Some of the topics for tonight:

Pre game analysis interviews with Cathy Reese, John Tillman, Joe Cummings, Drew Snider, Niko Amato, Brittany Dipper, Karri Ellen Johnson, Mike Chanenchuck, Jesse Bernhardt

Review of one of the great weekends in Terrapin Lacrosse—Why Maryland’s victory over Hopkins wasn’t an upset?

Zach Bobo from Inside Lacrosse calls in to discuss the final four on the men’s side and to debate his commentary about lacrosse apathy in the state of Maryland

Logan Aronhalt Transfers from Albany to U of Maryland

Terrapin Baseball team on the bubble for the NCAA tourney

Did the Lakers freeze out Steve Blake? 

Counting the days to Foxboro

–Philadelphia extends series to 7 Games with Boston

–Mitch Kupchak says shakeup in store for Lakers

–Shaq lobbying for Orlando GM job?

–NFLPA files collusion lawsuit against NFL

—Devils win Game 5 of Eastern finals

Katie Schwarzmann is Maryland’s top scorer with 69 goals as the Terps present a differnet look from their 2011 NCAA championship matchup a year ago with Northwestern. © Brian Schneider

Venue

Then: LaValle Stadium at Stony Brook, before 8,011 fans. The Terps had a 4-1 lead early in the first half, but the Wildcats clawed their way back to a win.

Now: Second verse, same as the first. Maryland and Northwestern will meet on the same field to decide who gets a berth in the 2012 final. In terms of home field advantage, the Wildcats have 14 New Yorkers on the roster; the Terps have three.

Leading Scorers

Then: Terp midfielder Beth Glaros, then a freshman, had a career-high four goals in the title game. Wildcat attacker Shannon Smith scored a team-high four goals in Northwestern’s win.

Now: Glaros scored 22 goals for Maryland this season before suffering a season-ending ACL tear in April. Tewaaraton finalist Katie Schwarzmann is now Maryland’s top scorer with 69g. She scored eight points (4g, 4a) in the Terps’ 17-11 quarterfinal win over Loyola. Smith leads the Wildcats with 61 goals. Stopping Smith will be a priority for the Terps, but Maryland head coach Cathy Reese was wary of overcommitting to her at the expense of Erin Fitzgerald, Kara Mupo and Taylor Thornton.

“Their offense isn’t just one player and that’s what makes them so dangerous,” said Reese. “We have to come up with a way to play really good team defense.”

Key Stat

Then: Draws. The stats across the board were pretty even in the 2011 championship, but Northwestern had a 10-7 edge in draw controls, thanks to Alyssa Leonard (5 DC). Draws were tough for the Terps last year after Karri Ellen Johnson suffered a season-ending concussion in March. Maryland midfielder Brandi Jones contributed three draw controls in the title game loss, as did Camilla Hayes. Jones has graduated and Hayes, a 5-foot-11 English player who transferred to Maryland from Cal, has been buried in the 2012 lineup by freshman stars Kelly McPartland and Brooke Griffin.

Now: Ground Balls. Ground balls have been a rough spot for the Terps. Maryland has a slim 292-248 ground ball advantage over its opponents. Northwestern has won its collective ground ball battle by a much healthier margin, 367-268. GBs were a key stat in Maryland’s regular season losses to North Carolina and Syracuse. Defender Iliana Sanza leads the Terps with 43 GBs; Thornton has 53 GBs for the Wildcats. The ground ball battle could be the key to victory for Northwestern. The Wildcats will be facing a healthy Johnson on the draw, so possession may not come as easily as it did in 2011.

The National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, a program of US Lacrosse, was established in 1957 to honor men and women who by their deeds as players, coaches, officials and/or contributors, and by the example of their lives, personify the great contribution of lacrosse to our way of life. More than 350 lacrosse greats are honored in the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, which is located with the Lacrosse Museum at US Lacrosse Headquarters in Baltimore.

Brian “Doc” Dougherty

Dougherty will be inducted as a truly great player. He was a two-time, first-team All-American at the University of Maryland (1993-1996), earning the award in his junior and senior seasons. Dougherty was a two-time recipient of the USILA’s Ensign C. Markland Kelly Jr. Award as the nation’s top goalkeeper (1995, 1996) and was named the Lt. Raymond Enners Award winner as the nation’s outstanding player in 1995. In addition, he was MVP of the 1995 NCAA Championship after leading Maryland to a second place finish. Dougherty played nine professional seasons in Major League Lacrosse and was an MLL All-Star six times and the MLL’s Goalie of the Year three times. He also won two World Championships as a member of the U.S. Men’s National Team in 1998 and 2010.

Jen Adams

Adams will be inducted as a truly great player. She enjoyed a record-setting four-year playing career at the University of Maryland from 1998-2001, during which time she earned first-team All-America honors three times and won the Tewaaraton Award as a senior. Adams was named the national player of the year and the national attacker of the year by the IWLCA three times, winning each award in 1999, 2000 and 2001. She concluded her career as Maryland’s all-time leader in goals, assists, and points, and helped lead the Terrapins to four straight NCAA national championships from 1998-2001. A native of Australia, Adams also played for the Australian national team in 2001, 2005 and 2009 and earned All-World honors twice. She is currently serving in her fourth year as head women’s lacrosse coach at Loyola University Maryland.

Never been to the race, but Zac tells me it’s a must !!!!

–LeBron and Dwade embarrassed Indiana 115-83 and will most clinch the series on Thursday

–OKC —San Antonio Western Finals begins Sunday night at 8on TNT

–Mike Woodson is about to receive a “deal” from the Knicks. 

–Ray Lewis recently gave a pep talk to the Loyola Greyhounds Lacrosse team

–The Battle of Cinci—Xavier vs Cincinnati will be played in a neutral site

–The Terrapin Baseball team is on the bubble for election to the Big Dance

–Phillip Phillips is a virtual lock to win American Idol

Aronhalt, a native of Zanesville, Ohio, averaged 13.8 points per game during the 2011-12 season. He scored 13 points and had six rebounds when the Great Danes lost at Maryland, 83-72, on Dec. 28, 2011. The guard said the matchup in Comcast Center was memorable for him. “From a basketball standpoint, [there's] no one with more tradition than Maryland,” Aronhalt told The Baltimore Sun. “The facilities are incredibly amazing. The opportunity to play up there on a national stage and playing against the best competition in the country, just about every single night, is something that’s really great about the university.”

Aronhalt started 74 consecutive games in his three seasons at Albany, finishing with 1,091 career points. He has hit 169 3-pointers, shooting 35 percent from 3-point range and 83 percent from the free-throw line. He was a third team All-America East Conference pick in 2011.

“We are thrilled to add Logan to our basketball family,” said Turgeon. “Logan’s values are closely aligned with the expectations we have in our program. I’m impressed with his high level of success in the classroom while being an all-league player in the American East. We have a world-class kinesiology graduate program, and he really wanted to be a part of that.

“I am impressed with Logan’s toughness, leadership, and basketball IQ. He’s a coach’s son and his game reflects that. Logan had a great career at Albany scoring almost 1,100 points in three years. His experience and ability will really be helpful on a team that will feature so many underclassmen.” from umterps.com

Forecast: This marks the sixth meeting in two seasons between the ACC rivals. These two split in the regular season. Both goalies had a hand in propelling their teams to victories; Niko Amato stopped 14 shots as Maryland took the first contest in March by a count of 10-7. Duke returned the favor 6-5 in the ACC Tournament behind Dan Wigrizer’s 10 saves. Both midfields are really clicking and scoring goals at a healthy clip. Drew Snider of Maryland has been on fire, while Rob Rotanz leads the way for Duke. These units will be key this coming Saturday. The attacks for both can be either complementary or take on a leading role. Their ability to get open and operate underneath will earn the respect of the defenses and dictate some dodging lanes for the middies.

Tasty Nuggets: Duke’s John Danowski has now led the Blue Devils to Championship Weekend six years straight. He has made the semifinals in each of his seasons as the head man in Durham. Overall this is Duke’s eighth appearance in the semis. This is John Tillman’s second consecutive go round as a head coach in Championship Weekend, both with Maryland being unseeded. This marks the 21st appearance in the semifinals for the Terrapin program and the second straight year they will square off against the Blue Devils in this round. Maryland whipped Duke 9-4 last year in Baltimore.

Where the game will be won: Ball control and the ability to execute in 6-on-6 sets. This contest features longpoles that play like shortstick offensive middies. Maryland’s Jesse Bernhardt is the better cover defender, CJ Costabile the better offensive wand; both are on the same level in terms of groundball work and starting transition. When the action settles, who can show more poise and discipline to get the job done? Duke’s ability to control face-offs will be important to dictate a faster pace. Maryland has followed the formula of holding the ball into a stall warning and then running an efficient offense. With this in mind, team defense will be a major factor; the Terps will use their long possessions to get the Blue Devils out of their defensive groove. Duke’s close unit will need to be patient and alert. Flip the field and you have a young Maryland group that will try to stifle any push that comes around their goal. Duke will not back down and should use different sets and formations to keep the Terps off balance. The Duke offense has been a buzz saw as of late and is difficult to defend. Big stat: Jordan Wolf and Rotanz have combined for zero goals against Maryland this season. They are the primary initiators of the Duke offense down low and up top.

5:00         Maryland  vs #3 Duke