Category: History and More

Many years ago, ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” was the one television program that provided American viewers the chance to sneak a peek at athletic competition not readily available to them.

It’s where I saw my first World Cup soccer match, which led to an obsession with “The Beautiful Game” that has lasted for almost half a century.

And I think it’s also where I was introduced to rugby, which has recently shot way up the charts in terms of my interest.

I have a vague memory of being a kid and watching a bunch of guys play “football without pads,” and a little research shows that “Wide World of Sports” featured the English Rugby League Cup Final on May 27, 1967.

I would’ve been only 6 at the time, and a one-off rugby match is kind of a random thing to remember.

Yet, I’m going to give it credit for planting a seed that sprouted in a major way last weekend when I watched four Major League Rugby matches. And I hope to watch many, many more in the years to come.

Saturday featured three terrific games. The club I’ve chosen to cheer for, Rugby United New York, edged San Diego, 25-23; NOLA (New Orleans) held off Toronto, 36-31; and Houston nipped Austin, 21-20.

Opening week action ended on Sunday with Seattle besting Glendale (greater Denver), 20-18. (Utah, the ninth team in the league, had a bye week).

If the founders of MLR were hoping to woo casual fans, their teams couldn’t have done a better job of showing off the product. The largest margin of victory was five points, so every contest was in doubt until the end.

I’m already plotting my viewing strategy for this week, which features one game on Friday and two on Saturday.

In years past, my sportsball weekends in February were dominated by soccer, hockey and basketball. Now rugby has been added to the rotation, and I’m pretty sure it’s going to stay there until the season wraps up in June.

So why the sudden surge of interest?

Well, because it’s really interesting.

Last season was the first for MLR and I considered myself a fan (for what it’s worth, I rooted for the NOLA Gold). I enjoyed what I saw – especially early in the season – but ultimately I saw less and less in the spring because I often found myself distracted by other sports.

Over the summer, though, I started closely following Premiership Rugby – the top league in England – and that helped me ease into learning the nuances of the game and the flow of rugby union competition.

Plus, I had already signed up for MLR email alerts, so I was getting info on America’s domestic league on a regular basis.

As the season drew closer the more interested in it I became, and I decided New York would be my new favorite team going forward. (Even though I don’t live there I’ve always loved visiting NYC, and have an affinity for New York-based pro teams).

So while United was the main attraction, I invested a decent chunk of my weekend in Major League Rugby.

It was a sound investment.

And really, it makes perfect sense that I’d become a fan.

I’m passionate about association football and tackle football, and rugby is a logical bridge between the two.

I enjoy the combination of physical strength and agility, and the speed and motion keep me entertained from start to finish. Plus, the rules are relatively simple – and simple to learn from a fan’s perspective.

Next year the circuit will grow by a fourth, with the New England Free Jacks and teams in Atlanta and Washington boosting the size of MLR to 12 teams.

And since the game has become my new “it” sport, I hope its professional version takes hold and finds a solid niche in North America.

Obviously, I have no way of knowing if Major League Rugby is here to stay.

What I do know, however, is that I plan to stay with it for as long as it lasts.

 

Throughout most of my newspaper sports writing career, I tried to steer clear of criticizing officials. It’s a hard knock life for a ref (instead of kisses, they get kicked), and I didn’t want to add to their misery.

But good lort … this might’ve been the worst season yet for NFL stripes, and they certainly put their worst foot forward in last Sunday’s NFC Championship Game.

The hot take in the Los Angeles Rams’ 26-23 overtime victory over the New Orleans Saints, of course, is to be outraged about the non-call that will live in infamy.

You know the story.

L.A. corner Nickell Robey-Coleman made a crushing, helmet-to-helmet hit on New Orleans receiver Tommylee Lewis long before Drew Brees’ pass got to him inside the 5-yard line.

The combo of pass interference and helmet-to-helmet contact made it the most obvious penalty since the first yellow flag was stitched. Hell, it could’ve been seen from the international space station.

Inexplicably, though, the NFL officiating crew didn’t see it – or at least didn’t call it.

Had they done so, the Saints would’ve had first-and-goal with under two minutes to go.

They would’ve eaten the clock, most likely kicking a chip shot field goal on the final snap. Or maybe a plunge up the middle would’ve turned a conservative call into a touchdown.

Either way, their chances of winning the game would’ve been in the upper 90 percentile.

Instead, they had to settle for three (the no-call set up fourth and 10 from the 13), and the Rams were left with enough time to march downfield and tie things up in regulation.

That set the stage for Greg Zuerlein’s game-winning 57-yard field goal, although Saints faithful will always believe they were jobbed and robbed and I’d feel the same way if I were them.

But …

If we’re going to blame the officials – and they deserve a lot of blame – let’s go all in. This crew was horrible all day long and made more than one potential game-changing blunder. One just happened to occur in the waning minutes of the game, magnifying it that much more.

For example, one no-call resulted in a New Orleans touchdown and another probably denied L.A. one of its own.

The Saints scored on a second-and-goal play in the third quarter to go up 20-10, even though the play clock clearly hit double zeroes before the snap.

Had the flag been thrown, New Orleans would’ve faced a second and goal from the seven.

They might’ve still scored a TD, but it would’ve been more difficult.

And in the fourth quarter – with his squad trailing 20-17 – Rams QB Jared Goff scrambled on a third down play and was pulled down by his facemask. If the official makes the call, L.A. has first and goal at the 1 but instead had to settle for a field goal.

A touchdown would’ve put the Rams ahead 24-20, and the Saints would’ve been forced to score a TD to regain the lead.

But none of those things happened, and now we’re left to debate all the might-have-beens.

And in the interest of equal time, the crew in the AFC Championship Game had their shaky moments in New England’s 37-31 O.T. conquest of Kansas City.

I’m not sure there’ll ever be consensus on Julian Edelman’s muffed punt return, although I tend to think overturning that ruling was the correct decision

My favorite penalty call, however, was the roughing-the-passer flag against K.C.’s Chris Jones.

People have applied Vicks VapoRub with more force than Jones used against Tom Brady.

So what’s the solution?

The quick answer is to at least make pass interference reviewable since it tends to the infraction that’s frequently the most “iffy.” For that to happen, the NFL competition committee would need to put it on the table and 24 of the 32 league owners have to approve it.

You can count Saints owner Gayle Benson as an “aye” vote there.

But if and when that happens, a game that is becoming increasingly lengthy will grow longer still.

When first introduced, I thought video replay reviews would be a great addition to the game.

I’m not sure I believe that anymore.

I’ll never understand how officials can pore over a replay like they’re examining the Zapruder film, yet still get the call wrong. But they do, and now games that used to run at a crisp two hours and 45 minutes are dragging on well past three hours.

Throw interference flag reviews into the mix – even something as obvious as Sunday’s no-call – and you’ll add more down time to the NFL “experience.”

Here’s an idea: look to Canadian Football League officials for guidance. After all, the leagues already have an exchange program where NFL refs work early season CFL games and CFL refs “intern” at NFL mini-camps and clinics.

CFL contests – on average – clock in at well under three hours, and the refs have a whole lot more to look at.

Not only are all backs and receivers (other than the quarterback) allowed in motion toward the line of scrimmage, there are 12 players to a side on a 65-yard wide, 110-yard long field and you can even attempt an onside punt, for heaven’s sake.

Oh yeah – coaches are allowed to challenge interference calls and when refs review plays, they don’t screw around.

Obviously CFL officials make mistakes, too, and I won’t deny I tend to view football things through Maple Leaf-colored glasses.

Still, that league’s video replay era seems to be marked by much less error.

Whatever the case, here’s hoping NFL officials will get their act together and be able to end the season on a high note in the Super Bowl.

After all, the best way for refs to be remembered is to not be remembered at all.