Sunday, November 27, 2005

Flag Recap: Nov. 26, 2005

WEATHER: Craig showed up and complained how chilly it was. It was about 68 with bright sun. Meanwhile, up to 1,000 people were trapped in their vehicles Saturday night as blizzards brought chaos to Britain. What would Craig say about that?

GAME: It was like the Colts playing the Bengals last week. No one could stop the other in the first half and the defenses took over in the second. White beat Dark, 42-38, but no offense scored a TD in the last eight combined possessions.

WELCOME: A huge welcome back to Ruben, a great player and one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. He badly injured his knee in a tournament game in 2003 so this was his first action back. And he had a typical Ruben game: three TDs and two interceptions.

Another welcome back to Al (also known as Foxy, a classic Brent nickname). Al will be running in the Honolulu Marathon in two weeks, so I know we all wish him well.

HOLIDAY SKED: We ARE playing Dec. 3-10-17. We are NOT playing Christmas Eve. We ARE playing New Year’s Eve (people are in town). We are NOT playing Jan. 7 and 14 (NFL playoffs), and Jan. 21 is up in the air. After that, we play virtually every week through mid-May or so. There is still a lot of football left.

HIGHLIGHTS

MVP: Craig and Ramsey said I needed to pick myself, so there! After the game, I went to Disneyland!

SACK ATTACK: Bubba had a great pass rush, getting one sack on me and coming close other times. Ramsey called him “The Beast.” On one play, Bubba was ferocious, but Craig was an equally determined blocker and I had a lot of time. Someone on Dark said they couldn’t see where I was throwing to since Bubba’s “ass got in the way.”

M*A*S*H UNIT: Brent banged his knee when he dove for Anthony’s flag, missed and hit the ground hard. “I fucked my knee up on a play where all I grabbed was a lot of ass,” Brent said. … Luciano tweaked his hammy on a flare pass down the sideline. … Craig hurt his toe when someone stepped on it. … JP called from showing his mom around LA and was still bitching that his thumb was hurting from a week ago; he even whines when he doesn’t play!

GOOD HANDS PEOPLE: Brian was awesome all game, especially running out patterns. He caught the ball high, low and while falling towards the sidelines. My favorite pass was when I pumped on a short out and led him on an up pattern for a long gainer. His best was when he called his own number on 4th and goal and he caught my hard pass in the back of the end zone. He also snagged an interception. He went in to QB the final drive and was picked off by Shane. “You are human, after all,” David told Brian after the game. …

Ruben ran two beautiful stop-and-go patterns that resulted in 60+ yard TDs. He also made a nifty grab of a pass that was slightly behind him. … Shane showed good hands both as a receiver (once on a great fade pass) and as a linebacker when he caught an interception low on a ricochet. … Ramsay made a couple of tough catches look easy, which is why I call him Dallas Clark. … Al made his presence known quickly when he got wide open for a score on the game’s third play. That started the shootout.

BAD HANDS PEOPLE: Was it the bright sun, but I saw more easy passes dropped than in memory. Had JP been there, it would have qualified as an epidemic.

MY KINGDOM FOR A 2-POINT CONVERSION: We scored 12 total TDs and 1 2-point conversion. That’s an 8% rating, or just slightly lower than Dick Cheney’s approval numbers.

DEE—FENSE: The top defensive plays were Peter’s terrific read and grab on a pass for an interception, and Brent’s great reaction on knocking away a pass that Shane seemed to have secured for a long gain. … Marc plays a great linebacker and seemed to always have his side secured. … Zach frustrated me a couple of times when I tried to squeeze one in to Rory, once mockingly inquiring as to whether he actually was the intended receiver.

NOTABLE: John played well as Dark starting QB, especially on TD passes to Marc, Shon and David. … Anthony then came in and fired bullet after bullet, but would rather catch than pitch and went back to being a receiver. … Lisa got the most cardio as she ran her butt off as a pass rusher. … Mike ran a great route on a misdirection play where he wound up all by himself for an easy TD. Mike was also in the middle of the White comedy of errors series where we tried two direct snaps to him. The first one he wasn’t expecting and the ball flew away. On the second, he caught the snap and decided to play Garo Yprmenian instead of run with a wild left-handed pass. … Another weird play was when Shon sprang up from hitting the ground in the middle of a play and wound up in effect throwing a nice block on Rory.

Friday, November 25, 2005

Nov. 19, 2005 Photos (Click Image for Larger View)





























Sunday, November 20, 2005

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 4th 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!

Flag Football On Saturday

Just a reminder that we are playing Saturday, Penmar Park in Venice, Saturday, Dec.3 at noon. Bring your own water, cleats, $5 for field fees and a dark and white shirt (you will be assigned to one team based on shirt color).

Here are directions:

From LA: 10 west, exit Lincoln Blvd. west. Go left on Rose and we're at the corner of Penmar and Rose.

Shortcut:
10 west, exit Bundy SOUTH. Turn right on Ocean Park, left on 23rd (which becomes Walgrove). Turn right on Rose and left on Penmar.

Sunday, November 13, 2005

Recap Nov. 12, 2005

WEATHER: The National Weather Service says thunderstorms could cause snow to fall at a rate up to 2 inches an hour in some places. That was in Colorado. In Venice, it was sunny, clear, 70 and beautiful. Bo was upset that he forgot his sunglasses.

WELCOME: A big welcome to Pete, who flew all the way from Boston to play. Actually, there was a four-letter reason he flew out, but it was great having him. And more hellos to Anthony, Marco, Bo, Lou, Marc and Oren. You are all welcome back anytime.

GAME: White rallied to pull away from Dark, covering the spread, according to the Vegas line.

HIGHLIGHTS:

MVP: The award this week goes to Anthony. He drove all the way from Banning (near Palm Springs), then wound up with a bunch of catches and three TDs. He also played great defense. His best catch was a Chad Johnson-like effort on a corner fade, where he went up caught the ball and came down on his back with the catch. Well done!

HISTORY: Marco enters the record book as the Belgian with the most catches in LA Motion history. Of course, he got the record when he caught his first pass and added to it later. He works as a cruise director and is stationed in LA for a couple of months.

DISTRACTED: JP was supposed to be calling defense on one key goal-line play. But a company was doing a casting call near the field and JP’s eyes were glued to some guy who was auditioning. Zach had to wave his arms in JP’s face and Chad said, “JP, call a defense!” The defense worked, which proves that we are all better off if JP’s mind is elsewhere and someone else is doing the thinking.

NEWCOMER: UCLA Brian brought his friend Lou and said that while he was athletic, he didn’t really know football. Could have fooled us! Lou ran crosses, slants and outs and made almost every catch.

ZACH ATTACK: Nice having Zach return for his first game since injuring his hamstring in the Oct. tournament. He was back, it seemed, at 120%. He made a great catch on a deep slant, then outraced the defense for one score. On several other catches he made Barry Sanders-like moves, making tacklers miss.

TIMING: A cool play was Puff Daddy’s great long post to UCLA Brian. Zach had great coverage it looked like he was going to pick it off and take it to the house, but the ball was perfectly thrown, Brian made a great grab and wound up scoring. It is a game of inches (as Bubba is always saying about our group!).

IN A RUSH: Bill Walsh always said a late-game pass rush was the key to victory and that held true for White, with great pressure by JP, Peter (who had a key sack) and Jonathan in the second half.

BALL HAWKS: We had 84 points scored but only 4 turnovers. UCLA Brian led the way with two picks, JP had a great one he timed to take back all the way and Patrick also chipped in with one.

BEST CELEBRATION: JP doing the “Riverdance” after scoring a TD. He actually did a surprisingly good job.

MEASURING UP: I kept woofing at Brent for his marking the first downs at 12 yards instead of 10. I think he must be playing by Albanian flag rules. He then said my mark-offs looked like they were done by a Rockette.

CRAIGSLIST AD OF THE WEEK: Under "Activities/Los Angeles": Hey mid20s guy here looking to watch football on Sunday in the buff. Can host, real laid back nice guy...not looking for anything but a person to chill with. Be cool with being nude...happy to provide a pick. (JP, are you lying about your age again?)

WORTH NOTING: Craig seems to catch everything thrown his way and had two nice long TD catches. … Chad was a very vocal MLB, playfully taunting anyone who came in his area; he also scored on a direct snap from center. … Joe showed excellent concentration on a long pass that he caught while falling down. … Patrick was great on a short slant he took all the way. … Most comical sequence was White have two consecutive do-overs on what seemed to be Patrick TDs, then finally having it be third time the charm with Chad. …

Anthony made a great adjustment on one long pass that was first meant to be a post, but became more of an out by the time he caught it. … Mock salute was given by Team Dark to Marco for playing great defense and knocking away a pass to Pete (only problem was that Marco and Pete were on the same team on offense.) … Great leaping grab by Peter over the middle that left some wondering where he got that vertical leap. … Oren came late but it didn’t stop him from scoring a TD in his maiden game.

NEXT: We are back next week, Nov. 19, Penmar Park, noon.

Monday, November 07, 2005

Nov. 5, 2005 Photos (Click Image for Larger View)








Photos by Steve and Brent

Weekly notes are below the photos.











Sunday, November 06, 2005

Recap Nov. 5, 2005

WEATHER: Can’t ask for more – sunny, calm, 70.

WELCOME:
Big hello to John, Steve, Patrick and Tommy. A big welcome back after a long absence to Walter.


RESULT:
We had a terrific game (played for 2 ½ hours) with White pulling away at the end for a 50-35 win. Anyone who bet the over is thrilled.


HIGHLIGHTS If I missed your moment of glory, feel free to add it to the comments. Name key: David the QB is Marino, the other David is David; tall Brian is UCLA Brian, the other Brian that Qbed is Puff Daddy.

MVP: Don’t always pick one every week but this one was a no-brainer: John. All he did was intercept 4 passes, running one back for a score. He also had 2 long TD catches. Anyone who had him on his Fantasy Football team is smiling.

PLAY OF THE DAY: The triple reverse pass by White. They tried it once on the drive, but the second leg of the reverse dropped the ball. The second time was the charm. Jim at QB, hands it off to Joe, who hands it off to Brian running the other way, who then gives it to Will heading back the first direction. Will made a great long pass while backpedaling, hitting John in stride for the score. I got so excited I slapped Will on the back and almost knocked his breath out.

CATCH OF THE DAY
: An easy one and it goes to David. On a deep ball, UCLA Brian got a hand on it and seemed to knock it away. David was falling down and the ball hit him on the top of his shoe and he plucked it while dropping into the end zone. A tad controversial at the time but we looked at the SkyCam replays later and it was a catch.


TOM TERRIFIC: New player Tommy must have led the game in catches and he snared everything thrown his way. And he hit the ground more than anyone after catch. He also had more nicknames given that he was wearing a bright yellow, #8 Willie Stargell Pittsburgh Pirates shirt. “You guard Pirate Man.” “Who has Pirate Boy?” “Who has #8” …

TEAM SPIRIT: I can always count on JP to buck up a teammate at just the right moment. I called a wide left streak with a flanker out and slot slant. “Just don’t throw an interception like the last time you called that,” said JP, the Terrell Owens of Penmar Park. A suspension is called for!

BLIND ITEM:
Sent to the New York Post’s Page 6: What receiver was free-balling it out there, causing one player to say “ring a ding-a-ling” every time he caught a pass and started running? And made missing his flag an adventure.


BLIND ITEM II: What player, I discovered after at lunch, is missing the ring finger on his left hand? It was lost six years ago when he tried to jump a fence and caught his ring on a spike and … you can figure out the rest. Not the most pleasant lunchtime conversation.

LONG AND SHORT:
White scored 8 TDs but only 1 conversion. We tried various QBs and they kept throwing the ball out of the end zone (Will even hit the top of the fence). To remedy that, JP went in at QB on the final conversion and, as predicted, did not reach the end zone.


IN A RUSH:
New guy Steve was wearing a Bill Romanowski jersey and he sure rushed the passer like him, getting my flag twice. … JP, of all people, also got a sack. … And I was playing blocking back on one play when Tommy came in. He was so fast that I had barely gotten out of my stance when he was already around me and had the QB’s flag. It was Dwight Freeney abusing Jonathan Ogden in the Colts-Ravens season opener.


GO DEEP, YOUNG MAN
: We had a slew of long passes for TDs and big gains, incluing two to John, two to Shon (one he actually caught), ones by UCLA Brian, Puff Daddy, Will, Mike, Patrick, Tommy and Horacio.


NOTABLE:
Kevin made a great catch, going high and fighting off a DB for a TD. … Joe had a bunch of nice catches for good gains. … Chad came out of his offensive shell with four catches, including one for a TD. … JP called his number (ball hog!) on one TD. … Marino had a ton of great passes, both short and deep, with Tommy and Puff Daddy being his favorite targets. … Great sideline grabs by Shon and Patrick on a couple of plays. … Longest commute award goes to Steve who came all the way from San Bernardino. Now that’s a football fan.


NEXT: We are back Nov. 12. Have a great week!