Having confronted the reality that I'm not going to have time to catch up on a whole bunch of stuff I should have been blogging about the last few days, I'm just going to offer up a handful of noteworthy items and start fresh tomorrow with recaps of the key basketball, hockey and track action from around the state. So, away we go . . .

   Hartley selected again: UConn-bound guard Bria Hartley from North Babylon has been named the Gatorade New York Player of the Year for the second straight season.

   Hartley averaged 28.8 points per game as a senior, scoring 51 in her career finale last week. She'll wrap up her scholastic basketball career with appearances in the McDonald’s All-American Game on March 31 in Columbus, Ohio and the WBCA All-American Game on April 3 in San Antonio, Texas.

   Speaking of repeat performances: Lancaster senior Melissa Kurzdorfer won her second consecutive Nike Indoor Nationals championship in the weight throw yesterday in Boston, throwing 61 feet, 4 inches on her first attempt for the No. 3 all-time mark by a U.S. school girl. She had the days five longest throws at the Reggie Lewis Center.

   Saratoga's distance medley also fired off a No. 3 performance by winning in a startling 11:38.60 to break the meet record. Amanda Burroughs opened with a 3:34.7, Margaret McDonald covered her leg in :59.7, Brianne Bellon added a 2:13.3 turn and freshman Keelin Hollowood brought the Streaks home with a 4:50.8 for 1,600 meters as the quartet knocked nine seconds off the school record.

   The boys DMR was preposterously good, with Hamden, Conn., (10:07.58) leading a parade of seven squads that landed in the top 16 on the all-time U.S. list. Among them were Warwick (10:08.50), Liverpool (10:08.52) and Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake (10:09.25).

Winter season bonus links Boys hoops: Road to Glens Falls, your all-purpose destination Boys hoops: Sectional tourney scores and NYSPHSAA brackets Girls hoops: NYSPHSAA brackets Boys hockey: NYSPHSAA brackets - D-I | D-II Wrestling: Final NYSPHSAA results - D-I | D-II

   In the National Scholastic Indoor Championships at the New York Armory, Sheepshead Bay broke the national boys mark in the shuttle hurdles with a time of :28.93 and St. Anthony's fought off St. Joe's-by-the-Sea to win the boys sprint medley.

   More to come, unfortunately: Several sports programs are candidates to be cut from the Frankfort-Schuyler school budget, a story line that is destined to be repeated many times in the coming months across the state with the most dysfunctional government since Nero began violin lessons.

   The school board learned Tuesday that it might need to implement a 20 percent cut in its sports budget. That translates to about $42,000 and would result in the demise of bowling, golf, wrestling and cheerleading and requiring athletes in several other sports to pay for equipment such as shim guards, the Herkimer Telegram reported.

   Extra points: Christ The King will be minus junior point guard Corey Edwards tomorrow vs. Bishop Loughlin in the CHSAA 'AA' final. The Royals standout dislocated his left foot during practice last weekend, coach Joe Arbitello said.

   Rich Ward was named football coach at Marlboro, his alma mater. Ward stated his coaching career as an assistant at Cornwall and has spent the last three years as the defensive coordinator for Army's sprint football team. Marlboro is coming off a 2-7 season.