By Jeremy Schilling

On a recreational scale, most would say golf is healthy, but not thriving. Good courses have tee times stacked from dawn ‘til dusk during the heart of the season, but some other courses just aren’t as popular. There was a golf course design boom in the latter part of the 1990s and early 2000s but now that bubble has burst, and a lot of those courses now sit empty or unfinished, making beautiful plots of land lay ugly.

There’s also this crucial fact: to many, golf isn’t fun. The rounds take five hours. The holes are too long. Their fellow golfers are too rude, and going to the driving range and acting like Happy Gilmore is more enticing than trying to make your first ace.

Changes must take place. Continue Reading

By Matt Marino

“Kind of helpless,” “a little bit lost,” and “it’s not like it’s supposed to be.” These are just some of the thoughts about this offseason by a few coaches around the NFL - successful coaches - Sean Payton, Mike Tomlin and Mike Smith respectively. And it’s with good reason they are feeling this way. Teams around the league have not been able to sign free agents, sign their draft picks or hold offseason workouts and mini camps. Coaches and players are not allowed to speak to one another, keeping them out of the loop from what is going on in player-run workouts, or players recovering from offseason surgery.

So why is one NFL coach so confident in his own team that he is able to issue a guarantee (for the third time in three years) that they will win the Super Bowl with so much uncertainty around the league as well as his own team? Continue Reading

By Jeremy Schilling

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. — Last year Monmouth sophomore kicker Eric Spillane set the single season record for field goals made in a season with 16. But there is always work to be done. This offseason is one for improvements after Spillane missed some important kicks down the stretch, most notably in a heartbreaking loss to Robert Morris.

But all is not normal for Spillane as spring practice has come with an extra set of duties for him this year: punting.

With second team all-NEC punter Jack Daniels graduating in a matter of weeks, Monmouth went looking for their next punter. And while head coach Kevin Callahan stressed they have not given him the job yet, they did not have to look far to find their first candidate. Continue Reading

By Jeremy Schilling

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. – The Monmouth University football team culminated their spring practice with its Blue-White scrimmage Saturday afternoon. For the most part the Hawks seemed to show improvement in all facets of the game compared to last week’s sloppy scrimmage performance. Afterward, head coach Kevin Callahan seemed pleased.

“I think we made a lot of progress over the 15 opportunities that we had this spring,” Callahan said. “We spring is about development, development of your younger guys. I feel that we had an opportunity to do that this spring. And we saw that happen. That’s going to make us a better team top to bottom. You’re never happy with not having your full lineup out there. Overall I’m happy with the progress that we made.” Continue Reading

By Jeremy Schilling

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. — Monmouth University’s football team will have a young look on defense this year. That means many positions are up for grab on the defensive line, linebacker, and cornerback spots.

But one thing will not change for 2011: senior safety Jose Gumbs. The all-NEC defensive star who led the team in tackling in 2010 has been a constant on an ever-changing Monmouth team. This spring he has taken on another role: teacher. Continue Reading

By Jeremy Schilling

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. — To the naked eye, it was clear that the defense reigned supreme over the offense and special teams yesterday at Monmouth’s spring scrimmage, a precursor to next Saturday’s spring game.

In a game that was offense against defense, the defensive line was off the ball faster, making multiple “sacks” (the quarterbacks wore red jerseys), forcing an interception, and returning a fumble recovery for a touchdown. They also blocked numerous field goals. Continue Reading

By Mike Vorkunov

Rutgers has made a late but significant addition to their 2011 incoming class. Eli Carter, who played at Brewster Academy this past season, committed to the Scarlet Knights on Friday, filling out the group that will come in as freshmen next season. He previously played at St. Anthony High School.

Continue Reading

BY JON LESNIK

Thirteen years after he graduated from Princeton, Mitch Henderson came home.

Henderson was formally introduced as the new coach of the Tigers men’s basketball team, taking over for former teammate Sydney Johnson.

Henderson, who has been an assistant at Northwestern University under former Princeton coach Bill Carmody for the last 11 years, is looking forward to coming back to his alma mater where he was the point guard and a four-year starter on a team that went to three NCAA Tournaments. Continue Reading