Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:
1. The NLL has canceled the first two weekends of the 2018-19 season after rejecting the latest proposal from the PLPA, as the two sides remain at odds over revenue sharing.
The PLPA opted out of the last collective bargaining agreement in November 2017 and has instructed players not to report to training camps, undergo physicals or engage in any NLL activities until a new deal is reached.
The NLL presented its latest offer Oct. 31 and has since turned down two PLPA counteroffers, including a one-year stopgap solution and this deal, which according to a statement released by the PLPA to Lax Sports Network would have allowed the games to go on under the NLL’s terms for the next two years and for up to five years if they could reach an agreement on the definition of gross average team revenue by January 2020.
“Instead they chose to inconvenience themselves by canceling games,” the PLPA said in the statement. “We remain committed to a fair and transparent contract.”
Several current and former NLL players also voiced their responses on Twitter.
2. Pat Genovese, Gillian Rattray and Sue Tyler — three legendary women’s lacrosse coaches — were inducted into the IWLCA Hall of Fame during a ceremony Thursday held in conjunction with the coaches association’s annual meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Multiple generations of Maryland coaches and players were on hand to honor Tyler, the only Division I coach in history to win NCAA titles in two sports (field hockey).
3. Josh Hawkins, the former Lax Sports Network personality who won a Major League Lacrosse championship with the Denver Outlaws this year, is retiring from professional lacrosse. Hawkins announced his decision in a podcast with LSN’s Travis Elridge on Wednesday, with the Denver Outlaws and Boston Cannons, his former team, as well as his alma mater Loyola wishing him well on social media Thursday. Hawkins started his six-year MLL career with the Charlotte Hounds.
4. Kevin Forrester, a top-rated college men’s lacrosse official and avid weightlifter, dropped 50 pounds to keep up with the speed of today’s game. One of his go-to workouts is the seated leg press.
5. Molly Dougherty and Charlotte Haggerty, two relatively unheralded sophomores on the James Madison women’s lacrosse team, suddenly find themselves in the mix for the U.S. national team. They’ll compete for Team USA this weekend at the President’s Cup.
