DC Current on SCTop10

Major League Ultimate (Frisbee) landed on ESPN's SCtop10 again. New York Rumble's Sean Mott makes a jumping one-handed catch score over two DC Current defenders - Trevor Griesman #16 & Gabe Webster #23.

Oh hi @NYRumble @MLUltimate pic.twitter.com/JXK7cDCzfN

— Tom Levy (@MLUTomLevy) April 27, 2016

This acrobatic catch was one of the 10 goals D.C. Current gave up in the 4th quarter in a 19-21 loss.

RELATED: DC on the wrong side of ESPN highlights in 2013.

[h/t @MLUTomLevy]

Rethinking the 2016 NY Rumble Jersey

US Coachways was the jersey sponsor for the 2015 New York Rumble. The 2016 jerseys are likely to be updated with the BusRental.com (a US Coachways company) deal.

Here is a mock-up for the Rumble's 2016 tops.

Shifting the BusRental logo to the underarm gives its hairy appearance an anatomically correct location - similar to Jimmy Fallon's Hands High sports apparel.

Do Over: Ultimate in 2015

What a great year in ultimate! USA Ultimate was super busy, but there was so much more. Such as...

Best Ultimate Tour
The All-Star Ultimate Tour in its first year of existence successfully traveled to nine cities this summer. [July-August 2015]

Least Convenient Home Venue
New York Rumble's first "home" game of the 2015 MLU season wasn't.

screengrab via

Best Weekend of Ultimate Watching
August 8-August 9, 2015; twelve livestreamed games from a variety of media providers.

Best Jest
@burnsideulti celebration of goaltimate in many, many, many, many different forms.

Best Call of a Game's End (of Regulation)
Evan Lepler - as a solo broadcaster - announcing the final two minutes of a riveting game between San Francisco vs Seattle via AUDL Radio.

Best Headline
Stop Capitalizing the Word Ultimate / Tony Leonardo via Ultiworld [March 2015]

Best Celebrity Sighting at an Ultimate Game
Winner: Ty Burrell at Portland Stags (MLU) [April 2015]

Runner-up: Dave Matthews at Seattle Rainmakers (MLU) [May 2015]

Honorable Mention: Jim Harbaugh attends magnUM practice [April 2015]

Most Welcomed Addition to Ultimate Media (Broadcasters)
Ditch [October 2015]

Best Article Featuring the Sport of Ultimate
How to navigate today's wide world of youth sports by Emily Sweeney (The Boston Globe) because her article sheds "Ultimate Frisbee" in a positive light. What makes this article special is it does NOT spell out how the sport is played! [November 2015]

Rostering Milestone: First Woman to Play Pro Ultimate
Jessi Jones signed with Raleigh Flyers (AUDL). See the roster card for that day's game with Jessi (#50). [May 2015]

Scheduling Milestone in Pro Ultimate
Winner: First Doubleheader in Pro Ultimate. Two games were played on one day by Rochester Dragons vs Montreal Royal [June 2015]

Runner-Up: First weekday game in Pro Ultimate. A Thursday matchup between Toronto Rush vs Rochester Dragons.

Best Printed Publication
Skyd, the actual magazine. [March 2015]

Best Innovation in Ultimate
Major League Ultimate's midfield pull (MFP) which was enacted for the 2015 MLU season and fully embraced with a MFP being thrown 144 times. MFP rule was an exciting addition to pro ultimate by teams seeking to extend their lead or by teams looking to make a comeback. (Data via Luke Ryan/MLU) [April 2015]

Best Live Score Reporting
The 2015 World Championships of Beach Ultimate (WCBU) did a sand-sational job of updating scores in an orderly fashion throughout the tournament. Full game details demonstrated each point's goal scorer and assist, plus point length.The game summary was especially informative. [March 2015]

Most Interesting Place Where Ultimate is Played
Utah! Pro ultimate may no longer be played in Salt Lake, but ultimate can still be played in a Utah prison. [July 2015]

++++++++++++++

Not ultimate, but still Frisbee-related...

Most Super Testimonial
Stan Lee uttered these words about Brodie Smith's ability to throw plastic ultimate discs: "Brodie matched the gun shot-for-shot. There's no doubt he really does possess lethal accuracy." (h/t Ultiworld) [January 2015]

Jody Avirgan: Ultimate Messenger

If you play ultimate, then you have undoubtedly attempted to describe the sport.  If employed, the topic of ultimate might come up during conversations with co-workers.

So, what are you up to this weekend? 

"Driving to Illinois to play in an ultimate tournament."

Hey, what are you doing tonight?

"Going to a 3-hour practice with my ultimate frisbee team."

Does anyone know where the stapler is?

"Ultimate is a sport!"

What I'm try to say is that ultimate can be weaved into conversations at the workplace. There may not be much interest in your chatter about ultimate which makes Jody Avirgan's accomplishments a commendable act.

Jody Avirgan, who lives in New York, has played for PoNY (club) and Rumble (pro). Plus, Avirgan has experience as an assistant coach for USA Ultimate national teams — U-19 and U-23. You might know him from this MLU highlight from 2013...



According to his bio, he has worked at WNYC and currently works at FiveThirtyEight. Freakonomics Radio (in partnership with WNYC) claims to be one of the most popular podcasts in the world, with more than 5 million downloads per month. 538 is a favorite analytical site whose scope also reaches outside of politics.

Avirgan has successfully incorporated ultimate into these work projects in 2013 and 2015.
2013: What Do Skating Rinks, Ultimate Frisbee, and the World Have in Common?

2015: A Plea For More Frisbee Data From A U.S. Ultimate Coach

And, by doing so, has introduced ultimate to a wider audience.

WSJ on New York's Two Pro Ultimate Teams

The Wall Street Journal published this article featuring the AUDL's NY Empire and MLU's NY Rumble. Back in 2012, Izzy and Chris Mazur played on the same AUDL team – the Connecticut Constitution.

Pro Frisbee Puts New Spin on N.Y. Sports Scene [WSJ, 06.27.14]
...
"No one's making a living off Frisbee yet," Mr. Isaiah Bryant said, over coffee recently near the Midtown office where the 29-year-old Columbia University graduate works a day job as an ad salesman.

What may come as a surprise to many sports fans is that people are even trying. Interest has grown across the country in ultimate Frisbee, the laid-back sport long popular in college intramural leagues, which involves two teams trying to advance the disc down a field to a goal zone. For two seasons, New York has had not one, but two, teams playing in rival pro leagues.

Like most pro athletes, Mssrs. Bryant and Mazur said they train and study game video most days of the week. They just have to do it around their day jobs, since players, as a rule, earn such paltry paychecks. Players, most in their 20s, have to pony up for most of their gym memberships.

To the average observer, their professional matches could easily be mistaken for pickup games among particularly athletic young men, albeit in slightly spiffier game attire. On a recent Saturday, the Empire faced off against the Montreal Royal, in front of a crowd of less than 300—including many family and friends. Mr. Bryant was active on the sidelines, advising his teammates and giving them plenty of back slaps and high-fives.

But even the most devoted Frisbee fans question the viability of these teams. Average game attendance hovers well under 1,000 people, with ticket prices around $10. And New York City has no shortage of sports teams to follow.

Both leagues are funded by private backers—league operating expenses range from $400,000 to $1.5 million—who hope the sport will be the next big thing...

Read the full article.

New York vs DC x 2

The good news is both DC-based pro Ultimate teams have home games on Saturday, June 14! The bad news is, unlike in May when fans could attend both games, fans must choose which pro Ultimate to attend. The unfortunate scheduling conflict has both Saturday games starting around the same time (Current at 6pm; Breeze at 7pm). Both DC teams play against their respective league's opponent from New York City.

At 6pm, the MLU game: D.C. Current (7-1) play New York Rumble (2-6) at Catholic U. Tix.

One hour later (at 7pm) and ~6 miles away, the AUDL game: D.C. Breeze (6-2) play New York Empire (7-1) in College Park. Tix.

Last month's doubleheader versus Philadelphia was swept by DC. Will DC sweep again?

Fumbles in New York Rumble's Stumble

New York Rumble had 13 drops in their 23-6 loss to the Boston Whitecaps tonight.

If special edition discs were made to recognize such a low, they might look like:

New York "Fumble" discs