Seven Stories and One Set of Beats: May 15, 2012

This is obviously your favorite site, but other people actually write important stuff sometimes. Now is that sometimes.

First Impressions: MD1 Quarterfinal Matchups
Lacrosse Magazine writers at the games over the weekend asked the winning teams about their upcoming quarterfinal matchups. Here's what they had to say.

Staff Debate: Winners and Losers of the First Round
After the field was cut to the 16 tournament teams in both the men's and women's fields last Sunday, that group got quite a bit smaller this weekend. As eight losers go home, and eight winners look ahead in each bracket, Inside Lacrosse sifted through the action to determine the true winners and losers from our first weekend of playoff action.

Season-long faceoff struggles plague SU once again; Duke's senior midfielders take control - Sports - The Daily Orange
John Desko couldn’t escape the topic. From his opening statement to the questions he faced following Syracuse’s loss to Duke on Saturday, the head coach repeated himself over and over.

Wilton's Peter McMahon Helps Build Power at Bryant
Wilton’s Peter McMahon wanted to play lacrosse at Bryant University to be part of something special.

Series breakdown: NCAA quarterfinals
A look at next weekend's four games, including a few matchups of plenty familiar foes.

Photos: UNC-Denver, Duke-Syracuse, and Loyola-Canisius
Pretty!

Quint Kessenich: Eight Go Forward, Eight Go Home
Saturday's games featured explosive offenses, playmaking, shot-making, and monster runs after halftime that proved to be decisive. Sunday was more defensive and was capped by a night-time thriller.

Today's beats: The Flaming Lips, because why not?