Laurie's Second 39th Birthday

Wed. & Thurs., May 6-7, 2026

Easily, the biggest deal of the past two days was Laurie reaching the second 39th birthday of her lifetime on Thursday.

"I DID WHAT?"

I knew that food might just calm her down, thus . . .

. . . I picked up one of her favorites,

a glazed twist donut

Worked like a charm.

She felt much better!

At times this past year she has

been positively serene

In her element at a California School

for the Deaf game in Riverside

The two of us will go most anywhere

if great Mexican food is in sight

Of course a glass of wine is part

of her daily health routine . . .

. . . as are long, wind swept walks

in the hills of Ventura . . .

. . . add a solid diet to the regimen

and, VOILÀ, you're a year older

In the evening, we had a great dinner at our favorite Italian spot in Camarillo, Chianti Trattoria & Pizzeria.

It was the perfect meal to end her special day.

On to the news from the net . . .

Huskies at it again!

Next year's Washington Recruiting Class currently ranks 10th nationally, which is quite good.

The fly in the ointment is that this still leaves the Huskies trailing FIVE of their BIG-10 Conference mates sitting behind #3 USC, #4 UCLA, #6 Penn State, #7 Ohio State and #8 Oregon.

More games have been announced in Italy this weekend.

Italian DII Game

Saturday, May 9, 2026

Girone B Conference Game

Padova Saints (5-1) at

Monza Daemons (5-0)

Surprisingly, the eight other Italian DII clubs all have byes this weekend.

This game will be a good one, I suspect. When these two teams met two weeks ago in Padova, when the Daemons won 34-21.

Italian DIII Games

Saturday, May 9, 2026

Girone D Conference Game

Pisa TFU (3-1) at

Formigine Honey Badgers (4-0)

Barnburner potential, the Honey Badgers won in Pisa, 16-6, back in mid-March.

Girone A Conference Game

Varese Gorillas (4-1) at

Lugano Rebels (0-4)

Ho-hum rematch from last Sunday, where the Gorillas won 29-0 at home.

Girone F Conference Game

Verona Redskins (4-1) at

Ravenna Chiefs (4-1)

Another good one, the Redskins nipped Chiefs, 13-12, in March.

Sunday, May 10, 2026

Girone A Conference Game

Milano Rams (1-4) at

Ciriè Blitz (3-1)

Hope for the Rams as the Blitz barely edged the Rams 13-2 in March.

Girone D Conference Game

Sarzana Red Jackets (1-3) at

Massa White Tigers (0-4)

The records say that the White Tigers have a shot at their first win of 2026.

The outcome of their first meeting in March, a 60-8 Red Jackets win, says NO!

The newest Euro Major League

about to launch their season

The five year old European League of Football has disbanded and re-birthed as two new leagues.

Don't ask me how or why they are still trying to resolve their deep financial and competitive issues but they are.

This league is reincarnated as the American Football League of Europe (AFLE).

The eight AFLE clubs are divided into two conferences, North West and South East.

North West Conference

Alpine Rams

London Warriors

Paris Lights

Rhein Fire

South East Conference

Berlin Thunder

Firenze Red Lions

Vienna Vikings

Wroclaw Panthers

The AFLE's inaugural season is set to kickoff with games on May 23rd.

Better luck this time around to all.

The Travel Bug is still with us

If we opt for a new South American destination, Peru is currently the front runner.

I found this fun, interactive map site on Facebook.

I've visited the 38 countries in blue

Only another 157 countries to go!

I'm doing much better on this

map of Europe

I've also been to both Russia and Turkey who are both located partly in Europe and mostly in Asia.

Both are listed only as Asian countries.

I really need to keep exploring

Latin America

As for South America, my

four countries eat up a lot

of the landscape

I've got work to do in the U.S.'s

Central Time Zone

Final thought from the net . . .

Me too at times

Let's all look forward to a great weekend!