Around The Continent: Week 8 Full of Lopsided Scores
[tps_title]Around the Continent: Week 8 – Don’t Miss Any of the Action[/tps_title]
The Week 8 edition of the European edition of Around the Continent is filled with football action from Austria to Ukraine.
However, we have to start on a sour note, as there was a score from Spain that no one wants to see in any one of Europe’s top leagues. The Spanish league leading Valencia Firebats recorded a ridiculous 76-0 victory over the second place Osos Rivas of Madrid. Lopsided scores do happen, far too often in fact, but to have a team like Osos Rivas totally quit in the hunt for a championship while also playing Champions League is unheard of. The club explained that the players showed up in body but not in spirit. Football is a game of heart. If you do not show up to play, you should not be there at all. One hopes it never happens again. Admittedly, Osos was playing without seven starters but even the club admits that is no excuse.
There were plenty of other embarrassing lopsided scores though. Generally, they were between top tier teams and lower teams. However, the Porto Mutts in Portugal, rolled up a 102-0 win over the Algarve Sharks in the Portuguese playoffs. Is it time to rethink the size of leagues? Keep reading and give us your thoughts.
Otherwise, there is plenty of news from around the European continent. so make sure to check it out every week. Another shout out goes to Filippo Rostoni who is invaluable at gathering facts and keeping us on our toes. Also a special thank you to Tiberiu Anghelina from Romania for making sure we have our facts straight about American football in his country. We have added the ELAF – Eastern League of American Football – this week after Alexander Malyshev pointed it out once we had published the original story. We apologize.
So far Germany, Spain, Portugal, France, Holland, Ireland, Belgium, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Austria, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Norway, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, Slovenia, Slovakia, Turkey, the Ukraine, Russia and Denmark have kicked off their seasons.
We do everything we can to stay on top of developments in each country but cannot always keep up with it so this is where we need your help. Please keep us informed of events when they happen in your country. And please send us game photos from your most recent games.
Don’t hesitate to let us know if we have missed something or made a mistake. If we don’t respond quickly, keep trying. We are a tiny staff and we will eventually get your information posted. Also, if you have a tournament or new league write to us at [email protected].
Finally, if you can share on Facebook or retweet on Twitter we will spread the news even further.
Alpe Adria League
The Alpe Adria seven team league involving teams from Slovenia (Maribor Generals, Alp Devils) Croatia (Zagreb Patriots) Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sarajevo Spartans) and Serbia (Pancevo Panthers, Belgrade Blue Dragons) swung back into action this past weekend.
The Alp Devils evened their record at 2-2 with a 27 -6 win over the Sarajevo Spartans. Then the Zagreb Patriots dispatched the Maribor Generals 41-0. Finally the Pancevo Panthers edged the Beograd Blue Dragons 23-20 on an overtime field goal.
The Patriots have taken over top spot in the West division while the Serbian Pancevo Panthers still lead the East.
Austria
Alexander Thury threw for 290 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Vienna Vikings to a 41-28 win over the winless Graz Giants. Vienna’s defense held Graz to a mere 10 yards rushing in helping secure the win. In the only other game, the Swarco Raiders scored two touchdowns in each of the second and third quarters and added a fourth quarter field goal to down the Prague Black Panthers 31-22.
The Vikings remain atop the standings at 4-1 while Swarco has climbed into second at 3-2. Prague occupies thrid at 2-2 followed by the Danube Dragons also at 2-2.
Baltic Sea League
The Baltic Sea League, featuring teams from Latvia, Estonia and Belarus was idle this past weekend. Play resumes May 16 as the Tartu Titans will host the Vitebsk Lynxes in Estonia while the Grodno Barbarians take on the Minsk Pagans in Grodno, Belarus.
Belgium
Flemish conference (FAFL)
No games were played in the Flemish conference. The Ghent Gators are undefeated at 5-0 and lead the conference followed by the Brussels Black Angels who are 4-0.
French Conference (LFFAB)
The French conference saw the Brussels Tigers blank the Louvain Fighting Turtles 42-0 while the Liege Monarchs edged the Waterloo Warriors 34-33. The Brussels Tigers still top the French conference at 5-0-1 followed by Liege at 4-1-1.
