thoughts on the first 2 days

[Danny Hogan]

BYU/BC, BYU/SFU, UMD/ASU, UGA/Mich all insanely good games.

Gators turned in a good effort against Chapman, losing 13-10, with a backup attackman getting his first ever start between the pipes. The usual starter replaced him at half.

SFU is nothing like i expected. Stick skills, while very crisp and solid are not at all flashy, very basic. They are possibly the fastest team here end to end. I was expecting a bunch of so/so athletes with flashy sticks and beady eyes. They need to order adult size jerseys and shorts next season. quite a few pale midrifts and thighs showing in that game. Heard they have no seniors...keep an eye on them next year.

Chapman is big/fast/talented. Look like a d3 team. Think #9 might be the best player on their team and it's not a name i heard too much throughout the reg season.

ASU is also big/fast/talented. Not quite as fast as chapman, but a lot of fun to watch. Their LSM #16 turned in a great effort in the duluth game. Nelson i think had 6 goals and could not have stepped up any bigger. Duluth #4 has game as well. That was one of those games where you feel sorry that someone has to lose. Fun to watch.

The fields are awesome when dry, like fairways. They all got soaked and held up about as well as possible.
Yesterday there were cartoon-banana-peel type falls in all the games, including an official in the WOU-Westminster cheapshotfest.

the big 4 are no more...

[Danny Hogan]

oh and i did not witness it, but apparently michigan broke the 8-8 tie with UGA on a hidden ball trick and some called it one of the best plays they have seen in tourney history.

[Pinball]

I heard that the complex is nothing compared to Pizza Hut park and reminds some fans of something you would have a 5th grade soccer tournament at, not a National Championship. Not sure it is the actual fields that people have issue with, as you did mention "fairway like" grass it is the overall atmosphere. Disappointing Pizza hut park bumped up their prices so much... Has anyone else had this same feeling? Any larger "casual fan" turnout then last year?

[Danny Hogan]

the facility is doesn't compare to PHP. better actual fields but there is not really anywhere to sit/stand safely and the only bathrooms are porta-johns.
doesn't take away from the atmosphere of the tourney though. still a ton of fun and people lined endline to endline watching most games.

PHP was sweet, i miss the A-B center though.

[Dr. Jason Stockton]

. . .in the WOU-Westminster cheapshotfest.

Was this in the second half when the game got away from WOU, or was it ugly in the first half also while the game was still in question?? WOU had no penalties against Harding. . .

[westcoastlax]

Sonoma and UCSB both out in the first round.
CSU not in the final four.

It really is a different league now than 2-3 years ago.

[jessexy]

Sonoma and UCSB both out in the first round.
CSU not in the final four.

It really is a different league now than 2-3 years ago.

Those teams out and Michigan in is definitely a surprise.

[Dr. Jason Stockton]

Sonoma and UCSB both out in the first round.
CSU not in the final four.

It really is a different league now than 2-3 years ago.

It may not be the usual suspects. . .but still there are two WCLL teams in the Final Four. . .no shocker there.

[bbandlax]

Sonoma and UCSB both out in the first round.
CSU not in the final four.

It really is a different league now than 2-3 years ago.

So is BYU:

1) the old player just hanging on (aka Bill Cartwright of the Jordan Bulls) and lucky to be where they are, or...
2) the hardened veteran with the experience and knowing all the tricks to win with less talent (aka Robert Hoary), or...
3) A skilled player who always seems to be the last one standing (aka Tim Duncan)?

[wheelz33]

Sonoma and UCSB both out in the first round.
CSU not in the final four.

It really is a different league now than 2-3 years ago.

So is BYU:

1) the old player just hanging on (aka Bill Cartwright of the Jordan Bulls) and lucky to be where they are, or...
2) the hardened veteran with the experience and knowing all the tricks to win with less talent (aka Robert Hoary), or...
3) A skilled player who always seems to be the last one standing (aka Tim Duncan)?

Id say the answer to that will come tomorrow. BYU in past years has always had Michigan's number. If Michigan wins tomorrow, then BYU is number 1. A BYU win puts them at 2 or 3 (I havent seen BYU this year to say if they have less talent or not).

[CATLAX MAN]

CSU not in the final four.

Also, first time in last 7 years that UCSB is not in final four. CSU was not in the final four in 2005.

[bste_lax]

The complex might not be PHP, but it is still decent and the fields are much better than last year. For as much rain as we got hit with yesterday, I thought they held up well for the beating they took.

Another plus for this year was how close the fields were of each other. It was pretty easy to know what is going on with all four fields with not much walking involved. If you were on the main field at PHP last year, you had no clue what was going on two of the fields without going for a long walk.

As for my thoughts, I echo what Danny has to say about the Duluth-ASU game. A great game and no team should have had to lose it. Duluth-TAMU was another hard fought game with both teams riding HARD. As I have mentioned before, it was pretty unreal to see the TAMU middie break three shafts in one game.

Chapman is the best all-around team out of the games I have worked so far (I have yet to see Michigan or BYU).

Smalls from Chapman and ASU's FOGO are the best FOGOs I have seen.

I have seen some decent goalie play, but nothing that has wow-ed me. I heard Georgia's goalie was pretty sick in the Michigan game.

St. Thomas was solid in their win over Elon. I haven't seen the other D2 teams who are left. I hear GVSU's attack is pretty good

Just got back from Texas Stadium, it is pretty sweet the Final Four is taking place in that stadium. So much history. A lot of fans/players visiting the site today were taking pictures doing their best TO (picture on the star with their hands in the air).

The Cowboys locker room was smaller than you expect, but it is cool to see all the name plates. They even took down some of the current name plates to see some names in chalk (I guess Tom Landry liked the names in chalk so names could be easily removed when he got rid of the players). Players like Deion Sanders, Emmitt Smith and such still have their names listed up there. TO's locker had an extra spot for his ego. I was disappointed that they don't have a Pacman Jones name plate up yet. I really wanted a picture of me making it rain with about four dollars in front of it, but I can only dream.

No tourney staff member has been arrested yet, but the week is young my friends, the week is young.

[Dr. Jason Stockton]

Sonoma and UCSB both out in the first round.
CSU not in the final four.

It really is a different league now than 2-3 years ago.

So is BYU:

1) the old player just hanging on (aka Bill Cartwright of the Jordan Bulls) and lucky to be where they are, or...
2) the hardened veteran with the experience and knowing all the tricks to win with less talent (aka Robert Hoary), or...
3) A skilled player who always seems to be the last one standing (aka Tim Duncan)?

I'll go with option 3. . .win or lose against #1 Michigan, making the Final Four again this year with the depth of the D1 field leaves BYU in that "elite" category that few teams can maintain (like the Spurs). . .

And looking up and down BYUs roster and all of the familiar names, it's hard for anyone to convince me they win with less talent.

[bullhighutewoozgriffclam]

. . .in the WOU-Westminster cheapshotfest.

Was this in the second half when the game got away from WOU, or was it ugly in the first half also while the game was still in question?? WOU had no penalties against Harding. . .

Well into the second half the game became chippy. It's expected for many players to get frustrated in a game as that, but never acceptable to cheapshot or retaliate (although sometimes it's hard not to). No one was hurt badly in the butt ends, low blows and retaliations (only a couple of instances). Not a huge fan of where a few WOU players took the game but they were tenacious throughout and showed class in the post-game line-up.

I hope younger players can read this and realize that class is part of lacrosse. One of the, if not the, most important part of the game.

[GeorgiaLacrosse]

its to bad that uga didn't win. at 8-8 with 3 minutes or so left uga got called for a man in the crease as michigan cleared the ball up field... kind of surprised they called that considering it had no effect on the play. But it was a great game.

Also heard FSU played without 6 starters against SFU which i'm sure would have made a difference.