Parents Weekend

Had a really nice time visiting our daughter Alex at Penn State as it was Parents Weekend for her sorority, Kappa Delta. We got to meet all her sorority sisters and many of their parents and shared stories and laughs especially during a Saturday evening social at a fraternity house. Making the weekend even more special was the fact that my son was there for a reunion with about 80 of his frat brothers from Delta Chi so getting to see both of them was a real treat. The weekend culminated with a brunch Sunday hosted by the sorority at which Alex received an award for her personality and positive attitude…that must come from her mother.

Among her “sisters” and best friends is Stephanie Ruddy, who is from Toms River and we had a nice time with her parents and younger brother who were up for the weekend. In one of those “you’ve got to be kidding me stories” my wife got to re-connect with one of her college roommates whose daughter and ours have become good friends through KD. They had not seen one another in more than 30 years since they graduated from what was then Trenton State and is now The College of New Jersey. The entire weekend was a reminder that this time is going fast and getting to spend some of it with your children truly is priceless.

So how unlikely at the beginning of the season was a Connecticut-Butler showdown for college basketball’s National Championship? Well U.Conn did not receive a single vote in the pre-season coaches poll and was picked to finish 8th in the Big East and everyone assumed the glass slipper had fallen off the Bulldogs after their best player headed to the NBA. Yet here they are playing tonight and while it’s tough to pick against Kemba Walker and the Huskies I like Butler. Of course that does not mean much because I was knocked out of all the pools I was in by the second round.

The weather forecast does not looking promising for tomorrow night’s scheduled exhibition game between the Lakewood BlueClaws and Monmouth University at FirstEnergy Park. The 6pm contest is supposed to be the first opportunity for fans to see the 2011 edition of the BlueClaws, who open the season Thursday night against Kannapolis. The BlueClaws-Monmouth game is scheduled to be broadcast on our Shore Sports Network with Greg Giombarresse, Matt Harmon and I calling the action. Listen on WOBM AM 1160 and 1310 and online at shoresportsnetwork.com and wobmam.com.