A little of this and a little of that to start your Monday morning:
I felt cheated by the lack of drama surrounding the final round of the Master’s Sunday at Augusta National as Trevor Immelman became the second golfer from South Africa to wear the famed “Green Jacket.” He seems like a nice guy and is a worthy champion, having led pretty much from start to finish. However what I really wanted was to see Tiger Woods
right in the thick of things on the back nine but for the second straight year
the “greatest golfer of all time” had to settle for a second place finish. Tiger knows he let this one get away and for this year grand slam talk is over.
What’s wrong with Major League Baseball’s schedule maker? After playing three games at Fenway Park this weekend the Yankees and Red Sox play Wednesday and Thursday in the Bronx and then don’t meet again until early July. At least then they won’t have to deal with bitter weather….sorry I didn’t mean to use that word Senator Obama.
I wish more people would discover and get turned on to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Last night’s Devils-Rangers overtime thriller at the Garden was exhausting to watch and New Jersey is back in the series which I still think will go 7 games.
This has been a rough year for prime time TV because of the strike that disrupted the shows, some of which are just returning after what seems like months. I have discovered a new show which is among my favorites and that’s “Eli Stone” which airs Thursdays on ABC. British actor Jonny Lee Miller plays the role of a cut throat attorney who turns good guy in large part because of a brain aneurysm that allows him to see the future. I only wish New York Mets manager Willie Randolph had the same gift when it comes to selecting relief pitchers.
The Toms River Student Loan Fund will honor former First Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Terrence Farley, Toms River Elks Lodge #1875 and 18 teachers from the Toms River School District during its 6th Annual Recognition Cocktail Reception. The fundraiser will be held on Friday, May 2nd at the Holiday Inn of Toms River starting at 6pm. For ticket information you can call (732) 240-3366.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Dr. Feelgood
You can’t escape all the news about what we should and should not eat and drink and how exercise is vital to your health and well-being. However not all doctors believe that diet and working up a good sweat are that important.
Here’s an email I received from a friend following a question and answer session he had with his family physician after a recent check-up.
Q: Are fried foods bad for you?
A: Not as long as they are fried in vegetable oil because vegetables
are good for you.
Q: Is it true that cardiovascular exercise can prolong your life?
A: Your heart is only good for so many beats and that’s it so don’t
waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually.
Q: What are the advantages though of a regular exercise program?
A: None that I can think of. My philosophy is no pain…good!
Q: Should I avoid alcohol?
A: No, not at all. Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine
which means they take water out of the fruity bit so you get even
more of the goodness that way. Beer is made out of grain which we
all know is good for you.
Q: Will sit-ups prevent me from getting soft around the middle?
A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle it gets bigger so you
should only do sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.
Q: Is swimming good for your figure?
A: Of course not….look at whales.
Q: Is getting in shape important?
A: Round is a shape.
By the way I asked my friend for his doctor’s name and phone number and he refused to give it to me. Only thing he said was you can’t get an appointment for a long time.
Here’s an email I received from a friend following a question and answer session he had with his family physician after a recent check-up.
Q: Are fried foods bad for you?
A: Not as long as they are fried in vegetable oil because vegetables
are good for you.
Q: Is it true that cardiovascular exercise can prolong your life?
A: Your heart is only good for so many beats and that’s it so don’t
waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually.
Q: What are the advantages though of a regular exercise program?
A: None that I can think of. My philosophy is no pain…good!
Q: Should I avoid alcohol?
A: No, not at all. Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine
which means they take water out of the fruity bit so you get even
more of the goodness that way. Beer is made out of grain which we
all know is good for you.
Q: Will sit-ups prevent me from getting soft around the middle?
A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle it gets bigger so you
should only do sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.
Q: Is swimming good for your figure?
A: Of course not….look at whales.
Q: Is getting in shape important?
A: Round is a shape.
By the way I asked my friend for his doctor’s name and phone number and he refused to give it to me. Only thing he said was you can’t get an appointment for a long time.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Tuesday This 'n That
A little bit of this and a little bit of that:
For Met fans today is special as it’s the home opener….the final one to be played at Shea Stadium. What makes it even more exciting is today’s opponent is the Phillies who I’m starting to dislike as much as the Braves. It’s not like Yankees-Red Sox but it’s becoming an intense rivalry, especially because so many Mets fans travel to Philly where it used to be like a Mets home game but not anymore.
Speaking of rivalries, the opening round of hockey’s playoffs will find the Rangers battling the Devils and that should make for some fun times over the next couple of weeks. Hockey is a secondary sport to many but there’s nothing like the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the New York-New Jersey matchup should be a battle to the finish.
Last week I mentioned a “Dance for the Cause” fundraiser to help Toms River North senior Caiti Brown and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. I’m happy to report that they raised over $3000 last Friday night and all those involved should be proud of the difference they made for a fellow student.
The Lakewood High School Athletic Hall of Fame will add 14 new members and a couple of great teams during their annual Induction Dinner on Sunday, May 4th at Woodlake Country Club. The new Hall of Famers are Sam Christopher, Robert Housen, Mauro Altizio, Pierre DeCausey, Gary Gunderson, Thomas Briscoe, William Mohr, Kevin King, Bob DelConte, Chrystal Navarro, Addie Dix Moore, Diamond Navarro, Thomas Carroll and the late George Bessette. For more information and tickets on the dinner you can contact Lakewood Athletic Trainer Pat Halpin at (732) 905-3537.
For Met fans today is special as it’s the home opener….the final one to be played at Shea Stadium. What makes it even more exciting is today’s opponent is the Phillies who I’m starting to dislike as much as the Braves. It’s not like Yankees-Red Sox but it’s becoming an intense rivalry, especially because so many Mets fans travel to Philly where it used to be like a Mets home game but not anymore.
Speaking of rivalries, the opening round of hockey’s playoffs will find the Rangers battling the Devils and that should make for some fun times over the next couple of weeks. Hockey is a secondary sport to many but there’s nothing like the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the New York-New Jersey matchup should be a battle to the finish.
Last week I mentioned a “Dance for the Cause” fundraiser to help Toms River North senior Caiti Brown and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. I’m happy to report that they raised over $3000 last Friday night and all those involved should be proud of the difference they made for a fellow student.
The Lakewood High School Athletic Hall of Fame will add 14 new members and a couple of great teams during their annual Induction Dinner on Sunday, May 4th at Woodlake Country Club. The new Hall of Famers are Sam Christopher, Robert Housen, Mauro Altizio, Pierre DeCausey, Gary Gunderson, Thomas Briscoe, William Mohr, Kevin King, Bob DelConte, Chrystal Navarro, Addie Dix Moore, Diamond Navarro, Thomas Carroll and the late George Bessette. For more information and tickets on the dinner you can contact Lakewood Athletic Trainer Pat Halpin at (732) 905-3537.
Friday, April 4, 2008
BlueClaws Opening Night
At times it’s hard to explain the phenomenon that is the Lakewood BlueClaws. They are a low-level minor league baseball team with players who most people have never heard of. They don’t even have a big-name manager who was a major league player that fans are familiar with.
Their parent club is the Philadelphia Phillies who certainly rate below the Yankees and Mets when it comes to shore-area popularity.
So why is it that in their 8th season of existence more than 6,300 people could not wait to meet and greet the 2008 edition of the BlueClaws? The answer is simply the experience of spending a night at FirstEnergy Park…even if the night is more suited for watching a football game. Baby it was cold last night but when the gates opened at 5:30 people began pouring in…dressed in winter coats, hats and gloves and carrying blankets. But it didn’t seem to matter especially for those who are regulars as they searched for familiar faces, many of whom they were seeing for the first time since the final game of last season. Handshakes, hugs and high-fives were commonplace and I even watched one fan show an usher pictures of his new grandson.
The beauty of the BlueClaws is that for most it’s a short trip to the park and for the same as they pay for a movie they get to sit in a great seat and watch young kids play baseball. They may not be major leaguers yet but they’re playing to have a future and if you search the past you’ll find that every one of them was a great high school player, some even legendary in their home towns. By the way it wasn’t only chilly for the fans last night but for some players it was their first exposure to cold weather. 22-year old pitcher Chris
Kissock was one who did not have any problems….after all he grew up in British Columbia, Canada. While there are no players from New Jersey on the team there are two from Australia, five from Latin America and one from Taiwan…baseball is the ultimate melting pot.
Opening night was one for drinking coffee not cold beer and many left early, including yours truly who was not around when the game ended with the BlueClaws losing 4-0 to the Lake County Captains. But we’ll be back…some as early as tonight.
Their parent club is the Philadelphia Phillies who certainly rate below the Yankees and Mets when it comes to shore-area popularity.
So why is it that in their 8th season of existence more than 6,300 people could not wait to meet and greet the 2008 edition of the BlueClaws? The answer is simply the experience of spending a night at FirstEnergy Park…even if the night is more suited for watching a football game. Baby it was cold last night but when the gates opened at 5:30 people began pouring in…dressed in winter coats, hats and gloves and carrying blankets. But it didn’t seem to matter especially for those who are regulars as they searched for familiar faces, many of whom they were seeing for the first time since the final game of last season. Handshakes, hugs and high-fives were commonplace and I even watched one fan show an usher pictures of his new grandson.
The beauty of the BlueClaws is that for most it’s a short trip to the park and for the same as they pay for a movie they get to sit in a great seat and watch young kids play baseball. They may not be major leaguers yet but they’re playing to have a future and if you search the past you’ll find that every one of them was a great high school player, some even legendary in their home towns. By the way it wasn’t only chilly for the fans last night but for some players it was their first exposure to cold weather. 22-year old pitcher Chris
Kissock was one who did not have any problems….after all he grew up in British Columbia, Canada. While there are no players from New Jersey on the team there are two from Australia, five from Latin America and one from Taiwan…baseball is the ultimate melting pot.
Opening night was one for drinking coffee not cold beer and many left early, including yours truly who was not around when the game ended with the BlueClaws losing 4-0 to the Lake County Captains. But we’ll be back…some as early as tonight.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Sports Thoughts
I know I have a daily sports show to talk and vent but if you don’t mind I’d like to share a few things with you this morning.
It looks it’s going to be another wild high school baseball season in Toms River and the North Mariners opened-up Wednesday with a 7-5 victory over cross-town rival TR South, who was the pre-season choice as the top-ranked team at the shore. Ryan Fontenelli belted a pair of two-run homers as North jumped out to a 7-0 lead and held on for the victory. They don’t get too much time to enjoy the win as they host Toms River East on Friday in what will be the Raiders season-opener. Fasten your seat belts because the three will certainly wear each other out before the spring is over.
The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament has reached its Final Four and the last couple of weeks have been filled with highlights and heroes. However the game has a growing problem which you really don’t see during the tournament but rears its ugly head during regular-season conference play.
A few weeks ago “Sports Illustrated” did a story on the problems of fan abuse of visiting players in which students taunt and insult opposing players which has gone way over the top. The story included a picture of Oregon fans giving the business to highly-regarded UCLA freshman Kevin Love and it was not pretty. It was also not well received by the father of one of the Oregon students shown in the picture taunting and jeering. When his son returned home for spring break his father took his car away for the rest of the year and made him take a bus back to school. What’s more the angry dad wrote a letter to the magazine and apologized to Love and his family for his son’s boorish behavior. It’s nice to know someone out there gets it.
If 50 million people watch “American Idol” each week who am I to say anything bad about the show. I do know this…the show thrives only because of Simon Cowell who just might be the smartest Englishman to ever set foot on US soil. Paula Abdul should thank her lucky stars for the show because with little talent it’s made her a star.
I just said this to show I follow more than just sports.
It looks it’s going to be another wild high school baseball season in Toms River and the North Mariners opened-up Wednesday with a 7-5 victory over cross-town rival TR South, who was the pre-season choice as the top-ranked team at the shore. Ryan Fontenelli belted a pair of two-run homers as North jumped out to a 7-0 lead and held on for the victory. They don’t get too much time to enjoy the win as they host Toms River East on Friday in what will be the Raiders season-opener. Fasten your seat belts because the three will certainly wear each other out before the spring is over.
The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament has reached its Final Four and the last couple of weeks have been filled with highlights and heroes. However the game has a growing problem which you really don’t see during the tournament but rears its ugly head during regular-season conference play.
A few weeks ago “Sports Illustrated” did a story on the problems of fan abuse of visiting players in which students taunt and insult opposing players which has gone way over the top. The story included a picture of Oregon fans giving the business to highly-regarded UCLA freshman Kevin Love and it was not pretty. It was also not well received by the father of one of the Oregon students shown in the picture taunting and jeering. When his son returned home for spring break his father took his car away for the rest of the year and made him take a bus back to school. What’s more the angry dad wrote a letter to the magazine and apologized to Love and his family for his son’s boorish behavior. It’s nice to know someone out there gets it.
If 50 million people watch “American Idol” each week who am I to say anything bad about the show. I do know this…the show thrives only because of Simon Cowell who just might be the smartest Englishman to ever set foot on US soil. Paula Abdul should thank her lucky stars for the show because with little talent it’s made her a star.
I just said this to show I follow more than just sports.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Dance For A Cause
There are not enough days in a week to talk about every fundraiser for every worthwhile cause but ones involving young people always tend to have a greater impact on me. So today I’m going to talk about Caiti Brown, a senior at Toms River High School North. Of course in April of her senior year she should be thinking about the prom, graduation and college but she has some bigger issues to deal with as she has Osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer. Over the past few years she has undergone four major surgeries…to repair and replace her damaged femur, knee and some of her tibia. She also had a lobe removed from her left lung and some disease from her right lung. Caiti is currently at the Envita Medical Center in Scottsdale, Arizona where she is being treated for the cancer but while she may be away she is certainly on the minds of others.
The Toms River North Dance Team will host their first annual “Dance for a Cause” on Friday night in the school auditorium to benefit Caiti and The Make A Wish Foundation. Performing will be by the dance team as well as dancers from Lillian Dean Dance Studio, Dance Connection, Denise Danielle Dance Studio and there will be special performances by North staff members and others. The performances will be about three minutes each and it’s an informal recital with the goal to help raise money for a person and/or organization.
“Dance for a Cause” will be this Friday from 7-9pm in the High School North Auditorium and tickets are just $5 each and can be purchased at the door. It would be nice to see a great turnout from the school and community to show their support for Caiti and her family. She may be in Arizona but those back here clearly have her in her heart and in this case feet.
The Toms River North Dance Team will host their first annual “Dance for a Cause” on Friday night in the school auditorium to benefit Caiti and The Make A Wish Foundation. Performing will be by the dance team as well as dancers from Lillian Dean Dance Studio, Dance Connection, Denise Danielle Dance Studio and there will be special performances by North staff members and others. The performances will be about three minutes each and it’s an informal recital with the goal to help raise money for a person and/or organization.
“Dance for a Cause” will be this Friday from 7-9pm in the High School North Auditorium and tickets are just $5 each and can be purchased at the door. It would be nice to see a great turnout from the school and community to show their support for Caiti and her family. She may be in Arizona but those back here clearly have her in her heart and in this case feet.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Final Parent's Weekend
There’s no doubt that many fathers vicariously live through their sons and there’s no question I’ve sort of attempted to do that on my visits to Penn State University where my 22-year old son Brandon is a senior. Now that he’s of legal drinking age I will admit that I’ve enjoyed the ability to hoist a few with him and his friends and that’s what I did this past weekend when his Delta Chi fraternity hosted their annual Parent’s weekend.
There were over 400 people packed into the frat house for a dinner they hosted and my wife and I enjoyed socializing with the “brothers” and their parents. We got bits and pieces of quite a few spring break stories but of course we’re only getting the “G” rated versions and maybe we’re better off not knowing all the details. However while having fun is certainly a large part of Greek like Brandon’s fraternity had reason to be proud of their house GPA and the more than $130,000 they raised for Thon…Penn State’s multi-million dollar dance marathon that raised over $6.6 million in February for the battle against pediatric cancer.
As the night wore on my son informed me that I was going out with them afterwards to visit some of the downtown bars and clubs so after taking my wife back to the hotel I rejoined the posse. A couple of the bars were so jammed we couldn’t move and left quickly and one would not allow me in, are you ready for this….because I didn’t have ID. I’m 52 years old and while I wanted to be flattered it had nothing to do with my youthful looks and demeanor but was club policy. We finally found a place in which I knew after an hour it was time for me to leave. So I stopped for a cup of coffee and then walked the 10 minutes back to our hotel and enjoyed strolling through the campus.
We woke up early Sunday, had breakfast and then took off knowing that in six weeks Brandon will graduate and that will be our final trip back to Happy Valley. Sure I’ll still attend football games but it won’t be the same as when your child is a student. However my 16-year old daughter is at least considering Penn State so all may not be lost.
There were over 400 people packed into the frat house for a dinner they hosted and my wife and I enjoyed socializing with the “brothers” and their parents. We got bits and pieces of quite a few spring break stories but of course we’re only getting the “G” rated versions and maybe we’re better off not knowing all the details. However while having fun is certainly a large part of Greek like Brandon’s fraternity had reason to be proud of their house GPA and the more than $130,000 they raised for Thon…Penn State’s multi-million dollar dance marathon that raised over $6.6 million in February for the battle against pediatric cancer.
As the night wore on my son informed me that I was going out with them afterwards to visit some of the downtown bars and clubs so after taking my wife back to the hotel I rejoined the posse. A couple of the bars were so jammed we couldn’t move and left quickly and one would not allow me in, are you ready for this….because I didn’t have ID. I’m 52 years old and while I wanted to be flattered it had nothing to do with my youthful looks and demeanor but was club policy. We finally found a place in which I knew after an hour it was time for me to leave. So I stopped for a cup of coffee and then walked the 10 minutes back to our hotel and enjoyed strolling through the campus.
We woke up early Sunday, had breakfast and then took off knowing that in six weeks Brandon will graduate and that will be our final trip back to Happy Valley. Sure I’ll still attend football games but it won’t be the same as when your child is a student. However my 16-year old daughter is at least considering Penn State so all may not be lost.
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