The Shore Conference Basketball Tournament (boys)(girls) is to me the highlight of the basketball season…of course that is after the WOBM Christmas Classic. The tournament started earlier this week with the play-in games and it’s now down to 16 boys and 16 girls teams with those games set for tonight.
Valentine’s Day is traditionally a big one in the restaurant business but in the case of The Office Restaurant & Lounge in Toms River it’s the day after where people will show their love and affection…not for one another but former restaurant owner Phil Citta, who lost his life to pancreatic cancer in 2004.
Not that you need reminding but today is Valentine’s Day which for some is one of their favorite days of the year while for others is simply a horrible excuse for a holiday.
I only occasionally get home early enough to watch the Ellen DeGeneres Show but each time I do I remark to my wife that she is a great host and the show is always upbeat, positive, heartwarming, funny and entertaining. It turns out I caught the show yesterday and learned on the ridiculous controversy that has resulted in the recent announcement that Ellen is a new spokeswoman for J.C. Penney.
These should be the best of times for Lauren Matta of Little Egg Harbor. She is a vibrant and pretty 17-year old at Pinelands Regional High School who should be thinking about things like her Senior Prom, graduation and college. She probably is but they all take a back seat to her top priority….getting a bone marrow transplant which appears to be her best chance at defeating leukemia.
Those of you who are not football fans can spend today talking about commercials and the halftime show because clearly those are both secondary. Super Bowl XLVI was after all a football game and it was a pretty good one…actually it was very good one.
Of course Sunday is Super Bowl 46 and because we have a local team in the game there is added interest as many Giants fans will be glued to the TV and focused pretty much on the game action. Of course 40% of those watching the G-Men battle the Patriots really don’t care that much about the game but rather will be watching for social reasons with many of them attending a Super Bowl party. Those are the people who get up during the game but won’t miss a commercial.
Yesterday was my birthday which I mention the day after because then there is no need for you to feel compelled to call me or send an email or message on Facebook. Of course large monetary gifts that have not yet arrived in the mail will still be gladly accepted.
“We Are Penn State” is a chant heard at all the school’s sporting events, especially during Saturday football games at Beaver Stadium. It can also be heard around campus at just about any time and it’s not unusual for students and alumni to use those three words to close a conversation or even an email.
There are not a lot of quotes from my father that I steal on a regular basis with one notable exception….”the worst thing about getting older is you know more people who die.” It’s not a brilliant quote but it is certainly factual as we all all get up there in years.
Frankly I have decided that I no longer care how history and others judge Joe Paterno, the iconic former Penn State football coach who died Sunday morning at the age of 85.
I know there are many who believe far too much attention is paid to sports but I have always said that at its best sports serves as such a positive way to escape the reality of everyday life. The latest example of that would be the Giants unlikely run which has them just one win away from the Super Bowl.
