GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING, College Crosse Nation! Thanks for making us a part of your day! Here’s everything you need to know for October 23, 2018.

College Crosse News

It’s finally here! The Premier Lacrosse League was formally introduced yesterday. The Kid Chris has all the details about the proposed new league.

After months of rumors, the Premier Lacrosse League has announced its entrance into the sports world in a press release sent out by the league this morning. The league, which is co-founded by Paul Rabil and his brother Mike Rabil, will have their inaugural season begin on June 1, 2019. The league will make stops in 12 “major-market” cities and has a media rights deal with NBC Sports Group. 17 games will be televised on NBCSN, two games, including the championship game, will be on NBC, with 20 more on NBC Sports Gold, a subscription service.

The league’s players will also receive full-time wages, benefits, and equity in the league. The PLL will be the first major North American pro team sports league that offers equity to their players. The financial backing includes companies such as The Raine Group, Creative Artists Agency (CAA), The Chernin Group, and Blum Capital. According to Bloomberg, New England Patriots wide receiver Chris Hogan is also an investor. Paul Rabil posted the following on the new PLL website.

Bloomberg report Scott Soshnick spoke with Paul Rabil about the announcement in a special Bloomberg Sports podcast.

Chris is doing God’s work here.

Comcast now has interest in the NLL via the Wings and a PLL TV deal via NBC.

BOSS Petro was very happy with the news.

Wall St. jumped at the chance to back the new league.

When Paul Rabil set out to raise money for his new outdoor lacrosse league, he knew he wouldn’t have to waste time explaining the game’s intricacies in pitch meetings. “Lacrosse’s popularity on Wall Street is a well-known phenomenon, backed by decades of All-Americans graduating from elite institutions and taking their professional careers to New York,” said Rabil, a star player in Major League Lacrosse, the league that will soon become his primary competitor.

Lacrosse programs at schools like Johns Hopkins University, Rabil’s alma mater, and Yale University take their undergraduate players to New York annually to tap into their extensive alumni networks. Many of those visits lead to jobs in finance. So it should be no surprise that the list of investors in Rabil’s six-team Premier Lacrosse League features a dozen former college players, including New England Patriots wide receiver Chris Hogan, who attended Penn State University on a lacrosse scholarship.

Great article on Philly boy Matt Rambo’s lacrosse journey coming full circle.

Matt Rambo stood out in lacrosse so much in the fifth grade that he played two age groups above other 10-year-olds. Even then, he rose above his competition. “He was two years younger than seventh graders [and] shot it 10 miles an hour harder than anybody we played, and was one of the more dominant players in the tournaments,” said Brian Dougherty, Matt’s fifth-grade club lacrosse coach. “I just remember him being unbelievably good at his craft since the fifth grade.”

If this doesn’t hit you right in the feels, nothing will.

Benny Pugh returns to Richmond as an assistant coach.

University of Richmond men’s lacrosse head coach Dan Chemotti has announced the addition of former Spider Benny Pugh to the staff as an assistant coach. Pugh joins the Spider coaching staff that also includes Associate Head Coach Paul Richards and Volunteer Assistant Coach Mitch Goldberg.

“I am thrilled for the opportunity to work alongside such a committed staff” Pugh said. “Richmond Lacrosse has given me unforgettable memories on the field, and unbreakable relationships off of the field. Again, I am excited to help this team grow, and help these guys achieve their goals.”

Great mini-documentary on Hong Kong Lacrosse’s road to the FIL World Championship in Israel.

No sunlight, no problem for the Leopards.

I just love that BOSS Myers took time out of his day to scare his players to death with this great Halloween prank.

UMBC didn’t take it easy on Utah in the Utes’ first game versus a Division I team.

The Utah lacrosse team played its first game against Division I talent earlier this Saturday, falling to UMBC 16-5. The game was close as Utah was down just 3-2 after the first quarter and 5-4 at halftime. Eventually, UMBC went on a major run in the second quarter, in which they scored seven goals to take a 12-4 lead. It was definitely disappointing in the second part of the game and that isn’t a true representation of Utah lacrosse. Utah was basically playing the entire game down and couldn’t find momentum throughout to save themselves from losing this game.

“At the end of the day, we learned a ton. It’s a process, it’s growth, we are incrementally learning, reevaluating, watching film, fixing things that we know we can fix and continuing to push with our mentality,” said head coach Brian Holman.

Shout out to the Red Foxes & Eddie Coombs.

What’s Up, PhilaJersey?

Wanna be a billionaire? It doesn’t hurt to go to Penn.

This month, Forbes released its annual look at the richest people across the country. For 2018, the minimum net worth to join the group of 400 was a whopping $2.1 billion, and, apparently, a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania also helps. Penn has proven once again to be the country’s top breeding ground for the rich by beating out the likes of Yale and Stanford.

World/National News

Robo-pups are coming: New realistic-looking AI devices ‘learn’ and grow smarter over time, act as therapeutic companions – and recharge their batteries themselves.

Tail wagging excitedly, little aibo follows its owner with cute, puppy dog eyes. He loves to be patted, has learnt to “high five”, and even knows when you have had a good – or bad – day. This latest incarnation from Sony robotics is not, of course, a real dog, but the most realistic version yet. “Born” with deep learning artificial intelligence (AI), pups in the aibo First Litter Edition can detect and respond to their owners’ facial expressions and voice commands – growing smarter as time goes on. Mike Fasulo, president and COO of Sony Electronics North America, says: “aibo will pick up on your personality. “If you’ve had a hard day at the office, it knows to be docile and not bother you.

Your GIF/Video for October 23, 2018

Sometimes the internet is great.

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