Super Bowl XLIV

SUPER BOWL XLIV

Miami, Florida

Indianapolis Colts (16-2)

vs.

New Orleans Saints (15-3)

The much anticipated end to every NFL season is, of course, the Super Bowl. This year's game had a much more meaning for many of us because of . . .

Scott Fujita

Rio Mesa H.S. Freshman

1993 Channel League Champions

As followers of this blog know, Scott is now the starting outside linebacker for the New Orleans Saints. Obviously, he has matured a bit in the last 17 years.

We had several friends join us to watch the game in state-of-the-art LOW DEF TV just liked we watched when Broadway Joe Namath led the Jets to victory over this same Colts organization in Super Bowl III.

T-Bone Hicks and D'Artagnan Contreras

Caprese 55

Mike, a.k.a. D'Artagnan, and Vanessa made these culinary delights

Laurie, Mike and Tim getting their

"Game Faces" on

Not sure but I think they may be rooting for Scott and the Saints.

Super Bowl = LOTS OF FOOD!

Cupcakes . . .

. . . and Chicken Wings

Two important ingredients in any health conscious diet!

Ben Todd

While Tim and Mike were here for the football game, Ben was REALLY into the half-time show!

The shots were only taken when the Saints did something good.

That made for a lot of potential celebrating.

BBQ Kings

The boys collaborated on BBQing some exquisite tri-tip.

Two things every American male can do better than every other American male:

1. BBQ meat

2. Coach someone else's football team

Koreen and Laurie

Easily my two favorite traveling companions, Brian is OK too.

Crystal and Vanessa join the boys

Just what these three needed were the whistles Laurie bought for party favors.

Oh yes, they also played a game today!

For the third straight year, the Super Bowl did not disappoint the fans! What a great battle.

I have to admit that I was "concerned" when the Colts went up 10-0 in the first quarter except that in the back of my mind I kept remembering the NFL stat that the team that attempts the first Field Goal in a game losses 75% of the time. That would be the Colts!

The two second quarter Saints' Field Goals that made it 10-6 at the half helped but we were all disappointed when the Saints could not punch it into the end zone on a 4th and goal. Seeing an NFL back slip trying to cut off of his inside foot instead of outside foot, a basic football fundamental, did make me cringe a bit I must admit.

The third quarter, starting with the successful Saints onside kick, was awesome! Lots of action ending with the Colts leading 17-16.

FOURTH QUARTER!!! A fine Saints drive ending with a Drew Brees to Jeremy Shockey 2 yard TD pass. Go for two! Thank goodness for instant replay getting it right, Saints lead 24-17.

The BIG PLAY of the game brought everyone in our home to their feet screaming with joy . . .

Tracy Porter's 74 yard

TD interception return!!!

Saints 31 - Colts 17

Nice Trophy Sean!

Scott Fujita

New Orleans Saints Veteran

XLIV Super Bowl Champions

Now I'm sure that there has been a greater person/player than Scott that has earned the honor of saying he played on a Super Bowl Championship team. It's just that I can't think of one off the top of my head!

He was in on four tackles in a SUPER BOWL for goodness sakes!!!

Congratulations Scott!

You are an inspiration to so many people!!

Enjoy every moment of this!!!

You deserve it!!!!

He's all Dat!

Saugus H.S. Football Clinic

Because I left for my coaching duties in Sicily in January the last two years, I have not been able to attend football coaching clinics for quite some time.

Usually I attended about five clinics each year to learn more about the current trends in both strategy and techniques. Fortunately, Laurie was very supportive of my career and encouraged me on my travels all over the country. Maybe she just wanted me out of the house for a few days . . .

We used to spend a week visiting Spring Practices at colleges. We had great experiences at Delaware, Georgia, Florida State, Oregon State, North Carolina and Maryland.

Saturday it was time to attend the 6th Annual Saugus H.S. Football Coaches Clinic. This clinic lasts only one day but is intense as their are eight speakers making presentations at the same time in different classrooms. Each presentation lasted 65 minutes and there would be eight sessions throughout the day that started at 8:00 a.m. and would not finish until 6:30 p.m.

The Saugus Centurion

Rio Mesa has a similar Spartan statue on their Quad. I think our Spartan can take their Centurion!

This must be the way!

Only one disappointment when I finally arrived at check-in -- NO COFFEE AND DOUGHNUTS!

Now free coffee and doughnuts upon registering have been a staple of every clinic I've ever attended until yesterday! I'm out of the loop for two years and this tragedy hits . . .

Fortunately, I'm resilient,

Clay Richardson

California Lutheran University

Offensive Coordinator/QB Coach

Clay was our QB on the Thousand Oaks H.S. JV team in 1970, my first year in coaching.

I attended Clay's Session 1 talk entitled:

"Implementing the Wildcat Package Into Any Offense"

Session 2 it was Johnnie Williams of Occidental College talking about:

"Defensive Line Pass Rush Fundamentals for the 3-4/4-3 Scheme"

The 3rd Session took me to hear Mission Viejo H.S.'s Bret Paton on:

"4-3 to 3-4 and back: Making it Easy to Use Multiple Fronts"

Session 4 took me to an offensive talk by Patrick Toney of Palomar College:

"Wide Receiver Catching and Route Running Fundamentals Sure to Improve Any Wide Receiver"

After a lunch break, it was on to Session 5 to hear Steve Bogan of South Hills H.S. on:

What it Takes to be a Winner: Lessons on Developing a Program"

It should be noted that Steve mentioned Jason Johnson's Grandpa, Frosty Westering, several times during his presentation.

Session 6, it was back to hear Bret Paton of Mission Viejo H.S. a second time on:

"Pursuit, Tackling, and Turnovers: Doing it the Diablo Way"

For the last two Sessions of the day I opted to hear the "Pride of Bari, Italy" . . .

Rocco Cordola

College of the Canyons

Defensive Line Coach

Rocco's EXCELLENT presentations were the highlight of the day for me. Great detail and lots of good drills and progressions. By the end of the day, there were only four of us coaches left in the room to hear Coach Rocco talk. I may be old but I still have stamina. His talks were on:

"Defensive Line vs. the Run and Pass: Emphasis on Defeating any Scheme and Technique"

Over the last four or five years I have heard several different College of the Canyons coaches speak at clinics on a variety of topics. They have all come across like Rocco Cordola did yesterday, organized, thorough, passionate and professional. Funny how Canyons is one of the top Junior College programs in the country year in and year out.

IT IS FINALLY

SUPER BOWL SUNDAY!

SUPER BOWL MONDAY IN EUROPE

Scott Fujita

New Orleans Saints

#55, Outside Linebacker

One last Super Bowl pre-game Scott story for you before kickoff courtesy of Rhiannon Potkey of the Ventura County Star can be found by clicking on:

http://www.vcstar.com/news/2010/feb/06/patron-saint/

Catania Elephants' Coach Matteo Belfiore and TE Peppe Strano are both in Miami to take in all of the pageantry of the Super Bowl along with Peppe's Dad, Nino.

WHO DAT?

University of La Verne Seniors

Yesterday I loaded my laptop into the old Chrysler and drove about 80 miles south of Camarillo in a driving rain storm to the University of La Verne to speak with four of their Senior football players about playing American football in Europe after graduation.

ULV's Official Seal outside of Founder's Hall

La Verne is another Division III school that is a member of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Their coach, Andy Ankeny, was very helpful in getting our meeting under way.

The Rock

A La Verne Institution

The Rock is found just outside of Founder's Hall as well.

At one time The Rock was threatened to be blown up by radical members of the campus chapter of the Lambda Chi Fraternity in the late 1960's.

Obviously they were unsuccesful.

Students traditionally paint it with messages like the one seen here. It must be kind of like the similar rock at the University of Tennessee where students recently bid a fond farewell to former football coach Lane Kiffin.

The flags of Norway, Sweden and Switzerland caught my eye. The Swedish flag is the blue and gold one, was this yet another positive omen of the upcoming Hässleholm Hurricanes football season?

La Verne Leopard RB Devon Libran

Devon was one of the four Seniors I spoke with yesterday. Due to a brain fart on my part, I forgot to take my usual picture of all four Leopards but ran into Devon again on campus in front of the ULV's Athletic Department, a.k.a., The Big Top.

T. Phillips Alehouse and Grill

After our Seminar, I was hungry so I took the advice of a member of one of the long time, noble families of La Verne and stepped into this establishment for much needed nourishment.

Pee Wee Herman's bike loomed large

once inside.

The Signature "T" Burger

In a stunning upset I said no to the French fries and opted for the fruit cup instead. The "T" Burger was quite good.

Hopefully we gave these four would-be Euro players the guidance they need to take the big step, we'll see.

NHL Freeway Face-Off

Carl Melhorn, a teacher at Rio Mesa, called me yesterday offering Laurie and I two free ducats to last night's National Hockey League . . .

at the Staples Center in Los Angeles

between

The Anaheim Mighty Ducks (27-23-7)

and

The Los Angeles Kings (34-19-3)

The tickets were courtesy of long-time Rio Mesa H.S. boosters Jim and Karen Gramacki who own season tickets to the Kings' games.

THANK YOU!!!

Laurie Hanging Out

We got there early and hung out across the street from the Staples Center at L.A. Live. Lots of very cool spots here besides the ESPN Zone like . . .

The Grammy Museum

We did not go in to see their current Elvis Exhibit but did enjoy their Walk-of-Fame on the sidewalks nearby.

Notice that the Italian song "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu" better known as "Volare" by the Italian singer Domenico Modugno won the very first Grammy back in 1959!

Claudio translate "Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu" please.

The Staples Center

Home to the NHL Kings, the NBA Lakers and the NBA (barely) Clippers

The Hall-of-Fame "Voice of the Lakers"

REALLY Fat Goalies

NHL owners . . .

THINK ABOUT THE OBVIOUS SIMPLICITY OF IT!

A Corona for ONLY $13 . . .

Such a Deal!

We wisely ate at Barney's Beanery in Hollywood before coming to the game.

All quiet now . . .

Soon we would be surrounded by testosterone filled, blood thirsty men who could all star in the lead of The Merchant of Venice! The girl next to me probably should have provided Security with a urine sample as well.

Fortunately it was mostly tough talk but I was REALLY glad that I was not a Ducks fan . . . death before dishonor don't you know.

Enjoying The Quiet Before the Storm

The game would be a sell-out with paid attendance announced at 18,118 but there were empty seats to be found.

These were great "End Zone" seats that I love at football games as well. They allow you to see spacing and the artistry of hockey.

Warm-Ups

Suddenly the quiet was broken as someone tossed all of these pucks onto the Kings end of the ice.

The Symmetry of Hockey Warm-Ups

Artsy, it IS L.A. after all

Dueling Zambonis

The Kings in black Facing-Off

A quick check of the roster showed that the Kings have two Swedish players.

One was #9 Oscar Moller, a 5-10, 186 lbs., Center from Stockholm, Sweden.

The other one was #31 Erik Ersberg, a 6-0, 165 lbs., Goalie from Sala, Sweden. WAY too skinny for my revolutionary new Goalie philosophy.

The game itself was a strange one. The Kings were trying to tie an all-time 43 year franchise record with an eighth straight win. The Ducks were just trying to keep their bills above water.

The Ducks' Jason Blake scored first but the Kings' Anze Kopitar from Slovenia countered. After one period it was 1-1.

The Kings dominated the second period as first Wayne Simmonds and then Slovakia's Michal Handzus found the net. Kings cruising 3-1 after two stanzas.

Then it got very interesting. L.A.'s Jack Johnson scored to extend the Kings' lead to 4-1. We thought about leaving early but opted to stay just to listen to the manly talk all around us in the stands, especially the girl next to me. She was getting bolder with each Kings goal.

Anaheim's Troy Bodie then scored to make it 4-2 Kings, no sweat.

Suddenly the Ducks' Matt Belesky put one in, Kings 4-3, what the . . .

Next the Ducks' Ryan Carter snuck one in on Kings' Goalie Jonathan Quick to tie the game 4-4 with 10:25 still left in the game!

Fortunately for my newly found Kings comrades in the seats around us, the home team woke up as Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar again each blew the puck past usually reliable but tonight's rather hapless Ducks' Goalie Jonas Hiller who is a native of Switzerland.

Final Score

Kings 6 - Ducks 4

We had such a GREAT time!

Thanks again Jim, Karen and Carl!

New Orleans Saints History Lesson

Scott and Jaclyn Fujita with their

twins Delilah and Isabell

in front of the Louisiana Super Dome

For a quick recap about the history of the New Orleans Saints franchise and how far they have come in the last few years, click on the link below to an article from the London Times.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/us_sport/article7013861.ece

GEAUX SAINTS!!!

Scott Fujita's N.Y. Times Super Bowl N.Y. Interview

Only four more days until Super Bowl XLIV live from Miami!

The Italian delegation representing the Catania Elephants and the "Sicilian Chapter of the Scott Fujita Fan Club" in Miami will include Matteo Belfiore, Peppe Strano and his Dad, Nino.

GOOD TIMES IN LONDON

Matteo Belfiore on the far left with the

Notre Dame T-shirt

Peppe Strano on a knee in the white

"Pain is only temporary . . . " T-shirt

A much larger Catania Contingent was able to afford the New Orleans Saints vs. San Diego Chargers game played in London in 2008.

Matteo and Scott in London

Scott Fujita at yesteday's

Super Bowl Media Day

You can read some of his social commentary from Media Day at this New York Times link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/03/sports/football/03fujita.html?hp

WHO DAT?

Rio Mesa Baseball Team's Golf Tournament

FEBRUARY 2, 2010

HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY!

Love you Laurie!!!

Today was also the day of the 10th Annual Rio Mesa H.S. baseball team's Golf Tournament fund raiser at the Moorpark Country Club. It is always a key event in my busy social schedule!

The Check-In was fast and pain free

Raffle Prizes Galore!

As usual, I came away empty #@&%$#* handed!

Warming up on the range

My philosophy on the range is a simple one . . . I only have so many swings left in my body, so why waste them on the range? I'm saving all my swings for live action!!!

The nervous anticipation

Getting ready to load the carts and tee off, everyone is trying to think of a great way to justify the scores that we will be turning in to the Pro Shop in about five hours.

A beautiful day, a marvelous course and even a roadrunner in our fairway!

Brian FitzGerald Teeing Off

Bob Gregorchuk smashing one home!

Bob played the best I've ever seen him play.

I had to take a few rips myself of course.

Our Threesome with the MCC in the background

Bob, Brian and myself carded a Team Score of 4 over par 76 which for our three skill levels was GREAT!!!

Unfortunately the winning team was 23 under par for the round . . .

YIKES!!!

Note the pencil above the scorecard

The subtle sign of a quality golf course is the eraser on their pencils.

The Moorpark Country Club is a fine place to play golf indeed!

Post Tournament Dinner

Tri-Tip Steak and delicious chicken were the two main dishes. A fine meal, friendship and a few adult beverages made for a great finish to another good day.

Meanwhille in Hässleholm . . .

When I got home from the Golf Tournament, I checked my e-mail and found a message from Hurricane offensive lineman, Frank Hilgers. It included pictures of Hässleholm's Groundhog Day weather.

I better pack a second sweater.

A good day to stay indoors and enjoy some

LUTFISK!