I first met Jake Deane in November, 2009 out in Chicago.

I remember the exact time cuz it’s when Tiger Woods crashed his car outside his Florida mansion…   I remember reading that on the back page of USA Today Sports and tellin’ Gabel this is gonna be a big story...

I was there to help work a True Lacrosse clinic and spend Thanksgiving with my boy, Mike Gabel.  Jake and Gabel started True Lacrosse in 2008...  they recognized an opportunity and pursued...

I think Justin Guterding might have been kinda motivated for the season opener.  After all, he was snubbed from the pre-season Player of the Year lists.

Duke opened up against Air Force… just like last year.  And it was obvious early on that Air Force wasn’t gonna pull off the upset this time around.  Duke cruised the whole game as it was a strong showing for the country’s top team.

It was Guteding’s birthday, and to celebrate he loaded up the stat...

I’m heading to watch Miami host Pittsburgh in college basketball tonight.  

Chris Lykes is a freshman point guard for the Canes.  I watched him play high school ball at Gonzaga the past four years.  The kid is incredible.  He’s a generous 5’7” but extremely athletic.  He can dunk… just think about that for a sec.

Gonzaga plays in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC).  There’s no question it’s one of the...

I went to my first US Lacrosse conference when I was 22 (back in early 2005).  I drove from Boston to Baltimore in a Tufts minivan with Coach Daly.  That was my first year as the graduate assistant coach at Tufts (having just finished playing there the prior spring.)

(Flashback:  Daly and I spent lots of hours in that minivan - recruiting, scouting, conferences…  Every successful college coach spend TONS of time on the road - actually one of the many reasons that I...

Final 4 weekend is to lacrosse like the Super Bowl is to football.  It’s the pinnacle weekend of the lacrosse year, and the teams get to play on it’s biggest stage.  

Most young lacrosse players dream of being there someday.

For that weekend, the players get pampered like professional athletes… they stay in nice hotels, have press conferences, get fancy new gear and sticks…  All while trying to remain focused on the ultimate prize. 

The players...

Last year’s championship game was played in a monsoon…  then Jerry Jones got involved.  This year it the game was played indoors the new Dallas Cowboys practice facility - capacity of 12,000.  Real nice spot.

Needless to say, weather wasn’t a factor.  Game attendance was a little over 7,000.

It took a while to watch this game.  Lots more commercials and in-game interviews cuz CBS Sports televised it…

It was a rematch from last...

I included my most recent YouTube video above.  

Sometimes it easier to show things rather than writing it all out.  I'll be doing these more often so stay tuned...

Anyway, the showdown was set last Saturday when Florida travelled up to Ohio for the semifinal playoff game.

Florida got off to a slow start earlier this season, but used the draft to really improve their roster.  They picked up two studs - Dylan Molloy (Brown) and Nick Mariano (Syracuse).  

I...

It was a “win-and-you’re-in” scenario last week with Rochester.

Ohio already clinched a spot in the playoffs, but you still knew they wouldn’t go away easily.  

And that’s how it all went down...

Rochester got the victory with a ridiculous goal by Jordan Wolf in the final minutes of the game.

Now, they’ll head to Denver in the first round of the playoffs.  And Ohio hosts Florida in the other semi-final game.

Remember, four of the nine...

So I caught the Lizards/Machine game earlier this week.

The stakes were high for Ohio (the Machine)...

If they won then they guaranteed themselves a spot in the 4-team MLL playoffs.

They took care of business and won handily, 21-14.

So Ohio will join Denver and Florida in the playoffs.

Still one spot up for grabs, and I’m not sure how all the scenarios play out…  It’ll all be sorted out by tomorrow.  

New York does have a shot, but they need a lotta...

Two weeks into my Major League Lacrosse binge, and I’m liking the “re-discovery” of old names…

The games themselves - lots of goals - but it’s even cooler to see how all these former college stars mesh with one another.

Lacrosse is still a small sport.

It’s not nearly as big as football, basketball and baseball…

So I recognize lots of names.  

Makes it fun.  

So this post focuses more on the players than the actual game....