Spring Tournament Wk2 Summary:

First let me say off the bat: I am getting too old for this shit. My body aches, my ribs, my hands, my legs are like logs today. That's just being sore, thanks to John "I am a Train" Burton, my ankle is tweaked and my knee sore and swollen. I'm a father of two, and I can barely lift my 4 month old, and can't stand up from my chair without a good grunt.

What else is there to say? Oh, the weather? Couldn't be any more different from last week -- where last week was cold and wet, this week was hot and sunny, almost too hot for football. Well that's it for today. Oh wait, we actually played games too. So with my knee on ice and my ankle wrapped, its on to the games....

THE PLAYOFFS
Adam Smashers v. Charlie's Crew: Wow, what a game. Only thing that could have made it better was if we had won. If you liked Defense, then you had to look at the other game (see below). If you want your offense smart and balanced, with a twinge of big play, then come on over.

The Smashers jumped out to a lead led by Tony Stewart's accurate passes and Brandon "Superstar" Waggoners scarecrow legs. All tournament long, Brandon seemed to be able to get open deep at will, he showed good hands, and was our best receiver. Supporting Tony and Brandon's efforts was Allscott, who wanted me to mention he scored 2 TD's in this game.

For Charlie's Team, Dan showed good patience and was able to consistently find receivers open in the slots over the middle -- Kevin, Charlie, Marc, Ari all showed good hands and were able to find holes in the zone. At the half the score was Smashers 22- Crew 12 .

Undaunted, Dan led his team bringing the score to 28-26. One particular defensive series of note, with a sack and nice pull by Marc that left me 2 yards short on 4th and 16. With Time running out, Dan moved the ball around to his targets and stayed patient. With less than 2 minutes left, we had the choice to let them score or try to stop them, we tried to stop them, we failed and the score was 32-28 with Tony left with 5 plays. A incompletion to the ever dangerous Brandon left us with 4 plays.

Then the magic started. 3 consecutive passes from Tony to me (and various flips and laterals), left us 1 play and 15 yards from victory. Unfortunately, it was 15 yards too many and the magic couldn't continue. Final score Crew 32 Smashers 28.

P-Mac's Peeps v. Burton's Bashers: The name of this game was Defense. Showing what would be their trademark on their way to the championship, P-mac's peeps played tough D. Despite a red-zone interceptions by their QB Jim, the Peeps led 6-0 at the half. Maybe they thought they were still playing in the rain.

They set the tone for the second half, when Marlon reached out his long arms to intercept an attempted lateral on the 2nd half kick off. With a 12-0 lead, both offenses stalled. With a 12-6 lead, Jim was able to run out the clock with 2 first downs, the last one on a nice catch and run by JJ.

THE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND
Adam Smashers v. Burton's Bashers: Both games turned into a rematch of the first games of the tournament, the question on everyone's mind would the results stay the same when you replaced clouds and rain with sun and heat.

The consolation game started as an easy match up for 3rd place and trash talking rights between Burton and Tony, but quickly became a hard fought offensive war. Again Tony controlled the offense, finding open receivers with ease. The highlights were a long pass to Brandon over Burton and another long pass to AllScott who showed no fear as Burton whizzed by him looking for blood or the ball. Still, everyone got into the act, particularly Steve Adamske, who showed good hands and made a couple of tough catches, including one for a TD.

A strong rush by Jon Williams (who also showed surprisingly consistent hands) kept PJ on the run, but John Burton put his team on his back. Despite our box in one defense, Burton consistently made himself a target for his scrambling QB. Most memorable was his one armed reach on a deep pass that was slightly out of his reach, but apparently not that far out of his reach.

With the Smashers holding a 2 TD lead with 10 minutes left, it seemed that the game was over. So much so, that the gays in the huddle were discussing the the ass on the girl in the bikini in the corner of the field (much to my embarrassment), what kind of gays are you guys?

Despite our opinion, Burton and PJ refused to give up. Down 8, we had the ball with 1 minute 53 seconds left trying to run out the clock. A pass off the receiver's hands (and off a defender's fingertips) ended up in PJ's hands. Much to the surprise of everyone, led by a blocking convoy, he returned the tipped pass for a touchdown. With the key conversion to tie the game, PJ found Burton in the back of the endzone.

With a smile on his face, Stewart took on the challenge (not to lose those trash talking rights), throwing passes to open receivers across the field, he move the Smashers with aplomb as the clock ticked down. A touchdown left the score Smashers 42- Bashers 36 and PJ had one play left for a failed Hail Mary.

THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
P-Mac's Peeps v. Charlie's Crew: Another Rematch. Without any subs, P-Mac's team were true iron men on this hot day, still Charlie's team commented that they didn't seem tired at all.

Still, the Peeps took control from the begining, they took the lead and never gave it up racing to a 25-7 half time lead. It seemed that the Crew's strategy of letting Patrick's team run up a 3 TD lead to tire themselves out, and give the Crew their opportunity for a stunning second half comeback was working perfectly.

It wasn't just the Peep's star players who contributed-- Jim, Jay, Marlon or P-Mac, but their entire team stepped up to the task, Kevin, Dan and JJ played consistent offense and solid defense, leaving the Peeps with no weakness for other teams to exploit.

Despite their "rope a dope" plan, the second half was more of the same, as Dan was intercepted at least twice, and Charlie's Crew couldn't stop Jim's deep ball.

What can account for their dominance? As the only all gay team, maybe they weren't distracted by the girl in the bikini? Who knows, but they did what they had to do when it counted, with no subs and nowhere to turn, they played a team game, with every member contributing. Congratulations to Captain P-Mac and his team.

Final Thoughts: It was a fun well played tournament. Thanks to those who organized it and everyone who made the time to contribute and play. I was really impressed by the sportsmanship of the teams I played against.

Except for the championship game, all the games were tight, and really it seemed as if any of the 4 teams could have won the whole thing. I wonder if this was the most competitive tournament in that respect. In the end, despite the wet clothes, the wrapped ankle, the ice pack, the advil and sore back, despite the sun burn and blisters, the disappoint of close losses, and the girl in the bikini, it was a lot of fun.

Standings:
1. P-Mac's Peeps (2-1)
2. Charlie's Crew (2-1)
3. Adam's Smashers (1-2)
4. Burton's Bashers (1-2)

A final hiaku:

The weather was odd.
The games were close (god damit).
Congrats to P-Mac.