Flag Recap: Nov. 3, 2007

(note: click on photo for larger image. MORE PHOTOS HERE. All taken by Brent)

PROGRAMMING NOTE: We are playing back at Penmar Park Nov. 10 since Playa is not available. We are back at Playa Nov. 17.

WEATHER: It will snow in the high sections of the Eastern Anatolia in Turkey and northern side of the Black Sea region. But in Playa Vista, it was sunny, calm and 75. Perfect for football.

WELCOME: We had a great turnout and game and a lot of new players. We had Andrew (tall), Andrew (red shorts) and Andrew (lawyer), to go along with Andrew (Urlacher). We also had Mike (from NYC, just moved here) and Mike (from NBC). And Sean, who played for the SD Sharks in the tournament (his fakeout of Toby was a classic). And Jeff and Angel and John.

GAME: A back-and-forth thriller that saw White pull it out 42-38 on the game's last play.

FIELD: A big thanks to Brent for securing us Playa. It is very hard to find field space in LA on Saturdays and this was a beautiful field to play on. Playa will only let us reserve one event at a time, so we will be week to week depending on how busy Penmar is. (Note: If anyone knows of any available fields in the LA area, let me know).

QB SHUFFLE: We had five guys play QB; Andrew (tall), Dave and me for White; Toby and Sean for Dark. By my count, all threw TD passes.

BEST TATTOO: Hard to beat Angel's "O" for Ohio State on his upper back.

GUTTY: The heroic performance goes to JP, who played with a painful case of planter fasciitis (or is it Planters Roast Nuts?). Doctors are talking amputation, yet he was out there with nary a complaint (roll eyes). He so inspired us all that players were weeping. After the game, Bush announced he was awarding JP the Congressional Medal of Freedom along with Alberto Gonzales, another failed lawyer.

TRICKERY: There were several cool plays called. Dark did a backwards pass from Toby to Sean, who then threw a 2-point conversion to Peter(?). White did them one better -- Jim to Dave to Drew (tall) to ?? for the conversion. Drew (tall) also called a nifty play, recalling Jay Novacek, the Cowboys tight end. Mike (NYC) dropped to his knees as if he had fallen, then got up and was open in the end zone for a score. Of course, Mike almost forgot to get up. Patrick called his own number for the game-winner, recalling Wes Welker of the Pats. He ran a route along the line of scrimmage, then turned up the sidelines. Drew (tall) hit him in stride and the game was over.

BALL HAWKS: There were 2 picks in the game -- Mike (NYC) caught one off a tipped pass and took it back 50 yards to set up a score. Drew (red shorts) caught one off a long pass attempt.

SACK MASTERS: John had a sack of me that was a great flag grab; Mike (NYC) had one as did Patrick off a corner blitz.

HIGHLIGHTS: Peter had several nice catches, including one TD. The best was his grab over the middle for about 20 yards. … Angel did a great job catching passes off the center spot, grabbing about five in that formation. … Jeff got totally open on two long bombs for scores and he had a couple of other nice long-gainers. … Toby hit Sean on a great strike across the middle for a TD, throwing a laser that Sean hauled in. … Dave was clutch all day and he had one TD where he got lost and I basically just had to shot-put him the ball. … Andrew (lawyer) showed great concentration hauling in a tipped pass in the crowded middle for a conversion. … I hit Drew (tall) on a nice deep slant that he hauled in for a long gainer. … JP had a nifty catch and run along the sidelines, though I am not sure playing in a walker is allowed. … Brent even got into the scoring circus with a catch from Sean in the back of the end zone. … Mike (NBC) is no longer a virgin after catching his first pass. … Andrew (Urlacher) had one of those catches where he stopped thinking his flag was grabbed, then slid into the end zone.

Thanks everyone for playing and looking forward to next week. Our plan is to play through the winter and then have a league.
MORE PHOTOS HERE.