Sister of Jets center goes from gridiron to Olympics
Super heavyweight Olympian Holley Mangold, the 350-pound kid sister of Jets center Nick Mangold, not only made the high school football team at Archbishop Alter High in Kettering, Ohio, she was the first female to ever play from the line of scrimmage in the football-crazed state.
With just four years of experience as a weightlifter, Holley was projected to compete for a spot at the 2016 Games, but her extraordinary athletic talent enabled her to qualify for the 2012 London Games. As to whether she can medal at the fast-approaching Olympic Games, Holley said, “I want to. No one wants to go the Olympics and get, like, eighth. I think that the amount of progress that I’ve been doing is insane and if I can keep that up, I don’t see why not.”
Asked on “Real Sports” on Tuesday night by HBO correspondent Mary Carillo if the protective older brother was concerned that opposing football players might try to hit her a little harder, or taunt her, Nick said, “No. I knew that she could handle it. It was never a question that somebody might try to hit her harder because I think she would hit them even more hard.”
Did Holley feel some of her teammates might have an issue with a female on the football team?
“Oh, no. Because I could kill them,” she said with a laugh. “Guys are kind of simple. If you can beat them up they tend to respect you.”
SNY to unveil most Amazin’
SNY will televise its Mets All-Time Team Thursday night at 7 p.m., and The Rumble has obtained the ballot of New York’s premier columnist, The Post’s Mike Vaccaro, who, as one of the panelists, will attend the gala event tonight unveiling the honorees at the 92nd Street YMCA:
Manager: Gil Hodges — Miracle Man will forever be the gold standard for Mets skippers
First base: Keith Hernandez — Trading for him in ’83 is what made ’86 possible. Retiring 17 should be up soon on Mets’ agenda.
Second base: Felix Millan — Excellent defensive player and a whole generation of young Mets fans choked way up on the bat to honor him.
Shortstop: Jose Reyes — When he was healthy, he was the most electric player the Mets ever had, the most dynamic in N.Y. since Jackie Robinson.
Third base: David Wright — Hard to believe now that third base used to be a revolving door for this team. Not any more.
Left field: Cleon Jones — The most dangerous hitter on two pennant winners and one world champion.
Center field: Carlos Beltran — Probably the most talented and complete everyday player the Mets have ever employed.
Right field: Darryl Strawberry — We may be tortured by what might have been but what was still was pretty terrific.
Catcher: Mike Piazza — When he showed up in ’98, the Mets officially were major league again.
Right-handed starting pitcher: Tom Seaver — The Franchise. It will take quite a career to ever surpass Seaver’s as the greatest in team history.
Left-handed starter: Jerry Koosman — When he was at his best he was, in essence, a right-handed Seaver. What a 1-2 punch.
Right-handed relief pitcher: Roger McDowell — The guts of the ’86 bullpen. Jesse Orosco got the final outs to win NLCS and World Series, but McDowell got the big outs.
Left-handed reliever: Tug McGraw — Willed the Mets to ’73 World Series almost single-handedly, was a dominant lefty out of pen for them for nearly a decade.
Jeter foundation receives boost from Packers WR
Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings, from Derek Jeter’s hometown of Kalamazoo, Mich., last week hosted his sold out golf outing in Michigan to raise money for assisting young people with education with his BEGREAT foundation, and he will head to Washington on Tuesday for a week of meetings with the United Way on Capitol Hill as a national spokesperson for its work in the community. Jennings will be in New York Thursday for Jeter’s Turn Two Foundation Dinner at the Sheraton.
“We share a philosophy that we have been given so much through athletics that it is our responsibility to find powerful and impactful ways to help others, and coming to New York to assist Derek is the least I can do for the kids he helps,” Jennings said.
Dads & daughters enjoy some Liberty
The Liberty host its annual “Dads & Daughters Day” game next Sunday at Prudential Center. Fans can enjoy a pregame fan fest and barbecue, courtesy of Dinosaur BBQ, at Championship Plaza starting before the Liberty-Atlanta Dream game.
“I first brought my daughter Tiara to a Liberty game when she was about 9 years old,” Knicks legend John Starks said. “It was a great experience for her to be at a women’s professional game and see the incredible plays these ladies were making at the highest level. Being a part of her experience was very important and something I’d want all dad’s to share in.”
Ticket information can be found at nyliberty.com.
Eli makes pitch on Father’s Day
Eli Manning will throw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to Mets-Reds today at Citi Field. Manning, accompanied by his one-year-old daughter Ava, is helping Pampers honor all the “Most Valuable Dads” on Father’s Day.
“I’ve got more experience changing diapers than throwing a baseball, but I’m looking forward to making a better first pitch than David Wilson did a couple weeks ago when our rookies were at Citi Field,” the two-time Super Bowl MVP said. “Don’t expect me to do a backflip before I throw the ball, though. And tell David Wright I won’t brush him off.”
A couple of weeks ago, Wilson, the Giants first-round draft pick from Virginia Tech, did a backflip on the field preceding a rather wide ceremonial first pitch to Wright, who is a lifelong Giants fan and will catch Manning’s first pitch.
“Naturally, I admire the way Eli plays the game, but I also admire the way he handles himself off the field,” Wright said. “He never
gets too high or too low and always says the right thing.”
Swimmers to take lap around Manhattan
A select group of 38 of the world’s top distance swimmers — representing 11 countries and 14 states — will compete when NYC Swim celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim on Saturday, a 28.5-mile counterclockwise circumnavigation of the borough starting and finishing at South Cove in Battery Park City. Fifteen of the competitors have swam the English Channel and 11 Catalina, the other two legs of the Triple Crown.
Gridiron Challenge pits area’s best
The 17th Empire Challenge, which pits the best high school football players from Long Island against their counterparts from New York City (led by Post All-City player of the Year Kareem Folkes of Lincoln) raises money for the Boomer Esiason Foundation to help fight cystic fibrosis (which affects Boomer’s son Gunnar), as well as to support youth and high school football throughout the metro area.
“I think I’ve called every one of these games over the past 12 years except one,” said jack-of-all trades Kenny Albert, who will call Tuesday’s game live from Hofstra’s Shuart Stadium for MSG Varsity (7 p.m., also streaming live on MSGVarsity.com) alongside Jets legend Marty Lyons and MSG Varsity high school guru Mike Quick.