Leading off today: Weather continued to be a problem today for teams trying to compete in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association playoffs.
In Central and Eastern New York, bands of powerful thunderstorms accompanied by powerful winds wiped out multiple contests.
Two boys lacrosse quarterfinals — Niskayuna vs. Yorktown (3:30 p.m.) and South Glens Falls vs. John Jay (5:30 p.m.) — will be played Wednesday at Yorktown. The Class C game between Johnstown and Rye will be played 3:30 p.m. at Lakeland. Also in 'B,' Carthage vs. Chenango Forks was pushed back a day.
In baseball, Chatham vs. Potsdam at Canton (4:30 p.m.), Fort Plain vs. Bruston-Moira at Amsterdam (4 p.m.) and Fort Ann vs. Crown Point Morse Athletic Complex (4 p.m.) were pushed back to Wednesday. Whitesboro and Malone Franklin will try again in Class A on Wednesday at Alliance Bank Stadium in Syracuse.
In softball, Shenendehowa's game vs. Cicero-North Syracuse was pushed back to Wednesday at 4 p.m. at the Adirondack Sports Complex in Queensbury. Three more games — Westhill vs. Windsor in Class B, Pulaski vs. Binghamton Seton in 'C' and Stockbridge Valley vs. Afton in 'D'— will be played Wednesday at the Gillette Softball Complex in Cicero.
On Long Island, all activities were postponed for the second straight day because of oppressive heat. Section 11 executive director Ed Cinelli said officials considered playing at night, but the forecast quelled it.
"We looked at that option because it gets cooler at that time, but severe thunderstorms were in the forecast and that would just delay things further," he told Newsday. "With baseball and softball, you're dealing with daylight. We've never had this situation. Most of the time, this type of heat occurs in August or September. It's about safety first.
Winners of the Class B and C softball championship games Wednesday will have to play Thursday in a regional final at SUNY New Paltz, and three boys lacrosse winners will play again Thursday in the state semifinals at Hofstra. State finals are still scheduled for Saturday, putting multiple teams in the position of potentially having to play three games in four days. Long Island girls lacrosse winners on Wednesday will depart for the following day to prepare for state semifinals on Friday in Cortland.
"It's really hot out there. I think it was the right decision," Syosset boys lacrosse player Jeff Cohen said. "There's no sense in playing in ridiculous conditions if you can play the next day."
Stupid, stupid, stupid: John Gurtler Jr., the public address announcer for the Buffalo Bills and voice of the Buffalo Bandits lacrosse team, was arrested early Sunday along with his wife and teenage son after they allegedly hosted an underage post-prom party in Orchard Park, The Buffalo News reported.
