Executive producer of hit mob show named LIU's women's flag football coach
The pride of Centereach, creator and star of the hit mob show 'Capo: Rise to Power,' was named the first Long Island University women's flag football coach ahead of the Sharks' inaugural season.
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'The beauty of being the executive producer is that I can fit this into my schedule,' Barbarise, an LI flag football hall of fame inductee, told The Post.
'I've been asked to be on some other shows, some major shows. I politely turned them down because of the fact that coaching is really important to me.'
The local legend, who led the University of Tampa team to a top-three nationwide ranking, said he turned down five other offers so that he could return to LI from the Sunshine State.
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'What would be a better opportunity than to go back home and coach the first D-I school offering women's football on the island? It was just a perfect match,' said Jimmy the coach, who wrote alternate endings to 'The Godfather' as a boy.
Barbarise's late brother, who died of cancer nearly a decade ago, reminded him of the boyhood passion not just for the silver screen but also his love for flag football that began at age 10.
'He said, 'There's no tomorrow for me, but you've always had a dream,' ' Barbarise said. 'He encouraged me to go chase that.'
The next step is to build a powerhouse roster, which should come naturally on Long Island given the area's growing reputation as a flag football powerhouse at the high school level.
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Jimmy Barbarise, creator and star of the hit mob show 'Capo: Rise to Power,' was
named the first Long Island University women's flag football coach ahead of the
Sharks' inaugural season.
Photo courtesy of Jimmy Barbarise
'I'm already inundated with inboxes and the announcement isn't even a week old. … I have hundreds of messages from girls who want to stay home [on Long Island] and play flag on the college level.'
NIL deal for teen soccer star
She's the biggest thing in Syosset since Natalie Portman.
Soccer phenom Loradana Paletta just inked her first name, image, and likeness (NIL) deal at the ripe old age of 14.
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Loradana Paletta (right), who plays for the U.S. Soccer under-16 girls national team, signed her first NIL deal.
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The midfielder, who plays on the U.S. Soccer under-16 girls national team and the NYCFC youth under-14 academy boys team, now proudly represents the Italian sportswear brand Lotto as she continues to strive for greatness on the North Shore.
'This just feels really natural,' Paletta, proudly of Italian descent, told The Post.
'Once a year, my family has one special day just to make tomato sauce — homemade tomato sauce. We would gather buckets of tomatoes, we would clean them, and we all would spend quality time together.'
Although the Syosset High School-bound ninth-grader won't be able to play varsity due to her other pressing athletic commitments, she's all for rooting on the girls in red.
'I'd love to give them pointers here and there, and I would definitely go and watch their games.'
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