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

College Crosse News

The 2019 Women’s College Crosse Matrix is LIVE!

With fall ball now in full swing, college lacrosse teams are beginning to get themselves ready for the 2019 spring season. From now until the start of spring practices in January, schools will be announcing their incoming freshmen and transfers, partake in fall ball practices and scrimmages, and release their spring schedules to the public. This page will keep you updated with roster and schedule releases for the NCAA Women’s Division I side. We hope to maybe include Divisions II and III later in the fall. So with our summer Year in Review series over for the NCAA Men’s Division I teams, it’s time to start getting ready for the upcoming season on the men’s and women’s sides. We’ve done a men’s lacrosse preseason matrix and we’re still working on that as we speak!

Football participation numbers are down in Minnesota, while lacrosse numbers are still going up.

It’s September, and the kids are back in school. For high school athletes on their schools’ fall sports team rosters, it’s also back to practice. More than 240,000 Minnesota high school students participated in sports last year — a record, according to data from the National Federation of State High School Associations’ annual participation survey, and Minnesota punched above its weight — ranking 10th among states (it’s the 22nd biggest state by population) for high school sports participation in the U.S. But while more kids are playing sports in Minnesota, not all sports are seeing a bump in popularity. Here’s a look at what sports are gaining, what sports are losing and whether Minnesota is really the state of hockey.

Track, lacrosse and others see steady gains for girls and boys

If football is the biggest loser of high school student players, track and field is the biggest gainer, adding nearly 6,000 students between 2002 and 2017. Lacrosse, likewise, added a lot of players (girls’ lacrosse data are missing for 2003 and boys’ lacrosse data are not available before 2006), as did cross country and soccer.

Congrats to coach Hutchinson!

University of Notre Dame Baumer Family Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach Kevin Corrigan recently announced the hiring of Neil Hutchinson as an assistant coach. Hutchinson joins the Irish from UMBC.

“I am extremely excited and honored to join the coaching staff here at the University of Notre Dame,” said Hutchinson. “Thank you to Jack Swarbrick, John Heisler, Coach Corrigan, Coach Byrne and Rob Simpson and the entire administration for the opportunity to join the men’s lacrosse program. I am excited to work with such special student-athletes and help this program accomplish its goals.”

“Neil is a bright, enthusiastic, hard-working coach with a passion for working with young people,” said Corrigan. “He is just a great fit for our program. We are excited to have Neil on board.” Neil Hutchinson’s came to Notre Dame from UMBC, where he served as an assistant coach for the Retrievers for two seasons. Prior to his time at UMBC, Hutchinson was the volunteer assistant coach at his alma mater, Towson University.

Penn State’s Panzer Stadium is ready for visitors after its nearly $4M renovations.

After renovations to the Penn State Lacrosse Facility wrapped up this summer, Panzer Stadium will be dedicated and host one of its first events during the men’s lacrosse team’s alumni weekend. The venue will be unveiled to fans at the alumni game at 7 p.m. on Friday, September 21. It was transformed thanks to a $3.55 million donation from Ken Panzer, a 1982 graduate and former co-captain of the team, and his business partner, Jordan Kaplan.

Hit those books, fam!

The late great George Young didn’t think much of that “ex-lacrosse player” Bill Belichick when BB was on the Giants.

In a new biography of Belichick, ESPN’s Ian O’Connor describes not only how Young felt Handley’s intellect was superior to Belichick’s, but that Young had distaste for Belichick’s upbringing as a lacrosse player and his less-than-natty attire. O’Connor details a meeting in the late ‘80s in a conference room at the Giants’ headquarters, where he told his staff Belichick would never lead the Giants on his watch. “I was there when he said it,” Chris Mara, longtime personnel man and John’s brother, recalled in “Belichick.” “He said, ‘He’ll never become the Giants’ head coach. … George, like others, said, ‘This is an ex-lacrosse player. He’s a disheveled-looking mess most of the time.’ George was big on the other stuff as far as appearance, which is why he was so high on Ray Perkins.” Young grew up in Baltimore’s Tenth Ward and felt lacrosse was a suburban sport for kids who could afford a stick. He also thought that Belichick would struggle with the media, according to O’Connor’s book.

Leave it all out on the field.

Sacred Heart is ready for some action!

What’s Up, PhilaJersey?

Need a small presecco van for your wedding? I got you, fam!

If you’re planning a wedding and have been on Pinterest or Instagram at all in the past year, chances are highly unlikely that you’ve missed the prosecco van. It’s an adorable vintage Italian vehicle that will drive right up to your wedding and dispense bubbly from taps on the side. Well, it’ll do all of those things if you live in the UK, where the London-based company Bubble Bros was the first to introduce the idea. Womp womp. Flash forward to this weekend, though, when a delightfully similar-looking vehicle popped up on the Instagram Stories of Philly-area event planner Shannon Wellington as she gave us a behind-the-scenes peek at a Springfield Country Club wedding. We couldn’t believe our prosecco-loving eyes! Could it be? Our very own, East Coast-accessible, prosecco-dispensing vintage Piaggio Ape?

World/National News

The robots are coming for your pets.

I’ve been giving a robot belly rubs. I’ve scolded it for being a bad, bad boy. I’ve grinned when it greets me at the door. What’s this feeling? Oh, yes, puppy love. And I felt it for Aibo, a new “autonomous companion” dog made by Sony. Does that make me a sad sack? A dystopian character from “Black Mirror”? It’s open to debate. But this much is clear: The era of the affectionate robots is dawning, and Aibo offers early evidence we’re going to love them. Aibo (pronounced “eye-bo”) is a reboot of the robot dog Sony first introduced in 1999 and laid to rest in 2006 in a tragic round of corporate cost-cutting. This new litter goes on sale in the United States this week with much more lifelike movement, artificial intelligence and a cellular connection for a gobsmacking $2,900 each. If you’re looking for justification to spend that much on a toy, the American Kennel Club says the average lifetime cost of a dog is $23,410. Also: Robot dogs don’t poop.

Your GIF/Video for September 19, 2018

When you open the fridge and there’s one slice left.

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