Fodor's Travel Intelligence

A few days ago, I received an e-mail from Fodor's that, among other things, contained several "Top 10+/-" style lists of attractions in Europe.

I thought that today we would start by taking a look at Fodor's "Top 11 European Landmarks".

They were listed in alphabetical order as follows:

1. The Acropolis

Athens, Greece

O.K., that is mostly me in this shot of Greece's #1 attraction but what the heck, it was taken in 2006 on our first trip to Europe. That was long before I launched my career as a Freelance Photojournalist.

This is an impressive sight, the Acropolis not me. We found Athens, overall, to be a smoggy, dirty city. Thus, we have no burning desire to return but this archealogical sight is indeed a must see.

#2 The Alhambra

Granada, Spain

We have not been to the south of Spain, yet. Thus, I can not comment on the Alhambra, I guess that we better go back to Spain soon.

#3. The Colosseum

Rome, Italy

In a word, AWESOME! Simply a great landmark in a greater city.

#4 The Duomo

Florence, Italy

An incredible exterior and an engineering marvel. The interior though is no match for the ornate outer walls. Florence is also a remarkable city in Tuscany.

#5 The Eiffel Tower

Paris, France

Not the usual view but its massiveness, up close, is astounding. As for the city, it is Paris, France for Pete's sake!

Oui-oui!!!

#6 Grand´Place

Brussels, Belgium

Another city that we have not visited = another reason to return to Europe!

#7 Mont-St-Michel

Normandy, France

Nope, we haven't been to Normandy either, we really have a lot of unfinished business in Europe it seems to me!!!

#8 Neuschwanstein Castle

Bavaria, Germany

Mad King Ludwig of Bavaria's unfinished masterpiece, the inspiration for the Disneyland castle and located on the Romantic Road.

Enough said.

#9 Schönbrunn Palace

Vienna, Austria

This was the first major palace I ever visited in Europe, I was very impressed to say the least.

#10 La Sagrada Familia

Barcelona, Spain

They have been building this Gaudí inspired Cathedral for over 120 years now. They estimate that it will be completed in another 35-50 years!

It is a postive attack on all of your senses as you take in the vastly different art work/architecture on each side of this impressive church.

Tapas in Barcelona are THE best!

But I digress.

#11 The Tower of London

London, Great Britain

The English Crown Jewels are housed here, it is a very interesting and historic sight.

And they speak English as a first language.

Sort of.

So that is the end of Fodor's "Top 11 European Landmarks" list. The final tally shows that we have visited eight of these 11 landmarks, good but not perfect. There is so much more work to be done!

Jordan Barta, California Lutheran University DL

Jordan Barta, Defensive Lineman

California Lutheran University

On a much more hopeful note today, an article appeared in today's Ventura County Star about Jordan as a potential bone marrow donor.

I first met Jordan last Fall at CLU during one of my talks to college Seniors about the process of continuing their careers playing in Europe, a roll that I truly love.

Jordan graduated from CLU in May and is now actively seeking employment for the full 2012 EuroBall season or in a mop up job in 2011 in case an injury opens up a position in some squad's stretch run this Summer.

It is so refreshing to read about a college athlete with good priorities who does not appear to have entitlement issues, still the silent majority I would like to think in college athletics today. I think that you will enjoy his story on the following link:

http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/jun/09/barta/

Here is a little more information on Jordan published in the Ventura County Star when he was named CLU's Outstanding Defensive Player for the 2010 season:

"The 6-foot-3, 221-pound senior defensive end finished with 10 sacks and 14 tackles for loss in 10 games. The sack total led the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference while the tackles for loss ranked second. Barta had five sacks against Whittier, which was the most by a SCIAC player in a single game. He finished the season with 45 total tackles, and was a first-team All-SCIAC selection. Barta, an Oregon native, enjoys eating steak and sushi and listening to rap or country music. His favorite TV shows are “Weeds,” and “Hard Knocks” and his favorite sport is baseball. Barta is a business major with a minor in marketing."

Rest in Peace

Florene Gardner

August 23, 1922 - June 9, 2011

Florene was Laurie's Step-Mother and her Father Bill's wife of 40 years.

Last night she lost her, mercifully short, battle with cancer a mere six months after Bill's passing.

Football Update from Sweden

We have a late update from Sweden due to a rare Monday afternoon game today. Apparently Sunday was some sort of Socialist Holiday I am told. Today is the Swedish Flag Day Holiday, the anniversary of the day that Gustav Vasa was chosen the first Swedish king in 1523 and also of the day that one of Sweden's constitutions was signed in 1809, thus the Monday game.

2011 Division I Södra Standings

The top two teams at the end of the regular season will play in the 2011 SAFF Division I Playoffs along with the top two teams from each of the other three Division I Conferences.

Kristianstad Predators (5-1)

Ystad Rockets (5-1)

Lugi Vikings (3-2)

Limhamn Griffins (2-2)

Hässleholm Hurricanes (0-4)

Ekeby Greys (0-5)

Week 7 Results

Ystad 13 - Kristianstad 7

Lugi 50 - Ekeby 16

BYES: Hässleholm and Limhamn

Week 8 Games

Saturday, June 11th

Kristianstad (5-1) at Hässleholm (0-4)

Sunday, June 12th

Limhamn (2-2) at Ystad (5-1)

BYES: Ekeby (0-5) and Lugi (3-2)

SAAF Division I Södra Notes: With today's victory by Ystad over Kristianstad 13-7, the conference title is all knotted up as both teams are 5-1 and have split their two games. Should they both win out, we will then get to see Sweden's tie breaker system in action. Better check your birth certificates (see yesterday's Italian Football League post).

Kristianstad won the first game two weeks ago 13-0, so if they go by aggregate score, the Predators would get the nod by virtue of outscoring the Rockets 20-13 in the two games. The importance of whatever tie breaker is employed is simply logistics and finances. In Sweden's two four-team pool playoff system, a conference's #1 team is guaranteed two home games and only one road game. A #2 seed gets just the opposite, one home game, two road games, a bigger travel tab and more logistical headaches. We'll see how it all pans out.

This coming week, our own Hässleholm Hurricanes (0-4) play their first home of the season against Kristianstad (5-1). The reason for the delay in playing a home game was the construction of a roof over the stands at Göingevallen Stadium. The Predators won the Week 1 game between these two clubs 50-0.

And the Byes just keep on coming. Now that both Division I Södra leaders Kristianstad and Ystad have completed their sixth games of their ten game schedules, let's revisit the interesting scheduling of the Swedish league.

To review, each team in the six team Division I Södra Conference is scheduled to play their ten regular season games over the course of the 19 weeks between April 23rd and August 27th.

Byes are an almost weekly fact of life in the Södra as there are only two weekends where all six teams are in action, the first was on May 14-15 and it will happen again on August 13th.

Because of the AWESOME Midsommar Holiday on June 24th (I love a good pagan oriented festival as well as the next man) no games are scheduled on the weekend of June 25-26.

Two games will be played on July 2nd and then the fun begins, the Summer Break.

The traditional Summer Break which gave us eight weeks between games last Summer has been mercifully shortened to only four weeks, July 7-30, this season.

Thus coaches in Södra face their toughest task, keeping their players focused, in shape and, most importantly, attending practices down the stretch. For a young coach like our own Ryan Bolland of the high flying Kristianstad Predators, this will be an interesting challenge as his squad plays their last four games of the regular season over a period of the next 12 weeks!

I thought that we should take a look at the other three conferences in SAFF's Division I this week, looking specifically at the top teams vying for each conference's two spots in the playoffs. Again, the playoffs bring the top eight teams together from the four conferences and 24 teams that make up SAFF's Division I.

In the eight team Division I Norra we have the Västerås Roedeers at 4-0 followed by the Uppsala 86ers and the Gefle Red Devils both at 3-1.

In the five team Division I Östra, the Nyköping Baltic Beasts (Best Nickname in Europe) lead with a perfect 3-0 slate. In the hunt for a playoff spot are the Roslagen Bulldogs and the Södertälje Truckers sharing identical 2-1 records.

Finally, in the five team Division I Västra, the Göteborg Marvels stand alone at 3-0 with only the 2-1 Karlskoga Wolves in contention to challenge for a playoff berth at this time.

Baltic Beasts, I love it!

Wild Finish to the Italian Football League Regular Season

Final 2011 Regular Season

Italian Football League Standings

The top four teams will play in the 2011 IFL Playoffs.

Bologna Warriors 9-0

Parma Panthers 7-2

Catania Elephants 6-3

Reggio Emilia Hogs 5-4

Ancona Dolphins 5-4

Milan Rhinos 5-4

Bolzano Giants 3-6

Milan Seamen 3-6

Lazio Marines 2-7

Bologna Doves 0-9

Week 11 Results - Final Regular Season Games

Catania 61 - Bolzano 19

Parma 42 - Milan Seamen 13

Bologna Warriors 56 - Lazio 53

Reggio Emilia 62 - Ancona 42

Milan Rhinos 58 - Bologna Doves 25

2011 IFL Semi-Final Playoff Games

Saturday, June 25th

#4 Reggio Emilia (5-4) at #1 Bologna Warriors (9-0)

Sunday, June 26th

#3 Catania (6-3) at #2 Parma (7-2)

2011 IFL Championship Game

Saturday, July 9th

at Parma's Stadio XXV Aprile - Via del Popolo

IFL Notes: Another high scoring weekend to close out the 2011 IFL regular season saw a total of 431 points scored in the five games, an average of 86.2 points per game!

Our favorite team, the Catania Elephants, did what they had to do by beating the Bolzano Giants convincingly, 61-19. The victory earned the Elephants the #3 seed in the playoffs with a final record of 6-3. This is the Sicilian team's third playoff appearance in just their fourth season playing in Italy's top division.

The big noise of the weekend was the Reggio Emilia Hogs (5-4) stunning 62-42 victory over the Ancona Dolphins (5-4). This result, coupled with the Milan Rhinos (5-4) 58-25 win over the hapless Bologna Doves (0-9), created a three way tie for the fourth and final playoff spot.

How to break the tie?

Head-to-head competition, as always, would be the first tie breaker. Let's see. . .

In Week #2 the Rhinos beat Reggio Emilia 60-24

In Week #6 Ancona beat the Rhinos 62-42

In Week #11 Reggio Emilia beat Ancona 62-42

Since the three teams beat each other, head-to-head competition could not break the tie. What interesting method would the IFL now use to break the tie?

Best record against the top three seeds perhaps? Seems logical to me, have another on the field situation determine which team gets to move on. Let's see now. . .

The Ancona Dolphins lost to the #1 Warriors and #2 Panthers but beat the #3 Elephants = 1-2

The Milan Rhinos lost to the Warriors and Panthers as well but also beat the Elephants = 1-2

The Reggio Emilia Hogs lost to the Warriors, Panthers and Elephants = 0-3

Thus, in this model, the Hogs are out and now you revert back to head-to-head competition between the Dolphins and the Rhinos. Again, the Dolphins beat the Rhinos 62-42 back in Week #6, so the Dolphins earn the trip to the playoffs based on their on the field play.

No.

Perhaps the IFL would break the tie based on most points scored during the season, the IFL is a very offensive minded league afterall. Let's see again. . .

Ancona scored 490 points in nine games, Milan totaled 356 points while Reggio Emilia tallied 330 points.

Tie Breaker, Ancona!

No.

The IFL wouldn't go by the best defense would they? If so. . .

The Rhinos allowed a mere 309 points, followed by the Hogs at 323 points and the Dolphins porous defense gave up a whopping 419 points.

Adavantage, Milan Rhinos!

No.

O.K., I've got it, point differential! It would give a look at each team's relative strength on both sides of the ball. Let's see yet again. . .

Ancona, 490 Points Scored - 419 Points Allowed = +71 Point Differential

Milan, 356 Points Scored - 309 Points Allowed = +47 Point Differential

Reggio Emelia, 330 Points Scored - 323 Points Allowed = +7 Point Differential

Ancona goes to the playoffs!

No.

Maybe the IFL would go by the hottest team at the end of the season. Again. . .

The Hogs won their last three games.

The Rhinos finished on a one game winning streak, but were 2-1 the last three games.

The Dolphins ended the campaign on a two game losing streak, going 1-2 down the stretch.

Based on this, the Hogs are in!

No.

The IFL's second tie-breaker, after head-to-head competition, has nothing to do with any on the field standard or measurement.

The Reggio Emilia Hogs edged their way into the 2011 IFL Playoffs based on. . .

THE YOUNGEST AVERAGE AGE OF THE THREE ROSTERS!!!

I wonder where this concept ranks in NFL's list of tie breaking criteria?

I LOVE ITALIAN LOGIC!!!

As for the IFL Semi-Finals, the Saturday, June 25th game is a rematch of a Week #4 game that saw the #1 seeded Warriors (9-0) beat the #4 seeded Hogs (5-4), 49-12 at Reggio Emilia.

As for our #3 seeded Elephants (6-3), in Week #1 they defeated the #2 seeded Panthers (7-2) in Parma 54-51.

As for "hot" teams, the Bologna Warriors are still riding their nine game winning streak into the playoffs. The Parma Panthers have won their last four games since losing to the Warriors 34-23. Catania is on a modest two game winning streak since also losing to the Warriors 42-35. Finally, the Hogs, as mentioned earlier, are on a three game victory skein since dropping their game against Parma 50-22.

"LET THE GAMES BEGIN!"

38th Annual Ventura County High School All-Star Football Game

Tonight, our son Michael and I ventured out to Moorpark H.S. to witness yet another sign of the unofficial start of Summer, the playing of the 38th Annual Ventura County High School All-Star Football Game.

This contest brings together the best senior players from the 30 high schools that are members of the Ventura County Football Coaches Association for their final performance in front of the local fans before moving on with their lives and/or college football careers.

West in Red, East in White

Rio Mesa DB, Michael Thomas, West's #17

Rio Mesa WR, Marcus Alford

Marcus, who is headed to Northern Arizona University on a football scholarship, is seen here after scoring the West team's first TD as a result of his 91 yard reception and strato-streak to paydirt!

Nice pants.

Michael Contreras with

Hueneme H.S.'s Albert Miranda

Albert, listed at 6'3" and 295 lbs., was the Vikings only player in the game. Mike tutors him at Hueneme and is very proud of his academic progress.

The Rio Mesa Contingent

Flashing the "W" for West sign

From left to light: DB Michael Thomas, QB Blair Benchwick, DL Clarence McBride, WR Marcus Alford, FB Frank Fassl and OL John Tagum

I was very proud of their overall performance and in this photo you can see Marcus Alford holding his West Team Offensive MVP Award.

Frank Fassl was the recipient of a All-Star Student Community Service Scholarship as well.

Good Job Spartans!

Sunset over Moorpark H.S.

Another game was in the books with the East winning this year by a tally of 31-21. It was a good night of football and, for me, a fun evening getting a chance to see a lot of my old coaching buddies on the sidelines.

1974 East Team Picture

I was actually an assistant coach for this team in the 1st Annual Ventura County High School All-Star Football Game way back in 1974 when I was coaching at Thousand Oaks H.S.

I've also had the opportunity to coach in this game as the East team head Coach in 1980 and as a West team assistant coach in 1990 and again in 1994.

Well, Summer is here, we wrap up Spring football practice next Tuesday and then start our 7-on-7 season next Saturday back at Moorpark H.S. again. While the "skill" players are competing in all facets of the passing game, our linemen will be grunting and straining in the Hogs Tournament. Both events are sponsored by the Ventura County Football Coaches Asssociation and are worth the price of admission (free), especially the climactic Hogs Tournament Tug-of-War.

"LET THE GAMES BEGIN!"

Old Friends and "Sweden Invades California"

The Memorial Day Weekend, summoning the unofficial start of Summer, was a quiet but pleasant one for us.

It began on Saturday evening with a drive to Laurie's old stomping grounds, La Crescenta. . .

St. Francis H.S.

Class of 1965

In this picture I am next to Tom Nuccio, the pride of bella Italia's Piedmont region, and Terry Terrazone. They are two of the good guys and we all graduated from St. Francis together a very long time ago.

We gathered at Terry and his wife Elin's home to celebrate the engagement and impending wedding next February in Miami, Florida of their son Nathan to the lovely Isa Pozo.

Isa is very outgoing, probably in part due to her Cuban and Puerto Rican roots. She is a nice young lady and they make a stunning couple.

Good luck to the two of them!

On Monday, Memorial Day, we got the chance to share fika with friends visiting the USA from Sweden.

Laurie, Sarah and Johanna

at Casa Contreras

Sarah is that special someone in Hässleholm Hurricane Lucas Grip's life. She works for a Swedish travel company that arranges group tours and from time to time her company sends her and her co-worker Johanna to sites around the world to get first hand knowledge of what potential buyers will be getting themselves into.

Last Spring, Sarah and Johanna were sent to Cuba for a week. This year they are touring sights in the Dakotas, Yellowstone, Monterey-Carmel, Los Angeles and Dallas.

On Memorial Day they stopped in Camarillo, first at the huge Outlet Mall and then at our home for that most Swedish tradition, afternoon fika.

To review, fika is simply friends meeting for conversation, coffee and a dessert of some kind. Laurie opted for a delicious chocolate cake with thick, rich chocolate frosting.

I liked it.

We spent about an hour discussing the folly of ever visiting the Camarillo Outlet Mall on any weekend much less a Holiday Weekend, places to visit and eat in Los Angeles and the scenic Highway 1/Pacific Coast Highway route from Camarillo to Santa Monica via Malibu on their way to their hotel in tony Beverly Hills.

They were excited by the things they had seen so far in their first trip to the western United States and anxious to see a movie star or two in La-La Land.

Sarah and Johanna

Good people, fun times,

GREAT friends

Wacky EuroBall Football News

EuroBall Updates

HE'S BACK!!!

#28 in your program, #1 in your heart!

The biggest news on the EuroBall scene, other than Stan Bedwell's Kragujevac (Serbia) Wild Boars stunning EFAF Cup Semi-Final game 35-22 victory in France over the Thonon les Bains Black Panthers, was the return to action of Catania wide receiver Claudio Mangano. A big plus for the Elephants in their final push to make the 2011 IFL playoffs.

As for the Wild Boars, great nickname by the way, they will play the winner of the June 4th,

Søllerød (Denmark) Gold Diggers at

London Blitz game for the EFAF Cup at the end of June.

In Barcelona, Spain today, the Swedish Women's National American Football Team took on their counterparts from my favorite Iberian peninsula country, España.

Sweden was heavily favored to win this "friendly" competition. The reason for this is that this is the first time that Spain has fielded a women's National team while the Swedish ladies started playing international games in 2008. Experience gave the Scandanavian eleven a huge edge in their 36-14 victory.

2011 Division I Södra Standings

The top two teams at the end of the regular season will play in the 2011 SAFF Division I Playoffs with the top two teams from each of the other three Division I Conferences.

Kristianstad Predators (5-0)

Ystad Rockets (4-1)

Limhamm Griffins (2-2)

Lugi Vikings (2-2)

Ekeby Greys (0-4)

Hässleholm Hurricanes (0-4)

Week 6 Results

Kristianstad 51 - Limhamn 44

Lugi 15 - Hässleholm 14

BYES: Ekeby and Ystad

Week 7 Games

Saturday, June 4th

Lugi (2-2) at Ekeby (0-4)

Monday, June 6th

Kristianstad (5-0) at Ystad (4-1)

BYES: Hässleholm (0-4) and Limhamn (2-2)

SAAF Division I Södra Notes: Kristianstad (5-0) and Ystad (4-1) continue their march to the 2011 playoffs as all Division I Södra teams near the midpoint of the ten game season. Week 7 sees these two teams playing for the second and final time this Spring in a rematch of their Week 5 game at Kristianstad won by the Predators 13-0. If Ryan Bolland's Kristianstad squad can prevail, they would be two games ahead of Ystad with only four games to play. If the Ystad Rockets avenge their loss, then the two squads would be fighting it out for the Division's top spot the rest of the Summer. Either way, I think that the rest of the Division will have a very tough assignment in trying two catch either of these two clubs.

As for our favorite SAFF team, the Hässleholm Hurricanes, another contest brought another tough loss, this time to the Lugi Vikings by a count of 15-14. All reports are that the 'Canes showed improvement which is good news indeed. The unfortunate story line was that Lugi was down 14-0 at the half and was able to come back and snatch the victory from the Green and Black at the very end of the game with a TD and a two point conversion.

Damn.

Read all about it through the eyes of NorraSkåne ace reporter Johan Hammarqvist at:

http://www.nsk.se/article/20110529/SPORT/705299900/1127/-/hurricanes-foll-8211-med-en-poang

Italian Football League Standings

The top four teams at the end of the regular season will play in the 2011 IFL Playoffs.

Bologna Warriors 8-0

Parma Panthers 6-2

Ancona Dolphins 5-3

Catania Elephants 5-3

Milan Rhinos 4-4

Reggio Emilia Hogs 4-4

Milan Seamen 3-5

Bolzano Giants 3-5

Lazio Marines 2-6

Bologna Doves 0-8

Week 10 Results

Catania 42 - Milan Seamen 34

Lazio 50 - Bologna Doves 0

Bologna Warriors 67 - Ancona 66

Reggio Emilia 28 - Bolzano 27

Parma 43 - Milan Rhinos 28

Week 11 Game - Final Regular Season Games

Saturday, June 4th

Parma (6-2) at Milan Seamen (3-5)

Bologna Warriors (8-0) at Lazio (2-6)

Milan Rhinos (4-4) at Bologna Doves (0-8)

Ancona (5-3) at Reggio Emilia (4-4)

Sunday, June 5th

Bolzano (3-5) at Catania (5-3)

IFL Notes: "Defense Wins Championships" - Bear Bryant, Legendary University of Alabama Coach

SIXTY-SEVEN to SIXTY-SIX???

Yes indeed, the top two teams in the IFL, the undefeated Bologna Warriors with the best defense in the league and the Ancona Dolphins with the best offense in the IFL, met on Saturday. As usual, good defense stopped good offense. The combined 133 points scored is the second highest total in IFL history. The 2010 Catania-Reggio Emilia game lit up the scoreboard for 145 points and was won by the Elephants 75-70.

With their victory, the Warriors sewed up the regular season IFL championship and a Semi-Final home game as the #1 seed in the playoffs which start on June 25th. The only question for the Warriors is will they rest some of their players in their meaningless season finale vs. the 2-6 Lazio Marines?

Week 11 is the final week of the IFL regular season and the last two playoff spots are still up for grabs. The Parma Panthers (6-2), Ancona (5-3) and Catania (5-3) will wrap up the #2-3-4 seeds respectively if they all win this coming weekend. In this scenario, Ancona earns the #3 seed over Catania by virtue of their 60-41 victory over the Elephants in Week 2.

Wins by the Milan Rhinos and Reggio Emilia would create at least a three way tie for a playoff spot with Ancona. If that happens and Catania were to lose as well, then there would be a four way tie for the last two playoff spots as all four of these teams would be 5-4 on the season.

Interesting. . .

For our favorite IFL team, the beloved Elephants of Catania, the easy way into the playoffs is simply to beat Bolzano next Sunday. . . "Just Win, Baby!"

DAI RAGAZZI!!!