Perennials, Cemeteries Recaps and Power Rankings

Peeze’s Playbook

By Paolo Della Rocca

Week 1

A Formal Introduction

In the past I would use the introduction to talk about whatever topics were related, unrelated or loosely related to the comings and goings in all of our favourite rec league. However, I have since decided to take a different approach. I will weave my thoughts, musings and ramblings into my recaps as I see fit. Sometimes they will be thematic, other times they may appear to be a little more random. I apologize (while mostly tongue in cheek) to those who used to skip my introductions and just get to the point. The truth is, I often don’t have a point.

Week 1 Recap

Victoria Day weekend is as great as it gets for a lot of people. Certainly it is the start of the second week of the spring season but it is also planting weekend for anyone raised by their Italian grandparents. This weekend’s forecast was shrouded in rainfall and as such it gave us a single day to turn the soil, remove dry patches of grass and overseed.

Overseeding sounds like it would be problematic. Any time you go overboard it can’t be good, right? For example, we need some water but too much water often results in flooding. The Diablos entered into State de Montreal flooded with confidence. While I am not entirely sure if flooded with confidence is a figure of speech, I know that if anyone were to be afflicted by it it would be Francois Martin. To his credit he caught a great deep ball on the far sideline from where I stood. He reached over with waves of flesh and hauled the ball in before losing his balance and tumbling to the ground. A fairly acrobatic play for a man who is most known for his cement footed higher division quarterback play.

The idea of a cement acrobat recalls my most noted experience in a cemetery. It wasn’t the most traumatic nor was it the most recent. It was simply the most noteworthy because otherwise most trips to the cemetery aren’t worthy of drawing attention. The audience is stiff, the flowers are working their way toward the same fate to those they are presented to and finally the candles sit and await a gust of wind or the falling of rain to extinguish it in perhaps the most morbid parallel we have in this celebration in the passed lives of our dead relatives, friends and enemies.

However, this singular time proved to be memorable as a much younger Peeze, as if for the first time, realized the plethora of statues and decorative headstones that house stone angels, birds, soldiers and the like. The much younger Peeze had a more vivid imagination and imagined that they could come to life at night and behave in a manner akin to Toy Story, A Night at the Museum and Gargoyles (the animated show that was far too short-lived). This is the imagination of youth that slowly gets drained from all of us as the overwhelming pressure of paying bills as well as social and career oriented responsibility drain the life from you just as one would imagine the stone angel would. Don’t blink! Blink and you’re dead. They are fast, faster than you can believe. Don’t turn your back, don’t look away and don’t blink! Good luck.

Seeing Francois Martin get that open that deep and make the play was a shock to my nervous system. This could only have bothered Pardon My Swag quarterback Brad Evans more as he stood right by me on the sideline hoping his defence would make a stop. In the end Pardon my swag would be just too much for Diablos as a late game lead and a late game stop gave Brad Evans the opportunity to milk the clock with the game in hand. Pardon My Swag held on toe beat Diablos 20-13 in the first week of the season.

Diablos have turned to young phenom Charles Verrault at quarterback after a season of futility with Michel “Sun” Deguire behind the snapper. Verrault looked pretty good. His speed will allow drives to keep going as he is a threat to run at any time. He also has a strong arm and can attack some of the less experienced defences in this division.

Ex Diablo Marc Andre Desaulniers finds himself back in division E after a moderately successful run in division 5. He looks to build on past success in this division where he was an all-star for the first time in his career. This of course has me thinking of perennials as an option for one’s garden.

My favourite perennial are my recurring hop plants that produced a combined 5 kilos of hops in just their second year in our garden. As a home brewer this is particularly exciting and provides some cover for my patio and smells delicate and beautiful as the summer winds carry their citrusy and grassy aromas through the air. It’s an excellent backdrop for writing articles, smoking cigars, drinking whiskey or, most commonly, all three at the same time.

While I may be the only FPF writer to firmly annoy his neighbours with his vices, Marc Andre Desaulniers proved to be an annoyance to my top ranked Los Siete Amigos. Starting with only 5 players, Los Siete Amigos were in no state to compete early on with Clinkers who we know to be one of the divisional front runners. Clinkers QB Marc Andre Desaulniers took his time and kept hitting hooks and slants. In the red zone Los Siete Amigos didn’t send a rusher and Desaulniers took his time to find an open receiver. He also avoided throwing anywhere near Nicolas Lessard who didn’t have much impact on the game.

Lessard’s impact came on the offensive side of the ball. He caught 8 passes for 46 yards and a touchdown. Etienne Brisson took snaps in the absence of Benjamin Reid. We’ve also since learned that Brisson Is expected to be the starter for the entire season. Once even, he looked to be somewhat better but the team will need to learn how to adjust to different situations. Hopefully, starting off on the wrong foot without their entire roster had them somewhat disconnected form this matchup. Moving forward we’ll see if they perform better when they start on even footing.

Turning the soil can be back breaking work. It’s largely important to ensure that the plants in the garden get the appropriate nutrients, that old soil is replaced with new and that compost and manure is properly being spread through the garden. If you’re somewhat neurotic as I am, ensuring that the soil is even is work that will take you fine too long.

The matchup between Lockdown and Threat Level Midnight is a game, that on the surface, is between familiar teams that have similar elements, competent defence, established receivers and two of the stronger quarterbacks for each team. Lockdown was so starved for bodies that Eagle was starting on offense. He immediately had this pay of for his team as well as for the few onlookers who saw him miss-time an otherwise perfectly thrown ball. As if afraid the ball would take his soul he backed away and threw out his arms in comical fashion. The ball hit Olive Oyl’s flailing arms and it stuck as he would, as if by accident, score one of Lockdown’s three touchdowns.

Early in the game Pat Riot’s attack could be summed with strikes to Max Newcastle and check downs to the sure-handed Steven Alberico. The two combined for 20 of Riot’s 22 completions. Once Threat Level midnight had that figured out they dismantled Lockdown’s offense like Michael Scarn dismantled Gold Face’s evil plans (more on this next week). The new athletic additions Riley Pincombe and Julien Proulx combined for 3 interceptions and Jonathan Lemieux needed just 10 completions to throw 5 touchdowns in a game where There Level Midnight had good field position all day.

That was a quick look at week 1. I’ll be around the field early this week so please feel free to let me know about how your second week worked out for you.

Special Announcements

Week 2 in FPF is picture week! Make sure you and your boys look your best. Wear your finest jerseys, remember to style your hair and arrive early enough that the pictures are taken before the game and before you’re a disgusting mess at halftime. Most women will never see these pictures because, let’s face it, why would they come to our site? That said, look good, play good is what at least one person has said before.

Elite 8

Each Week Marc-Andre Desaulniers and I will combine our power rankings into this section of my article. For our weekly pics you can check out Marc Andre’s weekly piece.

Clinkers (1-0): They beat Los Siete Amigos who I expect to be strong. I know Los Siete Amigos started with 5 but for the rest of the game Clinkers made all the adjustments and LSA did not. Jeremie Ledoux had a huge interception in his first game with his new squad.
Los Banditos (1-0): Los Banditos did exactly what we expected them to. Loic Savoiz-Seguin and Vincent Benjamin proved o be unstoppable and combined for 4 touchdowns. Francis Desrochers looked comfortable in the pocket for the first time in a long time.
Pardon My Sawg (1-0): Hawaiian Shirts abound! PMS look to be a tough and competitive team this season. Expect games to be close, but don’t expect PMS not to control them throughout.
Threat Level Midnight (1-0): Good Jo Lemieux=Win! 5 touchdowns and an interception will usually get it done and it did against Lockdown in week1!
Los Siete Amigos (0-1): A week 1 loss is not the end of the world. They started the game (played on mother’s day mind you) without a full squad. A greater concern was the inability to adapt on either side of the ball.
Bozy Boys (1-0): Will they be the Ballers of spring? Starting in the lowest division and then starting former McGill Quarterback Pierre-Luc Dussault is kind of a jerk move. Either way, this team looks athletic and talented. Let’s see how well Dussault plays against stiff competition moving forward.
Tough Lungs (1-0): Matthew Lerner relied heavily upon the help of his brother Justin who scored thrice in the season openner. This has been a problematic issue for Mat Lerner earlier in his career. Let’s see how It affects this team’s success movigin forward.
Honor Game (1-0): David Daoust looked good in his first outing with his new team. Terry Babalis is a very good rusher and Jonathan Hared will likely be up for an award if he can play at this level all season.

Top 8 – 1re semaine

Division E

Pardon My Swag : Un bon début pour l’équipe que je classais premier avant le début de la saison avec une belle victoire, sans fracas, mais très efficace face à une équipe aguerrie des Diablos.
Tough Lungs : Départ canon, surtout en première demie, ils vont en marquer des points !
Clinkers : La défensive a joué toute une partie !
Threat Level Midnight: Il est bon de voir Jonathan Lemieux en grande forme !
Los Banditos : Ils sont en mission et ils sont déterminés à atteindre les sommets.
Honor Game : Ils seront à prendre au sérieux, victoire éclatante !
Green Means GO! : Un beau mélange d’expérience et de très bon athlètes.
Trailer Park Boys : Quelle défensive ! L’équipe la mieux outillées pour gagner les parties serrées.

Saturday’s Separate Soliloquy

The season has begun and already my preseason analysis means nothing. I was wrong a bunch and right far less often. Let me know your thought by reaching me at @PeezeFPF on twitter, @Peeze Della Reeze on Facebook or by emailing me at [email protected].

For further analysis, tune in to the official FPF Division 6/6D podcast Calling the Audible where Moe Khan, Stefano Berardi discuss why hockey players have the same accent, the benefit of air fryers and the worst ways to misuse a baffle plate. Stay tuned for information about when and where you can watch it.

Have a great and safe week of action. See you at the fields!