Recap April 28, 2007

The above pic is one of 52 taken from games in April. Almost all were taken by Brent, though he shows up in one (as rare as seeing Bigfoot). Check out the complete gallery.

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WEATHER: Beautiful, 75 and sunny, with a slight breeze.

GAME: Dark took an early two-touchdown lead, then White stormed back and won by 10.

CAMEO: Nice special guest appearance by Kory, whom I've known for years but who had never played.

FINALE: Saturday was the season-ender. Thanks to everyone who played this season. It was a blast and we had a lot of great blog fodder. We will be back in the fall (though six guys from Boston might be out in June, so look for a special game announcement). A special thanks to Brent who made sure we had the field every week (field space in LA on Saturdays is at a premium).

OFFENSIVE MVP: Have to give it to John aka JB. He had three TDs and a bunch of nice catches. He seemed to have a habit of skirting down the sideline, barely staying in-bounds on his scores. He also had his shirt torn in about four places.

Contenders for the award were Brian (some great grabs) and Jeremiah, after his bathroom break.

DEFENSIVE MVP: A tie this week to Jeremiah for corner play and Dave, who had two nice picks. Brenton looked better than most Broncos pass rushers by actually getting a couple of sacks.

PLAY OF THE DAY: David Hinders made a great pick on a play that turned the game around for White. The White D coordinator on the play should take a bow for switching from a man to a zone.

CATCH OF THE DAY: Shon gets the nod on this one. Dave threw a nice fade pass into the corner of the end zone and JJ had good position, but Shon used his body well and secured the ball while sliding and staying in-bounds. Shon also gets most color-coordinated for the day.

BEST USE OF A BATHROOM BREAK: JJ couldn't catch a break, a cold or a plane in the first half. On one drop of a sure TD he came back to the huddle and shrugged his shoulders. After another player bobbled one, JJ said, "You got Jeremiah hands." But then he took a break to take a piss and came back lighter and transformed (he must have stolen someone's hands). He wound up catching everything in sight and twice toasted his defender for long TDs.

SWAN SONG: It was last LA game for Joe, who is going back to his native Boston this summer. Fittingly, he scored his team's last TD on a nifty dump pass over the middle. We wish Joe well!

QB RATING TIME: JJ was 1 for 1 for 20 yards on a nice toss to Oren off a reverse; that's a QB rating of 118.75. JB was 1 for 1 for 35 yards and a touchdown, for a perfect rating of 158.3. Because this is a positive blog, we will not compute Brian's rating, but I thought someone said it was "Rex Grossman-in-the-Super-Bowl-like."

BALL HAWKS: Dave led the pack with two sweet grabs off of deflections. Joe also had one, as did Brent and Hinders.

HIGHLIGHTS: Brenton made a terrific over-the-shoulder catch to set up a score. … Hinders looked like Algae Crumpler on his TD snag on a deep pass. … Brent showed some great hands making a grab on a pass thrown behind him. … Brian always makes receiving look effortless as he showed with his myriad catches. … Oren showed some nice wheels in taking a shovel pass for a first down. … Kory had a nice catch, so no longer can he say he's a flag football virgin. ... JB's best was his crossing route where he hauled in a fastball from me for a score. … Brian did a nice job of copping a feel on Oren as he pretended to try and tackle him.

NEXT: Have a happy summer everyone!

Recap April 14, 2007

WEATHER: While the East Coast was bracing for a major storm, we had the usual clear weather, a tad cooler (65) but great for football.

GAME: Dark started out like gangbusters, taking a 20-7 lead. Then White strung together three straight stops and scored 38 of the next 44 points. Final: White 59, Dark 46.

OFFENSIVE MVP: A tough call, but have to go with Zach, with four TDs (three on offense). His best was his streak where he made a move and got open for a long score.

DEFENSIVE MVP: John, aka JB, had two picks. The first was a brilliant grab almost one-handed as he was falling to the ground and was the defensive play of the game. The other was a jump ball that the wind pretty much held up.

LINE OF THE DAY: It was JB's rather high shriek as he attempted a pass off a trick play and the ball slipped. "Don't put that in the blog," he said, thereby ensuring I wouldn't forget.

LINE OF THE DAY 2: "Like something you'd see in a Falcon video." It would not raise an eyebrow if uttered by Bubba or Brent. But by Marino? Hmmm, guess he's been doing some research on "method acting" for the institute.

CLUTCH PLAY 1: Best fourth-down conversion by Dark was a 4th and 10 out pattern from Marino to Demond. Great route, great pass, great grab.

CLUTCH PLAY 2: Best fourth-down conversion by White came on a 4th and 15 TD pass from me to Zach. I threw a hard pass and Demond came within an eyelash of knocking it away, but the ball found the seam, Zach made a great catch and ran the rest of the way.

CATCH OF THE DAY: Honors go to Bubba for his nifty TD catch that saw him knock the ball up while covered by 2 defenders then secure it for the score.

CATCH OF THE DAY 2: I will give a nod to myself for my catch along the back of the end zone for a 2-point conversion from Puff Daddy. I managed to twinkle-toes my feet in while catching the ball with one hand.

MOVE OF THE DAY: Demond got a shovel pass and I was in perfect position (or so I thought) for a tackle. But one zip to the right and I grabbed nothing but air.

MOVE OF THE DAY 2: Patrick did a classic stop-and-go route that froze his defender on the stop part and left Patrick wide open for an easy score on the go part.

LA ALUM SHINES: Rory is in New York for a few weeks and played his first game in the NY league. His team won 50-6 and Rory had three TDs and seven sacks. But do they know his "Delicate Flower" nickname?

TEAM DAVID: There were five Davids on the Dark team today -- Marino, Hinders, Bubba, Meggett and Novell. Thank heavens for nicknames!

BALL HAWKS: In addition to JB's two picks, Demond also had two, including one for a score. Zach made a superb read on his pick that he ran back, while Meggett and Patrick also had one each.

HIGHLIGHTS: Meggett had a ton of big catches and three scores, including a couple of terrific sideline grabs. … Brent had two more sacks, including a key one early in the game that was followed up by a fourth-down sack by Patrick. … Great sideline presence by Puff Daddy on a short TD catch. … Oren looked nimble and quick on a shovel pass that he took for 15 yards (but we need to work with him on the deep ball). … Unsung job by Hinders on the pass rush for the second week in a row (yes, I read the comments!) … JB is consistently a great receiver, and frequently bailed me out of jams. … Bubba needs to wipe the lube off his hands before rushing me from now on.

SCORING:
White (59): Zach, three TD catches, one interception for a TD (four TDs); Patrick, two TD catches, one 1-point conversion; Brent, one TD catch; Puff, one TD catch; JB, one TD catch and one 2-point conversion; Me, one 2-point conversion, eight TD passes.

Dark (46): Demond, two TD catches, one interception for a TD (three TDs); Meggett, three TD catches, one 1-point conversion; Bubba, one TD catch; Hinders and Novell, one conversion each. Marino: Six TD passes.

NEXT: We are back April 21, Penmar.

Recap, April 7, 2007

This pic is from March 31. To see the rest of the photos taken by Brent, click here.

WEATHER: From an AP photo: With the Washington Monument in the background, cherry blossoms are covered in snow after a spring storm brought snow to the area Saturday. The only blossoms on a 70-degree day in Venice were on the Delicate Flower.

GAME: We played football and had a college basketball game break out. White beat Dark, 62-59, in Game 2, taking the lead on the next-to-last drive and finally making a defensive stand to hang on. It was a wild one.

OFFENSIVE MVP: Well, Demond was great and scored five TDs, but, believe it or not, he does not get the award. It goes to Rory, who scored seven TDs, a record, including six on offense and one defensive return. Not bad for someone with a sore hamstring.

DEFENSIVE MVP: Come now, in a game with 121 total points, the idea of a defensive MVP is kind of silly. Yes, Jeremiah played well at corner, but his team gave up 62 points and made one stop (when I basically made Marino the intended receiver on a pick). The nod goes to Brent, as a pass rusher and LB, for doing a good job of pressuring the QB. Any dissenters can reply in the comments!

CATCHES OF THE DAY: Two stand out. The first was by Demond, who made a twisting grab on a deep slant, then kept his balance and ran in for a score. The second was Rory's brilliant effort, going up high against double coverage for a long gain.

VERSATILE: Everyone knows Jeremiah goes both ways, but even on the field? Since White was initially short players, he came in and scored a TD on a crossing pattern. As a Dark player, he got himself two more. He will get a cut of both the winners' and losers' share.

PASSES OF THE DAY: Marino and I had a combined 18 TD passes and dozens of completions. My best was on a deep post to Patrick, who made a superbly timed leap to make the catch and score. Marino's fave was one that an unnamed former Texas Longhorn dropped even though it hit him in stride.

LINE OF THE DAY: White defense had just made a great stop on fourth down. On the first play on offense, I promptly threw an interception and walked back off the field. "You must really have wanted to get back to the sidelines," Brent said as he passed me by.

RULES 1: To answer some burning questions: a DB can grab the arms of a receiver ONCE the ball has hit the receiver's hands. From our rulebook: "If the ball has been touched by A or B, restrictions end for all players." Note: The defender can still be called for unnecessary roughness, especially if there is any contact with the head.

RULES 2: "2.16.1. Hurdling is the runner jumping so that both feet leave the ground at the same time. The runner may not hurdle to be deflagged. The runner may step over an opponent who is lying prone."

RULES 3: "A defensive player may not intentionally push or block a runner who is near the sideline."

RULES 4: "4.4.2. A defensive player may not hold, push, or knock the runner down in an attempt to remove the flag. It is best for the defensive player to attempt to grab only one flag at a time. Attempting to grab more than one flag at the same time may be considered illegal blocking if it appears that the deflagger is attempting to obstruct the forward progress of the runner."

HIGHLIGHTS: Jeremiah running a quick slant, making the catch(!) and running the rest of the way for the score. … Andy making a clutch fourth-down catch to keep a White drive alive. … Oren snagging a pass a split second after looking up and realizing the ball was heading his way. … Darren scored twice for Dark and had several key catches. … Peter did his best Dallas Clark impersonation on a slant pass for a key first down.

SCORING: With so many points, I was not able to keep track of all the back and forth. It was close the whole way, with neither team having more than a three-point lead.

WHITE: TDs -- Rory (7), six receptions, one interception return; Patrick (2), receptions. JJ (1), reception. Conversions: Peter (1), Oren (1).

DARK: TDs -- Demond (5), receptions; Darren (2), receptions; JJ (2), receptions. Conversions: Drew (1), Hinders (1), Darrin (1), I missed one.

NEXT: We are back April 14, Penmar.

Flag Recap March 31, 2007

WEATHER: Not a cloud in the sky, sunny and 70. Ideal.

GAME: Our first game of the min-tourney/mini-season was terrific. White won 44-30, in a high-scoring game where the two key plays came in defense. Scoring summary at the end.

PHOTOS: Brent takes terrific sports photos, as the 2 above demonstrate. Click on the image for a larger view.

WELCOME: A big welcome to Brenton, a huge Denver Broncos fan, for which he will be forgiven. He is also a producer on Tyra Banks' show, a name that got Rory all atwitter. He is also our second Brenton, which means we must be living in some sort of alternate universe.

OFFENSIVE MVP: A co-award goes to Rory and Peter. Rory made great catches all day in traffic, and wound up with 1 TD and 1 2-point conversion. Peter was a fantasy sleeper, with five catches and two second-half TDs.

DEFENSIVE MVPs: Kind of hard to give them to the losing team, but Jeremiah would harass me all week (phone calls, dead birds in the mail, making me listen to the Texas fight song) if I ignored the fine job he and Demond did as corners for Dark. They were both terrific and each picked me once.

KEY PLAYS OF THE GAME: Two defensive plays by White turned the tide. The first came in the first half when Zach made a pick at free safety and weaved his way down the sideline for a TD. The second came on the first play of the second half when Rory got a pick deep in Dark territory, setting up White for a quick TD.

PLAY OF THE DAY: For sheer fun it was hard to beat Demond catching a 10-yard slant from Marino, then racing the remaining 55 yards, leaving two rather fast defenders in the dust.

MOVE OF THE DAY: Jeremiah caught a short pass and Peter was closing in. J kind of jump-slid left, and Peter was grasping air.

FLAG GRAB OF THE DAY 1: Me, who grabs one flag a century. This one saved a TD as Jeremiah had caught a pass and had nothing but space in front of him. I grabbed and -- amazingly -- the flag was in my hand.

FLAG GRAB 2: Bubba made a superb play and sniffed out a shovel pass to Zach by grabbing his flag at the 1 for no gain.

PASS RUSH OF THE DAY: Brian looked like Dwight Freeney on one play where he batted the pass 10 feet in the air, forcing Marino to play DB and knock it down.

HIGHLIGHTS: Patrick and Demond each made nifty, shoe-top catches, Patrick for a first down and Demond for a TD. … Rory's best was his TD catch where he skied to pull the pass in. … Andrew also had 2 TDs for Dark, including a nice catch and sprint down the sideline. … Brenton is no longer a football virgin, making his first two catches. … Jermaine had to leave early for a date but wound up with a nice pick to end the first half.

SCORING SUMMARY
White 44, Dark 30 (Halftime: White 22, Dark 12):

White (44): Jim TD run (Rory 2-pointer catch from Jim); Rory TD catch (Patrick 2-pointer); Zach int. return; Peter TD catch (Patrick 2-pointer); Peter TD catch (Zach 2-pointer); Brian TD catch. TD passes: Jim (4).

Dark (30): Andrew TD catch; Demond TD catch; Demond TD catch; Andrew TD catch; Hinders TD catch. TD passes: Darren (1); Marino (3).

NEXT: Game 2 is Saturday April 7, Penmar.