GRR: College Men
Dave Hodges was unstoppable.
An All American in football and rugby at Occidental, Hodges, like many of the top players from the late 1990s, came to the game late, but embraced it quickly. A cinder block of a man who could play lock, flanker, or No. 8, he was a leader by example, taking on the toughest jobs and the nastiest roles with no complaint, and perhaps even relish.
It looks like we will see major college rugby going on this spring.
While some areas of the country do not look like sports teams of any kinds will have an easy time of it, still others look like they may be able to compete in some form. We caution fans when they hear that a team is going to play. For some that means that they may have been given the OK to train.
In a time when the best of thw West Coast often came from California exclusively, Jeff Lombard was an outlier.
A big, powerful flanker from Western Washington University, the lifetime Northwesterner cut his teeth in the always imposing British Columbia league, and forced his way onto the USA national team at a time when playing in Washington and BC was a quick road to obscurity.
Kirk Khasigian had the unenviable task of replacing one of the USA's all-time greats, as he pulled on into the Eagle #2 jersey after the retirement of Tom Billups.
Paul Emerick is one of the greatest American outside backs.
Generally playing at outside center, the former University of Northern Iowa All American and later Chicago Lions was a favorite with fans because he never, ever backed down, was brutally honest about his performance good or bad, and was just plain fun to watch.