College Crosse Prospectus: Could Syracuse-Rutgers Be A Thing For 2018?

All the lacrosse news you can handle and plenty more!

By Chris Jastrzembski@Chris_Jast Jul 23, 2017, 6:00am EDT

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING, College Crosse Nation!! Thanks for making us a part of your day! Here are your links for July 23, 2017.

What You Missed

The Americans take gold in the FIL Women’s World Cup with a 10-5 win over Canada!

We got free movement in women’s college lacrosse!

Lacrosse The Nation

So this came from the Rivals.com section for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen parts of a schedule leak out publicly for lacrosse, or at least this early, but this is very interesting. Last year’s schedule was nearly the same as it was in 2016, and 2015 didn’t see many changes either. Prior to the beginning of this past season, Syracuse Orange head coach John Desko mentioned that the team might consider improving their strength of schedule and RPI by adding stronger teams to replace some of their weaker teams. Rutgers fits that motto, and they were a team I considered as a recurring opponent in a scenario if Cuse was independent.

Rutgers played NJIT the same weekend Syracuse played Johns Hopkins. The Cuse-Hopkins game is being played on a different weekend for now on due to what happened last year for scheduling purposes, so St. Patrick’s Day weekend would appear to be where this game would go. And I love that it’s a road game.

Who might go? Teams that come up include Siena, St. John’s, and Binghamton.

It’s the second new team I’ve heard that Cuse is rumored to play. I’ll keep the other one private for now, but all I’ll say is it’s another quality opponent.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish assistant coach Matt Karweck is enjoying the summer.

Coach Karweck working hard (or hardly working?) this afternoon pic.twitter.com/MxH4A2Ag7C
— ND Lacrosse Managers (@NDLaxManagers) July 22, 2017

PUT A RING ON IT!

First @MarquetteMLax player to get married. Happy for Jerry and Catherine. pic.twitter.com/HFl8vFBf6v
— MUcoachAmplo (@MUcoachAmplo) July 23, 2017

Beautiful day out for some Air Force folks.

Doolie Day Out #aflax2018 pic.twitter.com/W4aj9w7boD
— Air Force Lacrosse (@AFLacrosse) July 23, 2017

Some sad news if you’re a part of the DMV area:

Sitting next to him one last time... pic.twitter.com/TQnRRUFhVk
— Dianna Russini (@diannaESPN) July 23, 2017

Two games in the MLL last night. Florida clinched a playoff spot, while Chesapeake defeated Atlanta. But more flaws about the league were pointed out:

Clearly the ball wasn't dropped once the first half of ATL FL game. These guys are GOOD pic.twitter.com/JpBWP4iUul
— Jerry Ragonese (@FlowGo37) July 23, 2017

Almost time for @MLL_Lacrosse on @Twitter. Watch @DenverOutlaws take on @MachineMLL live . https://t.co/BBTsgDxOnP
— David Gross (@MLLCommish) July 23, 2017

Um...

Hey commish, games tomorrow. https://t.co/43iQRPVP4f
— Jerry Ragonese (@FlowGo37) July 23, 2017

Yeah. The excuses weren’t that much better.

I'm just too excited for this huge matchup. Wish it was starting now
— David Gross (@MLLCommish) July 23, 2017

He's so excited for it he's just watching the blank page for the next 24 hours!
— MajorLeague Lacrosse (@MLL_Lacrosse) July 23, 2017

Delete your account. https://t.co/pLwX7RiAIf
— Kyle Devitte (@TheKyleDevitte) July 23, 2017

It was even difficult to try and watch one of the games!

If anyone wants to let me know how the game is please do. Shocklingly my ap isn't working. pic.twitter.com/0TZCfasgwl
— Jerry Ragonese (@FlowGo37) July 23, 2017

I had it better than you my friend... I got through the subscriber glitch and got to the video itself pic.twitter.com/65WS48gavi
— V I V (@jeffyv33) July 23, 2017

It’s nothing new for the MLL, but having things like this pop up week after week is not a good image to have for marketing the league. Yes, the play on the field is great and the players care about what goes on outside the league, but if there’s people that don’t keep track of stats effectively, play-by-play guys can’t get basic info down right, and your commissioner doesn’t know when games are played, it’s not a good image of the league at all.

Imagine if the NFL and NBA did a poor job with what they do in terms of statistics, giving info to their media partners, their own league-run networks, and other things. Would they be billion dollar businesses? Probably not.

The Will Manny debacle was incredible and something I’ve never really seen in pro sports. Zero compensation was made after one player retired and another basically decided not to report for unknown reasons. The Cannons later got some help and this past week, they were awarded with former Maryland Terrapins defenseman Tim Muller. There’s a different argument for moving a 2017 2nd round pick after playing just two games since being drafted in late May, but outside of an LSN tweet on Friday, there was no other word or confirmation on the move from the MLL or the Cannons.

Neither the Cannons nor the Launch also have him on their roster. So is he a Cannon? And how to fans know when players enter waivers and when they get claimed? The four major leagues have waiver updates delivered from their teams for the most part, as well as other reporters and insiders, but for the MLL, waiver news was reported by the league’s premium network.

To summarize (as I have for the entire summer): The league and team front offices need to start to care more. Because I don’t know how much longer the league can last in conditions like this.

Philly Jawns

A great white shark is nearby New Jersey!

While you were sleeping, STAND UP BRIGANTINE!

BREAKING: Scott Blumstein, of Brigantine, New Jersey, becomes 2017 World Series of Poker champion, wins more than $8.1 million.
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 23, 2017