On the morning of Thursday, August 10, Lieutenant Governor Sheila Y. Oliver was escorted to the New Jersey State House Rotunda by the Honor Guard of the New Jersey State Police. A private viewing ceremony took place in the morning, in which hundreds of state officials, state lawmakers, members of Congress, and local officials waited in line to pay their respects at the foot of her casket.
The second of a three day Celebration of Life events honoring the late Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver, who will lie in state in the Essex County historic courthouse Rotunda, in Newark Friday August 11th, 2023. (Rich Hundley III/Governor’s office)
The second of a three day Celebration of Life events honoring the late Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver, who will lie in state in the Essex County historic courthouse Rotunda, in Newark Friday August 11th, 2023. (Rich Hundley III/Governor’s office)
The second of a three day Celebration of Life events honoring the late Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver, who will lie in state in the Essex County historic courthouse Rotunda, in Newark Friday August 11th, 2023. (Rich Hundley III/Governor’s office)
Rev. Al Sharpton, President and Founder of the National Action Network (NAN), will deliver the eulogy for Oliver, at the request of her family, Saturday, August 12 at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark.
The conclusion of a three day Celebration of Life events honoring the late Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver, who’s funeral took place at The Cathedral Basilica Sacred Heart in Newark, Saturday August 11th, 2023. (Rich Hundley III/Governor’s office)
The conclusion of a three day Celebration of Life events honoring the late Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver, who’s funeral took place at The Cathedral Basilica Sacred Heart in Newark, Saturday August 11th, 2023. (Rich Hundley III/Governor’s office)
The conclusion of a three day Celebration of Life events honoring the late Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver, who’s funeral took place at The Cathedral Basilica Sacred Heart in Newark, Saturday August 11th, 2023. (Rich Hundley III/Governor’s office)
Oliver, Governor Phil Murphy announced the commissioning of her official portrait for display in the New Jersey State House. A portrait will also be commissioned for Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno, who served as New Jersey’s first Lieutenant Governor.
As baseball fans gear up for the home stretch, there are several division races that are starting to take shape.
You have teams like Atlanta and Los Angeles in the National League who have bashed their way to large division leads. Meanwhile, no other division leader has built a lead larger than five games.
With so many close races potentially coming down to the wire, there will be plenty of opportunities for MLBbros on every division-leading roster to have an impact on October. Up first, the American League.
Baltimore Orioles
Typically, when we mention MLBbros and a battle for the AL East crown, we are talking about the Yankees. This season there’s a new bunch looking to claim the pennant, as Cedric Mullins and the Baltimore Orioles continue to hold firm atop the division.
Mullins has provided more pop for an impressive Orioles lineup, slugging .609 with two homers and six RBI over his last seven games.
Minnesota Twins
Over the past week Twins slugger Byron Buxton has looked like the All-Star Twins fans have grown to love.
Buxton had a recent slash of .375/.444/.833 over his last seven with nine hits in 24 ABs including two homers, six RBI and six runs scored.
Once the Cleveland Guardians decided not to be buyers at the deadline, this division was pretty much gift wrapped for Minnesota. Now they just have to see it through.
Texas Rangers After being scoffed at for spending big on their middle infield, Marcus Semien and the Rangers get the last laugh as they head into one last Texas showdown with Dusty Baker’s Houston Astros.
Semien’s production has been a key component to victory all season for Texas, and he has consistently delivered. Over his last 30 games, Semien is slashing .307/.398/.544 with seven homers, 16 RBI, 17 walks and 26 runs. Dusty’s boys won’t be going anywhere, so Marcus will need to continue this pace if they want to hold on to that division.
National League:
Atlanta Braves
MLBBro.com has been all over Mike Harris since he made his debut last season, and this year has been more of the same. Michael has been spectacular for the Braves and has re-established himself as an elite left-handed hitter since a slow start.
Harris has been so good that the Braves have moved him back up to No. 2 in the batting order to begin a three-game series with the New York Yankees at Truist.
Milwaukee Brewers
Despite the hot start for Chicago Cubs injured hurler Marcus Stroman and the talented bunch of youngsters over in Cincinnati putting up numbers, Devin Williams and the Milwaukee Brewers once again find themselves poised to take the NL Central.
Devin has continued to dominate, posting a 3-1 record with a 0.00 ERA, nine saves and 27 strikeouts over his last 14 innings pitched. His changeup is arguably the most devastating off-speed weapon in the game, so Brewers batters will need to do everything in their power to get the ball in his hands with a lead.
Los Angeles Dodgers
If not for his own teammate Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts would be getting the full Hollywood push for Most Valuable Player.
Not only has Mookie taken on the added responsibility of playing the infield when needed, Betts is putting up one of his best offensive seasons ever.
Mookie was hitting .287 with 31 homers, 80 RBI and an OPS+ of 156 when the Dodgers hosted the Brewers on Tuesday night, as they have overtaken the young Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL West.
The biggest change for the Houston Astros has been the return of their offense.
Since the All-Star break, Houston has been sending balls into orbit with regularity and sending runners around the basepaths. They lead the AL in runs and RBI, are second in home runs and walks, and rank third in batting average and OPS.
Guiding the team through all of this has been Dusty Baker.
On May 1st, the Houston Astros were just 16-13, with the sixth-best record in the American League. One month later, the Astros were ten games above .500 but had fallen further behind the Texas Rangers in the American League West standings, trailing by 2.5 games.
June was brutal, as Houston suffered four-game and five-game losing skids, but they closed that month by winning four of their last five.
Houston Astros 5th In Standings On July 1
The defending American League champs were still sitting fifth in the standings on July 1st. The World Series letdown talk was rampant.
However, since then, the Astros are 23-12. Over their last 20 games before Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Angels, Houston had been tied with the Baltimore Orioles for the best record in the AL with 13 wins during that stretch.
And yet, there are consistent calls and even petitions to have Baker fired. Those who want to see Dusty go can point to the team’s lackluster records in close games and overall losing record against winning teams.
Houston’s pitching staff has been mediocre at best, carried by the offense.
Baker Has Achieved Unprecedented Success Since Joining Astros
Still, since Baker took over as manager prior to the start of the 2020 season, the Astros have been to the American League Championship Series three times, advanced to the World Series twice, and won it all last year.
They’ve experienced only two months with a losing record under Baker and have won almost 61 percent of their regular season games in August, September, and October since the start of the 2021 season.
In the postseason, the Astros are 28-14 with Baker in the dugout, posting an impressive .667 winning percentage. Both marks outpace his overall regular season (.591) standards and surpass his overall postseason percentage as well (.526).
Let’s not forget how Dusty single-handedly navigated the Astros through the aftereffects of the “cheating scandal” under former manager AJ Hinch. Dusty’s presence at the helm softened the venom from opposing fans and media because of the respect and reverence he’s acquired since he was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 26th round of the 1967 MLB Draft.
Dusty Baker Has Houston Sitting Pretty
A baseball season is a marathon. It is a battle of endurance. As the cliche says, “You want to be playing your best baseball at the end of the year.”
Looking at the American League landscape, Houston is where it wants to be. The schedule down the stretch isn’t easy, but the Astros only face four teams with winning records away from Minute Maid Park the rest of the way.
Perhaps the Astros haven’t reached their peak this season. But based on Baker’s record, any panic at this stage is unwarranted.
The Houston Astros are expected to be in the mix for another world championship come late October.
This weekend, the Gardiner Foundation will hold its 18th Annual Gardiner Memorial Basketball Classic at St. James Park, located on West 192nd Street and Jerome Avenue in the Bronx.
Over the past three decades, the tournament has grown into one of the most well-attended and impactful events on the New York City summer basketball landscape because of its social-emotional and educational objectives for youth. School supplies, bookbags, five college scholarships, the raffling of iPads, and the offering of free food will accentuate the two-day gathering. The basketball games will begin at noon Saturday and Sunday.
The Classic is founded and operated by Dexter Gardiner, who showcased his skills at SUNY-Canton and was a fixture in the 1980s and 90s at tournaments, such as the Entertainers Basketball Classic at Rucker Park and the Gun Hill Tournament in the Northeast Bronx, earning a reputation as a prolific backcourt scorer.
Similarly, a noted player, his twin brother Derrick was tragically killed in a horrific car accident in July of 2006 on the Bronx River Parkway. The crash claimed the lives of six members of the Gardiner family. Dexter, of Jamaican heritage, was subsequently compelled by his Christian faith to commit to a life of service, establishing the Gardiner Foundation as an attestive part of his legacy.
“Uplifting others and creating pathways and opportunities for the youth is deep in my spirit,” Gardiner said to this writer early this month. “When I see some of the kids who came through our foundation and witnessing the success they are having now as good students, having strong family values, and making a positive difference in their communities, it reinforces our mission.”
Based in the Northeast section of the Bronx, the foundation aids underprivileged families, providing them with food and monetary assistance, grants college scholarships to high school students, sponsors turkey giveaways during Thanksgiving, and organizes children’s toy drives during the Christmas holiday, among other initiatives.
With roots in the island of Jamaica, Dexter operates the foundation out of its base in the North Bronx, where he was raised and honed his hoop skills, leading him to SUNY-Canton. In the mid-80s, Dexter became the nation’s leading junior college in the school’s division. The symmetry of his eternal bond with Derrick is accentuated by the latter also leading the country in scoring for one season while attending Bronx Community College. Dexter has used basketball as a vehicle to mentor numerous young men and women, teaching them the game but, more importantly, life skills. His efforts have helped spur a cadre of college players and high academic achievers who have leveraged athletic and academic scholarships into college degrees and successful careers in various fields.
The long speculation ended on Monday when Dalvin Cook became a New York Jet.
For weeks, the four-time Pro-Bowl running back seemingly had focused his options on the Jets and his hometown Miami Dolphins after spending his six-year NFL career with the Minnesota Vikings. The Jets reaffirmed their commitment to making a Super Bowl run this season by signing Cook to a one-year deal worth up to $8.6 million. He now allows Breece Hall, who was arguably the leading candidate for the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award last season before tearing his ACL and meniscus in his left knee on October 23 in Week 7 against the Denver Broncos, to gradually build his strength and endurance.
Ultimately, Hall’s teammate, Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson, was named Rookie of the Year.
The combination of the 28-year-old Cook and Hall could eventually emerge as the best backfield tandem in the league. Hall, drafted 36th overall by the Jets out of Iowa State in 2022, returned to practice on Tuesday after being activated from the physically unable to perform list (PUP). He was well on his way to exceeding 1,000 yards rushing a season ago before his injury. The Omaha, Nebraska, native had 463 in seven games.
Cook ran for 1,173 yards last season and had 39 catches for 295 yards receiving. The last time the Jets had a 1,000-yard rusher was Chris Ivory (1,070) in 2015.
The Giants backfield will also be led by Saquon Barkley, like Cook, one of the elite performers at his position in football. But both the Jets and Giants are still endeavoring to shore up their respective offensive lines, critical to the success of both teams.
Giants rookie John Michael Schmitz had a promising showing versus the Detroit Lions last Friday in his team’s 21-16 preseason opening road loss. A second-round pick (No. 57) from the University of Minnesota, Schmitz is expected to help stabilize an evolving front that is led by left tackle Andrew Thomas, the fourth overall pick by the Giants in 2020. Thomas was named Second-Team All-Pro after a stellar 2022 campaign. He was rewarded with a five-year, $117 million deal in July.
The Giants hope right tackle Evan Neal has a comparable trajectory. The Alabama product, drafted No. 7 last season, possesses the necessities to be an elite tackle but struggled as a rookie. He was diagnosed with a concussion sustained at a Giants practice on August 4 and remained in concussion protocol at the start of this week’s practices.
The Giants host the Carolina Panthers tomorrow at MetLife Stadium in the second of their three scheduled preseason games. The Jets will be at MetLife on Saturday to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
