Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:
1. Big news out of the MLL. The league announced Monday that it ceased operations of three of its franchises — the Ohio Machine, Florida Launch and Charlotte Hounds. The Charlotte Hounds will return in 2021 under new ownership once construction on American Legion Memorial Stadium is complete.
The league also reacquired broadcast media rights to air MLL games and “will explore broadcast options with broader distribution that will benefit fans, players and league sponsors.”
“We wanted to have a one owner, one team, one vote,” MLL Commissioner Alexander Brown said of the news. “Jim Davis, who has owned four teams, elected he wanted to just run the Dallas Rattlers. That left Florida, Charlotte, and Ohio to not operate in 2019.”
Read more in Phil Shore's follow-up to the MLL news.
2. Meanwhile, the PLL announced that it will host its inaugural All-Star Game at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif. on July 21.
The stadium is home to MLS newbie LAFC, and Los Angeles is the location of PLL headquarters.
.@BancStadium will play host to our All-Star Game July 21st !
— Premier Lacrosse League (@PremierLacrosse) April 1, 2019
Register for early tickets HERE: https://t.co/2lOlNFCPWW pic.twitter.com/zBMbcbbAem
3. Penn State got its No. 1 back in a win over Maryland on Sunday — now it has the No. 1 ranking to go with it. Grant Ament helped lead the Nittany Lions to the 13-10 victory at College Park, and as a result, Penn State leads the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Men’s Top 20.
Penn is the big riser, entering the Top 10 after upsetting Yale.
Here are the rest of the men’s rankings:
4. Michigan continues its historic season, moving up to No. 7 in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Women’s Top 20.
Boston College remains No. 1 after handling Virginia, while Notre Dame and Northwestern keep moving up.
Here are the other women's rankings:
5. The NLL playoff picture is getting clearer as the final four weeks of the season approach. The Toronto Rock, Saskatchewan Rush and Calgary Roughnecks are already in, while others are clinging to life.
Check out the NLL Notebook to see where each team stands.
WHAT WE’RE READING
-
Members of the Loyola (Ill.) boys' team are fighting for another state title to cap their careers, which includes championships in multiple sports.
-
A Denver Outlaws clinic at Fossil Ridge (Colo.) signals the sport’s growth in Northern Colorado.
-
Two rival high schools in South Carolina met to raise money for a St. James JV player that lost his hand to a rare form of cancer.
-
Skaneateles coach Ron Doctor earned his 500th win on Monday in a 13-8 decision against Horner.
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
The Kraus-Simmons trophy got some work done this offseason. It makes its 2019 debut at Hobart tomorrow.
New trophy, who dis.
— Syracuse Lacrosse (@CuseMLAX) April 2, 2019
The old base ran out of space, so the original Kraus-Simmons trophy cup had its base was upgraded for 2019. The Orange look to keep it where it belongs tomorrow night. pic.twitter.com/tQsjvAkeX0
A tribute video to Towson’s Alex Woodall, who picked up his 508th faceoff over the weekend.
... and counting! pic.twitter.com/KzubfIVuBn
— TU Men's Lacrosse (@Towson_MLAX) April 1, 2019
Another BTB goal hit SportsCenter on Monday.
He went behind-the-back like it was nothing #SCtop10 (via @CadeHamner) pic.twitter.com/Bc2KVDMXiE
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 1, 2019
WHAT’S ON TAP
-
Towson and Johns Hopkins meet in women's Division I action at 7 p.m. Villanova and Princeton also battle at 7 p.m.
-
Syracuse and Hobart faceoff in a historic rivalry at 7 p.m.
-
Subscribe today to our weekly email newsletter and stay connected to each week's top lacrosse stories. The newsletter goes out every Thursday.