2010 Schedule is Out!

The 2010 schedule for the New York Sharks has been released by the IWFL. The Sharks will be playing an 8-game regular season schedule with 4 games at home and 4 on the road.

The season will start on April 10th, 2010 in Philadelphia as the Sharks will take on the Philadelphia Firebirds. The Sharks home opener will take place the following week as they take on their arch-rival D.C. Divas. The Sharks will also play the Pittsburgh Passion, Boston Militia, New Jersey Justice, Connecticut Crushers and the Baltimore Nighthawks. It will be a tough schedule for sure.

Also announced by the league is the divisional realignment. The Sharks will remain in the North Atlantic division as well as the Philadelphia Firebirds, New York Nemesis and Boston Militia. But also joining the division will be the powerhouse Pittsburgh Passion.

The complete schedule:

4/10 at Philadelphia Firebirds
4/17 D.C. Divas
4/24 Connecticut Crushers
5/01 at New Jersey Justice
5/08 Pittsburgh Passion
5/15 at Boston Militia
5/22 Baltimore Nighthawks
6/05 at Pittsburgh Passion

For more information and to get tickets, visit www.nysharksfootball.com

Whatever happened to ... Darleen "Blue" Hall?

Darleen Hall was a star linebacker for the New York Sharks from 2000-2004. Originally from Michigan, Hall moved to New York and attended Eugene Lang College/New School University.

Hall was nicknamed "Blue" because she colored her hair blue at the time.

Once "Blue" became a starter in 2001, she regularly was one of the leaders on the team in tackles and interceptions. She still holds the team record for most interceptions in a game with two and until 2006, had the longest interception returned for a touchdown of 80 yards.

After the 2004 season, Hall moved to Portland, Oregon. There she played for the Shockwave from 2005-2008. After a brief stint in Kentucky, Hall has settled in Illinois and just finished her 10th season in women's football while playing for the Chicago Force.

We caught up with "Blue" at the 2009 IWFL Championship Game held in Round Rock, Texas. You can watch her interview on YouTube below:

Hack Attacks!

What a pain! The servers that host our website have been infected with a virus that puts code on our website to redirect your browser to another site. Unfortunately this site is not one that is giving away free money or offering to solve your problems. We have tried removing the code but it would come back. We tried talking to the web site's host company and they kept saying that they are working on it. Supposedly they were hiring a securities firm to see what was going on but it kept coming back. It happened enough times that now Google has labeled our site as "malicious" and Twitter has suspended our account with them.

The site has been cleared of the code and we haven't seen an attack lately so hopefully our web host has corrected the problem but it has made us look to other service providers. Still the problem of clearing our name from Google and getting back on Twitter is a pain. Unfortunately, I don't think this will all be cleared before the end of the season and this will cut into our exposure and getting information about the team out on the web.

But you can be assured that we will still be broadcasting our final regular season game with the Pittsburgh Passion at www.blogtalkradio.com/WFNradio. Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell will provide the call of the game, starting at 3:45pm (EDT) this Saturday.

Medway, Massachusetts, May 30, 2009
Last year around this time, the New York Sharks (4-2) were on the road playing an undefeated team. And like last year, this game was important for the New Yorkers to come away with a win to keep their playoff hopes alive. Unfortunately last year they last a close game to the Pittsburgh Passion. This time the Sharks were playing the New England Intensity (5-1) who had a perfect record of 5-0.

It was a beautiful day in Medway, Massachusetts with clear skies and the temperature in the low 80's. The Sharks charter bus had arrived at Hanlon Field about 3 hours before game time and the team was in good spirits. Their regular starting quarterback Karen Mulligan was back at the helm after missing one game due to an injury.

The Sharks won the game by winning the coin toss and elected to receive the ball. Mulligan showed no signs of rustiness as she led New York down the field for an early touchdown. The Sharks scored by staying on the ground with big runs by Mandy Oppel for 19 yards and a 33 yard run by Mulligan herself. The scoring play was a 6-yard run around the right end by Lauren Pringle. Pringle missed the extra point attempt but the Sharks were on the board early with a 6-0 lead after 2 1/2 minutes of play.

New York got on the scoreboard again as New England turned the ball over on their first play from scrimmage. They fumbled the snap and the Sharks recovered the football on the Intensity 35-yard line. From there Mulligan hit Jen Blum with a 34-yard pass play to put the ball on the 1-yard line. From there rookie Chante Bonds ran the ball up the middle for another New York score. Pringle's extra point attempt hit the right goal post and bounced away. The Sharks extended their lead to 12-0 with 10 minutes left in the first quarter.

On New England's next drive they again had trouble snapping the ball from the center to the quarterback. This time they did not lose the football but it kept the Intensity from gaining any progress and the Sharks defense pushed New England backwards 9 yards during this drive before the Intensity was forced to punt.

New England punted the ball away from their own 19-yard line but it only went 10 yard forward. With New York in excellent field position on the Intensity 29-yard line, Mulligan connected with Pringle for a short pass to the left sideline. Pringle shedded a tackler and ran all the way into the endzone for another New York touchdown. On the extra point attempt, the kick was blocked by Liz Vogel but the visitors were now ahead 18-0 with a lot of time still left in the first quarter.

The Intensity tried to get their running game going but the Sharks stopped their star running back Steph Samuelson and New England was forced to punt again after only 3 plays. JoJjo Gauthier punted the ball from her own 45-yard line and really got her leg into it. Bonds caught the ball at the Sharks 13-yard line and then proceeded to run up the right side of the field. She ran it all the way to the endzone but a illegal block in the back penalty brought the ball back to the New York 46-yard line. It was a spectacular run but the Sharks quickly got the touchdown back. After runs by Blessing Withers and Lisa Doran of double digit yardage, Mulligan connected with Doran on a pass play. Doran caught the ball close to the sideline at the 10-yard line. She quickly spun back towards the field and raced down the field ahead of 2 defenders for another New York score. Pringle split the uprights this time and the Sharks took a 25-0 lead into the start of the second quarter.

At the start of the second quarter, the Intensity offense started to put it together. Starting at mid-field, quarterback Erica Statkus led her team down the field. With passes to Gauthier and Trish Donovan of 18 and 20 yards respectively and runs by Samuelson, New England was threatening. The Intensity was on the New York 6-yard line with a first down. Twice they tried pounding the ball in using Samuelson as the battering ram. She got close but not into the endzone. On third down with 2 yards to go for a score, Statkus rolled out of the pocket to her right. The Sharks put on a strong pursuit and the quarterback tried to loft a pass into the endzone for tightend Brianna Giarusso. But defensive back Jay Dantzler was in front of the receiver and leaped high into the air to pick off the pass.

It was a great play by Dantzler and snuffed out what proved to be the only threat that New England would muster all day. To further compound the second Intensity turnover of the day, Mulligan hit Adrienne Smith on the very next play for an 80-yard bomb for a touchdown. Pringle having all sorts of trouble kicking today missed the extra point.

The rout was on and it only got worse. On the next New England drive, Statkus fumbled the ball on her own 27-yard line and it was recovered by Vivian Alberty. Today the Sharks were not letting any turnover go to waste and they quickly cashed in. This time it was on 3 pass plays to Blum. Pringle converted the extra point and the lead was now 38-0 with 6:47 left in the half.

New York finished their scoring for the day when they got the ball back just before the end of the half. Starting from their own 47-yard line, Mulligan connected with Bonds for a nice 40-yard gain. Then Mulligan faked a handoff to Bonds who ran to her left. Mulligan kept the ball and went right all the way into the endzone. Isabella Bluhm came into the kick the extra point attempt but it was blocked. The Sharks took a 44-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.

In the second half, the Sharks put in most of their second team players. It was a good opportunity for many people to get some decent playing time. One of those players was Lisa Kureczka. The diminutive running back missed most of last season due to a leg injury but has since recovered nicely. At only 4' 11" and 115 pounds she was giving up a lot of size to the New England defenders. But Kureczka had her most productive game of her career carrying the ball eleven times, ten of them in a row.

With the Sharks staying solely on the ground, they did not score in the second half. The closest they came was to the Intensity 10-yard line at the end of the game in which head coach Bobby Breschard had the team take a knee to end the game.

It was a dominating performance by the Sharks on offense and defense. Mulligan was back in form as she threw for 4 touchdowns to 4 different receivers. She threw the ball less than a dozen times for 240 yards and no interceptions. The defense shined with their first shutout of the season. For New England it was a tough loss for a team that is likely to go to the Tier 2 Playoffs. But by playing a Tier 1 team, it should prepare them to get to the next level.

Next week the Sharks go back on I-95 but head south this time. They will be going to Washington, D.C. to take on the undefeated D.C. Divas. These two teams always play tough, tight ballgames and this should not be any different. It is a must win situation for the Sharks if they are to even have the slightest chance at the post-season. For D.C. they need a win to remain the top seed for the playoffs. If you can't join the team at the nation's capital you can still follow the game with Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell as they will be describing all of the hard-hitting action on WFNradio.

New York Sharks 25-19-0-0 : 44
New England Intensity 0-0-0-0 : 0

Scoring Summary
First Quarter
NY - (12:29) Pringle 6 yard run (Kick failed)
NY - (10:31) Bonds 1 yard run (Kick failed)
NY - (06:47) Pringle 29 yard pass from Mulligan (Kick failed)
NY - (02:38) Doran 23 yard pass from Mulligan (Pringle kick)
Second Quarter
NY - (11:39) Smith 80 yard pass from Mulligan (Kick failed)
NY - (08:32) Blum 9 yard pass from Mulligan (Pringle kick)
NY - (01:41) Mulligan 17 yard run (Kick failed)

Mulligan #1

For 6 seasons the Sharks were led by legendary quarterback Val Halesworth. Halesworth routinely ranked as one of the best passing quarterbacks in women's football. She holds numerous league and Sharks records. So it was a blow when she left the team. Who could fill those shoes?

Surprisingly the answer was already on the team. Karen Mulligan had joined the team in 2003 and started off on defense and at tight end. She proved to be quite a capable blocker and receiver. In 2006 Mulligan was named the starting quarterback without having played a down before. She quickly proved that not only could she run the ball well but had a strong arm too.

At the halfway point of the season, Mulligan is the number 1 rated quarterback of all Tier 1 teams in the IWFL. Her stats are 46 completions out 88 attempts for 773 yards, and 10 touchdowns with 3 interceptions for a QB rating of 105.92 which puts her ahead of Allison Cahill of Boston who has a QB rating of 94.46. Halesworth still has it and is in 4th place with a QB rating of 94.13.

So far this year she has thrown 6 touchdowns of over 30 yards, including a new team record for the longest touchdown pass play of 98 yards. That was done against the Connecticut Crush where Adrienne Smith was the receiver. She also was named the POWERADE ZERO Player of the Week for her performance against the Philadelphia Firebirds.

POWERADE ZERO Player of the Week (5)

New York Sharks linebacker Shauntay Stewart was named the POWERADE ZERO Player of the Week for May 16th. She was selected by broadcasters Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell for her fine defensive play in the Sharks 21-7 loss to the D.C. Divas.

POWERADE ZERO is the sports drink with zero calories, zero limits.

POWERADE ZERO Players of the Week (3)

New York Sharks quarterback Karen Mulligan was named the POWERADE ZERO Player of the Week for May 2nd. She was selected by broadcasters Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell for her stellar performance in the Sharks 33-14 victory over the Philadlephia Firebirds. Mulligan threw for 273 yards and 4 touchdowns. Her touchdown passes were for 13, 37, 40, and 70 yards long.

POWERADE ZERO is the sports drink with zero calories, zero limits.

Game Day: Divas at Sharks

Brooklyn, New York, May 16, 2009
It was a foggy day at the Aviator Sports Complex as the New York Shakrs (3-2) hosted the D. C. Divas (4-0). Both teams represent some of the best in women's football with strong defenses. The teams have played each other 3 times in the past with the Divas holding a 2-1 edge in the rivalry. Each game was always a defensive struggle and this game was not expected to be any different as the Divas have the strongest defense in the league only giving up 7 points this year.

The Sharks were looking to attack the Divas defense with their fine passing attack, but that was dealt a blow just before game time as starting quarterback Karen Mulligan was a late scatch with an injury. This thrust Adrienne Smith into the starting role. Smmith has had some experience at quarterback but had taken very few snaps this year. Yet her speed brings a different element to the Sharks offense and it took awhile for D.C. to adjust.

To help Smith in the backfield was running back Mandy Oppel. Oppel usually plays offense and defense, but to keep her fresh the Sharks coaches did not put Oppel in on defense. This was a big help as Oppel rushed the ball 23 times a personal best for 83 yards.

The Sharks won the coin toss and had elected to receive. Throwing caution to the wind, the Sharks came out throwing but could not connect thus forcing them to punt after 3 plays.

The Divas on the other hand went to their running attack. They grinded out some yardage from running back Tiffany Matthews and moved the ball to the Sharks' 36-yard line. They then tried to go to the air, but quarterback Allyson Hamlin's pass was intercepted by Brooke McKinney at the 20-yard line and she returned it for 23 yards.

On the Sharks next possession, they methodically marched down the field. Oppel and Smith were able to advance the ball on the ground and then Smith hit wide receiver Jen Blum for a 26 yard gain to the Divas' 20-yard line and a first down. The Sharks were threatening but the closest they could get was to the 15 yard line after a 5-yard run by Oppel.

D.C. had just dodged a bullet but it was not long before they had their backs against the wall again. The Sharks defense stopped D.C. cold on their drive and forced them to punt from their own 15-yard line. After the punt New York had great field position on the Divas' 32-yard line.

Oppel was the workhorse on this drive as she got the ball 5 times and picked up 38 yards. But at the D.C. 7-yard line, the Divas defense put up their brick wall and stopped runs by Lauren Pringle and Smith for no gain. Oppel was able to get it down to the 4-yard line but on 4th down, the Sharks went for it but Smith's pass was knocked away in the endzone to stop the threat.

New York's defense proved stellar again forcing D.C. to punt on their next possession. Again the Sharks had great field position, this time on the Divas' 41-yard line. Again the Sharks looked to Oppel to carry the load. She carried the ball 4 times for 17-yards. A nice pass play from Smith to Lisa Doran picked up another 15 yards. The Sharks got all the way to the 10-yard line when they were stopped again by the Divas.

At halftime, the game was still scoreless. The New York defense was playing great holding D.C. pretty much in check for the first half. The Sharks offense was also playing well with 3 drives into the Divas' red zone. But New York could not capitalize on those opportunities and that eventually hurt their chance in the game.

The second half started with the Sharks kicking off to D.C. Starting from their own 28-yard line, the Divas offense started to click. Alternating handoffs between Matthews and Okiima Pickett they marched 71 yards to the New York 1-yard line. From there Claudia Hogan smashed the ball in to break the scoreless tie. The extra point attempt by Kathryn Hemlock was no good, but the Divas had taken the lead 6-0 with 11 minutes left to go in the third quarter.

On the Divas next possession, they seemed to be gaining some confidence in their running attack. It was fourth down and they had the ball on their own 31-yard line with only inches to go. Instead of playing it cautiously, the D.C. braintrust went for it but the Sharks defense stopped Matthews in her tracks for no gain and New York took over the ball in great field position. But again the Divas defense held the New Yorkers at bay.

D.C. mixed up their attack on the next go around and were more successful. Runs by Matthews of 15 and 18 yards were augmented with receptions by Tara Stephenson of 26 and 14-yards moved the ball all the way down to the Sharks' 1-yard line. From there Hamlin called her own number to put D.C. up by 2 touchdowns. Matthews ran in the 2-point conversion and the Divas lead 14-0 with 10 minutes left in the game.

Down by 14 points, New York had to go to the air but D.C. knew it and the Sharks were quickly forced to punt. With the defense not getting much of a breather, the Divas grinded out another touchdown on the ground. Most of it on the legs of Pickett as she gained 41 yards on 5 carries. The scoring play though was an 8-yard pass from Hamlin to Tara Kallal. Hemlock kicked the extra point to give D.C. a 21 point lead.

New York didn't give up as Smith kept to the air. Starting from their own 30-yard line the Sharks got a quick gain on a 15-yard penalty for roughing the passer against D.C. Then Smith methodically connected with her receivers 4 straight times to get the Sharks down to the D.C. 1-yard line. This was the fourth time the Sharks got into the red zone but this time they scored when Oppel ran the ball in for the score. Pringle converted the extra point and New York averted a shutout with less than 2-minutes left in the game.

The loss dropped the Sharks to 3-2 and tied for second place with the New York Nemesis in the North Atlantic Division. It was a hard fought battle against one of the best teams in league. Even without the availability of their starting quarterback the New Yorkers held their own, especially on defense. They kept on coming up big but seemed to tire a bit at the end. On offense, Smith proved quite capable of leading the Sharks in her first start as the field general. She was inconsistent at times, but that should prove to improve as she get more experience under her belt.

The Sharks have a bye week to enjoy the Memorial Day holiday. They will then hit the road up I-95 to take on the New England Intensity. It is an important game as a loss will mathematically eliminate them from any playoff hopes. Game time is 4:00pm (EDT) in Medway, Massachusetts. If you cannot make it to the park, you can follow the game with Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell describe all the hard hitting action on WFNradio.

D. C. Divas 0-0-6-15: 21
New York Sharks 0-0-0-7: 7

Scoring Summary
Third Quarter
DC - (10:58) Hogan 1 yard run (Kick failed)
Fourth Quarter
DC - (10:11) Hamlin 1 yard run (Matthews run)
DC - (05:02) Kallal 8 yard pass from Hamlin (Hemlock kick)
NY - (01:55) Oppel 1 yard run (Pringle kick)

Worst 5

Last week we listed the top 5 broadcasting venues, this week the worst 5. This list was much easier to compile than the top 5.

1) Southern Maine (Old Orchard Beach - home of the Southern Maine Rebels in 2005) It had rained heavily in Maine just days before the game. The story we were told was that the main field that the teams were to use was not in good playing condition. The administrators of the high school had the teams play on an adjacent practice field which had no stands and no press box. This is probably the most extreme conditions we had to broadcast in. The weather was very cold and damp. To broadcast the game we had to borrow a player's mini-van to climb on top of so we can get a higher view of the field. Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell climbed on top of the van and stayed up there for the 2 1/2 hours to do the broadcast. There was no electrical outlets so we used a car battery.

2) Montreal - This game was played in a public park. A make-shift field was set-up on the grounds and there was no scoreboard, no stands, and no press box. There was also no van available to sit on top of and after the experience in Maine, I don't think that would have been a viable option. Instead our intrepid broadcast crew announced the game from a building next to the field. But it was not from inside the building, it was from a ledge on the second floor. This way they would get a better view of the action below. Again we had to use a car battery for electricity. At least the weather wasn't as bad as Maine, but to make matters more difficult, there was a big tree between the building and the playing field to block a clear view of the field.

3) Manchester (West Memorial Field, current home of the Manchester Freedom) - the field was just renovated but the new press box was quite small. We ended up broadcasting from the old press box on the other side of the field. The structure was a long wooden box that was waiting to be torn down. There was no lights and no electricity but there was plenty of room, splinters, and spiders.

4) Baltimore This was another al fresco game. There was no press box so the broadcast was done from the stands. Again we used a car battery for electricity. The weather was fine so this wasn't really that bad. During the broadcast Dave Maxwell would talk to some of the fans sitting next to us.

5) Southern Maine (Fitgerald Field, home of the Southern Maine Rebels in 2006) Fitgerald Field is a very old municipal field used by the high schools in Portland. The press box was a very long rickety wooden structure with many individual rooms. We were able to get our own space but it was kind of cramped and very splintery. From the inside it looked like a bunch of plywood boards nailed together.

Honorable Mention (Brooklyn Tech) Another game with no press box, another game done outside. This time it was done from the roof of the high school. The view was from the endzone looking down to the other endzone. There was a small portable scoreboard but it could not be seen from the roof. A cellular phone was used to contact a spotter to give us how much time was left in the game. We were about 4 stories up but this time we were able to get a very long extension cord to provide electricity. The crew did the broadcast behind classroom desks. Luckily the weather was very nice and there was a nice view of the Empire State Building in the distance.

POWERADE ZERO Players of the Week (4)

The New York Sharks offensive line was named the POWERADE ZERO Players of the Week for May 9th. They were selected by broadcasters Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell after their fine effort in protecting Sharks quarterback Karen Mulligan and enabling her enough time to throw the football for 150 yards and 2 touchdowns. Pictured (l to r) are: Lorrie Greene, Sarah Schkeeper, Melissa Pickett, Shana Robinson, Tia Hopkins, and Melodie Abrook. Amber Hopkins was the photographer.

POWERADE ZERO is the sports drink with zero calories, zero limits.

Game Day: Crushers at Sharks

Brooklyn, New York, May 9, 2009
The New York Sharks (3-1) could ill afford to look towards their next opponent the D.C. Divas. Though that game could be one of the better games of the year in the IWFL, a loss to the Connecticut Crushers (0-4) would basically knock the Sharks out of any playoff contention.

It was supposed to rain later in the day but the skies held as the Crushers won the coin toss and elected to receive. The fear of taking the winless Connecticut team too lightly was quickly dispelled during the first drive of the game.

On defense, the Sharks actually pushed the Crushers back a yard and forced them to punt after only 3 plays. On offense, New York took their first drive 55 yards all the way into the endzone. Using a well balanced attack of pass and run plays, the Sharks scored in 7 plays. The bulk of the yardage was gained by Lisa Doran, but the scoring play was a 17 yard pass from Karen Mulligan to Mandy Oppel. Lauren Pringle kicked the extra point and the Sharks were on the board first with 9:47 to go in the first quarter.

On the Crushers second drive of the game they fared better and was able to move the ball down to the Sharks' 35-yard line before their offense sputtered. Connecticut elected to punt the ball on fourth down and punter Christine Huber kicked a beauty. Her kick was downed by the Crushers at the New York 2 yard line.

On first down Mulligan took the snap and while standing deep in her own endzone, found wide receiver Adrienne Smith open on the left side. She connected with Smith at the 27-yard line and then Smith turned on the jets and streaked down the sideline, not stopping until she got to the endzone. The 98-yard touchdown reception was the longest in Sharks' history, eclipsing the old record of 94-yards on a pass to Kathy Holloman from quarterback Val Halesworth in 2004. Pringle was successfully converted the extra point and New York was ahead 14-0.

It didn't take long for New York to strike again. After another 3 and out for Connecticut, Huber was punting from her own 29-yard line. She got off a decent punt and rookie Chante Bonds was back to catch the ball at the Sharks' 44-yard line. Bonds ran to her right and with lots of blocking help, ran it all the way into the endzone for another hometown score. Pringle missed the extra point attempt, but the Sharks were comfortably ahead 20-0 at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, New York's defense held Connecticut pretty much in check. On offense, the Sharks did add one more score on a 5-yard run by running back Vivian Alberty. That was the capper on a 8-play drive. Again Pringle missed the extra point try but the score was 26-0 at halftime.

With a commanding lead, the New York offense main goal was to eat away at the clock. Most of the plays in the second half were on the gound. This approach did not lead to any more scores by the offense but that still did not prevent the Sharks from scoring the rest of the game.

On Connecticut's first drive of the second half, linebacker Christine Pagan. playing in first game since injuring her leg in the season opener, picked off a Kristin Fillian pass at the Crushers' 35-yard line. Pagan then raced into the endzone for another New York score. This time Pringle split the uprights on the extra point attempt to widen the lead to 33-0.

The Crushers' next drive showed a little bit more success. After the kick-off Fillian was able to lead her team down to the Sharks' 15-yard line. She could have got them even closer as she threw a completed pass to wide receiver Huber at the 5-yard line. Huber had to leap into the air to catch the ball and after she came down was quickly hit by Shark Toni Salvatore. The ball came out of Huber's hands and the loose ball was deemed to be a fumble by the referee. Sharks rookie Hannah Williams was in the neighborhood and quickly cleaned up the spillage. She then proceeded to run down the right side of the field all the way into the endzone for New York's final touchdown of the day. After a Pringle point, the Sharks were ahead 40-0 with 20 minutes left to go in the game.

By the time the fourth quarter rolled by, Connecticut's offense started to wake up. Going mostly to the air, the Crushers were able to get on the scoreboard twice on back to back drives in the last quarter. Their first touchdown of the day coming on a nifty 52 yard pass from Fillian to Jennifer D'Orio. There were three Shark defenders around her when she fought to catch the ball and then proceeded to break out of their clutches to score.

On their second score they used running back Christina Philibert to pound her way into the endzone. But that was score was set up by a 30 yard pass by Filian. Huber was successful on both point after attempts. But it was all too little, too late as the Sharks won the game by a final score of 40-14.

The Sharks were pretty dominate throughout the game, both on offense and defense. New York set many team records on their scoring plays both offensively and defensively. The Powerade Zero player of the game ended up not going to any particular player but to the whole offensive line. They again provided the Sharks quarterbacks with ample amount of protection and rarely did the Crushers get into the backfield to harrass Mulligan.

Up next, the Sharks will next host the D.C. Divas (4-0) in the biggest game of the season so far. If New York is to have any playoff hopes, they will have to beat D.C. This will be no easy feat as the Sharks are 1-2 lifetime against the Washington club and the Divas dismantled last year's division champion Pittsburgh Passion 27-7 last week. Game time is 3:30pm (EDT) at the Aviator Sports Complex. If you cannot make it to the park, you can follow the game with Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell describe all the hard hitting action on WFNradio.

Connecticut Crushers 0-0-0-14: 14
New York Sharks 20-6-14-0: 40

Scoring Summary
First Quarter
NY - (09:47) Oppel 17 yard pass from Mulligan (Pringle kick)
NY - (05:06) Smith 98 yard pass from Mulligan (Pringle kick)
NY - (03:56) Bonds 56 yard punt return (kick failed)

Second Quarter
NY - (04:57) Alberty 5 yard run (kick failed)

Third Quarter
NY - (10:45) Pagan 35 yard interception return (Pringle kick)
NY - (06:22) Williams 96 yard fumble recovery (Pringle kick)

Fourth Quarter
CT - (13:27) D'Orio 52 yard pass from Fillian (Huber kick)
CT - (13:27) Philibert 1 yard run (Huber kick)

Top 5

After the Sharks defeated the Firebirds in Philadelphia, the broadcast team went out looking to score some of Philadelphia's classic fare, the cheesesteak. They settled for a diner in North Philadelphia to eat, drink, and relax and also talk about football games past.

But instead of talking about the top 5 games, they talked about the top 5 broadcasting venues. These are the places where it was a joy to broadcast a football game, whether the Sharks won or not.

Here is the list. The list of the worst 5 will be coming soon.

1) Pittsburgh (Cupples Stadium - the home of the Pittsburgh Passion in 2008) An impressive 2 story press box with an elevator and its own bathroom. The press box was roomy, clean, had plenty of electrical outlets, and the gameday staff of the Passion was extremely helpful. And most importantly, they offered us food. It doesn't get any better than that, well maybe if the Sharks won.

2) Boston (Dilboy Stadium - current home of the Boston Militia) - Dilboy Stadium was a brand new stadium with a nice press box. Clean and well-lit it offered enough room for the broadcast team. It also had an elevator so there was no trek up 3 flights of stairs.

3) New York (Monsignor Farrell Stadium - home of the Sharks in 2005) - This high school field had a new press box installed that consisted of 3 rooms. One room was used by the coaches and the other room was used by the public address announcer. This gave the broadcast team their own personal space that kept outside noises and distractions from being heard over the air. It was also clean and well-lit with windows that worked.

4) D.C. (Prince George's Sports and Learning Complex - current home of the D.C. Divas) - A long roomy press box with lots of lighting and electrical outlets. Other than that there is not too much to say. Just goes to show how bad most of the press boxes are.

5) Miami (Nathan "Traz" Powell Stadium - home of the Miami Fury in 2007) - An older press box but had lots of room and had a high view to watch the field. Wished they had an elevator as it wasn't fun to walk up the stairs in the Florida heat. This was probably put more on the list because the broadcast crew stayed in South Beach, Florida and they don't remember too much from this road trip...

Game Day: Sharks at Firebirds

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 25, 2009
After a rough loss last week, the New York Sharks (2-1) were looking to rebound back into the win column. They were playing division rival Philadelphia Firebirds (1-2) in Pennsylvania. The Sharks could ill afford another loss to a division foe with the backend of their schedule being one of the most difficult in the league.

It was overcast during the day but the skies had cleared by game time. The temperature was in the mid-60's when the Sharks won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball.

The Sharks started their drive not in very good field position from their own 19-yard line. But they soon started to rectify that as runs by Lisa Doran, Mandy Oppel, and Lauren Pringle moved the ball all the way down to the Philadelphia 8 yard line. But two penalties for illegal use of hands and illegal procedure pushed the Sharks back and they could not score.

The Sharks defense stopped the Firebirds cold and forced them to punt after 3 plays. This time New York started in excellent field position at the Philadelphia 33-yard line. Again they were hampered with 2 penalties that pushed them back, but this time Karen Mulligan used her arm to lead the Sharks to the promised land. Catches of 19 and 17 yards by Pringle and a 9 yard grab by Jen Blum took the Sharks to the Firebirds' 2-yard line. Then going to the ground, Blessing Withers blasted her way through for the touchdown. Pringle's extra point attempt was short but New York had the early lead 6-0 with 5:06 left in the first quarter.

The Sharks defense continued to play strong. The big play was a Fatima Carvey sack of Philadelphia quarterback Pam Downey for a 9 yard loss. On the subsequent punt, New York's Chante Bonds returned the kick for 56 yards into the endzone but another penalty on the Sharks called it back.

The Firebirds next possession was stopped by an interception by Toni Salvatore. This gave the Sharks the ball on their own 30-yard line. Mulligan led her crew down the field with a balanced blend of pass and running plays. Withers then smashed her way into the endzone on a 11 yard run. She broke 4 tackles, but it ended up all for naught as another New York Penalty called it back. The Sharks were able to get the ball down to the Firebirds' 2-yard line, but disaster struck when Mulligan rolled to her right. She then pitched the ball back to a trailing Oppel who could not handle the ball and Philadelphia recovered.

With the first half coming to an end, the Firebirds mysteriously ran the ball 6 times. They were moving the ball but with less than 7 seconds left, they were only up to their own 29-yard line. On the last play of the half, Downey threw deep and found Amanda Murphy with 2 Shark defenders on her. She caught the ball and ran down the left sideline but was just barely forced out of bounds at the New York 19-yard line to end the half. If she was able to stay in bounds she would have scored. Though the Sharks had played fairly well in the first half, penalties and turnovers hurt their chances and they only led Philadelphia by 6 points.

The second half for the Sharks started off well. New York kicked off the ball to start the third quarter. The ball bounced over the Firebirds player and by the time she recovered it, she was tackled at her own 17-yard line. A sack by Carvey and Tia Hopkins pushed Philadelphia back further to their own 10-yard line. Downey then went to the air only to be picked off by Jay Dantzler and returned the ball to the Firebirds' 34-yard line.

Mulligan went to the air on this drive and the Sharks scored their second touchdown of the game. The scoring strike came on a 13 yard pass to Oppel. Pringle missed the extra point after the ball was pushed back after another Sharks penalty. New York's lead was now 12-0 with 10:55 left to go in the third quarter.

Following behind, Philadelphia went to the air. They started to make some progress and got as far as the New York 17-yard line before Oppel intercepted a Downey pass and returned it all the way to the Philadelphia 32-yard line. Mullgian then converted the turnover into a touchdown with a 37-yard strike to Adrienne Smith. The Sharks successfully converted the 2-point conversion on a short pass play to Withers. This made the score 20-0.

It started to look like New York was going to run away with it, but early in the fourth quarter, Philadelphia was able to get on the board. They started having success moving the ball in the air. Helped with a 20-yard pass interference penalty, Philadelphia scored when Downey connected with Thomas on a 9 yard pass play. Laura O'Malley kicked the extra point to make the score 20-7 with 12:29 left in the game.

It didn't take long for New York to get that touchdown back. After the kickoff, Mulligan hit Pringle with a 70 yard touchdown pass. The 2 point conversion failed when the pass was intercepted. Still the Sharks had a commanding 26-7 lead.

New York added one more score after Brook McKinney picked off Downey for an interception. Mulligan again quickly turned it into a touchdown when she found Bonds streaking up the middle of the field. Bonds then ran into the endzone, breaking 2 tackles along the way. Pringle kicked the extra point and the Sharks now led 33-7 with 9:05 left in the game.

The Firebirds were now forced to pass on every down. Downey going with a steady stream of short passes to Murphy was successful enough to get Philadelphia back on the board. The scoring play was a 16-yard completion to Murphy. O'Malley kicked the extra point and the Firebirds were now down 33-14 with only 5:37 left in the game.

Though the game was out of hand, Philadelphia did not give up. On their next possession they went to the same formula of short passes to Murphy. This time it ended when McKinney picked up her second interception of the game.

The Sharks got back on the winning track with a stellar performance by Mulligan. She threw for 262 yards and 4 touchdowns. It was also good enough for her to be named the POWERADE ZERO Player of the Week. Still the score seemed a lot closer than the game would appear. New York dominated most of the game but was hurt with too many penalties of which two of them led to touchdowns being called back.

The Sharks head for home next week to host the Connecticut Crushers (0-3). Game time is 3:30pm (EDT) at Aviator Sports Complex. If you cannot make it to the park, you can follow the game with Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell describe all the hard hitting action on WFNradio.

New York Sharks 6-0-14-13: 33
Philadelphia Firebirds 0-0-0-14: 14

Scoring Summary
First Quarter
NY - (10:55) Withers 2 yard run (kick failed)

Third Quarter
NY - (10:55) Oppel 13 yard pass from Mulligan (kick failed)
NY - (07:21) Smith 37 yard pass from Mulligan (Withers run)

Fourth Quarter
PH - (12:29) Thomas 9 yard pass from Downey (O'Malley kick)
NY - (11:30) Pringle 70 yard pass from Mulligan (pass failed)
NY - (09:05) Bonds 40 yard pass from Mulligan (Pringle kick)
PH - (05:37) Murphy 16 yard pass from Downey (O'Malley kick)

POWERADE ZERO Player of the Week (2)

New York Sharks linebacker Blessing Withers was named the POWERADE ZERO Player of the Week for April 25th. She was selected by broadcaster Pat Brown after her fine performance on defense despite the Sharks loss to the Boston Militia 21-7.

POWERADE ZERO is the sports drink with zero calories, zero limits.

Game Day: Militia at Sharks

Brooklyn, New York, April 25, 2009
It was only the second game of the season but they don't get much bigger than the New York Sharks (1-1) contest with the Boston Militia (2-0). These division rivals were the early favorites to battle for the top spot in the division but this was the only time during the regular season that the two would meet. The winner would give that team a considerable edge in their playoff run. Probably more so for Boston as the Sharks have one of the toughest schedules in the league this year.

It was an incredible day in the Big Apple with clear skies with game time temperatures in the upper 60's. By the end of the day, record temperatures would be recorded in the city.

New York won the coin toss and unlike the season opener in Schenectady, the Sharks braintrust elected to receive the ball. After a good kick-off by Boston the Sharks started their first drive from their own 35-yard line. The Militia had shut out the Manchester Freedom in their season opener and it looked like their defense was still running on all cylindars as they shut the Sharks down on 3 plays. Chrissy Pagan, the regular Sharks punter this year was out of the game with a leg injury and so veteran wide receiver Jen Blum was pressed into kicking duties. Unfortunately her first punt attempt was a memorable one, for Boston fans that is. It really wasn't a bad attempt at all, but the Sharks offensive line sagged badly up the middle and three Boston players were able to get to the punter. But it was Jessica Penta's hands that actually blocked the punt. New York recovered the ball but Boston was about to start their first drive of the game from the Sharks' 14-yard line only 3 minutes into the game.

On Boston's first play, quarterback Allison Cahill ran to her right and tried to turn the corner. However New York's Mandy Oppel was there and limited Cahill to only 2 yards. Next the Militia got called for a holding penalty and the ball was moved back to the New York 20-yard line. It looked like the Sharks might dodge a bullet but two running plays to Donaldson and the Militia had a first down and the ball down to the 2-yard line. From there Mia Brickhouse powered her way in to give Boston the score. Allie Roderique's extra point attempt was short, but the Militia had the early lead, 6-0 with 9:48 left in the first quarter.

On the Sharks next possession, they turned the ball over to the Militia after Karen Mulligan's pass was intercepted by Briannah Gallo. This gave the ball to Boston at their own 28-yard line but the Sharks defense held and quickly the Militia punted the ball back to New York.

Starting in good field position at the halfway point of the field, the Sharks started to march down the field. Mixing the call playing between run and pass plays along with the help of a major facemask penalty, New York moved the ball into the red zone. But the Sharks came up empty handed. Boston came in on a blitz and were quickly on top of Mulligan who scrambled and fended off two would be tacklers. With one Militia holding on to Mulligan's ankle, the quarterback overthrew her receiver and Veronica Milinazzo got the interception. Two times in a row the Sharks possession was stopped by a Boston interception.

For the rest of the first half, the defense for both teams took over and each drive ended with a punt. At the half, the Sharks defense was playing big while the offense was making little headway. Still it wasn't too bad as New York was only down by 6 points and the Sharks have a history of being able to come from behind.

With the start of the second half, Boston received the kick-off. Showing a strong running attack, the Militia was able to march down the field. Mostly on the legs of Brickhouse who rushed for 35 yards on 5 carries during this drive, Boston widened their lead. A pass by Cahill to Rachel Toal for the 2-point conversion, made the score 14-0 with 7:38 left in the third quarter.

Disaster struck the Sharks on their next possession. Running back Oppel fumbled the football during the handoff and Boston recovered the football on the New York 45-yard line. Cahill then made the Sharks pay for their third turnover of the game with a 45-yard strike to Ginger Snow for Boston's third touchdown of the game. Roderique's extra point attempt was good and Boston had a 21-0 lead with 3:41 left in the third quarter.

Down three touchdowns limited the Sharks offensive playbook. To try and make up the points and fast, Mulligan consistently went to the air. But this was no secret to Boston and they played their defense accordingly. In the second half alone, Mulligan threw the ball 20 times but was only able to connect 5 times. Sometimes her throws just missed the mark but there were also a few dropped passes. On the plus side, one of the receptions was a 34-yard bomb to rookie Chante Bonds for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Lauren Pringle kicked the extra point, but it was too little, too late as the Sharks fell to the Boston Militia by the final score of 21-7.

This was a big loss to a division rival and things don't get any easier in the future with games against last year's Atlantic division champion Pittsburgh Passion and two games against the always tough D.C. Divas. The Sharks will have to go back to the drawing board to get the offense back up and running. But there were still many pluses from the loss. The defense played strong despite being on the field for most of the game and having to fend off three Shark turnovers. Plus the rookie filled offensive line provided good pass protection most of the time and not allowing a sack.

After the game, Sharks broadcasters Pat Brown selected Blessing Withers as the POWERADE ZERO Player of the Week. She was consitently in the middle of the action both on offense and defense. POWERADE ZERO is sponsoring the selection for the Player of the Week.

The Sharks will next travel to the city of brotherly love to face another division rival the Philadelphia Firebirds (1-1) on Saturday, May 2nd. The Firebirds are coming off a big victory over the Connecticut Crushers. Game time is 6:00pm (EDT). If you can't make it to the game, you can still follow all of the hard hitting football as Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell will describe all of the action live to you on the official flagship station for New York Sharks Football, www.blogtalkradio.com/wfnradio - the Women's Football Network, broadcast will start at 5:45pm.

Boston Militia 6-0-15-0: 21
New York Sharks 0-0-0-7: 7

Scoring Summary
First Quarter
BO - (09:48) Brickhouse 2 yard run (kick failed)

Third Quarter
BO - (07:38) Brickhouse 4 yard run (Toal reception from Cahill)
BO - (03:41) Snow 45 yard pass from Cahill (Roderique kick)

Fourth Quarter
NY - (05:31) Bonds 34 yard pass from Mulligan (Pringle kick)

"The Case of the Missing Jersey - Part 2" or "New Jersey Pirates"

The football jersey that New York Sharks owner Andra Douglas loaned to the Sports Museum of America has been located. It is being stored in a warehouse in Newark, New Jersey. But like the pirates of Somalia it is being held for ransom along with hundreds of other sports items that were loaned to the museum before it declared bankruptcy. The items include Brandi Chastain's sports bra she wore in the Summer Olympics, Tony Hawk's childhood skateboard, Richard Petty's sunglasses and Jesse Owen's gold medal.

An article in the Wall Street Journal, titled "My Sports Bra Is Where, Exactly?" said that soccer star Brandi Chastain received an email while in the Bahamas. The email demanded that she pay $250 plus shipping and handling if she wanted her famous sports bra back.

Now why are they demanding $1,500 from Andra and only $250 from Brandi seems kind of strange. Did that extra amount include the shipping and handling?

Another article appeared in the Star-Ledger.

Maybe we need to send in the Navy Seals to stop these pirates.

New York Sharks e-Trading Cards

The great philosopher and fussbudget Lucy Van Pelt once said, "How can you say someone is great who's never had his picture on bubble gum cards"? Well we want to say that the Sharks are great and to prove it, we have created an e-trading card for each New York Sharks player. Each card features a picture from our ace photographer Amber Hopkins. You can view them on each player's webpage on our site. And you can turn each e-trading card of your favorite player into an e-postcard and send them to your friends and family.

Game Day: Sharks at Nemesis

Schenectady, New York, April 11, 2009
The New York Sharks (1-0) have started each of its previous 10 seasons with a victory, the longest streak in women's football. Tonight they were going for their 11th straight win, but this one was going to a challenge. Playing on the road is never easy, but the Sharks were facing their division rival, the New York Nemesis (0-1). Last year the Nemesis went undefeated during the regular season and made it as far as the second round of the playoffs. They are led by former Sharks quarterback Val Halesworth and star running back Xiomara Diaz.

It was an overcast sky at the start of the game with temperatures in the low 50's and gusts of wind around 15mph. Still there was no rain. When the Sharks left New York city by bus that afternoon it was pouring downstate, but 150 miles away the rain was kept away.

The game started with the Sharks kicking off to the Nemesis. Quarterback Karen Mulligan did double-duty by kicking the ball as last year's place kicker and punter Meghann Antonucci has retired. During their first series, the Nemesis game plan was quickly revealed, have Diaz run the ball and have Halesworth throw to wide receiver Lauren Manfred. It worked for one first down, but the Sharks defense stopped the Nemesis from getting another one in the series.

The Sharks started their first drive of the game in decent field position from their own 39-yard line. With many players not playing this year due to various reasons, it was great to see a few familiar faces coming back after taking last year off. One of those players was Mandy Oppel. She returned this year and was again put into the backfield on offense. Mulligan using 5 different players to either run the ball or throw to marched the visitors down the field for a quick touchdown. The 8-play drive was capped off with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Mulligan to Adrienne Smith to put the downstaters on the scoreboard. Lauren Pringle who had a nice 7-yard run during the drive kicked the extra-point to give the Sharks a 7-0 lead with 4:45 left in the first quarter.

The Sharks quickly got the ball back as the defense was able to stop Diaz and forced the Nemesis to punt after only 4 plays. The Nemesis punt was extremely short and the Sharks had great field position on the Nemesis 29-yard line. Mulligan quickly went to work and found a wide open Lisa Doran in the endzone on the very first play of the drive. Unfortunately the Sharks were penalized for illegal procedure and the touchdown was called back. Compounding the penalty was a bad snap in the shotgun formation that caused a loss of 14 more yards. The Sharks couldn't recover from those setbacks and turned the ball back to the Nemesis.

Again the Sharks defense was up to the task and forced the Nemesis to punt the ball away with 11 minutes left to go in the half. The rest of the second quarter was basically all New York Sharks except for one big exception. The Sharks ran off 21 straight plays and did not allow the Nemesis to snap the ball even once. The Nemesis did get to touch the ball briefly when L. Manfred intercepted a Mulligan pass at the Nemesis 10-yard line. She returned the ball upfield with a fine run but then tried to get some extra yardage and fumbled the ball back to the Sharks at the Nemesis 37-yard line. With less than 2 minutes left in the half, the Sharks were able to get the ball all the way down to the 1-yard line. Mulligan then ran the ball into the endzone on a quarterback keeper, but the referee called a penalty on the Sharks. The Sharks were hit with an aiding the runner infraction and the touchdown was called back. The 5-yard setback was too much for the Sharks to recoup as time ran out in the half.

It was a pretty good first half for the Sharks. The defense was holding the Nemesis in check by shutting down Diaz and Halesworth. The offense was moving the ball and keeping it away from the Nemesis but they could not add any points to their lead.

In the second half, the Sharks would be receiving to start the half. The Sharks offense started from their own 40-yard line and quickly marched down the field for a touchdown. The big play was a 39-yard pass from Mulligan to Smith. This was Smith's second touchdown of the day. Pringle kicked the extra point and the Sharks now lead 14-0 with 11:40 left in the third quarter.

The Nemesis made some adjustments in the second half and were soon starting to move the ball better on the Sharks. They did not have anything to show for it in the third quarter, but when the final frame rolled around, the Nemesis started marching down the field. Relying on short passes, Halesworth was able to get the Nemesis on the scoreboard with 8:04 left to go in the game. The snap for the extra point was short, but the Nemesis kicking unit made a nice recovery and was able to kick the ball through the uprights to make the score 14-7.

With the score, the game was becoming very competitive again. But Mulligan took the burden onto her shoulders and marched the Sharks downfield for another score. Again using her strong arm, she connected with Pringle for an 8-yard reception and then hit Doran on a 26-yard bomb in the endzone. Doran made a circus catch as the ball was near the out-of-bounds line. Doran caught the ball, got her feet to stay in-bounds as she fell out of the endzone. Pringle made it a perfect day by hitting her third consecutive extra-point and the Sharks were back ahead by 2 touchdowns, 21-7 with less than 4 minutes left to go in the game.

The Nemesis were not about to give up as Halesworth was forced to go to the air to try and get them back into the game. She connected with Kate Slack for a nice 21-yard gain, but when she went to find Slack again, cornerback Brooke McKinney intercepted the ball to effectively ice the game for the Sharks.

The Sharks came away winning their 11th straight season opener a record in women's football. It was a good win even though the game was not as close as the score would dictate. Twice the Sharks had touchdowns called back and they had possession of the ball for the majority of the game including 11 straight minutes in the second quarter. What was very impressive in the Sharks win was the performance of the offensive line. None of the starters on tonight's line were starters last year and half of them weren't even playing football last year. Hopefully as the year progresses, this nascent o-line will continue to get better and stronger.

After each game, Sharks broadcasters Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell will select a Sharks player to be honored as the POWERADE ZERO Player of the Week. POWERADE ZERO is sponsoring the selection and Smith was chosen to be the first player to receive the honor.

The Sharks will next host the Boston Militia (0-0) at the Aviator Sports Complex on Saturday, April 25th. It will be the Sharks home opener. Game time is 3:30pm (EDT). If you can't make it to the game, you can still follow all of the hard hitting football as Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell will describe all of the action live to you on the official flagship station for New York Sharks Football, www.blogtalkradio.com/wfnradio - the Women's Football Network.

New York Sharks 7-0-7-7: 21
New York Nemesis 0-0-0-7: 7

Scoring Summary
First Quarter
NY - (04:45) Smith 12 yard pass from Mulligan (Pringle kick)

Third Quarter
NY - (11:40) Smith 39 yard pass from Mulligan (Pringle kick)

Fourth Quarter
NYN - (08:04) Diaz 8 yard run (Bepko kick)
NY - (03:28) Doran 26 yard pass from Mulligan (Pringle kick)

POWERADE ZERO Player of the Week (1)

New York Sharks wide receiver Adrienne Smith was named the very first POWERADE ZERO Player of the Week. She was selected by broadcasters Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell after her fine performance that helped propel the New York Sharks to victory over the New York Nemesis by the score of 21-7. Smith caught two touchdown passes from quarterback Karen Mulligan at distances of 12 and 39 yards.

POWERADE ZERO is the sports drink with zero calories, zero limits.

"The Case of the Missing Jersey" or "Finder's Keepers, Loser's Weepers?"

Calling Sherlock Holmes, calling Sherlock Holmes. Or at least Rocky and Bullwinkle? Last October, New York Sharks owner and former quarterback Andra Douglas loaned her game jersey to the Sports Museum of America. It was displayed amongst thousands of other sports memorabilia including the Heisman Trophy and many items from tennis great Billie Jean King. Unfortunately due to financial issues, the operators of the museum are declaring bankruptcy and have shut the doors to the museum.

With the museum closing, you would think that it would be a simple task for Andra to pick up her jersey, but no! The people in charge of liquidating the museum's assets sent out a letter stating that all items not covered by a loan agreement would be sold. Fortunately for Andra she did have a loan agreement in writing but the letter sent by the liquidators also stated that all items covered by a loan agreement could be returned for a $1,500 processing fee. This was deemed by Andra to be totally unacceptable as there were no such strings attached in the original loan agreement.

At this point, the jersey is still being held hostage at an undisclosed location as negotiations start.

Maybe we need Perry Mason instead?

2009 Roster is Released

The New York Sharks have released their roster for the 2009 season. Retirement, injuries, and the economy have taken a toll on the team with only 24 players returning from last season's squad. But on the plus side veterans Kathy Holloman, Suzette Crumley, Mandy Oppel, Blessing Withers, Teri Farley, and Missy Marmorale will be suiting up again after missing last year. Also Tia Hopkins a 3-year veteran with the Miami Fury will be joining the team this year.

Whatever happened to ... Junko Tanida?

Junko Tanida was a star wide receiver for the New York Sharks from 2005-2006. She comes from Yonago, Japan but loved playing tackle football so much that she moved to the United States during the football season.

Tanida first started playing for the California Quake in 2002 and was named to the league's all-star team as a wide receiver. She then played for the Sacramento Sirens in 2004 and played against the Sharks in the IWFL Championship game that year.

The Sirens' offense was mostly geared towards their potent running attack and Tanida decided to move to a team that emphasized the passing game. This led her to move to Brooklyn where she hooked up with the Sharks based on the reputation of quarterback Val Halesworth. Tanida's pass catching skills paid off for the Sharks as she caught 5 touchdown passes and led the team in yards per reception. In 2006, she led the team in reception yards and receiving touchdowns.

On April 23, 2005, she shined in front of fellow countryman, Rocky Aoki by catching 2 touchdown passes of 30 and 39 yards. Aoki, the founder of the Benihana restaurant chain had performed the ceremonial coin toss at the beginning of the game.

Since her Sharks playing days, Tanida has moved back to Japan and has gotten married. She is also pregnant and is expecting around July.

Sharks Player of the Week

The New York Sharks are proud to announce a new sponsor, PORWERADE ZERO. Powerade Zero is the zero calorie sports drink. They will be sponsoring the Powerade Sharks Player of the Week. After each game, Sharks radio announcers Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell will select the Sharks player that made the most impact in that game. They will announce their selection during their post-game show on WFNradio.

Mulli-Talented

New York Sharks quarterback Karen Mulligan is featured in an article in this month's The Long Island Pulse magazine. You can read it on-line at: http://www.lipulse.com/newsite/LILife/Living/marnysharkswomensfootball/tabid/745/Default.aspx

Adopt A Shark

ello all you Shark fans out there! As we embark on our 10th season of tackle football, the Sharks continue to assemble one of the best women's football teams in the country. Every season, each player is responsible for raising approximately $1,500 toward the estimated $100,000 that is necessary to fund our entire season. The most costly expenses include field rental, home gameday expenses and travel to away games.

By participating in this program, you can help one of the players shown below to meet the financial goal necessary to participate on the team. This allows our fans to support a Shark player in a unique and personal way. You would also help to ensure many more years of great women's football in the New York area!

Read their stories, choose your favorite Shark and send her your contribution. In return, we will send you a special "thank you" gift.

We appreciate your continued support of our organization and it's players!

Please make checks payable to: New York Sharks and mail to 104 Sandbrook Headquarters Rd., Stockton, NJ 08559 or go to our on-line store and donate on-line using a credit card.

Leslie Dock on "Whirl with Merle"

On her podcast, Whirl with Merle, Merle Exit interviews Tara Wyss, a member of W.A.G.S. (Wives and Girlfriends of the New York Giants) and Sharks player Leslie Dock about the NFL-JPD clinic.

Tara and her friends helped fund raise to allow the Sharks to transport the girls from throughout New York City to get to the clinic. She also brought along a cameraman to document the event.

To listen to the show, click here.

Andra Douglas on Women's Football Talk

New York Sharks owner Andra Douglas was interviewd on Women's Football Talk this past Monday. She talked about the New York Sharks, the NFL-JPD program, and an update on her upcoming book "Black and Blue". Also on the program was IWFL CEO Laurie Frederick and USA Football's Jack Reed. You can listen to the archived podcast of the show at: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wfbtalk.

Also appearing on the Internet airwaves this week was Sharks' defensive back Leslie Dock. She talked about the NFL-JPD clinic in which she participated as a coach on the program Whirl with Merle. You can listen to this podcast at: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/merleswhirls

NFL-JPD Clinic for Girls Grows

The New York Sharks hosted their 3rd Annual NFL-JPD Clinic for Girls this past weekend at Giants Stadium. It was a smashing success as over 150 girls signed up for the free clinic. Each year the number of girls attending keeps growing.

Girls from all over the New York City Tri-State area attended the clinic. Sharks coaches and players ran the girls through drills and held sessions to teach them some of the finer points of football.

At the end of each day, the girls tried out some of their new found skills playing flag football.

Also helping out the Sharks was Taya Wyss, who with the assistance of the wives and girlfriends of the New York Giants helped fundraise to provide buses to transport the young football players to the stadium from 3 locations in New York city.

For more pictures from the event, visit www.nysharksfootball.com/gallery/gallery2009.cfm

Hurt Sharks

Defensive linebacker Amber Knighten will be out this season due to a shoulder injury suffered in a flag football tournament. Also former Shark Teresa Schirrippa was serverly injured in another flag football game. Schirrippa was hit in the face and needed emergency surgery. The operation was successful and she is resting at home.

Andra Douglas on Whirl with Merle

Sharks owner Andra Douglas and USA Football's Jack Reed were guests on Merle Exit's Whirl with Merle Internet radio program. The upcoming NFL-JPD program that is being hosted by the Sharks at Giants Stadium was discussed as well as an upcoming international women's tackle football tournament featuring teams from the IWFL to represent the United States in 2010 or 2011.

Listen to the show at: www.blogtalkradio.com/merleswhirls

Chef Josie

Former New York Sharks defensive linesman Josie Smith-Malave made an appearance on Season 5's Top Chef tonight on the Bravo channel.  She had competed in season 2 and was cut half-way through the season.  In tonight's episode they pitted chefs from season 5 against all-star chefs from previous seaons in the first Top Chef Bowl.

The show had a football theme and Josie was pitted against Jeffrey McInnis.  They had 20 minutes to create a dish that reflected the cuisine from the region of an NFL team.  Her region was Miami.  Spoiler alert below.

Sorry that we didn't announce this earlier as we did not know beforehand.  It is always kind of shocking when you see a Sharks player on the screen and you do a double-take.

Spoiler alert: Josie came through with a shutout victory scoring 10 points for her team though it wasn't enough as the Season 5 chefs outscored the Top Chef All-Stars.

Breaking News -Tryout Added

Due to the number of calls received, the New York Sharks will be holding one additional tryout. On February 21st, the Sharks will be holding their final tryout for the season at Kane Stadium in Secaucus, New Jersey. from 9am to 12pm. We are looking for athletic women who love football and have the desire to help the Sharks get to the championship. No previous football experience is necessary.

For more information on this tryout visit: www.nysharksfootball.com/tryouts.

The Martha Stewart Show

One of the additional perks for being a New York Shark are the activies off the playing field.  For the past 3 seasons, the New York Giants have asked the Sharks to help out in their VIP tent during home games and each volunteer got to see the game for free.  Other times the team has been honored in museums and city hall.  Plus there have been dozens of NFL players we gotten to meet over the years.  Some of them are the nicest people you can meet, while others not so nice.  No, we are not naming names.

There are also the occasional invites to go to tv shows.  In the past, players and staff have appeared on Live With Regis, American Gladiator, Life & Style, The View, and many more.  This past wednesday, 10 Sharks were invited to watch the taping of The Martha Stewart Show for their Super Bowl show.  Unfortunately the team was not invited on stage and they kept referring to the team as the New Jersey Sharks, the players had a good time.  Besides a fun show, everyone got a goodie bag filled with an Emeril Lagasse knife, $50 sporting goods gift card, a waterproof radio, and a Sunday Night Football cookbook.

The program will air this friday, January 30th.  Check your local listings for time and channel.

Women Football Tryouts

Are you interested in playing some tackle football? The New York Sharks will be holding their final tryout for the 2009 season. The tryout will be held this Saturday, January 24th at Kane Stadium in Secaucus, New Jersey. It begins at 9am and last until noon time. We are looking for athletic women who love football and have the desire to help the Sharks get to the championship. No previous football experience is necessary.

For mor information, visit our website at: http://www.nysharksfootball.com/tryouts/index.cfm

Andra Douglas on Women's Sports Talk

New York Sharks owner Andra Douglas along with IWFL CEO Laurie Frederick appeared on Women's Sports Talk this past Saturday.  Host J. Reese talked with them about women's football and what it is like to be a women's football player.  You can listen to a podcast of the show at 

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/womens-sports-talk/2009/01/17/Womens-Sports-Talk-Show.

Six Degrees of Leslie Dock

You may have heard of it, there is a trivia game called, "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon". The goal of the game is to name the fewest movies in which you can link one actor to Kevin Bacon. The concept is that almost any actor can be linked to Kevin Bacon by 6 movies or less.

For example, if the actor was Marilyn Monroe you can link them within 2 movies. Bacon co-starred with Eli Wallach in "New York, I Love You" and Wallach co-starred with Monroe in "Misfits".

Well, our own Leslie Dock is an actress and so you can play the game too by trying to link her to any actor within 6 links. If we use Marilyn Monroe, you can link her to Dock within 3 movies. Dock co-starred with Jack Frankel in "The Show", and he co-starred with Cameron Mitchell in "The Tomb". Mitchell then co-starred with Monroe in "How to Marry a Millionaire".

Go ahead and give it a try. If you need some help, there is a fun website for this called "The Oracle of Bacon" at http://oracleofbacon.org

For a sample of Dock's work, see her in this small short, "A Double Life", on YouTube: