TOP 50 List : Snubbed Players
IL released its Top 50 players of 2024. These lists are click bait, well intended to tease and preview the upcoming season. Like preseason All-Americans, the designation is hollow. Here are impact players I think were overlooked and forgotten. They are the best players nobody is talking about. Braden Erksa – Maryland attack – Terp […]
The Journey Starts and Ends with a Stick
From a 50-yard-line seat, a third of the way up a mid-size stadium, set under partial sun and floral colors of springtime, lacrosse seems grand. That is the current vibe having been robbed by February snow, kicked by blustery March wind and slashed by April rain. The weather payoff is brief and reserved for teams […]
17 Intriguing Players in 2024
Winter training camp opens in about 50 days at D1 schools across the landscape. With fall ball in the rear view mirror, let’s take a look at 17 intriguing players. Russell Melendez – Johns Hopkins success in 2023 can be directly traced to the influx of transfers Alex Mazzone (LSM) and Russell Melendez. Melendez is […]
Coach Speak
I’ve been crisscrossing the country covering college football for ESPN this fall. It’s a fun way to see America. We’ve had notable stops in Pullman, Washington, Boulder, CO, College Station, TX, Fayetteville, Arkansas, Starkville, MS, Clemson, SC, Pittsburgh, PA, Lawrence, KS, and Atlanta, GA. Our crew of Mark Jones, Louis Riddick and producer Kim Belton […]
The Freshman Challenge
The freshman challenge varies from player to player, but it’s fair to surmise that time management, speed and complexity of play and the massive amount of time invested as a D1 college lacrosse player are the three biggest mountains to climb. The speed of games is exponentially faster in college. Therefore, the speed of decision-making, […]
Cheating in Lacrosse?
The allegations of cheating have become a major storyline of the 2023 college football season. Does cheating exist in D1 lacrosse? And if so, how? Let’s start with a face-off and face facts. Face-off cheating is rampant. Face-offs are within the play of the game and referees are supposed to control that domain. Turf trolls […]
2023 Fall Review
Autumn events are finishing up as the leaves age red to orange, fluttering in the breeze. Get out your rake. Fall is over, Winter is coming. That means the regular season is also creeping near. Just 15 weeks until real games. Three months before the winter portion of the schedule begins. What am I hearing? […]
Marquette Primed for 2024 Run
If they can turn one goal defeats into victories, the Marquette Golden Eagles, a.k.a. “Milwaukee’s Best” can win a Big East league title and qualify for the NCAA tournament. The Golden Eagles play their home games at Valley Fields, a gorgeous grass pitch that doubles as a soccer field, when the weather obliges, which is […]
The Power of Humility
We anticipate encountering mammoth egos. The expectation is for arrogance and entitlement. What you actually end up getting is the complete opposite. The jerks, narcissists and bad apples have been weeded out on their way up the lacrosse food chain to the PLL. Like insufficient skill, or being too slow, being selfish or a ‘non-team […]
Lessons Learned : PLL 2023
The 2023 PLL season was filled with lessons learned, strategies and thoughts to take forward into the offseason and future years. We learned the importance of confidence, belief and trust (Cannons) in a league of similarly talented athletes/teams. With a few free agent additions, and a new coach (Brian Holman), without Lyle Thompson, the Cannons […]
Archers are PLL Champs
Nobody on the field. Nobody in the stands. You can feel it as the rain turns to mist and the warm breeze becomes cold. The Archers are PLL Champs. PLL Champs Lacrosse 2023 is done. The PLL summer is out of reach. Archers won the PLL title on an overcast and rainy Sunday in Subaru […]
2023 PLL Championship
The PLL Cash App Championship game will be played on Sunday September 24 in Philadelphia PA at Subaru Park live on ABC at 3pm. You can also watch the game on ESPN+. Chris Cotter, Ryan Boyle, Paul Carcaterra, Katie George and I will be on-site for ABC. Please join us. ARCHERS Let’s start with some […]