NEW Nike Unis...

Chapman already broke these uniforms out[http://laxmagazine.com/multimedia/photos/2008-09/030209_michiganchapman_dirkdewachter] in their MCLA #1-#2 tilt with UMichigan but the new jersey style probably won't get any real hype until Gtown busts out with these bad boys at some point this season:

D3 upset alert

More Images and Full Story on lax.com at: http://www.lax.com/story.phtml?story=2241

Some notables:

This is a huge win for Stevenson. They have been accused of never winning a big game and this win certainly debunks the validity of that statement.

I applaud the Gburg and Stevenson players on the amount of dyed heads present in this game. The Stevenson guys didn't even have dye jobs with their team colors... Respek! However, certain components of both of their uniforms are pretty disgusting. The Gait helmet just doesn't look that good, does it? From my own [limited]experience, I didn't think it was particularly comfortable nor did it provide great vision. Maybe if the Visor were orange too? maybe...

Stevenson's gloves look like something you would buy at the Sports Authority on Clearance Sale although the rest of their uniforms looked really good. I know it is all about how you play and not how you look while doing it but there is no law against looking good so both squads can afford to try a little harder next time, ok?

I still dig the neon shoe laces purely on a style level but when you combine it with the cause they help support [http://headstrongfoundation.org/] it just doesn't get any better than that!

NLL update

follow the link to get a great update on the NLL season as it currently stands.

http://www.laxmagazine.com/nll/2008-09/news/030509_nllnotes

My questions:

Why didn't Shawn Evans go to college for lacrosse? the kid can obviously ball with the best of them.

How does Gary Gait still put up numbers like he does? Isn't he 108 years old? Kidding, Gary. You're the man still and I'm just jealous.

How do you even go about suffering a broken trachea? that sounds painful... and confusing.

LAX MATH!

http://www.laxpower.com/common/participation08.php
check out the link above for participation, roster size and other numbers related to lacrosse in the college ranks, specifically at the NCAA level. Unfortunately, I have not yet found similar numbers for the MCLA.

Wagner WINS! Blue Hose lose... again

Everywhere you look online, someone is congratulating Wagner on their "great" win to snap their 48 game losing streak. While I agree that it is nice for a team to win one once in a while, Wagner did so against the team that will likely replace them as the longest losing steak in NCAA division 1 lacrsosse, the Presbyterian Blue Hose of South Carolina. At this point, PC hasn't won a game and doesn't look like it is going to. They finished 2008 at 0-11 and are o-5 so far in 2009. A win is great and I truly hope Wagner can build on it but until the wins start to come against decent opponents, I don't think all this celebrating is really needed.

It is one thing when a Div 3 team pulls of something like this [see Hood as a perfect example] because Division 3 sports are a little more laid back focusing on participation but Division 1 teams should always be looking to win and improve. If sports aren't that important that the school can dedicate the appropriate resources, then the institution in question should move to a different division, reduce costs and increase their academic priorities.

I'll be pulling for both Wagner and Presbyterian to improve but if they don't I would hope that their respective administrations would address why exactly they need to be Division 1 schools.

PotD - snowy alumni

A hearty group of 16 law students, financial nerds, lax junkies and Vermonters come together to play a little sweet lax in the snow in Middletown, CT. The old school 'Stros jerseys made the 9-7 alumni loss well worth while.

PotD - Lax hair

Mike "Mayo" Hines displays some of the finest lacrosse hair since Tom Ryan cut his dreads and gives us all something to shoot for.

Team USA 84-man player pool

The 84 man player pool has been established for the next iteration of the USA's national outdoor lacrosse team. The pool will be cut to 40 and then eventually to the ILF mandated 23 man roster. It is interesting to note that neither Casey [pictured] nor Mike Powell are listed, although Ryan is still eligible.

Most of the guys on the list played at the top [Cuse/UVA/UMD/Hopkins/Duke] tier of college lacrosse but there are a couple of notable exceptions in division 3 players Stephen Berger [WAC] and Eric Martin [Salisbury] and division 2 player Tom Zummo [NY Tech]. All 3 of them are big time players in the MLL.

It is impressive that Brian Dougherty is still in the running even though he graduated from UMD 13 years ago but what is even more impressive is that Dman John Gagliardi is still being considered. I mean, let's face it, goalies can stand around for much of the game and they don't have to be in tip-top shape if they are naturals [like Doc]. Dmen are expected to be able to cover the best offensive players in the game and in order to do so, they need to be in top condition. Gags is something special in that respect because he has always been a beast but his skill and precision with the longstick never ceases to amaze me. For further proof [and the opportunity for young dmen to learn some new skills!] check out this video from Maverik and Lax.com:

http://www.lax.com/story.phtml?story=2233

It will be interesting to see where the team ends up in terms of roster but so far the 84 men selected are skilled athletes that will represent the USA with pride and determination. A lot less repeat players were selected and that makes some sense considering what happened during the last world championships where the US lost to our neighbor to the North.

To see the entire list: http://insidelacrosse.com/page.cfm?pagerid=2&news=fdetail&storyid=198911

Chapman's uniforms - SWEET.

Check out Chapman's Uniforms with the link below.. I dare you:

http://laxmagazine.com/multimedia/photos/2008-09/030209_michiganchapman_dirkdewachter

proof that horizontal stripes don't always make you look fat.

weekend review

What a weekend! Princeton beat the Hop liked I said they would. Cornell bested Army in the final minute on a Max Siebald goal. He doesn't get as much hype as some others in the college game but he is as good as or better than any middie in the college game right now. His swim move is evocative of Rabil, just a couple inches lower. UMd looked solid against Duke but their offense is a little stagnant for a team that is supposedly loaded with talent. Both Catalino and Yeatman tend to hold the ball a lot and post up which really slows the game down. None of the Terp first line middies are that impressive although they are all fast and play well together. This team needs something additional if they are going to be contenders. Gtown lost to St. John's in Queens and it was the first major win for this 5 year old iteration of the SJU program.

There weren't any major upsets in the D3 or D2 ranks and my call that Colorado College would beat Lynchburg was embarassingly wrong considering CC lost by 15! All of the typical players kept rolling although the NESCAC teams won't really start playing real games for another week. Montclair State came back from a 6-4 deficit in the 4th to beat Hartwick 7-6 in Jersey. Big win for the MSU squad. Merrimack scrimmaged Weselyan and Merrimack could really be the surprise team of D2 this year. They have an experienced bunch of kids, the coach believes in them and they were able to solve Wesleyan's zone which speaks to their ball movement and unselfishness. Look for Merrimack to do well this year. RIT beat Adelphi by one showing the difference between the 2 divisions is, as usual, not that much.

On a side note, I played in my alumni game on Saturday in 3 inches of snow and had a great time out there. We lost 9-7 with only 16 players to a bunch of kids who are actually in shape. If there is one thing I learned, it is that I simply do not recover the way I used to... ah, getting old!

Photo of Wick-MSU game.

Weekend UPSET predictions!

So, here goes nothing! I'm going to pick one Division 1 game and one Division 2 or 3 game as my upset special of the week and this week I've picked...

Princeton over Hopkins, 9-7. I like Princeton's D, they have a new goalie with a limited amount of scouting available on him, have a healthy midfield and still have Coach Tierney prowling the sidelines. Hopkins is still very good and could easily make a NC run this season but it is early and they are replacing some serious firepower on offense in Rabil, Peyser and Huntley.

On the Division three side of things I'm going out on a real limb with a Sunday tilt between Colorado College and Lynchburg. Lburg is still highly rated but I think this may be the season Where CC really makes an impact... plus they have fantastic helmets. It is a real risk considering CC play Washington & Lee the day before but maybe that will just get them ready to roll even more so... like I said, I'm out on a limb here.

PotD - Weekend Preview Cuse-UVA

This PotD comes from: http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/broadband/photoedge/blog/2008/03/lacrosse_faceoff_classic.html

The image really sums up the intensity of 'Cuse-UVA tilts and this weekend is shaping up to be another classic. Enjoy!

Best Lax Player in the WORLD!

You always get an interesting response from laxheads when you ask them who the best player in the world is. Right now, my answer would be Mark Steenhuis of the Buffalo Bandits. He plays forward and transition in the NLL and is a point scoring machine. He had 17 points against the Toronto Rock last week on 4 goals and 13 assists. Both the 17 point mark and the 13 assists are NLL records for a single game. He is leading the league in points at this point in the season as well.

The 28 year old Canadian is not that tall [5'8"], not that big, but he runs hard and he can do it all day. He takes a lot of punishment and can dish it out. He's a shifty righty who can flat out fly and wants it more than the other guys. On top of all that, he has some of the best hair in the entire NLL since Tom Ryan cut his dreads.

Although I cover outdoor lacrosse primarily, I really do like the NLL and think Steenhuis represents the best they have to offer.

Great success in Boston for new NLL franchise

Gone are the days of the Green, Black and Orange, gone are the days of spandex shorts and huge hockey jerseys yet the Boston Blazers are back and showing the rest of the league how to do things right. Considering the economy and their expansion status, the Blazers are drawing good numbers and winning games. They are doing so by asking their players to make a real commitment. A lot of players in the NLL and MLL don't live where they play, show up for games and are on the first plane out of town after the game is over. Not so in Beantown. The players live near one another, hang out off the field, play a lot of lax and are really trying to get the larger Boston community interested. Read the whole article to hear the whole story:

http://www.laxmagazine.com/nll/2008-09/news/022509_blazers

An approving nod of the head to NESCAC legend, NLL legend and Dreadlock legend[even if he eventually cut them off], Tom Ryan, for leading this team to success both on and off the "box".

You know Lacrosse is booming when...

British soccer articles even mention the sport. Lacrosse is still a relative unknown in England compared to Rugby or even American Football yet Henry Winter decided to include a lacrosse reference to highlight the physical nature of one player's actions:

"Chelsea had known they would not have it all their own way in midfield when little Mauro Camoranesi began flying into challenges, flattening Ashley Cole and Michael Ballack in quick succession. With a short ponytail straight out of St Trinian’s, Camoranesi needed only a lacrosse stick to complete the image."

St. Trinian's is a made-up private school for girls in the UK. Evidently, they play lacrosse, are violent, spoiled and cheat like crazy. Basically, this writer is calling Camoranesi a lacrosse playing girl, which must be a compliment since in actuality, he is a soccer playing man.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/chelsea/4807014/Chelsea-striker-Didier-Drogba-repays-Guus-Hiddinks-faith.html

Re-birth of the bag!

Earlier this week, I said that the bagged out lacrosse pockets were dead. This picture of Boston Blazer Dan Dawson says, "we aren't done with bags in the NLL, homes!"

Hood's first win in FIVE YEARS... that much sweeter!

Check out this article from Lacrosse Magazine about Hood's first win in 5 years:

http://www.laxmagazine.com/college_men/DIII/2008-09/news/022509_hood

HeyLaxMan's most sincere well wishes go out to Dan Rocker, his family and the entire Hood lacrosse program in hopes of a full recovery and return to action for the Junior LSM.

PotD - lax down under

Wembley Wolves and East Fremantle Blues match up in Western Australia.

Bryant proving they belong immediately

Bryant has done a great job early on this season after making the jump from Division 2 to Division 1. They have started the season at 2-1 by losing to UVA, crushing Sacred Heart and with a win over Dartmouth in NH. Mike Pressler has obviously done a great job at Bryant and he is an outstanding coach but the real man behind Bryant's early success is Zach Greer. He will only play there for one year but it is the most important; the first year as a Division 1 team.

Now, Pressler will lead the team for years to come and is leading the team now but the impact that a player like Greer can have on a team can not be underestimated. When Greer practices, he practices hard and sets an example as to what a Division 1 practice should look like and how high the intensity level has to be. He showcases what kind of athlete you need to be, he has experienced the best the college lacrosse world has to offer and knows what it takes to reach that level. Coaches always say to lead by example and Pressler has to be thrilled to have a guy like Greer doing just that.

ZG is putting up points when the team needs them most [as evidenced by his run-squelching goals against Dartmouth], keeping Bryant competitive in big games while being unselfish [against Virginia] or lighting it up [against Sacred Heart] when playing an opponent Bryant feels it should best. http://insidelacrosse.com/page.cfm?pagerid=2&news=fdetail&storyid=198213

Bryant won't make the tourney this year no matter what because of their D1 probationary period but Greer has to be in the running for PoY regardless because without him, I sincerely doubt Bryant would be doing nearly as well as they are now. On a side note, it seems like Greer is still using the Gait Triton even with Bryant Lacrosse being sponsored by Brine.

Oglethorpe to add lacrosse!

No, Oggie Oglethorpe is not quitting hockey and moving to lacrosse. Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, GA is adding lacrosse in 2010 for the 2011 season. They will join Colorado College, Hendrix, Sewannee, Southwestern [2010 season] and Birmingham Southern in the SCAC [Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference]. One more team and the conference will start receiving an AQ at some point! It is an exciting moment in time when our great sport is expanding so quickly to areas that 10 years ago had never even heard of lacrosse.
For now, the coach will be the schools's Athletic Director, Jay Gardiner, who played lacrosse at McDaniel College and graduated in 1979.
http://www.theweekly.com/news/2009/February/23/Lacrosse.html
Oglethorpe's mascot is the Stormy Petrel. That's almost as cool as the Power Gulls of Endicott or the Polar Bears of Bowdoin!
http://www.oglethorpe.edu/athletics/Petey/