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Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015: Yeah, but did he call 'bank' first?

   Leading off today: Those was a time when (aside from television) 8 mm and Super 8 film were the home viewing medium of choice, eventually replaced by BetaMax, VHS, DVD, etc.

   And then along came YouTube, the vast online warehouse of half-vast performances but also a treasure chest of amusement.

   I do keep some YouTube links bookmarked for easy access. Of late, one of the many dog-on-the-trampoline videos has been a source of amusement that's entertained me during bouts with procrastination, and two female recording stars have blown me away with their covers of classic tunes: Joan Osborne performing "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted" and Pink singing "Me and Bobby McGee."

   (For an offbeat treatment of a fine ol' tune, it's tough to beat the Russian Red Army Choir backing Finnish punk rockers Leningrad Cowboys on "Sweet Home Alabama.")

   And now, faithful readers, another gem has been added to the bookmarks and will remain there until the end of time.

   I refer, of course, to the suddenly viral video of Midland (Texas) kicker Luis Aranda banking a line-drive kick off an official's head and over the crossbar for an extra point in the second quarter of a 35-16 win vs. El Paso El Dorado on Friday:

   Following up: A Texas coach who reportedly acknowledged directing two of his football players to hit a referee during a game has reportedly resigned.

   San Antonio John Jay assistant coach Mack Breed was scheduled to testify before the University Interscholastic League, the governing body of Texas high school sports, but his resignation means that will not happen.

   In an internal school district statement, principal Robert Harris reportedly said Breed told him he directed the students to hit the referee because the official had used racial slurs and had missed calls. Details from the statement were first reported Wednesday by ESPN. Referee Robert Watts, has denied using any slurs.

   The coach "wanted to take full responsibility for his actions. Mr. Breed at one point during our conversation stated that he should have handled the referee himself," Harris wrote in his statement.

   Players Michael Moreno and Victor Rojas have been ordered to complete 75 days in alternative school before becoming eligible to return to their regular classes. The two were suspended from the John Jay football team in the aftermath of the Sept. 4 game at Marble Falls.

   Looking ahead: The Week 4 football schedule is very light on matchups between ranked teams (the schedule for ranked teams can be found here), although at least a few contests stand out.

   In Class A, No. 1 Maine-Endwell plays No. 7 Vestal. Bath, fresh off a win over ranked Class B opponent Livonia, is ranked ninth in Class C and faces off against No. 6 LeRoy. And Tioga, the top-ranked Class D squad, goes head to head with Newark Valley, rated 10th in Class C.

   Most intriguing of all, however, figures to be Canisius vs. DePaul Catholic from Wayne, N.J., on Saturday afternoon. Canisius is ranked No. 1 in the state in Class AA. DePaul Catholic is just 1-2, but both two-touchdown losses were to schools that qualify as among the 10 best or so in all of the Northeast.

   A win confirms Canisius has staying power beyond its state CHSAA championship last year, earns credibility for New York football in general and makes the impending Oct. 17 game at third-ranked Aquinas even bigger. But, man, they've got some heavy lifting in from of them this week.

   Quality win: Webster Schroeder, ranked 17th in the state in Class AA, beat sixth-ranked Clarence 3-1 in girls soccer. Jess Hewlett, Andrea Benson and Isabella Lucania scored in the victory.

  
RoadToSyracuse.com
RoadToSyracuse.com football site



   Rochester rape charge: A 28-year-old Rochester man was arrested and charged with raping a former student, local media reported. Police said they arrested Michael Schimek and charged him with third-degree rape and third-degree criminal sex act, both felonies, related to contact with a 15-year-old girl he met through his previous position with the Rochester City School District as an assistant track coach at School of the Arts.

   Schimek is a substitute teacher and football assistant at Edison Tech, the Democrat and Chronicle reported. He pleaded not guilty in City Court on Wednesday morning and posted $15,000 bail.

   Second thoughts: Friday's homecoming at Guilderland was supposed to include naming the field after Harold "Bud" Kenyon, a football coach in the district from 1965-80.

   That changed this month as allegations of two incidents from the 1970s resurfaced and prompted a closer look at Kenyon's personnel file. The school board then voted on Sept. 15 to rescind the re-naming of the field, angering Kenyon, 87, and his supporters.

   "They were happy. Now, they are incensed," Kenyon told The Times Union.

   Kenyon said they incidents involved confrontations with male students -- pushing one student back down in a chair after the student lunged forward during a meeting and grabbing another student by the back of his shirt and the seat of his pants after the student was caught looking into the girls' locker room.

   Kenyon told the paper he was brought before the board on charges of misconduct and insubordination, but he said he believed the board had settled the charges. He was surprised to see them brought up again more than 40 years later and only about a week before the ceremony.

   "I was getting an awful lot of congratulations from former players and friends," Kenyon said. "(Then) one or two emails went to the board telling them to check my file, and they checked my personal file to bring up the case."

   School Board President Allan Simpson did not respond to multiple requests from the paper for comment. Kenyon appealed at a Sept. 22 meeting, but the board decided not to reconsider its earlier vote.

   Kenyon, 86-41-9 at Guilderland, also coached at Hoosick Falls (1959-65) and Greenwich (1990-94).

   Extra points: According to a tweet from MSG Varsity's Kevin Devaney Jr. this morning, Dover/Webutuck has forfeited its weekend football game to Dobbs Ferry due to a shortage of players. It was supposed to be the homecoming game for Dobbs Ferry, ranked No. 3 in Class C.

   The New York Public High School Athletic Association's boys basketball committee meets Friday. Topping the agenda is the anticipated selection of Albany, Binghamton or incumbent Glens Falls to host the state final fours for 2017-19.


  
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