Road Trip to Complete the Circumnavigation of Sicilia

This morning I headed out bright and not so early to try to complete my circumnavigation of the island of Sicily. I was hoping to do this in a bright red Ferrari at the beginning of the football season but it just didn't work out. The silver Nissan Micra will have to make do.

First stop, Palermo for a peek at the Cripta dei Cappuccini. These catacombs hold the bodies in mummy or skeletal form of Catholic monks and Palermo's well to do citizenry. Fra Silvestro da Gubbio was the first to be buried here in 1599. I got there at 12:08, it closed at noon! It would reopen at 3:00 p.m. but I had the itch to keep moving, harder to hit a moving target don't you know!

Next up, the ruins at Segesta supposedly built by exiles from Troy. When I got there, the temperature was 36 degrees centigrade (that's hot!) and the humidity was near the 215% level. Did I mention that it is summer here? 

California?

Nope, just the hillsides near Segesta. Sicily was so green and lush just 2 months ago but like California, summer heat turns the island golden too.

The Temple at Segesta

The star attraction is this Doric Temple. My philosophy on ruins like these is simple, "If they built it, I will come".

How did they do this?

I just remembered that before I left in January, we put up our THIRD front fence/gate in the 32 years we have lived in Camarillo at the palatial Casa Contreras.

Still seems to be in good shape.

The Temple is really BIG!

On to Erice!

I know I should have taken this picture on the other side of this sign but the light was SO much better on this side.

Erice is a hilltop town with a definite medieval feel to it. The town's ancient origins stem from a cult that worshipped the goddess of fertility, Venus Erycina.

Tradition!

Before cars and trucks, these were the hand painted main form of transportation in Sicily, horse drawn carts.

Ceramics

Erice is known for it's ceramics and I detected a different style, themes and color schemes from the ones I'm familiar with on the east side of Sicilia. These were found in the Catholic Chiesa di San Carlo.

Even the Carabinieri have ceramic panache'.

The view of the Mar Mediterraneo from Erice

Hilltops in Sicily beg for creative architects!

Erice's Torri Pepoli

Driving in Trapani

Like all great Italian cities, only about every sixth street you cross actually has a sign telling you it's name. It's a given in orienteering in Sicily and why would you even think that Trapani would be any different. This was my first problem in going solo on this excursion.

Problem #2 was my usually trustworthy Garmin GPS sidekick. She is the other woman in my life and, unlike Laurie, I feel the need to slap her quite often really! Today she nagged me to the breaking point in Trapani trying to find my hotel, the Albergo Maccotta.

First, she did not recognize the name of the Albergo's street nor any other possible nearby streets that I could find. RECALCULATING!!!

I finally found a street that she recognized that was only a few blocks, I think, from Via degli Argentieri 4! Our life was bliss again. RECALCULATING!!!

Every turn, I MEAN EVERY TURN, she asked me to make would require me to drive the wrong way on a one way street! RECALCULATING!!!

What is the punishment in Sicily for killing a nagging girlfriend? Sainthood? I don't know but if she does this again tomorrow I may find out!

I accidently found a sign that DID direct me to my Albergo easily. After parking my car in the only legal overnight spot I could find, I hope, I had to walk about 10 blocks to find a very nice, clean and efficient Albergo Maccotta.

Fishing Net

On my trek to the Albergo, I came across this fishing net drying artfully on the sidewalk. Well, I thought it was a fishing net until the owner stormed op to me, smiling thankfully, to tell me the history of this apparatus and the true name of it that was WAY lost in translation.

Giuseppe, "The Pride of the Trapani Fishing Fleet"

That's him with his "net?".

I wish I could have gotten a better picture of his three remaining teeth, they're good ones!

In Sicily, if not all of Italy,

GARABALDI IS THE MAN!

After resting up this evening, I plan to take the ferry in the morning to the Egadi Islands. Actually, I will only visit one of the Egadis, the island of Favignana. STAY TUNED!

"Banquet by Blog"

Life in the Trenches!

Celebrating the JOY of a good defensive play in Palermo.

“DEFENSIVE BANQUET BY BLOG”

As we continue our playoff vigil, I decided to take some time to reflect on the players on the defensive side of the ball for the 2008 Catania Elephants.

In America, we would have an end of the season banquet to give out awards and talk a little bit about each player and their contributions to the team. I don’t think we will have time for that here in Catania so I decided to have a first ever “Banquet by Blog” to talk about our defensive players. 

KICKER

Andrea Mannino #2, maybe our most improved player during the course of the season. His kickoffs and his extra points became money for us down the stretch. 

PUNTER

Salvo Persano #82, with our offensive prowess he didn’t get very many opportunities to punt but did a solid job placing the ball away from the other team’s return men.

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN

DE Brandon "Big Bianco" Bennett leading the charge!

Brandon Bennett #63, our only two-way, full time starter, he played both DE and NT. He rarely came off the field in our 10 games and did a fine job modeling the toughness that linemen MUST possess. He had 29 tackles including 4 for losses equaling -10 yards and 1 QB Sack for -35 yards. Brandon definitely wins our “Ironman Award”.

Fabio Scuto #90, DE, a young player with a lot of promise, he started the first 9 games of the season but broke his ankle in game 9 at Bologna. Fabio had 23 tackles, 4 QB Sacks for -33 yards, intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble in the end zone for a TD.

Marco Raino #73, NG, one of the wily, old veterans, Marco played with a ton of heart and spirit. He has been great, unselfish leader for our younger players. Marco was in on 20 tackles and contributed one QB Sack and one Fumble Recovery.

Pino Anello, #24, finished the season at DE but was our starting MLB in game 1 at Milan. His season was shortened by injuries forcing him to miss out of 5 games completely and causing him to miss the second half of 3 other game. Pino, also one of our seasoned veterans, contributed 15 tackles.

Peppe Strano, #43, in reality our starting TE/H Back, he was pressed into service in a couple of games at DE  due to our injury issues. He had 13 tackles on the season and was very good on the kickoff team. He missed 1 game due to injuries.

Mathieu Cassaghi, #75, our starting OT, he did play a few token snaps at DE throughout the season adding 6 tackles including a -7 yards QB Sack.

Marco Tilotta, #51, a rookie who played both DE and NT, he missed 2 games and had 4 tackles in very limited playing time.

Mateo Amata, #70, was our biggest defensive lineman and a NT who suffered a season ending knee injury and missed 6 games but he did make 1 tackle.

LINEBACKERS

LB Gianmarco Pecoraro, on the left, tracks down a ball carrier.

Gianmarco Pecoraro, #3, an OLB, he played in all 10 games, showing great hustle and heart. He was in on 60 tackles, forced 2 fumbles, had 1 interception that he returned 8 yards and 1 QB Sack for -15 yards. If possible I would like to see if Sicilian scientists could start cloning him into an entire team of great Sicilian football players! He gets my nod for “Co-Defensive MVP Award”.

Salvo Sicali, #46, played both OLB and MLB missing 2 games this season. Salvo had 31 tackles and broke up 6 passes. His teammates voted him as one of our Defensive Co-Captains at the start of the season.

Roberto Conti, #50, was our starting MLB for most of the season playing in 8 games. He had 27 tackles and recovered a fumble and had a tendency to make a play at critical times, A GOOD THING!

Massimiliano Bonomo, "Moro", #36, a late season addition to the Elephants who lives in Rome. Moro possesses a great football mind and has a ton of game awareness. He only played in 2 games, our 8^th and 9^th games, but still was in on 18 tackles including 2 QB Sacks for -32 yards. Having a player of his caliber on defense was a luxury, I just wish we had him all year long!

Alessandro Bambara, #51, a MLB, he was a rookie and played sparingly but did start vs. Bologna in game 9. He had 3 tackles on the season.

FALCONS

"Call me Pony"

Fabio "Foca" Russo diving in for the kill.

Matt Epperson, Mr. Do Everything!

Antonello Gulisano, “Call Me Pony”, #31, one of the senior members of the defense, he had 38 tackles and broke up 9 passes. Pony fought through several nagging shoulder and leg injuries and played with a real love of the game. He missed 1 game.

Fabio Russo, “Foca”, #97, a converted OLB, Foca played in all 10 games and made 29 tackles while also breaking up 3 passes. We really had to play him out of his natural position due to the long string of injuries at Falcon. Fabio played very well most of the season.

Matt Epperson, #7, the best WR in the league, Matt would play about 10 to 15 plays a game on defense at Falcon usually but also at DB and even at DE in our Armageddon scheme. He had 27 tackles. He led our team in Tackles for Loss (5 for -18 yards) and Interceptions (3 returned for 135 yards for 1 TD and 1 Two Point PAT). The “Pride of Amarillo” also had 3 QB Sacks for -25 yards, broke up 5 passes and recovered a key onside kickoff at the start of the Bolzano game. He missed 2 games with broken ribs. When you add up his receiving and amazing yards after catch, his kickoff return ability, toughness, leadership and ability to just flat out be a game momentum changer, you end up with the best all-around player in the IFL! In my opinion, he would have to be our “Team MVP” based on his contributions on offense, defense and special teams. Matt is just a GREAT, old school football player who lets his actions do all of his talking!

Rigel Roundtree, #33, a great guy who played in only 1 game in Matt Epperson’s absence. An American who teaches at a local school and has a lot of rugby experience, he started vs. Bologna in game #9, played very well and was in on 6 tackles. I felt bad for him in game #10 vs. Bolzano. He was ready to go but Matt was activated at the last possible moment and we can only suit up 3 imports, so Rigel was the odd man out.

Gustavo Bonnano, #39, is a very hard worker and an all-around good guy. He was making great strides at Falcon, playing most of the season opener in Milan and starting our second game at Bergamo. Unfortunately he broke his leg at the very end of this game and missed the last 8 games of the season. He made 3 tackles and broke up a pass.

Renato Gargiulio #48, has another of our team leaders. Did I mention that if it wasn’t for bad luck, our defense would have had no luck at all? Voted a defensive Co-Captain at the start of the year, he blew out his elbow on the opening drive of the season in Milan requiring season ending surgery that forced him to miss 9 games. Tough, smart and a great leader, his loss really hurt us. As an example, in his only drive of the season he had 2 tackles, broke up a pass and forced a fumble! 

DEFENSIVE BACKS

Mario Ravida

Cristiano Marra

"Smitty"

Massimo Tribulato

Christian DiMauro, #21, was our excellent, hard hitting Free Safety that led our team in tackles with 63 despite missing 3 ½ games due to a strained knee. He forced 1 fumble and recovered a fumble as well. We ask our FS to be very involved in our run defense if he reads run and Christian did this very well all year. Christian would the other winner of our “Co-Defensive MVP Award”.

Massimo Tribulato, #14, a rookie CB, Massimo endured a trial by fire! His 43 tackles ranked third on the team and he broke up a team high 12 passes. He had 2 interceptions with his first one sealing the victory at the end of our season opener in Milan. He missed the final game of the season with a knee injury. He usually drew the unenviable task of guarding the other team's best receiver.

Mario Ravida, #87, a speedy WR turned CB, Mario missed the first 3 games of the season with an ankle injury. He started several games at the end of the season due to injuries to other CB’s. He made the most of his chances by making in 17 tackles, breaking up 2 passes and recovering a fumble.

Cristiano Marra, #36, was a Free Safety who started 3 games contributing 17 tackles and breaking up 2 passes.  He was a willing worker who also spot played at Falcon. He missed the last 2 games of the season.

Massimiliano Garipoli, “But you can call me Smith”, #5, was another rookie starting at CB, “Smitty” suffered both an ankle injury and had stitches in his chin that forced him to miss 4 games. Another trial by fire style learner, he had 12 tackles, broke up 6 passes and forced a fumble.

Claudio Mangano, #28, is one of the best WR’s in the IFL who was forced to play CB because of all our injuries. He finished game #9 in Bologna and started game #10 at home against Bolzano. He made the most of his time on defense by joining in on 3 tackles, breaking up a pass, recovering a fumble and blocking an extra point.

 

Well, that’s it for the "Banquet by Blog" of our defensive players.

THANKS to ALL the Elephants for a memorable and fun season!

Hopefully we’ll get at least one more chance to get together and play again.

Hot Sunday and Italy vs. Spain in Calcio

It is really starting to feel like summer in Catania with the temperature well into the 90's and the humidity rising daily.

Jason and Christie left for a one week whirlwind tour of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic on Saturday after practice. As for me, I've decided to use this week to explore the western end of Sicily by seeing sights like Trapani, Erice, Marsala and the Egadi Islands.

I considered going to Malta but decided against it with my trip to the Palio in Siena next Monday through Wednesday and the arrival of my bride, Laurie, in Catania next week on Thursday, July 3rd.

So, Sunday I just hung out at Malibu trying to beat the heat. I strolled down to Aci Trezza for some granita to cool off and just pondered the many sun worshippers on the rocks.

Lidos vs. Rocks

It's time for a tough decision!

As I have mentioned before, these wood and sometimes steel lidos have sprung up all over the island in the last two months. You pay an entry fee to use them and chaise lounges are usually included in the entry fee. The big plus is the obvious comfort and the relative ease getting in and out of the water.

Your other option is to lay on the rocks for free. I don't think this would be very comfortable but I would guess that a third or more of the beach goers opt for the rocks.

Harbor Rocks

Some will swim or boat out to the big rocks in the harbor to add a dash of adventure to their frugality.

Clear Water

The lure of these rocky beaches and the reason to endure any rock induced discomfort is the crystal clear, warm water.

Traditionally Decorated Sicilian Fishing Boats

More of the Same

Our Neighbors were VERY into the

Italy vs. Spain in Calcio Match

In Europe they have all sorts of calcio (soccer) leagues and tournaments. Some of these leagues are by country with several clubs representing cities competing, some are made up of all-star teams representing countries, some the best clubs in a country compete against the best clubs from other countries.

In other words, don't worry if your favorite club or country gets eliminated, there will be another competition starting very soon to give everyone renewed hope that their favorite club or country will come out on top this time!

As I have mentioned before, Italians are crazy for calcio, but only if their club or the Italian National Team is involved. A few weeks ago when English clubs Chelsea and Manchester United squared off in the Champions League Final in Moscow in the BIGGEST game of that month, we went to a local pub to watch and there were only a couple of other people there who were mildly interested...if no Italian club is involved, who cares?

Last night Team Italia played Spain in some tournament that is very important this month. I went to Jonathan's for a pannino at about 9:15 p.m. and NOBODY WAS THERE! I ordered and was quickly served a delicious breaded cutlet pannino with caprese smothered in french fries. I finished and still no one was there. On the drive back to Malibu I also realized that there were very few cars, scooters or pedestrians on the streets. Of course, EVERYONE was at home or in a bar watching the BIG GAME!

When I got back to Malibu it was fun to hear everyone in our building and all of the surrounding buildings in unison loudly yelling and screaming with delight or moaning with anguish every good or bad thing that happened to our boys in white. I actually turned on the TV and watched the second half and kind of got into the frenzy myself in a limited way, GREAT FUN!

Incredibly the game ended in a 0-0 tie, who would have guessed that?

In the shootout that followed Spain broke our collective hearts by outscoring our native sons 4-2. Team Italia was eliminated and Spain (cool uniforms by the way) moved on.

Don't lose heart my Italian friends, I'm sure July will bring the start of yet another tournament to help unify the country in a common cause once again!

Italian Football League Week #13 Results

IFL WEEK #13 RESULTS

Bergamo 49 – Ancona 7

Parma 28 – Palermo Corsari 13

Bolzano 40 – Bologna 13

Milan 35 – Palermo Sharks 0

BYE: Catania

 

IFL STANDINGS

10-0 Bolzano Giants *

8-2 Bergamo Lions *

7-2 Parma Panthers

6-4 Catania Elephants *

5-4 Bologna Doves

4-6 Milan Rhinos *

2-8 Palermo Corsari *

1-9 Ancona Dolphins *

1-9 Palermo Sharks *

* Regular Season Completed

NOTE: The teams owning the four best records at the end of the regular season make the playoffs.

IFL GAME WEEK #14

Saturday June 28^th:

Bologna (5-4) at Parma (7-2)

BYES: Ancona (1-9), Bergamo (8-2), Bolzano (10-0), Catania (6-4), Milan (4-6), Palermo Corsari (2-8) and Palermo Sharks (1-9)

Elephant's Playoff Hopes Still Slim But Grow Brighter

Your 2008 Catania Elephants

American Football Team

6 Wins - 4 Losses

Our Goal and Hopes are Still Alive

Well, our off the field luck continues!

In Italian Football League action last night, the Bolzano Giants completed their perfect 10-0 regular season by beating the Bologna Doves 40-13.

Additional results of Saturday night gave the Bergamo Lions an 8-2 record by beating the Ancona Dolphins 49-7 and the Parma Panthers improved to 7-2 after edging the Palermo Corsari 28-13. The Milan Rhinos and the Palermo Sharks play today in a game with no playoff implications.

Saturday's results actually put 6-4 Catania back into fourth place a half game ahead of 5-4 Bologna.

The playoff situation has now become crystal clear.

Obviously, the Bolzano Giants at 10-0 are the #1 seed and will host the #4 seed, either the 6-4 Catania or the currently 5-4 Bologna Doves on Sunday, July 6th at 8:30 p.m.

The #2 seed will be the 8-2 Bergamo Lions who will host the #3 seed Parma Panthers, currently 7-2 on Saturday, July 5th at 8:30 p.m. 

Our playoff situation is simple, their will only be one game left on the IFL regular season schedule after today's Rhinos vs. Sharks game. That game will be played next Saturday, June 28, at Parma. The host 7-2 Panthers take on the 5-4 Bologna Doves. The Panthers will retain the #3 seed whether or not they win this game, a definite psychological edge to the Doves.

If the Doves win and finish with a 6-4 record identical to Catania's, they will be the #4 seed by virtue of beating us in the head-to-head meeting in our 9th game.

If the Panthers win, then the Doves finish with a 5-5 record and the Elephants would travel to beautiful Bolzano as the #4 seed. This scenario would afford my bride, Laurie, the chance to finally see us play a game as she is scheduled to arrive in Catania on July 3rd.

One more week of waiting...

Waiting, waiting, waiting...

Upon my return from the greater Tuscany megalopolis Thursday evening, I decided that Friday would be a great day to just vegetate at Malibu.

While doing three loads of laundry, you must remember that our washing machine takes a minimum of two hours to do one load, I lounged and watched three movies on DVD.

First I went with Laurie's favorite comedy, "Some Like It Hot".

I followed that up with a so-called cult classic, "Bubba Ho-tep", Maybe they meant the Manson Family cult, it was strange to say the least.

The last film up for review was "Casablanca". Now THAT'S what I call a movie!!!

Padre Pio

This one is for Michael Contreras.

Padre Pio, seen in the picture above, was a 20th Century Italian Cappuchin priest who bore the stigmata and became a hero to Italian Catholics. For Craig Slavin, the stigmata means that he sported the wounds in his hands, feet and side that were inflicted on Christ during His crucifixion. And yes Craig, I know it wasn't you guys... it was the Italians!

Padre Pio was a priest for 58 years and died in 1968 at the age of 81. He was granted sainthood in 2002 by Pope John Paul II. 

In the latest Italian Religious Power Rankings (IRPR) released last January, Jesus Christ is, as usual, a solid #1, followed by the Blessed Virgin Mary at #2. Padre Pio is in third place right now, far ahead of 4th ranked St. Francis of Assisi and gaining ground on the BVM very rapidly!

Watch out for Padre Pio who some have mistaken for another saint, Pope Pius X. At his current pace he might move into the #2 slot in the next IRPR due to be released in January of 2009.

Yacht Time

While we awaited the outcome of the Bolzano vs. Bologna game Saturday night, we sat around Malibu just watching life sail by.

GO CLAUDIO!

We did schedule a practice for Saturday at 3:00 p.m. and predictably only 18 players showed up.

Instead of the practice we had planned, we turned it over to Brandon Bennett who you may recall hails from San Diego, California. He came up with the idea to play an ancient Aztec inspired ball game that he had researched as a small child (Brandon, small?) as a team building activity.

In an act of extreme diplomacy, Brandon purposely avoided any mention of the loping off the heads of the losers at the end of the game. I hope the Aztec gods will still smile on us despite this flagrant breech of Meso-American etiquette.

Fuzzy Concepts

Apparently it was hard for Brandon to translate the obscure Aztec language into the much more popular Italian we try to speak here. As a result there was some confusion as to what to do if the football suddenly was airborne.

J.J. Interprets

Ever the leader, Jason Johnson stepped in to demonstrate to the other Elephants what to do in case the ball is thrown to you, GO AND CATCH IT!