Players involved with the Heroes for Hannah basketball game
Players involved with the Heroes for Hannah basketball game (Ray Richardson , Ray Rich Photography)
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We finally got a summer weekend and the result was my first two days on the North Avenue beach in Seaside Park this season.

While temperatures were well into the 90s inland on both Saturday & Sunday a nice breeze from the south kicked in on the beach and kept it in the mid to upper 70s. Ideal conditions.  The water is still a bit cool but refreshing and it was just nice to get my toes in the sand. Hopefully much more of that to come.

I met a lot of really nice people Friday during the Heroes for Hannah benefit basketball game I announced at the Pine Belt Arena.  It was a fundraiser to help the family of Hannah Donner, a soon-to-be Central Regional graduate who suffered multiple injuries in an auto accident last fall.  She has made a somewhat remarkable recovery but still faces additional surgeries and medical bills keep piling up.

The game matched a group of Central & Toms River North basketball players and teachers against members of the Toms River Police Department and volunteer firefighters.  On paper it looked like it would be easy victory for youngsters but the cops and firemen rallied and tied it on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by patrolman Jason Stallworth.  A tie was a perfect ending to a night when many came together to help a local family.

It may not have been a headline grabber but last week Steve Timko announced he would be retiring as executive director of the NJSIAA at the end of the year, a position he has held since 2006.  The organization which oversees high school athletics in New Jersey has certainly had its share of critics but Timko brought professionalism, honesty and candor to the position and I always found him to be a gentleman even in times when that was not always easy.

As hard as it is for me to say this Yankees team is the most exciting they’ve had in years and while it’s a bit early to build a statue for Aaron Judge his at-bats are must-see events.  Could be a fun summer in the Bronx.

 

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