It has been a hot minute since I’ve put together a links post (more than a month. Oops), so let’s get right into it:
Division-1
Lax.com previews the MAAC (h/t: College Crosse):
Alex Maini and Mike Birney are discussed as players to watch, and the Titans are projected to finish second to Siena in the league. IL predicts the Titans will tie with Siena atop the league. Maini, Birney, and SSDM Nick Garippa are all-conference pre-season.
Lacrosse All-Stars previews the Titans’ 2014 team.
New Detroit gloves for 2014.
This is pretty old by this point, but Lacrosse Film Room (which is awesome, give it a follow on Twitter or your RSS reader of choice) looks at the 10-man ride that helped Notre Dame get back in the game against Detroit and stave off the upset in the first round of the NCAA tournament last spring.
Michigan athletic director David Brandon was named the first IMLCA Extra Man for his efforts in bringing varsity lacrosse to Ann Arbor.
Inside Lacrosse picked Michigan fifth in the ECAC for the 2014 Faceoff Yearbook. No individuals are preseason all-conference.
Lax.com picks Michigan last as well, but names midfielder David Joseph as a player to watch:
U-M goalie Gerald Logan expressed some Twitter disappointment that he didn’t make the pre-season All-America list according to Inside Lacrosse, but now that he’s been ruled out for the season, he’ll have to wait another year to crack into the lineup. (On a side note, it’s absolutely wild that he didn’t at least garner honorable mention. Complete oversight/snub based on what he did last year).
Michigan headman John Paul talks about how freshman Robbie Zonino will step in for Logan, and other spring developments for the Wolverines.
Midfielder Mikie Schlosser missed Michigan’s fall scrimmage with injury, but he is expected to make a big impact for the Maize and Blue this fall. His play of the day from Jan. 7 shows just a little bit of what he can bring.
Lacrosse Film Room looks at Michigan’s 3-3 ride against Colgate. Peter Baum got his against the Wolverines, though. So did teammate Ryan Walsh.
Get yer Michigan season tickets.
Michigan freshman faceoff specialist Brian Archer will be bloggin’ this spring.
U-M defenseman Dakota Sherman will play for Team Israel at the 2014 World Championships.
The Michigan women volunteered at the Food Gatherers food bank in early December. They are in the process of building a Championship Culture.
The formation of a Big Ten Lacrosse Conference is one of Inside Lacrosse’s biggest stories of 2013.
Big Ten Network Whining
The April 12 Michigan/Ohio State game in Columbus will air live on Big Ten Network. That’s cool. My complaint? Only 1-2 other games expected to get BTN coverage.
I understand the monetary realities of doing live sports coverage, particularly for what is still something of a niche sport. However the Big Ten Network is dying for programming in the spring (or at least, should be, because they put on a lot of really bad television).
Lacrosse is a made-for-TV game, and the league that owns the Network is starting a brand new conference in the sport next spring. Show more. Without getting into baseball/lacrosse bickering, there is plenty of other content that (while free to the network) is just fillinf space and attracting zero eyeballs.
Michigan has five home games in Michigan Stadium this spring (plus two in Oosterbaan, a non-TV-friendly venue). Ohio State has six games outside, including the Michigan contest and also one against fellow Big Ten team Penn State. The Nittany Lions have seven outdoor games of their own. That’s without even getting into the women’s side of things. That the BTN can only bring itself to cover 2-3 of 18 contests is just sad.
If that continues going forward (fortunately, I don’t suspect it will, though Hopkins’ home games will remain on ESPNU), it’s a major lost opportunity for the network – and evidence that it’s not about giving consumers a good product but rather about making buckets of money for athletic departments.
/end BTN whining
Recruiting
The Detroit women announced their 2014 signing class, as did the men.
2014 Romeo goalie Drew Pointe signed with Siena Heights.
2014 Rockford midfielder Ben Sims committed to Michigan State.
2014 Salem defender Paul Sommerville signed with Aquinas.
2014 Novi midfielder Keith Pravato committed to Canisius.
2014 Lakeland goalie Austin Herbert signed with Walsh University.
TopLaxRecruits talks with 2014 Clarkston attack Eric Ward, who signed with Lake Erie.
TopLaxRecruits profiles UDM signee Austin Polson-McCannon, an LSM from Prior Lake (Minn.).
2014 Milwaukee (Wisc.) Marquette University School attack Joey Kesseler committed to Michigan State.
The official Michigan site profiles women’s signees Becca Merchant, Devon Maltz, Lily Kovach, and Molly Fishter.
2015 Cranbrook midfielder – and Notre Dame commit – Michael Langdon gets a shoutout in a breakdown of ACC recruiting on Inside Lacrosse.
2015 Cranbrook attack Johnny Wagner committed to Marquette. Highlights here. StudentSports Lacrosse article.
TopLaxRecruits talks with 2015 Detroit Country Day midfielder Devon Callaghan, who committed to Detroit.
2015 Chagrin Falls (Ohio) midfielder Ali Magyaros committed to the Detroit women.
2016 Washington (D.C.) Gonzaga midfielder Avery Myers committed to Michigan. Inside Lacrosse brings the details:
The 6-foot-2, 175-pound middie plays for Blackwolf and was a member of the Purple Eagles’ varsity in the spring. This summer, he attended Jake Reed’s Nike Blue Chip, Under Armour Shootout and NHSLS. He strongly considered Maryland, Ohio State and Cornell, among others.
StudentSports lacrosse also covers Myers’s commitment.
2016 Westminster (Conn.) attack Noah Fosse committed to Michigan. Inside Lacrosse once again brings some info.
LaxLessons.com talks with 2017 Washington (D.C.) Gonzaga midfielder Brian Townsend, a Michigan commit (and high school freshman):
What were your main factors in your decision?
The quality of the school, the facilities, the program is on the rise, and the chance to spread the game of lacrosse to the Midwest.What other schools were you considering and what schools did you visit?
I considered Johns Hopkins, Maryland and Penn State. I visited Maryland, Johns Hopkins and Penn State.
Bonus #growthegame tag.
Two Michigan commits get some love from Inside Lacrosse in its Adrenaline Showcase recap:
Liam Bourke (Redwood ’14 / Michigan), Peter Mascheroni (Redwood ’14 / PG ’15), Doug Strazza (De La Salle ’14) and James Harrison (Palo Alta ’14) completed the unit and played very well, collapsing on the ball carrier and wreaking havoc.
Linemate Christian Ford (Bishop’s School ’16 / Michigan) is an outstanding athlete who plays beyond his years.
Bourke competed for ADVNC and Ford for RC Elite.
High School
Ann Arbor Pioneer will be rocking matte black helmets this spring.
Clarkston is seeking assistant coaches. Hit up the LaxPower database for more opportunities (there are several).
MCLA
Michigan State has named its captains for this season: Matt Allemang (Farmington HS), Michael Klaus, Charlie Dever, Ian Meador (Northville HS), and Mitch Hall (Farmington HS).
Home and away uniforms for the Spartans.
Grand Valley’s 2014 schedule is live on the internet, as is Aquinas‘s
Club and Youth
The Heat Lacrosse Invitational will take place June 19-20 at Rockford High School.
Brine Michigan Team tryouts are Feb. 8 in Ann Arbor.
269 lacrosse 2014 promo video.
Wolverine Warriors summer travel team tryout are just 10 days away. Visit the WW website for more info.
Registration is open for the Cranbrook Lax Jam.
Etc.
Brother Rice grad – and most recently Detroit offensive coordinator – Karl Zimmerman has been named the head coach at D-3 Trine University.
As always, you can send new tips, commitments, articles, etc. to the Twitter @GreatLaxState or e-mail it to me.