GREAT News, a National Holiday, a Meeting, a Practice and a HUGE BBQ

Saturday, 2 June, 2018

I would be remiss in going another day without posting about a great honor for one of our Skorpion defenders.

 #21 Nicolas Principi OLB/Falcon

Nicolas has been a dominant defensive player for our Skorpions all year long. He is on every Special Team, plays Fullback in our Goal Line Offensive package and has yet to miss a practice.

In short, he is a winner!

I am proud to announce the Nicolas will be a . . .

. . . Europe Warrior this Summer!

He has been selected to be part of the team that will play against the University of Chihuahua in Mexico this coming August.

Our son Michael and I will both be part of the Warriors' coaching staff.

It should be another great experience South of the Border.

An Italian National Holiday

Today marked the 72nd anniversary of the founding of the current Italian governmental system after the end of WWII and the reign of the Benito Mussolini led Fascist government.

As is usual, there is daily turmoil in the halls of the Italian government these days.

Not Trump level turmoil but turmoil nonetheless.

I headed to Varese for another video session with our defensive players as we continue our prep work for next Saturday's DII Wild Card game on the road against the 6-2 Modena Vipers.

 Heroic Statue decked out

in Italian Flag colors for the Festa

 Raise this fancy number up on

your driveway and no

unwanted cars can enter

 Our team bar and the site

of today's Defensive meeting

GM Giorgio Nardi leading

the video review

We had a good 75 minute session and then it was time to head back to Skorpion Field for the first major U19 and U16 practices leading to their season openers in September.

 I have got to learn more about

this walk before we head home

to California

 It was a BEAUTIFUL day for

American football!

Our U13 Flag team is seen practicing in the foreground.

They along with our U17 and U15 Flag teams all qualified for the National Flag Championship Tournament being held in the Tuscany region in the city of Grosseto next Saturday and Sunday.

Tone Setting

Giorgio Nardi leading the Warm-Ups

 Me leading the Tackling Drills

MADONNA . . .

BEND YOUR KNEES, OLD MAN!

 Getting him into a good Fit Position

Right Shoulder Tackles

Eyes UP DJ!

Either Dabbing or pointing

the way to the BBQ

Offensive Linemen to the

Two Man Sled

 Reach Blocking

Hit - Lift - Drive

Good Extension

What do you think for

Day One?

For the first major practice for these two teams that will play nine-man full contact American football in the Fall, I thought it was a good one.

Lots of enthusiastic players always makes for a good coaching situation.

Meanwhile at the BBQ pit . . .

 Skorpions Family members were

gathering for the Festa BBQ

 Is Jack being PC here?

 There would be LOTS

of meat on the grill today!

Of course you eat a slice of raw

meat when the chef offers you one

At times, grilling can be vastly overrated.

Still, all of the meat eventually

got on the grill

And the bread was SO good!

Especially with some of the

10 Kilo Gorgonzola cheese

wheel that Enzo Petrillo

brought to the BBQ

That's 22 lbs. of delicious cheese for goodness sakes!

 There was also incredible white wine

to go with the beer, Prosecco, red wine

and sangria

The table near to the BBQ Pit

is always a good place to hang

out during one of these events

  

Chateaubriand cooked Luca's

Skorpion way

Grill Master Luca takes this big cut of meat and places it on the grill for a few minutes. He then takes it off of the grill to slice off a few cooked portions near the surface before placing the slab back on the grill.

If you somehow just happen to be standing by the big table, you are going to get to eat some delicious cuts of high quality animal flesh.

Then there were the desserts

  

Giorgio and Enzo wanted to talk to

me about coming back next year

I told them that they would have to talk to my Agent Laurie Maguire. 

"SHOW ME THE GELATO!"

Enzo and Laurie quickly reached an agreement.

"It's GREAT to be a Skorpion!"

Another Visit to AMAZING Bellagio With More Friends

Friday, 1 June, 2018

The skies were a glorious blue and the temperatures were soaring, in other words a perfect day to go and visit the Lake Como village of Bellagio again.

We would see Bellagio legend and Skorpions Defensive Line Coach Pacio Cranchi and his bride Teresa again to be sure.

We would also be joined by our visiting delegation from Lake Garda, Susan and Michael D'Antuono from California and Joe O'Leary from England.

The 90 minute drive to Bellagio

ended with Lake Como vistas . . .

. . . like these

The Italian Lakes District is both naturally beautiful to the eye and peaceful for the soul.

The final 20 minutes of the drive on an extremely narrow, winding road, while beautiful to the eye is not so peaceful for the driver's soul or nerves as it turns out.

The usual issues trying to squeeze by oncoming vehicles, mostly small but a few times HUGE, was exacerbated by lots and lots of bike riders today also enjoying the break in the weather.

We survived it and are still alive to tell the tale, so it was a good test of the spirit.

A view of Lake Como from

Bellagio's Promenade . . .

. . . and another

How old is this lakefront balustrade?

The Ferry Landing at Bellagio

was our designated meeting place

Laurie and I have to take a ride on one of these lakeside ferries soon.

Calming lapping of small lake waters

on a man-made stone shoreline 

Joe O'Leary's artful picture

of Mike, Susan, Laurie and myself

A cappuccino and a brioche and the world was whole again after our sometimes daunting drive.

Time to hit the streets of Bellagio . . .

Colorful wine bottles demand . . .

. . . colorful bottle stoppers

One of Bellagio's many shopping streets

whispering Susan and Laurie names

It became instantly clear that these two were quickly entering a shopping feeding frenzy stage.

There was no holding them back.

Joe, Mike and I could only observe and pray that no one got hurt.

Another view of a beautiful

Bellagio pedestrian only street

Colorful ribbons preparing for

Saturday's National Holiday,

the Festa della Repubblica Italiana

This holiday marks 72 years since he newest Italian Republic was formed in 1946 after the conclusion of World War II and the end of Mussolini's Fascist regime.

Ready to make at home risotto pre-

packaged with, from left to right, saffron, strawberries, olives or mushrooms

  

The risotto was being sold in this

quaint market

Of course a Vespa was

parked on this lane

How much more Italian can you get?

Both of those genuine leather

Italian bags were sold in an instant

Laurie bought the pink one in her hand while Susan opted for one in black instead.

Meanwhile, I concentrated on the

warm colors of the buildings to

calm my quickly fraying financial nerves

Two REALLY happy visitors

to Bellagio and a guy still trying

to figure out what happened

Joe, George, Mike and Pacio

Or is it Joe, Pacio, Mike and George?

Laurie is still a bit confused when Pacio and I are together.

Pacio had some business to attend to in Varese today and only joined us for about the last 20 minutes of Joe, Susan and Mike's visit. It was after 4:00 p.m. and they still had to drive back to their hotel on Lake Garda, normally a two hour and 30 minute jaunt which would take them over three hours today unfortunately.

Pacio, ever so proud of his beautiful city, still wanted to take Laurie and I to see the lakeside Chiesa San Giovanni.

We said our goodbyes to Teresa who was in charge of their tented, street side market, selling Pacio and Teresa's handcrafted wood products, of which we bought more of course.

Teresa is such a nice, warm and outgoing lady.

I told you that Chiesa

San Giovanni was lakeside

Gorgeous interior with a priest

leading a group of children in

prayers and giving information

about the BVM

An ornate main altar is a MUST! 

The Madonna

This statue of the Madonna came from Fatima in Portugal, has resided in this church for some time, is headed to Milano on Saturday and then moves on to Chile for some unexplained reason after that.

The Lord, and this statue of the Madonna, both move in mysterious ways.

A Papal Zucchetto that was

once worn by Pope John Paul II 

The word zucchetto meaning "small gourd" comes from the Italian word zucca which translates to "pumpkin."

A Zucchetto is the small skullcap that the Pope wears as seen in the painting.

If this was the Bellagio in Las Vegas, this Zucchetto would probably be for sale with a Certificate of Authenticity from Moe Di Candia I'm sure.

As always, the BVM is

HUGE in Italy!

The dock just a few steps from the

Chiesa San Giovanni

Downtown Bellagio on the right

Nice little lakeside cottage

My current finances might,

just might mind you, allow me

to buy that row boat

What can we say to sum up our day at Bellagio?

I think the best example of our day's wonderful experience was how relatively few pictures we took. We were too busy talking and sharing the day with friends to take our usual 200-300 fotos.

Life in Italy is SO good!

A Morning in Varese and Another LONG Night of Skorpions Practices

Thursday, 31 May, 2018

The incredibly violent storm that lasted all night finally left the Lombardia region for parts unknown just after sunrise.

This break in the weather allowed us to drive up to Varese to renew our monthly transportation passes thanks to the generosity of the Skorpions.

As usual, it was also an excuse for Laurie to go shopping.

 I liked he looks of this

stately school building

As you may know, the Skorpions are

the American Football Champions of Varese

Now they are selling American football related toys in our honor in the city's shopping malls!

World War Memorial Art is found

constantly in Italian cities

"The Senate and the Roman People"

 The Catholic Church is also a

popular theme all over "The Boot"

 Colorful marble and/or

granite sidewalks are a MUST

in Varese

Title: "Indifference"

Varese has interesting public art displays throughout the city.

Uh-Oh . . .

a Public Market next to

the train station

Noting gives us more pride than supporting the local economy almost daily!

 GOOD looking sun dried tomatoes

Laurie bought enough of her beloved

cherries to last her a few days

As I said, the Skorpions

OWN this town

At least until the first Skorpions-Gorillas game in 2019.

In the evening, starting at 5:00 p.m., it was time for another round of Skorpion American Football Mania!  

And of course the storm clouds

thundered in right on cue!

  

 It poured throughout the U19 practice

But it let up during the

three Flag practices

As you can see, by now my phone's camera lens was fogging up due to the constant moisture.

The U13s are seen in the picture above.

The U13s in action

If it's Thursday, it must be the weekly

U15 vs. U17 skirmish

 For a change up, five of the

coaches challenged the U17s to

a scrimmage

The coaches may be a bit long in the tooth but they know every dirty trick in the playbook and have no conscience against using them to win.

I LOVE these guys!

"Dirty deeds done dirt cheap . . . "

Our Seniors had a spirited workout

again as we prepared for the

Modena Vipers onslaught

The Skorpions brought a great attitude to the field, were attentive, had fun and worked hard.

As their coach, what more could I ask for from a group of men?

It's GREAT to be a Skorpion!