Friday, May 10, 2024

A Rocket Launch and a C.I.F.-S.S. Baseball Playoff Game


Friday, May 10, 2024
Last night we were treated to another rocket launch from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Lompoc about 100 miles north of us.

Rockets like this one travel south
over the Pacific Ocean near our home

They are a good excuse for us to get off the couch, away from the TV and outdoors in the evening.

Today, Michael invited me to join him at a high school baseball playoff game at Newbury Park H.S.

C.I.F.-Southern Section
DIII Baseball Playoff Quarter-Finals
Beckman H.S. Patriots
22 Wins - 6 Losses - 1 Tie
Second Place - Pacific Coast League
at
Newbury Park H.S.
17 Wins - 12 Losses
Fourth Place - Marmonte League

Newbury Park has won two previous
C.I.F.-S.S. Baseball Championships

More details on those two hallowed clubs

Our son Michael was a coach with the 2012 team that won the C.I.F.-S.S. DI Championship at Dodger Stadium.

Yes, his last name is mis-spelled on the plaque.

It was a BEAUTIFUL day for baseball!

The Panthers scored in the first inning and carried that 1-0 lead all the way into the top of the 6th inning.

Our view down the Third Base line
for most of the game

The final two innings proved fateful as Beckman loaded the bases with two outs and then got a base hit that fell just under the diving Panthers outfielder's glove to bring in two runs.

The Patriots would continue to score in the top of the seventh inning to revel in a 6-1 victory for their long bus ride back to Irvine, 90 miles to the south.

Beckman (23-6-1) will play Los Alamitos (24-7) next Tuesday in the C.I.F.-S.S. DI Semi-Finals.

The Newbury Park Panthers (17-13) are done for the season.

It was a good game to watch. Glad we went.

More overseas graphics . . .

Our old Swiss club, the Thun Tigers,
will be back in action on May 20th
 
Italy's DIII/9FL Game of the Week
Piacenza Wolverines (3-1) vs. Trento Thunder (4-0)

Big Game in the Balkan Football League

Zeman Blue Dragons (1-0)
vs.
Novi Sad Wild Dogs (1-0)

The BFL's motto is "Where Mountains Collide" and is comprised of eight teams located in the countries of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Romania and Serbia.

Both the Blue Dragons and Wild Dogs are Serbian teams.

A full slate of games in the
French DII ranks this weekend

The pre-season rankings for the 2024
European League of Football

The ELF is Europe's top league which kicks off its fourth season of operation in two weeks.

The expansion Madrid Bravos at #10 seems a tad high to me while the Barcelona Dragons at #16 too low, if you ask me.

A fun picture popped up today . . .

The NFL's 1961 starting QBs assembled
for a Sports Illustrated photo op

Back Row Passing the Ball from L. to R.:
#16 Milt Plum, Cleveland Browns, Penn State
#22 Bobby Layne, Pittsburgh Steelers, Texas
#14 Sam Etcheverry, St. Louis Cardinals, Denver
# 9  Bill Wade, Chicago Bears, Vanderbilt
#15 Bart Starr, Green Bay Packers, Alabama
#19 Johnny Unitas, Baltimore Colts, Louisville
#16 Norm Snead, Washington Redskins, Wake Forest
#12 Zeke Bratkowski, Los Angeles Rams, Georgia

Front Row Lateraling the Ball from L. to R.:
#15 Jim Ninowski, Detroit Lions, Michigan State
#10 Fran Tarkenton, Minnesota Vikings, Georgia
#17 Don Meredith, Dallas Cowboys, SMU
#12 John Brodie, San Francisco 49ers, Stanford
# 9 Sonny Jurgensen, Philadelphia Eagles, Duke
#14 Y.A. Tittle, New York Giants, LSU

Ah, the good old days . . .

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