New York Sharks

Five NY Sharks gold medalist players and team owner invited to receive proclamations from Mayor Michael Bloomberg

2010-08-08T19:45:00.003-04:00

New York, NY, August 7th 2010: On Monday, August 9, 2010, five members of the New York Sharks will display their gold medal from Team USA as Mayor Michael Bloomberg issues a proclamation.

In addition, for her extreme efforts in pioneering women’s tackle football, NY Sharks owner and Fins Up! Foundation for Female Athletes CEO Andra Douglas will receive a separate proclamation.

New York Sharks players #84 Jennifer Blum (WR), #30 Karen Mulligan (QB), #74 Melissa Pickett (C), #81 Lauren Pringle (DB,WR) and #10 Adrienne Smith (WR) were proud members of Team USA, that participated in the inaugural IFAF Women’s Championship Conference, held in Sweden as they took home the gold on July 3, 2010.

The 45 Team USA players were chosen by USA Football from nearly 2000 players in the
Independent Women's Football League (IWFL). Team USA shut out Austria, 63-0, Finland 72-0 and won the gold after shutting out Canada 66-0.

The NY SHARKS currently home to 45 female football players from the tri-state area represent all of NYC and are proud to be the winningest and longest operating women’s tackle football team in America!

Going For The Gold - Part 1

2010-06-29T20:59:00.007-04:00

While most of the world was watching the World Cup in South Africa, over in Sweden sports history was also being made. For the first time an international tournament featuring women football players was being held in Stockholm. The United States was represented with players from the IWFL and most importantly by 5 players from the New York Sharks.

After 3 days of training in Austin, Texas, 45 players and coaches flew to Sweden. Once in Sweden, the #1 seed team in the tournament had 1 day to practice before taking on their first opponent Austria. Team Austria was ranked #4 and women have been playing football in that country since 1994.

How the Americans would fare against foreign competition was anyone's guess. The United States was favored but no one had seen any of the other countries play before so it was a big unknown. Team USA received the opening kick-off but they started off tentatively and were soon forced to punt.

The defense held and the USA offense was back on the field. Whatever jitters the offense may have had in the first possession soon went away as New York Sharks wide receiver Adrienne Smith scored the first touchdown with a 52-yard touchdown pass reception. It was actually more run than pass as quarterback Sami Grisafe from the Chicago Force threw a short side line pass to the right. Smith caught the ball and then streaked down the right sideline for the score. It put the Americans in the lead and they never looked back.

Team USA completely dominated Austria in all aspects of the game. They scored on 9 of 12 drives and the defense held the opposition to only 57 yards, mostly on the legs of Raiffeisen Lady Vikings running back Marie-Theres Michelitsch.

New York Sharks Jennifer Blum also got into the action with a 14-yard touchdown catch to give the United States a 19-0 lead. Other Sharks also got into the game, Melissa Pickett played center, Karen Mulligan played on the offensive line, and Lauren Pringle played in the secondary.

The final score was USA 63 - Austria 0. Kansas City Tribe wide receiver Rusty Sowers was named the USA MVP for her 5 catches for 63 yards and 2 touchdowns. Dallas Diamonds running back Jessica Springer also starred, rushing for 120 yards on 12 carries and scoring 1 touchdown.

Team USA (1-0) plays Finland (1-0) next on Thursday. The winner of this game will go on to play in the Gold Medal round on Saturday. Finland also defeated Austria by the score of 50-16.

WWC USA vs Austria from BoisEntertainment on Vimeo.

Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

2010-06-15T23:30:00.005-04:00

The Boston Militia is owned by auto magnate Ernie Boch, Jr. He is the owner of one of the largest auto dealerships in the New England area. Not only is he the head of a billion dollar enterprise, he is also very passionate about music and has his own band, Ernie and the Automatics. The scuttlebutt is that while Ernie provides a strong financial footing for the team, he rarely shows up at games. But for the North Atlantic Division title game between the New York Sharks and the Militia, Ernie made an appearance.

We were busy broadcasting from the press box when Ernie showed up sometime during the second quarter. He was introduced to the many people that work for the team and was interviewed by the Boston Militia broadcasters at halftime.

I was able to talk to him quite briefly. We discussed how Toyota's brake problems were affecting toll revenue on the Massachusetts turnpike... Actually he said that he liked the Sharks logo and I told him that it was designed by the Sharks' owner Andra Douglas who was a creative arts director for Time-Warner. I on the other hand asked him a just as important question of why they don't play music from his band at the stadium. He just smiled and shook his head no. So much for small talk.

Ernie stuck around for the rest of the game hanging out in the press box until the rain stopped and then he watched the rest of the game from the stands. It was nice to see that even the well-heeled can come to a women's pro football game and enjoy themselves.

CABOT CREAMERY: Players of the Week (9)

2010-06-13T16:44:00.005-04:00

New York Sharks defensive coordinator Lynn Lewis was named the CABOT CREAMERY Players of the Week by New York Sharks broadcasters Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell for June 12th. She gave her all in preparation for the Sharks first playoff game in 3 years.

Game Day: Sharks at Passion

2010-06-07T00:10:00.002-04:00

Wexford, Pennsylvania, June 5, 2010
The game had the atmosphere of a playoff game as this game would determine which team made it into the post-season. The IWFL uses a complicated formula involving a team's win-loss percentage and their Massey Rating to see who would make it into the playoffs. The Massey Rating is used to help even out any imbalances in a team's schedule when compared to other teams, think college BCS. But for the New York Sharks (7-1) the answer was quite simple, win and your're in. For the Pittsburgh Passion it got a whole lot more complex as they would have to win and by an unknown score.

To help the home team out, former Pittsburgh Steeler great Franco Harris was at the game and performed the coin toss. He certainly helped the home team as the Sharks lost the toss, but Pittsburgh chose to defer to the second half. New York chose the ball and it soon seemed to be a bad choice.

On the opening kick-off, disaster struck as the ball short hopped in front of the kick returner and skipped past her. She ran back to recover the ball but could only fall on it at the 2-yard line. With their backs against the wall, the Sharks tried to run the ball out on the legs of Kathy Holloman but the Pittsburgh defense held strong and forced the Sharks to punt after 3 plays.

Things got only worse as the snap to punter Megan Antonucci was low and she could not handle the loose ball. She quickly decided to kick the ball out of the endzone, thinking that the worse it could be was a safety. Instead the Sharks were hit with a penalty for kicking the ball out of bounds. This now gave the Passion the football on the turnover of downs and after the penalty of half the distance to the goal line was assessed, they had the ball at the New York 3-yard line.

Things looked pretty bleak, but the Sharks defense came on to the field with fire in their eyes and stopped the Passion cold. After 3 plays, Pittsburgh had actually lost a yard and chose to settle for a field goal. Kicker Lauren Bracco drilled the football from 19 yards out to give the home team the early lead, 3-0.

It wasn't a good thing to give up points so quickly in the game, but the bright side was that the defense was poised to show the Passion some more New York hospitality.

On their next possession, the Sharks had better field position but could not do a thing. The Passion stopped the drive early with an interception of quarterback Karen Mulligan at the Pittsburgh 41 yard line.

Again the Sharks defense bailed out the offense by stopping Pittsburgh. The big play of the drive was a sack by Takesha Dye, forcing the Passion to punt the ball.

But again the special teams play went awry as the punt was fumbled with Pittsburgh recovering the ball. It appeared that the returner was hit just as she touched the ball but no penalty was called. Pittsburgh had another golden opportunity with the ball on the New York 18-yard line. But yet again the defense bailed the team out. Pittsburgh quarterback Janice Masters was sacked by Lakisha Grant and Shauntay Stewart to push the Passion back to the 24-yard line. Masters then hit receiver Jenine Suprano at the 13-yard line, but was quickly met by 3 Sharks. Suprano tried to fight for the first down but was stripped of the ball and New York recovered.

The Sharks were able to get a first down on their next possession but that was about it before they were forced to punt. The Passion started this drive from the New York 45-yard line. A facemask penalty against the Sharks moved the ball closer by 15 yards. A couple of short passes by Masters to Suprano and Pittsburgh got into the red zone. But the Sharks defense stiffened and forced the Passion to attempt a 31 yard field goal. The kick was blocked and that kept the score at 3-0 in favor of the Passion.

The Sharks got the ball at their own 21-yard line. On the first play of the drive Mulligan handed the ball off to Holloman for a nice 6 yard gain. It was a decent sign for the struggling offense, but then on the next play there was a big blaring sign that the offense was not struggling any more. From the shotgun formation Mulligan again handed the ball off to Holloman who hit the hole up the middle of the line and broke a tackle at the Sharks 40-yard line. From there the former UCONN track star just rocketed down the middle of the field leaving Pittsburgh defenders in the wake of her red shoes. It was an electrifying 63 yard touchdown run and after Antonucci split the uprights, the Sharks took the lead 7-3 with 12:22 remaining in the second quarter.

Pittsburgh seeing their chances of making the playoffs were starting to slip away and so they started to open up their playbook a bit more. Starting from their own 35-yard line they ran one play which netted them a loss of 3 yards. But on the next play, Masters threw a short pass to Amanda Haeg at the 39-yard line. Haeg caught the low pass and seemed to be bracing herself for a hit from a New York defender. Running back Lyndsi Hughes was trailing the play and just as Haeg was tackled, she pitched the ball back to Hughes who ran the remaining 61 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown. The Passion had run the hook and ladder play to perfection and the home team crowd went wild as they took the lead 10-7 with 9:30 left in the half.

The Sharks offense tried to match the score with a drive that started from their own 31-yard line. After 13 plays, New York was down to the Pittsburgh 9-yard line before it stalled with an interception of Mulligan in the endzone.

Pittsburgh had pulled one trick out of their sleeve and so they tried another from their own 20-yard line. This time it was the flea flicker play with Masters handing the ball off to Hughes who tried to reach her teammate with a pass. The pass fluttered in the air and was picked off by Lauren Pringle who returned the ball to the Passion 14-yard line.

New York did not waste this second chance as Mulligan calmly stood in the pocket as 3 Pittsburgh linesmen came running at her with less than 2 minutes left to go in the half. She threw a strike to Chante Bonds as she got hit by said linesmen. Bonds was tackled at the 3-yard line for a first and goal situation. Mulligan then connected with Pringle for a touchdown. After another Antonucci extra point, the Sharks had regained the lead 14-10 at halftime.

At the start of the third quarter, Pittsburgh was able to move the ball down to the Sharks 38-yard line before the drive stalled. Unlike the start of the first half, the New York offense was up and running. Running with Holloman that is, as she was repeatedly handed the ball and she pounded out yards all the way for another scoring touchdown. The drive took 6 plays with the highlight being a 34 yard run in which she broke 3 tackles before being stopped. Antonucci hit her third consecutive extra point to put New York ahead 21-10.

The Sharks scored one more time and fittingly enough it came from the defense. The Sharks defense for most of the game played hard and hit hard. With victory in sight as well as the playoffs, Pringle intercepted Passion quarterback Sherry Kring at the New York 10-yard line and returned it all the way back for a touchdown. This 90-yard play was the longest interception returned for a touchdown by a Shark since Christina Pagan ran one back 88 yards in 2006. Antonucci's kick went wide but the visitor's now had a comfortable 27-10 lead with 8:03 left in the third quarter.

The fourth quarter got a bit sloppy as there were 4 turnovers but they did not result in anymore scoring. At the end it was New York winning the game and earning a trip to the playoffs for the first time in 3 years and the first playoff appearance by rookie head coach Fabian Alessandro. It was also a blow to the Passion who have been to the playoffs every year since they joined the IWFL and it broke their 20 home game consecutive winning streak.

The game was marked with multiple turnovers from both squads but the Sharks defense kept Pittsburgh from capitalizing on New York's miscues too much. The Sharks offense started off slowly but by the second quarter they hitting on all cylinders led by the running of Holloman.

The New York Sharks will travel north to New England to take on the Boston Militia as it is now playoff time. The Sharks and Militia will be playing for the IWFL Northeast Division title with the winner going to the Easter Conference Championship game. Kick-off will be at 6:00pm (EDT). If you cannot make it to the game, listen to Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell describe all of the action on WFNradio.

New York Sharks 0-14-13-0: 27
Pittsburgh Passion 3-7-0-0: 10

Scoring Summary

First Quarter
PT - (10:53) Bracco 19 yard field goal

Second Quarter
NY - (12:22) Holloman 73 yard run (Antonucci kick)
PT - (09:20) Hughes 63 yard run from Haeg after pass from Masters (Bracco kick)
NY - (01:13) Pringle 4 yard pass from Mulligan (Antonucci kick)

Third Quarter
NY - (09:47) Holloman 6 yard run (Antonucci kick)
NY - (08:03) Pringle 90 yard interception return (Kick failed)

CABOT CREAMERY: Players of the Week (8)

2010-06-07T00:09:00.001-04:00

New York Sharks Lauren Pringle and Cheri Eleazer were named the CABOT CREAMERY Players of the Week by New York Sharks broadcasters Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell for week 8. Both had 2 interceptions each as they helped clinch a playoff spots for New York with a 27-10 victory over the Pittsburgh Passion. The Sharks are returning to the post-season after a 2 year hiatus.

CABOT CREAMERY: Player of the Week (7)

2010-05-29T17:26:00.003-04:00

Rookie Janea Wilkerson was named the CABOT CREAMERY Playerof the Week by New York Sharks broadcasters Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell for week 7. Janea got her first start at running back and came up with some big yards on crucial plays in the game.

Game Day: Nighthawks at Sharks

2010-05-29T17:14:00.004-04:00

Brooklyn, New York, May 22, 2010

It was a carnival-like atmosphere in Brooklyn as the New York Sharks (6-1) got ready to play their 100th game. Well truth be told, it was a carnival atmosphere as the Kings County Fair was being held right next to the Aviator Sports Complex football field. Right behind the stands were rides like the haunted mansion and a huge ferris wheel overlooking the grounds. But for all of the festivities at the grounds, the Sharks needed an opponent to play their historic 100th game. The Baltimore Nighthawks (3-4) had stayed overnight in nearby Newark, New Jersey and were introduced that day to New York city's famous traffic. Though they thought they had left at a decent time, they made it to the ballpark about an hour before kick-off time.

It was a fine evening for a football game. The skies were clear and the temperature was in the low 60's. Wind is always an issue at Aviator but it wasn't too bad this night. It was a festive evening, enhanced by the fair's bright colorful neon lights illuminating the area.

To help commemorate the Sharks' 100th game, New York Sharks' owner Andra Douglas dusted off her kicking shoes and came out of retirement to play. She, along with current player Jen Blum and defensive coordinator Lynn Lewis had played in the Sharks' very first game in 1999. So when the Sharks had to kick-off to start the game, Douglas trotted onto the field as a player for the first time since 2005.

The Sharks defense was in fine form and forced the Nighthawks to go three and out and punt the ball away. New York started their first drive of the game in decent field position on the Baltimore 45-yard line. The Sharks started the drive conservatively with 3 running plays. Two of the handoffs were to rookie Janea Wilkerson in her first start at running back. After getting a first down, quarterback Karen Mulligan ran for a big 17 yard gain to move the ball down to the Nighthawks 16-yard line. Kathy Holloman returned to the backfield and took the next 2 handoffs to get the Sharks down to the 11-yard line. Mulligan then went to the air and connected with Chante Bonds for a touchdown. Kicker Megan Antonucci's extra point attempt was too low but the Sharks were ahead 6-0 with 8:48 left in the first quarter.

On the Sharks next drive, they started from their own 45-yard line. At first the drive didn't look like it was going to get anywhere as Holloman was stopped for only a 1-yard gain and then Mulligan was sacked by Ashley Branch for an 8-yard loss. But on 3rd down with 17 yards to go for a first down, Mulligan went deep and hit Blum for 52 yard gain. This put the ball on the Baltimore 10-yard line. On the next play, Mulligan pitched out to her right to Holloman who threadered her way into the endzone for the Sharks second score of the game. This time the extra point kick was blocked.

New York got the ball back quickly as the defense forced another 3 and out on the Nighthawks. But the Sharks gave the ball back even quicker to Baltimore as they scored on the very next play. Mulligan threw a perfect pass to Lauren Pringle at the 50-yard line. Mulligan hit Pringle right in stride and she raced down the right sideline for a 66 yard touchdown reception. This gave New York a commanding 18-0 lead after the first quarter.

Baltimore's next drive continued to go poorly. Quarterback Lil Drumgold tried to evade a huge rush of Sharks' linemen and made a very ill advisted pass attempt. The pass was intercepted by Sharks' Shana Segers who returned the ball to New York 33-yard line. From here, the New York offense marched the ball down the field. Sticking mostly to the ground, the Sharks were back in the endzone after 7 plays. Three big runs of 17, 14, and 19 yards by Pringle, Bonds, and Mulligan respectively did most of the heavy lifting. The final 4 yards were run in by Mulligan. Antonucci split the uprights on the extra point attempt and New York extended their lead to 25-0.

The Sharks continued to dominate the Nighthawks as they scored 2 more times before the first half ended. The first one came on a 40-yard, 12 play drive that was done by going to the air. The second touchdown came after Drumgold got hit by Ebony Jones and the quarterback fumbled the ball. The Sharks recovered the ball on the Nighthawks' 31-yard line. Four plays later, Mulligan hit Blum for the Sharks' sixth and final touchdown of the day. Antonucci was successful on the extra point to make the score 38-0 at halftime.

With the game firmly in the Sharks control, it was just a matter of will New York get their 41st shutout. It started to look that they would as the defense kept the Nighthawks at bay. But late in the fourth quarter, Drumgold hit Nolan for a 45-yard touchdown pass. The extra point attempt failed so the final score was Sharks 38 - Nighthawks 6.

The game was history in the making. The victory helped keep the Sharks in the playoff hunt, but the game itself put the Sharks in the history books as the first women's team to play 100 games. Their record for their first 100 games is 82 wins, 40 wins by shutout, and 18 losses.

The New York Sharks will travel to Pittsburgh in 2 weeks to take on the Pittsburgh Passion (4-3) in a battle for the last playoff spot. A Sharks victory will clinch them a berth in the second season, while a Passion win could put Pittsburgh in. New York beat Pittsburgh earlier this season in an exciting come from behind win in Brooklyn, 12-8. But the Passion have been playing tough of late and are looking to reach the playoffs for themselves.

Kick-off will be at 7:05pm (EDT). If you cannot make it to the game, listen to Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell describe all of the action on WFNradio.

Baltimore Nighthawks 0-0-0-6: 6
New York Sharks 18-20-0-0: 38

Scoring Summary

First Quarter
NY - (08:48) Bonds 11 yard pass from Mulligan (Kick failed)
NY - (04:46) Holloman 10 yard run (Kick failed)
NY - (02:50) Pringle 66 yard pass from Mulligan (Kick failed)

Second Quarter
NY - (12:03) Mulligan 4 yard run (Antonucci kick)
NY - (05:02) Bonds 2 yard pass from Mulligan (Kick failed)
NY - (02:28) Blum 9 yard pass from Mulligan (Antonucci kick)

Fourth Quarter
BAL - (08:45) Nolan 45 yard pass from Drumgold (Kick failed)

Top 5 Out of 100

2010-05-23T02:11:00.003-04:00

The New York Sharks played their 100th game this past Saturday. To commemorate the feat, we have come up with a list of the top 5 games the Sharks have played. They are as follows:

5) May 8, 2004 - New York Sharks vs. Chicago Force
4) June 7, 2008 - D.C. Divas vs. New York Sharks
3) April 3, 2004 - Atlanta Xplosion vs. New York Sharks
2) July 6, 2002 - New York Sharks vs. Austin Outlaws
1) December 11, 1999 - Minnesota Vixens vs. New York Sharks

Countdown to 100 - Sharks Greatest Game #1

2010-05-19T14:21:00.005-04:00

In determining the New York Sharks greatest games, you have to set down a list of guidelines of what constitutes a great game. Some of the criteria were: was it a close game, was there a record setting performance, did the Sharks win, was it a come from behind victory, was they any significance to the game, etc. Many of the games selected so far had many of these ingredients, but the one chosen as the best of the best has it all.

There is something about the first being the best and the New York Sharks first game ever was the best. Not only did the Sharks win by only 6 points, they came from behind in the second half, the backup quarterback engineering the winning drive, and this game helped catapult the forming of a women's professional football league.

In 1999, two women's football teams, Minnesota Vixens and Michigan Minx, were created in the mid-west. They barn stormed around the country playing each other to see if there was any interest in women's tackle football. Their promoters had heard of a women's flag football team from New York that had won a national championship and challenged the team, the Long Island Sharks to play the Minnesota Vixen in a tackle football game. There were not enough players on the Sharks to form a complete team so they enlisted players from other flag football teams in the New York city area.

With less than 2 months to prepare and using borrowed equipment they transformed themselves the flag football team into a tackle football team. And on a very cold and windy December 11th, the two teams met at Mitchell Field in Uniondale, Long Island.

For most of the Sharks this was the first time they had ever played a game with the pads on and it took some getting used to. The wind was howling with gusts up to 40 mph and most of the plays were on the ground. The Vixens had 4 games worth of experience and were able to draw first blood. They scored their touchdown in the beginning of the second quarter to lead 6-0.

The score remained 6-0 at halftime as the Sharks struggled to get any offense going. In the third quarter there was a quarterback change with Val Halesworth taking over. The change seemed to spark the team as she led them down the field to tie the score. The big play coming on a 71-yard pass completion to Nathalie Jufer.

The Sharks defense continued to play tough and kept the visitors out of the endzone. As the third quarter came to a close, Halesworth again connected with her receiver for a touchdown. This time it was a 17-yard strike to Val Monaco. This made the score 12-6 and that is the way it remained to the final whistle.

There were only 300 fans that lasted through the bad weather to watch the game, but the enthusiasm generated from the event set the stage to create a whole league for women's football in 2000.

CABOT CREAMERY Player of the Week (6)

2010-05-16T00:03:00.007-04:00

In a game where the New York Sharks were spanked and spanked good, it was difficult to pick out a player to give the Cabot Creamery Player of the Week award to. After much deliberation, New York Sharks broadcasters Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell decided to give the award to the Sharks defense. The defense played well considering they were on the field for most of the game and often times Boston started their drives in New York territory.

Game Day: Sharks at Militia

2010-05-16T00:02:00.003-04:00

Countdown to 100 - Sharks Greatest Game #2

2010-05-13T21:56:00.003-04:00

The 2002 season started off with tragedy for the New York Sharks. Their beloved teammate Sharon Pascale died in a car crash on Christmas Day. The team was going to dedicate this new season in a new league in memory of her.

From day 1, the Sharks dominated every team that they played during the regular season. The defense was almost perfect, giving up only 2 scores all season while the offense averaged over 43 points per game. While the Sharks were the eastern division champions, out west the Austin Outlaws were pretty dominating themselves. The two teams were to meet on a Independence Day weekend for the first IWFL National Championship game to be held out in Ashland, Oregon.

This was the second time around for the Sharks in the playoffs. In 2000 they were co-leaders of their division but lost in the opening round of the playoffs.

It was a very hot day at gametime. It wasn't humid but the air was so dry that you couldn't sweat, any perspiration would evaporate almost immediately. It didn't help matters as the Sharks were wearing black uniforms.

New York lost the coin toss but Austin chose to kick the ball. It was a choice that the Sharks made the Outlaws soon regret. The Sharks offense was led by star quarterback Val Halesworth who was the league's leading passer, but the Sharks also had a potent running attack with Courtney Eaton.

On the opening drive, New York moved the ball mostly on the ground. The drive almost came to a stop as the Sharks had a crucial fourth down on the Austin 30-yard line. New York went for it as Halesworth looked to make a pass. Austin's defensive line broke through and chased Halesworth out of the pocket. When it looked like they were going to catch her, she tried to throw a pass but started to fall as she threw. Nonetheless, the football found it's target, Eaton at the Austin12-yard line. New York moved the ball all the way down to the 3-yard line when it was fourth down. Relying on a surge by her offensive line, Halesworth followed her blockers into the endzone to give the Sharks the lead.

Austin's offensive strength was their running game. Margaret Pace was handed the ball time after time and she was able to move the Outlaws down the field. But once they got into the red zone, the Sharks defense put up a wall and denied Austin from scoring. This was a good thing, but New York now had to start their drive deep in their own territory and they could not find much success. Sharks head coach Nick Giannatasio then ordered Halesworth to run out of the endzone on fourth down to take a safety instead of going for the punt. Since the Sharks rarely punted all season, he had more faith in his defense than in his special teams.

This made the score 8-2 and that is the way the score was at the end of the first half. Both defenses were able to stop the potent offense of the other side.

When the Outlaws won the coin toss in the beginning of the game, they chose to kick the ball instead of saying they wanted to defer to the second half. This meant that the Sharks could choose what they wanted for the beginning of the second half, and they chose to receive the ball. The Sharks again made Austin pay for their mistake by scoring on their opening drive of the second half. Mostly keeping the ball on the ground by giving it to Eaton and Virgina "Cha Chi" Leon the Sharks scored another touchdown. The 2-point conversion was successful on a pass from Halesworth to Lori DeVivio. This made the score 16-2, early in the third quarter.

Austin was starting to feel the championship slipping away. On the ensuing kick-off, kick returner Monica Gauck tried to get her team back in the game with a nice return but as she kept trying to get more yardage, she fumbled the football and the Sharks recovered it.

Another Outlaw mistake and the Sharks quickly took advantage of it. This time they went to the air and Halesworth connected with wide receiver Val "Peanut" Monaco twice for gains of 25 and 19 yards for the Sharks third score of the game. New York went for the 2-point conversion and Monica Marsh caught the pass to give the Sharks a 24-2 lead.

From there the Sharks defense continued to shut down the Outlaws. They did not allow Austin to score but they did set up the last score of the game. Playing safety, Halesworth intercepted an Austin pass at New York's own 20-yard line. The Sharks offense lost some yards on the drive and were forced to punt deep in their own territory. On fourth down, the long snap sailed over the punter's head resulting in another safety for the Outlaws, but that was all they would score.

The final score was 24-4 in favor of New York. The Sharks had just won the biggest game of the year and now had the title of national champions. It was a bittersweet moment as they had done it without their teammate Sharon, but they kept the vow that they made in February to win it for her.

For more details on the game, visit the Sharks' gameday write-up.

Next week at #1, Smackdown

CABOT CREAMERY Player of the Week (5)

2010-05-09T01:45:00.005-04:00

Chante Bonds was named the CABOT CREAMERY Playerof the Week by New York Sharks broadcasters Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell for week 5. Chante was all over the field on defense but also came up big on offense, scoring the game winning touchdown.

Game Day: Passion at Sharks

2010-05-09T01:44:00.004-04:00

Countdown to 100 - Sharks Greatest Game #3

2010-05-08T12:05:00.004-04:00

Frantic Finish
The New York Sharks had been the Eastern Conference champions in the IWFL for the past 2 seasons. They won the national championship in 2002 but lost in 2003. 2004 was the year to re-take the title. On opening day in 2004, the Sharks were hosting the Atlanta Xplosion, a new team to the IWFL but a team with a winning history in other leagues.

The Xplosion joined the IWFL to show everyone that they could play with the big girls and what better team to show off than against the Sharks. The game started off with a bang as Atlanta's Angela Rowe returned the opening kick-off 78 yards for a touchdown.

The Sharks were able to tie the game later in the first quarter on some heads-up play by punt returner Lori DeVivio. On a very short punt by the Xplosion, the ball was rolling around their own 35-yard line. DeVivio noticed that no one had bothered to down the ball and were not near it. She scooped up the ball and raced down the left sideline for a touchdown to tie the game.

Atlanta quarterback Sue Cackowski had great success against the New York secondary with touchdown passes of 33 and 36 yards in the second and third quarters of the game. The Xplosion then extended the lead to 14 points with a 24-yard field goal by Kay Bateman with 5:30 left in the third quarter.

Things were definitely not looking bright for the home team as the offense had trouble getting untracked through most of the game so far. The Sharks' streak of 21 regular season game wins was at stake as the third quarter was drawing to a close. But things turned around rather suddenly as DeVivio intercepted an Atlanta pass and returned the ball to the Xplosion 49-yard line.

Sharks' quarterback Val Halesworth using quick short passes was now beginning to move the ball to the Atlanta red zone. Once they got to the 13-yard line, Missy Marmorale came into the game for the first time on offense at running back. She immediately brought energy to the running attack as she pounded away at the defense. Marmorale capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to bring the Sharks within 8 points with most of the fourth quarter still to play.

The Sharks were smelling blood and on Atlanta's next possession, Virginia "Cha Chi" Leon intercepted a pass for New York's third INT of the game. Mixing passing and running plays New York was able to score a touchdown to bring them within 2 points with 5:32 left to go in the game. So to tie the score the Sharks went for the 2-point conversion and made it on a Kathy Holloman run.

The Xplosion seemed to be getting rattled and on their next possession they fumbled the ball away. The Sharks recovered the ball on the Atlanta 42-yard line. Halesworth led the team again into the red zone and Marmorale blasted through the final 6 yards for a touchdown to give the Sharks their first lead of the game with 2:36 left to go.

The New York coaching staff was very much concerned about the Xplosion kick-off return as they were getting very good yardage, plus they did score on the opening kick-off. To combat this, the Sharks' braintrust gambled and went for an on-side kick. Atlanta recovered the ball on New York's 40-yard line. It was excellent field position but with time running out, the Sharks defense came on strong and stopped the Xplosion on 4 plays. The last play being a sack by Marmorale to clinch the Shark victory.

The Sharks have never been behind by 2 touchdowns before, let alone 2 touchdowns in the fourth quarter. This dramatic comeback proved to be one of the most exciting games in Sharks' history. This was also the first game that the Sharks broadcasted live over the radio and on the Internet and it was a doozy.

For more game details read our gameday write-up.

Game Day: Sharks at Justice

2010-05-03T14:35:00.003-04:00

Cartaret, New Jersey, May 1, 2010
Despite being a tier 2 team, the Jersey Justice (3-1) have shown that they are no pushovers. Since joining the IWFL they have been playoff contenders and last year they just missed going to the championship game by 1 point. The Justice are having another good season being undefeated as they hosted the equally undefeated New York Sharks (4-0).

It was a very warm and slightly humid evening in the Garden State. Temperatures were in the low 80's at kick-off time. The Sharks had lost the coin toss and kicked off to the Justice. Last week the Justice used a very strong running attack to victory against the Binghamton Tiger Cats, rushing for over 300 yards. New York was ready for this.

Jersey tried to run the ball on their first drive and were stopped cold by the Sharks defense. Actually the Justice lost yards and were quickly forced to punt.

The Sharks started their first drive of the game with a quick pass from Karen Mulligan to Lauren Pringle. It was good for 10 yards and a first down on the Jersey 43-yard line. New York then showed Jersey what a running attack looks like and after a 21 yard run by Kathy Holloman and then a 22 yard run by Mulligan the Sharks were on the board. Placekicker Kriste McTamaney added the extra point and the Sharks had the lead 7-0 with 11:15 to go in the first quarter.

New York's defense continuted to dominate the Justice and they were forced to punt again after only 3 plays from scrimmage. All night long the Sharks defense proved to much for the Jersey offense. But it was the Jersey defense that provided the scoring firepower for the home team.

After the Justice punted the ball back to the Sharks, Mulligan looked to her right and underthrew to her receiver . Safety Maegan Larsen read the play and jumped in front of intended receiver Lauren Pringle to intercept the ball at the Sharks' 44-yard line. Mulligan tried to catch Larsen but she was too fast as she sprinted into the endzone for a 56 yard interception return. The Justice went for the 2-point conversion and Larsen pitched the ball to Leslie Busch who ran into the endzone for the score. The Justice shocked the Sharks with the score as New York was behind for the first time this season, 8-7 with 9:11 left in the first quarter.

While the Justice touchdown brought the home crowd to their feet, it seemed to wake up the Sharks more. On New York's next possession, they put their trust in Holloman as she rushed 5 times in a row and picked up 65 yards. For the final 10 yards into the endzone, Mulligan threw a bullet to Adrienne Smith at the 10-yard line and she ran into the endzone for the score and the lead. On the extra point attempt the snap bounced to the holder and New York failed to get the extra point. But the Sharks regained the lead 13-8 and never looked back again.

New York kept their foot on the accelerator as Jersey started their next possession on their own 28-yard line. Defensive end Lakisha Grant broke through the line and grabbed quarterback Larsen in the backfield for a 15-yard loss. But while she was falling to the ground, Larsen tried to throw the ball away and the Justice were hit with a grounding penalty. It was now second down and Jersey was back to their own 8-yard line. Larsen faked a handoff and then took a step towards the line of scrimmage. She saw Fatima Carvey shoot through the line and Larsen quickly decided to change direction from the rush. She ran to her right but there were more Sharks chasing her and she was eventually tackled by Keisha Salmon at the Justice 1-yard line. On third down from the shotgun formation, running back Laurie Fitzpatrick was handed the ball but again Carvey smashed through and tackled the runner in the endzone for a safety.

On the ensuing free kick Smith fielded the ball on her own 41-yard line. Running up a huge hole up the middle of the field she ran all the way back to the Jersey 1-yard line. From there Holloman punched the ball into the endzone for the touchdown. The Sharks went for the 2-point conversion and Mulligan lofted the ball into the back of the endzone that was caught by Jen Blum. This made the score 23-8 at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter was more of the same athe defense shut down the Justice offense and the Sharks ran the ball at will. New York scored twice in the second quarter, one on a 20 yard run by Holloman that was set up by a nifty 47 yard run the play before. The other Sharks score came on a 29-yard pass play to Chante Bonds. While Holloman didn't score the touchdown she helped on the drive with 2 runs of 17 and 15 yards and then caught the pass for the 2-point conversion. This made the score at halftime, New York 37- Jersey 8.

In the second half, the New York defense kept up their wall and denied the Justice from ever getting into the red zone. On offense, the Sharks used the big play to score two more times. One score came on a 59-yard run by Holloman for her third touchdown of the game and the other touchdown came on a 63-yard pass from Mulligan to Smith.

The final score was Sharks 50-Justice 8. New York's defense was aggressive all night and prevented Jersey from scoring or even getting close. Except for the one mistake, New York was firing on all cylindars. Holloman being the big offensive star rushing for 268 yards with 3 touchdowns scored. But while the win kept the Sharks record unblemished, they have only a week to get ready for a big game against the divisional rival Pittsburgh Passion. The Passion are only 1 game behind the Sharks in the standings and the Sharks will need a win to help bolster their chances for the playoffs.

The New York Sharks will host the Pittsburgh Passion next Saturday at the Aviator Sports Complex in Brooklyn. Kick-off will be at 3:30pm (EDT). If you cannot make it to the game, listen to Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell describe all of the action on WFNradio.

New York Sharks 23-14-13-0: 50
Jersey Justice 8-0-0-0: 8

Scoring Summary

First Quarter
NY - (11:15) Mulligan 1 yard run (McTamaney kick)
NJ - (09:11) Larsen 56 yard interception return (Busch run)
NY - (04:53) Smith 15 yard pass from Mulligan (Run failed)
NY - (03:42) Safety
NY - (02:53) Holloman 1 yard run (Blum pass from Mulligan)

Second Quarter
NY - (12:28) Holloman 20 yard run (Pass failed)
NY - (02:44) Bonds 29 yard pass from Mulligan (Holloman pass from Mulligan)

Third Quarter
NY - (13:36) Smith 63 yard pass from Mulligan (Kick failed)
NY - (03:58) Holloman 59 yard run (McTamaney kick

Countdown to 100 - Sharks Greatest Games #4

2010-04-27T18:37:00.005-04:00

Showtime
NBC Sports came over to the Sharks to film a short documentary on the team and on quarterback Karen Mulligan. It would be a 2-part series that they would show on their website. The game they picked to send their filming crew to could not have been better.

The Sharks were hosting the D.C. Divas on June 7, 2008. It was a very hot day in Brooklyn with the temperature in the 90's. The Sharks had never beaten the Divas up until that day, going 0-2 in 2007. Though the games were close New York came up on the short end of the stick twice.

The Sharks offense was spotty in the first half. Sometimes Mulligan was giving NBC highlight reel video with her passing game, but New York turnovers kept killing drives. On the Sharks first drive they started from their own 30-yard line and drove all the way down to the D.C. 1-yard line. But a botched pitchout turned the ball over to the visitors.

Throughout the whole game, the Sharks defense was in fine fashion as they consistently stopped any D.C. drive. After the turnover on the pitchout, the Sharks defense got the ball back as defensive back Toni Salvatore intercepted Divas' quarterback Allyson Hamlim's pass and returned the ball to the D.C. 9-yard line. From there Mulligan connected with Brooke McKinney for the score, giving New York the lead near the end of the first quarter. The extra point attempt was no good, but the score was Sharks 6-Divas 0.

In the second quarter, the Sharks' defense kept D.C. out of the endzone. A highlight was a big stop of the Divas' at the New York 4-yard line on fourth down. While the defense came up big, the offense did not. On the next play from scrimmage, Mulligan dropped back to pass from her own endzone and underthrew her pass. It was picked off by Latisha Perry-Guinn who ran it back for a touchdown. D.C. converted the 2-point conversion and now was in the lead 8-6.

The Divas' defense was playing well too. They were shutting down the Sharks running game and were soon rushing Mulligan every chance they got. As the half was coming to an end, Mulligan was sacked and layed on the ground for a minute. She was able to walk off the field but the rest of the half was completed with Adrienne Smith as quarterback.

In the second half, Mulligan was back at the helm of the Sharks' offense but it did not look good at first. She fumbled the football to the Divas at the New York 42-yard line. The Divas again marched the ball down the field, but the Sharks defense put up a stone wall when it needed to. D.C. got the ball down to the New York 4-yard line before hitting running back Rachelle Pecovsky-Bentley with a 4-yard loss. An incomplete pass on fourth down followed and the defense held.

On the Divas very next possession they again moved the ball all the way down to the Sharks' 1-yard line. It was inconceivable to think that New York could deny D.C. for a third time with the ball less than 10 yards away from paydirt, but the Sharks defense did it again. The defensive line broke through and tackled Claudia Hogan behind the line of scrimmage for a loss but before she went down, she fumbled the football and New York recovered.

There was only 4 minutes left in the game when the Sharks offense took over the ball at their own 46-yard line. The offense had been sputtering for most of the second half as Mulligan was bothered by the Divas rushing the quarterback. But with the pressure on, Mulligan completed 3 passes to Lisa Doran to move the ball down to the Divas' 24-yard line. After 2 incomplete passes, it was now fourth down and 1 yard to go for a first down. With NBC filming, you had to wonder if they were going to have a Cinderella finish or another tough loss for New York.

Mulligan lined up in shotgun, but as soon as she got the ball she ran to her left and just got the 1 yard necessary to move the chains. It was now first down on the Divas' 23-yard line but now there was less than 2 minutes left in the game. Mulligan then hit McKinney in the middle of the field with 2 defenders on her for an 11-yard gain. On the next play, the Sharks hit paydirt as Doran caught a Mulligan pass at the 5-yard line and fought off 2 defenders for the go ahead score.

The Sharks went for the 2-point conversion and were successful as Mulligan rolled out to her right and hit Anabele Rodriguez for 2 points. This gave the Sharks for good by the score of 14-8.

It was a very exciting game and one that seemed too good to be true for the NBC film crew. Not only was it an exciting come from behind victory for the home team with less than 2 minutes left against a division rival, but the highlighted person in the feature was injured, taken off the field but then comes back to throw the winning score. It had unbelievable Hollywood script written all over it, yet it did happen.

For more details on the game, visit the Sharks' gameday write-up.

Next week at #3, Frantic Finish.

Game Day: Crushers @ Sharks

2010-04-27T13:12:00.004-04:00

Brooklyn, New York, April 24, 2010

This was no time to have a let down. The Connecticut Crushers (0-3) had yet to get a win and the New York Sharks (3-0) were coming off an exciting and emotional win over the D.C. Divas. With division rivals Boston Militia and Pittsburgh Passion battling each other, this was a time that the Sharks could get a firmer hold in the playoff race.

Like the game against D.C., the Sharks came out throwing. On the Sharks first drive, quarterback Karen Mulligan tried to throw the ball one every play. Twice the Sharks were helped by Crusher penalties and one other time, she was sacked. But for the other times she connected with Lauren Pringle for 23 yards and then to Adrienne Smith in the endzone for 16 more yards. Mulligan then hit Chante Bonds for the 2-point conversion and New York was ahead 8-0 with 11 minutes left in the quarter.

Connecticut started the game trying to get their running attack going. Running back Amanda Zabel carried the bulk of the load and she was able to make some very nice runs. On the Crushers second drive of the game, Zabel had a nifty 21 yard gain that brough the ball deep into New York territory at the 33-yard line. They kept giving her the ball but she was finally stopped just short a first down of the 23-yard line on the fourth down play.

With the Sharks' defense getting the ball back to the offense, they were re-paid with a short rest. Mulligan threw a short pass to Bonds who caught the ball at the 32-yard line. She then broke a tackle and streaked down the field for a touchdown. Mulligan then handed the ball off to Bonds on the 2-point conversion and she easily ran it into the endzone. This made the score New York 16- Connecticut 0.

The Sharks were having more success in stopping Zabel and that forced the Crushers to open things up by going to the air. For the most part quarterback Kristin Fillian was under pressure in the first half and completed only a few passes. Meanwhile for the Sharks, Mulligan was throwing on almost every down but was not connecting. The game soon turned into a trading of punts back and forth to each other.

Late in the second quarter Fillian hit receiver Denise Denis twice for gains of 14 and 10 yards. Connecticut made it to the Sharks' 35-yard line before the New York defense came up big again. This time Hannah Williams intercepted an errant pass and ran the ball back 73 for a touchdown. She had to break 2 tackles before she hit paydirt but she made it all the way to make the score 22-0. With the regular placekicker Megan Antonucci out for today's game, linesman Celeste Robinson put on her kicking shoes. Unfortunately the snap bounced away from Smith and she had to loft the ball into the endzone. The pass was tipped away from Melodie Abrook and fell to the ground making the score 28-0.

Things continued to get worse for Connecticut despite there being only 5 minutes left in the half. After another stop by the Sharks defense, Kathy Holloman entered the New York backfield for the first time in the game. Mulligan from the shot gun position on New York's own 29-yard line tossed the ball to Holloman 1 yard behind the line of scrimmage, from there she used her speed and motored down the left side line for a 71-yard touchdown. And it didn't stop there.

Right after the kick-off, Fillian got a strong rush by Lakisha Grant. The Crusher quarterback tried to throw the ball away but Cheri Eleazer was at the Sharks' 45-yard line and intercepted the pass. She then ran it back all the way into the endzone. Robinson's extra point attempt was no good, but at the end of the first half, the Sharks had a very comfortable 34-0 lead.

The second half of the game was more or less the same on offense by New York. The Sharks scored 4 more times with 2 of the scores on plays of over 50 yards each. Bonds caught a pass down the middle of the field and used her speed to stay away from any tacklers. Holloman had the other long touchdown with a handoff that went up the middle. She hit a second gear and ran the ball in for a 53 yard touchdown run. Later in the game she had another run of 63 yards into the endzone. This was almost identical but a penalty by the Sharks brought the play back. The penalty was for a block in the back that wouldn't have made a difference on the play but it called back the score. The other 2 scores were on passes of only 35 and 8 yards.

With all of this quick scoring, time did not run off the clock at a quick pace. This gave Connecticut 7 times the opportunity to put together a drive and twice they did. Both were helped by New York mistakes. One was a breakdown on Sharks' special teams play on a kick-off. Denis returned the ball to the New York 35-yard line. She then caught a high lob pass from Fillian. Toni Salvatore tried to knock the ball down but Denis outjumped her for the ball and she was able to run down to the Sharks 6- yard line. From there Zabel bulldozed her way to the 1-yard line. Fillian called her own number on the next play for the Crusher's first score of the game.

Connecticut scored one more time late in the fourth quarter. This time it was helped by a horse collar penalty that moved the ball down to the Sharks' 41-yard line. With the Sharks in a prevent defense, the Crushers took advantage with passes to Jennifer Davis and Denis for 15 and 14 yards apiece. Connecticut then went to some razzle dazzle and picked up another 12 yards on a reverse to Davis. Zabel then punched the ball in from the 1-yard line for the touchdown.

The game finally ended with the Crushers threatening again with the ball on the Sharks 27-yard line, but Williams got her second interception of the day. The final score, Sharks 65-Crushers 14.

The New York Sharks kept their record umblemished but so did the Boston Militia as they both battle it out for supremacy of the North Atlantic Division. The Sharks will cross the Hudson River next week to take on the undefeated New Jersey Justice. Kick-off time is 7:00pm (EDT). If you cannot make it to the game, listen to Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell describe all of the action on WFNradio.

Connecticut Crushers 0-0-6-8: 14
New York Sharks 16-18-18-7: 65

Scoring Summary

First Quarter
NY - (11:01) Smith 16 yard pass from Mulligan (Bonds pass from Mulligan)
NY - (06:45) Bonds 76 yard pass from Mulligan (Bonds run)

Second Quarter
NY - (05:29) Williams 77 yard interception return (Pass failed)
NY - (02:22) Holloman 71 yard pass from Mulligan (Kick failed)
NY - (02:04) Eleazer 45 yard interception return (Kick failed)

Third Quarter
NY - (13:38) Bonds 58 yard pass from Mulligan (Kick failed)
NY - (09:14) Holloman 53 yard run (Kick failed)
CT - (05:52) Fillian 1 yard run (Run failed)
NY - (02:21) Smith 27 yard pass from Mulligan (Kick failed)

Fourth Quarter
NY - (13:52) Blum 30 yard pass from Mulligan (Robinson Kick)
CT - (08:37) Zabel 1 yard run (Zabel run)
NY - (03:04) Pringle 8 yard pass from Smith (Kick failed)

CABOT CREAMERY Player of the Week (3)

2010-04-27T13:10:00.004-04:00

Cheri Eleazer was named the CABOT CREAMERY Playerof the Week by New York Sharks broadcasters Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell for week 3. Eleazer intercepted 2 Connecticut passes and returned one 45 yards for a score.

Countdown to 100 - Sharks Greatest Games #5

2010-04-23T00:13:00.010-04:00

Defensive Impasse
The New York Sharks are making history this year. On May 22nd against the Baltimore Nighthawks they will be the first women's football team to play their 100th game. To commemorate that feat, we will reveal each week one of the 5 greatest games in team history. The selection was done after extensive research and statistical analysis (actually we used a brand new Ouija board).

For this week the fifth greatest Sharks game we have to go back to 2004. That year the IWFL put the powerhouse Chicago Force in the same division as the Sharks. The Force had easily won their division the year before but now they were pitted against the New Yorkers. And with two games scheduled against each other, it was like having 2 playoff games during the regular season.

On May 8th in Chicago, it was the first time that these two teams met and despite both teams having very high octane offenses, the game turned into a defensive classic. Chicago was averaging over 50 points a game but New York was able to stifle them. And except for one scoring drive the Force kept the Sharks in check.

New York's lone score came on a drive that began with a hard running attack in the first quarter, led by Missy Marmorale and Monica Marsh. But once they got to the Chicago red zone, quarterback Val Haleworth connected with Jen Blum for the score.

Chicago on offense was a little more successful in moving the ball but the Sharks defense would only bend and not break. The Force might have won the game except for some questionable decisions by their coaching staff. Twice Chicago had the ball on the Sharks' 10-yard line or less on fourth down. Each time they elected to go for the touchdown instead of the short field goal try.

The game was a nail biter to the end as the Sharks were at their own 11-yard line with 2 minutes left. Instead of chancing a big punt return, Halesworth ran out of the endzone for a safety. Still, on the free kick the Force brought the ball back to the New York 38-yard line. But from there the Sharks defense shut down Chicago to end the game.

The final score was more like from a baseball game, 6-2. It was close throughout the game with both defenses shutting down some of the best offenses in the league. When it was over the Sharks prevailed and had a very happy flight back to the Big Apple. Of course they had a great time in Chicago after the game too, but that is another story.

For more details on the game, visit the Sharks' gameday write-up.

Next week at #4, Showtime.

Cabot Creamery Player of the Week (2)

2010-04-23T00:10:00.003-04:00

Fatima Carvey was named the CABOT CREAMERY Playerof the Week by New York Sharks broadcasters Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell for week 2. She handed out hard hits like candy.

Game Day: Divas at Sharks

2010-04-18T02:44:00.004-04:00

Brooklyn, New York, April 17, 2010
This week's game would tell if the Sharks are back as one of the top flight teams in women's football. They were hosting the IWFL Eastern Conference Champion D.C. Divas in the Sharks' historic 12th season opener. A competitive battle would prove the point and a win would put an exclamation on it. The New York Sharks (2-0) had easily dispatched the inexperienced Philadelphia Firebirds that week before but the D.C. Divas (1-1) just as easily handled the Baltimore Nighthawks too. And prior to last week, the Nighthawks demolished the Firebirds, so not much could be gleamed on how well New York will do against the visitors.

The day started off as most typical Shark openers go, with rain. But this home opener would be a first for under the lights and by the time kick-off came around the rain had stopped. Still it was quite chilly with the temperatures in the low 50's, but by the end of the game it got much colder.

The game started with the D.C. Divas kicking off the football, but they quickly got it back. The kick was short and bounced just in front of Lauren Pringle as she ran up to try and field the football. The ball took a sharp bounce away from Pringle and in front of her. Before she could catch up with the ball, D.C. recovered the kick. This gave the Divas excellent field position to start the game at the Sharks' 33-yard line.

Last week the Sharks defense completely shut down Philadelphia and they proved to be in fine form this week too as they held the Divas to only 2 yards on 3 plays. With the ball on the New York 31-yard line, D.C. went for it on fourth down but newcomer Ebony Jones broke through the line and sacked the D.C. quarterback Kathryn Hemlock.

New York's offensive game plan was revealed quite early and that was pass. Quarterback Karen Mulligan wasted no time in going to the air and was able to move the team down to the Divas 35-yard line before the drive stalled. The Sharks might have proceeded farther but twice Mulligan's passes were dropped by New York receivers. It was a theme that repeated itself with alarming frequency throughout the evening.

D.C.'s game plan was exactly the opposite. They eschewed the pass and went to their smash-mouth running game. Nothing too fancy, just give the ball to their running back and it is up to you to try and stop her. Hemlock kept handing the ball to Tiffany Matthews, Okiima Pickett, and Kenyetta Grigsby. Each time they would blast their way through for 3 to 9 yards at a time. But once they got into the red zone, D.C. went play- action pass and Hemlock threw a 13 yard pass to Tara Stephenson in the endzone. It was a very nice 11 play drive by D.C. New York was going to have to come up with an answer to stop this punishing running attack or it was going to be a long evening.

Again on the kick-off, New York had trouble fielding the ball but they kept possession of it. They started their first drive from their own 17-yard line. The first play was a nifty run by Kathy Holloman. Wearing her trademark red shoes, she gained 35 yards to move the ball into D.C. territory. But from there the Sharks offense sputtered and they were forced to punt.

Coming into punt for the Sharks was Megan Antonucci. Antonucci returned to the Sharks this year after taking off last season. This was her first punt in over a year as last week the Sharks did not have to punt against Philadelphia. All of that time off did not seem to hurt Antonucci as her kick netted 40 yards and pinned the Divas back to their own 6-yard line.

The Divas went back to their running game and was able to pick up 9 yards on 3 carries. But even though they only needed one more yard, it was too much of a gamble from their own 15-yard line and they decided to punt the ball. New York continued to have trouble with kick returns and they let this ball bounce back to the Sharks' 37-yard line.

New York kept with their air bourne strategy and the first pass by Mulligan on this drive was dropped by Chante Bonds. But after that, Mulligan's next 4 pass attempts not only found their targets, but the targets held onto the football. Pringle caught 12 and 8 yard passes and Bonds made up for her drop with a 31 and 12 yard receptions. The latter catch resulting in a New York touchdown. Antonucci showed she hadn't lost on thing on her kicking skills and split the uprights for the extra point to tie the game at 7 a piece with 12:15 left in the second quarter.

The Sharks scored again with 2:38 left to go in the first half. This drive started on the Divas 38-yard line and after a 13 yard catch by Pringle, Jennifer Blum picked up the rest of the yardage. It was a short pass to Blum who was quickly surrounded by 2 D.C. defenders. Blum spun around to shake off her would be tacklers and then sprinted down the left side line into the endzone, shedding one final tackler at the 1-yard line. It was a pretty spectacular run by Blum to put New York up by 6. Antonucci's kick for the extra point went wide but the Sharks had the lead.

With not much time left before the end of the half, the Divas did not have much time to grind out a score. The visitors had to open up their offensive play a little bit but it didn't help as Hemlock was sacked by Mandy Oppel and the last play of the half was an interception by Pringle.

The Divas started the second half with the ball and they went back to the basics. Using their relentless pounding running game, they grinded out a touchdown on ten straight running plays. The capper was Matthews for the final 2 yards into the endzone. The extra point went wide and this kept the score tied with 6:21 left in the third quarter.

On the ensuing kick off, Pringle fumbled the ball away and the Divas recovered. After flawless play last week on special teams, the Sharks went completely in the opposite direction. With the ball resting on the New York 34-yard line it looked like it was only a matter of time before D.C. got on the board again. If it ain't broke, don't fix it and the Divas used that as their mantra running the ball again and again. They got the ball down to the Sharks' 8-yard line before they got hit with two illegal shift penalties in a row. This pushed the Divas back and they went to their passing game. This didn't help as Toni Salvatore was able to snuff out the D.C. drive with an interception at the goal line.

While the Sharks dodged one bullet they were clearing standing in front of another one as they had first down on their own 3-yard line. To make matters worse, they were hit with too many men on the field penalty and that backed them up to the 1-yard line. Mulligan tried to pass her way out of danger but another dropped pass on third down forced the Sharks to punt.

With her feet at the back of the endzone, Antonucci shanked the kick. It went up about 10 yards in the air but only 4 yards forward. It was so short that the ball bounced off a Diva's helmut who was blocking a Shark at the line of scrimmage. New York recovered the ball and they now had a new set of downs from their own 5-yard line. New York was able to move the ball a bit farther out when Mulligan connected with Pringle for an 18-yard gain but quickly were forced to punt again from their own 27-yard line.

Maybe it was the wind currents or maybe there was something in the water. Antonucci's punt this time went very high but not too far. But like New York, D.C. was having trouble with their special teams play and they again fumbled the ball away to the home team. When you get 2 big opportunities like this you have to take advantage of them. This time New York tried to shuffle things around and went to the ground attack. At first it worked out well with a 17 yard run by Mulligan and then an electrifying 26 yard run by Holloman. The sharks got the ball as far as the 9-yard line before the drive stalled and New York was turned away with no points. The Sharks might have scored but there was another dropped pass in the endzone.

The New York defense came up big on D.C.'s next drive with the Sharks forcing the Diva's to punt. With time starting to run down into single digits, Mulligan used her arm and this time her receivers all came through in the clutch. New York moved the ball downfield in chunks with receptions to Smith and Blum. But after a quarterback sack on third down with less than 3 minutes left to go in regulation, it looked like New York might come up short. It was fourth down, the ball was on the 28-yard line and the Sharks needed to get to the 17-yard line for a fresh set of downs. Mulligan dropped back with heavy pressure around her, but she calmly lofted a pass that Smith caught at the 1-yard line. From there, Mulligan called her own number and punched it through for the go ahead touchdown. Antonucci's kick was short but the Sharks had the lead with less than 2 minutes left to go in the game.

Last year in the Eastern Conference Championship Game, the Divas had just given up a touchdown with less than one minute left to Boston. But before the cheering from the Boston fans could stop, the Divas ran the kick off back for a touchdown to win the game. With D.C. if there is time on the clock, they are still a very dangerous team. Even though time was scarce, Stephenson got the Divas in good field position by returning the kick off to the New York 44-yard line. Playing against the prevent defense, Hemlock took advantage and made two quick strikes of 16 yard each to Stephenson and Esther George. With the ball resting on the 12-yard line, the Divas called a running play and gave it to LaShawn Foust for a big 6 yard gain to the 6-yard line. With less than a minute left, Hemlock threw a sideline pass to Stephenson who was quickly tackled by Bonds for no gain. It was now fourth down and Hemlock threw the ball on a timing route to Stephenson in the endzone. The ball bounced off her fingertips and fell harmlessly to the ground. The Sharks won.

By beating the Eastern Conference Champions, this proved that the Sharks are back with the elite teams of women's pro football. The victory improves the Sharks record to 2-0 and they are now tied at the top of a very crowded North Atlantic Division with the Boston Militia (2-0) and the Pittsburgh Passion (2-0). Both of these teams are on New York's tough schedule. But until that time, the Sharks play the Connecticut Crushers next week at the Aviator Sports Complex in Brooklyn. If you cannot make it, listen to Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell describe all of the action on WFNradio. Kick-off time is 3:30pm (EDT).

D.C. Divas 7-0-6-0: 13
New York Sharks 0-13-0-6: 19

Scoring Summary

First Quarter
DC - (04:21) Stephenson 13 yard pass from Hemlock (Hemlock kick)

Second Quarter
NY - (12:15) Bonds 12 yard pass from Mulligan (Antonucci kick)
NY - (02:38) Blum 25 yard pass from Mulligan (Kick failed)

Third Quarter
DC - (06:21) Matthews 2 yard run (kick failed)

Fourth Quarter
NY - (01:54) Mulligan 1 yard run (Kick failed)

CABOT CREAMERY Players of the Week (1)

2010-04-12T03:48:00.004-04:00

New York Sharks Chante Bonds and Lauren Pringle were named the CABOT CREAMERY Players of the Week for April 10th. They were selected by broadcasters Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell after their electrifying returns of kicks against the Philadelphia Firebirds.

Game Day: Sharks at Firebirds

2010-04-11T03:28:00.004-04:00

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, April 10, 2010
The New York Sharks (1-0) opened up their 2010 season on the road to take on the Philadelphia Firebirds (0-2). The Sharks had a bye while the Firebirds played Baltimore last week to kick-off the IWFL season. This was an important game for New York, not only because it was against a division rival, but it was also the first game for new head coach Fabian Alessandro. But while it was a new coach, many veteran players returned to the team after missing last season. Lakisha Grant, Virginia Leon, Faith Mitchell, Kathy Holloman, Leeann Brzozowski, and Gabrielle Nazaire all returned for the 2010 campaign.

It was a nice Spring evening when the two teams took to the field. The Firebirds won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball. The Sharks defense looked in fine mid-season form as Philadelphia lost 5 yards during their possession and were quickly forced to punt.

At first on offense, New York was a little bit shaky as they were quickly hit with a holding and then an offsides penalty. But Holloman wearing her famous red shoes was able to rush for 2 first downs. After another holding penalty the Sharks were moved backwards and needed 20 yards to get a first down. On the next play, Quarterback Karen Mulligan dropped back and threw the football intended for receiver Jennifer Blum down the right sideline. The Philadelphia defender panicked and tackled Blum before the ball got there and the Sharks were given a 27 yard gift.

With the ball on the Firebirds' 17-yard line, Mulligan handed the ball off to running back Mandy Oppel. After 4 touches, Oppel got into the endzone to give the Sharks the early lead. New York went for the two-point conversion and Mulligan found Chante Bonds open in the back of the endzone to make the score 8-0 with 8:26 left to go in the first quarter.

On their next possession, Philadelphia could not advance the ball and quickly were forced to punt. This was a theme that continued throughout the game as the New York defense stopped everything that the Firebirds could throw and run at them. New York held the home team to negative total yards but also to no first downs throughout the whole game. On offense, the Sharks could do no wrong as they did not punt the entire game.

On the Firebirds punt, Bonds returned the ball 27 yards to give the Sharks a first down on their own 44-yard line. Mulligan again went to the air and connected with Lauren Pringle in stride for a big 41 yard gain to the Philadelphia 15-yard line. The ball was then put into the hands of Holloman who was able to punch it into the endzone on 2 running plays. The Sharks were successful on the 2-point conversion as Mulligan found Blum all alone in the endzone. This made the score 16-0 with 4:44 left in the first quarter.

The New York defense continued to keep the pressure on the Firebirds as Sharks Jessica Vazquez and Mitchell sacked Firebirds' quarterback Pam Downey on third down and forced the home team to punt again. It took less than a minute for the Sharks to strike again as Bonds returned the punt 50 yards for New York's third touchdown of the quarter. It was a spectacular return as she caught the football off her shoetops running full speed. She then ran down the right sideline and at the 15-yard line jumped up into the air to avoid a tackle before finishing up in the endzone. The Sharks missed the conversion, but the score was now 22-0 and the rout was on.

The second quarter went pretty much the same as the first. The Sharks defense would not let anything or anyone past the line of scrimmage and on offense, running backs Holloman and Oppel just pounded the ball up the middle for two more scores. The last touchdown of the quarter though was a nifty pass play by Mulligan. She threw a short 12 yard pass down the middle to receiver Adrienne Smith. The pass was just behind the line Phiadelphia linebackers and from there Smith only had to beat one Firebird to the endzone for a 34 yard touchdown play. At this point, the Sharks felt comfortable to test out their kicking game and brand new kicker Kriste McTamaney trotted out onto the field. Her first attempt split the uprights and the score at the end of the first half was now 45-0.

In the second half, the Sharks mostly ran the ball. On one drive, Nazaire was given the ball eight times straight and she went off-tackle eight times straight. Even though it was basically the same play over and over, the Firebirds could not stop the little runner and she scored her first touchdown of the season.

By the fourth quarter, Isabella Bluhm was the running back and she kept pounding the ball up the middle until she scored from the 1-yard line. McTamaney kicked the extra point and that was the end of the Sharks scoring for the game.

Offensively Philadelphia could not get anything going and the day ended for them by fumbling the football away at their own 32-yard line. Shana Segers recovered the ball and the Sharks ended the game by taking a knee.

It was a satisfying win for the Sharks as it gave their head coach a victory under his belt and they dominated in every aspect of the game. But Philadelphia is a young team that is rebuilding with a new coach so this is not really the best test for New York. Their first big test of the season will come this weekend as they take on the Eastern Conference champion D.C. Divas for the Sharks home opener. The Divas were undfeated during the regualar season last year and they are continuing that streak this year. This game will show how good the Sharks really are, so come on out to Aviator Sports Complex in Brooklyn to watch what should be one of the best games of the season. If you cannot make it, listen to Pat Brown and Dave Maxwell describe all of the action on WFNradio. Also helping them out in the booth will be NFL's Sam Rapoport. Kick-off time is 7:30pm (EDT).

New York Sharks 22-23-12-7: 64
Philadelphia Firebirds 0-0-0-0: 0

Scoring Summary

First Quarter
NY - (08:26) Oppel 1 yard run (Bonds pass from Mulligan)
NY - (04:44) Holloman 2 yard run (Blum pass from Mulligan)
NY - (01:31) Bonds 50 yard punt return (pass failed)

Second Quarter
NY - (13:50) Holloman 5 yard run (Pringle pass from Mulligan)
NY - (10:51) Mulligan 2 yard run (Blum pass from Mulligan)
NY - (02:40) Smith 34 yard pass from Mulligan (McTamaney kick)

Third Quarter
NY - (09:23) Nazaire 1 yard run (kick failed)
NY - (04:05) Mulligan 3 yard run (kick failed)

Fourth Quarter
NY - (09:09) Bluhm 1 yard run (McTamaney kick)

Countdown to 100

2010-04-02T02:10:00.005-04:00

The New York Sharks are on track to be the first women's professional football team to play their 100th game. That historic game will take place on May 22nd when the Sharks host the Baltimore Nighthawks at the Aviator Sports Complex in Brooklyn, New York.

It all started in 1999 when a women's barn storming football team challenged the flag-football team, the Long Island Sharks to a full contact, tackle football game. The Sharks picked up other flag-football players from around the New York metropolitan area and with only two months to prepare took on the Minnesota Vixens. In front of only 300 patrons at Uniondale, Long Island, the underdog Sharks came from behind to defeat the visitors, 16-12.

From these humble beginnings, the Sharks have become a trailblazer in women's professional football.

Over 260 women have put on the black and blue uniform over the past dozen years and with continued success. The team has forged a 80-20 won-loss record for a .800 winning percentage, 6 division titles, 3 conference titles, and one national title.

As we come upon this historic event, we will be listing the 5 Greatest Games in New York Sharks history. Each week we will reveal one game from the top 5.

Pre-season Scrimmage

2010-03-29T17:49:00.004-04:00

This past saturday, the New York Sharks travelled up to Schenectady, New York to participate in a scrimmage with the New York Nemesis. This was the first time to see the 2010 Sharks team in action. It was a very cold day with the temperature just above freezing as the two teams took to the field.

The Sharks looked good with many veterans returning to the team this season after missing a year or more. Coming back were Virginia "Cha Chi" Leon, Lakisha Grant, Faith Mitchell, Amber Knighten, Gabrielle Nazaire, Wanda Williams,
and Kathy Holloman. Also joining the team this year is Ebony Jones who played for Texas last year. She relocated to New York after winning VH1's reality TV series, "I Want to Work for Diddy". She made quite an impression to the team playing on the defensive line, and the word "beast" was often heard on the sidelines about her play.

It was a good scrimmage for both teams as the New York Nemesis season starts next week against division rival Boston Militia. For the Sharks, they have another week to polish their skills before their season opener in Philadelphia against the Firebirds.

Will the New York Sharks get a Bite from Bank of Hollywood?

2010-01-06T02:12:00.002-05:00

New York, NY January 4th, 2010: On Monday, January 11th at 9pm (EST) on E!, three members of the New York Sharks Women’s Pro Football Team enter that not-so-rarefied world of fringe celebrities on reality TV. The new Ryan Seacrest-produced E! reality show "Bank of Hollywood," unites a panel of celebrities to dish out money to people with the most compelling needs for cash and the New York Sharks players have an international need.

The three Sharks request funding for their training in the first ever International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Women’s World Championship to be held in Stockholm, Sweden in June, 2010. USA Football (www.usafootball.com) and the Independent Women’s Football League (www.iwflsports.com) will be choosing IWFL coaches and players to field USA Football’s 2010 Women’s National Team, which will compete in the 6-nation competition.

2010 Schedule is Out!

2009-12-18T00:03:00.002-05:00

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?

2009-08-07T17:39:00.006-04:00

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!

2009-06-10T22:07:00.003-04:00

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.

2009-06-01T09:34:00.002-04:00

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

2009-05-23T02:56:00.003-04:00

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)

2009-05-22T11:37:00.002-04:00

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)

2009-05-22T11:27:00.002-04:00

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

2009-05-18T08:15:00.003-04:00

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

2009-05-13T02:07:00.003-04:00

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)

2009-05-11T22:03:00.007-04:00

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

2009-05-11T20:20:00.003-04:00

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

2009-05-05T02:21:00.002-04:00

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

2009-05-05T01:41:00.003-04:00

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)

2009-04-27T18:33:00.003-04:00

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

2009-04-27T18:20:00.006-04:00

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"

2009-04-23T21:24:00.005-04:00

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

2009-04-16T01:01:00.005-04:00

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

2009-04-13T09:08:00.005-04:00

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)

2009-04-12T09:09:00.005-04:00

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?"

2009-03-29T23:04:00.003-04:00

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

2009-03-26T22:09:00.009-04:00

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?

2009-03-21T08:42:00.003-04:00

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

2009-03-18T18:17:00.004-04:00

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

2009-03-04T23:34:00.004-05:00

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

2009-02-27T09:03:00.003-05:00

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"

2009-02-22T11:57:00.006-05:00

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

2009-02-18T23:12:00.006-05:00

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

2009-02-09T22:55:00.008-05:00

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

2009-02-03T08:46:00.002-05:00

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

2009-01-30T20:54:00.010-05:00

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

2009-01-28T22:58:00.005-05:00

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

2009-01-27T21:12:00.002-05:00

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

2009-01-25T09:52:00.003-05:00

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

2009-01-19T12:54:00.003-05:00

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

2009-01-18T00:15:00.006-05:00

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

2009-01-12T00:21:00.005-05:00

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:

Free Football Clinic for Girls, Sponsored by the NFL

2009-01-11T09:27:00.004-05:00

The New York Sharks will be hosting their 3rd annual NFL-JPD Football Clinic for girls ages 13-17 on February 7th & 8th, 2009. This FREE 2-day clinic will be run by the coaches and players from the Sharks and will take place at the World Champion New York Giants practice bubble, next to Giants Stadium.

The clinic will run from 9am to 4pm both days. Free lunch will be provided for on both days. To sign up for the clinic and for more information, visit our website: http://www.nysharksfootball.com/jpd_nfl

Over 200 girls have signed up for this program during the past 2 years. They have come from all over the Northeast.

Ready for some football

2009 Schedule is released

2009-01-09T00:25:00.000-05:00

The schedule for the Sharks 2009 football season has been released by the IWFL. It is a very challenging 8 game schedule with games against some of the best teams in women's football.

April 11th, New York Sharks at New York Nemesis
April 25th, Boston Militia at New York Sharks*
May 2nd, Sharks at Philadelphia Firebirds
May 9th, Connecticut Crushers at New York Sharks*
May 16th, D. C. Divas at New York Sharks*
May 30th, New York Sharks at New England Intensity
June 6th, New York Sharks at D. C. Divas
June 13th, Pittsburgh Passion at New York Sharks*

*all New York Sharks home games will be at Aviator Sports Complex in Brooklyn, New York. Kickoff time is 3:30pm.

For more information about tickets and the team, please visit our official website at: www.nysharksfootball.com