Recap: There were between 12 and 18 guys today. The level of play was pretty good, but there were lots of guys who were 40+ in age which means a slower tempo game. I was on the marginally less-talented and decidedly older team.

Health Report: Could be better. I was on the wrong end of a perfectly legal but bone-rattling tackle. It was a bit heavy for that venue and I made a point to say so, and the guy duly apologized. I talked with him afterwards and he was a very cool guy, but my left shin is still throbbing. Later, I treated myself to a frosted cookie in the shape of a lion to help deal with the pain. It worked.

Performance: As average as can be. I scored a couple decent goals and laid off some nice, slow-rolling passes but there were plenty of mis-hits and give-aways mixed in too. The imbalance in the teams made it difficult to have an outstanding day anyway.

Rating: — Vintage three-star performance if there ever was one. Our team had difficulty finding a flow because we had a couple dribble-happy ball hogs on the team, and some older guys who couldn’t keep up with pace of the opposing team. This led to the younger guys (of which at 33, I am one) had to do a lot of sympathetic running to both lead the offensive charge and then get the hell back on D. Not a great day footballing wise, but good exercise nonetheless.