'It just felt right': Francona has high energy, expectations for Reds
Slimmed down and refreshed from a year in retirement from managing, Terry Francona didn't know if he wanted to do the job again. In need of a new skipper, the Reds didn't know if they could get Francona to join the club. Both sides got their answers rather quickly once president of baseball operations Nick Krall and general manager Brad Meado...
Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark a near-unanimous choice as WNBA’s Rookie of the Year
Caitlin Clark has been named the WNBA Rookie of the Year in a near-unanimous vote, giving the Indiana Fever back-to-back winners after Aliyah Boston won the honor last season. A national panel of sportswriters and sportscasters gave Clark 66 of 67 votes in balloting released Thursday. Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese received the other. “I am incred...
Rago thrives as composer despite late start
Maria Rago’s journey to finding her life’s mission — composing music — started with what most would call a moment of folly. The Italian pianist and composer was 24-year-old with an Italian literature degree in her native Caltanissetta, Sicily, when she went with a friend to a concert by the cellist Giovanni Sollima. All of a sudden, in the middle o...
Cozzi credits fate with Cubs podcasting gig
Whether you believe in destiny or not, it’s undeniable that serendipity played a role in how Matt Cozzi ended up as the co-host of the podcast “Locked On Cubs.” Cozzi and his friend Sam Olbur started the job in July 2022 as the fourth hosts in the history of the podcast, which altogether numbers more than 1,100 episodes. Their show has been very su...
Michigan football's Dominick Giudice cites background as reason behind strong play
The Michigan football program has always been loud and proud. Michigan beating USC is always a chest-pounding moment. It only makes sense that the offensive line is led by someone with those same qualities. Center Dominick Giudice cited a New Jersey Italian background as just one reason driving Michigan football's success this season. Giudice expla...
The story is true, and so is the falsetto: Farmers Alley Theatre opens season with “Jersey Boys”
Jersey Boys is based on the true story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, who grew up on the streets of Belleville, NJ and found success with a string of hits including “Sherry,” “Walk Like a Man,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Oh, What a Night,” and more. Nick Petrelli will play Frankie Valli in a Farmers Alley Theatre (Kalamazoo, MI) production sta...
Gymnastics coach Thomas Glielmi
Growing up watching old kung-fu martial arts movies, Thomas Glielmi started teaching himself how to do flips from trees, fences and garages. “I liked the adrenaline rush,” the 59-year-old recalls. That drive led Glielmi to join a men’s gymnastics team in high school, which set him on a course to forge an uber-successful career as a gymnastics coach...
Chicago Opera Theater to Present North American Premiere of ‘Leonora’
Chicago Opera Theater is set to open its 2024-25 Season with the North American premiere of “Leonora.” The Italian opera composed by Ferdinando Paër to a libretto by Giuseppe Maria Foppa and Giacomo Cinti is based on the same story as Beethoven’s later opera “Fidelio.” According to musicologists, Beethoven was influenced by Paër while composing his...
40th Cleveland Challenge Cup of Bocce draws 120 teams to Wickliffe for $25,000 in prize money
The 40th Cleveland Challenge Cup of Bocce, took place last weekend at the Wickliffe Italian-American Club. The event brought 120 teams to Northeast Ohio to compete for more than $25,000 in prize money. The teams featured world class players from across the United States and Canada, including Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Florida and Ca...
Cleveland Italian Film Festival to showcase the best of Italian cinema in September
The Cleveland Italian Film Festival returns for its 17th edition in September. “After studying and living in Italy on visits back to Cleveland I wondered why great award-winning films shot over Cleveland to other cities in the U.S.,” said festival director Joyce Mariani, who established the event in 2006. “I felt it was time Cleveland had an indepe...
Boxing legend Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini
After a brief-but-stellar career in prizefighting, Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini has found satisfaction and success as a movie producer, winemaker, philanthropist and family man as well as Youngstown, Ohio’s, biggest booster. The world knows Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini as the formidable boxer with the charming personality who became a World Boxing Associatio...
Cleveland Cavaliers founding owner Nick Mileti dies at the age of 93
Cleveland’s legendary sports team owner Nick Mileti has passed away at the age of 93, according to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Italian American Mileti owned the Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Barons, and Crusaders hockey teams in the late 1960′s and 70′s. The Cavaliers released the following statement about Mileti’s passing: The Cleveland Cavaliers are...