Leading off today: The Post-Star in Glens Falls wrote this morning about the issue of gender in the coaching ranks and found that only one of the 27 schools in its circulation area has a girls varsity basketball team coached by a women.

   That's right, 1-for-27 (and the one is at Ticonderoga, by the way). A near oh-fer worthy of A-Rod in the postseason.

   "One of the most interesting and surprising things since Title IX is this substantial decrease in the number of females coaching," Terri Lakowski, public policy officer for the Women's Sports Foundation, told the newspaper.

   The WSF says 42.4 percent of women's college teams are coached by females. That number was greater than 90 percent in 1972, the year the government enacted Title IX.

   The paper said ADs and coaches cite a number of reasons for the lack of women in the business, including the nearly year-round seasons some sports have in this era of specialization and, of course, the disproportionate percentage of females who end up being the stay-at-home parent when there are young children in the family.

   Performance-enhancing drugs: Roger Clemens' name certainly has been in the news for the last week, but he's not the only athlete accused recently of using performance-enhancing drugs.

   Allen Watson was accused by Jason Grimsley of that in an affidavit released Thursday, and the former Mets and Yankees pitcher (he last played in 2000) issued a statement Friday denying the allegations, Newsday reported.

   "At no time during my professional baseball career have I used steroids or any performance-enhancing drugs. Not then, not now, not ever," said Watson, now the baseball coach at Christ The King.

   Watson's attorney, Jay Spillane, said, "The unsealed affidavit of IRS Agent [Jeff] Novitzky is nothing but hearsay based upon rumor. Anyone who repeats these false claims against Allen should be prepared to defend themselves in court."

   In the affidavit, Novitzky — an IRS special agent who has been involved with cases against Grimsley, Barry Bonds and former Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk

Radomski — wrote, "When asked what other current (or) former Major League Baseball players used athletic performance-enhancing drugs, Grimsley named former players Allen Watson and David Segui."

   Watson and Grimsley were teammates on the Yankees in 1999-2000. The Grimsley affidavit has already caused problems. The Los Angeles Times wrongly reported in October 2006 that Clemens and Andy Pettitte were named by Grimsley. The paper ran a correction Friday.

   Parents of injured player sue: The parents of a Brooklyn football player injured in a 2004 varsity playoff game are suing Bishop Ford High School for putting the second-stringer on kickoff duty, The New York Post reported.

   William and Elizabeth Garry filed suit Dec. 14 in Brooklyn Supreme Court, alleging that their son, William Garry Jr., was put in harm's way and subsequently needed four knee operations. Garry Sr. said the family has spent more than $11,000 on medical bills.

   "He was not a starter," the father told the paper. "They placed him in the front line of the receiving team. He got hit by a really big kid. He should not have been put in that position. He's 5-foot-7 and 160 pounds."

   School officials did not return calls for comment.

   Extra points: Iona received an oral commitment this week from 6-foot-1 Cardozo point guard Trinity Fields. The New York Daily News says Fields attended yesterday's Iona game with Derrick Wolfley, a 6-7 forward from Attica High in Section 5. Wolfley averaged 21.1 points per game last year against small-school competition but is regarded as a potential steal for a mid-major. . . . The New York State Public High School Athletic Association says tickets are on sale for the state wrestling tournament March 8-9 at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester. Tickets can be purchased at the Blue Cross Arena box office, by calling (585) 232-1900 or (716) 852-500, or at Ticketmaster.com.

   Remember this name: Lubirdia Gordon. The 6-foot-4 seventh-grader is recovering from a collarbone injury and is expected to make her debut for the Mount Vernon girls basketball team in about a month, The Journal News reported. Yes, that's right. A 6-foot-4 seventh-grader. . . . Lancaster sophomore Melissa Kurzdorfer already has throws of 45-6 and 46-1 under her belt in the shot put during the indoor season.

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