Initially amused by the sport, Michael Paccione and his family are now among the top lawn mower racers in the nation. The first time Michael Paccione saw his father-in-law race a lawn mower on a dirt track in Maryland, he reacted the way most people would: with amused astonishment. “We were teasing him about it,” Paccione recounts, “because it was so hokey.” Fast-forward 15 years, and Paccione, of Toms River, New Jersey, has become an avid lawn mower racer who all but waxes poetic about this little-known sport, which his wife and three children have also taken up. “It’s wild,” …

Taking up her first golf club as a tot, Caterina Don has made impressive professional headway during her undergraduate career. A 20-year-old golfer from Italy, Caterina Don says being invited to play at the 2020 U.S. Women’s Open while just a sophomore at the University of Georgia was “an amazing learning experience.” Even though she failed to make the cut after the first day of play at the tournament, which was held at Champions Golf Club in Houston, the opportunities afforded her were invaluable, Caterina says. This was her first major professional tournament, and her invitation was based on her …

An average runner early in her college career, Megan Vaccaro took her race to the next level in the wake of a family trauma. The most decorated runner in the history of Dominican University says it was a personal tragedy — the death of her beloved father — that sparked her fierce dedication to the sport and her multiple achievements. “Going through college, I learned that nothing is impossible, and if you want something bad enough, you can find a way to make it happen,” 31-year-old Megan Vaccaro says. A native of Oswego and a 2010 graduate of Dominican University, …

Data analysis is important in helping players make the leap from the minors to the majors, L.A. Angels exec Mike LaCassa says, but you can’t lose sight of the human element. As director of minor league operations for the Los Angeles Angels, Mike LaCassa says that yes, of course, developing players for Major League Baseball is the goal. “Each time a player moves up a level and especially when they make their Major League debut, it really makes us feel proud of all the work they put in, because none of it comes easily,” the 32-year-old said. But the job …

Sidelined for 16 years by injuries, Deanna Stellato returned to competitive skating with a bang, earning a U.S. bronze medal last year and setting her sights on the 2022 Olympics. A highly successful return to professional ice skating after a 16-year hiatus is not something Deanna Stellato ever envisioned. “It’s definitely not something I thought I would do,” says Stellato, 35, who with her skating partner Nathan Bartholomay earned a U.S. bronze medal last year. Stellato, a native of Illinois, competed as a junior until the 2000-2001 season. She had suffered multiple injuries and was having a hard time recovering …

After almost making the Olympic team, Christina Desiderio transitioned from elite- to college-level gymnastics and she couldn’t be happier. Eighteen-year-old gymnast Christina Desiderio says competing at the 2016 Olympic trials after earning a spot twice on the U.S. national team was by far the highlight of her career. “19,000 people, not a seat empty! Two days that I will never forget,” she says. “I worked for 10 years of my life to try to make it to the 2016 Olympics,” she says. “That didn’t happen, but I got as close to my dream as I possibly could and I was …

A former two-weight world champion, Paulie Malignaggi now brings 16 years of boxing experience to bear as a commentator for Showtime and Sky Sports.   Being a professional boxing commentator is all about picking up on the patterns of the fight, the subtle stuff, and assessing how fighters should adjust their approach before it even happens. So says Paulie Malignaggi, who works as a boxing analyst for Showtime and Sky Sports, and who also used to work for Fox Sports 1. “I try to involve the fans and try to make them more cognizant of what’s going on,” he says. …

Set to join DiMaggio and Marciano in the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame this fall, Gene Pingatore has earned his place in the pantheon through his longevity and stellar record.   Gene Pingatore still can’t quite believe that in November he’ll be among the inductees into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame. “I am totally honored and extremely humbled,” he says. “When you think about it, I’m a high school coach. And here I go to the hall of fame with all my heroes who are there — Joe DiMaggio, Rocky Marciano. It just boggles my …

  With 30-plus years of harness racing under his belt, Dave Palone has amassed an astounding 18,400 wins in more than 75,000 races. Dave Palone has logged about 18,400 career wins in his 30-plus years as a harness race driver. That’s an average of about 600 wins per year, with 700 or 800 wins in his better years. Twelve races a day, four days a week, and voila, you have the sport’s winningest driver. “I’ve done it so many times, I know the horses, I’ve driven most of them, I know their tendencies,” the 56-year-old Palone says. “That’s probably the …

  A team leader at Boston College, Sam Apuzzo netted one of her sport’s top honors while only a junior. Sam Apuzzo, a junior at Boston College, was this year’s recipient of the prestigious Tewaaraton Award, given annually to the most outstanding American male and female college lacrosse players. Apuzzo is the first female player from Boston College to win the award after being a top-five finalist last year. The award ceremony was held May 31 at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. Lacrosse is rooted in centuries of Native American tradition and “Tewaaraton” …