Count me among those who stayed up until 11:41 last night which is when the 83rd Academy Awards came to a close. It was one of the more uneventful Oscar broadcasts, partly because there were no real surprises and partly because I thought the co-hosts were pretty bland. Anne Hathaway and James Franco both looked good but that was about it as they really brought nothing to the table. She was better than him but that’s not saying much because he was lost. Proof of this might be that 8-time host Billy Crystal received a standing ovation when he was introduced as a presenter and the show missed his kind of talent. There was one interesting moment and that came when Supporting Actress winner Melissa Leo dropped an “f bomb” during her acceptance speech which was bleeped-out in time but was referenced several times during the show.
It is not surprising that Dave Calloway will not return as basketball coach following Monmouth University’s fifth straight losing season but the swiftness of the decision caught some off guard. Less than 24 hours after finishing a 9-21 season university president Paul Gaffney II announced that Calloway had resigned but later in the day the 14-year head coach said it was not his choice which means he was asked to resign. Calloway, who is a Monmouth lifer has been offered another position at the school but would like to coach again and might take some time before making a decision. Meanwhile the Hawks need to find someone who can win some games and put fans in the seats because the most exciting night of the season at the MAC came Friday when Raritan beat Rumson in the Shore Conference Tournament finale.
Not exactly the most exciting day of wrestling but Saturday’s Region 6 Championships at the Poland Spring Arena did produce some interesting results and stories…none better than at 103 pounds where Anthony D’Anton became Monsignor Donovan’s first region champ since 1985. D’Anton was originally the top seed in his weight class until officials realized they had made a mistake and dropped him to fifth but it did not matter as he not only won a region title but collected the Outstanding Wrestler award. D’Anton had a large and loud rooting section led by his Mother and his victory was clearly one of the highlights of the weekend which lacked the star power of recent years but saw Kyle Casaletto of Southern win his third Region title and Toms River South produce a pair of champions in Kevin Corrigan and B.J. Clagon.
Jackson Memorial’s Doug Withstandley was named Region 6 coach of-the-year and his Jaguars finished third in the final New Jersey Coaches Poll behind High Point and South Plainfield.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
The Above Average Guy
I’m glancing through the current issue of Men’s Health when I come across a regular feature called “The Above-Average Guy” which addresses issues of the day and reveals how men feel about them. This month’s subject is driving and here are some numbers:
• 1 in 4 traffic accidents in the US are said to be caused in some way by cell phone use and just under 10% of men admit they often text or tweet while driving…a dangerous combination.
• In 2008, 71% of fatal traffic accidents involved men and a quarter of those men were DUI at the time of the crash.
• 40% of men still feel very strongly that they are better drivers than women.
• The average man drives nearly 17,000 miles per year and will admit to being lost for about 300 of those miles. You know we hate asking for directions.
• Here’s one that sticks out. 1 in 6 men make rude gestures to other drivers at least once a week and I clearly fall into that category. However my wife gets very upset with me over this for two reasons…she insists it’s childish and also can be dangerous because you never know how the other driver will react. She’s probably correct about both but here’s a tip when it comes to gauging the other guy. If the other car has a lot of stickers, decals and other markers on their car stay away because they are more likely to be hostile.
• Speaking of stickers, if you’re looking for a safe way to remove old ones try a can of WD-40 and a spatula. Or try a hair dryer and start with the corners
and just peel back.
• Guys often wonder if a hot car can help them get a hot girl. It seems that it
can help as research indicates a sexy car can increase the attractiveness of the driver by about 15%. Bottom line is being behind the wheel of a 1979
Olds Delta is probably not going to help.
On an unrelated note the Shore Sports Network will conclude its basketball coverage for the season with tonight’s championship games of the Shore Conference Tournament from Monmouth University. The girl’s final at 6pm matches Neptune against St. John Vianney and following that Raritan and Rumson battle for the boy’s championship. Both games can be heard on 1160 & 1310am and will stream live at www.shoresportsnetwork.com
• 1 in 4 traffic accidents in the US are said to be caused in some way by cell phone use and just under 10% of men admit they often text or tweet while driving…a dangerous combination.
• In 2008, 71% of fatal traffic accidents involved men and a quarter of those men were DUI at the time of the crash.
• 40% of men still feel very strongly that they are better drivers than women.
• The average man drives nearly 17,000 miles per year and will admit to being lost for about 300 of those miles. You know we hate asking for directions.
• Here’s one that sticks out. 1 in 6 men make rude gestures to other drivers at least once a week and I clearly fall into that category. However my wife gets very upset with me over this for two reasons…she insists it’s childish and also can be dangerous because you never know how the other driver will react. She’s probably correct about both but here’s a tip when it comes to gauging the other guy. If the other car has a lot of stickers, decals and other markers on their car stay away because they are more likely to be hostile.
• Speaking of stickers, if you’re looking for a safe way to remove old ones try a can of WD-40 and a spatula. Or try a hair dryer and start with the corners
and just peel back.
• Guys often wonder if a hot car can help them get a hot girl. It seems that it
can help as research indicates a sexy car can increase the attractiveness of the driver by about 15%. Bottom line is being behind the wheel of a 1979
Olds Delta is probably not going to help.
On an unrelated note the Shore Sports Network will conclude its basketball coverage for the season with tonight’s championship games of the Shore Conference Tournament from Monmouth University. The girl’s final at 6pm matches Neptune against St. John Vianney and following that Raritan and Rumson battle for the boy’s championship. Both games can be heard on 1160 & 1310am and will stream live at www.shoresportsnetwork.com
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Shore Tournament
Ocean County does not get much respect when it comes to basketball and to be honest has not been really deserving of it, especially when you look at recent Shore Conference Tournament history. However going into last night semifinals there was a strong possibility of the first All-Ocean boy’s championship game in 20 years. I was so excited about this that I went into my archives and brought out the bracket sheet from 1991 when Lakewood beat Lacey 86-67 in the finals at Brick Memorial. Turns out I can put the sheet away for another year because for the 20th straight February the Shore Conference champions will come from Monmouth County as Raritan and Rumson spoiled the brief Ocean County party.
In the opener at Brookdale Community College 13th seeded Rumson continued their magical tournament ride with a 52-47 victory over Point Pleasant Beach. The Bulldogs were sparked by the smallest player on the court as 5’7 Kevin “Pookie” Alter hit four 3-pointers and made all eight of his free throws to score a team-high 20pts. Rumson had never even made it to the semifinals before this year and now they are a win away from an unlikely championship. Rice University-bound Jarelle Reischel led the Garnett Gulls with 25 points as their bid for a first-ever Shore title came to an end.
The nightcap saw what many, including yours truly witness what might have been the most dominating performance in recent Shore Conference Tournament history.
6’8 junior center Michael Aaman scored 34 points and grabbed 23 rebounds, 16 on the offensive end to lead 3rd seeded Raritan past #2 Lakewood 59-46. Aaman, who has already made a verbal commitment to Wagner, scored 15 of his points in the first quarter and added 10 in the 4th to put away the Piners, who were seeking their first title since 1991. Friday’s championship matchup between the Rockets and Bulldogs will be there third of the season with Raritan winning the first two rather easily.
As bad as the dry spell is for Ocean County boy’s teams, it’s worse for the girls.
Brick won the inaugural girls title in 1972 and Southern captured the crown in 1984 but when Neptune faces St. John Vianney Friday night at Monmouth University it will be the 27th consecutive year a Monmouth County team has emerged Shore Conference champion.
A quick football coaching note. Mark Ciccotelli is leaving Freehold Boro after 7 years to take the head coaching job at Neptune. Ciccotelli’s hiring leaves coaching vacancies at Freehold, Jackson Memorial, Brick Township and Point Beach.
In the opener at Brookdale Community College 13th seeded Rumson continued their magical tournament ride with a 52-47 victory over Point Pleasant Beach. The Bulldogs were sparked by the smallest player on the court as 5’7 Kevin “Pookie” Alter hit four 3-pointers and made all eight of his free throws to score a team-high 20pts. Rumson had never even made it to the semifinals before this year and now they are a win away from an unlikely championship. Rice University-bound Jarelle Reischel led the Garnett Gulls with 25 points as their bid for a first-ever Shore title came to an end.
The nightcap saw what many, including yours truly witness what might have been the most dominating performance in recent Shore Conference Tournament history.
6’8 junior center Michael Aaman scored 34 points and grabbed 23 rebounds, 16 on the offensive end to lead 3rd seeded Raritan past #2 Lakewood 59-46. Aaman, who has already made a verbal commitment to Wagner, scored 15 of his points in the first quarter and added 10 in the 4th to put away the Piners, who were seeking their first title since 1991. Friday’s championship matchup between the Rockets and Bulldogs will be there third of the season with Raritan winning the first two rather easily.
As bad as the dry spell is for Ocean County boy’s teams, it’s worse for the girls.
Brick won the inaugural girls title in 1972 and Southern captured the crown in 1984 but when Neptune faces St. John Vianney Friday night at Monmouth University it will be the 27th consecutive year a Monmouth County team has emerged Shore Conference champion.
A quick football coaching note. Mark Ciccotelli is leaving Freehold Boro after 7 years to take the head coaching job at Neptune. Ciccotelli’s hiring leaves coaching vacancies at Freehold, Jackson Memorial, Brick Township and Point Beach.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Penn State's Thon
I’m a little late on this but as the saying goes better late than never. Some of you may have wondered over the past few months why you would see students from Penn State University soliciting donations in the shore area for something called THON. That’s with an “N” at the end and not a “G” and pretty much is an abbreviation for marathon as in dance marathon. Officially the event is known as the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, a 46-hour event that concluded on Sunday at the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pennsylvania.
If you listen with any regularity you sort of know my feelings for the school which go back decades for football reasons but in recent years has taken on a new meaning. My son graduated from Penn State in 2008 and my daughter is a freshman there. It was during my son’s time at PSU that we became aware of Thon, which is the largest student-run philanthropy in the world and dates back to 1973. So what really is this all about? It’s about college students raising money to fight childhood cancer and it’s so big at the school that it’s taken on a life of its own.
Basically every organization on every campus raises money with most of it coming through canning trips. Canning, which we often call tagging is simply soliciting donations but it works in a different way for Thon. Students basically go to the hometowns of others for long weekends….four of them usually two in each semester. My daughter Alex made two trips to Long Island, one to Philadelphia and one to Maryland with some of her sorority sisters. During those trips they would find locations where they could hold out their cans and raise money.
Anyway all this fundraising culminated this past weekend where the student organizations gathered to watch and support more than 700 dancers, chosen as their representatives. The dancers are usually seniors and others like my daughter have assigned shifts in a supporting role. As a freshman this was her first direct experience and she probably spent about 35 of the 46 hours awake and loved every minute of it. The entire experience, while exhausting is uplifting and makes you feel so much better about today’s young people.
So let me give you the bottom line. In 2010 Thon raised a record $7.8 million in the fight against pediatric cancer. That’s an incredible total but when all the numbers were counted Sunday night more than 15,000 Penn State students helped raise over $9.5 million. That’s even more impressive than winning a national football championship.
If you listen with any regularity you sort of know my feelings for the school which go back decades for football reasons but in recent years has taken on a new meaning. My son graduated from Penn State in 2008 and my daughter is a freshman there. It was during my son’s time at PSU that we became aware of Thon, which is the largest student-run philanthropy in the world and dates back to 1973. So what really is this all about? It’s about college students raising money to fight childhood cancer and it’s so big at the school that it’s taken on a life of its own.
Basically every organization on every campus raises money with most of it coming through canning trips. Canning, which we often call tagging is simply soliciting donations but it works in a different way for Thon. Students basically go to the hometowns of others for long weekends….four of them usually two in each semester. My daughter Alex made two trips to Long Island, one to Philadelphia and one to Maryland with some of her sorority sisters. During those trips they would find locations where they could hold out their cans and raise money.
Anyway all this fundraising culminated this past weekend where the student organizations gathered to watch and support more than 700 dancers, chosen as their representatives. The dancers are usually seniors and others like my daughter have assigned shifts in a supporting role. As a freshman this was her first direct experience and she probably spent about 35 of the 46 hours awake and loved every minute of it. The entire experience, while exhausting is uplifting and makes you feel so much better about today’s young people.
So let me give you the bottom line. In 2010 Thon raised a record $7.8 million in the fight against pediatric cancer. That’s an incredible total but when all the numbers were counted Sunday night more than 15,000 Penn State students helped raise over $9.5 million. That’s even more impressive than winning a national football championship.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Sun To Snow
How about this for a wild 72 hours? Almost 70 degrees on Friday, incredible winds and cold on Saturday, a bit of rain early Sunday and then Monday night and this morning…snow. That’s what I call covering the full gamut when it comes to weather.
Belated congratulations to Manchester Township High School graduate Andrew Valmon who last week was named head coach of the United States men’s track and field team for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Valmon, who has been the head coach at the University of Maryland since 2003 is a two-time Olympian who won relay gold medals in 1988 and 1992. The 46-year old former Hawk track and basketball standout is married to former Olympian Meredith Rainey and the couple has three children. Andrew is true gentlemen whose success does not surprise those who have known him for years and there is much more for him in the future.
Shore-area high school wrestlers hit the mat tonight at the Poland Spring Arena for the first round of the Region 6 championships. Tonight’s action begins at 5pm and is for those who finished second and third in this past weekend’s District Championships. Winners tonight advance to Friday’s quarterfinals.
The Shore Conference Basketball Tournament resumes tonight with the Girls semifinals at Brookdale Community College. In the 6pm opener two-time defending champion and top-seed Neptune battles Point Boro and that game will be followed by St. John Vianney and St. Rose. Pt. Boro has surprised some with convincing wins over Holmdel and Red Bank Catholic but Coach Dave Drew has an impressive group of athletes who just might challenge Neptune, the #2 ranked team in the state.
It’s been a while since two Ocean County teams made it to the Boys Semifinals and with wins tomorrow it could set the stage for an all-Ocean finale. Surprising Point Beach battles Rumson in the Collins Arena and then Lakewood will take on Raritan…both games will be broadcast live on 1160 and 1310AM with coverage beginning at 6pm Wednesday.
Belated congratulations to Manchester Township High School graduate Andrew Valmon who last week was named head coach of the United States men’s track and field team for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Valmon, who has been the head coach at the University of Maryland since 2003 is a two-time Olympian who won relay gold medals in 1988 and 1992. The 46-year old former Hawk track and basketball standout is married to former Olympian Meredith Rainey and the couple has three children. Andrew is true gentlemen whose success does not surprise those who have known him for years and there is much more for him in the future.
Shore-area high school wrestlers hit the mat tonight at the Poland Spring Arena for the first round of the Region 6 championships. Tonight’s action begins at 5pm and is for those who finished second and third in this past weekend’s District Championships. Winners tonight advance to Friday’s quarterfinals.
The Shore Conference Basketball Tournament resumes tonight with the Girls semifinals at Brookdale Community College. In the 6pm opener two-time defending champion and top-seed Neptune battles Point Boro and that game will be followed by St. John Vianney and St. Rose. Pt. Boro has surprised some with convincing wins over Holmdel and Red Bank Catholic but Coach Dave Drew has an impressive group of athletes who just might challenge Neptune, the #2 ranked team in the state.
It’s been a while since two Ocean County teams made it to the Boys Semifinals and with wins tomorrow it could set the stage for an all-Ocean finale. Surprising Point Beach battles Rumson in the Collins Arena and then Lakewood will take on Raritan…both games will be broadcast live on 1160 and 1310AM with coverage beginning at 6pm Wednesday.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Changes In Brick
Following a coaching legend is never easy. Just ask Phil Bengston, Gene Bartow, Ray Perkins, Earl Bruce and Gary Moeller. They are certainly not the household names of the guys they replaced….Lombardi, Wooden, Bryant, Woody and Bo. Everyone knew the day would come when somebody would be thrown into that position at Brick Township High School when football coach Warren Wolf retired and it came following the 2008 season, his 51st with the Green Dragons. I and just about everyone else assumed the Board of Education would assure themselves a smooth transition by picking someone with ties to school and program. By now you know they did not, instead selecting Pat Dowling who had an extensive coaching resume and who was coming off his first season at Allentown.
Dowling’s appointment over two other finalists who played and coached at Brick
was criticized by many, including yours truly. It had nothing to do with his credentials but rather was simply the wrong thing to do for all involved. However not even I could have predicted it would cause the uproar that it did and two years
after he landed the coaching job the Dowling Era has come to an end. Thursday District Athletic Director Bill Bruno informed him he would not return as coach and the school would move in a different direction.
Back to what I said in the opening….following a coaching legend is never easy. However in this case it was made more difficult because the coach being replaced not only didn’t endorse the choice but fought it. Wolf was a vocal critic and questioned publically why the school board did not give the job to a “Brick boy.” He even went as far to rescind his retirement which the board did not accept and after a year away from football returned to coach at Lakewood High School in 2010. In between he ran and was elected to the same Board of Education he had fought on the issue.
As for Dowling….he never had a chance although critics will tell you he at times was his own worst enemy. The Green Dragons posted identical 4-6 records in his two seasons and the move made Thursday was not surprising. He was always very cooperative with me and I only hope he can get past what was a difficult time for him and his family. There will be plenty of names floated out there as to the next coach, starting with the two other finalists from 2009…Tim Osborn and Len Zdanowicz. Osborn is happy as the head coach at Jackson Liberty where Zdanowicz was an assistant last year and I would think a prime candidate. He’s a “Brick boy” who might be able to heal old wounds and get the program headed in the right direction. One thing is for sure…the next guy will have an easier road to travel than Pat Dowling.
Dowling’s appointment over two other finalists who played and coached at Brick
was criticized by many, including yours truly. It had nothing to do with his credentials but rather was simply the wrong thing to do for all involved. However not even I could have predicted it would cause the uproar that it did and two years
after he landed the coaching job the Dowling Era has come to an end. Thursday District Athletic Director Bill Bruno informed him he would not return as coach and the school would move in a different direction.
Back to what I said in the opening….following a coaching legend is never easy. However in this case it was made more difficult because the coach being replaced not only didn’t endorse the choice but fought it. Wolf was a vocal critic and questioned publically why the school board did not give the job to a “Brick boy.” He even went as far to rescind his retirement which the board did not accept and after a year away from football returned to coach at Lakewood High School in 2010. In between he ran and was elected to the same Board of Education he had fought on the issue.
As for Dowling….he never had a chance although critics will tell you he at times was his own worst enemy. The Green Dragons posted identical 4-6 records in his two seasons and the move made Thursday was not surprising. He was always very cooperative with me and I only hope he can get past what was a difficult time for him and his family. There will be plenty of names floated out there as to the next coach, starting with the two other finalists from 2009…Tim Osborn and Len Zdanowicz. Osborn is happy as the head coach at Jackson Liberty where Zdanowicz was an assistant last year and I would think a prime candidate. He’s a “Brick boy” who might be able to heal old wounds and get the program headed in the right direction. One thing is for sure…the next guy will have an easier road to travel than Pat Dowling.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
The Debate Over Tenure
What a difference a couple of weeks can make. We headed into February with fears that this would be a winter that would never end and predictions of more big storms. However so far February has been quiet, most of the snow that’s been on the ground since December 26th has finally melted, and it will feel more like spring than winter today and tomorrow. Before you put your shovels away I would like to remind you that last year’s biggest snowstorm came on February 25th so we are not out of the woods just yet.
The debate continues in Trenton and throughout New Jersey on the issue of teacher tenure. Governor Christie’s new Education Commissioner believes a new system is needed but Christopher Cerf did not emphatically say that tenure should be abolished. It appears we are headed for a real battle on what has become a heated issue as the New Jersey Education Association is opposed to anything which does away with tenure. In a speech yesterday Cerf said only 17 teachers in the state have lost their jobs in the last 10 years for incompetence. This issue is a very emotional one and I understand to some extent how both sides feel but it does seem that at the very least we need an easier way to remove those tenured teachers who are not doing a good job in the classroom. I am opposed to test scores being the barometer but no profession should have job security just because they have done it for a period of time. If the public sector worked that way everything would decline in a rapid manner.
It’s been an up and down basketball season for the University of Denver where former Toms River East standout Joe Scott is in his fourth season as head coach.
The Pioneers lost six of their first seven games but have rebounded after that rough start and take a 12-13 record into tonight’s home game against Louisiana-Monroe.
More importantly Denver is tied with Arkansas State for first place in the Sun Belt West with an 8-4 conference record. Scott, who previously served as head coach at Air Force and his alma mater Princeton was a three-sport standout at East and remains the Raiders all-time leading basketball scorer with over 1500 career points.
The debate continues in Trenton and throughout New Jersey on the issue of teacher tenure. Governor Christie’s new Education Commissioner believes a new system is needed but Christopher Cerf did not emphatically say that tenure should be abolished. It appears we are headed for a real battle on what has become a heated issue as the New Jersey Education Association is opposed to anything which does away with tenure. In a speech yesterday Cerf said only 17 teachers in the state have lost their jobs in the last 10 years for incompetence. This issue is a very emotional one and I understand to some extent how both sides feel but it does seem that at the very least we need an easier way to remove those tenured teachers who are not doing a good job in the classroom. I am opposed to test scores being the barometer but no profession should have job security just because they have done it for a period of time. If the public sector worked that way everything would decline in a rapid manner.
It’s been an up and down basketball season for the University of Denver where former Toms River East standout Joe Scott is in his fourth season as head coach.
The Pioneers lost six of their first seven games but have rebounded after that rough start and take a 12-13 record into tonight’s home game against Louisiana-Monroe.
More importantly Denver is tied with Arkansas State for first place in the Sun Belt West with an 8-4 conference record. Scott, who previously served as head coach at Air Force and his alma mater Princeton was a three-sport standout at East and remains the Raiders all-time leading basketball scorer with over 1500 career points.
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