The discussion was related to Anne Delaney's piece in the Observer-Dispatch this morning lamenting the fact that the Section 3 boys and girls basketball committees had made a deal with Time Warner Cable to give the cable TV outfit an exclusive first crack at unveiling the pairings for the upcoming post-season tournaments.

   According to Delaney, the pairings were released to most Central New York media late Sunday afternoon, after Time Warner’s tournament preview show at 2:30 p.m. Time Warner is wrapping up a three-year contract that also calls for airing approximately 50 events per school year for an unspecified fee.

   "We’re trying to promote the sport, and we have Time Warner involved,” Section 3 executive director John Rathbun told her. "We’re talking about small steps, and we’re not going to please everyone. Overall, it’s what is in the best interest of the sport."

   Delaney counters that the "best interest of the sport is to disseminate the seedings to as many media outlets as possible and let those organizations cover the sport as they do from August through June."

   It's a touchy siuation for many people, especially those of us who came up on the print side of the media business. For every class act I've met from the TV/radio side of the business I've probably run into two complete buffoons incapable of spotting news without first reading it in the morning paper. On the other hand, I'm sure TV folks have their own horror stories about newspaper reporters.

   But what I have seen over the years is a platoon of coaches and administrators way too eager to do anything to accommodate TV for 20 seconds of video on the 6 o'clock news even if it comes at the expense of newspapers that provide thousands of column inches of stories and photos over the couse of the year.

   Think I'm exaggerating? Try going to the Central New York Times Warner Sports site or its affiliated News 10 Now portal and finding links to the basketball brackets or video plays of Sunday's show.

   I spent 30 minutes looking through the sites this afternoon and came up with zilch. By contrast, I found plenty of tournament info on Syracuse.com and several other sites operated by newspapers.

   A-11 gets deep-sixed: The freak show is over.

   The National Federation of State High School Associations Football Rules Committee has effectively put an end to the "All-11" offense by closing the "scrimmage kick" loophole that allowed offenses to turn every snap of the ball into chaos by sending multiple receivers into pass routes from dozens of possible formations.

   The decision was made at the football committee's annual meeting Jan. 24-25 and announced last week by the National Federation.

   A brief recap: The All-11 had its roots in California and derived its name from that fact that 11 players on offense could legally wear eligible receiving numbers if one player lined up at least seven yards behind the line of scrimmage and no one was under center (think punt formation). Players would shift on and off the line of scrimmage and/or go in motion, creating endless combinations of receivers and leaving defenders with no idea of who was eligible to catch a pass.

   As entertaining as it may have been to watch at times, it was brutal to officiate.

   So the NFHS football administrators changed the rule. Except for fourth down, there now must be four players on the line with numbers 50-79 and the snapper can wear 1-89 but is ineligible regardless. That leaves six eligible receivers.

   Other rules changes announced Friday include making horse-collar tackles a 15-yard penalty and adding the chin strap to the definition of facemask penalties.

   Another award for DeCesare: Duke-bound Massapequa senior Kim DeCesare has been selected New York's girls soccer player of the year by Gatorade.

   DeCesare had already been selected first-team all-state, Newsday's Long Island player of the year and an All-American.

   She scored 17 goals and added seven assists as a senior but is projected as a defender and outside midfielder in college.

   Say it ain't so: New York high school football is in danger of losing one of its best sources of football information. Phil Dusenbury has announced that his Section 9 football site will be shutting down after six years of coverage unless he can find someone to step in.

   In a note on the home page, Phil said it was time for him to try accomplishing a few other things on his "Bucket List," a feeling many of us know all too well. But Phil's been involved in promoting the sport in and around the Middletown region for well more than three decades, so it would be a shame to see the site fall by the wayside.

   I don't know how much traffic the site gets, but I'd guess it's substantial based on the number of referrals NewYorkSportswiters.org gets from Phil's site each month. It might be well worth someone's time and effort to keep the site going.

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