A little of this and a little of that:

With New Jersey moving its Presidential primary to February yesterday’s June elections lacked the punch that might have come if Presidential candidates were on the ballot. As a matter of fact if we were casting ballots
for President yesterday it might have put New Jersey on the national stage…at least as far as Democrats were concerned. The most interesting result was how close the Republican race was for three Ocean County positions held by incumbents who faced a stronger than expected challenge.
Freeholder Joe Vicari, Clerk Carl Block and Surrogate Jeff Moran did prevail and will be strong favorites in November.
For those who forgot Hillary Clinton and John McCain won the New Jersey Presidential Primary four months ago.

An interesting baseball day for New York fans Tuesday. Joba Chamberlain’s much-anticipated debut as a starter for the Yankees lasted just 2 1/3 innings as by then he had already thrown 62 pitches, allowed a run on one hit and three walks. The Yanks lost to Toronto 9-3. Meanwhile in San Francisco Pedro Martinez made his first start since early April and went six solid innings in the Mets’ 9-3 win over the Giants.

Closer to home, Toms River North’s baseball season ended with a 5-1 lost to Hunterdon Central in the Group 4 Semifinals. The Mariners finish with a 23-5 record which included the Class A South title and just the second state sectional championship in school history.

Toms River South will try and capture its second championship of the season tonight when they face Rumson in the Shore Conference Tournament Finals at Toms River East. The Indians won the Ocean County Tournament last month.

The Shore Conference Softball Tournament Championship game is scheduled for this afternoon at Wall High School matching top two seeds….Red Bank Catholic and Toms River East. The Caseys beat the Raiders in a regular-season meeting in May.

Ocean County's Good Sports

Sunday morning 34 high school student-athletes will be honored during a brunch at the Quality Inn of Toms River for understanding that you can be a competitive athlete and a good sport at the same time. The Ocean County Athletic Directors Sportsmanship Awards will be given to a male and female from each of the county schools and I will once again serve as Master of Ceremonies. The breakfast is great but not the reason why I give up a Sunday morning….rather it’s because in this day and age it’s important we promote sportsmanship and it’s nice to honor those who best represent their schools on and off the field.

Receiving the sportsmanship awards on Sunday will be:

Barnegat High School- Matt Falk Claire Sands
Brick Memorial- Andrew Brodeur Demetra Dooros
Brick Township- Andrew Ball Brittany Morgan
Central Regional- James Plummer Shana Wood
Jackson Liberty- Chris Castonova Jill Anzalone
Jackson Memorial- Geoff Barletta Marissa Soprano
Lacey- R.J. Roe Tara Hennig
Lakewood- Jordan Seda Gina Componile
Manchester- Christopher Boyle Nicole Hoesch
Monsignor Donovan- Tom Carter Kelsey Foley
Pinelands Regional- Matt Benn Amanda Feldman
Point Pleasant Beach- Brian McElwee Emily Piri
Point Pleasant Borough- Joseph Bontempo Chandler Oliphant
Southern Regional- Tim Moffitt Morgan Logue
Toms River East- Joseph Shore Kaitlin Cornell
Toms River North- Paul DeMartino Amber DiGiore
Toms River South- Alex Okuniewicz John Coppinger

I look forward to saluting these young women and men who have brought honor to their schools, communities and families.