ITS OFTEN BEEN SAID THAT THE QUICKEST WAY TO CARNEGIE HALL.....IS PRACTICE..PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE.
CARNEGIE HALL...NYC
ALLEN IVERSON, THE ICONIC NBA SUPERSTAR, MADE A MOCKERY OF PRACTICE 4 YEARS AGO IN A NOW FAMOUS PRESS CONFERENCE WHEN HE SAID.."PRACTICE?...WE TALKIN ABOUT PRACTICE?..I AM THE FACE OF THE NBA..A SUPERSTAR PLAYA...WE AIN'T TALKING ABOUT THE GAME I DIE FO..WE IN HERE TALKIN ABOUT PRACTICE..."
IT WAS COMMON IN THE NFL, BACK IN THE DAY, TO SAY..."WE GET PAID TO PRACTICE...BUT WE PLAY FOR FREE.."..IN OTHER WORDS PRACTICE WAS A GRIND BUT THE GAMES WERE A BLAST..
WELL I AM HERE TO TALK ABOUT PRACTICE...
I HAVE TOO...ITS THE STORY OF OUR SEASON...
THIS SUNDAY WHEN THE REGGIO EMILIA HOGS COME INTO TOWN WITH THEIR UNIQUE WING-T OFFENSE, OUR FATE IS ON THE LINE..UNDERSTAND THIS...IF WE LOSE WE ARE DONE...IF WE WIN WE ADVANCE TO THE PLAYOFFS..SIMPLE FORMULA..WE WIN WE ARE IN..WE LOSE AND WE PACK UP OUR BAGS AND SAY CIAO DI BERGAMO
WE ARE NOT READY TO PACK OUR BAGS
FOR THE FIRST 4 MONTHS THIS YEAR PRACTICE WAS MORE SURVIVAL THAN WORK..MOSTLY WE WERE AT THE MERCY OF A STRANGE BLACK CLOUD THAT HOVERED OVER BERGAMO WITH A WEATHER PATTERN THAT NO ONE IN THE AREA HAD EVER WITNESSED...SOME FORM OF PRECIPITATION FELL...SNOW..SLEET..HAIL..AND LOTS AND LOTS OF RAIN...NEARLY EVERY NIGHT
AND WHEN SOME PIOVVI WASN'T DRENCHING US THE TEMPERATURES WERE NEAR FREEZING..
OUR PRACTICE SESSION TAKES PLACE ON ONE ALOTTED FIELD...IL CAMPO HAS BEEN TORTURED THIS SEASON...IT HAS BEEN OUR FEISTIEST OPPONONENT..FOR MOST OF THE YEAR IT WAS A RICE PADDY...JUST HOW MANY PUDDLES WOULD WE HAVE TO DANCE AROUND TO GET THROUGH PRACTICE WAS A COMMON DOMANDE??...D'ERBA WAS RIPPED UP MONTHS AGO...NOW THAT THE RAIN HAS TAKEN A REST FOR THE LAST FEW DAYS, THE FIELD RESEMBLES ASTRO-ROCK...IF WE PRACTICED IN THE PARKING LOT THE ASPHALT MAY BE MORE FORGIVING..
GRASS....FOOTING....ARE YOU JOKNG???
I MENTION THIS...I BITCH ABOUT THIS.. ONLY TO RECOGNIZE HOW IMPORTANT "FOOTING' IS TO PRACTICING FOOTBALL...THE SPORT IS A SERIES OF TECHNIQUES AND FUNDAMENTALS THAT WHEN PRACTICED CORRECTLY RESEMBLES A FINELY SOUNDING ORCHESTRA..LOTS OF MOVING PARTS..LOTS OF INSTRUMENTS...BUT WHEN ALL THE NOTES ARE PLAYED CORRECTLY...AND TUNED AND HARMONIZED AND ALL THAT...THEN THE MUUUUUSIC IS MEREVIGLIOSA...
WE HAVE RARELY EXECUTED THIS YEAR TO THE SOUND OF A RECOGNIZEABLE LULLABY...MOSTLY BECASUE OUR PRACTICES HAVE BEEN CHE BRUTTO
SOME OF OUR PROBLEMS ARE BECASUE ALL OF THE ITALIAN PLAYERS HAVE OTHER JOBS..CAREERS..GO TO SCHOOL..HAVE FAMILIES..WE ARE FORCED TO PRACTICE AFTER 9 PM AT NIGHT..WE ARE AMATEURS BUT WANT TO BE PROFESSIONAL... VOGLIAMO GIOCARE LIKE PROS, BUT WE AREN'T...WE ARE LIMITED...
BUT PROS PRACTICE..AND THE GOOD ONES PRACTICE WELL..AND OFTEN..AND WITH PURPOSE..AND THE DIFFERENCE IN THE NFL BETWEEN THE ELITE TEAMS AND THE MIDDLE OF THE PACK WARRIORS IS GOOD COACHING MIXED WITH EXCELLENT PRACTICE HABITS..I HAVE FREQUENTLY SAID THAT IN THE 11 YEARS THAT ANDY REID HAS COACHED THE PHILADELPHIA EAGLES THAT NO TEAM IN PRO FOOTBALL PRACTICES AS WELL OR AS HARD AS THE EAGLES..AND THAT HAS BEEN THE SOURCE OF THEIR ANNUAL SUCCESS..
RECENTLY WE HAVE BEGUN TO PRACTICE WELL...LA PRIMAVERA HAS FINALAMENTE ARRIVO...IT FEELS FUN..ATTENZIONE IS IMPROVED..OUR LAST 2 OR 3 PRACTICES HAVE BEEN THE BEST ALL YEAR..WE HAVE 2 MORE BEFORE WE PLAY ON SUNDAY..I HOPE WHAT I AM WITNESSING ON THE PRACTICE FIELD IS NOT TOO LATE..AND SHOWS UP AT COMMUNALE STADIA IN OSSIO SOTTO
SPRING EVENING...2 MONTHS LATE..FINALAMENTE!!
THE REGGIO EMILIA HOGS RUN THE WING-T...I DON'T EXPECT THAT THIS BLOGS' WORLD WIDE AUDIENCE WILL EVER UNDERSTAND THE COMPLEXITIES TO THIS OFFENSIVE STYLE BUT IT IS DIFFICULT TO DEFEND...THINK GEORGIA TECH..THINK AIR FORCE ACADEMY..THINK NAVAL ACADEMY AND MAYBE THE MIDDIES OF WEST POINT...4 TEAMS IN THE DEL MONDE THAT RUN THIS OFFENSE..OF THE 100'S OF COLLEGE AND PROFOFESSIONAL TEAMS AND INTERNATIONAL FIELD THAT PLAY FOOTBALL...5 RUN THE WING-T..OH..... THERE MAY BE SOME OBSCURE HIGH SCHOOLS...AND MAYBE A SMATTERING OF NAIA SCHOOLS THAT USE VARIATIONS OF THIS "SCUOLA VECCHIO" OFFENSE...BUT IT IS UNIQUE
THE 5 THAT RUN IT HAVE THE ADVANTAGE.... NO ONE SEES IT..NO ONE IS FAMILIAR WITH HOW TO DEFEND IT...AND WE DON'T GET MUCH OF A CHANCE TO PRACTICE AGAINST IT..AND AT THE CORE OF ITS BRILLIANCE IS DECEPTION...ALL OF THE ACTION GOES LEFT..AND THE RUNNER GOES RIGHT...WHERE IS THE BALL?...WHO HAS THE BALL?...WHO IS GOING TO GET THE BALL?..QUESTIONS THAT EVERYONE HAS ON EACH PLAY AND SOMETIMES NESSUNO HAS THE ANSWER UNTIL THEY ARE CELEBRATING IN THE ENDZONE.
IL CAPO FOR THE HOGS RUNNING THIS WING -T IS THEIR QB WHO LOOKS TO BE THE LARGEST MAN ON IL CAMPO..AND THE SWIFTEST AND THE MOST AGILE..IF THAT ISN'T RECOGNITION ENOUGH HE ALSO SPORTS A PONY TAIL TANGLING FROM THE BACK OF HIS HELMET THAT RIVALS ANYTHING GERONIMO MIGHT HAVE HAD IN DEFENDING HIS INDIAN LAND
IMAGINE THE FERRARI THAT JUST WON THE GRAND PRIX OF MONACO SUNDAY RACING NORTHBOUND ON THE JERSEY TURNPIKE WHILE IN THE SOUTHBOUND LANE..THAT IS WHAT THE HOGS RUNNING THE WING-T RESEMBLE ..
PRACTICE?...WE TALKIN' ABOUT PRACTICE?...IF WE WAIT TIL GAMETIME TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DEFEND THIS AWKWARD MACHINA ON GAMEDAY WE WILL SURRENDER 50 POINTS AND LOSE...IF WE CAN KEEP THE HOGS UNDER 30 WE WILL WIN AND ADVANCE TO THE PLAYOFFS...THAT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GIVING UP 30 OR GIVING UP 50 MAY LIE IN HOW WE PRACTICE
IT COMES DOWN TO DEFENSE....AS MUCH AS TELEVISION AND THE LEAGUES TRY TO MANDATE MORE OFFESNE IN EACH SPORT..IT IS ALWAYS THE TEAMS THAT DEFEND THE BEST THAT HAVE THE BEST CHANCE TO SUCCEED..THINK BACK TO THE THE LAST 3 SUPER BOWLS...GIANTS HOLD BRADY AND THE PATS AND THE HIGHEST SCORING OFFENSE IN THE HISTORY OF THE LEAGUE TO 14 POINTS...THE DEFESNIVE PLAYER OF THE 2008 SEASON, JAMES HARRISON, INTERCEPTS A KURT WARNER PASS JUST BEFORE HALFTIME AND RETURNS IT 100 YARDS FOR A TD AND A 14 POINT SWING AND THE STEELERS CLAIM THEIR 6TH SB TROPHY; AND THEN, JUST THIS PAST FEBRUARY, THE SAINTS COMPLETELY CHANGED THE STRUCTURE OF THEIR DEFENSE TO ANNOY...PESTER..AND HARRASS THE INVINCIBLE PEYTON MANNING TO ALLOW THE SAINTS TO MARCH TO THEIR 1ST SB VICTORY.
THOSE 3 REMARKABLE DEFENSIVE PERFORMANCES WASN'T THE RESULT OF GREAT TALENT..LUCK..OR HAPPENSTANCE..NO NO NO...IT WAS WORK..IT WAS SOUND GAME-PLANNING..AND HOURS OF PRACTICE
ITS PRACTICE WHERE THE FUNDAMENTALS ARE LEARNED...AND EVENTUALLY MASTERED..AND IT IS THE FUNDAMENTALS OF EACH POSITION THAT EACH PLAYER CARRY IN THEIR TOOLBOX...AND CARRY TO EACH GAME
DRILLING THE FUNDAMENTALS...OUR TOOLBOX
THESE NEXT 2 PRACTICES HAVE TO BE CRISP...SHARP..LEARNING IS NEVER TOO LATE...
AND THE OFFENSE ISN'T IMMUNE TO OUR NEED TO PRACTICE..ALL OFFENSES ARE BASED ON PRECISION AND TIMING..WE ARE A PASS BASED OFFENSE...ONE NOT TOO DISSIMILIAR TO THE ONE THAT BILL WALSH MADE FAMOUS 30 ANNI FA IN SAN FRANCISCO...DO YOU THINK JERRY RICE AND JOE MONTANA JUST SHOWED UP AND MADE MAGIC?
OUR RHYTHYM AND TIMING HAS BEEN HURT BY OUR BAD FIELD...BAD FOOTING..DEPTHS OF ROUTES THAT AT TIMES ARE PURE GUESSWORK...WHEN THE OFFENSE CLICKED IN SAN FRANCISCO THE BALL NEVER TOUCHED THE GROUND..WE NEED EVERY MINUTE OF PRACTICE TIME WE CAN GET UNDER THE CLEAR WARMING CIELO TO IMPROVE OUR PRECISION AND TIMING..
AND TO THE PLAYERS CREDIT...AND THE MEMORY THAT WILL ALWAYS LAST WITH ME ABOUT THIS EXPERIMENT HERE IN BERGAMO, IS THE PLAYERS HAVE NEVER ONCE COMPLAINED ABOUT THE CONDITIONS..OR THE WORK..OR THE PRACTICE SCHEDULE..THEY HAVE TRIED TO DO WAHT IS ASKED...AND IT AIN'T EASY..
LAST NIGHT WAS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT MOST TEAMS ARE UP AGAINST IN THIS LEAGUE..MY RIGHT GUARD...CHRISTIAN LUNGHI HAS A BROKE KNEE....HE TRIED TO PRACTICE BUT COULD NOT BEND HIS GINOCCHIA VECCHIA..HE ALSO CAN'T PLAY SUNDAY BECAUSE OF A WORK CONFLICT..MY GIANT, NUMA, STEPPED INTO A HOLE IN WARM UP DRILLS SCORSO SERA AND HIS SIZEABLE HOOF ROLLED ON THE ASTRO-ROCK AND MOMENTS LATER A BALLOON THE SIZE OF A LARGE EGG APPEARED ON HIS ANKLE...MY LEFT TACKLE, PIETRO, HAS 3 PASSIONS IN LIFE...1) FOOTBALL...2) ACTING..3) CHICAS...HE IS UNSURE IF HIS PLAY THAT HE IS CURRENTLY STARRING IN IS RUNNING SUNDAY OR NOT...HE GETS PAYED TO ACT..PLAYS FOOTBALL FOR FREE...IN A RECESSION FELT WORLD WIDE..DO YOU HAVE AN IDEA WHERE HE MAY PLAY ON SUNDAY??..EXACTLY..HE WILL ANSWER TO STAGE RIGHT...VITO, MY IMPROVING PIANO PLAYER, A TERM GIVEN TO PLAYERS THAT CAN PLAY UP AND DOWN THE OFFENSIVE LINE, MAY NOT BE ABLE TO PLAY IF WE ADVANCE TO THE PLAYOFFS BECAUSE IT CONFLICTS WITH HIS ONE WEEK VACATION THAT HE GETS A YEAR..PEPE, MY INVESTMENT BANKER, AND OUR MOST EXPERIENCED 0-LINEMAN IS A LMTIED PRACTICE PLAYER BECASUE OF HIS ADVANCED AGE AND AN ASSORTMENT OF INJURIES...AND THATS JUST THE OFFENSIVE LINE...THESE ISSUES ARISE AT NEARLY EVERY POSITION.
PEPE...CAN THE BODY UP A LITTLE LONGER??
FORGHETABOUT THE OTHER UTILTIES THAT MAY AID IN DEVELOPMENT...TECHNOLOGY???HA!!...FILM STUDY??..HA!!...EQUIPMENT??...HA!!..BARE BONES BABY....ROLL THE PIGSKIN OUT..STRAP ON THE CHINSTRAP AND BUCKLE THE SHOULDER PADS AD GO TACKLE SOMEONE..BLOCK SOMEONE..CATCH THE DAMN BALL..
HECK OUR FIELD IS TAKEN CARE OF BY US..CHRISTIAN WAS MOWING THE WEEDS LAST NIGHT...OUR EQUIPMENT MAN, GIAMBA, LINES THE FIELD...NUMA BUILT THE OUTDORR GRILL SO THAT WHEN THE WEATHER COOPERATES WE CAN HAVE A TEAM BAR-B-QUE..
IT IS OFTEN CLICHED IN SPORTS THAT .."YOU PLAY LIKE YOU PRACTICE"...YOU CAN'T JUST FLIP ON A SWITCH..SO TRUE!!..AT TIMES OUR PLAY RESEMBLES THE PRACTICES WE SURVIVED THROUGH..AT TIMES IT IS SURPRISING WE PLAYED AS WELL AS WE DID CONSIDERING HOW POOR OUR PRACTICES WERE.
IF WE CAN CARRY OVER SUNDAY THE WAY WE HAVE PRACTICED RECENTLY AND CONTINUE TO IMPROVE ALL THE WAY UP TO SUNDAY, I THINK WE HAVE A CHANCE TO WIN SUNDAY...
IF WE WIN SUNDAY WE CAN ENJOY MORE BAR-B-QUES
AND TO THROW OUT EVEN MORE COACHES CLICHE' SPEAK, I WON'T LOOK ANY FURTHER THAN SUNDAY..ONE GAME AT A TIME..RIGHT?..HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU HEARD THAT?
SO PRACTICE?..WHY WE TALKIN ABOUT PRACTICE??.. THAT MOCKERY ALLEN IVERSON WAS REFERRING TO IS THE REASON HE NEVER WON AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP..MAYBE THATS WHY LEBRON WILL NEVER WIN ONE..AND MAYBE THE REASON WHY KOBE AND THE LAKERS WILL MARCH ON TO ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP IS BEAUSE OF THEIR COMMITTMENT TO THE PRACTICE REGIMEN
DOES ANYONE KNOW THE WAY TO CARNEGIE HALL?
HOW ABOUT THE WAY TO STADIA COMMUNALE??
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