Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:
1. Chrome LC and Archers LC both improved to 2-0 in the PLL Championship Series.
The Matt Gaudet sideshow continued Tuesday, as the Chrome’s rookie attackman reportedly requested not to wear a microphone after drawing both praise and ire on social media for his audible chirping in the team’s opener. As expected, the Redwoods went after him, including an ugly episode in which defenseman Garrett Epple crosschecked him twice in the head.
Chrome took advantage of the extra-man opportunities, jumped out to an 11-4 lead and then held off a late Redwoods surge to win 12-11.
In the other game Tuesday, the Archers suffocated Waterdogs LC in the second half, limiting the expansion team to just one goal in the last 24 minutes en route to a 9-7 victory.
The subliminal connection between rookie attackman Grant Ament and veteran midfielder Tom Schreiber was on display when Ament spun a no-look, behind-the-back pass to Schreiber cutting down the right alley in the third quarter. Schreiber also scored the go-ahead goal, as Archer overcame a 6-3 halftime deficit.
The PLL also announced that Atlas-Waterdogs thriller Sunday, which aired on NBC, had a total audience delivery of 341,000, making it the second-most watched outdoor pro lacrosse game in history and the third-most watched pro lacrosse game in 15 years.
2. New Hampton lacrosse coach Chazz Woodson felt compelled to come home. Woodson, who grew up in nearby Norfolk, Va., has the lacrosse community buzzing about the potential of the only Division I program from a historically black college or university to recruit top black players and become a force in a sport which has undergone its own racial reckoning in light of social unrest around the country.
3. WPLL Command defender Julia Braig presented her five-star footwork drill and mechanics as part of our interactive and expanded “How To” series that ran in the July/August digital-only edition of US Lacrosse Magazine.
WHAT WE’RE READING
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“How it Can be in Our Sport,” a commentary by National Lacrosse Hall of Famer and US Lacrosse director of high performance and national teams Skip Lichtfuss.
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About the late Patrick Donnelly, a two-sport All-American at Navy and former Schmeisser Award-winning defenseman who died at age 77 following a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
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The Boston Globe picking up on Bill Belichick’s interview during NBC’s coverage of the PLL, during which he compared Myles Jones to Cam Newton.
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A Capital Gazette article on Isaiah Davis-Allen, one of the “MLL Four,” calling the league to task in becoming a more prominent ally in the movement for social justice as well as diversifying the sport.
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More from Woodson in the Virginian-Pilot.
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The NLL’s recap of an active July that included 10 trades in a 21-day span.
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The Peterborough Examiner on the Iroquois Nationals’ fight to get into the 2022 World Games.
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
Joey Spallina, the rising sophomore phenom from Long Island, is lighting up the summer circuit once again with highlight-reel plays like this for Team 91.
lol what
— Team 91 (@team91lacrosse) July 28, 2020
‘22 Smash Joey Spallina (Mount Sinai) doing whatever *gestures wildly at video* that is. pic.twitter.com/d9L0iman49
WHAT’S ON TAP
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A late one in Utah, as Redwoods takes on Chaos at 11 p.m. Eastern (NBC Sports) in the lone PLL Championship Series game of the day.
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Former ESPN anchor and US Lacrosse Magazine contributor Michelle Bonner is back with a feature on the incomparable Zach Currier.