Monday, Sept. 17, 2012: Girls soccer, cross country rankings make 2012 debut

   Leading off today: The New York State Sportswriters Association has released its first rankings of the season in girls soccer and cross country.

   In cross country, top spots are being held down for now by Fayetteville-Manlius (Class A), Holy Names (B), Bronxville (C) and Greenwich (D).

   The first set of soccer rankings lists Northport (AA), Rockville Centre South Side (A), Schalmont (B), Hoosick Falls (C) and Remsen (D) in the No. 1 positions.

   You can find the complete rankings for cross country and soccer.

   The boys cross country rankings will be released later this week, and our boys soccer editors will offer up their first rankings for 2012 next Monday.

   Inside look: A thing or two has changed in football since my days covering high school sports for the Democrat and Chronicle as a young reporter. (Insert joke about leather helmets here.)

   One thing that hasn't changed and probably won't is the value of a good old-fashioned pre-game pep talk. The new wrinkle, though, is that over the years a few more coaches have become receptive to letting the media get a glimpse inside the locker room in the moments before their team runs out onto the field for a big game.

   One such instance came Sept. 7, when St. Anthony's played host to New Jersey's Bergen Catholic, one of the best teams up and down the Eastern seaboard. Longtime Friars coach Rich Reichert gave Patch.com access to the locker room, and the online news outfit captured his fiery speech.

   Though nationally ranked Bergen Catholic won 59-21, Reichert's speech makes for good viewing. Check it out here.

   Football recap: The full list of Week 3 scores is now available on the site, as is the more specific rundown of how ranked teams fared.

   Brief blogs recapping some Friday and Saturday games of note across the state have also been posted.

   Granby to be inducted: The New York City Basketball Hall of Fame will induct its 23rd class on Thursday at the New York Athletic Club, with veteran Andrew Jackson and Campus Magnet coach Chuck Granby among those being honored.

   Granby, the PSAL's all-time winningest coach, reached the 700-victory level last season. He's second among active coaches and third all-time in New York state high school wins.

   Fall sports updates: In cross country news, the Foot Locker Northeast Regional is returning to Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx after three years at Sunken Meadow State Park. Van Cortlandt Park had hosted the race from its inception in 1979, but Foot Locker officials opted to move to Long Island during VCP's major construction project.

RoadToSyracuse.com football site

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   The regional is set for Nov. 24, with the top 10 boys and girls moving on to the national final in San Diego two weeks later.

   Winter sports updates: The NYSPHSAA will be introducing a pair of regional cheerleading invitationals early next year. Tentatively, the East Regional will be at Hofstra University on Jan. 26 and the West Regional at Rochester Institute of Technology on Feb. 23.

   Spring sports updates: The site for next spring's NYSPHSAA boys lacrosse finals in Rochester has been changed from Sahlen's Stadium to St. John Fisher College.

   Separately, the girls softball committee has done away with the first-and second-round doubleheaders played by Sections 1, 8, 9 and 11 representatives in Classes B and D. They'll handle those contests as single games on separate days, the format used by the rest of the state up until the semifinal/final doubleheaders.

   Cracking down: The only coach in Georgia history to win boys state basketball titles at four different schools says he was forced out recently amid accusations of recruiting.

   Milton (Ga.) coach David Boyd, who has a 605-189 record and two Class 5A championships in the last three years, told USA Today he believes a rival coach filed a complaint of undue influence that led to his departure.

   "Nothing could be further from the truth," he told the paper. "The young man lives in our district and it was his choice and his family's to go to Milton. We have had a lot of success, we have had a lot of people interested in coming to Milton and being part of a great school and a great basketball program."

   Four football coaches lost their jobs during the offseason in the wake of recruiting allegations.