Champio-blog, and the etc. in Texas

[MandibleS4L]

One full day done in Plano, which so far has been as Texas as you could ask for. Southern twang, twisters causing havoc, heat within 2 steps from awful, wide open fields surrounded by track castles and some fine looking sprawl, and a wonderfully hospitable group of people volunteering their time and energy. So far, so Texas....

As far as the games, prognosticators of a wide open tourney were surely mistaken as the quarters have again devolved to a WCLL and RMLC affair with good friend Michigan joining in. Sooner than later another team from another conference will join the ranks of the usual cohorts of contenders, though how soon that will be is debatable.

A lack of purely dominant players has been noticeable, reasons are open for debate. Dean, Combs, Cook, all lauded and deservedly so, gracefully bowed in the first round. So far Conklin-Moragne get's a nod as El Supremo of the tourney as my bias is towards the longsticks.

Uni's this year are quite on the side of saucy, with Oregon and Colorado displaying a fashionable sense that would inspire many. They are the Tom Fords of the tourney, though UCSB, Michigan, UCSD and BYU could argue for a spot in the CU-UO uniform pantheon. They would be ignored, of course, but their argument would be acknowledged.

All for now, games are to begin and I believe the Texas girls will be on the sidelines.... which is nice.

[bste_lax]

All for now, games are to begin and I believe the Texas girls will be on the sidelines.... which is nice.

Granted I live in LA now but one of the reasons I miss Texas......

[MandibleS4L]

A slight delay in Chapter two..... Yesterday in Plano saw the temperature drop and a few teams get hot. Watching the UM-BYU and UCSB-SSU game was a study in contrasts between two successful teams, each excelling in their own way.
BYU just ran through the Wolverines. Considering how well the Wolverines play and how disciplined the players are in executing their offense and defense schemes it was shocking to see them get run as much as they did. Evidently Lambs Cougs decided to be awesome at a good time, if I were a betting man I'd hedge the holy one's in taking the cake.
UCSB and Noma did what they always do, play til the end in a teeth clenching affair. SB, like the cougs a group of youngsters, seem to taking off the training wheels at the right time. Much is made of them slowing it down, but it works. Winning surely makes an easy enemy, and I imagine the reluctance to embrace the Gaucho's success can be traced to a past defeat. Makes sense to me, variety is fun, repetition is boring.
What stands out amongst the haves and have nots back here is the coaching. Watching the quarters you could see the third slide, the fourth slide, the third look, the fourth look. There's a reason BYU, UCSB, SSU, CSU and UM are always in the top 8- the coaching. Its the same reason, Cal Poly, CU and UofA joined em. While you can't make steak out of mince meat, you also can't leave a filet out and expect it to cook on its own.
As opposed to last year in Blaine, this Texas twanged affair seems bigger and more organized. More stands on the field, more interest amongst the folks, and weather to wear shorts in. Though surprisingly it is not of the sweltering variety, rather a wonderful mix of breeze and sun....
Nightlife in Texas is rather different than I imagined. Apparently in Dallas a new regulation in local jurisdiction (and one would presume a depletion in the coffers) has emboldened the counties finest to find trouble before it happens. Enforcing what one would call kangaroo courtish laws, the fine deputies now pass out $355 dollar Public Intoxication tickets as if they were parking tickets. Incidentally, they are classified as a Class A misdemeanor and carry the same weight as a parking ticket- albeit one that carries a hefty fine and a night in the cities finest cement hotel.
While no one can argue against getting drunks off the street, one might debate the methods in spotting said individuals and determining the level of their sobriety. Urination in Public? Sign em up. Creating a nuisance? Sign em up. Being a threat to yourself or those around you? Sign em up. Walking down the street to a bar or a cab? Sign em.... Wha? Apparently so. According to locals, cops have been known to wait outside bars for patrons to walk to waiting cabs or designated driver led cars and cite people on the spot. Crime committed? Public Intoxication. Method for spotting and testing? Officers judgement and an administered ligtht and eye test. Breathalyzer? Nah, who needs one. Objective determination of what the accused have done to be cuffed and taken down town? Whatever the officer says on his report (which is not provided to those who have been charged). Obviously one may ask why it is relevant. With the usual celebrations that take place on a Saturday night of the tourney weekend, Coaches and of age players alike may be finding themselves at the mercy of an eager officer salivating over out of state ID's. Conventions have been leaving town over the zealous enforcement as unwitting out of towners thinking they were responsibly looking for a cab found a smiling Officer Barbrady instead. More to come.....

[bste_lax]

Um......yeah.......



That's all I got.....

[sohotrightnow]

Yuck

[MandibleS4L]

Day 3 oh my, it hardly went by..... B Division games and a few consolations, not to mention the ladies running around trying to beat Poly. Looks like its not gonna happen. Poly trounced Florida today, might as well pencil in their championship. Again.

This chatter of consolation games being this or that or what have you reminds me of the argument of whether the sky was blue or gray. While on certain occasions either side may be more right than the other, more often than not it resides down the middle in an undefinable void... much like the merit of said games. Sure, all would like to compete for competitions sake- just that a major let down from concluding your performance a round or two too early certainly drags down the fighting spirit. Just can't see either the Wolverines nor SeaWolves losing sleep in their hotels in anticipation of their game tommorrow. Nor can I see them blowing it off altogether.

Speaking of blowing off, surely most of the volunteers places of employment love the fact that their employees would rather spend a week of vaca time (or in some cases an extended 3 days) to come to Plano, TX and sit in the sweltering sun reporting on a niche sport they used to play... than haul their butts into the office.

With that in mind, give Sonny money. Aside from losing his mind trying to make this all work he has to get a group of writers and stat geeks hell bent on hearing Texan babes sweet southern drawl each nite to come to the field and report on the doings of Texas vs. Oakland at 8:30 the next morning. Envy him I do not, admire his work ethic, I certainly do. If you read this site, you should too.

Saw Johnnies play Thommies and Toreros play Bears, and wondered why these teams play in B. Spirited discussion had by a few, as I thought the league to be a developmental organism feeding the A. Would you not want to play at the highest level available? Or is the chance to be a winner of a crown greater? Apparently my lenses are fogged on this subject, as Bystanders informed me of the B league, it's just for the small schools..... which still makes no sense, but who am I too judge?

If I were a Dallas Deputy I'd have the right to judge a lot, perhaps enough to throw you in on suspicion of arson. How do I know? I just saw you lite a cigarrette with one flick of the wrist. Obviously you're a pro with the fire.... and you're drunk. Perhaps a commie pinko as well. How so? You did offer me half your sandwhich which makes you a compulsive sharer.... Would be funny if it weren't so true.

Tommorrow with the semi's all around and the feet on the ground. Not bad, not bad at all. The Missionaries by 2, the Tortillas by 2, my story and I'm sticking to it. For now..............

[jessexy]

i did have the pleasure of blowing off work for a couple of days and head out to Plano to write a few game reports (i hope you all enjoyed them, BTW). and i saw the stress written all over Sonny's face (which is looking older by the minute). please donate some cash into the tip jar. while i am not receiving any help since i am a Dallasite, there are fellows from all over that have left work/school to come to Dallas and work you all that are reading this website. holla.

[Sean Lenihan]

I sent my $20 to the tip jar and hope others do as well. I LOVE the coverage Sonny (+ his team) has put together for this great event. If the financial burden is just that; a burden, then I would hope that USL (official tournament organizers of record) realizes that they need to pay for the service they are being given.

Keep up the blog MandibleS4L! It's great commentary

[lil lady lax fan]

I'm visiting your blog just to say,
that your entries do blow us away.
Your wit and your style
beat others by a mile.
So what do you have for today?

Mandible, loved the cadence of your last entry--truly poetry on motion!
Can't wait to hear what you have for us on Championship day.

I wholeheartedly agree with Sean, and have done my tipping as well. Sonny and Crew have done an outstanding job keeping the network up and running, and providing us with a good excuse to slack off at work! The automatic refresh feature was a dream come true--you saved my F5 button from sure destruction. Hope you get some rest after this.

[MandibleS4L]

Day 4 with a twist, Parents on fire and my predictions are off.... Such is the life in Texas

Semi's day in Plano was another encouraging affair, made me feel good to be part of lacrosse. In the first semi there was a team from southern California playing a team from the Rocky Mountains, while the second saw the boys of Utah against another Colorado based contingent. Lining the semi's field were flags of the representative states and while no official count was available I do remember that they covered much of the nations geography. The game is spreading, even beyond the traditional "spread" areas of Colorado and California. Which is nice.
Still the same names in the final four, and 8 for that matter, but perhaps that will change in the near future.

Perhaps.... then again, aside from Michigan, no other non RMLC/WCLL team won a game. (A real game, not the consolation bracket. Winning those games is like winning a drunken relay race- no one remembers and the loser was probably having more fun beforehand). Could it be that playing in a strong conference gets you ready for tourney play? Or having a tough opponent week in week out makes you a better team? Well, thank you captain obvious. Perhaps a more aggressive schedule will help condition other teams to make it further in the tournament. Until then a stream of rancor decrying the high ranking of non RMLC/WCLL/Michigan teams will continue.

Division B was more of a treat than I thought it to be. Montana and USD played a nice game that was fun to watch, and the group of Montana kids has got to be one the most genuinely team oriented, together, supportive, hard working teams at the tourney. Which says something about USD considering they dispatched of this grizzly family 8-6.

Speaking of families, while the young men and women at this tournament have been exemplary in their hard work on the field and relatively respectful off of it (they are 18-22 so the degree of respect is taken on a bell curve) I have been off put by a few displays of parental 'support'. Surely every parent wants whats best for their child and will do whatever they can to make that happen, yet I wonder why the line of decorum got overrun by parental zealotry. While this is a minor fraction of parents it unfortunately stands out in the memory. For every 10 parents cheering their sons efforts their is one buffoon berating an official on a subject they no little about, or taking umbrage with another parent over what their sons are doing on the field. The sons, mind you, have a bit of a pass to be emotional and out of control- for they are on the field actually doing it. For Mom and Dad it might be necessary to stop living vicariously through their off spring.

When I played I am thankful I didn't get to hear what my and my teammates parents said in the stands, for that 10% would have made me embarrassed. However I feign to believe that the parents were more tame 5 to 6 years ago as opposed to now. Why? Because they didn't know any better, lacrosse was a relatively new and foreign phenomenon and rules and penalties were not understood enough to be bitched about. I find it particularly amazing that officials, staff and writers of this tournament- All volunteers mind you- taking time off of work in order to make a national tournament as legitimate an entity as possible, would be subject to parental derision. Players and coaches berating the staff? Certainly, their time and emotion and hard work warrant emotional outbursts and deservedly so. Yet to see parents bicker with other parents or act in a classless manner makes me wonder whether the kids need to be setting a better example on the field.

Final thing before the horse is exhumed to be beaten again. If it weren't for parental support a lot of the MDIA would cease to function, but in order for it to function well parental support should remain... support.

CSU and CU proved my powers of prognostication to be as useful as a boomerang grenade. With that in mind I'll predict the Rams as Flip has got the crew of Stater's revved up and raring to go. Seeing him get the troops fired up when playing BYU made me realize why every one of my buddies who played their loved it so much, and why I need to get back to vail again and hang with the Rock-it Pocket/Team Garbage crew. Of course by saying the Rams will win means that the Buffs should thank me later. Galvin had a smile on his face ten miles wide, like he was in Sydney again heading out to the beach. Perhaps he has something up his sleave that we'll leave the MDIA fish bowl in a state of shock. Should be fun either way.... The team from the Rocky Mountains by 2, and I'm sticking to it.

[PigPen]

You mean you do like hate mail? That's the fun part! Should be a great game tonight.

[MandibleS4L]

I was so right, the RMLC team won it.
And oh how they won, before a wonderfully entertained crowd in a sanctuary of sport known as Kimbrough Stadium. Impersonating a small college stadium quite well, this cathedral of high school football was jaw dropping in its size, scope and sophistication. The press box would dwarf most big time colleges, the field immaculate, and seating enough for 20,000 Texan moms, dads, sisters, brothers and various hangers on. An initial snarky thought encroached when I saw it- "Man, I bet the chemistry department is just as great, Not." Yet as a good friend replied, it probably has no bearing on the school academics and is paid for within two years.
First- it is a district stadium for multiple schools to use, 2nd- It is sold out for the next 10 years and season tickets (yes, season tickets) are the only way to get in. 3rd- most of the stadium came from alumni donations 4th- It is a great community centerpiece where people can come out on friday night, under the lights of course, and cheer on the town's kids. Beats watching TV.
Still, its spooky how large the thing is.

Every year multiple young men get screwed on AA awards. This year, Hayes from UCSD was the other reason why UCSD was #6. He deserved a first team recognition, but so did the others... I'll guess AA awards are one more thing to avoid watching being made behind laws and sausage

CSU and CU looked the part playing for the Championship- it was hard, fast, and down to the wire. Only bummer was someone had to lose as both were deserving.

Now, The MandibleS4L Honorary Jail Birds- Players who stood out so much they must be stopped.

LSM- Murphy Smith, BYU and Matt Reiss, CSU. The two can run and seem to enjoy having the ball in their stick

D- Damon Conklin-Moragne, UCSB, Kellen Bershinsky CSU and Elliot Carney, UCSB. They're huge, fast, imposing, and hopefully playing on my club team.

M- Zach Lynd, CU, Steven Lundberg CSU, Sean Onodera UCSD, Zach Davis BYU
Lynd played great all tourney in his home state, Lundberg was more entertaining to watch and quicker than most house cats, Onodera is tiny but fearless and cranked shots to the cage that belied his frame, Davis was my favorite. A cocky, physical, aggressive D-middie who lit people up, drove to the cage and played with swagger not seen in most D-middies. Its like he enjoyed hurting people.

A-Jon Atwood CU, Dan Stevens CSU, Zander Ault, Montana
Atwood was tough as nails, Stevens smooth as silk, and Ault my favorite of all. Almost pulled the Grizzlies to an upset of USD on his own will and determination.

As the first ever Jail Bird team you don't win jack, except a pat on the back. Maybe next year there'll be T-shirts.

Hats off to sonny for his work, to Texas for the hospitality and the players for making it so fun to watch. And most of all, to the parents who pay boat loads of money so their sons can play a sport that transcends athletics.

[laxfan25]

Mandible,
Reading your blog for the first time today - just outstanding.
It reminds me of Sports Illustrated at its best - when I can read a story about a sporting event that I had watched and be more entertained than by the actual event!
Great writing, thanks much.
With Dave Adams standing in for the immortal Walter Iooss, Sonny for his rumblin', stumblin' impersonation of Keith Jackson, we've got all media angles covered here.

[MandibleS4L]

Laxfan-
Your check will be coming in the mail shortly.... if anyone knows Frank Deford, Michael Silver, Peter King, etc., feel free to pass them my way, surely SI needs a lax writer, no?
TRK, MandibleS4L

[laxfan25]

Laxfan-
Your check will be coming in the mail shortly.... if anyone knows Frank Deford, Michael Silver, Peter King, etc., feel free to pass them my way, surely SI needs a lax writer, no?
TRK, MandibleS4L

Except now you have to multi-task - be a lacrosse/crime beat writer...
I thought that the story that Mr. Wolff did on the growth of lacrosse last year was very good - he's almost up to your level.