TAYLOR MADE: TAKING A LOOK AROUND (2019-08-06)

There's been a lot of sports-related things going on recently. Here's a look at some of the highlights. 

Rules changes 
At its annual meeting last week, the NYSPHSAA Central Committee rejected a proposed change to the unsportsmanlike ejection rule for football players and refused to add more athletic events. 

The defeat of the ejection rule proposal was a major gaffe by the committee in my opinion, because it continues to impose a harsher punishment for a football ejection as compared to other sports.  

The proposal facing the committee would have shortened the ban in football to the remainder of the quarter in which the infraction took place and the next four full quarters of action. The rationale behind the proposed change was that due to fewer events on the schedule football players are losing a disproportionate percentage of the season compared to most other sports. 

The rule as it stands requires an athlete to sit out the entire next event in addition to the remainder of the event he/she was ejected from. Football players receive a harsher penalty because they must sit out a greater percentage of the regular season (12 percent or higher based on 7- and 8-game schedules). In basketball, which has a 20-game regular season, the ejection equates to just five percent of the season, and in sports with 16-game schedules, the penalty equals six percent.

As long as the number of games on each sport's schedule varies from other sports, the only fair way to penalize athletes is by suspending them for a percentage of the season and not a fixed number of events. 

As far as adding more games to the schedule, what's good for the goose is good for the gander. Basketball had schedules increased to 20 games a few years ago, but other sports have not seen an increase. If basketball is allowed more games, the rest of the sports should be allowed an increase as well.  

BCANY hoops
The BCANY Summer Hoops Festival was held over the weekend in Johnson City. The Southern Tier boys went 3-1 and the girls were 2-2. I heard Owego's Kaci Donovan and Waverly's Scott Woodring competed and both did well. 

On the mats 
Section IV wrestlers are going to see a couple of changes.



The Division I and Division II sectional championships are returning to the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton. Some people like this plan. I, for one, do not. Remember the less-than-desirable parking situation? Well now the nearby parking garage is gone and a ground-level parking lot has replaced it. Unless some additional parking has been put in place that I am unaware of, be prepared for a nightmare.

Of course, you will only have to worry about parking once as the event has been reduced to a one-day event. This means that the D-2 field will be trimmed from 16-man brackets to 10- or 12-man brackets.

While it won't happen this season, be prepared to say farewell to the 99-pound weight class. New York will most likely eliminate 99 pounds from dual meets and dual meet tournaments beginning in 2020-21 as part of a two-year experiment. I fully expect it to be gone altogether after that. New York is the only state still competing at 99 (Iowa has a 98-pound class).

Big Red is feeling blue 
Cornell University's bid to host the NYSPHSAA boys high school golf championships next year was rejected, primarily because its bid would require the university to hold the tournament one week earlier. A new site has not been awarded yet.

The Big Red will be without the services of two-time NCAA wrestling champion Yianni Diakomihalis, who will Olympic redshirt next season.

Score one for Ithaca College
IC has been awarded the NYSPHSAA boys swimming championships which will be held March 7, 2020. The school is also hosting the girls meet Nov. 23.

Happy days
Special Olympian Jared Lamb, a senior at Tioga, is being honored by longtime friend and classmate Trevor Shedden, who will be driving his "Team Jared" car in the Tioga County Fair demolition derby Friday night at 7 p.m.

Sad news 
The July 28 shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in California hit close to home, claiming the life of Trevor Irby, a former multi-sport athlete at Romulus High School and Keuka College grad.