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It’s Getting Laxxxy Now

Ok horse, you don’t like me (because I’m riding you) and I don’t like you (because you’re a Pasafino and you walk funny), but we’re going to do this anyway.  That was pretty much how I thought things would work out on my first horseback experience but to my surprise, things went really well and I enjoyed myself thoroughly, apart from 4-1-2 ripping on my sweet ass equestrian outfit upon my return to NYC.  As an aside, if you’re on Vieques (6 miles East of mainland Puerto Rico) and you want to emulate me and ride a horse named Fred, check out this company that also does tours of the Bio-luminescent Bay… very cool.

The reason I bring up my vacation again is that I’m going on another vacation this weekend, but this one is of a laxier variety.  Heading down to Miami for the Bump and Grind Tourney for the weekend is going to be a great break for the mid-Winter blues.  And I’ve got ’em bad this year.  To feel a little better, I dyed a head for myself and one of my teammates and then I went ahead and totally F’d it up.

Probably the worst dye job I've done since HS.

The colors went too dark in the end and bled through some of the stickers, making even the covered sections too dark.  I was heartbroken, sent one out to my buddy, strung up my version of the dye job and decided to deal with it.  But as I was stripping color off of two heads for some UNC laxers (the UNC Dye Post will run on Monday), I realized that all was not lost and that by using Dye Remover, the head may yet be salvageable.

I actually like the color brown and it's often hard to get the color right.

I added Dye Remover, Dye Brightener and a little bit of yellow dye to the mix, and 30 minutes later the dark maroon and ugly circles were replaced by a brown background and pastel circles.  In my book, this is a huge improvement.  If you ever run into a similar problem and want to get an unknown but potentially sweet result, just do what I did.  It’ll make it right again.  Or not.  But it’s already a mess so why not try it?  You can always just go navy or black.

We're getting the band back together, man!

So the longwand is ready to go on a little trip down South and as long as my shaft doesn’t break (I only have one… so un-laxy of me) I should be ready to roll.  Even though I have been sick and my nose has been producing more grossness than should be legally permissible.  It’s been 8 days of sick now… I have to be getting better, right?

In other gear news, there are Chrome helmets out there.  They look kind of cool, but I don’t know that this is really a game changer.  Talk to me when the technology actually works (meaning the chrome doesn’t chip or ruin the plastic) and you can do bronze, gold and other metallic colors.  Rumors are out there that Notre Dame will be wearing Gold helmets with Chrome visor or chin accents this season.  I’m sure it will look sweet, but I wasn’t aware that ND had chrome in its uniform palette.  Learn something new everyday!

More gear news? Sure!  I’m sure you’ve all seen them by now, but these are probably the best Warrior gloves I’ve ever seen.  LOVE the cuff and the overall design of the glove.  Warrior really had me worried with their cheesey scrimmage/tryout jerseys and those AWFUL helmets but if these are the gloves Team USA will rock, I’m sure the rest of the kits will be spectacular.  STX did a good job in 2006 so Warrior has some big shoes to step back in to.

The Cuff is the best part. Schweeeeet!

The arm pads don’t look quite as cool but maybe that’s because they are the warrior arm pads that look like a shipping tube.  Or maybe it’s the thin line of stars running down the side.  Or maybe it’s the seemingly bronze trim on the padding.  Who knows?  I’m sure it will look pretty awesome though on the field.  If you haven’t seen the rest of it, Check out all the padding here.

In other news, we have a list of top games from lax.com.  Solid list although I’m sure there are a couple more that we could add on and some of the picks are downright silly (Cuse-ND? REALLY? ND is always overrated and Cuse will walk all over them unless Scott Rodgers has like 75 saves).  I am, as usual, disappointed to see that not ONE Div 2, Div 3 or MCLA game was mentioned.  Stevenson Salisbury is going to be legit this year with both teams having a lot to prove.  Cortland, the NESCAC, the LI Div 2 teams also have some good games, as do Simon Fraser, Chappy, BYU and Michigan.  How lax.com just left these guys out is confusing.  Sure, D1 is the highest level of skill but some of the games they picked just won’t be that good.  It’s science.

IL has been previewing D1 teams because they don’t get enough press… oh wait. This is a recurring trend for lacrosse news sources even though the differences between the divisions are much lower between the highest and other levels when compared to other sports. Every year I hear that someone is going to “step up their non-Div 1 coverage” and then it never happens. A guy can dream though!

If you want to stay abreast of the action in the NLL, check out the NLL Insider, which is run by IL. Good break down of the basics but they do cover “NLL Dancers of the week” or whatever, a little too much.  It would be one thing if the girls were really hot… but they are NLL dancers and they are getting paid in peanuts and flat beer.  Why both lacrosse leagues’ teams have “dance squads” is beyond me… you’re not the Cowboys and this isn’t Texas.  Although, I guess things are getting better.  I mean, at least their hair belongs in Texas.  Close enough.

I’ll be away this weekend in Miami (that marks the 1000th time I’ve said that now) so some other LAS writers will be taking over the Lax Link-O-Rama for Saturday.  Expect something different and something awesome!  I’m excited for a lot of lacrosse in really good weather.  I’m excited that I’m staying on the beach and will be surrounded by scantily clad, beautiful people.  I’m excited for the nightlife and vibe you get on South Beach, but really I’m just excited about this:

You can NOT be serious! McEnroe style points.

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About the Author:
After helping to start the program at Weston HS in Massachusetts, Connor Wilson went on to play at Wesleyan University. Post-graduation, Wilson stayed on and coached at Wesleyan for 2 years. He also played in Australia and the American Lacrosse League. Currently Wilson plays for the Southampton Lacrosse Club in NYC and enjoys dyeing lacrosse sticks, eating breakfast sandwiches and a pretentious writer’s bio on LAS.

Contact him at connor@lacrosseallstars.com