Mon.-Wed., April 24-26, 2023
Idle hands are the Devil's workshop.
That old adage definitely did not apply to us the last three days.
Monday night at the Camarillo Cosmos track practice, Mary and Jacob, as is the custom, received their latest round of ribbons from last Saturday's meet against the Gold Coast Spartans and the Newbury Park Panthers youth track teams.
Their team photos were also delivered to them that night.
Mary's 8 and Under Cosmos team
Mary has earned a lot of
ribbons throughout the season
Jacob's 11-12 year old Cosmos squad
Jacob has also hauled in his fair
share of ribbons this Spring
On Tuesday morning, Laurie and I headed over the hill to Newbury Park H.S. to view a pair of Conejo Valley Unified Games contests to see the Panthers take on teams from the Thousand Oaks H.S. Lancers and the Westlake H.S. Warriors.
The Unified Games are a series of sports contests for students with special needs to get a chance to compete against other athletes. Today's sport was Soccer and each special needs athlete was helped out by an athlete from their school's mainstream athletic programs.
The games on this day would be held during an extended lunch period that allowed the games to go on for 60 minutes using a running clock. As a result, the home stands were packed when we arrived.
AWESOME!
The main reason that we were there was to support our son Michael who is a teacher at Newbury Park H.S. and is also the Co-Coach of the entire NPHS Unified Sports multi-sports program.
Michael, with the gray cap, also had to
act as the ref of the NPHS-TOHS game
WHS vs. NPHS
Both games were played simultaneously on each half of George Hurley Field.
I like the NPHS goalie's sleeve stripes on his yellow jersey.
A good save by the NPHS goalie
And the home crowd went WILD!
The NPHS-TOHS game was INTENSE!
Michael is the ref on the
right with his gray cap
He definitely got his steps in today running around during the game.
Laurie and I are both extremely proud of Michael's work and efforts as an advocate for these special needs children.
World War II Memorial at
Glendale College
I left early on Wednesday to visit my Mother in her skilled nursing care facility in Pasadena.
I wanted to run a couple of errands before seeing her and my first stop was the Glendale College Bookstore.
I attended GC for one year, 1965-66 and was a Center, Defensive end and Outside Linebacker for the Vaqueros' 1965 team that went 7-2. I wanted to see if they had a football related shirt in my size.
As it turned out, I was told that as the school year is coming to an end, so is their supply of GC clothing.
The only shirts in my size were one for Women's Volleyball and one for Track and Field.
No sale.
I was told that they would be restocking the clothing section of the store next Fall to coincide with the start of the 2023-24 academic year.
I'll be back.
Recently, on Facebook, I have been receiving posts about what looked like more than interesting, hole-in-the-wall dining spots in the greater Los Angeles megalopolis.
Thus I was inspired to have lunch at
El Huarache Azteca
Huaraches are Mexican sandals that use old car tire treads as their soles.
Huaraches are also Mexican dining option that is a deep-fried raft made of masa dough and topped cilantro, onions and the meat of your choice. I opted for their al pastor.
I first had a huarache during a Europe Warriors game week in Mexico City back in 2017 but had never seen them offered on this side of the border.
Until this day.
I was in awe as I dug into it and instantly felt small beads of sweat forming on my cheeks.
I knew it, I was in Mexican food heaven at this neighborhood gem of a spot located at 5225 York Blvd. in Highland Park!
When I went to settle the reasonable bill, I found this advertisement card by the cash register . . .
A Mexican wrestling event
complete with masks!
WOW!
It's a two-day event the Mayan Theater in downtown Los Angeles on May 4th and 5th.
Tickets are still available on-line.
With my face still overheated from the spicy salsas on my huarache, I needed to cool off before visiting my Mother.
That led me to yet another spot recommended by a Facebook food post.
Selling quality ice cream
for over 104 years!
Our old friend and world traveler, Jason Johnson, always recommends being a tourist in your own town. It really is good advice.
I grew up about three miles from Fosselman's but had never even heard about it much less enjoyed what they had to offer.
Definitely an old ice creamery feel
Located at 1824 W. Main Street in Alhambra, is much like another favorite spot of ours, Dewar's Soda Fountain and Candy Shop in Bakersfield.
Dewar's is my choice between these two solid choices due to their famous peanut butter chews that Fosselman's does not offer.
On to visit my Mother . . .
What is this fork doing here about
a block from my Mom's facility?
Oh, I get it, it is the famed
"Fork in the Road"
I found my Mom to be in more of a weakened state since I saw her last Friday but she did brighten up when I showed her photos of all five of her great-grandchildren.
On to American football news . . .
Stingers practice Wednesday evening
His Stingers Sophomore team will be made up of athletes who are ages 10, 11 and 12 as of July 31, 2023.
Jacob will still be 11 on that date and needs to weigh 110 lbs. or less on weigh-in day to be a Sophomore who can run with the ball in any way, shape or form.
Although there are 21 players
on the roster, only 17 Sophomores
attended this low key workout
Only one coach returns from last season's coaching staff. At this introductory point, the team is just meeting one night-a-week with an emphasis on fundamentals.
Jacob, with his signature head band,
during warm-ups
Jacob about to tackle a bag held
by Coach Michael Contreras
Thankfully, the coaches spent a
long time going over this important
fundamental stressing each key component
Coach Michael and Nose Tackle Jacob
Jacob during a change of direction
Running Back drill
That same RB Drill from
start to finish
Barry Sanders 2.0?
Another agility drill with bags
Retracing his steps
A pass catching drill
Not crazy about his hand placement on this rep.
Going DEEP!
HE CAUGHT THIS BOMB!
That was definitely progress over last season.
Coach Michael carrying in injured
Stinger off the field
He turned an ankle on his first attempt of the deep ball drill.
Hopefully, he'll be back in a week or two.
Preparation continues for our August 18th,
50th Anniversary Reunion of our
1973 Thousand Oaks H.S. Lancers
Marmonte League Championship team
The pre-season rankings of the
European League of Football (ELF)
were published this week
This will be the ELF's third season of operation.
Ranking the expansion Paris Musketeers, partly owned by Jason Johnson, at #3 seems a bit high to me.
The Musketeers will play a
rugged 12 Game Schedule in 2023
The Varese Skorpions (2-2) will travel
to Rome on Sunday to take on the
Lazio Ducks (2-3)
Our old Swiss club, the Thun Tigers (3-0),
hope to continue their 2023 NFL A campaign
rampage Sunday against the
Winterthur Warriors (0-2)
On Sunday, another of our former clubs,
the Osos Rivas (7-2) travel take on
the LG OLED Black Demons (9-0) in
the Madrid suburb of Las Rozas
This one, featuring two Madrid area clubs, is for the 2023 Spanish Serie A Championship.
These same two outfits met for the 2022 Serie A title with the the 10-0 Osos winning the championship over the Black Demos (6-4) by a final score of 28-12.
This season the Black Demons beat the Osos on the road on January 21st in a 3-2 offensive barnburner.
The return match, played in Las Rozas on February 25, was another defensive struggle the Black Demons winning again 7-0.
The Osos are coached by one of the good guys, Ricardo Martín.
First team to eight wins?
The Israeli National Championship Game
will be played on May 5th at 7:30 p.m.
I'm not sure who will be playing in the game, but if you are in the Holy Land next week, you may want to drop by to check it out.
Facebook friend Elad Ohanna is an OT
for the Israeli defending champion
Ramat Hasharon Hammers
He is the one who sent me this initial info on IsraBowl XVI. I hope this means that the Hammers are in the title game again.
A good three days indeed!
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