Belmont Shore-Chicago Lions, San Francisco Golden Gate-Denver Barbarians, and NYAC-Boston tilts highlight the Super League's opening weekend, as six of last year's quarterfinal teams immediately clash. The first-round matches could go some way toward determining the outcome of the seven-game regular...

It's been suggested that American rugby's varsity model collapsed in the 1970s when college football coaches put their scholarship players on ice, and won't regain its footing because the sport will never surmount Title IX. So what makes me think the varsity model can again take root? Varsity is a s...

(Berkeley, California) Blaine Scully scored tries in each half to pace Cal in a 31-15 comeback victory over the Univ. of British Columbia, a worthy contest played before a sellout Witter Rugby Field crowd of 2,600. The junior wing's second five-pointer, at 68 minutes, closely followed a stunning 40-...

The final play of the USA 7s semifinal match between America and Argentina was bungled, so it is refreshing to know that authorities have taken the matter to heart. My favorite newsletter, the authoritative Pelican's Beak, is worth quoting at length: ...We can plausibly dream of what might have been...

Thretton Palamo replaces Roland Suniula in the lone change of the 12-man Eagle roster for this weekend's USA 7s presented by Bridgestone, but the surging squad soon may be more fluid. Whether this year or next, coach Al Caravelli faces the prospect of maintaining momentum with a newer cast of player...

Bridgestone's presenting sponsorship of the USA 7s is the strongest evidence yet that the tournament is successfully defining rugby's value in the American market. In their enthusiasm, good rugby men tend to presume the US public will instantly understand, love, and support rugby events of any stand...

The USA has moved up one place in the Sevens World Series standings, to ninth, following a quarterfinal showing in New Zealand. In first-day Wellington action, the Eagles toppled an unsettled Fijian team and handled the Cook Islands, but surrendered the lead in losing to Samoa. On day two, Chris Wyl...

Yes yes, we have reached the denouement of the Johnson affair. Another time. Today's post treats the diametrically opposed topic of commitment to heritage. Speaking at his 2005 induction to baseball's hall of fame, Ryne Sandberg compellingly portrayed the role of tradition in sports. One passage is ...

The game clock appears to be running out on USA Rugby's professionalization strategy. Reduced 2009 International Rugby Board funding is undermining slow-moving plans to fuel growth by commercializing Eagle and all-star play, calling into question the viability of a stalled agenda and possibly even m...

Northern California's referee society is teaming up with the talent-laden Sacramento Valley high school league in an effort to cover more high school games while attracting younger officials. At the February 6-8 Kickoff Tournament, one of the region's larger scholastic events, the society will condu...