Catania Elephants vs Ancona Dolphins

Catania vs Palermo Corsari

Highlights from Palermo Game

Catania Elephants vs. Palermo Sharks






!!!!!LEAGUE STATS AS OF APRIL 20!!!!!

Highlights of Game vs. Bergamo Lions

Statistics




We lost 68 - 41 in a barnburner

Catania vs. Milan

Game Highlights
Catania Elephants vs. Milan Rhinos

It takes a minute or two to buffer so might need to be patient!

Photo's Galore!!

SWITZERLAND/FLORENCE/VENICE #1

SWITZERLAND/FLORENCE/VENICE #2

PICS FROM CATANIA - Includes a few from when Monte and Tony were here

MONTE AND TONY TOUR SICILY - Contains pictures of a BBQ, and Trips to Aci Costello & Taormina

Past month and a half

Since February 21st :

I have been to Rome, Twice! It was an amazing experience both times, but it was really cool to experience it with Monte, Tony, and Brandon.










Monte and Tony came to visit:


They showed up the day of the scrimmage. I was sooo stinking happy to see my bro for the first time since January. We had a full week and made some great memories. We had laid back nights in Catania and crazy nights in Rome, but all were just as memorable.






While here in Sicily, we made them eat like us. Typical Cannoli, Jonathan's Panino, lot's of eggs (15 to be exact), and, oh yea, the early morning cappuccino after a red-eyed train ride from Rome.

My favorite part of Rome was seeing there faces when we walked out of the train station at the base of the Colloseum. We visited every main site in Rome, but that was definitely the most enjoyable. Vatican City was very enjoyable too. We decided to take the tour of the Museum, so we saw and learned a ton about the Sistine Chapel, Raphael’s paintings, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Catacomb (where the past Pope‘s are buried), and even climbed the 551 steps to the top of the Basilica (my second time to do this) . Needless to say we were definitely sleep deprived at the end of their visit but the times we had together were priceless. I was pretty bummed to see them get on that plane to go back.

The Opera:

I went to the Opera at the Theatre Mossimo Bellini. I saw Il trovatore. Brandon and I put on our finest threads (actually had to borrow clothes from our teammates because the nicest shirt I brought was a Hollister button down) and we felt like VIP as we were escorted to our box seats. We enthusiastically waited for the opera to begin, then once the lights went out so did Brandon. I noticed him taking a power nap half way through the first Act as I was fighting it off myself. Right before Act II I decided to find Tony (Our teammate that provided the tickets for us), to get him to explain the opera to me, since it was in Italian. Once we figured out what the plot was I actually began to enjoy it. The entire experience was great, the singing mixed with the amazing acoustics of Mossimo Bellini Theatre (It‘s known throughout Italy and Europe for it‘s acoustics), and it was a show that even a West Texas boy could fully appreciate.

I went to Taormina, Twice!

This is in my top 10 of favorite places in the world. It has some incredible and it’s home to some pretty sweet beaches. It’s a little town about 30 miles north of Catania and a great place to visit. I went once with Brandon and a couple of his friends from California and then again when Monte and Tony came. Like everything else, I will soon post pics of our trip with Monte and Tony.

Scrimmaged the Palermo Sharks:

We finally had a Game/Scrimmage. We played against the Palermo Sharks, who are actually in our division, so we will end up playing them twice during the season. We had no problems with them and actually scored 7 times on only 26 offensive plays. Plus I ran back a kickoff making the score 56 - 6. Jason threw a whopping 2 incomplete passes and threw for 300 - 400 yards. I had between 6-8 catches for over 200 yards and a couple touchdowns so the chemistry between us is pretty solid. Brandon dominated on the offensive side, but showed how much more of a force he can be by lining up on the defensive line. He got a few sacks and definitely hurried the QB on several occasions. We came out of that scrimmage with a lot of confidence, and two weeks to prepare for the Milan Rhinos.

Just a few days later we had an announcement/fundraiser for the team. It was a cool little set up and was a fun experience for us imports.

New Roommate:

Two days after Monte and Tony left we had inherited another roommate. Frank Basting, a lineman from Frankfurt, Germany now lives at “The Dorm” as we call it. The league allowed each team to have one more player but they had to be European born. So, to solidify our O-Line we decided to bring him in. He’s a big boy, about 6’3” and 300 lbs. Now I’ve got two 300 pound, bald, tatted up O-lineman walking around with me on the streets of Catania. Pretty sure we stick out a little and our grocery bill just doubled!

Milan Rhinos:
Finally had our first game! We faced off against the Milan Rhinos in our first game in the IFL Series A. We woke up at 4 a.m. and hopped on a plane to Milan. They have 3 imports, John Stocco the Ex-QB from the University of Wisconsin, Steve Silva a running back from Holy Cross University and Tight End Manny Di Grande from Cal Poly. The game started out with a solid drive by them and they quickly took a 6 - 0 lead. We countered then they went on to score 14 straight points. By the second quarter we were shocked to be down 20 - 6.
The second quarter we showed just how explosive we could be by scoring 22 unanswered points to take a 28 - 20 lead to halftime.

The second half was extremely entertaining, yet exhausting. We took a 3 touchdown lead into the fourth before our offense finally stuttered giving them the opportunity to get back into the game. They scored a couple touchdowns and stopped us again giving them the ball with a chance to tie the game. With the score 47 - 40, John Stocco came off the bench with a sore shoulder but only to throw an interception. Our right Cornerback, Massimo, made a great play to clinch the game. It was a huge win for our organization and a shocker to the league. We were picked to lose by 30, according to league forums and websites, but I guess that’s why we play the game.

Brandon and I both played Offense and Defense so we were pretty spent. I also didn’t realize the amount of turf burns had until I reached the shower. As soon as the soap hit those open wounds I became extremely aware that my knees and calves had been wipe across the turf.

STATISTICS

Switzerland, Milan, Florence, Venice....

Soon as the game was over we hoped in a car for a 4 hour drive to Switzerland. We discussed staying in Milan or Skiing the Swiss Alps, which was a pretty easy decision, so we headed to Sion, Switzerland with Enrico (our Runningback and also a ski instructor on Mt. Etna) and two of his friends from Sion. We stayed in a sweet cabin at the base of the Mountain, it was literally a few hundred meters from the ski lift.
The skiing was great but the scenery was amazing. Brandon had never skied before so Enrico spent a couple minutes with him, then he along with his friends headed off on their own. Brandon and I, pretty sore from the previous days game took it pretty easy. He picked it up really well and by the end of the day I really didn’t have to wait on him much. He was a very fast learner and it was cool to see him enjoy it. Plus, he can always say that the first time he ever skied was in the Swiss Alps. Monday morning we had debated hitting up the slopes again but decided against it. We didn’t want to push our luck with injury and, not to mention, we got a semi-explicit text message from our GM asking us very politely not to ski. So instead we slept in a little, then hit up a cool restaurant with a nice view and free internet. We got us a couple steaks, Cokes with ice and just chillaxed till we headed to the train station.

We hopped on to Milan where I’m currently writing this at 1 a.m. in a piazza just outside the Milan Central train station. We decided to save our cash and camp out for a night. The weather is real nice and only 4 more hours till we catch our train to Florence. We’ll stay there for two days, then head to Venice. I’ll attempt to post pics ASAP. Miss everyone and love ya!

Picture Links

More Bad-Stache Bowling Pics

Even More Random Pictures

Bad-Stache Bowling!!

Picture 1 - Jason, Brandon and I - Pre-bowling
Picture 2 - Me
Picture 3 - Claudio throwing the double deuce
Picture 4 - Jason's follow-through
Picture 5 - Me about to gutter-ball
Picture 6 - Giulio
Picture 7 - Brandon's sweet stache
Picture 8 - Giulio, Christian, Brandon, Claudio, Jason, and Me...Bad-Stache Bowlers
Picture 9 - Me, My new Elephant I bought for 1 U.S. Dollar
Picture 10 - Jason, Me, Christian, and Brandon Post-Bowling at the Bellini

Last night we decided to Bad-Stache bowling. Now even though this was not a good setup to meet new girls or gain respect in the eyes of Italians living here in Catania, we had a dang good time. Brandon has had a beard since he was about 9 years old, so for the first time since, he shaved off everything but his stache and a little line underneath his bottom lip. Jason had been letting his grow for a couple weeks and shaved off everything except for the mustache. Claudio and Guilio had been letting there’s grow since Tuesday yet they still seemed to have as much facial hair as me and I dunno if I’ve shaved since I’ve been in Catania. We dressed in our finest threads and went to the bowling alley. Afterwards we did the unthinkable and went downtown. Before agreeing to all this I thought we’d just go to the bowling alley for the night. Instead it was typical college night down at the Bellini. Jason, looking like a throwback version of Jeff Hostetler (QB for the New York Giants in the late 80’s and 90’s). Brandon had a White USA hat on with a polo shirt that looked 3 sizes too small, oh and the collar was definitely popped. I was wearing two different collared shirts, both collars popped, and a sweet vintage hat I borrowed from Jason with shades, at night. It was a good time and I’ll just let the pictures tell the rest of the story.

Breakfast

This morning I attempted to make French toast. As my mom well knows my cooking skills are lacking to say the least. The first two tasted like a scrambled egg laying on top of a piece of toast. I guess I kind of forgot about the milk part and I marinated them in the egg. The second two were exponentially better, I added quite a bit of milk to the eggs and only dipped the pieces of bread in them. I didn’t have any powdered sugar so I used blackberry jelly. All-in-all I just realized how much I took my mom’s French toast for granted…Thanks mom!

Roma

Picture 1 - Colosseum
Picture 2 - Colosseum
Picture 3 - Colosseum at night
Picture 4 - Montell Jordan Concert Poster
Picture 5 - St. Peter's Basilica
Picture 6 - St. Peter's View from the top
Picture 7 - View of Rome from top of St. Peter's

Last Thursday Jason and I decided to take a quick trip to Rome. We had planned to head to the airport at 5:15 so being the night owl that I am, I didn’t quite make it to bed until around 2 a.m. After about 2 hours of rolling around I decided just to get up and make some breakfast. George and Jason pulled up around 5:00 and, with absolutely no sleep, I was on my way to Rome. Once landing in Rome we stopped at a bar (might I remind you a bar here is a coffee bar) to get a cornetto and a my first ever cappuccino. Not being a coffee drinker, I was surprised that I actually enjoyed the cappuccino. Maybe it was the 3 packs of sugar, but either way I am now a cappuccino drinker.

After breakfast we quickly transformed into tourists. Backpacks on and camera’s in hand we walked to streets of Rome for about 10 hours, only stopping a few times for a quick bite to eat. We saw everything from the Colosseum, to the Pantheon, Piazza Navona and over to the Spanish steps and the fountains. It was a very productive day. Around dinner time we decided to run back to the hotel and relax for an hour or two. We changed clothes and headed back downtown to the Campo de’ Fiori where we had an amazing dinner. Following dinner we headed to the Drunkin Ship, it’s an American bar with American Bartenders. It was pretty interesting but we then realized just how much we enjoyed being in Catania. Rome is filled with Americans and finding someone that speaks English is almost easier than finding someone that speaks Italian. The college kids doing their Pub crawls (Pub crawls are usually big groups of college age kids bar hopping) re-emphasized just how dumb Americans can be. I was practically embarrassed to be an American for those moments. It’s one thing to have a good time, another to make yourself look like an absolute idiot on purpose!

Next we found ourselves on the outskirts of Rome at a Montell Jordan Concert, in a club called milkshake at 3 a.m. in the morning. Talk about random. Montell Jordan is an R&B singer most famously known for the song “This is how we do it” that came out in the 90’s.

By about 6 a.m., and 42 straight hours without sleep, I finally crashed.

Friday we headed to Vatican City. It was incredible! St. Peter’s was enormous, very detailed and almost overwhelming. We climbed the 551 steps to the top of the Basilica, at the top awaited an amazing view of Rome. On the way out of town we stopped by the post office and I sent Grandma a post card (so if you are reading this Grandma you should expect that soon). Out of the Vatican we headed south straight to the Tiber River, which runs throughout the city. We walked up and down the river for a couple house stopping for an amazing pizza once and then headed back to “Campo de’ Fiori” for a coke and peanuts. We just chilled, chatted and watched the different people.

The next morning our planed left at 8:40 so we decided to get up by 6:30. We were only a couple minutes walk to the train station and a 20 minute train ride to the airport…Plenty of time, Right? So we arrived at the train station at 6:54, the train we should have been on left at 6:52. We then had to wait till 7:22 for the next train. We arrived to the airport, sprinted out of the train and arrived at the WindJet counter at 8:10, the WindJet people left the counter at 8:00. We had saved a copy of our boarding passes onto our computer’s since we didn’t have a printer, so we decided to just get to security and to our gate which was literally 30 yards away. Two ladies walked up behind us at this point, they were on our same flight and for future reference, they did get on the plane. The security people would not let us by, even though we had confirmation numbers and copy’s of boarding passes on our computer screen. Instead they told us we must have them printed. Somehow, in 7 minutes, we managed to sprint two terminals down in the Rome Airport, find an internet station, print two boarding passes, threw the lady 10 euros for the copies, sprint back to the security checkpoint and through security just in time to realize that we didn’t make the bus that took us to the plane. ( In Italy there are some planes that you must take a small bus out to rather than walking on). So dripping sweat, exhausted and upset we decided we’d just fly standby on the next WindJet flight that left at 1:15, that would get us in at 2:30 p.m. Note: we have practice at 3:00 pm. After wasting a couple hours munching on cornetto’s, complaining and re-strategizing what we should have done, we decided to find the WindJet people and tell them our situation. Their response: “impossible!” Not only could we not get on the next flight but she also said “Your other tickets are as good as trash now” - Ha Ha! By this time were not happy and then, we had to throw down an extra 100 Euro to fly home. We got to the Catania at 2:15, got to the practice field at 2:30 and still managed to combine for 4 touchdowns in team scrimmage. But I did drop my first pass of the year during team scrimmage, so I blame it solely on exhaustion!

In Search of the Syracuse Orangemen

Tuesday we decided to visit the ancient Greek City of Siracusa in search of the Syracuse Orangemen. Needless to say it was a good time! Please check this out...

Another stolen post

I've decided I might just quit bloggin myself, and i'll just continue to refer everyone to Coach's blog. Here is yet another laugher!

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While folding the boys’ laundry this morning I found Matt’s “D.A.R.E. to Keep Kids Off Drugs” T-shirt. I almost cried.

We have tried to keep this a secret from his family and friends back in Texas but truth be told Matt has an addictive personality. Of course cannoli are his drug of choice and I am personally very distraught knowing that I was the one who bought him his first one. We all were enablers in his addiction to some point even giving him the funny nickname Obi Won Cannoli, now we all feel so cheap and dirty for what we did to encourage Matt’s binging.

Matt went totally out of control about 8 days ago, I even found a partially eaten cannolo in the pocket of one of his shorts I was washing last night, very disturbing indeed.

With the help of the pastor and congregation at Calvary Baptist Church and the Elefanti team we convinced Matt that we were taking him to Cannoli R Us but in truth it was a lie to get him to an intervention session. It was a very tense two hours but finally Matt confronted the truth about his problem, promised to “be a man” as he put it and agreed to enter the Cannoli Anonymous chapter in nearby Aci Reale.

We visited him yesterday, he looks pale, has lost a lot of weight, his skin is clammy and he is very edgy. The staff tells us that this is all normal at this point and that they had never seen such a severe case in their 60+ years of existence. At his current pace they will release him back to us in another two weeks.

We are not sure how long the IFL will suspend him for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Davide hopes that Matt will be suspended for only the first three games of the season as a first time offender, the maximum penalty is five games. Our season may hang on the Commissioner’s decision.

We’ll continue to do all we can for him here, please pray for him back home, this will be a long and difficult journey to complete recovery.
Gelato anyone?

A Parade Just Popped Up

For those who haven't read Jason's Blog, I have stolen a post from him! So Funny

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And now from the “Strange and Weird Fact File,” an actual conversation, taking place 15 minutes before Catania Elephants practice:


MATT EPPERSON, ELEFANTI WR (Frantic): Pronto.


JJ: Its me – you don’t have to answer in Italian. Where are you guys?


MATT: We’re stuck.


JJ: What do you mean you’re stuck?


MATT: Well, we got picked up for practice 20 minutes ago – then as we were driving away from our house, all of a sudden a PARADE rolled by and everyone stopped. It’s like a parking lot!


JJ (laughing hard): Are you serious? How do you get blindsided by a parade? I mean, it’s not like they just pop up out of nowhere! In Catania, parades do and will pop up at a moments notice… similar to pick-up basketball games in New York City… Especially at the height of the Saint Agatha celebration>


MATT: Dude… all I know is that one second we were driving, and the next minute balloons and people are going passed us – 20 cars in front of us and 100 cars behind us just instantly parked in the middle of street – and just hopped out to follow the parade. And now we’re trapped!


JJ (laughing harder): Face it… that is hilarious… what are you gonna do?


MATT: Wait it out I guess…


JJ: It’s not like it’s a monsoon. You seriously just got stuck in a parade?


MATT: No joke.


JJ: Only in Catania…


Matt jumped right in and won the first “gasser” sprint without warming up or stretching. Good job Mr. Dedication>

Quick Update

It's been pretty chaotic the past few days with Brandon and I attempting to get our apartment around, the superbowl, and the crazy St. Agata festival/parade going on.

Sorry for the lack of bloggin but I’m very sure that Jason's blog http://reallyplayingforpizza.blogspot.com/ - (you can see me split the Defense and catch a touchdown) or Coach's Blog http://www.coachingforpizza.blogspot.com/ (you can get a good perspective on what's been going on here in Catania) will keep you very informed and extremely entertained. I am adding one more link to some pictures from this last weekend.

Trip to Piazza Armerina

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2014430&l=bca5b&id=152601305

We saw some nice scenery, cool little villages, and the Villa del Casale: Mosaics in a 4th century estate that were preserved thanks to a flood that covered the entire estate in mud. Archaeologists are currently working to uncover them.
I also must admit I ate Squid, Swordfish and shrimp on Saturday night! Squid - not my favorite but swordfish was delicious!

I miss everyone and definitely check out the other guys blogs...they're awesome!

"Rock On!" or "F' You!"

Friday night a big group of us headed to Piazza Bellini to hangout. (Including many girls fellas!!) In the picture above is FWe soon found ourselves in a jam-packed pub on a side street downtown. Avoiding the chaos we decided to get a quiet table in the back. After everyone ordered drinks and snacks, we resumed our conversation. As I was in the middle of attempting to decode an Italian dialog, I soon found myself standing under a waterfall of Beer. Our server, who wasn't paying much attention to me, instead gazing at the two girls next to me, had lost control of his tray and poured half a dozen full beers right down my front side. Being the passivist I am, I didn't make a big to do about it, instead for some reason apologized to the server who kindly brought me a fresh Coca, "on the house" Thanks buddy.

After an hour or so of drying off, I decided to follow a few of the guys up to the bar to mingle with others. Word then spread to the female bartender that I was American and she began to kind of hoop and holler a little bit all while waving at me. A few others decided to smile, wave, and holler along with her. Joining into the excitement I nonchalantly gave her, and the entire bar for that matter, the "Rock On" sign (looks like Hookem' Horns). To my shock, the moment my hands reached the air, I had four others grab me my arms and yank them down like I was being arrested. Laughingly, they told me to never do this in public, because in Italy this is the same as flippin' the bird to someone. Live and Learn I guess!

Catania, Cavallo and Vongole

PHOTO'S http://hsutx.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2014219&l=1d92e&id=152601305

I safely arrived in Catania, Sicily. The first few days have been very entertaining to say the least. First, Driving in Catania takes someone with Indy car experience. It's amazing how little regard for lines, lights, and street signs these people have. A Speed limit is only a suggestion and "no parking" signs don't exists. If you can't find a spot in town, just park in the middle of the road and put your flashers on. So far the best parking spot award goes to a guy the parked perpendicular to the road in a crosswalk. His front tires were on the side walk and the back half of the car was in the street, plus he gets extra points for the hazard lights being on. (I will take pictures of future nominees over the next few weeks).
Since I have arrived here, everyone has mentioned how good Cavallo is. So two nights ago I went out with Davide, Gregorio, Tony a.k.a Pony and other's to a Ristorante. I was enthused to have found some Maiale (Pork) and some Pollo (chicken). I also noticed some Cavallo on the menu but at this point I knew it was Horse! So with thoughts of old Black Betty my one and only non-bucking ex-racehorse, I knew I could never try it. I told them I would be sinning against my country and that it's practically illegal to eat horse in Texas. Most the others did order Cavallo and I happily settled with my Maiale and Pollo. Davide did add a piece of onions wrapped in bacon to my plate which I actually ate and semi-enjoyed. Then after much peer pressure I did the unthinkable and tasted a bite of Cavallo. I felt terrible for doing it, BUT dang it tasted pretty darn good. Sorry Black Betty, Pep, and Bama but you taste a lot like beef!
Coach George and I went searching for Lasagna last night in Aci Trezza. After realizing that it wasn't going to happen we settled on a random Ristorante by the harbor. I scanned through the menu and really didn't recognize anything other than Salmone and Spaghetti. The two Spaghetti's were "Spaghetti alla vangole" and "Spaghetti alla Nero". I assumed "Spaghetti alla vangole" sounded just fine and ordered it. No later than 10 minutes later, (After eating bruschetta MOM!!), I was served an amazing looking bowl of Spaghetti and Clams! I have nothing more to say about this.
Also for more entertaining blogs on our experiences here in Catania, I highly suggest you check out http://www.coachingforpizza.blogspot.com/. It's our coach from California and he is hilarious!