Showing posts with label Northwestern University. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Northwestern University. Show all posts

Friday, May 24, 2013

NCAA Lacrosse Final Four weekend -One of my favorite sports weekends of the year - 2013 NCAA Men's & Women's Lacrosse Final Four from Philadelphia


http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:9293097

Womens Semifinals being streamed LIVE Friday night via 
http://espn.go.com/watchespn/player?id=886438

2013 NCAA Lacrosse Championship - Semifinal #1: 
Cornell Big Red vs #7 Duke Blue Devils from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
Saturday  May 25  2:30 p.m., ESPN2, DirecTV Channel 209 

2013 NCAA Lacrosse Championship - Semifinal #2: 
#4 Denver Pioneers vs #1 Syracuse Orange from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
Saturday  May 25  5:00 p.m., ESPN2, DirecTV Channel 209

Repeat showings:
Semifinal #1: Cornell Big Red vs Duke Blue Devils 
Sunday  May 26  6:00 a.m. ESPNU, DirecTV Channel 208 

Semifinal #2: Denver Pioneers vs Syracuse Orange 
Sunday  May 26  8:00 a.m. ESPNU, DirecTV Channel 208 
2013 NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship from Villanova Stadium in Villanova, PA.
Sunday  May 26  8:00 p.m. ESPNU, DirecTV Channel 208

2013 NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
Monday  May 27  1:00 p.m. ESPN, DirecTV Channel 206 
SkyCam Presentation at 1:00 p.m. ESPNU, DirecTV Channel 208 

NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship Post Game 
Monday  May 27  3:30 p.m. ESPNU, DirecTV Channel 208
Recap of the championship game: highlights, analysis, interviews with players and coaches

Repeat showings:
2013 NCAA Women's College Lacrosse - Championship from Villanova Stadium in Villanova, PA.
Monday  May 27  7:00 p.m. ESPNU, DirecTV Channel 208 

2013 NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship 
Monday  May 27  9:00 p.m. ESPNU, DirecTV Channel 208 
Tuesday  May 28  1:00 a.m.ESPNU, DirecTV Channel 208 
Tuesday  May 28  7:00 a.m. ESPNU DirecTV Channel 208 

Taped broadcasts: 
2013 NCAA Women's College Lacrosse Semifinals: 
Semifinal #1
#3 North Carolina Tar Heels vs #2 Northwestern Wildcats
Tuesday  May 28  1:00 p.m. ESPNU, DirecTV Channel 208 

Semifinal #2: 
#4 Syracuse Orange vs #1 Maryland Terrapins
Tuesday  May 28  2:30 p.m. ESPNU, DirecTV Channel 208 

Monday, March 11, 2013

Hoosiers! And the day after my beloved IU Hoosiers win their first Big Ten regular season basketball championship in 20 years, we speak now of the other beloved "Hoosiers." New York Times film critic A.O. Scott on what makes "Hoosiers" not just a great sports film, but a great film for the ages


Opening scene and credits of MGM's 1986 "Hoosiers," with Jerry Goldsmith's iconic Oscar-nominated score. Uploaded June 1, 2012. http://youtu.be/tUqhPsZh93Y


NYTimes video: N.Y. Times film critic A. O. Scott reviews the beloved 1986 MGM film "Hoosiers" about Indiana high school basketball -and personal redemption- set in 1951, and why it still remains a film for the ages. Uploaded March 3, 2009. http://youtu.be/AzgOZ0xHCEA

And on the day after my IU Hoosiers win the Big Ten basketball regular season championship for the first time in 20 years, a game they appeared certain to lose to Michigan in Ann Arbor before coming back in the final seconds, we speak of the other beloved "Hoosiers."

In 1986, I was living in Evanston, Illinois, the suburban home of IU Big ten rival Northwestern Universitylocated on the shores of Lake Michigan, a town full of bright and fully-engaged professional, academic and management types just north of Chicago, and a world separate and apart from the life I had known and led in North Miami Beach and in Bloomington.

Then as now I was a big sports fan and avid movie-goer, a lover of not only classic films, but the worlds of advertising, journalism, American and European history and politics.
And like many of you reading this today, a sucker for smart and knowing well-made films about comebacks and teamwork and overcoming adversity against all odds, including those of self-sabotage, as was the case with Dennis Hooper's character in the film, where he played former basketball star-turned-alcoholic father and assistant coach "Shooter" Flatch



In short, I was the perfect demographic for the MGM film that came out that year loaded with a cinematic all-star lineup and a narrative that was straight out of both Indiana and Hollywood, loosely based on a story I'd known for years since leaving South Florida in the rear-view mirror for the Cream and Crimson of the beautiful rolling hills of southern Indiana and Indiana University in Bloomington, late in the summer of the year that the film 'Breaking Away" had been released to popular and critical acclaim.

Because of who I knew and what my interests and passions were, I'd been hearing and reading about the film from the very beginning, even before it was ever shot, from friends in Los Angeles involved in the entertainment industry and thru my avid and copious reading of the film industry trades I usually bought most weeks, like Variety.

From the crucial initial choices made in on-screen casting as well as those behind-the-screen with respect to the writer, director and even the film's composer, I knew that it could be a very special film indeed if all the stars aligned, and yet you never know how these things will go, despite the talented team you assemble.

So, it was with all of that history and knowledge very much front and center in my mind that I found myself one cold night in Evanston literally leaning against a wall while in line outside of a movie theater, forced by timing to listen to a bunch of jaded and self-indulgent NU grad students blabbing about the film and story in ways that bore absolutely no resemblance to what the reality was or what was soon to come.

As ridiculous as it sounds now, they even joked about leaving after an hour because how could this story about Indiana high school basketball possibly turn out to be anything worthwhile, even with Gene Hackman.
Yes, they really said that.

But you know what I did?
I kept quiet.
I kept my mouth shut and refused to play the Marshall McLuhan card as Woody Allen had does in his Oscar-winning Annie Hall.
You know what scene I mean.



I found myself there at that point in time because I'd had the good sense and foresight many months before to call in some IOU's from folks I knew around the Chicago area who were very much, yes, "in the "Loop" in the Loop.
The sort of people who know things before the masses and have unusual access because of who they are or what they do.
Since I wasn't afraid to reciprocate, I was also never afraid to ask for favors when it came to something important, as long as it was legal and above board.

I told them, these media and business mavens, that I wanted to be in the audience for the sneak preview of "Hoosiers " weeks before the film actually played in Chicagoland, and if possible, somewhere near Evanston.


View Larger Map


That's how I came to be standing in line with a special pass from a film-related concern to attend a special sneak preview of "Hoosiers" at a then-extant movie theater on Central Avenue, located across the street from the Wildcats' athletic facilitiess, the-then Dyche Stadium and Welsh-Ryan Arena.


Hickory High head coach Norman Dale (Gene Hackman) gives his underdog Huskers some pregame reminders and encouragement just moments before the start of their championship game against South Bend Central. Preacher Purl (Michael Sassone)  delivers a message that seems tailor-made for the upset-minded team. Uploaded February 13, 2011. http://youtu.be/3gKbrj2nZis
"And David put his hand in the bag and took out a stone and slung it. And it struck the Philistine on the head and he fell to the ground. Amen."
- Preacher Purl encouraging the underdog Hickory High basketball team before the state title game against heavily-favored South Bend Central in 1986's Hoosiers 

The rest as they say is history.

I've seen this film well over 25 times from beginning-to-end, less than some, but surely more than most.
Though that's still less than I've seen "Breaking Away," a film that I know inside and out like I know the smiles of my three adorable nieces in any large crowd.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Forty-years ago, Miami Dolphins football in December had genuine significance and gave South Florida a real sense of identity, excitement and togetherness that it had never before enjoyed. I know -I was there. But now...

TIME Magazine, December 11, 1972

Building For The Super Bowl - Miami Coach Don Shula
Forty-years ago, Miami Dolphins football in December had genuine significance and gave South Florida a real sense of identity, excitement and togetherness that it had never before enjoyed. 
I know -I was there.
But now...

Some, including many who should know better, foolishly say that South Florida has become "a basketball town."
That's NOT true, of course, since real basketball towns support both professional AND college basketball with equal affection.
I ought to know, because I've lived in two of them: Chicago and Washington, D.C.
Miami is nothing like them.

Still, given the anemic showing the Dolphins have made on the field the past 15 years, and the equally amateurish, dog-chasing-its-tail sense of ineptitude and stupidity shown by the two most-recent ownership groups off-the-field, it's not easy to rebut those foolish claims with a straight face, especially when the Miami Heat have won two NBA championships in the past 6 years.

What's happened is that the Dolphins have slowly bled the heart and evaporated the soul out of many of their most loyal fans and sent them into hiding underground.
They watch the games on TV, but going to see them in-person, with the current crew in charge, is too painful.

When you know what real professionals look like and act like, because you've seen them with your own eyes, and in fact, have grown up with them, it's very hard to accept second-rate and lackluster effort.
Accept such a consistent lack of fundamentals in basic aspects of the game, or the lack of knowledge of the rules, or lack of personal accountability on the field.
And then to be asked to applaud that?
I know I can't, and I'm far from alone.


nitroradio99 YouTube Channel: Highlights of Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins. December 20, 1970. Uploaded April 27, 2011. http://youtu.be/3wtp94Ffg3w
This 1970 game was the first Dolphins game I ever attended in-person at the Orange Bowl, with my Dad. I was nine-years old, the Dolphins but five.



Jean0987654321YouTube Channel: Intro of 1973 AFC Championship: Oakland Raiders at Miami Dolphins, December 30, 1973. Uploaded May 26, 2012.
http://youtu.be/Z-PjSiKm1-M


monteroed YouTube Channel. Uploaded October 27, 2010
http://youtu.be/ErvySdmZqWY



sluggotv YouTube Channel: Chicago Bears at Miami Dolphins. December 2, 1985. Uploaded May 22, 2011. http://youtu.be/_m0SzNtY9WI

The day of this game I was wearing the same trademark aqua-colored Dolphins cap I'd worn all week around Evanston in predicting that Don Shula was not going to allow the undefeated Bears to come into the Orange Bowl and emerge unscathed.
It was weird how confident I was, but having seen all the '72 Perfect Season home games in- person, perhaps it was the the fight-or-flight kicking in!
And my intuition has always been my strongest trait.


I watched the Dolphins-Bears game from the Norris Student Union at Northwestern University in Evanston, where I had moved that summer, and planted myself at a table underneath one of the large TVs they had on the side of the columns. 

I'd often watch the network evening newscasts there and grab a bite to eat while waiting to meet my friend, ace lifeguard, boater, guitarist and very talented singer Susan Smentek, who worked in the art gallery there, and whom I even watched sing a few times in their bar.
Susan was also my creative arts/film friend muse with whom I finally saw "Back to the Future" with when it premiered back then! 

Susan was the sort of wonderfully kind and well-grounded friend you always hope you have on your side when you need to sort your head out and make some difficult choices.
For me, at that time, Susan was the friend and confidant whose opinion I cared about so much that I'd rather have disappointed my own parents and sisters than her, because she's the one who actually listened intensely, and the one person who helped me and cheered me up more than anyone else did the two years I lived in the Chicago area.

Frankly, much as I'd like to write otherwise, those two years along the shores of Lake Michigan were not the happiest of times for me, as I had to deal with a lot more personal anguish and professional disappointment in a short period of time than I'd ever had on my plate at one time before, despite what I thought at the time had been more than enough planning and preparation on my part before heading up to Chicago.
I leaned on Susan a lot, and though I tried not to over-do it, I know that sometimes it was too much, so those times when I knew I'd really disappointed her, I was really racked by intense pangs of guilt. 

I deeply regret that I fell out of touch with Susan not long after after she visited the Washington, D.C. area around 1994 while touring in support of her CD, Siren Song, and I got a chance to see perform yet again, that magnetic voice of hers as strong and impressive as ever.
Which made Siren Song such a perfect name for her!

And how's this for irony, she now lives in Elmhurst, the very town that I was originally slated to live in when I first moved-up there in 1985.
But if I had, I'd never have met Susan, which proves the wisdom of the saying, "Friends Are God’s Way of Taking Care of Us"
Dziękuję, Susan!

That table at Norris where I watched the Dolphins beat the Bears was the same exact table where seven weeks later, I watched the Space Shuttle Challenger launch and subsequent explosion as it happened, which not that many people there were watching a mere five minutes beforehand.
Yet within 15 minutes, seemed to have half of the Northwestern campus there, much of it consumed in tears and sobs, the rest in varying looks of astonishment and bewilderment.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Purple Reign Again? It's Orange vs. Purple in Sunday night's title game, as #1 Lady Gators lose to Syracuse in 2nd OT of NCAA D1 Women Lacrosse Semi-final #1, while #3 Northwestern again holds off Terps in repeat of last year's title match in nightcap; AT&T's U-Verse



Purple Reign Again? It's Orange vs. Purple in Sunday night's title game, as #1 Lady Gators lose to Syracuse in 2nd OT of NCAA D1 Women Lacrosse semifinal #1, while #3 Northwestern holds off #4 Terps and hope to capture their 7th NCAA Lacrosse Championship trophy
Owing to the terrible and completely unsatisfactory Internet service I've been getting thru AT&T's U-Verse the past three weeks, where I've seemingly only been able to access the AT&T server maybe 15% of the time that I want, and only then, sometimes for only a few minutes -only five minutes all day Thursday!- this is my first post since early Tuesday morning.


For someone like myself who's not just a blogger and a news junkie, but someone who frequently hears from lots of friends and people I know all over the world, some well-known or very knowledgeable about their particular subject area, whether now in Cannes for the film festival or in LA or London or wherever, NOT having reliable Internet access at home has made me increasingly exasperated.


So it was in that mood, one of almost desperate exasperation, that I tried my best to get online Friday night to watch the two NCAA D1 Women Lacrosse semi-finals up in Long Island at Stony Brook, since they were, amazingly, NOT being televised LIVE on-air, despite all the hundreds of cable stations that presently exist.


I tried a dozen or so times to get onto ESPN3.com or Watch ESPN -which is being heavily promoted on the Mother Ship these days- to watch the #1 third-year Florida Gators play Syracuse, one of only two teams they'd lost to all year, a 2OT defeat in the season-opener at Gainesville. Last weekend I watched the entire second half of what proved to be the Gator's 15-2 laugher of a Quarterfinal victory over a young Penn State state squad in Gainesville on SUN Sports, where the Gator's speed, quickness and depth just seemed to overwhelm a young and improving Nittany Lion team that's freshman and sophomore-centric, with exciting and talented players like freshman Tatum Coffey of Toms River, N.J. 
The Gators were so dominant that they went ahead by ten goals with just under 13 minutes left, so the clock kept running.
http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/w-lacros/recaps/051912aab.html
(I also had caught most of Penn State's match last month at Ohio State via The BigTenNetwork.)  


But on Friday night, when I wanted to see the exciting Gators -only the second women's
team in history to make the Final Four in their third year of existence -matching UNC about 14 years ago- each time I tried, the server was down.


By the time I finally got online, the exciting double-overtime first game had already concluded, and it was just before the start of the rematch of last year's title on the same field where Kelly Amonte Hiller's talented Northwestern squad beat her alma mater, Maryland, to get revenge on the Terps for beating them in 2010's title match in Towson -which was only about the best womens lacrosse match I ever saw.



WLAX Final Four: A Comeback For The Ages. May 25, 2012.
http://youtu.be/dAfXJFqFPZI



Did Syracuse tamper with the lacrosse stick? May 25, 2012.
http://youtu.be/3WqQLUmDh_k



McManus: Syracuse sticks with it, tops Florida
May 26 2:37 AM ET 
By Jane McManus, ESPNNewYork.com
http://espn.go.com/espnw/college-sports/7972599/2012-ncaa-women-lacrosse-tournament-syracuse-orange-top-florida-gators-2ot-thriller


Syracuse upsets No. 1 Florida
http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/7973608/syracuse-upsets-no-1-florida-14-13-semis


Syracuse upsets No. 1 Florida 14-13 in semis
http://online.wsj.com/article/APbe6212bfe613422c90be1b423fa5f7d6.html



NU Athletics video: Lacrosse - NCAA Semifinal Highlights
http://youtu.be/ARTp5XobE04



NU Athletics video: Inside Wildcat Lacrosse Episode 10. Junior Midfielder Bea Conley fills viewers in on the week's preparations between last week's NCAA Quarterfinal victory over Duke and this week's Final Four tourney in Long Island. May 23, 2012.
http://youtu.be/goYHpn5huXM

Since I knew that the second game would be very close, my original plan had been to tape the last ten minutes of the Maryland-Northwestern match on my FLIP camera, and then email it to my sister and youngest niece in Maryland, so they could see how things ended, and even see if anyone they know from the Howard County/Baltimore area was involved in deciding the game.


Unfortunately, the breaks in the streaming were so egregious that while I went ahead and taped it, I chose not to send it because of the often 10-15 second delays.
Very, very frustrating.
I did decide, though, to save it on a DVD as proof of how bad the U-verse service has been.


Note to anybody who cares: when YouTube streamed concerts from Coachella, they were almost flawless, but for whatever reasons, when I've watched games via ESPN3's telecasts, not so much, even before the recent Internet connection problems.



Swedish House Mafia - Save The World, Live From Coachella, April 13, 2012
http://youtu.be/rYrFeo7efEY


When I watched Swedish House Mafia perform LIVE from Coachella last month around 2:15 a.m. or so my time here in Miami, there was maybe only one short flutter the whole time in their roughly 20-minute online performance that was shown. 


Back in March, Northwestern won on the road at Syracuse in overtime, 11-9.
http://youtu.be/1Ry7Mh6C5UE


Sunday night's final between Northwestern and Syracuse will be telecast LIVE at 8 p.m. on ESPNU, DirecTV Channel 208. 
See more at http://www.ncaa.com/sports/lacrosse-women/d1


-----
Did you know that even if you use the filters that AT&T provides for you for DSL 6.0 or U-Verse if you run both your house telephone phone and your Internet connection thru that phone line, i.e. "co-share," if some AT&T technician that you've never met doesn't type your original order in correctly, despite the fact that your phone number is right there and they could call if they had a question, you will be entered into the sytem as a "dry loop" -internet only- which will then adversely affect your speed and service and mean your speed isn't close to average, year-after-year?


Over five years later, I learned that lesson Friday afternoon when I finally reached a very friendly and knowledgeable AT&T rep who'd tell me the truth and think outside-the-box.
Yes, the sort of person that I have only been trying to find for years -as well as at Bank of America: someone who told me the truth about many things that I didn't know about.
I suspect they were only doing so since I mentioned that I was preparing to do the un-thinkable and actually go over to the Dark Side, and get my Internet service thru the company I loathe more than almost any other, COMCAST.


(Their terrible customer service record on the cable side in Arlington County, VA while I lived there for almost 15 years was legendary, one of the few D.C.-area legends that proved 100% accurate. Using the speed tests that YouTube has embedded with videos, COMCAST is nearly twice as fast in HB as what I currently have with AT&T.)


Did you know that it's AT&T's policy NOT to dispatch someone to check the lines in your neighborhood if you live in the Southeast United States, without first sending someone to a customer's home or business, even if they can tell on their computers at their HQ that the problem is affecting lots of their customers in a given geographical area?
It's true.


(Earlier this week an AT&T rep told me that 26% of their customers in my area were having the same problem I was having, but they still wouldn't just dispatch them to see what the problem was!)


For years I, like perhaps most of you reading this, have assumed that when I or someone else in the neighborhood called-up AT&T to report a problem with the server, help was being sent to check it out.
It wasn't.


Not unless they were willing to risk a $55 service charge if the problem was inside of their house, that is, after they were willing to hang around the house for 4-5 hours waiting for someone to show up.
And again, they already know that the problem ISN'T you.
So why the pretense?

Friday, April 13, 2012

Must-see TV tonight: Women's Lacrosse - #1 Northwestern hosts #3 North Carolina on The BigTenNetwork at 8 pm Eastern




NCAA Womens Sports video: Northwestern University presents Title IX Trailblazer Kelly Amonte Hiller. April 9, 2012.
http://youtu.be/sRJgOGEPzkQ


Must-see TV tonight: Women's Lacrosse - #1 Northwestern hosts #3 North Carolina in a rematch of last year's NCAA title game won narrowly by the Wildcats 11-10, and The BigTenNetwork is televising it LIVE at 8 p.m. Eastern. DirecTV Channel 610


I watched the entire Johns Hopkins' Men win at #1 UVA a few weeks back to ruin the defending champion Cavalier's home winning streak in Charlottesville and that was a terrific match.
Everything you want in a match of elite teams, including the Blue Jays' never-die spirit to send it into overtime.


Hope tonight's match in Evanston, where I lived for two years, is similar!


Also worth checking out this weekend:
Saturday -Maryland Men at Johns Hopkins at 6 p.m. Eastern on ESPNU, DirecTV Channel 208, and on Sunday on BTN at Noon Eastern, #10 Ohio State's Women host #13 Penn State.
-----
http://www.nusports.com/sports/w-lacros/nw-w-lacros-body.html


http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/college/lacrosse/ 

Monday, February 6, 2012

Yeardley Love in our thoughts: UVA & Charlottesville, extended UVA family & U.S. Lacrosse community are bracing themselves for the graphic details/photos that'll emerge in George Huguely V's murder trial starting Monday


WMAR-TV/Baltimore video: Reporter Sherrie Johnson reports on the case and its lasting effect on the UVA campus. February 3, 2012.  

Yeardley Love in our thoughts: UVA & Charlottesville, the extended UVA family & the U.S. lacrosse community are bracing themselves for the graphic details and 15 photos that both sides agree will come quickly in George Huguely V's first-degree murder trial that starts Monday, with jury selection and voir dire, in what is expected to be a two-week trial. 

Huguely's defense team have already made clear that they are uneasy with some of Judge Edward Hogshire's announced plans for group voir dire to get down to the final members of the jury, whose actual size with alternates is expected to be twelve plus three.

As most of you who come to this blog regularly know -but so those of you who don't will know- there are more than just a few things that color my own thoughts on both the sport and this story in particular, so here's what you need to know.

I lived and worked in the Washington, D.C. area for 15 years and knew lots of people who were very proud UVA alums, including some past housemates.
The Charlottesvile area is one of my favorite places in all of the country, a place that's (almost) as nice as the beautiful, friendly and diverse sensibility and high Quality of Life that I came to know and appreciate in Bloomington while I was at Indiana University, IU

While I lived up in Arlington County, less than two-and-a-half hours northeast of Charlottesville, especially those last few years there, I used to frequently go down there with friends on weekend drives to see what was doing, often swinging by one of the many historical places there, as well as some of the more popular restaurants and haunts near campus.
(I never made it down for the well-known Virginia Film Festival, though I always wanted to.)

Especially on Fall weekends when the Hurricanes or Dolphins weren't going to be playing in a game that would be televised in the D.C. area, or playing an important game that, well, I just had to catch at a sports bar with a reliable satellite dish and the NFL Ticket, those drives down Route 29 and Skyline Drive were really enjoyable and fun, not to mention, relaxing.
For me, the Blue Ridge Mountains were always a real tonic for Washington's frantic and often exasperating hustle.

I'm a big lacrosse fan and watch or record nearly ever D1 Mens or Womens match that's televised on either ESPNU, TheBigTenNetwork or CBS College Sports, which means I've seen almost every televised match that Kelly Amonte-Hiller's Northwestern's Women's team have played on The BigTenNetwork the past three years when they won the NCAA title twice.
I also have a friend who used to play lacrosse for Duke and who told me what things were like in those years before the media witch-hunt of a few years ago, that badly tarnished the reputations of people who hadn't done anything, but who were convicted by the news media, anyway.

Not surprisingly, given all that, I've necessarily watched a ton of UVA matches on TV both before and since I returned to South Florida from Washington eight years ago, both the Mens and Womens' teams.
That includes not only the ACC tourney matches, but all the NCAA tourney games that were aired, as well as some streamed live at NCAA.org

I say that because over time, I've obviously become familiar with the names of both the standout players as well as the 'spark plugs' on those teams that kept them energized and operating at a high level, and I've rooted for them for years.
I was happy for coach Dom Starsia that his UVA squad finally won the NCAA title again last year, given everything that has happened.

I've also written several posts about college lacrosse here on this blog, including some about Yeardley Love's tragic murder just days after UVA played Northwestern up in Evanston -where I also used to live- a match that I watched on The BigTenNetwork, but which they chose not to repeat as originally scheduled in the days  after she was murdered.

If lacrosse had existed as a varsity high school sport in Dade County when I was a student at North Miami Beach Senior High in the mid-to-late '70's, I'd have definitely played, but it wasn't, and IU didn't field a varsity team, either.

Once I was living in the Washington area, I saw some of the NCAA title matches in College Park, where the University of Maryland is located, a school I'd applied to like two other NMB students who later went to IU the same year I did.


I also have a very smart, athletic and talented niece from suburban Maryland, who went to a high school that's one of the top Lacrosse schools in the country, having recently won the Boys and Girls state championships.
And now she's a sophomore at UVA, and she just loves it there.
As much as I and my sister -her mother- loved IU and Bloomington in the 1980's, which is really saying something.


So those are some of my biases and also some of the reasons that I have been following this story very closely. I knew the sport and had heard of the principals before the tragedy.

WTVR-TV 6/Richmond video: Tracy Sears explains the back-story   

Previous Channel 6 stories and information on the tragedy that stunned two communities

As many of you may well recall from what I've written here previously about this tragic and heart-breaking story, or what you might've gleaned from the national news coverage of this 21-month old story, the shock was particularly devastating in the Baltimore area, which is why I lead this post with a local TV segment from there.

Devastating not only because the greater Baltimore area is home to the largest concentration of high school and college lacrosse players and fans anywhere in the country, the home of the U.S. Lacrosse, home of the annual NCAA D1 college tourney at M&T Stadium -home of the Ravens- that draws huge and enthusiastic crowds, and even larger ones when it hosts the NCAA D1 Final Four, but more importantly, because it's where most of the people who loved and adored Yeardley Love lived.

Love grew-up in suburban Cockeysville, north of town, and attended Notre Dame Prep -aka NDP- in nearby Towson, a city that has recently hosted the NCAA DI Womens Final Four a number of times at Johnny Unitas Stadium.

NDP has been raising funds for their new artificial turf field that will be named Yeardley Love Memorial Field in her honor, and the good news is that many individuals in the greater Baltimore business community and the larger lacrosse community have stepped-up big time to make that a reality.

It's their lasting tribute to someone who not only passionately loved the sport, but who loved being a member of the UVA lacrosse team, a team she'd ALWAYS wanted to play for.

Here's two more stories from Baltimore on a fundraising effort of a different sort honoring the NDP alumna:

The Baltimore Sun
Murder trial of UVA lacrosse player set to begin
George Huguely V accused of beating former girlfriend Yeardley Love to death
Tricia Bishop, The Baltimore Sun, 
4:57 p.m. EST, February 5, 2012
Nearly two years after Cockeysville native Yeardley Love was found dead, bruised and lying in a pool of blood in an off-campus apartment near the University of Virginia, her former boyfriend and fellow lacrosse player is scheduled to stand trial for her murder.
Read the rest of the post at:

The Washington Post
George Huguely’s trial in Yeardley Love’s death starts Monday with jury selection
By Mary Pat Flaherty and Jenna Johnson
Published: February 5

Culpeper Star Exponent
Huguely jury selection process further discussed
By Samantha Koon - Media General News Service
Published: January 30, 2012


WSET-TV, ABC-13 Lynchburg/Danville/Roanoke VA video: Jury Selection Begins Monday for Huguely Case
Reporter: Sally Delta, Posted: Feb 05, 2012 6:10 PM EST

WBAL-TV/Baltimore video: UVA Prepares Campus Community For Huguely Trial
Reporter Lowell Melser details what to expect this week at the biggest trial in Charlottesville  history.  http://youtu.be/TMG2ScUy-1s

The Daily Progress
With George Huguely, Charlottesville awaits its biggest trial in years
By: SAMANTHA KOON | The Daily Progress 
Published: February 04, 2012
...As a result, students must now report any changes in their criminal history each fall. Moreover, students must inform the university of any new arrests or convictions within 72 hours, or else face possible honor charges. Student-athletes must report arrests or convictions within 48 hours, Groves said...

The Washington Post
As ex-lacrosse player’s trial begins, spotlight on U.Va., changes made since student’s slaying
By Associated Press, Published: February 4
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — In the nearly two years since a University of Virginia lacrosse player was charged with killing his ex-girlfriend, it’s become easier for possible abuse victims to get a restraining order and students must tell the school if they’ve ever been arrested
Read the rest of the article at:

The Washington Post
George Huguely’s murder trial begins; 2010 killing rocked U-Va. community
Photo gallery:

The Cavaliar Daily
The trial begins
Huguely trial commences today with jury selection; community reflects
BY MIKE LANG, FOCUS EDITOR on February 6, 2012


One Love Foundation: http://www.joinonelove.org/

U.S. Lacrosse:    www.uslacrosse.org

Saturday, May 28, 2011

2011 NCAA Mens Lacrosse Final Four in Baltimore is a case of multiple story narratives colliding head-on; NU-MD rematch for Women should be awesome!

ESPN video: Lacrosse Final Four breakdown

The Memorial Day weekend has long been one of my favorite weekend because it combines the sheer excitement and mystery of the Indy 500 and the tough grit of the NCAA D-1 Mens Lacrosse Final Four, where defense almost always trumps showy offense.

This year is no exception as the four teams playing at M&T Stadium in Baltimore are a clear-cut case of multiple story narratives colliding:
In the first game at 4 p.m., Denver vs. UVA, the new kid-on-the-block with the proven coach vs. the traditional power eager for redemption, while the second game pits Maryland vs. Duke, a return to glory for a traditional power vs. the new king-of-the LAX hill.

(As some of you may recall me having mentioned previously, my middle niece is a freshman at UVA, Charlottesville being one of my favorite cities. I'm rooting for a UVA-Maryland title match on Monday, which'll help make the crowd a big part of the game.)

On Friday night, courtesy of Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, DirecTV Channel 642, I was able to catch some of the D-1 Womens Semi-finals up in Stony Brook, Long Island.

I missed the first Semi of the night between Maryland and Duke, which saw the returning champion Terps defeat the Blue Devils, and caught the beginning of the second half of the North Carolina-Northwestern match.

In the past, I've caught LIVE or via tape all the Northwestern matches that have been telecast on the BigTenNetwork, but this year, I only saw one or two, so I was not as familiar with this group of Kelly Amonte Hiller-led Wildcats as years past, when Katrina Dowd channeled Isiah Thomas from our 1981 NCAA basketball title run, hustling, driving towards the net and either shooting or making crazy amazing passes.

It was a half largely dominated by the Wildcats, whose Shannon Smith scored with 18 seconds left in the match after UNC tied it twice in the last six minutes.

The win sends the Wildcats up against the Terps for a rematch of their classic title game last year in Towson which saw Northwestern's amazing title run end.
That might've been THE best sporting event I saw all year -by far.

Here's some information about watching the matches this weekend via TV or your nearest computer that may prove helpful for those of you reading this far from the sweltering madness of South Florida.

FYI: ESPN3 is ESPN's LIVE streaming channel, so you can watch the two Mens Sem-finals there on Saturday starting at 4 p.m., and the Championship match on Monday afternoon, too without Cable TV.

----------
Women's Final

Sunday May 29th Division I Women's Lacrosse Final - Maryland (1) vs. Northwestern (2)
to be televised LIVE at 4 p.m. Eastern on Mountain West Sports Network (The Mtn.), Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic (Plus) and joined-in-progress on The BigTenNetwork and streaming at www.NCAA.com

--------
Mens National Semi-finals

Saturday May 28th 2011 Division I Men's Lacrosse Semifinal #1 - Denver (6) vs. Virginia (7)
to be televised LIVE at 4 p.m Eastern on ESPN2 /ESPN3.com.
Semi-final # 2 - Maryland vs. Duke (5), on the same channels around 6:30 p.m.

Mens title game on Monday May 30th at 3:30 p.m. on the same two channels.

I especially encourage you to take a moment and read the following columns about the growth of this great sport, NOT that you'd know this living in South Florida, where the University of Miami has neither a Mens or Womens D-1 lacrosse team despite having so many students from the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, or even a D-1 Field Hockey team, which is why the U-M is such an unappealing school for smart and talented women athletes.
It's simply NOT competitive nationally, let alone, within the ACC.

While the U-M dithers, the University of Michigan announced on Wednesday the elevation of Men's and Women's lacrosse to D-1 status.


The Washington Post
2011 NCAA men’s lacrosse semifinals showcase growth of sport
By Christian Swezey
Published: May 27, 2011

New York Times
Observing a Lacrosse Pioneer, McPhee Style
By George Vecsey
May 26, 2011

New York Times
Denver Crosses Lacrosse’s Great Divide
By Adam Himmelsbach

Baltimore Sun

Q&A with ESPN's Paul Carcaterra


Richmond Times-Dispatch
Desire is there for U.Va. lacrosse team
By Michael Phillips
May 28, 2011



Sunday, May 30, 2010

Old Tradition vs. New Tradition as Maryland faces Northwestern for NCAA D-1 Women's Lacrosse Championship in Towson

NCAA D-1 Women's Lacrosse Championship, 5:30 p.m. on CBS College Sports, DirecTV 613 Replay is tonight at 9 pm, on Monday at 6:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. and 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Well, despite my hopes that #3 North Carolina might knock-off #2 Northwestern on Friday night so that they would have a chance at possibly winning their third NCAA title this year in a Women's sport that I follow -having previously won the Field Hockey and Soccer titles- the Wildcats, and in particular, their plucky and ridiculously-talented Senior play-maker Katrina Dowd, last year's tourney MVP, would hear none of that, as Northwestern won going-away 15-10 against the talented Tar Heels, who'd given the Wildcats AND Maryland their only losses of the season, after scoring four straight goals.
http://nusports.cstv.com/sports/w-lacros/mtt/dowd_katrina00.html

So now, Dowd and her Wildcats find the only thing standing in their way of winning their 6th straight NCAA title are the #1 Maryland Terrapins, the very school that dominated the sport for most of the past 20 years, with 9 titles of their own, including seven straight from 1995-2001 under former head coach Cindy Timchal.

The Terps dispatched a valiant un-ranked Syracuse squad that could never get any offensive momentum going against the stifling Terp defense, winning 14-5, with a late goal by former Glenelg Gladiator Kristy Black, who was a field hockey teammate of my oldest niece.
http://www.umterps.com/sports/w-lacros/mtt/black_kristy00.html

Friday's attendance of 8,762 fans at Johnny Unitas Stadium at Towson University for the two national Semifinals set a record for the largest United States women's lacrosse crowd.

Photo galleries of Friday night's UNC-Northwestern match:
http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/view.gal?id=70134 http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/view.gal?id=70143

UNC Women's Lacrosse homepage:

http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/sports/w-lacros/unc-w-lacros-body.html


Northwestern
Women's Lacrosse homepage:
http://nusports.cstv.com/sports/w-lacros/nw-w-lacros-body.html


Northwestern
tourney stats:
http://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/stats/w_lacrosse_champs_records/2010/D1/html/nu.htm


Photo gallery of Friday night's Maryland-Syracuse match: http://www.umterps.com/view.gal?id=70111
http://www.umterps.com/view.gal?id=70166

Maryland Women's Lacrosse homepage:
http://www.umterps.com/sports/w-lacros/md-w-lacros-body.html

Maryland
tourney stats:

http://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/stats/w_lacrosse_champs_records/2010/D1/html/md.htm


----------------
Worth reading: Baltimore Sun's Lacrosse homepage, the best in the country:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/college/lacrosse/

Northwestern Women's Lacrosse: Inside An Unlikely Dynasty
by Hilary Lee
May 30, 2010 12:15 PM CDT
http://www.rivalryesq.com/2010/5/30/1493884/northwestern-womens-lacrosse

Maryland-Northwestern Championship Game One Year In The Making
http://www.ncaa.com/sports/w-lacros/spec-rel/052910aaa.html

Women's Lacrosse
blog
by Amy Farnum:
http://www.ncaa.com/blog/2010d1womenslacrosse/


Reminder: Tomorrow is the deadline for applying for 2011 NCAA Final Four basketball tickets for the games on April 2 and 4 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, hosted by the University of Houston and Rice University.

http://www.ncaa.org/wps/portal/ncaahome?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/ncaa/ncaa/media+and+events/press+room/news+release+archive/2010/championships/20100520+ff+tix+rls