Tuesday, May 13, 2014: Wings center Govan picks Georgetown

   Leading off today: Fresh off his selection as a first-team all-state basketball player, Wings Academy star Jessie Govan has committed to play at Georgetown beginning in 2015.

   The 6-foot-10 junior center transferred from Manhasset St. Mary's to Wings Academy before last season. He picked the Hoyas over Connecticut, Louisville, Seton Hall, Syracuse and a host of others.

   "All of the schools that recruited me were great," Govan told The Daily News. "It sucks that I can't go to all of them but I feel this is the right decision for me."

   Govan averaged 21 points and 13.2 rebounds last season.

   Missing the obvious: Far be it from me to criticize the newspaper that is far and away the best in all of upstate New York, but The Buffalo News story about how sports programs are always amongst the first casualties when school budgets get tight omitted two obvious points that needed to be noted:

    (1) The interscholastic sports budget in most districts comprises 1.25 percent or less of the total budget, yet it is by far the most popularity extracurricular activity for every segment of the student population.

    (2) The real reason sports and the arts are the first items to get thrown overboard in a budget squeeze is because the superintendent who writes the budget and the board that passes it know that parents will almost never tolerate those budget lines being eliminated.

   Even in this era of the 2 percent cap (that seldom actually amounts to a 2 percent cap), it gives the district a free pass to add a couple hundred thousand dollars into the budget late in the process without cutting a corresponding sum from staffing or academic programs since it's being done "because we listened to the wishes of the community."

   Upset Monday: Fayetteville-Manlius continued its hot stretch run -- 11 wins in 12 games -- by beating West Genesee 9-6 to avenge an early-season boys lacrosse loss.

   F-M is ranked 18th and West Genesee 10th this week in Class A.

   Also in Section 3, Class C No. 20 Homer routed Class B No. 8 East Syracuse Minoa 15-6.

   On the move: Former Burke Catholic football coach Ed Van Curen has landed on his feet, accepting a position of the staff of one of the better programs in the northeast, The Times Herald-Record reported.

   Van Curen, who led the Eagles to the Section 9 Class C championship last season only to be demoted to assistant and then dismissed altogether, has been hired to coach

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linebackers and safeties at Bergen Catholic in New Jersey.

   "I feel blessed to have had so many people reach out to me," Van Curen, 49, told the paper. "I had 30 or so head or assistant coaches from Section 9 call me. I think this was a chance to get out of Section 9 and coach at a high level with a great program. It's a great opportunity and I really feel like I'm at a great spot."

   Van Curen went 32-17 in five seasons at Burke Catholic.

    • Lancaster St. Mary's has picked Matt Ard, the school's dean of student affairs, as its next football coach. He replaces Dave Hersey, who was 21-16 in four seasons.

   Brockport wins title: Julia DeMartino threw a two-hitter Sunday as Brockport defeated Valley Central 2-0 for the championship in the 16-team James "Ace" Morabito Softball Tournament.

   In the semifinals, Brockport beat Pearl River 201 and Valley Central ousted Clarkstown South 5-1.

   Hoops field announced: Westhill, coming off NYSPHSAA and Federation Class B boys basketball championships, has committed to play in the Mirabito Stop-DWI Holiday Classic in Binghamton.

   The eight-team national bracket will also include Buffalo Nichols, Wings Academy and CHSAA power Cardinal Hayes.