America Celebrates Its 247th Birthday

Mon.-Thur., July 3-6, 2023

The biggest deal of the week was obviously . . . 

Independence Day

The Fourth of July

Laurie put together this cheese

plate in the shape of a

delicious Old Glory

We spent the afternoon

at Casa Contreras East

Jacob and Mary had a ball racing

up and down the street with their

friends who live on the cul de sac

It got chilly just about the time that

the illegal fireworks started going

off all over the neighborhood

America, what a country!

I chuckled LOUDLY when I got

this message from our friend

Dennis Boika a player for

Poland's Zabki Dukes

Lots to report on the food front . . .

100%, Absolutely, Undeniably

TRUE!

It was the Fourth of July after all

Another FACT that we learned

searching for tacos in Chihuahua,

Mexico during one of our Europe

Warrior game weeks

If you are looking for a good sandwich in the Glendale or Pasadena areas, have I got two GREAT ones for you that I tested before visiting my Mother. 

Mario's Italian Deli & Market

740 E. Broadway, Glendale

Their Bad Boy Pastrami Sub is made up of pastrami, lettuce, tomato, onion, mayonnaise, mustard, honey mustard, cheese, avocado and spicy Italian peppers, all on a huge toasted French roll.

It was a FANTASTIC combination of freshness, sweetness and just the right amount of spiciness.

It is easily big enough for two people to share, if you are into that sort of thing.

Howlin' Ray's Hot Chicken

800 S. Arroyo Parkway, Pasadena

Howlin' Ray's signature dish is The Sando which is a sandwich that comes with large, moist fried chicken breast, coleslaw, their mysterious and delicious comeback sauce, pickles (no thanks) in  a sweet butter bun.

I know that a few years ago KFC and Popeye's Chicken engaged in an all out chicken sandwich war. Beyond a doubt, both of their offerings pale in comparison to The Sando.

One needs to be warned about

the potential heat of all

of Howlin' Ray's chicken dishes

Their sauces come in six

levels of atomic radiation

1. Country: No Heat

2. Mild: Brush of Heat

3. Medium: Feel the Burn

4. Hot: Burn, Baby Burn

5. X-Hot: You've Been Warned

6. Howlin': Can't Touch This 10++

Since it was my first time at Howlin' Ray's, I played it safe even though I do like spicy food. I went with the #2 Mild sauce and that was heat enough for me as it turned out. Any higher of a rating would have overpowered a great sandwich in my opinion.

My Mother continues to have her ups and downs, the last two days were good ones.

An old sign about two blocks from

my Mother's skilled nursing home

After my visit to Mom on Wednesday, I decided to stop at the Rose Bowl to get some steps in as I continue to try to improve my physical fitness.

I parked near this venerable baseball

stadium at Brookside Park next to

the Rose Bowl

The Arroyo Seco Saints of the

California Collegiate Baseball Summer

League call Jackie Robinson Field

their home

The 10-8 Saints were getting ready

to play the 8-10 Conejo Oaks

It was still almost two hours before the first pitch, so I opted to continue my walk on a warm afternoon.

Jackie Robinson statue

He is portrayed wearing #55, his jersey number  when he played for Pasadena Junior College back in the 1930s.

Jackie Robinson still holds the

Rose Bowl Stadium Record with

his 104 yard Kickoff Return in 1938

He did this while playing for the 11-0 Pasadena Junior College Bulldogs team in a game against their Pasadena neighbors, the vaunted Caltech Beavers.

PJC is now known as Pasadena City College and they are known as the Lancers.

It's been FORTY years since the

Army-Navy game was played in the

Rose Bowl stadium

Laurie and I saw this game with Susan and Michael D'Antuono.

That was a memorable day to be sure.

The Sabolic, D'Antuono and Contreras

families in the Washington section

of the Rose Bowl Honor Court

Keith Jackson

The Voice of College Football

Speaking of American football . . .

The Top 24 Rankings of teams

NOT based in the USA or Canada

There are nine teams from the Japanese League including the top two in the rankings.

The European League of Football comes in second  with seven teams in the rankings.

Finally, the Mexican League and the German League each had four clubs mentioned in these rankings.

The European League's most

recent Power Rankings were

announced also

One day the ELF hyped their

Week #6 schedule . . .

. . . and the next they announced

this cancellation

No real surprise as the Leipzig Kings had informed the ELF last week that they were in financial danger and may be dropping out of the league soon.

It was reported that the team asked the players to turn in their gear "for inventory" this week and then they decided to forfeit.

The official score will be listed as Prague Lions (1-4) 35 - Leipzig Kings (2-4). What a way for the Lions to win their franchise's first ever ELF victory in their inaugural campaign.

The Swiss NFLA Semi-Finals

will be played this weekend

If our old club, the Thun Tigers, gets their QB back off of the injured list, I like their chances to advance to Swiss Bowl XXXVII on July 15th.

The Italian DII Silver Bowl XXIX

and DIII Nine Bowl XXIII championship

games will be contested this weekend

Our original EuroBall team from the 2008 and 2009 seasons, the Catania Elephants (7-1), will take on the Brescia Bengals (8-0) in Friday's Nine Bowl XXIII.

Italy's governing body for American football, FIDAF, does a good job promoting our sport on all social media platforms.

For example . . .

Defensive Leaders are a wash

The two QBs have similar stats

The Elephants seem to have

the superior Wide Receiver

The Running Back edge statistically

goes to the Bengals but . . .

The Elephants RB Enrico Lombardo is an amazing athlete that seems to defy Father Time. He was an excellent RB for us back in 2008 and 2009 at a time when I would have guessed his age at about 30. That would make him in his 40s now and still going strong!

Go Elephants GO!

Finally . . .

The book that led to the movie

"Damn Yankees"

Growing up in the 1950s and '60s, it was easily my two sisters' favorite movie. 

It eventually made it to the old "Million Dollar Movie" slot on a local Los Angeles TV channel. That meant that the movie would be shown once every night from Monday to Friday and twice on both Saturday and Sunday.

I am 100% sure that Marilyn and Linda watched all nine of the Damn Yankees showings that long ago week.

"Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, Mo."

Good News, Bad News and a EuroBall Championship Weekend

 

Thu., June 29-Sun., July 2, 2023

Life has its ups . . .

A BIG up for Vanessa this week!

She has been promoted to Principal at an elementary school in the Ventura Unified School District!

After serving as a Counselor at a different elementary school in the same district for the last two years, her reputation for being a hard working advocate for kids, plus being bi-lingual, made her a solid choice for this demanding new position.

Congratulations Vanessa!

Life also has its downs . . .

My Mother during a positive pet

therapy session on Wednesday

Later that evening, she was diagnosed with pneumonia which is decidedly not a good thing for a 98 year old person in already declining health.

After much soul searching between my sisters Marilyn, Linda and myself, the truly difficult, decision was made to change her from palliative care to hospice care. She will remain in the same skilled nursing facility where she has been since last December.

The next few days, weeks, months will be even more difficult I suspect. 

I found this amazing spot

in Glendale last Friday

Since I was heading to Mom's monthly end of the month dinner, I only shopped for some excellent Italian pasta, sauces, sausages and soup for a home cooked meal on Sunday.

Laurie did an amazing job turning these ingredients into a great Sunday dinner.

Speaking of Laurie

This news just in from a recent copy

of France magazine

A little late perhaps for five star blog follower Paul Sabolic but important travel information nonetheless.

Can anyone possibly disagree?

On to tons of EuroBall news . . .

On Saturday, four National Championship

games were contested

The Oslo Vikings defeated the

Eidsvoll 1814's, 42-30 to win

the Championship of Norway

The Netherlands National Championship

game saw the Amsterdam Crusaders

defeating the Brussels Black Angels, 17-7

The French National Championship

was won by the Thonon Black Panthers

who beat the Marseilles Blue Stars, 35-18

This capped a big season for the Black Panthers who also won the Central European Football League tournament championship last weekend.

Now, as for that fourth National Championship game . . .

In Toledo, Ohio, the Italian National

Championship game was being

hyped to perfection

Actually, both teams were 7-1

with Parma beating the Guelfi,

25-7, on April 22nd

Statistical Comparisons

Stars for both teams

The starting line-ups

Enough of the hype, the experts felt that the defending National Champion Guelfi would win based on two factors. First, it was believed that the Guelfi owned a more explosive offense and also that the return of several Firenze players who were unable to play in the regular season game with the Panthers would be the difference.

So much for all the expert analysis,

the Panthers won Italian Bowl XLII

The final IFL playoff bracket

Congratulations to the always

competitive Parma Panthers

The Panthers have now won six Italian National Championships at the DI level in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2021 and 2023.

On to the European League of football . . .

The financially troubled Leipzig Kings

are selling hoodies to try to keep afloat

The Kings are still up for

winning despite their woes

The ELF Power Rankings going

into Week #5

Only the 2-2 Barcelona Dragons

were not playing a Week #5 game

No big surprises this week

other than perhaps Paris' 27-23 win

over the Hamburg Sea Devils

The ELF's three conferences continue to separate the good from the average and not so good clubs.

The Rhien Fire continue to shine in the West

with the Frankfurt Galaxy in hot pursuit

The Stuttgart Surge lead Central with

the Tirol Raiders nipping at their heels

In the East, the defending EFL Champion

Vienna Vikings have a slight lead over

the Wroclaw Panthers

The ELF's six new expansion teams (Fehérvár Enthroners, Helvetic Guards, Milano Seamen, Munich Ravens, Paris Musketeers and Prague Lions) continue to struggle going 1-5 in Week #5 games and 5-22 on the season.

As the ELF's third season nears the half way mark, only six of the 17 clubs seem to be in contention for the four playoff spots, two from each conference.

The top clubs appear to be the Rhein Fire (5-0) and Frankfurt Galaxy (3-1) in the West, the Stuttgart Surge (4-0) and Tirol Raiders (4-1) in the Central and the Vienna Vikings (4-0) and Wroclaw Panthers (4-1) in the East.

ELF WEEK #6 GAMES

Saturday, July 8, 2023

Prague Lions (0-4) at Leipzig Kings (2-3)

Frankfurt Galaxy (3-1) at Milano Seamen (1-3)

Sunday, July 9, 2023

Barcelona Dragons (2-2) at Helvetic Guards (0-5)

Fehérvár Enthroners (0-5) at Berlin Thunder (3-2)

Wroclaw Panthers (4-1) at Hamburg Sea Devils (2-3)

Munich Ravens (2-2) at Rhein Fire (5-0)

Paris Musketeers (2-3) at Stuttgart Surge (4-0)

Vienna Vikings (4-0) at Tirol Raiders (4-1)

BYE: Cologne Centurions (1-4)

Sunday's all-Austrian game between the Vienna Vikings (4-0) and Innsbruck's Tirol Raiders (4-1) should be a dandy!

If nothing else, American football can be a good mental diversion during troubling times.

The Five Year Rule

Wednesday, June 28, 2023

Back in 2016 I was offered and accepted the Head Coaching position with a team in Poland.

The team was located in the

Baltic Sea coast city of  Gdańsk

The Wikingowie (Vikings) were a promising second year club who had over 50 players on their inaugural roster in 2015.

I liked everything about the team's representatives during the recruitment process and the club's outlook for the season, it was a good fit in my opinion.

Then, about three weeks before my scheduled flight to Gdańsk, the Polish Federation booted the club from the Polish League for their failure to pay all of their 2015 dues to the Federation.

The club thus folded and I was out of a job in 2016.

Or so I thought . . .

Sweden's Wäsby Warriors, located about 20 miles north of Stockholm, soon took me on for a May-June job in their off-season to teach fundamentals to their players and coach their coaches. It turned out to be one of the best experiences of my EuroBall coaching career. The Warriors liked it so much that they asked me back again to do the same job in May-June of 2017.

The word about my exciting but somewhat off-beat job with the Warriors reached the ears of Enrique Martín Alonso, the General Manager of the Osos Rivas team located in the suburbs of Madrid, Spain. While visiting Barcelona for a few days at the end of my 2016 stay with the Warriors, Enrique and I met to discuss what happened with the Warriors. He loved the idea and offered me the same mentoring spot with the Osos during their pre-season training during October-November of 2016.

We lived near Madrid for two months

coaching not only the Osos . . .

. . . but also their DIII farm team

We were coaching the Osos two nights a week and would drive 35 miles to the north of Madrid to the quaint city of Guadalajara for another two practices on our Osos off days. It was a busy time to be sure.

Thus 2016 saw us enjoying four months coaching the sport we love with wonderful players and coaches in Sweden and Spain with the chance to enjoy two of Europe's greatest cities, Stockholm and Madrid, on an almost daily basis.

Now, while 2016 wound up being a great overall experience for us, it did get me to thinking about what had not come to fruition in Gdańsk. It led me to the creation of "The Five Year Rule."

The rule simply states that as a potential EuroBall player or coach, one should be leery about entering into any contract negotiations with a club that has been in existence for less than five years. Although the people involved with a relatively new team may be sincere, honest and with lofty goals, the harsh economic and competitive realities of EuroBall may still overwhelm them.

This was certainly the case with the good people that I met while speaking with the Wikingowie brass.

Fast forwarding to 2018 in Italy . . .

The Lazio Ducks were formed in 2018

This new Italian DI team based in Rome was formed via the merger of two former DI teams, the Roma Grizzlies and the Lazio Marines.

The Ducks Head Coach that season was none other than our good friend Bart Iaccarino. We met Bart, an Italian from Sorrento, when we both coached in Spain in 2015. We have since coached together on six other occasions with the Europe Warriors and Brasil Onças and had discussed all sorts of American football related topics over the years.

I was coaching the Varese Skorpions in 2018 and towards the end of the Ducks' inaugural season they had a game in nearby Bergamo which Laurie and I attended.

We talked with Bart before the game and I asked him how things were going. His four word response was "The Five Year Rule."

Bart was back again in Spain the next season coaching Barcelona's L'Hospitalet Pioners to the Spanish DII National Championship.

Another victim of the dreaded

"Five Year Rule"

The European League of Football started play in 2021 with a modest eight teams.

The next season, the ELF expanded to 12 franchises total with the Istanbul Rams being one of the four new 2022 franchises.

In 2023, the ELF added another six clubs creating a three conference, 18 team circuit.

About two months before the start of the 2023 campaign, the Istanbul Rams announced that due to financial hardships, they were dropping out of the league for 2023 while trying to regroup for a new ELF run in 2024. 

This decision left the ELF with scheduling issues with now only 17 teams for 2023.

Unfortunately, "The Five Year Rule" struck again.

Then, this week, this happened . . .

One of the original eight

franchises informed the ELF that they

may be forced to drop out mid-season

due to financial concerns

In 2021, this east German club finished in third place in the ELF's Northern Conference with a 5-5 record.

The 2022 ELF season was a tough one for the Kings going 4-8 with a fourth place finish in the ELF Northern Conference.

So far in 2023, the Kings are a respectable 2-2, tied for third place in the ELF's Eastern Conference. Leipzig's two wins though have come at the expense of two 2023 ELF expansion teams, the 0-3 Prague Lions and the 0-4 Fehérvár Enthroners.

The ELF's goal of becoming Europe's super league of American football at a completely professional basis has been considered lofty goal by many in the know to say the least. With 17 teams located in Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Spain and Switzerland, the cost of travel, housing and salaries with somewhat limited funding streams is a serious issue for all ELF clubs.

"The Five Year Rule" may be rearing its ugly head once again I believe.

Just saying . . .

Another Day, Another Italian Sport Judge's Interesting Decision

Mon.-Tues., June 26-27, 2023 

We focus today on the Wonderful World of the Federazione Italians di American Football (FIDAF) and their ability to make thought provoking decisions.

To review, last Saturday in FIDAF's CIF-9 (DIII) Northern Conference Championship Game between the visiting Brescia Bengals and the Castelfranco Cavaliers, a weird set of circumstances unfolded.

Brescia Bengals 

7 Wins - 0 Losses

2023 Results

Bengals 61 - Monza Brianza Hammers (1-5) 0

Bengals 56 - Milano Rams (6-2) 21

Bengals 54 - Varese Gorillas (0-6) 7

Bengals 42 - Cagliari Crusaders (3-3) 36

Bengals 62 - Varese Gorillas (0-6) 0

Bengals 52 - Monza Brianza Hammers (1-5) 8

*Bengals 28 - Busto Arsizio Blue Storm (7-1) 24

*CIF-9 Northern Conference Semi-Final Game

The high scoring Bengals had to drive about 160km/100 miles East into the Veneto region to play the game.

Castelfranco Cavaliers 

7 Wins - 0 Losses

2023 Results

Cavaliers 23 - Basiliano Leoni (3-4) 7

Cavaliers 13 - Trento Thunders (4-3) 9

Cavaliers 35 - Bolzano Giants (2-4) 6

Cavaliers 34 - Isonzo Sentinels (2-4) 21

Cavaliers 41 - Trieste Muli (1-5) 6

Cavaliers 42 - Basiliano Leoni (3-4) 7

*Cavaliers 43 - Milano Rams (6-2) 21  

*CIF-9 Northern Conference Semi-Final Game

This looked to be a really competitive game for the Northern Conference Championship.

These same two clubs were undefeated when they met in the 2022 Northern Conference Championship Game with the Bengals (8-1) beating the Cavaliers (6-1), 31-24.

The Bengals suffered their only loss of the season in the Nine Bowl three weeks later to the Southern Conference Champion Romagna Roosters by a final tally of 42-35.

As to Saturday's events, in the First Quarter, with the score 0-0, two players were injured and needed to be taken to the hospital via the mandatory ambulance that must be on hand at all Italian games regardless of the level of play.

FIDAF rules state that when this type of situation occurs, the game must be halted until the ambulance returns. FIDAF further states that if the ambulance does not return within 45 minutes, the home team forfeits the contest.

The problem on this day was that the ambulance never returned.

Clearly, by FIDAF rule, the home team Cavaliers would have to forfeit the game to the Bengals. The Cavaliers protested given the importance of the game between two 7-0 teams vying for the right to go to the National Championship Nine Bowl XXIII. Additionally, the Nine Bowl is not being played until July 7th meaning that the game could be resumed next weekend.

The game was thus referred to FIDAF's mysterious Sports Judge to adjudicate a fair, sane and impartial decision.

The decision was . . .

. . . FIDADF Rules are

SACROSANCT!

The Brescia Bengals (8-0) were awarded an 8-0 forfeit victory over the ambulanceless Castelfranco Cavaliers (7-1).

The 8-0 score is FIDAF's final score in all games that are forfeited.

The Nine Bowl XXIII is set for

Friday, July 7th in Reggio Emilia's

Stadio Mirabello at 8:30 p.m.

The now 8-0 Brescia Bengals will play our first ever EuroBall club (2008 and 2009), the 7-1 Catania Elephants.

The Silver Bowl XXIX game which is

the DII Championship Game will be

played in the same stadium at

8:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 8th

This should be a great game too, as the 9-0 Ferrera Aquile take on the also 9-0 Bergamo Lions.

The Lions played in the 2022 Silver Bowl losing to our beloved Varese Skorpions 35-21.

Meanwhile, in Switzerland . . .

Our 2012 team, the Thun Tigers

are seen here in the black jerseys

This past weekend the Tigers (7-3) played their last game of the NFLA (DI) Swiss season, at home, against the Zurich Renegades (8-2), with a 20-12 loss suffered without the services of the Tigers longtime starting QB Nicolas Leibundgut.

Nicholas was an outstanding QB with our Junior team back in 2012 and has been the Senior team's QB ever since.

The Tigers and the Renegades will

meet again in the Swiss Bowl XXXVII

Semi-Finals

On July 8th, the #1 seeded Calanda Broncos (9-1) will host the #4 seeded Geneva Seahawks (5-5) in one Semi-Final game while the #3 seeded Thun Tigers (7-3) will travel cross country to again play the #2 seeded Zurich Renegades (8-2).

If the Tigers can get their QB back, I think that they would have a great chance to advance to the Swiss Bowl XXXVII played in the city of Grenchen on July 15th.

And then there is the Irish . . .

Team Turkey vs. the Irish Wolfhounds

This Group B contest is part of the same International Federation of American Football's (IFAF) qualifying tournament for the 2024 World Championship to be played in Germany.

Our Brasil Onças National Team is also trying to qualify for the World Championships via our Americas Tournament with Chile, Colombia and Panama in December.

Finally, a thought from the internet . . .

Absolutely, 100% . . .

TRUE!!!