Sandy Hits Close to Home

As we all witnessed on Monday and Tuesday, Hurricane Sandy struck the east coast with brutal force, high winds, immense tidal surge and many inches of rain.  As I weathered the storm in my Mccauliffe dorm room, my family and friends were dealing with the full force of the storm in New Jersey.  As an out of state student, you find yourself thinking about home a lot, but you never have to wonder if it will still be standing the next time you return.  Those horrid thoughts ran through my mind throughout the entirety of the storm as all power and cell service was lost in my hometown of Waretown, New Jersey, and I had no way to contact my family or friends. 
Luckily the storm caused only some siding to be torn from the side of my home, and power to be lost until 7 o'clock tonight.  I say luckily because of the massive amount of destruction and devastation, Sandy caused to the surrounding communities I have called home my entire life. 
Possibly the hardest hit area was Long Beach Island, a barrier island in New Jersey, just ten minutes from my home, that is one of the most popular vacation spots on the Jersey shore.  LBI was always a second home to me, a place to get away from everything and enjoy the empty secluded beaches in the winter months, or the lively summer scene and great food when the weather warmed up.  The "island" as it is referred to by many locals, is a place like no other on the shoreline of New Jersey. 
Massive storm surges, large amounts of rain and wind gusts that exceeded 100 mph in some areas, left the island completely submerged as the bay met the ocean for the first time since a Nor'easter 1962. Many houses were completely submerged under water and some were even washed out to sea.  Places I hung out my whole life and the beaches I spent so much time at were completely reshaped as feet of beach sand were dumped into homes, yards, and onto the streets of LBI.  Many boats were found in people's yards as well after the storm subsided, a sight that is almost unbelievable.
The past few days I have been able to contact my mother who is without power, and have had to keep her up to date on what is going on in the state.  Friends on Facebook have been posting videos and photographs from the island that are truly heartbreaking to see.  Seeing people's homes ruined, and the community I called my own covered in feet of sand and some places still under water is truly a devastating sight.
Long Beach Island is in such bad shape that its residents will not be allowed back on for 10-15 days at the least according to local officials.  It is amazing to see how wide of an affect this storm had on the country, causing  problems from North Carolina, up to Maine.  I hope all my fellow Falcons can keep the residents in my hometown in their thoughts and prayers as I do the same for those people who were affected by the storm right here in Connecticut.  It is times like these that make it tough to be an out of state student, but it is also times like these that make us feel very fortunate for all that we have. 

This photo taken by Andrew Warren, depicts the main road on Long Beach Island.  On the right is Scojo's restaurant, my favorite place to eat on the island.

A video of much of the devastation and destruction done to LBI can be found at this link: http://www.necn.com/10/30/12/Hurricane-Sandy-aftermath-Raw-video-from/landing.html?blockID=795357

Falcons WIN!

The Albertus Magnus College men's soccer program earned themselves a coveted spot in the GNAC title game, as a goal by junior forward Dan Dwyer handed them a 1-0 victory over conference foe Emerson College. The goal, which was assisted by senior midfielder James Lucchesi, was Dwyer’s third of the season, and the most important Falcon goal of the year.
The match took place on the Falcons’ home turf, Celentano Field in New Haven, Connecticut, on Wednesday October 31st. Albertus was able to control the game from the outset as they managed 16 total shots; double the amount totaled by the Lions. In addition to controlling the offensive side of the ball, the Falcons’ allowed zero goals in the match, earning themselves their ninth shutout of the season. Goalkeeper Donato Pirsocafo, needed to make only two saves in 90 minutes of play in goal for the Falcons, as he earned his 15th victory in net this year.
The Falcons now find themselves just one victory away from a GNAC title as they will take on the Cadets of Norwich University at Celentano Field, in New Haven, Connecticut on Saturday November 3rd, 2012. The contest will be a rematch of last year’s GNAC playoffs semifinal showdown, which saw the Cadets upset the Falcons 1-0, on a last second goal.
Every Falcon fan should be out in full support of the men's soccer program on Saturday as they attempt to capture a GNAC title!  Remember everyone, Be Loud, Be Proud, Be Positive, and be there for the Falcons' GNAC Championship match!!!

GNAC Playoffs and Sunshine Back on PA

This weekend both Albertus men's soccer and women's soccer teams will be beginning their quest for a GNAC title.  The women enter the tournament as the fifth seed and will take on fourth seeded Simmons College in a Quarterfinals match.  The Falcons dropped their regular season matchup with the Sharks of Simmons College and will be looking for revenge on the road, on Sunday afternoon.
The men's soccer team, who entered the 2012 campaign as the favorites to win the GNAC conference, are the two seed in the GNAC playoffs.  They will take on seventh seeded Suffolk University who the Falcons easily dispatched earlier this season with a 3-1 road victory.  The Falcons are led by the Zapata brothers who rank first and second in goals on the Falcons.  The match will take place Saturday afternoon at 1 PM, on the Falcons' home turf here at Albertus Magnus College.
In other GNAC playoff news, I will be taking over as PA Announcer for the playoff match, a responsibility I am excited to take on.  This will be my first time working as public address announcer for the soccer team, and I hope to see all you Falcons fans out to watch my soccer PA announcing debut and the Falcons' biggest playoff game of the year. 
Get out and support the Falcons as both the men and women's teams set their sights on a GNAC title.

What a Weekend!!!

To say my weekend was a busy one, would be a severe understatement.  Of course as all you Falcon faithful know, this was Fall Fest weekend on campus, the most exciting weekend of the year.  Friday night started with a bang as students filled the Falcons' Nest for Albertus Madness.  Last year, I found myself as a spectator at Albertus Madness, watching all the excitement from the stands; this year was a whole different story.
As an intern for the athletic department, I found myself on the other side of Albertus Madness this year.  Kristen DeCarli gave me the duty of being the DJ for the event, in charge of music and entertainment throughout the night. I did my best to not disappoint, and in the process earned the title of DJ Sunshine.  Prior to the dance competition, which is held each year at Albertus Madness, I was able to showcase some of my moves, and give the dancers a few pointers on how to "really" dance.  I made sure to show off my signature dance move, aptly named "The Sunshine" by my fellow baseball players who witnessed the masterpiece last season.  The crowd loved it, and my demonstration turned out to be one of the loudest moments of the night, getting the fans riled up prior to announcing the men's and women's basketball teams onto the court.  The night was filled with fun, excitement, and prize giveaways for all the students in attendance and ended with the raising of the men's basketball team's 2011-2012 GNAC Championship banner in the Albertus gym.
Fall Fest was on Saturday, and featured two majorly important soccer matches, one for the women's team and one for the men's soccer team.  Both teams took on Emmanuel College and celebrated their senior day, as the season is coming to a close.  I wrote the scripts for both the men's and women's senior day, crafting a summary of all the outstanding accomplishments the seniors had achieved over their careers as Falcons.  It was fun to hear my writing articulated to all the players, fans, students, faculty, alumni and prospective students at Fall Fest, and I loved the seeing how much the seniors enjoyed what was being read about them.  The women's team lost a heartbreaker 1-0 to Emmanuel in the first game of the day, in which junior Shelly Mirmins hit the post with shots twice in the first half, barely missing goals.  The men dominated Emmanuel in the second game of the day as senior captain Stephen Zapata led them to a 3-1 victory.  Although I did not get a chance to participate in the event side of Fall Fest, the athletics side of the day was exciting, with nonstop soccer action throughout the day.
Sunday I got a chance to unwind from all the festivities of the Fall Fest weekend, at Metlife Stadium, home of the New York Giants.  Although the stadium is located in New Jersey, the ride from New Haven is not bad at all, taking around two hours.  The game went great, with my favorite team the New York Giants beating the Washington Redskins on a 70 plus yard touchdown pass with less than a minute to go in the contest. 
This weekend had to be the best busy weekend I have had in a very long time, and Fall Fest weekend is a prime example of what makes Albertus Magnus College so great.   

Colum-busy Day

(Photo Taken By Leyna Andren '14)

After a relaxing weekend spent at my home in New Jersey, I made my way back to Albertus Magnus College for a Columbus Day filled with athletic events. As an intern for the Athletic Department I have had many busy days, but none have been as busy as Columbus Day.
Every fall sports team at Albertus played a home match except for the cross country teams. Women’s tennis was edged out by the University of St. Joseph’s Connecticut in a hard fought match. At the same time men’s and women’s soccer took on the Rams of Suffolk University and pulled out huge conference victories in both games.
While huge soccer victories were being earned on the beautiful Albertus soccer turf field, I was down in the gym working as a Public Address Announcer for a women’s volleyball Tri-Match. The Tri-Match featured the Blue Jays of the University of St. Joseph’s Connecticut, the Rams of Suffolk University and of course your Albertus Magnus College Falcons! The Tri-Match represented the Falcons final two home games on the year and was designated as “Senior Day” for the Falcons’ three graduating seniors.
The Falcons won their first match handedly by a score of 3-1 over the Rams of Suffolk University and improved to 8-7 on the year. Prior to their second game was a celebration of all the career accomplishments of the Falcons’ graduating seniors, Krista LaBissoniere, Maritza Rosemond, and Emily Matousek. As part of my internship I was allowed to craft the bios for the three outstanding athletes, a task I was honored to perform. While researching information and statistics for the bios, I found some outstanding accomplishments from the seniors that I made sure to highlight. Statistics like Emily Matousek’s 20 kills on the season, Maritza Rosemond’s team-leading 168 assists on the season, and Krista LaBissoniere’s 78 career matches played and 794 career digs!
After the pageantry of the pre-game ceremony, I was back on the microphone announcing the Falcons’ starting lineups like I have for every other home game. The Falcons took the floor for their final home match of the 2012 season with the crowd louder than it had been all year. The Falcons went on to earn a win in a thrilling 5 set match, winning by a close 3-2 margin.
Congratulations to the graduating seniors as well as the rest of the women’s volleyball team on a great season so far, and good luck the rest of the way!
After my busy Columbus Day of sporting events, comes somewhat of a lag in scheduling. The next Falcons home event is a men’s soccer contest against Newbury College on Thursday October, 18th at 3:30 PM. I expect everyone to be out in full support of the Falcons, and remember what I say prior to every women’s volleyball match, “Be Loud, Be Proud, Be Positive!”

Broken Blogger

A pitcher with a broken arm is like a bird with a broken wing, and this bird isn’t flying for 4 to 6 weeks. Friday September 28th began much like any other Friday had this semester. I woke up, followed my normal morning routine and promptly headed off for my 9:25 AM class taught by the wonderful Sister Mary Dargan. Class flew by as we learned the ins and outs of Honore de Balzac’s classic novel, Pere Goriot.
After class, I headed on over to my internship, where I prepared a splash page and feature story in preparation for women’s soccer player Danielle Figueroa’s record breaking performance Saturday. Figueroa needed only one more assist to break the school’s all-time assists record of 13, and Kristen DeCarli, Albertus SID wanted to ensure that we were ready to honor her if she broke the record in her upcoming game. (Spoiler Alert, She did!) My work celebrating Danielle’s amazing accomplishment can be found by logging onto albertusfalcons.com.
Following my internship I changed into my baseball gear and prepared myself for the best part of my Friday, baseball practice. Since the official baseball fall season has not started yet, our Friday practices consist of pitchers and hitters getting together to have what is known as a “live batting practice.” These can be intimidating to some pitchers, as they must pitch to hitters in a small tunnel-like batting cage, the polar opposite to pitching on a wide open baseball diamond. Live batting practice never fazed me prior to that fateful Friday, but I may never look at it the same again.
After throwing a strong 19 pitches, I was prepared to throw the final pitch of my bullpen session. It was a change-up, low in the zone and a pitch I was very happy with, until it hit the bat. Crack! The ball was hit hard on the ground, in fact our radar gun picked it up as going 83 mph. On top of its high rate of speed came a bad hop, and before I knew it the ball was on me; on my right forearm to be exact. The sound of my bone mimicked the sound of the bat mentioned earlier, as the cracking noise reverberated off the walls of the Albertus gym. Time seemingly stopped as, with a chuckle, I exited the cage trying to laugh off the excruciating pain I was feeling throughout my pitching arm.
After hanging around for the rest of practice with a pack of ice rested gently on my throwing arm, I headed out to Hamden Orthopedic for X-rays on my now purple and swollen arm, which was branded by the laces of the baseball that struck it. Sure enough my arm was fractured all the way through the bone, an injury the doctor explained would take 4 to 6 weeks to heal.
So now I suffer through the worst possible injury in the world of any pitcher, a broken pitching arm. Luckily the injury has taken place in the fall and gives me time to heal fully prior to my final collegiate season of baseball during my senior year. For now the sun has set on Sunshine, but it will soon rise again! I will be sure to keep all my reader’s posted throughout my recovery and keep you updated on the new hardships I am encountering in my life, like trying to type with one hand, handwriting notes with a cast on, successfully completing my internship with one arm, and most importantly, trying to reach this itch inside my cast!

The Intern

Many students have preconceived notions of internships, most airing on the negative side. These negative thoughts entered my mind in all kinds of ways as I searched for an internship for the fall semester. My worries were soon put to rest as I was granted an internship right here on campus, working alongside Sports Information Director Kristen DeCarli in the Albertus Magnus College Athletic Department.
As a Sports Communications major I have aspirations of one day finding myself in sports broadcasting or working as a Sports Information Director at a university. Just a month into my time working alongside Kristen, I can already see myself being swayed towards becoming an SID. The hours are long and the work can be tedious at times, but my love of sports triumphs over any negatives that may come with the career.
Just weeks into my internship I have already found myself earning work experience and tasks to perform that many may never get to experience at off campus locations. I have written game recaps for all types of Albertus sporting events, learned the ins and outs of event set up and preparation, worked as a scoreboard operator and stat keeper for games, and have even earned the role of Public Address Announcer for all Albertus women’s volleyball games. My resume is growing more and more every day on the job and there is still months left in my internship.
This internship has been an opportunity like no other and is setting me up to be an exceptional candidate for any jobs within the sports communications realm in the future. I cannot stress enough how important getting the right internship is, and for many students the perfect internship may be right here on the Albertus Magnus campus. In addition to the wonderful environment an Albertus internship provides, is the wonderful commute, as all on campus internships are just a walk away, or a short drive for commuters.
By the way, keep an eye out for the release of both the men’s and women’s 2012-2013 basketball schedules which will be happening in the upcoming weeks. The releases will be accompanied by write-ups crafted by yours truly describing all this season has to offer and this year’s must see match-ups. GO FALCONS!

Record Setting Night For Women's Volleyball!!!

Tonight was a night to remember for the Falcon’s Women’s Volleyball team as they won their 5th game of the season, a program record! They dominated the action from the very beginning of the match and never looked back defeating Mass Maritime 3-0.
The women’s volleyball program has been exciting to watch all year long, and tonight’s match certainly did not disappoint. Captain Krista LaBissoniere had a game high 9 serving aces as well as 19 assists, another game high. The Falcons’ have set a record for wins in a season just ten games into the year. With more than half the season left to play, the Falcons are planning to rewrite the record books with plenty more victories.
Not only is the competition at the women’s volleyball games fun to watch, but the pregame pageantry is through the roof! A new voice has taken over the PA system in the Falcon’s Nest, announcing the starting lineups for all women’s volleyball games this season. That voice belongs to me, the one and only Sunshine, the new “Voice of the Falcons.” My stint as PA announcer has been short so far, but I’ve made the most of it. I try to bring a flare to the game that gets the crowd going and the players prepared for competition. Working the volleyball games has been a great experience, their games have been filled with nonstop action, and the team has become a “must-see” on the Albertus campus.
So if you haven’t been out to a match yet, get there! The team is having their best year in program history and are starting to fill the stands in the Falcon’s Nest. Get out to the next volleyball match and see nonstop, exciting action and of course me bringing you the starting lineups like never before.
The Falcons’ return to action in a Tri-Match on Saturday, September 22nd where they will take on both Emmanuel College and Mitchell College at 11 AM and 3 PM here at Albertus Magnus College. Come support the women’s volleyball team as they continue their record setting season.

New Kid on the Blog

As a first time blogger, I hope to give an interesting view into the life of a student-athlete, intern, out of state student, campus resident, and a senior nearing graduation. Since this is my first blog, I figured I’d start with letting you readers know a little about myself.
My name is Dan Kmiechick, but to most of the student body here at Albertus Magnus College I am known simply as Sunshine. I’d like to think that is because my sunny disposition and boyish good looks that brighten up everyone’s day, but it isn’t. In fact, my name Sunshine derives from Ronny Bass, a long haired quarterback from the movie “Remember the Titans.” The nickname was coined by none other than Brian Leighton head coach of the baseball team my first day here on campus during a baseball meeting, and has stuck ever since.
I am currently interning in the Albertus Athletic Department and have found myself attending every home sporting event Albertus has to offer. This season has already seen loads of success from the Men’s and Women’s Soccer teams, Women’s Volleyball and Tennis, as well as Men and Women’s Cross Country. Albertus may be a small school, but it is accomplishing big things in the field of athletics. I hope to highlight the achievements of Albertus athletics throughout my blog while discussing my newfound role as the “Voice of the Falcons.”
As a college baseball player with long hair and a mustache, I try not to take life too seriously, always seeing the humor in all things. I hope to bring that disposition to this blog crafting something funny, informative, creative, and thought provoking every time. If you enjoy comedy, sports, Albertus Magnus College, long hair, mustaches, or all of the above, than you are truly going to love this blog.