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John Danowski had been at Hofstra University for 21 seasons winning 8 conference championships in that time. After the 2006 season he decided it was time to move on and accepted the Head Lacrosse position at Duke University. This was an intriguing decision due to a couple of factors, the main one of course being the fact that Duke was just coming off the scandal involving the alleged rape of an exotic dancer by three members of the Duke men’s lacrosse team, and the other was the fact that his son Matt was on the team at Duke. John saw this as an opportunity to help his son and a team recover and get back on the right track. He knew he was entering a hornet’s nest but felt prepared for the job and understood that he first had to restore the reputation of the players, the program and the University.

Coach Danowski At Practice

In this interview John speaks about his decision to take on the Duke job and how he turned this around down there so quickly. He has taken Duke to the NCAA Final Four the last two seasons and hope this year to finally get that elusive National Championship.

John Danowski Interview

By Sean Connolly

Attackman and former Duke star Zach Greer will enroll at Bryant for the 2009 season, making Bryant a more than legitimate threat. Former Duke coach Mike Pressler now coaches for Bryant which is believed to be the major reason Greer decided to join Bryant. With Greer on the team now is Bryant a formidable opponent up north?

Greer’s 206 goals, wow 206, is tops in all-time goals in college lacrosse. Whenever he’s on the ball crowds stand up and defenses cringe. Greer, who graduated from Duke this past spring, has one more year of eligibility left, a year in which he will go for his masters at Bryant and master the field as a part of the Bryant LAX team.

Pressler and Greer reunite after the tumulsious 2006 season in which Duke cut short the season and cut loose of Pressler. Pressler was fired as the Duke squad was left in question as to whether they could come back in the coming years. Sure enough they have making a national championship appearance last season and a semifinal last year.

This coming season will be Bryant’s first venture into Division 1 sports. They make their first apperance after being a DII school in Rhode Island. Unfortanately for Greer and the Bryant Bulldogs, they are not eligible for the playoffs until next season. Sorry Zach, I guess wait ’till you’re a part of the MLL to see you in the playoffs.

By Sean Connolly

Is it time? I think so. The Olympics includes pedestrian sports such as table tennis and badminton, so why not involve a real sport that actually takes physical skill? All I’m saying is that if you can win a gold medal in ping-pong, you should be able to do the same with lacrosse.

Whenever this argument arose, the main point people would bring up is that lacrosse isn’t played as much as it is in America and Canada. To that pathetic point I say how many countries play judo, water polo, and trampoline. Trampoline?!? That’s a sport in the Olympics folks, and that always becomes my most stellar argument.

So, what does lacrosse need to become an Olympic sport? It needs fans. Lacrosse needs people behind the sport that want to see lacrosse in the Olympics as much as the athletes do. It’s growing popularity with the development of Major League Lacrosse along with a huge youth movement in which a lot of young kids are picking up the sport earlier and earlier forcing their high schools to also pick up lacrosse programs.

It seems to me that most of the team sports played in the Olympics aren’t taken seriously. They aren’t because those players don’t get paid by their clubs to play for their country. So most players either voluntarily choose to sit out or are forced to not play. So in team sports like baseball, and soccer you never get to see the world’s best, which is what the Olympics are supposed to represent. If the Olympics give the opportunity to these lacrosse guys they will not disappoint. I’m positive that John Grant and Brian Langtry would have been on the first flight to Beijing if they had the chance, but sadly they didn’t but hopefully by either the 2012 Olympics(which is pretty doubtful to get a sport instated in 4 years) or the 2016 Olympics which could fittingly end up in America in Chicago, we will see Lacrosse as an Olympic sport.

By Sean Connolly

With wins by the Barrage and Riptide the postseason has been sorted out putting an end to a fantastic regular season. The Philadelphia Barrage beat Boston last night to make it to their 3rd straight postseason. Los Angeles Riptide made it in last night by defeating the San Fransisco Dragons. But, quite frankly neither team stands a chance.

They’ve played well all season but the Riptide and Barrage are simply no match for the overly talented and powerful Denver Outlaws and Rochester Rattlers. The Rattlers and Outlaws seem to be destined for a match up in the final pitting Rochester’s John Grant against Denver’s Brian Langtry. The Western Conference Champion Outlaws have put up the most dominant numbers in the entire league and I’m afraid that only the Rattlers can stop them.

So, what are my predictions for the postseason? It’s simple really…The Outlaws destroy the Riptide, The Rattlers demolish the Barrage, and we’re set up with one of the best finals the MLL has ever produced between the Outlaws and Rattlers. Although I love how John Grant has been playing I think this is Brian Langtry’s year as he and the Outlaws will leave Boston with the championship.

It might sound lame but the definite winner of all this is the fan. Lacrosse has made a huge move this year with the college championships and this year’s MLL season. Finally lacrosse fans can unite and actually be able to watch their favorite sport on television, even if it is on ESPN2.

Under the guidance of legendary coach Bill Tierney, the Princeton Lacrosse program has flourished. Bill Tierney first took over the challenge of bringing lacrosse dominance to central New Jersey back in 1987 and has since been referred to as the Vince Lombardi of lacrosse. It took coach Tierney just four years to bring the Tigers their first National Championship and he has since won five more, including three in a row at one point. With Bill Tierney at the helm Princeton has become one of the most prestigious lacrosse school in the country and is a place that any lacrosse player would be honored to attend and have the opportunity to play for coach Tierney. But what type of player does it take to play for Princeton and how does a high school lacrosse player go about making sure that the people at Princeton take notice of him? Who better to ask these questions of than the man himself- we recently sat down with coach Tierney and asked him about the recruiting process as well as a host of other questions. Here is a sample of what he said about recruiting, and then make sure to click on the link to here his entire interview.

Bill Tierney Interview

By Sean Connolly

Lacrosse is slowly getting there. The thing is though, it’s slowly getting there. What should the MLL do to improve the league and expand itself? For me it all starts with marketing.

John Grant of the Rochester Rattlers

After Syracuse beat Johns Hopkins, lacrosse was on a high. The championship was widely televised on ESPN and garnered the biggest audience for a lacrosse match. I think right there was the MLL’s chance to shine. And personally, I don’t think they did enough. It was a real legit chance in which they had lacrosse on the proverbial sports pedestal and they failed to hit the nail on the head.

They need to start marketing the big names. In every league in America, big names draw big crowds which bring in big money. Every league has an untouchable hero in which like him or hate him, you have to appreciate him. One player who I think can easily take that role is John Grant of the Rochester Rattlers. He is easily the best player in lacrosse and has been around for a while, so every one appreciates what he’s done. He won last year’s MLL MVP in both the indoor and outdoor league showing his versatility. John Grant should be made the face of the league.

Rattlers’ Attack Man John Grant

Also to develop a league, great story lines need to be developed. Now I’m not saying the MLL should go on making up stories but they need to really drive home the really good ones. They need to make a hero out of John Grant and he needs an adversary. Since Grant plays for Rochester, an East Coast team, his opposite has to reside on the west coast to really develop a rivalry. I think Brian Langtry is the man for that job. He plays for a well rounded hard to beat Denver Outlaws team and would fit the role perfectly. If they can market these two as enemies of each other duking it out it will definitely garner interest.

Brian Langtry of the Denver Outlaws

The biggest chance the have though is coming up a week from today. The MLL All-Star game. It is being held in Denver at Mile High Stadium and is a real opportunity for the MLL to strut its stuff. People will tune in to an all-star game if they don’t follow the league. It happens all the time in American sports. When the MLB has their all-star game next week I guarantee many people will tune in who don’t normally watch baseball. The thing I’m most excited for is the Skills Challenge. John Grant is a participant and it’s going to be so much fun to see what he can do. The MLL needs to realize what is at stake on July 17th when the All-Star game is being played, because if they don’t this league could crumble in a matter of years.

“It’s the best ending possible.” That’s the way senior Mike Leveille described Syracuse’s victory over defending champ Johns Hopkins. “It’s unbelievable, and we couldn’t be happier.” Leveille deserved to be happy. He was named the tourney’s most valuable player.
Quint Kessenech of ESPN.com described the setting for us:

Two of the NCAA’s most successful programs, two passionate fan bases, a beautiful day in Foxborough and a crowd of over 48,000 in attendance — it was the recipe for an exciting finish to the season. Syracuse and Johns Hopkins did not disappoint. The Orange looked like the fitter team and ultimately were able to prevail over the defending champs, 13-10.

Despite the heroic efforts of Hopkins’ senior Paul Rabil who scored 6 goals, Syracuse won the game with midfield scoring. And according to Kessenech “Dan Hardy, Pat Perritt, Brendan Loftus and Steven Brooks each won his individual matchup.”

Syracuse, which failed to make the NCAA playoffs last year – the first time since 1982 – made the most of this opportunity to win its 9th national title.

Johns Hopkins Coach Dave Pietramala acknowledged that his team was outplayed. ““I give them all the credit,” Pietramala declared. “The bottom line is that’s why they’re Syracuse.”

Syracuse Coach John Desko managed to turn last year’s disappointments to this year’s triumph by relying on his seniors, changing coaching responsibilities and re-emphasizing conditioning and defense.

Freshman goalie John Galloway had an impressive first season and as Pete Thamel notes: “the junior college transfer Sid Smith, who shut out Virginia’s Ben Rubeor on Saturday and held Hopkins attackman Kevin Huntley to two goals Monday.”

Monday set a record for attendance, and the 3 day tournament at Foxboro drew a total of 145,828 – a weekend record.

It was a great day for Syracuse and a great day for lacrosse in America. If you missed this year, there’s always next year. Long live lacrosse!

Lacrosse is in the air.  First,  the recently completed MCLA Championship, and now the NCAA Championship. 

All you Patriots and Red Sox fans have a chance to head over to Gillete Stadium in Foxboro, MA for some incredibly exciting lacrosse: the 2008 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championships, May 24-26.

NCAA Championships weekend includes the Division I, II and III championships and will be hosted in New England for the first time.

For those of you new to lacrosse, the MCLA – Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association - is something between the NCAA varsity experience and more traditional club lacrosse teams. Each MCLA club team is self-funded and more than 200 of them competed for the championship.

Just last week in Irving, Texas, the Michigan Wolverines became the first team in MCLA history to go through the entire season undefeated. They beat the Chapman Panthers 14-11 at Texas Stadium.

Lee Wilson of collegelax.com reported on the game: 

“It sounds kind of cocky, but I kind of expected it,” said Brekan Kohlitz, the Wolverine faceoff specialist who went 20-of-28 from the faceoff circle. “I had a bad couple of games here at the beginning of the tournament…I just had to get that ball out real quick and find the open man. We did a great job of doing that.”

Kohlitz’s performance was enough for Chapman head coach Mike Wood to give him his vote for MVP of the tournament. [Michigan Coach John] Paul took notice of the stellar performance as well.

“Yeah, he’s been doing that all year,” said Paul of his senior faceoff specialist. “He’s special, really special. The biggest thing for him was that he’s always been able to dominate draws but he used to have trouble controlling the ball. Now he is so much better at that. Plus it always helps us out because we can put short sticks on the wing. We are always an offensive threat coming down. 

Brekan Kohlitz

Now the scene shifts from Texas to Foxboro, and from the MCLA to the NCAA.  If you’re looking for some family entertainment, the organizing committee for the Final has added a range of fan-oriented activities including youth lacrosse clinics, interactive sponsor fan zones, and community-oriented events.

While the most expensive seats are sold out, there are still seats in the endzones and upper balcony.  There are games going on Saturday through Monday.

Here are the Division 1 semifinal contests: You’ve got Syracuse vs Virginia in the first game at noon and Duke vs Hopkins going after each other at 2:30.  With the winners to meet Monday.

Meredith Galante analyzed the first game for insidelacrosse.com:

“During the Cavailers last matchup with the Orange, the lead changed five times throughout the game. The statistics and rankings are in Virginia’s favor, even though both teams own 10 wins against its opponent. However, Virginia has scored one more goal in the series, and one more goal was enough to win the last time these teams met. Both teams can score; this game will be decided on who can score more.

Matt Kelly – Photo: Pete Emerson UVA 

Sean Burns wrote about the Duke – Hopkins match:

“Of the four teams left to play this weekend, which has put up the best defensive numbers?

“Before you look at your stats, it’s not Hopkins, whose 7.87 goals against per game is solid, but is just the third best. It’s not Syracuse either, as the Orange come in at No. 9 (7.38). No, the top defensive dog in the fight is the team many don’t even realize have players on the other side of the field due to the firepower they bring offensively – the top-seeded Duke Blue Devils.

“While Duke has gone out and scored a whopping 15 goals a game to lead the country, they have also allowed a hair over seven, good for the seventh-best mark in Division I. With a schedule that included a bevy of NCAA-bound squads (including three contests against fellow semifinalists Johns Hopkins and Virginia), Duke allowed their foes to break the 10-goal barrier only twice: a March 22nd loss to Georgetown and last week’s lopsided quarterfinals win over Ohio State.”

Tony McDeavitt – Photo: Peyton Williams

There’s another way to look at this game. John Driscoll blogged about the resiliency of Hopkins:

“Defending national champion Johns Hopkins began the 2008 season ranked No. 1 before a five-game tail spin that threatened the Blue Jays’ string of 36 straight NCAA Tournament appearances – the longest NCAA string by any team in any Division I sport. It was a carbon copy of the mid-season slump endured by the sport’s most prestigious program last year, and it lasted a week longer. The Jays played the entire second half of the 2008 season knowing another loss – any loss – could end their phenomenal post-season run.

The Jays responded to the death watch by reeling off seven straight wins, a stretch that included crushing defeats of in-state rivals Maryland, Navy and Loyola, and tournament sprints past Hofstra and the Midshipmen by identical 10-4 scores.”

This is going to be a great tournament. If you’re new to lacrosse or an old hand, you’ll want to be there.