Why make plans?

I had my day all set … on the road by 8:45. Coffee & a Bagel. A Couple EZ-Pass tolls and arrive at Toms River North about 10:30. Pick out a nice spot to watch the Clifton v. TRE match-up. How long could that game last? 1 hour 10 minutes? 1:20? Walk over, catch Randolph in the 3rd and tape the game. Hop in the car and catch the second half of Mendham Girls Lax, then watch Mt. Lakes pull the upset of the year in Boys Lax.

It simply started out ugly. I forgot to set my alarm. Woke up at 9. Arrived at TRN at 11:40. No big deal, the softball game was 0-0, bottom 4. Perfect! I decide to camp out with Sean Reilly and the Pride Crew. It’s always fun seeing Stern and there’s some people you just need to watch a game with … the Pride contingency are those people you need spend one game with. It is that funny.

But we’re still on pace … I am now hearing tons of cheering from across the great plains that TRN calls their athletic complex. I know I need to get over there. But it’s no 0-0, top 8 and my love of softball has taken over that desire to down that one last chicken wing!

Move ahead to the 10th … 0-0, International Tie-Breaker. This is the 1st time in NJ State history that we have had a ITB in the state finals, You can watch the 10th inning when I upload the video shortly.

The game ends about 2:25 minutes after 1st pitch and I run over to Randolph. Bottom 7, Score 15-7. I notice that Randolph is at bat … and it’s the bottom of the 7th. Not good! I think to myself … “maybe I am just in time to catch one of the greatest comebacks in NJSIAA history!” Kral leads off the 7th and hits a frozen rope to right. I notice the right fielder taking a very aggressive angle and sprawls all-out … and makes a sensational catch -- Belly out, feet in the air, fully extended!! You know it’s not your day when that happens, but what a great season for the Rams!

It’s now 2:45 and if I jet up to Rutgers, I was due to miss almost all of the Mendham game. So why not watch Porcello? I grab a seat at the 6 tables that the NJSIAA has set up for the press and watch one inning. What impressed me the most? The hitting of SHP! Are you kidding, Talk about a stacked line up! Then the reason why everyone bought a ticket … Porcello gears up for the 1st inning. A classic hush and quiet awe overtook the crowd as the future Detroit Tiger took the sign for his first pitch. Pop. Oh yeah, he brings it. You know that, everyone knows that. He then walks the 1st batter on four pitches. Did I mention he already had a 4-0 lead before even throwing a pitch? A wild pitch and single and St. Joe’s cut it to 4-1. Needless to say, like the class act and born ball player that Porcello is, he settled in and cruised to a 10-1 victory.

Back to watch softball. Watched the rest of the 4-1 Wall victory. The crowd was tiny compared to Clifton-TRE. Any the atmosphere was a joke compared to the all-out shabang that the NJSIAA puts out for baseball. What ever happened to Title IX?

That just tell me that’s it time to send the Softball-TOC letter to the state again. I will be very happy to send the same letter I sent Boyd Sands years ago; the one that fell on deaf ears. The one that explains that softball and baseball are not the same sport and keeping softball on a baseball schedule is purely a waste of time that can be used to crown a TOC champion. I’ll post that letter in a few days.

Baseball Star Ledger: Washington 15 (20-11), Randolph 7 (24-8)
Girls Lax Star Ledger: Moorestown 16 (23-3), Mendham 6 (21-2)
Boys Lax Star Ledger: Mountain Lakes 13 (20-2), Delbarton 11 (21-1)

For those of you who are looking for past articles and game coverage, all of the material on this site has been moved to a Blog as I revamp the entire look during the summer. I will let you know where you can find everything once it has “gone live.”

35 Innings?

international tie Breaker or not?:

Spy Sweeper - A must for PC protection

Keep Your PC Safe from Spyware

I can remember back in the early 90’s when spyware attack was at its high. The dangers and fear of opening emails solely because you knew that any email could have a virus. Even the ones from friends. Luckily people like Webroot Software dedicate their business to saving your computer health.

My worst experience with any software attack came on an old laptop, that wasn’t so old at the time. Not only did the laptop freeze up, never to turn again, even the computer techs at the time were unable to bring it back to life. Weeks of aggravation turned into me sending the laptop back to the manufacturer, only to find out that the machine was past warranty, by a few days! Argg!

Needless to say, ever since that month of aggravation, I have protected my computers with all out full power spyware. Spy Sweeper from Webroot Software is the ultimate solution AND prevention to your computer protection needs.

For some reason, hackers have turned to the dark side over the years and their practical jokes have morphed into blatant and malicious attacks on your personal privacy. I ask that you look into and consider Spy Sweeper to combat the most advanced viruses with the most advanced spyware detection. This software is designed to clock and remove the most dangerous spyware programs and keep you a happy computer user.

They have developed a new Smart Shield that shield you from any attacks and provides you with a 360-degree protection net. It is designed to block known and emerging spyware that threatens your safety as you browse the Internet. Your personal information will be safe and sound and you can browse with confidence.

They even have a version ready for Microsoft Windows Vista. You cannot believe how easy it is manage. I suggest that you go ahead and download the trial version and I am sure you will ready to maintain your usage of this software when the trial version expires.



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Summer Tutoring & getting a leg up

It’s almost summer and it’s school is about to let out for that ever-so-short break we teachers call summer. As a parent and a teacher, I see how learning centers only benefit the learning process and the educational development of the student, especially the student athlete.

You may have never considered using a learning center for the summer, but Score Learning centers are the absolutely excellent and provide your child with a head start on the rest of the class. Remember, academics get the student into college, rarely if never does athletics give the pass.

As a math teacher, I see students struggle and others who seek this extra help proud of their accomplishments and eager to learn. They develop into better students. I strongly suggest looking into a Math Tutors from Score.

There are 14 Score Learning Centers in New Jersey and the center in Livingston is readily available for you. You should definitely consider looking into their Mountain Challenge Workbook Series, Math and Language Arts workbooks and an online companion for kids in grades K-6 - Click here for more information. You Can Save $100! when you enroll by June 30th. But remember they offer help to children ages 4 to 14 and make significant academic progress in an innovative tutoring environment.


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2007 Morris County SOFTBALL Coaches' Team

Listed below is the Morris County Coaches Team. These young Ladies will be honored tomorrow by the Coaches and their peers at a Luncheon at the Zeris Inn. This team is selected by the Coaches

Boonton
Chelsea Perrotty & Amanda Sheehan

Chatham
Liz Barna & Amanda Costa

Dover
Caitlin Lally & Chelseya O'Connell

Hanover Park
Cassandra Cefolo & Alyssa Marchitto

Jefferson
Jenna Pettoni & Christina Palombi

Kinnelon
Ariana Infozino & Madelana Escudero

Mendham
Amy Lieberwirth & Jennifer Schmitt

Montville
Stephanie Malgeri & Noelle Sisco

Morris Catholic
Morgan Griglick & Melissa Kanouse

Morris Hills
Jess Sitzer & Taryn Fernicola

Morris Knolls
Kati Eggert & Maria O'Connor

Morristown
Blair Sittmann & Rebecca Satz

Mt. Lakes
Elizabeth Schumman & Erin Stahl

Mt. Olive
Noelle Diana & Kathleen Mooney

Parsippany
Kim Rubino & Kelly Flanagan

Parsippany Hills
Bethany Greenfield & Samantha Sorrentino

Pequannock
Noelle Ramirez & Tara Earley

Randolph
Holly Piasciak & Alison Wertheim

Roxbury
Erica Desmond & Caroline Kiernan

Villa Walsh
Kelly Bracken & Stephanie Lopez

West Morris
Brittany McGarry & Kate Weger

Whippany Park
Becky LaMarca & Casey Musarra

A must read from SidelineChatter.com

Fiasco Of Don Bosco As ‘B’ SiteReminds Us NJSIAA Is Clueless

Any number of fields in Essex County would have made better sense than Don Bosco Prep to host Tuesday's Non-Public, North B final between MKA and Newark Academy, including Bloomfield's middle school diamond.

By Steve Toberfor sidelinechatter.com

Remember the one about the River Dell girls’ basketball team whose bus driver somehow got confused as to which way to go on Route 287 to get to Vernon and ended up heading south?
He thought everything was peachy-keen until the players noticed signs for New Brunswick.
Alertly, he then turned his bus around and headed up to Sussex County. Of course, there was the inevitable bumper-to-bumper New Jersey rush hour traffic, not to mention the additional mileage he had already tacked on to a trip that was a ridiculously long distance to begin with.
The River Dell-Hanover Park game started about an hour and a half late and the Chatham-Pascack Hills Group 2 boys' semifinal began shortly after 9 o’clock at night on a school night, but, what the heck, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association knows what it’s doing, and that’s why it always schedules basketball state semifinals in Group 2 at Vernon in about as far as you can get in Northwest Jersey without crossing state lines.

With that little introduction of one of the traveling absurdities for New Jersey’s high school teams come the latter stages of the state tournament aside, how about the NJSIAA’s handling of the Non-Public North B baseball final, which continues to be scheduled for the last several years at another faraway locale, Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey.

This year’s contest, which is still set for 4 p.m., today ( Tuesday, June 5) pits local Essex County private school rivals Montclair Kimberley Academy and Newark Academy.
In 2004, when the two neighboring small-school baseball programs last met at Don Bosco Prep, a third-inning hail storm postponed action and the game was re-started a couple of days laters at-of all places-Northern Valley Regional High School in Demarest, another field that is about as much a medium point for MKA and Newark Academy as Perth Amboy was for MKA and Dwight-Englewood in last November’s Non-Public B North soccer final.

Bosco, which we can only assume is convenient because of its retiring athletic director Frank Rezzonico, who is winding up his last days as the NJSIAA’s Non-Public B North B representative, makes absolutely no sense for virtually any team in the state section it serves as a championship venue, especially when there are fields in Bergen, Passaic, Morris and Essex counties that would much better provide a suitable and accessible location for most of the member schools who wind up in the North B final every season.

As far as alternative sites which could have been used for this year’s Non-Public, North B final, before it was finally decided it would indeed once again be at DBP, could have included Essex County fields, such as Verona, Caldwell, West Essex, Bloomfield, Belleville or Millburn.
Certainly, one of the more local fields in terms of distance from both MKA and NA would have been available, even with some prodding, although we’ve learned that Verona’s Doc Goeltz Field was apparently not ready for hosting a game on Tuesday, which is curious indeed, considering it recently hosted a state tournament game and the American Legion season is right around the corner.

But, with that being said, Bloomfield or Belleville would probably have made the most sense at this point, although why couldn’t have some movers and shakers from MKA and NA have gone the extra base and rented out Yogi Berra Stadium for an afternoon?
As the rain of Sunday night continued into Monday morning, the folks at DBP were nervous about their field's condition, but that concern subsided as the sun was shining bright on Tuesday morning and all was ready to go for MKA-NA at the Ramsey-based ball diamond.
But, once again, the common sense approach for selecting logical venues has rarely been taken by anyone, not the gremlins in Robbinsville at NJSIAA headquarters or the Non-Public soon-to-be-retired North B representative, Rezzonico.

Meanwhile, how does Don Bosco assume status as a reasonable site for anyone in the Non-Public B North state section to have to schlep up to in order to play the most important game of many of these kids’ collective baseball lives?
Just as Vernon in basketball for an annual Group 2 semifinal site is absurd, Bosco for the Non-Public, North B baseball final has long ago worn out its usefulness, if there ever was any to begin with.

The sight lines are not great, the seating is erratic and field itself is inadequate. But, what the heck, it’s been the site for so long no one ever took the time to consider changing venues for the sake of-God forbid-the student-athletes and their traveling fans.
It’s bad enough to have to navigate through after-school traffic on virtually any major road in Essex County, but do we really have to further infuriate everyone by making them drive through the maze of cars clogging up Route 17 to get to Ramsey, which, like Northern Valley in Demarest is a fly ball away from the New York State line?
Many of those in Robbinsville calling the shots on sites for state tournament semifinals wouldn’t know Bloomfield from Bloomingdale, Millburn from Millville, Caldwell from Carlstadt or Belleville from Belvidere.

Bloomfield ’s Middle School diamond would certainly have been more than adequate; Millburn’s spacious and well-kept field would have been just fine, Caldwell’s great site lines and certainly decent ball field were more desirable, and Belleville’s excellent upgraded facility would have provided more than acceptable surroundings for a Non-Public, North B final.
But, then again, we’re not calling the shots. And, what the heck, why couldn't they have sent everyone from MKA and NA up to Vernon or better yet High Point, which is just slightly more difficult to find, even with directions?

Just make sure that the bus driver started out heading North.

West Morris Lax wins Group 2

West Morris wins Group 2

by Alex Cena of NJSportsImages on June 2nd, 2007

Basking Ridge, NJ - In a hard fought battle between two powerful teams, West Morris Central came away with a big win to become the NJSIAA Group 2 Lacrosse Champions by beating Ramapo High School 8-7 durng the game held at Ridge High School. John Williams scored three goals for West Morris, while teammates Scott Thurber and Brett Binanno each had two goals. Tyler Bernstein scored a point as well, while goaltender Jeremy Dowiak had nine saves. Seamus Schofield and Tom Boswick each scored two goals for Ramapo while Jeff Hogan had one. Ramapo goalie Ed Willey had 11 saves.

Click here to view a picture gallery of about 100 images from the game.

Photo Credit: K.Manno/njsportsimages.com