Summer Lax News and Notes

[burnspbesq]

Amazing game; I don’t think knowing the outcome will diminish your enjoyment.

The end of the game was unfortunate. Officiating and game administration in international play aren’t up to NCAA/MLL standards, but the only way they can catch up is to learn by doing, and sometimes that means learning from mistakes.

The Duke guys all excelled, but Will Haus really stood out for me. He was the most physical of the US SSDMs, and that really paid off against the Canadian and Iroquois midfields. The US d-mids in general had an extraordinary tournament, culminating in Michael Ehrhardt being named MVP.

Jordan Wolf is back at Duke, getting his MBA at Fuqua. One imagines he will have access to the facilities and be around the team on a semi-regular basis. What an opportunity for Joe Robertson and Joey Manown to learn from one of the best to ever play the position.

[JohnJ]

My sincerest apologies. I had no idea it was being shown on tape delay. I only carry cable to watch Duke basketball games I can't attend.

Understood and forgiven.

[chrishoke]

I have to say that I hate it for Team Canada. That is no way to lose a championship. The offsides call that allowed us to tie the game was worse than the clock screw up.

[burnspbesq]

I have to say that I hate it for Team Canada. That is no way to lose a championship. The offsides call that allowed us to tie the game was worse than the clock screw up.

True, but the US should have been man-up for the last five seconds. Jordan nearly got decapitated. Bad calls have a tendency to even up over the long run.

One of the takeaways from that tournament is that Canada can now play defense. Hossack and Rees were brilliant in the final; Jordan got bageled and Pannell did nothing for 79:59. The young SSDMs Harris and Bell, who play college ball in Canada, would start for any team in D1. They’ll be even better in four years.

[burnspbesq]

The NCAA lacrosse rules committee meets next week, and topic one is almost certain to be a shot clock.

There is a lot of support for it, among coaches and fans who don’t like the subjectivity and inconsistent administration of the current rule. I get that, but I also know that I find MLL games to be kinda one-dimensional.

One interesting viewpoint came in an open letter from Coach Danowski to the coaching community.

https://www.insidelacrosse.com/artic...-meeting/52878

[chrishoke]

The NCAA lacrosse rules committee meets next week, and topic one is almost certain to be a shot clock.

There is a lot of support for it, among coaches and fans who don’t like the subjectivity and inconsistent administration of the current rule. I get that, but I also know that I find MLL games to be kinda one-dimensional.

One interesting viewpoint came in an open letter from Coach Danowski to the coaching community.

https://www.insidelacrosse.com/artic...-meeting/52878

Excellent thoughtful letter. Just what I would expect from our coach. Thanks for sharing that.

[Indoor66]

It seems to me that most major rules changes in most sports do more harm than good. Video replays, for me, are a prime example. They rarely cause a change in the ruling and waste a great deal of time. Same for clock issues over tenths of a second. Much ado about nothing.

Seems to me that college lacrosse has it right as they play it now.

[WiJoe]

It seems to me that most major rules changes in most sports do more harm than good. Video replays, for me, are a prime example. They rarely cause a change in the ruling and waste a great deal of time. Same for clock issues over tenths of a second. Much ado about nothing.

Seems to me that college lacrosse has it right as they play it now.

Couldn't agree more.

[burnspbesq]

MLL semis are set, and plenty of Duke alums will be in action.

New York (Brendan Fowler, Thomas Zenker) at Dallas (Ned Crotty, Zack Greer, Mike Manley, Jordan Wolf)
Denver at Chesapeake (C.J. Costabile, Matt Danowski, Myles Jones)

[burnspbesq]

Good summary of the rules committee’s decisions here.

https://www.collegecrosse.com/2018/8...nse-transition

I think that except for shrinking the substitution box, they botched it.

Having separate shot clock and clearing clock isn’t inherently awful, but 20 seconds to clear gives teams that can ride a huge advantage, and as near as I can tell there is no provision for the clearing clock being visible. I would have been happier with the women’s 90-second clock.

The dive rule is going to prove impossible to administer. Is diving on a tangent to the crease from GLE a legal dive or a one-minute penalty? Hell if I know. And it’s still going to be nearly impossible to make the push vs. dive call on dodges along GLE.

[burnspbesq]

A couple of final notes as we move from summer to fall.

D1 defensive coordinators breathed a sigh of relief earlier this week when it became known that Austin Staats (younger brother of former Cuse player Randy) declared for the NLL draft. The 20-year-old made the all-tournament team at the world championships, and has dominated at the juco field and Junior A box levels.

The first 2019 schedule reveal (Princeton) is set for today. The Tigers have a chance to be really good next year; their attack unit, featuring national assists-per-game leader Michael Sowers and Phil Robertson (brother of Joe), who shot 63 percent in 2018, is arguably the best in the country.

Happy fall, y’all.