Week 5 – Thursday, August 9, 2012

“Week 5” is upon us and the players should be well-rested as all of the teams except for Colombo and Kandy have not played since August 2 (the other six teams did not play on August 5 due to injuries). Click on the links for photos from each match from ThePapare.com‘s Facebook page:

Mumbai vs Pune – Mumbai won 13-6

Kolkata vs Pakistan – Pakistan won 14-3

Kandy vs Bangalore – Bangalore won 13-7

Colombo vs Delhi – Colombo won 10-6

We should have some good matchups this week. First, at 1pm is Mumbai vs Pune, a rematch of the first scrimmage that was played on March 29. At 3pm, one team will come away with their first win of the season as last place teams Kolkata and Pakistan go head to head. At 6pm, fan favorite Kandy goes up against formidable Bangalore. And at 8pm, Colombo and Delhi battle it out for 1st place in the East Division.

Update @ 8/10/12 6:05pm EDT: Results are in and scores and photos have been added above. All low-scoring close defensive battles this week. Mumbai upset Pune in their rematch, Kolkata remains the only winless team, fan favorite Kandy goes down again, and Colombo rides a winning streak to the top of the East Division.

The standings positions remain the same after the end of Week 5. In the West Division, Pune and Bangalore are tied for 1st at 3-1 overall with Pune owning the tiebreaker with their head-to-head victory in Week 3. Mumbai is close behind at 2-2, and is actually 2-0 against division opponents. Pakistan is last in the division at 1-3 but finally won their first game.

In the East Division, Colombo is on fire at 4-1 overall (the best record in the league, replacing Pune) and 3-0 against division opponents. Delhi and Kandy are neck and neck at 2-2 and 2-3 respectively. Finally, Kolkata is dead last and still seeking their first win with a 0-4 record.

The Pakistan Wolfpack after the game http://t.co/STUdsPwI http://t.co/3Srcfshs

— EFLI (@EFLIFootball) August 10, 2012

Colombo Lions regroup during a timeout http://t.co/Hv2jKZkp http://t.co/sO40Zogu

— EFLI (@EFLIFootball) August 10, 2012

Happy of the Delhi Defenders listens to his coach at halftime of game vs Colombo http://t.co/JM9INifO http://t.co/Hc4Wepnl

— EFLI (@EFLIFootball) August 10, 2012

Week 4 – August 5, 2012

Click on the links for photos from each match from ThePapare.com‘s Facebook page:

Mumbai Gladiators vs Kolkata Vipers – not played due to player injuries

Delhi Defenders vs Bangalore Warhawks – not played due to player injuries

Colombo Lions vs Kandy Skykings – Colombo won 13-0

Pune Marathas vs Pakistan Wolfpak – not played due to player injuries

UPDATE 8/7/12, 10:17am EDT: I have been told that only one match (Colombo vs. Kandy) was played on Sunday due to player injuries. The schedule did seem pretty taxing (a game every 3-5 days) and I’m not sure how many players are on each roster, but I’m assuming the next games will be played on Thursday, August 9, hopefully with the players more rested.

Week 3 – August 2, 2012

“Week 3” is here, and here’s what the schedule looks like. Will update as the day goes on. Click on the links for photos from each match from ThePapare.com‘s Facebook page:

Pune Marathas vs Bangalore Warhawks – Pune won 10-7

Colombo Lions vs Kolkata Vipers – Colombo won 20-6

Delhi Defenders vs Pakistan Wolfpak – Delhi won 21-0

Mumbai Gladiators vs Kandy Skykings – Kandy won 11-3

EFLI sideline reporter Sasha interviews Delhi Defenders star Amit "Happy" http://t.co/DqZikpdA http://t.co/yOw3dNPh

— EFLI (@EFLIFootball) August 2, 2012

Mumbai Gladiators star Preetesh Balyala http://t.co/0587rPd6 http://t.co/cACJUp1Z

— EFLI (@EFLIFootball) August 2, 2012

Colombo Lions OL #91 http://t.co/yeYG68aG http://t.co/PbSxnQFX

— EFLI (@EFLIFootball) August 2, 2012

jennamoshell game day #efli #bigsu

Week 2 – July 30, 2012

Here’s how the schedule looks today for Week 2. Will update as the day goes on. Click on the links for photos from each match from ThePapare.com‘s Facebook page:

Kolkata Vipers vs Pune Marathas – Pune won 16-6

Mumbai Gladiators vs Pakistan Wolfpak – Mumbai won 14-12

Colombo Lions vs Bangalore Warhawks – Bangalore won 10-7

Kandy Skykings vs Delhi Defenders – Delhi won 43-6

Wow, the Dehli Defenders totally ran through the Kandy Skykings.

Day 2, Game 1: Kolkata vs Pune @ Sugathadasa Stadium http://t.co/0lLNPiXN

— EFLI (@EFLIFootball) July 30, 2012

Pakistan vs Mumbai @ Sugathadasa Stadium http://t.co/HG44BfDc

— EFLI (@EFLIFootball) July 30, 2012

Delhi Defenders helmet @ Sugathadasa Stadium http://t.co/SNlcQsIm

— EFLI (@EFLIFootball) July 30, 2012

Curly RB for Pune @efli @ Sugathadasa Stadium http://t.co/YI2Fqo1o

— Evan Rosenfeld (@evansss) July 31, 2012

jennamoshell Damnnnn #delhidefenders

Week 3 will be on Thursday, August 2. See you then!

I mentioned this already, but if you haven’t done so, be sure to sign up for email updates on the official EFLI website (bottom right corner of main page). The most recent email was sent today at 11:36am EDT and it is a must read from Paul Crane, one of the broadcasters signed on to the EFLI. Here is the write-up:

An Absolute Must Read

Here’s an excerpt:

There were many places where history was made, but one which stood out to me came toward the end of the opening ceremonies.  All eight teams were lined up on the field, five from India, one from Pakistan, and two from Sri Lanka.  They all stood respectfully as the national anthems from each country were played, with players from the anthems’ country singing along.  Once all three anthems were done and fireworks started going off above the stadium, the players from all the teams came together, started jumping up and down, high-fiving and embracing.  When one considers the deep-seeded hostilities between countries like India and Pakistan which date back thousands of years, and how the last time a Sri Lankan sports team was in Pakistan there was a terrorist attack (2009?) which not only killed several people but has kept any Sri Lankan team from going to Pakistan since, the way all these teams came together in this ceremony was not a small moment.  To me, it was historic in many ways.

Great stuff. Only two more days until Week 2!

Week 1 – July 25, 2012

Today is the first day of the first EFLI season. I was unable to find any live streams, and it’s been fairly difficult to find updates, but I will update this post with any as soon as I discover them.

ThePapare.com has posted photos on their facebook page:

EFLI Sri Lanka Opening Ceremony

Pune Marathas Vs Delhi Defenders (EFLI Sri Lanka) 1st Day – Pune won 31-7

Kolkata Vipers Vs Kandy Sky Kings (EFLI Sri Lanka) 1st Day – Kandy won 13-0

Mumbai Gladiators Vs Colombo Lions (EFLI Sri Lanka) 1st Day – Colombo won 12-7

Judging from the photos, it looks like Pune and Kandy won their respective games (not sure of the outcome of Mumbai/Colombo from the photos, and for some reason no photos have been posted yet from the 4th game, Pakistan vs. Bangalore) (Update: ThePapare.com didn’t get photos of the game, but Bangalore won 26-6)

Update @ 7/25/12 11:35pm EDT: The official EFLI twitter has been updated with a little bit of info and some nice photos:

@ruitina65 the games will be aired on Ten Sports on a delay. Still working on info about streaming. Will keep you updated here on twitter.

— EFLI (@EFLIFootball) July 26, 2012

@ThatGuyJoel the games are being aired on a delay on Ten Sports so we are holding back results until then.

— EFLI (@EFLIFootball) July 26, 2012

@Reeshy_Deeshy We will have info about merchandise shortly. You can stay updated about that here on our twitter. Thanks for the interest!

— EFLI (@EFLIFootball) July 26, 2012

Kandy Skykings under the Wednesday Night Lights @ Sugathadasa Stadium http://t.co/vxJdpy8M

— EFLI (@EFLIFootball) July 26, 2012

Bangalore Warhawks @ Sugathadasa Stadium http://t.co/pdHmJfou

— EFLI (@EFLIFootball) July 26, 2012

The Pakistan Wolfpack coming through the tunnel @ Sugathadasa Stadium http://t.co/DDqjBh6j

— EFLI (@EFLIFootball) July 26, 2012

EFLI referee watches over Kolkata Vipers vs Kandy Skykings @ Sugathadasa Stadium http://t.co/eQFrN5nr

— EFLI (@EFLIFootball) July 25, 2012

Kolkata Vipers warm ups @ Sugathadasa Stadium http://t.co/yjKSMDvn

— EFLI (@EFLIFootball) July 25, 2012

#84 Happy getting the Delhi Defenders ready for their first EFLI game - http://t.co/oqGFXRrQ

— EFLI (@EFLIFootball) July 25, 2012

From what I remember, Happy was on the Pune Marathas in the Pune vs. Mumbai scrimmage a few months ago… a blockbuster trade occurred since then, perhaps?

Update @ 7/26/12 12:30am EDT: I have updated some of the scores thanks to Facebook users who commented on ThePapare.com’s photos

Update @ 7/26/12 9:25am EDT: ThePapare.com posted an article with the scores of the games. Also it looks like the Wolfpak has officially changed its named from the Peshawar Wolfpak to the Pakistan Wolfpak.

Pakistan Wolfpak vs. Bangalore Warhawks – Bangalore won 26-6

Pune Marathas vs. Delhi Defenders – Pune won 31-7

Kandy Skykings vs. Kolkata Vipers – Kandy won 13-0

Colombo Lions vs. Mumbai Gladiators – Colombo won 12-7

According to this article from the Daily News (Sri Lanka’s National Newspaper Since 1918), the first EFLI season will begin on July 25 in Colombo, Sri Lanka at the Sugathadasa Stadium. The Peshawar Wolfpak will play against the Bangalore Warhawks at 1pm (which should be in a few hours now) and the Delhi Defenders will play the Pune Marathas at 3pm. The tournament will run from July 25 to August 25.

It looks like the schedule posted a couple months ago is slightly inaccurate – the season will start 10 days later than what that schedule had. We will keep you updated on how the first games of the first EFLI season go.

Update @ 7/25/12 9:30am EDT: The matches should be playing right now, but unfortunately I have had no luck finding out what is going on. Here is another article that contains the schedule from July 25 through August 25.

Update @ 7/25/12 1:50pm EDT: I am still unable to find any live updates on the games, but the official EFLI website was just recently updated with a commercial: The Calm Before The Storm

If you haven’t done so already, be sure to sign up for email updates on the official EFLI website (bottom right corner of main page). There’s been a barrage of updates in the past couple of weeks including:

7/13/12: Asiri Surgical Hospital will provide services to the EFLI, with two ambulances, one doctor, and three medically trained staff on hand per game.

7/12/12: Chris Crutchfield will be creating the commercials for the EFLI. His work includes Zeitgeist 2011: Year In Review and Pepsi Max – Whistle to the MAX.

7/10/12: Documentarians Evan Rosenfeld and Jenna Moshell will be creating a documentary about the EFLI. Their work includes “The U” which is part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentary series, and “Broke”, a documentary about professional athletes becoming broke shortly after their sports careers end.

Thanks to Flares into Darkness who pointed out in his post last week that there is a new 2012 EFLI Brochure on the official EFLI website. The season has indeed been moved up to July 15, 2012 from November 2012. For the first season, the league will be split into 2 divisions: West and East. Our Teams page has been updated with this information, as well as possible expansion teams (like the Chennai Swarm and the Punjab Warriors who have been announced but will not play in the first season).

The brochure has some good information and highlights the great progress that has been made so far in establishing the league, including: signing on 64 Indian colleges and universities to compete in American football; signing a Letter of Intent with premier Indian sports channel Ten Sports; and signing on well-known NFL names such as Kurt Warner and Mike Ditka.

It looks like the official website has been updated recently with a new PDF schedule. The schedule has the first games starting on July 15, 2012 and the last game, the EFLI Champions Game, on August 26, 2012.

If this is correct, then it looks like the EFLI moved the season up from beginning in November to beginning in July. But the PDF document is titled “EFLI 2012 MATCH SCHEDULE SRI LANKA”, so maybe it’s just sort of a pre-season tournament that is taking place in Sri Lanka before the actual season in November.

Notice that the Lions are called the Sri Lanka Lions (instead of Colombo) and the Wolfpak are called the Pakistan Wolf Pak (instead of Peshawar). Looks like these are some additional name changes that will establish a national identity for these two teams (Sri Lanka has an another team in the Kandy Skykings, which was relocated from Hyderabad in India).

So it looks like there’s still a lot of fluidity in the EFLI. But if the new PDF schedule is correct, we can start seeing some games already in July instead of the originally scheduled November.