Monday, April 29, 2019

ROAD TRIP! A Scouting Assignment in the Piemonte


Sunday, April 28, 2019

I awoke this morning with an agonizing American football scoring hangover thanks to last night's 101 combined points in our Bengals-Skorpions game.

Still, I needed to rally and after yet another great pasta meal at Casa Nardi, I did!

I was off to the neighboring region of Piemonte and the city of Rivarolo Canavese about 90 miles west of the Villa Scorpion II to scout and video tape a game between our final two regular season opponents, the Varese Gorillas (1-2) playing at the home stadium of the Canavese Mastifs (0-3).

The drive to Rivarolo Canavese was
BEAUTIFUL!

The funky Hotel Rivarolo
would be my home for the night

I got to Rivarolo Canavese nice and early before the scheduled 7:00 p.m. kickoff, so I started exploring the city.

 A Bavarian Beer Festival was in
motion today with colorful
Oktoberfest banners everywhere

Oktoberfest?

In April?

In northern Italy?

Why not!

 A German Beer Festival complete
with Argentine BBQ grill masters

Hmmm . . .

The aroma of meat on the grill
got to me almost instantly

No surprise there.

 No Bier/Beer for me

I was still on duty with the game only two hours from starting.

Interesting round-about statue

Calf stretching exercise?

Besides the Bavarian Beer Festival,
Rivarolo Canavese was hosting a
HUGE street market today too

Thank goodness that Laurie was still in California!

Colorful flowers were in bloom
in the heart of the city

A CHURCH!

Seriously, I tried but the temptation was too strong and I entered.

It was Sunday after all.

Nice main altar

 Above average Cupola

 St. Michael kicking Satan's ass!

 Still, I like Satan's mustache

Is this "The Green Door"
that Jim Lowe sang about
back in 1956?

Another Church on the same street

Who would have guessed it?

This church's door was nice,
let's go in!

OH MY!

It was an Orthodox Church whose pastel colors were amazing.

 The church was built between the
16th and 18th-centuries

 Colorful clothes on sale
just outside this latest church

Flat Top with Fenders

That was my high school football coach's hair style back in the early 1960s.

I needed a gelato.

And so did everybody else . . .

. . . in Rivarolo Canavese it seemed!

Besides these two gelaterias, I passed three others that were just as packed.

No gelato for me today.

Colorful arcade art

This pharmacy was founded in 1699!

 Of course they have a
Chemist's Laboratory on the premises

Do you have anything in yellow?

 Rivarolo Canavese's mandatory
War Memorial

 What a picturesque city at the
foot of the Alps

It was time to head to the stadium and get the video equipment properly set up in a good location.

EUREKA!

The original club here was called the Mastini, not the Mastifs.

At some point they stopped playing American football and at that time a new club sprung up far to the east in the city of Verona. This new club adopted the name Mastini as their own.

When the local club came back too life a few seasons later, they wanted to still be called the Mastini but Italy's American football governing body said, NO! 

Thus they are officially called by their new nickname, the Mastifs, in all official capacities. 

But, all articles of team clothing and signs about the stadium still call them the Canavese Mastini.

It was a BEAUTIFUL day
for American football!

A tribute inside the stadium for the
championship Torino calcio team members
that all perished in a plane crash on a foggy
night in Torino in 1949 on the Supergra
mountain near Torino's Airport

Rivarolo Canavese is about 20 miles north of Torino.

Gorillas in Red,
Mastifs/Mastini in Gray

Just what my aching head needed, another Shoot Out!

It was a great game for the spectators.

The coaches of both squads need to be congratulated for the effort that their players put forth tonight despite their records.

We will have our hands full with both of these clubs the way they moved the ball tonight!

NINETY-FOUR combined points

This weekend was like watching two of our 2008 IFL Catania Elephants high-scoring DI games again.

THOSE WERE THE DAYS! 

Time for our update of what happened across Italy in DII American football action.

The maximum possible eight
games were on the slate this weekend

DII WEEK #8

Group A

Group A Week #8 Results
Varese Skorpions (4-2) 58
Brescia Bengals (3-3) 43

Palermo Sharks (3-2) 24
Busto Arsizio Blue Storms (0-5) 7

Cernusco Daemons (4-1) 28 OT
Desio Hammers (2-3) 21  

Canavese Mastifs (1-3) 54
Varese Gorillas (1-3) 40 

Group A Standings
1. Milano Rhinos 4-0
2. Cernusco Daemons 4-1
3. Varese Skorpions 4-2
4. Palermo Sharks 3-2
5. Brescia Bengals 3-3
6. Desio Hammers 2-3
7T. Canavese Mastifs 1-3
7T. Varese Gorillas 1-3
9. Busto Arsizio Blue Storms 0-5

Group A Week #9 Schedule
Saturday, May 4th
Milano Rhinos (4-0) at
Palermo Sharks (3-2)

Busto Arsizio Blue Storms (0-5) at
Varese Gorillas (1-3)

Brescia Bengals (3-3) at
Cernusco Daemons (4-1)

Canavese Mastiffs (1-3) at
Desio Hammers (2-3)

BYE:
Varese Skorpions (4-2)

Group B

Group B Week #8 Results
Verona Mastini (6-0) 38
Isonzo Sentinels (1-4) 20

Padova Saints (4-1) 24
Ferrara Aquile (2-4) 0

Group B Standings
1. Verona Mastini 6-0
2. Padova Saints 4-1
3. Ferrara Aquile 2-4
4. Isonzo Sentinels 1-4
5. Castelfranco Cavaliers 0-4

Group B Week #9 Schedule
Saturday, May 4th
Isonzo Sentinels (1-4) at
Castelfranco Cavaliers (0-4)

BYES:
Ferrara Aquile (2-4)
Padova Saints (4-1)
Verona Mastini (6-0)

Group C

Group C Week #8 Results
Roma Pretoriani (4-1) 47
Sarzana Red Jackets (1-4) 6

Reggio Emilia Hogs (5-0) 35
Bologna Braves (1-4) 29

Group C Standings
1. Reggio Emilia Hogs 5-0
2. Roma Pretoriani 4-1
3. Modena Vipers 1-3
4t. Bologna Braves 1-4
4t. Sarzana Red Jackets 1-4

Group C Week #9 Schedule
Saturday, May 4th
Bologna Braves (1-4) at 
Modena Vipers (1-3)

Sarzana Red Jackets (1-4) at
Reggio Emilia Hogs (5-0)

BYE:
Roma Pretoriani (4-1)

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