Monmouth Univ. baseball splits weekend series BY DOUG McKENZIE Correspondent       As the Northeast Conference Baseball Tournament rapidly approaches, the defending-champion Monmouth University Hawks are looking to finish off what has been another championship caliber season in style. More ... Brookdale baseball GSAC champions BCC defends Region title this weekend in Lincroft BY TIM MORRIS Staff Writer       You might say that the Brookdale Community College baseball team powered its way to another Garden State Athletic Conference championship. Johnny Johnson's Jersey Blues used a .384 batting average to slug their way to a 16-2 conference mark in 2008 and the top seed for the Region XIX tournament. ... More ... Sports Shorts       The Rutgers football team was ranked No. 22 inAthlonMagazine's Preseason Top 25 poll,whichwas released today on AthlonSports.com. The Scarlet Knights return 15 starters fromlast season's 8-5 squad that won the program's second consecutive bowl with a 52-30 victory vs. Ball State in the Internatio... More ... Plenty of local teams still on playoff bubble BY DOUG McKENZIE Correspondent       For those of you who simply can't wait for the high school baseball and softball postseason tournaments to begin, this should be a good week for you. While the NJSIAA state and Shore Conference tournaments are still a couple of weeks away, the cutoffs for those tournaments are rapidly approaching... More ...