october 6th weekend--you won't need a microscope to read this one

i swear to god, i'm almost in tears every weekend watching from the sidelines as my little warriors do battle. here's the latest...

on the occassion of my older brother's 147th birthday, and yet another Terps victory, the Dufflings once again dusted off their A games and put them on display. i was in such awe of their masterful performances that i forgot to take pictures this week, but i will soon post some football video from games played earlier this season. in the meantime, here is an artist's rendition of a goal from clare's soccer game.

the Orange Lightning Tigers (i have confirmation of the team mascot now--anyone have an orange lightning tiger doll for game day?) came out on the losing end of a 3-1 score. one goal against was scored after Goalie Sarah was kicked in the face by one of the Agents Of Evil. another was leveled against them after a rather arbitrarily-awarded direct kick. so if one were to be petty about it, which one is not inclined to do, one could say we really should have tied 1-1. one is just throwing that out there.

once again, clare played an inspired game, at least for the first half i was there to witness before jetting off to catch the second half of liam's football game. she played in position enough to be open to her teammates to pass to, yet not so much so that she never touched the ball.

i used to ask clare before every game, "what don't we do?" the correct answer being, "chase the ball!" now that she's beyond that the answer has become, "pass without dribbling first!" it took an entire season to not chase the ball, she's dribbling more after just one week. i definitely see some goals in this young lady's future, possibly in the World Cup.

i left the soccer pitch and arrived at the grid iron to find the Pee Wee Steelers up 6-0 near the end of the second quarter. i missed liam's injury time out when he got tackled on the sidelines and took a beach-worth of sand in the eyes. i was told the coaches had bandaged up a huge gash on his nose, and was dissapointed when that turned out to not be the case. john madden would have been so proud, "there's this big pile of sweaty guys down there in the dust and they get all cut up, and there's a bunch of blood and stuff in there and the coach, he comes over and glues some rags on this guy's nose so the guy can go back and score a touchdown. and that's called football."

thankfully i didn't miss liam's touchdown, his third of the season. the call was a weak right, fake 88, counter left. i mean, DUH! what else would you call in that situation??? liam cut upfield from the 15, to avoid a defense that had sniffed out the play from an earlier call, and picked his way into the end zone. the Pee Wee Steelers left the field with a 20-0 victory over the Iggles (aka "Eagles").

perhaps the most exciting sports-related event of the weekend--and i'm writing this in advance of the Redskins victory over the (3-1!?) Detroit Pussy Cats--is the Intermediate Steelers' non-loss to the Intermediate Iggles (aka, the Bad Guys). yes, the Ints kissed their proverbial sister by snatching a tie from the jaws of both defeat and victory.

kieran claims to have "played like crap," but i didn't see it. i did see him appear from out of nowhere to Lay OUT a ball carrier who mistakenly decided to cut into the middle of the field. when will they learn you just don't do that with one of my boys at middle linebacker? i mean, i'm happy for the highlight footage, but don't you want to live to play another day, son? hevvy k tee-ing off on this guy was like an irresistable force meeting an immovable object, except kieran was both. i strongly suspect the ball carrier broke the laws of physics he was turned around so fast (dan'l, if you're reading we'll need confirmation on this. i'll show you the replay).

another great sports weekend for the Dufflings. now if only the Redskins can play with the same focus and determination.

as always--many, many, many, thanks to the coaches and parents, and yes, even the Other Teams, who make these games what they are. if there were only a beer man.

YAY DUFFLINGS!