Leading off today: Troy school officials decided last night not to strip funding for interscholastic sports from the upcoming budget, capping a chaotic 24 hours that calls into question the ability of the body to do anything more complicated that select the flavor of pudding to be served in school cafeterias.

   In addition, the board has dropped plans to possibly close an elementary school this year, and will instead try to close a projected $2.4 million budget gap with temporary solutions, The Troy Record reported.

   Speaking to the Troy Booster Club, schools Superintendent Fahilika Atiba-Weza said he was asking the board of education to close the gap in part by not replacing departing teachers and dipping into the district's fund balance.

   Of course, that could all change again tonight when the board and Atiba-Weza meet in executive session to hash out additional specific cuts and project revenue growth from the enrollment of New Covenant charter school students when that Albany school closes this summer.

   The board did not vote on the big budget-related proposals in Monday, which is fortunate because the idea of cutting sports appeared to come almost out of the blue and inspired boosters to mobilize quickly after many learned what was happening through a story in yesterday's newspapers.

   Those stories indicated Atiba-Weza was preparing to cut all extracurricular activities except student council and yearbook. If that was true, then shame on the superintendent for waiting until so late in the process to spring that option on residents, even if trial balloons had been floated last week during a meeting with school district staff.

   Blindsiding voters with the sports issue on a night in which the emotional subject of closing an elementary school was on the front burner strikes me as lousy managerial skills.

   Atiba-Weza projected that shuttering the sports program ($450,000), cutting most other activities ($125,000) and closing district swimming pools ($250,000) would save about $825,000, the newspaper reported.

   The Troy fiasco is one of the reasons I have started compiling information on school districts contemplating cuts to sports. You can find a list of a couple of dozen affected districts here.

   Albany picks football coach: Robbin Williams is to be confirmed tomorrow by the school board as the new football coach at Albany replacing Pete Porcelli, The Times Union reported.

   Williams, who has worked for 22 years at the Albany County Correctional Facility, most recently served as an assistant coach at Hudson Valley Community College, including one season as defensive coordinator. He began his high school career as a modified coach at Albany CBA.

RoadToSyracuse.com Football Site

   He will be the Falcons' fourth coach in four seasons, explaining the team's 18-72 record in the last decade. They've been winless the last two seasons and three out of four.

   Boys lacrosse: Senior Brendan Saylor had four goals and two assists to lead Fairport to a 15-6 win over Webster Thomas in a battle of unbeatens. His fourth goal was Saylor's 141st in his career to break the Red Raiders record set by Will Driscoll in 1998.

   Ward Melville (Class A), Canandaigua (B) and Manhasset (C) are starting the season ranked No. 1 by the New York State Sportswriters Association. The full rankings will be posted on our site tomorrow.

   On the move? Various New York City media outlets say Rice High boys coach Maurice Hicks is a candidate to join Steve Lavin's staff at St. John's as the team's director of basketball operations.

   Hicks, one of two coaches to win both the PSAL and CHSAA basketball championships, has won five Federation crowns with Rice since 1996.

   Wild ride ahead: Last Thursday was the first day college basketball coaches could make contact with current juniors, and The New York Post reports Christ The King girls guard Bria Smith is getting crushed with interest.

   "One time I was on the phone with one coach and another coach was on the phone with my mom and another coach was calling," Smith said. "It was kind of overwhelming."

   Interest thus far has included contact from Connecticut, Florida, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Penn State, Rutgers and South Carolina.

   CTK coach Bob Mackey said he sat down with Smith last Wednesday to prepare her for the deluge of attention. “She hasn’t handled it,” Mackey said. “She has pretty much kind of let it go. Now she’s got to handle it. It’s not a bad thing. She concentrated on the season. Now she has to start thinking about this.”