There's always potential for gruesome injuries during a rugby match. So why hasn't the sport caught on here in the States? Chris McGrath/Getty Images
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1. While rugby has never really caught on as a major sport here in the States, it seemingly faces still greater obstacles in Russia. Last week an amateur rugby match was halted and the players and fans -- nearly 100 people in all -- were hauled into a police station. The police mistook the match for a mass brawl after a caller complained of what appeared to be a fight in an open field on the outskirts of Rostov-on-Don. Fortunately, everyone was released without charges when officers realized that the donnybrook was just a rugby game.

2. The U.S. soccer team played abysmally in a 3-0 defeat to the Czech Republic in its World Cup opener Monday. Coach Bruce Arena's highly touted team looked so unprepared for international play that Arena has emerged as the logical candidate to replace Larry Brown as Knicks coach.

3. Not even a good-luck call from President Bush before the game helped the Americans. On the plus side, though, at least the U.S. World Cup team has a well-defined exit strategy.

4. Wacky World Cup note: In what we hope will become a semi-regular feature during the world's biggest single-sport extravaganza, today's item involves (what else?) Cambodian monks. Buddhist monks, you should understand, aren't supposed to watch television, movies or artistic displays, or do much of anything that might be considered fun. But Cambodia's Supreme Patriarch Non Ngeth has ruled that monks may watch the World Cup matches on TV. There are some ground rules, of course, including no cheering or betting. Says Ngeth, "Cheering or screaming while watching TV are acts appropriate for children. Monks may not act like that." Here's betting that if the monks have a soccer team of their own, it doesn't possess much of a home field advantage.

5. The Heat were fined $25,000 after Shaquille O'Neal failed to appear in the press room following their disappointing loss to the Mavs in Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night. Strangely, Miami received no penalty for not showing up during the game itself.

6. On Tuesday the Cubs will become the first major league team to use wireless dugout-to-bullpen phones. That will enable manager Dusty Baker to make a secure, crystal-clear call to the bullpen once his starting pitcher's arm falls off.

7. The NHL announced Monday that no players failed a drug test during the first season of the league's anti-doping program. Unfortunately, no one seems to have drug-tested the NHL executives who allowed some Stanley Cup finals games to air on cable nonentity OLN.

8. Pirates outfielder Chris Duffy has finally accepted a demotion to the minor leagues after resisting for nearly a month. Apparently, Duffy blinked when Pittsburgh threatened to ship him to the Royals.

9. FIFA wants Mexico coach Ricardo Lavolpe to stop smoking on the sideline during World Cup matches. Indeed, FIFA believes that the health of World Cup coaches should only be imperiled by humiliating defeats.

10. MLB officials may explore freezing urine samples in case tests for new performance-enhancing drugs are perfected in the future. As if the BALCO players didn't already have enough leaks to worry about.

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