Recap Nov. 19, 2005

THANKSGIVING WEEKEND: We ARE playing next Saturday, Nov. 26. There are enough advance commitments and we have often had great games this weekend. We are not paying for the field, so this is a freebie (they don’t rent that weekend but it shouldn’t be a problem getting the field).

WEATHER: You know how spoiled we are when people complain that it’s too warm, and it’s 80! You can instead have: A cold front stretched from Wisconsin through to Texas on Saturday, bringing rain to parts of the Central Plains and light snow to Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

WELCOME: Big welcome to Marc, Elia, and a longtime welcome back to Brian and Chris, each of whom played last in the early ‘90s in Hollywood.

GAME: White played ballhawks and pulled away from dark.

HIGHLIGHTS

PLAYMAKER: Well, Anthony had a productive first three series as a DB: Interception, interception, interception. In contrast, JP had only one measly pick.

GO DEEP: Best long pass of the day was Marino’s (David) beautiful sideline bomb to Zach, who went into a gear I hadn’t seen before; must be the new hairstyle and the facial scruff.

FADE AWAY: Best pass-catch of the day was my fade pattern in the corner of the end zone to Anthony, who used great body position to go up high and do his now-customary landing on his back with the ball.

GREAT EFFORT: Marco made an awesome play on a busted play, going high along the left sideline to make a great catch, stay inbounds, avoid and tackle and run into the end zone. He now leads all Belgians in TDs scored for LA Motion.

GOOD HANDS MEN: Rory caught virtually everything in sight, one time effortlessly snagging a ball away from two pesky defenders. Of course, he only remembers a drop on a pass that would have really tough to grab… John (Trojan Man), making his first appearance since the Oct. tournament, made several super catches, including one on a quick slant where Mike decided a tackle was in order. … JP dropped his first three (had to mention that!) than an imposter took over because he then caught everything in sight, including a nifty snag along the sideline.

OVERHEARD: JP to John (Trojan Man): “You were running hard, but your ass wasn’t going anywhere. There’s a lot of junk in that trunk.” … Unknown: “Mark it where the ball is.” Joe: “Mark it where his ass is.” … JP to Anthony: “Jim has a new favorite to throw to; I won’t get any more balls.” … Marc talking smack to Brent as the former was rushing and the latter was blocking. It sounded like “Hardball.”

NOTABLE: Great pass rushing by Marc, getting one sack and disrupting another play. … Defensive gem by JP of shedding a block on a 4^th and 1 and snagging Zach’s flag short of the first on a shovel pass. … Speaking of shovels, Marco is becoming Mr. Shovel and will be even better once he gets some cleats (Brent always has extra pairs). … John (wearing the Maple Leafs shirt) showed up late by scored the final offensive TD, then capped the game with a last-play pick he ran back. … Elia had several nice grabs and scored two TDs and one 2-pointer. … Great pick by Patrick, with the contact on the ground being so hard that the button popped from his shorts (Brent, where’s that camera when we need it!). … Joe made the flag grab of the day, practically diving and stopping a long gainer. … Puff Daddy (Brian) had one nice TD grab and on another play literally had no one within 12 yards of him on the catch (dark forgot to rush someone). … Brian may not have played for almost 15 years, but he had some great pass rushes and made a nice catch and run for a score.

Have a happy Thanksgiving!