Pictured left to right are three-time NBA MVP and 76ers great Julius “Dr. J” Erving, former standout Eagles defensive back and NFL coach Herman Edwards, youngest-ever LPGA Tour qualifier Michelle Wie, “Jaws,” and Super Bowl XLVII MVP Joe Flacco at this year’s Ron Jaworski Celebrity Golf Challenge. Photo by Shamus Lahman.

NORTHFIELD, N.J. — It was a star-studded affair loaded with sports studs on Sunday and Monday, May 19-20, as celebrities joined together for a friendly competition and a great cause at the Atlantic City Country Club in Northfield.

Hosted by NFL great (having led the Philadelphia Eagles to their first Super Bowl appearance in 1980) and ESPN NFL analyst Ron Jaworski, many past participants and a few new faces graced this year’s Celebrity Golf Challenge. Among the celebrities were Joe Flacco, Michelle Wie, Bode Miller, Herm Edwards, Julius “Dr. J” Erving, Brian “Boosh” Boucher, Warrick Dunn, Sal Paolantonio and many more.

The annual tournament raises money for Jaworski’s charitable foundation called Jaws Youth Playbook (JYP), which works to support youth health and wellness in under-served communities. JYP focuses on a mission to improve the overall health and well-being of at-risk youth, primarily in the Greater Philadelphia Region. The organization achieves this by raising awareness and advocating for the access of safe play and healthy choices, and supporting programs providing positive youth health and wellness platforms.

The JYP’s three main objectives are Environment, Nutrition and Advocacy. Visit JawsYouthPlaybook.org for more.

Atlantic City officials announced on Monday, May 20, that the 3rd annual Atlantic City Boardwalk Rodeo would be returning to Boardwalk Hall October 5 (7:30pm) & 6 (1pm), 2013.

Photo: Tom Briglia

Pre-sale tickets are available from May 20 to May 23 at 10pm (EST). By using the code RODEO here, you can save $5 off any ticket for either show.

Tickets go on sale Friday, May 24, at noon (EST) and fans who get their tix between May 24 and May 31 will receive a free cowboy hat with each ticket bought. Family four-pack packages are also available through October 4.

Tickets are $20, $30, $50 and $80.

Click here for a photo gallery from the Monday announcement in Atlantic City.

“We are very excited to be bringing the Atlantic City Boardwalk Rodeo back in 2013,” said Janet Markowitz, the rodeo’s event chair. “The event was a huge success the past two years and I believe that the spectator turnout for this year will be even greater since we have moved the show dates to October. Our hope is that the event will become more visible to both locals and visitors over the summer months and that it will entice them to return to Atlantic City in October for a fun family event.”

Click here for photos from the first Atlantic City Boardwalk Rodeo

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Don’t be surprised if you see gladiators such as the one pictured above fighting in the lobby at Caesars Atlantic City over the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

However, if you’re inside Caesars (or reading this) Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday (May 24-27), you probably will already be expecting some sort of “epic battle” from the Roman era via the on-property announcements stating:

“Friends, Romans and countrymen … lend me your eyes and ears. This is the moment you’ve all been waiting for as these courageous gladiators will battle for legend and glory. Indeed entertainment like this can only be found at Caesars Atlantic City for the mere price of your presence. … Now, let the epic battle begin.”

The battles will be staged May 24-27 and then again from July 4-Sept. 2 across from Mia in the Caesars lobby and are free and open to the public to watch.

ATLANTIC CITY — Are you an average Joe? Do you enjoy hot cars, cool boats and fast motorcycles? Do you like hunting, fishing, camping, the outdoors, BBQ, MMA, rock ‘n’ roll, video games and sports? If the answer to these questions is yes, you might just be an average Joe! And if you’re an average Joe, it’s mandatory that you git yer fun-lovin’ keister to the Average Joe Expo!

Organized by those crazy cats at Good Time Tricycle — the same ones who bring Atlantic City the Celebration of the Suds and A.C. Seafood Festival each year — the Average Joe Expo will be held May 18 and 19 at the Atlantic City Convention Center.

The Average Joe Expo is like no other show on earth. This inaugural event vows to “bring real guys together and create an opportunity to discover what makes us tick, getting to the heart of male commerce, interests and desires — both the obtainable and the aspirational, the Average Joe Expo has it all!”

The event will populate over 200,000 square feet of exhibition space at the Convention Center. It will introduce products, places and things to the masses, holding nothing back and showcasing unique product demos, seminars and other related experiences.  The Average Joe Expo promises to be a great weekend out to explore some awesome experiences you may not have otherwise! Tickets are $20 in advance through Ticketmaster or $25 at the door. Hours are Saturday, May 18: 11am-8pm; Sunday, May 19: 11am – 6pm.

The Average Joe Expo will also play host to a variety of celebrities and personalities — people who guys just want to meet and hang out with.  With a huge emphasis on the male lifestyle, the expo will cover motocross, gaming, action sports, all things outdoors and everything in between . This expo will offer men a true weekend of discovery! Visit averagejoeexpo.com/atlantic-city.aspx or click the video below to learn more.

Stacy Lewis (photo by Tom Briglia)

ShopRite LPGA Classic Defending Champion Stacy Lewis was at Stockton’s Seaview Country Club to announce her participation in this year’s tournament May 31-June 2.

The current LPGA Player of the Year, Lewis was also honored for her personal $20,000 donation to the Community FoodBank of New Jersey-Southern Division after Hurricane Sandy last year. Go here for the story.

ATLANTIC CITY — Are you an average Joe? Do you enjoy hot cars, cool boats and fast motorcycles? Do you like hunting, fishing, camping, the outdoors, BBQ, MMA, rock ‘n’ roll, video games and all things sports? If the answer to these questions is yes, you have to git yer keister to the Average Joe Expo!

Organized by those crazy cats at Good Time Tricycle — the same ones who bring Atlantic City the Celebration of the Suds and A.C. Seafood Festival each year — the Average Joe Expo will be held May 18 and 19 at the Atlantic City Convention Center.

The Average Joe Expo is like no other show on earth. This inaugural event vows to “bring real guys together and create an opportunity to discover what makes us tick, getting to the heart of male commerce, interests and desires — both the obtainable and the aspirational, the Average Joe Expo has it all!”

The event will populate over 200,000 square feet of exhibition space at the Convention Center. It will introduce products, places and things to the masses, holding nothing back and showcasing unique product demos, seminars and other related experiences.  The Average Joe Expo promises to be a great weekend out to explore some awesome experiences you may not have otherwise! Tickets are $20 in advance through Ticketmaster or $25 at the door. Hours are Saturday, May 18: 11am-8pm; Sunday, May 19: 11am – 6pm.

The Average Joe Expo will also play host to a variety of celebrities and personalities — people who guys just want to meet and hang out with.  With a huge emphasis on the male lifestyle, the expo will cover motocross, gaming, action sports, all things outdoors and everything in between . This expo will offer men a true weekend of discovery! Visit averagejoeexpo.com/atlantic-city.aspx or click the video below to learn more.

Rants and raves about burning topics that have caught my attention midweek, be it greedy corporate shenanigans, frustration or joy in regards to the Philly sports teams, a movie, show or DVD that has fired up my imagination, an intriguing personality, or what’s happening in the region. — Lori Hoffman, Associate Editor, Atlantic City Weekly

Right now the Phillies only have one starting pitching delivering like an ace, Cliff Lee. During the 1948 pennant drive, thanks to a few off days and rainouts, ace pitchers Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain of the Boston Braves went 8-0 in just 12 days. This inspired a sportswriter to write a poem about the two which was condensed down to the catchphrase: “Spahn and Sain and pray for rain.”

Cliff Lee is 2-0 on a team with just three wins.

The Phillies need another pitcher being as effective as Lee to create a catchphrase. Since the only other staring pitcher who has thrown a decent game so far has been John Lannan, here’s the best I could come up with: “Lee and Johnny and pray for a tsunami.”

Okay, I admit that it is not very practical in this modern world where pitching staffs have five man starting rotations. So let’s let science do the rest and clone Mr. Lee several times over. Would that be awesome or what, five straight days of Mr. Cool taking the mound throwing strikes and challenging batters and not handing them walks.

Sorry, I was daydreaming. And, despite this daydream, I am not panicking about the 3-5 Phillies, but I am very concerned that Lannan is our second best starter because Cole Hamels has been awful locating his pitchers and Roy Halliday has been even worse. Halliday was a question mark coming into the season, but Cole was supposed to be the team’s number one stud and looks lost and frustrated.

Not that the hitting has been much better. Last night’s 8-3 win over the Mets was a nice change with the Phillies grabbing the lead and not blowing it, thanks to Lee making it easy to relax. That game showed us what we expected, that this team had enough offensive firepower to be doing better than they have so far.

I’m impressed with Michael Young who is obviously working at his craft with improvements in the field and at the plate. Chase Utley’s return to form has been a delightful development and Jimmy Rollins has been solid batting second, but now it is time for Ryan Howard and Ben Revere to join the party with more consistency. Oddly enough when the Phillies do get on they are doing a great job of stealing bases.

Another major problem is that with the bad starting pitching, our middle relief has been working too much and might be even worse than the starters. And to think I was glad when they got Chad Durbin back. He, Raul Valdes and Jeremy Horst have been horrid.

Well we have the Mets for another game and then three with mediocre Miami, so this should offer an opportunity to bounce back from a bad start.

Here are the Phillies pitchers for the next five games: Cliff Lee followed by Cliff Lee, then Cliff Lee, Cliff Lee and finally Cliff Lee …. Sorry I was daydreaming again.

Although he may have the most losses in the history of pro basketball, Margate’s Louis “Red” Klotz, who Atlantic City Weekly profiled in a 2006 cover story, has a lot of supporters trying to get the 91-year-old Jersey Shore resident into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Yes, he lost 10,000 games against the Harlem Globetrotters as coach (and players) for the Washington Generals, but he also won most of the games he played as a young man in South Philadelphia, where he played for the South Philadelphia Hebrew Association (SPHAS), going on to play for Philadelphia’s Villanova, where he won an American Basketball League championship.

Klotz is the subject of a new book, out April 26, targeted at young readers called Homecourt: The True Story of the Best Basketball Team You’ve Never Heard Of.

The 72-page book features a foreword by Harlem Globetrotters legend “Curly” Neal and is being distributed by Temple University Press for the New City Community Press.

There are several blogs and Web sites supporting Red Klotz’s entrance into the HOF. One particularly interesting blog post, written by NBC Sports national columnist Joe Posnanski in February of this year, features a link to what he describes as “one of my favorite ever stories,” a piece Posnanski previously wrote on Klotz.

The new book sounds great, Klotz’s story is incredible and, as a book for young readers, the underlying message that “everybody wins” in sports couldn’t be more important in today’s mad world. — JS

Rants and raves about burning topics that have caught my attention midweek, be it greedy corporate shenanigans, frustration or joy in regards to the Philly sports teams, a movie, show or DVD that has fired up my imagination, an intriguing personality, or what’s happening in the region. — Lori Hoffman, Associate Editor, Atlantic City Weekly

Over the past five months since Hurricane Sandy hit, I concentrated on all the bad reporting about the fact that the Atlantic City Boardwalk was destroyed, which of course it was not, thanks to the dunes that helped protect it.

However, beyond the main stretch of Boardwalk, there was a lot of damage. The legendary White House Sub Shop was closed for a time and The Scales Grill & Deck Bar in Gardner’s Basin, formerly the Flying Cloud Cafe, will be demolished due to damage from Hurricane Sandy. The good news is the White House is back and Scales will be rebuilt.

Another landmark was also damaged. Until I received an email about the reopening of the Edwin B. Forsythe Refuge Wildlife Drive this Saturday (it will only be open weekends to start), I was not aware that the popular trail for birders was also closed due to Hurricane Sandy damage.

There were a lot of other businesses that sustained damage whose owners are working hard to be in good shape for the summer season. Here’s hoping we all enjoy the monster summer season I’m expecting as a major bounce back from Sandy.

Summer is coming but spring is here and that means the Phillies are back. The team will not be burdened by expectations of greatness after last year’s injury-filled season. However, that means the team can stay out of the National League East limelight that will be focused on the Washington Nationals, who are loaded with power and great hitting, and the Atlanta Braves, who looked sharp in beating Cole Hamels and the Phillies on opening day Monday.

While my expectations are not as upbeat as previous years during the 2007-2011 “Golden Era,” the team still has a strong pitching staff — don’t panic, Roy Halliday will be all right — and the return of the “real” Chase Utley has me expecting us to be in the thick of the race. And, while we can’t expect to see the 2008 prime of all three Phillies superstars — Utley, Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard — I’ll settle for 60-70 percent of their prime.

Add solid contributions from newcomers Michael Young, Mike Adams and Ben Revere and the coming-of-age of Dom Brown, who had a sensational Grapefruit League season, and the Phillies are still a pretty good ballclub.

From baseball let’s move onto National Library Week. Atlantic Cape Community College’s Academy of Culinary Arts students in Chef Annmarie Chelius’ Centerpiece Artistry class showcased book cakes and edible bookmarks inspired by their favorite books April 1, to participate in the International Edible Book Festival and to celebrate National Library Week.

Some of the edible cakes were created based on the following books: The Art of Walt Disney: From Mickey Mouse to the Magic Kingdoms and Beyond, Brave, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Clifford.

The cakes were showcased at the Atlantic County Library, Mays Landing Branch, and the Ocean City Free Public Library.

Sarah Nichols of Millville created a book cake inspired by the book “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” by Laura Numeroff.

Garland's winning shot.

If it weren’t for St. Patrick’s Day and NCAA Men’s Basketball, March would be my most hated month of the year. Despite the April showers bring May flowers myth, around the southern New Jersey region March not only brings high winds, it brings terrible weather and tons of rain and/or snow. And since it also represents the beginning of spring, it really annoys us that the weather is so damn lousy this time of year. October is a much nicer month despite the fact that it is supposed to represent the return of colder weather.

However, back to the good stuff. If you’re a fan of college hoops and in particular, Philadelphia’s Big Five, you had to be thrilled by yesterday’s incredible performance by LaSalle. The team won a third game in the NCAA tournament defeating Mississippi 76-74. In basketball speed kills, and dynamic guard play by LaSalle’s Ramon Galloway and Tyrone Garland did the deed. A No. 13 seed, La Salle, won three times in five days to advance to a West Regional semifinal Thursday in Los Angeles against ninth-seeded Wichita State (28-8).

Garland banked home a scooping layup with 2 seconds left Sunday for a win over the Rebels making this La Salle’s deepest run in the tournament since they advanced to the championship game of a 24-team field in 1955.