You think your local high school is great. Does the state's new rating system agree?

NJ Advance Media previews the NJSIAA State wrestling championships. Some of the wrestlers featured are: Anthony Clark, Delbarton; Sammy Alvarez, St. Joseph (Mont).; Antonio Mininno, Gateway-Woodbury; Robert Howard, Bergen Catholic; JoJo Aragona, Pope John; Nicholas Raimo, Hanover Park; Patrick Glory, Delbarton; Michael O'Malley, Hasbrouck Heights; Antonio Mininno, Gateway-Woodbury.

What you need to know from the state tournament

The coupe who owned the home lost nearly everything in the blaze

A Morrisville, Pa. man who lobbed fireworks at a Bucks County, Pa. house last summer, setting off a fast-moving fire that leveled a family's home, will spend the next 1 1/2 to 3 years in prison, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office said.

Abraham Keita 

Abraham Keita Jr., 23, was arrested a few days after the June 3 fire on Stevens Road in Falls, Pa., and admitted to a police detective he lobbed a "Proton Blast" device at the home with some friends.

The firework emits a shower of sparks, and ignited flammable material in the carport, touching off a a blaze that forced homeowner Lisa Nollie to flee her home with her dogs.

Her husband was at work at the time. Arriving police and firefighters found a ferocious fire devouring the home.

"Thank God no one was hurt, as you set the fire at 11:40 p.m. If I was asleep I don't know if I would have made it out," Nollie told Keita in court Monday, the district attorney's office reported.

Very little of their belongings were salvageable, she said.

Nollie told Keita that she had "no hate" for him.

"It's my hope that, whatever sentence you get, you use this time wisely to reflect on your actions and the pain and suffering it caused. That thought is very simple; just think how you would feel if this happened to you and your family," the office reported.

Keita, who the office described as a former high school athlete once offered a college soccer scholarship, apologized in court to, "the victims of my childish and immature behavior."

His attorney, Peter C. Hall, said his client was a promising young man from a good family who had become adrift, smoking pot and doing some small marijuana deals when not working in fast food restaurants and at a personal-care home.

The fire, Hall said, was "a completely unintended consequence of a reckless and intentional act....The consequences are far out of proportion for this kind of behavior," the office reported him saying.

Assistant District Attorney David L. Burdett said Keita, nonetheless was an adult who should have known the dangers posed by throwing fireworks at a residence.

"This may have been a foolish decision, but the ripple effects of it are considerable," Burdett said.

"I understand that you didn't intend to do this (but) try to imagine what they've gone through," Judge Wallace Bateman Jr. told Keita in sentencing him. "They'll never get over this. They'll never be made whole again."

In addition to the prison time, Keita also has to pay $40,637.81 in restitution for damages not covered by the Nollies' insurance. And the judge tacked on a concurrent three-years of probation for possession with intent to deliver marijuana, a charge that was pending when he was charged with arson after the fire.

Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Who will move on to the sectional semifinals? Take a look at our staff picks.

Who will move on to the sectional semifinals? Take a look at our staff picks.

Body was apparently in the park for several days, according to official.

An unidentified body was pulled from the Spring Lake in John A. Roebling Park in Hamilton Wednesday afternoon, officials said.

Birdwatchers found the body, according to officials. The body, identified only as a male, appeared to have been there for several days.

The body was partially submerged in the water near the Sewell Avenue entrance to the park, according to Hamilton police.

"Investigators have no indication that foul play was involved," police said in a news release.

Anyone with information was asked to call Detective Matthew Donovan of township police criminal investigations section at 609-689-5824 or the Hamilton Police Crime Tip Hotline at 609-581-4008.

The Mercer County park includes wooded hiking trails and a marsh-area.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

What we pick out to wear each day is a kind of uniform of our own choosing.

When we think about people who regularly wear uniforms, our thoughts likely turn to military personnel, police, fire and rescue workers. Other professionals that might come to mind are doctors and nurses. But the list of vocations where employees don uniforms is lengthy.

Let us consider employees in the food service industry, postal workers and people who deliver packages. And, although office workers don't wear uniforms, there was a time when the de facto garb at an office, for men, was a white shirt and black tie.

Alert: An unauthorized school uniform accessory violation, headwear section has been spotted!Courtesy of Sacred Heart High School 

Children wear uniforms to school and as members of scouting groups and organized teams. Adults who belong to organizations often were uniforms, too. Think of the distinctive hats worn by the Shriners or aprons worn by Freemasons.

What we pick out to wear each day, whether we know it or not, is a kind of uniform of our own choosing.

According to Dr. Karen Pine, professor of psychology at the University of Hertfordshire, "When we put on an item of clothing it is common for the wearer to adopt the characteristics associated with that garment. A lot of clothing has symbolic meaning for us, whether it's 'professional work attire' or 'relaxing weekend wear', so when we put it on we prime the brain to behave in ways consistent with that meaning. It's the reason why we feel fitter in our sports clothes, or more professional in work wear."

Here's a gallery of people in uniform and uniform attire in New Jersey, and links to other similar galleries you'll enjoy.

Vintage photos of what people wore in N.J.

Vintage photos of fashions and styles in N.J.

Sorting through the madness and breaking down some of the best state tournament action so far.

Highlights from the state tournament.

An in-depth look at the storylines and statistics for the biggest weekend of the season.

A Trenton man robbed of his legally owned handgun at gunpoint was charged with carrying the weapon in the first place, after he reported it stolen to police.

A Trenton man robbed of his legally owned handgun at gunpoint was charged with carrying the weapon in the first place, after he reported it stolen to police.

Victor Rodriguez, 34, told Trenton Police that he was visiting a friend on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard late Wednesday, police spokesman Lt. Stephen Varn said.

Rodriguez told detectives he was approached by two men while walking back to his car. One man pulled out a shotgun and the other pointed a knife.

The men took Rodriguez's coat, which had cash in it, and then stole a handgun tucked in his waistband, Varn said.

The men then drove off. 

Although Rodriguez legally owned the handgun, he did not have a permit to carry it and was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon, Varn said.

Alexis Johnson may be reached at ajohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @alexisjreports. Find her on Facebook.

One in four workers in the state has been fired or threatened with job loss for taking sick days, according to the progressive think tank New Jersey Policy Perspective.

This winter's devastating flu outbreak confirms a sobering truth: Washing your hands and trying not to inhale is little protection when the worker peeling potatoes next to you or typing in the next cubicle has a fever of 103 degrees and is spreading germs far and wide.

One in four workers in the state has been fired or threatened with job loss for taking sick days, according to the progressive think tank New Jersey Policy Perspective.

That means the average employee is likely to haul his aching, sneezing, coughing body out of bed and into the workplace - even against his better judgment.

Two high-ranking state lawmakers believe workers should not have to choose between caring for their health or putting food on the table, and now they're proposing to do something about it.

Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D-Dumont) and Assembly Deputy Speaker Pamela Lampitt (D-Camden) are backing a measure designed to allow employees to accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, earning between 40 and 72 hours of sick leave depending on the size of their company.

This is not a new concept in the Garden State. A dozen or so municipalities here have already adopted such policies, including Trenton, Jersey City, Newark, New Brunswick and Paterson.

For the love of God, if you're sick, stay home | Sheneman

But now even business leaders who traditionally have argued against these laws says they would prefer a comprehensive approach rather than the current piecemeal arrangement that makes bookkeeping and administration a nightmare.

While the previous administration was terminally opposed to the notion of earned sick leave, Phil Murphy made it an important part of his campaign for governor, and has held several events to focus a spotlight on the issue since his inauguration.

From a public-health standpoint, freeing employees to care for themselves or their ailing children makes enormous sense. Workers not covered by such policies are far more likely to share their contagion with colleagues, customers and anyone else with whom they come into contact during the work day.

During the H1N1 flu epidemic several years ago, an estimated 7 million people are thought to have caught the virus from workers who showed up for duty, despite hacking coughs and phlegm-filled sneezes.

"Montclair is proof that earned sick days keeps our families communities and local economies healthy," says Mayor Robert Jackson, whose town signed on to an earned sick-leave ordinance in 2015.

Weinberg's concept is still a work in progress, she says, as legislators work out such matters as whether businesses with just a few employees would be exempt, and how a new policy would co-exist with local ordinances.

As they go about their deliberations, the lawmakers would be wise to consider the needs of business owners and health-care providers, making sure everyone has a voice in shaping what could be a humane new approach for workers who call New Jersey their home.

Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.

Check out the NJ.com mega-coverage guide, showing what we've done so far previewing the State Wrestling Championships at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City on March 2, 3 and 4 and what's yet to come.

Welcome to our complete preview coverage. For current live coverage of the 2018 NJSIAA State Wrestling Championships at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, check out NJ.com's wrestling homepage.

LIVE COVERAGE & MORE
Starting 2:30 p.m.
• LIVE UPDATES, results, photos, brackets and more 
• LIVE CHAT: Friday

STATE TOURNAMENT ESSENTIALS
• Full weekend schedule in Atlantic City
• Complete, interactive list of all 448 AC qualifiers
• All 14 state tournament brackets 
• First round pairings

SPECIAL LOOKS
•  Weighing-in: Video previews for all 14 classes

STATE TOURNAMENT PREVIEWS
• N.J. in national rankings: 31 standouts head to Atlantic City
• Fantastic Friday: 25 best matches on Opening Day
• National No. 1 Kinner, Glory cap road show in Atlantic City
• Can Bryan Martin's magical season end with a state title?
• Gateway state champ wants rematch with Bergen Catholic national No. 1
• Delsea's Billy Janzer ready to join program's elites
• These 7 wrestlers from Hudson County are headed to Atlantic City
• Robbinsville's Bilgrav ready to take on the field at 160
• Almost automatic to zero losses: A-to-Z guide to the finals
• Who are the 44 wrestling medalists returning to Atlantic City?
• State final bouts that we'd most like to see in A.C.
• 35 unranked wrestlers who would make noise in Atlantic City
• Heading to A.C.: The top 8 wrestlers ranked at every weight class
• P4P wrestler rankings: Atlantic City shuffle, final 5 additions
• The final wrestling Top 20 of 2017-2018: The last shakeup after Toms River
• A look back at live updates from the NJSIAA seeding meeting

REGION REWIND
• Pope John's Rotunda, year after AC injury, aims to atone
• EPR's Babin defeats Bierdumpfel again
• Westwood's Furman, Pompton Lakes' Flynn stay unbeaten
• Bergen Catholic's McKenzie goes from not wrestling to region champ
• Hasbrouck Heights' O'Malley again leaves no doubt claiming 170 title
• 'Little setback for major comeback.' Fair Lawn's Cedeno wins 113, eyes A.C. run
• WATCH DePaul's Ricky Cabanillas beats buzzer, former teammate
•  WATCH Tempers flare in 126-pound final between N. Cabanillas, D. Weaver
• Hackettstown's Carida tops Delbarton's Tavoso in marquee bout
• Delbarton, P'burg fulfill expectations, send 12 & 6 to AC
• HP's Olivieri earns tough title, eyes AC debut
•  WATCH: NP's Smith, Colonia's Poznanski provide stunning turns
•  WATCH: Woodbridge's Nyers pulls 2 upsets to win 220 title
•  WATCH: SPF's Wustefeld nails down 195 title
•  WATCH: Joe Heilmann edges Kelly for title
• Cunningham of SHP stops Fierro again to win at 132
• Armamento pulls stunning comeback to win 120 title
• Wrestlers from Woodbridge have big day at Region 4
• Coleman completes 1-2 takedown, wins at 138 as 4 seed
• Voorhees big man rolls on
• Monroe's Bradley, between anthem statements, earns title
• Casey wins 4th straight title, returning champs go 5-for-5
• RFH freshman Brignola places 3rd as the 126 8 seed
• HC freshman Ungar wins 106 title
• Hayes, Lamparelli, Bobchin are Mercer County winners
•  WATCH: Bound Brook's Casey completes 4-peat at 152
•  WATCH Raritan's Acevedo, a 10 seed, keeps amazing run going
•  WATCH: Raritan's Wolf wins 220 title
•  WATCH: Bound Brook's Sistrunk wins 285 title in UTB
• Messina win's 1st region title for Freehold Borough since 1964
• Delran's Miraglia knocks off unbeaten Slendorn
• Hayes, Lamparelli, Bobchin are Mercer County winners
•  WATCH: CBA's Koehler wins 3rd title; Ocean's Benner rolls to 2nd-straight
•  WATCH: Wall's Kelly score big in 2nd on way to 145 title
• No. 4 Paulsboro wins 2 titles, sends 8 to Atlantic City
• Lacey wins 2 championships, sends 3 to AC
• No. 18 Camden Catholic wins 2 titles, sends 5 to states (PHOTOS)
• Lacey 145-pounder Luke Gauthier wins MOW
• State champs prevail: Kinner wins 4th, Mininno, Janzer earn 3rd
• WATCH: Gateway's Mininno, Kingsway's Kinner prevail in finals
• O'Connell's redemption keys Southern's big day
•  Region 2 photo gallery
•  Region 3 photo gallery
•  Region 6 photo gallery
•  Region 7 photo gallery
•  Region 8 photo gallery

Pat Lanni may be reached at planni@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @PatLanniHS. Like NJ.com High School Sports on Facebook.

Blll Evans can be reached at bevans@njadvancemedia.com or by leaving a note in the comments below. Follow him on Twitter @BEvansSports.

JJ Conrad may be reached at jconrad@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @jj_conrad. Like NJ.com High School Sports on Facebook.

Joe Zedalis may be reached at jzedalis@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @josephzedalis. 

The killer will be 96 years old when he's eligible for parole, prosecutors say

A Beverly man who shot a 22-year-old in the back on the Burlington City street in 2016 was sentenced to life in prison Thursday.

Darius Bridges 

Darius Bridges, 28, will be 96 years old when he's first eligible for parole.

A life sentence equates to 75 years in New Jersey and Bridges has to serve almost 69 of them, the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office said.

A jury found Bridges guilty in January of first-degree murder and related weapon felonies, including possessing a firearm as convicted felon.

Bridges opened fire on the 100 block of East Federal Street near the intersection with York Street in Burlington City in November 2016, hitting Howard G. Young Jr., 22. The fatally wounded man died at a Trenton hospital.

During the sentencing, Judge Charles A. Delehey, noted that Bridges has had 42 contacts with police in his life, including 14 times as a juvenile, the prosecutor's office said.

"We cannot allow the streets of Burlington County to become hunting grounds where personal scores are settled with flying bullets," Prosecutor Scott Coffina said in a statement. "This sentence reflects the seriousness with which such criminal activity should be met."

Assistant Prosecutor Bob VanGilst tried the case.

Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Highlights from the state tournament.

What you need to know from the state tournament

NJ Advance Media takes a crack at predicting who makes the sectional finals.

Full coverage from the Championships in Atlantic City

Welcome to NJ.com's coverage of the 2018 NJSIAA State Wrestling Championships from Atlantic City. We have a talented group of reporters, photographers and videographers at the arena, ready to provide live updates and keep wrestling fans informed on the top stories coming out of Boardwalk Hall.  

LIVE UPDATES: Friday's action, beginning at 2:30 p.m.

2018 State Championship brackets
106 | 113 | 120 | 126 | 132 | 138 | 145
152 | 160 | 170 | 182 | 195 | 220 | 285

RESULTS AND PAIRINGS
• First round pairings 

RELATED: Who are the 44 wrestling medalists returning to Atlantic City?

TOURNAMENT ESSENTIALS, PREVIEWS
•  Weighing In - NJ.com's predictions for the tourney 
• Full weekend schedule
• Complete list of AC qualifiers
• Fantastic Friday: 25 best matches on opening day of state wrestling

RELATED: Mega-coverage guide - Full preview & all you need to be ready for the finals

MORE PREVIEWS
• National No. 1 Kinner, Glory cap road show in Atlantic City
• Can Bryan Martin's magical season end with a state title?
• Gateway state champion wants rematch with Bergen Catholic national No. 1
• Delsea's Billy Janzer ready to join program's elites
• Fantastic Friday: 25 best matches on Opening Day
• Almost automatic to zero losses: A-to-Z guide to the finals
• Who are the 44 wrestling medalists returning to Atlantic City?
• State final bouts that we'd most like to see in A.C.
• 35 unranked wrestlers who would make noise in Atlantic City
• Heading to A.C.: The top 8 wrestlers ranked at every weight class
• P4P wrestler rankings: Atlantic City shuffle, final 5 additions
• The final wrestling Top 20 of 2017-2018: The last shakeup after Toms River

The men's basketball team is the number 1 seed in the tournament, and has the coach of the year and sixth man award

Basketball coaches in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) five months ago voted Rider to finish in seventh place. One assumes they coach better than they predict.

Rider begins play in the MAAC tournament quarterfinals Friday evening March 2 in Albany as the top seed after finishing the regular season as co-champions with Canisius. The coaches picked that team to finish ninth.

Not only did Rider go 22-8 (15-3 MAAC), it also had four players selected on all-conference teams.

And earlier Friday, coach Kevin Baggett was named MAAC coach of the year, and Frederick Scott, already named to the All-MAAC third team, was named Sixth Player of the Year.

The conference highlighted Scott's 13.0 points (13th in the conference) and 6.6 rebounds per game (tied for fifth) in 30 games for the Broncs.

In truth, Rider coach Kevin Baggett didn't project a championship back in October, though neither did he imagine them being mediocre in the 11-team league.

"I thought we were talented," the coach said the other day after a late-morning practice. "I thought it would take some time to arrive. I had no expectations for this group, other than to really just get us better from practice to practice and from game to game.

"I knew we had too much talent to be a bottom team. But did I even imagine that we would win the conference? Absolutely not. I'd be lying if I said I did.''

Optimism arrived quickly in the first scrimmage at Lafayette, causing Baggett to pause. "I was like, 'Wait a minute. We might be more talented than I thought.' We went out and won (five of their first six), then when we went out to Vegas and ended up winning the Las Vegas Invitational, that's when I thought we had something on our hands.

Frederick Scott in action this season. He won the MAAC's Sixth Player of the Year award. (Rider U. photo)

"Then when we came back and upset Penn State, that's when I was like, 'OK. I think we have a team that can challenge for the league; for the top of the league.' We just continued to get better, the guys continued to buy in and we got better individually and came together as a team.''

The team scored 90 points or more 10 times, including 110 against Iona Sunday. Five of their wins were by three points or fewer, and they also won a game in overtime.

They have allowed 78 points per game (the Broncs average 83 offensively), Baggett acknowledging the defense remains a work in progress.

"I think our guys are still trying to learn our concepts, principles and details of really understanding. They know I allow them the freedom on the offensive end, but if they're not defending then I'm not going to play them. Since league play began, though, I thought we settled in, so it makes us a complete team.''

By winning the regular season title the Broncs are guaranteed a spot in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). The goal of course is to win three straight this weekend and quality for the NCAA Tournament. They haven't since 1994.

If they do, a young team with good depth will need to do what they've done most of the season. That means keep the ball moving in their spread offense and dig in and focus on defense.

Though there is great balance on this team, there are some standout players who were acknowledged by the conference.

Redshirt freshman Dimencio Vaughn made first-team, sophomore Steve Jordan made second team, and redshirt freshmen Jordan Allen and Scott made third team.

"We're a tough-minded team,'' Baggett said. "This is the first team I've coached that can score as well as they do, and have the ability to lock in when they need to. It all starts with Steve Jordan, our point guard, whose IQ is unbelievable. He's an extension of me. I trust him. And then you have Dimencio, who does everything for us (16 points per game, 6.6 boards). His will to will you to win and the will to go on...I don't know if I've ever coached a kid like that. And we have other guys. Jordan Allen has really grown up and made big shots after shots. He's allowed us to open the court.

"We're a balanced team. Inside we have (sophomore) Tyere Marshall (10 ppg who had 16 rebounds against Iona), and (guard Freddie) Scott (13 ppg), so we can score inside and outside.''

This is Rider's first regular season MAAC title in 10 years, and fourth since joining the league 21 years ago. For Vaughn, that's not enough.

"This team is tough,'' he said after the Iona game. "We don't give in to nobody. That's just not us. We don't just take it and just celebrate and be happy with it. No, we want more. We're hungry. We're trying to prove something.''

To most coaches in the league, they already have.