GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING, College Crosse Nation! Thanks for making us a part of your day! Here’s everything you need to know for November 19, 2018.

College Crosse News

Chris broke down Army’s 2019 schedule.

The Army West Point Black Knights are the 24th team in our 2019 schedule preview series and the second team from the Patriot League. The Black Knights finished 5-8 in 2018 and 2-6 in Patriot League play. Army failed to qualify for the Patriot League Tournament for the first time since its inception in 2005.

Circle These Dates

2/9 (at UMass): Take a look at the score from last year’s meeting. Army won 18-6. At the end of the year, the Black Knights missed out on the Patriot League Tournament, while the Minutemen won the CAA title but lost to Yale in the NCAA Tournament. And that’s why they play more than 10 games in a regular season.

2/16 (at Rutgers): Again, Army beat Rutgers in last year’s matchup by two goals. Many thought the Black Knights were a top 10 team. But they began to slide down for the remainder of the year. Rutgers should still be a good team in 2019 with Adam Charalambides hopefully back.

2/23 (at Syracuse): When I was with Syracuse, the coaches have always said preparing for Army was the hardest team to get ready for. No wonder why these games have been very competitive and close for the past few years. And it should be the same once again, even with the Orange returning many of their key contributors from a year ago.

Is 2019 the year for Hofstra?

The Hofstra Pride are the 23rd team in our 2019 schedule preview series and the fourth team from the CAA. The Pride finished 6-8 in 2018 and 2-3 in CAA play. Hofstra lost to eventual conference champion UMass in the CAA semifinals.

Circle These Dates

2/23 (at Villanova): What a low-scoring game last year’s meeting was. Nine total goals were scored, with seven coming from Villanova. I’d expect this year’s meeting have at least more than 10 goals between the two teams, especially with Jack Concannon not with the Pride anymore.

3/2 (vs. Georgetown): This was going to be a great matchup last March. But due to snow, the Hoyas were stuck traveling to Hempstead and the game was called. At the time, Georgetown was undefeated. Maybe the Hoyas start undefeated again with guys like Jake Carraway and Daniel Bucaro back.

3/9 (vs. Ohio State): The Pride started last year in Columbus with a two-goal loss indoors. With the weather hopefully a little better than it would be in February, this could be an under-the-radar nonconference game to watch.

Nothing like a rowdy lift session to get the blood pumping.

#GrowTheGame: Sudbury boy collects lacrosse equipment for needy kids.

After just two weeks, Evan Rich’s bin at The Fieldhouse is already overflowing with lacrosse sticks, elbow pads, and goggles.

“We’ll need to get another one soon,” said mom Suzy Rich.

An avid lacrosse fan, 12-year-old Evan has been collecting new and used equipment for the sport since the first of this month and will continue to do so through Dec. 14. All equipment will be donated to Harlem Lacrosse-Boston, a nonprofit organization that gives needy kids from Boston the opportunity to learn how to play lacrosse.

Michigan women’s lacrosse senior goalie Mira Shane reflects to her younger self about her transition to college, athletics, academics and social life during her freshman year..

NLL labor dispute puts San Diego Seals’ debut on hold.

San Diego will have to wait a little longer for professional lacrosse. The National Lacrosse League on Thursday canceled the first two weeks of the 2018-19 season due to an ongoing labor dispute with its players’ union, wiping out the San Diego Seals’ first game in franchise history.

San Diego was awarded an expansion team in in August 2017 and the Seals were preparing for the Dec. 8 opener against Buffalo at Valley View Casino Center. The next home game — should the labor dispute be resolved in a timely manner — is scheduled for Jan. 12 against Rochester.

“It’s disappointing, first and foremost, for our season ticket members, fans, corporate sponsors and community partners who have been eagerly awaiting opening night for more than a year — they deserve better,” Seals President Steve Govett said in a statement.

Early favorite for best “GET OFF ME!!” celebration of 2019.

Sports Illustrated did an article on Paul Rabil and the PLL.

Lacrosse players talk about Paul Rabil in the same way that basketball players speak of LeBron James: as a mold-breaker, one whose unprecedented athletic gifts promise new levels of success and stardom. “He’s bigger, faster, stronger,” says Kyle Harrison, Rabil’s former teammate at Johns Hopkins and himself one of the game’s greatest players. “Smarter. More efficient. Someone at his size within our sport, it was the first time it had all come together.”

The 6’4”, 220-pound Rabil won two national championships at Hopkins, in 2005 and ‘07, and was the No. 1 pick in the ‘08 Major League Lacrosse draft. And he became the LeBron of MLL: In 2013, Bloomberg.com touted him as LACROSSE’S MILLION DOLLAR MAN. (Of course, the LeBron of Lax was earning as much, in total, as the LeBron of Hoops takes in on and off the court every four days or so.)

Jules Heningburg with a great video on the similarities between basketball & lacrosse.

Our boy Dan has some suggestions for the PLL.

When you think about it, it’s pretty crazy how hyped people are for the PLL when we still know so little about it. We know the players committed to playing, we know it’ll be on the NBC suite of networks, and we know the headquarters is in Los Angeles. And of course the touring model. There’s still so much to be revealed. Just thinking about it got me thinking about my wish list for a pro lacrosse league.

Keep it simple - Okay, if you want to adapt, MINIMAL adaptation of college rules for a pro game. Personally I still see it as a major problem that lacrosse is played by different rules at the high school, college, and pro level. And it’s not like basketball, where the three point line and shot clock just move a bit. Shot clock vs no clock, clearing rules, two point lines, etc etc. It’s too varied. More than that, the rules that the MLL had its inception all just felt like gimmicks. A 45 second shot clock, a three long stick limit, and a two point line were things that no one was asking for. They even eliminated the restraining box because….they eliminated the restraining box. The two point line has survived this long, although obviously the long stick cap was removed and shot clock became 60 seconds. But let’s not reinvent the wheel here. The on field product in pro lacrosse is so good because the GUYS PLAYING IT ARE REALLY GOOD PLAYERS. They don’t need special rules in place to make sure goals get scored. They can handle that on their own. A team not hitting 25 goals doesn’t mean the game was slow and needs to be sped up. So PLL, keep it simple. Let’s use that 80 second shot clock that starts on possession. Don’t get wacky with two point lines and removed restraining boxes. Let the players create the excitement, not the rules. This is a chance to establish a bit of uniformity between levels in lacrosse, so lets do it.

Shout out to Johns Hopkins women’s lacrosse assistant coach, Steele Stanwick.

What’s Up, PhilaJersey?

The Eagles lost 48-7 to New Orleans yesterday.

On Tuesday, Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Mike Groh started his media conference by saying “a lot of energy and thought” was being dedicated to the offense’s slow starts. The Eagles entered Sunday having scored 21 first-quarter points on the season -- a league low. Fixing that inefficiency was a primary focus this week, and a must to keep up with the high-powered New Orleans Saints.

The effort produced zero results. The Eagles were blanked in the opening quarter for the eighth time in 10 games and found minimal success the rest of the way, allowing Drew Brees and the Saints to speed ahead en route to an easy 48-7 win, dropping the defending champs to 4-6 in the process. The 41-point loss is the largest by a defending Super Bowl champion, according to ESPN Stats & Information, and the Eagles’ worst since 2005.

World/National News

Mayor Mike Bloomberg to give $1.8 billion to Johns Hopkins to make it a permanently need-blind institution.

Former New York City Mayor and possible 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg is giving $1.8 billion to Johns Hopkins University. The gift is believed to be the largest ever to an academic institution.

The money is earmarked for scholarships and grants for undergraduate students from low and middle-income families, Mr. Bloomberg said through a press release. The gift will enable Johns Hopkins to become one of just a handful of need-blind schools—meaning students will be considered for admission regardless of their ability to pay. Currently, 44% of Johns Hopkins students graduate with some form of debt averaging $24,000.

Mr. Bloomberg, 76 years old, said he is concerned that prestigious schools that offer elite education are too often reserved for students from wealthy families. At the nation’s most prestigious and well-resourced institutions, more students come from families in the top 1% of the income distribution than the bottom half, according to Harvard economist Raj Chetty.

Your GIF/Video for November 19, 2018

The new trailer for Dumbo is out.

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