Friday, May 4, 2012: The gender shoe seems to be on the other foot

   I blogged last week about the saga of Keeling Pilaro, a 13-year-old boy who has been told he will not be allowed to rejoin the Southampton varsity field hockey team next fall because he's been deemed -- all 82 pounds of him, that is -- too good at the sport to play against the girls.

   So, can someone please reconcile that with Quinn Gleason, highly successful in five years of girls varsity tennis at Honeoye Falls-Lima and playing now on the Cougars' boys team? As veteran Rochester sports reporter Bill Pucko pointed out in a recent column, the Notre Dame recruit is running some very good male players all over the court this spring after finishing third in the NYSPHSAA girls tourney as a junior and stands more than a remote chance of qualifying for the boys state tournament next month.

   "It won't be a cake walk for her to reach states," HF-L coach Skip Rapp said. "She's going to have to play very well. She can't have an off day. Physically she'll have to be at 100 percent and things are going to have to go her way."

   Dortch wants job back: Though he originally said he'd stepped down as boys basketball coach at Francis Lewis, Perry Dortch now says that he was stripped of his duties and wants his job back.

   Dortch says he was fired for blowing the whistle on a co-worker who he alleges made anti-Semitic remarks against him, The New York Daily News reported.

   “He wants his jobs back,” said David Fish, an attorney who is threatening to take legal action against the Department of Education on Dortch’s behalf. “He loves to coach. It’s not like he gets a lot of money to do it.”

   The Department of Education issued a statement Wednesday saying Dortch was dismissed in December because he cursed at his players. He remains a physical education and health teacher at the Queens school.

   Dortch started coaching at Francis Lewis in 2007. He served as an assistant basketball coach for Cardozo this past season, the paper said.

   Season over: Camden's varsity baseball season is over, Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey K. Bryant announced in a statement this week.

   "Since Thursday, April 26, the Camden High School administration and athletic director have been conducting an investigation into alleged violations to our student code of conduct by student athletes," the statement read. "Based on the outcome of the investigation, discussions will now take place relative to the remaining season for varsity baseball.

   "On Tuesday, May 1, our athletic director and varsity baseball coaches will be meeting with the parents of the varsity baseball team. The purpose of the meeting will be to inform the parents of the decision to cancel the remaining games for the 2012 varsity baseball season. After holding discussions with Tri-Valley League and Section III officials to explore our options, it was determined to make the decision to cancel the rest of the varsity baseball season to limit the impact to our modified and junior varsity baseball teams, as well as those schools who we have yet to play on our schedule."

   The Blue Devils were 4-5.

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   Looking ahead: The 31st annual James "Ace" Morabito Memorial Softball, which is usually every bit as good as the June state tournaments, is set for May 12-13 at the Mudville Softball Complex in Herkimer.

   The event, which guarantees four games for all 16 teams, includes several 2012 heavyweights including Cicero-North Syracuse, Roy C. Ketcham, Corning, Greece Athena, Windsor, Oneida, Clarkstown South, St. Joe's by the Sea and Valley Central.

   The brackets have been posted.

   Teresa? I thought her name was sue: The mother of a wanna-be high school basketball player in Arkansas is suing because her son was cut during tryouts last fall. Teresa Bloodman's lawsuit contends her freshman son was treated unfairly according to ArkansasMatters.com.

   In part, the suit alleges "the deprivation of the right to a full and complete education which includes competition in sports and consequently athletic scholarships impairs (the boy) of a property right guaranteed under both the U.S. and State Constitutions."

   In a novel approach, Bloodman's lawyer argues that the boy has a case based on equal protection rights because the selection process used by the girls team is different.

   Extra points: Nanuet’s 10-6 win over Briarcliff on April 26 gave coach Phil Carbone his 300th career baseball win. Now in his 22nd season, he has a record of 301-230-7.

   Bob Guy has retired as girls basketball coach at Canandaigua after going 143-52 in two stints totaling 10 years. In between, he coached college ball at Keuka, Geneseo State and Genesee Community College.

   Kate Polumbo, athletic director for the Wappingers Central School District, has left to become principal at Cornwall Middle School. Her replacement has not yet been named.