Leading off today: The brackets have been released for the NYSPHSAA wrestling tournament, which takes place Friday and Saturday in Albany.
The Division I draw (in PDF format) can be found here. Division II can be found here.
Ruckus at the Rucker: What was supposed to be the best of Queens boys basketball (Cardozo High) vs. the best from the Bronx (Wings Academy) turned into an absolute dud over the weekend when both coaches sat out their starters for a contest eventually won by Wings 55-46.
Though Wings coach Billy Turnage said he was resting injured players and Cardozo’s Ron Naclerio said he wanted to give his reserves a chance, here's a summary of what really happened, courtesy of The New York Post's Zach Braziller;
Turnage and Naclerio were originally scheduled to face other teams -- Xaverian and Bronx JFK, respectively -- on Saturday and the Wings coach had even scouted Xaverian twice in preparation. But Wadleigh coach Mike Crump, the event organizer, switched matchups after learning that Xaverian standout Brian Bernardi was out due to an injury.
Trouble is, Turnage and Naclerio say no one bothered to inform them. So they spoke Thursday night and agreed to sit their starters for the finale in the four-game event.
That was undoubtedly not the best way to handle the situation, but I'm only assigning 1 percent of the blame to their coaches and am offering a suggestion to them and to all of their counterparts in the five boroughs: Going forward, make absolutely certain that everything is in writing.
If Crump really did change matchups based on an injury, then shame on him. In fact, changing matchups for any reason other than a team folding up shop during the season is unacceptable anywhere else in the state -- especially when the change gets made a few days before tipoff and then apparently isn't properly communicated.