So back to this bag, its huge, and if JY is reading this , my old roommate from UMass, which he prob isn’t but he will be reading it, the way the views pick up.  You know me spacing it out is like a concert tour, I limit it, it sells out because everyone is worried, then I add shows, I’m like Phish, only without the music, and 100’s of thousands of fans, but similar, you know it’s all about the supply and demand and right now I am the supplier, and no not air supplier, or supply for that matter.  But this bag of taffy made me think, of candy…I can’t really name a lot of candies that people sort through and like different flavors, the bag of taffy is clear, I hate that, it should be like a box of chocolates without the list on the box, it should be a surprise and you get what you get, when I say a lot I mean like a lot in comparison to the number of different candies there are, some ones that I thought of that frustrate me include jolly ranchers, jellybelly jellybeans, and Swedish fish.  I mean do people do that to you with skittles, M&M’s, Reese’s, no ok maybe two of the three examples were not the best but whatever you get the picture.   But this kind of stuff irritates me, it really does, I hate when you can pick what you want out of a pot luck chance.  Maybe it is my hunting mentality, you can just come home with a trophy every time!

So other things I have been thinking about…the other day I thought that I had come up with a great invention, and I said you know what I should write this down, but didn’t because I didn’t want someone to steal it, sure enough me not writing it down made me lose the idea and I have been trying to think of it ever since.

Alright I wrote this in some segments, that is all I have for now, time to go paint my grandmother’s garage and fix her computer.

T v

Did I already use that? maybe maybe not whatever though its early

Well I was debating whether or not to drop some truth on you guys but I decided its early, I don’t know if I am foot or horseback and not sure what time it is.  My body is so messed up time wise I don’t know if it is early or late.  I have  a 7 am flight out of FLA up to da cuse with some time to kill.  The first week of my vacation has been a blast.  I spent the first few days in NYC watching 3 of the 4 games that the Yankees swept the Sox.  In case you didn’t know I HATE Boston but whatever.  I met up with my dad in the city and had a blast, he had a boys weekend with some alum he hadn’t seen in 30 years.   Funny thing is he sat 3^rd row behind the Yankees dugout, I moved from night to night based on my craigslist skills and ended up in a suite on Sunday.  I am pretty sure my buddy and I ended up with a broom and someone got it out of the stadium.  I am 95% sure that it will be hanging at Biddys downtown.

So FLA is a pretty nice spot for vacation, I can’t remember the last time I was down here just for FLA, usually we cruise out of here.  You might be asking yourself, why go to FLA, I say why not, you never know when your last chance to do anything will be, and it worked out my whole family could make the trip, so I said why not.  There are a few things I learned here on this trip:  No one down here speaks English, and I mean no one, it’s like you need a translator all the time, just so you can understand it.  I had forgotten about a few things in my family but have a few updates for you.  My dad has not changed a bit, if he has, well it is for the funnier, he definitely uses less thought before he speaks, not that he used a lot before, but he is hilarious, you never know what he is going to say next.  My brother spends 85% of the time looking at himself in the mirror and the other 15% fixing his hair.  He has problems, I refer to him as Conner or Connor, I am not sure what is correct but either way I think it is hilarious.  His flow is ridiculous, personally I won’t get into how much I hate the flow blow up, because well, Like I said I won’t get into it.  You might be thinking but didn’t you have flow in school, yes I did, but did I make a big deal about it and a fool out of myself um let me think no, ahoy haha.

Me I do a lot of things to spite people, I don’t do them for fashion or for this or that but I just do them, like for example I add some serious value when I travel, my dad thinks its foolish, but I don’t do it for the heck of it I do it because I can, by add value I mean wrist band head band.  I can’t wait to do it at home it should be hilarious, I am sure we have some tough guys out there that will want to say something but I am not worried about it. You can’t blame a guy for adding value.

I wanted to shout out Tom Grimm on his verbal commitment to the cuse, I am happy for him, sorry to UmBc for not landing him, I guess it was a great move but not merely great enough.  The cuse did a good job in landing him, I am interested to see where the rest of the his class will end up, rumor has it my dad is now not sure if he will leave with them or not, not to say you heard it here first, but you might have

That is all for now I am off to DC because God forbid we catch a direct flight to Syracuse, I do have a lot more to say I can update you guys after my trip to the lake, I plan on spending some serious minutes up there I plan to add value it will be fun on the jet ski fo sho.

One last closing note, I did drop a line on two girls who were hung over in line, I mean they were struggling, holding up the whole line at security, I said, I remember my first flight as I passed them.  Were there other words exchanged, of course but this is a family show!

T don’t forget the V

So we are in the midst of a heat wave (any string of weather with a min of 3 days where the temp goes over 90 degrees F) to say the least but it is all good in the hood, we had a nice stretch of hundies, but now its only got to be in the 90’s which isn’t all too too bad to be honest I don’t mind.

So the HS teams have been having some incredible paintball matches, thanks to all those who participated, if you did not, boy did you miss out!!! I hardly have any bruises on me.

The fall is all coming together and will be posted later today.

How about some random food for thought, how does that sound?!

So again I wanted to apologize for being so busy this summer, I was really hoping to rock this spot, I know I had a great following, and was growing, so I hope to grab you back and continue to grow the fan base.  I am without a doubt a product of my father, he has a lot of sayings that catch with the kids, and does not always think before he speaks, or even thinks about what he may have said.  I remember my mom would always say do you ever hear what you said.  Well no I don’t, yes sometimes it gets strange like I think I may have spoken wrong.   Sometimes you just repeat, what you should have said, not knowing if you said it correctly or not, but often when we don’t, we battle ourselves, did we, or did we not, what is also strange is, how come we weren’t corrected, did they not hear me say it, did I say it right, are they just being honest, maybe they just aren’t listening to me period, so why am I even talking, should I just stop?  Is that just me or no?!  So where I was running with this, or I guess we have slowed to a jog, maybe even a speed walk (no hand weights), I guess some may call it a power walk but I know kids often repeat what I say.  I do come up with some good ones, but I get it from my dad.  The difference is the ones you remember from my dad he meant to say one thing, often kids pick up what you did not mean to say, or maybe you should have said it differently.

I don’t know if it makes me a guilty party or not but, it is not coincidence that kids remember stuff that you might want to have taken back, I look at it like this, hey whatever makes them listen.  We used to always pay attention to my dad to find out what he was going to say wrong, we always knew what he meant, but loved to call him out on things he messed up.  People who hang with me know this, I am all over it.  My wit is just a bit out of control.  The way I think of things is so messed up, but I can’t help it, it twist so many words to get you thinking what you said was wrong or get you going, that you don’t know if you did, or if I am serious.  Haha sorry I had to giggle to myself, and yes I do have a big smile on my face.

I am interested to see what August brings, and for those of you wondering, I did change my plan of attack for this blogger spotter (please) I got a bit side tracked and now my mind wants to go somewhere else, no biggie, its all entertainment, for the people, but mostly I do it for the kids.

Alright so let’s wrap this.  A couple things I want to say, in no particular order.  The blog is my release no doubt, I wish I had time this past month or two to take more advantage and just let go, it takes me away and lets me clear my mind, no I can’t say everything, but it’s fun to think it, and laughing is a nice break from the norm.  I am far too well, a lot of things OCD yes but we all know this!

Finishing touches:  So the fall is looking awesome, I am excited, people wanted more, and we are offering more, I know the anticipation is building but we will lay it all out today, I am super pumped for where we are heading!  I think I wanted to say more, but I am out of time (meaning bored).

I will be back  sometime in the near future

Have a good one!

Trizzy 2 to the 4

So as the summer lacrosse scene is wrapping up, it isn’t too big of a deal, we have had a great summer weather wise for the most part, we cannot complain.  Our teams were successful at all tournaments attended so far, with two teams remaining (both 7/8 heading to adrenaline this weekend in SoCal).

Our coaches have been super busy schmoozing with college coaches, and the feedback has been awesome!

This weekend wraps the summer of 2009, we will conclude with one last play day for our high school teams against the Seattle teams on Saturday at the 53^rd avenue complex in Hillsboro, so if you want to enjoy some high level west coast lax, feel free to come out and watch, and then on Sunday we wrap all of our programs with league, and the boys get a break.

One thing that has driven me crazy this summer, well two for that matter are 1) hearing the word burned out.  There is no way kids can say they are burned out, they don’t know the meaning of being burned out especially from lacrosse.  I got news for you boys, if you plan on playing lax in college, especially high level lacrosse you have NO IDEA what being lax’d out means.  At the highest level being a student athlete is a full time job, there is not ‘you’ time, so enjoy this while you can.  What kids don’t understand is being a college athlete is a small fraternity in which millions would love to be a part of, a common complaint I hear is how players often wish they could just be a regular student, well boys and girls I’ve got news for you, you have the rest of your life to be a ‘regular’ student!  Take advantage of what you have and enjoy it, 4 years flies by, you will be back to normal shortly their after.

The other thing (after I said it, and thought about it) is I can’t stand how soft kids are, maybe I am wrong (I doubt it) but kids these days I just don’t get it, I really don’t, is it a generational thing, society, technology?  This day in age with kids attention spans shrinking, attentiveness slowing, educators have to keep adapting, but will this ever end?  I mean honestly what is next.  If the drive is longer than 8 minutes kids complain about it!  I used to drive 2 hours to an hour practices, if there was an opportunity to play I was in, all of us were in and that is how it was.  Too many kids settle, I hate settling, I hate being out worked, basically I just hate losing.  It is different if you lose when you were not the better than your completion, although it still doesn’t sit well with me if the competitor was flat out better than me, but if I was out worked, I hate that.  I get that from my dad he always has taken pride in the saying, you won’t out work me.

That is all I have for you to day I will be back with more stuff when I get a free tick!

To Vork!

I guess it has been a minute! Who came up with that anyway a minute, yea it has been a minute it has been several minutes, actaully its been months!  Well I am back and I will hit this when I can.

We just got done with an awesome trip to MD I was so proud of my boys, they found out I do have a bit of my dad in me, sometimes I get a little fired up, everyone knows I hate to lose!!!

This summer has been a huge success so far, we are taking names and well you know the rest!  The fall is starting to shape up, I am excited, and I know you all are too, and the best news the girls programs will be kicking in full again so get ready.

That is all for tonight, I have had time to do a lot of thinking

I will catch you soon keep checking back, things are calming down for me

T to the stinkin V

This past weekend was an awesome weekend we tailgated the state championship game, and the line was a bit ridiculous, so we supplied music for all the gate 2 goers, really I don’t know if it was gate 2 or not but it was in-between the other two, so unless you count really weird it was gait 2.  We were treated to some great lacrosse, personally I thought OES could have run away with it, but they didn’t and made it better to the eyes for all the fans, I was impressed none the less.  Then on Sunday we had our first day of Rhino Tryouts for the 9^th and 10^th graders, it was amazing to see how much the boys have grown up just from last year, and I had seen a lot of them in the fall/winter, it was awesome, what a great tryout.  It is not going to be easy to pick these teams, I am looking forward to this weekend.

Okay so enough about lacrosse.  I am noticing the swine flu is coming back into the news, it was like dormant for a few weeks, for who knows what reason, but now it is back, was it like they just didn’t count the new people who got it, they find a few more cases in upstate New York and they are like, alright we can start putting this in the news again?  They are now calling it the first pandemic in 41 years, now that word is one we don’t really know what it means, but it sounds bad, so I am sure some big stuff will happen…I just don’t get it, the news is so flawed I hate it, but it keeps us informed, yea informed of what?  It must have been so much nicer way back when there really wasn’t much news, just the local news or even before then, all you were worried about was yourself not the rest of the nonsense going on all over.

I do have a couple of other things that I wanted to share, I just have to find them in my brain that is running a million miles per minute, oh yea…how about we go back to lax talk…we  have to shout our RP on making the first cut!  From reading the local stories and bloggers, it sounds like he had a sick tryout, so that is all on that lax chat.

Okay so now where did I want to go with this….oh okay, so here is something that has bugged me a bit.  If you walk into a gas station or convenience store, how come their prices so different, I just don’t understand it, and they never have what you need, is it really a convenience to us?  Not really I always end up having to go to two or three, when you might as well go to a grocery store and battle the lines and everything else, I just have not had the best of luck here in Portland with this stuff,  let me give you an example, the other day I went to get hot dog buns and hamburger rolls, it took me three stores to find out that none of them have both, I was also looking for a third item but at the moment, I can’t remember which one it was so we won’t worry about that minor detail.  The grocery was only a few blocks away, but you have to understand all my visits to that place have never been good experiences, we are talking walk in to buy stuff for dinner, you have to buy breakfast when you are in there as well because there is only one register opened and everyone else and their grandmother has decided that right then and there is the best time to go shopping, so I avoid this store at all costs.  I ended up trying out a new grocery, but the store was so poorly set up that I got so frustrated I told the stock boy I would never shop their again, and I didn’t even buy anything I ended up going to the 8mile grocery store.  Just bad experiences all the time.  Another thing I thought of was when I got out of the shower today, it reminded me of public bathrooms, those towel dispensers and sinks, so the ones that are not automatic, they are pretty much pointless, because your hands are not clean when you turn the water on, then you wash them and then you have to turn it back off, the same one that you just turned on…also those paper towel dispensers, how often do you just use paper towels without using your hands, see what I mean, that is the stuff I am thinking off all day, I still do it, but I think about it.

OK I plan to be back into it now

Nike Employee Store today!

TV

Here in Oregon we are starting to have all the makings for a rivalry in OES Lincoln.  These teams will meet tomorrow for the 3^rd time this season in the state championship game.  Two could be state powerhouses, with the same division, now that is what I call a rivalry!  A lot could happen, everyone knows this.  I have some more thoughts on this game but I have some rambling I would like to share first.  On paper OES is better, but what does paper mean?  Who decided this stuff on paper, what are you comparing, is it all on hearsay?  I never really understood on paper, on paper if I right down a bigger number than you does that mean I am better on paper?  You can’t compare anything on paper really, you just can’t especially in athletics, yes you can compare common opponents, stats vs zones and this and that but what does that give you…nothing but a pretty stinky video game with no graphics.  You just cannot do it, just like who is the best of this or that, with different era’s and ages you will never know, can we simulate, of course we can, but you look at our best try at simulation the BCS championships, how is that going for us, still doesn’t keep everyone satisfied, I mean you will always have people who are not happy, but come on, just let them play and be thankful for the matchups, playoffs are the best system, if you think otherwise, you are either A. an NCAA employee, or B. a big business.

So for tomorrow I am looking for a few things in the action.  1.  Sam Baker, is he healthy, I will be honest this is the biggest game of his life, you can bet your bottom dollar he is going to be healthy as the game goes on.  Next question is, will the OES D show up to play?  They have been in and out as of late, yes looked great in the final 4 but will they show up?  Lincoln the defending state champs, have some guys who have been on the big stage before, do they have enough power to grind out back to back?  High powered O against a stifling D.  What will give tomorrow, OES has gotten the best, healthy and un healthy, home and away, how will neutral go?  If I had to make a guess, all things being equal, I take OES by 5, but I don’t think all things will be equal I am going to put OES at -2 for all of you odds makers out there.  Lincoln does not seem to be all healthy either, but we will see.  My advice to kids, as always, take advantage of this situation while you are here, you never know if you will get the same opportunity again, don’t ever say, well next year or in three years, that is hogwash!  Live in the present.  But same token on this same note, you have to realize what you have going, do not treat things like it is your only opportunity other than sports, realize you have the rest of your life to go out and be everyone else, don’t take this for granted and try and be like everyone else, remember everyone else would give anything to be where you are at.  My last bits of advice for the day, if you are going to be stupid, don’t be stupid about it!

See you tomorrow night or follow us on twitter

TV

Some post game reflection.  I thought that OES came ready to play, and LO did not, I am not sure exactly what happened, but from hearing the coaching staff and observing, the kids just, for whatever reason, and no I am not bashing just reflecting and looking at this from my point of view, the kids just were not ready to go.  I felt a bit of the same way in the Lincoln, Sunset game.  Things get different come playoff time apparently, the intensity, the crowd, you name it, things are turned up, that is why they call it the playoffs.  I thought that conditioning was a key factor, and although Sunset hung around and hung around, they did not do a few important things, they missed several key shot backups, which is a discipline thing, but more so a hustle thing, it is just as important to have someone behind for backup as it is to have the shooter.  As I am sure I have said before, there are only 2 types of shots, good shots (goals, or one you get back) and bad shots (turnovers, which are balls you don’t get back).  People may also blame the shooter, but this is not always the case, if an attackman is driving from x someone has to have the presence of mind to rotate and back the shot up, or be an outlet.  I thought that LO was a bit disappointing, yes OES is a great team, but I felt they could have given a much better showing, as I said the kids just didn’t come ready to play, as I observed with some friends, it was almost a sense they were kind of expecting not to win, which is very disheartening, I also suspect they may have peaked last game, as I mentioned, but that to me is a copout.  Sunset, by no means played their best ball, but hung around to make it a game, until Lincoln decided to hit the switch and when they did, I got the feeling that Sunset got selfish and tried had too many guys doing too much, while others hit the off switch, which is also disheartening.  My thoughts below would be included in the halftime speech, and also reflect along the lines of a few inquiries I have had about winning a close game.

What does it take to win a close game and along the lines of my halftime speech:  When it comes time for playoffs, and you are playing to get to the finals, or in the finals you have to remember a lot of things, and this is all heading into the game.  You have to remember all the hard work, all the previous games, everything you did in the offseason, but most importantly you have to realize what got you to this point.  It is often said that big players make big plays in big games, but this is true only when the stage is set and everything is right.  I feel like a few of the kids out here don’t watch enough lacrosse.  Lacrosse is one of those few games in which goals can happen in a hurry as well as in a flury, and with 5 minutes left, you would be amazed at what could happen.  Faceoff, goal, faceoff, goal…and so on, I have had and seen stranger things happen, you cannot give up, realize that you are there for a reason, and realize how you got to that point, in the game of almost anything, often, you just need one big stop, that stop can shift momentum, start a run, and lower the confidence of the other team.  When teams start playing not to lose, that is when it gets dicey!

If you look back at the Cornell Syracuse national final, the Orange kept their cool, they did not come out of their offense, they didn’t force, and they didn’t change much.  There are a couple of other sayings that players need to keep in mind, one of my favorites from my dad was be quick, but don’t hurry.  This seems contradicting, but it makes all the sense in the world.  Another is to understand when and how to play with a sense of urgency, as well as when to use discretion.  All of these things add up to keys to the game.  Down the stretch Cornell began to come out of what they do, and tried to do new things, Syracuse stayed cool, calm, and collected through the whole process.  Not to sound too cliché or to steal a line from old school, but you need to keep your composure.

A few other thoughts, that needs to be kept in mind, and pushed upon players who go through any program, and if it is not it should be.  You have to believe in yourself, your team, and the program.  I have always been taught, even though the coach may not always be right, or you may not always agree, it is important that you do as you are told, and stay with the plan.  If everyone is on the same page, that is how championships are won!

With a few minutes to go the Big Red came out of the plan that had worked so well throughout the game, and this deviance, led to panic, which in turn led to Syracuse taking control of the momentum.  Syracuse had big players make place, you can look back at the Smith takeaway, the Abbott takeaway, Nimm’s Ride which set up his goal, and Jamison’s finish, they stuck to the plan, never panicked and came out on top.  There are times when players need to step up, but you can’t just decide I am taking the weight on my shoulders, every player is given a specific role within the plan and within your role, and your time to shine will come.  You stick to these, and your time will come, just believe!  Your role might be to get the big ground ball, or play defense, to be the distributer, or the faceoff guy, maybe you are the finisher, not everyone can be the do it all guy, the coaches know, or have an idea who each of you are, and you have to believe it.  Even though you might not be happy with your role, it is important for you to accept it, and in order to prove you deserve a more important or different role, the only place to prove this is in practice, and doing the best you can at your role in a game.

If still you do these things and still are not satisfied, speak with your coach, go in with an opened mind, and let him know how you feel, but more importantly ask him what he wants you to do, where he sees you, and what you need to do to help him out more, to be more of an asset.  Your role might be to be an intense practice player, or a guy to lead the bench, heck you may never see the field, but it is important for every single guy on the team to embrace and stick to the plan.  Yes sometimes you are not the better team, this does happen, but that happens in everything, games, school, and life in general.  All my life I have learned about a pecking order, or the totem pole.  That is just how things work, and until you understand that, you will not get anywhere, you will always be a deviant.  If you don’t like how things are, get better, and change, but don’t be a rebel, rebels are cancers to teams and hold programs back from big things, one cancer can set a team or program back for years, and can snowball, you have to buy in.  You follow this advice; you are on your way to big things!

That is all, Oregon State Championship Preview tomorrow

TV

Well it is here the much anticipated final 4 and me of course I had a very busy day with more stuff on my plate than ever, but I am finding some time, some how to squeeze one of these out to you.  I have had a ton of inquiries about a lot of stuff so I thought I would break it, break it down for you.

Let me do some venting here first.  So yesterday I headed out from the office and headed to the post office, wow that was a double headed, but give me a break, that is the kind of day it has been.  Things are for sure heating up, but I went to the post office, and was thinking you know what I have been  meaning to do this stuff for a while, finally got them done, and felt accomplished.  I felt like doing something else I was putting off, and this just happened to be doing a little shopping, and I had been meaning to get my phone fixed.  Well I get to the mall and I get a couple of phone calls before you know it, my plans to catch the hockey game had been scrapped and I never even got the phone fixed, I was hungry but you know I got bored, I got bored with the mall and shopping, and I hadn’t even done any, I only hit up a couple of stores, and was more so doing window shopping, and listening to the phone calls.  On the plus side, I didn’t buy anything but a cd, and I was still hungry so I needed to eat, why not head up stairs, well I got on one escalator and got bored even more so I said you know what, whatever I don’t need to go up there I can figure it out later.  I call up a buddy we met at Broadway I grabbed a bite to eat there then we continued on to play some foose at another buddies house, am I good, the answer I am alright, nowhere near where I want to be, but I will be very good by the end of the summer I promise.  But everywhere I go, and from emails and comments people ask what the deal is with tonight, and what I am thinking so, I think it is only fair to give it to you. I am sure I was going somewhere with this but, all roads lead to….the final 4

The first game we have OES LO.  LO is at home, which is never a bad thing, the question is which LO team will show up?  Which OES team will Show up…yes I guess that is more than one question but let me put out a few things.  I was at the LO game at Lincoln, that game was not pretty, you want to talk about shell shocked!  I was also at the OES game last weekend, which was a total surprise to me, they didn’t do what they should have done, they did not take care of business, yes I am aware that they are not 100% healthy but the question is, who is it is the end of the season, my father is known for saying if,  if and buts were candy and nuts we’d all have a merry Christmas, and that is the truth, things happen, especially in sports not many teams are ever 100% so deal.  I am hoping both teams show up like they are both capable of showing up, LO is peaking, OES is peak and valleying still which is not a good thing this time of year.  If I had to pick I take OES, but I don’t have to, I just expect a great game, we all know OES has a great D, and they did not show up last game, so I am sure Coach Sullivan will have them ready to go, LO can score, and I saw last game they can most certainly ride!  This should be a great game some keys:  LO needs to use transition and unsettled situations to their advantage, do not the D settle in.  OES needs to possess and control the tempo that keeps their guys healthy if it turns into a run and gun I like LO’s chances, yes OES can score, but how healthy are they, can they go a full 48 of run and gun?

The next game should be interesting, as I mentioned yesterday Sunset needs to take advantage of the situation they are in, first time their conference team has made the final 4, do not settle!  Take advantage, yes I know you are young but still show up, do not be satisfied with the final 4, is that really what you are playing for?  Lincoln should win this game on paper, but of course no one plays on paper, unless you are playing tic tac toe, and I believe this is still lacrosse season.  Sunset has ridden their D all season; Lincoln has a high powered offense, so something has to give.  The key to this game, as well as the first game is conditioning, after watching games all spring I am amazed, and yes maybe I have said it before but it comes down to conditioning, this is the key to everything, if you look at close games it is all about who has more in the tank, who can outlast the other.  Sunset has already prevailed in at least one close game this year at LO, if you compare scores Cards by 1 from earlier in the year, but an OT loss to OES earlier as well as a couple of other close games, you have to give this to Lincoln right?  Maybe the Cardinals have their eyes set too far ahead, stranger things have happened, in face a team who had a 29 straight sectional title streak snapped yesterday in NY, a team even considered to be the best team in NYS, so you never know.  Sunset’s key is to limit Lincoln’s possessions control the ball and they need to finish.  Lincoln, on the contrary needs to control the tempo as well and limit turnovers.  If I had to choose here I have to take Lincoln, but that is only because I have to chose, fortunately I don’t have to, so I predict another great game.

That is what I have for you, without going too into details, tonight if all 4 teams show up we should see some great matchups, it has happened to me, even looking at the NCAA final 4 teams do not show up to play and are too looking forward to summer, you have to decide what you want and then go for it, as I always say you are in or you are out there is no in between.  If you want to check out and be done for the summer, please don’t show up, we all want to see some great lacrosse setting up an awesome Saturday; full coverage will be posted tomorrow.

See you tonight

TV

Things are really starting to pick up, and if the weather has not yet convinced you that summer has arrived, well you need to figure it out!  Everything is shaping up, things are rolling along nicely and this coming summer is going to be dy-no-mite, or in our case, rhi-no-mite, which makes me think that would be a cool t shirt, a rhino with a stick of dyno in his mouth, make it vintage, what do you think, no… well it doesn’t matter what you think anyway, you’re in TV land!

Everything comes back to not enough hours in the day, and I have noticed my workout routine is getting longer which gives me less time to pop out this blog, I often say, yea, can get it done at the office, but then the emails roll, the phone rings, and a new deadline approaches.  But that is just how it goes each and every day.  I am excited though, it is game day for the comets.  I spoke with my dad over the past few days and sent him some motivational stuff for the kids.  Back in Carthage, you will be able to hear my father yelling OH BABY COMETS GOTTA GAME TODAY for sure.  I love to motivate, I, without question, got it from my dad (not like Juvenile sings got it from her mama) but he is the ultimate motivator, and me being 3,000 miles away am fired up for his game day, I miss those guys and being around them, the warm-up routine we had, and still have,  is something like no other, it just gets me fired up.

So game day mode puts me into the final 4 matchups let me give you a bit of a breakdown for you.  I attended 3 of the 4 games which took place on Friday night, and the 4^th I had multiple sets of eyes at.  Here is what I am picking up on.

Keys:

1.  The team who is best conditioned will win, fortunately as I take a look at the forecast the weather is not supposed to be so bad on Wednesday, and even cooler on Saturday, but we all know how it is with the meteorologist out here, they roll the dice daily and hardly are ever close to being right.

2.  The teams who plays to win and not lose will prevail.  A lot of teams were playing far too conservative, and this may come back to bite you.  It is playoff time now, and there are 4 teams left, each team belongs where they are, but you have to put the pedal to the medal and play like there is no tomorrow, because there may not be!

3.  The team with the best defense will come away with the Gold.  No question the offense sells the tickets, but now the other part of the saying, defense wins games.

Here are my thoughts on each team.

Sunset:  The Apollo’s  seem to be peaking at the right time, this team is young, and people thought they were a year away, well you thought wrong, they have some players and a good mix, advice: underclassman do not take this opportunity for granted, do not say there is always next year, because a lot of things can happen in a year, look at this as this is the year.  If the defense can hold the Cardinals under 10 Sunset has a good shot, the O just has to be sure to put up numbers.

Lincoln:  Defending state champs with a good mix of senior leadership.  Got a little complacent last game, and needs to walk with their swagger the whole game, BUT (and notice that is a big but) back it up at the same time, you can’t win a state championship if you allow teams to hang around and hang around.  Lincoln in particular lacked conditioning the most, as I have seen the past few games, we will see if this is a factor, if the Cardinals control the ball and use their transition game, they should be fine .

OES:  Has been injury stricken and prone all season, will they be healthy?  Will Baker be back?  No matter what they are finding a way to win, the defense was nowhere to be found last game allowing something like 8 goals on 14 shots.  No more excuses, it is the final 4,   The D has been the strength, so the O needs to possess and be patient, you can only rely on the D so much!

LO:  This team seems to be peaking at the right time, they ride hard, and look in much better shape then earlier this season.  I am not sure if maybe they peaked too soon, a lot of fans were mentioning that was the best game they have EVER seen the Lakers play, good stuff, but with the potential for two more games, not so good, there still has to be room for improvement.  This game most likely needs to be the mindset for first to 10 for LO, if they score 10 this has all the makings for a great game.

That is all, more to come tomorrow.

TV