This is obviously your favorite site, but other people actually write important stuff sometimes. Now is that sometimes.
NCAA lacrosse tournament begins Saturday
It was a rollercoaster ride of a regular season, and many are expecting the unpredictability to continue in the postseason. One Hall of Fame coach believes there are as many 10-11 teams that can win it all, primarily because this field has the “softest” top four seeds in recent memory. This is all you need to know: three of the top four seeds have regular season losses to unranked programs Hobart, Hofstra and Fairfield. Ohio State, the No. 3 seed in the upcoming tournament, was only the No. 3 seed in its own conference tournament. With all that in mind, here is a breakdown of the first round.
Princeton Alumni Weekly: Extra Point
If you want to watch the legendary lacrosse trio of Jon Hess, Jesse Hubbard, and Chris Massey in action against Syracuse, you could try to track down a tape of the 1998 NCAA semifinals. Or you can make a trip to Lake Placid, N.Y., in August.
Box Skills Will Be on Display in Albany-Denver Game
When the fourth-seeded Denver Pioneers host the Albany Great Danes in the opening round of the NCAA men's lacrosse tournament, fans nationwide will be expecting a high-scoring, high-speed affair with both teams showing off their talented, run-and-gun style offenses.
Detroit's Identity: Pressure Defense
It's probably a safe assumption that most fans aren't that familiar with Detroit. So by way of introduction — if there's one thing to know about the team, it's that they consistently apply heavy pressure the ball on the perimeter defensively.
NCAA First Round Anonymous Scouting Reports: Saturday
With the promise that their names wouldn't be attached to their comments, here's some unvarnished opinion of what we might see this weekend.
Projected Goal Differential, Pace For NCAA First Round
Place your bets!
Bryant's Massa Worked For Face-Off Dominance
Heading into the 2012 season, the Bryant Bulldogs had a major hole at the face-off X.
Quint: NCAA First-Round Breakdown
The beauty of the NCAA men's lacrosse tournament is its diversity, a range even greater this season with the absence of usual powerhouses Johns Hopkins and Virginia.
Buckeyes Have Turned Corner, Look to Stay Red-Hot
When Ohio State rolled through last week's ECAC tournament by dispatching Loyola and Denver to win the league and make its first NCAA tournament since 2008, the Buckeyes had that striking look of a team suddenly on the rise at the perfect time.
Loyola's Layne Diagnosed with Testicular Mass
Loyola senior midfielder Chris Layne was diagnosed earlier this week with a testicular mass that will require further medical treatment, Layne's family announced in a statement through the Loyola athletic department on Friday afternoon.
UnCensered: 8 Difference Makers This Weekend
There have been constants the last few postseasons: ACC teams make lots of playoff noise, Quint wears pastels, championship teams are the ones that score lots of goals — 15 of the last 20 teams to appear in the Division I championship game have had a top eight scoring offense. Moreover, many of those squads have had guys who helped win the possession war.
Want Offense? Look West at Albany-Denver Matchup
"I think 17-16 would be a slow-down game," Denver coach Bill Tierney said. "On the other hand, you have three great goalies [the Pioneers use two, Jamie Faus and Ryan LaPlante], some pretty good defenses, they have some fantastic two-way middies and we have a good set of defensive midfielders. It depends on how things bounce. It could be a 12-11 game."
Eight Teams on the Brink of NCAA Immortality
Forty-two years ago, Cornell defeated Maryland 12-6 in the first-ever NCAA men's lacrosse championship game. Canadian-born Al Rimmer scored six goals in the final and ensured sweet redemption for the Big Red, who in 1970 went undefeated but finished fifth in the national championship race as voted by the USILA.
Syracuse Lacrosse: It's 'Final Four or bust' once again for the Orange
The seniors on the Syracuse University men's lacrosse team have a chance to make history in the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
Cornell's Rob Pannell ready for lacrosse playoffs
When he was a budding freshman lacrosse star at Cornell, attackman Rob Pannell watched his lifelong dream vanish in a flash in the national championship game.
UNC Men's Lacrosse Notebook: Preparing for Playoffs
Despite being ranked No. 1 in both the USILA coaches’ poll and the Inside Lacrosse media poll, the North Carolina men’s lacrosse team received the fifth seed in the NCAA tournament.
UNC Men's Lacrosse Notebook: Preparing for Playoffs
Despite being ranked No. 1 in both the USILA coaches’ poll and the Inside Lacrosse media poll, the North Carolina men’s lacrosse team received the fifth seed in the NCAA tournament.
Bryant's Massa named New England lacrosse player of the year
Sophomore faceoff specialist Kevin Massa was named the Division I New England Player of the Year by the New England Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association.
Lehigh to play North Carolina in NCAA men's lacrosse tournament
Lehigh returns to the site of its biggest win of 2012 to begin another appearance in the NCAA men's lacrosse tournament.
Duke’s Carroll still hoping for return to lacrosse
So much has changed for Casey Carroll since he last stood on the Duke sideline during the NCAA men’s lacrosse tournament.
NCAA Lacrosse Tournament: Why 2013 May Be My Favorite Tournament Yet
I can't feel bad for a team like Johns Hopkins getting the door slammed on them. Lacrosse needs competitive teams in Denver and Ohio far more than it needs a mediocre Hopkins squad to have a shot at claiming an 842nd national title. As more schools add the sport and become competitive, it adds value to being a great program.
Today's beats: Start your day with some The Avett Brothers.