Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2013: Boys soccer, volleyball teams fall by the wayside

   Leading off today: Small-school soccer in Central New York has taken a bit of a beating in the past five days with a pair of schools canceling their boys varsity seasons due to low player turnouts, but there's even worse news elsewhere.

   South Lewis has dropped both varsity and JV soccer this fall, Falcons AD Brian Oaks told The Post-Standard.

   "We started practice the first two days without enough players and had to make that difficult decision last Tuesday," Oaks said in an email.

   Sauquoit Valley officials made their decision to drop soccer last Friday.

   Meanwhile, Mike Zacchio at The Journal News tweeted out disappointing news from Section 1 schools Tuesday afternoon:

Both Arlington and East Ramapo dropped their boys volleyball teams; boys league down to three teams. #LoHudVolleyball

— Mike Zacchio (@Zacchio_LoHud) August 27, 2013

   Capping a day of disappointing news, Elmira Notre Dame became the second football program in a week to announce it will have to forfeit its opener due to a lack of eligible players. Andrew Legare of the Star-Gazette tweeted Tioga is searching for a Week 1 replacement after Notre Dame announced it would only have 14 players (two short of the minimum) available.

   Shortly afterward, Pete Tobey at The Post-Star reported Fort Edward became the third team to forfeit based on low numbers. The opener was supposed to be Sept. 7 vs. Bishop Gibbons.

   Coach disciplined: Florida high school football coach Mike Guandolo has been suspended for two weeks after video of him slapping his quarterback in the helmet during an ESPN-televised game went viral.

   Cypress Bay was trailing American Heritage 14-7 in the second quarter of a 38-14 loss Sunday when Lucas Tellefsen overthrew a receiver on third down. As Tellefsen came to the sideline, he was confronted by three coaches, and after a short discussion, Guandolo made contact with Tellefsen’s helmet as he walked away in what the coach later said was a misguided attempt to fire up the player.

   Broward County Schools on Monday announced Guandolo was suspended for three days of work as a physical education teacher and two weeks of sports activities. It’s unknown whether Guandolo could face further punishment, but the player's father said he does not want to see any further sanctions levied.

   "It’s a non-issue," Eric Tellefsen told The Sun-Sentinel. "We’re 110 percent fine with this. We don’t want anything to happen to Coach G. He means the world to the school and this football team and he wants nothing but the best for these kids. It’s an unfortunate circumstance."

   Shortly after striking the player, Guandolo can be seen

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reaching to grab Tellefsen as the camera cuts back to game action. Eric Tellefsen said Guandolo was giving his son a hug that was not seen on television.

   From the police blotter I: Two Rochester teens accused of robbing a Rochester man at gunpoint Sunday are facing charges, the Democrat and Chronicle reported. Kyron C. Allen, a 17-year-old who played for Aquinas' Section 5 Class A championship basketball team last winter, and Chad L. Cole were charged with first-degree robbery and fourth-degree grand larceny, both felonies, the paper reported.

   The two allegedly threatened a man with a handgun just before midnight. In their statements to police, both teens said they witnessed the robbery but were not involved. Both pleaded not guilty in City Court and were remanded to the Monroe County Jail in lieu of $20,000 cash bail.

   From the police blotter II: Art Long, a Rochester scholastic star who played at the University of Cincinnati in the early 1990s and then reached the NBA, was charged with gun and drug crimes in connection to a drug operation that police said has been the cause of extensive violence.

   Long, 40, who attended Rochester's East High, was arrested following a search of his Chili home on July 18. He was charged with third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property and unlawful possession of marijuana, Rochester police said.

   Chief James Sheppard announced the arrest of Long and others Monday while discussing two separate weekend shootings in an area where the alleged drug ring has been operating over the past several months. Sheppard said the shootings have not been connected to each other, or to the drug operation.

   The Democrat and Chronicle said Sheppard displayed a variety of assault weapons seized at least three locations, including Long’s home.

   Long played 98 games for four NBA teams over four seasons beginning in 2000. Arguably his greater claim to fame came in college when he was charged with -- but subsequently acquitted -- punching a police horse.

   That's all: And that concludes quite likely the darkest, bleakest blog I've even written on this site that did not involve a death or injury ... unless you count the horse that Art Long allegedly punched.

   I'll be back later in the week -- hopefully with something more uplifting to report.