Weekend Football News, Some of it Sad

The weekend brought some sad news from the Pacific Northwest . . .

Jason Johnson, Frosty Westering
and Chad Johnson

I was saddened to hear over the weekend of the passing of Hall of Fame person Frosty Westering. Although he was a highly successful football coach at Pacific Lutheran University, he was an extremely better person.

I first crossed paths with him while listening to him give a presentation at an American Football Coaches Association convention in Anaheim, California in January of 2000, I would guess. His talk centered on his unusual approach to coaching the game of football and changed my approach to coaching almost immediately. He was that kind of a leader.

I immediately purchased a copy of his outstanding book "Make the Big Time Where You Are." It is a great read and, in my opinion, should be made required reading in any and all classes dealing with the coaching of any sport.

In 2008, Frosty's grandson, Jason Johnson pictured above, was our QB with the Catania Elephants. His love for his Grandpa was a wonderful thing to behold.

In 2009, Laurie and I flew up to Seattle to see Jason's Arizona Wildcats play our Huskies. It was a night game, so we met at Jason's parent's home in Tacoma for brunch with Jason's family including his Grandpa. Frosty was as charming as ever as we talked over football philosophy and strategy while watching football games on TV. It was one of the most memorable moments of my life.

He will be missed but his legacy lives on in all of the lives he touched.

The 2013 Playoff Brackets
will be announced on April 29th

Some of France's nine Division III leagues will play make-up games next weekend, of contests that were postponed earlier this season due to weather concerns.

These games can still have an effect on the final #1 and #2 seeds in the Sud Poule B and D leagues.

Here is a list of the current playoff contenders.

The eight team North Bracket will consist of the five league champions and the teams considered to be the three best second place teams.

Nord Poule A

Terville Gueules Jaunes 8-0-1 (1 game left)

Strasbourg Minotaure 8-2

Nord Poule B

St-Herblain Dockers 8-0

Angers Yankees 4-2-2

Nord Poule C

Caen Conquérants 7-2 (1 game left)

Asnières Molosses B 5-3-2

Nord Poule D

Tours Pionniers 6-0

Chatney Malabry Mousquetaires 3-3

Nord Poule E

Villepinte Diables Rouges 5-1

La Courneuve Flash B 4-2

The eight team South Bracket will consist of the four league champions and the four second place teams.

Sud Poule A

Montrabe Comètes 8-0

Albi Hurricane 5-3

Sud Poule B

Bordeaux Lions 5-1-1 (1 game left vs. Pau)

Pau Sphinx 5-2 (1 game left vs. Bordeaux)

Cenon Devils 4-3 (1 game left)

Sud Poule C

Bron-Villeurbanne Falcons 8-0

St-Cergues Bulldogs 5-2 (1 game left)

Sud Poule D

Flayosc Dragons Noir 3-2
Marseille Blue Stars 2-1-1 (1 game left)

Nath Caldes posted her pictures from Sunday's Falcons-Servals game. Here are some of my favorites of her photos.

Gypsy King
This is no time to start break dancing!

Kickoff Tackle at the One Inch Line

HUDDLE!

I need more Sun and less Boulangerie

Controlling the Line of Scrimmage

We're the Linebackers

Dominant DE Remi Laurencon

Opposing Coaches at the Half

Romain Nefise
TOUCHDOWN!!!

John van den Raadt
Fighting for Yards

Guillaume Dine
Broken Up Pass

Bombs Away Dance

Running THROUGH the Tackle

Carrying baguettes daily can have

positive side effects on Game Day

MERCI NATH!!!

Monday night Laurie and I met Marianne Damboise and Cathy Pfaff at the America House for a delightful talk by Maestro Leonard Slatkin about the extensive music schedule for the 2013-14 music season.

Although it sounded like a marvelous series of events, their season starts after we return to California.

Nuts.