Coaching for Pizza

Another Steve Berry Novel

2012-01-28T15:20:00.000-08:00

Reading is FUNdamental

Part XLIV

This book is another interesting, semi-historical thriller from Steve Berry. This is the fourth in his Cotton Malone series and, quite frankly, I liked the first three installments a tad more.

Now, it's on to The Paris Vendetta!

Occidental College Seniors and EuroBall

2012-01-25T21:34:00.001-08:00

Occidental College Head Football Coach Dale Widolff graciously allowed me on campus today to meet with some of the Seniors on his team that have finished their college eligibility and have an interest in continuing their football careers overseas.

Dale has been a fantastic host to me as this was the fourth consecutive year that I been able to talk to Tiger Seniors about the process of landing a job playing American football in Europe.

Meeting Room

Every year I meet with the Tigers in a room adjacent to their game field that also serves as an Occidental sports memorabilia museum. Lots of great items to see while I waited for the players to arrive.

I'm older than this ball

But not as wrinkled.

Yet.

Five of Oxy's Best and Brightest

We had a great 90 minute session with some very good questions being asked and fielded. These young men have a definite interest in playing in Europe and all received excellent endorsements from their coach.

Are you listening EuroBall teams?

THANKS AGAIN

COACH WIDOLFF!!!

Joe Paterno and the AFC & NFC Championship Games

2012-01-23T11:32:00.001-08:00

Joe Paterno, QB/CB

Brown University 1948-1949

JoePa working Xs and Os in 1986

Joe Paterno

Head Football Coach at Penn State

1966-2011

We all woke up to the sad news on Sunday that Joe Paterno had lost his battle with lung cancer at the age of 85.

After graduating from Brown, he joined his college coach Rip Engle as an assistant at Penn State University in 1950 finally taking over the program's reins from Engle in 1966. In all, he worked at Penn State for over 60 years!

His 46 seasons as the Nittany Lions' Head Football Coach would become the stuff of legends.

Among his on-the-field highlights are:

A won-loss record of 409-136-3.

The 409 wins are the most by any coach in Division I college history.

He coached 37 teams (24 wins) to Bowl games.

He is the only coach in history to record victories in the five biggest, traditional Bowl games. The Nittany Lions won the Fiesta Bowl six times, the Orange Bowl four times, the Cotton Bowl twice and the Rose and Sugar Bowls once each.

His teams won National Championships in 1982 and 1986.

He coached five undefeated teams in 1968, 1969, 1973, 1986 and 1994.

Until the last few months of his life, he was revered for his off-the-field demeanor and excellence as well, that is the JoePa that I always admired and would like to remember.

NFL CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY

Great day of NFL football yesterday as the AFC and NFC Championship games were played with the winners earning bids to Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis on February 5th.

AFC Championship Game

New England Patriots 23 -

Baltimore Ravens 20

It came down to the last play of the game when Ravens' kicker Billy Cundiff missed on a 32 yard Field Goal attempt to send the game to overtime.

Heartbreaking for Ravens followers but of great joy to Patriots fan Shawn Cordiero in Sweden!

NFC Championship Game

New York Football Giants 20 -

San Francisco 49ers 17

in Overtime

Another instant classic that turned on two punt return miscues by the Niners' Kyle Williams that the Giants turned into 10 points including Lawrence Tyne's game winning 31 yard Field Goal with 7:06 left in overtime.

I like the Giants, based on their defense and the way Eli Manning is playing, to win the re-match of Super Bowl XLII four seasons ago won in upset fashion by the Giants 17-14.

Reading is FUNdamental

Yet another book in the Cotton Malone series with more intrique, history and adventure. I liked it.

A lot.

Finally, I would like to thank Mike D'Antuono for hooking me on the FX Channel's family values series Justified! Just what I needed before taking off to coach in Europe.

IFL's Lazio Marines Chart Bold, New Waters

2012-01-14T12:09:00.001-08:00

These tough economic times throughout the world have called for athletic teams in all sports, at all levels and in all countries to rethink their fund raising/sponsorship strategies.

The Italian Football League's Lazio Marines, based in the Eternal City, Rome, have come up with a most novel solution to their financial woes.

In red, Catania's Mathieu Cassaghi with a big

block on Larry Atkinson's interception

during the Elephant's 28-21 victory in 2009

over the Lazio Marines in white

The Marines courted a "deep pockets" sponsor from cyberspace. An internet sponsor that is #1 in its field in Italy and is also Europe's #2 distributor of internet adult sex objects, toys and erotic lingerie. Their new sponsor is the one and only MisterSex.it website.

BIG EUROS INDEED!!!

Yes, you can now cheer for the IFL's Mister Sex Lazio Marines!!!

The New Look Lazio Marines uniforms

I like the pink Mister Sex on both the jerseys and the helmets.

You can NOT make this stuff up! For more go to:

http://www.lalaziosiamonoi.it/?action=read&idnotizia=23292

No reaction yet from Vatican City.

This and That

2012-01-13T09:05:00.000-08:00

Less than a month now until I take off to Thun, Switzerland for my fourth season of adventure coaching American football in Europe. The hardest thing right now is making sure that I tie up all of the loose ends here before departing.

Equally hard is not being able to be with the Tigers as we start workouts for the season. It is hard knowing what to stress without any first hand knowledge of our personnel.

The Boxed Set of Swedish DVDs

I enjoyed both reading and then viewing the American film version of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo."

At the Barnes and Noble bookstore in Westlake Village this week I purchased this box set of the three Swedish DVDs covering all three of Swedish author Stieg Larsson's crime noir novels.

We watched TGWTDT on Wednesday night in Swedish with English subtitles. Although I found Swedish a very difficult language to make heads or tails of, I still love to hear the melodic rhythm of this Nordic tongue.

On Thursday night we watched the first half of "The Girl Who Played with Fire." This second DVD gave us a "dubbed in English" option which gladly used. We will finish this action packed film on Friday night.

I am sure that the final DVD, "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" will be enjoyed before the weekend is out.

Noomi Rapace is a GREAT Lisbeth Salander!!!

Michael Nyqvist is also an excellent Mikael Blomkvist.

GREAT SERIES SO FAR!!!

Reading is FUNdamental

Another adventure novel in the Cotton Malone Series, this one had several factions in turmoil including Arabs, Jews, Christians, a U.S. Presidential assasination plot and, oh yes, a cabal of international multi-billionaires bent on controlling the known universe.

Simple, straight ahead stuff really.

Eric Slivoskey

The Slivoskeys in Stockholm

Eric, Estalita and their kids

Eric and his family spent two years in Finland while he coached the Seinakoki Crocodiles in the Finnish league's top division. We have been able to communicate by means of all of the social media and we all met up in Stockholm on a nice Summer afternoon in 2010 just before Laurie and I embarked on a cruise to Tallinn, Estonia and St. Petersberg, Russia.

Nice people.

Eric interviewed me about my experiences coaching in EuroBall and was able to get an article published in a Canadian magazine based on our talk. The magazine is named "Verge Magazine - Travel with a Purpose."

The article is titled "Moving Your Passion Abroad." Here is the link to Eric's article:

http://www.vergemagazine.com/work-abroad/moving-your-passion-abroad-637.html

Scorched Earth!

2012-01-09T00:15:00.001-08:00

Reading is FUNdamental

In the first "Jack Reacher" novel that I read, the protagonist destroyed most of South Dakota but for a righteous cause of course.

All right, how much could there be to destroy in South Dakota really?

In this action packed, page turner given to me by Mike D'Antuono, Reacher does his best to rend asunder most of Nebraska as he continues his way East towards Washington D.C. and the mysterious woman known only as Susan.

Do the ends justify the means?

Yes indeed!!!

Watch out Iowa, you're next!

P.S. After reading this book I can no longer be a Nebraska Cornhusker fan.

Jo Nesbø ROCKS!!!

2012-01-05T10:35:00.000-08:00

Reading is FUNdamental

Our son Mike gave me this book for Christmas. It was the only "Harry Hole" novel from Norway's top crime fiction noir writer that I had not yet read.

It was one of the six Nesbø books in this series that has been translated into English and it was another great read from to start to finish!

Now, if they would only translate the first two books in the series, written in 1997 (The Bat Man) and 1998 (The Cockroaches) and the one just published (Phantom), I would be a truly happy man.

New Year's Day in Las Vegas

2012-01-04T13:39:00.000-08:00

After arriving from the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio late Friday evening, Laurie and I were up at zero-dark-thirty on Saturday for the five hour drive to Las Vegas to visit Jenn, Andy and, of course, our grandson Kevin, a.k.a., Tank.

We had a little hitch in our gitty-up when Laurie's Chrysler PT Cruiser broke down in Covina, about an hour into our trip.

A great AAA tow rig driver, a very friendly and helpful AAA approved repair shop and a quick trip to the local Enterprise Rent-a-Car and we were off again after a two hour break in the action.

Vegas, HERE WE COME!!!

Again.

Tank and Grandma

Our visits to Las Vegas are nothing like the commercials, we go there to visit family not to go crazy on the Strip.

Our weekend would be a simple one revolving around family, food and football on Andy and Jenn's brand new 70 inch HD TV!

Saturday was New Year's eve with a solid slate of five college bowl games.

Sunday was New Year's day and it offered us a promising full slate of NFL contests.

Monday was Andy's 38th birthday, is that possible? Besides celebrating Andy's big day, the day was also about college football again as six more games were on tap. The Rose Bowl and Fiesta Bowl games were especially good ones to watch.

Speaking of the Rose Bowl, 38 years ago when Andy was about to enter the world, I suggested to Laurie that we name him after whoever won the Rose Bowl MVP award. the 1974 Rose Bowl saw Southern California taking on Ohio State with the Buckeyes QB winning both the game and the MVP trophy.

His name? Cornelius Greene.

We opted for Andrew.

The 2011 Rose Bowl's Defensive MVP was TCU's LB Tank Carder, thus Kevin's nickname.

Since Mike and Vanessa still have not announced a name for thier son who will be born this March, I would like to point out the two MVPs of Monday's 2012 Wisconsin-Oregon Rose Bowl to them.

Both from Oregon, on offense it was WR Lavasier Tuinei while the defensive winner was LB Kiko Alonso.

Lavasier Contreras.

Kiko Contreras.

Just saying . . .

Tank seemed to like all of the games

Tank bonding with his Dad

Getting our "Game Faces"

on for the NFL games

Jenn teaching Tank

the finer points of the IPhone

A future Legacy H.S. Longhorn

Someday Tank will hopefully be a linebacker at his local high school if the family doesn't move from their current house.

Never too early for school pride.

Big Guy, Little Guy

Jenn is already working on

Kevin's reading skills

You just have to have a

New Year's Day T-shirt

It was a "Colorful Weekend"

After three great days, it was back to SoCal to pick up the car and get back to our normal routines after a fun week of traveling.

But first . . .

We couldn't hit the road on

an empty stomach now could we?

Fried Chicken and Waffles

The two chicken breasts were moist and the waffles were infused with bacon . . . America, WHAT A COUNTRY!!!

REMEMBER THE ALAMO BOWLl!!!

2011-12-30T21:14:00.000-08:00

Pull up a beverage, this is going to be a long post . . .

Our beloved PAC-12 Washington Huskies (7-5) were invited to play the Big XII Baylor Bears (9-3) and their Heisman Trophy winning QB Robert Griffin III, a.k.a. "RG3," in the 19th Annual Valero Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, Texas.

Over the years Laurie and I had been to 13 Husky bowl games but none outside the State of California.

We had been to seven Husky Rose Bowls and saw the Dawgs win five of them.

Here are the results of those seven Rose Bowls (5-2):

1978 beat Michigan 27-20

1981 lost to Michigan 23-6

1982 beat Iowa 28-0

1991 beat Iowa 46-34

1992 beat Michigan 34-14

1993 lost to Michigan 38-31

2001 beat Purdue 34-24

For a brief time, Anaheim hosted the Freedom Bowl. We saw Washington take home two victories there to boost our Husky bowl watching record to 7-2.

These are the results of those two Freedom Bowls (2-0):

1985 beat Colorado 20-17

1989 beat Florida 34-7

Finally, we had journeyed to San Diego four times without much good fortune to watch the Huskies play four times in the Holiday Bowl as our UW bowl game watching record slumped to 8-5.

We saw the following results in "America's Finest City" and their Holiday Bowl (1-3):

1996 lost to Colorado 33-21

1999 lost to Kansas State 24-20

2001 lost to Texas 47-43

2010 beat Nebraska 19-7

Over the years we had consistently passed on traveling long distances with the Huskies to ten bowl games outside of California. The Dawgs had visited El Paso, Texas (2-2 in the Sun Bowls of 1979, 1986, 1995 and 2002), Shreveport Louisiana (1-0 in the 1987 Independence Bowl), Miami, Florida (1-0 in the 1985 Orange Bowl) and Honolulu, Hawaii (2-1 in the 1982, 1983 and 1997 Aloha Bowls as well as 0-1 in the 1998 Oahu Bowl).

With this as a background, we decided that it was time for a road trip! We were joined by both of our sons, Andrew and Michael, which made it an even better nostalgic few days in . . .

The Lone Star State

Laurie, Mike and I flew into Austin, the capitol city of Texas. After picking up our rental car, we drove about an hour southwest to the San Antonio Airport to pick up Andy who had flown in from his home in Las Vegas.

First order of business?

Why food of course!

Recommended by Guy Fieri in his book

"Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives"

For me, this makes it a better bet than any 12 star rating in a gourmet restaurant guide!

The order of Onion Rings was a good sign

It is said that in Texas there are only three types of food. They are BBQ, Tex-Mex and . . .

Chicken Fried Steak

The gravy underneath was incredible!!!

I did concede to some healthy green salad as you can see.

Our Headquarters was built in 1909

Very centrally located with an awesome lobby area.

It is the Holiday Season

Always love a grand old fireplace

Measuring Laurie against the Nutcracker

Laurie won this one.

The first phrase that comes to my mind when you mention San Antonio is

"REMEMBER THE ALAMO!"

So, once fed and settled into the St. Anthony we walked the three short blocks to the site of the 1836 thirteen day siege of the Alamo by 1,800 Mexican troops led by General Antonio López de Santa Anna. The badly outnumbered 189 Republic of Texas volunteers inside the Alamo were led by soon to be immortals/martyrs William Travis, Jim Bowie, Davey Crockett and James Bonham.

The entire volunteer army was wiped out but "Remember the Alamo" would soon become the battle cry of other Texan forces who would eventually defeat the Mexican forces to win their independence before finally joining the United States in 1845 as the Union's 28th state.

To this day, the Battle of the Alamo is a source of tremendous reverence and pride for any Texan.

Tribute to the Heroes of Texas

It seems like only yesterday . . .

Mike at the entrance to the Alamo

No, he did not ask about the basement.

As we were checking out the Alamo, I heard someone say, "Hey George!"

I turned around to see . . .

Corey Mazza

Small world.

Corey was a great wide receiver at Thousand Oaks H.S., Harvard University and the Italian Football League's Parma Panthers in 2008 when I coached in Catania.

Corey is currently an officer in the United States Marine Corps who recently returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan. He is visiting Texas for the holidays because his in-laws live in Austin. It was good to see him safe and sound.

I really want to thank him and all of our men in uniform for their sacrifices and service to our country.

Yes, a small world indeed.

Laurie at the River Walk

This is another of San Antonio's tourist attractions filled with restaurants, watering holes and people wearing goofing looking purple and gold or green and gold outfits.

The Buckhorn Saloon and

Texas Ranger Museum

Interesting decor but slow service were the rule of the day here. We did not visit the museum.

Texas actually does have a few gun laws

New boundaries in shopping

Andy and Mike proudly exhibiting new outfits for Tank and a "grandson to be named later."

Who would have guessed that Mike would opt for the tie-dyed one for the Doctor.

Game Day Lunch Spot

on the River Walk

The County Line's Five Meat Combo

Beef brisket, beef ribs, turkey, pork spare ribs and shot link . . . Texas BBQ is good!

Sorry/ashamed to report that I could not finish it all.

Market Square

Scene of Laurie's latest quest for the perfect souvenir.

San Antonio Court House

Interesting architecture.

San Fernando Cathedral

Started by Spanish colonists sent by King Philip of Spain who arrived in San Antonio in 1731, a French Gothic addition was completed in 1873.

The Cathedral's simple interior

The Remains of the Texas Heroes

Included in this tomb just inside of the Cathedral's entrance are the mixed remains of Travis, Bowie, Crockett and other Texan martyrs of the Battle of the Alamo.

The Alamo Dome

Pre-Game Festivities

Game Time!!!

Husky Band "W"

The San Antonio Express-News headline after the game said it all:

"Downright Offensive"

Robert Griffin III

"RG3" lived up to his Heisman Trophy image on this wild offensive night.

He led Baylor going 24 for 33 passing for 295 yards and a TD. He also ran 18 times for 55 yards and another TD.

What a talented player!

ESPN reports that he has decided to forego his Senior season to go into the NFL draft this Spring.

Husky QB Keith Price

Only a Sophomore, Price was incredible as well, maybe even more so than RG3.

He was 23 for 37 passing, good for 438 yards and four TDs. He rushed five times for 39 yards and scored three TDs.

He accounted for an astounding SEVEN TDs!!!

Goodness.

After one period it was 21-7 Baylor.

Baylor WR Tevin Reese

Not a bad night for this Sophomore as he caught five passes for 66 yards and rushed twice for 101 yards.

The Husky defensive secondary was porous to say the least.

13 yard, Third Quarter TD catch

by Husky WR Devin Aguilar

A Senior in his final college game, he did not disappoint. Aguilar caught five passes for 90 yards two TDs.

The Dawgs roared back with 28 second quarter points to lead 35-24 at the half!

Bears RB Jarred Salubi

This Baylor Junior rushed only five times for a whopping 101 yards and scored 2 TDs. He also caught a pass for 13 yards.

Husky RB Chris Polk

A Junior who will probably enter the NFL Draft with RG3 this Spring, he again proved why some day he will have his name carved in the Husky Hall of Fame.

His totals on the night were 30 carries for 156 yards and a TD. He also caught two passes for eight yards.

It was a crazy third quarter that saw the two squads combine for an insane FORTY-THREE points! Baylor held a narrow lead going into the final period by a tally of 53-49.

Baylor Bears RB Terrance Ganaway

This Senior earned the game's Offensive Player of the Game award by virtue of his 21 rushes for 200 yards and FIVE TDs!

They also selected a Defensive Player of the Game, but only God knows why as the game was correctly described as either an Arena League or an Italian Football League game.

Baylor Senior LB Elliot Coffey won the Defensive trophy based on his game high 15 tackles.

The evening's fireworks added up to 123 total points scored, a new record for all bowl games that did not go into overtime.

The Huskies had 620 yards of total offense while Baylor countered with 777 yards. The 1,397 combined total offense yards is another all-time all bowl games record. That means that each and every one of the two team's combined 159 offensive plays averaged 8.78 yards per snap!!!

They combined for 17 TDs, none scored by the defense or special teams!

In the aftermath, the Huskies fired their Defensive Coordinator, Linebackers Coach and their Safeties Coach two days after the game.

The final score you ask?

Baylor (10-3) 67 - Washington (7-6) 56

All 65,256 of us in attendance at the game certainly got our money's worth of excitement for the night!

For ESPN's highlights of the game, go to: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=7403134

Breakfast at Schilo's Delicatessen

One last meal together before our flights home and another good place to dine.

After dropping Andy off at San Antonio's Airport, we drove back to Austin where we had about five hours to kill before our evening flight back to LAX.

Time to sightsee some more.

University of Texas' Memorial Stadium

Great Tradition

Interesting Seahorse on the UT Campus

Webbed Hooves???

The Famed Texas Tower

Memorial Pond

Located near the back of the Texas Tower to remember the 16 killed and 32 wounded when a crazed sniper climbed the Tower and opened fire on innocent students in August of 1966.

Passing the Torch

UT likes sculptures including one of . . .

Cesar Chavez

At the Texas State Capitol Building

Mike firing a canon

Laurie still needed that perfect souvenir

in South Austin

A fine selection

I wonder what size Johan Hammarqvist wears?

Laurie was very happy with a pair of tan and brown mules that she purchased.

If she's happy, we are all happy!

One last meal in Texas

"Keep Austin Weird"

That's a big slogan around these parts and the Magnolia Cafe lives up to it.

The food was great here as well.

Again, "Keep Austin Weird"

This piano was part of a small live music concert in the waiting area of Austin's Airport.

Cousin Harris showed up

at the airport to see us off

We had a great three days in Texas as a family, saw a truly amazing game, ate great food and even had an adult beverage or two along the way.

GOOD TIMES INDEED!!!

Buon Natale, God Jul, Frohe Weihnachten, Feliz Navidad, Joyeux Noël, Glædelig Jul, Gelukkig Kerstfeest and a very Merry Christmas

2011-12-26T17:38:00.001-08:00

It was the usual gathering of the Clans over the weekend as our families got together to celebrate Christmas 2012.

It was our first Christmas as Grandparents

Michael and Vanessa gave us these two new snow grandparents for our doorway.

Laurie's sister Gayle

Our first stop was on Christmas Eve in Orange County at the home of David and Gayle Hicks.

The Always Fun "Gardner" Girls

From top to bottom, Left to right: Lyndsey, Gayle, Laurie, Amy and Sarah.

You had to be there

Left to right: Tim, Amy and Sarah

No REALLY, you had to be there

From left to right: John, Lyndsey, David and Laurie

Some form of musical "entertainment" shall we say is a traditional part of the Hicks Christmas Eve festivities.

Gayle is multi-talented when it comes to the arts

Brian on the left is trying not to laugh.

Unsuccessfully.

Andy, Jenn and Kevin were present in spirit

They were in their home in Las Vegas hosting Jenn's family but sent this top hat full of cookies!

We'll see them during the upcoming New Years weekend.

Nothing says the Holidays like Dessert

The Hicks were great hosts as always and we all had a grand time!

On Christmas Sunday we hosted my side of the family at our home in Camarillo.

My Mom Chuny and my Aunt Katie

Mike sampling Laurie's cooking

Quality control is key on this day.

Michael and his Aunt Linda

Goofy Hat Day

I wear these suspenders twice a year, these were the two days in question.

With my sisters Marilyn and Linda

Vanessa and our newest

Grandson to be named later

Due March 17th.

Marilyn was a Theater Arts major at U.S.C.

Fortunately her husband John Wintroath loves movies too.

My Mom LOVED her Team Spain Soccer Hat

The bath robe was a big hit as well, but I think she liked the hat more. Michael was her 'Secret Santa' this year in the family drawing.

Vanessa loved her son's new Michigan jersey

She is hoping that the youngster will someday be a doctor like his Great Grandfather was.

At least that is the story that I'm going to print.

More Dessert

Yes.

Lauren, Lorenzo Jr., Ivan and Lorenzo

Lorenzo is our niece Lauren's significant other. The two very polite young men are Lorenzo's sons.

Chocolate from Switzerland

Swiss Flag Luggage Tags

Laurie had a theme going in her presents to me.

You can NEVER go wrong with a Brighton purse

The Doctor's first Hawaiian Shirt

Grandparenting was another of the day's themes

Yahoo.

A happy pregnant woman is a good thing for all

Mustache Key Ring Stocking Stuffer

Laurie has tons of football related ornaments

A whole tree's worth

Next up, the Alamo Bowl

Washington vs. Baylor

GO DAWGS!!!

Reading is FUNdamental

Mike D'Antuono sent me this book to try to get me out of my Scandinavian crime noir funk for a bit. The main character in this series is an interesting one by the name of Jack Reacher. Besides this novel, Mike also sent me another in this sixteen book series by author Child.

I don't know if Mike was feeling a little guilty, having gotten me started on the Stieg Larsson "Dragon Tattoo" series two years ago, when he sent me this latest read but I found it quite different and more than a little enjoyable.

Only 15 books to go in the Reacher Series.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

2011-12-22T10:56:00.001-08:00

Laurie and I got the chance to see this Hollywood film adaptation of Swedish mystery writer Stieg Larsson's incredibly popular book.

Mike and Susan D'Antuono got us started on Larsson's "Millennium Trilogy" just before we moved to Hässleholm, Sweden for seven months back in 2010. It was our first small step into the fascinating noir world of Scandinavian crime/mystery writers like Larsson, Mankell, Hoeg and Nesbø.

Personally, we loved this movie and I highly recommend it to you. Overall, it was very faithful to the book and really captured the mood of Larsson's tome. The casting was superb with newcomer Rooney Mara doing an incredible job as Lisbeth Salander.

That being said, if you haven't read the book, lived in Sweden for seven month's, gotten to know the stark beauty of the Swedish landscape as well as the warmth of the Swedish people, then maybe this film will not be as well received by you as it was by us.

Still . . .

LISBETH SALANDER KICKS ASS!!!

California State Bowl Game

2011-12-19T09:41:00.000-08:00

On Friday and Saturday nights, the California Interscholastic Federation (C.I.F.) hosted their Sixth Annual Bowl Championship High School Football Bowl Games at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

As I stated in my previous post, these five Bowl games attempt to match the best team in Southern California against the best squad from Northern California based on a combination of perceived strength and enrollment.

While trying to decide which ten schools deserve to be in these games is no easy task, once selected it is "GAME ON!"

Friday night saw two new State Champions crowned.

In Division IV, Chatsworth Sierra Canyon (15-0) defeated Le Grand (12-1) by a score of 34-13.

That afternoon's contest was followed by the Division I game. In that high scoring affair, Santa Margarita (13-2) edged San Jose Bellarmine (12-2) by virtue of a last second score winning 42-37.

The Saturday's slate of games began with the Division III game which again was hotly contested. Fresno's Washington Union (14-0) beat Moraga Campolindo (14-1) in another close one 21-16.

The Division II game was again close as La Mesa Helix (13-1) got by Loomis Del Oro (13-2) 35-24.

That brings us to the big finale, the Open Division Bowl Game. The theory is that this game, very arguably, features the two best teams in the state regardless of enrollment.

The picks this year for this prestigious game were Concord De La Salle and Westlake.

My original plan was to stay at home and watch this game unfold in the warm comfort our family room as it was being aired live on television. About four days before kickoff I received a phone call from a former Westlake player, Craig Weisman, about going to the game with him. It turns out that I was at one time the Head Football Coach at Westlake (1978-88) and Craig was one of our really good linemen in those days. After a lot of coercion on Craig's part, I finally agreed to go to the game with him and another ex-Warrior great, Bill Fisher.

I am glad I did.

L. to R., Bill Fisher, Craig Weisman, me,

Gary Wellman and Sue Wellman

Once at the game, we ran into the Wellman clan. Gary was also a player for us at Westlake and his mother Sue was one of our top two booster Moms, Molly Slavin being the other.

Gary's big brother Glenn was probably the best back I coached at Westlake and his son Bradley is a starting CB/WR for this year's C.I.F. Southern Section, Northern Division Champions. He was destined to play a very good game on both sides of the ball on this cool evening.

In all of the excitement I didn't get a picture of Glenn.

NUTS.

Jason Raciti

It was great to see Jason at the game, he was a manager for us for a couple of seasons and is now a very successful fashion photographer.

We also saw Derrick Schmucker, Chris Kreibehl and Larry Freed at the game. All in all it was a great night to reminisce about the good old days.

Meanwhile, back at the game . . .

A Good Memory

In a show of great sportsmanship, no this is not a post-game handshake, it is a pre-game handshake.

Back in early September, undefeated Westlake opened their season with a game in Northern California against eventual Division II Bowl game participant Loomis Del Oro. Westlake handed Del Oro their only loss of the year in overtime 30-27 until their loss to Helix minutes before this picture was taken,.

Even though they had just lost, the Del Oro players in yellow jerseys were all lining up to wish their former opponents good luck as they warmed up.

Classy.

As for the Open Division Bowl, it was no contest. De La Salle was an easy victor over a very good Westlake squad.

De La Salle has a truly amazing program having won TWENTY consecutive C.I.F. North Coast Section Championships! They have 27 of those crowns overall.

They have appeared in a Bowl Game all six years that this system has been in existence winning four of them.

Their Head Coach, Bob Ladouceur, has a career record at De La Salle of 383-25-3!!!

The Spartans also hold the National Record for the longest winning streak with a 151 game skein from 1992 to 2004.

They have not lost to another Northern California team in 20 years, going 221-0-2 in that time.

Their last loss to another California team was in the 2008 California Division I Bowl Game when the lost to Corona Centennial 21-16.

WOW!

Still, it was amazing to read that this incredibly great De La Salle team lost a game in Florida by a score of 30-6 to a Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas team that didn't even win their own league on the way to a 10-3 record. How good is Florida football?

The final score of our game was De La Salle (13-1) 35 - Westlake (14-1) 0.

Wait 'Til Next Year!!!

University of La Verne and the End of the High School Football Season

2011-12-15T10:35:00.000-08:00

My quest to enable new EuroBall players continued today with a 90 minute drive to the University of La Verne to meet with five of their Seniors who are interested in prolonging their playing careers overseas.

But first, I encountered an interesting EuroBall reversal.

Rich Worsell, University of La Verne

Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach

It was interesting to meet Rich because I found his EuroBall experience to be quite unique.

The 2011 season was his first at La Verne after coaching the previous seven seasons at three mid-western colleges (Illinois College, Milliken College and Lakeland College).

The interesting part of Rich's story is that he was born and raised in England. He is a 2003 graduate of the U.K.'s Aberystwyth University. While in England he served as his Alma Mater's Head Football Coach for three seasons. In an effort to learn more about the game, he was also the Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator of the Sussex Thunder and the Offensive Line Coach of the Great Britain Bulldogs.

Rich is a very nice guy who is following his dream.

Also, ATTENTION all EuroBall teams or European all-star teams. Rich is trying to find one of you to come to California the week of September 1, 2012 to scrimmage the University of La Verne Leopards. They are a Division III team located about an hour's drive east of the Los Angeles Airport. They will be able to provide you with housing in the campus dorms during your stay.

Great opportunity!

La Verne Leopard Seniors

A very attentive group of young men who showed some great interest and are all highly recommended by their college coaches.

On the far left is Arsian Erdinc proudly displaying a certificate stating that he was named to the 2011 All-SCIAC Second Team as a DB.

Second from the left is QB Thomas Arguello who has been in contact with me for about the last ten days. Thomas is scheduled to sign a contract this weekend to play in France's top division for the Nice Dolphins.

I hope that they all make the exciting move to EuroBall.

C.I.F. Playoffs

The playoffs ended in the C.I.F. Southern Section last weekend. In our Western Division, Arroyo Grande (13-1) defeated Culver City (10-4) by a score of 42-14 on Friday night.

The following Sunday, the Commisioners from the ten individual C.I.F. Sections met to decide which teams would get to play one more game in the California State Bowl games this Friday and Saturday at the Home Depot Center in in Carson, CA.

These Bowls are a North vs. South affair with each Bowl trying to match up the best two teams based on a combination of school size and competitive level. To be considered for a Bowl invitation a team must have won their Section Championship, no easy task in and of itself.

The North is made up of the following six Sections that represent a total of 590 schools: Central Coast, North Coast, Northern, Oakland, Sac-Joaquin and San Francisco.

The South is made up of the following four Sections that represent 920 schools: Central, Los Angeles, San Diego and Southern.

The Bowl match-ups, with the Northern team named first, are:

Open Division

Concord De La Salle (12-1) vs. Westlake (14-0)

Division I

San Jose Bellarmine (12-1) vs. Santa Margarita (12-2)

Division II

Loomis Del Oro (13-1) vs. La Mesa Helix (12-1)

Division III

Moraga Campolindo (14-0) vs. Fresno Washington (13-0)

Division IV

Le Grand (12-0) vs. Sierra Canyon (14-0)

Reading is FUNdamental

The Knights Templar? That was enough for me!

Another great read.

Cal Lutheran, Cornell, Newbury Park and National Geographic

2011-12-09T20:33:00.001-08:00

Another week comes to a close but I do have a lot of football doings to report.

California Lutheran University

Head Coach Ben McEnroe

and some of his Seniors

Today was the first day of my annual post-season EuroBall recruiting tour of Southern California college Seniors. As usual, I started at nearby Cal Lu only 20 minutes from our home.

I was able to talk with six of CLU's outstanding players who have been part of three consecutive SCIAC championship teams.

We met for about 90 minutes and Coach McEnroe indicated that all six would be great fits for any team in Europe.

Part of my talk to each of the schools that I visit deals with the favorable level of competition in Europe. Coach McEnroe was quick to note today that in the 50 year history Cal Lu football, the Kingsmen's all-time career rushing leader was Fredrik Nanhed with 2,938 career rushing yards. He played for Cal Lu in 1995-96 and 1998. He was a player who came straight to CLU from Sweden.

You could look it up!

I'll be meeting on Sunday with the University of La Verne's QB Thomas Arguello and coach Brent Baier to talk over an offer Thomas has received from a team in France.

I really do enjoy helping players land jobs in EuroBall.

GO BIG RED!!!

Tanner Wrout, Rio Mesa's outstanding FB/LB, took a recruiting trip to Cornell University over the past weekend.

He fell in love with the Ivy League college and has decided to attend Cornell's Ithaca, New York campus in the Fall as he continues his football playing career.

What an awesome opportunity for a fine young man. CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Mike Contreras with

Hayden Extrom, the NPHS JV

Defensive Player of the Year

Laurie and I joined Vanessa and our "grandson to be named later" on Tuesday night for Mike's J.V. football awards dinner at the Thousand Oaks Teen Center. It was a very nice affair and I was proud of how Mike presented himself professionally to the assembled players and their parents.

The cake was good too!

Finally, the December, 2011 edition of National Geographic arrived at our house today.

Included in each edition is an "Are You a Geo-Genius?" quiz.

See if you can answer this month's Question #3:

"Palermo and Catania are cities on which Italian island?"

Alamo Bowl Bid, Football Awards and more . . .

2011-12-06T08:19:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, the College Bowl Game matchups were announced. The Dawgs are bowling again!!!

Washington Huskies (7-5)

PAC-12

vs.

Baylor Bears (9-3)

Big XII

Thursday, December 29, 2011

8:00 p.m.

The good news is that we will be spending a few days in beautiful San Antonio, Texas, joined by sons Andy and Mike to see the Huskies play in a bowl game for the second straight season. We have never been to the "Cradle of Texas Liberty" but the famed Alamo and the fun Riverwalk should be fun side trips during our time there.

Historically, Baylor leads the series 3-1, but the last game was in Waco in 1965.

Baylor QB Robert Griffin III

RG3, as he is now known, and his fellow Baylor Bears are indeed the bad news. For the second year in a row, the Dawgs are matched up against a very strong Big XII opponent.

Griffin is one of the five finalists making the trip to New York City this Saturday for the Heisman Trophy presentation. Many experts say that he has passed Stanford's QB Andrew Luck and is now the front runner for this prestigious award emblematic of the best college football player in the land.

The critical matchup is the Baylor offense which averages a whopping 571.3 yards per game in scoring at a 43.5 point a game clip vs. the Huskies rather porous defense that gives up 426.3 yards and 33.3 points per contest.

Rio Mesa Football Awards Night

Co-MVPs

Tanner Wrout and Jordan Nunnery

Well deserved.

A rare picture of Santa Claus at his day job

Multi-Media Updates

I found this DVD at the Camarillo Library.

In it, a camera crew aboard a helicopter flies all over the island giving one a bird's eye view of the Jewel of the Mediterranean.

Wonderful memories indeed!

Reading is FUNdamental

The concept was simple enough, what if John Wilkes Booth had some how escaped from that burning barn after assassinating President Lincoln in 1965 and made his way out West?

The seed for this 2010 novel was planted in 1947 when author Barnaby Conrad was serving as the personal secretary in Santa Barbara, California to Nobel Prize in Literature winner Sinclair Lewis.

It was the veteran writer Lewis who had the idea for the book but he wanted Conrad, who now lives in nearby Carpinteria, to write it.

Conrad has been a prolific writer in his own right having penned 25 books before finally completing this entertaining historical novel. It only took 63 years to get it written and published but it was worth the wait. I liked it.

Granada Hills Semi-Final Playoff Game

2011-12-03T17:19:00.000-08:00

On Friday, after getting rear-ended (I'm okay) in the early afternoon, I picked up our son Mike at Newbury Park H.S.

After the usual light meal at El Tepeyac in East L.A., we were off to the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles. Why you say?

Los Angeles City Division II Semi-Finals

#3 seed Granada Hills Highlanders (7-5)

Fourth Place West Valley League

#2 seed John Marshall Barristers (10-2)

Northern League Champions

Modern Day Hi-Tech Spirit Sign

Tweet your pride? Really?

Punting is such a lonely affair

Marshall was proud of their new Field Turf playing surface and all weather track. They do not have lights at their stadium so in order to host this game on campus, they rented three sets of portable mega-lights for the occasion.

What budget crunch?

The Barrister

No, the Marshall mascot is not a coffee making specialist.

A barrister is a lawyer. A barrista is the person who makes your skinny, non-fat, double cap, soy, pumpkin latte -- no whip.

John Marshall was the 4th Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, serving from 1801 to 1835. Thus the Barristers moniker.

Why the one hour drive to see this particular playoff game? The simple answer is friendship.

Paul Sabolic taking on the Granada Hills

offensive line single handedly!!!

I first met Paul on the football practice field at the University of Washington in 1967. A fellow offensive lineman, he has always been one of the good guys.

He is listed in the program as the Assistant Head Coach for the Highlanders and spent the game up in the booth spotting for the team.

We would spend the game roaming the Granada Hills sideline while talking football with Paul's son Jason who is a coach at Pierce College.

Nick Boutros, Granada Hills WR

Chunky.

The Highlander Offensive Line

They were impressive from the get-go! Big, strong and physical, they paved the way for work horse running back Brian Sanchez who had 38 carries for 225 yards and 4 TDs.

They also did a nice job in pass protection, a Sabolic specialty, as their QB Joshua Szin completed 16 of his 23 passes for 262 yards and a TD.

Great Line Get-Off

If you do this well, it can lead to a . . .

. . . PANCAKE BLOCK!!!

After one period, it was a 7-7 tie.

Marshall's DE Michael Ahumada #2

He is listed at 5'-7" and 175 lbs.

I think that was being very generous.

Ahumada was scrappy and kept coming back for more play after play after play even though he was, at times, being abused by the Granada Hills line.

Granada Hills knocking on the door

A great first half with lots of action saw Marshall leading at the intermission 20-13.

I had the pleasure of talking to Paul's wife Joanne during the halftime festivities. A lot is going on with both of our families as it turns out.

Barrister Kickoff Return Wedge

Unfortunately for this group, Granada Hills has an unidentified player who will certainly be the First Team All-State Wedge Breaker.

Ouch!

Barristers turn to score

At the end of the three quarters, it was Marshall in control 34-19.

That's when it got interesting.

Granada Hills put on a furious comeback to tie the score at 34-34 with 1:10 left in the game.

Overtime?

Marshall's RB Walter Moctezuma

The Barristers' offense came back to life led by the slashing running style of Moctezuma who had 19 carries for 175 yards and 3 TDs.

With only 20 seconds left in the game, Marshall kicked a 42 yard Field Goal to win the contest 37-34.

WHAT A BALL GAME!!!

#2 seed Marshall (10-2) will now meet #1 seed South East (12-1) this coming Friday for the L.A. City Division II crown at East Los Angeles College.

Meanwhile, in the C.I.F. Southern Section . . .

2011 Western Division Playoffs

Semi-Final Playoff Results:

Culver City 37 - Santa Monica 0

#2 seed Arroyo Grande 45 - #3 seed Chaminade 36

Championship Game:

Friday, December 9th

Culver City (10-3) Ocean League Wild Card at

#2 seed Arroyo Grande (12-1) PAC-7 League #1

Thun Tiger Pride

We bought a new couch on Saturday but this huge sign for sale at the furniture store may be an omen of good things to come in Switzerland.

Laurie said, "No."

The Last Ember

2011-11-30T13:42:00.000-08:00

Reading is FUNdamental

This week's book took me from Rome to Jerusalem and back again.

You've got Jews, Catholics and Muslims all battling for a historical/archaeological treasure that was lost 2,000 years ago but where?

If you like lots of Latin, religious history and even the Nazis sprinkled into a novel, then this might be just the book for you.

As usual, my Catholic Church takes a bit of a beating in this one.

We're used to it.

CFL Legends Luncheon Skirmish

2011-11-28T11:59:00.000-08:00

Joe Kapp - Quarterback

University of California

British Columbia Lions 1961-66

Angelo Mosca - Defensive Tackle

University of Notre Dame

Hamilton Tiger-Cats 1958-59 and 1963-72

As a follow-up to my previous post about the Canadian Football League's 99th Grey Cup Game, you need to click on the website below for a bizarre sequence at the CFL's Legends Luncheon last Friday.

Joe Kapp, 73 years old, was the B.C. Lions' QB in the 1963 Grey Cup. Their opponents that year were the Hamilton Tiger-Cats led by Defensive Tackle Angelo Mosca.

Apparently Mosca, now 74 years old, had a questionable/late hit on Kapp's teammate Willie Fleming. Fleming, the Lions best running back, was knocked out of the game with a concussion by Mosca's hit. Many believed that that was the turning point of the game.

The Tiger-Cats went on to win the 1963 Grey Cup by a score of 21-10.

I guess that it is sometimes really hard to get over a loss, take a look at this video clip:

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

Grey Cup Finals

2011-11-28T10:44:00.000-08:00

Amidst all of the great high school, college and NFL football games played over the long Thanksgiving Day weekend, you may have missed that on Sunday in Vancouver, British Columbia, the Canadian Football League's Championship game, the 99th Grey Cup, was being contested.

Now you may ask why I find this CFL game of interest so, let us flashback to Friday night, August 5, 2011 . . .

Grandpa and Kevin watching their

first football game together

The Tank was only two days old and an obscure regular season CFL game was on TV in Las Vegas, the British Columbia Lions (0-5) at the Saskatchewan Roughriders (1-4). Still, it was football and it is never too early to start young boy on the road to football mania.

We watched as the winless Lions pulled off a 24-11 victory to finally enter the win column after six games. No big deal you would think.

Now, lets fast forward to yesterday and the . . .

2011 CFL Championship Game

So who was playing? It was . . .

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers (11-8)

CFL Eastern Division Champions

vs.

The British Columbia Lions (12-7)

CFL Western Division Champions

Yes indeed, after that miserable 0-5 start to their season, the B.C. Lions went 12-2 to earn a spot in the Grey Cup.

Unfortunately, they had lost both games this season to the Blue Bombers by scores of 25-20 in Week #5 and again in Week #7, 30-17.

Sunday would be a different day for the streaking Lions as they dominated Winnipeg in winning the Grey Cup by a final tally of 34-23.

Was it a coincidence that the Lions fortunes changed drastically after Tank saw them play on that Friday night, his first ever football game?

Gibbs does not believe in coincidence and neither do I.

It was the sixth Grey Cup Championship in B.C. Lions' history having previously won it all in 1964, 1985, 1994, 2000 and 2006.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-26T15:04:00.000-08:00

As I have said in every blogpost about this most American of holidays, Thanksgiving is ALL about family, football and food . . . but not necessarily in that order.

As for family, it was bittersweet as it would mark our first Thanksgiving since both Bill and Florene Gardner passed away.

They were missed.

Of course, the joy of sharing little Kevin's first Thanksgiving was fun.

We also had a chuckle as we watched Vanessa waddling around with "a baby boy to be named later."

As I said, bittersweet but . . .

"THE DOCTOR WAS IN THE HOUSE!!!"

GOD THIS WAS GOOD!!!

My sister Linda has become one of America's great Thankgiving Day chefs, PERIOD!!!

This turkey was her best ever and, no, I have no idea where those two missing strips of bacon went.

Linda with her sous chef Michael

Everybody tends to crowd

into the kitchen on this day

The Tables were set . . .

. . . and the food was ready!

The food was incredible and I didn't overeat for once!

As for family, everyone took their turn in meeting the Tank for the first time.

With Great Granmother Chuny

With Uncle Mike watching

the Cowboys nose out the Dolphins

With our niece Lauren

This makes them???

Meeting my sister Marilyn and Aunt Katie

Thursday was over and we can't begin to say how much fun we all had.

Steve Swindle

Steve is a former player of ours from days together at Thousand Oaks H.S. in the early 1970's.

One of the nice things about this four day American holiday weekend is the chance to visit with friends. Steve stopped by our house to drop off an autographed copy of a new novel by Barnaby Conrad.

The book is titled "The Second Life of John Wilkes Booth" and I can't wait to read it after I finish my current tome.

It is truly a small world as Steve has come to know Mr. Conrad personally and as a youth I devoured Conrad's book "La Fiesta Brava."

This was Conrad's quintessential book about the controversial world of bullfighting.

For me, it was the mini-bible for a Spanish tradition that both my Grandfather Evaristo and Father Jorge loved. Their passion for bullfighting which was passed on to me, was fueled by Conrad's book and one of my goals for this summer is to witness a corrida in Madrid's Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas.

I have read La Fiesta Brava more than once.

After watching the Lions-Packers, Cowboys-Dolphins, Ravens-49ers and Texas-Texas A&M games on Thursday, we needed more football on Friday!

Let's see now, on Friday we were able to tune in to the LSU-Arkansas, Pitt-West Virginia, Colorado-Utah, Cal-Arizona State and Houston-Tulsa games. WOW!

Today, we had to say goodbye to Kevin as he headed down to Orange County as Jenn and Andy introduced him to even more family before heading home to Las Vegas.

But first, we went to Cronies Sports Grill for breakfast to enjoy their famous Breakfast Burrito. It was good as usual and we even ran into our good friend Debi Murphy and her son Ian.

More introductions.

With Michigan Fan Debi Murphy

Hey, it's Saturday, that means COLLEGE GAMEDAY!!!

First up was on the old TV for us today was Michigan-Ohio State followed by Oregon-Oregon State.

I am about to sign off before the Apple Cup game between Washington and Washington State. If I can still watch more football, it will be Notre Dame-Stanford and UCLA-USC after we beat the Cougars!

Meanwhile, in high school football this weekend . . .

2011 Western Division Playoffs

Quarter-Final Playoff Results:

Culver City 51 - Righetti 28

Santa Monica 29 - #4 seed Ventura 24

#3 seed Chaminade 31 - San Luis Obispo 27

#2 seed Arroyo Grande 49 - St. Francis 28

Semi-Final Games:

Friday, December 2nd

Santa Monica (11-1) Ocean League #1 at

Culver City (9-3) Ocean League Wild Card

#3 seed Chaminade (10-2) Mission League #2 at

#2 seed Arroyo Grande (11-1) PAC-7 League #1

Are you serious?

They are all related to me?

REALLY?

Great Granndma Chuny with Kevin

In a somewhat unrelated matter,

GO DAWGS!!!

The Leopard

2011-11-22T13:15:00.003-08:00

Reading is FUNdamental

Another Great Mystery

Jo Nesbø.

Note the dropping of the "Ø" in his surname in the English language edition of this excellent mystery yarn that takes us from Hong Kong to the Congo and finally to Oslo.

It is Detective Harry Hole of the Oslo Crime Squad at his finest and, unfortunately, darkest.

If you decide to get into Nesbø's Dectective Harry Hole series, then I advise you to read these excellent mystery novels in order.

I didn't.

Trying to read this series in sequential order does have a glitch, the first two books have still not been translated from Norwegian into English nor has the latest tome.

Here is the sequential order that you should be attempting:

1. The Bat Man - not available in the USA

2. The Cockroaches - not available in the USA

3. The Redbreast

4. Nemesis - I still have not been able to find this one at my local library

5. The Devil's Star

6. The Redeemer

7. The Snowman

8. The Leopard

9. Phantom - not available in the USA

I have finished The Redbreast, The Devil's Star, The Redeemer, The Snowman and The Leopard. Each one has been a fascinating tour of man's dark psyche.

The Beach Bowl

2011-11-20T08:50:00.000-08:00

2011 Beach Bowl

On Saturday night I joined Ryan Bolland at the Ventura College Sportsplex for the 2011 Beach Bowl sponsored by Joe Kapp Real Estate.

This was a Junior College football bowl game that brought the local J.C. season to a close. The game featured the host Ventura College Pirates (6-4) against the College of the Desert Roadrunners (6-4).

The Pirates were ranked #7 in Southern California while the Roadrunners were ranked #10.

COD, which is located in Palm Desert, featured an outstanding offense that averaged 39.1 points per game and 433.1 yards per game in the regular season.

VC would counter with a strong defense that allows only 86.1 yards rushing per game and 22.9 points per game.

It was my first time at VC's new Sportsplex which, as it turns out, is a very nice facility. I woofed down a delicious tri-tip sandwich and a Diet Coke and I was ready for some football!

VC QB Chase Smith outrunning

COD LB Michael Mehling

As fortune would have it, this turned into a low scoring affair. Both defenses played well with VC Defensive Line Coach Ted Lawrence's big boys applying lots of pressure to minimize the Roadrunners' offensive output. This group racked up 5 sacks on the night, incredible considering that COD had only allowed 8 sacks in the previous 10 games!

Former Rio Mesa H.S. player and coach Tom Lawrence is the Special Teams Coach for the Pirates. His players also played very well including blocking a punt to aid the VC cause.

The Pirates were able to keep COD off of the scoreboard for the last 27 minutes of the game on their way winning the Beach Bowl.

The final score of this entertaining, hard fought game was Ventura 17 - Desert 16.

2011 NCAA Division III Playoffs

Meanwhile, in the NCAA Division III football playoffs, a first round game in McMinnville, Oregon was played between #8 California Lutheran (8-1) and #5 Linfield (9-0).

This was the third straight season that these two West Coast powerhouses have met in the opening playoff contest with Linfield being victorious in 2009 and 2010. Back in September, in the Pacific Northwest, Linfield handed CLU their only loss of the 2011 season 24-14.

Unfortunately, the Kingsmen's luck did not change yesterday as the Wildcats eeked out another close win over CLU. The final score was Linfield 30 - CLU 27.

Linfield (10-0) will now play the state of Delaware's #7 ranked Wesley Wolverines (10-1). Wesley beat New York state's Hobart Statesmen (7-2) 35-28 in their first round match-up yesterday.

It came down to this

Here Linfield's Tyler Steele breaks the hearts of Kingsmen fans by blocking CLU's last second, 38 yard, game tying field goal attempt.

Playoff Friday

2011-11-19T10:02:00.001-08:00

It was a clear, crisp Autumn Friday night, a perfect night for the first round of the 2011 C.I.F. Western Division football playoffs!

I had our son Michael with me and a C.I.F. pass in hand, good for two free entries into any and all playoff games. It would come in handy as it turned out.

After talking about which game to go see, we decided that the place to be was Ventura H.S.

On paper it looked like the best match-up as the host, #4 seeded, Channel League Champion Cougars were a perfect 10-0 and the San Gabriel Valley League's Wild Card Dominguez H.S. Dons were a solid 7-3 going into the contest.

Unfortunately for the Dons, you don't play games on paper.

Ventura RB Connor Armstrong

Funky facemask.

He has been torching teams all season long with his running abilities and Dominguez, who had a GREAT Grambling University style band by the way, would get lit up quickly as well.

In the first quarter Armstrong had TD runs of 76 and 47 yards. Those scores were sandwiched around a 72 yard TD strike from QB Rodney Stanley to WR Nick Rudolph.

The score was 21-0, when there was still 5 minutes left in the first quarter and I hadn't even opened up my bag of peanuts yet.

Dominguez looked totally helpless and the rout was on.

Brad Steward and Phil McCune

Brad is Ventura's Head Coach and Phil is his Defensive Coordinator, two of the good guys. They and the rest of the Cougar staff did a tremendous job preparing the team on this night.

Mike and I decided to do something that we had never done before, i.e., leave a game that was really over with, as I said, with 5 minutes left in the first quarter, to go watch another game that would hopefully be more competitive.

We opted to drive to the game at Camarillo H.S. where the Pacific View League Champion Scorpions (7-3) were hosting the PAC-7 League's Wild Card San Luis Obispo Tigers (7-3).

By the way, the final score at VHS was Ventura 41 - Dominguez 14.

Scorpion QB Travis Valdez under duress

When we arrived at Camarillo's stadium, it was halftime and San Luis Obispo was leading 20-7.

In the third period, the SLO offensive line simply dominated as the Tigers ran their option offense to perfection in scoring 3 TDs after returning the second half kickoff for a TD. The SLO defensive front showed no mercy as they harassed the Scorpions' QB.

SLO led 48-7 after three periods.

Camarillo's offense came alive in the fourth quarter, in part due to the Tigers clearing the bench. The final score was San Luis Obispo 54 - Camarillo 28.

The Pacific View League's other team in the playoffs, Channel Islands lost their game 28-20 to Santa Monica.

The 2011 season is over for the PVL, much too soon for the good of the league.

2011 Western Division Playoffs

First Round Playoff Game Results:

Culver City 21 - #1 seed Serra 14

Righetti 31 - Downey 24

Santa Monica 28 - Channel Islands 20

#4 seed Ventura 41 - Dominguez 14

#3 seed Chaminade 45 - Inglewood 15

San Luis Obispo 54 - Camarillo 28

St. Francis 45 - Paramount 28

#2 seed Arroyo Grande 41 - Dos Pueblos 6

Quarter-Final Playoff Games:

Friday, November 25th

Righetti (8-3) PAC-7 League #2 at

Culver City (8-3) Ocean League Wild Card

#4 Ventura (11-0) Channel League #1 at

Santa Monica (10-1) Ocean League #1

#3 Chaminade (9-2) Mission League #2 at

San Luis Obispo (8-3) PAC-7 League Wild Card

#2 Arroyo Grande (10-1) PAC-7 League #1 at

St. Francis (9-2) Mission League Wild Card

Weekend at Tank's

2011-11-16T17:38:00.001-08:00

We opted to make the five hour drive into the Nevada desert over the weekend via a one hour stop for a great breakfast at Emma Jean's Holland Burger Cafe in Victorville. The reason for the journey was not to visit Sin City's Strip but rather to visit the new North Las Vegas home of our son Andy, his bride Jenn and our grandson, Tank, a.k.a., Kevin.

We found their new home to be in a good neighborhood, near shopping and, above all, spacious and clean.

When we visit them, we rarely go near a casino, we like to spend all of our time visiting with our family, GOOD TIMES INDEED!

Tank and Grandma Laurie

Laurie has wanted this role for a long time, can't blame her, Kevin is so much fun to be with!

He is about 14 pounds now and I think he has broken the magic two foot barrier.

GO DAWGS!!!

The first order of business on Saturday was to watch as many college football games as possible. The main attraction for us was the 6-3 Washington Huskies at the 7-2 USC Trojans.

We were dressed in our Husky best as it would be our first Husky-Trojan game together albeit on TV. It was ugly from the get go, final score USC 40 - UW 17.

BEAT OREGON STATE!!!

Nap Time

Tank decided that the best way to get over the game was to take a nap.

Not a bad idea.

We started with Nebraska-Penn State at 9:00 a.m. and it all the way to the late night Hawaii at Nevada game in Reno. It was great to see former Rio Mesa Spartan QB Shane Austin leading the Hawaii attack. Shane threw for 232 yards and a TD in a 42-28 loss.

GO BROWNS!!!

NFL Sunday, yet another all day football affair starting with Scott Fujita's Cleveland Browns playing the Rams in St. Louis.

Tank was in Brown and Orange ready to roll but again our team tasted the bitter pill of defeat, Rams win 13-12.

A Happy Family

With the holidays upon us we will get to see them a lot more in the next few weeks.

YAHOO!!!

"Don't worry Grandpa, the Dawgs and the Browns will both win next week!"

The innocence of youth.

This Grandpa business is

AWESOME!!!

What has my life come to?

The Season is Over

2011-11-13T11:09:00.000-08:00

Scorpion RB Conrad Kotake with

Spartan TE Ben Quantock

This picture was taken after the Camarillo-Rio Mesa game of course and is a sign of the respect that the two rival football programs have for each other.

One thing I learned a long time ago in football is that you need to take care of business on the field and not let the fates and/or a committee decide your future.

Unfortunately, we didn't take care of business on the field and both the fates and a committee decided that our season and the high school careers of a great group of Seniors were indeed over.

First, the fates.

As we learned on Thursday night soon after our Camarillo game was over, the three way tie for second place in the Pacific View League was broken via a coin flip. The 7-3 Channel Islands Raiders won the flip that secured them the PVL's second and final guaranteed Western Division playoff spot. At the same time a similar coin flip in the San Gabriel Valley League to break up a three way logjam for first place saw two 5-5 teams, Paramount and Downey, win the #1 and #2 seeds respectively from their league thus placing 7-3 Dominguez into the pool of potential Wild Card schools. The potential Wild Card pool also swelled due to 5-5 Inglewood coming in second in the Ocean League with 7-3 Culver City thus being slotted into the battle for one of the four Wild Card bids.

Now for the committee.

As we saw it, seven teams were in the hunt for the four Wild Card spots. The clear cut leader was St. Francis with an 8-2 record. The other six teams (Culver City, Dominguez, Gahr, Rio Mesa, San Luis Obispo and St. Paul) all shared identical 7-3 records.

At 8:00 a.m. today the C.I.F. announced the list of Wild Cards. The words Rio Mesa did not appear on that list. In were Culver City, Dominguez, San Luis Obispo and St. Francis.

Understandable but still very heart breaking . . .

The 2011 C.I.F. Western Division playoffs will start this coming Friday and will continue each Friday through December 9th when a champion is crowned.

The playoff brackets are:

Culver City (7-3) Ocean League Wild Card at

Serra (8-2) Mission League #1

Downey (5-5) San Gabriel Valley League #2 at

Righetti (7-3) PAC-7 League #2

Channel Islands (7-3) Pacific View League #2 at

Santa Monica (9-1) Ocean League #1

Dominguez (7-3) San Gabriel Valley Wild Card at

Ventura (10-0) Channel League #1

Inglewood (5-5) Ocean Lerague #2 at

Chaminade (8-2) Mission League #2

San Luis Obispo (7-3) PAC-7 League Wild Card at

Camarillo (7-3) Pacific View League #1

St. Francis (8-2) Mission League Wild Card at

Paramount (5-5) San Gabriel Valley League #1

Dos Pueblos (3-7) Channel League #2 at

Arroyo Grande (9-1) PAC-7 League #1

NUTS.

The Big Game: Rio Mesa at Camarillo

2011-11-11T14:28:00.000-08:00

THE BIG GAME

For the Title . . .

For the Bragging Rights.

The thoughts and colors listed above were printed on the cover of the souvenir game program and summed up yet another clash between

Rio Mesa Spartans

3-1 PVL, 7-2 Overall

Camarillo Scorpions

4-0 PVL, 6-3 Overall

This would be the 37th meeting between the two crosstown rivals and as usual a title and bragging rights were indeed on the line. The rivalry started in 1975 and the Scorpions led this hard fought series 19-17.

The great thing about this game annually is that it is not a bitter rivalry. Don't get me wrong, the bragging rights are an intense thing to deal with but the players and coaches respect each other and that usually leads to a cleanly played, intense game.

The 2011 edition would be no different and turned into a classic as the evening unfolded.

Let's set up the pre-game match-ups.

Even though the Scorpions already had at least a share of the 2011 Pacific View League championship in hand, Rio Mesa was ranked ahead of them in this week's C.I.F. Western Division poll. The Spartans were ranked 11th while the Scorpions were ranked 13th out of the 36 teams in the Western Division.

The two squads were experiencing offensive success with contrasting styles.

Camarillo's offense ranks #4 in the county averaging 37.6 points per game while Rio Mesa's offense ranks #12 in the county scoring at a rate of 28.3 points per contest.

On defense, the Spartans give up 21.0 points per game, good for the county's #11 spot while the Scorpion's defense checks in at #20 allowing 28.8 points per game.

The Spartans like to keep the clock running with their ground game. Jordan Nunnery entered the game as the #5 rusher in Ventura County (31 schools) with 1,044 yards on the season. Tanner Wrout was ranked #13 having run the ball for 683 yards. In contrast, Camarillo's leading rusher was Conrad Kotake with 595 yards.

The Scorpions love to pass the ball and have used two QBs this year due to injury. Their current QB who was hurt and missed many of the pre-season games is Travis Valdez, a Junior. Valdez is Ventura County's #1 passer, having completed 69.8% of his 162 passes for 1,999 yards and 29 TDs. Camarillo's other QB, Michael Marin, is a Sophomore who has completed 66.4% of his 152 passes for 1,071 yards and 9 TDs. Marin ranks #17 in the county passing statistics. Rio Mesa's QB is Trent Thornton who has played very well for us within the confines of our run oriented offensive scheme. Trent has completed 52.7 % of his passes for 707 yards and 6 TDs.

One of Camarillo's outstanding weapons is their Senior wide receiver Jake Maulhardt who is 6'7" tall and weighs in at a solid 215 lbs. He is the state of California's all-time leading pass catcher with 208 career grabs. In his stellar career, Maulhardt has 23 TD catches and 2,759 yards . . . WOW! This season he has 105 catches, 1,465 yards and 14 TDs. He also set another state record for most catches in a game earlier this year against Canyon H.S. when he caught 28 passes -- yes, TWENTY-EIGHT, passes! With our game and at least one playoff game left in the Camarillo season, Maulhardt only needs 18 more catches for the receiving Trifecta, i.e., the single season state record of 122 catches. An amazing player to say the very minimum.

The Scorpions have another standout receiver in Conrad Kotake who I already mentioned was their leading rusher. Kotake has hauled in 51 passes for 935 yards and 19TDs. This ranks him as the #2 receiver in the county behind only his teammate Jake Maulhardt. Kotake's 23 TDs and 140 total points scored ranks him #1 in the county while the Spartans' Jordan Nunnery is #6 with 96 points.

As for the stakes, they were simple. If Rio Mesa wins, then the two squads would be co-champs with the Spartans entering the playoffs next week as the league's #1 seed and Camarillo earning the #2 seed. If this happened and Channel Islands beat Hueneme then C.I., at 7-3, would be a viable candidate for a Wild Card berth in the C.I.F.'s Western Division playoffs.

If Camarillo won then things would get iffy at best for Rio Mesa. This scenario leaves the Scorpions as the PVL's #1 team and, coupled with expected Channel Islands and Oxnard wins, a coin flip for the league's #2 seed would be needed.

We did not want it to come down to a coin flip.

GAME TIME!

Jordan Nunnery is a WARRIOR!!!

As expected, he was magnificent on the night as he played his heart out, as did the rest of the Spartans. Part of the mantra for the week was to leave it all out on the field, and leave no stone unturned in our quest for a victory.

Jordan led the way with 26 carries for 145 yards and 2 rushing TDs. He also caught 3 passes for another 24 yards, returned a kickoff for 90 yards for a TD and was in on 2 tackles.

Conrad Kotake

While we were able to keep the Scorpions great receiver Jake Maulhardt under wraps most of the evening (4 catches for 51 yards), we were not able to stop Kotake. He came through with 145 yards rushing and made several key catches throughout the night.

At the end of the first quarter, Camarillo led 13-7.

Bizarre Play

In the second quarter, at the end of one of our runs, our back fumbled the ball as you see in this picture. As you can see, the pigskin is behind the Scorpion defenders and they have no idea that that precious ball is there for the taking!

Suddenly, out of nowhere . . .

Ben Quantock to the rescue!!!

Ben was in position to see the ball, scooped it up and raced 56 lonely yards by himself for a TD! The other 21 players on the field were still amassed back at the 44 yard line trying to figure out what just happened.

At the half, Rio Mesa led 27-20.

Corbin Corvey

Who? I didn't mention his game in the pre-game write-up but he was destined to become one of those unknown players who always tend to make a name for themselves in the BIG GAME. He made a spectacular 39 yard TD catch to go along with his other 6 catches and a total of 125 yards.

I should mention the great job that Spartan back-up fullback Matt Espinoza did in the second half replacing Tanner Wrout who was injured late in the first half and would not return to action. Matt blocked exceptionally well, caught a 15 yard pass and contributed 24 yards on the ground including a 5 yard TD run.

Trent Thornton for SIX!

Trent is our QB and is another "Program Guy." He has shown great mental and physical toughness over his four years at Rio Mesa and played lights out for RMHS on this night.

Here we see him on his only carry of the night, a 2 yard QB sneak. He came up big for the Spartans having the best night of his career in completing 11 of his 15 passes for 146 yards.

I'm very proud of Trent's effort and contributions on this night.

After three periods it was Rio Mesa 37-34.

Barnburner.

QB Travis Valdez

He played at the level that I expected and that would not be a good thing for the Spartans.

The fourth quarter would continue to be a scoring derby as Camarillo mounted a 99 yard TD drive after a great Ben Quantock "Coffin Corner" punt. That score gave the Scorpions a 48-44 lead with 1:24 left in the game.

Trent Thornton led us us smoothly and efficiently down the field as the clock ran down to two seconds with the ball on the Camarillo 5 yard line.

The game was on the line on this one last play of a wild game. What more could you ask for?

Unfortunately for us, the Scorpions stopped us short of the end zone and the win and Pacific View League title were both theirs.

Final score, Camarillo 48 - Rio Mesa 44.

I was proud of both teams. It was another, great, hard fought, intense, clean game between two squads with lots of mutual respect.

As for the rest of our season, the fates were not kind to us this year. Channel Islands and Oxnard both won there games creating a three-way tie for second place. Channel Islands won the coin flip and thus won the league's second automatic bid into the playoffs.

That leaves us having to apply for one of the playoffs four Wild Card bids and hoping that the selection committee picks us from a group of seven Wild Card possible squads, one at 8-2 on the season and the other six of us all at 7-3. We'll find out on Sunday if we made the cut.

Week #10 Results: BOLD = RM Opponents

Pacific View League Games:

Camarillo 48 - Rio Mesa 44

Oxnard 56 - Pacifica 55

Channel Islands 44 - Hueneme 0

Channel League Games:

Dos Pueblos 28 - San Marcos 0

Santa Barbara 35 - Buena 7

BYE: Ventura

Jordan Nunnery is a WARRIOR!!!

Did I mention this earlier?

I would really like to have the opportunity to coach this group of young men one more time. We'll see on Sunday when the play-off brackets are announced.

For more on the Camarillo game, click on this link to the Ventura County Star's post game article and their video of the game:

http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/nov/11/camarillo-clinches-pvl-title-with-37-34-win-over/?vcspreps=1

2011 C.I.F.-Southern Section

Western Division Playoffs

The regular season is now over and the C.I.F.-S.S. Playoffs pairings will be announced this Sunday, as I said, with the playoffs set to start next Friday.

The Pacific View League, as well as the Channel League, will send teams to the C.I.F.-S.S. Western Division Playoffs.

The Western Division is made up of six leagues with a total of 36 schools.

The top two teams in each league get automatic bids into the playoffs. After these 12 teams earn their playoff bids, the C.I.F.-S.S. will then select four Wild Card teams to round out the 16 team bracket. The playoff is a single elimination, four week affair.

The final standings in the six Western Division leagues are as follows. Where a two way tie exists, head-to-head competition is the first tie breaker. If there is a three way tie, a coin flip is used to break the log jam if no clear winner comes out of the head-to-head scenario.

Teams in bold black are in the playoffs by virtue of earning one of the league's two guaranteed spots. The seven teams in bold red are in contention for one of the four Wild Card berths in the playoffs.

Pacific View League Standings:

Camarillo 5-0 PVL, 7-3

Channel Islands 3-1, 7-3

Oxnard 3-2, 5-5

Rio Mesa 3-2, 7-3

Pacifica 1-4, 3-7

Hueneme 0-5, 2-8

Channel League Standings:

Ventura 4-0 CL, 10-0 overall

Dos Pueblos 3-1, 3-7

Santa Barbara 2-2, 5-5

Buena 1-3, 2-8

San Marcos 0-4, 1-9

Mission League Standings:

Serra 5-0 ML, 8-2 overall

Chaminade 4-1, 8-2

St. Francis 3-2, 8-2

St. Paul 2-3, 7-3

Harvard-Westlake 1-4, 5-5

Cathedral 0-5, 3-7

Ocean League Standings:

Santa Monica 5-0 OL, 9-1 overall

Inglewood 4-1, 5-5

Culver City 3-2, 7-3

Beverly Hills 1-4, 2-8

Hawthorne 1-4, 5-5

Morningside 1-4, 4-6

PAC-7 League Standings:

Arroyo Grande 6-0 PL, 9-1 overall

Righetti 4-2, 7-3

San Luis Obispo 4-2, 7-3

Atascadero 3-3, 6-4

Pioneer Valley 2-4, 5-5

Paso Robles 2-4, 3-7

St. Joseph 0-6, 3-7

San Gabriel Valley League Standings:

Paramount 4-1 SGVL, 5-5 overall

Downey 4-1, 5-5

Dominguez 4-1, 7-3

Gahr 2-3, 7-3

Warren 1-4, 1-8-1

Lynwood 0-5, 2-8

Where in the World is Matt Lauer?

2011-11-10T10:07:00.000-08:00

The Today Show has been a staple of weekday morning TV on NBC for over 50 years.

In recent years one of their delightful specials on the show is a piece called "Where in the World is Matt Lauer?"

Lauer is the longtime co-host of the show and once a year he does this crazy travel piece where he flies to a different part of the world each day for five straight days. This is the week and he was in Africa on Monday, Madrid on Tuesday, Malaysia yesterday and today he was in . . .

. . . SWITZERLAND!!!

Matt Lauer was at the Sphinx Observatory located atop this incredible, remote (elevation 11,300 feet) mountain known as the Jungfraujoch in the Swiss Alps.

This site is also known as "The Top of Europe."

SPECTACULAR!

This spot is only about 30 miles southeast from our soon to be hometown of Thun! A very scenic train ride from Lauterbrunnen takes you to the Jungfraujoch in about two hours.

LET'S DO IT!!!

To see more of Matt Lauer's Switzerland piece from the Today show this morning go to: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/3041544#45237704

Reading is FUNdamental

The Roman Catholic Church, scandal, Fatima, intrigue, the Pope, murder, Vatican City, intimidation . . . what's not to like about this book.

It is especially good if you are a Catholic or, better yet, if you ever attended a Catholic school.

With nuns.

Just read it!

Penn State University

2011-11-09T12:21:00.001-08:00

INCREDIBLY REPULSIVE

INCREDIBLY SAD

INCREDIBLY INCREDIBLE

So very disappointing on so many different levels for so many victims, their families and friends.

Coaching in EuroBall Again!!!

2011-11-07T21:49:00.000-08:00

I am excited to announce that after a year off from the EuroBall wars, I am returning to the continent to again coach an American football team in the Spring of 2012!

After two seasons in Sicily and one in Sweden, this year we are off to coach in the . . .

Schweizerischer American Football Verband

Translation? The Swiss American Football League

Yes, we are going to be living and coaching in beautiful Switzerland!!!

This very centrally located, land locked alpine country is wedged between Austria and Liechtenstein to the northeast, France to the west, Germany to the north and Italy to the south. About half of the country's 16,000 square miles of land (about twice the size of New Jersey) is taken up by uninhabitable rocks and the incredible Alps.

The people of Switzerland, population 7,600,000 which is about the same as the state of Virginia's, are noted for their efficiency, organization and independent spirit.

As for the team that I will be coaching, it will be a squad in the Swiss League's Division II, the Thun Tigers.

Thun is pronounced "Toon."

A Hardy Logo

Thun is located in the middle of Switzerland

Bern, the Swiss capital city, is about 20 miles northwest of Thun while the resort town of Interlaken is about 20 miles to the southeast.

WHO DO WE PLAY?

As for our competition, as I stated earlier, we will play in the Swiss second division known as the NLB.

The NLB is made up of six teams and we will play each opponent twice to complete a ten game schedule. In 2012 the NLB will be made up of:

Basel Meanmachine

The Meanmachine went 0-10 to finish in sixth/last place in the Swiss first division, the NLA, last year. They then lost a relegation game to the 2011 NLB Champion Biena Jets (9-1) by a score of 40-34 to move Basel to the NLB this season.

Fribourg Cardinals

Fribourg was 1-9 in the NLB in 2011, finishing in a tie for fifth place.

The Cardinals split their two matches with the Tigers, winning the first contest 28-14 before losing the rematch to the Tigers 39-6.

LUC Université Lausanne

This squad finished 2011 NLB play in fourth place with a mark of 5-5.

LUC swept the season series with the Tigers in two close 2011 games by scores of 13-6 and 16-14.

Luzern Lions

The NLB's third place team last Spring, the Lions were 6-4.

The Lions also swept the two 2011 Tiger games by scores of 50-6 and 48-20.

Winterhur Warriors

The second place finisher in the 2011 NLB campaign, the Warriors sported an 8-2 record.

Winterhur won both Tiger games in 2011 by tallies of 22-2 and 27-6.

Thun Tigers

The Tigers lost both games to the 2011 NLB Champion 9-1 Bienna Jets by scores of 50-6 and 42-26. The Jets will play in the NLA this year.

Well, let's see now, by my reckoning that makes our beloved Tigers 1-9 in 2011 and tied for fifth place in the NLB with Fribourg.

Did I mention that I love a challenge?

I can only promise you one thing about the 2012 season: We will work hard to improve the conditioning and fundamentals of each and every Tiger. If we can all dedicate ourselves to this simple goal, then we will get better because . . .

HARD WORK WORKS!!!

The 2012 SAFV NLB schedule has not been published yet but in 2011, the Tigers first NLB game was on April 2nd and the regular season finale was played on June 19th.

For more on the Thun Tigers, go to the team website at:

http://www.thun-tigers.ch/index.php?id=2

For more on the Swiss League, click on the league website at:

http://safv.ch/

Were there any other considerations besides the challenge that entered into my decision making?

Well, yes actually. I went to Google Image, entered the words "Thun, Switzerland" and these images popped up.

Thun sits in this valley on this lake

Historic Downtown Thun

The Thun Castle

No, I will not be living in the Castle.

I think.

GO TIGERS!!!

CAN'T WAIT!!!