Slam Dunk schedule
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- November
- 21
Here’s the schedule for the Slam Dunk Challenge, which I got tonight from organizer Lou DeMello:
Boys —
Sat., Dec. 27:
Croton-Harmon vs. Valhalla, 10:15 a.m. (Challenge game)
Gorton vs. Long Island Lutheran, 1:45 p.m.
White Plains vs. Collegiate, 3:30 p.m.
Greece Athena vs. Iona Prep, 5:15 p.m.
Peekskill vs. South Side, 7 p.m.
Sun., Dec. 28:
Losers bracket semifinal, 1:45 p.m.
Losers bracket semifinal, 3:30 p.m.
Semifinal, 5:15 p.m.
Semifinal, 7 p.m.
Mon., Dec. 29:
7th place, 10:15 a.m.
5th place, 12 p.m.
Consolation, 5:15 p.m.
Championship, 7 p.m.
Girls —
Sat., Dec. 27:
Ossining vs. Woodlands, 12 p.m. (Challenge game)
Sun., Dec. 28:
Albertus Magnus vs. Greece Athena, 10:15 a.m.
Our Lady of Lourdes vs. Cornwall, 12 p.m.
Mon., Dec. 29:
Consolation, 1:45 p.m.
Championship, 3:30 p.m.
This entry was posted
on Friday, November 21st, 2008 at 9:38 pm by Josh Thomson. 
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Josh Thomson has done some of everything since joining The Journal News in March 2003. He began working for the Gannett weeklies during the winter of 2002 as a freelance writer. He joined the daily staff soon after and has since covered various high school and pro sports. Away from sportswriting, Josh lives in Westchester and spends his free time either with his fiancee, Sarah, or expertly managing his various championship-winning fantasy sports teams. He's visited 21 major-league baseball stadiums and insists that Fenway Park and Wrigley Field are the best by far. Josh graduated from Carmel High School in 1998, then went to Boston University, where, in 2002, he received a degree in communications with a minor in history.
LOOKS LIKE SOME GREAT GAMES….................
Once again the girls and Westchester schools get the short end of the stick.
10 boys teams get to play but only 6 girls teams get invited. Title IX was passed into law in 1972. It is 2008.
Then, on the girl’s side, the only two westchester schools invited are in the “challenge game” with no opportunity for advancement beyond that game.
Instead, the 4 tournament play teams are all from outside Westchester. I have always said that it is a good idea to invite 2 teams from outside the area but having 4 teams from Rockland, Orange, Monroe and Dutchess counties is downright disrespectful to Westchester County and its taxpayers.
To add insult to injury, the tournament’s sponsor has previously indicated that Our Lady of Lourdes, a team that hails from Dutchess County, is considered a “home” team that always gets invited to this Westchester County event.
The reason that not allowing at least two Westchester County teams to enter tournament play is disrespectful is because the County of Westchester acts as a sponsor (or “presenter”) to this tournament and offers its facility (most likely at a school level reduced rate) and free publicity from its elected officials on the County’s website and on the radio.
Unequal treatment for the girls teams and no Westchester girls team in the tournament brackets is reason enough for County officials and the Journal News (also a sponsor) to have stepped up to the plate and forced the tournament Director to stop direspecting our girls and our County.
These points were brought up last year, and not a single story was written about this disparity and nothing has changed for this year. But there is lots of ink for stories and editorials when, for instance, some dopey public official foolishly sends around an e-mail with an insensitive cartoon about our new President. I’m not defending the cartoon or its e-mail forwarder—but does anyone care to put a stop to this real injustice?
So if you already mad at the County Executive for giving his staff pay raises this year, here’s something else for you to complain about. Tell your elected County officials that you want some Westchester girls teams to be able to compete in tournament play in an event sponsored in part by Westchester county taxpayers and supported by Westchester county fans.
And, much as I like Josh and all that he does for HS girls basketball, shame on his employer (the Journal News) for sponsoring this event and not using its influence to level the playing field for our girls.
We had a Westchester team win the Tournament and you don’t invite them back to defend it. At least let them defend their championship.
Timster,
Relax you are not understanding Title IX at all.
Having 10 boys and 6 girls teams is fine. Girls do not offset their expenses. How many fans will attend Albertus girls game vs Greece Athnena, lucky to g et 50 ppl for that one. GIRLS dont get crowds, period!!! And the COunty Center or Section I need tickets sold.
An orange county girls team came and won the tournament and were never asked back to the slam dunk to defend it,
Evan,
I’m not talking about a legal requirement in bringing up Title IX, or to spur an in depth discussion about it; rather I brought it up to use as a mindset and frame of reference as to how girls and boys basketball programs have operated around her for many years. Based on that mindset, obviously created by Title IX, girls are given the same opportunity to play (from practice time in the gym up to the ability to play in a tournament) as the boys. If you look at the AA basketball playoffs last year, 20 girls teams participated, 18 for the boys. There is no problem with “interest” when it comes to participation in this sport.
In the Title IX scenario, higher gate receipts for boys sporting events cannot trump the requirement for equal opportunity. If Slam Dunk utilized professional athletes it could schedule a mens only competition at any site based purely on a profitability model. But this event uses our scholastic HS teams on County property subsidized in part by County taxpayers. All of these teams abide by Title IX rules and the County as a government entity surely treats men and women equally.
Asking that this tournament have the same number of boys and girls teams is not about whether someone could start a Title IX lawsuit—it is about respecting our County’s women athletes and our girls basketball teams.
Timster,
More AA girls team qualififying in AA doesnt mean anything lol That issue is attendance!!
Who wants to run a tournament and LOSE money???
Mike H
If the desired goal of this tournament is fan attendance and “making money” for the promoter, then he/she can invite who he/she wants to play and he/she can operate on the same basis as any other vendor who uses the County Center (i.e., the snake show, the computer show, the Big Apple circus, etc.) He/she gets no special rates, no waiver of setup fees, no free publicity from the County and its elected officials, no free newspaper coverage or ads, etc.
On the other hand, if the event includes our HS athletes and teams (all of whom abide by Title IX rules), is sponsored by the County Parks Department and its taxpayers, gets free ads and publicity from the County and a newspaper sponsor, then concepts like equal access (not equal fan interest) for our HS women athletes and respect for our County’s girl’s teams must rule the day. The boys and girls draws are the same size, no Dutchess county team is the “host” team and given favorable draws and our County girls teams are not shut out of tournament play.
How do the teams for the challenge games get picked?
seems strange that the defending state and federation champion Briarcliff, a Westchester team does not get invited? Clearly there are other factors involved other than attendance. When government is involved Title IX is applicable and requires equality regardless of money making opportunities. Where are the elected officials who represent the citizens of Westchester, once again MIA. So what else is new. If their pay raises depended on getting a Westchester team invited you can bet that the entire field would be from Westchester.
i have to side with timster on this. it might not be a legal issue, but having the same number of boys and girls games would have at least made the right statement…that the girls game is just as important here in westchester as the boys game.
I also have to agree – if the Mt Vernon girls played in this, there would be a LOT of fans!
Is anyone at the Journal News going to do some REAL journalism and investigate how the Parks Department/County Center has been ripping off Section One for years, which has led to the elimination of most of Championship Week. This coming at a time when raises for County fat cats, including the director of the County Center, are on the table. But the kids lose out because of greed and incompetance. This should not be happening. Also, ask Section One why they paid $100,000 last year to their new director to simply sit around and watch the retiring director do his job?? And yet they cut Championship Week for the kids citing budgetary reasons…unbelievable. Let’s see the Journal News expose some of this for a change.
Why doesn’t the section just rent the building for the day. According to the County Center web site rental for the main hall for a college sporting event is $2800(minimum) per day and 10% of the gate, also a clean up fee of $450. I would think that at $8 a head and at least 1000-1500 spectators a day that the Section would clear a profit. If the building was rented would the county still require the Section to pay for the police at a overtime rate ? I would also hope the the section would look into some sort of sponsorship. I would have no problem atttending the “Verizon Section One BAsketball Championships” or the Section One Championships sponsored by The Journal News. After all the events that the Journal news covers helps sell their paper. It can be worked out people just need to be willing to think outside of the box