Here Comes the 2014 WOBM Christmas Classic

The 31^st annual WOBM Christmas Classic officially got underway last night with the coaches’ dinner held at The Villa, a private party facility adjacent to the Office Restaurant and Lounge in Toms River. 

Coaches for the 32 participating teams met to seed (or rank) the teams which determines opening round matchups. Those matchups will be announced this morning during our annual Tip Off Breakfast at the Clarion Hotel & Conference Center in Toms River.  More than 250 players, coaches and guests will be on hand for that announcement with former Manalapan High School and Penn State football standout Lee Rubin to serve as guest speaker.

Rubin travels around the country talking about leadership and team-building and this morning will address players from the schools taking part in the annual high school basketball tournament. 

Special thanks to Nick Pagano and his staff for hosting last night’s dinner at The Villa.  The official seeds, pairings and tournament schedule are available at ShoreSportsNetwork.com

I will admit to being someone who at times gets very involved in the TV shows I watch so when they end it can hit me a bit.  Shows like Hill Street Blues, LA Law, NYPD Blue, The West Wing, Seinfeld, Cheers and The Sopranos were more than just 30 or 60 minutes of weekly entertainment. they were a part of my life. 

I think back to before the simplicity of DVR and On Demand and what I often went through to tape shows I could not watch “live.”  So last night I had to say goodbye to another show…one which lasted only three seasons and 25 episodes but I found captivating at times.  HBO’s “The Newsroom” chronicled the behind-the-scenes events at a fictional Cable News Network.  Created and written by Aaron Sorkin it featured a tremendous ensemble cast headed up by Jeff Daniels who played the main news anchor. I opted out of the Eagles-Cowboys game to watch the final episode last night and I was only disappointed in the fact it was the final one.

Speaking of the Eagles-Cowboys game, I guess the bloom has fallen off the Mark Sanchez rose in Philadelphia.  By the way Giants fans expecting and looking for a coaching change after this season might be disappointed.  Today’s New York Post is reporting a source close to the team saying it’s 99.9 percent that Tom Coughlin returns for a 12^th season.