Cuba Libre, Hiking with Machetes and Bobby Spaghettis
Paolo Della Rocca
16-07-2021 08:08 PM
Peeze’s Playbook Week 3
The first time I ordered a Cuba Libre (not knowing at the time that it was simply a Rum and Coke) I was in Havannah. This was several hours and far too many drinks after my friends and I arrived and immediately hit the shores to see the beaches and take in all that was Cuba. I had ordered it because it was what someone else at the bar had ordered and after overhearing it, I innately fell in love with the visuals it conjured.
On another trip, I had travelled alone to Miami and within a few days I became friendly with a couple of wonderful Cuban women. One night as we sat out on the beach one of them mentioned how the water was raucous. She explained that it was second nature for her to look out onto the water and notice if it would have been a safe night for her family to make the journey from Cuba to America.
Having grown up in Canada by virtue of my grandparent’s own sacrifice (coming to Canada from a war-torn Italy), I’ve only known freedom and I’ve known very little sacrifice. The sacrifices of my grandparents and parents allowed me to enjoy the benefits of a Canadian life despite my immigrant background. Freedom was among the things I took for granted.
What I didn’t fully understand in that first trip to Cuba was the basic fundamentals of freedom and basic human rights that I’ve come to expect on a daily basis was not something experienced by the Cuban citizens. Recently, some footage of protests in Cuba were leaked. This is a big deal for a few reasons, firstly, very little of that type of dissent is made public as the country controls so much of what information gets out. Secondly, seeing people protest in a country where secret police will undoubtedly purge the perceived rabble-rousers once the eyes of the world become distracted with anything else is terrifying.
Our right to protest is part of what makes us a free people. We are free to criticize the government without true threats to our families, and our own lives. Knowing that that isn’t the case had me in awe for the sheer desperation that Cubans must be feeling. It’s the same desperation that allows for the waterway that separates the communist country from the peninsula of Florida is a veritable graveyard of people and their wives and children whose only crime was wanting to flee oppression and to start a better life for their families.
So what can be done. Well, years ago the decision was made to choke out the Cuban economy by creating an embargo from trade by the United States. All this has done however is deny access for Cuban citizens. This likely wouldn’t have been better as the government’s corruption would still have been as vile as it has been fo decades. The current protests are about the lack of access to COVID vaccinations. This particularly frustrating.
While I don’t have the answers and realize that most things have become politicized by politicians and constituents alike we can all agree that human suffering is terrible and unearned. Unfortunately while the story has caught the world’s attention now, I worry greatly about a few weeks from now when the world has moved onto other things and the veil of secrecy returns to the terrible suffering felt by those involved with the protest. It’s clear something has to be done
Musings, Ramblings, Lies and Other Assortments
- In the first game Green-Means-Go! Have played Dave Allen threw for 210 yards and 6 touchdowns. He knows he’ll need to make up ground on the QBOY race with a forfeit in his past.
- Sorry Moe Khan, I don’t think Dilly’s Stan Marino will be able to get to 30 touchdowns.
- I don’t know why I didn’t think that premium properties would be the next step for streaming services. It’s a smart way to get additional revenue. I’m not sure how I feel about it as a consumer.
- English soccer fans being that predictably racist was saddening
- Les Mythique’s Joel Laberge leads the pack with 3 interceptions. I love how these relatively unknown talents emerge in this division.
- Pop Smoke’s Demeanor kinda slaps.
- Incredible Thought: A peeled banana is the world’s ice cream cone.
- Just a day into week 4 and Balls Deep are already 0-4, the turn-around needs to happen soon if this group has postseason aspirations.
- The Trailer Park Boys announced their presence by only allowing 2 scores to Frank Grenier and his Blast From the Past!
- Not sure why Ashley Olsen went on a hike with a beer and a machete but I’m here for it!
- The season’s first Game of the week is posted and it featured me playing against Calling the Audible’s producer The “Eagle” at Master Control. Take a looks and feel better about your own throwing mechanics:
Memories, Hallucinations and Observations
I am Brew-t
They’re not all winners kids. The Brewers on the other hand did win a tight game 21-19 against Le Chevaliers du Rohan. As impressive as the two touchdowns by Mathew Guevremont is, the game came down to converts. While Le Chevaliers du Rohan would convert only a single time, Jeffery Lefevrbe was successful each time.
Les Chevaliers Du Rohan look primed to take a step each week. The difference from one week to the next is a massive change. They didn’t score a single point in their debut against Blast from the Past. Antoine Bonin would score a 40 yard touchdown in the second half that answered the Brewer’s two yard punch-in. However, they did have several opportunities to win the game. The next two Brewers drives resulted in turnovers and Les Chevaliers du Rohan could not capitalize. We’ll see how many games it will take for them to seize these types of opportunities.
In Squad We Trust
For the record, I didn’t write this. The headline for this game is one of the taglines used for the movie Suicide Squad; yup somone got paid for that. I learned something really quick in watching this game. People must not know how ridiculous an athlete Alex Noel is. In a single drive Bobby Sepengtis threw up two jump balls into the back of the endzone to a taller receiver and on both occasions it was Noel who was able to attack the high point and knock the ball away. Bobby “Spaghetti’s” went 7/16 and throughout much of the game it looked as though he was holding the ball too long and forced the ball downfield when checkdowns didn’t immediately come open.
While Sepengtis struggled Suicide Squad quarterback Jamaal Roach was excellent at moving around behind the line of scrimmage. His ability to throw the ball hard while on the move was very surprising. Alex Noel, Tahnyus Steer, and Gab Wiseman were targeted a combined 16 of 24 times. They often got into second and third windows on passing routes and this allowed for Roach to make those exemplary throws. This game was in hand and that seemed to be the case from very early on. Suicide Squad won 30-0 over Menace II Sobriety
Blow Outs? Nevermore!
It happens all the time, the upstart team is underestimated by one of the returning stallworts. In this case, the Ravens seemed to have taken the Bad Batch lightly and before Joule Houle knew it, he and his boys were in a competitive game. On a third down Houle was intercepted by Leonard Benoit and later on a second down Vincent Malo stepped in front of a pass for Joel Houle’s second interception of the game. This kept the Bad Batch in the game and Malo’s interception in fact allowed for one last opportunity, this unfortunately ended somewhat anti-climatically as Frederic Dore would turn the ball over as well on the last play of the game (a Fustel Sumu interception).
The Ravens have looked good to start the season but not as overwhelming as I thought they’d be. The Bad Batch were destined for a tough spot as they started the season playing against Oreo and Ravens on the first two weeks of the season. Both games were respectable and they will win a fair share of games. Vincent Malo is a player who’s Q rating doesn’t turn heads yet in FPF but he can play. This week, the schedule lightens as they’ll face Les Mythiques but, they did lose their second game by a score of 20-13.
Declarations of Bravado
Here;s a rundown of the top 10 teams in the division and why they’re up on this board. This takes Thursday’s slate into account.
- Dilly!Dilly! (2-0): Dilly!Dilly! Have a trash sense of taste. However, their defense is impressive; they’ve allowed 6 and 12 points in the first two weeks respectively. I do think Stan Marino will be game planned against at some point. For now however, he’s leading the pack toward Receiver of the season.
- Oreos (3-0): Oreos added Trey Bentley and that means they may have the two best quarterbacks in the division. Their week three 28-24 win against Melons was closer than it needed to be. For now Justin Charles is holding the QB position but a few more tight games may lead to us seeing Trey Bentley behind centre for the first time in the adult league.
- Ravens (2-0): Raven’ Mathieu Houle was offended that I chose The Bad Batch as my sweethearts for the season. The result was a tight win and a below average offensive outing.
- V-Town (2-0): V-Town haven’t taken the little they’ve learned in a short period in FPF and improved immensely. They beat the low efficiency offense of Oscar’s Hockey School.
- Pincellos (3-1): They started the game with a punt, they then forced a turnover on downs. Jocelyn Calixte then scored and Pincellos never looked back. They’ve also since beaten Brewers.
- Oscar’s Hockey School (2-1): The upstart took their first loss of their franchise’s history. Better now than in the finals.
- Rainmakers (2-0): In three games the Rainmakers have scored no more than three touchdowns. It took only three weeks for this to catch up to them.
- The Melons (1-1): After winning by forfeit in their first game Melons looked solid in a loss to Oreos. Dante Gonsalves intercepted a pass and scored a touchdown in his FPF debut.
- Suicide Squad (1-1): I’m done overreacting to season opening losses. A shutout against Menace to Sobriety is what one expected from the strength of this roster. Let’s see if they continue to live up to their talent level.
- Brewers (1-2): Hopefully this is a sign of things to come for one of the familiar teams in division E. Certainly they should beat Les Chevaliers du Rohan who are learning the ropes in FPF. Losing to Pincellos is nothing to scoff at, let’s hope they can get back to even in week 4.
Visions of the World of Tomorrow
Here are my pics. As always who I expect to win is in blue. For all of the staff’s picks across divisions check out Iggy Magnet’s div C article. Or check out the final segment in this week’s podcast:
Denouement
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 me hair and penis growth solutions. I really need to use incognito mode.
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. We are still trying to figure out when the shows will be available and how to get it live on air.
Till next week, I want to thank you falettineme be mice elf agin! (all of mice elves)