The Big Boyz

Suprising outcomes were the norm last week. I was dumbfounded by the Tarheels' performance against both the Dukies and the Terps. With ZERO quality wins, the Dukies will be hard pressed to break into my top ten anytime soon. They have slowly become the worst team in the ACC, but with Hopkins, Virginia and the ACC Tournament still left on the schedule, they have plenty of time to make a run at a tournament berth. I was the only prognosticator to call the Princeton win last week...it just seemed right. Jason Doneger--5 goals and nothing from Mikey Powell, what happened there? Princeton is about to continue their winning streak all the way through May (Have you looked at their schedule?). The Hopkins-Virginia game was as close as anticipated and both teams have to be the mid-season favorites to win it all. In fact, let's take a look at my mid-season projections for the NCAA Tournament:

America East- Stony Brook
Colonial- Towson
ECAC- Georgetown
GWLL- Ohio State
Ivy- Princeton
MAAC- Mt. St. Mary's
Patriot- Hobart

At Large:

Virginia
Hopkins
Maryland
Syracuse
Massachusetts
North Carolina
Loyola
Navy
Duke

Week of 24 MAR Rankings:

1) Johns Hopkins (4-1) (4)
2) Virginia (5-1) (1)
3) Georgetown (5-0) (6)
4) Princeton (2-2) (5)
5) Syracuse (3-2) (2)
6) Maryland (4-1) (3)
7) Massachusetts (7-0) (8)
8) Loyola (5-1) (10)
9) North Carolina (5-2) (un)
10) Navy (4-2) (un)

The Game of the Week...

1.) Georgetown at Navy -- Navy (1)

I'm going with history in this one. Last time these two teams played in Annapolis on a Sunday at 12 PM, it wasn't even close. Georgetown and Navy always seem to match up well against each other, which is why this is the "Game of the Week." Georgetown will again rely on Neal Goldman and the rest of the attack to put up numbers. Goalie Rich D'Andrea has answered all questions so far this season...will he have the answer at Rip Miller? Navy is really going to need a tremendous effort out of the defense and goalie Seth DiNola. If the Mids' offense can put up double digits, it's a victory in Annapolis.

2.) Penn State at UMass -- UMass (9)

Minutemen attacker Jeff Zywicki has as many points as Penn State's top three scorers this season. No love for the Lions in Amherst this weekend!

3.) Maryland at Virginia -- Maryland (2)

This has to be the number two "Game of the Week." Both teams are looking to get back what they lost last week. I firmly believe these two teams will play for the ACC Championship and the NCAA Championship. Both teams have so much balance all over the field. The edge is to Maryland because their defense is the best in the country. After getting torched by the Tarheels last week, Cottle won't let it happen again. Howley and Passavia can contain Yevoli and Christmas, and Hunt, LaMonica and Walters will be able to get plenty by T.J.. I wish I could be in Charlottesville this weekend!!

4.) Towson at Loyola -- Loyola (4)

There isn't an attack unit in the country playing better than Brundage, Summers, and Goettelmann. I said they would be prolific at the beginning of the season, and with 55 points in 6 games they are averaging the second most ppg by an attack unit behind only Syracuse (I only looked at the top teams). Now the hardest test of the season was Duke and the results were not very good. But over the next 6 weeks this unit and this team has a chance to prove it's identity. This offense is too much for the Tigers who will go down hard on Cold Spring Lane.

5.) Johns Hopkins at North Carolina -- Johns Hopkins (5)

It's tough to pick against the Heels when they are on a hot streak like they are, but I can't see them winning three big games in a row. Hopkins is playing better than anyone in the country right now, which is why they are number one. They have good senior leadership in Defense Captain Michael Peyser and Middie Captain Adam Doneger; that will continue to lead them to victory this week in Chapel Hill.

6.) UMBC at Rutgers -- UMBC (3)

When will Rutgers lose? It is only a matter of time...I think the time's up this week in their own back yard!

7.) Penn at Cornell -- Cornell (6)

Penn has a little winning streak rolling behind a defense that hasn't allowed double digits in the last three games. Unfortunately for the Quakers, Cornell has scored 44 goals in their last three games.

8.) Princeton at Yale -- Princeton (10)

10...Nuff said! (And I won't be the only one picking the Tigers this week)

A little note for all you NY-MD debaters, let's look at the main Princeton contributors: A-Ryan Boyle - Gilman, M-Brad Dumont - McDonough, M-Owen Daly - McDonough, M-Josh White - St. Mary's, D-Damien Davis - Gilman, D-Ricky Schultz - Loyola, D-Joe Rosenbaum - McDonough

Good recruiting Coach Metzy!

9.) Duke at Harvard -- Duke (7)

Duke is down in the dumps. It's not a good time for Harvard to be stepping into their sights. Duke hasn't lost 3 straight since 1996. So don't count on it this week.

10.) Denver at Notre Dame (Sunday)-- Notre Dame (8)

The first GWLL match-up of the season, and it's looking more and more like the Irish are only getting into the Tournament this year with that Auto-bid. Bad news for the Pioneers in South Bend.

STaTs

The Goy sorely needed to pick up points last week and did, although I would say I was more the winner of the losers, as all of us didn't see the tear that UNC would go on. UNC was the story of last week and as the Goy stated that the Tarheels had more talent it was just a matter of showing it. Last week UNC started to show it for the first time and beat two good teams. Mike Powell was missing from the weekend, for once, as Syracuse fell to Princeton. I would not expect that to happen, and he is still the games best player right now and will be there when Syracuse knows it matters. There were four one goal games last week and they all could have gone either way with the Virginia – Hopkins game being the biggest surprise, not because of its outcome, but because there were only 15 total goals scored. This upcoming week will provide even more excitement as some important ECAC and ACC match ups take place.

1. Georgetown at Navy – Georgetown 5

Georgetown is undefeated and you know they cant stay that way forever but I do think it will last at least one more week. Georgetown will take Navy out of their comfort zone on offense, and I don't believe Navy has the middies to handle the versatility of Georgetown offense. Navy can mess up teams by playing their style of game but the Goy feels that GTOWN is just too good.

2. Penn State at UMass – Penn State 1

Penn State is 1-5, UMass is –0. This game should be a no brainer but there is no way a team like Penn State is going to go 1-11 so they have to win sometime. This week could be it, unless the Lions have already given up as their team have been known to do in the past. UMass hasn't played the same quality opponents as Penn State so not much is really known about them, although they did kill Hofstra, who killed Cornell, who beat Penn State, but without Kevin Bacon in the mix what does that all mean anyway.

3. Maryland at Virginia – Virginia 2

Maryland had a poor showing this weekend against UNC, and Virginia lost to Hopkins so both of these teams are looking for a big win this week. Maryland has proved less this year than Virginia who defiantly has the edge in big game experience this spring. UVA will beat Maryland in the midfield and Rotelli and Shannon will both have big days.

4. Towson at Loyola – Loyola 4

This game is always a good one and there is no home field advantage when these two teams play. Loyola is a team that many thought would be terrible but they are out to a good start. Towson is the opposite and people thought, OK maybe just me, that this was their year. This game will be close and Towson could jump out of their funk this week and this game could go either way.

5. Johns Hopkins at North Carolina – Hopkins 6

Hopkins just beat Virginia and even though UNC may be the hottest team in D1, the Goy has to go with the Hop. Spelman played amazing against MD and I don't believe he has another one of those games in him, and to win this week he will need one. Hopkins is way to balanced scoring for UNC to stay out of a high scoring game, and Hop will prevail in Chapel Hill.

6. UMBC at Rutgers – Rutgers 3

Rutgers is good, but who have they beaten? Princeton just barely beat them however and Stagnitta will have the Scarlet Knights will be ready for this ECAC battle. There can be no talk of quality wins with Rutgers if they win the ECAC and get the automatic qualifier and I am sure that is what Rutgers is trying to do. They have to beat a UMBC team that is always well prepared and they have the friendly confines of Yurcak field to do it.

7. Penn at Cornell – Cornell 8

Cornell is just better than the young Penn squad. Cornell has beaten some decent teams and Penn hasn't. In Ithaca Cornell will roll.

8. Princeton at Yale – Princeton 9

Princeton has way too much talent for Yale at this point. Even though Yale put up 17 on the lowly Nittany Lions, their offense has looked suspect. Their goalie Skeen is streaking and the game result whether it being close or a blow out will largely be determined by his play.

9. Duke at Harvard – Duke 10

The Swami upset heard round the world will not happen this year, because Harvard is not very good. They have struggled and Duke is way too athletic for them at this point.

10. Denver at Notre Dame – Notre Dame 7

Denver's hot start has fizzled down and they no longer are the team that almost beat Duke. Notre Dame is good and they have too balanced a team for Denver to upset.

--goygoy21

Last Week: “Glory Days…well, they’ll, pass you by…” And pass me by he just might, thanks to my ill-advised faith in the lacrosse club from Durham. I will refrain from calling them a team again until they prove it. Penn State? Never again. Never, ever again will I pick you in a game that could be close. It’s time to get serious folks…I plan on winning this thing and in order to do that I need to reevaluate which teams are serious about winning.

GAME OF THE WEEK

Georgetown at Navy (3) – Last week against Duke the Hoyas showed once again that they do not have a juggernaut offense. They struggled with a Duke team that I sense is on the verge of complete collapse. One of Duke’s star attackmen was missing from the lineup, the Blue Devils’ All-American faceoff man played hurt through much of the game, the Devils had two days to prepare, and had to travel several hours to play. Still, the game went to OT. Navy has a defense just as good as Duke’s, a much more potent and consistent offense, does not have to travel, and considers this game do-or-die every year. I sense upset. Repeat after me class, one more time, “George-town-is-o-ver-ra-ted.” Interestingly, I think for the first time in a long time, a lacrosse team will go as its star DE-fensive player goes. Kyle Sweeney was absolutely magnificent against Duke’s Kevin Cassese, hounding him all day and making Cassese have to look at his stick several times just to make sure he still had the ball. Sweeney gets my very early vote for performance of the year. As for Navy, I’m going to go ahead and toot my own prognosticatory horn when I say, in reference to Ian Dingman, “I told you so.”

Penn State at UMass (8) – Are you kidding me? Do you even expect me to consider the Lions after what they’ve done to me the last four weeks? For fans of offensive lacrosse, go ahead and book your flights to Massachusetts, because this contest should feature a lot of goals. If history is any indicator, the score will probably be any one of these in UMass' favor: 17-15, 16-14, 15-13, 14-12, etc. I wonder what goes through the mind of Minutemen goalie Bill Schell during his team’s games. Does he just laugh when the ball is in the opponent’s offensive end? Or does he thank a higher power for the peace-of-mind that comes with knowing he can give up 15 goals every game and still have better than average chance at notching another win? No knock on Schell, a very good goalie, but that must be nice.

Maryland at Virginia (4): The Tar Heels grounded the Terps at home last week. Many lax fans, myself included, were ready to believe that Maryland might be the best team in the country. Unfortunately for the Terps, so did they. They’re not. Carolina exposed Maryland, and made it clear that the Terp defense is not quite so impenetrable. The Cavaliers will find whatever holes Carolina opened up and rip them into gashes unless the Terps fix things this week in practice. This is an interesting matchup, though, because at Homewood on Friday night, the vaunted Cavalier O was nowhere to be found during the first half (Rob Scherr had a little do with that). Which team will rediscover its strength quicker? My money says Virginia’s offense will. Maryland goes from #2 in the country to 1-2 in the ACC.

Towson at Loyola (5) – This should be a great game between two in-state rivals. I wouldn’t really call this an upset, only because Towson’s 2-3 record thus far is not indicative of how good they are, or really, how good they can be. I have a tough time figuring out Loyola. They beat a good Hofstra team badly (albeit in Hofstra’s first game), beat Notre Dame in South Bend, manhandled Brown, and got clobbered by Duke? Towson needs this one badly, and has the talent to do it. The Tiger seniors better play like it because this is their last chance to get back to where they were two years ago.

Johns Hopkins at North Carolina (1) – Toughest game of the week to call. I’m really high on the Tar Heels again. Not because they won last week, but because they won in the fashion that they should win. It didn’t seem like they put just enough together and got lucky by catching a team napping. They outplayed Duke and Maryland in all aspects and thoroughly dominated them. That’s why it’s so hard to pick against them this week. The Heels are great (yes, I said “great”), but still not at Hopkins’ level yet. That is only based on consistency. I said two weeks ago that I wouldn’t pick UNC in a close game again, and I’m sticking by my guns. Tar Heels take note: two weeks ago I wouldn’t have even considered this a close game. Win this one, which I think is possible, and I’ll be at the next stop with my thumb out. I’m only putting one point on it because I have much more respect for UNC now. Garrison and Prossner are playing as expected, but one ACC attackman told me that he felt Ronnie Staines was the best defenseman he’s seen all year.

UMBC at Rutgers (2) –I had to completely rewrite this paragraph after the Rutgers-Princeton game. I already doubted the Scarlet Knights against Navy and was ready to pick the Retrievers here. Rutgers’ performance in their 10-8 loss to Princeton says many things. Often a powerful team can be upset or frustrated by a lesser team that gets a singular outstanding performance. However, Rutgers’ scoring was very balanced throughout and the two teams matched up statistically in nearly every category. Princeton outshot the Knights 35-25 and scored 3 EMO goals to Rutgers’ 1. There’s your difference, and that’s it. Still, UMBC is not to be taken lightly, and if Rutgers thinks they will get right back on track with an easy win, they are dead wrong. UMBC is extremely well coached and will be prepared make their mark in the ECAC.

Penn at Cornell (7) – Thank you Sean Greenhalgh for making me look like an idiot. (Mind you, I have Sean on my fantasy team over at lax.com.) The Big Red are starting to come alive, having demolished a Yale team I thought might make some noise this year. Cornell is undefeated at home and getting better. Penn is 1-2 on the road, and were not close in either game. Penn is already better than people expected, and they haven’t gotten close to where that program is going.

Princeton at Yale (9) – Have we seen this before? As the weather gets warmer, so do the Tigers. The Princeton defense has been marvelous and consistent, holding powerhouses JHU, UVA, and ‘Cuse to 10 goals each and a good Hofstra offense to 5 goals in New York. Now that the offense is coming alive, thanks in no small part to Jason Doneger, this is a team to truly fear. As for Yale, what can I say? After many good signs last year and a good win against PSU, I thought Yale would move ahead of Cornell as the runner-up in the IVY this year. Obviously I was wrong, as the Big Red smacked the Bulldogs. This one could get ugly.

Harvard at Duke (10) – Has Duke lacrosse plateaued? Since a 1997 Final Four appearance Duke has not been able to get back to that level. Duke fans are being treated to a real-life Groundhog Day, waking up every season to the same nightmare again and again. With the amount of offensive firepower on the Blue Devils club, they should be putting up far more than 7.4gpg against Top 20 opponents. Worse yet, they’re getting killed on groundballs, clears, and faceoffs. As bad as things are in Durham, they’ll still beat Harvard on athletic talent alone. Then, they will most likely resume underachieving against the real competition on their schedule. This club is by far the biggest disappointment so far this season. If the Blue Devils don’t fix whatever is wrong and fix it now, they might as well buy their tickets for Ravens Stadium now, because they’ll be in the stands with the rest of us once again.

Denver at Notre Dame (6) – Hofstra’s Jim Femminella is good, but he’s not “6 goals in one half versus Notre Dame”-good. Notre Dame’s defense looked like it was willing to sit out the playoffs again. If the Irish are serious about getting back to the Final Four, they had better pick up the intensity. I believe they will at home this weekend.

Veritas, Aequitas

1. Georgetown/Navy [Georgetown-5]--While Navy has the talent to upset the high-flying Hoyas, Urick continues to keep the team focused.

2. Penn State/UMass [UMass-8]--UMass is more disciplined and athletic than State and you can always count on the PSU defenders to get beat a couple of times with flashy takeaway attempts.

3. Maryland/Virginia [Virginia-1]--How can the Terps lose to Carolina? The Maryland defense AND Offense looked stacked but the Carolina kids surprised many of us. The ACC is a crazy bunch of teams!

4. Towson/Loyola [Loyola-4]--Loyola seems to be getting stronger as Towson flounders.

5. Hopkins/UNC [Hopkins-6]--Petro's guys won't let the Carolina kids score as easily as the vaunted Maryland defense did. Look for Hopkins to light up the scoring also.

6. UMBC/Rutgers [Rutgers-3]--Should be a tough game for both teams with the nod going to the home team for a close win.

7. Penn/Cornell [Cornell-10]--This ten point choice is a wake up call to ColumbiaBlueBlack who thinks Penn is on par with Cornell. Please! No one to stop all of the Big Red scorers while McClay and company limit opportunities for the Quakers.

8. Princeton/Yale [Princeton-9]--Tierney will try to run it up to answer Yale's 16-8 loss last week. The local refs will probably drive Coach T nuts.

9. Duke/Harvard [Duke-7]--Too much talent from the South and casual scouting in the North spell trouble on the banks of the Charles River.

10. Denver/Notre Dame [Notre Dame-2]--Travel doesn't help and the lack of altitude makes for an even playing field. Notre Dame is ready at home.

--Laximus.

.

There is now some doubt as to whether I will be attending the big Georgetown-Navy game in Annapolis on Sunday. The Swami needs someone at his office to call his observations in to for posting on the Forum at Laxpower.com. And, to add insult to injury, the Swami is allowing the four airheads that form the rest of his staff refer to me as "Miss Poison Pen." My only comment on this state of affairs is that one has to be literate in order to detect any poison in my pen--which, of course, is a figment of someone's imagination.

Speaking of Annapolis, Glory Days has insulted the entire population of the Capital City by referring to Baltimore as "Crabtown." Of course, even an erstwhile Californian like myself knows that Annapolis has always been "Crabtown."

Last week I revealed Veritas' true identity as an employee in the War Planning Department of the government of France. His pick results bear out that observation. All this was missing from his less-than-mediocre predictions last week was for him to email the Swami and surrender.

The most intelligent comment this week comes from Laximus, who points out that Columbia Black and Blue thinks that Penn is on a par with Cornell. This is an hallucinogenic notion that undoubtedly comes from consuming too many bananas. CB&B's affinity for the blowhard musings and infantile humor of the Ivyman are nothing less than obsequious. The fact of the matter is that the Ivyman was disqualified from the picking contest last year because of irregularities. It was only through the benevolence of the Swami that he was allowed back this year. Based on his posts, it appears to me that CB&B may, in some fashion, be related to the noxious Jordan Enterprises, whose octogenarian founder may be the only entity to pollute the atmosphere more that the barrister from Litigious, NY.

I have now lost all confidence in Navy, because its defense is struggling. Since Navy does not have much of an offense, this produces a dire situation for the Midshipmen. Yes, their recent record against Georgetown is reassuring, but Navy has not been the same team since its now infamous pipe shot loss in Amherst. I am loathe to pick Georgetown after watching a good defense bottle them up last week, but will do so anyway.

I am also going low on UMass in its game against Penn State. For the last three years the total score of this series is 32-31, favor Penn State. While Massachusetts' Greg Canella is a brilliant head coach, I have always questioned the intellectual capacity of others associated with that team.

I agree with the Swami, as I did last week, that those who are writing off UMBC may regret it when they are bitten by the Retriever. This is a solid fundamental team that has improved markedly each week. In truth, this game should be the Swami's "Game of the Week." Anyone who saw UMBC against Georgetown should have been placed on notice that the Retrievers are not only skilled, but play a smart game. This is coupled with the fact that this is a distinctly blue collar squad in its field demeanor. The Retrievers would like nothing more than to be the team that finally knocks off the heralded Scarlet Knights. UMBC's goalie, Tim Flanagan, seems to be the emotional leader of these street-fighting rowdies, and I think that UMBC would like nothing better than to climb into the rankings now. I am picking the Retrievers in an upset that will make all of next week's highlights with its hard hitting aspects.

My pick-of-the-week is Virginia over Maryland. I, unlike all others, think that this will be a real blowout, and that Maryland will return to College Park licking its wounds.

My upset pick-of-the-week is Harvard over Duke. I watched Duke play in Washington last week and Duke simply has no passing game. This is a leaderless team that is in the process of self-destructing.

Swami,

Just when you think you have it figured out all Hell breaks loose. It was a weekend full of upsets caused by great goalie play. Biggest surprise was Carolina beating Duke and Maryland. The in-state NC rivalry was expected to be close and the Heels offense finally stepped up to support a good defensive effort. The bigger shock was against the #2 Terps but 25 (yes 25) saves from goalie Paul Spelman was the difference. Beating Cuse in the Dome is always a struggle but again outstanding net minding by Julian Gould was the difference including a last second one-on-one snuff of Mike Springer. Only Baltimorons thought Hopkins had a chance against Virginia but again goalie Rob Sherr's 18 (yes 18) saves was the difference. Finally, on Sunday Hofstra's Freshman Matt Southard shut the door on Notre Dame in a game everyone picked the Irish to win. Case in point...a good goalie can keep any team in any game...that's lacrosse!

1.) Georgetown at Navy (7) Hoyas not a top 4 team but may be for real. Mids will give them a game but not enough depth to end up on top in this one.

2.) Penn State at UMass (9) I'm giving up on the Lions. A coaching change may be in the wind and UMass is a solid team end to end.

3.) Maryland at Virginia (3) I really liked the Terps till last week. No excuse to lose to Carolina . UVA is much better than the Heels.

4.) Towson at Loyola (5) Hounds are hanging around and will prevail in this Crabtown battle.

5.) Johns Hopkins at North Carolina (6) Jays were lucky against the Wahoos but the Heels are not that good.

6.) UMBC at Rutgers (2) Strange but true...another win at Exit 9 on the NJ Turnpike.

7.) Penn at Cornell (1) Pick um. I like the Quakers based on the last two weeks,

8.) Princeton at Yale (8) Bones is gone and no repeat of last years upset for the Elis.

9.) Duke at Harvard (10) The only advantage Harvard has here is SAT scores. Devils in a cakewalk.

10.) Denver at Notre Dame (Sunday) (4) This game will be close but Irish look like the best in the Great West.

--Glory Days.

Baldo's picks for next week:

The Game of the Week:

1.) Georgetown at Navy--4--Hoyas too tough for the Mids

2.) Penn State at UMass--10--stick a fork in the Lions

3.) Maryland at Virginia--2--Terps ain't over last week yet

4.) Towson at Loyola--8--Hounds keep going

5.) Johns Hopkins at North Carolina--1--Jays by a whisker

6.) UMBC at Rutgers--3--Give it to the Knights, barely

7.) Penn at Cornell--6--home team gets the nod

8.) Princeton at Yale--7--Not two years in a row

9.) Duke at Harvard--9--You figure the Dukies

10.) Denver at Notre Dame (Sunday)--5--Take the Irish @ home

--Baldo

What a week last week was-NO ONE got more than 5 picks right. We all coulda taken a quarter out of our pockets and flipped it to pick. Although Swami would have had to panhandle an extra hour on Lombard Street to get the quarter.

Uh-Baldo? Has anyone EVER gotten only three picks right in the history of this noble competition?

1.) Georgetown at Navy – (2) Navy has to be steamed after losing to Air Force, and I think they match up well against Georgetown and I'll take the upset pick.

2.) Penn State at UMass – (8) Penn State loses this game by more than their usual 1-2 goals. This team has been the d! eath of my picks so far, and on the basis of the early season I don't see them beating any team in the ECAC, much less UMass

3.) Maryland at Virginia – (1) Big, Bad, Maryland D vs. Yevoli, Christmas, etc: Standoff. Virginia D is not big and not so bad, vs Lamonica and Mollot. Advantage UM. I hate going against UVa but in this case, well, Terpitude has always been my long suit.

4.) Towson at Loyola – (4) I'll take another upset shot with Towson. Seaman and a team that might actually be better, especially on defense.

5.) Johns Hopkins at North Carolina – (3) Petro will have his defense ready for the second game in a string of four against the ACC.

6.) UMBC at Rutgers – (5) UMBC has wrecked me a couple times this year also. Did I learn from this? Do I ever?

7.) Penn at Cornell – (6) Penn newspaper this week lamented how NCAA hoop tournament security made four Penn men with body paint put their shirts back on. It wasn't the sentiment guys. It was the style. Cornell got well against Yale, and like the Fleet Center ushers should cover Penn well.

8.) Princeton at Yale – (10) Think Princeton wants this game? Yuh. Cornell lit up the 'Dogs last week, and Princeton's the Daddy.

9.) Duke at Harvard – (9) Oh, God..The over/under on how many times Swami will refer back to the time he picked Harvard in an upset over Duke has been set at two. I'll take Duke and the over.

10.) Denver at Notre Dame – (7) (Sunday) - Denver joins Nicole Kidman, the Iraqi Army, and Penn State on this year's All Over-Rated List.

--Ivyman

Week Six:

Wombat's Week 6 Picks and Commentary

This week, Wombat does movie reviews. Having an affinity and connection for Australia, (thus explaining my Wombat moniker), I have to say something about the movie Kangaroo Jack. Critics gave this a D+ on average. I give it an F for stupidity. Let me get this straight, a kangaroo runs off with $50K, and then the movie proceeds to spend an hour and half trying to get the money back by truck chases, planes, etc. I didn't see this movie. I didn't have to in order to review it. When I heard the premise of the plot, I knew it was an immediate F, for the following reason. If some animal runs off with as something as small as a $20 bill of mine, that furry little animal should expect to be shot and obliterated. Yes, I work with rockets and explosives during the day, and in my younger years I used to be a member of the NRA and I used to hunt furry animals for food. So you can be dang sure that if I had a kangaroo run off with $50,000, that kangaroo would have a very short life expectancy. Besides, these were supposedly mobsters delivering the money - shouldn't they have a gun?

Now before anyone starts sending Swami Wombat-hate mail (which can be done to wombat@laxswami.com - Swami never forwards me anything, so I won't see it!), I would like to say that I am somewhat reformed. I don't hunt any more, I eat more of a vegetarian diet, and I don't like the NRA quite as much any more (I don't hate Chuck though either). People change over time, and I have become wiser with age (with the exception of prognosticating capability). I do stand firm though, if that some animal ran off with $50,000, the simple solution is to shoot it, and not spend an hour and half making a Hollywood script out of it.

And speaking of Hollywood, let's talk about the Oscars for a moment. Hollywood proved once again that they are full of it. Wimps for not doing the red carpet thing - too special to do the usual for fear of being terrorized - they should get out there and just do their thing, and if they take a bullet, well, that would just help us root out more of the underground cells and they could be doing us a civic favor by being out there exposed like the rest of us. Then there was the Michael Moore thing. I like Moore's movies, but he was out of line Sunday, and he can kiss my Wombat rump. Steve Martin had a great put down afterwards, and I was glad to hear the crowd boo. I kept statistics during the Oscars, and here are the raw numbers: There were SEVEN statements or gestures desiring PEACE (including Moore's). For the most part, these were done in decent fashion, with the exception of Moore. There were TWO statements supporting the troops. Well done, and my comment to Hollywood - you people should have had more balls and done more of that. And finally, there were ZERO statements supporting the President. That says something about the persuasions of Hollywood, and that didn't surprise me. Someone should have had guts enough to do it, but alas no one did. So that's it, my scorecard of the Oscars. Pathetic.

I will summarize all of the above by saying the following: Go Navy! Go Army! Fly high Air Force! and Semper Fi! This situation will get resolved, and we (the general public) simply do not have the same information (intelligence information) that was the basis for many of the decisions over the past several years. We simply live in a different age since September 11th. Whether we want to be or not, we are all now soldiers in the war on terrorism, because even the general public needs to serve as the first line of defense by using their eyes and ears in watching out for things. It's a new age, and we all need to have a new found respect for the police, firefighters, our government leaders, and our soldiers.

I will now get off the soapbox. Suffice it to say, I have put up with just one too many protesters over the past three months. I respect their opinions, and their ability to express it is what makes America great. But that ability has come from those that have paid the ultimate price for our freedom - our soldiers from many wars from the Revolutionary War to the present. Our experiment of democracy could still fail, and it has obviously been under much greater attack in recent years. And I don't view this as a political issue - this goes beyond the current Republican in office and beyond Democrats. I will close with a quote from John F. Kennedy's inaugural address, which is as relevant today as it was in 1961:

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty."

The full address can be found at http://www.cs.umb.edu/jfklibrary/j012061.htm

The speech on the whole, is still very relevant today. Some may nitpick out parts of it and say we have erred in certain directions (UN, human rights maybe), but overall, the issues and threats we face today are very similar to what we faced in 61 during the Cold War.

Well, enough of this, and on to lacrosse prognosticating for Week 6. I make no apologies for any of the above, and respect the right of those that disagree, but I simply cannot move on to the "fun" things that we get to enjoy like the great sport of lacrosse without making some commentary on things that are going on around us. And again, my best to all the troops and our leadership.

Now to week #6. I am tempted, after last week, to make my picks, and then quickly do the reverse of almost all of them. Maybe I would fare better? 4-6 last week, and now 30-18 overall, .625 batting average. At this point, I would be happy to salvage the season and get to around .700 or .725. 75% would be a great comeback. There are potential upsets this week, most notably will be UNC vs JHU. Intrigue. How hot can the Heels stay? What will Navy do? Can PSU finally win again? Will Loyola prove themselves? As topsy-turvy as last week was, with the greater parity and ability for any team to win and any team to lose, I expect a LOT to happen again this week. So hold on folks, Wombat is about to spread some disinformation - as always, take these predictions with a huge grain of salt.

1.) Georgetown at Navy: Georgetown 6

2.) Penn State at UMass: UMass 5

3.) Maryland at Virginia: Virginia 7

4.) Towson at Loyola: Loyola 4

5.) Johns Hopkins at North Carolina: Johns Hopkins 10

6.) UMBC at Rutgers: Rutgers 3

7.) Penn at Cornell: Cornell 2

8.) Princeton at Yale: Princeton 9

9.) Duke at Harvard: Duke 8

10.) Denver at Notre Dame: Notre Dame 1

Game commentary: Conference play is finally heating up. The Ivy is kicking in, as is the GWLL. The ECAC has already got some games in, but two major ones are this week, so let's start off with them:

1.) Georgetown at Navy: Georgetown 6

Navy loses to Air Force, and DiNola only makes 4 saves. Wow. This reminds me of the game Tillman Johnson had versus Syracuse (last year I think). Do NOT expect a repeat performance by DiNola of only 4 saves. GT will shoot often, and perhaps with better accuracy. Navy needs this win badly, at home. But I like GT a lot, and they have been on a roll. The ECAC race is tight, and the Hoyas don't want to fall behind UMass by blowing this one. They will be ready, but it won't be a blow out. Georgetown by two or so. Tight.

2.) Penn State at UMass: UMass 5

This could be the Nittany Lions last hurrah. They must win, but do they have anything left? Have they already thrown in the towel? It has to be hard to get up each week and take a tough one or two goal loss. UMass hasn't had many tough tests yet, and this one will go toward proving their mettle. I like the UMass offense to explode, and win by about 4.

3.) Maryland at Virginia: Virginia 7

Beware, the Terrapin Nation is in shock. And so is UVa for that matter. Both teams are kicking themselves. I don't expect many Md fans to travel for this one, but I could be wrong because the basketball games are on Friday and potentially Sunday, so they have a gift from the March Madness gods in favorable scheduling. But UVa has a good home contingent, and will support their team to victory. 10-8 sounds like a reasonable bounce back for the Hoos. What the Hoo happened last week in the first quarter? No repeats of that, as they figure out the many defensive sets by the Terps. UVa, tightroping it back into the win column.

4.) Towson at Loyola: Loyola 4

Here is an interesting game, because Laxpower's Power Ratings have Towson three notches higher than Loyola at the moment. Back in 2000, I used to use the Power Ratings very heavily in helping me predict games, and I did quite well. Then they tinkered with them a bit, forcing me to do my own research in the early part of the season to figure out games, because their methods now are unstable until about now (about 4 or 5 weeks into the season). So, do I go with the ratings? NO, as Edell used to say, no one gives a darn about Power Ratings. I used to, but I think that Loyola is more solid, winning some more recent games by bigger margins, while Towson sort of struggled with Delaware.

So my bet is riding on Loyola this week. The Hounds have very *quietly* gotten off to a really good start. Loyola by one. (Hey, Towson IS dangerous enough to beat them, and who cares if it is a home game for Loyola - their stadium will attract a LOT of Towson fans.)

5.) Johns Hopkins at North Carolina: Johns Hopkins 10

I gave up on the Mortal Combat a few weeks ago, but I decided to go with it again here and see if anyone is willing to put 10 on UNC. I doubt it. OK, Carolina had a good week, and Spellman has gone nuts. But JHU has a very disciplined offense that scores about 75 to 80% of their goals ASSISTED, which spells high percentage shots on Spellman. JHU has also proved that they have the number one defense among the top teams right now (albeit, I guess Syracuse was a 30 minute and 19 second aberration). JHU can have scoring droughts, and the defense can go to sleep, so they are beatable. But Hey! With UNC having a week like they had, JHU WILL BE READY and not take the Heels lightly. JHU by 3. I am sort of banking on it. Go Jays. Please!

6.) UMBC at Rutgers: Rutgers 3

Pow Pow Pow Powless. Rutgers is on the map folks. 7-0 start, and a tremendously respectable showing versus Princeton 8-10. Beware the rest of the ECAC! We have a potential spoiler here, and who knows, Rutgers could even pull off the AQ with enough confidence. And that is their key - they have to keep believing, and even though they lost to Princeton, they can still believe because they gave the Tigers a solid run for their money. UMBC now worries me with the injury to Gallagher who was their spark plug. So in the end, I go with Rutgers this week, outscoring UMBC by 3 to 5. Wow! Pow! By the way, Laxpower has UMBC two notches higher than Rutgers this week. I expect the Knights to hunt down the Retrievers and fix the rankings. (In fairness, I should say that although the Laxpower rankings are now starting to solidify, it is still a bit early and they will probably fluctuate quite a bit over the next three weeks).

7.) Penn at Cornell: Cornell 2

This game could go either way, because I like how Penn is shaping up, but Cornell seems to have turned the corner after their shaky start. This would be a great game to pick as an upset, but I won't - I have to play it safe and call these like I think they are most likely to go. Cornell's offense will be well fueled by Greenhalgh (one of these days, I will learn how to spell his name without having to look it up!). The Big Red defense is starting to come together after the rough start. So let's go Big Red, by ONE. I would not be surprised to see a Penn upset here though.

8.) Princeton at Yale: Princeton 9

Pay back, simply motivates Princeton to beat the living Yale-juice out of the Bulldogs... what is Yale-juice? I don't know, I just made it up because I am about to get into that goofy phase of tiredness from typing for almost two hours. I would suspect that Yale-juice is something that will be coming out of a Bulldog after Tierney and the Tigers get through with them. Could be an ugly sight too. For those with short memories, it is on the Princeton bulletin board this week. 2002: Yale 15, Princeton 13. Don't expect lightning to strike twice. Pay back! Princeton by FIVE, count them, FIVE!

9.) Duke at Harvard: Duke 8

Harvard hasn't done didley-squat this year but embarrass themselves. Duke will be-devil them, like everyone else has. Duke needs a rebound, and this will be a good one for them to spring back into form for more ACC action later. I don't know why I am predicting this game, but I think it is because Swami likes Harvard people for some reason. Look, Harvard has beaten Providence, Holy Cross, and Hartford. Yawn. Duke is 6-3 against tough competition. I should be putting 10 on this. Duke by SIX. Or worse. Maybe much worse.

10.) Denver at Notre Dame: Notre Dame 1

ND is becoming a bit schizophrenic, but losing to Hofstra is no slouch. Denver is just waiting to make a big explosion onto the scene and make people notice. I think this game could be it! But I am going to wimp out and put a weight of just one on Notre Dame. How is that for confidence? I like ND by one or two. And I will say this - this is Denver's chance to throw the GWLL into turmoil again like last year's Fairfield run. The GWLL should be fun to watch this year - just about any of the teams could win it and get the AQ!

So that's it for another week. A long one for me, but I have been getting really agitated, and going 4-6 doesn't help. The conference action is heating up, and I will soon be giving projections for the tourney bids. Some at large bids are already locked up, including JHU (beat PU, UVa), UVa (beat PU, SU), Princeton (beat SU, thus a lock), and Syracuse (beat JHU, thus a lock). Those four are locks, because the selection committee looks for quality wins and the four teams managed to all beat at least one of the others, distributing the quality wins around among all four of them. The big question now is that all four of these teams play with bull's-eyes on them - they are the ticket for other teams to snag the other five at large bids. Who will knock them off?

We'll see in the coming weeks!

Take care,
Wombat