Recap Nov. 25, 2006

WEATHER: Heavy snow fell overnight in parts of Western Washington, but much farther south in Venice, it was 68, sunny and beautiful.

WELCOME: A big hello to newcomers Luis, Andrew, John, Mark and Jordan. Were you guys sore the day after?

GAME: It was back and forth for a good while, but Dark broke it open midway through the second half to pull away, 48-34.

MVP: Have to give it to Dark QB Anthony, who scored on all but one of his drives and had no picks. Of course, he only threw me three passes – all of which I snagged -- despite me being open all day. J Ah, it’s fun to bitch like a receiver for once.

PLAY OF THE GAME: Have to give it to Eric, Mr. Heads Up, for catching a TD pass that first ricocheted off the hands of Luis into Eric’s arms. Eric was a difference-maker, with three TDs and some great defense.

SCORING MACHINE: Brent often sits on offense to allow others to play, but he made most of his chances, with one TD catch and two 2-point conversion catches.

BALL HAWK: A nice job on a key goal-line interception by Cody, who made the catch, then kept his feet inbounds. Duly noted: Jeremiah was open on the play, but the pass was a bit overthrown.

FASHION PLATES: Best footwear award goes to Jordan and Mark, who wore identical bright red soccer cleats.

HUMEROUS PLAYS OF THE GAME: Have to give it to Troy, who needs to perfect the art of the center snap. He sent two of them 5 feet over Puff Daddy’s head.

CATCH OF THE DAY: Goes to Jordan on what was a busted play. It happened on the first snap that sailed over Puff’s head. He was able to pick up the ball and heaved it down the middle of the field. The ball hit Jordan in the hands as he was falling backwards and he held on for a long gainer.

PLAYS OF NOTE: Best pass was Anthony’s rocket that resulted in a 58-yard TD play to Eric … Rory, after falling over a sprinkler head early, made several nice grabs, the best being a 35-yarder down the middle where he went up high to get the ball … I had a very nice grab on a rainbow from Luis near the sideline, where I was able to make the catch and keep my feet in-bounds. … Dave was a clutch receiver for White all game, with several first-down grabs and a TD. … Mark showed a nice proclivity for flag-grabbing, an essential art that few do well.

LAUNDRY NOTE: Mark – you left your shirt at the field, and it has been freshly washed.

LOST IN TRANSLATION: Jeremiah asked Eric why he hasn’t played lately. “I’ve been on the DL,” Eric said, causing laughter. He still doesn’t know the meaning we all assumed. Google it.

SCHEDULE NOTE: We will play Dec. 2, 9 and 16. We are not playing Dec. 23. We might play Dec. 30 if there is enough interest. We are not playing Jan. 6 and 13 (NFL playoffs).

See you Saturday!

Jim

Recap Nov. 11, 2006

WEATHER: A bit chilly by Venice standards – mid-60s and breezy. At least it was better than western Wisconsin, which got 17 inches of snow.

GAME: It went back and forth, with Dark holding on 37-31, when White came up short on its last drive.

MVP: Believe it or not it was me (by vote) and NOT as a quarterback. My shoulder is still sore from being drilled in a tournament a month ago, so I played wideout. I had a slew of catches, including one Marvin Harrison-lite effort along the sideline and a fourth-down pass that went 40 yards for a score. And I knocked down two passes as a rusher. Even Cody was impressed. Patrick was also terrific, with two long TD catches and two picks, while Oren had his best game ever on offense.

BEST T.O. IMPRESSION: Brent was so open on one play – literally 20 yards – that he stopped for a second thinking the play had been whistled dead. After running in for the score, he then lie down and used the ball as a pillow like T.O. Only Brent's not as gay as T.O.

'I WAS AFRAID:' Those were Oren's immortal words on one play where Jeremiah caught a pass and started motoring. As he headed towards Oren, Oren did the wise thing and got out of the way to avoid being run over.

GET THAT MAN SOME HANDS: That describes Jeremiah's receiving day, or lack thereof. Just ask Anthony, his QB. "I don’t like you," Anthony moaned after one drop.

BIG PLAYS: We had three long TDs within 4 plays. Oren got open deep on a fourth down and made a long catch and run; next play for White went deep to Jeremiah for a score (yes, he hung on); and two plays later for Dark, Patrick got even on a bomb from Marino.

BEST HAIR: Sheri loses out this week to Cody's Mohawk.

WELCOME BACK: Nice to see Brian "Puff Daddy" come back after his foot injury this spring. Living up to his nickname, he snuck in a smoke prior to the game.

CURRENT EVENTS: "What a great day Tuesday was!" someone said about the election. "What happened Tuesday?" a player, who shall remain nameless asked. "Are you serious? Don't you read the papers? Don't you watch TV" Jeremiah asked incredulously. "No," came the reply. I think this player did know Bush was president.

NEXT: We are back Saturday Nov. 18, noon.

Flag Recap Nov. 4, 2006

WEATHER: Lake effect snow is still coming off the east end of Lake Ontario Saturday morning. Lake effect squalls are expected to drop 1-4" of snow throughout the day. Meanwhile, in Venice is was a gorgeous 72 without a cloud in the sky.

GAME: A great opener to the season saw Blue beat White by about 12 (though I can't remember the exact score). Welcome to new players Rodney, Carlo, Troy, Jonathan and Mike, and Sergio (in his cameo appearance).

OVERALL MVP: Have to give the award this week to Cody, who played liked a man possessed and with a new haircut. He scored three TDs and made some superb catches and runs. He was just trying to show off for Anthony.

OFFENSIVE MVP: Rory was brilliant with his new eyes (he had Lasix about a month ago), making several spectacular catches. The best was when he went very high while falling backwards. "My ass is killing me," he said, but he did hold on for the score.

BAD MOON RISING: The funniest play came when I took off on one run with Cody in hot pursuit. He first grabbed my shorts, then pulled my briefs but missed my flag as I continued to run half nekkid. "There's a lot of white there," Cody said, while Toby and Rory simulated a gagging sound. I'm gonna wear a chastity belt next time.

FALL GUY: Nice to have Ramsay back, though I imagine he's plenty sore today. He must have hit the ground at least six times as passes came at him high, low and in between. But he was able to walk off the field and headed for the nearest whirlpool.

BALL HAWKS: Mark and Toby each grabbed two interceptions, Cody got one. Mark's first was spectacular as he caught the ball almost one-handed while falling backwards at corner. I gift-wrapped one of Toby's by basically making him the intended receiver; I looked a lot like Ben Roethlisberger on that one!

BEST LINE: Mark wanted to know when we were going to stop. "The tequila I had last night started here (points to his mid-stomach) and is heading here (pointing up higher). Brent wound up calling him Tequila when calling out defensive signals.

BEST HAIR: Sheri gets it hands-down. Very colorful and well-done!

GOOD HANDS PEOPLE: In addition to Rory and Cody, there were a lot of nice catches. Kevin was his usual reliable un-Raider self with key grabs, including a pivotal fourth-down catch on a nice lead by Marino; Rodney made a superb shoe-string catch on a long pass; Ramsey made like Dallas Clark in going low and snagging a pass on one series and going high for another. Of course, he hit the ground both times; Anthony went high and showed strong hands on a comeback play where the defender was trying to wrest it away; Toby looked like Hines Ward on a tough catch and run down the sidelines.

NOTABLE: Marino made more like Vick on one TD run and on a 2-point play, where he optioned it to Sheri for the score; Anthony looked solid on QBing a TD drive, throwing a laser to Mark for a score; Carlo was a great hustler on the pass rush, continuously flushing Marino out of the pocket; Brent made his usual great flag grabs at MLB, keeping 3-yard completions just that.

NEXT: We are back at Penmar Park, Nov. 11 at noon.

Have a great week!
Jim