Swami's Lacrosse This Week #05-16

Another great season is in the books...

Comments...
From Swami Headquarters in Center City Philadelphia...
How does Philadelphia rate in the World of Lacrosse?...
Recently returned from Hollywood, Miss Bunny Bimbette, the movie star, accompanies the Swami to Philly...

SWAMI HEADQUARTERS:

THE DEVON BAR AND SEAFOOD GRILL
225 S. 18th Street, Rittenhouse Square

Swami: Well babe, what did you think of Philadelphia?

Bunny: Oh Swami, I loved it. Philadelphia has Bailey, Banks & Biddle. Baltimore has only Zales. Plus, all the nightspots on Rittenhouse Square were great, except the one where Cornell hung out.

Swami: You mean Rouge?

Bunny: Whatever. The women looked like men and the men looked like women, or vice-versa.

Swami: It's the same whenever the Swami travels to Ithaca, babe. Those Cornellians are hard to tell apart.

Bunny: Except for the Ivyman. No woman on earth could possibly resemble him.

Cornellians revel in Philly!

Swami: What did you think of his autograph party?

Bunny: Swami, it was ugly. He charged $5 for each signing and said the money would go to charity, but I know he pocketed it. He pretends like he's a philanderer or something.

Swami: That would be philanthropist, babe.

Bunny: Whatever. His telephone is off the hook.

Swami: What about the games?

Bunny: Oh Swami, no wonder they call Virginia the Cavaliers. They were so gracious to lose to Hopkins. It's about time someone did something for Hopkins other than beat them in the playoffs.

Swami: The Swami thinks you put your finger on an historic moment babe. The Swami just finished reading Paul Erlich. If you do the math, Hopkins will not win another championship until 2023. But, by then, according to Erlich, the population explosion will give the U.S. a populace of 17 billion people and global warming will have raised the average Spring temperature in Baltimore to 118°. That will make it impossible to play lacrosse. If you could find a place to play among so many people, it would be too hot.

Bunny: Oh Swami, why do we have so much global warming anyway?

Swami: It's all the artificial turf surfaces on lacrosse fields, babe.

Bunny: Oh Swami, you mean Hopkins fans are doomed?

Swami: Not at all, babe. But there's only one person who can still save the Planet. So, if Hopkins fans can resurrect Al Gore, a future generation may possibly live to see another Blue Jay championship. That's why the Hopkins' people still have Al Gore bumper stickers on their Volvos.

Bunny: Oh Swamikins, that's something I always puzzled over. You're so gifted. It's no wonder you're so beloved at Homewood.

A Final Four without Syracuse or Navy still draws 45,000+...
Philly gets an "A+"...
This season's Final Four attendance of 45,275 fell a bit short of the record crowd of 46,923 established last year at M & T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. But who figured Philadelphia would do so well, especially with this year's field of contenders? Last year's participants--Syracuse, Navy, Princeton, and Johns Hopkins, are the top four drawing teams in lacrosse. This season, Navy drew an average of 6,526 fans to each of its home (regular season) games. Contrast that with Duke, which managed to host only 13,762 spectators for its entire season, or Virginia, which did even worse (12,283).

The championship game attendance was claimed to be above that of 2004 (44,920 fans in Philly vs. 43,898 in Baltimore), but that's probably only technically correct. There were many more empty seats on Monday than there were on Saturday--something everyone in attendance at both games could deduce. At Lincoln Financial Field there were no turnstiles. Your ticket was taken, a stub retained, and the corpus of the ticket returned to you. This means that in order to determine exactly how many people actually attended, stadium officials would have had to count all the stubs--not likely. Attendance for both Division I days was probably determined by tickets sold, rather than actual attendance. Not that any of this means much. The fact of the matter is that Philadelphia sold more tickets than anyone thought it would--and did a good job for the fans.

The people who put on this show are to be complimented. It was a job largely well done.

It's hard to congratulate--or castigate--the individual entities responsible, for there are so many diverse elements that go into these large sporting productions. The University of Pennsylvania was (at least) the technical host for the games. The City of Philadelphia coordinated much of the event, having made the original pitch for the tournament. The Philadelphia Eagles helped out with their stadium and staff. And the NCAA had its thumb in the pie also.

The overnight accommodations were more than adequate. One would expect this of a city the size of Philadelphia on a weekend that is not especially boffo for the hotel business. Transportation had Baltimore's arrangements beat with a stick. The subway from Center City ran almost to the door of the stadium. Philadelphia is equidistant from both Baltimore and New York City, so its geography is convenient for lacrosse. And, with many new high school teams in the Pennsylvania-New Jersey area, some new fans were introduced to the championship matches.

Passouts--long a sore point with fans--were better in Philadelphia, allowing fans to exit and re-enter the stadium with some degree of reasonableness. This, however, is more likely a feature of an NCAA policy change rather than anything attributable to the host venue. In the future the NCAA should keep in mind that many people attending the games have small children, and need to get to their cars for a variety of reasons. The NCAA is unrealistically paranoid that fans will tailgate in the parking lots and seek to re-enter the stadium in an inebriated state. This is a mind set common to bureaucratic organizations which become so bloated as to lose touch with reality.

Visiting fans found out last year that Baltimore's entertainment district, if one can even say Baltimore has one, is not downtown. It is in Fell's Point, which is about the same distance to M & T Bank Stadium as Center City Philadelphia is from Lincoln Financial Field. But, there's a big difference. Baltimore has no subway connecting the two. Philadelphia's entertainment district, its major hotels, and its downtown, are all in the same place.

Center City Philadelphia is certainly more lively than downtown Baltimore. And why shouldn't it be? Philadelphia is twice as large as Baltimore. The Swami remembers when Philly seemed dead at night in the 1960's. That's far from true now. Lacrosse fans at the Swami's Headquarters in the Devon were partying until the wee hours of the morning, and the Devon is one of only eleven bars immediately surrounding Rittenhouse Square. There was plenty to keep people occupied for the entire weekend.

The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Daily News did a good job covering this event, with more than two dozen articles leading up to the championship weekend. Jay Narducci and Bob Ford, both of the Inquirer, came off like accomplished lacrosse writers.

The NCAA is apparently leaning in the direction of the Final Four being played in a professional venue from this point forward. If so, that should be good for the sport. The University of Maryland was a great college host for this event for many years, but there's nothing to do in College Park for people coming from out of town for the weekend. Larger cities can throw a few bucks at the tournament figuring that they can get a bigger return in business and taxes. That's something the suburbs can't do.

People who want to see this tournament played in weird places--like the abominable Meadowlands, or chilly Foxboro, Massachusetts--have no business sense. This is a game that belongs downtown in an affordable big city where the fans can have fun when they are not attending games, and where the city makes enough money from the lacrosse tourists to throw in some service subsidies. Can you imagine spending the weekend at a Motel 6 in Seacaucus, NJ? Or maybe, if you're interested in having something to do at night, staying in Manhattan at a $250 hotel and commuting to the Meadowlands? Or how about bundling up for Gillette Stadium in Foxboro? Hey, it's only 28 miles from downtown Boston--you can rent a car for three days in Beantown for about $200. And who mentioned FedEx Field, the home of the Washington Redskins? Anyone who's ever been there knows it's a loathsome place that's not convenient to anything and is subject to mind-numbing traffic congestion. FedEx Field is also troubled by an unfortunate location--outside DC in odious Prince George's County, Maryland, which is less convenient than College Park to either Washington or Baltimore. That's why the chumps that throw this name around never tell you why they think it's a good venue--there are no good reasons.

Baltimore and Philadelphia have one thing in common in addition to being situated in lacrosse country: Their stadia are convenient to their downtown areas, thus eliminating the need for a rental car for overnight guests. Who wants to rent a car for three days because the NCAA has chosen a suburban location for its tournament? Give the NCAA some credit--it may be dumb, but it's probably not that dumb.

As for the hopeless few who remark that Baltimore seemed more cognizant of lacrosse visitors than did Philadelphia, so what? The cognizance of the citizenry means nothing. The central questions are these: 1.) Was the event well-managed, convenient, and affordable?; and, 2.) Did the fans have a good time? That's all.

Let's face some real facts here: Charlotte and Foxboro are too far from anywhere. DC has no advantages over Baltimore, being farther south, more expensive, and possessed of a sports press that is contemptuous of a game identified with Baltimore--a place that thin-skinned Washingtonians have always resented. That resentment springs from the innate fact that Baltimore is a real city, while DC is just a place where a lot of people live. As for the Meadowlands, it is a repellent island of ugliness in the middle of nowhere. Everywhere else is inadequate. Accept the fact that the competition for the permanent home for this tournament, if there is one, is either Baltimore or Philadelphia--two very good venues. And, since Philadelphia likely has less local attendance than Baltimore, it probably stands to gain more in the way of overnight guests--something that makes the tournament more valuable to the city, thus giving Philly the all-important $$$ edge.

The expected attendance for these games also requires a large stadium. Rumors about the Naval Academy bidding on the Final Four are not true. Navy uses its stadium for graduation during the week leading up to Memorial Day. This year President Bush delivered the commencement address in that stadium. Annapolis is a small town of only 30,000--which is about the same capacity as Navy's stadium. Annapolis would be a fine venue for the regional playoffs--but that's all. The city is so bereft of hotel rooms that its residents rent out their houses to the families of graduating Midshipmen and move in with relatives, or take vacation, during Commissioning Week.

The best guess is that the games will come back to Baltimore's M & T Bank Stadium for 2007 and 2008, but after that, maybe a permanent home is in order. The Swami would vote for Philadelphia over Baltimore simply because it has more to offer, and did a better job hosting. That's rather remarkable considering the built in advantage Baltimore has as a lacrosse-saavy city.

The only people the Swami knows that complained about Philadelphia were those who chose to commute there from Baltimore. They're right to think that's more inconvenient--but only for them. The Swami suggests that next year they shell out a few bucks and spend the night--then it will be real convenient. Good hotels can be had for a little more than $100 per night in Center City.

Remember 2004? Long lines awaited fans in Baltimore that year for both tickets and admission. Stadium security was ridiculously overblown. All sorts of prohibited items were stacked in grand piles outside the entrance gates to M & T Bank Stadium, prompting one to wonder how many of them were reunited with their owners afterward. None of this was on display in Philadelphia, where lines were practically non-existent, and the crowd was handled expeditiously. Security was close to inconspicuous, and the Swami did not notice any confiscations. Concessions were also better, with more variety--and cheaper. Food lines were short and managed efficiently.

One complaint: Fans were still confronted with no real ice cream on a day that reached over 70°. What ever happened to the rule that a sports venue had to offer good ice cream whenever the mercury broke 60°? The Linc, like other stadia, has sold out to the disgusting "Dippin' Dots"--flash-frozen pellets of who knows what, masquerading as an ice cream substitute. Hey, the NCAA lacrosse committee should be force-fed this vile concoction for fan abuse.

Once upon a time, real stadium management--the kind that cared about fan contentment--sold real ice cream, like Dove Bars, and played real music. Give some credit to UVA in that department--last year's playoffs in Charlottesville featured some good ice cream along with good tunes. The best the Linc could do in the music department was to rustle up the ghastly and third rate Van Halen version of the venerable Martha Reeves and the Vandellas hit "Dancing in the Street." The rest of the music was just as abominable as it was in Baltimore the year before. This is a truly sad statement for a city once home to Chubby Checker, Danny and the Juniors, and Patti LaBelle.

The Swami thinks that, municipally speaking, the City of Philadelphia did a better job too. Philadelphia has been a more business friendly place than Baltimore for a long time now. Plus, its mayor has not lost $58 million of taxpayers' money.

Hey, little things, like being able to know the whereabouts of $58 million, sometimes make a difference.

The Swami votes for Philly--and so should you.

Army's next head coach...
West Point is talking to the cream of the crop...
The Swami has read a lot of speculative comments about who the next head coach of the Military Academy will be. Many of them are off the mark. Some are way off the mark. Anyone doubting the effect of Navy's lacrosse resurgence at the Military Academy is out of touch with reality. Army is not going to second fiddle to the Midshipmen. So far, the reaction to long-time West Point head coach Jack Emmer's retirement announcement has been a flood of interest in his old position. Army is now in the process of interviewing a veritable Who's Who of contemporary lacrosse--including some names that shocked the Swami.

Yes, we are headed for the inevitable emancipating metamorphosis of the sport: an Army-Navy Championship Game that will draw the President of the United States, sell out any stadium, achieve a network broadcast, break all viewing records, and spark the long overdue expansion of Men's Division I Lacrosse.

Last Week...
Miss Venus Lee in Philadelphia...
Maryland's heart finally gives out...
Duke prevails in the teams' third meeting of the season...
Coming back from a 10-8 defeat at the hands of the Duke Blue Devils in early March, the Terps put on a real show for their fans by inching their way past Virginia in a thrilling overtime semi-final, then dominating Duke in the ACC Championship Game. That series showed Maryland at its best--hustling and scrapping.

In the end, the Terps may have been the most underrated of the upper bracket of lacrosse teams this season. Who would have forecast that a team which had lost its entire starting defense and goalie would end the season ranked ninth in goals against with a 7.75 team average?

Curiously, the Face Off Magazine's Coaches Poll ranked Maryland a pre-season #5--but the same publication's conference preview placed the Terps behind North Carolina, in a dead tie with Virginia for second place. Duke was last. One can only assume that the coaches were not consulted for the conference preview.

Maryland was successful in the ACC final game against Duke largely because it limited the Blue Devils' possessions. That was not the case last weekend, as Duke came off the blocks strongly.

While the Terps were the first to score behind a Bill McGlone goal just one minute into the game, Duke would register the next nine goals in a row. The problem: time of possession. While Maryland only trailed Duke in winning faceoffs 18-13, the Terps managed to lose eight of the first nine draws before figuring out the Blue Devils. Maryland used four different players at the faceoff "x", most likely because its primary faceoff specialist, David Tamberrino, was playing with a nagging injury.

It did not hurt that Aaron Fenton, a Philadelphia native playing in front of friends and family, had a great day in the net, either. Fenton would register 15 saves on the day.

But, even so, the Terps would not give up. By late in the third quarter, Maryland's offense came alive. Joe Walters scored three goals in less than five minutes, to tighten the score to 12-7--a not impossible situation for Maryland.

But it was the Maryland defense that seemed to be lagging. It allowed Duke to score six of the next seven goals, putting this game out of reach halfway through that run.

Maryland goalie Harry Alford had only eight saves (as compared with 15 in the ACC final) against the Blue Devils last Saturday, but the vast majority of shots that found their mark came from close range. Alford's statistics, then, were more of a reflection of Maryland's general defensive lapses than anything else.

Duke had established its tempo, and nothing that Maryland could do could shake the momentum from the Blue Devils, which included multiple scores from long sticks.

Final Score: Duke 18, Maryland 9.
venuslee@laxswami.com

The Swami in Philadelphia...
Thunder and lightning?...
Virginia is electrocuted. Did the Cavalier coaches pull the switch again?...
It was almost eerie. No one else spotted them--they had taken off their hats and covered their shirts.

But they couldn't fool the Swami.

They made their presence known before the end of the Maryland-Duke game, standing and lurking stealthily in the aisles, sharp eyes peeled. You know who the Swami is talking about--the Homewood Seat Vultures. All lacrosse fans know them.

Lacking faith in their own team, and, therefore, too wary to purchase seats in advance like normal fans, the pinch-penny Homewood Vultures wait until they're sure that the Blue Jays will make the Final Four before they shell out for tickets. This confines them to the cheap seats way up in nosebleed territory, where they belong. Then, sensing disappointed Maryland fans will leave to congratulate their over achieving players at the Terrapins' big tailgate party, they move in on the empty seats near the front rows as soon as the Terp supporters depart.

So, the Swami played along. The Swami's entourage, seated in two rows of twelve seats, got up at the conclusion of the first game for some refreshments at the Swami's tailgate. When Swami & friends returned, the vultures were comfortably situated in the Swami's seats. But there were still some other empty seats nearby. So Swami & Co. waited until those were taken. Then the Swami and his entourage returned to their seats--giving the vultures the heavy boot after they had nowhere else to go. The Homewoodies feigned to have misread their tickets and pretended to check the seat numbers on their stubs. But the Swami snatched a ticket from the lead vulture and read it aloud: "These say Section 114, Row 45. That's the last row in the east end zone. This is Section 101, Row 5. We're at the fifty yard line. How could you possibly confuse your tickets with ours? Didn't you buy them last year, like everyone else in this section did?"

Then, this being Philadelphia, the surrounding fans booed the shameful vultures.

Their moment of truth had arrived.

Hey, the Swami was fueled for this contest. A Virginia victory would give us an all ACC final--a guarantee of an unpredictable outcome. A Virginia defeat, on the other hand, would bring us the certainty of a boring final: two controlling coaches dictating a controlling game--with none of the wild cards that make lacrosse exciting.

So, here we were for Virginia-Hopkins. One of the most predictable teams in lacrosse coached by one of the most predictable coaches in lacrosse versus another highly predictable team.

The Swami pondered the lone wild card: Which Cavalier coaching staff would show up today? The one that rallied the team through an opening loss to Syracuse and on to a National Championship in 1999? Or the one that blew a National Championship with a bonehead game plan three years ago?

You remember that Final Four game. The crafty feeder Conor Gill, who had just set an NCAA record with eight assists in a playoff game the week before, had the ball behind the Syracuse goal with his team leading 11-10 and only a minute and a half left in the game. He watched teammate John Christmas frolic uncovered in front of an open net, while the Syracuse goalie assisted in a double team, all the while mindful of the UVA coaches' instructions not to shoot. A two goal lead would have been a knockout punch to the Cruisers. But Virginia disdained it only to witness Syracuse obtaining possession with 41 seconds left and scoring, sending the game to double overtime, where Virginia lost. It was a coaching decision that will be remembered for many years to come.

And so it is that Virginia's wild card is not on the field, but on the sidelines.

Would it get played again today?

A somnolent first half saw no scoring by either team during the first quarter, and shooting percentages for the first two periods of 8% for Virginia and 12% by Hopkins. Hopkins took a 2-1 lead to the locker room, but a significant event had occurred shortly before the whistle blew. With two seconds left on the clock at the end of the second quarter, a Virginia defender was called for a loose ball push. This would give Hopkins a meaningless final possession, but certainly not enough time to score. But the Virginia defender drew a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct when he apparently used colorful language to protest the call.

Unsportsmanlike Conduct:

SECTION 10. No player, substitute, non-playing member of a squad, coach or anyone officially connected with a competing team shall:

a. Enter into an argument with an official as to any decision that has been made or in any way attempt to influence the decision of an official.

b. Use threatening, profane or obscene language or gestures at any time during the game.

Note 2: A non-releasable (one- to three-minute) penalty will be imposed for a, b and c.

The referee, miked for broadcast by the ESPN crew, clearly said, "...one minute, full-time, F-bomb." Assuming "F-bomb" to be a euphemism for an unprintable word, Note 2 of rule 10 b was invoked. This made the one minute penalty non-releasable, meaning that an opposition goal would not liberate the offender from the penalty box. The penalty would carry over to the second half.

Now up a man, Hopkins' Kyle Barrie scored just 10 seconds into the third period. It was now 3-1, Blue Jays. But that's not all. Just as the penalty ran out, Jake Byrne fired a score past Virginia goal tenter Kip Turner. The goal was technically an all-even score, but, in fact, it was a gift of the penalty because Virginia's released player had not yet made it into position on the field. The Cavaliers had given the Jays two goals with some bad language.

By the time that the fourth quarter had rolled around, it was obvious the Virginia's Kip Turner was having a special day. He already had 16 saves and a save percentage of .666.

The evening before, Philadelphia television stations carried weather forecasts of sunny skies until afternoon, when thunderstorms were predicted to roll in. Fans who spent the night in Philly knew this and brought suitable weather gear. Those commuting from Baltimore were mostly caught unprepared.

As the fourth quarter opened, the air chilled noticeably, and the sky darkened. By now Hopkins had forged ahead, 6-3. But everyone remembers the fourth quarter in last year's semi-final when the Blue Jays stopped playing long before the end of the game.

Two minutes into the final frame, Cavalier John Christmas found teammate Matt Ward wide open about 14 yards out on the left center. Ward fired a low sidewinder past Hopkins goalie Jessie Schwartzman for the score. The Virginia bench jumped. At 6-4 the Cavs now had a chance.

UVA wingman J. J. Morrissey scooped the face-off ground ball on the next play and ran to the goal. He flipped it off to Ben Rubeor, who fired a left hand sidewinder past Schwartzman for another Cavalier goal. The shot came from the exact same spot as the previous tally. Elapsed time: eight seconds. The clock showed 12:59 remaining in the game.

Hopkins won the next face-off, but turned possession over almost immediately. Virginia then began what would be a five minute possession, during which it would take nine shots on goal, including a near-miss pipe shot by Drew Thompson. But the ninth shot, by Matt Ward, bounced past Schwartzman and tied the game. It was taken, once again, from approximately the same position as the previous two.

The bad weather moved in with a vengeance as the thermometer dropped and the skies blackened. Rain started, at first sprinkling, then a full downpour. But the teams played on.

The time of possession and momentum swung entirely to the Cavaliers. Hopkins fans fled for the concession areas, while Virginia fans remained glued to their seats. This set up an interesting phenomenon. The ESPN broadcast shown on numerous overhanging televisions in the concession areas was tape delayed 6 or 7 seconds. So, when Matt Poskay scored Virginia's go ahead goal on EMO with a doorstep quick stick, Cavalier fans in the stadium cheered wildly, while six seconds later, groans could be heard originating from the concession areas. That sent UVA fans into a second round of cheering.

It was now getting ugly. Hopkins was falling apart rapidly. Virginia was clearly outplaying the Jays, who were noticeably glum. The team needed a miracle.

It was then that the Swami noticed that the notorious Hopkins' Banana People, sitting suspiciously close to the field, decided to pose for a group picture, simultaneously taken by about a dozen cameras facing the playing surface--each equipped with flash attachments.

Hopkins' Top Banana.

As soon as their flash bulbs went off together, someone near the field reported lightning. Hey, the Swami did not encounter anyone else in the stadium who seemed to notice any lightning. And, after the game, the Swami checked the lightning gauge in his Lincoln Navigator. It registered zero!

Regardless, the game was halted at this point^1.The clock showed 4:45.

Fans were told to leave their seats and head inside. Concession areas, about ready to close down, re-opened. A few people left the stadium, but a surprisingly large number remained.

Forty-six minutes later, the game resumed. Would UVA maintain its momentum?

Kyle Harrison tied the game again with an overhand jumper from the left side on the run at 4:25.

Hopkins blew the ensuing face-off on a procedure call. The Blue Jays got the ball back almost immediately, however, only to throw it out of bounds.

At 2:37, with the score tied 8-8, the Cavaliers called time out. The plan was to hold the ball for two minutes, then take a second time out.

Hopkins played patiently and did not challenge for possession. Virginia received a stall warning at 1:59. At :37, UVA called time out and set a play.

After several passes, the ball eventually found Matt Ward, who cut quickly to the goal. But Ward was surrounded by Hopkins defenders. He split two defensemen, kept his balance with remarkable skill, and bounced the ball into the Hopkins goal with just 12.9 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.

It was crunch time.

Now, with only 12 seconds left on the scoreboard clock, came one of the most crucial face-offs this season. Before we analyze that draw, let's take a look at the big picture.

Regardless of what some may say, this was now Virginia's game to lose, and not Hopkins' game to win.

How quickly can one score off the face-off on slick turf? The Swami supposes that somewhere there is someone who has done it in two or three seconds, but the best time the Swami has seen in the past two years is six seconds.

So, with 12 seconds left in the game, that means if Virginia can just impede Hopkins for seven seconds, this game is in UVA's win column. Of course, with 20-20 hindsight, we now know that if Virginia had impeded Hopkins for a mere 1.5 seconds, this game would have seen a different ending.

If you were a coach under these circumstances, would you send a raker or a clamper to the face-off "x"? The Swami would opt for the latter, reasoning that you can milk a good clamp for five or six seconds at a minimum before possession is even called. This is when every team should wish it had Army's Tony Vozzolo--Vozzolo can clamp the ball with just his breath for a couple of seconds.

But Vozzolo does not play for Virginia. Jack deVilliers does, and so does Charlie Glazer. In fact they are the only two that have taken any face-offs at all for Virginia for the entire season. Is that remarkable? Hopkins, Duke, and Navy have each used five different players at face-off this season. With (.618) Matt Eckerl on its roster, even Towson has used four different players.

Say what you will, Jack deVilliers is no ordinary player. It is possible that the Swami may never have seen a better high school face-off specialist. The Baltimore Sun claimed that deVilliers had an MIAA win rate that, at one time, approached 80%. Hey, that's in the best high school league in the country. You can say a lot of things about a lot of center midfielders in Division I today, but has any single one of them taken more face-offs in the last eight years than Jack deVilliers? The Swami saw deVilliers in action at St. Paul's, then, of course, at UVA. He can do it all. Although primarily a raker, deVilliers can also clamp.

Charlie Glazer (.656) is no slouch either. He won 70% of his face-offs for his last two years at his Greenwich, CT high school.

Under the circumstances, then, the Swami fully expected Dom Starsia to pull one of his face-off guys aside and instruct them to clamp the ball.

But this didn't happen. Hey, what gives here? What did happen was that deVilliers faced Greg Peyser and attempted a rake. It was unsuccessful.

Jake Byrne scored for the Blue Jays with only 1.4 seconds left. Imagine that. A 1.5 second clamp could have negated the tying goal.

What little momentum that was left in Virginia was sucked out by its coach when he called for a stick check on Byrne, hoping to get lucky. There was absolutely no reason at all to suspect Byrne had been playing with a illegal stick. It was a sign of desperation, and one that sent the wrong signal to Virginia players.

Benson Erwin scored with 50 seconds left in overtime to win it for Hopkins.

It was another of several fortunate turns for the Blue Jays this season.

Final Score: Johns Hopkins 9, Virginia 8 (OT).
swami@laxswami.com

¹A serious note about lightning: The Swami has heard that the NCAA's lacrosse rules call for a game delay of at least 25 minutes, but wonders if that is really the case. There is no known specific NCAA lacrosse rule with regard to lightning. Perhaps the NCAA has issued a general rule about lightning that the Swami is not aware of. Rather, the Swami thinks that the NCAA follows the "National Athletic Trainers’ Association Position Statement: Lightning Safety for Athletics and Recreation." This policy is contained in a fairly lengthy, and somewhat scientific, document that summarizes a series of studies and is authored by several academics, including officials of the National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, OK, and the National Lightning Safety Institute in Louisville, CO. It recommends a minimum delay of 30 minutes. About 100 people die from lightning strikes each year--by comparison, that's approximately one seventh the number of bicycle fatalities.

Hopkins destroys a sacred Baltimore tradition...
With help from Virginia, an instructive reminder of the vulnerabilities of hubris is gone...
But a Princeton psychology professor says it may be healthy for Blue Jay fans to continue to be a subject of derision...
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The Swami was laughing his head off.

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Who could possibly believe it? He said, "6mÙb|w_Ý®ö_çæ¬Cœb�Yü›Z$Ú@÷"!

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K‘Â¦öáBÈÛ…MÝÔ7áFê{è;C¸Ð½A³¿ÛGÐG¶€›ªk@ßÓí¡éªAªiK~ÁF¡Somç…ÉõÒ_Æ¥ÛºþŠ cï=¦�0új»?u{Húh%�¼Ðæz)tï£ê¡d…ï©ãè©¸T¹î.hL:CÆ¦´¤÷û*{ ‡HÚ÷ÔÓ×IR…Ã˜×·eKÒÜÔÝn4Ò†½A¨?e� ÿ<½æƒòÀÛ¥…-êTmJ‚{ûhX¯ºÄzuÓC×Ræ„’~àÞƒo®†ûqVÑîÞ�ûÅêiÙ¥‘Dwº‚¾16Ñû¹h4[�£ƒ{¬‹°Ÿ_™j³žCž~6ä:‡C¹Þv„o ÕÐ¾6BÇ˜ÙH\o`H;V¼þ5Šz’å‰û

ß'ä·¿SiVÏŠð¿Fg?3¡ôç×#?ãn?VAeôîK¡½c_•!Þ??ÆTì!nß¼¬+¾?xG1.£¶HÍ×ÖWôÒZ&¹hÑUf²qÚ?*QØý«´xéõÐ(ƒ‰¿‚ÿ<*]me^?¦æ¥Ù…·iÝÂ‚g—b!R=â?×O ï'Ô?-ˆ6¡sA+î¯I‡™?Õãå’
‰âê9oûÉo¦ªÝ\e?MÏá÷?·ó?>îç‰w™ñpgÇ°9óÌ?Ùp¤?côÖÝÂ“h?ìŒ�ÂUÞ¿¾–oá¦?~">bŽ-then Columbia Black and Blue revealed that inside the costume of "Smuggy Blue," the Johns Hopkins Blue Jay mascotUf²qÚ?*QØý«´xéõÐ(ƒ‰¿‚ÿ<*]me^?¦æ¥Ù…·iÝÂ‚g—b!R=â?×O ï'Ô?-ˆ6¡sA+î¯I‡™?Õãå’ ?óý?Ñ^¯‰ò·ÿ&ŽóÙaI¸q¡¸q?‚zF,Äñ©»Æ–íÝSswP?^êšú(\Ð¹a dwarf illegal alien from HondurusÄwÐÐP¡sBþ’{¨Uf²qÚ?*QØý«´xéõÐ(ƒ‰¿‚ÿ<*]me^?¦æ¥Ù…·iÝÂ‚g—b!R=â?×O ï'Ô?-ˆ6¡sA+î¯I‡™?Õãå’

pø§…‘„O—TŠy®¦’òu�lÞ³[ÿ&ëp#ßÁ0\î>m¦ëìµmXƒ‘ðò¬§î7áÉìm¨Õo)[ß§YŠ,m‹¬Z½Þ‚ødéù"øó²[ˆoÅQý¤³/jÃ�=·Hopkins fans, who actually had a sign that read, "Y“ïBC�XaëÍŸ#%²båÊ5�Gõ0±¨«•)†{ÛP&�¼$[7×YÓG“Ó×ïúŽŠ×_�~sÿürà}¶áÿ&Hrü¹réË´ŸUZ¸ó=Ì%2Go(Ý‡û¶³}S”Ý²E*ÃŠ°±ö"!!!

Ë,Ï.ïñžOzf‰[ðàûVeRN°¿/&91ßºU+ì½X®Ž.ŒxUñdL‹ËŽVåÿ<x2\ËŠªÇüLv0·îù“è®‹yq>v÷ðâÜì·Ñ ôQ¹©ð‰ÿ& ;M×Ê{Á¦#VÓÎ�~[áÝeoXÇË¡Oqúê\_�8ÌÊQniaÜÞaìkÑø�ÃÏOâiö¡ÄiÚy^ÕüÔÃ¾úŠÉÖ�&ßˆÜbtý‡{~š›1[Ýœ¯þbRGÊŸ†ûvþ?ß¤ªõ.mYðÎßË–)<€}�¶ƒbä »Döï

ƒÁˆôG›'k_ö¬~º¬žú—Ò‚YØÎù2.TÇ¥ÈRGÕ1¦`Pùˆ{_†€ó˜8“r¡83�$Ö6·Ýqqom}e#¶¤ëT*5ž÷£qqéÆ¹ú~œÏÑÓrô~Ø|¿3˜¸³,ŠWtlAâ�„q¦ÇUäÄèJ9�.W‡º8¯^§¨complete mistake.

ü›!Š_Ë&S#�1Öì6…V:ó²ôù±U!š3‰<j r9P5Fî:vG§oÌÕÚoáÂ‘7/ÞN>´?¢´båÉæÄ–Ê}ô©ðxÛOh¬'âuP¤hâì§ÆúS4eívÚÃPè&Ã”þ<Fÿ on a park bench in Rittenhouse Square!

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This, of course, after jHQ§¦¾�ø–òÛ†¶ïªú�Â|~oËø]ºó¸ÿ=&'?Ýjä¦í~uü-ÊõßOÝIºÃ}·Û]··ÓG=¬ß…¾Vü9öÇ´Úp' and, when you consider that, it's no big deal. If it were, people would be saying that¾1LÈÆ¤ÂnÃö¢6qì¬áÔñãÚ)w1ywæßË³ßðÛmo]oÆÚ?:ålÿ>Ž)ßÛjè\ú~�ôµmÌ)ôœi§^æ™^%ðå’ì4, but they're not. ¦HBäÆ5/æ[�¼£Ì=c¾±Í6N“Ä²7‘ç‚5Óè«w0rws>ÆËî¿g»¯ut¿â¶�Ìù»îÿ&7ÇØ|_'™/*û«±æÜ±ÎÛðýŸ·m¿W�çýÚËKƒîú#ªvŒWe°~‰1•R55dYP®È¦uCþî‡û

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Final Score: Johns Hopkins 9, Duke 8.
swami@laxswami.com

The Big Chill...
The Swami dissects ESPN's lacrosse gamble...
How much of a bath did ESPN take with the championship game?...
Fans can be forgiven if they thought they were watching the Division I championship game on PBS, even if there were no beg-a-thons.

Public service announcements are not the lifeblood of television broadcasting. Neither are advertisements for other programs on the same, or related, networks, or the typical college promos that the NCAA likes to see run during telecasts of big games.

The lifeblood of broadcast television is paid advertising--typically in 30 second commercial messages. This means real companies that buy time to advertise real products and services they want to sell.

How well did ESPN do on that count with last Monday's championship game?

Apparently not well at all. In fact, there is plenty of evidence that this game was a near-total bomb from an advertising revenue point of view.

There were six time outs taken in this game. Tellingly, not one cut to a commercial. Also, there were no TV timeouts.

During the actual game itself, on DirecTV, there were a total of 13 network advertisements sponsored by commercial enterprises. That's only six and a half minutes in a broadcast that ran 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Six of the spots were from Warrior Lacrosse, including four which appeared during halftime. Pontiac aired two commercials for its troubled G6 model, Dasani Water ran one, as did Microsoft. Anheuser Busch produced an ad which, to the company's credit, thanked veterans on Memorial Day and made little attempt to sell its beer. The final two adverts were from Coca-Cola.

Worse, it is not clear that all of the advertisements shown were purchased specifically for this game. The sponsors of the game were announced as Warrior Lacrosse and Bud Light. But Coca-Cola actually received more air time than did Anheuser Busch. Why wasn't Coke announced as a sponsor? Maybe because it didn't intend to be a sponsor. Sometimes companies buy large blocks of ads to save money, and do not specify exactly where they run. Sometimes companies are given "make-ups" for ads that never ran--in rained out games, for example.

Is there any wonder why ESPN's pre and post-game segments are so short, or its production values so weak?

When you think of the cost of production that goes into a major event like this, there is almost no chance that ESPN came out of it in the black. Sooner or later, the number crunchers at the network will match up the revenues with the expenses and draw conclusions. What might those conclusions be?

The Swami guesses that ESPN sold only about 10 ads specifically for this game.

That says it all.
swami@laxswami.com

This Week...
The "Big Boyz" and the Swami say goodbye...
Radio Mike wins the regular season contest, Wombat takes the playoffs...
On behalf of all the Big Boyz, the Swami would like to say goodbye for this season. It's been great to put together yet another volume of "This Week" for all of our faithful readers. From a small, privately circulated newsletter, "This Week" has grown into one of the most read sites about lacrosse. Hey, next year will be our 10th Anniversary! Without the important contribution of the Big Boyz, this would not have been possible. For 2006, we have plans to further enhance our site. We look forward to hearing about our readers' ideas in that regard.

To all of our readers who have shared opinions with us, many thanks. Reader feedback is important to us and we do react to it.

To all of the players, coaches, and athletic staffers who read "This Week," we would like to thank you for your assistance where you have given it, and to those who continue to oppose the free-wheeling opinions of "This Week," we're happy that you still read us. Our special congratulations go to Johns Hopkins and Duke Universities for providing us with yet another one goal Championship Game. This was not an easy journey for either team, and we all certainly appreciate the hard work and sheer effort that goes into winning a Division I championship in this age. We are especially indebted to Hopkins fans, who withstood two years of tweaking with relatively good humor. For those Blue Jay supporters who take "This Week" seriously, we hope that your adjustment to new found success will not prove to be an impediment in other aspects of your lives. No team in lacrosse deserved to win this year more than Johns Hopkins.

For those of you who wish that "This Week" would conform its vision to that of the MSLM (Mainstream Lacrosse Media) and become a politically correct mouthpiece for the NCAA and college athletic staffs, we can only say "in the dreams of the MSLM." "This Week" was never conceived to be politically correct or to stifle the opinions of any of its readers or contributors--the latter of whom are often at variance with each other.

A special thanks is in order to Miss Venus Lee, who, having recently accepted a new job, was forced to make several unplanned trips to the West Coast, but still managed to fulfill her role as producer of this site. The Swami, who lost two and half weeks to back problems this season, is especially grateful for her diligent work.

Another special thanks goes to Miss C. C. Ryan, who covered women's lacrosse for "This Week" for the first time. During Miss Ryan's first trip to Baltimore, to cover the Northwestern-Hopkins game on a Friday evening, she managed to stay over the weekend to do the color for the Navy-Hopkins (men's) game the next day. Miss Ryan, we are happy to report, managed to endure the many recriminations that come with wearing "laxswami.com" rain gear, and, more amazingly, survived close contact with the U.S.N.L.H.

Finally, from all of us at "This Week," thank you all very much.

Yes, Radio Mike has won the regular season contest by A SINGLE POINT!!! The Ivyman, who finished far down the pack as usual, is threatening to sue, claiming that Radio Mike's position as a producer of lacrosse broadcasts puts him in position to get inside information on the game results. As the Ivyman put it, "everyone knows that lacrosse is like professional wrestling. Some people get the skinny early."

Congratulations to Wombat, who won the playoff contest. His overall points were the most of any Big Boy. The Big Boyz point system is tripled during all playoff games.

What is the Big Boyz system?

Anyone can pick the winners of lacrosse games. The lacrosse boards are full of people who pick Duke over St. Andrew's every year. There are several contests going on right now where the participants will actually pick more winners than the Big Boyz. But the Big Boyz do not just pick the winners of games. The Big Boyz use a system of weighted picks, and confine their picking to the most difficult Division I games. That enables you to analyze the degree of certainty imparted with each pick--a significant difference with other competing slates of games.

Each week the Big Boyz pick the winners of an average of a dozen games. In a typical 11 game week, winners are chosen by placing between 1-11 points on a team (with no number being used twice). If that team wins, the winner receives the number of points placed on it. So, for example, in using this system, the prognosticator would place 11 points on the team he (or she) was most confidant of winning, 10 points on the second most confidant pick, down to a single point on the game that the picker thought was most in doubt. This eliminates most ties and places a premium on upset picks. It also values a picker's win/loss record relatively, thus giving little recognition to luck.

Despite this unique and difficult system, the Big Boyz are so accomplished at picking that each of the past three seasons have come down to the final game before a winner has been decided.

From Glory Days...
Mother Nature Kills the Cavs...
(A note from the Swami: "Glory Days" was a starting player on a UVA National Championship team).
Everyone I spoke to after the Virginia-Hopkins game agreed that the lightning delay saved the Jays.

Yes, there was 4:45 left on the clock, but the Jays were on their heels--in the wind and rain. The Hoos had scored four straight goals and, no doubt, would have added more. The weather delay gave the Hop a chance to re-group and they did just that.

I still can't believe that my boys let Hopkins win the face-off and score with :12 seconds left. This has to be the most devastating loss (at least for UVA fans) in lacrosse history.

I'm not going to second guess Dom, but I would have put Rob Bateman on the face against Peyser. If Peyer wins (like he did) you have your best long pole all over him. Next, why not lock off the Hopkins attack on the break. The pass should never have gotten to Byrne. Third, why was Kip so far out of position? If he is on the pipe, there is no way the goal can be scored. Well, enough ranting. If it was anyone but Hopkins I would not be so upset.

To make the weekend a complete disaster, the Duke offense folds up in the second half and lets the Jays win it all.

UGH!

All in all, it was a great season and clearly parity is slowly gaining ground in DI.

Who would have thought that Princeton would not go to the dance, and Syracuse would get knocked out in round one?

The ACC was the best conference and maybe will never get an AQ (they don't need one). The ECAC, Ivy and Colonial conferences are all getting stronger, which is good for the game, and this year the selection committee did an excellent job of filling the field with the most deserving teams.

Here is my take on next year...

Duke - The team to beat next year. Almost everyone is back.

Hopkins- Losing a great senior class, but has plenty of talent to fill the gaps. Sad to say, but they will be back.

Virginia - Loses Christmas, Bateman and Holmes but these spots can be capably filled. Good recruits. Hoos will challenge.

Maryland - Terps don't lose much. This is a team that can beat anyone on the right day.

Navy - Dingman will be back as will the Looneys. Defense gets hurt by graduation, but Meade has this team believing they can win.

Syracuse - Best recruiting class in D1. I fully expect the Orange Crush to be contending next year--at least final eight.

Princeton - Tierney has growing problems with admissions so recruiting is tougher than ever, but this team still should at least make the tournament. Problem is the entire Ivy League is getting stronger.

Cornell - The most dangerous team in 2006. A solid base of returning letter man and a great recruiting class. My pick for the Ivy AQ.

Georgetown - Brodie Merrill may be the biggest loss to any team, but most of the Hoyas will be back. I always think this team is over-rated, but they seem to prove me wrong at playoff time.

UMass - Lots of good seniors will be gone, so next year will be a challenge. Minutemen will need some luck to repeat.

Dartmouth - Green Machine almost made the dance this year. This team is one to watch out for. Look for freshmen Brian Koch.

Delaware - I love the Blue Men, but they will have big shoes to fill in goal with Collins gone. My favorite player: Drew Turner.

North Carolina - Great school, great conference...why can't they win?

Towson, Loyola, Penn State, Army, Notre Dame - Expect a surprise or two from this group.

Finally, congratulations to Wombat for winning the Big Boyz Challenge. It looks like I finished third but still ahead of the Swami. It's an honor to be a part of the greatest lacrosse web site on earth.

Until next year...keep working on your off hand.

--Glory Days

From Wombat...
Wombat's Year End Wrap-Up of the Wombat Zone, with Divine Intervention...
WOMBAT'S Post Championship Game Commentary
Welcome to the final edition of the Wombat Zone for 2005.

First, I would like to thank Swami and his team at Swami Enterprises, Inc. for another great year. Swami goes to great efforts in making www.laxswami.com an interesting site for lacrosse fans throughout the spring. He has also encouraged more reporting on women's Division 1 lacrosse, and had Miss Ryan covering Northwestern down the stretch. Swami has generated a lot more stats, analysis, and game coverage over the past couple of years, and all of his hard work on getting the site up and running each week is greatly appreciated. I always look forward to his first edition of "This Week" each February when he advertises his site with the slogan "Your Lacrosse Season Just Got Better!" True enough, and keep up the great work Swami!

Second, let's say congratulations to all the tournament winners:

For the women, D1 champ Northwestern, D2 champ Stone Hill, and D3 champ College of New Jersey.

For the men, D1 champ Johns Hopkins University (more on them below), D2 champ New York Institute of Technology, and D3 champ Salisbury.

Out of all of these champs, there were four undefeated champions - Women's D1 Northwestern (21-0), Women's D2 Stone Hill (21-0), Men's D1 Johns Hopkins (16-0), and Men's D3 Salisbury (20-0). Congratulations on outstanding perfect seasons.

For all of those anti-Hopkins folks, those whose hatred is deep down to their bones, well, I guess Hopkins let you down this year. The streak is over, the drought is quenched, and the proverbial monkey is off their backs. And a proudest monkey he was too, riding on JHU for 17 unfulfilled seasons. But the 18th try was the charm. Numerology 101: Coach Pietramala's jersey number was 43, and this 2005 title is the 43rd National Title in JHU's history. More jersey fun - it took 18 years to break the streak, and Kyle Harrison's number was 18. Coincidence? Maybe. And talk to the Syracuse folks. Their final four streak ended in 22 years, and NO ONE on this year's team wore the number 22. Coincidence??? Numerology 101. I thought it was very fitting that JHU's 43rd Championship occurred with former #43 as the Head Coach. Congratulations!

Well, let's tie up a few loose ends from the Wombat Zone.

First, my final beer recommendation of the year is Chimay Trappist. This is a Belgian Ale, brewed in a monastery since 1850. These Trappist monks know what they are doing. Chimay is a great celebratory beer to cap off a great season. When I was drinking my 100 beers down at the Rams Head Tavern in Savage, MD from August to January, I rated this beer - Chimay Trappist, as the best. And it had dang well better be good, because in the bar it cost me $13 just for ONE beer. THIRTEEN dollars for ONE beer! Holy cow! This had better be good. This is the most expensive beer Wombat has ever had. But, here is the Wombat way of rationalizing paying that much for a beer. First: it is a LARGE beer - 25.6 ounces, so it is really like buying two beers for those 13 dollars. But then, the alcohol content is a LOT higher than your average beer too. Factoring in the alcohol content, this huge beer is really like drinking four beers for your $13. Which is why you have to be careful with it. As always, Wombat reminds you to be responsible and STAY IN CONTROL.

So, that's it for the beer recommendations for the year. I am not sure if I will do beer recommendations again next year. It is probably a bit controversial and we probably have some younger readers on here. Alcohol, if enjoyed responsibly, can be a life-enhancing experience. But if you let it get the best of you, well, I have never found bending over a toilet bowl puking to be a life-enhancing experience... so, again, know when to say when.

I am toying around with the idea of Wombat making WINE RECOMMENDATIONS next year. Stay tuned. The Wombatress is still holding me to my beer promise - that I would not drink any more beer until I weigh 185 pounds. I am still around 202 lbs, and GET THIS... believe it or not, Wombat did not drink a single beer during the ENTIRE 2005 LACROSSE SEASON. I had a few glasses of wine now and then, but not a single beer - not even at the Blue Jays parties on Memorial Day weekend. I was having too much fun talking to people. Alcohol is not always needed to have a good time. Keep that in mind.

But, I will enjoy some fine wine this summer, and I will think about giving everyone a tour of Wombat's Wine Cellar (TM) during next year's lacrosse season. You know, beer isn't everything...

OK, so that ties off one loose end. Now, let's get to the hidden Dave Matthews Band song names that I embedded into each week of the Wombat Zone. I doubt anyone tried to find these hidden word games, but I do have friends at the National Security Agency who are tracking my movements, so, to waste their time, since they like puzzles, I will reveal the weekly hidden song answers here, plus throw in the recommended beers, week by week:

Week #, Dave Matthews Band Hidden Song, Wombat's Beer of the Week, and the Wombat Zone's featured insanity topic:

Week 1 Fool To Think, Coopers Sparkling Ale, Wombat's 100 beer offseason World Beer Tour and Wombatress Doghouse Visit
Week 2 Too Much, Steinlager, Wombat mentions CICADAs again and the Wombat Prophecy, plus sunset green flashes...
Week 3 Everyday, Sapporo, "Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth" (Ecclesiastes 11: 9)...
Week 4 Bartender, Fischer LaBelle, Wombat reveals the JHU UNDERDOG uniforms, and Wombat visits the French Embassy!
Week 5 What Would You Say?, Alexander Keith's, Wombat visits the Canadian Embassy, and Monty Python's Killer Rabbit appears!!!
Week 6 Recently, Ommegang, Writer's Block, the Wombatmobile, and NPR's CarTalk. And Alexander Keith's TV ad clips.
Week 7 The Best of What's Around,Guinness, Chapel Hill crime log! Boy, this place looks like College Park, MD!
Week 8 The Stone, Polygamy Porter, Top Sports Stories of 2004, Plus Army-Navy and Hop-MD.
Week 9 Typical Situation, Tecate, Dos Equis XX Amber and Lager, Corona, Sol, Pacifico, and Negra Modelo. Wombat hasn't met a Mexican beer he doesn't like, because he refuses to drink the water! SNL skit: WE WANT MORE COWBELL!!!
Week 10 So Much To Say, Leffe, Binoculars and the two types of cleavage!!!