Leading off today: Computers do a lot of valuable work in this world. They really do.

   They can perform millions of calculations per second, which keeps Wall Street and the U.S. Army humming along. They power medical devices such as MRI and ultrasound machines that help doctors diagnose and treat serious ailments.

   They make this whole World Wide Web thing possible, which means I can blog and collect money from Google for running their ads on my pages.

   Sad to say, however, these wonderful machines do have a hitory of going a little bit goofy every so often.

   For instance, my Dell Inspiron 6000 stopped communicating with my H-P printer a couple of weeks ago. I'm not sure what's behind this little mechanical spat; I thought maybe the LaserJet 1012 was throwing a hissy-fit because it knew I had my eye on a LaserJet 1020, but the new printer won't respond either. So I've installed and uninstalled software repeatedly and read dozens of pages of documentation, but I can't resolve the problem and I'm beginning to wonder whether this might be one of those infamous Dell-as-in-hell breakdowns.

   But I digress. My real reason for blogging today is that I have issues with the computer that MaxPreps uses to compile its state and national rankings in high school football. I look at the rubbish that their machine is spitting out and suddenly the situation with my Dell laptop doesn't seem so awful.

   According to MaxPreps, 45 of the 46 worst high school football teams in New York are from Long Island. Yonkers Sacred Heart is rated 603rd in the state by MaxPreps, a CBS property. All 38 teams below Sacred Heart are from Sections 8 or 11.

   Considering that there are 108 football-playing schools in those two sections of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, it's not unreasonable to expect that there would be some bad teams down there. But shouldn't it set off an alarm in your mind when all 38 teams at the bottom of the list are from Long Island?

   Conversely, shouldn't eyebrows be raised when the computer says four of the top five schools — No. 1 Gates

Chili, No. 2 Aquinas, No. 4 Canandaigua and No. 5 Rush-Henrietta — are from Section 5? Hey, I live in Gates and pay school taxes there, so you know I respect the Spartans. And, I'm an Aquinas grad, too; it's a little-known fact that the real motto of the Basilian Fathers who taught there is, "Teach me goodness, discipline, knowledge — and how to beat the Jesuits in football."

   But, puh-lease. Let's be sensible and not get the bandwagon cranked up just yet beyond yesterday's joyous postings on the Syracuse.com forums and this morning's Page 1 story in the Democrat and Chronicle. Even if you accept that Gates Chili might be No. 1 in New York, which actually wouldn't be very far-fetched, can any informed fan honestly buy into MaxPreps' contention that the Spartans are No. 24 in the country?

   I've watched portions of a couple of high school games that ESPN has shown this fall, and there are some seriously good teams out there. I can envision Gates Chili being very competitive in a game against Monroe-Woodbury at the Carrier Dome on Thanksgiving weekend, but I'm not so sure they can hang in there with the five best teams from Pennsylvania, the 10 most outstanding from Ohio, the 15 finest from Florida or Texas' top 20.

   That knocks Gates Chili down to No. 51 in the country (at best), and I haven't even gotten around to 40-something other stars on the flag.

   So do you see where I'm going with this? You may disagree with the weekly New York State Sportswriters Association rankings from time to time, which is OK because so do I at times.

   But on our worst day, we don't try telling you that Class D Maple Grove is one spot better in the rankings than Class AA St. Anthony's. Play that game for real, and St. A just has way too much depth for the Red Dragons.

   I don't say that to be disrespectful of Maple Grove. I'm just being realistic.

   So send that computer out for an oil and lube.

   Extra points: Baldwinsville voters rejected two school district capital-project proposals yesterday, including a $7.5 million plan to install artificial turf and renovate the athletic stadium. The vote was a decisive 1,068 to 724.

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