This Thursday (our 2nd to last Thirsty Thursday of the year) is Ladies Night at the park, a jam-packed night of fun for women of all ages. All the details below…

• Drink specials and a ClawsCove discount for our female friends
• Vendors including all girls’ martial arts, salons, boutiques, financial information, beauty schools, and modeling agencies
• Fans can win tickets to see Love Loss on Stage, an off-Broadway show. The collection of stories by Nora Ephron is performed by a rotating cast of stars.
• Starting in the second inning there will be a Shoe Fashion Show courtesy of The Shoe Society. Female fans are encouraged to wear their hottest shoes! The winner will get a free night stay and dinner at the Borgata in Atlantic City. (Call Casey at 732-901-7000 ext 168 for more information)
• There will be a Diamond Dig thanks to Bentley Diamond. The dig will be open to the first 250 women to sign up at the Bentley Diamond table on the concourse. After the game, registered participants will be escorted onto the field where they can dig for the diamond.

And…

• Antonella Barba, former American Idol contestant and Point Pleasant native will be at the game to promote her new single Jersey Girl. Antonella will be on the concourse signing autographs and she’ll throw out a ceremonial first pitch.

See you Thursday.

As you know, the BlueClaws have partnered with Surf Taco in a unique promotion: the Surf Taco Sod Squad. Every time the BlueClaws score seven runs and win, anyone can bring their GA (aka Sod Squad) ticket into a local Surf Taco for a free taco!

Last night was one such night, with the BlueClaws winning 10-0. The deal came into play in May and has already been valid 10 times.

You have a week after the game to get your free taco. If you have an undated Grass Pass or Thirsty Thursday Club membership, then you just mention the game with your ticket.

Happy tacos!

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This caught my eye earlier today in Dave Murphy’s High Cheese blog on Philly.com:

Despite the caution expressed by the Phillies about their star slugger, Ryan Howard sounded optimistic Friday night that he would be ready to return from his sprained ankle early next week. Howard hit in the batting cage for the second straight day, and after Friday night’s loss to the Mets said a return by Tuesday is a definite possibility.

“As long as the swelling can continue to go down, I think I’ll be able to play with the pain or whatever,” Howard said. “When I come off (the DL), we’ll take it day by day and see how it is.”

So a rehab assignment coming up here in the next few days seems possible.

Here is the full promo rundown for the BlueClaws upcoming homestand, running August 12th through 20th.

• Thursday: BlueClaws hat giveaway, courtesy of Investors Savings Bank…MAN Night (with Madden Tournament and men’s expo) as part of Thirsty Thursday (just three left by the way).
• Friday: Post-game fireworks courtesy of Toyota/Scion World of Lakewood
• Saturday: BlueClaws logo baseball giveaway courtesy of AJ Perri, Irish Heritage Night (with green jerseys, Irish music, pipe bands and much more).
• Sunday (5:05): Nine Innings for Nature, a full expo with inflatable rides, Go Green vendors and free ice cream beginning at 2:30…All Kids Club members can throw out a ceremonial first pitch…Post-game jersey auction to benefit the American Cancer Society.
• Monday: ZOOperstars appearance and Kids Eat Free
• Tuesday: We’ll give out team card sets (thanks to TD Bank) plus Seniors Eat Free
• Wednesday: BlueClaws Notebook Giveaway (courtesy of the NJEA) plus Dollar Dog Wednesday
• Thursday: As packed as possible…Thirsty Thursday…Ladies Night (with vendors, drink specials and ClawsCove discounts for women, a shoe fashion show, and much much more)…Diamond Dig (dig on the field for a diamond after the game)…Antonella Barba appearance (she’ll sign autographs and throw out a first pitch promoting her new single, Jersey Girl).
• Friday: Post-game fireworks to close it out.

Hope to see you out at the park!

If you leave in the comments section below a good ZOOperstar name for one of the current members of the BlueClaws, I’ll give you four tickets to the game on Monday. (For example, Shaquille O’Neal is Shaquille O’Seal in ZOOperstar).

This video has over 124,000 views on YouTube, by far our most.

In the last few days, we’ve put a bunch of new stuff on BlueClaws.com regarding upcoming games and promotions, clubs, deals and more. We’ve condensed all of them here and you can see the information below.

• August 12th: MAN Night, with a men’s expo and Madden Tourney. It will be packed and a lot of fun out at Thirsty Thursday. Details here (including how to register for the Madden Tourney).
• August 14th: Irish Heritage Night returns and includes pipes and drums, green jerseys, The Snakes in the WRAT Trap before the game, and much much more. Details here.
• August 15th: Before the game, we’ll host Nine Innings for Nature, with local companies helping you go green! We’ll have a post-game jersey auction to benefit the American Cancer Society. Details here.
• August 19th: It doesn’t get more packed than this…Miles Austin bobblehead dolls, Ladies Night (including a shoe fashion show), a post-game Diamond Dig, and an appearance by Antonella Barba. Details here.
• BlueClaws Running Club: Includes free entry into the BlueClaws 5K, Sunday runs at the ballpark, ticket and ClawsCove discounts, local running store discounts, and much more. Details here.
• New Promos for 9/4: Note that on September 4th you can now bring your dog to the game. Plus we’ll have Brobee and Foofa from Yo Gabba Gabba.

There. Enjoy.

Below are the results from our first Wing Fling last night. There’s another on September 1st.

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Joel “The Cannon” Podelsky of Iselin ate 26 wings in five minutes to take the Wing Eating Contest (pictured at right, Dave Schofield photo).

Wings were judged in the following categories:

• Best Overall: Winner, Leggett’s Jack Daniels Wings; Runner-up, Harpoon Willy’s Asian Wings.
• Most Original: Winner, Harpoon Willy’s Asian Wings; Runner-up, TGI Friday’s Captain Morgan’s Wings
• Fan Favorite: Winner, Mad Hatter’s Old Bay Wings; Runner-up, Farrell’s XXX Wings
• Hottest: TGI Friday’s Inferno Wings; Runner-up (tie), Famous Dave’s Buffalo Wings and Ivy League’s Buffalo Wings

The BlueClaws will host another Wing Fling on Wednesday, September 1st at their 7:05 pm game.

Restaurants interested in participating or fans who would like to sign up for the wing eating contest can contact Kevin Fenstermacher at 732-901-7000 ext 115. Space is limited in both wing vending and the eating contest.

Enjoy.

See you at the park.

Here is the promotions preview for the upcoming homestand: July 28 – 31 against the West Virginia Power (Pittsburgh Pirates).

• Wednesday: A packed night…1) The first 1,000 kids will receive a gift card to Monmouth Mall. 2) Dollar Dog Wednesday with $1 hot dogs. 3) Wing Fling (details here) with 50-cent wings from area restaurants, eating contests, celebrity judges, and much more. 4) Charity Night (click here)
• Thursday: Goonies Night (details here), includes a special jersey auction, Truffle Shuffle Contest and more…Thirsty Thursday.
• Friday: Post-game fireworks with Captain Jack of Thunder 98.5 as the guest PA announcer
• Saturday: Team poster giveaway with Andy Chase of 105.7 The Hawk as the guest PA announcer

See you at the ballpark!

Charleston, the Yankees affiliate, is in town this week at FirstEnergy Park…here is the promo rundown for the four-game series, Tuesday through Friday.

• Tuesday: A Paint-your-own-Clawd Bobblehead doll given out courtesy of St. Barnabas Healthcare System (see below)…Seniors Eat Free (like every Tuesday)
• Wednesday: Phillie Phanatic appearance, plus the World Series Trophy will be here for pictures, courtesy of OceanFirst Bank. Please bring your own camera. It’s also the first Dollar Dog Wednesday.
• Thursday: A Dusty Wathan 2009 SAL Champions Bobblehead Doll (he’s holding the trophy, see below). Also, Thirsty Thursday, with $1 beer/soda and 50-cent wings. The TT ticket giveaway is John Mayer.
• Friday: Post-game fireworks, like every Friday.

This week, the BlueClaws will give out their first two of four bobbleheads this year…see above.

• Tuesday: Paint-Your-Own-Clawd thanks to St. Barnabas Healthcare System (Who is Clawd? Here is the story of Clawd in podcast form)
• Thursday: Dusty Wathan SAL Championship Bobblehead thanks to RE/MAX of New Jersey

Click here to see a list of the all-time BlueClaws bobblehead giveaways.

First of all, look at these two pictures of Chunk from the Goonies (Jeff Cohen).

Bill Bodkin interviewed Cohen last week for Night and Day Magazine and the interview, regarding his upcoming appearance at FirstEnergy Park, is posted online here. Here’s one question.

BB: Silly question, if you had to guestimate, how many times do you think you’ve been asked to do The Truffle Shuffle? And do you personally still do it on the occasion?

JC: It’s funny, but when I was younger I would never do it. People would bug me, but I was not going to shake my belly in public. But then there’s the football story, which I’m sure you’ve heard? Well, I was a cheerleader, actually a microphone man at college. I was in the front row and before I could say anything from the back row people started yelling “TRUFFLE SHUFFLE!” Then before you know it everyone, like 10,000 people are chanting it, the band is beating to the beat of the chants. If I didn’t do it I feel like I would’ve been murdered. So I put one hand in the air like Moses, lifted my shirt and did the Truffle Shuffle. It became a tradition at games from then on. Life’s crazy.

It’s almost here. Two weeks from tonight, July 29th, will be our 25th anniversary celebration of The Goonies, with full jersey auction, Truffle Shuffle Contest, and appearance by Jeff “Chunk” Cohen himself!

Chunk, who will sign autographs and pose for pictures, will also judge the BlueClaws first ever Truffle Shuffle Contest to be held between innings.

The jerseys seen here will be auctioned off during the game for charity.

And it’s a Thirsty Thursday.

Full story here.

Enjoy the Truffle Shuffle.

Enjoy.

Are you a Phillies fan? Do you like the Phillie Phanatic? Would you like your picture taken with the World Series trophy? It’s all coming to Lakewood on Wednesday, July 21st at 7:05. Some details on the guests of honor…

The Phillie Phanatic

The Phillie Phanatic, whose appearance is presented by OceanFirst Bank, is one of the most popular entertainers and mascots in all of sports. He has been the Phillies mascot since 1978 and has been at FirstEnergy Park since the BlueClaws’ began play in 2001.

Now the dean of all professional sports mascots, the Phanatic has entertained millions of fans all over the world. He has traveled to Japan, Australia, Mexico, Canada, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico. He has made national TV appearances on the “Today” show, “Good Morning America,” “The Regis and Kathy Lee Show,” and “The Rosie O’Donnell Show.” An ESPN Sports Center fixture, the Phanatic has also starred in that network’s as well as Fox Network commercials.

The World Series Trophy

The World Series Trophy, also known as the Commissioner’s Trophy, was presented to the Phillies after winning the 2008 World Series, their first title since 1980. The trophy, which is made of sterling silver and is 24-inches tall, has 30-gold plated flags representing all Major League organizations.

Fans will have the chance to take their picture with both the World Series Trophy and the National League Championship Trophy that the Phillies won in 2009. The BlueClaws ask that fans bring their own cameras.

It’s also the first Dollar Dog Wednesday, with one dollar hot dogs in the first and third base concession stands.

Should be fun!