after a 67-12 record over three seasons. He has 240 other wins from his time at Canandaigua.

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