Tuesday's Thoughts

If you watched Sunday’s conference championship football games on TV you clearly were not alone. The Jets-Colts game was the highest-rated AFC Championship game since 1986 while the Saints-Vikings overtime clash was the highest-rated NFC title game since 1981 when the 49ers beat the Cowboys on Dwight Clark’s last-minute touchdown reception.

Central Regional High School bowling Coach Ron Donnerstag has put together a county-wide tournament to benefit the Monmouth-Ocean Food Bank. The 2010 Ocean County Team Challenge will be held on Tuesday, February 2nd at Ocean Lanes in Lakewood and will feature teams of five bowlers rolling five Baker games. In addition to proceeds from the one-day tournament going to the food bank there is also a “Food to Spare” Drive going on at Ocean Lanes from now until February 14th. Spectators planning to attend next Tuesday’s tournament are being asked to bring canned or non-perishable items as their admission charge. For more information you can contact Ron Donnerstag at Central Regional at (732) 269-1100, ext. 234.

Matawan High School football coach Joe Martucci will be among those honored during the Nike Coach of the Year Clinic at the Tropicana in Atlantic City which is set for February 4-6. Martucci, who guided the Huskies to a state sectional title in December, is one of four coaches from New Jersey being saluted during the Coaches Tribute Luncheon. For information on attending the clinic or luncheon you can call Lacey coach and clinic director Lou Vircillo at (609) 709-5303.

Got to spend some quality time with the big boss last night and Lakewood BlueClaws General Manager Geoff Brown. We took in the Princeton-Connecticut ice hockey game at Princeton’s famed Hoby Baker Rink which is just a great experience. It was made all that much better by first stopping for pizza at Conte’s in Princeton which was like going back in time about thirty years. Good company and a good time.