Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2011: C-NS star Stewart to play in Pan Am Games

   Leading off today: It's long been apparent that Breanna Stewart is something special on the basketball court, but the Cicero-North Syracuse senior has outdone herself.

   USA Basketball has selected Stewart for the women's team that will travel to Guadalajara, Mexico, to play in the Pan Am Games Oct. 21-25, making her the first U.S. girls high school basketball player to receive that honor.

   The 6-foot-3 UConn recruit has already won gold medals with the Under-16, -17 and -18 national teams the last three summers. Most recently, she averaged team highs of 11.2 points and 7.3 rebounds as Team USA won the FIBA U19 World Championship.

   Stewart will leave in mid-October to practice with the team in Houston beginning Oct. 15. The team departs for Guadalajara three days later.

   PSAL school makes change: Medgar Evers girls basketball coach Barney Davis will not be brought back for the upcoming season, The New York Post reported. Assistant Keenan Crumble was introduced as head coach this week, a player said.

   Davis, a 29-year veteran in PSAL coaching, started the program seven years ago and guided the Cougars to the 2010 PSAL Class A title. He said he was told by AD Keisha Lewis and principal Michael Wiltshire that they wished to go in a different direction.

   "He ran a great program and brought wonderful talent here into the building," Lewis told the paper. "But since we moved to the ‘AA,’ we wanted a coach who would instill more discipline and concentrate more on the development of the players as student-athletes.”

   Davis, who won a city championship at Robeson and also coached at Brooklyn Tech, filed a formal grievance through his union rep, but the decision must first be appealed to the principal and then the superintendent’s representative.

   Schumer on safety: U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer was at Maryvale in Section 6 on Tuesday to tout the Children’s Sports Athletic Equipment Safety Act, a bill that would ensure that football helmets meet new safety standards to protect young players from concussions.

   There are no federal guidelines that formally test a helmet’s ability to withstand the forces believed to cause concussions, Schumer said. Instead, industry standards require only that helmets withstand the high-level forces that would cause a skull fracture.

   "If enacted, this will mark the biggest leap in helmet safety since we abandoned the leather helmet," Schumer said.

   If the bill is enacted into law, the Consumer Product Safety Commission would judge whether the current voluntary standards are adequate. If not, the commission would issue new mandatory standards for helmets.

   Move 'em up? It seems odd to have a Buffalo newspaper reporter writing a column about Aquinas, the Rochester school that has won a record five New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class A football championships. Then again, the Little Irish play more regular-season games each fall against Monsignor Martin Association teams (not to mention an annual tussle with Sweet Home in the NYSPHSAA quarterfinals) than they do against Section 5 foes.

   Keith McShea made the case that Aquinas should be competing in Class AA "because when teams aren't classified appropriately it taints what is otherwise one of the best high school events of every year: The state tournament."

   McShea says it's not Aquinas' fault and lays the blame largely at the feet of Section 5.

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   Scary moment: Police are investigating the attempted abduction of a Brockport High cross country runner who was jogging Tuesday along the Erie Canal. The victim told police a man approached her, tried to start a conversation, then grabbed her arm and pulled her towards bushes. She was able to break free and run for help.

   Face the Facebook music: Brothers Rodney and Ryan Belasic, offensive linemen at Perry County (Tenn.) High, have had their transfers from nearby Henry County (Tenn.) High, leading the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association to also declare three forfeits, The Tennessean reported.

   And you can blame it on their mother's Facebook page.

   The TSSAA learned that part of the family was still residing in Henry County. Executive director Bernard Childress said the Belasics' mother scolded her sons on Facebook after they left their room in a disorderly state when they departed for a school week in Perry County.

   "How can two boys mess up their room as badly as they do when they're only here on Saturday and Sunday?" she posted.

   After a brief investigation, the TSSAA determined the players' mother still works and resides in Henry County.

   Fulton update: An investigation done by the district lawyer has determined Fulton employees did not violate school policies concerning a football player who has Tourette syndrome.

   Mark Aldasch Sr. submitted three complaints to the district. One stated the district and coach Mike Conners violated its policy by not allowing his son, Connor, 15, try out for the varsity team. The district says its policy is to have ninth- and 10th-graders play for the junior varsity unless the players are highly skilled and/or there is a need for younger athletes on the varsity. As such, there are no tryouts for players already involved in the sport.

   "The football coaches followed the same selection procedures that have been consistently utilized for at least the past 15 years," the school announced in a statement last week. "The investigation further concluded that no statements which reflected any discriminatory intent were ever made by Mr. Conners or any of the assistant coaches."

   Aldasch said he is considering his legal options. He said last week he would file a lawsuit if Connor isn't allowed to try out.