The New York Jets have re-signed free agent OT Michael Kracalik. The announcement was made by Jets General Manager Mike Tannenbaum.

Kracalik (6-8, 337/San Diego State/San Diego, CA) spent the past three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens (2006-08), where he played in four games. He was originally signed by the Jets in 2005 and was waived after training camp. He played in 10 games for the Rhein Fire (NFL Europe) in 2006, starting three games at tackle.

The Jets have hired Rex Ryan this offseason to lead an aggressive game plan on the field - “We’re not going to read-and-react, that’s for somebody else,” said Ryan. “We’re going to be attacking from the whistle. We’re going to turn the heat up.” Off the field, the Jets have adopted the same philosophy, teaming up with A&P for the Seventh Annual New York Jets Taste of the NFL Benefit. The benefit, designed to fight hunger, has raised $835,000 since 2003, looks to surpass the 1 million dollar mark this year.

“A&P is proud to partner with a team dedicated to excellence and helping others.  At A&P we also strive to provide the best for our customers and our communities especially in the fight against hunger” stated Rebecca Philbert, SVP, Merchandising and Supply & Logistics, A&P. The event will be held on Tuesday, May 5 from 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. at Cipriani’s Wall Street.  Tickets are $250 and proceeds will benefit the New York Jets Foundation.  Special VIP tickets are available in limited quantities for $400.  These tickets provide early admission, special access to Jets players and an extra hour of food sampling beginning at 6 p.m.

The benefit is an exciting star-studded culinary event packed with food, wine, fun and football. This year’s lineup of players is led by Nick Mangold, Darrelle Revis and Leon Washington, while restaurants including NOBU, Tao and Blue Smoke will be present. The event is set up in a “taste-around,” style, where party attendees are invited to mingle with past and present Jets football stars and sample delectable dishes of distinguished chefs.

“A&P is the ideal partner for us in our fight against hunger,” said Jets EVP, Business Operations Matt Higgins. “This event has earned more than three quarters of a million dollars to fight hunger in our local communities and, with the help of A&P we are looking to go beyond the million dollar mark this year.”

About A&P

Founded in 1859, A&P is one of the nation’s first supermarket chains. The Company operates 444 stores in 8 states and the District of Columbia under the following trade names: A&P, Waldbaum’s, Pathmark, Best Cellars, The Food Emporium, Super Foodmart, Super Fresh and Food Basics.

About Taste of the NFL

Taste of the NFL is the Party With a Purpose.  The purpose is to raise awareness and dollars in the fight against hunger for thousands of families who struggle every day to simply feed their children.  The nation’s finest chefs as well as NFL legends, both past and present, volunteer their time along with the best community citizens in dozens of cities, the Super Bowl Host committees and the NFL in support of hunger relief efforts throughout the country and in the host communities.  The Jets are the top NFL team in local fundraising for Taste of the NFL, raising $835,000 during the last six events.

About the New York Jets Foundation

The New York Jets take great pride in playing an active role in making a year-round commitment to our community. Programs funded by the New York Jets Foundation touch the lives of countless young men and women in the tri-state area.  Over the past nine years, the Jets and their charitable foundation have donated or contributed more than $9 million to promote youth health, fitness and education, particularly in disadvantaged communities. From fighting childhood obesity through the Generation Jets: Be Lean & Green initiative to launching a football team in a Harlem high school, urging students to eat right and move more, and supporting the efforts of the Alliance for Lupus Research, the New York Jets invest in programs that make a difference in the lives of others. In addition to the Jets Foundation, which supports our own extensive youth initiatives, the Jets partner with numerous established charitable organizations and participate in causes sponsored by the NFL.

Contributions to the New York Jets Foundation are deductible for federal income tax purposes to the extent provided by law. For more information about the New York Jets Taste of the NFL Benefit, please visit www.newyorkjets.com/taste or call 1-973-549-4654 to purchase tickets.

The New York Jets announced the hiring of Assistant Strength and Conditioning coaches Ryan Cidzik and Kyle Thorne. Cidzik and Thorne will work under Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Sal Alosi. The club also announced it has retained Mike Bloomgren as offensive assistant. The announcements were made by Head Coach Rex Ryan.

Cidzik (Susquehanna University/Rome, NY), (pronounced sid-zik) most recently served as an assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Cleveland Browns (2008). Prior to Cleveland, he served as the Director of Sports Performance at Northwestern Sate (La.) University (2006-07), assistant strength and conditioning coach for Louisiana Tech (2004-06) and as a volunteer assistant for the University of Richmond (2003). He also was the primary strength and conditioning consultant for NFL Europe in 2004 before being appointed as the league’s first strength and conditioning coordinator. Cidzik graduated from Susquehanna (Pa.) University (2001) where he played fullback and earned his master’s degree from Louisiana Tech (2005).

Thorne (Hofstra University/Tucson, AZ), most recently served as the head strength and conditioning coach with Everton FC, a Premier League soccer club based in Liverpool, England after working as a sports performance coach at Athletes’ Performance in Los Angeles (2006-07) and as a strength and conditioning intern with the San Diego Chargers (2006). Thorne was a linebacker at Hofstra University (2000-01) before graduating in 2002. He spent two seasons in the Indoor Football League (2004-Hawaiian Islanders/ 2005-Billings Outlaws) before earning his master’s degree at Azusa Pacific University in 2006.

Bloomgren (Florida State/Tallahassee, FL), originally joined the Jets as an offensive quality control coach in 2007. Prior to joining the Jets, he served as the offensive coordinator at Delta State University (Mississippi) where his Statesmen passed for more than 7,500 yards in two seasons and advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Division II Playoffs in 2006.

The New York Jets announced the hiring of Defensive Quality Control Coach Jim O’Neil and Defensive Assistant Jeff Weeks. The announcements were made by Head Coach Rex Ryan.

O’Neil (Towson University, 2001) spent the last three seasons serving as recruiting coordinator and safeties coach at Eastern Michigan University. In 2005, he was the defensive coordinator, defensive backs coach and punt return coach at his alma mater, Towson University. From 2003-05, he was a graduate assistant at Northwestern. In 2002, he was an assistant offensive line coach at Penn, which won the Ivy League title. Prior to his time with the Quakers, he was an assistant offensive line/tight ends coach at Albany. A native of Philadelphia, he played at Central Bucks West High School where Jets defensive coordinator Mike Pettine was an assistant coach and was later a three-year starter as a defensive end at Towson.

Weeks (Northwest Oklahoma State, 1986) was a defensive assistant for the Raiders in 2008. A 22-year coaching veteran, Weeks coached with Rex Ryan at Morehead State (1990-91) and at Oklahoma (1998). Weeks has also coached collegiately at Texas A&M-Kingsville (2005-06), Southeastern Oklahoma State (2004), Trinity Valley (Texas) CC (2000-03), where he coached Jets defensive back Drew Coleman, Fort Scott (Kansas) CC (1999), Glendale (Arizona) CC (1997) and Phoenix (Arizona) CC (1996). A wide receiver, he was a college roommate and teammate of Rex and Rob Ryan at Southwest Oklahoma State before transferring and graduating from Northwest Oklahoma State. Weeks was an all-state football player at College High School in Bartlesville, OK.

 Super Bowl XLIII brings much more than football to Tampa Bay. Throughout the week preceding the game, more than 50 charitable activities and community outreach programs will enliven and enrich the community and provide lasting legacies.

The week’s activities will also include the announcement of the annual Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award and a celebration of the positive impact of the NFL Youth Education Town initiative.

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ans Encouraged to Wear Green for Sunday’s “Green Out” vs. Bills

The New York Jets are holding Fan Appreciation Day for the game vs. Buffalo at the Meadowlands on Sunday at 1 p.m. The team is encouraging all fans to wear their Jets green gear to create a “Green Out” at the game.

Prizes and giveaways will be distributed throughout the game and one fan will be chosen at random to kick a field goal at halftime for $150,000.

Fan Appreciation Day is brought to you by SportsNet New York (SNY).

WHO: Jets fans

WHAT: Fan Appreciation Day featuring a “Green Out”

WHERE: The Meadowlands

WHEN: December 14, 2008, 1 p.m.

The New York Jets announced today that Fred Caprista of George Washington High School in New York, NY has been named this year’s recipient of the New York Jets High School Coach of the Year Award. For his efforts, he will receive $2,000 to benefit the school’s football program, and he will be presented with a certificate from the New York Jets.

In its 13th year, the award is given to a coach in the Tri-State area who serves the best interests of the game through the teaching of sound football fundamentals, the motivation of young players to achieve, and the promotion of youth football by way of dedication to their community, their school and their student-athletes.

Coach Caprista is in his 1st season as the head coach of the George Washington Trojans. The 1984 Sheepshead Bay High School Alumnus previously coached wide receivers and defensive backs at Fort Hamilton High School during their back-to-back B Division Championships in ’91 and ‘92. He graduated Brooklyn College with a degree in physical education and currently instructs in that field at George Washington High School.

On November 23, 2008, the Trojans defeated the Far Rockaway Sea Horses 20 -14 to win the PSAL Cup Division Championship. This is the Trojans first football championship since 1988. The win avenges the opening season defeat to the Sea Horses and improves George Washington’s record to 10 – 1 to close out the season with a nine game winning streak.

Previous Award Winners:
Week 1: Matt McCloskey, Fairfield-Ludlow High School, Fairfield, CT
Week 2: Rob Pickert, Hackley School, Tarrytown, NY
Week 3: John Power, Hillside High School, Hillside, NJ
Week 4: Rich Conklin, Nanuet High School, Nanuet, NY
Week 5: Scott Benoit, Hamden High School, Hamden, CT
Week 6: Brain Walsh, John Jay High School, Hopewell Junction, NY
Week 7: Chris Beagan, Monroe High School, Monroe Township, NJ
Week 8: Joe DeSiena, Xaverian High School, Brooklyn, NY
Week 9: John Catano, Croton Harmon High School, Croton on the Hudson, NY
Week 10: Rich Gianchiglia, Middlesex High School, Middlesex, NJ

Donations Benefit U.S. Marines Reserve Corps Toys for Tots Program

The New York Jets in conjunction with the U.S. Marine Reserve Corps, Burgdorff Realtors ERA and A-1 First Class-Viking Moving and Storage will hold their annual toy drive to benefit the Toys for Tots program on December 14, 2008, at The Meadowlands before the 1:00 p.m. game versus Buffalo. Fans are encouraged to bring a new unwrapped toy to the game that will be collected at all gates upon entering the stadium.

The annual U.S. Marine Reserve Corps Toys for Tots program’s mission is to collect unwrapped toys during October, November and December each year and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to needy children in the community in which the campaign is conducted. The objectives of Toys for Tots are to help these children throughout the United States experience the joy of Christmas; to play an active role in the development of one of our nation’s most valuable natural resources - our children; to unite all members of local communities in a common cause and to contribute to better communities in the future.

WHO: New York Jets and their loyal fans

WHAT: Unwrapped toys to benefit the Toys for Tots program

WHERE: The Meadowlands

WHEN: December 14, 2008, 11:00 – 1:00 p.m.

WHY: To benefit the U.S. Marine Reserve Corps Toys for Tots Program

Programs funded by the New York Jets Foundation touch the lives of countless young men and women in the Tri-state area. Realogy Corporation, a premier global provider of real estate and relocation services, and its subsidiary companies Burgdorff Realtors ERA and Cartus, are title sponsors for all of the Jets’ community relations programs. Over the past eight years, the Jets and their charitable foundation have donated or contributed more than eight million dollars to promote youth health, fitness and education, particularly in disadvantaged communities.

From fighting childhood obesity through the Generation Jets: Be Lean & Green initiative to launching a football team in a Harlem high school, urging students in the Bronx to eat right and move more and supporting the efforts of the Alliance for Lupus Research, the New York Jets invest in programs that make a difference in the lives of others. In addition to the Jets Foundation, which supports our own extensive youth initiatives, the Jets partner with numerous established charitable organizations and participate in causes sponsored by the NFL.

The New York Dragons will be holding a press conference today at 1:45 p.m. ET at the Sports Museum of America to unveil the franchise’s new logo, team colors and helmet as well as introduce the new Dragons’ Advisory Board. The board includes New York Jets Safety Kerry Rhodes and New York Giants Linebacker Danny Clark.

This will be the first opportunity to meet the key members of the new New York Dragons ownership and management team, including new managing partner Steven Silva and new chief operating officer Tim Kelly. Dragons head coach Weylan Harding and All-Arena defensive back Billy Parker will also be in attendance.