Monday, January 25, 2010

Dreary Day Dreary Result


Perhaps indicative of the results of the Jets game later in the day, our favorite team suffered their first defeat of the season

What?! started the game off on a great note as Felix intercepted the first pass of the game. The offense proceeded to punch the ball in for a quick 6-0 lead via Matt to Eric A. For the rest of the half, the two teams proceeded to trade off scores, resulting in a 1 score lead for What?!'s opposition at intermission. Highlights of the 1st half included a touchdown catch by Janine and interceptions by April and Bekim.

The second half continued with What?! down by one score as the two teams traded touchdowns again. Coming down to crunch time with less than 7 minutes left in the game, What?! knew that all it took was ONE stop and ONE drive to take the lead to escape the day with a W. Of course, the team's clutch ability took over as Bekim intercepted a pass at midfield and took it back for a touchdown...only to find out that the score doesn't count because of a dive into the end zone. Nevertheless, even with that setback, the team knew they were in good position as they had 3 first downs and 6 minutes to move the ball 20 yards to the end-zone.

Yet, at this very moment, disaster struck. On the very next play, a throw to the corner of the end zone was caught by the other team. To everyone on the field, it was clear that the opposition player had stepped on the line on his way down, thus making him out of bounds and negating the catch. To everyone on the field that is, except for the "volunteer official" standing right there. And thus, What?!'s chances of a comeback plummeted faster than Citibank's stock, a rock in water, and that volunteer ref's performance rating, as their opponents were literally awarded the "turnover." And with that as well as a garbage time touchdown, What?! suffered it's biggest loss in 2 seasons as they went down by 10 points to their opponents.


Example of barely stepping on the line but still out of bounds



How super out of bounds the actual play was

Just to note several notable performances, Janine made the most out of her catches as she hauled in a touchdown and an extra point. Jamie chipped in with the 1st multiple sack performance of the post-Chris era. Brad filled in admirably at QB. And Alex chipped in with a interception in the end zone.

The biggest bright side of all this? It's only the regular season.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Bekim for his valiant effort on both sides of the ball as he led the team in catches, hauled in a TD pass, and got 2 picks, including a semi-TD on a return.
PLAY OF THE GAME: Brad's monstrous jump ball catch deep down the field edges out Bekim's interception return and failed TD dive =)

Monday, January 18, 2010

Ban This Goon

- Thuggery on the baseball field. Jose "Awful"man. Prison should await him after his ban. Even sadder considering that he already has a full history of violent behavior on the field and at home. Would be a shame if this in anyway affects DJ Rayburn negatively on his chances to get a full time major league job since he's currently one of the fill-in AAA umpires for MLB. Full video here. ESPN link here and his ban.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Game 2

Click for full size. There will be NO recap since it wasn't even a complete game. But player of the half game goes to Bekim for not only his contribution on offense, but also his 3 picks including 1 return for TD where he dazzled the opponents with his dancing shoes.




Sunday, January 10, 2010

Back In Business



After a brief bye, month and a half long, filled with Christmas treats and New Year resolutions, team What?! was eager to start the season, continuing the momentum from their championship season. Yet, even before the 1st game started, the gang got bad news as one of their key players, Chris, suffered a partial tear in his ACL, playing flag football in a beer league. Nevertheless, the team knew they had enough depth and strength to move forward.

As it turned out, the first game of the season turned out to be a relative bore. Newcomer Bekim started the 1st drive off catching a deep bomb and scoring a touchdown from Matt. Meanwhile, the offense, utilizing the many set plays that Matt had drawn up during his overwhelmingly busy work days, stuttered and stumbled throughout the day due to the long layoff. However, Lance, in his usual self, came to the rescue and dragged in 2 touchdowns, fulfilling his pre-game email promise to do so.

On defense, the team tried out a new scheme for the season, adapting to the absence of Chris. Luckily, it worked relatively well, limiting What?!'s opposition to numerous 2 yard passes and generating 4 turnovers. (Even though they did score twice via dink and dunking to their girls)

Perhaps, the best highlight of the game was when it ended, as everyone was able to scurry home to hide from the cold and watch the Ravens beat down the Patriots and the basketball game between the Packers and Cardinals.

PLAY OF THE GAME: Felix getting nailed in the face/eye off a tipped ball, Eric A continuing his punting touch-back streak, and Lance getting a interception in our red zone to stonewall a drive.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Lance, doing work on both sides of the ball with 2 touchdowns, tons of tackles, and a pick.

Game 1 Stats

Click for full size.