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Boston Wins MLL Championship, PLL Weekend Makes a Splash

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Boston Wins MLL Championship, PLL Weekend Makes a Splash

Issue 39

Tim Haslam
Jul 27, 2020
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Good afternoon lax fans! I hope you’re doing well and are as excited as I am for the weekend that was. Let’s get to it!

Boston Cannons Win 2020 MLL Championship

The Boston Cannons won the 2020 MLL Championship, but not without some drama. First, the actual game: The Cannons led the entire game en route to a 13-10 victory over the Outlaws. Utahn Garrett Michaeli, who I interviewed last week on the podcast, had a GB in the game. John Uppgren led the Cannons with 5 goals and 1 assist.

Twitter avatar for @BostonCannons
Boston Cannons @BostonCannons
Your 2020 MLL Champions 🏆
Image
9:11 PM ∙ Jul 26, 2020
1,801Likes228Retweets

Bryce Wasserman, Cannons attackman, had 14 goals and 5 assists on the ‘season’ and was named the MLL MVP. He had this to say:

Twitter avatar for @MLL_Lacrosse
Major League Lacrosse🥍 @MLL_Lacrosse
2020 MLL MVP @BryceWasserman has a story to share🏆
Image
8:45 PM ∙ Jul 26, 2020
510Likes82Retweets

Now, the drama. Just hours before the semifinals, the Chesapeake Bayhawks had three players test positive for COVID-19 and their opponent, the Connecticut Hammerheads opted not to play due to health concerns. I think that Inside Lacrosse contributor Dan Arestia wrote what happened best:

Twitter avatar for @danarestia
Dan Arestia @danarestia
I wrote about the week that was in the MLL. Decided to take it to Medium for this one.
medium.comThe Week that was in the MLLI’m writing this on Medium so that it’s clear that this is my voice and my voice alone; I’m not speaking for anyone else.
4:30 PM ∙ Jul 27, 2020
20Likes3Retweets

Moving on…

PLL Opening Weekend Highlights

Before the main event began last weekend, there were a couple of articles about the Utah assistant coaches and the PLL.

Twitter avatar for @USLacrosseMag
US Lacrosse Magazine @USLacrosseMag
Will Manny, Marcus Holman and Adam Ghitelman had dreams of growing the state of Utah into a flourishing lacrosse community. Enter the @PremierLacrosse Championship Series.
uslaxmagazine.comDreams of Western Growth Come True for Members of Archers LCUtah assistants Will Manny, Marcus Holman and Adam Ghitelman have home field advantage.
9:23 PM ∙ Jul 20, 2020
13Likes3Retweets
Twitter avatar for @DJJazzyJody
Jody Genessy @DJJazzyJody
Three @UtahLacrosse assistant coaches are among elite players set to battle for @PremierLacrosse championship in Utah @MarcusHolman1 @WillManny_1 @adam8taylor @PLLArchers
deseret.comUte coaches among elite players set to battle for Premier Lacrosse League championship in UtahMarcus Holman, a University of Utah assistant lacrosse coach and professional athlete, agreed with a humorous quote a fellow Premier Lacrosse League player recently made about...
3:11 PM ∙ Jul 25, 2020
Twitter avatar for @KSLcomSports
KSL.com Sports @KSLcomSports
Trio of @UtahLacrosse assistants lead "hometown" @PLLArchers into PLL Championship Series in Herriman.
ksl.comTrio of Utah assistant coaches lead ‘hometown’ Archers into monthlong Premier Lacrosse League Championship SeriesGo ahead; call Archers LC the home team, if you want, for the PLL Championship Series, which kicks off Saturday at 2 p.m. MT on NBC with a rematch of last year’s league title game between Whipsnakes and Redwoods.
8:45 PM ∙ Jul 25, 2020
10Likes4Retweets

Will Manny was also on the Utes Insider podcast.

Twitter avatar for @UtahLacrosse
Utah Lacrosse @UtahLacrosse
Assistant coach @WillManny_1 is on the latest edition of the Utes Insider podcast presented by Pepsi! #goutes
utahutes.comUtes Insider - Assistant Lacrosse Coach Will Manny - University of Utah AthleticsUtah assistant lacrosse coach Will Manny joins Mike Lageschulte for this edition of Utes Insider presented by Pepsi.
9:36 PM ∙ Jul 21, 2020

Utah Head Coach Brian Holman was on ESPN 700.

Twitter avatar for @ESPN700
ESPN 700 @ESPN700
Utah Lacrosse Head Coach, Brain Holman, joined @espn700bill to talk about Utah Lacrosse as well as the professional tournament taking place in Herriman.
spreaker.comBrian Holman - Utah Lacrosse and the National Lacrosse TournamentBrian Holman, Utah Lacrosse Head Coach, joins the program. Brian joins to talk about the effect of COVID on Utah Lacrosse. Brian also talks about the professional lacrosse tournament that will be taking place in Herriman
7:22 PM ∙ Jul 23, 2020
7Likes2Retweets

Now to the action!

The opening game was a rematch of the 2019 championship game between the Whipsnakes (2019 Champions) and Redwoods (2019 Runner-up). The Whipsnakes proved to be superior once again with a 13-9 win. This goal from Zed Williams made the #SCTop10.

Twitter avatar for @PLLWhipsnakes
Whipsnakes Lacrosse Club @PLLWhipsnakes
MY GOODNESS ZED 🐍
Image
9:14 PM ∙ Jul 25, 2020
172Likes27Retweets

The next game featured Chrome beating Chaos, 13-9. The storyline in this game was when Matt Gaudet was recorded trash talking during an in-game interview. Inside Lacrosse covered it in depth.

Twitter avatar for @Inside_Lacrosse
Inside Lacrosse @Inside_Lacrosse
Matt Gaudet's chirping was one of the dominant storylines of @PremierLacrosse's opening weekend. Videos of it are approaching 1,000,000 views, eliciting thousands of comments. Is it classless, contrived, effective strategy or "just part of the game?" insidelacrosse.com/article/gaudet…
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2:18 PM ∙ Jul 27, 2020
140Likes6Retweets

Where do you stand with Gaudet’s comments?

On Sunday, Atlas beat the Waterdogs, 11-10 in a great game with Chris Cloutier notching this goal as the game-winner.

Twitter avatar for @PLLAtlas
Atlas Lacrosse Club @PLLAtlas
.@c_cloutier45 came in CLUTCH and got us the W 👏
Image
11:00 PM ∙ Jul 26, 2020
180Likes13Retweets
Twitter avatar for @Inside_Lacrosse
Inside Lacrosse @Inside_Lacrosse
We've seen six of seven @PremierLacrosse teams over Opening Weekend. What's to like (and to hate) about each of them so far? (Via @TheKyleDevitte)
ow.lyPLL Opening Weekend: First Impressions of Each Team and Headlines(Photo Courtesy of PLL) The debut of the Premier Lacrosse League Championship Series has transpired in a weekend full of fast-paced and
1:46 PM ∙ Jul 27, 2020
18Likes3Retweets

There’s honestly no excuse right now to not be following the PLL as a whole since they are literally everywhere.

Tonight, the Redwoods take on Chaos as 5:00 p.m. and the Archers take on Atlas at 7:30 p.m. Both games are on NBCSN.

Other News/Notes

The NCAA banned the moto-grip, knee-down stance from face-offs. More here:

Twitter avatar for @Inside_Lacrosse
Inside Lacrosse @Inside_Lacrosse
The @NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved the men's @NCAALAX rule change proposal on Wednesday afternoon, banning the moto-grip, knee-down stance:
insidelacrosse.comNCAA Oversight Panel Approves Men’s Rule Change Proposal, Banning Moto Grip(Inside Lacrosse Photo: James Baever) Whatever lingering hope face-off specialists had been holding since May 29 is officially
8:46 PM ∙ Jul 22, 2020
5Likes3Retweets

There is also controversy at the international level as the Iroquois National Team has been excluded from the 2022 World Games even though they qualified by being a top 8 team from the last World Lacrosse Championship. So it appears that either the World Lacrosse or the World Games are prohibiting the Iroquois from participating. I found this twitter thread very interesting:

Twitter avatar for @Okotokslawyer
Brent Robinson🇭🇰🇹🇼 @Okotokslawyer
So, I’m just a lacrosse fan and a non-practicing lawyer, but when I read this from @worldlaxsport with respect to participation of the @IRQ_Nationals and the “eligibility criteria established by The World Games” I thought I’d look it up. 1/13
Twitter avatar for @worldlaxsport
World Lacrosse @worldlaxsport
A statement from World Lacrosse: https://t.co/dAraJftRdQ
4:47 PM ∙ Jul 24, 2020
121Likes49Retweets

One person brought up the point that the World Games is looking towards the Olympics which would mean, at this point in time, the Iroquois wouldn’t be able to participate. Could things change before the 2028 Olympics in LA? Yes. Should they? Absolutely. Will they? Who knows. The Iroquois Nation would need to be recognized as a sovereign nation by a majority of UN member states. I think the easiest way to think about it is in terms of soccer. In the Olympics, there is a Great Britain team but it’s made up of players from England, Wales, etc. The UK/Great Britain is the member state of the UN, not England, Wales, etc.

That’s all for this week. Shoot me any notes or tips: tim@timhaslam.com

— Tim Haslam

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