Recap March 25, 2006

WEATHER: Nice and cool, partly cloudy, 65. Great football weather; too bad we had one of those days where a lot of people couldn't make it. We did play back on the old field that has been reseeded.

THE RATINGS GAME: Bubba threw, I think, maybe his first 2 passes ever. One was on a wide receiver throwback that he tossed to me (it went about 4 yards) and I amazingly ran in for a score (with the lamest spin move ever). Bubba's rating was a perfect 158.3. Then his second pass was intercepted. His rating: Still a not-bad 95.8.

CATCH OF THE DAY: Patrick (or "Texas Chainsaw" as Brent calls him) was able to make it out and he didn't disappoint with two great grabs. One came in the end zone on a long pass where he slid to grab it; the other on a nice adjustment along the sidelines.

TIP DRILL: A nice example of defensive coordination came when Kevin was able to deflect a pass into the air, and Peter came down with it.

NOTABLE: Bubba was both Antonio Gates and Edwards Scissorhands on the same drive. He made a great over-the-shoulder catch for a first down with a defender draped over him. A couple of plays later, he dropped one right in the breadbasket (must be taking lessons from JP). …

Best reaction to a dropped pass came from David, who short-armed a long pass from Puff Daddy. "Alligator arms!" David said about himself as the ball hit the turf. … My right big toe has learned a valuable lesson: Never punt a football when you have no clue how to. Ouch! …

Best huh moment came when Brent, calling out the defense, told someone to "guard the Munchkin," meaning Patrick. "Munchkin? I weigh more than he does!" Patrick said. …

Best topical reaction came from Brent, when he called out the play beforehand to his defensive mates, yet they didn't respond and White scored. "That's like the Russians giving Saddam the war plans and he didn't listen!" …

Great back of the end zone grab by Kevin, who caught the ball even though he was forced out by Brent. … New player Jesse had little time to get in the flow as he hurt his groin and was done on the second possession. Hope he heals quickly. …

Game was ending and Dark failed on a fourth-and-2. So they were given a fifth down to make it. No good. A sixth down. No good. Finally, David made the completion on seventh down and it was over!

Recap March 18, 2006

WEATHER: The gods continue to smile on us. It rained in LA Saturday night but earlier in the day in Venice, it was beautiful if windy and on the cool side (low 60s). But great football weather and a dry field.

GAME: It started even and was tied 12-12, until White took control and went on to a solid win. Notable were both teams going a combined 0 for their first 10 on 2-point conversions.

MVP: Goes to Toby, for a terrific game on both sides of the ball. He ran great routes, had a slew of catches, several scores and was the total shutdown corner on defense.

RUNNERUP: Peter, who made a bunch of key catches, at least 2 TDs and had several PBUs on defense.

BEST EXCUSE FOR SHOWING UP LATE: Rory, who got up in the middle of the night to take allergy medicine and took a sleeping pill instead. Doh!

GAME WITHIN A GAME: Anthony brought his "friend" Cody, who was a totally cool guy. We ended the game thinking Cody had bested Anthony in TDs, 2-1, but we forgot one: It was the weird play where I threw a hard pass that bounced off of Anthony's hands, into the air and back into his hands for a 40-yard score. So neither has bragging rights.

BEST IRONY: JP excitedly tells me before the game that he saw the eye doctor that morning and that one of his contact lenses had a weak prescription. Of course, his new, improved vision will make him a better receiver, flag grabber, lover etc. First pass from Puff Daddy to JP. Hits him in stride in the end zone. You can guess what happened. Made my day.

WORST LUCK: Peter, who had two big plays nullified on reallyclose calls. The first came when I ran for about a 5-yard gain. At the last second, I lateraled back to Peter, who ran down the sidelines for a score. But Dark ruled my flag was grabbed prior to the lateral. The second came on a wide receiver pass that Peter completed for a long TD. Again, Dark said Peter's flag was grabbed as he was passing. Both were super-close and fun plays nonetheless.

BEST PIN: Anthony on Jeremiah (Triple J). While White was waiting on defense, Triple J tackled Anthony, not realizing he's a high school wrestler. A quick reversal ensued and a pin. Had this been "real" wrasslin, Triple J would have smashed a chair over his head.

BALL HAWKS: Four excellent interceptions – Anthony's beautiful one-hander while going out of bounds. … Brent's great play to wrestle the ball from Matthew near the goal line. … Matthew making a superb MLB play by leaping high to catch a pass. … Marino, who read me perfectly on the last play of the game when I went to Anthony.

Worst non-pick: Triple J, dropping one in the end zone, prompting Toby to say: "If I would have known you were going to drop it, I would have picked it off."

BEST LONG BALL: Triple J ran a nifty inside slant route and I hit him stride for a very long score. He does have wheels.

BEST CATCH: Marino made a great adjustment and showed excellent concentration on a slant across the middle that he snagged from PD despite Anthony making a diving attempt for the ball.

HIGHLIGHTS: Peter ran a nice wheel route down the left side for a score. … Brent had a nice play where he caught a pass, then had several guys miss as he raced for a score with Triple J as an escort. … Oren played his best defensive game of the day and also wound up with some nice catches for key first downs (I like Triple J's nickname for him: "Big O") … Brian Rubin had one of his patented catches, stop (thinking the flag was off), everyone yells "Go!" and he gains another 15 yards. … My best pass was a strike into the wind that hit Anthony in stride across the middle for a long gainer. … Cody beat Anthony for his second score, leaving him on the turf on a crossing pattern. Not bad for a swimmer.

NEXT: We are playing Saturday March 25. See you then!

Pictures From Feb. 18, 25 and March 4

This is just one of 150 shots from recent action. Thanks to Brent for these great images.

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(Click on the image above for a larger view)

Recap March 11, 2006

WEATHER: OK, all you weenies who failed to show because you're afraid of a little rain – it was so sunny in Venice that I got a bit of a sunburn since I forgot my sunscreen. It was about 60 and sunny most of the time. We literally got about 15 DROPS of rain total. The field was in perfect shape and it was classic football weather. But our rain-o-phobes stayed away and we had a smaller than normal turnout. We still had a blast.

GAME: It was all offense, with Dark beating White, 64-63. White was a 2-point underdog, so they covered, and we hit the over. Dark won it on the last play, with the difference ultimately being a conversion. We played a long time and no doubt we'll all be sore.

MVP: Everyone who showed up and ignored the weather forecast.

WEIRDEST PASS INTEREFERENCE CALL EVER: JP called it on Anthony – "He grabbed my nipples!"

GUESS THE QB RATING: I'll hide the identity of this passer, who played a couple of series early on and went 0 for 4 for 0 yards and 2 interceptions. What would his NFL quarterback rating be? Answer below.

CATCHES OF THE DAY: There were a ton (I would hope so with 127 points being scored). The best was Anthony's one-handed grab on a wheel route that Dark called out and White called in (we had a do-over). It was beautiful. … JP had several, including one that he caught off his shoetops, kept his balance and scored. … Peter's best was a great over-the-shoulder grab along the sideline. … Brent's was simply holding on to the ball, which he did for two or three TDs. … Brian's was on a nice slant over the middle for a big first down. … David's came on one series where he caught three passes for all his team's yardage.

EXCUSES: JP was in rare form. First, he was recovering from the flu. Then he was tired. Then it was either wearing gloves or not wearing them (it was hard to keep track). About the only one he didn't use was that the sun got in his eyes. And, to boot, he was the only one who didn't pay me (typical for a high-priced lawyer).

HIT OF THE DAY: Inadvertent, of course, but Brent and David, collided while both were on defense. Brent's shoulder blade hit David flush in the solar plexus and he went down for a moment.

MR. EXCITEMENT: You never know if Brent will catch the pass or not. He had several drops of nice balls (most from me, the bastard!), then came on at the end and was snagging everything. He's as reliable as the forecast.

PAGING WILLARD SCOTT: The weather service predicted a 100% chance of rain at game time. They were only off by 100 points.

FASHION STATEMENT: JP wore this funky looking white headband because "My ears are cold!" As Anthony said, "It makes him look even more like a special-ed student."

EXTREMES: While JP was freezing, Brian was sweating as if it were 95 degrees. He blamed it on doing two hours of yoga beforehand.

QBs: Big hat tip to Puff Daddy and myself for tons of nice passes. His best was one he dropped in over Anthony in the end zone to Brent. Mine was a beautiful long pass into the wind that hit Anthony in stride.

COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD: Jeremiah – Toby has your portable EMS machine and will bring it next week. … Someone last week left a Patagonia fleece pullover and I have it with me. … Good news on Puff Daddy's dog, who was hit by a car two weeks ago. She is on the road to recovery. A week of vet bills: $8,000. Knowing your dog will make it: Priceless.

ANSWER: Our mystery QB's rating was 0. Very Ryan Leaf-like.

NEXT: We are back next week, March 18.

Recap March 4, 2006

WEATHER: In Venice it was lovely – 65 and sunny, but the field was a tad slick from the recent rain. That was better than New England, where several inches of snow fell, with parts of Vermont getting more than a foot.

GAME: Another thriller, won by Dark 38-34, in a game that saw a couple of lead changes.

MVP: Last week I was harangued by JP to give him the award and this week it was Jeremiah (through some act of the gods, the both of them have never played the same week). J suggested … demanded … that it be awarded to him and Zach. It's not a bad choice, especially since Jeremiah didn't drop a pass (yes, get up off the floor!) Jeremiah had one pick, one TD and several passes defended (he used the college term PBU, for passes broken up). Zach had two picks, two TDs and a 2-pointer. Hmm, Zach is higher in the key categories, so why are we sharing it? :-)

DEFENSIVE MVP: This was a no-brainer and goes to Kevin. He made one brilliant interception at the goal line and had about a billion flag grabs, and seemed to anticipate every play. Though I'm not sure how PBU's he had!

CATCH OF THE DAY: Goes to Marino for his brilliant corner fade grab in the end zone on fourth down with a defender having good position. A major league play.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: Brent got twisted around on one pass and the ball hit him in the chest and bounced off incomplete. He gave kind of a high-pitched "Oooooooh!" as it fell, causing Zach to say: "It knocked the Southern woman out of Brent, like he had the vapors." Cracked us all up.

BEST DEFENSIVE PLAY BY AN OFFENSIVE PLAYER: Eric made a nice catch along the sidelines and was about to turn up field when he was knocked out of bounds on a nice hit by Walter … who was also on offense.

BEST MOVE: Anthony ran a great route on what started as a post and wound up as a deep out for an easy TD. He was money all day.

BEST LONG BALL: Andy threw a nice deep strike to Jeremiah, who snagged it and scored. Runnerup was David H.'s nice move down the sideline on a 30-yard TD strike from me.

BEST LATERAL: Kevin, after his pick, was about ready to be tackled when he alertly pitched it back to Jeremiah, who gained an additional 15 yards.

BEST RICHOCHET: Brent was heads up in grabbing an interception of a pass that bounced off the receiver's chest.

HIGHEST QB RATING: Peter went 1 for 1 for 10 yards and a 2-pointer to Zach. That translates out to 147.9.

HIGHLIGHTS: Let's hope Marc's knee is not too bad. He's always been terrific to have out there and he made some terrific plays, including one where he did a fair imitation of Barry Sanders, juking and swerving. … A great grab by Rory, going high to make a catch in the end zone on fourth down. …

Best run was by me, who shocked everyone by gaining about 20 yards, though I gentlemanly didn't run Jeremiah over. … Eric came up big all game, making several fourth-down grabs and numerous passes over the middle. ... Zach showed some nice quickness on a short shovel pass he took in for a score. …

Toby made a sensational grab, giving up his body on a twisting grab for a score. … Nice sack by Rodger on one play and great pass bat-down by David H. on a rush. … Worst Brett Favre imitation was my lazy underhanded pass to Zach that was fortunate not to be picked.

NEXT: We are back next week, March 11. See you then!