Flag recap Dec. 22, 2007

WEATHER: Gorgeous – sunny, 65, a bit windy at Playa Vista.

WELCOME: It was great having Rory play with us again; he is visiting from NYC. He got out of his rental car (got upgraded for free to a white Beamer) and was catching passes a minute later. And it was awesome to have Shari back after a long absence. Loved her SC tattoo

SCHEDULE: We are off on a holiday/NFL playoffs break. Our next game is Jan. 26, likely at Penmar. I will keep everyone posted.

GAME: What looked to be a laugher turned into a thriller as Dark rallied back from 22-0 down to just fall short, 42-40.

CATCH OF THE DAY: Angel made a great over-the-shoulder grab on a long pass from me, keeping his concentration the whole way. Those are tough catches.

BUSTED PLAY OF THE DAY: On fourth down, White shifted to an odd zone, but not everyone got the message. Drew wound up uncovered and Toby hit him for an easy TD.

BUSTED PLAY RUNNERUP: On fourth-and-goal from the 1, Dark failed to cover Shari. I threw it, she had it, bobbled and then lost it. No matter – White held, got the ball back and Shari made a nice comeback to catch one in the back of the end zone for a score.

DISS OF THE DAY: I was telling Angel how good Rory was and early on Patrick got by him for a deep score. “I thought you said he was good,” Angel said joking.

SICK BAY: For the third straight week, Brent was unable to play because of pneumonia. He still was our official photog, though. “Can’t I get away from the paparazzi?” Rory said when he showed up and saw Brent clicking away.

HARD KNOCKS: Mike and Angel became well-acquainted. On one play, they whacked heads (ouch) and on another Mike accidentally pushed Angel’s head into my left elbow (ouch again).

BALL HAWKS: Chris showed the skills of an Ohio State linebacker with a nifty read on a pick; Toby had a pair, looking like a U.T. corner; Rory had one on fourth down to snuff out a drive.

NOTABLE: Jeff made a great catch that Dark ruled was out of bounds, but Jeff showed me the foot mark on the artificial turf that showed he did get the first foot in. Where is instant replay when we need it? … Ramsey was the White 2-point specialist QB, hitting on consecutive passes. … Ramsey and Bubba had a spirited man-on-man affair with Bubba committing defensive PI on one play, and Ramsey committing offensive PI on another.

Recap: Dec. 15, 2007

WEATHER: It’s cold and snowy in much of the country, but in Venice it was perfect for football – 65 and sunny. Drew was still cold.

WELCOME: Great having two new players – Chris and Ryan. Each got a bit dirty, which means they survived their football baptism.

GAME: White jumped out to a 24-0 lead, Dark rallied to within 30-20, then White pulled away for the win.

SCHEDULE: We are playing Dec. 22 at Playa Vista Sports Park, 12:30. We are then off until Jan. 26 for a holiday, NFL playoffs break.

DIFFERENCE MAKER: Well, Ruben certainly made his presence felt. He caught a long TD on the game’s third play and added another later. He also snagged four interceptions, returning two for scores. Glad I have him on my fantasy football team.

NO RESPECT: Brent was out there shooting photos but not playing since he’s still recovering from pneumonia. Did he get any sympathy? Hell, no. On one play, with Brent snapping away near the huddle, someone yelled, “Hey sicko, get out of the way!”

TRICKERY: Dark ran a cool play for a successful 2-pointer. Shaun took the snap, faked a handoff to T.O. (Brent), then tossed it back to Drew, who threw it back across the field to T.O. who was wide open and walked in.

RUBY SLIPPERS: That’s what Patrick spiffy new red cleats looked like and it’s hard to argue with the results he had with them. His best was a on a hard slant I hit him on, where he made several moves after the catch and ran it in about 55 yards for a score.

SPIN CYCLE: On one rush, Bubba tried to get around David who was blocking by doing a spin move that was less than successful. “A spin move? Nice try, Freeney,” David said during the play.

BEST FAKE OUT: Shaun at QB was running right and faked a pitch left. Not sure if Ryan was wearing a jock strap, but if he was Shaun faked him out of it for a nice gainer.

BEST DIVINE INTERVENTION: Kevin (the one from Arkansas) got toasted on a deep pass and thanked the heavens when the receiver dropped it. Someone up there likes me, he said to that effect.

NICE DEBUT: Ryan said he hadn’t played football in years but it was hard to tell. He had a sack, some great flag grabs and several nice catches, including one he took for a TD. He even completed a pass.

GOOD HANDS MEN: Ramsey was awesome all game, making catch after catch. His best was an over-the-shoulder number he had from Drew for a TD. And in a shocker – he actually made a few grabs and did not hit the ground after. … I usually always play against Kevin (SC Kevin) so it was nice to have his great hands and moves on my side for once. He came up big several times.

IRONMAN: T.O. got up at 6:15 and did an aerobics and abs class, which he followed up with weightlifting, all before playing 2 ½ hours of football.

MVP: A round of applause to L.A. Motion alum Rory, named MVP of the fall season in the NYC gay flag football league. He will be out Saturday to play with us.

HIGHLIGHTS: Best pass of the day was my bomb to Ruben; it was a nice throw and he ran a great route and had a terrific catch. … Chris was a really good pass rusher, but Bubba robbed him of his glory when they both rushed and Bubba came up with the flag on the sack. … Jeff made a great move on a stop and go he wound up taking for a touchdown. … Doug had the best catch and run with players missing his flag. One would grab and miss but Doug would stop, then start up again when he realized he had his flag. … Mike was similar on his nice long TD run when about four guys missed his flag. …

Great having Ray back and he responded with 3 TDs, including a nice deep ball late in the game. ... Best flag grab was Hinders stretching, diving and keeping TO from busting a long one. … Cool White play was a hook and lateral – me to Ruben to Kevin (SC) to Mike for a 20-yard gain. … Best miraculous recovery was Drew who yelped in pain when he accidentally had his ankle stepped on, but stayed in the game and kept playing. Hope it didn’t swell up overnight.

Recap: Dec. 8, 2007

JP, eyes wide shut, makes the game-winning catch (click image for larger view)

BRENT'S PHOTOS: Many more from our games of Nov. 17 and Dec. 8.

WEATHER: It was a lovely day for football, though a bit on the cool side (60), with some stiff breezes. We played on the soccer field at Penmar and had zero water and little mud to speak of (so why did some of the regulars not show?)

SCHEDULE: We are playing Dec. 15 at Penmar Park and Dec. 22 at Playa Vista (with a special guest appearance by Rory, who is home for the holidays).

GAME: White took an early two-TD lead and wound up winning by that margin, 52-38, though Dark got into a groove and kept coming on.

AN ADVENTURE: Andrew (the lawyer from Cal) was the player you didn’t want to take your eyes off of since you had no idea what was going to happen.

He scored White’s first two TDs, the second on a great stop and go pattern. Then he got in the holiday spirit and started giving. I hit him perfectly in stride and he kind of shoveled it forward without securing it, it was caught by Uhrlacher (Drew) who took it for a Pick Six. The funniest play came when instead of knocking down a Dark conversion attempt he decided to go an interception; he made a nifty one-handed catch but then nearly sent it flying to the receiver standing there. JP almost had a fit.

SWIVEL HIPS: Mike rushed a lot for Dark and for some reason my slow ass kept avoiding being sacked. He must have missed my flag a dozen times, one more reason I slick it up with silicone before we start.

CATCHING MACHINE: As much as it pains me to say so, JP made a ton of big catches. The best was the game’s last play when he reached back behind the defender in the end zone and snagged what turned out to be the game-winner.

MOVES, NO MOVES: Patrick has great speed and quickness and it was on display on several plays. On one, it looked like he was about to run out of bounds when he suddenly stopped, changed direction and sprinted for a score.

In contrast, JP has all the moves of a bulldozer. He would look like he was about to go out of bounds, stop … then fall out of bounds anyway.

GAME OF INCHES: On one play, David came thisclose to getting sacked and threw the ball. Jeff came thisclose to picking off the pass but it went just past his hands to Drew, who came thisclose to stepping out of bounds but kept his feet and scored.

ALL THAT FOR NOTHING: On one play, Patrick caught a 7-yard pass, then decided to reverse field and run backwards, then sideways, then forward. He probably ran 30 yards total until his flag was grabbed and wound up with a 0 yards gain.

PAINFUL: Brent did not play for the first time in ages. He contracted pneumonia and was in great pain. He did come out to shoot some pics but he was really laboring. A month ago he lost the hearing in one ear and thinks the pneumonia was caused by the oral steroids he took. Hope he’s back soon!

NOTABLE: Catch of the day by Jeff, extending and reaching out for a key 10-yard catch on third down. … Drew scored back to back TDs for Dark, one on a catch and the other on an interception return. … Chris made a great adjustment on a ball behind him in the end zone but could not quite bring it in. … David and Patrick made a great QB-WR tandem, constantly burning White. … Weird play of the day came on a TD grab by Patrick. Andrew had his back turned and it seemed as if the pass went through his legs into the arms of Patrick laying on the ground. It exemplified what a wacky and fun day it was.

Recap: Dec. 1, 2007

WEATHER: By our standards it was cold! Sunny and 57, but very windy with gusts reported up to 26 mph. A great day for a running game, except we can only run once per possession (what idiot thought of that rule? Oh, it was me).

WELCOME: No first timers, but a welcome back to Doug and Kevin, who last played a year ago.

SCHEDULE: We are at Penmar Dec. 8 and Playa Dec. 15. We will play Dec. 22 site TBA. We are off Dec. 29 (holidays), Jan. 5-12 (NFL playoffs) and Jan. 19 (a lot of our guys our in a basketball tournament).

GAME: White led from the start and moved up 28-12. Then Dark rallied late to cut it to 28-25, forcing White to score on final drive. White was successful and pulled it out 34-25.

EVERYONE KNOWS IT’S WINDY: The wind really played havoc with the passing game, causing balls to flutter, die and sail. There were eight intereceptions, two each by Toby and TO the new Brent, not be confused with our old Brent, the photog). Also ones by Drew, Kevin, Brent and Drew (#23).

On one play I was certain I had overthrown Patrick only to see the ball die in midair and be picked by Drew. On another, I thought I had overthrown Mat but the ball wound up hitting him perfectly in stride for a score. A fun day to play DB.

TD MAKERS: Mat and TO each had two scores. Mat ran a nice corner route for his first score, then really accelerated on a deep pass for his second. TO totally faked out the DB on snagging a bomb from Drew, and was heads up on what was our …

… FLUKY PLAY OF THE DAY: Toby was free safety and looked in possession to grab a pick. Then the wind took over, sailing the ball farther than Toby thought. He got his hands on it, then it ricocheted out into the waiting hands of TO for the score.

WHICH NICKNAME IS MORE ACCURATE?: On one play, JP made a great flag grab on TO, holding him to no gain. “Great grab, wussy!” I thought I head one of White defenders say. “Wussy? He said Whiskey!” JP said. Apparently, our Southern players were talking alcohol (shocker) and JP said he preferred whiskey. But I prefer wussy.

NOW WE KNOW I: In case you were wondering the relationship between Kevin and Doug, it was answered on this play. Kevin was toasted on a deep pass for a score and Doug, on the other team, started teasing him. “I know who’s not getting any tonight,” Kevin said.

NOW WE KNOW II: Standing on sidelines, one learns some trivia. Chris was born Christmas Day, as was Patrick’s brother, and Mat is going to Argentina for two weeks of fun.

TRUE TO THEIR SCHOOLS: We had players from Cal (Bryan and Andrew), Ohio State (Angel and Chris, the ref), Penn State (me) and Texas (Toby).

CLUTCH DRIVE: White put together the key drive that salted the game away, abandoning the deep pass because of the wind. Hinders had tow first down catches, including a nifty slant pattern for 12 yards. Toby made a big catch on third down, Mike and Drew caught some and I ran it in for the clinching score from about 6 yards out.

TACKLE OF THE DAY: Drew threw a long pick to Toby, who started weaving and darting his way back. You could tell that Drew was not going to let him score and he ensured it by literally grabbing Toby’s shirt and hanging on until he got his flag.

COOLEST PLAY: The Dark one-point conversion option. Shaun took the snap, faked it in the belly of TO, then optioned it out to Drew. The defender was still looking at Shaun as Drew easily ran by him in the end zone.

MR CLUTCH: Mike was terrific all day – he had two sacks and numerous pressures as a rusher and made several big catches, and caught a shovel pass for a TD.

BONEHEAD PLAY: Drew (#23) wore a white shirt under his MJ jersey. On one play I looked saw white and thought, “Gee, my guy’s wide open.” I promptly threw him the ball, which is gratefully returned 20 yards. I need to take a color test.

BIG PLAYS: Angel made a great catch on a deep pass from Drew for a TD. … JP showed some great moves (I know, it is amazing) on a third down catch that he ran in for a score. He caught the pass, then juked out the defender (who was probably more shocked than anything), cut back to his right and scored. … Patrick had several big catches, consistently getting a lot of YACs.