Latest news with #Tomcats
New York Post
12 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Post
Long Island's new soccer team signs 16-year-old star Dylan Lopez
Dylan Lopez can kick it with the pros. Long Island's newest soccer team, the Fighting Tomcats, has signed the 16-year-old, a soon-to-be Connetquot High School senior varsity star, as the start-up squad's youngest player. Advertisement 'They're obviously much older than me,' Lopez told The Post minutes after inking his deal with the National Premier Soccer League squad that calls Hofstra University home. 'I think just playing with them in this environment is really going to push me and just get used to a higher level,' added the midfielder, who dreams of taking his talents to Spain one day. The Ronkonkoma native's deep desire is exactly what the club's owner — Massapequa soccer legend Jim Kilmeade, the brother of Fox News host Brian Kilmeade, who is also an investor — is shooting for with the new team of 30 that's almost entirely local. Advertisement 'We believe that we can identify and launch players into European careers,' Jim said, adding that the Tomcats are also developing a free youth academy on Long Island. Lopez gets the best of both worlds with his deal that has no compensation. Playing with the Tomcats, formally called the American Soccer Club, won't prohibit him from playing with his competitive Atlantic United travel team, or Connetquot next fall. Long Island's newest soccer team, the Fighting Tomcats, has signed 16-year-old Dylan Lopez. Photo courtesy of Dylan Lopez Advertisement 'When you live on Long Island, you don't really get opportunities like these,' Lopez said. 'It's usually those people in Europe that get these chances.' Now, the teen being recruited by Sacred Heart University has the chance to show what he's made of on a grander stage. The moment is a dream come true for his mom and twin brother, Brandon, with whom Lopez has played his entire life. 'He's always been there,' Lopez said of his sibling, who is one minute younger. 'Every time we're on the field, it's always a competition between us. And we just keep pushing each other — going back and forth. It's really helped me … and he's super excited for me.' Advertisement Fox News host Brian Kilmeade (left) and his brother Jim have launched a new semi-professional soccer club on Long Island nicknamed the 'Fighting Tomcats.' Dennis A. Clark Bragging rights among family — and friends — are full-time for the food runner at Stella Trattoria in Blue Point, who had to call out of work when he got the good news. 'They're all going to be shocked,' Lopez said. 'It's going to be a good senior year.' Put your best foot forward as the sun is finally expected to shine this weekend, with two 5K runs that go for great causes. The 'Hope Is Here' run, which raises money for parental mental health awareness, kicks off at 9 a.m. Saturday at First Responders Memorial Park and Ball Field in Islandia, with a registration fee of $45. The Sayville Fire Department is also hosting its annual 5K at the same time, with a registration fee of $40, starting at the town's firehouse.
New York Post
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Fox's Brian Kilmeade, brother launch LI soccer team whose nickname is nod to 'Top Gun'
Soccer fanatic and Fox News host Brian Kilmeade has helped launched a semi-professional team on Long Island — with it nicknamed the 'Fighting Tomcats' in a nod to the 'Top Gun' F-14 built locally. Kilmeade, 61, and his brother Jim, 63 — both former local college soccer players — are spearheading the group. 'We want to put Long Island, New York metro players back on top again as the epicenter of American soccer — about 90% of the team is local,' said Jim, a longtime front-office sports executive, to The Post on Monday. 4 Fox News host Brian Kilmmeade and his brother Jim have launched a new semi-professional soccer club on Long Island nicknamed the 'Fighting Tomcats.' Dennis A. Clark 'We believe that we can identify and launch players into European careers,' said Jim, the general manager and a managing partner of the team, which started playing in the National Premier Soccer League by way of Nassau County in May. The Massapequa-born brothers said the team's name is in honor of the locally manufactured, Grumman-built F-14 'Tomcat' fighter jet that Tom Cruise's character flew in the 1980s Hollywood Hit 'Top Gun.' Brian said he couldn't be more confident in Jim's leadership — not because they're family but because of what he did with the Long Island Rough Riders club in the 1990s. 'Nobody knew any of those players. Within five years, they were all playing at the top level,' Brian said. 'I could see the same thing happening again' with the Tomcats. 4 The name is a reference to the 'Top Gun' F-14 plane built on Long Island. Dennis A. Clark The Tomcats' matches are at Hofstra University, the same school Jim played at just before Brian cleated up for nearby Long Island University. The team, known formally as The American Soccer Club, faces tri-state area opponents from Queens, Connecticut and the Albany area. 'A lot of times with these new leagues, you see a lot of drop-off, you see uneven play. I couldn't believe the quality of play I'm seeing,' Brian said. 'Every player is hungry; they're playing for the right to keep playing.' Although the season began in May, the Tomcats — originally meant to kick off in 2020 but derailed by COVID — haven't reached cruising altitude yet, with larger developments on the horizon, the brothers said. 4 Brian Kilmeade told The Post he was has been impressed with the quality of play he has seen from the team's players. Dennis A. Clark 'Right now, youth soccer is a very expensive sport to play. We will be launching a youth academy over the next 12 months — and it will cost families nothing,' Jim said. 'We want to support all the youth clubs across Long Island. We want the aspiration, we want the top players regardless of socioeconomic status.' Jim, who said there is already a local 'band of brothers and sisters' investing in the club, wants the team to produce new local big names to carry the torch from current Long Island legends. Start and end your day informed with our newsletters Morning Report and Evening Update: Your source for today's top stories Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters He set the bar high by naming National Soccer Hall of Fame player and former St. Anthony's High School coach Chris Armas as someone to aspire to, as well as Joe Scally, a 22-year-old player from Lake Grove who has enjoyed success in the German Bundesliga, with the US National Team and with NYCFC of the MLS. 'That's our aim, and we know the next generation is here,' Jim said. A bigger goal The Kilmeades' father, James, greatly fostered his boys' love for the game from a young age. He tragically passed away in a 1979 car accident when his sons were teens getting ready for collegiate careers. 'He didn't know anything about it at all, but he loved that we were involved in it very little, and he fell for the game right away,' Jim said of their father and soccer. 4 The Kilmeades are planning to open a free youth soccer academy for local families in the next year. Dennis A. Clark Brian then urged his dad, an immigrant from Ireland, to start coaching his boys in the Massapequa Soccer Club, but their father — who began spending his time at the local library to learn the game — did way more than that. 'He helped write the bylaws and constitution of the Massapequa Soccer Club,' Jim said. 'He was lining fields at seven, eight o'clock in the morning on Saturdays and Sundays, and our life revolved around three, four, five practices a week.' After James passed away, Jim's coaching career was jump-started when he was granted special dispensation to take over Brian's team as a 17-year-old high school senior. 'I think for him to see Jim is taking it to the next level would mean everything,' Brian said of the Tomcats. 'And this is just the beginning.'
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Iranian F-14 ‘Persian Tomcats' Obliterated In Israeli Airstrike
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) posted infrared targeting camera footage of a pair of F-14A Tomcat fighters being destroyed by air-to-ground munitions as they sat outside hardened aircraft shelters at Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran. The strikes were part of Israel's broadening campaign to dismantle Iran's air defense capabilities for good, which includes destroying the Iranian Air Force's fixed-wing fleet. Since the conflict began, I have been posting on social media how this would likely mark the end of the F-14's operational career. Iran has continued to maintain a small cadre of flyable F-14s two decades after the U.S. Navy — the type's only other operator — put the Tomcat out to pasture. — Tyler Rogoway (@Aviation_Intel) June 14, 2025 The Israeli campaign to neuter Iran's air defenses in their totality is a major component of the broader air operation. Not only will it allow Israel to operate freely over Iran as it attempts to destroy the country's nuclear and long-range weapons programs, but it will also likely allow Israel to continue to access Iranian skies long after the core mission ends. This will be critical to ensuring Iran does not reconstitute its nuclear or long-range missile programs. This means destroying all aspects of the country's air defenses, including the regime's rickety fighter force. I actually made a post on X about the two Tomcats in question, just a couple of days ago. These aircraft have been sitting outside the hardened aircraft shelters at the airbase connected to Tehran's international airport for years. Tomcats have provided quick reaction alert (QRA) coverage for Tehran in the past, along with other types, but their main station is the 8th Tactical Air Base at Isfahan. These two jets were in non-flyable condition, as are the vast majority of the survivors of the 79 F-14As delivered to the Shah of Iran back in the 1970s. Then there are these two outcasts that have been baking out there for a few years…. — Tyler Rogoway (@Aviation_Intel) June 14, 2025 Cannibalizing airframes to keep a small number airworthy has been an ongoing practice since not long after the U.S. embargoed all support for Iran's F-14s many decades ago. Since then, Iran has been incredibly resourceful in developing its own support programs for the notoriously complex jets and smuggling components needed to keep some of them in the air. This has also come at great cost just to keep an aircraft with diminishing capabilities in the air. Regardless, Iran's dilapidated air force didn't put up much of a fight against the IAF in the opening waves of Israel's attack, at least that we know about. We also haven't heard of the IRAF flying sorties in the east of the country, as Israel worked to gain air superiority. The threat resident primarily in ground-based air defenses, but still, eliminating Iran's tactical jet fleet once and for all is clearly a major goal. Israel has bombed hardened aircraft shelters at multiple bases in order to ensure this. Imagery from Iran's Hamdan Airbase reveals significant damage after Israel's recent airstrikes – multiple aircraft shelters are compromised alongside cratering on the taxiway & runway — Damien Symon (@detresfa_) June 15, 2025 In the end, it isn't clear exactly how many F-14s remained flyable, let alone operationally relevant in a mission-capable sense, towards the end. Estimates have ranged wildly from a small handful to around 25 in recent years. You can read our report about a single IRAF F-14 that attempted to participate in the flying program at an Iranian airshow here. It's also worth noting that, despite various efforts to upgrade the jets locally and to add new capabilities, the Iranian F-14s suffered some high-profile issues throughout their eventful service in Iran, which included the bloody Iran-Iraq war. As we discussed in the past: '[The] F-14's once-state-of-the-art AN/AWG-9 fire control radar has suffered from low serviceability, with the Tomcat fleet effectively being divided between those with fully functioning radars and those with more diminished capabilities. The current status of any surviving AIM-54 Phoenix and AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missiles is also a matter of debate, and Iranian programs to introduce alternative weaponry for the F-14 have had only very mixed results, as you can read more about here.' The type was slated for replacement, with Russian Su-35s being the long-rumored candidate to do so. This aircraft would be a quantum leap in capability over the old 'Persian Cats,' but they will not capture the mystique and public fascination of the F-14. In the meantime, it appears that the Su-35s once seen to be earmarked for Iran, or at least some of them, have been exported to another Russian client, Algeria, instead. So it seems clear at this point that if Iran ends up with any air force at all after this is all over, it is very unlikely to include the Tomcat, marking a final end to nearly five-and-a-half decades of continuous service. Contact the author: Tyler@
Chicago Tribune
04-04-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Failure doesn't faze Mariel Lopez. It's why she leads East Aurora in goals. ‘There will be a positive impact.'
Senior forward Mariel Lopez is pretty philosophical about her game for East Aurora. She takes the approach of a Socrates, making her quest about solving problems and finding answers. And in that manner, Lopez is always looking for ways to make things work. 'A lot of times the game is in my mind, and when I dribble with the ball, I'm in my own flow state,' she said. 'Whenever I get a shot off, sometimes it goes in and sometimes it doesn't. 'You always have to keep trying.' Lopez kept going Thursday night, scoring her team-best ninth goal in the 68th minute to seal a 2-0 victory for the host Tomcats over Fenton in an Upstate Eight Conference crossover game. Freshman midfielder Miley Pereida also scored in the 48th minute off a pass from sophomore forward Aly Rodriguez for East Aurora (6-2-1). Sophomore midfielder Beila Hernandez set up Lopez's goal that put the game away. As a four-year starter, Lopez knows to never get discouraged by plays that go against her. Perseverance is her calling card — in every situation. 'You have to fail before you succeed,' she said. 'That's just the way the game is. You're going to fail and fail and fail, but eventually it's going to work out and there will be a positive impact. 'I have my teammates I always rely on to get me the ball, and that pushes me to be better and get the ball in the net.' Lopez's combination of poise and consistency, while always living in the moment and ready to take advantage, has marked her outstanding play. And it has elevated her team. Senior midfielder Chelsea Fuentes, a captain like Lopez, said her teammate's desire for excellence distinguishes every part of her game. 'She was made to be on the field,' Fuentes said of Lopez. 'I've known her for a long time, and Mariel just has passion. She's always ready, always prepared for the moment and fighting for it. 'She's a challenger. Even at practice, she's always pushing us to be the best that we are capable of. The way she is on the field is how she is in life — sometimes shy but really comfortable and fun when you get to know her.' The youngest of three sisters, Lopez has another reason for joy. Her middle sister Jennifer, who also played for the Tomcats and Aurora University, is a first-year assistant coach in the program. 'My siblings were older, but we all grew up playing soccer together,' Mariel said. 'We'd compete. I remember playing in the backyard and we'd get in trouble for sending the balls over the house. 'At that age, I was competitive and I liked to win.' Jennifer Lopez said her younger sister radiated a belief in her talent at a very young age. 'She was ultracompetitive,' Jennifer said. 'I was older, but she always knew that she could hang. I specifically remember when she was 7 years old. She was in a tournament final and made a shot from midfield. 'Obviously, it was a smaller field, but when I saw her take that shot with confidence, I just knew that one day she was going to be a star. Her playing does her talking for her.' Having her sister as a coach marks a specific bond, but Mariel also sees those connections with her close-knit team. Her success is also theirs. 'I obviously like to attack a lot, and I like to go in there and try to get the ball into the back of the net,' Mariel Lopez said. 'The most important part is connecting my players. 'It's more beautiful when it's a team goal and not just mine alone.'
