Three games, top teams, big venue, Jersey swamps and lots of empty seats

You got beef? Fitting for the New Jersey Classic

This weekend will bring us yet another triple-header lacrosse showcase as the New Meadowlands Stadium located in luxurious East Rutherford, New Jersey will play host to the 3rd Annual Konica Minolta Big City Classic. With the likes of Johns Hopkins, Duke, North Carolina and Syracuse on the ticket, the all-day experience is sure to showcase plenty of great lacrosse action and lots of empty seats. That's right, empty seats. This is a sore subject for me since I am usually a glass-is-half-full kinda guy when it comes to promoting my favorite past-time, lacrosse. But there is something about college lacrosse being played in NFL stadiums that leaves me feeling a bit cynical.

It's like when Harry Callahan says to Lieutenant Briggs at the end of Magnum Force, "A man's got to know his limitations". The same could be said for lacrosse. Know the limits of your product and realize the extent of your fan base. Does the NCAA expect to fill the Meadowlands or M&T Bank Stadium for any of these non-championship events? Lets just stick with the numbers for a the moment. Last year's Minolta Classic sold 25,742 tickets. I'll admit that's amazing for three college lacrosse games, but that stadium holds 82,000 people. Based on the calculator that Microsoft so graciously included on my machine, that means that 70% of the stadium was empty. On ESPN, where most of us will see these games, the attendance looks even lower due to the enormity of these venues and the massive blocks of empty colored seats. It literally looks like a few thousand people turned out for these games. I think that makes us (the lax community) look like small frogs in a big pond.

The 2010 crowd was deemed a success.

There is also something special about being on a college campus to watch an athletic event that you don't get at a neutral professional site. You might not get this, especially if you actually went to college. This is probably because I never made it past JUCO and I like to fantasize that I am a student as I walk from my dented Corolla to the stadium box office to beg for the student discount since I have mysteriously lost my college ID.

Look, I'm all for the expansion of the sport of lacrosse but what I'm not in favor of is rushing it's growth or trying to shove it down peoples' throats. The growth of lacrosse will happen naturally, I assure you. It has to, its just too good of a product. There may come a time when stadiums of this size are necessary to provide seating for 80,00 paying lacrosse fans but I don't think we are quite there yet. I say let's leave the NFL stadiums for who they were intended for, the NFL, Gwar and monster truck shows.

Okay, so I must admit that this is more of a rant then a blog, so go ahead and let me know what all 476 of you think. Oh wait, that's my reader count from my other blog about wedding cakes. But seriously, I am interested in your opinion on this. Does this help the sport of lacrosse grow or does it simply give all of us a feeling of legitimacy because we get to play our little sport where the big boys play?

Highlight Tape Dos and Don'ts

First off, is it still called a highlight tape? Tapes have long since gone the way of the pegged Bugle Boy jeans. I question whether the kids putting these highlight packages together have ever owned a tape themselves. But just as sporting a pair of Bugle Boys to school today would be considered a fashion faux pas, there are a number of highlight "tape" faux pas that seem to consistently creep into these YouTube videos. Like Asian stink bugs, they're not hurting anybody but they're irritating nonetheless.

To what extent these videos play into the recruiting process probably depends a lot on where you play, what blue chip camps you've attended, and what club you're affiliated with. If you're on the proverbial bubble of the recruitment radar, a nice highlight package may be just what the doctor ordered. Just make sure that your doctor, or video editor as the case may be, didn't get a mail order M.D.

Let's review what's right with these tapes and diagnose what ails the first unfortunate highlight tape that YouTube served up. Ladies and gentlemen, Ryan Walker.



1) Do be sure to include actual highlights. Now this may seem obvious, but in the excitement of scouring your Itunes library for the latest Kanye West jump-off, this can easily be overlooked. Don't fall victim to this, all too common, mistake. Highlights are supposed to elicit some kind of sublime emotional response. Throwing your quick stick EMO goal and open net scores in a video compilation because they are the only ones on your resume does not a highlight reel make.

2) Do focus on your attributes. A nice power cradle and a flourescent visor on your CPX probably doesn't cut it. You gotta bring a little something more to the table. Maybe a nice goal or two if you're offensive minded and a few take aways if you're a defenseman. Whatever your best attributes are, sell them. If you're not a scorer, then show us your feeding skills. There's a market for guys who can find the open man. 4.47 forty time...check. Buck forty-five...not so much. Missing the cage (consistently)...not so much.

3) Your attributes deserve your focus and so does your camera lens. While you're at it, throw a little zoom into the mix. Do try to borrow a decent video camera to capture some footage. Seriously, some of these things look like they were recorded with a Blackberry in the hands of a 7 year old child. Again, this may seem obvious, but I defy you to peruse the highlight packages on YouTube and tell me I'm wrong to address this.

4) Be sure to actually appear in your highlights. Say what? Yeah, that's right. From a coaches perspective, if a tree falls in the woods and he's not there, it didn't score a goal. Just like at 2:35 when a goal was scored by the mystery player off camera. Could have been Gaddifi for all we know. How about at 2:52 when the turf was prominently highlighted, but our player wasn't. I think our editor fell asleep at the switch. Maybe that speaks to the excitement level of our case study.

I fully understand that we don't all have access to our very own Stevie Janowski to cut money highlight reels, but the bottom line is that it's not that difficult and I've laid out what some I consider to be a pretty comprehensive outline for success. If you still have questions, I recommend watching the video below and using it as a template.

Get some wood! The return of the wooden lacrosse stick?

Somewhere between your electric bill and your auto insurance payment. That's what you can expect to pay for a top-of-the-line titanium lacrosse shaft these days (and that's for a short stick). It's really hard to believe. I know that metal is a commodity and therefore the pricing can fluctuate depending on whatever economic wave we happen to be riding but since there aren't any land wars taking place in the Middle East over enriched aluminum fields I cant really explain why these sticks are so pricey. Its probably because they have to fork out big bucks to some marketing genius to come up with ominous sounding names for their shafts like the "Krypto Element", the "Swizzbeat" and wait for it....the "Wonder Boy". My apologies to Roy Hobbs for that one. Well, having the lives of several helpless little humans to take care of keeps me from coughing up that kinda dough for anything that doesn't have blinking lights or can't keep my drinks cold.

Enter Phil Czarnecki and Mike Ruka, creators and owners of Blue Magic Lacrosse. These two Winona State University students have reached back in time from a rented house on their Minnesota campus to bring us a new and improved version of the wooden shafts that so many of us used back in high school. No, that's not a typo - I said wooden shafts! If I remember correctly 7 of the 10 starters on my high school team used wooden shafts screwed to plastic heads. Johns Hopkins All-American and personal hero of mine, Brian Wood had a wooden shaft attached his STX-SAM and I have the posters to prove it. Cue the violins and fetch me my pudding and geriatric medication now please.

Blue Magic Lacrosse started in August of 2010 when these high school friends began to discuss what all college juniors begin to discuss - how to make money! Phil, who plays for the Winona U. club team has been playing lacrosse since his freshmen year. Mike is the craftsman, forging the shafts out of sheer will (Red Oak and Pine actually) and the carpentry skills he was taught since childhood. Plus, I believe his dad has the ultimate set of tools. Together they offer wooden shafts at a fraction of the cost for what you might pay for even a used titanium shaft these days.

The shafts are made right in their garage and can usually be completed in about 30 minutes. According to co-founder Mike Rika, making a wooden lacrosse shaft is much easier to make then most players would expect.  I made nun-chucks out of a broom handle when I was twelve and they turned out pretty well but don't expect me to open an on-line Martial Arts store anytime soon. I'll leave the carpentry work to the skilled professionals.

Where's Blarney Green?

In just a few months of operation, Blue Magic Lacrosse is already approaching its 100th custom shaft and they've shipped  to customers as far away as Poland. The stick can be dyed in various colors and are extremely affordable, with an attack stick costing $20 and a defensive pole running around $45. Other reviews online have confirmed that the Blue Magic shafts are much lighter then the wooden shafts of old (such as the Crooked Arrow, remember that tree trunk?) but still offer that heavy check feel and a slight natural flex when you really let er' rip. Players with hard shots will have to confirm that as I am not physically capable.

So, can wooden shafts make a comeback in the highly competitive lacrosse equipment market of 2011? Two fired up college students from Minnesota think so. Check out their site, email them or hit 'em up on Facebook. They're excited to tell you about their product. For me, I have a few broom handles down in my basement and hack saw to attend to.

Email Blue Magic Lacrosse or find them on Facebook.

Gambling is a Vice

Warrior Vice X up for grabs

Be the first person to pick the winners of all of the following games correctly and I'll send you this ugly, but brand new, fluorescent orange Warrior Vice X head sitting in the corner of my room. To win, you must 1) "like" the site in the "Find us on Facebook" box to the right  2) comment below with the winners of all of these games before 12PM Eastern Time and 3) include your Facebook name in your comment. Good luck.

Air Force at Denver
Albany at Bucknell
Bryant at Stony Brook

Colgate at Navy
Georgetown at Duke
Harvard at Dartmouth
Lafayette at Army
Lehigh at Holy Cross
North Carolina at Maryland
Penn at Cornell
Saint Joseph's at Penn State
Syracuse at Villanova
Towson at Delaware
Virginia at Johns Hopkins
Yale at Princeton

Trailblazers, Ducks, Beavers, Hazelnut, and the other Portland

"chs_lacrosse"

???? I’m talking about Oregon! While Oregon may not be as happening as its neighboring states, it’s second fiddle to none when it comes to talented stringers.

Our second featured stringer, in what we aren’t sure will ever be a series, is Minhazur Sarker of Corvallis, Oregon. Long Island, Upstate New York, Baltimore, and…. Oregon. Right? Just where you’d expect to find someone who can string just about anything you’ve ever seen and some that you’ve probably never seen.

Minhazur, or chs_lacrosse, as he’s known on The Lacrosse Forums (TLF) is somewhat of an idol to the aspiring next generation of stringers. Not surprising, given the fact that his sticks look like works of art. Kids these days can just dispense with the junk in the Smithsonian’s collection and focus on what’s important, a nicely strung spoon.

Grunk

So who is Minhazur and where’d he learn his trade? chs_lacrosse honed his skills while attending, wait for it, wait for it….Corvallis High School (CHS). He’s currently an honors student at Oregon State majoring in microbiology with an eye toward becoming a doctor. Not your typical lax bro, for sure. Turns out it was an unfortunate incident where aspiring doctor turned patient after an ACL tear (been there) that kicked off his stringing business.

In what would have been Minhazur’s first full season (’06-’07) of lax, he tore his knee up and wound up missing the balance of that year and the following year, his junior season at Corvallis. It was during this hiatus from the field that he learned to string and dye sticks. He managed to come back for his senior year and bounced from attack to midfield where CHS utilized his 6’1”, 210 lb. frame as a FOGO.

Heat

While injured, Minhazur learned the ropes, or strings as the case may be, on TLF. After fiddling with his sticks, posting a couple of pictures, and receiving comments & criticism, he developed his craft with the help of some of the notable members of the Stick Doctor’s Lounge such as “the next one” and “Sir Lax-a-lot” and guys such as Max McCool. You know, the ones with totally awesome internet handles.

That he picked up stringing and excelled at it is hardly a surprise to those that know him. Minhazur was an accomplished artist at Corvallis. He dabbled in ceramics in high school and by the time he graduated was one of the best artists to ever walk out its doors. With a flair for the arts and lacrosse, stringing and dyeing were just a natural progression; an outlet for his creativity.

Pita

What started as a local gig stringing sticks for the fine folks of Corvallis expanded to members of TLF and beyond. This outlet now takes the form of a part time business. Minhazur started Stylin’ Lacrosse as a gateway for his customers. There he offers mesh, traditionals, pitas, heats, turtles, grunks, big words, and various other pockets I’ve never heard of, but they sure do look cool. You can shoot him a message on his facebook page and work out the pricing on the exact pocket or dye you’re looking for. There’s also plenty of eye candy over there if you just want to browse and see what the kids are using these days.

"Basic" Traditional

In the busy months, Minhazur will string 20 plus sticks. Customs make up about a third of his business. He doesn’t shy away from the request for a Paul Rabil or Steele Stanwick replica that has a bag like a goalie stick but throws like a girl’s stick. He can make almost any reasonable request a reality. Go check out his page and let him make a baller out of you or have him throw together something for your coach to hang on his wall. Like they say in Oregon at the Nike HQ, Just Do It!

4 Leather Grunk

Did Hopkins Get Robbed?

Say what you will about JHU's slow-down offense, stall tactics, etc., but should they have won the game? Was Wharton's goal good? Would that have been called at Homewood Field? You be the judge, but enjoy the commercial first.

Video from ESPNU's Site....http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=6238238

CSI-style breakdown. Did he dive on his own? Click to animate.

It's plays like this that make me long for the days of Doug Knight and Michael Watson launching themselves into the crease. Remember the "Bring Back the Dive" t-shirts? Was it that long ago? Anyway, two things are clear. Wharton was assisted into the crease on what would have been the game winner and Maryland fans could care less.

Got a problem with Petro and his boring team? Go watch wrestling.

I'm enjoying the outrage that is being posted all over the internets this evening regarding the lack of a shot clock in college lacrosse. Apparently several dozen people in a certain area of up-state New York were unsatisfied with the measly nine goals that were scored during the Johns Hopkins-Syracuse game (SU prevailed 5-4 in double OT). Immediately following Stephen Keogh's goal at the 3:45 mark of the second overtime, the web became a buzz with angry lax fans lobbing hail size balls of hate at Johns Hopkins coach Dave Petriamala for his conservative offensive game plan which kept the scoring low and the game close.

I guess there are certain facts about these two teams that slipped the minds of these lax fans while the game was being played. For one, Syracuse is the number one team in the country and entered the game undefeated at 5-0. The Orangemen were also enjoying home field advantage inside the Carrier Dome, where they have only lost a few times since the dome was constructed in 1789. (Sorry, but that place is a dump). Johns Hopkins on the other hand entered this contest ranked #13 (or #9, depending on which poll you choose) and although they held a record of 5-1, they had yet to play a top ten team. In addition to their weak schedule, 8 of the Blue Jays starting 10 players are sophomores or freshman.

The way I see this, coach Petriamala had very few choices. Slowing the game down and not allowing the uber talented Orangemen to dictate the tempo in their home stadium seems like head coaching 101 to me. But you see this is 2011, and we live in the world of "entertain me with lots of action regardless of its purpose or I'll go elsewhere" kind of fans. One fan actually stated that he was so overcome with boredom that he turned the game off to watch college wrestling on another network. College wrestling instead of a prime time, nationaly televised contest between lacrosse's two most storied programs (and its a tie game late in the forth quarter)? Go ahead buddy, by all means change that channel. You are obviously not a lacrosse fan. I'd gather that you aren't much of a sports fan either. You probabaly turned the dial to "Minute to Win It" or some other mediocare prime time game show that has plenty of lights and flashy hosts that can stilumate the minimal synnapses in your tiny brain.

Coach Petro. Didn't want to shoot from x or outside the box.

You see friends, unlike basketball, where at 90% of the time someone is within shooting range, lacrosse is played on a large field, and unlike basketball there is always one defensive player unobtrusively guarding the goal. That means that working for a quality shot in lacrosse can take time, especially against a superior opponent. In basketball a shot taken to avoid a clock violation has a decent chance of going in, or at the very least can be rebounded by another offensive player. A shot taken in lacrosse to avoid this same violation will most likely be caught by the goalie and will equate to an unforced turnover.

Dude, you're in range, shoot it!

Forcing shots in lacrosse does nothing but artificially hasten a sport that is already designed to be fast. Don't agree? Then I would suggest that you check out the next MLL game that you can find. Go watch a few quarters of that mess and then let me know the offensive game plan of either team. And please don't try to compare NCAA Lacrosse with this pro league either. The MLL is basically an 8 team all-star league (wait, the league shrunk to 6 teams while I was writing this, Newport News ans Punxsutawney have folded).The offensive players on the pro teams can create offense on their own with very little coaching or game planning. Go tell the head coach at Holy Cross to implement that strategy the next time they play Virginia. I'm sure it will work out well for them.

Want to speed up the NCAA game? Eliminate the horn. Make all substitutions on the fly. Still not fast enough for ya? Eliminate the long pole middie. Still not fast enough? Go watch college wrestling. There, I just fixed lacrosse for all of you SU fans. Now go score 32 goals on Hobart and enjoy your teams success.

24 Seven Lax's Product of the Week

I haven't come across a single review of this product while desperately trying to reach the end of the internet, so I thought I'd introduce you to the The Net Return Lacrosse Rebounder Net. Yeah, you read that right. The Net Return Lacrosse Rebounder Net. Marketing genius right there.

What's that you say? Have I ever used one myself? Umm, no. This blog doesn't let little details like that get in its way. First, take a peek at the promotional video I found on YouTube.

Paul Rabil and Kyle Harrison were unavailable on production day

Pretty neat, huh? For only $395 + $39 shipping, this bad boy can be yours. Seems reasonable to me. Why shell out that much for an official high school goal with net and about 100 brand spanking new balls when you can be the first guy on your block to own the The Net Return Lacrosse Rebounder Net.

Let's look at all the features of The Net Return Lacrosse Rebounder Net, shall we. First, after a shot or pass, The Net Return Lacrosse Rebounder Net automatically returns the ball to the athlete. If you're playing on matted down turf, the athlete need only run to within 8 feet of the The Net Return Lacrosse Rebounder Net to retrieve his or her ball. This is saving the athlete countless seconds of practice time and perhaps as many as three full strides. If you happen to be playing on grass, cut that return distance in half and look at it as added conditioning for the player. The Net Return Lacrosse Rebounder Net also sports a strike zone so the athlete can hone in on exactly where not to shoot. Hector the Rejector is somewhere crying into his beer.

Well, unless I missed something, that'll do it for the features of The Net Return Lacrosse Rebounder Net. To up your division I stock, hop in the gym for some one handed military press, power clean some stuffed pillow cases, and hit the wall The Net Return Lacrosse Rebounder Net. I fully expect that this product will be prominently featured in Maverik's next commercial.



Wait....what's this?!?!

So the NLL is turning 25. Who knew?

So, I just read somewhere that the National Lacrosse League will soon embark on its silver anniversary season. Congrats to the league and their fan base, wherever they may be. As a native Baltimoreian and a resident of one of the meccas of the lacrosse world, I can honestly say I had no idea this milestone was about to be be achieved. The NLL, which was founded in 1987 as the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League, maintains the majority of  its following these days far from the traditional field game and more in the land of Labbats Blue and Terrance and Phillipe.

I recall attending the very first game of the Eagle League way back in 1987. At that time it was the Baltimore Thunder and the Washington Wave playing at the old Washington Capitol Center. I was a strapping sixteen year old with dreams of lacrosse glory and I have to admit at that time indoor lacrosse was really cool and exciting. Lacrosse was hard to come by those days if you didn't live near a college campus. Lets face it, there was one lacrosse game on TV every year and that was usually broadcast on tape delay at 3:00 in the morning. Any new outlet for lacrosse, even a violent indoor version, was a step in the right direction in terms of expanding the sport. Television commercials for the Eagle League glorified the violence and promoted the object of the game as to "not only win, but survive". Worked for me. Guys with lax sticks on TV clubbing each other? I could get into that.

Rick Sowell in the early days of the Baltimore Thunder

As the field game progressed and innovations in equipment made everyone a Stan Cockerton (if you are under 40 you will have no idea who I am talking about) the NLL was pushed off onto more and more cities with a spirited fan base (aka thirst for violence) and less admiration for the beauty of the field game. Indoor teams that had to compete with the growing outdoor market were relocated to new cities where lax was more of a novelty. Of course, most of the league now resides in Canada where the indoor game was created in 1931. I guess you can go home after all and I say good for the league and good for the Canadians. They are a good fit for one another. It gives hockey fans something to cheer about during the 3 month NHL off-season.

Unfortunately, I lost total interest in indoor lacrosse probably around 1989, when (ironically) a young Canadian chap decided that he could dunk a lacrosse ball from behind the goal. That was it for indoor as far as I, and most of the country was concerned. Field lacrosse had its Michael Jordan and the outdoor game would never be the same. At some point shortly after wards, all of the NLL teams moved out of the Baltimore -DC market for good, without anyone even noticing.

The NLL as it looks today

So lets all raise an ice cold Elsinore to the NLL for keeping it gong for so long without a TV deal (VS Network doesn't count) or much of an American patronage. Any lacrosse league that can last for so long deserves as much.

The Rhamel and Pannell Show, Featuring Keough

For the third consecutive year, I decided to head downtown to catch one of the marquee lax events of '11 at M & T Bank Stadium. The Face Off Classic featured some of the best teams in lacrosse...and they threw Hopkins and UMBC in there for fun. I can't remember a time that I've been in that stadium where I haven't been freezing my ass off, but this past Saturday was probably the best weather that one could hope for in Charm City this time of year. My plan was to play it by ear with regard to how much lax I wanted to consume and I quickly decided that 2 games was plenty.

I'm not really sure how I feel about the whole college lax in NFL stadiums deal. On one hand, it's one stop shopping for a couple of good match-ups that I probably wouldn't otherwise see. On the other hand, when you "pack" 17,000 fans into a 70,000 seat stadium, it looks like a Tuesday night Orioles vs. Devil Rays game at Camden Yards. Kinda Pathetic. That being said, the event is pretty well done and I enjoyed the day.

Outside the stadium, Flow Society and ESPNU had some interactive shooting type nonsense that kids seemed to be into. FS was also peddling their wares outside of the gates. 50% of it is just unwearable, but consider that I have all the fashion sense of an Iraqi nomad. Anyway, once you run that gauntlet, I noticed that the stadium dispensed with the window dressing pat downs that they typically subject you to at an NFL game. Maybe the lax crowd gets a pass? The concourse of the stadium had a bunch of vendors, the most exciting and disappointing of which was Tribe 7. They had booth set up, but no sign of the dude from the infamous videos. What a let down.

Desko

On the field, the action was as hot as the green nets. Seriously, I was digging those nets for some reason. Game 1 was a lot closer then anyone expected. Hats off to Gtown for showing up. Emala stepped up big time. Maybe it was the hometown crowd that did it for the Gilman grad. For Cuse it was Keough. He looked a little bit more well rounded in this game. He did a lot more than just catch and shoot. His mohawk or whatever that was, on the other hand, was just ridiculous. I would have liked to see the Hoyas pull the upset, but that game was more than anyone thought that were going to get.

Rhamel's BTB Goal

Game two was a good one as well. Pannell came storming out of the gates and never really took his foot off the gas. He single-handedly outplayed UVA's attack. As a fan of Stanwick, it pains me to say it. The Brattons looked good again, but this time it was Rhamel that was carrying the load. I'm too lazy to look for a box score, but I know that Virginia's middies seemed to be scoring the bulk of their goals. Neat. Again, a great game to take in and one that would have otherwise been inaccessible to me.

Quite frankly, I had no interest in watching game three. I really only enjoy watching Hopkins play when the opponent has a legitimate shot at beating them. Their band is like nails on a chalk board with that "we want more" chant. I dipped out before this one got under way.

Representing Dirty Jerz

All in all, a great day of lax for the $22 price of admission. Shout out to these kids from New Jersey who did nothing but perpetuate the stereotype of Jersey people being obnoxious. I don't know where their chaperons were, but they were smart to keep their distance. What a bunch of little turds.

High res pics on facebook here and here.

#1 Haverford at St. Paul's....A Day Late and Dollar Short

The Fords

I trekked up to the palatial campus of the St. Paul's School last Friday afternoon to check out the game between the Crusaders and the consensus #1 high school team in the land, The Haverford School out of Philly. I'm not sure if it's actually "The" Haverford School, but that's sounds like a befitting name for an elite school. Don't you think? Anyway, I was curious to see what a team with 11+ D1 commits would look like. Turns out, not much better than the team picked to finish 3rd behind BL and Calvert Hall in the MIAA.

Traffic was abysmal and parking even worse. I managed to get there at half-time and get parked about 10 minutes later. My buddy and I took a seat on the periphery of the fans with an actual rooting interest. We didn't want to be sniffed out as outsiders as neither of us had time to slip into a pair of khakis and boat shoes. Surprisingly, SP had the lead when we got to our seats.

Both these kids were ballin'

As the scoreboard suggested, the game was as close as the 10-9 final score. St. Paul's went toe to toe with the Fords. I'm not kidding, that's their nickname.

SP doubling late in the game

Overall impressions.... St. Paul's shot themselves in the foot with a bunch of unforced turnovers and failed clears. Their long poles looked particularly rusty handling the ball. The Haverford faceoff guy looked solid. SP's goalie was solid for the most part and throws a nice outlet pass. Both team's close D played pretty well. Haverford is good at stalling and successfully wasted a good part of the fourth quarter. SP sure turns that scoreboard off quick when they lose. SP's helmets may have been the nicest Warrior lids I've seen to date. The unis weren't bad either. If these schools care about getting a huge crowd, move the start time back until after beltway traffic dies down.

More high res pics on facebook. The game can be seen here.

Rx for Your Ailing Wand

Just like members of congress, I haven't read the Obamacare bill, but word on the street is that it covers trips to your stick doctor. Score! Nothing like a freshly strung twig to make me feel like I can shoot like Rabil, without all the weight lifting, practice, and such.

As a frequent troller of the stick doctor's lounge on the the Lacrosse Forums, I found a guy who's like the Wilt Chamberlain of stringing. He's done about 300 chicks sticks in his career. That's right 300. Ladies and gentlemen, Spencer Madden of Eugene, Oregon. Better known on the internetz as LAXFreak04. You think 300 is a big number, how about this kid is a 6'8" laxer? Reminds me of the kid on Georgetown's EMO who just steps on to the field to unleash rockets.

Hoya's answer to Spencer Madden

Spencer matriculated at South Eugene high school and now attends the University of Portland. It all started with his first AV8. Not satisfied with the factory tennis racquet, he figured out how to tweak it to his liking and the rest, as they say, is history. Ironically, I just strung an AV8 for a teammate who played for Towson and I don't think he has any idea that it's a beginners stick, but I digress. Portland's stick doctor definitely doesn't have that problem. Spencer has tried almost every head out there and tries to stay on the bleeding edge of lax technology. It's probably not too hard to do when you're stringing a stick at a clip of about 15 per month.

Triangle top string in all it's purple glory

When you got a pretty looking pocket, dudes come calling. Wait, check that. Bros come calling. Sounds a little bit better, I guess. If you play lax you know there's always that dude who can string a nice stick just like there's always that one dude who left his checkbook in the hotel room when you're collecting for the tourney, at the field. Spencer's a pretty generous teammate though. He typically hooks his team up for free and only charges randoms about $20 bucks with shipping included. Not bad when you consider dudes are forwarding requests like, "high pocket with no whip and very very high hold, that has a snappy, smooth release and can help me shoot faster." What? Get the f*%$ outta here.

This guy can do it all though. From a simple 20 minute mesh job to a traditional to the pita, you name it. You name it, cause I can't. Had to look up what pita was. While most guys can't wrap their head around stringing a stick, there are those that treat it like an art form. I suppose there's a sense of pride when you see people playing well with a stick you've strung for them. Like any craft, it takes a little practice. It takes reverse engineering. It takes patience. Now that I think about it, someone really needs to make a Maverik/Rabil style commercial of a guy who's serious about stringing.

Nice flow!

The haters are wondering by now if the dude can play though. I say to them, does it matter when your wand is on-time? But yes, dude can bring it. Despite playing only 4 years of HS lax, Spencer is a weapon when he's on the field. In HS, he earned all-league honors 3 times and made the Rhino all-state select team as a senior. Perhaps even more impressive was that he was his team's offensive MVP all 4 years. Now-a-days, that 6'8" frame translates into a roughly 90 MPH shot. Just realized after a quick calculation that, at 5'8", if I were a foot taller, I'd be shooting roughly 134 MPH. Sigh. Anyway, he transitioned from an attackman in HS to a middie at the University of Portland. With his size, he's adept at alley dodging and then just shooting over whoever gets in his way. We'll have to check back with him later to see how the season went.

Hold-7, Whip-4, Flow-10

What's a real live stick doctor use himself? This guys uses 15mm Marc Mesh on a STX Surgeon 10 mounted on a Nike Pursuit shaft. That means nothing to the guys running on my masters team rocking the excals from '88, but to the kids out there I'm guessing that sounds like a pretty good set up.

Feel free to hit him up if you want to add 3 goals/game to your stat sheet. Fix yo stick.

Gettin' a Little Testy

Is this a clean hit? Did he lead with a 'bow to the head? Did the ref signal release? Did the pole have possession? Is that Maury Povich's voice at the beginning of the clip talking about baby mommas? Is anyone reading these posts? So many questions?

"Harvardmlax" kindly asked that the video be removed

CSI analysis. Looks like shoulder to me. Vicious, nonetheless.

Uncalled for? You be the judge.

Compare and contrast the artist's rendering to the real deal. Well, as real as a dude video taping his computer while jogging on his treadmill can be. Love the music though. Makes me want to mosh and snap No. 2 pencils; with my bare hands!



This video from a Texas HS game has a little less.... how do you say; gray area.



I don't know what you think about plays like this in lacrosse, but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Think I'll cleanse the palette with a little video from laxbeastkiller23.