Leading off today: Less than a year after an ugly incident involving racist tweets aimed at Mount Vernon athletes, Mahopac administrators are investigating charges that at least one player directed racial slurs at a Carmel basketball player last week,
The Journal News reported.
Interim Superintendent of Schools Brian Monahan said action was taken against one or two students. He declined to reveal whether any players had been disciplined, the paper reported.
"The language that was reported to me concerns me," he said, confirming it was racial in nature.
Carmel Deputy Schools Superintendent Andy Irvin said Thursday he had been told that a Mahopac player had used the slur multiple times on the court and that he believed the Carmel player had also been physically targeted with elbows to the head.
"I do believe Mahopac, as a district, starting from the superintendent, (has) taken this very seriously," Irvin said.
In a letter to Mahopac families, Monahan wrote: "These allegations would be troubling anyplace; I know they are especially troubling to the residents of this community."
That was at least in part referring to last season's incident during a season-ending loss to Mount Vernon, after which racist comments were circulated among students via social media. Mahopac coach Kevin Downes, who is African-American, resigned after last year's season, describing himself as "heartbroken" over the comments.
Following up: A California girls high school basketball coach whose team rolled to a 161-2 win last week has been suspended for two games by his school. Michael Anderson, coach of the San Bernardino (Calif.) Arroyo Valley team, will return to the bench next week.
Using a full-court press the first two quarters, Arroyo Valley led winless Bloomington 104-1 at halftime and sat its starters for the second half. Per high school rules, the fourth quarter was played with a running clock.
"People shouldn't feel sorry for my team," Bloomington coach Dale Chung told The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. "They should feel sorry for (Anderson's) team, which isn't learning the game the right way."
Bloomington had lost another game by 91, and Arroyo Valley had won by as much as 98 this season. But Anderson told The Daily Bulletin, "I didn't expect them to be that bad."
In its first game without its suspended coach, Arroyo Valley registered an 80-19 win over Indian Springs (4-9).
Respected Sec. 2 coach dies: Saratoga teacher and coach Brenda Adams died Saturday at the age of 54 less than a year after being diagnosed with cervical cancer.
Adams began teaching at Saratoga in 1987 and coached a variety of sports including basketball, bowling, field hockey, softball and volleyball. She resigned as golf coach over the summer after 10 seasons. When the Blue Streaks competed in the state qualifier in October, Adams was there to see three Saratoga players advance to the state tournament.
Section 2 colleagues thought so highly of Adams that they nominated her to be the Times Union golf coach of the year even though she technically did not coach the team during the season. The paper did bestow the honor on Adams.
"She was awesome. Her kids were always first," said Gary Holtz, who coached softball at Columbia and served with Adams on the sectional softball committee. "To be honest, I learned a lot from her in my coaching career just watching some of the things she did over the years."
As of early Friday evening, an online giving site had recorded more than $11,500 in donations toward a scholarship fund created in Adams' memory.
Clock ticking on nominations: The deadline for nominations for Mr. Basketball and Miss Basketball, arguably the most prestigious award presented in any sport
