There is no quicker Recap drafted than after a tough loss where the Recap writer embarrassed himself. I’m lucky I get this form of catharsis. Write it up, get it out, turn the page. As a player, yesterday was a day I would like to forget. A humiliating costly drop being only the epitome of a rough day for my new team. We have what to fix. I’ll get to that more objectively in the recap of games below – and I’m sure TBI will give the topic a reasoned and thoughtful analysis. But, for this intro – I’ll speak as a Commissioner. For those who are new….The whole “In J We Trust” shtick is of recent vintage. Was made up a few years ago. I don’t know why. I believe it started when I said something stupid that made no sense. Or maybe when I said let’s try Lawrence High School and no one was there. Whatever the case, it’s not some ancient Jewball mantra. It’s just a shtick for the past few years. 95% sure it means the complete opposite of what it states. May it soon be buried and forgotten.
You absolutely don’t need to trust me. Or blindly listen to me. Or even respect me. I think you see that lack of trust, adherence, and respect on a weekly basis. And that’s fine. I’m always gonna be a Jewballer first. A commissioner is a necessary evil. At the same time, I’m trying to do right by….everyone. Literally, everyone. Of course we all are charmed by talent. Who wouldn’t want to keep a great player in the fold? But I would as soon tell a great player to F off as a weak one. I don’t care if you are rich or poor. Moving to North Woodmere or escaping it. I don’t care if you are a rabbi, or a monk, or get wasted every night. I just want good football. I have known and believed that good football is the only way to sustain Jewball. You can talk about the events and the feel-good stuff all you want. It’s important. It’s nice. But it’s emptiness if not backed by athletes committed to excelling at the game itself. The Dark Ages happened because our football got weak. It is my job primarily to make sure we have high quality football and only after that to keep everyone connected and happy and feeling good vibes.
And that’s not easy. Jewball is thriving today – not because of me – but because of mazal. Dumb luck that occurred here and there over the years. At every turn when the light might otherwise fade, a spark jumped from the dying embers and burned just long enough to ignite a torch and then the next torch, which would be carried by a future era of Jewball. And here we are – a blazing inferno. As massive a conflagration as we have ever seen. And it’s not perfect. But it’s undeniably and awesomely bright.
Why am I saying this? Because of Leagues. The very valid argument which is not lost on me is….This isn’t Jewball. Well, let me drop some enlightenment in our age of Enlightenment. Jewball has a vaguely construed definition. When we went from touch to flag, I was told that it’s not Jewball. Or from grass to turf. Or from one first down at the 50, to 2 first downs, then 3. I know what we are at our core. I know we are a tribe that shows up for the love of the game. There is no financial benefit or fame. There is a comradery, for sure, but so much of the journey is personal. It’s you getting out of bed when it’s cold and creeping out of the house in the dark holding cleats. It’s you in the gym, putting in the work, not wanting to let your team down on Sunday. It’s you running back to the toilet for the 3rd time and deciding whether to message the chat that you might be late. It’s you, coming home hurt and explaining to family and co-workers that you got injured playing football. And them wonder if you are twelve. Guys, we take real risks. We take real risks….for real rewards. That’s right. Real rewards. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Leagues is our best football. And if the aim of Jewball is to have great football, then Leagues has to be right. It fulfills the criteria of my Objective 1 beyond any doubt. It struggles somewhat with Objective 2. For now. For that, I can only apologize (again) and say….hang in there. We are going to get this even more right this year, and surely next.
Damn. Top Guns. Damn. My team came off the draft night with all the headlines and hype. The construction of a team featuring Mighty, Singer, Jack, and Munch proved that the draft order was flawed! I looked like a Draft snake by not conducting a snake draft. But Prime said it early and often – The games are played on the field. Chats, like the media, like commissioners, are a necessary evil. They serve a purpose, but the beauty of sports and our game of course….is…….you got to earn it. No one is crowned on draft night. Seasons are long. Plot twists proliferate. And expectations are havel havelim.
Top Guns sure looked good out the gate. First play of the season, Munch breaks free from the TE position and gets deep into the secondary. Feit unloads as perfect a pass as you will see, and Munch keeps the focus and makes a nice catch in full stride – TG is up 1 very quickly. Jack cashes in with an extra point and things just look very easy and breezy for Feit and company. The TG defense also came in as advertised. With Gronk in for Pray, BOP had a different look. A less mobile QB for sure. A QB who doesn’t kill you with the big play. But, man….Gronk….he can break you down like no one else. He moved the ball on TG but his first drive did not result in a score. Feit, on the other hand, looked unstoppable with his new arsenal of toys. Another deep ball for another score, this time to Jack. Although the extra point was not successful, TG was up 13-0 within the first 25 minutes of the game. It looked like a blow out in the making. What happened next was TG failed to score again for the rest of the game. What happened next was Gronk put up 4 scores. How? Why? Because these are some damn good teams. And these are some serious competitors. I can break down the plays and explain that if Jordan didn’t drop a TD, or Jack embraced contact a bit more, or Singer wasn’t hurt, or Munch wasn’t hurt, or Feit wasn’t at corner….sure…I could do that, but I’ll make it about two things: 1.) BOP wanted it more. It’s a cliché. Maybe some of you are rolling your eyes. But, if you don’t think a mental edge matters, in EVERYTHING – and certainly sports – good luck succeeding in life. TG came in expecting to win. That’s not the same as wanting to win. Top Gun is a quiet, introspective, somewhat aloof, somewhat cerebral, professional, veteran team. That will win you games. BOP were a bunch of hungry wolves let out the cage. And that can make up for a lot. 2.) Gronk also makes up for a lot. I’ve seen him to do it nearly every time he plays. Same play. Same play. Same play. We made it a joke, but it’s genius. It translates as…..I see the weakness in their defense….so why would I do anything else ever but exploit that weakness every single time. If the other teams adjusts, I’ll find the new weakness and exploit that. Did you watch PJ’s stream of that game? Gronk throws to anyone that is open. Every player is part of the offense. Tabak, Goldberg, Steveo, Prime, Solo…all making big plays. Impressive win, BOP. Jewball has to go to Gronk. He took his team back from the brink. TG is too talented a team to go the way of FCFT of last year, but they need to become a team. The two teams that won yesterday were the two that were most cohesive and most passionate about winning and winning together.
Although I did not stay until the very end of Game 2 – Lionhearts v. Roll Tide – I saw enough to know that it was the most well executed Jewball game I have ever seen. I’m not saying it was the best game, although it was an excellent watch. I wish I was less depressed and took out my phone to record. I know we pat ourselves on the back for having “stacked” games, loaded with talent – and we do and have….but to see it actually come together and the talent to shine under a spotlight…was remarkable. Let’s start with Yaron. Holy Trashbags! I mean, it’s safe to say he will completely fall apart when it matters most at the end of the season, but the guy was MASTERFUL yesterday. His offense being run was really like watching Lincoln Center choreography unfold under fireworks. Grace and speed and agility, blended and unified and synergized. Oh…and hard hitting…and brutal….and fu**ing vicious. Zada said to me before the game, “You talk about killers….watch these guys….” I said, “For real?” He just smiled. Lionhearts were worked up into a frenzy. I don’t know what kind of leadership that took. Or whether each players is self-motivated. Or whether Yaron injected them all with Monster Energy in the parking lot. I can go down the list. Zada, we know is a Beast. Beast is literally named Beast. Sting is a baaaaaad man. Irv is like a ballet dancer mack truck. DK and O were the hounds of hell. And Storm…..Storm was Flame On wire to wire with a some God of Thunder mixed in. If these guys can maintain that energy throughout the season, they are gonna be the team to beat. Of course, that’s the whole trick. Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Braves….all bounced early from MLB playoffs. The lesson is obvious. It’s not who is the hottest for the longest, but who is there at the end. For our Leagues, it remains to be seen. Roll Tide got beat by a nearly flawless LH performance, but just barely. They were down 2 scores when I left, but they came back. They lost by 1 in the end. I mean, I’ve gone on and on about how dominant LH looked, but RT is scary as bricks. I talked before about the value of cohesion. These guys are coming in pre-assembled. Dachs, Dax, Zinn, Oppen…they’ve played together. Stats is on the way. Legs will be back and he can mesh with anyone as long as they allow him freedom to run recklessly into the fray. Dachs has also very quickly found a chemistry with Waldo, Whiskey, and Rook. As I’m writing this, I’m reminded of so many phenomenal throws and catches between the QBs in Game 2 and their receivers. Truly an electric game. Yaron, I’ve never seen you better, but Jewball to Sting. The grit and heart to come back from injury. To come back from being more forgotten than Salem. To come back from a game that hardly knew you and had no reason to believe in you – and show that you are as money as they come. That you want make an impact here, with us. I don’t know how many TDs you scored or if you scored any, but I saw some catches that were knock outs, man. Welcome back with a vengeance. Honorable mention to Storm. He definitely put up some points, but he can sleep well at night counting his stats.
I know not everyone is included in League Games, but the best of us – the real ones, as they say, get it. That great football is what makes Jewball go. And if you appreciate good football and love Jewball, you will support Leagues, even if it is forcing you to swallow some pride along with a bitter pill. To that end, PJs, Klink, E, and Daveo….you guys coming out to be a part of it – you are the real Jewballers. You have every right (and obligation!) to criticize me and call me out – but you guys showed up. And that’s why Jewball works and will survive. It’s not from the super talented guys who can leap in the air and spin and catch with one hand and land and race for TDs that Jewball is sustained. You never know. Someone like that can be here today and gone tomorrow. It’s from the guys that appreciate what we are and what we are trying to build. If they are super talented, all the better. But those types of Jewballers are the sparks that scream out of the fire. That’s how our torches are lit. That’s who carries them into our glowing future.

This has been sponsored by the J-NCAA

A PJ’s perspective…

Jordan will do us all Justice when he recaps the season, so bare with me on this one. In 2013 I made a tough decision by walking away from Jewball for good and decent reasons. My 2nd child was born and I just founded a high school and couldn’t justify limping Monday’s anymore. Jewball needed to be in my rearview mirror. I had given Jewball everything I could. I recruited talent that recruited even more talent. Jewball would be fine without PJ’s, oh so I thought lol. Fast forward to 2019 and I had this urge to play in a few games. The resurgence of Jewball was real and I was in better physical shape and I missed the game. But if you would’ve told me then that I would’ve played the whole 2021-22 season outside of 1 game Becuase of an injury, I would’ve said you were crazy. I honestly consider this season to be a miracle for me. Yes my stats are down, Dave-O! But to hear guys compliment my game and believe in what I can do week in and week out, I am truly honored. To even write this recap is an honor.

Jordan is thousands of miles away in the holy land with Zez. He’s scouting out Jewball 2026 in Israel for all of us! But on this side of the world there is chaos of guys signing up and backing out and guys not signing up but trying to jump in. So we end up Rabin the vet of all Vets getting a lineup of Jewballers who he could only dream about. Probably more than Yaron dreaming about having Solo on his line and I’m not talking about football… Rabin lines up with MVP candidates in Gronk, Singer, Mighty, Munch/Pray, and really good rook in Ernie, and finally PJ’s. Singer designs the defense and Rabin just needs to get the ball to the playmakers. Feit on the other hand has a stacked team on his side. Ivry, Prime, Zada, Storm, Bert, and Sam. These were not the original teams but with Commish away these were teams that we went with. Oh did I mention TD leader was the story of the day. Mighty and Ivry tied and Prime not far behind. Who would walk out as leader after 3 hours of football?

The first game started with some heavy wind action and both QB’s were sensing the issues with the deep ball. Feit stalled early and often. Rabin was able to move the ball down the field on his second possession. Mighty took a mighty screen for a loss of 3 yards into a 10 yard gain. But the play felt like it was 20 minute of Jukes and misses. Next Rabin finds singer on a streak past prime for a big 25 yard first down. Rabin hits Gronk for a gain of a bunch of yards. Finds singer again and now they’re in goal line territory. Who do you get the ball to? It’s Mighty time…. Screen to mighty with great blocking by Singer and Munch and In for the score and TD leader. Feit wanted to respond but some pressure by Munch and the change up of Singer/Gronk from MLB blitz complicated the day for Feit. Munch would end up with 3 sacks for the 75% of the game he played. Feit had storm on a great pass that storm reeled in only to have only one foot in. Rabin works another drive down the field and this time it’s Ernie who gets screen and block to make it 2-0. After that score, both teams trade a few 3 and outs. Feit is still in this game but makes the mistake of forcing a pass that Gronk came from nowhere to pick off. Rabin has great field position and first and goal at 3 after a great catch by Gronk. 4 plays for 3 yards and they can ice this game. Rabin fails score and Singer avoided a real injury to his back. Ivry’s defense on Mighty was more about the TD lead than the game. Feit gets the ball back at around 9:15 and Munch leaves in comes Pray on the D-line. Feit throws a bad pass and it’s picked by Singer who starts taking it back and but it’s called back Because Pray got the sack first. Rabin’s squad is getting matched up well by the D. Feit finally gets a drive going to atleast end the shutout. Hitting storm for a big 30 yard catch and pumping up the team. Prime makes a great sliding catch though he was out of bounds and not even close. Feit on 4th down wants a score and is pressured into heaving the ball up and who catches but Ivry who is tackled by Singer and preserves Mighty’s TD lead. 2-0 Rabin and gets the win. Now Rabin isn’t a starting QB in this era of Jewball but he served his role well today. So who should get the Jewball? Mighty? Rabin? Gronk? The Jewball belongs to Singer, big catches all game and his blitzing of Feit which lead to a sack and other pressures. He read every screen and was the QB of the defense. He is the heart of every team he plays with. And there is a reason why he wins, he is going to do the everything on every play. Singer earned this Jewball

Game 2, needed some fixing as well. So Saturday night, Pray and Yaron played commissioner as PJ’s did in game 1 😉. They drafted their teams and they were ready to face off. Yaron lined up with Ivry, Salem, Rook, Eddie, Beast, and Gronk vs Pray with BOP teammates Prime, Legs, PJ’s, along with Zada, Rabin, and Storm. This game had a lot of action right away. Yaron moved the ball the down the field with ease. He hit Beast for a first down, and Gronk as well. Finally on 3rd and goal he wanted Ivry to tie the TD leader but forced a ball and it’s dropped. 4th and goal and forced to Ivry at goal line who hauls it in and takes a 1-0 but more importantly ties Mighty for TD leader. Prays first drive looks good and they move the ball a bit down the field with screens to Prime and Zada but eventually they have to punt. Yaron’s very first play is deep pass to Rook who takes it to the house for a 70 yard TD and a 2-0 lead. So if your Pray and it’s windy and you’ve get Legs and Prime what do you do? You run it yourself down the sideline for a big 70 yard run and his teams first score. Yaron instead of sticking to what works for his team decided to get cute and keep Gronk engaged. So he screens to Gronk for a pass. But Gronk the MVP candidate decides to throw it Zada whose on the other team. Zada takes it to the house for a pick 6 and just like that we are tied at 2. We would be tied at 2 for a while. Scoring stopped until 10:50. Good plays on defense for both teams. Beast and Salem played well on line and Legs was a monster for his defense. Yaron calls a QB run who gets great blocking and looks like he might get close to scoring but a holding call is made. Play stops. Rook and Legs get into a shouting match about what is deemed a hold. Yaron is upset that his run is called back and Prays team is confused. A couple of plays later PJ’s gets in on Yaron tips the ball and Pray picks it in the endzone but this time another hold is called and pick is taken back. Legs and Rook are getting into again. But this time Rook is happy since it hurt Legs team this time. Yaron gets another chance and finds Gronk in the back of endzone for the lead. I want to get into a Rant on this sequence but tune into TBI! It’s 3-2 and Pray has a chance to tie the game. He marches down the field and gets within 5 yards of the endzone. Its 3rd down and run play to Legs is called but Legs isn’t there Pray sees PJ’s in the endzone open but Yaron plays it well nearly picks the ball off to preserve the lead. On 4th down Pray finds Storm at the 2 yard line who makes a move and dives into the endzone only to find that Gronk got his flag at the 2. Yaron wins and on this day with his great throwing in the wind, spreading the ball around to all receivers, and diving to stop a TD at the end. Yaron gets another Jewball! Beast is an honorable mention who made a lot nice catches throughout the game.

While the recap made these games sound better than they were. These games were tough to Enjoy. It was cold, windy, but very little excitement. Jewballer always play hard but this game lacked emotion. If you asked me why? It’s Because we all know what’s next week. It’s Playoff season. Today felt like a practice rather than a preview. Next week is all that matters. Stats are done and whatever you’ve done all season means nothing. Playoffs are a different bread. BOP vs LH and FC vs Cronies, these teams are all built differently but every player has one thing in mind and that’s playing for the chip. Looking forward to previewing the game with the TBI crew. Congrats to Mighty and Ivry on the TD leader tie. And let’s go BOP!!

Apologies to Jewball that I’m fading in these final weeks. No show on Week 18/20 and Recaps are delayed and written distractedly. I’ll make up for it in the final analysis.

Week 17 was a League Week. The 6th and final game of a League Season that had a lot going for it but also in need of a few adjustments. What started with a bang in Rabin’s backyard in late September, ended with a whimper at Hewlett High School. 2 games with a lot on the line, but neither amounted to much in terms of competition. The first game had more potential being that it was for the 1 seed. A Prime and Tomless BOP v. a Godlberg and Steveoless Cronies. The strength of Cronies – it’s defense – was on full display. Munch and Solo getting after Pray. Gronk clogging up the middle. Logan, Waldo, Maor and Klink wrapping up and pulling flags. Jordan keeping an eye on things from the safety position. Really….Pray had no where to go. Or at least he made it seem that way. Because he kept going to Mighty. Mighty is great and going to him is an obvious choice….except when it becomes so obvious that that is where he is going. And he went there a lot. Deep balls were over thrown on the entire day was short passes that couldn’t get them any scores. Gronk got bored after scoring 3. Two to Maor in the back of the endzone and one to Jordan on deep cross. Cronies played well and showed the League that they are the 1 seed for a reason. They will he hard to beat. It’s a combo Jewball to the line of Munch and Solo. With Goldberg and Steveo out, the defense would not have done so well if Pray had time. He didn’t. The star power of the Cronies is their line. And they got their team a much needed W.

Walls on Game 2:

Lionhearts captain came into this game on a low. In the previous game Yaron was torched in two snow games, so he had something to prove. Feit, was on a high, there was no more talk of what is wrong with Feit, it was all about Yaron is trash. This day, the table was turned. With Effie and Kuti late to the party, Feit’s boys were left with only Rabin to partner with O on the defensive line. With all the time in the world, Yaron quickly came up with a strike to Jack for the first TD and then just started piling on after that (Ivry – the Jewball TD leader scored next with Singer lead blocking on a reverse). The work of the defense was really the tale of the tape here. Dobs and Beast were absolutely fantastic penetrating to the QB. The heart of the Lionhearts, Singer, once again proved why he is in the running once again for MVP. On the second down of the game, Singer got a safety on Feit and ended the scoring with a TD in the back of the endzone. Jack had 2 and Ivry had 2, but their shutdown D forced FCFT to very few down the field deep completions. After this game, no one is asking what is wrong with Yaron, everyone is jealous that Singer is not on their team (except for Maor).