Leading off today: Hauppauge wrestling standout Nick Mauriello Jr. is showing improvement after being stricken with MRSA and LeMierre's syndrome last week.

   Newsday reported today that blood cultures have come back negative three straight days, improving the outlook for Mauriello, 16. Five days of negative cultures are needed for the infection to be cleared.

   Speaking at a news conference at Stony Brook Long Island Children's Hospital, the wrestler's father said the prognosis is more encouraging but Mauriello remains on a ventilator in intensive care after contracting pneumonia and is

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being treated with four antibiotics.

   Dr. Rahul Panesar said the infection is powerful enough to ravage even the healthiest individuals. He believes the illness was transmitted through a cut on Mauriello's knuckles -- MRSA is commonly transmitted through contact sports -- and spread the infection to the liver, lungs and kidneys. He expects Mauriello to remain on the ventilator through at least the weekend.

   With a 35-2 record, Mauriello is regarded as one of Suffolk County's top wrestlers at 125 pounds. He began showing symptoms including neck pain, breathing problems and limited mobility late last month and was taken to the St. Catherine of Siena Hospital emergency room Jan. 30.

   Hauppauge Superintendent Patricia Sullivan-Kriss sent a letter to parents Thursday warning that there was a confirmed case of MRSA, the paper reported. She encouraged parents to remind their children about the importance of good hygiene practices. She said the school district has sanitized the locker room and other instructional areas.

   "It's a freak thing," Nick Mauriello Sr. told Newsday. "Nobody is to blame for it. ... I don't want to give a black eye to a sport that's been so good to me and my family."

   Reporter recovering: Press & Sun-Bulletin sports reporter Michael Mangan and his wife were injured in a one-car crash Monday afternoon.

   New York State Police said Mangan and his wife were traveling on I-81 between exits 1 and 2 when Michael fell asleep, drove onto the shoulder and over corrected. The resulting spin overturned the vehicle.

   Mangan was in stable condition at UHS Wilson Medical Center with a slight fracture to his neck but expected to be released today. His wide, Patricia, was stable with chest pain and was expected to be released last night.

   Girls basketball: Shelby Fogarty had 23 points and 14 rebounds for Pittsford Mendon in a 58-36 victory over Aquinas in non-league action. Mendon was ranked second in Class A and Aquinas fourth in Class B by the NYSSWA last week.

   Defense ruled as Kingston avenged an early-season loss in Section 9 by beating Class AA No. 12 Monroe-Woodbury 27-25. The teams shot a combined 21-for-106 from the field, and Tricia Sentar scored three points in the final minute to complete the Tigers’ rally.

   Class AA No. 11 Mary Louis Academy fell to a .500 Bishop Loughlin squad 72-57. Junior guard Ayana Ratliff celebrated her 17th birthday with 14 points.

   Reading material: I'd dare say there's no better rivalry these days in New York high school sports -- defined by star power, quality of play, crowd buzz and media hype -- than Nazareth vs. Christ the King in girls basketball. Marc Raimondi of The New York Port got into the spirit with a blog following CTK's weekend victory to even the season series at 1-1.

Road To Glens Falls boys hoops site

   What could or should be done do cut down on lopsided girls basketball scores? Mark McGuire of The Times Union pitched some thoughts after taking note that about a quarter of Section II games are decided by 25 or more points.

   Cuffe earns spot in Spain: Cornwall senior Aisling Cuffe won the junior women's division of the U.S. Cross Country Championships over the weekend in Spain, qualifying her for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships next month in Punta Umbria, Spain.

   Cuffe covered six kilometers in 21:13 to beat the rest of the field by more than 200 yards.

   A plea to fight: An advocacy group for reform of Title IX enforcement wants school districts nationwide to fight allegations that they are not in compliance with the law that bans sex discrimination at schools receiving federal funds.

   The National Women's Law Center filed complaints in November alleging that 12 districts across the country, including New York City, fail to give equal opportunities to girls and boys. But the College Sports Council is supporting the Pacific Legal Foundation, which has argued that Title IX's widely-cited three-part test does not apply to high schools.

   Jim Bradshaw, a spokesman for the Department of Education, said a department document confirms the three-part test "is designed for intercollegiate athletics but that its general principles often apply to high schools.

   Title IX requires a school to meet at least one part of a three-part test:

   •A school's male and female athletes are proportionate to enrollment.

   •A school has a history and continuing practice of expanding opportunities for female students.

   •A school can demonstrate that the interests and abilities of female students are fully and effectively accommodated.

   CSC chairman Eric Pearson reportedly has written to the school districts to say "application of the three-part test to scholastic sports will unnecessarily compel you to reduce participation opportunities for boys in your school district in a manner that could violate Constitutional rights of your students."