Recapping the year: MaxPreps.com writer Stephen Spiewak did a recap of the 2007-08 high school sports year and assembled a list of what he calls the
10 best storylines in the nation. It's an interesting read and nicely assembled; most of the items making the list are no-brainers.
One of my two quibbles is the omission of the Hoover, Ala., football scandal. That powerhouse program, profiled in a reality TV series, disintegrated in a public fashion amid allegations of grades being changed and inappropriate personal behavior.
My bigger issue, though, is the inclusion of the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association boys lacrosse final in which Loyola beat Gilman, 12-11, to avenge a 10-goal loss during the regular season. Spiewak says the loss cost Gilman the claim as perhaps the best lacrosse team of all time. Them's fightin' words to a whole bunch of people on Long Island or in Central New York.
(Editor's note: I made a minor change in the following item after its original posting to distinguish between libel and slander.)
Be careful what you write: Here's a cautionary tale for those of you who go onto chat boards or forums on the Internet to post hateful thoughts and malicious, unfounded accusations: The Journal News will have to turn over the identities of anonymous web-site posters who may have libeled an ex-congressman on LoHud.com, according to attorneys involved in the case.
Westchester County Judge Rory Bellantoni will issue an order to release information to identify "SAVE10543," "hadenough," and "aoxomoxoa" for comments they made about former Rep. Richard Ottinger and his wife, June Ottinger, the newspaper reported.
The couple has been involved in a legal dispute with neighbors over construction of a house in a Mamaroneck Orienta waterfront community and claim the writers falsely accused them of filing a fraudulent document and bribing public officials. The couple argued that they can't bring a defamation suit against the three without their identities, and subpoenaed the newspaper.
The Journal News unsuccessfully tried to quash the subpoena, but the Ottingers more or less successfully ran the playbook outlined in a 2001 case in New Jersey that set the standard for such disclosure. Even if the offending commentators registered under phony names, it's possible they can be tracked down via IP addresses.
I'm not saying this could happen to you, but you might want to reconsider before posting unsubstantiated allegations of recruiting or unethical behavior on the Syracuse.com football forum from your home computer.
