A cliché is a phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought. Sports clichés such as he is a “team player” or she gives “110 percent” are commonly used both in sports and in business. Another, “Football is Family”, was on full display in the JV Football season finale against the Northgate Broncos as the family grew…
The Acalanes Dons JV football team had not lost to the Miramonte Matadors since November 4, 2016. Nearly 6 years later, with a first down on the Mats 34-yard line, a 28-15 lead, and 3 minutes and 27 seconds left in the game, the Dons were probably confident that they would be able to keep the winning streak going. In…
A White Elephant gift exchange is a holiday tradition where participants vie to walk away with the best present by either picking a wrapped gift or taking a previous participant’s unwrapped gift. The game between the Acalanes and Benicia JV football teams seemed to follow a similar format given the number of gifts exchanged in the form of penalties, fumbles,…
A pun is a joke exploiting the possible different meanings of a word or the fact that there are words which sound alike but have different meanings, such as when a kid says “I need some new jeans” and the parent responds “Why? You don’t like the great genes I gave you?” So why the theme of puns on a…
The first reality TV show, “America’s Candid Camera”, aired in 1948. Reality TV emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s with MTV’s “The Real World” followed by shows such as “Survivor”, “American Idol”, and the “Bachelor”. In football, there is HBO’s “Hard Knocks” which follows NFL teams through training camp, and of course “Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders: Making the Team” which…
The Acalanes JV football team was planning to play one quarter against the Oakland Varsity team on Friday. If that had been the case, the team would have only played one full game and a total of 50 minutes of football over 50,400 total minutes from the end of the Bishop O’Dowd game on September 2 until kickoff against Las…
Trees have featured prominently in sports. There are college football tree-themed programs such as THE Ohio State Buckeyes, the state tree of Ohio. There are official mascots such as the Copper Mountain College Fighting Cacti and a notable unofficial mascot, the Stanford Tree. There are athletes including Tree Rollins, the 7’1” center who played 18 seasons in the NBA, Robert…
At some point this season, it was inevitable that a football movie-themed article would be needed. Given the religious affiliation of the Don’s opponent, Bishop O’ Dowd, I figured this was the perfect time to reference arguably the most famous football movie of all time, “The Waterboy” starring Adam Sandler. Oops, scratch that. I meant to say “Rudy”, the movie…
On a day when Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell’s comments in Jackson Hole sent the stock market tumbling, costly turnovers sent the Acalanes Dons JV football team tumbling in their 2022 season home opener against San Marin, falling by a final score of 21-7 after digging an early 21-point hole with a few minutes left in the first quarter. Most…
The Acalanes Dons JV football team kicked off their 2022 pre-season on Saturday. The team was scheduled to scrimmage multiple teams in the football equivalent of speed dating, but the contest turned into a one-on-one matchup after Vallejo backed out. The teams that remained, Acalanes and Granada, represented a rematch 10 months in the making, as the Freshman Dons suffered…