College Crosse Prospectus - August 13, 2017: MLL Championship Set

All the lacrosse news you can handle and plenty more!!

By Eri_Barrister Aug 13, 2017, 8:50am EDT

Dawn Finds Early Risers On Miami's Beaches

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING, College Crosse Nation!! Thanks for making us a part of your day! Here are your links for August 13, 2017.

College Crosse News.

Great Harlem Lacrosse post in The Undefeated.

Harlem is a mecca of basketball and the epicenter of black culture. Lacrosse is a sport that is especially popular on the East Coast but is often not associated with people of color. Harlem Lacrosse (HL), a nonprofit designed to help at-risk youth get into college, is changing that. It uses lacrosse to help youth in a racially and socio-economically shifting neighborhood to build both life and academic skills. Its mission: “to empower the children who are most at risk for academic decline and dropout to rise above their challenges and reach their full potential.” Recently, the program took 40 students to one of the top lacrosse tournaments in Baltimore and came away with its first winning record at a national tournament. Owen Van Arsdale, Harlem Lacrosse’s senior program director for Frederick Douglass Academy, said the win was a result of the year-round dedication of the players.

Yorktown will be hosting the second annual "Yorktown Unites For A Cause.”

Denis Murphy and Lisa Sedlor have learned about what happens when the Yorktown community comes together. Sedlor is hosting the second annual "Yorktown Unites For A Cause," on Sat, Sept. 23 at FDR State Park, to benefit Friends of Jaclyn a charity started by Murphy, a Yorktown native. Friends of Jaclyn connects kids battling brain tumors with college and high school teams. The charity began when Jaclyn was diagnosed with a brain tumor when she was nine. An avid lacrosse player, she was connected to the Northwestern Women's Lacrosse Team and and was considered part of the team. She traveled to Maryland and watched them defeat John Hopkins on their way to winning seven titles.

Florida Launch fans were stoked about their semifinal game over the Ohio Machine, even though the Machine won.

The Florida Launch made history on Saturday night, playing in their first ever playoff game, a road semifinal match-up against the Ohio Machine. The Launch stayed in the game throughout the first half, highlighted Dylan Molloy's goal that gave Florida a 6-5 lead. Connor Buczek was able to tie the game at 10 midway through the 3rd quarter, the the Machine looked "well oiled" from there, pulling away for an 18-13 win. Still, the Launch fans who attended the playoff watch party at the Brass Tap in Boca Raton were excited to witness history together. "It's amazing to be in this atmosphere," said Launch fan Allie Modica. "To celebrate this experience with everyone. It's really exciting, there's energy everywhere."

The Denver Outlaws beat the Rochester Rattlers yesterday in the MLL semifinal.

The Denver Outlaws have once again found themselves in a familiar place: the championship game. For the seventh time in just 12 years that the franchise has existed, the Outlaws will be playing for the title in major league lacrosse. Denver bested the Rochester Ratttlers 15-8 on Saturday in the MLL semifinal at the University of Denver's Peter Barton stadium. The Outlaws are looking to repeat as league champions next Saturday when they take on the winner of the Ohio Machine and Florida Launch.

Great story about a young BALLER doing his part to get grow the game.

Haynes Ratcliff said he’s always wanted to play lacrosse on a competitive basis and it looks like he may get his chance in his senior year at South Iredell. Now he’s working to help get the equipment needed for the sport. He’s started a crowdfunding page and is planning some fundraising efforts to put together the approximately $500 per player needed for equipment for the men’s team and about half that for the women’s team. The women’s game doesn’t allow body contact so not as much protective gear is needed. Currently, Lake Norman High School and Mooresville are the only public schools in Iredell County with a lacrosse team. It was a friend who plays on the Wildcats squad that sparked Ratcliff’s interest in lacrosse. That was in the eighth grade. Since then, Ratcliff said, “I’ve always wanted to play.”

What’s Up, PhilaJersey?

Bruce “Mr. Die Hard” Willis was in town on Thursday night.

Actor Bruce Willis was spotted out on the town Thursday enjoying some dinner and drinks, though what brought him to town isn’t exactly clear. The Once Upon a Time in Venice star was first spotted in the evening at Scarpetta in Rittenhouse Square, where one source says he sipped a San Remo cocktail with a friend. Willis reportedly “hung out for a while,” and was “gracious with both staff and guests,” the source says. From there, Willis moved over to Stephen Starr’s Barclay Prime steakhouse, where he ate a steak at the bar, a separate source says. Willis didn’t drop any hints as to why he was in town that we’ve heard, but he has been connected in the news recently with local director M. Night Shyamalan, who is starting up a joint sequel to hits Unbreakable and Split dubbed Glass. Shyamalan typically films his movies at least partially in the area, as was the case with Split and Unbreakable, so Willis’ presence in town for that would make sense.

World/National News.

Elon Musk says that artificial intelligence is more of a threat than North Korea.

The SpaceX founder, who is hoping to become the first man to establish a human colony on Mars, said humans should be “vastly” more concerned about robots taking over the world. Mr Musk’s tweets come after Trump and Kim Jong-un continue to ratchet up fears of World War 3 with their foreboding rhetoric. The US President has threatened to unleash “fire and fury” upon Pyongyang, while the hermit kingdom has promised to strike the US-territory of Guam by mid-August. Despite escalating world tensions, Mr Musk dismissed the imminent threat and tweeted: “If you're not concerned about AI safety, you should be. Vastly more risk than North Korea.” In his tweet, he included a image of a framed picture of a worried-looking woman, with the bold, capped up words reading “IN THE END THE MACHINES WILL WIN”.