Gay Superbowl 7 notes - Outsports.com

First, the most important thing: The thank yous. So many people made this tournament possible, and only a select few got to play. Derek Reyes, Kurt Miller, Darin Shaw, Henry Harding, Molly Lenore, Mike Colgrove, Stephen Osada, Courtney Joseph, and all the rest of the volunteers busted their butts to make this tournament amazing. I think they did a fantastic job. Also thanks to all the sponsors: Coors, PINK Vodka, Corazon, Quaker Oats, JetBlue, Cory Crayn Events, Magnum Events, and all the rest.

When I started the New York Gay Football League three years ago this month, I had a series of goals for the league. Until this weekend, we had met every one. My final goal before stepping away from the league and becoming just another player was to host the Gay Superbowl here in New York City, and to win the tournament on our home field. With that last goal now complete (never did I think it would actually be the league's second GSB title!), I can now walk away from the league just three years after its birth knowing I did everything for it I possibly could.

I can't say enough about the performance of my team's quarterback, Alon Hacohen. Last year he threw 29 touchdowns and 4 interceptions; this year he threw 29 TDs and 0 INTs. That 0 INTs may be the greatest individual accomplishment in the history of this tournament. Think about that. Through six games of playing the best teams in the country, not once did the other team take away one of his passes. Gary Sherr from the Boston Bulldogs came close, but a Warrior knocked the ball out of his hands before he could pull it down. It's hard to pick an MVP of this team, because the team is built on just that: TEAM. Selflessness. Doing whatever is best for the good of the group. With that said, along with Paul Sokolson, who seemed unstoppable on offense and a monster in the middle on defense, Alon was deserving of the tournament MVP award

How much has the level of competition improved over last year? Completely. Until this year, a team could show up with talent, play well, and win the whole thing. Now, preparation and adjustments are absolutely essential to winning the title. Consider these firsts: It's the first time the 16-seed won a single game; and the 14-seed San Diego Bolts beating the 3-seed Washington Monuments was the biggest upset in the history of the tournament – and they ended up in the finals!

It might have been because I was the tournament director, but I felt a higher level of camaraderie and friendship in this tournament than I had in the past. It seemed there was more joking before games, more hugging after games, more sharing stories and less negative aggression. Heck, the only two teams it seemed were cheering against one another were the two San Diego teams!

I never wanted to have to play my old team, the L.A. Motion, but I had a funny feeling it was going to happen this year. And it did. I ended up doing something in the game I couldn't even do when we played against each other in L.A. for seven years: I intercepted one of Jim's passes. We ended up winning the game, 21-12, but I don't take any joy in beating my friends.

I got an email from Thurman Williams, one of the heads of the Atlanta Storm, a few months ago. He informed me that my team wouldn't win this year because "the home team never wins." So much for that theory. Next year's tournament will be in Salt Lake City. For my money, they were one of the best teams in the tournament this year. My guess is they'll be very, very tough in the thin air of Utah a year from now.

The San Diego Sharks had a great time in NYC at Gay Superbowl 7. This was the sixth straight year that San Diego the Sharks and this year being the 1st that we sent two teams. Each year we have strived to get better and in New York we had our highest finish ever, taking 3rd. We were proud to play the San Diego Bolts in the "A" division semi-final game that was a battle for bragging rights, with the Bolts earning a hard fought win. Congrats to the Bolts for finishing 2nd behind the juggernaut that is the New York Warriors. San Diego made a statement finishing 2nd and 3rd out of 16 teams and showed the rest of the Cities that played in the Super Bowl that our league is extremely competitive.

MVP - Jared Duncan was by far one of the best players on the field in this tournament. Unfortunately in the 1st half of the 2nd game on Friday after an incredible interception the opposing player came down on his foot and he fractured his ankle. In a game and a half he had collected 5 interceptions and scored a 70 yard touchdown on a reserve punt verse the Michigan Panthers. He earned a spot on the all defensive team that only 7 players out of 200 received.

Offensive MVP - Jesse Remer who's arm got the ball to every offensive player on the team. Shout out's to Jason Hefley who had a great tournament, Julius Williams and Todd May who combined at Center and scored some timely touchdowns, Larry Granville who caught some beautiful touch down passes, looking every bit the part of Randy Moss, Shaun Rogers who was Mr. Consistent and orchestrated the reverse punt and the hook and latter plays to perfection, Billy VanRaaphorst's blocking was key, H.T. Bennett's diving touchdown was amazing, Mona Valenzuela's touchdown was priceless.

Defensive MVP - Alex Figueroa who was and is the best rusher on the field. The San Diego Sharks only allowed an average of 16.7 points per game 2nd only to the Champion Warriors who gave up 14.8 points per game. Shout out's to our corner Rich Costanzo who was solid and had an interception returned for a touchdown, Brent Sims our shut down corner who's interception sealed the win verse the L.A. Motion, J5 and Billy who at both 6 foot 5 inches where the best Line Backer / Rusher duo the tournament had. Our safeties Shaun Rogers, Jared Duncan, Larry Granville played like seasoned pros. Larry Granville joined Jared Duncan on the All Defensive Team. Way to go Defense.

The Best 8th Man Award - Junior Buendia did it all… He was a stand out on special teams, he came in on the offensive and scored touchdown after touchdown, on defense he had interceptions. When he was asked to help he came in and did a super job.

Unsung Heroes - Our Managers Jonz Bonifacio (conditioning coach), Bud Starkey, Steve Weathers and Phil Winter. With their love, support and all the water, Gatorade and food we would not have had such a good tournament.

Team MVP: Demond. He was on the field most plays both ways and made big plays in each game. He did not make the All-Tourney team, which is a shame, but I voted for him.

Offensive MVP: Rory. Someone said that I must love Rory. Yep, I love his hands, routes and instincts. He was clutch with key catch after key catch.

Also notable were John (what hands!), Ross (my rookie of the year), JP (has he stopped whining yet?) and Zach (the biggest catch of the tournament vs. Boston).

Defensive MVP: The 29. Who knew he had such hands? He stepped up when it counted.

Also notable were Demond and Brent (they both flew to the ball) and Toby (some clutch MLB play).

Best game: LA 36, Boston 33. The offense scored twice in the final seven minutes and the defense survived Boston running 10(!) plays at the end. The greatest win in LA Motion history in terms of drama.

Best catch: Ross' brilliant TD grab vs. San Diego against double coverage while managing to secure the ball and get his feet as he fell out of bounds. Wish we had that one on video; it would be a YouTube classic.

Runnersup: John's sideline grab against NYC; Shon's clutch catch getting drilled against Boston; Rory's TD catch against NYC; Ross' two-pointer against Boston.

Best pass: The winning TD against Boston, 40 yards to Zach. I thought the ball was never going to land.

Runnerup: JP's 20-yard laser to Ross. It was the best half-yard toss in history and left JP with the best completion % in the tournament.

Center stage: In the Boston win, our centers had three TDs -- David one and JP two. In addition, there was not one bad snap in any game.

Biggest play: Demond's fourth-down catch and run against Boston. Down 13-0, if we don't score there it's likely over and we're out.

Strategy: I propose that from now on we allow the opponent to score on the first play -- we went 2-0 in those games.

Stepping up: We got off to a great start against Michigan when Toby picked off the pass on the game's first play and ran it in.

Ruffian: Brent apologizes to Zach for his elbow that cost Zach an interception TD runback.

Coolest plays: Jeremiah's pick against SD, where he raced diagonally across the field and snagged the ball. … Shon's option toss to Zach in the third-place game. … Demond's interception runback on the last play of the first half against Michigan. … Toby's TD catch off a deflection against SoFla. … John's long run after the catch against SD on fourth down. … Shon racing across to knock down one of Boston's last-second passes. … Rory's sack of the Boston QB near the end of the game. … My run for a TD against SD.

Hustle: Ryan just kept going and going on the pass rush, despite the refs not calling him for being pushed, held and tripped. We all noticed.

Flag man: My most enduring image of Brent is him with a flag in his hands, sprawled on the ground.

He wants credit: JP telling teammates that not only did he catch two TDs against Boston, he called both plays.

Funniest plays: Jeremiah celebrating his interception "TD" by dropping the ball at the 5. … David snapping the ball to Shon's head after five games of hiking to me (Shon is 6 feet vs. me at 6-5). … Brent calling timeout in the third-place game after I told the refs to just run the clock and not stop it for anything. … Ryan's dead-on impersonation of Jeremiah calling defensive signals; wish we had taped it. … My attempt at falling after a run against SoFla; my knee is still oozing and shedding skin.