Bad Start to Six Nations for Scotland-But Scots Rocking Out here In SoCal Anyway….

Rocking out the Scottish Metal and Bagpipes aboard the Queen Mary.

It has been a rough start to the Six Nations for Scotland. Destroyed in Dublin and Impotent at Murrayfield in their second loss against England, getting shut out 20-0. So what does a Scotland fan in Southern California do? You find a place with a whole lot of other people in Kilts, find Alcohol, Highland Games, and people with Scottish Accents. In my case, that meant going to Long Beach California with my wife and going to the Long Beach Scottish Festival and Highland games. On an off weekend for the Six Nations, it was a good way for an American with Some Scots-Irish background to forget about Scotland's problems on the pitch. At this point, this 2014 vintage for Scotland looks like it will be battling Italy for the Wooden Spoon at the Six Nations.

This Scottish dude would be a welcome addition to Scotland's second row on Line Outs. 

Well, if Scottish Rugby is having troubles, there is always the Highland Games in Long Beach.

Scotland Fans will be needing a lot of Scotch to get through this 6 Nations, I'm afraid.

A Scot does not live on Haggis and Scotch alone….

Isabelle Ithurburu: Making Rugby Fun to Watch in Any Language

A sight for sore eyes of a rugby fan...

One of the myriad of channels I get on my cable TV is TV 5 Monde, which allows me to keep up with my French, as well as what is going on the world and NOT having to hear a thing about the Kardashians or Lindsey Lohan.

Along with the news, TV 5 Monde allows me to watch soccer and rugby, as well.

One program that is bookmarked on my DVR is "Jour du Rugby", the weekly show that gives the highlights of the weeks matches in the French Top 14. Getting to see the highlights and analysis is great-but having Isabelle Ithurburu as one of the commentators is the cherry on top of the Gateau Basque, as the comely Ms. Ithurburu simply is a sight to behold.(I shudder to think what the fashion budget is for the show, because every week, Ms. Ithurburu is wearing a different stunning dress)

For the people who feel that she is just window dressing, I should add that she is from the Basque Country-Pau, to be precise-right in the middle of rugby country. The former Miss Pau-Bearn has a love of the oval ball that just flows through her gorgeous DNA.

At any rate, on Valentine's day, as much as  I love my wife of almost 30 years, I also share a crush on a gorgeous Basque who also loves rugby. Does that make me a bad guy?

Oh...for those hoping that they can someday fulfill their fantasy of finding that perfect woman who is drop-dead gorgeous, charming and loves rugby-forget about it, she is married to a very lucky Argentine fellow.

Thankful the Next Rugby World Cup is NOT in Sochi....

"It could be worse-I could be in Sochi…"

Watching the buildup for the Sochi Winter Olympics is almost like witnessing a car crash, or two drunks having a fight-you want to avert your eyes to the ugliness, but you watch it anyway.

Whatever shots one can take at the IRB, at least you can say they are not quite as incompetent and corrupt as the IOC, who allowed this fiasco to take place by giving the Winter Olympics to a city with virtually no infrastructure, and run by a man who looks and acts like the heavy from a James Bond movie.

"I'm too sexy for my shirt,  comrade!"

Next years Rugby World Cup will be in England and in 2019, in Japan. I think they got this one right.

As far as Sochi, with the homophobic rhetoric of Mr. Putin and the recent news release that Sochi is going to work overtime to not just get stray dogs off the streets-it's going to be open season as the Russian authorities will be culling the streets of any stray dogs.

Glad I am going to be watching this train wreck of an Olympics-complete with unfinished hotels, facilites and no snow-from the relative safety of my apartment in LA.