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Good morning. Here’s the latest around the lacrosse world:

1. The PLL Championship Series has reached the elimination round.

The defending champion Whipsnakes made their most compelling case yet to repeat with a 17-10 win Sunday over the Archers. Reigning PLL MVP Matt Rambo set league single-game records for points (10) and assists (eight), as the Whips finished group play unbeaten at 4-0.

On Saturday, the Redwoods drained four 2-point goals in an 11-10 win over the Atlas, while Zach Currier scored in overtime to lift the Waterdogs to their first-ever victory — which came at the expense of the surprisingly winless Chaos.

On Friday, the Waterdogs nearly made a miraculous comeback by scoring the last nine goals in a 13-12 loss to the Chrome, while Rambo served up an appetizer for his big weekend with two goals and four assists in a 12-7 Whipsnakes win over the Chaos.

The final group play standings:

1. Whipsnakes 4-0 (+24)
2. Chrome 3-1 (+5)
3. Archers 3-1 (-2)
4. Redwoods 2-2 (-3)
5. Waterdogs 1-3 (-3)
6. Atlas 1-3 (-10)
7. Chaos 0-4 (-11)

Tuesday’s quarterfinals (Whipsnakes have the bye):

5:30 p.m. - (2) Chrome vs. (7) Chaos (NBCSG)
8 p.m. – (4) Redwoods vs. (5) Waterdogs (NBCSG)
10:30 p.m. – (3) Archers vs. (6) Atlas (NBCSN)

2. Callum Crawford signed a two-year deal with the NLL’s New York Riptide, who continued their offseason facelift by inking one of the best players in the league.

Crawford is a four-time All-Pro selection and former MVP finalist who was the frontrunner to win the award this year before the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He led the NLL in scoring at the time with 76 points (33 goals, 43 assists) in just 11 games for the New England Black Wolves. A 15-year pro, he became just the 11th player in league history to eclipse 1,000 career points.

“What better way to start building New York as the premier franchise in this league than adding one of the premier players in the league,” Riptide general manager Jim Veltman said.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

3. The “MLL Four” detailed the emotional experience of standing together at midfield during games in protest of racial injustice. Kris Alleyne, Isaiah Davis-Allen, Mark Ellis and Chad Toliver spoke to US Lacrosse Magazine’s Matt Hamilton about how their demonstration materialized.

4. Stanford’s Alex Tsai and Babson’s Mason O’Hanlon are integral members of The FarmLink Project, a student-led nonprofit that transports surplus produce from farms to food banks. Tsai is the daughter of billionaire Alibaba executive Joe Tsai, from whom she said she derives her scrappy nature and desire to make the world a better place.

WHAT WE’RE READING

  • The Ringer’s Katie Baker on how the PLL built its bubble during the pandemic.

  • Tusculum men’s lacrosse coach Richard Carrington spoke with Lacrosse Bucket to share three ways to diversify the sport and get more black coaches like him into the ranks.

  • Out Sports picking up on U.S. U19 team goalie Madison Doucette’s essay for US Lacrosse Magazine on coming out as gay and representing the LGBTQ+ community in our sport.

  • A geographical representation of where pro lacrosse players come from in the U.S.

  • About the Aslanian brothers’ upbringing in the sport and reunion with MLL’s Denver Outlaws.

  • How a lacrosse coach’s CPR training took over when he resuscitated a 14-year-old player that went into cardiac arrest in Aston, Pa.

  • Inside Lacrosse’s story on Division I men’s coaches keeping Sept. 1 as the first date of contact for the Class of 2022 after Division I women’s coaches proposed pushing it back to July 1 of next year.

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

Chaos might be winless, but they nearly got top billing on ESPN’s “SportsCenter.” Miles Thompson’s behind-the-back goal off a one-handed feed from Austin Staats came in at No. 2 in the “Top 10” segment Friday.

Method Man, the rapper of Wu-Tang Clan fame, talked to NBC Sports about his lacrosse-playing days growing up in Hempstead, N.Y., and then released a PLL anthem Sunday. “Boom” debuted on the PLL’s social media channels.

Pure gold from the cutting-room floor of CNY Central’s interview with Atlas defensive coordinator Ric Beardsley.

WHAT’S ON TAP

  • Archers and U.S. team attackman Marcus Holman demonstrates two of his favorite drills to do on his own or with a partner in the latest from our “How To” series.

  • It’s an off day in the PLL Championship Series. We’ll recap group play and preview the elimination round.

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