College Crosse Prospectus: NLL to San Diego confirmed; MLL updates

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING, College Crosse Nation!! Thanks for making us a part of your day! Here are your links for August 30, 2017.

What You Missed

A San Diego State quarterback is leaving the school to pursue college lacrosse.

Lacrosse The Nation

Pro lacrosse has dominated the past couple of days, which is shocking to say in the lacrosse world.

Let’s begin with the league that’s doing well, the NLL. A Bloomberg report by Scott Soshnick confirmed Marisa’s original report back in July that Alibaba Executive Vice Chairman Joe Tsai will own an expansion team in San Diego beginning in 2019.

Tsai, who has a net worth of $11.4 billion, paid about $5 million for the yet-to-be-named franchise, according to a person with knowledge of the transaction who asked to not be named because the terms are private. NLL spokeswoman Ashley Dabb declined to comment on the terms of the deal.

Tsai has a long history with lacrosse -- he played at Yale in the 1980s -- but the NLL may also be a precursor to other American sports investments. Those who consider buying a major U.S. sports franchise often start with a less expensive investment in a smaller league as a learning experience and proving ground, and Tsai has expressed an interest in buying a stake of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets.

“His investment in the league continues to legitimize our five-year strategy and prove what we have all known in the NLL for years -- that we have an amazingly entertaining product and a sustainable and profitable business model,” NLL Commissioner Nick Sakiewicz said.

“I have a strong passion for lacrosse, and look forward to bringing the NLL to San Diego,” Tsai said in a statement. “Our team is committed to creating a fan-first experience and to being an integral part of the local community.”

The new team will also play at the Valley View Casino Center, which Marisa also mentioned back in July.

If you read or remembered Marisa’s original report, she also mentioned a second team joining in 2019, which is Philadelphia. No word on an update with those expansion efforts.

Back in May, he attended the Lacrosse Industry summit. You can listen to his interview on Inside Lacrosse (who credited Marisa with the original report, unlike some, including LSN on Twitter). CBS 8 also did a report.

Next, let’s go to the MLL. Still not looking good for them.

The league released a statement through Lax Sports Network, which is pretty much their league-run media channel. Via Inside Lacrosse’s Kyle DeVitte:

"The players are the ones impacted. Major League Lacrosse will communicate directly to the players to make sure they are receiving the most accurate information. Player social security numbers only exist in a secure location. We are judiciously working on a contract with a reputable company to set up long-term credit protection solution for all impacted players. The immediate step outside of long-term protection solution, is that all social security numbers have been removed from spreadsheets and other documentation."

Note: Inside Lacrosse reached out to league personnel for a statement Monday night, but has not received one, only what the league put out through Lax Sports Network.

So basically, the league is saying “everything is okay, move along now!” But, no, not really.

I also reached out for comment from Commissioner David Gross and another member from the MLL front office Monday night, but have not received any comment.

But others have. This from Bob Hohler (and Marisa) in The Boston Globe:

“We take seriously the protection of our players’ personal information, and are providing all impacted players with access to prepaid credit monitoring,’’ Gross said. “We have reviewed our internal procedures and have made the changes to ensure that this oversight is never repeated. We sincerely apologize to the players and thank them for their cooperation.’’

The league declined further comment, although a staffer who was not authorized to speak publicly said he was unaware of any player’s identity having been stolen because of the problem.

And another:

So the MLL and Commissioner Gross have made three separate statements in a span of a day, one of them saying that he won’t comment until the investigation is complete. This is crazy.

Other outlets have picked this story up:

• Barstool Sports
• Boston Herald
• Deadspin
• Sports Illustrated
• The Comeback

SI’s Michael McCann also said something about this:

Meanwhile, I have no clue what LSN is doing:

So in summary:

Furman Paladins head coach Richie Meade announced his new coaching staff for the 2018 season. Highlighting the changes include Andrew Athens becoming the new associate head coach.

Cornell Big Read goaltender Christian Knight has received a fifth-year eligibility waiver and will play in 2018. He missed all of 2016 due to an injury.

Under Ivy rules, eligibility beyond four calendar years requires approval of the Executive Director. Among other factors, approval is contingent upon the student having an academic enrollment plan that is approved by institutional academic officials.

Fall ball continues for many teams, many of them working on their fundamentals:

While others are taking care of their bodies!

The Harvard Crimson playbooks are set.

Don’t forget about the swag!

Let’s get to know some more incoming freshmen:

Also, the Ohio State Buckeyes and Marquette Golden Eagles each announced their Class of 2021.

Sad news: Drexel Dragons legend Andy Andrews passed away last week.

Women’s news: A great story by Justin Feil of US Lacrosse Magazine on La Salle Explorers defender Lexi Kucia.

Philly Jawns

Prayers up to Villanova Wildcats legendary coach Rollie Massimino:

World News

Looks like North Korea is targeting Guam again.

Video of the Day

I guess Airplane Trick Shots are cool.

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