Fri.-Mon., July 19-22, 2024
We had a GREAT weekend, I hope that you did as well.
On Saturday, Laurie and I picked up Jim O'Brien and whisked him off to yet another Thousand Oaks H.S. football reunion.
Can't get enough of this great
group of no longer such young men
After meeting in August of 2022 for the team's 50th reunion, the players had so much fun that they opted for another one last August.
On Saturday night, we met for a third time at a hotel in Thousand Oaks.
We were scheduled to have their meeting room from 4:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m.
Too much time I thought until 10:00 p.m. arrived and we were still going STRONG!
Lots of memories relived including
some via a Zoom hookup as well
The Seniors and Juniors on this club were members of the T.O.H.S. JV teams of 1970 and 1971, the first two teams that I ever coached. Needless to say, they are still dear to my heart and are just wonderful people.
We had a marvelous time and need to thank Chris Pruitt, our 1972 All-C.I.F. lineman, for organizing this fun evening.
On Sunday, we had tickets to the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers game, thanks to Paul Sabolić, as usual.
Since the game did not start until 4:10 p.m., we decided to get a late lunch/early dinner near Dodger Stadium before the game.
But where?
The Lincoln Heights district of
L.A. is only about ten minutes from
the Dodgers' "Blue Heaven on Earth"
The gasoline there was relatively cheap by today's standards for sure!
The Broadway Social Center was quite
enticing but, NO!
Moo's Craft Barbecue was the perfect call!
It is located at 2118 N. Broadway in Los Angeles' Lincoln Heights neighborhood and it was well worth the trip.
Large portions of BBQ meat and
ice cold beers were perfect on a HOT
July afternoon
After an excellent meal, we headed on to Dodger Stadium.
An absolute PERFECT day with our
seats in full shade from the get go
This inter-league game featured the visiting Boston Red Sox with a record of 53-44 good for third place in the American League East standings, six games behind the first place Baltimore Orioles.
The hometown Los Angeles Dodgers were owners of 58-41 record that landed them atop the National League West, 7.5 games ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Being a bit of a baseball snob, I like seeing two of the original 16 teams of my youth battling each other as opposed to the Dodgers playing one of the 14 expansion teams that were created starting with the the American League's adding of two teams in 1961.
Rough start for the Dodgers
This first pitch of the game was driven into the outfield wall for a Red Sox double.
The next Boston batter drove an 0-1 pitch over the wall for a home run. Three pitches and the Dodgers were down 2-0, not good.
What was good was the ensuing SIX home runs hit by the Dodgers including an epic monster of a solo four base drive, one of the longest in Dodger Stadium history.
The win made it a three game
series sweep by the Dodgers
We had another wonderful day at the ballpark, THANK YOU PAUL!
On to global football updates . . .
Finland's Maple League Standings
going into the weekend's slate of games
The 31-28 win by the Seinäjoki Crocodiles
over the Kuopio Steelers was HUGE!
Now both of these clubs are 6-2 on the season and tied for second place. The big beneficiary of the Crocodiles win were the idle Helsinki Roosters, coached by Michael Wood, who at 6-1 moved into sole ownership of first place during their bye week.
Recruiting News from Gijón,
Asturias in northern Spain
Our new team is actively involved in an effort to upgrade the roster for our 2025 season.
The Mariners will be holding a
camp to attract new Spanish players
into joining the Gijón Eleven
We will be allowed three import players on the team under Spanish Federation rules.
I have already contacted 110 college programs in the USA in an effort to fill our import needs for a QB, WR/DB and OL/DL.
We have already signed our OL/DL player via this route.
We were excited to sign this athlete
from Southern Oregon University
His videos proved him to be a good football player. Talking to his coaches at S.O.U. and Siskiyous Comunity College confirmed that he is also a high character man who will do well overseas.
Most of Monday was spent in long phone calls with potential Gijón Mariners imports, two from De Pauw University in Indiana and one from Wheaton College in Illinois.
All three are solid choices, we'll see how things work out.
Old Timers game in Germany
on September 29th
The Hungarian Football League's
Championship Game
The Budapest Titans with the win
in a high scoring affair
Cowbells?
Congratulations Titans!
The USA's Indoor Football League
starts their playoffs next weekend
Mexican university powerhouse
Auténticos Tigres UANL (Nuevo Leon)
announced its two 2024 scrimmages
On August 9th, they take on another Mexican university team, the U.A. de C. (Coahuila) Lobos at home.
On August 24th, the Auténtico Tigres will cross the border LEGALLY to scrimmage NCAA DIII big boy the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, Texas.
That should be an interesting scrimmage if Texas Governor Greg Abbott allows it to happen.
Week #9 of the ELF season was played
Fourteen teams played,
three had byes
One game on Saturday,
six on Sunday
Hungary's Ferhérvár Enthroners
pre-game poster was solid
So was their game plan, Enthroners (2-6)
over the struggling Milano Seamen (3-5)
Ferhérvár is now on a two game winning streak.
A better pre-game poster from
the Paris Musketeers
A HUGE road win for Paris (6-1)
over the Madrid Bravos (5-2)
The Vienna Vikings (9-0) dispatched
the Berlin Thunder (4-5)
The Vikings win earned them
the Eastern Conference Crown
The Vienna squad is indeed a good one but competes in the ELF's weakest division.
None of the other four Eastern Conference clubs has a winning record. These four teams have a dismal combined record of 9-24.
The Wroclaw Panthers with
an excellent pre-game poster
It was not good enough, Stuttgart
Surge (7-0) routed Wroclaw (3-5)
Things could have been worse in this one. Given the 40-0 score and the torrential downpour both teams and the ELF agreed to call it a game in the middle of the Third Quarter.
I like the moneybag as a symbol
of Switzerland's Helvetic Mercenaries
The Munich Ravens (4-3) with
a much needed win over the
Mercenaries (1-7)
So-so pre-game poster
from Frankfurt
The Rhein Fire (8-1) cruising
over the Frankfurt Galaxy (2-5)
The Cologne Centurions (3-4)
edged the Hamburg Sea Devils (2-5)
The complete ELF Week #9 results
The ELF's latest standings
Of concern is the widening divide between the ELF's haves and have nots.
There are seven ELF clubs with winning records that combine for a 44-10 record.
The other ten ELF teams all have losing records that combine to be 22-56.
This makes for lots of lopsided contests which are not good for the long range health of the loop.
ELF Week #10 Schedule
Saturday, July 27, 2024
Fehérvár (2-6) at Wroclaw (3-5)
Prague (0-8) at Vienna (9-0)
Stuttgart (7-0) at Barcelona (2-6)
Cologne (3-4) at Madrid (5-2)
Sunday, July 28, 2024
Paris (6-1) at Rhein (8-1)
Milano (3-5) at Munich (4-3)
Helvetic (1-7) at Tirol (5-3)
Frankfurt (2-5) at Hamburg (2-5)
Week #10 Bye
Berlin (4-5)
Saturday's Prague at Vienna and Stuttgart at Barcelona games could both be horrendous.
On the other hand, Sunday's Paris at Rhein game should be a barn burner!
News from the net . . .
There will be food aplenty
when we arrive in España
Very true, especially when
walking the Camino de Santiago
It would be awesome to
hear this just one time
Laurie's Stone Age ancestor,
I'm sure
Definitely a taco truck!
If you are of a certain age and
know what it means, then you
had a FANTASTIC childhood!
I hope that we all have a great week ahead of us, enjoy the journey.
