GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING, College Crosse Nation! Thanks for making us a part of your day! Here’s everything you need to know for January 25, 2019.

College Crosse News

Ryan, Chris, & Jake dropped Part I of our College Crossecast Conference Previews yesterday.

It’s almost time to set the opening faceoff to the 2019 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse season, and we here at College Crosse are here to help with a deep dive into each conference with a preview episode of College Crossecast.

Instead of lumping all our season previews together, we’re giving you an individualized episode for each conference to keep things nice and tidy. It also means that you don’t have to sit through an hour and a half of other teams before getting to the conference race that matters to you.

In our first batch of episodes, I’m joined by Chris and Jake as we tackle the independents, MAAC, NEC, and SoCon.

I see you, Utah: The Utes are ready to make history.

Brian Holman was a national championship winning assistant lacrosse coach at North Carolina. But in 2016, when the opportunity arose to take the Utes lacrosse program from a club team to a Division One team, he could not pass it up. “It’s a once in a lifetime type of thing,” Holman said. “Literally from the first day we got here, it’s been like that. The people have been great, the community has been great, the school has been awesome.” The Utes will make history on February 1st when they play their first game as a Division One team at home against Vermont.

Syracuse women’s lacrosse adds Madelaine Hertwick to the squad.

A five-year-old will sign her Letter of Intent to play lacrosse at Syracuse University on Friday. Madelaine Hertwick from Liverpool comes to SU from Team Impact, a Boston based non-profit that connects children facing serious and chronic illnesses with local college athletic teams, forming life-long bonds and life-changing outcomes. Madelaine was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy in 2016.

Come out and support the Golden Domers this weekend.

Stanford women’s lacrosse to host Team USA this weekend.

The Stanford women’s lacrosse team will host the U.S. women’s national team from Friday to Sunday for the U.S. Spring Lacrosse Premiere, facing off against the U.S. women on Saturday at 5 p.m. The event will feature four other teams besides the Cardinal and U.S. team, including the English national team, the Japanese developmental team, Fresno State and the U.S. U19 women.

The Cardinal return as reigning Pac-12 champions and are currently the highest ranked West Coast team at No. 15 according to the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Women’s Preseason Top 20. The event and games against the U.S. national team will serve as a useful tuneup for Stanford as the team prepares to defend its conference title and do battle against legions of East Coast powerhouses whose stranglehold on the world of lacrosse has gone on for far too long.

Anaheim Ducks star Brandon Montour shows off his lacrosse skills on Ducks Weekly.

Syracuse’s Danny Varello is ready to step it up this year.

Danny Varello doesn’t need to look at the statistics to realize that last season at the ‘X’ was a washout for the Syracuse lacrosse team.

The junior faceoff specialist felt it game after game, and it fed a disappointment that carried into the summer. So as the Orange continues preparation for its 2019 season, there’s only one relevant question in that regard:

Since Varello is so acutely aware of the problem, what’s he going to do about it?

Delaware is about to drop something hot. I can feel it.

Congrats to BOSS Toomey!!

What’s Up, PhilaJersey?

The Washington Post did an article on Gritty.

What can we tell you about Gritty, in real life? Well, okay. He’s a pretty tall guy. Moves faster than you’d think, too. His eyes rattle when he bops his head. His hands have this playful squeak, as does his belly button, which he will flash with a flip of his jersey. He wears hockey pants and a hockey helmet and his very best friend is a hockey man named Claude, who is the captain of the Philadelphia Flyers. He is loved here in Philadelphia, and it is just the beginning.

World/National News

Oh my: Billionaire purchases most expensive home in America for nearly $250M.

Billionaire Ken Griffin, who is becoming almost as known for his prodigious purchases as he is for his investment acumen, has closed on a New York penthouse for roughly $238 million. The deal sets a record for the highest-priced home ever sold in the U.S.

The purchase is the latest in a string of record-breaking acquisitions by the Citadel hedge fund founder. Earlier this year, Mr. Griffin bought several floors of a Chicago condominium for $58.75 million, setting a record for the most expensive home ever bought in that city. He snapped up a penthouse in Miami Beach’s Faena House in 2015 for $60 million, setting the record for a Miami condo. Since 2012, Mr. Griffin has spent close to $250 million assembling land to build a mansion in Palm Beach, Fla., according to public records. And earlier this month, he acquired a London home for about $122 million in one of the priciest deals ever done in that city, according to people familiar with that deal.

Your GIF/Video for January 25, 2019

What sorcery is this?!?

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