Not An April Fool's

Today is April 1st and unlike in past years I am not going to do a segment and then at the end say “April Fools.” The one I did last year about leaving to take a job broadcasting Penn State football games was so convincing that as recently as two months ago someone asked me how my new job was going.

What is not a joke is the weather and the fact that today is supposed to be opening day of the spring sports season for New Jersey high schools. Yes there is a full schedule of baseball, softball, lacrosse, tennis and golf games and matches and it’s doubtful any of them will be played. I could only imagine the amount of aspirin high school Athletic Directors will consume today as the first day of the season is loaded with postponements and re-scheduled games.

What started out as a great week for the Monmouth University basketball program did not exactly end that way. A day after introducing King Rice as their new men’s coach the Hawks are now unexpectedly searching for a new women’s coach. Stephanie Gaitley was granted a release from her contract so she could accept the head coaching position at Fordham University. Gaitley was 57-37 in her three seasons in West Long Branch and clearly had the Hawks heading in the right direction. Monmouth was 23-10 this season and reached the finals of the Northeast Conference Tournament and qualified for the Women’s NIT. Prior to coming to Monmouth Gaitely served as head coach at LIU, St. Joseph’s and Richmond.

There is no better way to celebrate the start of the Major League Baseball season then by reliving some of the sport’s greatest quotes:

“Who is Babe Ruth and what does she do?” (George Bernard Shaw)
“I watch a lot of baseball on radio: (Gerald Ford)
“If a horse won’t eat it, I don’t want to play on it” (Dick Allen on artificial turf)
“Never root for a team whose uniforms have elastic
stretch waistbands” (Susan Sarandon)
“A hot dog at the game beats roast beef at the Ritz” (Humphrey Bogart)
“When they start the game they don’t say “Work
Ball!” They say “Play Ball!” (Willie Stargell)
“How could he lose a ball in the sun? He’s from Mexico (Harry Caray)
“90% of this game is half mental.” (Yogi Berra)