Brawl at Womens Soccer Match

Most soccer players will try to convince you that they play a violent sport, but anyone with common sense won't listen to them. On Thursday night, America got a chance to see the ugly side of soccer. The Mountain West semi-final between BYU and New Mexico gets kind of rough.

Oh did I mention this was a women's soccer game?

U.S. Rugby Chat Episode 22: Rugby Super Powers

This weeks episode of U.S. Rugby Chat is chalked full of action. Jeremy from Heavensgame.com and myself tackle everything from the old Rugby Super Power Tournament, Invictus, and College Rugby in the United States. As usual there are plenty of interesting topics, and a great plug for a big influential guest.

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Invictus Brings Rugby to the Big Screen

This time last year rugby found its way into the mainstream in the United States when Forever Strong hit the big screen. While, this movie was big, it was still an independent film for the most part. This December, rugby will return to the big screen in the form of Invictus. A big name high powered movie staring Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, and directed by Clint Eastwood. Check out this trailer.

Walker Sports College Football Poll: Weeding Out The Weaklings

As the season progresses, we are seeing plenty of movement within the top 25. It appears the NFL is not the only place where pariety reigns. Contenders falling off means lots of movement, check out where your favorite team landed in this week's edition of the Walker-Sports Top 25.

1)Florida Gators: The Gators finally looked like the real Florida Gators. Guess Mark Richt brings out the best in Urban Myers crew.

2)Texas Longhorns: Focus will be the key for the Longhorns.

3)Boise State Broncos: Leading the way for a slew of underrated teams this year.

4)Alabama Crimson Tide:I can't wait to see Bama and Florida go head to head. One last mountain to climb against LSU.

5)TCU Horn Frogs:The Best team no one is talking about.

6)Cincinnati Bearcats:These guys are good, too bad no one will watch them kill some ACC numb team in the Orange Bowl.

7)LSU Tigers:Get by Bama, and the SEC could be in for a loop.

8)Iowa Hawkeyes: I just don't like this team.

9)Iowa Hawkeyes:Man talk about getting by on the skin of your teeth. I'm not ready to jump on the Iowa bandwagon just yet, but I will hold on to their bumper for a while.

10)Penn State Nitnay Lions:Not crazy about them, but they keep trucking along.

11)Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets:That triple option is giving people fits, now can they survive the mediocre ACC a date with UC will be their reward.

12)Ohio State Buckeyes:Blowing out the University of Virginia is like beating a high school team.

13)Houston Cougars:Just imagine what could have been had it not been for UTEP...

14)USC Trojans:Wow what happened to them on Saturday?

15)Houston Cougars:With Boise and TCU going mainstream it looks like the Cougars are the new mid-major story.

16)Pitt Panthers:Didn't se ethis team makign a run for it. Dave Wonstache finally putting it together.

17)Utah Utes:Good but not good enough

18):South Florida Bulls:Big win on Friday and making some rumblings.

19)Oklahoma State Cowboys:Horrible lost on Saturday. Another wasted season for the Cowboys. Even beating Oklahoma won't set this one straight.

20)South Carolina Gamecocks:

21)Virginia Tech Hokies: Talk about blowing a season. Rough days down in Blacksburg.

22)Oklahoma Sooners:

23)Kansas Jayhawks:

24)Arizona Wildcats:

25)Mississippi Rebels:

Manu Ginobli Kills a Bat During Spurs Game

It's Halloween, and there's a bat flying around during the Spurs game. Problem? Not if you have Manu Ginobli. Warning an animal was hurt during the filming of this clip.

Walker-Sports College Football Pick'em Week 9

It's hard to believe that we are already at week 9 of the college football season, but here we are. There are a slew of big time games this week and there's plenty to be excited about. That being said, let's get right to the point and pick some games.

Georgia Bulldogs vs. Florida Gators: I don't care what the mayor of Jacksonville wants to call this game, it will always be the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party to me. There's a lot on the line with this game as well. The Gators have not played well at all this season. Many times it appears that the Florida players are more content to watch Tim Teabow work his magic and hope that he can pull out a miracle. This makes them primed for an upset. Georgia is in the midst of a terrible year, but knocking off Florida in this boarder war would change the fortunes of the season.

The spread is a massive 14 1/2 points favoring Florida. I have to jump all over this one. Florida has been shaky and they have been unable to truly dominate anyone. Georgia most likely won't win this game but they can cover.

Here's another nugget for you as well, the team entering the Cocktail Party coming off a bye week has won outright 13 out of the last 14 times.
Winner Georgia:

Texas Longhorns vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys: The Longhorns are on a mission, the end goal is the BCS Championship game. I also warned everyone a few weeks back that the Oklahoma State Cowboys could rebuild their season and they have done that. The true shame of this game is that Oklahoma State wide out Dez Bryant is being forced to miss this game thanks to a horrible NCAA ruling.

The spread favors Texas by 9 1/2 points. Oklahoma State is better than what most people give them credit for. That being said, they have routinely struggled in the big games. That trend will continue. Texas wins the game and covers the spread.

Winner: Texas

USC Trojans vs. Oregon Ducks: Remember when the Oregon Ducks blew the season opener to Boise State and people were jumping off the Ducks bandwagon as fast as they could. Now it appears the Ducks have righted the ship and they find themselves ranked tenth in the country. Unfortunately for Oregon, they have to play the USC Trojans. I don't belive the Trojans are a powerhouse team but they are a very good one. More importantly USC has gotten their blown game out of the way for the season.

The spread on this game is amazingly close with USC being favored by just 3 points. I love this spread. Take USC to pick up the win and cover the spread with ease. Oregon just is not ready to play at that level.

Winner: USC

15-a-side rugby duties affect USA 7s team

After a brief break, we are happy to to welcome back into the fold our good friends from UR7's.com. This week we are talking about responsibility and players splitting time between clubs and obligations.

For many rugby playing countries their focus is on the 2011 Rugby 15-a-side World Cup. Some 14 countries have already qualified for this prestigious event: Argentina, Australia, England, Fiji, France, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa, Tonga, Wales, Canada and Samoa.

This means that several other countries will still be challenging for the remaining six places. Namibia and Tunisia are competing to represent the final African side, while Asia and Europe still have some playoff qualifiers. In North America, Canada beat the USA in July of this year to ensure their place at the RWC, which leaves the United States facing Uruguay in November.

I spoke with USA 7s head coach Al Caravelli last week – and it is clear that the most important immediate goal for USA Rugby is to qualify for this upcoming RWC. This will also ensure that vital financial contribution is received from the IRB, used for USA Rugby’s high performance academy.

The qualifier will take the form of a home and away series, with the USA Eagles travelling to Montevideo to play Uruguay on November 14th. The return match will take place in Lauderhill Florida on November 21st with coach Eddie O’Sullivan set to name his squad by the end of this month.

The USA 7s side will therefore have to assemble without some of their star players – most likely captain Kevin Swiryn and playmaker Nese Malifa. I would expect a couple others to make O’Sullivan’s squad which means that they will not have the luxury of training with their 7s teammates for an extended period of time.

Pre-season tour?

In the past the USA 7s side has travelled to Asia on a pre-season tour and played in the famous Singapore 7s tournament. I missed the 2007 tour, but in 2006 we played in the Bangkok 7s beating Samurai (players mainly from England) in a great final, and then a week later played in the highly competitive Singapore 7s. The Springbok 7s side fielded a strong team, and has won the event a few times.

It is noted that the 12 core IRB 7s teams cannot attend non-IRB tournaments as their national team hence the reason South Africa goes to Singapore as the Vipers.

This restriction is between the dates of November 1st to June 30th. If a core 7s country wants to play in a warm-up tournament they have to change their team name and playing gear.

In 2006 we played as the USA Eagles in Asia ahead of the IRB Dubai Sevens tournament but that was because we weren’t part of the 12 core teams. This ruling makes sense from an advertising perspective, knowing that as a sponsor of an IRB 7s team, you are guaranteed to get eight tournaments around the globe with measured audience and marketing exposure

The 12 'core' teams competing in all eight events on the World Series are: Argentina, Australia, England, Fiji, France, Kenya, New Zealand, Samoa, Scotland, South Africa, USA, and Wales. Portugal had a very successful season last year and has been invited to both Dubai and George Sevens.

Caravelli would have liked to go to a tournament before Dubai but due to the USA’s priorities that wasn’t possible this year. There is a tournament in Sri Lanka but it was to close to the timing of the Dubai event and there is not enough preparation time to select the team to Dubai Sevens.

Instead the USA will arrive a few days earlier in the United Arab Emirates.

This is exactly what successful South African 7s coach Paul Treu has done in previous years. In today’s era any competitive advantage is important, with Treu’s team getting a few extra days to acclimatise and rest before the tournament begins. Having played on the circuit I am well aware of the short space of time between landing at the airport and playing in the tournament, especially the second leg of any tour.

Acclimatising with the best

Caravelli and Treu have remained in close contact and share the same passion for the Sevens Series. In fact Caravelli has organised with Treu that the USA 7s team will be staying at the same hotel as the Springboks, training for two days together, before all the teams move into the tournament hotel. This is a fantastic opportunity for the American players to test themselves against the world’s best, as well as learn value on and off field lessons.

From experience the USA has not faired well in Dubai over the past 3 seasons. The main reason is that as players we felt very tired on our feet, due to the travel time and not enough days to acclimate to the 10 hour time difference, in addition to an intense week of training before at camp. Caravelli knows this and will ensure the training week allows for plenty of recovery, as well as reducing the two a day sessions in Dubai.

Exciting times

The selection training camp should see some 20 players invited to the Dubai/George assembly, bearing in mind that some of them may be at the 15s World Cup qualifier. It is a difficult task getting the new players on the same page as the veterans, and then playing in the best 7s tournament in the world a week later. While there are many challenges facing the players, this is an unbelievable experience and a moment that defines oneself.

The question on everyone’s lips about whether or not there will be professional contracts this season. Plans are in place and it is still to be decided on. That is all I can reveal…

The goal of the 08/09 season was to finish in the Top 10, as well as reach as many quarterfinals as possible. The USA almost managed this, but slipped to 11th place during the final two tournaments of the year. They did reach the quarter-finals in George South Africa and Wellington New Zealand, with a scintillating semi-final spot in San Diego USA.

The 2009/2010 IRB World Sevens Series Calendar: Dubai - 4-5 Dec, South Africa - 11-12 Dec, New Zealand - 5-6 Feb, USA - 13-14 Feb, Australia - 19-21 Mar, Hong Kong - 26-28 Mar, England - 22-23 May , Scotland - 29-30 May

Read more from Dallen:

How the Olympics changes USA Rugby

Inside the latest USA Sevens camp

Victorious with Belmont at Nationals!

UR7s.com is the most comprehensive source of news, video, discussion and information for every level of rugby sevens around the world. UR7s.com includes a calendar of rugby sevens tournaments from around the globe, tournament micro-sites, team profiles, photos, featured articles and social networking. Over 100 tournaments and teams from the USA have already made their presence felt on UR7s.com – the online home for 'everything 7s'.

Junior Team Arrested for Nude Hockey

You can't make this stuff up, I swear. Courtesy of the AP this story comes from Boise Idaho, and it is one that will make you laugh.

An Idaho junior hockey team was banished temporarily from a city ice rink after players engaged in a game of "strip hockey" — shedding a piece of uniform every time a practice shot missed its mark.

As redress for last Wednesday's incident, Boise forbid the Idaho Junior Steelheads team from using Idaho Ice World for four days; one 17-year-old player who shed his underwear briefly was suspended until next week. In addition, police are investigating, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.

An adult whose young daughter was on an adjacent rink saw the 17- to 20-year-old Steelheads skating in their skivvies and complained to a city hotline.

Only in Boise could you have the cops called on you for nude skating and only get a week long ban from the rink.

John Riggins Video Breakdown of the Washington Redskins

I've always believed being based out of Washington D.C. allows us to have a special view of the sporting world. Those words have never rung truer this football season with the collapse of the Washington Redskins. Seemingly everyone around the Beltway have an opinion on the Redskins. That is why it should come as no surprise that Hall of Famer John Riggins has taken to videocast on Youtube to give his state of the Redskins each week.

Check out this week's edition from Riggo.