Leading off today: Editors at The Times Union in Albany and other Capital Region newspapers faced very difficult decisions Thursday in the aftermath of a young athlete's death.

   As Times Union editor Rex Smith put it, "Software hasn't yet been developed to make the judgments that routinely confront an editor. Sometimes, though, I wish for an intelligence beyond what humans have been given."

   Shaker High senior Marc Strizzi, 17, died Thursday morning in an apparent suicide plunge of some 90 feet from the Patroon Island Bridge on I-787. A number of people witnessed the incident, including several motorists who stopped and pleaded with the teenager not to jump.

   Newspapers rarely acknowledge suicides unless they happen very publicly, and unfortunately this one did. The fact that it was such a young man, as well as an award-winning athlete, made the decision more awkward and agonizing, and in the end the TU editors published the story on Page D1, the Capital Region cover. Elsewhere, it was the lead story on The Saratogian's front page, and The Record in Troy gave it a prominent placement on its front page.

   And there were additional considerations.

   "Our decision-making was also challenged because the Internet was roiling with postings from the young man's friends, though State Police hadn't released his name," Smith wrote. "We talked with some of his classmates and teammates, and decided that since his identity was widely known, our most thoughtful approach would be to write about his life. In a sad irony, he was listed in our high school fall sports all-stars section, which was also published Friday."

   Readers were clearly divided about the editors' treatment of the tragedy. M. Monica Bartoszek, the senior editor for operations at the TU, wrote an early explanation to readers on the paper's editors blog Thursday. Several readers left comments expressing dismay that the paper's web site showed a photo of the volleyball player and pole vaulter's body covered by a white sheet at the scene.

   A small sampling:

• "I’m away at college right now, and hearing this news was bad enough; seeing a visual brings the reality far too quickly and harshly."
• "The family and friends of this wonderful young man are already having a difficult time dealing with this great loss, and running this photo is insensitive. What purpose does the photo serve?"
• "While it is your job to report the news, it is your duty and responsibility as a human being to protect the rights of families that are hurt by such tragedies. I am very disappointed anyone at the newspaper would think to run this photo."
• "Certainly, the parents and friends of this individual did not ask for it all to go down this way, but their grief will be painful regardless of the news coverage. Chances are that the family of a teen who died yesterday have more on their minds than reading the news coverage right now; I know that when I had a death in my family, even one that was the long-anticipated passing of an elderly person, the days immediately afterward were spent making preparations and grieving . . . not sitting around and reading he newspaper. My guess is that by the time his family gets back to routine and becomes reacquainted with the news, this story will be long over."
• "The photo was as respectful as it could be under the circumstances. Of course the family will be hurt by the photo. But probably not because of the photo itself but rather because of the incident."

   Former Fairport AD honored: Dave Martens will be presented the Award of Merit from the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association on Monday in Nashville, Tenn.

   Martens, 72, is being recognized for his work at Rushford, Brockport and Fairport high schools, as well as his involvement at the state and national levels.

   Besides coaching sectional basketball champions at Rushford and Brockport, Martens was a key organizer of Operation Offense, a drug prevention program that began two decades ago.

   Martens is also past president of the NIAAA, which has more than 18,000 members.

   Milestone for Fulton coach: Mike Conners collected his 400th career victory as wrestling coach at Fulton, but it certainly was not easy.

   Senior Victor Garcia pinned Anthony Maneri of Phoenix in the 130-pound match to pull out a 29-27 victory on Wednesday at Fulton. Phoenix held a 27-15 lead with three bouts to go before Paul Slaver scored a technical fall and Tomas Garcia pulled out an 8-4 decision.

   Title IX, a year later: The Times Union checked in on the cheerleading scene this week to report the effects of last year's federal decision that caused school districts to change their policies on when and where cheerleaders performed at basketball games.

   As you may recall, the situation began with the mother of a girls basketball player for Johnson City who filed a discrimination complaint with the U.S. Department of Education. She contended that the lack of cheerleaders at games made the girls basketball team seem less important than the boys and violated Title IX.

   The TU's conclusion? "After a disconcerting start for some, cheerleaders and players are having fun with it. There are a few, however, who worry that cheerleading may suffer."

   Here's the paragraph that has me scratching my head:

   "The cheerleaders are upset," said Chelsea Daus, a senior who's been a cheerleader since freshman year at Heatly School in Green Island. "We only have one squad and we have to do boys' and girls' modified, junior varsity and varsity games. Some parents are a little concerned, too. I was doing homework on the sidelines the other day."

   Is this accurate? One set of cheerleaders is performing at games for as many as six different teams? Please, please, please tell me that either I'm interpreting her words incorrectly or that Daus was not quoted accurately, because that much cheering doesn't leave much time for schoolwork and practice — or eating and sleeping, for that matter.

   The article also points out an unintended consequence in at least one school district.

   "The end result for us is that we don't have a cheerleading squad anymore," Whitney Point Superintendent Carol Eaton told the paper. "And it has happened at other schools too, we have heard."

   The cheerleaders were upset that they wouldn't be able to perform at boys road games, so they quit.

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