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

1. John Grant Jr. is retiring from pro lacrosse.

Grant, 42, hangs up his cleats as arguably the most decorated athlete in lacrosse history.  He is Major League Lacrosse’s all-time leader in goals (329), points (534) and game-winning goals (16) — and in what would prove to be his final regular season game, he set the single-game scoring record with 10 goals in Ohio’s win over New York last August.  Grant lives in Denver, and will rejoin the Outlaws, who traded him to the Machine midway through the 2016 season, as offensive coordinator. He is the head boys’ lacrosse coach at Valor Christian (Colo.) High School.

At a press conference following the announcement, Grant said he suffered a concussion playing for the National Lacrosse League’s Colorado Mammoth this season.

“My body retired in 2009, but I think my heart just finally couldn’t propel myself to play anymore,” he said, according to the Denver Post. “I took a nasty hit in indoor for the Mammoth this year and got a concussion, and the risk of trying to come back is just not worth it.”

Lacrosse fans, players, coaches and media took to social media to salute the legend.

2. Upstart Binghamton hung with No. 7 Albany before the Great Danes pulled away in the second half for a 10-4 win Wednesday. JD Colarusso made 13 saves to backstop a stout defensive effort for Albany, which won despite a relatively quiet night from its explosive offense and attackman Connor Fields (one goal, two assists). The Great Danes clinched the top seed in the America East and will host the conference tournament.

PHOTO BY KEVIN P. TUCKER

Alex Condon uncorks a shot Wednesday. The Penn standout scored eight goals in the host Quakers' 17-12 win over Princeton.

3. Princeton had no answer for Penn’s Alex Condon, who scored eight goals to lead the No. 11 Quakers to a 17-12 victory over the No. 6 Tigers in Ivy League women’s lacrosse action Wednesday night.  No. 10 Cornell now is the last team unscathed in Ivy play.

4. The MLL season starts Saturday, and we’ve begun to roll out Phil Shore’s team-by-team preview. See how he rates the Florida Launch, Atlanta Blaze and Charlotte Hounds.

5. Get ready to hear some griping about the overlap between MLL and National Lacrosse League seasons. Many MLL players are still active with their pro box lacrosse teams as the NLL playoff push comes to a head. For Buffalo Bandits goalie Anthony Cosmo, this could be his swan song.

6. The WCLA Division I and II championship games May 13 in Salt Lake City, Utah, will be streamed live for free, US Lacrosse announced Wednesday. Nearly 230 non-varsity collegiate teams comprise the WCLA and compete under the US Lacrosse umbrella.

7. Grand Canyon is the new No. 1 in MCLA Division I, while St. Thomas remains comfortably seated atop the Division II poll. The Lone Star Alliance, SLC and SELC also finalized their conference tournament fields, as the race toward the MCLA championships (May 8-13) begins.

WHAT WE’RE READING

  • New ASTM-approved women’s lacrosse headgear products are catching on in one of the sport’s hotbeds.

  • How Richmond coach Dan Chemotti built a contender with multi-sport athletes.

  • Penn State coach Jeff Tambroni, recipient of one of the earliest verbal commitments in lacrosse history (current high school freshman Brennan O’Neill), supports the recruiting legislation passed last week by the NCAA Division I Council but wonders of its impact on those freshmen and sophomores who already have committed to colleges.

  • Maryland midfielder Tim Rotanz is getting hot at the right time.

  • Dom Starsia spent a day with the historic Hampton men’s lacrosse team and writes that the lacrosse community should “consider ways to support its journey” as the only historically black college competing in Division I.

  • Sometimes a setback is a step forward. Just ask Towson’s Brian Bolewicki.

  • A popular Barstool Sports blogger got a tryout with the New York Lizards.

  • Though this Shootout for Soldiers article originally ran in February, SFS re-shared it Wednesday — a beautifully written piece about coping with PTSD and the unique “group therapy” Marine Corps Sgt. Lance Crafton found in rediscovering his lacrosse brotherhood.

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

Once basketball ends, conference media arms like the Big Ten and Pac-12 networks tend to ratchet up the storytelling for their other active sports — and we lacrosse fans reap the benefits.

First, check out this terrific piece on Rutgers’ 25-year-old senior defenseman Patrick McCabe, who did three tours in Afghanistan as a U.S. Army Ranger.

The Big Ten Network (BTN2Go.com) also got some face time with Penn State star Abby Smucker, who is talking tough in advance of the Nittany Lions’ showdown with top-ranked Maryland. “I’m not sure if they’ve faced anyone thus far that has the same kind of power on the attacking end,” she said.

And for sport science enthusiasts, Colorado’s Maddie DeWinter demonstrates the science behind the movement of a lacrosse ball for the Pac-12 Network, stressing it’s important for young girls to have role models in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

What's On Tap

  • The aforementioned Big Ten women’s lacrosse showdown between No. 1 Maryland and No. 5 Penn State at 7 p.m. Eastern in Happy Valley.

  • MLL previews on teams projected by Phil Shore to finish sixth, fifth and fourth place this season.

  • Division II men’s lacrosse upset watch with Lake Erie hosting No. 6 Lindenwood at 11 a.m. Eastern.

“DIALED IN” IS POSTED DAILY MONDAY-FRIDAY AT 8 A.M. EASTERN ON USLAXMAGAZINE.COM.