Tiger Comes Close

He didn’t win but you have to admit having Tiger Woods in contention on the final day of the Master’s sure made things interesting. It was the wildest Sunday ever at Augusta National with eight players having or sharing the lead at one point but the bottom line is that Tiger’s charge early in the day is what electrified the gallery and many of us watching at home. 26-year old Charl Scwartzel of South Africa emerged from a crowded pack to birdie the final four holes and he was the unlikely winner of the “green jacket.” Just as unlikely was the complete and utter collapse of Irishman Rory McIlroy who took a four-shot lead into Sunday before falling apart at the seams and shooting a round of 80. It was simply a tremendous afternoon of gut wrenching golf and great theatre.

Talk about weird movies. We watched “Black Swan” over the weekend...that’s the film for which Natalie Portman won a Best Actress Oscar just last month. She is very good, although my wife and I were wondering if she did any of the dancing scenes. I know many movie reviewers thought it was brilliant and masterful and all of that good stuff but frankly it’s one of those movies that I’ll never have any reason to watch again.

There are still businesses that operate the old-fashioned way and one of them has to be Pettis Clock Shop in Toms River. We have a clock that hangs outside in the summer because it also displays the temperature and the hands were getting stuck.
So I brought it in to the shop on Route 166 in Toms River Saturday expecting to leave it and pick it up at a later date. Instead for $10.00 I got to watch Orville Pettis delicately and meticulously work his magic, heard about his days working on aircraft at McGuire Air Force Base and a history lesson on the clock shop which has been in the same location for more than 40 years. Now that was a bargain…and the clock works just fine.

No it’s not your imagination. You drive by a place in the morning and gas is $3.49 a gallon. You go by at lunch and its $3.55. Just imagine what it will be after dinner.

Baseball Season Starts

The Lakewood BlueClaws season and home opener was typical in that it was played on a cool if not cold evening where hot chocolate certainly out sold Italian Ices and hats and gloves were more appropriate than shorts and tee shirts. What was different was the BlueClaws won, something that had not done before in their 11-year history as they shutout the Kannapolis Intimidators 2-0. There was the pomp and circumstances that goes with Opening Night and while it was chilly it did not seem to bother the diehards who treat the opener like a holiday. It was nice to watch the interaction between fans and BlueClaws staff, especially the ushers who greeted fans like old friends which I guess in some case they have become over the years. Kids were scrambling to get autographs of players who one day may join the three dozen former BlueClaws who have made it to the major leagues.
All in all a night of fun and promise which is what opening day is supposed to be.

Have to admit that I was surprised to learn that Paul Brush is re-entering the world of politics in his home town of Toms River. Brush announced Thursday that he will run in the Democratic primary this June as he seeks the party nomination for Mayor of Ocean County’s largest town. He previously served as Mayor from 2004-2007 and during his tenure championed the cause of changing the name of the Township from Dover to Toms River. Along with the Toms River-Ocean County Chamber of Commerce that effort was successful and Brush would have the distinction of being the last mayor in Dover history and the first in Toms River.
Barring any surprises Brush would face off with current mayor Thomas Kelaher in November it what would certainly be a high-profile race.

The Caregiver Volunteers of Central Jersey are holding their 11th Annual Caring Classic Golf Outing on Monday, May 9th at Eagle Ridge Golf Club. The organization is a vital one and each month more than 1,000 volunteers give of their time to help elderly neighbors remain independent. Fundraising helps toward training, insurance and background checks for all the volunteers who perform tasks from driving to doctor appointments to food shopping while easing the burdens of family Caregivers. I will emcee the Awards program after dinner and for information on the golf outing you can call (732) 849-2719. Senator Robert Singer is the Honorary Chairperson of this year’s event.

Homeruns For Heroes

The Lakewood BlueClaws open their 11th season tonight at FirstEnergy Park against Kannapolis in the first of 140 games the team will play during the South Atlantic League’s regular season. The two-time defending league champions will start 22-year old Californian Mario Hollands, a 10th round pick in last June’s draft after graduating from the University of California-Santa Barbara. Meanwhile the opposing pitcher will be better known to many of those in attendance as Ryan Buch is a former Monmouth University standout who was an 8th round pick of the White Sox in 2009. The 23-year old right-hander was 7-4 last season in the minors and lost in Lakewood on the final day of the regular season.

I always attend the home opener and tonight will also represent WOBM as part of the “Home Run for Heroes” program we are involved in along with the OceanFirst
Foundation and the BlueClaws. The program awards money to nine local military-based charities every time the BlueClaws hit a home run during one of their 70 home games and in 2010 the OceanFirst Foundation awarded $30,000.

Tonight the charities will be introduced and will randomly be given an inning which will determine just how much money they receive…each time a player homers in that inning it will go to the designated charity.

During the 2010 High School Baseball season Toms River South beat Jackson Memorial in three of the four meetings between the teams with the last two coming in the finals of the Ocean County and Shore Conference Tournaments. It capped a tremendous season for the Indians who also claimed the Class A South title and went 26-4 under legendary coach Ken Frank. The Jaguars meanwhile were 25-7 and did win a state sectional title but it was those losses to the Indians and their graduated ace pitcher Andrew Magee that really hurt. Yesterday they alleviated some of that pain with a 10-4 win over South in what will probably be the first of several meetings again this spring. Senior outfielder Matt Meleo led the Jags with three hits and three RBI’s while Andy Lopez added a two-run homer. Jackson is off to a 2-0 start as is Toms River North and Manchester who both won Wednesday as well.

BlueClaws Warm Up

Whether it’s Little League or the Major Leagues playing baseball in April in this part of the country is challenging to say the least although it might be harder for those in the stands then on the field. As we suffer through another spring that feels much closer to winter than summer baseball is back and last night some hearty souls braved falling temperatures and strong winds to get their first look at the 2011 edition of the Lakewood BlueClaws.

The Phillies “Class A” team beat Monmouth University 3-0 in an exhibition game at FirstEnergy Park that allowed the newest BlueClaws a first opportunity to get comfortable in what will be their home for the next six months. It was a also a chance for the Hawks to match their skills against guys who get paid to play which is where several of them could be headed at some point in the future. One of the few offensive highlights in a game dominated by pitching came in the 4th inning when BlueClaws DH Anthony Hewitt belted a monstrous 2-run homer over the wall in left-center off freshman Stephen Frey, who was impressive over five innings in his first start for the Hawks.
Monmouth (13-12 overall) is right back in action today when they visit Lafayette
while the BlueClaws get ready for their season-opener Thursday against Kannapolis at FirstEnergy Park.

Had a good time broadcasting last night’s game on our Shore Sports Network along with Matt Harmon and BlueClaws broadcasters Greg Giombarrese and Sean Houston. Matt and I interviewed new Monmouth basketball coach King Rice during the 4th inning…he had the honor of throwing out last night’s first pitch.
Rice has hit the ground running and is clearly excited about his first head coaching opportunity.

On a totally unrelated note there will be two separate Zumba fundraising events this Saturday. Zumba is a Latin-inspired cardio workout that is set to music and has become very popular as a way to stay fit while having fun. April is Autism Awareness Month and because of that the Autism Awareness Club of Central Regional will host a fundraiser in the Boys gym Saturday from 6-7:30pm. The 90-minute “Zumbathon” will find local instructors donating their time and energy.
Admission is just $10 with all the money going to the cause of fighting Autism.

The Toms River High School North baseball program is also hosting a Zumba fundraising event on Saturday at 10am in the school’s gold cafeteria. The donation is $15 for adults and $10 for students with all proceeds going to support the Mariners baseball program.

Remembering John Adler

(pictured: Kevin Williams, Jane Kunka, United Water and BPW member; Jon Runyan, John Adler,Ken Fitzpatrick, Chairman of the Toms River/Ocean County Chamber of Commerce. Photo courtesy Business & Professional Women of Southern Ocean County website)

Like many others I was stunned and saddened to learn about the passing of former Congressman John Adler Monday at the age of 51. I first met him in 2008 when he was campaigning for the 3rd District seat that had been held for many years by Jim Saxton.

Adler, a Democrat was running against Chris Myers and I emceed a candidates forum for the Toms River-Ocean County Chamber of Commerce (pictured above). Right off the bat I was impressed by him and despite coming to a Republican stronghold in Ocean County he was clearly comfortable and promised to represent the area if elected. He was and in just two years did as promised, opening an office in Toms River and serving his constituents. Adler might have been a Democrat but he often disagreed with President Obama and his own party which probably did not sit well with party leaders. I spoke with him on the phone a couple of times and he was always pleasant and insisted that I not hesitate to reach him if I or the Chamber of Commerce had any concerns. He appeared at a candidate’s forum we hosted this past fall when running against Jon Runyan and as he usual handled himself quite well. Adler lost a hard-fought election and returned to private life as an attorney before being hospitalized three weeks ago with an infection around his heart which would ultimately claim his life. When he campaigned he often spoke about his father, who owned a dry cleaning business in South Jersey and died of heart problems while Adler was in high school. Now the Harvard College and Law School graduate leaves behind four sons and his wife Shelly.

On a totally unrelated note…what a shame such a great NCAA Basketball Tournament ended with one of the ugliest games you will ever see. Sure Connecticut and Butler played great defense but the offense and shooting was just dreadful, especially from the Bulldogs. Butler made just 12 of 64 shots…that’s a record-low 18.8% as they lost 53-41. Part of the problem is they play these basketball games in huge football stadiums and it’s almost unfair to the players. Despite last night’s game it was a wonderful tournament, filled with great finishes and tremendous performances. Starting with the Big East Tournament the Huskies won 11 games over 27 days and are deserving champions.

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.

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)