thE COLLEGE sPOrts CrIsIs

Say you are about to finish your junior year in high school, 17 years old, living in the Bay Area. You’re a star in softball, a bigger star in the classroom, and because of both facts Stanford is interested in you.

You’re excited. Not only do you have a chance to go to a school of impeccable academic credentials, you could find yourself part of an athletic program with 134 national championships to its credit, names like Janet Evans and Tiger Woods, just to name a couple of famous alums.

So you make a verbal commitment to the Cardinal in the spring of 2023. You know that, in two years, you’ll be on the diamond facing the best in the Pac-12, which bills itself as “The Conference of Champions”.

Or at least it did.

By now you’ve likely heard that, in addition to snatching USC and UCLA, the Big Ten gobbled up Oregon and Washington, too, igniting a scramble where Arizona, Arizona State and Utah joined Colorado in bolting to the Big 12.

And a league with more than a century of history and far too many great

Random Thoughts

teams and athletes to count is, in a flash, gone.

You know why it happened. The same college presidents and conference commissioners crying about the implications of athletes getting a tiny piece of the gross profits they generate experience serious FOMO and chase tens of millions more that ESPN, NBC, Fox or other media giants is willing to hand out for football Saturdays in the fall.

Just because it makes cents doesn’t mean it, you know, makes sense.

Heck, it’s doubtful that any of these power brokers looked anywhere beyond their own resumes and bottom lines in making these momentous decisions.

The welfare of athletes? The ability of fans, especially parents, other family members and friends, to travel and see games?

Again and again, those considerations were cast aside, if they were even raised. Sorry, hate to inconvenience you, but those flashy NBC promos about Big Ten games on Saturday nights are so cool, we’ve got to get a piece of it!

This is how college sports, already

Historic Moment: Memories of Corregidor

BY BEth BAtLLE SKaneateleS toWn hiStorian

According to an article in the April 20, 1945 issue of the Skaneateles Press, Walter Chapman of Skaneateles was one of the men of the 34th Infantry Regiment to land on the shores of the island of Corregidor in the Philippines.

He and his company, through intense enemy fire, clawed their way up the Malinta hill and planted the first American flag to fly from its crest since the three years that it had came under enemy control.

The Japanese had fought back for nine day to regain the hill. The men of L Company held the sun-baked hilltop, running short of food, water, and ammunition. After they were relieved, they joined in an attack down upon Corregidor’s tip. Though a few were wounded, there were no fatalities.

Many years later, as a member of the Navy Nurse Corps, I was stationed at the Subic Bay Naval hospital and had the opportunity to visit Corregidor. First, I traveled in a jeep to the top of the hill and paid my respects to the American flag flying there.

However I was more interested in visiting the islands’ lower tunnels. Empty now, most had been used to store ammunition. One, though, had served as General Wainwright’s headquarters. He had stayed with his troops, was captured, and sent to a prison camp in Japan where he spent the rest of the war under deplorable conditions.

But, more important to me was the section of the tunnels that had served as a hospital for the wounded soldiers. Now they stood empty, dank, and dark. We were told that the wounded men left messages on the walls for their families back home. However, by this time all the writings had been erased and there was no evidence of the wounded that had been sheltered there.

Recently I went on the internet to see if the tunnels still existed and they do. However,. I was very disappointed to find that the island had became a tourist attraction. Boats brought tourists across the bay from Manila to an island landing.

Here they boarded a bus that took them around to the different sites. And I was dismayed to see that food concessions and souvenir stands had sprung up almost everywhere. In my heart this is still sacred ground.

I wonder how Walter Chapman would have felt.

Parade preparation

To the editor: an environment rife with hypocrisy and inequality, can drive away even its most staunch fans, who weren’t clamoring for any of these seismic changes.

Whether it was football or any other sport, the college model was built on local and regional identity. Not just rooting for the alma mater, but also hating your rivals and wanting to beat them so much that it sometimes topped winning any league or national titles.

But ever since the Supreme Court, in 1984, allowed conference to negotiate their own TV contracts away from the NCAA’s control, we’ve experienced one realignment after another, every single one of them (including Syracuse going to the ACC) singularly driven by fat bottom lines even as some athletic departments continued to lose money.

If it continues, football might be better served by breaking off into its own “Super League” with all the brand names, which would be tolerable if the rest of the sports returned to a more sane, regional model that never was broken in the first place.

Of course, the big soccer clubs in Europe tried this a couple of years ago and the resulting outcry led to a quick com

Each year after the library book sale, the Curbstone Festival, and the Antique Boat Show, I write to remind everyone to look forward to another wonderful summer event- the Labor Day Weekend Field Days and Parade, sponsored by the Skaneateles Volunteer Fire Department.

This year, we are celebrating 190 years of service to our community.

Information about all of the weekend’s fun events can be found on the department website, skaneateles.vfd.

As chair of the Grande Parade, I am writing to invite and encourage community groups, churches, sports teams, local businesses, and local non-profit organizations to take part in this year’s parade.

This year’s Grande Parade will honor the three 2022-23 NYS high school champion teams from Skaneateles High School, boys soccer and hockey and girls lacrosse. Come and cheer for these wonderful teams!

The Grande Parade begins at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 3 and will again go down State Street, across Genesee Street, and up Jordan Street to the Field Days celebration at the Allyn

raylene s. russell

Worked as registered nurse

Raylene Sue Russell was called back to our Lord Wednesday, July 5, 2023, in Warrenton, VA. Born April 9, 1947, to Raymond and Laura Palen in Marcellus, Raylene was a gracious and caring woman who touched the lives of all that crossed her path, whether on two legs or four. She married David Russell in 1968 and raised two loving children while traveling the world as a Navy wife. She was especially dedicated to her children’s education.

Raylene was a graduate of Marcellus High School and received her nursing degree from Auburn Nursing School in

Arena.

This year’s parade will feature some great music, lots of fire trucks, and with your support, lots of community participation.

For questions, or to sign up, please e-mail me at fpjbuck1@gmail.com or call 315- 569-8423.

Hoping to see you at the Grande Parade!

PAuL JONEs, sKANEAtELEs VFD mEmBEr grande parade Chair

Do better

To the editor: demise. Imagine if that happened here.

I was surprised to learn of efforts by Republicans in the town of Manlius to create a ward system to elect their town representatives, given that Republicans in the town of Clay, just a short drive to the north, have been so against the implementation of a ward system for decades. In fact, wherever Republicans consistently win at the town level, they seem to favor at-large voting over a ward system and conversely, where they’re less successful at winning using an at-large system, they favor wardstyle representation. The same was true of the Manlius Republicans until they were swept from power by the Democrats in the last few election cycles.

New York. For over 40 years, as an RN, she cared for those in need in the ER, doctor offices, hospitals, home visits and in veterinary clinics in the U.S. and abroad.

Maybe it needs to. If millions of fans, turned off by all the greed and double-dealing, banded together and stayed away from stadiums come 2024 (when most of these changes take place), and executives saw the vast sea of empty seats in Tuscaloosa or Norman or Columbus, maybe they’d reconsider.

Too many great rivalries, coast to coast, have already disappeared, sacrificed at the altar of football and the “security” some talk about which really is keeping all the gold for themselves and not sharing anything with anyone else. Now it’s entire leagues getting blown up, and with it goes the hopes and dreams of so many. A young man or woma gifted enough to play college sports should have their decision based on what they love and what is in their hearts, and never, ever have to worry about cross-country airfare or jet lag.

Phil Blackwell is sports editor at Eagle News. He can be reached at pblackwell@ eaglenewsonline.com.

Call me a cynic, but I can’t shake the feeling that Republicans aren’t interested in providing the most representative form of democracy at the town level for residents, but instead are trying to change the rules of the game wherever and whenever it benefits their party.

Personally, I favor a ward system. They are especially effective in large townships like Clay, the largest town in Onondaga County. Perhaps in smaller towns, like Manlius, at-large voting is sufficient. I don’t live in Manlius and can’t say for certain. What I would like to see though is some consistency and fairness. Local elections should be one way or the other, at-large or through wards, throughout the county. Republicans can not pick and choose the system that works best for them in order to gain a political advantage. They can’t decry the lack of representation of at-large voting in the small town of Manlius, while simultaneously defending its virtues in the massive town of Clay. This is just another example of Republicans attempting to rig the system in their favor and voters can see right through it. Do better.

mAtt JONEs Chairman, Clay demoCratiC Committee

Since 1980 Raylene lived in Virginia and was active in Trinity Episcopal Church’s voice and bell choir (her music lives on in her grandchildren), Manassas Centennial Garden club, many PTAs and animal foster programs. She was a decorated participant in the Prince William County Fair’s Floral Arrangement category. She is survived by her children, Erika Checco and husband, John; Blair Russell and wife, Jolyn; grandchildren, Abigail, Lilly, Joseph, Giovanni, Keane, Syden and Palen. Burial will be 11 am Friday August 18 at Highland Cemetery, Marcellus.

We Are Having A Sale

Bottle/Can Drive to Support Onondaga Earth Corps

Date:

Empowering

TWO DAYS

Huge Barn Sale

(Bought out A Very Large Estate) SAT. SUN. August 19-20

Riverknoll At Radisson

Riverknoll at Radisson located in Baldwinsville, NY. Riverknoll is a family community o ering a ordable rents for low income households. Riverknoll o ers one, two and three bedroom apartments. In addition, we have barrier free apartments for those with mobility impairments and units equipped for those with audio and visual impairments.

9 am – 5 pm

Selling @7809 Plainville Rd. Plainville, NY 13137

Building #21 (The Former Plainville Turkey Farm)

Tons of NEW and used merchandise: Oneida flatware sets, Oneida silver pieces, riding JD & other lawn mowers, garden equipment, rototillers, snowblowers, hand & power tools, furniture (inc. some Vict.), living room, sofas, beds dressers, small kitchen appliances, Coco-cola and other advertisings, army backpacks, All Kinds Of: Christmas & other Holiday décor, kids’ toys & games, glassware, knickknacks, antiques, primitives, etc. 15,000 sq. ft.+ Everything must go. Priced to sell.

Cash, Check, Visa Master Card & Discover

Fully-Accessible One-Bedroom Unit, Income Restrictions Apply

We do o er a ordable rents and accept Section 8 vouchers and other forms of outside assistance.

We o er some smoke free buildings, central air conditioning, playground, community room, tness center and all the amenities of the Radisson Community.

Applications are available at our o ce located at 8278 Riverknoll Crossing Baldwinsville NY 13027

Phone (315)638-3988

Fax: (315)638-3994 TTY: 711 riverknoll@dimarcogroup.com website at: www.riverknoll-at-radisson.balwinrealestatecorp.com 030318