Last February, the Mineola community was treated to an evening of basketball fun. The "big event" of 1998 featured teams from the Mineola community against former and current NBA and NFL professional athletes. The gymnasium at Mineola High School was packed with fans of all ages to watch teams from the Mineola Fire Department, the Kiwanis Club, the Hampton Street PTA, Nassau Sports Physical Therapy, the Mineola Sports Booster Club and the Mineola School Teachers and Faculty All-Stars play against a celebrity team to help raise money for student athletes of the Mineola schools.

This year, the Mineola Sports Booster Club has been hard at work to make the 1999 Celebrity hoops Challenge even better, and they are proud to announce "the bigger event." The pro athletes are looking forward to coming back to Mineola. Team Captain Al Dixon, a former defensive back for the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers, recently reported, "We are ready for those women from Hampton Street this year, and it's no more Mr. Nice Guy this time around." Of course, they were not exactly "nice guys" last year, either! Dixon also mentioned some "unfinished business" regarding the faculty and administration "wanna be" team which won a close contest last year thanks to some wise clock management and clutch shooting from Rory "Cinder" Block.

The competition will once again be spirited. Two new teams are joining the fray: the Williston Park and Mineola Villages are combining to form a team called the "Village People," and Van Buren GMC Buick is fielding a team which will be "traveling" in style! Nassau Sports P.T. and the Hampton Street "Her-icanes" will be back along with the Raging Educators from the Mineola schools. Also this year look for some fan participation, as three lucky winners of a raffle will compete in a free-throw contest, with the winner taking a chance at two of three half court shots to win a two year lease on a GMC Jimmy or a comparable prize. (Prize value over $12,000!) This raffle is courtesy of our friends and competitors at Van Buren GMC/Buick. Raffle tickets are $5 each and will be available in advance and at the door.

Mark your calendar to come to the Mineola High School on Friday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. Let's rock the gymnasium, enjoy the competition, raffles, refreshments, and entertainment, collect some autographs and pictures, and perhaps drive home in a new automobile! You'll have lots of fun, and you will be helping the Mineola Athletic Booster Club Scholarship Fund. For ticket information call Mineola Schools Athletic Director Anthony Gulli at 739-4168 or Paul Cusato at 248-0849.

The boys Varsity bowling team turned in their "best bowling of the year" in last week's match, according to Coach Young. The result was an 11-0 sweep of West Hempstead.

John Pirrone led the way with a 754 series, starting with a 274 high game. John Randazzo had a very consistent 237 -- 232 -- 226 for a 695 score, and Tom Brown added a 191 to complete the scoring. Against league rival Hewlett, the keglers fell by a 3 to 8 score, as Tom Brown turned in a 214, John Pirrone had a 202, and John Randazzo led with a 219 - 221. The match left Mineola in third place in the league while Hewlett ended in second place. The team has one match left to determine their ranking for the upcoming county championships.

Meanwhile the JV Keglers also shut out West Hempstead, with Mat Brown's 187 score showing the way. Adam Tuthill and Billy D'Elia had 177 and 170 high games. Against Hewlett the JV gutted out a tough 6 to 5 victory thanks to Adam Tuthill's 208 - 182 and Billy D'Elia's 180 - 183.

Mineola's Varsity rifle team opened its cartridge portion of its schedule on Jan. 5 with a loss to Lynbrook in a competitive match, 846 to 763. In cartridge competition the top four scores out of six count for your team score. Each individual score is out of 300 points. The top four scores for Mineola in this match were Chris Kang with a 204, Pio Park - 202, Ricky Marques - 180 and Rick DiCandia - 177.

The Mustang Varsity rifle team traveled to Massapequa on Jan. 7, for a cartridge match and ended up on the wrong end of a 924 to 805 score. The top four scores for Mineola were Pio Park with a 219, Rick DiCandia - 207, Chris Kang - 197 and Ricky Marques who shot a 182. Mineola's next three matches will be in air rifle.

On Jan. 12 the Mineola Varsity rifle team lost a very close air rifle match to Freeport by a score of 468 to 439. Team score in air rifle is out of 600 points and individual scores are out of 200 points. High score for Mineola was a 150 by freshman Pio Park, Jr. Capt. Chris Kang shot a 149 and Jr. Capt. Johnny Chang shot a 140. Mineola's record in air rifle is now 1 - 3.