Friday, 24 August 2012 00:00
Major League Lacrosse, the premier professional outdoor lacrosse league, announced Wednesday that Long Island Lizards Coach Joe Spallina has been named as the 2012 Brine MLL Coach of the Year, according to MLL Commissioner David Gross. The award was based on the votes submitted by the head coaches and general manager of each of the League’s eight teams.
“It’s a tremendous honor. This is the highest level of the sport that we all love, so I’m tremendously humbled. Our team dealt with a different kind of hand and dealt with adversity and guys deciding not to play or being injured, but that’s a tribute to the character of guys we have who share the same vision that I had of restructuring and getting to the top level,” said Spallina.
“We have a good group and the right mix of veterans and a very young team. A large part of our success has to do with rookies hitting the ground running and the way our veterans welcomed those guys in and made them feel part of it,” the coach added.
In his first season as the Lizards’ leader, Spallina led the Lizards to an 8-6 record and the fourth seed in the 2012 MLL Championship Weekend presented by Warrior. After opening the season with back-to-back losses, the Lizards recovered to win five straight games, including four victories away from James M. Shuart Stadium.
With Spallina at the helm, the Lizards led the MLL by allowing just eight two-point goals while ranking fourth in the MLL by scoring 165 goals.
The Lizards also had two of the top-scoring rookies in the MLL this season. While attackman Matt Gibson led all rookies with 31 points, rookie attackman Tommy Palasek led all MLL rookies with 22 goals and ranked fifth on the team with 27 points.
Spallina, who took over for longtime Coach Jim Mulé, joined the Lizards after a four-year stint as the head women’s lacrosse coach at Adelphi University. He posted a 73-2 record with Adelphi and guided the Panthers to three consecutive NCAA Division II championships.
“Like Brine, Coach Spallina blends innovation with hard work, integrity, leadership and teamwork to create a leading lacrosse product,” said Dave Dixon, Brine Chief Marketing Officer. “Brine congratulates Coach Spallina and the Long Island Lizards on an outstanding season and wishes them the best of luck in the playoffs.”
Thursday, 23 May 2013 00:00
Hicksville native Jae Lee recently rose to the top of his senior class at New York Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), winning the Critic Award for sportswear. But fashion wasn’t the path that Lee originally chose.
In high school, Lee excelled in art classes and thought that he wanted to go to college and major in fine arts. However, he said, it was while watching an episode of “Project Runway” that he had a revelation. “All of a sudden I was thinking that it was something I could/should do and that’s what kind of led to it,” he said. He made up his mind that he was going to apply to fashion school and enlisted the help of one of his art teachers in school to help him. “We really scrambled and put together this presentation in about two weeks, where other people, I’m sure, worked on theirs for months,” he said. Lee said that when he went to present his portfolio, he didn’t think the meeting went well at all. “Everyone was really well prepared,” he said. But, he admitted, it must have gone better than he thought, because he was accepted to FIT.
Thursday, 23 May 2013 00:00
In the face of cancelled air shows and the downgrading of NYC’s Fleet Week, Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano announced on May 9, that American soldiers will be forever honored on Long Island through the creation of the Museum of American Armor to be built at Old Bethpage Village Restoration thanks, in part, to a million dollar gift from Lawrence Kadish.
“We are watching powerful tributes to our American military reduced or eliminated across the nation and its just plain wrong,” stated County Executive Mangano. “Fortunately, the Memorial Day weekend air show at Jones Beach will be held regardless of the loss of the Thunderbirds, but Fleet Week in New York City will be greatly diminished and across the country air shows are being cancelled weekly. Nassau County is moving in another direction. An armor museum that honors every American soldier will be created on county property this year which will not only pay tribute to those who have defended our nation but will also strengthen the county’s tourism and destination industry and provide a new source of revenue.”
Thursday, 23 May 2013 00:00
The U.S. Tennis Association Long Island Region has recognized several Hicksville residents for their tennis playing or volunteering achievements. The group was honored at the USTA Long Island Region’s 23rd Annual Awards Dinner, which recognizes superior efforts both on and off the tennis court.
Terry Fontana received the Vitas Gerulaitis for the Love of Tennis award. She has been a longtime fixture in the Hicksville tennis community and is the driving force behind the Hicksville Community Tennis Association (CTA), which, since 1995, has been promoting the development of tennis as a means of healthy recreation and physical fitness and to create a community resource for physical activity throughout the area.
Thursday, 23 May 2013 00:00
It was a cold season for softball this year, colder than usual. Anyone who knows the sport recognizes that the weather can be changeable, but this softball season was fraught with snow, pouring rain, cancelled games, frigid temperatures, and blowing winds that would cause any team to crave the warmth of indoors.
That wasn’t the case with the Hicksville High School Lady Comets Varsity Softball team. They played through it all like champions, and endured the rough weather like superstars.
Bonsai Day
Saturday, May 25
Parade Announcement
Monday, May 27
Fire Department History
Wednesday, May 29
Moving Pictures
Written by Mike Barry, MFBarry@optonline.net
Private Power Isn’t Our Only Option
Written by Michael A. Miller, Millercolumn@optimum.net
Building Better Legislators
Written by Michael A. Miller, Millercolumn@optimum.net