Monday, May 16, 2011

Lacrosse

Time for another fringe sport post. Normally, I watch lacrosse once a year - the men's NCAA Division I championship game on Memorial Day. My minimal knowledge of lacrosse extends to a history report I did in the third or fourth grade about the Iroquois tribe. I don't even know all the rules for lacrosse (for example, how do they determine who plays with the long sticks vs. the short sticks?), but at least it's fairly easy to follow (pass the ball, shoot it in the goal).

This year for some reason ESPN is making a big deal about the entire tournament. Maybe they are already planning programming contingencies in case the NFL and NBA seasons are cancelled this fall? Any way, lacrosse is one of the few sports that my alma mater plays on a Division I level, so I had the rare opportunity to watch my school on national TV for the first time in a long while (with the basketball team in shambles lately, I have to take what I can get!). Sure, they got trounced in the second half, but it was still pretty entertaining. Additional side benefit - I found out I get ESPNU as part of my cable lineup!

I also happened to catch 5 minutes of the Maryland-UNC game (match? fixture? some French word?), and apparently I tuned it at the right time because I saw this play live:


I love trick plays, and seeing the UNC fan (benchwarmer?) on the sideline trying to scream at his teammates was pretty funny too. If every lacrosse match features plays like these, maybe ESPN is making a good bet on lacrosse emerging from the fringe.

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