Grow the Game®

photo by Tommy. Gilligan/Lax.com Army Cornell
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Hot Pot Of Lax: Long Pole Goal

Goals in a lacrosse game are exciting.  Duh.  But for some reason, when a long pole is the one putting the biscuit in the basket, it just seems to mean more.  Maybe it’s because these guys rarely score.  Maybe it’s because most college teams would rather settle and run 6 on 6 than risk a turnover in transition.  Maybe we are just naturally determined to cheer for longsticks scoring.  I really don’t know.  What I do know, is that a clip where an LSM clears the ball himself, DODGES in a somewhat settled O situation with a great toe drag move, and then sticks it for the G, is special.

The play leading up to it isn’t anything special.  In fact, it just looks like any other lacrosse game.  But then freshman Eric Gilligan takes the ball in all the way to score from around midfield.  Not bad for a team in their first year of existence!  Centre plays in the SCAC, an NCAA Division 3 conference for lacrosse, and this clip is from their 18-1 win over Hanover on March 5th.  Next up is Mount St. Joseph.  Wish the boys from Danville, Kentucky all the best in 2011.  Good luck fellas and thanks to Assistant Coach Reed Peterson for the clip.  This is a good way to spread the word about your new program! We know 412 had it this morning.  He’s an early riser, I guess.

[fvplayer src=”https://youtube.com/watch?v=LrX3CoBfQ1Q?fs=1″ splash=”https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LrX3CoBfQ1Q/hqdefault.jpg” caption=”Highlights: Centre College Men’s Lacrosse vs Hanover Panthers”]

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

– UVA to retire Yeardley Love’s number | Huffington Post

– Maryland lost and Duke won.  And it happened in the SAME GAME! | DiamonbackOnline

– Sunday Lacrosse Drop with VIDEO and LOTS of Opinion! | LaxAllStars

– Notre Dame, of excellent Media Fame, keeps rolling with a win over Drexel | Philly.com

– Great early season DIII Upstate game: RIT vs. RPI.  RIT won by one | RPI Athletics

– Best of the West Photo Blog.  This post came out great! | LAS

– Stevens smokes Sprigfield in early DIII action.  Stevens is a team to look out for! | StevensDucks.com

– 412 loves brunch.  So much so, that he had it twice on Sunday | 412(1) 412(2)

– This is how Tufts plans on getting back to the DIII NC game: their legs | Tufts Daily

– Grow The Game: Lacrosse in the South booming | KnoxNews.com

– If you love DIII lax, you’ll love D-III’s (that’s a person) Bracketology. Never too early! | Laxpower

– Lax photos featuring Cornell and Army | Lax.com

photo by Tommy. Gilligan/Lax.com Army Cornell
Headshots anyone? Half price til 11pm!

Last year I went off on thumbing the ball.  It was just so commonplace, and clearly against the rules, that we had to call out players for doing it AND refs for not catching it.  The hot button issue for 2011 is already decided.  There is no arguing.  Headshots are the topic of the year, and with good reason.

Early on in the season, a Duke player was basically assaulted by a Notre Dame player.  NO Penalty.  The Hop-Princeton game was marred, almost from the start, by a ton of headshots by BOTH teams… and NO calls from the refs.  In the Hofstra-Harvard game on Saturday, Jay Card got a 2 minute penalty for trying to decapitate John Rose of Harvard.  Rose tried to walk off the field on his own power but stumbled after a couple minutes of regaining composure on the ground. VIDEO OF THE HIT CAN BE FOUND HERE.

The above photo looks no better than anything I’ve seen so far.  The Army player’s hands are apart (crosscheck), he leads with his head down (good way to break your neck!) and he CLEARLY makes contact with the Cornell player’s head.  You can see that by the fact that the Cornell player’s helmet is coming off and the Army player is punching him in the chin.

I love how violent and tough lacrosse is.  I really do.  But when the NCAA changes a rule, it needs to be called.  Otherwise we are just paying lip service to something serious.  All it will take is one kid dying on the field… but hopefully both the NCAA and the refs won’t let it get to that point.  START CALLING THE RULE AS IT READS!  Or get rid of the rule.  Most media outlets (with the exception of 412) have decided to look the other way on this issue, and personally, I think that’s pretty shameful.  It’s time to step up and lead here, people!