GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING, College Crosse Nation! Thanks for making us a part of your day! Here’s everything you need to know for September 6, 2018.

College Crosse News

Time for a reup!: UMass Athletics announces two year contract extension for head coach Greg Cannella.

On the heels of winning the Colonial Athletic Association championship title and reaching the NCAA Tournament, University of Massachusetts men’s lacrosse head coach Greg Cannella has been given a two-year contract extension through June 30, 2022 as announced by Director of Athletics Ryan Bamford on Wednesday. “After a championship season for our men’s lacrosse team, it was clear we needed to further our commitment to Greg and his program,” said Bamford. “Aside from our team success, Greg has been an influential leader on and off the field for many alums and current Minutemen and we look forward to that continuing well in to the future.” Cannella led the Minutemen to the 2018 NCAA Tournament after winning the Colonial Athletic Association regular-season and championship tournament titles.

Yesterday the Utes released their 2019 schedule yesterday and it is full of quality teams.

The Utah men’s lacrosse team will open its inaugural season in 2019 hosting Vermont on Friday, Feb. 1. The Utes first schedule features six home games and five opponents that played in last year’s NCAA Tournament. Highlighting the schedule are contests at perineal lacrosse powers Duke (March 12) and Virginia (March 31). The Blue Devils finished second in the NCAA last year and have won three NCAA titles over the past 10 years. Virginia (alma mater of Utah assistant coach Adam Ghitelman) ranked 11th in last year’s final coaches poll and has won five NCAA titles. The Utes play a two-game swing with the other men’s lacrosse teams west of the Mississippi, at Denver on Feb. 23 and Air Force on Feb. 24. Denver, the 2015 NCAA Championships, finished fourth in last year’s coaches poll while Air Force has made three NCAA appearances over the last five years.

I think Utah has a good shot to win at least five games this year. Marquette (7 wins) & Richmond (8 wins) did remarkably well in their first season back in 2013 and I believe Utah has a chance to replicate that success. While the number of D I schools has grown over the last two decades, it is still relatively stagnant; meanwhile the population of high school kids playing lacrosse has exploded. Utah is well positioned to benefit from the larger pool of available players and I think they should be pretty competitive this season.

2018 Men’s Lacrosse Year in Review: #9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Season Summary: It was another good year for Notre Dame, with the highlight being the Irish offense coming out in time for the ACC Tournament and winning their second ACC title in program history. But at times, the Fighting Irish didn’t look very convincing.

Notre Dame was down 6-4 to Detroit Mercy in the third quarter of their season opener. But they woke up thanks to a 6-0 run along with five goals in the game from Bryan Costabile. The following week against Richmond after shutting out the Spiders in the first half, Notre Dame gave up six goals in the third quarter and eventually saw themselves tied at seven in the final frame. But yet again, the Irish went on a run of their own to pull away and take home a win. But even thought it was a loss, Notre Dame was neck-and-neck with Maryland in a 12-10 defeat that saw Ryder Garnsey score four goals and an assist.

Lord Desko welcomed the newest class of Syracuse players.

The Syracuse lacrosse team welcomes its latest groups of recruits as it approaches the start of the 2018 fall season next week. Fifteen newcomers will combine with a large collection of returners to comprise SU’s 2019 roster. Here’s a look at the incoming class of Orange recruits, with bios provided by the Syracuse sports information department:

Basile Aburn, Attack (Towson, Md./Boy’s Latin)

Was the Boys Latin Canuck award winner...played club lacrosse for Crabs Lacrosse...Sister Ellie plays lacrosse for Washington and Lee and Barney played lacrosse for the University of North Carolina.

What do D I lacrosse players eat?

Get that weight up, fam.

US Lacrosse announced new boys’ youth rule changes.

US Lacrosse has announced the 2019 rule changes and points of emphasis for youth boys’ lacrosse. The rules are to be used for all levels of play 14U and younger. “The US Lacrosse Men’s Game Rules Committee continues to strive for youth lacrosse rules that promote player safety, sportsmanship and allow players to learn the game in an environment suitable for younger players,” said David Seidman, chairman of the committee. “We need local leagues and tournaments to see the value in teaching the game the right way. The changes made this year were improvements to the overall rule set and to youth lacrosse.”

Michigan added Chris Harren as an assistant coach.

University of Michigan head men’s lacrosse coach Kevin Conry appointed Chris Harren as volunteer assistant coach, the program announced Wednesday (Sept. 5). Harren, who played collegiality at Marist, most recently served as a senior manager at 3d Lacrosse. “We are excited to welcome Chris to our staff, as he has specialties in multiple aspects of the game,” said Conry of the appointment. “We look forward to having him aboard, and having him complement our existing staff.” During his time at 3d, Harren served as a senior manager in Denver, Colorado, and his hometown of Houston, Texas. He also spent time as a head coach for Mountain Vista High School (Highlands Ranch, Colorado) and Memorial High School (Houston).

Stand up, NY!! The Empire State games are back!

Lacrosse goalies and concussions: A plea to end the madness.

First, a fact – lacrosse goalies wear the exact same helmets as field players and yet we’re 99% more likely to get tagged in the dome than our field counterparts. In my post 6 Things I Wish Existed For Every Lacrosse Goalie, a lacrosse goalie helmet is high on the list. When you know you’re going to be hit in the helmet with a 90-100mph rubber ball, your gear should protect you. There’s no way a goalie should get a concussion from a shot to the helmet. Helmet manufacturers will tell you that no lacrosse helmet can fully prevent concussions. While that’s probably true, I will argue that the helmet you choose to wear does impact your probability of being concussed. As you’ll in the next section, science actually proved helmets protect differently.

What’s Up, PhilaJersey?

ANOTHER ONE: “Philly Special” Eagles Mural Is Going Up in South Philly.

With the Eagles prepping for their home opener on Thursday, Philly is excited. Really excited. And one guy is so excited that he commissioned a Philly Special mural on his South Philly home. For those of you who somehow missed the Super Bowl earlier this year, the Philly Special is the play-gone-viral pulled off by Nick Foles and the Eagles in the Super Bowl. We first heard about this Philly Special mural on Wednesday morning and promptly set out to South Philly to learn more.

World/National News

Five more years? Brady wants to play for another half decade.

Tom Brady is making one thing clear as he prepares for his 19th NFL season: He doesn’t plan to stop playing football anytime soon.

In the epilogue of his seven-part Facebook Watch documentary series “Tom Vs. Time” released on Wednesday, the 41-year-old Patriots quarterback reiterated his desire to play at least five more years.

“I’d love to play 41, 42, 43, 44, 45,” Brady said. “It’ll be a challenge for me. I don’t think it’s going to be easy. It’s going to be hard to do. I think it’s going to be very hard to do. But I think I can do it. And once you stop, you’re done. And I think I’m not ready to say that I’m done, because I don’t feel like I am. I still feel like there’s things to accomplish. ... It was really hard to get to this point. Why not finish it off?”

Your GIF/Video for September 6, 2018

That goes there, this goes there, this over here ... and ... voila!

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