In a move that USA Today says other states are studying, the Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association voted in June to consolidate from five to three classes. Class A, the smallest, will remain unchanged, but 2A through 5A will be consolidated into two classes for regular-season games.

   The change gives schools more scheduling options closer to home until the playoffs, which amounts to shorter bus trips for teams and has the added benefit of allowing fans to travel shorter distances to games.

   "We couldn't keep asking 4A schools in Chattanooga teams to travel to Knoxville to be able to play 4A schools," said TSSAA official Tommy Layne. "Tennessee is like three different states because of its geography. There was too much travel."

   Tennessee officials are working out logistics of playoff seedings because football coaches from 4A schools fear the impact of having to play 5A schools on an uneven basis.

   Arkansas officials saw their proposal to consolidate 32 schools in its two largest classes rejected, but other states are moving forward with other plans to save money. Mississippi is cutting regular-season schedules in all sports except football by 10 percent, which will cut one trip per team from the schedule in most sports.

   In Ohio, school officials are looking for instances in which schools might be able to share a bus, such as neighboring schools traveling out of the area to the same cross country meet.

   On the rise: Kevin Witt filed a column for the Times Herald-Record this morning pointing out that the overall depth in Section 9 large-school football is steadily improving, but Monroe-Woodbury remains decidely ahead of the pack coming off three straight trips to the NYSPHSAA Class AA finals.

   The Crusaders, winners of 47 of their last 50 games will likely be part of the discussion when it comes time to pick a team to be rated No. 1 in the first NYSPHSAA rankings in mid-September.

   "Section 9 teams are dedicating themselves to football year-round," said former Warwick coach Greg Sirico, past president of the New York State High School Football Coaches Association. Kids and coaches are going to clinics. Seven-on-seven (tournaments) are being held. Team football camps. Everybody in the weight room. Then you have all of these youth football programs. All of it is very important."

   33 and counting: William Floyd, riding a 33-game winning streak, opened football practice today with former tight end Stephen Murphy sliding into the QB job following the graduation of Joe Sidaras.

   Newsday's Bob Herzog reports that coach Paul Longo expects to have to cut about 20 players to get down to a roster of about 48 to start the season. I can't think of too many schools across the start that are likely starting practice with 70 varsity candidates.

   ESPN report on Wilson: ESPN's "Outside The Lines" will air a segment Sunday at 9:30 a.m. dealing with the alleged hazing incident in April that led to charges against three WIlson Central baseball players and two coaches.

   Senior writer Elizabeth Merrill’s report, running more than 4,000 words (that's approximately enough to fill a full page in a newspaper) is already posted on the cable network's Web site. There's little in there that hasn't already been reported by Western New York media, but it's still at times a chilling read and also rather unflattering to the town.

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