College Crosse Prospectus: Al Jazeera Looks Into Native America Origins Of Lacrosse

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING, College Crosse Nation!! Thanks for making us a part of your day! Here are your links for August 16, 2017.

What You Missed

College lacrosse will be experimenting with a 60-second shot clock rule during some fall ball games.

Lacrosse The Nation

An interesting video from Al Jazeera on whether or not the origins of lacrosse have been whitewashed. It’s about a half-hour, but it’s worth your time.

Towson Tigers head coach Shawn Nadelen isn’t a fan of adding a shot clock in college lacrosse.

We also learned that LSN uses Macs.

Go ask your questions to UMBC Retrievers head coach Ryan Moran!

Speaking of the Retrievers, congrats to midfielder Tomas Rodriguez on earning a spot on the Puerto Rican national team!

"We are very excited for Tomas to be taking on this endeavor. The opportunity to compete on an international stage is truly unique and one that will serve him as a student and athlete for the remaining two years he has as a Retriever," said UMBC men's lacrosse head coach Ryan Moran.

Tryouts for the team were held at Fairfield University on July 29-30. Rodriguez was one of 40 players trying out after making cuts at tryouts in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and Providence, R.I. He will be one of 23 members on the team that will compete at next year's FIL (Federation of International Lacrosse) World Championship in Netanya, Israel.

"Heading to tryouts, I had no clue what to expect. What the level of competition would be or how many guys would show up. Once I got there and met everyone, I realized how humble and kind everyone was. We all shared a passion for the sport and wanted nothing more to be able to represent the country of Puerto Rico," Rodriguez said on making the team.

"While one of our goals is to win as many games as possible, our main goal is to help bring the game to the island and give the youth an opportunity to play a sport they may not have had a chance to in the past," he continued.

The Denver Pioneers will host the University of Tokyo and take on defending Division II national champion Limestone in the Bob Kemp Lacrosse Classic for their fall ball slate.

Some sad news for the New Jersey lacrosse community: Former Boonton and Stockton College head coach Dick Rizk passed away at the age of 84. Jane Havsy of the Daily Record has more.

Tim Flynn played against Rizk's Boonton teams while at Hanover Park and was a coaching colleague at Mountain Lakes. He recalled Rizk's teams as "just tough as nails," and coached his own players to be similar. But at the same time, Rizk earned the respect of opposing players and coaches.

Boonton honored Rizk at its 50th anniversary alumni game in 2015, with almost 80 former players dating as far back as the Class of 1967 in attendance.

Rizk had a quadruple bypass in 2002 and another heart surgery about four years ago, after which, former Boonton lacrosse player Kevin Zulauf recalled, Rizk was "not very optimistic." He quickly recovered from a stroke last year, as Zulauf dubbed him "indestructible."

"He was smart, a no-nonsense guy but at the same time knew when he needed to put his arm around you and give you a little bit of support," said Zulauf, who played for Rizk at Stockton, then coached with him for two years before taking over the top job upon Rizk's retirement.

"He'd kick you in the butt when you needed it. He knew the moment, and knew how to relate to people and ultimately get the best out of everybody."

In other high school news, Cherry Creek out in Denver has hired current Denver Outlaw and former Johns Hopkins LSM Matt Bocklet as their new head coach. Cannon Casey of CHSAA Now has the details.

"I want to win. I compete to win championships," Bocklet said. "It's what I do in my own playing career and in my coaching career. Cherry Creek has a tradition of being one of the top athletic programs and schools in the state.

"Being around a program like that is where I've always seen myself and where I want to be."

Bocklet takes over for longtime coach Brian Perry, who retired after the 2017 season. Perry led Cherry Creek to ten championship games and five title wins, and is believed to be the all-time wins leader for the sport with 258.

"I don't know if I'm going to fill his shoes," Bocklet said. "I'm going to strive for excellence the same way that he did. The end goal will still be the same. I've spoken to coach Perry a couple of times. I'm going to continue to look for guidance from him."

Plenty of teams wanted people to play lax yesterday.

More recruits are coming in!

Philly Jawns

A woman found a rodent in her Chick-Fil-A sandwich. Uhhhh...

Also, my thoughts and prayers are with Jarrod Stukes and his family. Sunday night, he was shot multiple times at a Mantua block party and is still recovering in the hospital. He recently graduated from La Salle College High School this past May and was going to Clarion University on a full basketball scholarship. He should be able to recover, but he has a long road ahead.

I’ve had a handful of interactions with Jarrod when I was a senior at La Salle and helping out call basketball games for the past couple of seasons. He and his family are very nice, and it’s sad to hear something happen like this to someone like him. The entire La Salle community is by his side, and it’s very evident.

World News

Canada’s getting a Mario Kart-like race track and I am jealous.

Video of the Day

Alicia Keys and John Legend star in the new Carpool Karaoke episode.

That’s it for today!! I’ll see you out there!! Make sure you follow us on social media!

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Managing Editors: Safe Fekadu, Chris Jastrzembski, Ryan McDonnell