What a final! So, after all the complaining I always do before the playoffs about the monopoly on the title by a few schools, I am always so impressed by how these teams pull it off year in and year out that I forget to complain. This year, either the Syracuse kids pulled off the win of the young century or the lacrosse gods were just playing with our heads. I mean, this comeback was not just unlikely -- it was unnatural. Cornell had just played perfect defense for 2.9 games against the best teams in the nation. They held Princeton to four goals, Virginia to six goals and then Syracuse to seven goals before it all fell apart. Or did it? Is there a better defensive feat than deflecting a critical pass to an open attacker with five seconds left in a national championship game?

The Big Red had the game won with 27 seconds left and possession of the ball, but after a behind-the-back desperation pass by Stephen Keogh on a ground ball followed by a backhanded, tipped pass from a double-covered Matt Abbott -- which is now called the "Immaculate Deflection" -- was caught by a falling Kenny Nims who landed at his man’s ankles while shooting and scoring the equalizer with 4.5 seconds left. It was truly a miracle in Foxborough.

While the faithful never faltered, everyone I was with knew it was over the minute it went to overtime. We kept it to ourselves because Richie Moran, the legendary coach of those Cornell champions in the 1970s, sat only a few seats away and we knew how much he wanted it. He deserved it, really, as did Jeff Tambroni, Max Seibald, John Glynn and Jake Myers, but like so many others in the short history of the college game, it was yanked from their grasp at the last moment by those lax gods I mentioned. It was hard to see Richie after the Jamieson goal. As the Orange stormed the field, I turned away from his direction. I did not want to invade his very public private moment of despair. He wanted it so bad for all those guys. They’re still his guys, decades after his retirement from coaching. Roy Simmons, the legendary retired coach of the victorious Syracuse team, referred to the players as “his boys” in a discussion with us at the Syracuse tailgate after the game. He was as happy as Richie was sad, I imagine.

The game of lacrosse is not without its growing pains from the rapid popularity, geographic growth and advancement into the mainstream. Each year more and more news organizations join the throng covering the final four weekend. And each year, members of the media with no real lacrosse knowledge increase in numbers. Ever since I’ve covered the NCAA tournament, the members of the media have selected the tournament MVP and the All-Tournament team. There have always been disagreements in the process, but over the last five or six years only the flashy make the cut, while the subtle goes unappreciated in the voting. One defenseman makes this year’s team, after each team held an explosive offense to small numbers and then played a defensive classic against each other.

The blaring absence of Syracuse defensman Sid Smith is stunning. He held Duke’s Ned Crotty, who led the nation with 76 points, to two assists and then Sunday held Cornell’s Ryan Hurley to one goal and two assists while lending a big hand in keeping Max Seibald to only two goals. He made the check that stole the initial and crucial overtime possession from Cornell, which led to Cody Jamieson’s winning goal. If you watch that last Cornell possession, Smith just stalks Hurley with his feet, playing perfect position and only laying one check to take the ball. Then he gobbled the ground ball and started the immediate clear. That’s the type of play that is totally missed by the “new media”. All the guys on the list below are quite deserving, though. I wouldn’t take it away from anyone, but Smith was very possibly the tournament MVP and did not even make the team.

Here’s this year’s All-Tournament team:

Matt Abbott, Syracuse, Senior, Midfield
John Glynn, Cornell, Senior, Midfield
Ryan Hurley, Cornell, Junior, Attack
Cody Jamieson, Syracuse, Junior, Attack
Matt Moyer, Cornell, Senior, Defense
Kenny Nims, Syracuse, Senior, Attack
Rob Pannell, Cornell, Freshman, Attack
Pat Perritt, Syracuse, Senior, Midfield
Max Seibald, Cornell, Senior, Midfield
Joel White, Syracuse, Sophomore, Longstick Midfield

Speaking of Jamieson and Smith, in the blog I recently wrote, noting the geographical origins of the NCAA Division I field of players, I noted that there were only two Native Americans in the whole group and implored coaches to do more to recruit the descendants of the game’s fathers. Well, those same two Native Americans made the two most critical plays in the 2009 National Championship overtime. And they are great friends. As soon as Cody knew his final goal had gone in he immediately located Smith, some 80 yards away and ran right to him without stopping for any of the celebrations in between. He knew who he needed to celebrate with.

Bureaucratic red tape pertaining to the transfer and acceptance of grades from a community college almost had Jamieson missing this postseason like he missed most of the season. His presence deepened the already potent Syracuse offense. Both potential opponents in the final, Virginia and Cornell, had played Syracuse already this season, but not with Jamieson in the lineup.

On a funny note, when Virginia beat Johns Hopkins by 11 in the quarterfinals, the sports information department at UVa. sent a release with this heading: "Virginia Men's Lacrosse Romps Past Johns Hopkins 19-8", but when they were beaten by Cornell by nine, they sent the following: "Cavaliers Fall to Cornell 15-6 in National Semifinal". Good thing they didn't lose by two more goals. They just barely avoided a romping, I guess.

I thought Syracuse wouId win by one in overtime but over Virginia. In the semi I predicted a halftime score of Virginia 8, Cornell 2. The halftime score was Cornell 9, Virginia 2.

A local win in the Foxborough final. You might have noticed that both Cornell and Syracuse are STX teams. STX is the lacrosse manufacturer from Baltimore and they supply some of the best teams in the game with all their gear. In this case, while the game was out of town and the teams were from upstate New York, all of the gear on the field on Memorial Day was from right here in Charm City!

Posted by John Weaver at 3:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

I just got back from the MCLA Tournament in Denver. For the second year in a row, Michigan and Chapman battled in the final with the Wolverines taking the title. The final was a great game. Chapman, having lost in the final last year, had only one goal this year and that was to win the championship. It was a tremendous heartbreak losing to the same team again. But Chapman played Michigan better than anyone all year. The Wolverines finished a second 20-game undefeated season with the win and now stand at 40-0 in the last two years.

In the Division II tournament, St. Thomas defeated Dayton in the final. On the final day, the Dick’s Sporting Goods Tournament of Champions event was held at the complex. Some 200 youth teams played all day long on 20 or more fields. I saw teams from Utah, California, Texas and lots of Colorado kids. The whole state is getting good at the youth level quickly. Denver is a hotbed in the making. And they support their pro teams better than any other town, so they are already a top lacrosse community. They hosted a great event and the facility was first rate with plenty of parking and perfect fields under clear skies.

While I was gone Gilman won the MIAA A Conference championship as I thought they might. Congratulations to them and to Calvert Hall, which would have been a fine champion also. The Bayhawks lost in the opener to Toronto. If you missed it, Toronto comes back in a week or so for another game in Annapolis. But the big news while I was at the “other college championships”, was the NCAA quarterfinals where Johns Hopkins and Maryland were eliminated while Duke and Cornell found their way in against likely finalists Virginia and Syracuse. I was stunned that UNC lost three to Duke in a year. I was stunned that Cornell held Princeton to four goals. I am encouraged that we could see a Duke-Cornell final. That would be my hope. I have nothing against Virginia and Syracuse, but I’d just like to see the group of recent champions expand.

There are some very interesting games Saturday and possible match-ups for Monday in Foxborough, Mass. The first is the Duke-Syracuse game. These teams have never played and that makes it very interesting to me. I would imagine we’ll see an offensive affair with any real defensive standout performance being the difference. If any of the Orange or Blue Devil stars are shut down, that would be the difference.

Virginia already beat Cornell 14-10 in Charlottesville in early March. Both are better teams now. I love the play of Max Seibald and Rocco Romero. I saw them play together years ago on a team in Vail and knew then that both were special players. Coincidentally, Rocco is from the Denver area but graduated from Boys’ Latin in Baltimore before going to Cornell. Virginia has the tools to limit or surpass both of the Cornell stars but so did Princeton, on paper. I was so ready for a Princeton-Virginia semifinal that Cornell-Virginia seems like a good game to me. But then I look at the Hopkins-Virginia game and see that Virginia is hitting on all cylinders now. This one may not be close after all. But we can hope for a good game.

A Cornell win would be a huge upset. But if they won, the matchups for the final would be sweet either way. Cornell always plays Syracuse tough and they have a tradition of upsetting the Orange. They lost a 2007 semifinal thriller to Duke, which was one of the most exciting games I’ve seen. A rematch of that game is appealing to me, especially for the national title. If Virginia wins the semifinal they could face Syracuse in a battle of traditional contenders. The game, which has a 70 percent likelihood of occurring, in my opinion, would be well played, hard fought, and exciting to watch. But the result would just add a notch to a crowded gun handle either way and blend in well with the history of the game.

Should Virginia face Duke in the final, the fun begins, because the best team in the nation and the most touted team in years would have to beat a team they just can’t beat statistically. The Blue Devils have beaten the Cavs seven times in a row, winning every game since 2005. The last time they played was the semifinal of the ACC tournament. Duke beat the top-ranked team 16-5. Virginia lost the first meeting of 2009, 15-10. But a Duke win would mean they beat two conference teams three times each in the same season. That is a massive achievement in any sport. It may be too much to ask for should the Blue Devils survive the battle with Syracuse, which should take a lot out of them. If Virginia cruises in their semifinal they could have an advantage they would need to pull out a trend-breaking win against their conference nemesis. Again, the fact that they would be playing for a title makes that game very attractive.

A Cornell-Duke final would mean that a new champion would be crowned and would join the group of modern-era winners, a most elusive feat, but in this case, a sure thing for one of the two teams and all of us. Cornell beat Duke in Durham earlier this year by a score of 10-6. I love this matchup and would already be happy that the game’s glass ceiling had been cracked. That said, dreaming of this final Monday matchup is as close as I will get. It is far less likely that Cornell will play Duke in the final then it is that the 2009 final between Syracuse and Virginia be called one of the greatest games ever played. Either way it will be great for the fans in attendance. See you up there!

Posted by John Weaver at 6:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

I hate it when I’m right.

Well, that is, only when it comes to picking NCAA tournament lacrosse games each year.

But if you’re sick of my cynical rants about college lacrosse’s glass ceiling, stop reading now. In the words of Midnight Oil’s Peter Garrett, “The rich get richer, the poor get the picture.”

The title monopoly is just a never-ending cycle of the best players picking the same four or five schools that win the title and so on and so on.

Once again this past weekend, that rusty nail was driven home.

As you know by now, all but one of the first-round games were won by the higher seed. The one upset was Maryland over Notre Dame, and was that even considered an upset? In the interests of real growth in the game and Notre Dame’s last two first-round losses -- to Johns Hopkins in 2007 and Syracuse in 2008 -- anything that gets the Irish deeper into the tournament would be an upset.

In the traditional sense of lacrosse, Maryland beats Notre Dame every time. But on that same note, the Terps also lose in the next round to Syracuse every time.

Notre Dame is one of the programs I am counting on in my lifetime to break the stranglehold on the NCAA hardware. Duke is another team who has a chance.

But these teams, when they have strong years, ultimately lose when expected in the bracket -- and often by a goal in overtime, like the outcome was fixed. It’s not, which is a shame, because we could do something about that.

But it’s just the cycle of self-interest that is known as human nature. Why do people always choose the restaurants with the longest waiting lines?

The game suffers from free will, common sense and the desire to win. We don't want to change those things. It will have to work itself out in time.

Maybe at some elite camp somewhere this summer, the top five or 10 recruits for the class of 2012 will initiate a conspiracy to all go to Notre Dame or maybe Jacksonville.

Unfortunately, that’s what it may take to pull off a real insurgence in lacrosse -- one that gives us real change at the top, not just Notre Dame becoming seeded in the tournament, or Delaware making it to the final four, or Maryland losing in the championship. We’ve seen those things before, and they just tease us.

With that said, here are my picks for this weekend:

Syracuse beats Maryland
Virginia beats Johns Hopkins
Princeton beats Cornell
UNC beats Duke

You may think UNC over Duke is an upset, but it's not in the long-term perspective.

If, by some strange circumstances, Maryland, Johns Hopkins, Cornell and Duke made the final four, I’d bet the house on the Blue Jays. I can't even imagine Maryland vs. Cornell or Duke in the final. Johns Hopkins beats Cornell, or the Blue Jays beat Duke just sounds much more probable.

Again, I hope I am wrong.

I hate it when I’m right.

Posted by John Weaver at 6:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

This will be huge weekend for lacrosse teams -- both at the college level and in the pros -- from the state of Maryland.

In Major League Lacrosse, the Bayhawks open their season at 7:30 tonight at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis. They host the Toronto Nationals, which are coached by Dave Huntley. His son, Kevin, plays for the Bayhawks.

The Bayhawks are loaded this year with attackmen Andrew “Buggs” Combs, Jake Byrne, Spencer Ford, Huntley, and Scott Urick. The midfielders are Kyle Dixon, Kevin Buchanan, Hunter Lochte, Jed Prossner, Ben Rubeor, Justin Smith and Brian Vetter. On defensive midfield, they just traded for Benson Irwin who joins Billy Glading and Loyola assistant Dan Chemotti. On close defense, Shawn Nadelen returns for his ninth MLL season. He is flanked by Ronnie Staines, Greg Vetter, Zack Burke and Kyle Sweeney. In the cage, they feature Chris Garrity and Chris Collins. Alex Smith gets things started at the faceoff X. That's quite a squad!

For tickets, contact the Bayhawks box office at 1-866-99-HAWKS (42957), or go to the team's Web site at http://www.washingtonbayhawks.com.

At the college level, Maryland has the unenviable matchup against defending national champion Syracuse at Hofstra at noon Saturday. The Terps are coming off the upset of undefeated Notre Dame, but the road likely ends in Long Island this weekend. They sure could use some fan support up there. It's only a six-hour drive for the faithful.

The first game Sunday at the Naval Academy is between Johns Hopkins and No. 1 Virginia at noon. This should be a classic with the Blue Jays as the underdog -- like they are ever really the underdog. I am thinking this game will end in an overtime victory for Virginia, but don't count out Johns Hopkins. These teams know each other well and excellent preparation will be evident on both sides.

The Duke Blue Devils will take on ACC rival North Carolina for the third time this season in Game 2 on Sunday at Navy. They will faceoff around 2 p.m. Can Duke beat the Tar Heels three times in one season? Billy Bitters is on a tear, and Duke is in destiny-overdue mode. This will be a wonderful game and perhaps a second overtime contest between the two teams. I think UNC will pull this one out to deliver a long-awaited return to the final four.

To purchase tickets for these games, call the Navy ticket office at 1-800-US4-NAVY.

Also Sunday at 1 p.m. in Baltimore, Stevenson will host Gettysburg in the Division III final four.

Paul Cantabene's Mustangs pulled out the win over Salisbury Wednesday and face the Bullets, who they pounded early in the season. It's Stevenson's first final four, and they look like they can go to Foxborough if they don't blow up.

Cortland or Middlebury will be waiting for Stevenson in the championship if it wins Sunday.

Posted by John Weaver at 6:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Just out of curiosity, I looked at the rosters of all the teams that made this year’s tournament from a recruiting and geographical perspective. It surprised me in a few ways and, while not a full look at the Division I recruiting scene, it is quite telling. Here are some of the results.:

Of the 16 postseason teams, 146 players are from Maryland, while 201 are from New York. No wonder, Syracuse has 28 New Yorkers and 1 kid from Maryland, while Siena has 40 from their home state and none from ours. Not surprisingly, Maryland has the most from Maryland with 32, while UMBC is second with 26. Both have some New Yorkers though with 11 and seven respectively. UMass has 11 kids from Massachusetts, Brown has eight and Maryland has four.

Undefeated Notre Dame has an even number of players from Maryland and New York with 10 apiece. The Irish have no one from Indiana on the squad. Indiana has lacrosse, but no players in the field this year. That will change rapidly if Notre Dame wins a championship in 2009.
Lacrosse is the national sport of Canada and Canada is the reigning indoor and outdoor world champion, but only 14 Canucks are found on these teams and nine are at Cornell. Cornell has more New Yorkers, though, with 15.

The team with the fewest amount of states represented is Siena with six and the one with the most is Princeton with 13 states plus Canada in the mix. Syracuse, Maryland and Cornell are tied for second with 12 states and some Canadians.

Some other interesting numbers are also found in the data. Duke relies heavily on the state of Connecticut for recruiting with 9 kids from the state, which has 36 players in the 16-team field. Pennsylvania and Massachusetts have a few more with 39. New Jersey has 55. California surprised me with 18.

Who has more kids from Ohio than anyone? Maryland with six. How about Nevada kids? Maryland again with two. Who has the most kids from Virginia? Yep. The Terps with seven. The University of Virginia has only five. How about North Carolina recruits? Um ... the Tar Heels with seven. Duke has only two.

Hopkins has a good mix of blue-chippers with 15 from Maryland and 10 from New York. But Hopkins also has the only recruit from Arizona. Only seven Coloradans and seven Illini are in the field. There are 12 from North Carolina, 11 from Ohio, nine from Michigan, five from Rhode Island. There are three players apiece from Washington D.C., New Hampshire, Texas and Georgia. There are two each from Tennessee, Delaware, Maine and Nevada. There’s only one Australian. He’s at Maryland. Cornell has the only Minnesotan. Princeton has the only Montanan. Siena has the only Oregonian.

Syracuse has two members of the Iroquois Nation. The whole field has two members of the Iroquois Nation. That is sad. More coaches need to attend the Nation’s Cup in the fall and see the talent that exists at the all-aboriginal tournament.

Posted by John Weaver at 4:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

The Tewaaraton Award finalists were announced this week. The nominees for top collegiate men's and women's players are:

2009 men's finalists:

Matt Abbott, Syracuse
Ned Crotty, Duke
Danny Glading, Virginia
Zack Greer, Bryant
Max Seibald, Cornell

2009 women's finalists

Jillian Byers, Notre Dame
Carolyn Davis, Duke
Amber Falcone, North Carolina
Caitlyn McFadden, Maryland
Hannah Nielsen, Northwestern

I am very happy that Zach Greer made the list.

Seibald should win the award once, but Crotty may take this year’s trophy. Now that Matt Abbott is in a smaller group, he looks more attractive as a potential winner as well.

Still, none of these guys is the best in the land. The best player, in my opinion, is really Virginia’s Danny Glading. I think he is the most talented lacrosse player in this group. This may be his last chance to beat Crotty at something.

Of course, some of these guys have a few more games to play on the big stage and how they do will have an impact.

On the women’s side, what a job it was to pick five players. Nielsen should have this one locked up, in my opinion. Maryland’s Caitlyn McFadden could pull off the upset, on the field or at the Tewaaraton awards. Jillian Byers is such an exciting player with a joy for the game. I’d love to see her sneak in. I was stunned to see my dark-horse favorite, Duke’s Caroline Cryer, not make the final list. She is so good. Cryer has 40 goals and 32 assists while Carolyn Davis has 59 goals and 15 assists just as a comparison with her teammate. Both are amazing. I thought both would make the final list. I have seen Cryer play for years now and if women’s lacrosse was the NBA, she would win three or four of the next 10 MVP awards. Her potential is that strong. But there is no women’s pro league so athletes like Cryer and Hannah just play club ball if they continue at all after college. Some play World Cup, but that’s only held every four years. It’s a shame that there is no platform for athletes like these to continue developing as great lacrosse players for all to see.

Posted by John Weaver at 3:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

I like the field this year. No teams left out got totally robbed. Maybe Loyola has an argument but they had a couple of chances to state their case in close games against this field and did not. Bucknell and Colgate proved they could play with this field but not consistently. Georgetown had no chance after losing to Penn State. So here are my picks for the first round. Also, be sure to check out the Lacrosse Pool Contest at E-Lacrosse this week!

Villanova @ Virginia

I’ve seen a Villanova-type team beat a Virginia-type team. It was the Drexel at Virginia upset a few seasons ago. I don’t think I will ever see such an upset again, much less in the playoffs. Virginia is just too strong in this matchup. They are the legit No. 1 seed in my opinion. This one's a ten-point win.

Brown @ Johns Hopkins

Hopkins is a team with character, because of their failings. They have had to overcome all year long. And they are better than their record. Their losses are close ones to good teams. Close losses and close wins build character. They will need all of it to beat this Brown team, perhaps the best I’ve ever seen. Brown is coming off a loss to Princeton where they really never got out of the gate. They were embarrassed. Hopkins is coming off an emotional victory over a Loyola team they had beaten, and then let back in the door and had to go to overtime to close out. This is going to be a close game and I have no pick. They are even. Both would lose to Virginia in the second round.

Hofstra @ Cornell

These are two teams with chips on their shoulders. They want to be included among the top programs, but usually fall short. This will be the most fiercely contested game because both need respect, though the result doesn’t prove anything. Each of these teams needs to go to the final four to consider their seasons a success. I like Cornell by three.

UMass @ Princeton

Princeton is all that. I like this team. UMass will have to play better than they have all year to win and Princeton will have to crumble. But when’s the last time you saw a Bill Tierney team crumble? They will be prepared and know they belong in the final four. Princeton by six.

Navy @ Duke

The big upset potential in the first round is most likely right here. I like the matchup of Navy’s physical play and discipline against Duke’s strong offense. This will be a fun game to watch. I think Duke will pull it out but it may take overtime.

UMBC @ North Carolina

I like these teams equally. They are coached by two of my favorites in Joe Breschi and Don Zimmerman. This will be another great game and I really can’t pick the winner. Both can beat Duke or Navy in the next round. Another Duke-UNC game would be very interesting. But UMBC can be a final four team, too. They have the most exciting offense this year and the best keeper in the land in Jeremy Blevins.

Maryland @ Notre Dame

Because we don’t know enough about Notre Dame through comparative scores, you could sum up their chances against Maryland this way: If Irish transfer Will Yeatman would have been their best player this year, then they will lose to Maryland, because he’s not Maryland’s best player.

But if I know Kevin Corrigan teams well, they would insist that there are no stars on the Irish squad and that they use teamwork to do things that individuals cannot do. That may be enough to beat Maryland in South Bend. In the Terps’ games I’ve seen this year, cohesive offensive teamwork has been their shortcoming. Remember, I picked the Terps to be in the final four before the season. On paper they are still that good to me. Travis Reed is a wildcard they don’t play enough. I thought he would be the star of their offense this year. He’s done very well despite his more limited role, but I saw something different unfolding for the Terps this year with him in the middle of it all. I was wrong. I’ll take Notre Dame in a two-point game.

Siena @ Syracuse

This would be the largest upset in lacrosse history if Siena beat the Orange in the dome. Siena has a well-deserved sense of accomplishment just getting into the tournament and Syracuse would be devastated with a loss here. But it’s really about the players. If Siena was up 10 at the half, John Desko could pull every starter, put in a whole team of guys who haven’t played much this year and still win the game. The toughest contest Syracuse will play this week will be in practice against these same second-teamers. I’ll take Syracuse, a little to a lot.

Posted by John Weaver at 12:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

I got home rather late from covering the UMBC-Stony Brook America East championship game Saturday night. I turned on the TV and the last few minutes of the Johns Hopkins-Loyola contest were being played out.

Hopkins was up by two with a minute or so left and, of course, we all know what happened if we’ve seen the score of that one. Loyola scored two goals in desperation to tie the game and go to overtime with their nemesis. The Greyhounds have only won three games against the Hop, which they revile.

Hopkins, of course, won in overtime, but that’s not surprising. I had just come from watching the favorite win two different season finales -- two games with serious NCAA implications at Princeton and UMBC. I missed the Villanova upset of Towson, if you can call it that.

In any case, all was normal in the lacrosse world. That is until I heard the words uttered by the color commentator for ESPN’s coverage of the Hopkins-Loyola game, Quint Kessenich. Without quoting him directly, which would just feed his massive ego, the Q-tip said that there were ten teams that could win the title in 2009. These were either the most disingenuous words ever uttered in lacrosse or the most ignorant.

In a game where only five teams have won a title in the last 30 years, Quint was either promoting ESPNU's monopoly coverage of the forthcoming NCAA tournament with a marketing ploy that makes the Sham Wow guy seem like Honest Abe, or he has lost his mind. This ain’t the Kentucky Derby.

The statement could be true, if we think of it this way: There are maybe four teams that have a shot in DI men’s lacrosse, three in DIII men’s, two in DII men’s, and two in the MCLA college club championships. If we join those four entities together we arrive at eleven teams that could win a national championship. Otherwise, the comment would be intensely wrong. In fact, Quasimotomouth was so wrong that we have re-instituted the rule in our house that when an ESPNU lacrosse game is on, the volume must be muted.

The comment showed such a lack of comprehension of our game that I was forced to write this. If I could stand to talk to “Q” for even a moment, I’d bet him a thousand dollars that he was wrong and would even give him odds. I’d donate my winnings to charity, perhaps for the diminutive and tragically arrogant, so that in some way I might help those like Quint. I’ll take Virginia, Syracuse, Duke, Hopkins and Princeton and he would have every other team in the field. I’d give 5-1 odds at least and I’d walk away with the money easily.

The worst thing that could happen is that Quint is proven right and our game finally emerges from the incestuous, entitled dark ages that imprison it. I’d pay $5,000 for that to happen anyway. It would be the answer to my prayers and the jolt our game needs to actually build a spectator base outside of the playing community and the accompaniment of parents. It’s a no-lose situation for me. I win money or get everything I ever wanted for the sport I love. The only downside would be acknowledging that Quint made the hardest call in the history of the game and made it right. That considered, make it 10-1 odds.

Posted by John Weaver at 12:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (24)