OuttaNowhereWregget--Redux

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

[VAMomGlax2019]

While they are at it lets cut the acting out of the game also. We don’t need another sport like soccer.

[VAMomGlax2019]

While they are at it lets cut the acting out of the game also. We don’t need another sport like soccer.

And parents please stop encouraging the acting at the youth level because your kid can’t handle any kind of contact. It’s truly ruining the game.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

I can understand how players learn to exaggerate contact. If the refs won’t call fouls and dole out yellow cards for illegal stickwork, what else is a player to do? I wrote about this a while back:

I don't want to comment on any teams play, but what I have noticed for years is that some officials allow for rougher play than others. Not going to say it's good or bad, but I tend to favor protecting the athletes from serious injuries. I prefer a game that is called "tight" rather than "loose". A lot of folks would say that too many whistles ruin a game, but I think a player who is injured due to an illegal hit because refs are "letting them play" ruins the game. My two cents for the day.

This brought to mind an incident I witnessed during a Vanderbilt at BC game back in mid February 2020:

I was at the game today... #1 Gabby Fornia for Vandy is 5' 0" tops. (The Vandy website doesn't list player height.) BC's Rietano is listed as 5' 7" on the website. Regardless of what their stats are listed as, Rietano was impressively bigger and taller. I was standing behind the goal when Fornia got the ball just behind goal line extended. Rietano cranked her with a couple of forceful cross checks, complete with what sounded like irritated grunts, pushing Gabby back 3 feet easily with the impact. Ref standing right there watching--didn't bat an eye. When I saw the force Rietano used and the impact it had on Fornia, I said in an indignant voice loud enough for both the players and ref who was nearby to hear, "Cross check! " (It just came out of me. I don't usually raise my voice at games.) I felt bad for Fornia. Given the disparity in size, how was she supposed to defend herself against that?

Here's how close one can stand to the action in the friendly confines of BC's lacrosse field on one end. I was standing near/behind the ACCN sign at the time. Happened right in front of me. From this picture, the positioning of Fornia and Rietano was what is displayed here (even though the BC defender pictured here is #14 Jillian Reilly.) That's almost exactly where they were when the uncarded fouls occurred.



Sometimes players do their own policing if their personality is such. Another game I was standing in that usual spot when the Eagles were hosting Dartmouth in 2019. Apuzzo had the ball behind goal line extended on the other side of the goal. A Green defender was getting too reckless with her stickwork on Sam and she burst out with, "What the F*CK !!" and then immediately afterward, in a gentler apologetic voice, "Sorry."

All to say--I'm in agreement with Tennessee; I would appreciate it if the games were called tighter.

[VAMomGlax2019]

I just can’t buy into the argument on size. This can go both ways. My daughter is 5’9” and far too often singled out by opposing coaches and fans for ticky tack fouls when matched up against smaller and slower players. She’s even been told by coach’s her size will draw unfair attention. Not because she is a dirty player or fouls a lot. But simply because parents/fans think it’s the big kid picking on the little kid syndrome.

My daughter has had several concussions and had her nose broken twice because of smaller kids getting away with the dirty play. Size has nothing to do this who plays dirty. Sadly size, as you point out in your example (protect the little kid) does seem to be factored in to how at least fans want the games called. Again, some of the dirtiest players I’ve seen are the smallest on the field.

Despite my daughters injuries I don’t want to see this become a sport of flopping like soccer. Or refs being influenced by the size of players or by helicopter parents barking at refs because little Susie got bumped. Or having coaches of lesser talented teams teach their kids to act to draw a foul on any contact.

Let the refs call the games. They are good at what they do. They don’t need 100s of sideline quarterbacks trying to call the games for them.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

I just can’t buy into the argument on size. This can go both ways. My daughter is 5’9” and far too often singled out by opposing coaches and fans for ticky tack fouls when matched up against smaller and slower players. She’s even been told by coach’s her size will draw unfair attention. Not because she is a dirty player or fouls a lot. But simply because parents/fans think it’s the big kid picking on the little kid syndrome.

My daughter has had several concussions and had her nose broken twice because of smaller kids getting away with the dirty play. Size has nothing to do this who plays dirty. Sadly size, as you point out in your example (protect the little kid) does seem to be factored in to how at least fans want the games called. Again, some of the dirtiest players I’ve seen are the smallest on the field.

Despite my daughters injuries I don’t want to see this become a sport of flopping like soccer. Or refs being influenced by the size of players or by helicopter parents barking at refs because little Susie got bumped. Or having coaches of lesser talented teams teach their kids to act to draw a foul on any contact.

Let the refs call the games. They are good at what they do. They don’t need 100s of sideline quarterbacks trying to call the games for them.

I hear what you're saying. I can see where your daughter would receive unjust calls due to her size. It's not an easy thing to ref a game, I'm sure. I can assure you I was an observer more prone to see things with BC glasses on when Rietano roughly cross checked Fornia. It may have seemed more dramatic due to the disparity of size but they were still violent cross checks nonetheless. I was standing not ten feet away. I know in the sport of hockey, teammates can more readily dispense frontier justice, if you will. It's not as easy to do in women's lacrosse, what with it being designated a (insert eye roll) non contact sport. No easy solution. But that's why I think the NCAA should be more vigilant to punish dirty players--if not during the game, then after the game upon video review. Sam Swart (5' 5") could easily have been punished for her reckless stickwork after both the BC and Northwestern (NCAA quarters) games, yet received only one yellow card vs NU. Nothing for the repeated whacks she dealt to Jenn Medjid in the clip. Again--no easy solutions. But an area of the game that warrants more scrutiny nonetheless--for the nasty and the flopper both.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

Hard not to notice that not all the best lacrosse players play for Team USA. A couple of head scratchers on the roster to be sure. But for better or worse--this is the current (exceptional) team. The Great One might take a measure of revenge herself against the (partial) team that spoiled BC's back-to-back. I don't know yet if the game will be streamed/televised.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

Can't help but wonder if Doc was among the faces as I looked at this shot of the Greyhounds fans at BC earlier in May.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

Nice story this past season in Central Michigan as the Chippewas won their first ever MAC conference championship by defeating RMU in the final to earn their first ever trip to the NCAA Tournament. Some highlights of the final game included via link below.



https://twitter.com/CMU_Lacrosse/status ... xkUcO6XLsg

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

This one's a beauty. Courtesy of Georgetown's tall tree Jordyn Sabourin in last season's Big East final. The catch, pivot and shoot ain't too shabby either.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

https://gohofstra.com/sports/womens-lac ... ?path=wlax

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

[Kleizaster]

wouldn't wanna try to defend her

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

wouldn't wanna try to defend her

How come?

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

Xavier women’s lacrosse recently posted a few facts about the history of lacrosse in North America. Among them was: “Participants faces, bodies and sticks would all be decorated with various paints.”

Here, three members of the Liberty Flames display their warpaint before going to battle. It’s one of the traditions connecting the ancient (dating back to 1100 A.D.) with the current that I greatly admire.

[Dr. Tact]

Can't help but wonder if Doc was among the faces as I looked at this shot of the Greyhounds fans at BC earlier in May.

I believe he was

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

Can't help but wonder if Doc was among the faces as I looked at this shot of the Greyhounds fans at BC earlier in May.

I believe he was

Haha—I thought the odds might be good on such a wide shot to start.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

At the top of the list is Duke. After all the hullabaloo over Duke's cupcake out of conference opponents last year, and the comparisons to Stony Brook, Florida, JMU and Loyola. And seeing as how it didn't help Duke one whit in either the ACC or NCAA tourneys, I wonder if they'll go the same route again, or if they'll go back to playing Northwestern and other tougher teams in '23.

Next are the Turtles. Will they duck, dodge and hide from North Carolina and Syracuse again.

BC of course. Always interesting to look the schedule over for which games I might attend, although the list gets shorter with the indoor games becoming more and more common during February and March.

Johns Hopkins with new coach McCormack. Will he schedule as tough an OOC as he did with the Golden Tridents.

By contrast, Arizona State, the team he left. Will they schedule as tough now that he's moved on.

It will be interesting to see what kind of slate Clemson and other first year teams choose for themselves in their inaugural seasons in D1.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

There is an aspect of that state of mind that may exist in Syracuse these days. They have had a stretch of bad luck with injuries as is commonly known. They also ended last season on a down note. They have avoided announcing Fall ball dates even though they've now had two scrimmages (that we know of). Coach Treanor retired from Team USA though it was evident from her play in the championship games that she still had a lot of excellent lacrosse left in her. Perhaps the women of Orange are bringing all their focus and attention inward to the team to try to change their fortunes for the coming season. They're going to want to take advantage of Meghan Tyrrell's last year. They have significant players returning from injury, but that always leaves a question--how will they play? Meg Carney was clearly not herself last year. Will she look any different this year? Will the Emma's come back to what they were? The goaltending was a problem all through the season. Not sure about the defense. I rewatched the loss to Northwestern in the NCAA's recently. On second watch it seems the team was just not that good. Initially I thought they quit or didn't show up. They seemed to be putting in the effort but they also looked a bit directionless.

If Syracuse plays to their potential and all their injured players return full strength and full confidence, they will be a difficult team to beat--for everyone. But I'm still skeptical. There's a wildcard aspect to this team where you never know what you're going to get, especially in the postseason. They barely escaped having to go to overtime vs Fairfield in the early rounds in that bizarre let's-swap-the-goalie-for-no-apparent-reason game.

Finally--I hope Maddy (Pippi Longstocking) Baxter has a great year. She's a fun player to watch.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

If Izzy Scane returns to the Northwestern Wildcats with her skill, confidence and boldness intact--she's the favorite to win the Tewaaraton award in a runaway. There's no one in the women's game with her dominance in the offensive zone--and no one who could outshine her at their respective positions. In 2021 she scored an astounding 98 goals in just 16 games. If she has a full healthy season and the Wildcats get back to championship weekend the way they should with her on the roster, she should obliterate Abby Hormes's single season goal scoring record; and perhaps cause the Wildcats to scale the heights and reach the pinnacle one more time.