A Different St.Jean, The Failings of Calzones and the Habits of Ghosts

St. Jean Baptiste is usually among my favorite holidays. However, this year while I got to spend time with family, friends, and far too many alcoholic beverages, I did so with a heavy heart. Two legal matters were sorted in a way that legitimately hurt me in recent times.

Let’s start with Bill 96. I don’t even know where to begin. Firstly, I wanted to state that I’m proudly Quebecois. I associate with this culture more than any other. I was born here, my mom was born here and there’s never a time where I’m in another country that i’m not also thinking of home. I was raised an anglophone. Well actually, I didn’t speak English or French until I was 5 years old. I was raised by my immigrant grandparents because my parents were a young couple who had to hustle to make ends meet and they sacrificed time with their child to give me (and eventually my brother) a better life. That said, I am bilingual. I’m not someone with a natural aptitude for language so my French isn’t perfect. That’s what people see. They don’t see my continual commitment to make it better.

I’m not saying culture isn’t important. Quebec culture is MY culture. I refuse to be defined by politicians focusing on the small divides rather than the vastly greater commonalities. I’m not saying the French language isn’t important, the more languages you speak, the better off you are. There’s real life implications to this. Let’s forget the potential impact on businesses for a moment. Without immigration our culture wouldn’t exist in the first place. Immigration isn’t a threat to our culture’s existence, it’s how it progresses. We need to look at this as a matter of respecting others rather than pretending that the name on the front of the political jersey is what matters. I know French speakers were treated like second class citizens before the quiet revolution. It was terrible. However, this type of treatment for anyone, will always be terrible and rather than punish for the sins of our fathers we should hope to improve for the lives of our children.

On the subject of children, the overturning of Roe V. Wade is awful At the same moment that we’re old in New York state that the right to bear arms should not require a special reason the same legislative body is saying that, in some states a special reason is required for a safe medical procedure that was constitutionally protected since 1973. The same lawmakers that say they are protecting the lives of children, don’t offer medical support after birth, don’t offer safety in schools, and don’t offer access to education despite seeing models that exist around the world that are cheaper to taxpayers.

Let’s stop for a moment and consider EXACTLY what this is. A removal in abortion rights has nothing to do with unborn children. It is simply a testing ground for the removal of rights that now, as precedent can happen on any other issue. Governors and senators are already trying to draft laws to remove protections for same-sex marriages, interracial marriages and reduce access to contraceptives. Governor Abbot in Texas has already begun floating the idea of guaranteed secondary school education ONLY for American born citizens. If you read the 213 page case of Dobbs v. Jackson it is clear that the spirit of what was passed is that the logic of this case, can be applied to other rights not specifically delineated by the constitution. Let’s remember for a moment that that document was drafted without the voices of minorities, women or the members LGBTQ+ community.

This isn’t politics folks. This is a repeal of human rights and an attack on dignity. Policies should always work toward progress and not division and hatred. I’m sorry for the serious tone of this article, this was a hurtful few weeks.

Musings, Ramblings, Lies and Other Assortments

I don’t care what your politics are but George Clinton was THE best Clinton. I don’t even think it’s debatable.
Blue Dreamers haven’t had a game where they’ve allowed less than 37 points.
Both Greg Segal and William Sebag have struggled to get Selwyn Old House off the ground. They need better concepts and more discipline in the pocket.
Miss me with your “what about-isms” two things can be sh*t and it’s on all of us to always demand better of our leaders.
Stefano and Michael De Seta are worth watching on D. The two members of Former All-Stars have put up a trilogy of interceptions so far through the season.
Jean-Sebastien Rochon had the game of his life. His two interceptions (one going back for 6) and his 2 spectacular catches set the tone for the Undertakers last game.
I legitimately hate the schedule this FPF season. However, I will say that it’s imbalances make for more interesting articles.
Yeah, I do realize Team Timbo can’t go 5-5. Way to be the Well Actually guy.
L8 is averaging only 22.5 plays run per game. Given that they lack big play threats, this means that they need to do a better job of being methodical on offense.
A calzone isn’t just a folded Pizza. You’re describing a Pizza sandwich. You know who you are.
Big Dracos already have 2 more ties than anyone wants in a season. It’s a shame they couldn’t convert an extra point after Wilson Belley’s 40 bomb.
Simon Imbach did everything he could to save face for Save the Turftles. His 4 yard TD catch made it look and feel closer than it was. New week; blank slate.
Replacement’s Robert Di Ielsi is a fantastic possession receiver. Not surprisingly he’s leading the team in receptions and targets.
I got to sit with Threat Level Midnight’s JD Joly at Simon’s wedding last week. I’ve already known this to be the case, but he’s a truly amazing human.
In two games, Jason Cassandra only has 3 receptions. That isn’t enough. Jonathan Velasco needs to get the ball into his hands!
I hope everyone had a happy and healthy St.Jean!

Memories, Hallucinations and Observations

Half Man; All Win

Lockdown is starting to concern me. They took two losses this week and while Lockdown’s subs weren’t quite as effective as Centaures’ substitute William Power I did expect more from Lockdown in this game. The former division 5A runner up have now lost three games in a row and this one does signal panic. Centaures run a bizarre defensive system. It is primarily a 4-1 defense with the two safeties (slot dbs) locking and the middle defender playing the 1. This essentially means that they abandon the short, middle of the field.

This is why I found it surprising that snapper Steven Alberico had only two targets on offense. If the other team is allowing you room to operate, I would imagine an experienced QB such as Buck Aneer would take them up on the offer and adapt if necessary. Instead, Lockdown’s offense seems to be stuck in delivering what they want to rather than playing the way they need to. Their one standout in this game was John Michael Anfossi who eclipsed the century mark in yardage and scored on three touchdown catches.

Prior to this game Centaures have struggled. They lost to Kiss my Vulture who played the game with a back quarterback and were particularly ineffective against Dirty Dawgs and Killer Rays to start the season. As mentioned above William Power subbed for Centaures and he made a diving catch, seemingly pulling the ball up as it fell inches away from hitting the turf for a touchdown. This was Hugo Allamanno’s best game at QB as he threw for three touchdowns as well as running one in. Perhaps he was spurred by his 2 interception effort on defense as Centaures got past Lockdown by a score of 26-19.

Ghosts v. The Mighty 6

I’ve often considered haunting. I’ve told my wife that if I die first, I’d like to say that I’d want her to be happy but, in reality, I’d haunt her for the rest of time. It’s not so much because of the normal Ghost stuff: unresolved issues, unpaid debt of spirit and soul, enthusiastic friendliness, etc. It’s simply that I like hanging out with her. I enjoy traveling with her, watching movies, doing housework together, so when that’s no longer possible I’ll have to resort to breaking dishes, closing doors and moving curtains. I’ll haunt in the name of love.

Ghosts right now seem to be haunted by spirits of all temporal planes (past, present and future). Malakai Roach is struggling. He’s thrown 5 TDs to 11 ints and is completing less than half of his passes. I thought the matchup between The Mighty 6 and Ghosts would have been a competitive game. However, it was fairly clear from early on that I was wrong. Ghosts started the game with three straight incompletions attempted by Roach. This would set the pace for the game.

From jump street The Mighty 6 looked methodical and efficient. Benjamin Reid also threw some incompletions but the body language was different. There was a feeling that they could get yards whenever they needed them. Mighty 6 outnumbered Ghosts in first downs attained 10-1, and while they only converted a quarter of their 3rd down attempts they did convert 50% of their 4th down attempts. The Mighty 6 were far from perfect but above all else this seemed like the kind of game they wanted to play. The 23-6 score is indicative of that. For Ghosts, Zachary Alberts-Gill was the one shining star. He caught one of 5 completions for a touchdown and recorded 4 sacks.

Team Timbo v. Peerless Scarred

I made my way over to see the boys from Peerless Scarred and when I got within earshot of Danny D’Amour he informed me that he was happy I had missed the game (I caught a few plays but largely arrived late due to a car being stopped in the tunnel). D’Amour told me he dropped a bunch of interceptions in this game. I assumed, based on that conversation that Peerless Scarred lost the game. Instead I learned that Jarred Buck didn’t drop either of the two interceptions thrown by Tim Horner and they would end up beating Team Timbo by a score of 37-24. D’Amour wouldn’t drop much on the offensive side as he would catch three touchdowns, eclipsing teammate Benjamin Bourque’s 2.

Team Timbo is an interesting case study. Joe Kano expressed that the struggles are related to “everyone playing a new position”. The most obvious example of this is Tim Horner playing Quarterback for his team. The U family of teams have largely found success despite continually reshuffling the deck. I did tell them that I fully expected them to go 5-5 or something and somehow make me look foolish by winning a championship (seriously, it’s happened more often than you can imagine). I’m curious to see how quickly Horner can turn the corner or they find a way to make the offense work around him. Dylan Catellier and Kyle Pedvis are just the kind of receivers that can help him turn the corner. However, changes need to happen soon as Timbo falls to 1-3-1.

Wide Open Bar v. Mad Dogs

Wide Open Bar are an interesting team. They have a lot of athletes and what they do well is have guys like Edouard Leroux and Phillip Soucy who work well in space. They run hard and get yards after the catch. In their game against Mad Dogs however, it did feel at times that Jean Lussier’s offense was in a sandbox. Sure, by the point in the game that I’m referencing, Wide Open Bar was down a bunch and it allowed Mad Dogs to sit back on defense (a well managed approach). The game started poorly as Jean Lussier received a bad snap and WOB allowed a safety.

Down 2-0, they would allow a a 30 yard score from Tyler Hyllande to Tyler Stewart 2 plays later. This would be the first of 5 touchdowns to Stewart in this game. This is where we could clearly see the greatest disparity between both teams. Where Mad Dogs looked smart and ready for every situation Wide Open Bar looked shell-shocked at all time. At some point you need to make sure the same dude isn’t scoring on you over and over. Where Wide Open Bar have a lot of work to do it was a pleasure to watch the surging Mad Dogs who look like they’ll be competitive against anyone every week. Mad Dogs took this one 41-20.

Declarations of Bravado

Ever wonder why some teams with worse records are above those with better ones? This isn’t the standings, it’s the power rankings. The idea is to add context to wins and losses and guage who’s surging vs. who is struggling.

Glory Boyz (5-0): Antonio Venturino’s 9 touchdowns through 5 games is impressive but the fact that he’s done so on 19 catches is really what’s eye popping.
Kiss My Vultures (4-0): They’ve won the last two games with Iggy Magnets at QB. He’s killing it in div E but this is a step up so I’m impressed with him putting in the work in Div. D
Killer Rays (4-1): Yeah, I’m biased. They’re my favorite team.
Trap Stars (4-1): They’re rounding into championship form again. It takes an average of 11.9 plays on offense to score on them. They’re infuriating.
4th and Shlong (3-0):Nicholas Henry and Jordan Lessard each had a pair of picks as they dismantled Ghosts.
Dirty Dawgs (3-0): Charles Verrault actually looked great at QB. That said, it’s obviously ideal if he’s playing receiver.
Mad Dogs(2-1-1): For now, they’re the lesser of the dogs.
Primetime (3-1): Behind Ethan Aidrian’s rushing and versatility, Primetime’s defense is still one of the best in the division’s despite moving up from div6. However, the story is, they haven’t lost since Adam Ouici took over at QB.
Bandits (2-1-1): They allowed a 4th down score to watch the lead slip away. Unfortunately, they couldn’t break the tie with 6 plays remaining.
Peerless Scared (2-1): They have a favorable schedule for the next two weeks. Let’s see if they can take advantage of it.

Visions of the World of Tomorrow

Selwyn Old Boys		*Trapstars*
L8		*Team Timbo*
Primetime		*Undertakers*
*Killer Rays*		Dirty Dawgs
*VTown*		Former All-Stars
*Peerless Scarred*		The Mighty 6
*Kiss My Vulture*		Glory Boyz
*Blue Dreamers*		Threat Level Midnight
Wide Open Bar		*The Mighty 6*
VTown		*Glory Boyz*
*Kiss My Vulture*		Big Dracos
Replacements		*Bandits*

These are my picks for the week. I didn’t make picks on Calling the Audible this week because I wasn’t on the show. So these are as official as it gets. My picks are in bold because fortune favors the bold.

Saturday’s Special Sauce

For those who have any thoughts, commentary or complaints, I am very easy to find. I’m @peezehss on twitter, @pdellarocca and Peeze Della Reeze on facebook. You can also take a chance by emailing me at [email protected] but I don’t check it because it’s a death trap of junk emails all trying to sell pool cleaning robots and poorly written manifestos. I really need to use incognito mode.

Folks, if your team is struggling, Eagle, Moe, (any of the media guys really), and I love talking flag. Let us know how we can help, let us know if you have any questions. Hey, even if you have some incredible thoughts, I’m always down for an ethereal descent into introspection.

Remember that each week you can join the party on our Facebook page or at www.youtube.com/flagplus on our weekly podcast: Calling the Audible. The show is released every Friday morning.

Till next week, I want to thank you falettineme be mice elf agin!