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John Madden
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Hot Pot Of Lax: Who Is The John Madden Of Lacrosse?

Beware, today’s Hot Pot of Lax is COMPETITIVE.

This week’s Hot Pot victims: ESPNU Game Announcers, Quint Kessenich and Paul Carcaterra

For years people have given Quint Kessenich a hard time for his color commentary during televised lacrosse games.  I didn’t love listening to him because he was constantly trying to sell lacrosse… and I was already sold on the game.  And no one wants to be sold something they have already purchased.  That’s just science.  But to a certain extent, (along with Leif Elsmo) he was our John Madden: knowledgable, opinionated and a true believer in the value of the sport.  Like him or hate him, you felt like you knew Quint.  There was a connection there, somehow.

John Madden
Who is the John Madden of lacrosse?

As with almost anything that becomes too big or too mainstream, there was an eventual backlash, but ESPN didn’t just can Quint and move on.  And although I can think of a lot of people who would have liked to see that happen, since lacrosse has been growing so much, ESPN just added more lacrosse announcers, and watered down Quint’s presence a little bit… a solution that everyone seems to be benefiting from.  Quint keeps his job, others get a shot, more games are televised, ratings are solid and participation keeps climbing.  A more diverse announcing crew was only a matter of time.  And now that it’s here, Quint’s got competition.

In my eyes, Paul Carcaterra, former Syracuse and Yorktown HS (NY) star, has emerged as the foil to Quint’s sabre.  Others have emerged with some potential, like Matt Danowski and Jamie Munro, but I can’t see Dino really heading down that route full spead until his playing days start trailing off, and he still has a lot of work to do on the field.  Munro is ok, but will never be the top dog in the lax world.  My personal feeling is that he just doesn’t come across as personable enough to connect with people, but I guess we’ll see on that one!

But the big question remains… who’s the best?  And who would you like to see calling the games on Memorial Day weekend?

Are you a Quintophile?

Does Carc rev your engine?

Are you hoping Dino will become the next Howard Cosell?

Do you think Munro has a shot?

Or do you want to see someone completely different get in there and talk lax?  If you want someone else, who should it be?  Why?  And how soon could they realistically be calling big games?

We hear a lot of complaining about the announcing of lacrosse games but people rarely have any constructive criticism… like a good person for the job who is currently doing something else.  It’s easy to sit back and snipe, so instead, why don’t you let us know if you like the guys who are doing it now… or if you really want to see someone else get in the game!

We’ll see what we can do.

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CONTEST WINNERS

The winner of our Adrenaline Performance of the Week goes to David Cooney AND Formerly Fiddy!  That’s right, two winners.  We’ll go with one winner next week, but the first week’s effort was so good, we’ll reward both of our top performers.  David got a lot of likes and made a great call with Max Pfeiffer of Notre Dame.  Fiddy went with head coach Bill Tierney out at Denver and gave a GREAT explanation as to why.  Then others echoed his sentients and also got a lot of likes.  Well done to the both of you!

The winner of our Music Monday Blue Magic Lax Wooden Shaft is… also David Cooney!  Man, that kid was killing it with the likes.  Must have contacted every person he knows!  Well done, David.  It wasn’t even close.  Also, the Who is always going to garner some attention.  A good choice and solid social networking.  Setting the bar.

To claim your prizes, Drop us a line with your mailing address.  More contests will run every week so keep your eyes peeled and remember the Adrenaline Performance of the Week is your weekly chance to win awesome custom socks!

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

– Growing the Game in DC High Schools | Washington Post

– Dealing with refs can be maddening.  Also sweet Nike gloves | 412 Lax

– BYU, Westminster, New Mexico and Wyoming Lacrosse “In The Elements” Photos | LaxAllStars

– Barocas done with coaching at Denver East after 33 years.  WOW! | Denver Post

– Traditional vs. Mesh, which is heavier? Myth Busters | LaxAllStars

– A truly great back panel | SweetSweetLax

– Massachusetts HS Boys’ Top 25.  Connor Wilson’s alma mater, Weston HS, checks in at 21 | ESPN Boston

– Georgia Laxin’ in the MCLA | MCLAfan

– Dartmouth Lax drops third straight | THE Dartmouth

– Chico State trying to turn their season around | The Orion

– SOOOOOOOOO Many D3 videos! | 412 Lax

– More NYC HS lax.  This time it’s in The Bronx! | NY Post

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LACROSSE VIDEO OF THE WEEK

There are always a ton of great lax videos up online…. and each week we show off one of the best ones we could find.  This week we’ve got the guys from Wheelchair Lacrosse ripping it up on a roller hockey rink.   They’ve got a new, high-quality video camera and are putting together better and better vids!  Their old stuff is great, but this is a step up for sure and it’s inspiring me to take things to the next level myself!  Well done, guys!

[fvplayer src=”https://youtube.com/watch?v=1tc1ALJ8T4E?fs=1″ splash=”https://i.ytimg.com/vi/1tc1ALJ8T4E/hqdefault.jpg” caption=”Wheelchair Lacrosse goes GoPro”]