8 minute read
Sports
Sports & Recreation
WITH Jim Hague
Observer Sports Writer OGSMAR@AOL.COM
Harrison girls survive COVID-19 shutdown
HARRISON – Jenn
Caliendo had high hopes for the 2021-2022 girls’ high school basketball season. Things just had to be better for the Harrison High School alum in her second year as the head coach for the program where she once played before heading off to play at nearby Rutgers-Newark.
“We won our first game of the season,” Caliendo said. “The morale of the team was high. We were able to have team meetings. We went to a college basketball game together (at St. Peter’s University) as a team. Things were going well.”
Then disaster struck. The omicron variant of the COVID-19 coronavirus shut down the Blue Tide’s operations for three weeks.
“It’s not easy to get shut down like that,” Caliendo said. “It was up to the girls to stay in playing shape while we were shut down. At the end of the day, it was up to them to do it on their own. But it was tough on them. I always tell these girls how tough they are. Well, this was proof. I always get compliments on how tough our girls are.”
Caliendo said that her team is still in the learning stages.
“We only had seven practices all of last year,” Caliendo said. “I think they came back this year with the mentality that they wanted to learn. I think they were ready to roll with the punches, but they weren’t ready for a three-week quarantine. I think the senior leadership did well with the rest.”
So when the Blue Tide returned to action last week after the unexpected layoff, Caliendo was impressed with the way the Blue Tide came back.
“I think they came back excited to play,” Caliendo said. “I could tell that they did a lot of work on their own.”
However, the Blue Tide suffered a setback during the first week of the return. Senior guard Emily Leiras, the team’s leading scorer, suffered a knee injury in a loss to Secaucus, soon after rolling her ankle as well. Leiras, who averaged close to 15 points per game, will be lost to the Blue Tide for an undetermined amount of time.
“We’re going to have to adjust to not having Emily,” Caliendo said of the 5-foot6 senior, who plays both guard and forward when
Kearny native Mullen signs NIL deal with ‘EatCleanBro’
Photo courtesy of Jimmy Mullen’s Facebook page
Kearny native Jimmy Mullen, the standout football player and wrestler for St. Joseph Regional of Montvale, has signed an NIL deal with EatCleanBro.com. By Jim Hague
ogsmar@aol.com
KEARNY – The idea that college athletes are capitalizing on the new NIL (Name Image and Likeness) deals to receive some sort of remuneration for their talents is still a relatively a new idea.
But high school athletes? It’s very rare.
However, one of the first high school athletes to secure an NIL deal just happens to hail from Kearny.
Jimmy Mullen, who won the NJSIAA heavyweight wrestling championship as a freshman two years ago while competing for St. Joseph Regional of Montvale), has signed an endorsement deal with the healthy food organization called EatCleanBro. com.
The company reached out to Mullen to see if he would be willing to put his name, image and likeness to EatCleanBro.
“We went back and forth,” said Mullen, who is in the middle of his wrestling season at St. Joseph after a great foot-
MULLEN
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ball campaign. “I contacted them through Instagram and they were interested. We were able to get stuff going the right way.”
Mullen said that he noticed the EatCleanBro billboards all around northern New Jersey and it piqued his interest.
EatCleanBro has a host of fresh, healthy and delicious protein enriched meals that helps the prospective athlete eat properly and stay away from eating junk food.
Mullen is the first high school athlete to join forces with EatCleanBro.com and the first New Jersey high school athlete to receive an NIL deal.
“I’ve heard a lot of good things about EatCleanBro,” Mullen said. “I think it’s perfect for me. After I did, there have been a group of other wrestlers who have done it. It’s been really good. I never thought that something like this could happen while I’m still in high school. I didn’t even know I was the first one from New Jersey.”
If interested, use Jimmy’s special code mullen23 if signing up with EatCleanBro in order to get the friends and family discount.
“Every time someone uses my code, the site tells me so,” said Mullen, who has been an NIL-signed high school athlete since Jan. 4. “It’s actually doing pretty well. I have received some positive feedback from it. Once it got out there, it’s really taken off.”
Mullen has been a trailblazer in everything he does, including becoming the first freshman heavyweight in New Jersey wrestling history to win a state championship like he won in 2020. But this move is certainly borderline earth shattering.
It should be interesting to see how well this move is perceived throughout the high school ranks and how many other high school athletes follow suit.
Dr. Prakash J. Doshi
Premier Care
TALKS
Dr. Hector Aguilar
KNOW YOUR OPTIONS FOR MULTIPLE MYELOMA TREATMENT
“Relapse” is one of the most frightening words a patient with multiple myeloma can hear, but it doesn’t always mean the end of available options. When one course of action stops working, there are others a doctor may recommend to get a patient back into remission. Chemotherapy and targeted drug therapy can be altered or used with radiation therapy and corticosteroids to reduce inflammation and pain. They can also be combined with other treatments, such as biological therapy, which uses the patient’s own immune system to fight cancer cells. Since multiple myeloma is a blood cancer, bone marrow transplants can be especially effective (though there are risks of rejection) when combined with continued targeted low dose drug therapy.
The goal of multiple myeloma treatment is to shrink your tumors, stop the cancer from spreading, keep your bones strong, and help you feel better and live longer. As multiple myeloma progresses, a person is likely to experience more symptoms of the disease. They may also experience bothersome side effects from medication and treatment. If it’s been a while since you’ve had a medical checkup, please call PREMIER CARE ASSOCIATES OF WEST HUDSON at 201-998-7474. Our office is located at 512 Kearny Ave., Suite B.
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Premier Care Associates of West Hudson
Nutley FD issues warning on space heaters after Bronx fire
Following the horrific Bronx fire that two weekends ago took the lives of 17 people, a blaze reportedly started by a portable space heater, the Nutley Fire Department is issuing warnings about the use of such devices, with the hope of saving folks from a potential tragedy.
“As temperatures drop, families often look for alternative ways to generate heat throughout their homes,” the Nutley FD says. “While space heaters and fireplaces are good sources of warmth, they can be very dangerous. Space heaters account for about one-third of home heating fires and 80% of home heating fire deaths annually, according to the National Fire Protection Association. Families should use extreme caution with all alternative heating devices.”
According to the NFPA, heating equipment is a leading cause of home fire deaths, with almost half of these fires occurring in the months of December, January and February. Common household mistakes contribute to the majority of these fires, such as placing flammable objects too close to heating equipment.
The NFPA recommends the following safety precautions when using heating equipment: •Keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from heating equipment such as a portable space heaters, fireplaces, wood-burning stoves or furnaces. The three-foot safety zone includes furniture, drapes, electronics — or, anything that can burn. •Have a three-foot “kid-free zone” around open fires and space heaters. •Never use your oven to heat your home. •Have qualified professionals install stationary space-heating equipment, water heaters or central heating equipment according to the local codes and the manufacturer’s instructions. •Have heating equipment and chimneys cleaned and inspected every year by a qualified professional. •Remember to turn portable heaters off when leaving a room or going to bed. •Never plug a space heater into a power strip or “multi-plug.” They should be plugged directly into an outlet. •Do not overload extension cords or outlets and do not place an electrical cord under a rug. Dispose of older, fraying extension cords. •Always use only the type of fuel specified by the manufacturer for fuel-burning space heaters. •Make sure a fireplace has a sturdy screen to stop sparks from flying into a room. Ashes should be cool before they’re placed in a metal container for disposal. Keep the container a safe distance away from your home. •Do not burn Christmas tree branches, treated wood or wrapping paper in a home fireplace. •Test smoke alarms monthly.
— CANESSA
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