Global Football Updates - Moorpark, California to Hässleholm, Sweden

School is out and Summer football is now in full swing. The Rio Mesa Spartans drove to Moorpark High School on Saturday to open their Summer campaign in the Ventura County Passing and Hogs Tournaments. Fourteen schools were in the Passing Tournament while eleven schools entered multiple Hogs (linemen only, 5 Hogs/team) teams in an event that includes Rock Tossing, Sled Driving, Heavy Bag Carry, a football toting Relay Race, Bench Pressing and Power Cleaning.

The backs, receivers, defensive backs and linebackers were set to play five 40 minute 7-on-7 passing games against team from Westlake, Royal, Agoura, Thousand Oaks and Newbury Park High Schools.

Rio Mesa Moms

Awesome! They set up a refreshment table for the boys that provided delicious basics for the boys throughout the day, liquids, bananas and a ton of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Some of the sandwiches were even cut in triangles.

With the crust still on.

Just plain AWESOME!

Bombs Away

Senior QB Trent Thornton going deep here against Westlake. We had solid performances out of our two Senior QBs, Christian McNair being the #1 QB at the end of Spring Ball. The two of them alternated series in this tournament and both played better than I expected. Still, we have a long way to go before we play San Marcos in our season opener on September 9th.

I'm Open!

Tanner Wrout is easily our top team leader. He had a great day catching a lot of passes.

Christian McNair at QB

7 on 7 allows us to work on all sorts of sets and motions as you see here. The good part of this is that defensively, our kids learn to recognize sets quickly and make the proper adjustments to shifts and motions.

It was a great learning day for us to be sure.

Tanner Wrout on Defense

Tanner plays Middle Linebacker in our 3-5-3 Stack in addition to his duties as a returning 1,200+ yards running back.

Juwan Beard vs. Thousand Oaks

In the middle of this picture playing our Falcon/Strong Safety position, Juwan was the surprise of the day by far. He was all over the field making plays, knocking down passes and actually making a few interceptions.

You could see his confidence growing steadily as the day progressed.

Get-Off!!!

Things happen quickly as the QB has only 3.50 seconds from the snap to get rid of he ball. 3.51 seconds or longer is considered a QB sack.

The Hogs Tug-of-War

We only entered one Hogs team this year and here they are in action in the glamour event of the day, the Tug-of-War. All of the events described earlier in the Hogs Tournament are finished by the end of the fourth round of passing games. It is then time for everything to come to a halt and have about 1,000 athletes, coaches, parents, girlfriends and fans gather to watch this final, single elimination spectacle.

It is awesome to watch as the crowd goes wild in a semi-gladiatorial sort of way. Good times indeed!

You can see the Ventura County Star's article on the Hogs Tournament that includes a great video on the Tug-of-War by going to:

http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/jun/11/Football_hogs_tournament/?vcspreps=1

Post Tournament Debriefing

After a long day of football, you still need to talk about the days events. What better place to do it than The Hat, a great pastrami restaurant in neighboring Simi Valley.

Mike Contreras displays the inner workings

of The Hat's signature Pastrami Sandwich

Chili Cheese Fries

A side dish must and, yes, I am expanding like the universe.

I did have a Diet Coke though.

So Much Pastrami, So Little Time

I finished eating the sandwich and this is how much pastrami fell out. Another roll please.

EUROBALL UPDATES

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 (6-1)

Ystad Rockets (5-2)

Limhamn Griffins (3-2)

Lugi Vikings (3-2)

Ekeby Greys (0-5)

Hässleholm Hurricanes (0-5)

Week 8 Results

Kristianstad 21 - Hässleholm 20

Limhamn 21 - Ystad 14

BYES: Ekeby and Lugi

Week 9 Games

Saturday, June 18th

Kristianstad (6-1) at Ekeby (0-5)

Ystad (5-2) at Lugi (3-2)

BYES: Hässleholm (0-5) and Limhamn (3-2)

SAAF Division I Södra Notes: One point, one measly point, that was the difference between joy and tragedy for our beloved 'Canes (0-5). Now it must be remembered that in Week 1 Hässleholm traveled to Kristianstad to open the season and got spanked by Division I Södra's newest club, the Predators (6-1), by a score of 50-0. The improvement and grit displayed by the Hurricanes to lose the rematch 21-20 at home was remarkable to say the least. Still, the Green and Black continue their search for their initial victory in 2011.

One point.

As for Ryan Bolland's Division leading Predators, a win is a win. The mark of a championship squad to me has always been the ability to find a way to win, even if you are being outplayed. His squad did that against the Hurricanes on this day. For more on the Kristianstad-Hässleholm game, go to:

http://translate.google.se/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=sv&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=sv&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nsk.se%2Farticle%2F20110612%2FSPORT%2F706129926%2F1127%2F-%2Fhurricanes-skakade-serieledarna

Ystad followed their big win over Kristianstad last weekend by laying a huge egg in losing to Limhamn 21-14 today.

Both Division leading squads have three games left in the regular season.

The 6-1 Kristianstad Predators' remaining schedule looks like this:

June 18th at Ekeby (0-5)

August 13th Lugi (3-2)

August 27th at Limhamn (3-2)

For the 5-2 Ystad Rockets, their last three games are:

June 18th at Lugi (3-2)

August 7th Ekeby (0-5)

August 13th at Hässleholm (0-5)

I would have to say that the schedule favors the Rockets, but the 50 day, June 18 to August 13, Summer Break between games for the Predators will give them plenty of time to heal up. Injuries have been a contributing factor in the decline of Kristianstad's performance the last two games.

If either Lugi or Limhamn were to win out, then things get very interesting for the two playoff spots.

It was confirmed over the past week that should Kritianstad and Ystad finish the regular season in a tie, the Predators would be the #1 seed into the playoffs. Since they split their two games, the tie breaker is indeed head to head aggregate score as I thought. Kristianstad would earn the #1 seed if they finished tied with the Rockets due to outscoring Ystad 20-13 on the field. We will have to do some research on three team tiebreakers under Swedish guidelines.

Are you listening Italian Football League, an on the field tie breaker.

Serbian Football League Notes: Congratulations to longtime EuroBall and fedora loving QB Stan Bedwell. He led his undefeated Kragujevac Wild Boars (7-0 league, 9-0 overall) to a 55-21 regular season ending victory over the Pancevo Panthers (5-2, 8-3). This was the Wild Boars third straight undefeated Serbian regular season.

Norwegian Football League Notes: QB Scott Boer, who we met last year when he played for Denmark's Kronborg Knights, led his Våleregna Trolls (6-1) to a 54-23 win over the Nidaros Domers over the weekend. The win moves the Trolls into a first place tie with the idle Oslo Vikings in the five team Division I of the Norwegian American Football Federation. The Trolls handed the Vikings their only loss 28-21 a week ago.

Italian Football League Notes: No games this weekend, the four team playoffs start in two weeks.

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)

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!"