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NEW YORK SPORTS DIGEST
October - November, 2001
FEATURE PHOTOS
BASKETBALL
JORDAN DECIDES TO
PUT ON HOOP UNIFORM
KNICKS OPEN SEASON TUESDAY
SOCCER
LONG BEACH ROOTERS OFF TO TREMENDOUS START
FRANZESE HEADS SOCCER TEAM
HOCKEY
O'NEILL NAMED HOCKEY CAPTAIN
TRACK
LONG BEACH'S NAUGHTON PLACES HIGH IN BIG MEET
RACING
APTITUDE SEEKS WIN
IN BREEDER'S CUP
SOFTBALL
LONG BEACH REC
CROWNS CHAMPS
HOME
JULY - AUGUST, 2001
APRIL - MAY, 2001
FEBRUARY - MARCH, 2001
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SUPER BOWL PUSHED TO FEBRUARY 3
Super Bowl XXXVI in New Orleans will be played on Feb 3rd, allowing the National Football League to keep its 12-team playoff
format intact this season, the NFL recently announced.
Moving Super Bowl Sunday back one week was made possible when the NFL and the National Automobile Dealers Association
reached an agreement to swap weekends for their respective events in New Orleans.
The NADA annual convention originally set for Feb. 2-5 in New Orleans now will be held from Jan. 26 to Jan. 29. The Super Bowl
will move from Jan. 27 to Feb. 3.
The NFL agreed to pay the NADA $7.5 million to cover additional expenses and losses resulting from the switch. The agreement
also includes an NFL Charities grant that will match NADA contributions to the Sept. 11th relief efforts up to $500,000.
FORMER HOFSTRA PLAYER SHINES WITH SAN FRANCISCO IN NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Over the years, Hofstra University has turned out some outstanding football players. One is
Wayne Chrebet, a wide receiver for the New York Jets.
Another is Lance Schulters, a defensive player with the San Francisco 49ers, also of. the
National Football League.
At Hofstra, Schulters played for two years under Joe Gardi and he fit right into the system. A
Brooklyn native, he played his high school ball at Canarsie and then Nassau Community College
before attending Hofstra, where he became an All-American player.
In his second year in the NFL, Schulters was promoted to a starting role, played 13 games,
recorded 80 tackles, six interceptions and nine passes deflected. For his outstanding defensive
play he earned a spot on the Pro Bowl team.
Last year he started 12 games and accumulated 90 tackles.
He was inactive for the last two weeks due to a knee injury and during the off season he
underwent surgery on his right ACL.
Now he is back in action and is filly recuperated.
He recently returned to the met area and made four tackles to win over the New York Jets. He
played well, showed a lot of enthusiasm and made big plays in front of many of his friends and
family. He stopped the Jets’ running back Curtis Martin, who is a great runner.
Lance is a very good blitzer out of secondary,” Coach Mariuci said. “He can create some pass
rush opportunities for the defense because he can blitz. In his three plus years with the 49ers he’s
had a wondesrful career.
“When he cam e to the 49ers, I didn’t think anyone expected him to be as much of an impact
player in our defense as he is. He surprised a lot of our expectations.”
FLASHBACK 1986: QUARTERBACKS TAKE COMMAND
A record set in 1986 still stands today!
Let’s turn the clock back to Sept. 21, 1986 and the scene was right here in New York. The
occasion was a football game between the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets. In fact, it was
an American Football Conference divisional regular season one early in the campaign.
And it was a memorable game in the history of the National Football League.
The class of ‘83 quarterbacks Ken O’Brien of the Jets and Dan Marino of the Dolphins hooked
up in a battle, attacked the skies and combined for 927 passing yards, (an NFL record 884 net
passing yards), 96 points, and 10 touchdown passes.
However, ten Dolphin head coach Don Shula termed the contest: “as disappointing as any loss
I’ve ever been associated with.”
The game was extremely close; in fact, it was a see-saw one until the Dolphins took what
looked like the game’s final lead at 45-38 in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter. But with
64 seconds remaining in the game and starting on his own 20 yard line, O’Brien led the Jets on
the game tying drive.
With five seconds remaining in regulation time and the ball on the Dolphin 21 yard line,
O’Brien took the snap, dropped back and fired a 15 yard rocket over the middle to Jets’wide
receiver Wesley Walker, who held on to the pass and lurched into the end zone to tie one of the
most exciting games in league history at 45-45.
“I looked one way, then the other, and saw Wes across the middle,” said O’Brien. “I just
threw it to him. It takes guts to come across like that and catch the ball knowing they’re just
waiting to hit you.”
On the first possession of the extra session, O’Brien found Walker again, this time streaking
down the sideline with a perfectly placed 43-yard bomb for what proved to be the game winning
touchdown. The Jets won, 51-45.
“That game was the most fun I ever had playing,” O’Brien said. “It was just like throwing the
ball all over the lot when you are a kid.”
O’Brien finished the day completing 29 of 43 passes for 479 yards, with four touchdowns and
one interception.
Marino completed 30 of 50 passes for 448 yards.
MARINE GRIDDERS FEEL CONFIDENT
Dan Quinn, who succeeded Jack Murphy as varsity coach of the Long Beach High School
varsity football team, inherits a very young squad of only 24 players, including Justin Shapiro,
the only returning starter. Shapiro can see action both on offense and defense.
Quinn feels that being young could be a strength and a weakness.
“We have a lot of sophomores and juniors.” he said. “We have a bunch of young guys who
will learn and, will get better as the year goes on.
Long Beach started the season off with an 0-2 record. The latest was a 42-0 drubbing at the
hands of Hempstead.
Offensively, Long Beach will emphasize the running game and throw play option passes.
Defensively, Long Beach will attack and run a 40 front with multiple coverages.
The skill position players expect to be Leroy Poole at quarterback, John Gomez at split end,
Steve Lampa at tight end, and Dan Gillies at full back.
Poole is a very accurate passer. He has great feet and is a leader. He does what he’s told and
is very coachable. He will make a great option quarterback.
“We were rated 13th in our conference out of 14 teams at the start of the seasOfl.” Quinn
said. “The last three years Long Beach was 4-20.”
With a new coach and some young players. Long Beach is trying to upgrade its football program.
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