Sunday, August 25, 2024
We start this post with a quick look back to last Friday's Thousand Oaks H.S. Lancers game that had some serious "it's a small world" implications.
During the week, the Mariners
had a request
Could I find them a Strength and Conditioning Coach to help remotely in setting up our club's pre-season workouts?
No problem, I sent out a few emails to coaches in the area and got an instant reply from Thousand Oaks H.S. Head Football Coach Ben McEnroe.
His daughter, Kylie, is indeed a Strength and Conditioning Coach looking for additional opportunities.
A few international WhatsApp calls later and the deal was sealed!
Laurie with Kylie before the
Thousand Oaks-El Modena game
Kylie is the Lancers' Strength and Conditioning Coach and by the look of the T.O. squad, she is doing a wonderful job.
I think that this will be a great hire for the Mariners.
Wait a second, who is that T.O. coach lurking over Kylie's left shoulder?
Oh my goodness!
It was none other than Maclaine Griffin!
Maclaine was the outstanding Wide Receiver for my former Italian club, the Varese Skorpions, during last Spring's 2024 campaign.
He is now the Receivers' Coach for the Lancers.
A small world indeed . . .
The ELF's 14th and Final
Week of the Regular Season
The only game of real drama was
the last one of the season,
Tirol Raiders (8-3) at Munich Ravens (8-3)
The winner was in guaranteed a playoff spot, the loser might need some help.
These were the Playoff tie breakers
for the four teams still in the
hunt for seeds #4-6
Paris was in no matter what as either the 4th or 5th seed.
I love the second option for the Madrid Bravos to get into the post-season, a Tirol Raiders win and a Madrid win by more than 160 points than Munich.
This was a distinct possibility in the wacky, out of balance ELF.
So you're saying we have a chance.
More mundane ELF tie breakers
Hungary's Enthroners with
a solid pre-game poster . . .
. . . but it was not enough, Cologne (6-6)
with an easy win over Ferhérvár (2-10)
Madrid needed a BIG win over
Hamburg in this showcase double-
header that is trying to drum up
interest in a Croation franchise in 2025
DAMN, Madrid (8-4) "only" beat
Hamburg (2-10) by 50 points
They fell at least 110 points short of what they needed to hold the tie breaker over the Munich if the Ravens were to lose to Tirol on Sunday.
Stuttgart (11-1) edged Switzerland's
Helvetic Mercenaries (1-11)
A mere 54 point win for the Surge. Who saw that coming?
Barcelona is hands down the
ELF's top pre-game poster makers
I know that the Colosseum is in Rome, not Milan, but what the heck that Dragon is EN FUEGO!
Milano (4-8) dispatched the
disoriented Barcelona (2-10)
squad with ease
I'm OK with this Paris poster
Paris (10-2) wins easily in
Germany over Frankfurt (4-8)
A non-dramatic but effective
pre-game poster
OH MY GOD!
A close ELF game, Wroclaw (6-6)
outlasts Prague (1-11)
Finally, it was time for the
last game of the regular season
A playoff spot was on the line
Munich (9-3) rose to the occasion
with a big win over Tirol (8-4)
So, what did this mean to the final playoff picture?
The Ravens were in and . . .
. . . the Raiders were not,
which means that . . .
. . . the Madrid Bravos made the
playoffs in their inaugural ELF season
Six ELF teams in the playoffs and
11 clubs now on vacation and
regrouping for 2025
ELF Playoff Seeding
#1 Vienna Vikings 12-0
#2 Stuttgart Surge 11-1
#3 Rhein Fire 11-1
#4 Paris Musketeers 10-2
#5 Munich Ravens 9-3
#6 Madrid Bravos 8-4
A recap of the Week 14 action
It was, unfortunately, a typical blah week in ELF play with one close game, Wroclaw over Prague by ten points, and six lopsided games decided by a rage of 21 to 54 points.
Hopefully the five playoff games will be of much more interest.
Final 2024 ELF Standings
Eastern Conference
Vienna Vikings 12-0 *
Wroclaw Panthers 6-6
Berlin Thunder 5-7
Fehérvár Enthroners 2-10
Central Conference
Stuttgart Surge 11-1 *
Munich Ravens 9-3 *
Tirol Raiders 8-4
Milano Seamen 4-8
Barcelona Dragons 2-10
Helvetic Mercenaries 1-11
Western Conference
Rhein Fire 11-1 *
Paris Musketeers 10-2 *
Madrid Bravos 8-4 *
Cologne Centurions 6-6
Frankfurt Galaxy 4-8
Hamburg Sea Devils 2-10
* ELF Playoff Team
The Swedish youth club that I coached in 2016 and 2017, the Wäsby Warriors, played a pair of games on Saturday.
The Warriors U15 team lost to
the Täby Flyers 36-8
The Wäsby U19 squad faired no better
losing to the Limhamn Griffins, 33-8
In Finland the #1 seeded Helsinki
Roosters (10-2) will host the #4 seeded
Porvoo Butchers (8-4)
The other Maple League semi-final will see the #3 seeded Seinäjoki Crocodiles (8-4) at the #2 seeded Kuopio Steelers (9-3).
As it turns out, the first marquee matchup of the 2024 NCAA FBS season took place in Europe.
It was an Atlantic Coast Conference
game in Dublin, Ireland between
#10 Florida State and unranked
Geogia Tech
UPSET IN IRELAND!
I close with the reminder that the
Los Angeles Rams 2024 season starts
on September 8th at the Detroit Lions
That should be a real corker.
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