The Peacocks are a 15-seed in this year’s tournament, and on Thursday they were set to face off against a team that many predicted as this year’s champion, the 2-seed Kentucky Wildcats. Saint Peter’s went on to pull off the biggest upset of the first round in this year’s tournament by beating the Wildcats 85-79 in Overtime. They were led by their star guard Daryl Banks III, who scored 27 points, and their sixth man Doug Edert, who added another 20 points.

The St. Peter’s Peacocks celebrating their win against the Kentucky Wildcats on Thursday, March 17, 2022. Courtesy of Rich Behan

“Our guys stepped up to the level of competition, so hats off to them. Proud of my guys for battling, like we do all year,” said Head Coach Shaheen Holloway after the win against Kentucky, “No disrespect to anybody, but we wasn’t coming down here just to lose. We came down here to fight and we did.”

Although the players entered the tournament with confidence, they were still aware of how much was at stake, since it is something they have dedicated their whole lives to get to.

“I felt like every basketball player’s dream is to play in the NCAA Tournament and make a run in it, and it felt amazing to get this first win and we are looking to get more,” said Edert, when asked about the emotions that he felt as he sank the game-winning free-throws. 

On Saturday, the Peacocks were matched up against the 7-seed Murray State Racers in the second round of the tournament. Although Saint Peter’s was coming off a huge win against Kentucky, the Racers were still favored by 8.5 points going into the game. That didn’t matter to the Peacocks, as they went on to win 70-60 in a game where forward KC Ndefo scored 17 points and tallied 10 rebounds as well. 

“I got guys from New Jersey and New York City. You think we’re scared of anything? You think we’re worried about guys trying to muscle us and tough us out?” said Coach Holloway, when asked about the lack of strength and size that Saint Peter’s had compared to Murray State. 

The team continued to preach that although they are enjoying what they are doing, they are focused on the task at hand and will continue to handle the preparation for each game with maturity.

“As far as the Sweet 16, again, it’s another quick turnaround. And we’re not going to get too high. What we did is amazing, but it’s already in the past, and we’ve got to move on and start preparing for the next team,” said Edert. 

With that win, the Peacocks became only the third #15 seed to reach the Sweet 16 in NCAA Tournament history. The other two teams to do it were the FGCU Eagles in 2013 and the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles in 2021. 

With a game against the Purdue Boilermakers coming up in the Sweet 16 on Friday, fans have one question on their minds, what is it that makes this team so special? 

Rich Behan at Gainbridge Fieldhouse prior to the game between the St. Peter’s Peacocks and the Kentucky Wildcats on Thursday, March 17, 2022. Courtesy of Rich Behan

Rich Behan, a Digital Media/Communications Graduate Assistant at Saint Peter’s, believes that coach Holloway is one of the main reasons for their success. 

“Watching these guys at practice almost everyday, there isn’t a coach in the country that’s as tough on his guys but genuinely cares about them the way Shaheen Holloway and this coaching staff does,” said Behan, “You have to grind for everything here at Saint Peter’s, and you can tell this team is a labor of love from everyone involved.”

Saint Peter’s became the first team from New Jersey to reach the Sweet 16 since Seton Hall in 2000. The point guard for that team was Shaheen Holloway. His work-ethic, along with the culture that he fosters for his teams, is quickly making him a New Jersey basketball legend. With a chance to become the first 15-seed ever to make the Elite Eight, Behan knows that although victory is far-fetched, this team can get as far as anyone with their hard work and commitment. 

“I’d be selling the hard work and dedication of everyone involved in this program short if I didn’t say they could go out and win the whole damn thing,” said Behan.

The post A Cinderella Story From New Jersey  appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

The post It’s a grim start to the second half of the Knicks season appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

The first game of the Saturday slate was the Cincinnati Bengals visiting the Tennessee Titans. Second year Quarterback, Joe Burrow, was starting in his second career playoff game against star Running Back, Derrick Henry, who was coming back from a nearly season ending ankle injury. 

The underdog Bengals were up for the majority of the game, and just when it looked like the game was getting away from them, an interception in the last few minutes of the game put them in position to kick the game winning field goal as time expired. Bengals win 19-16.

Longtime fan, David Bookheimer, was confident that they matched up well against the Titans. Bookheimer, of Cincinnati, went to the Wildcard Weekend game vs the Las Vegas Raiders, where the Bengals ended a 31-year drought without winning a playoff game.

“Paul Brown Stadium set an attendance record and all the fans brought a ton of energy and were eager to end our playoff drought,” said Bookheimer. “You can really sense that there is a new era of football in Cincinnati.”

David Bookheimer and his girlfriend at the Bengals Wild Card game vs the Raiders. Courtesy of David Bookheimer

The second game of the night was a matchup between the number one seeded Green Bay Packers and the number six seeded San Francisco 49ers. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers was trying to end a run of bad playoff fortune against the team that passed on him in the 2005 draft.

The Packers seemed to have control of the game, but a couple blunders on special teams gave the 49ers a chance to get back in the game, and with a chance to put the game away on the last play, kicker Robbie Gould, who has never missed a kick in his playoff career, sent it right through the uprights. 49ers win 13-10. 

49ers fan, Enis Jashari, 23, is one of the many people who are calling this the best weekend of football they have ever witnessed.

“This was the best weekend in football history,” said Jashari, “My brother, my dad and I were all watching the 49ers game while working at our pizzeria.”

Jashari has seen his team lose two Super Bowls in person, but he is hoping this year could be the year he finally sees his team raise the Lombardi Trophy.

“I was screaming as loud as I could as me and my family were celebrating another NFC championship title shot!” said Jashari.

On the other hand, Michael Rocca, of Columbus, Ohio, grew up as a big Packers fan, and he was surprised to see the Packers lose to the 49ers in the playoffs once again. Rodgers is now 0-4 against the 49ers in his playoff career, which are the most losses by a player against any opponent in playoff history. 

“Where I’m from, not loving football is not an option,” said Rocca, “I was excited for the chance to get back at the 49ers after many frustrating playoff defeats in the past decade.

It looks like Packers fans will have to wait another year for that playoff success they have been longing for.

The first game on Sunday was a battle between the Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the four seeded Los Angeles Rams. Tom Brady was looking to lead his team to another Super Bowl, but Quarterback Matthew Stafford, who was just coming off of his first playoff career win, had something else in mind.

The Rams took a big lead in the second half at 27-3, but Brady and the Bucs mounted a huge comeback after multiple Rams turnovers and tied it 27-27 with less than a minute to go. But a couple completions from Stafford to triple crown winner, Cooper Kupp, set them up to win the game on a last second field goal. Rams win 30-27

After the loss, there are now rumors that Brady might be considering retiring, but the 44-year old QB has definitely proven that he still has a lot left in the tank if he decides to continue his career. 

The final game of the weekend was an all-time great matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills. People were calling the Rams vs Bucs game the best game of the year, but they quickly changed their mind after watching the Chiefs vs Bills square up in the playoff rematch.

Tony Romo “this is the best football game in NFL history”

— Sun Min Kimes (@sunminkimes) January 24, 2022

The Chiefs had beat the Bills in the AFC Championship last year, so the Bills and their fans were out for revenge. It all looked like they would accomplish the feat as they took a three-point lead with 13 seconds to go after Quarterback Josh Allen and Wide Receiver Gabriel Davis combined for their fourth touchdown (an NFL record) of the game. But Patrick Mahomes showed once again that he is the greatest quarterback in the league by leading a drive that would tie the game in only 13 seconds.

The Chiefs would go on to win the coin toss and win the game in overtime, and this would lead to people all over Twitter begging the NFL to change their overtime rules, which allows for only one team to get the ball if a touchdown is scored on the first possession of OT. Chiefs win 42-36.

This is as good a time as any to remind everyone how much the NFL overtime rules suck.

There’s no way, after four quarters of this game, that you can tell me there’s ANY reason that both offenses shouldn’t get one possession MINIMUM in OT.

— Al Smizzle (@AlZeidenfeld) January 24, 2022

Grant Turner with his family at the Bills Wild Card game vs the Patriots. Courtesy of Grant Turner

Diehard Bills fan, Grant Turner, of Rochester, was devastated to see his team lose yet another heartbreaker.

“The game (against the Chiefs) was like a roller coaster, especially in the fourth quarter,” said Turner, “I was in shock at the end of the game, I could not believe that was it.”

But when talking about what makes the game so special to him, he was proud to acknowledge that he was a member of Bills Mafia. 

“I think it comes from how being a Bills fan is like being part of a big football family,” said Turner, “Seeing someone with Bills gear automatically makes them one of your best friends.”

 Fans will be glued to the TV’s next week as the Chiefs host the Bengals in the AFC Championship and the Rams host the 49ers in the NFC Championship. 

The post An NFL weekend for the record books appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

Pushing through the pain, convincing her mind that she can finish, ignoring all the self doubt, dedicating multiple hours a day, spending time away from her family, and making it one of her top priorities for months at a time, is what she and all marathon runners face when they decide to tackle the 26.2 mile run and longer.

“I was very naive when I signed up,” she said. “I knew I was going to have to be more disciplined with training, but I didn’t know how much time training for a marathon takes from your daily life,” she said. 

Havlin, 45, a native of Pirapozinho, Brazil, has learned the importance of finding a balance between work, family and running. She currently lives in São Paulo where she does most of her training throughout the year.  

“Even though the family is not running with you, they are all a part of the plan,” Havlin said. “What I learned other than the physical training itself…is how to balance and plan your day around your training and your family stuff, so we can all get along because it can be a mess.”

Havlin is  a married mom with three daughters. Her training schedule often gets in the way of enjoying her family. She has had to say no to trips to the park, family ski trips and vacations.

Havlin began running in 2015 and has run a total of 15 marathons, including one ultramarathon. In early November, she ran the New York City Marathon for the second time. Competing against her own times is one of the reasons she keeps coming back for more, but it’s not the only one.

“I compare running a marathon to like getting pregnant…because it’s not all pretty being pregnant, but once you see the baby you forget about everything,” said Havlin, “Once you cross the finish line, you almost forget every single thing that was hard to do and then you come back for more, it’s the joy, the excitement and you look back at all the parts that were not so beautiful and still you made it there, that’s what keeps me coming back.”

Ultimately, Havlin wants to participate in more ultramarathons, which is any race longer than 26.2 miles.

Renato Amaral, 50, a marathoner from São Paulo, began running in 1997 and has run so many marathons that he has lost track of the exact number. 

“I can tell you that including marathons and ultras, I have certainly done more than 50,” he said.

Renato Amaral at the Comrades Marathon with his green number 48418. Courtesy of Renato Amaral

Amaral has run 19 ultramarathons, including the Comrades Marathon 16 times. The Comrades is the largest and oldest ultramarathon in the world, located in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The Comrades is about 55 miles long and has had fields of up to 23,000 runners at a time.

Amaral, who ran it for the first time in 2001, is an ambassador for the race, promoting its rich history and what it represents, primarily in Brazil. His goal is to run it 20 times, 

In 2014 and 2015, Amaral also took part in the Unogwaja Challenge, which requires cycling for hundreds of miles the day before the Comrades Marathon.

“We cycled 1700 kilometres (roughly 1000 miles)  in 10 days and the following day we ran the Comrades,” said Amaral of the charity ride, “This 11 day challenge is the toughest challenge I’ve ever participated in.”

The challenge started in honor of Phil Masterton-Smith, who in 1933 cycled from Cape Town to Pietermaritzburg because he didn’t have train fare to get to the Comrades. He then ran the marathon the next day.

Amaral said the mental aspect is extremely important when running. He said that it is vital to be able to withstand the pain during training and while racing.

“The mental strength that the person will develop and achieve is something incomparable,” said Amaral. “When a person finishes a marathon, they realize that there are many things that people think that are not possible, but you should believe that if you put your energy and focus on it, you can do it.”

Dr. Justin Ross, who is a clinical psychologist, marathoner, triathlete, and cofounder of Mind Body Health, is an advocate of developing psychological skills that help runners achieve their goals. 

“The starting point is endurance sports is determining the importance and meaning behind your goals,” Ross said on the Strength Running Podcast, “You can’t just think you can create mental toughness at mile 20 of a marathon if you haven’t figured out what that means for you throughout your training.”

Amaral said that he began running in 1997 because his goal was to finish the Ironman. The Ironman is a Triathlon event consisting of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bicycle ride and a marathon 26.22 mile run, raced in that order. He accomplished it in 2005, but when talking about his proudest achievement he had something different in mind. 

“I always say that the most proud achievement in my life is the next one,” said Amaral, “So I am always aiming to be better in my next race.”

At the end of the day, all marathoners have different aspirations in mind. While some goals seem more attainable than others, many of them set goals that will take multiple tries to accomplish.

Zilma Rodrigues, 48, of Curitiba, Brazil, has dedicated a large part of her life to competing in these events, but her goal is to finish the Spartathlon. The Spartathlon is a 153 mile race held in Greece since 1983, between Athens and Sparta. 

Rodrigues loves the history of the marathons, and she cites it as one of her main reasons for competing.

“The ultramarathon is one of the oldest sports and to be able to follow the same path as Pheidippides is a great inspiration,” said Rodrigues, “Running a historic route is very exciting.”

The legend of Pheidippides says that he ran from Marathon, Greece to Athens, Greece to deliver the news about the victory of the battle of Marathon. His story is the inspiration behind the Marathon race. 

The Spartathlon is known for having rainy weather with rough and muddy paths, not to mention its most well known obstacle for most of the runners, a 1,200 meter ascent and descent of Mount Parthenio in the middle of the night.

Despite competing in the event two different times, Rodrigues has not been able to reach the finish line. She said the climb of Mount Parthenio is one of the most difficult challenges for her. Between 1982 and 2019, only 3504 racers finished the Spartathlon. She said  it was a disappointing feeling but something that she is grateful for. 

“When you work hard for a dream and even leave other things aside, at the moment it’s a sadness, a feeling of impotence, feeling that you are not good enough,” said Rodrigues, “There are few in the ultramarathon world that are lucky to be in Athens, so this frustration gives way to the hope of being able to start over and try again and believe that we are capable of anything if we have dedication and love in what we want to accomplish.” 

Rodrigues’ has 31 marathons and 44 ultramarathons on her resume and has accomplished so much, but she is not satisfied. She is confident that she can be one of the few people to finish the race. 

“I’m still trying to learn to run long races, trying to learn to bear the pain of workouts and one day finally kiss or kick Leonidas’ feet in Sparta,” she said.

The post Marathon runners push through pain and sacrifice in order to compete appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

With Paulino Jr. taking control of musical direction, the band has continued to share the stage with world famous artists and perform at distinguished venues and events. On Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2021, they performed with Camila Cabello during the NBC special Michael Bublé’s Christmas in the City, where she sang “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.”

The band is linked with The New York City Mariachi INC, which serves as an outlet for them to teach Mariachi music to aspiring musicians, both kids and adults. 

“My vision is that the public, students and professional musicians are able to develop, promote and preserve this valuable musical tradition, “El Mariachi!”” said Paulino Jr. 

Not only have they had the chance to play in the tri-state area and the states surrounding it, but they have also had the opportunity to perform internationally, including places like Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cayman Islands, Panama, and Costa Rica.

They play at various venues throughout the week, on average playing about 30 hours a week. However, there are busier times throughout the year where they can perform for up to 40 hours a week.

Paulino Jr. knows that it is important to be able to make a living but he and the band are not in it for the money.

“I do it for the passion I have for the music,” said Paulino Jr. “I don’t worry about the money, but the love for the music and being able to follow such a rich tradition is why I do it.” 

The band and guests at the party toast to Benito Oliviera on his birthday. Nov. 21, 2021. Photo by Jose Balderrama

Benito Oliviera and a family member dance at his party while Alvaro Paulino Jr. plays the Violin. Oliviera enjoyed his party by asking multiple family members to dance while the Mariachi played. Nov. 21, 2021. Photo by Jose Balderrama

Armando Sanchez plays the Mexican guitarrón at Benito Oliviera’s birthday party. Nov. 21, 2021. Photo by Jose Balderrama

Benito Oliviera and Alvaro Paulino Jr. embrace. He was moved to tears by their performance at his birthday party. Nov. 21, 2021. Photo by Jose Balderrama

The Mariachi band performs at Elizabeth Martinez’s quinceañera while she dances with her mom. Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021. Photo by Jose Balderrama

Cristian Paez sings while the band plays at a baby shower. Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021. Photo by Jose Balderrama

Cristian Paez holds his violin as the band takes a break between songs. The mariachi suit design includes horses on each pant leg. Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021. Jose Balderrama

A couple dances while the band plays a song they requested at the baby shower. Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021. Photo by Jose Balderrama

Alvaro Paulino Jr. plays the trumpet at the baby shower. Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021. Photo by Jose Balderrama

The band plays at Francisco Paredes’ birthday while he and his wife, Ana Lilia Paredes dance. Sunday, Dec. 5, 2021. Photo by Jose Balderrama

The band walks to their second event of the night in Brooklyn, NY. Saturday, Dec. 4, 2021. Photo by Jose Balderrama

The post “Tradición del Suelo Mío” appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

Lira, who is a runner and triathlete, ran the marathon back in 2017. But today she was out there with her husband, Victor Lira, to support close to a dozen friends who were trying to accomplish the feat that she described as “wonderful” and “painful.” 

“You go through a lot of emotions as you’re going through each mile,” said Lira, “But the accomplishment that you feel afterwards is so remarkable.” 

Lira and her husband were playing music on a loudspeaker and also brought a megaphone to hype up every runner that ran by. A lot of runners wore their names on their chest, so Lira would yell names of people she did not know to urge them on. 

“If you turn this off (the music) you’ll hear how quiet it is,” Lira said “People start hurting so we want to be able to support them…It’s about being out here all day until the last person crosses.”

For them, it’s not just about helping out their friends, they are there to provide support for anyone who needs it. Lira even used Biofreeze to help a runner who was cramping up as she crossed through the area. 

Cari Lira gives runner Biofreeze to help her with cramps so she can continue the race. Photographed by Jose Balderrama

“I have extra so if any runners need any help we can help them,” Lira said “You can just tell when somebody’s suffering, having experienced it, you have to help them out.”

Another major theme of the day was the representation of different cultures during the race. Lira brought the Puerto Rican flag, which is where her family and some of her friends are from. They also had friends stationed at a later point in the race, where one friend, who Lira referred to as their “Flag Lady,”  had brought flags representing everyone in their friend group. 

“She has a flag that represents all of our friends so whenever we race she pulls out the flags,” Lira said, “She’s got her Belizean flag, she’s got the Puerto Rico flag, she’s got the Cuban flag, she’s got a flag to represent everybody.”

The post Cheers, flags and Biofreeze in East Harlem appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

Nancy George-Michalson, who is the Executive Director at New York Therapy Animals, knows what it feels like to bring a smile to people’s faces with the help of trained therapy dogs.

 “When you are interacting with a therapy dog, it actually brightens the room when you walk in,” George-Michalson said. “The best part is seeing the reactions and knowing that you’ve made a difference just even for a few minutes with somebody.”

George-Michalson has been a volunteer for 19 years, working for and founding the non-profit organization, which aims to help people in places such as healthcare facilities and schools with the assistance of trained, licensed and insured therapy dog teams.

But the impact dogs have on mental health is not only felt with the help of these organizations, people all over the world are helped by their dogs on a daily basis with relationships built on trust, companionship and loyalty. 

In a survey conducted by For Better Mental Health 98 percent of pet owners consider their pet to be a member of the family and 74 percent of  pet owners  reported owning a pet led to better mental health. 

Lindsey Barton, 30, of Hoboken, New Jersey, embraces her rescue dog Marnie. Photo by Jose Balderrama

Maggie Donovan, 30,  described her dog Hope as “the best thing ever to happen to her.” As a person who has been battling through depression and anxiety for the past decade, building a relationship with Hope has really helped her daily routine.

“There is always somebody who is home and excited to see you, because I live alone,” said Donovan. “Especially during COVID too, just having a structure throughout the day and I think that really helped me, it kept me sane.” Donovan said. 

According to the ASPCA in five households adopted a pet during the pandemic, that’s 23 million households. Early in the pandemic there was a waiting list to adopt dogs from shelters.

Lindsey Barton of Hoboken, New Jersey, has also noticed the importance in having to go out everyday in order to walk her dog, Marnie, and attend to her needs.

“It gets you out of the house everyday, ” she said. “I’m forced to go out and walk her even though I’m still working from home and otherwise I probably would have just stayed home, so I think that’s actually a big help in terms of mental health.” 

Barton also said the love of a dog is pure and incomparable. She is amazed by the characteristics that dogs show which allow them to impact peoples’ lives.

“Unconditional love, they are very loyal creatures, she is very sweet, very docile,” Barton said. “She just wants to be happy, she wants everyone to be happy.”

George-Michalson said that the relationships between humans and dogs bring out the “Natural miracle drug for bonding,” Oxytocin. She said these bonds also facilitate other health benefits such as lowering blood pressure, decreasing heart rate, and lowering stress and anxiety levels. 

George-Michalson said that since the pandemic  began, 350 to 400 people have contacted her with an interest in being part of the organization. There is a lot of training involved.

“Their dogs have to meet the requirements and the human end of the leash has to meet the requirements as well,” George-Michalson said. 

The post A dogs love can cure the blues appeared first on Pavement Pieces.

“We have to earn their cheers,” head Ccoach Joe Judge said when talking about the fans after the team’s first loss against the Denver Broncos on Sunday. “We got to play better for them.”

They did play better, but it did not change the result. After their second loss in less than a week, this is now the fourth consecutive year they have begun the season with an 0-2 record. 

Having struggled for years now, the Giants organization decided to put all their chips into QB Daniel Jones this season. They added multiple receivers, revamped the defense, and improved the offensive line. These moves showed that if Jones is indeed their guy, he was going to prove it by leading a winning football team this year. But the fans are not content, they do not feel like the Giants have met expectations up to this point.

“That was a bad game between two bad teams, and we found a way to lose,” said Timothy Guerrero, a diehard fan from Essex County, New Jersey . “I think Chris Canty (ex Giants player) tweeted we “snatched defeat from the jaws of victory” and bad teams find a way to lose those games.”

Just a week ago, there were tremendous expectations for Giants fans coming into the season. Just like the organization, there were many believers in the potential of Daniel Jones, and where he could lead this team. This also came with the excitement of the return of star RB Saquon Barkley, who missed almost all of last year with a torn ACL. 

“I thought we had a good chance of making the playoffs going into this game,” said Anthony Aliberti, a fan who was at Bar Texas Arizona in Hoboken, New Jersey . “This was a divisional game, so I thought this was a big one to win, and it was a tough loss.”

Coming into the game, Daniel Jones was 4-0 in his career against the Washington Football Team, while being 4-19 against every other team. He had clearly shown that his best performances came against their division rival, but even a great performance from him last night was not enough to push them over the top. 

Fan Thomas Defrancesco, from Passaic County, was adamant that Jones is not the answer for this franchise.

“He only plays well against The (Washington) Football Team, so I would say another quarterback for the future,” DeFrancesco said.

But From the Giants’ point of view, they still have 15 games left this season and they still have a chance to turn the season around. 

In last night’s postgame press conference,  Jones said they have to move forward as a team.

“We’ve got to get past that and get to work,” Jones said. “Put our heads back down and focus on what we need to do to improve as a team and make sure that we’re in a better position to win games.”

The post Another Rocky Start to the Season for a Struggling Giants Franchise  appeared first on Pavement Pieces.