Non Rugby: Finding a dead body

I thought for a while about whether I should blog about this, since it's completely non-rugby. But it's my space to do with what I want, and today I want to write about what happened to me and my partner on Saturday. This memorial day weekend did not turn out the way I expected.

We decided to take the two younger dogs to the local dog park on Saturday, and then go for a short hike. The Mondauk dog park in Ft Washington is a really terrific place for pet owners. They have a big dog area, a little dog area, and a couple of different trails. We spent some time in the big dog park, walked down one of the little trails, and then decided it would be fun to explore the creek.

It reminded me a lot of living in Colorado, and hiking up a shallow stream bed looking for a hot fishing spot. Really really good times. I was super happy :)

So we're about calf deep in water, looking at the baby fish and laughing at Ursula (the giant puppy), as she experienced wading for the first time. A couple of times we thought about turning around, but each time decided, "naa, maybe there will be a really cool little picnic spot around the bend".

Except there wasn't. There was a dead body. At first, for just a second, I actually thought it might be a mannequin. But in my heart I knew it wasn't. The body was small. It was male. He was face down in the water, in jeans & a short sleeved shirt. He didn't have any shoes on. It looked like a kid.

So we called 911 and immediately got out of the water. We really weren't deep in the woods at all - it was one of those suburban hiking trails, where it seems remote, but really your skimming backyards along the way.

By the time we got out of the woods, the police had arrived. We led them back to the body. The first officer mentioned that there hadn't been any recent reports of missing kids, and that the body may have been in the water for a while. The second officer took our names and contact info, and then we left and went home. The very first thing we did was take showers. There is something about being in the water with a dead body that makes you feel so much worse than just dirty. It makes you feel like you have death on you. As if death were somehow contagious and we could wash it off.

It was really odd - i wasn't upset, or shocked, or anything like that. But my adrenaline was very high. I felt like I desperately needed to tell someone what had happened. So I told a few people, and realized maybe I was a little more upset that I thought.

We decided we needed to have some sangria and just chill. My partner recently lost a family member (as in like 3 days ago) so it was a little more death than either of us needed. We spent the rest of the day on the deck - with a fire burning and wine in hand.

Saturday night we put on the news, and sure enough, there was the story. That's when I finally freaked out a little. I mean, this was a kid - it's amazing how your brain starts inventing possible back stories. Who was he, what happened, what about his family, was it an accident, was it foul play, what? When I closed my eyes that night it was clear that the image of this body, face down in the creek, with jeans, a short sleeved shirt, and no socks, would be burned in my memory forever.

So now it's Monday and it's still on my mind. It's still in the news, and what's interesting is that the person face down in the stream with jeans, a short sleeved shirt, and no shoes was in fact an adult male. They identified him via a cell phone, and are waiting to release his name pending notification of his family. Hopefully that will happen soon - regardless of what the circumstances are surrounding his death, I imagine his family wants and needs this closure.

Today's Memorial day and it strikes me that for someone will remember Memorial day as the time the found out the fate of a missing family member.

So that's it. The fire, alcohol, and showers haven't done a thing to soften the image of the dead stranger, face down in the creek, in jeans and a short sleeved shirt, with with no socks. It's going to take more than a weekend for sure.

Experimental Law's Variations - August 2008

Just received this via the IRB for broad circulation.

Just received this from the IRB for broad circulation, consume and enjoy.

Attached please find the details of the ELVs, slated to go into effect as a "Global Trial" in August of 2008. This global trial applies to 7s and U19s as well as 15s.

Note: This initial set of ELVs to be trialed starting in August DOES NOT include upcoming changes to what happens in rucks. It does address mauls, lineouts (all sorts of modifications), scrums (specific to off sides), and kicking (specific to the 22) in detail.

The document can be downloaded in it's entirety here: http://www.irb.com/mm/Document/NewsMedia/0/IRBELVGuideENFINAL_5097.pdf

Thoughts?

MARFU U-23 Updates

'Tis the season for select sides!

All the MARFU U23 stuff is being hosted on a seperate blog site - please visit!

Open Tryouts May 18th 2008 - Directions and Details

MARFU U23 Developmental team at Ruggerfest

Non rugby: Dear Dr Leibovitz

So K-2 (pictured in black and white on the sidebar) is a Siberian Husky, closing in on 15 years of age. He is perky, active, talkative, agile and puppy like in many ways. He's also got a variety of tumors. There's a big one in (not on) his butt, several little ones all over his torso, a small one that looks like a miniature brain on his head, a fatty one on one of his front legs, and this one....



On Tuesday morning, this lovely tumor was red, inflamed, hot, and generally gross in every way.

So today, my 14 y/o going on 15 y/o dog is getting it removed. The last time he went under anesthesia, he basically talked for 2 straight days. Apparently this is common with northern breeds. Seriously, yelp, yelp, yelp, yelp, yelp for about 48 hours. NON STOP. But of course, I'd rather have him chattering for 2 days than not have him.

So Dr. Leibovitz (vet extraordinaire), please have an awesome day today.

MARFU U23 Women's All Stars: Tryouts this weekend and next!

For details:

http://marfu-u23s.blogspot.com

OR on facebook ...

May 11th - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=13221718412
May 18th - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=24489371088

Shoulders below hips - is it ever ok?

I had a lengthy discussion this weekend with a referee about the notion of "shoulders below hips". After reading the comments on the Stanford v PSU women's collegiate championship final, it seems this topic requires further discussion. (how does it feel to be the subject of our discussions Alison?)

At the forefront of the shoulders-below-hips issue is the technique known as "sealing".

Sealing occurs when, as the offensive players who arrives first to the breakdown, you bind tightly to the player on the ground. When done correctly, the player pulls the head and neck towards the shoulders, tensing everything in the front and back of the neck, and pulls the player on the ground towards the upper body, essentially creating a seamless "seal". This technique of "securing" the head and neck is known as "turtling". Players contesting the breakdown are free to counter-ruck and drive the sealed player off the ball, though a nice tight bind by the sealing player, and traditional "drive over" support by the supporting offensive players make it more challenging to contest for the ball. when done correctly, a seal does not kill the ball, in fact it makes it more playable for the team that arrived first to the breakdown. It completely eliminates some of the wild kicking that can occur at the breakdown, and it significantly cuts the number of players required to maintain possession at the breakdown.

At the highest level - Sealing is a no brainer. Do it, and do it well, or you won't get selected. From a coaching perspective, coaching the seal safely should be considered as critical as coaching safe scrummaging or safe tackling.

What's the point of contention for referees? Well, there are few. If the defense does not in fact contest the breakdown, and the sealing player came in with power (as they should, since the may very well transition from seal to clear-out mode as they arrive), the arriving players momentum may create a "diving over" scenario. At the higher levels, arriving players are not penalized for diving over, since that scenario does not present itself unless the breakdown is uncontested - in which case there since there no defense, a player who finds themselves on the other side of the downed ball carrier is neither impeding play, nor in a dangerous position (if theres no one around you to injure you, are you going to be injured?).

Many referees contend that, at the seal, since the shoulders are often below the hips, the act itself is inherently dangerous. And there is guidance to back this up.

So I suppose this is where discretion of an individual referee comes in. Do we apply the same standard of safely to a new, younger, or less physically mature player that we do with a fit, well trained, experienced player?

My discussion this weekend ended at an impasse - the specific take on sealing was that, if your butt was down and your head up, it was safe, since the shoulders were above the hips.

I disagree - in this scenario, players arriving from the defensive side of the breakdown can very easily drive a knee (unintentionally, simply in the act of rucking) into the sealing players face and chin, and players from the offensive side can easily drive the sealing player over the top of the downed player, simply by applying any pressure to the sealing player from behind.

In the "tight and turtled" scenario, the sealing player is in a modified 4 point stance, with their head securely nestled on the offensive side of the downed player, with their head and neck muscles in a solid and balanced position. Is their head below their shoulders? YES. But, if done correctly, you are literally pulling the downed player toward you, and, were you as a player, to let go, you'd remain on your feet.

Interestingly enough, this same weekend we ran into some challenges with our scrummaging style. Since the head is in a neutral position (imagine how your head sits on top of your body now, then simply bend at the waist without changing head position, and you'll see what that's like), the clear cut "head above hips" is hard to see. In fact, it looks like the head is exactly even with the hips (which, is what this particular style calls for). Since guidance is "head above hips, always and forever", this style of scrummaging has drawn some angst from many in the referee circuits. Which, lets face it, is a problem - since this style of scrummaging is being taught throughout the country, to men and women of all ages, as the way WE (USA) are going to scrum.

What to do? I'd love to hear from a high level (B1 etc) ref on the matter ... At this point, on game day - I have no idea what to expect. With the ELV's looming on the horizon, it seems we'd better sort this all out.

Good luck to PSU, Navy and Shippensburg - and watch it all live!

This weekend 3 MARFU Collegiate women's programs vie for the #1 spot in the country at USA Rugby's Collegiate Championships.

AND YOU CAN WATCH IT ALL LIVE (times are pacific - add 3 hours if you are on the east coast) ...

USA Rugby has partnered with the National Guard & ESPN to stream all the games live and do television broadcasts.

From usarugby.org ..

Friday, May 2
11:00 pm: Division I Women's Semi Final (Penn State vs. Brown) 1:00 pm: Division I Women's Semi Final (Stanford v Navy) 3:00 pm: Division I Men's Semi Final (Cal v Saint Mary's) 5:00 pm: Division I Men's Semi Final (BYU v CU - Boulder)

Saturday, May 3
11:00 pm: Division II Women's Championship - UM-Duluth vs.
Shippensburg
1:00 pm: Division II Men's Championship - Radford vs. Utah Valley State 3:00 pm: Division I Women's Championship 5:00 pm: Division I Men's Championship

And don't forget, the 2008 USA Rugby's National Guard College Club Championships is also part of ESPNU's expanded coverage of USA Rugby. A tape delayed telecast of the USA Rugby National Guard Men's and Women's Division I College Championships will be aired on May 21 and 22, at 10 p.m. EST.

To access the live stream ...

http://usarugby.tampadigital.com/video/665EC396CF/Click+Play+for+Live+Stream