Order an autographed copy of the Joy of Bocce 2nd Edition

{Publisher's comments in brackets...}

JOY OF BOCCE COURT CONSTRUCTION

I've had so many requests from readers who want a bocce court built that I have struck a deal with Vernon Real Estate & Construction (Topsfield, MA). I'll act as the consultant on the job and make sure that your court is first rate.

We'll specialize in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, but will travel farther if necessary. Contact me at Mario@joyofbocce.com or call 978-686-8679. I'll be on site during construction to make sure things go well, and will even include 4 hours of bocce instruction.

Also, Martignetti Enterprises of Massachusetts is now stocking the Har-Tru top dressing - click the image to the right to visit their web site.

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Last week I wrote about how my group hosted the bocce segment of the Mass. Senior Games while lamenting the fact that not enough states offer it to make it a national senior sport. I received several queries similar to this one sent in by David Canclini...

"I am interested in learning more about the SENIOR GAMES and what must be done to have California recognized. How do I go about contacting SENIOR GAMES in my state? Does anyone have an address or telephone number?"

{I did a Google Search for Senior Games California and found this site - http://www.californiaseniorgames.com/ - a search for "Senior Games" or "Senior Olympics" should locate the group in your state - people nowadays say "I Googled it" or when trying to locate an old friend from college..."I Googled him." Google is the most popular search engine right now, so... just Google it!}

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I've had several requests for the recipe for Crispelli mentioned in the photo spread for Tom Grella's Havana Rollers Bocce Venue ( http://www.joyofbocce.com/Grella.ivnu ), so, here goes...

Purchase dough from your local bakery and let it rise
Roll out balls of dough the size of golf balls or tennis balls or even baseballs if you prefer
Stuff each with a piece of cheese of your choice or a little anchovy (keep the batches separate)
Fry these in hot oil until golden brown and let cool before eating
Fry these in hot oil until golden brown and let cool before eating

Crispelli are the hit of the September Festival of the Three Saints in Lawrence, Massachusetts, but the wait in long lines to get served is well worth it.

Enjoy

On the subject of crispelli, Brenda Flanagan wrote..."My grandmother used to make them and since her death, nobody has the recipe.

I would love to relive those days...she used to hide them in a box on top of her closet to keep my uncles from eating them before it was time."

{There are so many dialects and regional differences - I hope these crispelli are the ones grandma used to make.}

And still on the subject of crispelli, I couldn't resist reprinting part of this Boston Herald article by Joe Sciacca...

"To understand the crispelli is to know the very essence of life itself. It has its crusty, bumpy, salty parts to be sure. But at the core of its existence is a warmth and softness that makes one who experiences it acknowledge that, yes, there is a supreme being and He is good.

Arnold Schwarzenegger has probably never had a crispelli. Martha Stewart has probably never cooked one - although she would buy stock in them if she could. If Howard Dean discovers them, he will increase taxes on them..." For the complete article click http://www.highbeam.com/Doc.aspx?DocId=1G1:106880047&tab=LIB

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C.W. Laughlin makes an interesting point about "matching up" opponents...

"I started a bocce club here in Green Valley, AZ. All members are over 50 yrs of age. I recently bought your book, 2nd edition and thoroughly enjoy the strategies listed. Why haven't you addressed the matching of team members against the other team members? In league play this could be worth two or three points. In tournaments, maybe only a point due to the championship qualities of all players."

{C.W. is referring to four-player teams with two partners stationed at each end.}

He adds..."Do you want your two team members to play the team members at one end of the court, or do you want your two team members to play against the opposition at the other end of the court?

All sport teams have varied expertise among their players. All coaches scout their opponents for weaknesses and tendencies. I certainly would not want my worst players to be matched against their best players.

I try to match my team's capabilities to theirs. I think this is so important that when I started the bocce event in Senior Olympics a number of years ago, I added a rule that if you won the toss and chose to go first that you had to position your players on the court first. This gives the opposition the opportunity to match up players.

Quite frankly subsequent hosts to Senior Olympics did not keep the rule in place. You should have seen two of these teams play each other this year. One team wanted their two members to play against a specific set of players and the other team wanted to play against the other set. It looked like a merry-go-round. The ends would try to exchange ends with the other team doing the same thing at the same time.

Again, it may be worth a couple of points to properly match players against the competition."

{An interesting topic. First off, this is only a problem if you play four-player teams with two partners stationed at each end. I'm not fond of this style because you only get to play every other frame, and you don't get any walking exercise. On the other hand, it allows us to get eight players into the action.

In our informal group we just split up two partners at each end - no one pays much attention to who is going where. Mostly we just don't want our two weakest players playing the same end.

One way around the problem is to play all eight players at one end rolling one ball each and walking back and forth each frame. I don't like this so much because you only get to roll one ball per frame.

Another "solution" might be to play triples. Three players against three players, each rolling two balls and playing both ends. This requires adding another half set of bocce balls.

Can any readers weigh in on this matching up question?}

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Anthony Lombardi writes...

"We want to go to the wine country with a group of possibly six couples and are looking for an informal bocce tournament. We will be traveling sometime this fall.

GRAZIE E FORZA ITALIA, CAMPIONE DEL MONDO!"

{Any suggestions? REPLY or contact Anthony directly at alomba3368@aol.com. }

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