HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Mon. & Tues., October 30-31, 2023

Unfortunately, Jacob was under the weather both of these days and thus spent both days at our house.

Mary would succumb to a similar ailment midday today which was sad as today was . . .

. . . HALLOWEEN!

A happy Mary Poppins in the

morning before her health issues

Her initial plan was to change back in the evening into her Wednesday Addams outfit that she wore to our mini pre-Halloween party last Saturday.

That was not meant to be.

Laurie had the front yard

ready to greet any and all

Trick-or-Treaters tonight

We were a bit bummed out that we only had a total of 13 youngsters knock on our door tonight.

On the other hand, that's a lot of candy for Jacob and Mary to share as they did not get a chance to go out tonight.

Maybe it is because of weirdos like

this that parents did not let their

kids roam the neighborhood tonight

Now, THAT'S the Halloween Spirit,

West Point Style!

A HUGE game for unranked, 2-6 Army this Saturday on the road against 17th ranked, 8-0 Air Force. 

While most of today was indeed

about Halloween, it was also . . .

. . . TACO TUESDAY IN AMERICA!

Laurie and I were extremely focused as we ate our Ruby's tacos for lunch.

It is rapidly becoming a family tradition.

Tacos are now becoming a big part of the everyday internet scene.

I have been known to think

this way at times

Amongst other foods

Fits in with the Halloween theme . . .

. . . but one must still give bacon its due

Bacon wrapped, hard shell tacos, hmmm . . .

Wasn't that the truth!

Admit it, you were there

once upon a time

I certainly remember that I was back in the day.

On to news of American football globally . . .

Huskies ranked 5th this week taking

on 24th ranked USC on Saturday

We will be at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum rooting the 8-0 UW on to victory.

The PAC-12 still shines in its

lamentable final year of existence

This afternoon, the first College Football Playoff poll was announced. Since it is the only one that really matters, it was greeted anxiously by all fans of teams trying to get into the four team National Championship tournament at the end of the season.

The Huskies are 5th in the CFP poll too

The CFP poll raised some eyebrows by having it as #1 Ohio State, #2 Georgia, #3 Michigan and #4 Florida State. All four of these teams are 8-0 on the season.

Forget the CFP poll Huskies and

BEAT THE TROJANS!

Now, that's funny!

The Florida Gators are currently 5-3 and unranked.

Recruiting is hot and heavy

in Romania . . .

. . . as it is in Mallorca, Spain

"The Moment is Now"

Lots of good travel thoughts today too . . .

Agreed

Ditto

We have ALL felt this unbelievable

level of exhilaration

I wasted a lot of my pre-retirement

days not heeding this advice

I needed to be more courageous

in my 20s and 30s

If you are traveling soon,

this chart may be of help

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

A Pre-Halloween Party and Lots of American Football News

Sat. & Sun., October 28-29, 2023

After getting home from Jacob's Camarillo Stingers playoff game Saturday afternoon, we had to get ready to host Laurie's annual Pre-Halloween party with family and a few friends that evening.

As always, Laurie had spent a few

days getting the house eerily ready

Jack-O-Lanterns, Spiders and Bats,

OH MY!

Skulls and Crystal Balls too!

Dia de los Muertos calavera

Laurie had definitely set the mood perfectly.

Jacob and Michael were in costume

Who the heck is Michael supposed to be?

Oh, DUH!

It was so obvious, he was Star Wars Princess Leia's stunt double.

Vanessa's sister Elizabeth is seen here as Princess Leia.

Jacob came as a Washington Husky

Not just any Husky mind you, but as their star Junior WR Rome Odunze.

Ot perhaps as their equally stellar Junior DB Jabbar Muhammad.

They both wear #1 when they are on the field.

As for Vanesa and Mary . . .

. . . they came dressed as

Morticia and Wednesday Addams

Just as scary in color as

in black and white

Mary had Wednesday Addams

down to a tee

I, a Bavarian Inn keeper, trying

to mimic Wednesday's demeanor

Wednesday enjoying my yodeling

A good time was had by all.

On to the latest football news . . .

Team Austria beat Team Finland

to win the European Championship

Team Austria thus wins the automatic bid into next Summer's IFAF World Championship Tournament to be held in Germany.

Team Italy defeated Team Sweden

in the European Championship's

Third Place Game

The Varese Skorpions U18 team is off

to a slow start this year having lost

to the Milano Rhinos on Saturday

The #5 ranked, 7-0 Washington Huskies

at the unranked, 2-5 Stanford Cardinal

After not scoring an Offensive TD

last week against unranked Arizona State,

would the Dawgs bounce back into form?

Not really, it was a win but

it was a struggle again

The now 8-0 Huskies retained their #5 ranking in today's AP Top 25 poll. 

It will be interesting to see where they are ranked when the first College Football Playoff Committee releases their first rankings of the year on Tuesday.

That is the only ranking that really matters when you get right down to it.

We'll be at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum next Saturday afternoon to see the Huskies take on #24 ranked, 7-2 USC and their defending Heisman Trophy winning QB, Caleb Williams.

The USC Trojans won a tense defensive battle vs. the California Golden Bears on Saturday, 50-49.

I didn't see their game but it sure sounded like an Italian Football League game to me. 

For the first time this season,

the Rams played as poorly as

we all thought they would at

the start of the season

The Rams are now 3-5 on the campaign while the Dallas Cowboys improved to 5-2.

Today's Silver Lining to

the Cowboys massacre

Internet mania . . .

I guess this Florida State Seminole fan

just does not like the Miami Hurricanes

How did that happen?

This happened to me once,

JUST ONCE!

Thank goodness for Ruby's Mexican Restaurant in Camarillo!

Have a good week and stay safe out there.

Camarillo Stingers Pop Warner Playoff Game

Saturday, October 28, 2023

It was a BEAUTIFUL, crisp Autumn day just made for a Pop Warner opening round playoff game! 

Thus Laurie and I were off to

Calabasas H.S. for a Noon Kickoff

It was a rematch of last Saturday's final regular season game between the Calabasas Rams Black vs. the Camarillo Stingers played at Ventura H.S.

Calabasas flexed their muscles but still showed great sportsmanship in winning 28-0.

A Gold Coast Youth Football League

2023 Sophomore Division Playoff Game

4 Wins - 4 Losses

# 8 Playoff Seed

Tied for Sixth Place in the Conference

at

8 Wins - 0 Losses

#1 Playoff Seed

First Place in the Conference

The Opening Kickoff,

the last moment that the

game was remotely close

In last week's game the Stingers kicked off only once and it was returned for a TD.

Uh-Oh . . .

. . . the ball was kicked to the same

return man and he returned it again

for a Rams Black TD

 

The Stingers rallied . . .

. . . to stop the ensuing two-point play

Jacob, #99, awaiting

the Calabasas Kickoff

Stingers Offense ready to fight

their way back into the contest

 

Stinger turning the corner

Attacking the right flank

successfully again

It worked to the right,

let's try the left side

Stingers take to the air

A no call was the correct call,

the Stingers receiver tripped

over his own feet

This wall of Rams Black blockers

on the edge would become more

familiar as the game wore on

Calabasas Toss Sweep Left

got to the edge too easily

Thank goodness for

the Stingers Pursuit

The Rams Black continued their

wide assault game

But the Stingers . . .

. . . Gang Tackling . . .

. . . was up to the task on this play

 

Another Stingers Kickoff Return

This Stingers LB was blitzed

into a much needed QB Sack!

An open field tackle here

was a MUST!

End of the First Quarter

Calabasas Black - 14

Camarillo - 0

The Second Quarter saw the same

Calabasas attack but with a twist

Just as he did in last week's game, the Calabasas Coach had no interest in running up a score or embarrassing the Stingers players.

In this second stanza, their coach held off on sending in a play as long as possible.

His goal was to have the clock run off as much time as was possible between plays and thus keep the score down.

That strategy did not stop the

Rams Black from playing hard when

the ball was finally snapped

I had no problem with that.

Each individual Stingers player

was still playing hard on each snap

against their clearly superior opponents

Pursuit was still a MUST!

Jacob was now in at Tight End

Jacob releasing on a Pass Route

He's OPEN!

Goodness, he's going out again

On both of these plays, the balls were thrown to the other side.

Back to the running game but what

is that yellow thing in mid-air?

Gracious sakes alive, I think it's

the HOLY GHOST!

Or maybe a penalty flag for Offensive Holding.

A good open field tackle

by this Rams Black defender

Pass Protection being tested

Unfortunately this is a tackle

after a Calabasas interception

Jacob about to take on the Rams Black

bread and butter play, the Toss Sweep

Good Stingers Defensive reaction . . .

. . . ended with great swarming tackling

My beloved, crazy legged

grandson in action

WR Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch is my all-time favorite Los Angelas Ram.

The Stingers players may have

been overmatched but they still

gave great effort

Calabasas got outside again

Calabasas Sweeping to the

right again

Maintain your leverage Jacob!

The Sweep Right was followed

by this Sweep Left of course

This looks BAD . . .

. . . but it ended in a fumble

that the Stingers recovered

Fighting to get out of the

Camarillo end of the field

At the Halftime Break

Calabasas Black - 20

Camarillo - 0

Another Stingers Kickoff Return

to start the Third Quarter

The Stingers tried to

Sweep to the Left Side

Camarillo has a chance for a

solid gain on this play

The Stingers take to the air

one more time but . . .

. . . but it was just a bit outside

Playing for Pride at this point

Another race to the edge

Great Outside Force by this Stinger!

This Rams Black player is

heading for that far away Goal Line

This young Stinger got another

chance to return a Kickoff

He actually did a splendid job returning all five of the Calabasas Kickoffs today.

This looks promising

Just out of reach again

This could have been another

long Calabasas run but . . .

. . . the Calabasas RB voluntarily

slid after about an eight yard gain

This was another example of the Calabasas coaching staff's efforts to keep the score down.

This is a much better look

by the Camarillo Defense

This does NOT bode well . . .

. . . neither does this

End of the Third Quarter

Calabasas Black - 26

Camarillo - 0

Jacob now at Wide Receiver

Turning this Rams Black run

back inside is a good thing

Lots of Defensive Stingers

in the area

Still playing hard, the Stingers forced

a Fourth Down turnover on Downs

deep in their own territory

We've got to get out of this play

Lots of Rams Black pressure

up the middle

Jacob walling off a Calabasas player

I believe the term is

"Ass Over Tea Kettle"

Fighting to avoid a

Safety on Fourth Down

I know that many would at least consider briefly Punting in this situation.

Not the Stingers.

The Rams Black graciously took a knee on the subsequent plays to end the game and not extend their lead.

Thank you Calabasas Rams Black coaches for your fine perspective on what youth sports should be.

The 2023 Camarillo Stingers

Sophomore Team Season was

finally over

Final Score

Calabasas Black (9-0) - 26

Camarillo (4-5) - 0

Next Saturday, the Calabasas Rams Black will be at home to take on the winner of the #5 seed Valley Rush (5-3) at #4 seed Saugus Spartans Navy (5-3) game.

As for us, it was a long season with lots of ups and downs. Through it all though, I think that Jacob again enjoyed practicing, playing and mostly bonding with all of his Stingers teammates.

On to basketball . . .