Leading off today: Although this is a huge weekend for spring-sports championships across New York, there is no bigger high school sports news in New York -- or nationally -- than Friday afternoon's report of Arielle Newman's autopsy.

   The sudden death of the Staten Island Notre Dame Academy distance runner in early April was caused by the accidental overuse of over-the-counter remedies routinely used by many people to treat muscle soreness, New York City's medical examiner ruled.

   That has caught the attention of many athletes, coaches and other observers as multiple U.S. and international media sources picked up The Associated Press version of the report. As of 9:30 a.m. Sunday, it was the second-most e-mailed story and third-most read story on the Yahoo! site.

   Newman, 17, died April 3 after her body absorbed lethal levels of methyl salicylate, an ingredient found in sore muscle treatments like BenGay, Icy Hot and Tiger Balm. Newman was using a cream, adhesive pads containing the anti-inflammatory and another product with the chemical, said Ellen Borakove, spokeswoman for the medical examiner.

   The methyl salicylate likely caused a seizure after the teen returned home following an April party near her home.

   Posthumous honor: The Advance's Staten Island girls track all-star team announced today includes Newman's name. In an editor's note, the paper said that selections were made last week prior to the final report by the medical examiner. The selectors determined that her

accomplishments during the indoor season merited her inclusion.

   State track notes: Blake Eaton of Allegany-Limestone ended his high school career with his third straight Division II titles in the shot put and discus in the NYSPHSAA track championships Saturday in Kingston.

   Eaton, who will attend Penn State, is the Section 6 record holder in the shot at 64 feet, 10 inches.

   Another big effort on Saturday came from Christian Thompson, the Candor senior. He rallied from from more than 25 meters back on the bell lap to win the Federation title in the steeplechase with a time of 9:17.20 to set a Section 4 record.

   Thompson, who will run for NCAA powerhouse Colorado in the fall, clipped Ryan McDermott of Chaminade by .35 seconds at the tape.

   Anemic softball scoring: A quick tally shows that 11 of the 15 semifinals and finals in the state softball tournament this weekend were shutouts, with losing teams generating just five runs.

   While defense certainly has something to do with it, there is an obvious problem with the way top-shelf pitchers dominate the game. I cannot think of another high school team sport in which a single position player can have so much control of the outcome.

   I've been leaning toward supporting the move of the pitcher's circle back three feet. I think I have to whole-heartedly advocate that sort of change now.

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