Leading off today: A high school track coach convicted of sexually abusing one of his runners will spend 60 days in jail, WNYT-TV reported.

   Kason O'Neil, a Hudson Falls teacher, was sentenced this morning. He was also given three years probation and must register as a sex offender.

   O'Neil was found guilty last month of endangering the welfare of a child and third-degree sexual abuse. Both are misdemeanor counts. A Washington County jury cleared him of 12 more serious charges, including rape. The trial started with O'Neil facing 21 counts, but seven counts were dismissed while the case was being heard.

   Naples shutout string at 16: Naples goalie Ashley McArdle surrendered four goals in a season-opening loss to Bloomfield, but since then has shut out 16 straight girls soccer opponents. That includes Tuesday's scoreless tie in the rematch with Bloomfield (16-0-1), the No. 1 team in Class. C. Naples is ranked 12th by the New York State Sportswriters Association.

   Earlier this year, Class D No. 1 S.S. Seward rattled off 14 straight shutouts to open the season, pushing its streak to 17 games dating to the 2007 state tournament.

   More fancy feats: Another year, another perfect girls volleyball season for Buffalo City Honors. The Centaurs wrapped up their 23rd straight season without losing so much as a game in league play, mowing down 12 more opponents.

   Greene leaves Loughlin: The New Jersey Nets have hired Bishop Loughlin boys basketball coach Khalid Green as their East Coast college scout effective Nov. 1. He will scout Big East and Atlantic 10 games, as well as enough Nets games to learn what players need on the NBA level.

   The coach broke the news to his players on Tuesday.

   "I told them that I was going to be taking a position with the Nets and I started looking like a chump because within minutes I began shedding tears," Green told The Daily News. "I really broke down when they started saying good things about me. You feel a certain tug of war because

I built a relationship with those kids, but career-wise this is the best move for me. When an opportunity or blessing comes, you have to seize it or it's going to pass you by."

   Loughlin went 22-6 in Green's final season.

   Limited opportunities: Girls who live in urban areas start sports at a later age and have lower participation rates than their male counterparts and suburban girls, according to the Women's Sports Foundation.

   The report "Go Out and Play: Youth Sports in America" by professor Don Sabo at D'Youville College in Buffalo also studued participation by disabled and immigrant youths.

   Girls in urban areas with a family income of $35,000 or less enter sports on average at 10.2 years old compared to 7.6 for boys, according to a 2007 Harris Interactive survey of 2,185 youths and 863 parents. Some 59 percent of third- to fifth-grade urban girls were involved in at least one sport, compared to 80 percent of urban boys. That compared to 81 percent participation for suburban girls and 89 percent for suburban boys.

   "A level playing field exists for suburban boys and girls," Sabo said. "However, urban communities are often faced with a lack of space and resources. When funds for sports are found, boys seem to come first."

   Participation has increased since Title IX was passed in 1972, but a gender gap remains in large part due to economic inequalities. The report found youth sports activity was linked to healthier, more content families. But many parents, especially blacks and Hispanics, reported schools did not provide the same opportunities for their daughters as their sons.

   Extra points: Canandaigua's tentative December vote on a capital improvements project that would have possibly included improvements to a number of sports facilities will not take place. The school board had discussed putting items from a $19.7-million proposition defeated in February back before voters but is backing off because of the recent economic turmoil.

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