Then, out of the blue...

Guess who showed up in Camarillo today on his way from San Francisco to Huntington Beach (to hook up with his Canadian photographer buddies Dale and Wei) and eventually to BRAZIL?

What can one say except "BAM!"

Former Catania QB great Jason Johnson that's who!!!

J Twice and yours truly at

Chuy's Mexican Restaurant

Upbeat and positive, as always, it was GREAT to see him and catch up on what is going on in our lives here in North America as well as talking about the upcoming football seasons in Catania and Innsbruck.

Check out his blog soon about his remarkable photo shoot trip to Brazil.  There WILL be stories to be told I'm sure!

Rose Bowl Memories

On the one hour drive home to Camarillo from Pasadena today, I daydreamed about this year's Rose Bowl game and the first two big Rose Bowls for me.

January 1, 1960

Washington 44 - Wisconsin 8

http://www.mmbolding.com/bowls/Rose_1960.htm

The first Rose Bowl Game I watched on TV.  I was hooked on being a Husky one day because of this game.

The Co-MVP's of the game were Husky QB Bob Schloredt and Husky RB George Fleming.  The Huskies finished the 1959 season with a 10-1 record, while the Wisconsin Badgers dropped to 7-3.

Bob Schloredt would win the MVP award again after leading Washington (10-1) to a 17-7 victory over Minnesota (8-2) in the 1961 Rose Bowl.

This was the first BIG win by a West Coast team vs. a Big Ten team since the two conferences signed the Rose Bowl pact to have their champions square off in the Arroyo Seco each New Year's Day starting in 1947. 

January 1, 1963

#1 Southern California 42 - #2 Wisconsin 37

http://www.mmbolding.com/bowls/Rose_1963.htm

#19 Hal Bedsole, USC's All-American WR,

catching a pass in the dark jersey above,

caught 4 passes for 101 yards and 2 TDs.

The 1963 Rose Bowl Game was the first one I ever attended and is generally considered the greatest game in Rose Bowl history.  I still have my copy of the program you see above and my ticket to the game.

My mother bought me two tickets and I gave one to one of my childhood friends, John Walsh, who would eventually graduate from USC.  We were sophomores at St. Francis High School at the time and we actually walked to the game, about four miles from John's house, to be among the 98,698 officially in attendance.  It was the 1960's after all!

The main story line of the game was that, amazingly, for the first time in college football bowl game history the #1 and #2 teams in the country were facing off against each other.  USC was the #1 team with a 10-0 record coming into the game while #2 Wisconsin was 8-1.

What made this game so memorable was Wisconsin QB Ron VanderKelen's heroics as he passed the Badgers back from a 42-14 deficit with only 14:54 left in the game to almost pull it out.  Now remember, this was the early 1960's and teams didn't pass very often.  During the regular 9 game season, VanderKelen had only passed for 1,181 yards.  What made it doubly interesting was that the Rose Bowl had VERY poor lighting back then and was not really equipped to deal with the game as the sun was going WAY down.  There was a real feeling in the stadium that day that they may have to call the game because of darkness but they were able to finish in the gloaming.

Co-MVP's of this game were the two QBs, Pete Beatherd for USC and Wisconsin's VanderKelen.

Beatherd was 8 for 12 passing for 190 yards and a Rose Bowl record 4 TDs which has been tied three times since then. 

VanderKelen completed 33 of 48 passes for 401 yards and 2 TDs.  He also ran for a TD.  The 48 pass attempts and 401 yards passing were the Rose Bowl records until Danny O'Neil of Oregon threw for 456 yards on 61 pass attempts in the 1995 Rose Bowl Game vs. Penn State.  VanderKelen's two marks both still rank #2 in the Rose Bowl's history 45 years later.

GOOD TIMES INDEED!!!

Pasadena at New Years

I drove down to San Marino, California today to visit my mother and aunt Katie and to see my sister Linda who was down from Santa Barbara for a few days.

As is my habit, I took a peek at today's Pasadena Star News sports section to see what they had to say about this Thursday's "Grandaddy of Them All", the 95th Rose Bowl game between 11-1 Big Ten Champion Penn State and 11-1 PAC-10 Champion Southern California.

There was indeed an article about a Penn State cornerback, Lydell Sargeant, who played his high football at Cabrillo H.S. in Lompoc about 90 minutes north of Rio Mesa H.S. 

SURPRISE!

Who is that reporter in the front row with the striped shirt?  Why none other than one of this blog's faithful readers and resident soccer/calcio/futbol expert, David P. Lassen!

David is seen here gathering valuable information for his employer, The Ventura County Star.

The 120th Pasadena Rose Parade

We went out to lunch in Old Town Pasadena and I saw this banner that reminded me that they do have a rather large parade in Pasadena on New Year's Day as well as playing the football game. 

From The Travel Channel's Food Paradise Website

The Fair Oaks Pharmacy and Soda Fountain

1526 Mission Street at Fair Oaks Blvd.

South Pasadena, California

www.fairoakspharmacy.net/

While driving into Old Town Pasadena on Fair Oaks Blvd., my sister relayed a story about how great the malts are at the Fair Oaks Pharmacy which opened in 1915.  As I began my trek home, I stopped to fill up with gasoline at a station about one block from this wondrous throwback to 1940's Americana.  The obvious decision was to not pass on a treat when I was so close.

The Fair Oaks Pharmacy's Soda Fountain 

As a lad growing up in the Pasadena area we would frequent the Cal Tech Pharmacy on the corner of Lake and California almost daily and it looked a lot like this.  The Cal Tech Pharmacy is long gone but the memory of their non-alcoholic Lime Rickeys on a hot summer afternoon still lingers in my memory.

The Signature Fair Oaks Chocolate Malt

It cost a whopping $6.44 but it was as thicker and richer than you can imagine.

Great call Linda!!!

What a GREAT Venue EVERY January 1st!

The USC Trojans are heavily favored.

Since I picked the Trojans in my Bowl Pool, you might want to get some money down on the Nittany Lions.

My overall Bowl Pool record has improved only slightly to 3-11 as I correctly picked both games today, Rutgers over North Carolina State in the Birmingham, Alabama Papa John's Bowl and Missouri over Northwestern, in overtime, in the San Antonio, Texas Alamo Bowl.

The Weekend's Odds and Ends

Calcio - Futbol - Soccer

This Sunday morning, as has become our new family habit, Mike and I get up early to watch some of the best European Calcio / Futbol games on GOL TV.

The World Cup, a.k.a., "The Holy Grail"

Contested every four years, the next World Cup Tournament will be held in 2010.

The Four Stars signify Italia's

1934, 1938, 1982 and 2006 World Cup Championships

We were cruising in the Mediterranean Sea in 2006 when Italia won the World Cup and arrived on the Italian mainland about two days after their intoxicating 5-3 victory over France.  They were still reveling in this national unifying moment long after the last penalty shootout kick. 

Playing for the Azzurri in 2006

Luca Toni is currently a striker for FC Bayern Munich of the German Bundesliga.  He is pictured here proudly wearing the traditional Italian National Team blue uniform before for the 2006 World Cup Tournament, note only three stars on the Italian crest.

Today we watched a game featuring Luca Toni in a Bundesliga game.  He was hilarious to say the least.  In a sport known for players constantly facing near death experiences on the pitch and then miraculously springing back to life, his performance today was worth of an Oscar for 2008 Best Actor in a Leading Role.

He went down every time an opposing player got within three feet of him, begging the referee for a penalty card or at least some sympathy!  He got neither with both the referees and the TV announcers both mocking Luca as the game wore on and his antics went unappreciated.

What can you expect from a player who first earned the Italian national spotlight as a high scoring player for the Palermo team for goodness sakes!

The NFL's Final Regular Season Weekend

QB Drew Brees and the

New Orleans Saints finish at 8-8

The Saints played in the 10:00 a.m. game today at home against the Carolina Panthers so a group of us met at the home of Saint's LB Scott Fujita's aunt and uncle, Mary and Cliff's home to watch the game with Scott's parents, Rod and Helen, and Chris and Katie Nielsen.

It wound up being a 4th quarter barn burner as the Saints rallied from a 30-10 deficit after three periods to take a 31-30 lead with about 3 minutes left in the game.  Unfortunately, the Panthers kicked the game winning field goal with one second left in the game.  The final score was Carolina 33 - New Orleans 31.  The Panthers finish the regular season at 12-4 and earned the #2 seed in the NFC playoffs and a bye in the first round.

Of interest was Saint's QB, Drew Brees, finishing the season with over 5,000 yards passing, only the second time this has happened in NFL history.  Hall-of-Famer Dan Marino passed for 5,084 yards in 1984.  Brees fell 16 yards short of breaking his record.

The College Football Bowl Season

As many people in America do this time of year, I have joined a college football pool to maintain interest in the 34 college bowl games that stretch from the Eagle Bank Bowl (Wake Forest 29 - Navy 19) on December 20, 2008 to the BCS National Championship Game (Florida 12-1 vs. Oklahoma 12-1 in Miami) on January 8, 2009.

This pool is simple, just pick the winner of each bowl game, no point spread to worry about, just pick out a winner.  As I write this blog post, 11 bowl games have been played.  My record you ask?  I am a ridiculously poor 1-10???  A baboon at the Los Angeles Zoo could have picked better than this!

The Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Loisiana

 Tonight's Game at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time

If you click on their website you can access a short video message about the game that touts its classic Southeast Conference vs. Big 12 Conference roots just like advertised in their website header above.  This figures to make for a very interesting game between teams from arguably the two best conferences in college football this year.

Small problem... the two teams playing tonight are 7-5 Louisiana Tech from the Western Athletic Conference and 6-6 Northern illinois from the Mid-American Conference.  So much for truth in advertising!

In case you are wondering, I picked Northern Illinois.  If you can still get a bet down on Louisiana Tech, you might want to bet the farm! 

Dinner at The Claim Jumper Restaurant

in Thousand Oaks

With Laurie, Vanessa and Mike

They are known for their rather large portions.

Do you ever feel that life might be passing you by?

Or, perhaps, I am seen here proving Einstein's "Theory of Relativity."

The Great Cannoli Heresy of 2008

Aren't those cannoli in the lower left?

Established in 1897, the Savia Bakery is generally considered to make the best cannoli in all of Catania.

Exhibit A...

A delicious Savia pistacchio cannolo.

The main ingredient is, of course,

ricotta cheese.

Jason Johnson moments before

gastronomic bliss. 

Why do I bring all of this up today you are wondering? Easy.

Below is today's edition of the cartoon series

"F Minus" that appeared in the Ventura County Star newspaper.

The creator of this cartoon, one Tony Carrillo, has obviously never traveled to Sicily and savored a cannolo from  the Savia Bakery on Via Etnea in Catania!

Move over Salman Rushdie, you may have company!

Obi Wan Cannoli...

Where are you now that we need you?

Christmas Day 2008

To all of you who read and support this blog and me...

Buon Natale

Feliz Navidad

Merry Christmas

For my side of the family, Christmas Day is held at Casa Contreras in beautiful Camarillo, California.

Our Newest Christmas Tree Ornament

Yes, that IS Superman lurking in the background.

Grandpa Bill Gardner and Mike Contreras

Here they are seen discussing the great hope and promise for the future that the USA's president-elect Barack Obama inspires in us.

Bill felt and sounded much better today and rallied to make it to dinner.

The Traditional Turkey and

Honey Baked Ham Christmas Dinner

It was pretty darn delicious if you ask me!

A Christmas Toast

Florene and Bill Gardner on the left, Laurie Contreras in the middle and my aunt Katie and mother Chuny on the right.

Happy, Satisfied Revelers

From the left to the right, my sister Linda, niece Lauren and her beau Lorenzo, sister Marilyn, soon to be daughter-in-law Vanessa and youngest son Mike.

Now that's what I call a close shave!!!

An ARSENAL pre-game warm-up jersey!!!

And I thought the Rick Steves travel books were cool...

Laurie was in awe when she opened this present.

Mike and Vanessa with their Wedding Champagne Flutes

"Il Gato" in Hog Heaven!

For people it is trash, for a cat it is playground.

Christmas Eve 2008

We drove to the city of Tustin in Orange County for Christmas Eve Day to get together with Laurie's side of the family at the home of David and Gayle Hicks.  Gayle is Laurie's sister.

We were supposed to bring Laurie's dad, Bill, and his wife, Florene, with us but unfortunately they couldn't make it due to illness.

Rice Krispy Treat Man

Rice Krispy Treats might be the BEST reason to live in America.  When we walked into Casa Hicks this was the first thing I saw.  I knew it would be a good day indeed! 

This is our son Andy's favorite dessert but unfortunately he and Jenn could not make the trip out from Las Vegas... MORE FOR ME!

Our nieces, Amy Hicks and Lyndsey McKenzie, flank our future daughter-in-law Vanessa Perez

Vanessa asked them to be in their wedding this coming August and they said yes!

Most of the Guys

Me, Tim Hicks, Mike Contreras, Craig McKenzie, Scott Hicks, Brian (Amy's beau whose last name I did not catch), and David, the patriarch of the Hicks clan.

Laurie, Vanessa, Lyndsey, Amy and Gayle

The PERFECT Christmas Gift?

Could there possibly be anything better than not one but two Rick Steves travel books under the Christmas tree?  Well, maybe a Red Ryder BB gun.

A Gingerbread Man in about to disappear from the face of the earth.

One Last Group Photo

The fourth and fifth people from the left are John and Sarah.  Sarah is one of the cousins and John has been her main squeeze for quite a while now.  They arrived a little late from their long drive this morning from "The Garlic Capitol of the World", Gilroy, California.

Legends Dinner

About seven or eight years ago a group of old time Ventura County coaches got together at Santino's Pizza and Pasta Restaurant next to Ventura College to renew friendships and tell retell funny stories about coaching kids and coaching against each other.  It started out with about five of us and over the years has been as large as ten people as different people both old and somewhat younger joined us in these twice a year reunions.

It was at one of these dinners about four years ago that a young coach in attendance looked around the table and decreed that he was having "dinner with the legends."  So, since that night, we have officially dubbed these fun nights as "Legends Dinners."

Last night was our first "Legends Dinner" since I returned from Sicily.  It was a small group this time as many of our usual suspects were out of town due to the holidays but we still had a GREAT time as we swapped tales, ate pizza and watched the Chicago Bears beat the Green Bay Packers 20-17 in overtime on Monday Night Football.

Three of the Legends...

Jack Loritz, Mike Sanders and

Chris Pagliaro

Jack has always been the spearhead of these meetings and is a retired high school counselor.  He was the longtime, highly successful track coach at Newbury Park H.S.  Last night he was on a roll describing his experiences at his recent Canoga Park High School 55th reunion.  Since none of us believe for a minute that he graduated in only four years, I would hazard to guess that he is probably 85 years old!

Mike coached for many years at the college Division III level as well as at the high school level. Locally, he was a very successful head coach at Thousand Oaks H.S. and is currently an assistant coach and the Counselor for Athletes at College of the Canyons.  The Cougars spent most of the year as California's #1 ranked Junior College football team.

Chris, who proudly admits that he grew up in Chicago, was the first head coach in Newbury Park H.S. history.  Now retired but still moonlighting as a blues singer, he spent the last 20+ years at Santa Barbara City College as an assistant coach and Counselor for Athletes.  His family's roots are in a small town near Palermo in Sicily and he plans to visit us in Catania this spring.  The stories he would relate to us about his experiences coaching football in Italy years ago were a huge influence on my decision to go to Catania last season.

GOOD TIMES INDEED!

'Twas the Sunday Before Christmas

CONGRATULATIONS

to Jason Johnson's

University of Arizona Wildcats!

"J Twice's" alma mater not only was in their first bowl game Saturday night since 1998 when he was a freshman, they won it!

His 8-5 Wildcats defeated the 10-3 BYU Cougars by a score of 31-21 in the 2008 Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl.

Post game celebration as the U of A receives their bowl championship trophy!

Arizona's QB, Willie Tuitama, was named the 2008 Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl MVP for his 325 passing yards, 2 TD passes and 1 TD run.

Meanwhile, back in sleepy Ventura County, California...

All of my friends who still teach, as well as our son Mike and his fiancee Vanessa who are both doing graduate work at California Lutheran University, are officially on Winter or Christmas Break depending on your degree of political correctness

A Contreras Family Tradition,

"The Sunday Morning Pancake Flip and Catch"

One Sunday morning several years ago when our two sons were quite little, I was making them pancakes for breakfast and decided to test their skills by positioning them by our refrigerator with an empty plate to see if they could each catch a pancake that I flipped to them out of the pan.

Here you see Michael extending his personal record of 27 straight years without dropping a single pancake.

WARNING:  Mike is a trained professional and this dangerous stunt should NOT be tried in your homes!  

A Small Holiday Get Together

From left to right: Laurie Contreras, Helen Fujita, Katie Nielsen and Koreen FitzGerald

As is happening all over the world at this time, families and friends are joining to share friendship and cheer during the holidays.

Tonight we had a reunion dinner of the four couples who took a three week trip in 2006 to Europe by first visiting Venice, then cruising the Mediterranean Sea before finishing with a few days in Rome.

I failed to get a picture of the four husbands, but really, we are not much to look at when you get right down to it! The missing besides myself are Rod Fujita, Chris Nielsen and Brian FitzGerald.

Rod made the delicious fish you see here. 

Chris made the outstanding BBQ Tri-Tip Beef you see here.

The FitzGeralds were in charge of the salads and we brought dessert... Good Times INDEED!

 

Rio Mesa H.S. Christmas Party

Thursday night was the annual Rio Mesa H.S. Christmas party that this year was held at Ric's Restaurant in Camarillo.  The format is simple, cocktails at 5:00, sit down dinner (I opted for the the INCREDIBLE salmon) at 6:30 and dancing until midnight.  All of the above was great but the real joy of this event is always the comraderie that the Spartan family, both present and thankfully past, share on this special evening.   

Margie Compton and Regina Voshell

Margie is retired now after several years as the R.M. ASB Bookkeeper while Regina is still active in the Spartan's secretarial pool. 

Brian FitzGerald and Dick Bellman

Brian, on the left, is Rio Mesa's Athletic Director, Head Track Coach, Assistant Freshman Football Coach and, most importantly, an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher.

Dick is retired after spending his entire distinguished teaching career at Rio Mesa.  Besides teaching Science classes and coaching football, Richard was a highly respected Activities Director for several years.

Koreen and Brian FitzGerald

Every mature couple needs a younger couple to energize them regularly.  For Laurie and I, these two DEFINITELY fit the bill!

Koreen FitzGerald, Laurie Contreras and

Shi Young Kim

Koreen is now Rio Mesa's ASB Bookkeeper, having replaced Marge Compton when she retired. Shi Young is an Art teacher at Rio Mesa and our "adopted daughter."

With these three on the scene, LET THE FUN BEGIN!

2009 Elephants Catania Coaches

With me is Paul Petrich Jr.  We will be coaching American football together this spring in Sicily.  Paul will share our "Malibu" apartment with Laurie and I in Aci Castello.  

Vanessa Perez and Mike Contreras

Vanessa and Mike first met at the Rio Mesa Christmas party in 2005 held at the FitzGerald's home that holiday season.  They hit it off right away and will be getting married in August of 2009.

Joe Molica

Joe is the Oxnard Union High School District's "utility player to be named later" in trades.  A Social Science teacher and a Rio Mesa Girls Basketball coach, he is currently working in the Puente Program on Rio Mesa's campus teaching pregnant girls and girls who recently gave birth. 

As it turns out, by night, Joe Molica becomes John Travolta!

Here, he puts on a slow dancing clinic with Social Science teacher Laurena Guizar. 

Joe groovin' with Chemistry teacher Annie Marostica

Joe really becomes a player when the disco beat starts pounding away!

On the other hand, Brian FitzGerald's last trip to the dance floor was on his wedding day oh those many years ago! 

Other than this one major flaw, Brian still flourishes in most social settings.

Barney's Beanery

On Tuesday, Laurie had a work related issue, in part because we didn't get back from Las Vegas Monday in time for her to get in at least a half day's work in Santa Barbara.  She had some official documents that now had to be hand delivered to another lawyer's office on the 17th floor of a posh office building on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles.  I volunteered to help out of love for my wife and love for another great eating experience though not necessarily in that order.

When I got to the building, I discovered two things, first it was 26 stories in height and, more importantly, that they were having the entire building's Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa party in the huge lobby as I entered.  With an awesome looking dessert in one hand and a fancy, whip creamed coffee in the other, the security guard at the door stopped and quizzed me about my business in the building.  After flashing her both a knowing smile from one fat person to another and showing her the properly addressed, sealed, brown manila envelope with about an 80 page document inside, she let me pass to the elevators.  So much for post-911 anti-terrorist security measures.

And yes, after delivering the documents, you are damn right I stopped in the lobby to enjoy some of the fine, upscale holiday fare that was being offered! I can blend when I have to and remember, "FREE FOOD IS NOT FATTENING."

The usually reliable Food Network's Guy Fieri could not come up with a nearby eatery so I tried the Travel Channel's Food Paradise website

 www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Food_Paradise

for a possible tip.

I know that you are thinking that I just had something to eat at the office building, but I had not counted on it and I already had this plan in motion that begged not to be aborted so it was on to...

Barney's Beanery

8447 Santa Monica Boulevard

West Hollywood, California

Established 1920

Website: www.barneysbeanery.com/

PERFECT!  This is a great place, with great tradition that I had often heard about but had never frequented.  It was right on my way home from "delivering the package" so I just had to give it a shot.

I was greeted by a rather unassuming store front...

... but he inside was a visual feast!

This was at one time the end of the famous U.S. Route 66 thus the miriad of old out-of-state license plates all over the walls.  Being nearly 90 years old and located in West Hollywood means that MANY famous entertainers have dined here over the decades.  My personal favorites were Jim Morrison of "The Doors" and Janis Joplin.  They actually have an old table top bolted to the ceiling that Janis Joplin carvede heer name into one, I'm sure, very sober evening.

Barney's Signature Dish

Chili, Beans and Cheese

It was SO GOOD!  You can tell just by the hint of spillage at the bowl's edge.

Again, as Jason Johnson says, "We need to be tourists in our own towns!"

I also had a slice of their incredible apple pie ala mode.  The pie was fantastic but I really believe that the key to this dessert was the richness of the ice cream.  Barney's did not disappoint me in any way, shape or fashion!

As is my want in these situations, I washed down this caloric orgy with a refreshing Diet Coke.

The Travel Channel's Food Paradise website listed above lists a lot of great places to eat all over the United States.  Here are the 15 that I've been to and, of course, highly recommend to you:

IN CALIFORNIA:

Finn McCool's, Santa Monica

Lawry's Prime Rib, Beverly Hills

Baby Blues BBQ, Venice (also on Guy Fieri's list!)

Phillipe the Original French Dip Sandwich, Los Angeles

Pea Soup Andersen's, Buellton

Fair Oaks Pharmacy, Pasadena

Randy's Donuts, Inglewood

Bob's Big Boy, Burbank

California Pizza Kitchen, California and WAY beyond

IN THE OTHER 49 STATES:

The Rendezvous BBQ, Memphis, Tennessee

Dyer's Burgers, Memphis, Tennessee

The Stage Deli, New York, New York

Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream, Waterbury, Vermont

Cafe' Du Monde, New Orleand, Louisiana

The Varsity, Atlanta, Georgia

"SO MANY RESTAURANTS...

 SO LITTLE TIME"

2008 Rio Mesa Fall Sports Award Night

Monday night's "Fall Athletic Awards Night" signaled the final act of Rio Mesa's Fall Sports Calendar for 2008.

The Cross Country Program has both a Boys and a Girls team competing in the fall.

Our Master of Ceremonies, Athletic Director Brian FitzGerald

All of the team members and their parents meet in the gym first as the Varsity MVP of each sport is announced to all the people assembled.  Afterwards, dessert, coffee and punch are served before each sport breaks off to a different venue around the campus for their team awards.

Coach John Reardon, DE James Turner and me

Our entire staff believes that James is going to develop into a TREMENDOUS pass rushing Defensive End in the coming seasons.

With Ben Quantock

Our starting Falcon and Tight End, Ben led our team in receiving yardage.  A very solid player with a great work attitude is very hard to beat!

From left to right: Danny Solarez, Ralph Lemos, me, 2008 Frosh Team MVP Tanner Wrout, John Reardon and Brian FitzGerald. 

Unfortunately Mike Muro, who did such a GREAT job coaching our Offensive Line and our Linebackers could not attend the ceremonies.

To wrap up the season, I want to again thank all the parents for their non-stop support this season.  From the Team Moms to the Volunteer Drivers to the Videographers to the Team Photographers to the Post Game Snack and Drink Providers to the On-Campus Teacher/Parents who helped in tutoring the team to the coaching staff... WHAT A GREAT GROUP EFFORT!!!

Finally, to the 67 players that started and FINISHED the 8-2 season... "WAY TO GO SPARTANS!!!"

Remember that our first goal for the 2009 season is to have all 67 of you eligible and playing football for Rio Mesa!

Baker, California

We left Las Vegas early Monday morning because the Rio Mesa H.S. Fall Sports Awards night would be held that evening at 7:00 p.m. and because the morning news predicted that an intense snow storm would at any moment be attacking Interstate 15, our only road back towards Los Angeles.

It DOES Snow in the Las Vegas Valley!

If you have ever driven on Interstate 15 from Victorville to Las Vegas, then you are familiar with the three "Highway Stations" on your FM radio dial.  They all three broadcast the exact same songs and information at the same time with a bent towards country music and car wrecks.

This morning they were passionate about road and school closures due to the inclement weather.

The "World Famous" Mad Greek

Driving along I-15, you are bombarded with roadside ads for the Mad Greek's like this one.  The "Highway Stations" reported that the road immediately behind us from Primm, Nevada to Baker, California had just been closed due to heavy snows.  They also reported that the Cajon Pass ahead of us between Victorville and San Bernardino was also closed.  What are going to do...

Why eat of course!

www.foodnetwork.com/shows/guys-idiners-drive-ins-and-divesi/index.html

Once again Guy Fieri comes through with another great recommendation, none other than the Mad Greek!  This is only the fourth establishment listed at his website that I have frequented with the Four Kegs in Las Vegas, Baby Blues BBQ in Venice California and Krazy Jim's Blimpy Burgers in Ann arbor, Michigan being the others.  I highly recommend all of these and I am thinking that visiting everyone in the southern California area before flying to Catania next month would be a worthy quest! 

As you can see by the sign post just outside the Mad Greek's entryway, this culinary oasis is centrally located!

EUREKA, We Have Found It!

The Steak Breakfast Burrito hit the spot...

so did the decor.

The plan was to take about an hour to eat and gas up Laurie's red Chrysler PT Cruiser that you see in the picture of the outside of the Mad Greek's above.  Hopefully as the sun got a little higher in the sky and warmed things up, it would allow the road crews on the upcoming Cajon Pass a chance to clear the snow and re-open the I-15.

BUT WHAT ARE WE TO DO IN BAKER WHILE WE WAITED?

Are you kidding? Baker ( www.bakercc.com/  ) is both "The Gate Way to Death Valley" AND "The Entrance to the Mojave National Preserve"!  There are just tons of things to do in Baker to while away the hours.

Exhibit "A"...

Baker's Alien Fresh Jerky Store!

With its own Security Force in the parking lot for the customer's peace of mind!

O.K., this guy was a little creepy once you stepped inside but the BBQ Jerky was really good!

So that's it for Baker, the Mad Greek's and the Alien Fresh Jerky store?  Not on your life!

Exhibit "B"...

The World's Tallest Thermometer!

Baker's main claim to fame is its thermometer which was regitering a balmy 49 degrees Fahrenheit today, that's 9 degrees Celsius for my Sicilian readers.

At the top of this thermometer it can register into the 130's F. = 55 Celsius!  Why do you think they call it Death Valley?

The Zzyzx Road exit on the I-15.

If allowed, how many points would this off-ramp score you in a game of Scrabble?

The "Highway Stations" alerted us that the Cajon Pass was now re-opened with California Highway Patrolmen escorting groups through the Pass at low speeds for our own safety.  We were to expect delays of at least one hour through the Pass, but at least we were moving again.

The Cajon Pass

It was as treacherous as advertised but we got through.  Hearing Paul Harvey's voice on the radio during this stretch of our journey was also of great comfort.  He is getting older and his voice is not as strong as it once was but his show when you hear it still means you are on vacation.

"Paul Harvey... GOOD DAY!"

This Rainbow seen through a new housing development under construction near our home, led us to Camarillo

So the trip home took us about eight hours but we made it with plenty of time to spare for Sports Awards night.

Early Christmas in Las Vegas

Typical of most families in this day and age, we are not going to have the chance to all be together on Christmas Day.   For this reason, Laurie and I decided to drive out to Las Vegas, Nevada to have an early Christmas with our son Andy and his fiancee Jenn at their home.  We left the house early Saturday morning for the 4 1/2 hour drive through the Mojave Desert.

Food and gas stop in Victorville, California

What's the Big Boy peeking at???

After driving for about two hours, we stopped once again at a Bob's Big Boy restaurant.  If you went to high school in the Pasadena/Glendale areas of southern California during the 1960's, Bob's was a perennial hangout on Friday and Saturday nights.

Of special interest would be the Friday night runs in the fall after your high school football games (VERY "American Graffiti"ish) when you would hook up with friends from several other schools to compare how the evening's contests played out and, of course, to brag about how your team was the best in the area!

Somewhere along the line in the 1990's, as more and more of the Bob's franchises closed their doors permanently, I believe a law was enacted on the state not federal level that anyone who is a recovering Big Boy double-deck hamburger addict MUST stop and eat at one of the few remaining Bob's still in existence.  Not being one wanting to face possible jail time, we stopped and ate here so as to not ruin the holiday season.

Jenn and Andy with their champagne wedding flutes.

Laurie thought that these would be a great present and I think she was right!

The Grand Kids

So far this is as close as we are to being grandparents.  Jenn and Andy have two British bulldogs, Blitz on the left and Dooley (named after the long-time and highly successful University of Georgia Bulldog's Head Football Coach Vince Dooley).

How about we go eat at the Bellagio or the Venetian or maybe at Mandalay Bay... NONE OF THE ABOVE!

Four Kegs Sports Pub

267 N. Jones Blvd 

Las Vegas, NV 

Tel: (702) 870-0255 

Website: www.fourkegs.com

Guy Fieri, the star of the Food Network's "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" show ( www.foodnetwork.com/shows/guys-idiners-drive-ins-and-divesi/index.html ) said on one of his programs that this sports pub is one of the best places to eat in Las Vegas.  Located in a strip mall and open 24 hours a day, I believe that it would definitely come under the heading of "Dive" in the show's title.

The "World Famous" Four Kegs Stromboli

We ordered the small ones and they were worth the fear factor of walking into this fine dining establishment.  The outer shell was incredibly sweet tasting and the meat fillings were quite tasty indeed.  GOOD CALL GUY!

Jenn had to take this picture of us because Blitz and Dooley can't.

We had a GREAT weekend together just hanging out, watching football games on TV and catching up on each other's lives.  Obviously, a big topic of discussion was the fast approaching date of their wedding in Cancun, Mexico on February 14th.  I am hoping we can make one more trip out to the desert to see the four of them before going back to winter in Catania.

It's kind of cool to be able to use a season of the year as a verb!

A Change in Elephant Plans

I was informed today by our Catania Elephants' owner, Davide Giuliano, that QB Steve Panella has changed his mind about joining us in 2009.

Luke Tracy

Davide moved swiftly to sign a new QB, Luke Tracy, that comes highly recommended by his past coaches.

When queried about Luke, coaches used phrases like "great kid", "a stud", "plays with a linebacker's mentality", "a competitor" and "has a good football mind" to describe him.

He played his high school football at Irvine H.S. in southern California before moving on to Fullerton College and the University of Idaho.

You can see Luke in action at the following two websites:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeoTTUHW6D8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ3gU_ku1sQ

Hey Luke...

"It's GREAT to be an Elephant!!!"

Catania Elephants Get a Great New Coach!

The Catania Elephants are very excited to announce the addition of Paul Petrich Jr. to our 2009 coaching staff.  Paul will be working primarily with our defensive line and brings 39 years of coaching experience to Sicily!

Paul Petrich Jr.

Here is Paul getting off the ferry boat from Naples in Catania last spring on the day our home game against the Palermo Corsari.  Paul has been a world traveler and an adventurer all of his life.

Lunch with Paul in Cefalu' last June

At California's San Pedro High School he played both fullback and linebacker.  Paul played his college football at the University of California, Los Angeles Community College and San Jose State University where he earned a degree in Social Science and started his teaching and coaching career.  In college he played on both the offensive and defensive lines and some linebacker to boot!

In order to summarize Paul's impressive coaching career we'll start with his 25 years coaching at the high school level starting in 1964 as first a freshman level coach assistant and then as a J.V. Head Coach.  Paul then went on to spend 20 years as a Defensive Coordinator at both Hueneme and Rio Mesa High Schools.  In 1989 he received the first ever Southern California Interscholastic Football Coaches Association's "Assistant Coach of the Year Award."

Paul would go on to coach his specialty, the defensive line, at the Junior College level for 11 seasons.  Paul coached at Ventura College in 1970 and assisted at Santa Barbara City College for 10 campaigns.

Paul has also had three very positive coaching experiences in Europe.

In 1988 he was the lone coach of the Division 2 Kanalmaki Whips in Finland.  The Whips were based near Helsinki and they made the playoffs that season.

In 2001 Paul resurfaced in Europe with the Bergamo Lions of our Italian league.  Paul coached the defensive linemen as the Lions won both the Italian League title and the Euro Bowl Championship!

Paul's last coaching stint on the continent came in 2002 as the Defensive Coordinator of the Tyrolean Raiders of Innsbruck in the Austrian league.  Again, his team made the playoffs that season.  By coincidence, this Austrian team is the same one that both Jason Johnson and Matt Epperson, Catania's hot passing combination last season, will play for in 2009.

With this hire, the Elephants have taken yet another BIG step in the quest for another great season in 2009.

2009 Elephants Catania Schedule Announced

The Elephants Catania have just announced our 2009 slate of games featuring five home games.  As always, the Italian Football League reserves the right to change any and all of this schedule at a moments notice just because they can.

The Incredible Joy of Playing

American Football for the Elephants!!!

2009 Elephants Catania Schedule

Saturday, March 21,  at Dolphins Ancona

Sunday, March 29,  at Lions Bergamo

Sunday, April 5,  Warriors Bologna

Sunday, April 12,  BYE

Sunday, April 19,  Hogs Reggio Emilia

Sunday, April 26,  Giants Bolzano

Sunday, May 3,  at Doves Bologna

Sunday, May 10,  Panthers Parma

Sunday, May 17,  BYE

Sunday, May 24,  at Rhinos Milan

Sunday, May 31,  Marines Lazio

At the end of the regular season, the top four teams will go to the playoffs with the Super Bowl game tentatively scheduled for the June 27-28 weekend at a site to be determined.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!