A very familiar face found himself in Jersey City last Tuesday at Liberty National Golf Course. It was none other than Ray Romano, the popular star of the acclaimed sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond.”
Romano was in Jersey City to film a segment of “The Haney Project,” the popular Golf Channel series that features famed golf coach Hank Haney teaching a celebrity how to improve their overall golf game.
Last season, Haney, who until recently was Tiger Woods’ swing coach, worked with Basketball Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, whose golf swing was one of the worst imaginable. By the end of the first season of “The Haney Project,” Barkley got rid of his wicked hitch in his swing, thanks to the tutelage of Haney.
The new season of “The Haney Project” will debut Monday night at 9 p.m. on the Golf Channel.
Romano is happy to be participating in the series this season. He has a goal of breaking 80 by the end of the season.
“I’m just trying to make my golf game less horrible,” Romano said. “I’m a lifelong golfer and I’m obsessed with the game. But it doesn’t mean I’m good at it. I’ve gotten caught up in it and I have my moments of despair.”
Haney knows that working with Romano will be a breeze compared to Barkley.
“I never saw anything like Charles,” said Haney, who just resigned last week as Woods’ swing coach after six years. “Charles had the worst swing I ever saw. He would say that people called his swing the worst in the world and then said, ‘Hey, they couldn’t have seen everyone.’ His hitch was very tough to correct. But Ray is going to be easier, because his swing isn’t as bad.”
Haney thinks that Romano’s biggest problem is mental.
“That’s the biggest challenge, getting Ray to believe in himself,” Haney said. “He can’t let what he does with the ball get him down. But he’s very passionate about the game. He’s typically not going to do anything halfway. He takes the game very seriously.”
Romano, who is now acting on a TNT series called “Men of a Certain Age,” likes the advice he’s been receiving from noted coach Haney.
“He tells me to stop all the stuff going on inside my head,” Romano said. “Then he tells me to shut up. I know that a bad day of golf is better than a good day of shopping with my wife. I’m not allergic to grass, so that’s good. I’m just trying to get to swing the right way. It takes time and dedication.”
Comparing himself to Barkley, Romano just laughed.
“I’ve played with Charles in celebrity tournaments in Lake Tahoe,” Romano said. “I am bad, but I don’t have his problems. I’m not thinking that this is going to be easy, but maybe there’s hope for me. In no way is this a done deal. I know myself and I know the game. I think there’s hope, but I’ve been playing golf for 30 years.”
Romano had never played Liberty National before, but raved about it.
“It’s a great, beautiful course with great views,” Romano said. “See the Statue of Liberty and the New York skyline. I can play here and tell my wife I’ve been stuck in eight hours of traffic. It’s a beautiful golf course.”…
The St. Peter’s Prep volleyball team captured two championships in a span of three days last week, winning the Hudson County tournament for the first time since 2005 by beating Bayonne, then capturing the title of their own tourney, the Marauder Invitational, beating Christian Brothers Academy in the championship game.
Middle blocker John Armstrong and setter Mike Blicharz have been playing excellent volleyball for the Marauders, ranked No. 2 in the entire state. The Marauders could very well win the overall state championship this season…
Dickinson has enjoyed a season to remember in boys’ track and field and it continued last Saturday at the Hudson County Track Coaches Association championships at Secaucus High School.
The Rams earned the team title, thanks in major part to the incredible prowess of Jose Veras, who earned Hudson Reporter Athlete of the Week honors two weeks ago. Veras won gold medals in the 100-meter hurdles, the 400-meter hurdles, the 800-meter run and the high jump. The Rams had 111 points, compared to runner-up North Bergen, who had 72 points. The Rams also won gold in the 4×400-meter relay.
There were other standout performances, like Prep speedster Najee Glass setting new meet records in both the 200-meter and 400-meter dashes and North Bergen’s Danny Rondon winning the 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter runs…
The girls’ title was won once again by perennial favorite St. Dominic Academy, who defeated Kearny, 112 to 95. McNair Academic was third.
The Blue Devils won the team title without winning a single event, showing the incredible depth that the team has. Megan Donovan and Nicole Wheeler finished second and third respectively in the 1,600-meter run and Donovan was also second in the 3,200-meter run. Sarah Sisk, Cecilia Sabbers and Niobe Davis did exceptionally well in the jumps. Taylor Allen set a new meet record in the triple jump.
Fawzia Kheir of County Prep earned two gold medals in the 200 and 400-meter runs.
Also in track and field, the North Bergen distance medley relay fared well at the East Coast Relays at Randolph, setting a new school record that stood for 43 years. Henry Alfonso, Tevin Cunningham, Israel Flores and Rondon came home in 10:34.49…
The first-ever Hudson County Tournament finals are slated for New Jersey City University this weekend. Bayonne will take on the Ramblers of St. Mary’s in the baseball final. It’s been a topsy-turvy year for both teams, especially Bayonne, but now, both have a chance to play for a county title.
In softball, the semifinals were going to be played Friday and the finals Saturday. Now that’s beyond bizarre. It’s understood that this was the first year of the tourney, but there has to be a better job of scheduling and letting people know who’s playing whom next year…
Hudson Reporter H.S. Baseball Top Five: 1. Bayonne (17-8). 2. St. Mary’s (16-9). 3. Union City (17-9). 4. North Bergen (15-9). 5. High Tech (17-5).
Hudson Reporter H.S. Softball Top Five: 1. North Bergen (19-7). 2. High Tech (15-5). 3. Hoboken (17-3). 4. Secaucus (16-6). 5. St. Dominic Academy (14-7).
Other than picking North Bergen as the top softball team in the county, there has never been a tougher year in picking the baseball and softball Top Fives. It’s truly been one of the most bizarre spring seasons in recent memory…
We’ll close this week with a piece of good news. Long-time Union City teacher and former local football coach Tom Paglione had all charges against him dropped last week. Paglione, the former head football coach at Palisades Park, was charged nearly three years ago with physically assaulting a player at the school during a practice. He was removed from the coaching position while the legal proceedings were taking place.
Anyone who knows Paglione, who worked as an assistant coach at Marist for many years, knows that the charges were trumped up, but he had to fight long and hard for three years to get his name cleared. Paglione assures that he would love to get back into coaching football and he’s a good man who deserves that chance, especially now that he’s been totally exonerated. It was a long and emotionally grueling process, but Paglione has his name and reputation back and intact. – Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.