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Sports

Flag Football Tournament Honors Memory of Fallen Wantagh Man

More than 300 take part in third annual Rick Bailey Memorial Turkey Bowl at MacArthur High School.

Thanksgiving has always been thought of as a time for family, tradition, and football. This past Saturday over 300 local gridders from 20 teams braved the freezing temperatures and gusty winds for a day of flag football - all in the name of a close friend.

For the third straight year, the Rick Bailey Memorial Turkey Bowl was held in honor of 22-year-old Richard Bailey, a University of Albany student from Wantagh who was shot and killed in October of 2008. The tournament was held at MacArthur High School in Levittown, where Bailey was a member of the Class of 2004.

"The support has been incredible," said Steve Mazziotti, one of the tournament's co-founders. "This is our biggest year yet, and it's just amazing to see the whole community come together for an event like this. It's a great cause for a great memory of a great kid."

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The Bailey Bowl, a tradition that has become as important to the MacArthur High School community as Thanksgiving itself, was first played in 2008, about a month after Bailey's death. The tournament founders chose flag football as a way to celebrate Bailey's love for sports. While attending MacArthur High School, Bailey was a standout athlete who played for the Generals as a member of the varsity football, basketball, and baseball teams.

This year's Rick Bailey Memorial Turkey Bowl featured a bracket of 20 teams, and for the first time featured a women's bracket of six teams. 

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"We all look forward to this every year," said Stephanie Creedon, a former MacArthur cheerleader who helped cheer on the participating teams from the sidelines. "It helps us to remember him, and I think it's definitely something he would want us to be doing in his honor."

Players included many of Bailey's friends, teachers, and former high school teammates. Despite the Bailey Bowl trophy and a year's worth of bragging rights on the line, many players made note of the camaraderie that was felt between every player on the field.

"We're out here today for such a good cause," said Erik Milk, a former teammate of Bailey on the Generals' football and basketball teams, and played in the tournament as a member of "Mary Jane's Men." "There's great support out here for everyone today. Everyone has good sportsmanship. Rick was a fellow teammate, a great friend, and a great guy" 

Proceeds from the Bailey Bowl go towards the Richard J. Bailey Memorial Fund, which supports the Rick Bailey Memorial Scholarships, which are given annually to two graduating seniors from MacArthur High School. Dozens of prizes, including gift cards donated from local businesses, were raffled off to raise more money for the fund.

This year's event also featured a donation box for Toys for Tots. Volunteers at the event were eager to help out in any way that they could.

"I think we just come down to support each other," said Levittown resident Caitlin Nally. "We're a very close knit community, and this really affected so many people. We all have brothers who were close friends with Rick, and we're just here to support them." 

In addition to the hundreds of players who turned out, spectators crowded the stands to cheer on their favorite teams. For many, the day's events served as a reminder of the importance of community.

"We came out here just to support the cause," said Wantagh resident Leslie McNally. "These kids work hard every year to do this to honor their friend, and their work really is a testament to what a great person Rick was."

This year's Bailey Bowl is estimated to have raised several thousand dollars for the Richard J. Bailey Memorial Fund. Tournament co-founder Matt Levy said that the event serves as a way for them to remember the most important things about Bailey.

"It feels amazing looking at the turnout of all these people here," he said. "It just brings a tear to the eye sometimes, looking at everyone here. Just having the smiles and the memories - when it comes down to it, that's what it's really all about."

For more information on the Richard J. Bailey Memorial Fund, visit the organization's website.

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