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Saturday, April 30, 2011

News from the Penn Relays

Congrats to both the Dickinson and North Bergen track and field teams for reaching great plateaus at the prestigious Penn Relays Carnival at Franklin Field in Philadelphia over the weekend.

For Dickinson, the legacy of the brilliant Jose Veras continues to grow and grow. Veras guided his 4x800 relay team to a berth in the championship final against some of the best programs in the country. With all Veras has done during cross country season, then indoor season and now outdoor, he's carving his permanent place in Hudson County track and field history.

In fact, you could already argue that the multi-talented Veras might be the best all-around track and field talent the county has ever produced.

North Bergen's relay team ran a 3:26.8 to win their heat, bringing home a prestigious plaque for the first time.

Needless to say, it's something just to compete at the Penn Relays. It's another to earn some prestige and in some cases, a plaque.
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Here's the best news I can report this weekend.

Before my friend Ed "The Faa" Ford passed away two weeks ago, he had one last request.

The Faa wanted the son of his guardian angel, Anne Marie Costello, to attend Rutgers-Newark and play baseball there.

Ryan Houghton , who had a close relationship with the Faa and the reason why his wonderful mom Anne Marie took a special liking and care for the Faa, expressed his interest to attend Rutgers-Newark to study criminal justice.

But when Houghton first applied, he was denied acceptance. The Faa was upset and wanted to do whatever he could to get Ryan into R-N and play for coach Mark Rizzi, someone the Faa liked and respected.

As a lasting tribute to the Faa, a few phone calls were made and Houghton's academic credentials were reviewed once again. Thursday, Rutgers-Newark sent Houghton an acceptance letter. He's headed to become a Scarlet Raider in the fall.

That's the greatest tribute to the man who gave his entire heart, soul and being to helping kids. His legacy now in passing is young Ryan Houghton getting a chance to go to the college he so desired.

Congrats to Ryan, but a special thanks goes out to R-N athletic director Mark Griffin, who personally saw to it that Houghton's application received a proper review and subsequent acceptance.

Ryan will be a credit to the R-N baseball program and the Faa's legacy lives on in young Ryan. It's a great story.
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I don't know who did the seeding for the Hudson County softball tournament, but Secaucus being the 10th seed and Kearny the 13th seed is nothing short of criminal.

Secaucus should haven been at the worst the No. 4 seed behind North Bergen, Union City and Hoboken. The Patriots played the beginning of the season without standout senior pitcher Shannon Waters, who was nursing a shoulder separation. But the Pats get a No. 10 seed? There's no way that there are nine teams in Hudson County better than the Patriots.

As for Kearny, the Kardinals do have a 3-8 record, granted, but they lost six of their games by a total of 10 runs. The Kards were seeded below some truly putrid squads who wouldn't have a chance to beat Kearny if they played every single day between now and Thursday, the 12th of never.

There has to be a better way of seeding that tourney, because this is now the second straight year that teams got absolutely screwed in the seeding.
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Who was a bigger Prince this weekend? The newly married Prince William? Or the Giants' top draft pick Prince Akanamara? I'm going with the DB from Nebraska. He hits harder.
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Just when the Mets lure me in by winning six straight, they go right back into the crapper by losing three in a row.
It's very disconcerting when the so-called ace licker Mike Pelfrey shows no guts whatsoever every time out. He's supposed to be the leader of this staff and he's afraid more than he licks. He's facing the immortal Lance Worley, the son of Joanne Worley (not really), and he can't get out of the fifth inning. Pelfrey is 1-3 with a 7.59 ERA. Lick that. It's disgusting...
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I think Boston beats Miami in seven games in this NBA series, ending King James' disappointing first year in South Beach.
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I paid $4.04 per gallon of gasoline today. More than four bucks a gallon?????
Remember when we had the gas shortage in the late 1970s and we were all upset when gas went over a buck a gallon? It's now more than FOUR BUCKS a gallon. That's a complete disgrace.
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You can read more of my work at www.hudsonreporter.com, www.theobserver.com and www.dailyrecord.com. There's a good feature this week in the Hudson Reporter about the passing of Jersey City basketball legend Boo-Bee Richardson who passed away last week. Check it out.

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