Gainline.us

On the scoreboard

Over the years I've taken many overseas journalists to baseball games, and last night I went with a pair of grade schoolers.

In entertaining the two groups, there are many similarities. As I fell into routine explanations, I remembered that scoreboards and programs are outstanding instructional tools. Who is at bat or on the mound trumps the meaning of a walk.

It seems to me that in America's heroic efforts to promote rugby, we have largely forgotten the scoreboard and the gameday program.

Scoreboards are quite rare on domestic rugby fields, and of the top-flight college and club games one might attend, only at Cal would you expect a printed starting lineup and an announcer to identify the scorers.

A handful of other teams afterward send useful match reports, featuring lineups (with replacements) and timed scoring. (Kudos to the Denver Barbarians, whose summaries extend to the second team.) By contrast, the Super League site is woefully behind, and most of programs spend far more time explaining how the game is played. They are really advertising vehicles, of little help come time for kickoff.

If you've been to the USA 7s, you know that lineups and scoring are readily visible around the ground, making it very easy to explain the game to newcomers, while press resources are deep and nearly instantaneous. With the consolidation of college teams and USA Rugby staff this weekend in Albuquerque, one expects (hopes?) information gathering will be streamlined, and therefore game lineups and scoring will begin to San Diego's standard.

Coda: Last night's breakthrough? The scoreboard display of pitch velocity. Far from an example of Americans sportsmen engrossed in statistics for their own sake, the radar gun satisfactorily explained why the batters couldn't hit the ball.

National refs skip CIPP

Up to a third of USA Rugby's national-level referees have not registered with the union, rekindling the perception that there is one standard for elites and another for regular members.

Two-thirds of the way through the 2007-08 season, at least nine A-panel, 'focus group', and national-level touch judges haven't paid their CIPP dues, according to a club coach's check of the public database that was reviewed by Gainline.us. Some of these individuals also have been territorial executives or USA Rugby directors.

A USA Rugby official said he would review the situation.

With the college playoffs to begin this weekend, the matter is likely to renew charges that CIPP (Club and Individual Participation Program) is less about eligibility than income for the union. This time of year, team rosters are closely scrutinized, and inevitably there are various challenges.

A year ago, most of the 7s Eagles who traveled to New Zealand had not paid their dues beforehand, which normally precludes players from leaving the country. At the time, USA Rugby said that as mid-February is its busiest time of the season, the database was not fully up to date.

CIPP dues are USA Rugby's largest source of unencumbered revenue, and are increasingly disliked by schools which find the insurance component duplicative, particularly by high schools that belong to so-called state-based organizations which would rather keep dues money 'at home.'

Ironically, referees as well as territorial administrators have traditionally resisted being assigned to check CIPP registration for USA Rugby events. Refs and other local officials have been wary of compliance roles that could open them to legal peril, particularly since USA Rugby drove an eligibility dispute during the 2004 Super League playoffs into litigation, and revised eligibility regulations last summer in a way that appears to penalize an entire territory for a single team's non-compliance.

In a shift to conform with the playing season that leads to USA Rugby's championships, the 2007-08 CIPP cycle ends this August.

Related: National players and personnel found dues scofflaws

More webcasting please

Webcasting domestic championship games has been one of USA Rugby's best innovations, and one hopes this spring we will see more and better-quality productions.

All around are commercial sports that are making good use of 'narrowcast' and the Web. Of late, the NHL rolled out an expansive broadband service to counter its lack of TV coverage, while CBS piled up impressive totals during the NCAA basketball championship, extending the marquee product's reach and inventory. Perhaps most interesting is MLB's season-opening announcement that it will webcast in China.

When it comes to the pros, baseball is seen as the saaviest, most effective online operator. One reason is MLB.com has understood that promotional value sometimes trumps revenue potential, which is what immature or local markets will bear, not the established price. Put another way, MLB gets that China is not Japan.

European rugby has traditionally tried to do business as normal in the US, while Southern hemisphere countries have been more practical in first trying to acquire audience, before pricing as if the market were proven. (The irony here is that the Northerns can better afford to discount.) In recent years the European-minded IRB has aggressively added webcasting and other online content -- but save for the quadrennial World Cup, the games that fans want to see are not IRB properties.

The urge to monetize as soon as possible, generally through subscriptions or pay-per-view, is ever present. But while premium products such the World Cup may yield hopeful results, America's competitions probably will not. Better to build an audience base, and of course the caliber of the events themselves: jamboree-style events don't present well.

On Gainline.us comments

Gainline.us draws a fair few comments, many useful and some unfortunately snarky or personal.

Monday a regular commenter pointed out an mistake in the collegiate round of 16 pairings, which pointed up an apparently post facto change in the Pacific Coast playoff results. In response to a query, a senior territorial administrator replied, in effect, 'your site is trashy because of anonymous comments'.

It is true that Gainline.us lacks the precise identification customary during the old 'letters to the editor' era. Dead-tree publishing also was less democratic in that someone had to choose which letters to publish. Further, someone had to choose which adverts to lay out next to the copy, which inevitably annoyed advertisers, particularly when there was a plane crash or other bad news the advertiser did not want to associate with.

In the present digital era, identification is less precise but more democratic because every voice can be heard. There are no space or layout constrictions. Although some are less mature and some feel the need of anonymity, the result is less overt censorship and a more interactive community. So too are ad 'rotations' done with less prejudice.

From the New York Times to Yahoo, every major online media company has encountered this paradox and ultimately embraced the new model of comments and community, This is because publishers are in the business of promoting conversation,  preferably -- but decreasingly -- in a branded environment where they control the inventory (which is of course the predominant business model).

Most of these folks are experimenting with newer commenting and community functions, aided by third-party vendors which believe there is in fact revenue in community participation. As it happens, I am too, albeit less aggressively since Gainline.us is not a commercial pursuit.

From a historical perspective, online publishers are comparable to newspapers in the Jacksonian era, which would be considered scurrilous by modern standards. But most historians agree that the proliferation of papers in this time was important to America's development as a pluralistic, democratic society.

Anyone who understands 'rip, mix, burn' will immediately get this dynamic too. It is interesting that most of those who do are also 'digital natives,' part of the younger demographic that is now the core of American rugby.

For those more interested in the Pacific Coast than online publishing, St. Mary's not Utah is the territory's number 3 seed, according to the guidelines set by 2007's playoff results; the PCRFU web site had been mistaken. The matter is unrelated to St. Mary's first-round bye while Cal-Davis played Stanford, which was the result of Washington State's withdrawal.

Coda: Recently I read that USA Rugby chair Kevin Roberts has found the American game to be less political than he expected. Perhaps his expectations and sensitivities reflect that fact that 'KR' also writes a blog?

Few tests in 2008 USA schedule

No more than three of the USA's current seven-game 2008 schedule will be internationals, with a maximum of one home test.

America's upcoming schedule expands the recent trend of playing 'A', provincial, and even scratch sides, while also extending through August at the expense of the domestic 7s season. There's a two-game visit to Japan in November, but no matches against top-tier teams.

'USA Rugby is not currently on the IRB’s International Tours schedule, which makes the task of creating an Eagles international fixture list extremely challenging,' chief executive Nigel Melville said in a prepared statement.

The Eagles played Autumn internationals as recently as 2004 -- but all of the union's then-executive committee pointedly skipped traveling with the team. Now that legacy of neglect is manifest, and cannot be quickly undone.

The lack of internationals and particularly home tests is problematic because would-be European professionals (i.e., the next generation of Mike MacDonalds and Paul Emericks) must earn 'caps' in order to qualify for European Union work permits. 'A' games don't count, and a much-touted 2006 initiative to place American hopefuls in England hasn't panned out.

Meanwhile, home fixtures which feature international opponents generally are bigger draw cards, and the lack of games hurts revenue potential as well as opportunities to show the game on TV. Domestic test matches can also be sold back to established rugby markets, while 'A' matches are near to worthless in this regard.

During the 10-year BSkyB deal, the US played 28 home tests, including a regular Pacific Rim schedule as well as England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France, and South Africa. In the succeeding two years, the US has played 2 internationals on US soil, against Barbados and Uruguay.

Whether home or away, test matches are the only games that count in the world rankings, so the shortage will make the comeback that much harder. The US is currently 19th, an all-time low, having fallen from 13th in 2005. In all, the Eagles played 82 tests from 1996-2005.

US officials had hoped to schedule Polynesian opponents in the fall, and had previously said they expected to play a Premiership team in August. French Top 14 side Clermont Auvergne joins Munster on the August docket, in what is likely to be an inordinately hot match in Charleston, South Carolina.

Plans for a multigame runup to the 2007 World Cup also came down to one Munster contest, and thus the Eagles decided to scrimmage another French club side during the tournament itself.

This June, USA 'A' will meet English counties, a scratch team, just days before the Churchill Cup gets underway. As expected, Argentina 'A' will round out the 6-team tournament.

Yesterday Gainline.us incorrectly said the USA 7s team had not previously defeated England. The Eagles downed England at the 2002 New Zealand 7s.

United States of America 2008 Schedule
    June 7         England Saxons        Ottawa
    June 11       Ireland 'A'                Kingston, ONT
    June 21       Churchill Cup finals  Chicago
    Aug 9          Clermont Auvergne   Charleston, SC
    Aug 22        Munster                    Boston
    Nov 16        JAPAN                      TBD
    Nov 22        JAPAN                      Tokyo

Thrilling Aussie 7s showing leaves US on the bubble

A shorthanded US 7s team logged milestone victories against England and Scotland, but fell to Argentina 26-21 in the Australian 7s bowl final.

The dramatic finish ends a six-tournament season with 6 points, presently good for 12th place -- ahead of France and Canada -- and the final automatic slot in the 2008-09 7s World Series. The tournament has two more stops to go in London and Edinburgh in late May / early June.

Having decided not to replace injured Takudzwa Ngwenya,  the 11-man US saw two more players sidelined on day 1 of the Adelaide competition.

In day 2's opener, Chris Wyles' overtime try lifted the Americans to a first-ever win over the English, 26-19. Wyles then added four in a 29-14 victory over Scotland, another first, lifting the OMBAC center to a tournament-high seven.

The 3-3 weekend included a day 1 win over Canada, which earned the US top seed in next fall's North American qualifiers for the 2009 7s World Cup.

A busy slate of collegiate territorial playoffs filed out the round of 16, with a pair of familiar faces returning to the national stage and one regular missing out. Air Force and Bowling Green are each in pool D, as is Kutztown, which replaces 2007 semifinalist Navy.

Utah v Air Force and Colorado v St. Mary's Utah look like particularly rugged opening-round matchups. Penn State v Minnesota, in any other sport a Big 10 rivalry, is in rugby a inter-territorial contest.

After week 3, unbeaten Charlotte and Boston are the surprise of the Super League, while 2006 titlist OMBAC lies in fourth place and will likely need to down PAC in Washington to stay in the hunt. The San Diegans may be buoyed by the return of Clever and Wyles.

Western division rival Golden Gate also could use a win over the Lions in Chicago, while Old Blue's crosstown match with New York AC takes on similar urgency.

Division 1 Round of 16 (unofficial)
    Cal v Tennessee, Army v Cal Poly
    St. Mary's v Air Force, Bowling Green v Kutztown
    Penn State v Minnesota, Colorado v Utah
    San Diego State v Arkansas State, Dartmouth v Brigham Young

Too many teams in the playoffs?

Washington State's withdrawal from this weekend's Pacific Coast playoffs raises questions about the opportunity costs of championship competition.

American schools and clubs have been willing to bear much in pursuit of a national title, yet too frequently otherwise solid teams have been forced by financial and logistical hurdles to pull out at the last minute. In Spokane, the Cougars bumped up against school policies limiting students to 500 miles or 10 hours of travel per day, American Rugby News reported.

Those are eminently sensible institutional guidelines, designed to promote studying as well as to manage the safety of youth. Any sport which aims to get closer to universities must grasp that these are fundamental components of the educational mission.

The incident's import is not Washington State's fate, nor the geographical circumstances of reputedly the country's strongest territory. It is that unrealistic demands are commonplace across America, and year after year they go unaddressed.

For example, one of the weekend's more interesting matchups is Louisiana State versus Colorado, at a Texas venue. The winner could go on to New Mexico in two weeks, and then California in four.

While the organizational strengths of these particular schools is unclear, it is certain that too many club-level teams pursue such an itinerary at the expense of the building blocks which support this NCAA-caliber schedule. Are most of this weekend's competitors traveling with certified medical staff? When they play at home, do they operate concessions in order to raise money to defray travel?

These are practical questions for union administrators to start addressing.

Then we come to the competitions themselves. The Pacific Coast is at best uneven -- a fifth-place NorCal team with 4 wins from 11 games is taking Washington State's place, while the winner of the BYU-Utah match effectively went right through to the round of 16 -- and though there are admirably 'fair' regions like the Mid Atlantic, they are not producing more and more powerful teams. Only more games.

The cry will go up: But teams want to play for championships. Yes, that is what they want. What they need are stronger local leagues, run by administrators who design and enforce organizational standards that bring rugby into the mainstream. 'Building' from the top down is the cause of Washington State's plight.

Maverick league underway in Washington DC

Back to Beltway high schoolers ... across the Potomac, a true high school competition comprising some of the Washington DC area's marquee names is underway.

Provocatively, the Metro Area Varsity Rugby Conference (the "Maverick league") aims to make inroads with school athletic directors, and pointedly ignores USA Rugby.

The 7-team competition culminates in a city championship, and only one competitor is also trying to compete for USA Rugby's national title. One reason, according to organizer Jason Maloni, is the Maverick league needed to set its dates in advance of Boulder's determining its calendar.

The approach is notable because the competition comprises some of the region's 'name brand' schools, and some of its leaders have substantial national experience, borne of working within the union system for many years.

'We want to create a product that our athletic directors and other ADs can understand,' organizer Jason Maloni said in an email.

Several of the league's guidelines are modeled after customary features in mainstream sports, but exceed rugby's standards, including sideline medical care and field standards. Meanwhile, taking a cue from baseball, the league plans to host a midseason all-star match between Maryland and DC squads.

The Maverick league intends to pay local college players to referee its matches. Youth teams are often the last in line to receive certified referees. But the approach is also important because officiating has in the past been one of Boulder's leading tools for bringing so-called rogue competitions to heel.

Chair Kevin Roberts, chief executive Nigel Melville, and others have recently floated the idea that the board and much of Boulder's top management should focus on elite levels, leaving 'recreational' and age-grade rugby to the (largely sidelined) Congress and local volunteers. But competitions such as in DC suggest a more thorough withdrawal -- including crucial CIPP dues.

The league comprises Dematha, Eleanor Roosevelt, Georgetown Prep, Gonzaga, Hyde, Landon, and St. John’s. Competition kicked off in March.

Related: Virginia youth competition underway

On the American rugby frontier

Australians, like Americans, know something about settling continental nations, and rugby men there also understand what it means to be a niche sport.

So Scott Johnson was unsurprisingly but splendidly accurate when he described American rugby as a 'frontier.'

Good frontiersmen do not go about their business as they would have at home. They are energetic, of course, but mainly they are adaptable and sensible in making use of resources as they go about fashioning a new way of life.

Thus Johnson: 'I’m going to immerse myself in the culture and coach to the strengths and weaknesses of the American athlete.'

Mindful that one ought not read too much into a press release, how refreshing that Johnson also avoided that most tiresome cliche: the US as a 'sleeping giant.' Such imagery is offensive to anyone who has so much as volunteered to serve a club officer.

America's shortcoming is not that people are not working diligently. It is that they are working to questionable ends, according to plans designed for other environments and requiring resources we do not have.

Perhaps Johnson will help us all understand that point. We wish him well.

Related stories:
    Johnson tapped as US coach
    On the next Eagle coach

 

Johnson tapped as US coach

Scott Johnson has been named head coach of the national team, marking the third time this decade USA Rugby has tapped an Antipodean to lead the Eagles.

The 44-year-old Australian has been given a four-year contract through the next World Cup, a sensible reversal of the union's stance that it would only sign two-year deals.

"This is the last frontier and I’m really looking forward to getting the Eagles in a position to be a world force,” Johnson said in a prepared statement.

Johnson's resume includes staff appointments with Wales and Australia as well as an position as head man of the Dragons. As a player, the center led Australia Under 21 and appeared for New South Wales.

He takes over a team that has plummeted to 19th in the world rankings, a record low, following a first-ever winless season. In three consecutive losses to Canada, the US has twice conceded 50 points and lost by 40.

Fellow Australian Duncan Hall and New Zealander Peter Thorburn also have steered the Eagles in the past 10 years.

Johnson is to begin following the approval of his visa application. The USA's 2008 season begins with the Churchill Cup, in about 10 weeks.

Related: On the next Eagle coach