Recap: Dec. 17, 2005

Big holiday greetings to everyone, regardless of how you celebrate it. It’s been great having all of you there this year and we can look forward to a terrific season of football in 2006.

We will be playing New Year’s Eve, so come out and catch the last pass of the season before you pass out a few hours later. Our first game in 2006 will be Jan. 21.

WEATHER: Heavy snow fell along the Sea of Japan coast and other parts of the country Sunday as the coldest air mass so far this season hit the archipelago. Meanwhile, in Venice, it was perfect football weather – 65, partly sunny, little wind.

WELCOME: A big welcome to Rodger and Jeremiah, both who fit right in immediately and are welcome back anytime.

GAME: A week after a defensive struggle, an Arena Football game broke out, with White winning 56-44. The over/under was 98, which made all the over bettors in Vegas happy when Bubba got that last TD pass.

HIGHLIGHTS

PLAYER OF THE GAME: I’m giving this one to John (aka Trojan Man, aka JB), who had about a thousand catches, most of them for key first downs or touchdowns. He’s incredibly reliable and has become my security blanket at receiver. Not that wild about the new beard thing (I’m a clean-shaven fan myself) but as long as he catches like that he can look like King Kong’s cousin for all I care. :-)

PLAY OF THE GAME: Brian Rubin (not to be confused with Brian Puff Daddy) made an amazing catch on a fourth down with the scored tied. Just like it was called in the huddle, I deliberately first had the pass hit the linebacker, then bounce off a defensive back and land in the waiting arms of Brian, who wound up going for a TD.

PLAY OF THE GAME II: It looked like just a short swing pass from David (Marino) to Tommy (back in Pirate Boy garb). But Tommy evaded tackles and made a great athletic play by keeping his balance, supporting himself on one arm without having his knee touch, before straightening up and running for a score. Puff Daddy’s wife (Christine?) was taking pics and has a great sequence that Brent will post later this week.

CATCH O’ THE DAY: This one goes to Rory for his exceptional grab on a deep slant. He went high, snagged the ball with one hand, brought it in with his second, secured the ball and scored. Very Marvin Harrison-like.

PEACE IS POSSIBLE: We had a UT grad (and former player) Jeremiah and Trojan Man on the same team, and nary a discouraging word was said.

ELUSIVE: Marino was hard to sack all day and consistently bought himself time. My favorite was one where he eluded the rush, scrambled to his right and threw a nice pass to Anthony who had run a good route in the back of the end zone. And Marino somehow ran 10 yards for a TD against a four-across zone.

BALL HAWKS: Brent led the pack with two picks, including one where he made a great play on the ball. … Puff Daddy had a nifty one on a play where Brian got a great rush. … Joe had a good one, wrestling the ball from the tight end. … JB had one, but to be fair it was such a duck that Knute Rockne could have caught it, and he’s been dead 74 years. Speaking of Rockne, I looked up his bio to see when he died and discovered he was born in Voss, Norway, a place Brent and I visited once on a trip. I had an incredible hamburger at this place and Brent ordered their veggie burger, which in Norway meant a bun, canned corn, lettuce and ketchup. Yum!

GO LONG: We had a lot of long plays, either for scores or to set them up. Mike made a nice grab and go on a TD on the first drive. … Pirate Boy did the same on a play where he went in motion. … Lisa managed to get open by about 20 yards on one play for a catch. … Anthony also went over the middle for a short pass he turned into a long gain. … Jeremiah was terrific on two deep posts for TDs where he really turned on the burners.

NOTABLE: Elia had to leave early but not before making several really nice catches. … Oren ran a perfect route on a crossing pattern that he took in for a score. … Rory made a great adjustment on one pass in the end zone that I threw as hard as I could and he still snagged it. … Lisa’s pooch looked so cute in his holiday getup, one of three dogs who kept us company. … Bubba’s TD catch was cool since it surprise even him when he held on to Anthony’s bullet.

See you soon!