Lacrosse in the Olympics?

No probably not. At least anytime soon. The rules for a Men’s sport is it most be played in 75 countries on four continents… I know Lacrosse is growing, but not that fast.

Lacrosse was a metal sport over 100 years ago, in 1904 and 1908. It also was a demonstration sport in 1928 and 1932 in Los Angeles.

Lacrosse in the London Olympics?

That being said, Lacrosse’s success is not dependant on the Olympics. Look at Soccer, which although it is played in the Olympics, the real showcase for the sport is the World Cup and the European Championships.

Maybe in a few years, we won’t need the Olympics but it will need us. We will see…

Greer to Bryant… SCAD Connection?

Zack Greer, formerly of Duke University, will play lax next year at Bryant University, according to ESPN.com. Greer will follow former coach Mike Pressler to Bryant. Coach Pressler of course was the coach at Duke during the whole stripper rape allegations fiasco.

Greer is the NCAA all-time goals leader and a three time All-American.

But here is what makes this even more cool, for me at least… former Savannah College of Art and Design lacrosse player Erik Elmquist will

also be playing at Bryant. Elmquist was a stud for SCAD last year, winning 80% of his faceoffs and scoring 12 goals while playing long stick middie. He was also named to the All-Southeastern Lacrosse Conference Division II team, MCLA’s All-America academic team and MCLA’s All-America Division II team and awarded the Tom Lewis Award which goes to the Specialty Player of the Year in the SELC.

I don’t know what Coach Pressler is expecting out of “Elmo”, but I do know the kid can play.

So there you have it. I played with some guys, who played with a guy, who will play under Coach Pressler and with Zack Greer. That makes me practically DI material myself right?

Lacrosse being played here?

The Shoe

That’s right folks an Ohio St. vs. Notre Dame showdown in “The Shoe”, and it’s not football being played. The two school’s lacrosse teams will face off in Ohio Stadium (seats 100,000+ fans) on April 25, 2009. The game will be played as part of a double header, with the OSU football team playing it’s annual spring football game afterwards. Last year against Denver the game drew 29,601 fans.

I predict this upcoming game against the Fightin’ Irish should draw at least 35,000 if not 40,000 fans. I know if I still lived in the mid-west I would try and make it.

With the boosters and sports crazy alumni at OSU
I hope the program only gets better, it would be great for the sport! (Look at what the girls team at Northwestern has done for the growth of the girls game for example)

Move over Wakefield… Charlie Zink is here!

SCAD's own Charlie Zink

While listening to my ESPN fantasy baseball podcast while catching a few ZZZ’s between shifts at work, I couldn’t help but recognize a familiar name, Boston Red Sox Kunckleballer Charlie Zink.

Who is Charlie Zink you may ask?  And I thought this was a lacrosse blog?

Well Charlie Zink is a Savannah College of Art & Design Alum, which you may or may not know the author of this blog is as well.  And despite the at times testy rivalry at SCAD between it’s baseball players and lacrosse players, I still love baseball, and it is still pretty cool when a guy from your college plays pro ball (no matter the sport!)

So check out Charlie Zink.  The knuckleballer who is replacing one of the all-time great knickleballers Tim Wakefield.  Somewhere out there Jim Bouton is smiling!

Random Cubs Post

TheRiot turning two!

As some of you may or may not know I am an avid Chicago Cubs fan… here is a random link to a Q&A with Cubs shortstop Ryan Theriot. Go to the bottom and the last question and you will see my creepy cat question. You see, me and The Riot are practically boys!

State of the Game

China Lacrosse Tournament Summer 2006

Lacrosse is ever growing. It is the fastest growing sport in the United States. It is growing world wide with National teams in Australia, England, Japan and of course, Canada.

I personally have played the game in Beijing, China with some college teammates and ex-pats. The Chinese team even though equipped with bucket helmets and sub par equipment really grasped the game, and in the next ten years or so could compete on an International level. The biggest battle the Chinese face is like any start-up high school or college program here in the states, financial support,
time and dedication by players and coaches, etc.

Although the game is growing at a rapid pace here in the states there are some roadblocks that will stall the growth of the game. The east coast bias of the sport needs to be the first to go. Everyone knows the best Lacrosse athletes mostly come out of states like Maryland, New York, etc.

But let’s not fail to realize the contributions that other states have made at the college and professional level. Steven Brooks of Syracuse for example. I have played against Brooks in some indoor games this past winter in Chicago, and like most people know the guy is SICK! And he is from the North Shore of Chicago. The guy went onto become a First Team All-American and now plays professionally for the Chicago Machine .

The more the game grows the more players like Brooks become the rule, not the exception. The sooner we reward high school players from other parts of the country with the opportunity to take their game to the
next level the better it will be for the game as a whole.

That’s all for now… don’t want to vent all my opinions on my
first blog. Thanks for reading!

Hello world!

Welcome all to The Lax Word, the last word on all things Lacrosse. In this blog we will discuss Professional, College (DI,II,III and MCLA) and High School Lacrosse. Feel free to email us or leave a comment on anything Lacrosse! Thanks!