Leading off today: As expected, Jim Kramer was appointed last week to take over as football coach at Schenectady after two seasons there as offensive coordinator.

   He replaces Carm DePoalo, who resigned last month after leading the Patriots to a school-record eight victories in 2008.

   "It was an amazing year, but if your expectations from Day 1 aren’t to be the best you can be, to win league, section and state titles, you’re not taking the right approach,” Kramer, 28, told The Daily Gazette. "I can’t say enough good things about what Carm did here, and now, we feel we’re ready to take it a step further."

   The '08 Patriots reached their first Section II bowl game, losing to LaSalle. Kramer's offense led the way to Schenectady averaging more than 30 points a game the last two seasons.

   Second opinion: I'm told the Democrat and Chronicle mentioned in passing last week that the New York State Public High School Athletic Association will not adapt the change in softball that allows states to move the pitcher's circle from 40 to 43 feet off home plate next spring.

   If that's correct, then my question is this: Why?

   Other than the racewalk in the sectional and state track meets there is nothing more tedious in high school sports than the avalanche of 15-strikeout shutouts cluttering the daily newspaper roundup from early April to mid-June. Given that softball puts perhaps 10 percent of the strain on a pitcher's arm that baseball does, a team can ride a single girl with a penchant for throwing to league, sectional and state tournament championships.

   Moving the circle back three feet is by no means a cure-all, but it would help put the ball into play a little bit more often Haley's Comet makes an appearance in the vicinity of the planet.

   The National Federation says the change will not be mandatory until 2011, but I can't think of a single good reason for New York to wait. The debate's been going on for at least a decade, and coaches taking part in a 43-foot trial in Florida and Oregon overwhelmingly support it.

   The Wilson case: Two 17-year-old Wilson Central baseball players and their former coaches have been cleared of charges in the controversial case of an alleged hazing on the team bus, but the affair may still end up in civil court.

   Lawyers representing one or more JV players say they will move forward with civil lawsuits against the school district, The Buffalo News reported.

   Charges against the two coaches were dropped before their trial could begin last week. Town Justice George R. Berger presided over the case of the players in closed-door session and notified lawyers by mail Thursday that he found the two not guilty of forcible touching, child endangerment and first- and second- degree hazing.

   A third player, now 19, previously pleaded guilty to child endangerment and will be sentenced by Berger on Aug. 18.

   More turnover: Greg Hansen, who coached Troy Catholic's baseball team to a 2-18 record in his 17th season, is the latest coach at the school to resign.

   "There is a lot of change going on," Hansen told The Times Union.

   Hansen, who was in the program for 21 years, follows Sam Marro (football), Chris LaBombard (girls basketball) and Blain Goverski (boys basketball) to the exit in recent months.

   Stephenson sneaks in a plea: Abraham Lincoln basketball star Lance Stephenson disposed of a sex-assault charge Friday after a judge granted him an unscheduled court appearance that was so unexpected that even prosecutors didn't know about it, The New York Post reported.

   The all-state guard pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct at the impromptu hearing, which allowed him to avoid media attention that intensified after he was accused of groping a 17-year-old girl in Coney Island last year, sources told the paper.

   Stephenson, 19, was scheduled to appear before Brooklyn Criminal Court Judge Alexander Jeong next Wednesday for trial. Instead, his lawyer asked the judge if he could squeeze him in immediately.

   "Even the prosecutor didn't know about it," a source said. "He got a call from the court saying, 'You've got to be down here.'"

   Stephenson, the state's career scoring leader, was

NYSSWA All-Sport Championship MAIN | 2008-09 top overall school scores Class-by-class boys | Class-by-class girls More about the NYSSWA All-Sport Championship

sentenced to three days of community service and instructed to seek counseling, the paper reported.

   A ridiculous fine: If your faith in government hasn't been shaken by the farce that is the New York State Senate these days, maybe this will do the trick:

   The Buffalo News paid a nearly $16,000 fine recently to settle an original recommedation of a $31,500 penalty from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the aftermath of reporter Tom Borrelli's fall on the All High Stadium press box ladder and subsequent death.

   Margaret M. Sullivan, editor of paper, called the OSHA penalty "illogical," saying, “The News’ role is to cover events, not to fix stairways."

   I could not agree more.

   That detail came to light last week as the paper reported that the Buffalo Board of Education approved a $14,200 architectural study of possible alterations to the press box stairway. The study is due in December. In the interim, the board’s attorney said the stairway will be made off-limits while legal and administrative proceedings continue.

   Borrelli was paralyzed after falling on the steep metal stairs while covering a game Nov. 8. He died of his injuries less than two weeks later. State labor investigators in January cited the school system for the hazardous condition of the stairs and gave school officials until July 18 to correct five "serious” safety violations.

   The system's appeal of the citation will be heard Nov. 12, said Michael J. Looby, general counsel for the city schools.

   The school system spent more than $6 million renovating the stadium in 2006 but eliminated a proposed elevator to the press box because of cost overruns, the paper reported.

   Former Boys High coach dies: Frank Mickens, the former principal and basketball coach at Boys & Girls High, died in his sleep on Thursday. He was 63.

   Mickens coached Boys High (now Boys & Girls) from 1969-79, leading the Kangaroos to a PSAL championship in his last season. He also hired Ruth Lovelace (just 23 years old at the time) in 1994, making her the first woman to coach a PSAL boys basketball team.

   "He had a vision for me that I couldn't see myself," Lovelace told The Daily News, "and I'll never forget him."

   Mickens served as principal for 18 years before retiring in 2004.

   Kobena commits: Jeremiah Kobena of Cardinal Hayes in the Bronx has made an oral commitment to play football for Syracuse University in 2010, The Post-Standard reported. Kobena, a running back and wide reciever, said he picked the Orange over Rutgers and Pittsburgh.

   He visited the campus last month during the state track and field championships at nearby Cicero-North Syracuse. Kobena was the CHSAA champion in the 100 meters.

   Extra points: Third-team all-state basketball player J.J. Moore of Brentwood reportedly won't be back for his senior season. Multiple reports indicate the 6-foot-5 forward is heading to South Kent in Connecticut, likely followed by a nice career in the Big East. Mike Buffalo (Wings), Joel Wright (Thomas Jefferson, fifth-team all-state as a junior) and Russ Smith (Archbishop Molloy, second-team all-state as a senior) also are heading to that same prep school.

   Speaking of hoops, The Buffalo News reported today on how basketball players are hitting the AAU circuit a bit harder in search of college exposure because the Empire State Games aren't being held this summer. Unless I'm mistaken, however, most recent ESGs took place during a "dead period" on the NCAA calendar during which college coaches were not permitted to evaluate players in person.