In the new movie, “Dear John,” Channing Tatum’s character, John Tyree, and his girlfriend have constant correspondence through letters they write to each other. Tyree, a constantly-deployed special forces sergeant, never knows what news the next envelope may deliver, but he is sure of one thing: those letters mean the world to him.

That was the theme of an event organized by Spc. Gregory Williams, an Army Reserve Soldier with the 361st Public Affairs Operations Center at Fort Totten, N.Y. (Williams is currently cross-leveled with the 139th Transportation Detachment as a transportation management coordinator).

Williams, whose civilian job is a movie promoter, coordinated with Screen Gems / Sony Pictures to show “Dear John,” a military romance film, to support Operation Troop Appreciation, a non-profit organization that sends care packages to servicemembers deployed in the Middle East.

“The movie showed how much support from home means to Soldiers overseas,” Williams said.

People began lining up for the screening at 4 p.m., and waited in the New York cold for the 7 p.m. screening. The event recruited more moviegoers than the theater’s capacity, which forced the venue to deny a multitude of hopefuls a sneak peak at the film before the movie hits theaters nationwide. However, even after being turned away, they happily donated to the drive, as originally planned.

“The donation drive was inspiring and a reminder that the War on Terror is not over,” said Carmen Lozado, a New York native. “Our troops still need our support and are missed.”

The number of people that came out to show support, which included Army Soldiers and Coast Guardsmen, even shocked Williams.

“I’m surprised at how many people showed up with such enthusiasm, ready to show how much they care,” Williams said.

More than 300 people donated toiletry items, books, movies, pillows and blankets. In return, they were entered in a raffle to win an autograph copy of Nicholas Sparks’ novel by the same name that inspired the film, and a movie poster signed by Tatum.

As the night came to a close, Williams said he felt like he made an impact on the lives of many.

“I’ve coordinated screenings for Soldiers in the past, but this movie hits home because Families sacrifice a lot for their relatives that serve in the armed forces,” he said. “I left that theater proud of not only myself, but after the turnout I witnessed, it made me proud to serve.”

For more information on Operation Troop Appreciation, visit www.operationtroopappreciation.org.

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Those words,etched on a commemorative plaque, elicited a hearty chuckle from Col. James T. Corrigan, the outgoing commander of the New Jersey National Guard’s 254th Combat Arms Regiment.

He used those words to open every troop formation at the National Guard Training Center in Sea Girt during his 25-month command, which ended Saturday.

Col. Corrigan is going to miss hearing soldiers belt out those words.

“The hardest part about leaving this unit will be missing the relationships with the people,” he said.

The bond the colonel forged with his troops was made abundantly clear as he gave special thanks to about 15 of them at a ceremony to mark the end of his command.

Col. Corrigan raised his head from his prepared speech several times to rattle off first names, last names and nicknames of people that have left an indelible mark on him, never once using title or rank.

Read entire article here.

Welcoming them home will be a joyous event, for sure. But, the days, weeks and months after the deployment ends won’t be without stress, or even heartache as Soldiers try to ease back into the lives that went without them for a year.

With that reality in mind, the National Guard has been conducting a series of briefings for the families of the deployed troops.

Marie Durling, the assistant family programs director, has been using these forums to try to lower families’ expectations.

“If you’re expecting your Soldier to drop their bags and run in slow motion towards you while you stand their with your arms wide open, you might be let down,” Durling said during a briefing at the Lawrenceville Armory in early April. “Don’t expect that beach fantasy, because your Soldiers have been through different experiences than you and that may not be what they want.”

Read entire story here.

Skyzoo’s route to the release of his debut album has been a long and arduous one. Now that he finally gets the chance to tell his own story, he takes us down the path to Salvation over beats that are as smooth as his flow.

Right off the bat the gospel music jumping from the street corner on The Opener shows you that Salvation isn’t always found where you expect.

Just Blaze goes in on Return of the Realness with his head nod-inducing beat that takes you directly to the place where fans of the Brooklyn emcee are expecting. Once Skyzoo has you right where he wants you, a melodious sample carries in “The Beautiful Decay” and he begins talking about how much beauty there is the city of New York over a hypnotizing 9th Wonder beat.

In an industry dripping with braggadocio, Sky’s view of the world is a very humble one that is expressed in lines like…

Riding on the wings of a dollar bill/ or better yet, the anticipation of how it feels.

But don’t let his humility fool you. He is one of the most well known artists in the hip-hop blogosphere and he tells you about it on Popularity. Nottz provides a simple-but-bouncy beat that somehow fits perfectly with Skyzoo’s slow and precise flow. This is my least favorite track but it must have been popular in the listening rooms because it’s the second single on the album.

Like a Marathon is the outbreak of repetitive and annoying hooks that plague this album. But if you’re a normal listener (and not like me, getting hung up on things like quality of choruses) then you’ll be so enthralled with his lyricism that repeating the same thing 4 times in a row won’t bother you.

The Shooter’s Soundtrack summons the spirit of “Extreme Measures” from his previous EP, “Cloud 9: The 3 Day High.” Sky hits you in the ribs with the opening statement when he puts the listener in the shoes of a young man that is in a jam and believes the gun in his hand is the only way out. You’ll need no extra motivation to stick around and find out what happens (teaser: just like “Extreme Measures, this song ends with an abrupt gunshot).

The haunting track on Penmanship, provided by Black Milk, allows Skyzoo to give you a small peek into why he is so much different than your average rapper. Unfortunately, this is one of the many songs that have a terribly annoying hook. I just wish he would write his choruses, “a little different” (quoted from the song).

Hip-hop is going through an unfortunate trend of rappers boasting about not writing down their lyrics. Joe Budden captured it when he said, “the more n!gga’s said that they ain’t write down lyrics, the more it started to sound like they didn’t.”

Fortunately, Skyzoo goes in the opposite direction on this album and specifically on, Dear Whoever, where he spills his guts to someone that has been a lifelong friend to him. But at the end you find out that his letter is to his notebook. He even pays tribute to said friend on the album cover.

The Necessary Evils has the album’s hottest beat with a succubus-sounding woman crooning in the background, likely tempting Skyzoo to all of the material possessions that a person in his Nike shoes might be drawn to:

Fast cars, fast broads, fast money, it really ain’t that hard./ But every dollar you make comes with a set of eyes, and a set of loose lips if ever you ever hide.//
And everything that SHOULD is residing that far./ And everything that COULD is right in your backyard.//

The beat, lyricism and story combine to make this song my favorite of the album.

Songs like, Easy to Fly and Under Pressure introduce a lighter side of Skyzoo, but in the context of the sonically lush album they run the risk of sounding like fillers. Luckily, his ever-soothing voice helps string them all together.

The choruses don’t hold their weight on the album making you appreciate 50 Cent’s knack for writing catchy hooks. However, when your debut album has no featured artists, maybe there isn’t much time to be spent on the refrain.

Salvation is one of the best albums to drop this year. It might cut into the playing time that “Krizz Kaliko – Genius” gets in the iPod.

In The Opener, Skyzoo said, “if I end up getting any of this right there shouldn’t be anything left to write, right?” As fans of good music we should hope that he didn’t get it all right and has something left for a sophomore effort.

See it @ CrossPhazer.com

Robert Brewster was a large part of the best seasons in Ball St. history. He has a large frame and knows how to use it to his advantage. His long arms keep the pass rusher at bay. His height helps him stand up his opponent, making them vulnerable to offensive moves.

Playing right tackle for the majority of his college career has made Brewster great at creating a pocket. Routing rushers to the outside is his forte. For a big guy he is quick off the ball and he has great hands. His fundamentals are top-notch, which speak to his coachability. This should make his transition to the big show a bit easier.

Brewster can play any spot on the line other than center. This will make him a valuable backup until he can earn his way into the starting lineup. However the only spot that he might compete for immediately is left guard, which Kyle Koiser currently occupies. It does not make much sense to put a rookie in at the most important spot on the offensive line, especially a rookie that got selected in the third round with 8 other linemen drafted ahead of him.

The Cowboys must have selected him because of his versatility and potential because the negatives are stacked against Brewster. Coming from the spread offense, he never had to develop much of a pass rushing game. Now that he is in Dallas where three runningbacks have emerged, it would be to his advantage to put his helmet into someone’s ear-hole and push them aside.

It seems to be easy to beat him on the inside. To compound this tendency, he is not exceptionally strong, which leaves him susceptible to being beat by strong, intense NFL pass rushers.

The three-point stance will be new to him and he may feel vulnerable, especially because of his aforementioned lack of brute strength.

Do not expect Brewster to be a major part of the Cowboys offensive line for at least two years, but when he does break on to the scene, look out world.

As soon as the final out was recorded to end the 12-5 spanking the Rutgers baseball team got from the University of Delaware, head coach Fred Hill Sr. began angrily voicing his feelings about the performance of his team.
Though it was hard to understand what he was saying, there are a myriad of things he could be complaining about.
Scarlet Knights’ pitchers gave up 17 hits and three walks. Junior pitcher Kyle Bradley, the starter, and sophomore reliever Sean Campbell were only able to record three strikeouts while being responsible for ten of the twelve runs. They combined to let six runs come across the plate when the Blue Hens turned the fifth inning into batting practice.
“We made some uncharacteristic mistakes out there and I wasn’t pleased with our overall play,” Hill said. “I thought we had our chances and did not capitalize on the opportunities. I was upset because I know this team is capable of producing, but has not shown their potential. We are going through a tough stretch right now but the best thing about baseball is there is another game tomorrow and we will come into tomorrow’s game against Monmouth with a fresh outlook.”
Sophomore first baseman Jaren Matthews said that inning took the wind out of the Knights’ sails.
“We were out there for a long time and then we got down a lot of runs. We might have packed it in at that point,” he said.

One thing Hill certainly was not yelling about was the offensive output from his three through six hitters.
Matthews went 3-4, sophomore designated hitter Pat Biserta was 2-3 with two RBI and junior catcher Jayson Hernandez also added two RBI to the effort.
Matthews said his teammates’ consistency calms him at the plate.
“I know that if I get on base, they’ll get me over and then get me in,” Matthews said. “You know to produce as much as possible.”
This production is nothing new for Matthews. Over the last six games, he has had 14 hits.
“I’m seeing the ball well. I’m starting to slow everything down,” he said. “Coach has got me working in the cage on a daily basis. I’m being able to maximize what I’m doing out here.”

Matthews will try to let his actions lead the team into their game against Monmouth University tomorrow at Bainton Field. The 20-19 Hawks are coming off of a weekend series with Sacred Heart in which they dropped three of four. Monmouth has lost five of its last seven games.
Monmouth has a team batting average of .301 and a team ERA of 5.42. The Knights will have to step their performance up if they do not want to lose three straight.

Photo by Dan Bracaglia

With a 7-0 victory over Connecticut, the Rutgers women’s tennis team put an exclamation point at the end of a season to remember.
This victory was the sixth straight and 10th in the last 11 attempts. It finalized the team’s goal of a 14-4 record.
Head coach Ben Bucca’s praise for the team captain cut through the bitter cold at the RU Tennis Complex and brought tears to the wind-beaten faces of the Scarlet Knights.
Prior to the match senior Polina Zaretser was honored in front of family and friends.
“Early in her career Polina was faced with one of the toughest challenges an athlete can face: a major injury,” Bucca said. “But one of the major things that Polina brings to this team is the clear respect that she has for the opportunity that she has been given. She worked so hard to get back to the form she was in before her injury, and I would say that she made significant improvements to her game.”
After the gifts were given and words were spoken, new Athletic Director Tim Pernetti spoke the words everyone wanted to hear: “Let’s play some tennis!”
The Knights wiped the tears from their cheeks and put their game faces on.
This was no homecoming-style beat down. Three out of the six singles matches went to a tiebreaker set and the last match ended three and a half hours after the scheduled start. It was clear the team played their hearts out for the leader of the team.
“Polina is awesome,” freshman Leonora Slatnick said. “She’s such a good captain and we’re glad that we had such a good last match for her.”
Junior Christine Tran wanted to show the same commitment Zaretser displays.
“We wanted to [send her out] on a really good note,” Tran said. “Her intensity and her training [will leave an impact on me]. She gives 110 percent no matter what, even if she isn’t feeling well.”
The hard work of her teammates helped Zaretser break through a number of boundaries.
“We beat teams this year that we haven’t beaten in my three previous years,” Zaretser said. “It’s a great because it shows that the girls really worked hard.”
The work is not done simply because the regular season has ended. Now RU has its sights set on Tampa, Fla. for the Big East Championships.
No one on this team wants Zaretser’s season to come to a halt.
“We bounced back [from the Cincinnati loss] and we haven’t lost a match since,” Slatnick said. “We’re going to fight our hardest like we have been and hopefully upset some teams higher than us.”
“We’re making sure the Big East knows that we’re actually a really strong team and we have the potential to get a national ranking,” Tran said. “As a team we know our potential. The fact that we’ve won six straight matches says a lot. We have to continue the winning and keep this mentality up.”

See it @ Daily Targum

Photo by Will Schneekloth

It is said that a whole is equal to the sum of its parts, but in the case of the freshman tennis doubles team of Jennifer Holzberg and Morgan Ivey, the whole is greater than its parts.
In singles, Holzberg is 9-4 while Ivey boasts a record of 10-2. But when they join forces for second or third doubles they are an astounding 10-1, with their only slip up coming against sisters on the nationally ranked Marquette team.
It is fitting that only a blood relation is stronger than the bond built by this dynamic duo.
“We clicked instantly,” Ivey said. “Even though we hadn’t played much together at the beginning of the season, when we got on the court things just sort of worked out.”
That is exactly what head coach Ben Bucca had in mind when he paired the two.
“As coaches we sit back and see who brings the best out of their teammates,” Bucca said. “It seemed clear to us that the two complimented each other very well.”
When speaking of each other, compliments were all that could be heard.
“She’s very strong and she has a solid ground stoke,” Holzberg said of her partner. “She’s very supportive of me and everyone else on the team.”
Ivey exchanged pleasantries as well.
“She is a very good player,” she said. “I have a big serve, which sets her up for a good volley, and she has great volleys.”
Playing at first singles, senior Polina Zaretser and sophomore Amy Zhang have had success because of their complimentary styles. Zaretser can be aggressive while Zhang trades groundstrokes on the baseline. But the freshman pair says it is their similarity that spurs success.
“We have similar personalities and we have similar game styles,” Ivey said. “We set each other up really well and Jennifer knows how to put away the point.”
Holzberg credits Ivey for the very trait her partner compliments her for.
“What I’ve learned from her is setting up your partner. She sets up very nicely for me with her serve,” she said. “It puts me in a good position. I’ve learned to do the same for her.”
While speaking of the future, Ivey said there is nowhere for them to go but up.
“We are both freshmen so we have four years to grow with each other,” she said. “We both just lack the experience, and once we get that under our belts we can only get better.”
When the two first played together there were little expectations.
“In our first match we just wanted to do well, but after a couple of matches we felt really comfortable and upped it to not wanting to lose a match all season,” Holzberg said.
That goal has been broken but it is not slowing them down. With five straight Big East matches on the horizon they will continue to work for improvement.
“Right now we’re just newbies,” Ivey said, “but we’re going to continue to sharpen our tools to make each other better players.”

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It was win-or-go-home for the Rutgers women’s basketball team Saturday and playing at the Louis Brown Athletic Center meant junior guard Epiphanny Prince had only one option — and she played like it.
Prince recorded her fifth career double-double with 26 points and 11 rebounds to go along with four steals, all of which were game highs. She also added a block and an assist to her already impressive stat line.
Virginia Commonwealth head coach Beth Cunningham fully expected this type of performance.
“We knew, coming in, that she would be one of the most talented guards we’ve seen all season. She presents a tough match up for anybody,” she said. “A player of her caliber is going to get it going.”
It took Prince the length of the first half to get into a groove. She was a horrid two-for-nine from the field in the first period.
“I thought Jennifer Lane did a great job on her in the first half. It’s just tough to hold a player of her caliber down for that long. Good players are able to stay in the moment,” Cunningham said.

Facing the possibility of playing her last game as a Scarlet Knight, senior center Kia Vaughn made every moment on the floor count.
“I am on high alert. Every game is taken as my last because anything can happen,” she said. “I have to be on top of everything … and cherish the moments.”
The moments were fleeting as two early fouls sidelined the powerful post presence for the last 10 minutes.
“I don’t think I was offended because I was in foul trouble. I was just ready to go back in and waiting for my time,” Vaughn said.
Her time came when she started the second half when she attacked VCU with RU’s first six points of the second half and pulled down two rebounds in less than three minutes.

After the first round win, the Scarlet Knights advance to the second round where they will play the Auburn Tigers (30-3) out of the South Eastern Conference, the second seed in the Oklahoma City Regional.
In the past five years Rutgers is 9-0 in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, but the Tigers look to bring that streak to a halt tonight at 7:00 p.m. at the RAC where they, and not Rutgers, will wear their home whites.
Auburn won the earlier game at the RAC Saturday 85-49 over No. 15 Lehigh.
“They have some great players,” Prince said of Auburn. “They push the ball … and we have to come out and play great defense and stop them in transition.”
The Tigers were led by 6’4” guard DeWanna Bonner, who had 26 points and seven rebounds.
“[Rutgers] is a great team,” Bonner said. “They are going to have the home court advantage. They are someone you want to play against. You have a hostile environment every time you are on the road so I think we are prepared for it.
“They are a team that you see on the TV all the time that you think, ‘Oh, I want to play Rutgers and see how I match up,’ and I think we would do a great job and come out and focus. They are going to come out hard and we are going to come out hard. It’s going to be a great game.”

See it @ Daily Targum

Photo by Ramon Dompor

Senior center Kia Vaughn spent eight games coming off of the bench for the Rutgers women’s basketball team this season. After being placed back in the starting lineup against Providence last week, Vaughn said her stint as the sixth man taught her a very valuable lesson.
“It taught me to cherish every moment, whether it’s on or off the court,” she said.
That is exactly what she is doing. When asked to speak on the Connecticut Huskies, an opponent two games away, her answer came without a second thought.
“Right now I see St. John’s,” Vaughn said. “After that game … whoever. You know?”
But after that game, it’s not just “whoever.” The Scarlet Knights will play host as Geno Auriemma’s undefeated Huskies travel to the Louis Brown Athletic Center March 2 for the second showdown of the season.
Aside from the fact that the Knights are playing like a completely different team as of late, this next clash of the titans will be different from the last meeting and any other meeting in Vaughn’s four-year career. This time, the Bronx native will be one of two players being honored in Senior Day at the RAC.
This event is supposed to be a day of reflection, but the four-year starter is not ready for that.
“I’m really not trying to look back on anything right now because I feel like it’s not over,” the senior said. “I’m just trying to work hard every day and grow a little bit more to take my team as far as I can.”
Even as her college career is coming to an end, this student of the game never stops learning.
“[Freshman guard April Sykes] taught me a lot,” Vaughn said. “Although I’ve been through a sluggish point in my career, she has been in a drought her whole freshman season and as a shooter, that can be depressing. For her to keep pushing and keep shooting showed me a lot. She never stopped believing and she never wanted to stop contributing to the team.”
The same can be said about Vaughn.
The center is one of four players in RU history to score more than 1,000 points and grab over 1,000 rebounds in her career. She has played in every game since she has been a Knight, which is a major contributor to the fact that her name can be spotted on six top-10 lists for points, rebounds and blocked shots in the record book.
This passionate player is not done making her mark on this program. She is hoping to play her way into a royal send-off.
“We’re looking to get into the NCAA Tournament, get no less than the Elite Eight … the Final Four,” Vaughn said with a grin on her face. “And then a National Championship.”
Vaughn was not able to fully encompass what it would be like to go out on top.
“It would feel amazing,” she said. “I think I would do cartwheels and run around New Brunswick.”
Vaughn would not be the only Knight playing for a grand farewell. Senior forward Heather Zurich is in the same position and she cannot think of a better person to share success with.
“It’s been such a great experience [playing with Kia]. I couldn’t ask for a better person to come in with and spend my four years with,” Zurich said. “It’s just been a lot of fun. I’ve definitely learned a lot from her that I would not have learned if I didn’t come to a place like Rutgers.”
Sharing success is something that Vaughn has battled lately.
“I used to say that I can do everything by myself but you really can’t,” she said. “My mental slump came from me trying to handle things by myself. That didn’t have a positive impact.”
It was during the first meeting with the Huskies that Vaughn’s teammate made it clear that their leader was not alone.
“[That game] gave me the confidence back that I lost. That was the point where, although we lost, I felt comfortable in what I was doing and it was like saw the light. I had the support of my teammates and I just wanted to keep going. Every thing was comfortable and I was confident,” Vaughn said.
Her teammates want to send their captain out in style just as badly as she wants it. If there is one thing that she will look into the future for, it is a chance to cut down the net in Madison Square Garden.
“[I want my teammates to remember me as] someone who never stopped believing in our team,” Vaughn said. “I want them to say, ‘she carried us.’ And I am going to carry them all the way.”

See it @ Daily Targum