There are about 7,000,000 sanctioned high school athletes in the US--that's over 50% of the high school student population. Lacrosse has never been among the top ten high school sports in terms of either programs or participation. No doubt lacrosse is growing, but what does that mean?

Of those 7,000,000 high school athletes (4,000,000 males, 3,000,000 females), 96,000 play lacrosse (53,000 males, 43,000 females). How big is that? Well, it's less than a quarter of the number that play volleyball (436,000), less than one-tenth of the number that play basketball (1,002,000), and is less than the number that participate in track and field. Oh, and that's just indoor track and field--the outdoor version attracts ten times as many participants. There are more girls' field hockey programs than lacrosse programs. And ice hockey, played primarily in a few northern states, has more boys' programs nationally than does lacrosse. Among girls, amazingly, ice hockey is twice as popular as lacrosse. And, of course, lacrosse is dwarfed by football and baseball.

So far as growth rate is concerned, all sports that start small grow faster. When you go from one to two, you grow 100%. When you go from 100 to 110, you only grow 10%. Lacrosse may have impressive growth rates in that sense, but it's coming from a base where it was once almost exclusively played in New York and Maryland.

Which high school sports are growing at the fastest rates? Not lacrosse. It hasn't even penetrated half the 50 states yet. Try bowling, swimming and diving, and, yes, soccer.

That last one hurts. Soccer. We all know that soccer is the model most sports try to follow when attempting to build youth participation. No sport has taken over the playing fields of America faster and more pervasively than has soccer in such a short period of time. Soccer has outgrown lacrosse by miles, by almost any measure. But what does that mean? If soccer is so popular in America, why do all professional soccer leagues seem to fail before the ink on their season tickets dry? Well, almost. Indoor soccer has succeeded--to a degree. But is soccer really popular in a spectator sense? Soccer attendance figures, divided by the number of participants, have to be miniscule. When is the last time you saw (outdoor) soccer from America on television? Or an NCAA Division I contest? Does that tell you something? No sport has been given more chances at the professional level and failed so many times as soccer has in the U.S. Hopkins students in the 1960's used to walk down 33rd Street to watch the Baltimore Bays play at Memorial Stadium. That was about 14 professional soccer teams ago.

Sports success in America is defined by the viewing audience. And network TV is the largest part of the audience for the most popular sports in this country. That's not going to change. The American Football League succeeded because CBS had the NFL contract and NBC did not. NBC wanted to show football on Sundays, so they picked up the AFL, and the rest is history. When the USFL (United States Football League) could not get a network TV deal, it folded, just like the WFL (World Football League).

College lacrosse is now shown occasionally on television due to the proliferation of cable and satellite stations that do not need large audiences to break even. Most colleges allow their games to be broadcast without compensation. But for lacrosse to really gain in popularity, it needs the money that only huge network TV audiences offer. Will that ever happen?

It already did. Once. CBS broadcast the NCAA Championship game more than 15 years ago. It was an abysmal flop. No one watched it.

Which brings the Swami to the point. Yes, lacrosse has grown, but not all over the country. For lacrosse to be watched nationally, the next network televised game will have to attract viewers that do not see the game regularly, if at all. What kind of game will that be? Johns Hopkins at Hofstra? That's almost always a good game, but will people in Oregon or Florida or Texas watch it? Not likely. Readers of this publication might know that these are great lacrosse programs, but the rest of the country couldn't tell you in which states these schools are located.

Let's face facts, right now there is more bicycling on television than lacrosse. And there are only 57 Division I men's lacrosse teams--more or less the same number there have ever been. With those figures, it's obvious that regardless of meaningless statistical growth rates spouted off by the Lacrosse Establishment, this sport needs a major shot in the arm.

If you were sitting in Texas or Florida scanning a TV schedule and noticed that Johns Hopkins was playing lacrosse at Hofstra, would you think of that as a major game? Or some sort of minor athletic event played by two colleges with teams you had never heard of? How many viewers from those states would watch? Probably not many. That's too bad. If they watched, they might enjoy it and watch again. Then you're talking real revenues for college lacrosse programs, and the explosion of the sport.

Just look at football. Army and Navy raked in $20 million from the cities of Philadelphia and Baltimore just to play there from 2004-2008--and that's not TV revenues. The Army-Navy football classic is no longer merely a big college football game, but rather a mini-Super Bowl with attendant festivities. When the Mids played in the Emerald Bowl at SBC Stadium in California last year, they had advance ticket sales of 20,000. Opponent New Mexico managed less than 4,000. That's why the Las Vegas Sun said the Las Vegas Bowl would have been more successful if it had invited Navy rather than UCLA--despite the fact that UCLA is a major football power located only four hours away.

Last year, about 1,000,000 people watched the NCAA Division I lacrosse championship on ESPN. Placed in context, about 6,000,000 viewers watch NBC's Today Show each morning during the week. And about 15,000,000 watch an average NFL game (the Super Bowl draws over 150,000,000 viewers).

The week after this season's Army-Navy game, CBS will air the National Cheer Association's National Championship at 2:00 PM--and it's not even live. What does that tell you about how starved the networks are for sports that have national, and not just regional, appeal?

Now, this story might be unlikely, but it's certainly not fantasy. Let's say that two good Army and Navy lacrosse teams make it through the playoffs and into the National Championship in Philadelphia. The contest would take place in the same stadium where the Army-Navy Football classic is played. The service academies' athletic departments know the drill for the big games in Philadelphia, as do the fans. They're already familiar with the media arrangements, publicity, logistics, lodging, and security.

Any Army-Navy championship lacrosse match up would sell out to standing room only. ESPN, which is owned by ABC, may be able to step the game up to a network broadcast.

Under those circumstances, would the President want people to say he didn't have enough time to attend a game between two institutions whose recent graduates are now in combat? Or do you think politicians are TV shy?

Would all those people Texas and Florida watch this game? You had better believe it.

The minute Marine One sets down on a helipad in South Philly and the Commander-in Chief steps off to view a lax contest, this sport enters a new era.

It's Army and Navy that can put this sport on network TV. And network TV can supply the revenues to change lacrosse forever. Once college athletic departments get a whiff of some network TV cash, you've suddenly got a lot of new programs.

Ironically, it is often those who stand to benefit from this the most--the mainstream lacrosse media, who insist that Army-Navy is not as worthy as Hopkins-Princeton-Syracuse-Virginia, etc.

But they've got it backwards.

The Army-Navy game is college lacrosse's launching pad into major media. That's why it's the most important game of the year--every year. And that's why it deserves the support of the entire lacrosse community.

Lee Dingman on this week's contest...
Army's former leading scorer analyzes the game...
Note: Lee Dingman (USMA '00) returned from a tour in Iraq last year with the 101st Airborne...
Academy Fans…

That time of year is upon us where the fields of friendly strife anxiously await the Army-Navy Lacrosse Game.

The NCAA's all-time Division I wins leader, coach Jack Emmer takes his #4 Black Nights against 2004 Coach of the Year, Richie Meade and his #6 Naval Academy Midshipmen.

This game has so many things riding on it, I'm not sure where to begin. First, both teams are in the top 10, and a win for Navy will increase their rank in the top 10, while a win for Army leaves them at a likely #4. Second, the Patriot League tournament: Navy needs to beat Army, and for Colgate to beat Bucknell on 19 April, to host the Patriot League Tournament. Army needs only to beat Navy for the home field advantage. Finally a loss for Navy may knock them out of the top 10 and deflate the much needed momentum to carry them into a certain battle against Johns Hopkins the following Saturday.

The Usual Suspects:

ARMY

Attack-Walker, Wagner, Scheel….103 combined points

Middies-Obringer, Green, Bokmeyer, Larsen, Couch & Couch…43 combined points

Defense & Goal-Doerr, Hansinger, Luyster and Fullerton… Goals Against Avg 6.98

NAVY

Attack-Birsner, Horn, Mirabito…72 combined points

Middies-Gill, Looney & Looney, Wallin, Wallace, Pieczonka…67 combined points

Defense & Goal-Hendler, Felber, Reilley, Dow and Russell…Goals Against Avg 5.68

Some analysis:

A quick look reveals that Army's heavy scoring comes from the attack, while Navy shows a little more balanced approach. That being said, Army has probably the strongest attack corps and defense it has had in years, while Navy's midfield remained strong from the 2004 season. Army's defense is the wild card this season. While Army has always prided itself on tough, physical defense, rarely has this team kept its goals against average this low. I believe the coaching staff at West Point finally made the defense schemes click and success has followed. Navy has continually posted one of the lowest GAAs each of the past 5 years and Army's shooters up front must work hard to beat this defense and goalie.

Bottom line:

I was on the team in 1997, the last time Army won this game. My pick is for Army to win, 9-8.

The Black Knights currently hold the longest active win streak in Division I with nine, and will look to make it number ten "This Week."

Letters to the Editor "This Week" will be accepting and publishing letters to the editor in next week's edition. If you would like to comment about the content of this (or any other) issue, or have anything else you would like to say, please direct your email to editor@laxswami.com. If you would like to comment without publication, please note that on your email. Thank you.

Last Week...
In Annapolis at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium...
The Swami reports: Navy does it again...the roller coaster starts before everyone gets strapped in...
The Mids blow a three goal third quarter lead, only to tie the game with 2 minutes left on the clock, then win it on a miracle goal in the final 14 seconds...
It was a little after 9:15 PM. Navy's Graham Gill was laying on his back in the middle of the field staring up at the darkened sky. The scoreboard clock showed two minutes left to play. Gill had just been knocked to the ground as he scored the game tying goal for Navy from an angle that was so totally impossible it caused Maryland goaltender Harry Alford to do a double-take when he looked in the net. As teammate Ben Horn helped him to his feet, Gill asked, "How in the world did that shot go in?"

Now, with just 20 seconds left, it appeared that this game was headed for overtime, and Navy's hoped for game-winning play, called a minute earlier during a time out, had been quashed by Maryland's determined defenders. The Terrapins had successfully robbed Gill of his most potent weapon--his left-handed shot, all evening. Gill did manage one southpaw goal in the first quarter, but it was against Maryland's zone on EMO. At the two minute mark, Gill was forced to go to his right hand to slide the ball into the goal.

As the clock ticked relentlessly, a few passes by Navy's attack placed the ball, once again, in Gill's stick. This time, he cut to the goal, shook two defenders, switched righty for a second time and scored the game winner with 14 seconds left.

The most exciting team in lacrosse had done it again--this time taking 14,000 fans on a wild ride in the process.

Graham Gill was not exactly a heavily recruited high school player. This may possibly be a result of his having attended a high school that did not have a lacrosse program.

What college could possibly want anyone like that?

Why, Navy, of course.

Last year Navy's top scoring midfielder was from Memphis, Tennessee. This year, Navy has two players from Texas, a midfielder from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan who has a winning face-off percentage of .688, and a starting attackman from Mill Valley, California. The Mids' leading 2005 scorer, going into this game, is a freshman.

This is a team that rotated four long stick midfielders earlier this season in a win over North Carolina, regularly uses 30 players a game (28 against Maryland last Friday), carries 24 midfielders on its roster, and threw 39 players into the fray against Army last year.

Compare that with Duke and Johns Hopkins, which, in a game last Friday that went into double-overtime, used only nine substitutes each.

Navy looked powerful in its victory over North Carolina, controlling all aspects of the game. Then, only seven days later, the Mids dropped a match to Bucknell. Later, Navy was obliterated by Georgetown in Annapolis. Georgetown had earlier been blown off the field by Maryland in a 13-6 rout. Then Navy beat Maryland.

Maybe now you get the picture. This is skilled team of unlikely players with excellent coaching. As recent history would indicate, Navy is also unpredictable, except for one thing: this team never quits. The Mids play until they are dragged off the field. Last Friday's effort was vintage Navy.

The sun was setting over Annapolis for this 7:00 PM start when David Tamberrino won the opening face-off for Maryland. Both teams needed some time to settle down, as is the case whenever these two long-time rivals meet.

Both teams took ten shots before anything fell. But Navy was showing that it had shaken its tendency, so evident when Georgetown visited Annapolis last week, to turn the ball over. The Mids were valuing possessions. When Navy goalie Matt Russell picked up a ground ball at 10:17, Navy maintained ball control for over five minutes, peppering Maryland's goal with six shots in the process. None of them hit their intended mark, and it was obvious Navy was shooting high on Alford, because several of them sailed over the top of the crossbar.

At 4:44 of the first period, Maryland's Bill McGlone eluded his long stick defender, got a step on the short stick that picked him up, dodged to the goal and bounced in a score from the left side.

When Maryland was flagged for holding at 4:09, Navy showed a new-look extra man offense. The Swami found it difficult to diagnose, but no longer was Navy wasting a man by permanently stationing him behind the goal (the "Towson Syndrome"), there were two players on either side of the goal who would sometimes invert, and sometimes come out front. This formation would net Navy an EMO percentage of .800 on the night. And, since Maryland provided the Mids with five penalty opportunities, it put four goals on Navy's side of the scoreboard. Before the night ended, it was obvious that Navy's offensive coordinator, John Tillman, had done his job preparing the team in a number of areas.

On this play, the ball worked its way around to Graham Gill, who tied the game with his only left-handed goal of the contest on a hard sidewinder from about 10 yards out at 3:53.

So far, so good for Navy. Sustained possessions and successful EMO were all missing last week. But would Navy's quick-strike offense return?

The fans got their answer just seconds later as the Iceman, Chris Pieczonka, swiped the face-off, ran straight to the goal, then shuttled the ball along the ground to an open Ben Horn, who fired a hard one past Alford at 3:45.

Not two minutes into the second quarter, Maryland's Xander Ritz tied the game on an unassisted goal from close in.

Navy took a time out to re-group. Two minutes later, however, Maryland went up 3-2 on a burnball from Joe Walters. It was a hard sidearm shot on a feed from Brendan Healy who saw Walters open on the side, about eight yards out. Maryland had obtained possession seconds earlier by breaking a Navy clear.

In the meantime, Navy's man-down unit was turning in a heroic performance. Maryland was able to get off only a single shot during both of Navy's first two penalties.

But, when Maryland was flagged at 4:06, Navy put on a show for the fans. Steve Looney insinuated his way deep into the Maryland defense, four yards in front of the goal. He was too tempting a target for Ben Horn to overlook. Horn fed the ball to Looney high. Then, on one of the most unusual goals of the evening, Looney one-timed a soft rainbow lob over Alford's head and into the net. It was picture perfect, and totally unexpected. The game was now tied again, at 3-3.

The Swami totalled up his stats at the half. They were pretty even. Maryland had a shot advantage (19-14), but many were not on goal. Only Navy's EMO really stood out. Would the Mids be able to continue this?

This, of course, is only anecdotal, but when Navy came out of the locker room, the team looked animated. There was a little extra bounce in the Mids' step.

That would carry onto the field. Maryland was hit with an immediate penalty, and Navy scored.

This time it was Jon Birsner feeding Ben Horn off a busted first Navy attempt. Horn side armed it in from the right.

Two minutes later, Steve Looney would grab his second goal of the game on an unassisted high left-hander from the left side.

Maryland held Navy scoreless for the next six minutes until Tommy Wallin beat his man badly and uncorked a bouncer into Maryland's goal. This sent Navy up, 6-3.

Navy was on a four goal run and threatening to break the game open.

There were plenty of Maryland fans at this game, but the attendance of 14,124 is almost half the population of the City of Annapolis. Most of the people in the seats were Navy supporters. And they all knew one thing: when Navy goes on a four goal run, it is always an omen. The problem is, with the Midshipmen, one never knows in advance what the omen may portend.

In this case it was a three goal run for Maryland that enabled the Terps to tie the game.

Two carbon-copy Joe Walters goals in a row--one on EMO (the only extra man score for Maryland all evening), and one from the same spot, this off a feed from Brendan Healy. They were 42 seconds apart, two-thirds of the way through the third quarter. It was now Navy 6, Maryland 5.

Eight seconds later, David Tamberrino took the next face-off and rolled right into Navy's goal with it to tie the game at 6.

Both defenses clamped down with determination. Navy's hemorrhaging had stopped, but Maryland was also stymied.

Three minutes into the final quarter, after yet another Maryland penalty, Jon Birsner came from behind the goal, looked to pass, but jumped instead and found the goal on a shot from close in on the right. It took Maryland by surprise.

Brendan Healey, who had as good a night as any Maryland player, had been relatively quiet. Healey had fed for two goals, but hadn't scored. Now he would tally twice in exactly 30 seconds. The first (9:22) was right-handed from the right side. The second (8:52) was on a left-handed high-to-low beauty. Maryland was up 8-7, with the clock having run down to a little less than three minutes left in the game.

Navy could not get it going. Finally, Graham Gill ran to the goal. Maryland had to switch off a short stick on him. Never do that. Gill backed up, found a position in the left corner of the end zone, and began his dodge to the goal, coming out front, then reversing, Gill circled the crease from behind, counter clock-wise. As he drew even with the plane of the goal, it looked like he was going to shoot--right-handed, no less. He appeared to have no angle whatsoever. The Swami's companion, Miss Bunny Bimbette, the movie star, covered her eyes. "He's not going to make it, Swami." Gill shot. Alford looked to be in perfect position on the near pipe. Gill squeezed it by the Maryland goalie just as he was knocked to the ground.

The Swami looked at the clock. 2:02. The score was tied at 8-8.

Could Navy now hold off Maryland and send it to overtime?

Navy's Iceman won the face-off--on a procedure call!. Navy took the ball to the offensive area and called time out with 1:21 showing on the scoreboard clock.

The crowd issued an audible, collective sigh. Drama of this sort is routine at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium, and, although it can involve any number of Navy players, Chris Pieczonka is somehow almost sure to figure in the mix.

This was another wild ride on the Navy roller coaster, and a familiar nervous anticipation was beginning to settle over the Navy fans for the umpteenth time this season.

Navy had apparently concocted a play to Nick Mirabito. It busted. Precious additional seconds ticked off the clock.

The fans were standing now. With under 30 seconds, Navy looked disorganized.

The ball was passed back and forth as if no one wanted it. Finally it ended up with Graham Gill, who took matters into his own hands.

Gill cut to the goal and veered to the goalie's right, after Billy Looney set a pick. He was immediately drilled by a Terp long stick. Gill fought his way around the defender, only to be battered by a short stick from the other side. It looked like it was time for Gill to cough up the ball. But, just then, Gill got off a desperate shot with his right hand. It found the net for the go-ahead score, but there were still 14 seconds left.

Haunting visions of David Tamberrino's earlier eight second goal danced through the heads of Navy's fans. Miss Bimbette covered her eyes once more.

Navy was at it again--burning the candle right down to the last drop of wax.

The tension in the stands was palpable. Everyone was standing as the noise level rose even higher.

It was into this atmosphere that the Iceman cometh. Number 24 strode onto the field, seemingly oblivious to the din of the crowd.

The whistle blew and Pieczonka came up with the ball immediately. He directed it out to the wing. Navy had possession. The clock ticked down. The game was over.

Navy had won another patented Cardiac Classic. The woman next to the Swami looked plaintively and asked, "why do they always do this?"

The Swami gave her a straight answer, "it's Navy."

A few post game notes: after the game the Swami learned that Midshipman Matt Russell was not expected to play. He twisted his ankle Wednesday before the game, and was on crutches Thursday. Russell showed an ankle wrap during the game, but looked no worse in the goal. The Swami thought he played one of his best games ever, making some spectacular saves. Navy's man-dowm defense held the Terps to just four shots and a single goal on six Maryland flags. And, at the very end of the game, Navy defender Mitch Hendler took a vicious hit from Maryland's David Tamberrino. The Swami watched the replay later. It was a hard cross-check delivered to the side of Hendler's helmet on the run. Hendler went down, perhaps unconscious, and did not move for minutes. He was eventually helped off the field. Tamberrino was flagged for a two minute penalty, but, since the collision took place with only a second left on the clock, it was not served. It's a real shame to see something like this happen in the game. Tamberrino had been whistled earlier for basically the same type of check, only it was not delivered full-force on the run. This came real close to the type of tragedy that no one likes to see in any sport. As one would expect from a player like Tamberrino, who has no reputation for behavior like this, he wasted no time in issuing profuse apologies.

Final score: Navy 9, Maryland 8
swami@laxswami.com


On the road with Northwestern...
Showdown in the Midwest: #2 Duke meets #1 Northwestern in a real battle...Miss C. C. Ryan reports from Evanston...
Northwestern is focused on its mission: bringing a championship to the Midwest for the first time...
Three reasons why No. 2 Duke can blame bad luck for its loss to No. 1 Northwestern:

This Week...
Lacrosse broadcast links...
Each week the Swami notices questions on the Laxpower board about which games will be broadcast that weekend. Hey, they're all here!

If you need to connect to lacrosse games on the Internet, remember: the Swami's list is the most complete compilation of lacrosse TV and radio broadcasts on the Internet. To get to that page, or any of the Swami's other exciting pages, just run your mouse over the floating link bar at the left of your screen. That will activate the pull-out tray which contains links to Radio/TV, the Swami's other links and the Swami Fan Club, which is now the most populous fan club in lacrosse. Hey, when you read the Swami, you get it all!

It usually takes a while to get down all the many changes that college stations make to their webcasts between seasons, so be patient.

The Game of the Year:

....Army at Navy

Saturday, April 16, High Noon, Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, MD

Listen to Pete Medhurst call the game over WNAV 1430 AM. The pre-game show begins at 11:45 AM. Click on WNAV logo.