This 'n That

A little of this and a little of that on a Thursday morning:

High School Football season seems a long way away but tonight is a reminder that it’s closer than you think. Wall High School will host the annual media night for the U.S. Army All-Shore Gridiron Classic which matches recently-graduated players from Ocean County against those from Monmouth County. The game itself is scheduled for Thursday, July 14th at Toms River High School North. After several years of flirting with moving the game from Friday to Thursday organizers finally did what I have been calling for. Traveling on the Garden State Parkway during a summer Friday is simply a nightmare, especially when the game is held in Ocean County which forces many people to head south. As in the past we will broadcast the game on our Shore Sports Network.

The Ocean County PBA Conference will hold its first-ever Summer Kickoff Bash tomorrow night at Joey Harrison’s Surf Club in Ortley Beach from 6-11pm. Tickets are $20 for the event and include a buffet-style dinner, drink specials, live music and a DJ. The Ocean County PBA Conference is made up of 27 PBA locals representing 29 police departments within the county. Not only do they meet to discuss law enforcement at all levels but they support the good and welfare of all officers in Ocean County. They also raise money for the State PBA Survivor and Welfare Fund. Sean McHugh of Toms River PBA #137 is chairman of the organizations special events committee which for several years has run a successful end of summer bash in September.

This week’s rain is already causing some problems when it comes to the local sports schedule, especially now that tournaments are underway. Preliminary round action in the Shore Conference Baseball and Softball Tournaments in some cases was postponed from yesterday to today but I would imagine field conditions will be a problem. Manalapan is the top seed in the baseball tournament followed by Jackson Memorial, Toms River South and Red Bank Catholic. The championship game is scheduled for June 6th at FirstEnergy Park. St. John Vianney is seeded first in the softball tournament and the Lacers drew a first-round bye as did the rest of the top six ….Red Bank Catholic, Middletown South, Jackson Liberty, Toms River East and Pinelands.