Last year, I thought N = 7, but someone else told me N = 9, so I don't know.
But anyway, for the Nth year in a row, US Lacrosse (the national governing body) through its Houston chapter is hosting a city-wide watch party for the NCAA championship on Memorial Day. Event details are below. Note that it should not fatally conflict with the baseball selection show that morning -- i.e. you could watch one, then hustle over to Midtown to join the other just as it is getting underway.

Event Summary
-------------------------------------
Event: Nth Annual Greater Houston Lacrosse Party
Host: US Lacrosse, Greater Houston Chapter
http://www.greaterhoustonlacrosse.org
Date: Memorial Day (Monday, May 27, 2012)
Time: 11:30 am to 2:00 pm (subject to change if game time changes)
Location: Buffalo Wild Wings Midtown
510 Gray Street (between Brazos and Smith)
Houston TX 77002
RSVP link:
http://www.uslacrosse.org/chaptergreater.../Home.aspx

Complete press release is attached.

For the road to the final four in Philadelphia, see:
http://www.ncaa.com/interactive-bracket/lacrosse-men/d1

I have my office going a "May Madness" pool.

A pretty exciting day yesterday in the first round of the NCAA tournament:
- In the day's biggest upset, the Yale Bulldogs, unseeded but a team that has been steadily on the rise the last few years, overcame at 5-1 halftime deficit to knock off #8 Penn State 10-7. Besides being a good game, this was easily a match of the most understated uniforms in the tournament: simple, clean blue and white against simple, clean white and blue.

- Meanwhile, #2 Notre Dame avoided what would have been one of the most stunning upsets in the history of the sport. They entered the fourth quarter trailing 7-3 to Detroit, a school with a losing record that got into the tournament as the MAC champion. But the Irish rallied for six unanswered goals in the final period for a 9-7 win. The three keys to the rally were: (1) ND dominated the faceoffs in the fourth quarter, which gave them a lot more possessions; (2) defensively, ND in the fourth quarter used a 10-man ride (the lacrosse equivalent to a full-court press), which forced multiple Detroit turnovers -- again, giving ND more possessions; and (3) they converted their possessions, led by three 4th-quarter goals (four on the game) by attackman Matt Kavanagh.

- In the shootout of the day, #4 Denver opened its quest for a final four return by outgunning a good Albany team 19-14.

- And #5 North Carolina cruised past Lehigh 16-7.

The first round continues today with another four games on ESPNU (times central):
12:00 Cornell v #6 Maryland
2:00 Towson v #3 Ohio State
4:15 Loyola v #7 Duke
7:30 Bryant v #1 Syracuse

Winners advance to the quarterfinals next weekend. (The Saturday quarterfinals will be at Byrd Stadium in College Park MD and on ESPN2; the Sunday quarterfinals will be at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indy and on ESPNU.)

Since the bracket was announced last week, today's Cornell-Maryland and Loyola-Duke matchups have been some of the most highly anticipated games of the tournament.

Conspicuously missing from the tournament field is Johns Hopkins, the winningest program in the history of the sport. They complied a respectable 9-5 record this year against their typically tough schedule. But with the growth of the sport leading to more conferences with AQs for the tournament, there were not enough at-large slots for the Blue Jays to get in.

(05-12-2013 08:52 AM)georgewebb Wrote:  Conspicuously missing from the tournament field is Johns Hopkins, the winningest program in the history of the sport. They complied a respectable 9-5 record this year against their typically tough schedule. But with the growth of the sport leading to more conferences with AQs for the tournament, there were not enough at-large slots for the Blue Jays to get in.

Thus the longest active streak of D-1 collegiate post-season appearances ended at 41. Miami baseball (40 consecutive appearances and counting) is now on top, and Aaron Fitt's latest stock report has them "On the Bubble (In)."

Well, it was a weekend of upsets and near-upsets in the opening round of the tournament:
The two upsets were:
- Yale (unseeded but a team that has been on the rise the last few years) knocking off #8 Penn State 10-7; and
- underrated Cornell clobbering #6 Maryland 16-8.

The near upsets were:
#7 Duke needing two overtimes to get past defending champion Loyola 12-11;
#2 Notre Dame scoring six unanswered goals in the fourth quarter to get by Detroit 9-7; and
#1 Syracuse rallying from an early 4-0 deficit to defeat Bryan 12-7.

This weekend are the quarterfinals:
- Saturday, from College Park MD (ESPN2):
11:30 Cornell v #3 Ohio State
2:00 Yale v #1 Syracuse

- Sunday, from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis (ESPNU):
11:00 #5 North Carolina v #4 Denver
1:30 #7 Duke v #2 Notre Dame

By the way, if your decision who to root for is based in part on the class (or lack thereof) of the respective head coaches, then the Duke-ND matchup offers a particularly stark choice.

Here in Houston, the alumni chapters of the above schools have been contacted to let them know that if their team gets to the championship game, they are heartily welcome at the Greater Houston Lacrosse Party. Usually, one team ends up bringing a lot more fans than the other, but in 2009 we had quite large and roughly equal contingents from Cornell and Syracuse, and the game went to overtime. That was pretty cool.

Anyway, please RSVP for the party:
http://www.uslacrosse.org/chaptergreater.../Home.aspx
Complete press release is attached.

(05-16-2013 06:47 PM)georgewebb Wrote:  This weekend are the quarterfinals:
- Saturday, from College Park MD (ESPN2):
11:30 Cornell v #3 Ohio State
2:00 Yale v #1 Syracuse

- Sunday, from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis (ESPNU):
11:00 #5 North Carolina v #4 Denver
1:30 #7 Duke v #2 Notre Dame

Cornell off to a strong start -- at 5-1 lead with five minutes to go in the first quarter.

(05-18-2013 11:56 AM)georgewebb Wrote:  Cornell off to a strong start -- at 5-1 lead with five minutes to go in the first quarter.

Now 10-3 Big Red with two minutes to go in the half. Cornell is slicing up the Buckeye defense, and attackman Rob Pannell is an assist machine. With every goal, the Cornell band plays "Give my regards to Broadway" -- at a 4:4 tempo at least, which is getting old.

(05-16-2013 06:47 PM)georgewebb Wrote:  This weekend are the quarterfinals:
- Saturday, from College Park MD (ESPN2):
11:30 Cornell v #3 Ohio State
2:00 Yale v #1 Syracuse

- Sunday, from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis (ESPNU):
11:00 #5 North Carolina v #4 Denver
1:30 #7 Duke v #2 Notre Dame

By the way, if your decision who to root for is based in part on the class (or lack thereof) of the respective head coaches, then the Duke-ND matchup offers a particularly stark choice.

Saturday was western New York's day: Cornell demolished overrated Ohio State 16-6, and Syracuse rallied to tie underrated Yale, then scored the winning goal with 13 seconds on a defensive lapse to win 7-6. So Cornell will be the only un-seeded team in the final four.

Will Sunday be Tobacco Road's triumph, or will the "westerners" from beyond the Appalachians advance?

Looking ahead, the 2013 final just might shape up as a rematch of the 2009 final between Cornell and Syracuse. That was one of the most thrilling games in the history of the tournament, with the Orange besting the Red 10-9 in overtime.

Another thriller in the making: with under 2 minutes to go in Indianapolis, it's a one-goal game, 11-10 Carolina, but Denver has the ball.

(05-19-2013 01:06 PM)georgewebb Wrote:  Another thriller in the making: with under 2 minutes to go in Indianapolis, it's a one-goal game, 11-10 Carolina, but Denver has the ball.

And now it's tied with 91 seconds to go. On an Indiana field, the tying goal by the team from the Rocky Mountains was just scored by a Southern Californian. And the ensuing faceoff was just won by an Indianan.

(05-19-2013 01:08 PM)georgewebb Wrote:  

(05-19-2013 01:06 PM)georgewebb Wrote:  Another thriller in the making: with under 2 minutes to go in Indianapolis, it's a one-goal game, 11-10 Carolina, but Denver has the ball.

And now it's tied with 91 seconds to go. On an Indiana field, the tying goal by the team from the Rocky Mountains was just scored by a Southern Californian. And the ensuing faceoff was just won by an Indianan.

Denver shot, rebound, score! with 13 second left to win 12-11. Note: the Pioneers trailed 6-0 in the first half and that lead with 13 seconds was the first time they had ever led.

The Pioneers head to the final four again, where they will face #1 seed Syracuse.

NC was ranked #1 in the polls but seeded #5 by the committee. Looks like the committee got it right.

Next up today: Duke v Notre Dame, with the final Final Four berth on the line.

Denver's success makes one wonder if any other private school west of the Mississippi could built a top-flight lacrosse program from scratch in a short time? Denver's key was hiring a highly regarded, aggressive coach and strongly committing that he would, over time, have the resources he needed. In women's lacrosse, Northwestern used the same model to build an absolute dynasty from nowhere. And while the city of Denver is a more fertile recruiting ground than the city of Houston, that's not true if you look more broadly at Colorado compared to Texas (and of course recruiting would be both regional and national, as it is for Denver and Michigan, etc.) My sense is that there is room for exactly one such school in the Southwest to do it, and whoever makes the commitment first would have good success. Which school will it be? (I think there is one that is almost perfectly positioned to do it.)


.

(05-19-2013 01:31 PM)georgewebb Wrote:  Next up today: Duke v Notre Dame, with the final Final Four berth on the line.

And ANOTHER close one: with 6 minutes to go, ND up 11-10 on the Blue Devils. It's been a one-goal game the entire way, with multiple lead changes. Duke really has Notre Dame's number over the last few post-seasons, but this game is anyone's guess -- and a really good game.

This has been a heck of a quarterfinal weekend!

Duke scores on transition -- 11-all with 3:16 to go!

Duke goes up 12-11, and holds off ND for the final two minutes to earn its 7th consecutive trip to the Final Four.

So on Saturday of the holiday weekend it will be (times Central):
1:30 Cornell v #7 Duke
4:00 #4 Denver v #1 Syracuse

Check it out -- press coverage!

http://tinyurl.com/ac844z7

(05-18-2013 12:31 PM)georgewebb Wrote:  

(05-18-2013 11:56 AM)georgewebb Wrote:  Cornell off to a strong start -- at 5-1 lead with five minutes to go in the first quarter.

Now 10-3 Big Red with two minutes to go in the half. Cornell is slicing up the Buckeye defense, and attackman Rob Pannell is an assist machine. With every goal, the Cornell band plays "Give my regards to Broadway" -- at a 4:4 tempo at least, which is getting old.

A couple things in the interest of correctness, George - I know how strongly you value accuracy in titles and usage.

First, they call it "Give My Regards to Davy" and sing Cornell-specific lyrics. That's not too important as long as you're consistent with the UT band's "I've Been Workin' on the Railroad" and SMU's "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain". It makes a great goal song during hockey season (and yes, they do play many other songs) but I can certainly see how the scoring pace of lacrosse would make it annoying.

Second, I must correct you on your use of "4:4 tempo". 4/4 is a time signature, not a tempo. A song can be written in 4/4 and played at any speed - consider "Just a Closer Walk With Thee". Both the dirge and uptempo Dixieland would be counted in 4. Tempos, on the other hand, are usually expressed in beats per minute. Sousa marches are all usually played at 120, though some are written in 2/4, some in 6/8, and some in 2/2 (cut time).

(05-19-2013 01:31 PM)georgewebb Wrote:  

(05-19-2013 01:08 PM)georgewebb Wrote:  

(05-19-2013 01:06 PM)georgewebb Wrote:  Another thriller in the making: with under 2 minutes to go in Indianapolis, it's a one-goal game, 11-10 Carolina, but Denver has the ball.

And now it's tied with 91 seconds to go. On an Indiana field, the tying goal by the team from the Rocky Mountains was just scored by a Southern Californian. And the ensuing faceoff was just won by an Indianan.

Denver shot, rebound, score! with 13 second left to win 12-11. Note: the Pioneers trailed 6-0 in the first half and that lead with 13 seconds was the first time they had ever led.

The Pioneers head to the final four again, where they will face #1 seed Syracuse.

NC was ranked #1 in the polls but seeded #5 by the committee. Looks like the committee got it right.

Next up today: Duke v Notre Dame, with the final Final Four berth on the line.

Denver's success makes one wonder if any other private school west of the Mississippi could built a top-flight lacrosse program from scratch in a short time? Denver's key was hiring a highly regarded, aggressive coach and strongly committing that he would, over time, have the resources he needed. In women's lacrosse, Northwestern used the same model to build an absolute dynasty from nowhere. And while the city of Denver is a more fertile recruiting ground than the city of Houston, that's not true if you look more broadly at Colorado compared to Texas (and of course recruiting would be both regional and national, as it is for Denver and Michigan, etc.) My sense is that there is room for exactly one such school in the Southwest to do it, and whoever makes the commitment first would have good success. Which school will it be? (I think there is one that is almost perfectly positioned to do it.)

Not totally trying to answer your question, but there are some schools that are trying to get into the game. In a very controversial move, University of Richmond has decided to field a men's lacrosse team - at the expense of the men's track and field and men's soccer teams. They had a rather large donation offered to start the lacrosse program, and they needed to trade out the scholarships to make it happen. Pretty certain they haven't saved the other sports.

But did want to note that that's the kind of trade-off a university likely will have to make (unless it's self-funding UT) to start a lacrosse program - close other men's sports, or start a balancing women's sport.

(05-09-2013 07:01 PM)georgewebb Wrote:  Last year, I thought N = 7, but someone else told me N = 9, so I don't know.
But anyway, for the Nth year in a row, US Lacrosse (the national governing body) through its Houston chapter is hosting a city-wide watch party for the NCAA championship on Memorial Day. Event details are below. Note that it should not fatally conflict with the baseball selection show that morning -- i.e. you could watch one, then hustle over to Midtown to join the other just as it is getting underway.

Event Summary
-------------------------------------
Event: Nth Annual Greater Houston Lacrosse Party
Host: US Lacrosse, Greater Houston Chapter
http://www.greaterhoustonlacrosse.org
Date: Memorial Day (Monday, May 27, 2012)
Time: 11:30 am to 2:00 pm (subject to change if game time changes)
Location: Buffalo Wild Wings Midtown
510 Gray Street (between Brazos and Smith)
Houston TX 77002
RSVP link:
http://www.uslacrosse.org/chaptergreater.../Home.aspx

Complete press release is attached.

For the road to the final four in Philadelphia, see:
http://www.ncaa.com/interactive-bracket/lacrosse-men/d1

I have my office going a "May Madness" pool.

This is cool: the management at Buffalo Wild Wings in Midtown has decided to donate 10% of the revenue from this party back to the Greater Houston Chapter of US Lacrosse. Thank you, BWW! The chapter can use this money to provide seed grants for start-up youth programs in less-wealthy areas; to augment training for volunteer coaches; and so on.

I hope to see many of you there on Monday.

Now coverage in the Chronicle too:
http://www.chron.com/default/article/NCA...546363.php

Well, it's Syracuse v Duke tomorrow for all the marbles. Faceoff at 12:00 noon central on ESPn; the Greater Houston Lacrosse Party starts at 11:30 at Buffalo Wild Wings in Midtown. The Duke fans always turn out in good numbers, and the Syracuse fans are definitely excited, judging from this Facebook post by one of their local alumni chapter leaders:

Quote:WOW - another game like that and this old f@rt will have a heart attack. Okay - Monday - 11:30 at BWW on Gray - Remember - Duke fans will be there too - so let's show up in force and WEAR ORANGE, MAKE NOISE and GO 'CUSE!!!!

Both semifinals yesterday were close, come-from-behind wins: Duke outgunning Cornell 16-14, and Syracuse scoring in the last minute to knock out Denver 9-8.

And if history is any guide, we are in for a thriller tomorrow. Duke's last final was in 2010, when Duke's long-stick midfielder won the opening faceoff of overtime and immediately scored to give the Blue Devils a 6-5 win over Notre Dame and their first national championship. Syracuse's last final was the year before, when they scored in the last minute of regulation to tie Cornell at 9-9, and then won on a wild play in overtime.

Come join us tomorrow at BWW in Midtown!

(05-26-2013 09:28 AM)georgewebb Wrote:  Well, it's Syracuse v Duke tomorrow for all the marbles. Faceoff at 12:00 noon central on ESPn; the Greater Houston Lacrosse Party starts at 11:30 at Buffalo Wild Wings in Midtown.

Come join us tomorrow at BWW in Midtown!

The RSVP count is at an all-time high. Should be fun!