Lacrosse Lounge Episode 2- Kyle Devitte

In the second episode of Lacrosse Lounge I interview Inside Lacrosse writer Kyle Devitte. We talk about the MLL collegiate draft and he dives into his feelings about the league, players, owners, coaches, management and fans.

"If you don't like what I have to say the only thing you have to do is prove me wrong. And guess what, when you do, I'll give you credit. I always have and I always will. I'm not Skip Bayless. I'll give you credit when you prove me wrong."

Listen to internet radio with The Lacrosse Radio Network on Blog Talk Radio

Episode No. 2 aired live on January 16, 2012.

Photo from Daniel Webster College Athletics

Lacrosse Lounge Episode 1- Bill Daye

With the Major League Lacrosse season starting in 16 days, go back to the beginning of Lacrosse Lounge. In the debut of my on-line radio show on the Lacrosse Radio Network the first episode's guest is 2011 Major League Lacrosse and former Boston Cannon's coach Bill Daye, talking about life after coaching, the collegiate draft process and who he thinks will go #1 in the 2012 MLL Collegiate Draft.

"It was obviously a very difficult decision but it was something that was almost predetermined prior to me even coming into the 2011 season. It's been a long run for me. I've been involved with Major league Lacrosse since the inception of the league. Even though we do it because we love the sport and we love competing, it's still a part-time job that takes up full-time hours. It's just been a long road for me, a long run and I just felt it was in my best interests to take a step back and concentrate on spending time with my family."

Episode No. 1 aired live on January 9th, 2012. The episode featured some technical difficulties so the interview starts at 1:15 in.

Listen to internet radio with The Lacrosse Radio Network on Blog Talk Radio

Photo from Boston Cannons website

Lacrosse: Celebrities That Once Played the "Creator's Game"

According to several surveys and outlets, lacrosse is currently the fastest growing sport in the country.

More kids—girls and boys—are playing. More high schools and colleges are providing programs to those players. Major League Lacrosse, the premier outdoor league in the USA, expanded by two teams this year with plans to introduce even more new teams in the future. The MLL also signed a big television deal with CBS Sports this past year.

The game has grown from Long Island and Baltimore to Virginia and New England and all the way to California and Denver. The players are becoming more popular than ever, even where a guy like Paul Rabil is on a number of commercials for athletic apparel.

While there are a number of stars today like Rabil, Matt Danowski and Kyle Harrison, there are also several celebrities that grew up playing the game and might have gone pro in lacrosse had that been an option years ago.

Here are some famous people that you may or may not know to have played “the Creator’s Game”:

Jay Silverheels



Silverheels is the nickname of the actor that played Tonto on “The Lone Ranger”.

Born Harold J. Smith on the Six Nations Reservation in Canada joined the semi-pro Mohawk Stars at the age of 16 as a way to make some extra money for his family during the Great Depression. He had good hands and was quite agile. He was a very swift player, well known for wearing white cleats, which earned him the nickname “Silverheels”. He grew to be one of the nation’s highest-scoring and highest-paid players.

Erin Burnett



She has her own show on CNN (“Erin Burnett OutFront”), has been on the cover of Maxim magazine and has served as an advisor to Donald Trump on the hit-television show “Celebrity Apprentice”.

But before all that, the now-35-year-old was a lacrosse player.

She played at her high school, St. Andrew’s School in Delaware, and went on to play in college at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass where she received her B.A. in Political Economy.

Peter Dante



You may not recognize his name but you’ll definitely recognize his face. Dante has played in just about every Adam Sandler movie since “The Wedding Singer”.

Dante has been very involved in lacrosse throughout his life. He played at Hofstra in the ‘80s and is still active in the sport even after appearing in so many movies. Dante was a coach for the LXM Pro Tour for its first few outings and is currently an assistant coach at Loyola Marymount.

Mick Foley



Foley grew up on Long Island, so naturally he was a lacrosse player. And it makes total sense that the former WWE Hardcore Champion would be willing to play goalie and stand in front of shots.

Foley (a.k.a Mankind, a.k.a Cactus Jack, a.k.a Dude Love) attended Ward Melville High School in East Setauket, New York and played on the lacrosse team. He also played a bit at SUNY Cortland before leaving to become a professional wrestler.

Bruce Arena



He is known as one of the best soccer coaches in the history of the United States. He’s led the University of Virginia, D.C. United and the Los Angeles Galaxy to numerous championships and also led the United States Men’s National Team to two World Cups (including the incredible quarterfinals run in 2002).

He grew up playing soccer but was also a phenomenal lacrosse player.

Another Long Island-native, Arena played at Nassau Community College before transferring to Cornell University. At Cornell he was an All-Ivy first team lacrosse midfielder his junior and senior years. After graduation he played in the National Lacrosse League in 1975 and was also a member of the U.S. national team in 1974 and played for the U.S. in the World Lacrosse Games in 1978.

Dave Grohl



The rock star grew up in Virginia, a state with a pretty good lacrosse scene. The Foo Fighters front-man paid a lot of attention to learning the drums but he was active too. Grohl is famous in his music for being a hard hitting drummer so it’s not surprising that he was drawn to such a hard hitting sport.

In an interview with US Weekly, Grohl admits that lacrosse was his favorite sport growing up and that he played goalie.

John Kerry



The senior United States Senator and former Democratic Presidential Candidate was a former lacrosse player.

Kerry played lacrosse and hockey at St. Paul’s School in New Hampshire, where he was a teammate of current FBI director Robert Mueller. Kerry continued his hockey career at Yale, where he also played JV lacrosse.

He’s a politician by day, but still to this day Kerry is a huge sports fan and enthusiast.

Bill Belichick



He’s one of the best coaches in the NFL, but New England Patriots head coach also has a strong affinity for and knowledge of lacrosse.

Belichick was a captain his senior year at Wesleyan University in 1975. In an interview with USA Today his coach says Belichick “was an excellent leader. We had two kids on each side of him who had never played lacrosse before, and he coached them to become very good lacrosse players.”

The hooded-one still keeps an eye on the game today. He’s done a few interviews talking about his love for the sport and his support of Major League Lacrosse. He was also spotted at the Big City Classic, watching from the Johns Hopkins sidelines.

Wayne Gretzky



The “Great One” wasn’t an exceptional athlete in only one sport. Lacrosse is one of the National Sports of Canada (along with ice hockey) and as a kid Gretzky played the sport just like many other Canadians and ice hockey players.

Gretzky and commented on kids playing multiple sports and his experiences playing lacrosse. He wrote, “I could hardly wait to get my lacrosse stick out and start throwing the ball around. It didn’t matter how cold or rainy it would be, we’d be out firing the ball against walls and working on our moves as we played the lacrosse equivalent to road hockey.”

Jim Brown

Brown is the only player to be inducted into the halls of fame for the NFL, college football and lacrosse. Regarded as one of the best athletes the country has ever produced, Brown says lacrosse was his favorite sport.

He played at Manhasset High School on Long Island and went on to play at Syracuse University. He was an All-American midfielder his senior year, where he scored 43 goals and had 21 assists.

It is also speculated that Brown influenced two rule changes in the sport: the need to cradle the ball away from the body rather than trap it against your body and players were no longer allowed to thumb the ball to keep it in the head.

Photo Credits.
Brown: AP Photo
Silverheels: AP Photo
Burnett: AP Photo/Starpix, Amanda Schwab
Dante: Lacrosseplayground.com
Foley: AP Photo/Jeff Christensen
Arena: AP Photo/Gregory Bull
Grohl: Mark Davis/AP Images for VH1
Kerry: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
Belichick: AP Photo/Michael Dwyer
Gretzky: AP Photo

What Would've Happened if Tim Duncan Signed With the Orlando Magic?

Dwight Howard’s numbers this season have been very good. He’s averaged 20.6 points per game, 14.5 rebounds per game (a career high) and 2.1 blocks per game.

The drama he has brought to the organization however has been a huge distraction and looks like it is crippling the team and the franchise.

Will he stay in Orlando when his contract expires? Who can the team trade him to in order to avoid losing him for nothing? Does he want his coach fired?

His reputation and legacy look tarnished right now, the fans are starting to murmur that he may not be worth the drama and the Magic have slid from third in the Eastern Conference to sixth.

The situation is eerily similar to the one that happened in Orlando with Shaquille O’Neal. Both were No. 1 draft picks, both go by the “Superman” moniker and both were the best center in the league. Both struggle with free throws, both feuded with their coach and both are upset with the media in Orlando.

O’Neal bolted to Los Angeles. Many believe Howard will also move on to greener pastures.

While Howard causes a raucous in Orlando, it’s hard not to imagine what might have been if the Magic were successful in signing another previous No. 1 draft pick: Tim Duncan.

Prior to the 2000-01 season, Orlando saved up a lot of cap space and went after Tim Duncan (who had just won the NBA championship), Grant Hill (at the time a player many considered to be the next Michael Jordan, however lofty those expectations were) and Tracy McGrady (who was just coming into his own as an elite talent).

Duncan was close to signing with the Magic. The team offered him a six-year $67.5 million deal.

“It was probably a lot closer decision than people even think or even know,” Duncan told reporters during the 2007 NBA.

Close, but Duncan wound up returning to the San Antonio where he has since won three more NBA Championships and has a realistic chance for another this season.

So what would the Magic Kingdom look like now if the NBA’s most fundamentally sound player and nicest superstar changed addresses that summer?



First thing is the Magic never would’ve bottomed out in the 2003-04 season, won only 21 games and landed the No. 1 pick that the team used on Dwight Howard.

But with McGrady, Hill and Duncan, Howard wouldn’t have been needed. Much like what the great three-somes the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat have secured the past few years, championships would’ve been expected.

“It would have been a great combination,” McGrady said in an interview with the New York Daily News in 2010. When asked how many championships the team could have won his response was, “Enough to where I would have been satisfied with my career.”

Things would have been especially different in the 2004-2005 season. For one, it’s hard to imagine the Spurs winning that year without Duncan. It was the year Hill finally came back from injury and contributed to Orlando and McGrady would’ve been happy with the Magic and not been traded to Houston.

With those three on the roster and with complimentary pieces like Jameer Nelson and Pat Garrity surely they would have been a top tier team. They most likely would have made the playoffs and would’ve been a strong contender against the Miami Heat and Detroit Pistons.

Even had the team been unable to afford Duncan, Hill and McGrady, what kind of damage could a team with Duncan—and without McGrady-- have done?

The Eastern Conference, especially early in the new millennium, was not full of big-time centers. The majority of the great big men played in the West; Shaquille O’Neal, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, David Robinson, Karl Malone, Chris Webber and Yao Ming all played in the West.

The All-Stars in the East? Dikembe Mutombo, Jermaine O’Neal and a mostly-injured Alonzo Mourning. Surely a team with such a dominant big-man as Duncan could’ve done some damage in the Eastern Conference.

Think of some of the personnel moves the team could’ve made as well. Andrew DeClerq, Michael Doleac or John Amaechi could’ve been flipped for a more competent scoring forward to play alongside Mike Miller, or instead of drafting Steven Hunter in 2001 (because they needed a center) the team could’ve grabbed Zach Randolph, Gerald Wallace or Tony Parker—and we’ve seen what Parker has done with Duncan.



And while the knock on McGrady’s career was the he couldn’t get out of the first round of the playoffs, Duncan, on the contrary, is known as one of the best winners in the NBA history. A team-led by Duncan and his personality very well could’ve gone deeper into the playoffs than one led by McGrady, despite a cast not as good as the one in San Antonio.

What Duncan would not have brought, for sure, was the drama that McGrady and now Howard brought. Duncan—like Nash in Phoenix currently—would not have asked to be traded. He would’ve fought with whoever was by his side. He also wouldn’t have been a coach killer.

In fact, if Duncan had gone to Orlando he might’ve been able to save Doc Rivers’ job, and instead of winning a title with a veteran Celtics team, Rivers could’ve done it with an Orlando team built around Duncan.

McGrady and Howard created some unforgettable memories for the Magic in their times. And it’s still possible Howard, signed through next season, could sort things out and get this team back on track. But most assuredly with Duncan, the consummate professional, things in Orlando would have been drastically different over the past 12 years.

In the end, it worked out extremely well for Duncan and there is no regretting his decision.

Whatever Howard chooses to do, one can only hope he starts handling the situation more like Duncan—in a private manner—than O’Neal or LeBron James or Carmelo Anthony have in recent years.

Photo Credits.
Tim Duncan: AP Photo/Eric Gay
Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill: AP Photo/Peter Cosgrove
Dwight Howard: AP Photo/John Raoux

Is Thierry Henry the Best Designated Player Signing in MLS History?

With two goals—including an MLS Goal of the Week nominee—and an assist in the New York Red Bulls 4-1 victory over the Columbus Crew on Sunday Thierry Henry was named MLS Player of the Week.

It’s the third week in a row he’s earned those honors and is the first player in MLS history to ever win three consecutive Player of the Week awards.

His historic run and impressive start to the season—seven goals and four assists—has New York Red Bulls fans excited. Since coming to the team in the middle of the 2010 season he has delivered the goods and has been a great Designated Player signing, worth his hefty contract (second-largest in the league).

Signing a player as a Designated Player contract has not historically meant success on the field. Many players, such as Luis Angel Landin, Blaise Nkufo and Geovanni have been failed signings.

Henry has been a success. In 42 MLS regular season games he has 23 goals and 11 assists. Has the Frenchman been the best DP signing in league history, though?

To properly gauge his impact we first have to exclude guys that graduated to DP salaries. Players like Landon Donovan, Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Alvaro Saborio, Fredy Montero and Shalrie Joseph came into the league on normal contracts. They played so well that they earned a raise, one that put them over the DP threshold. While they’ve had great careers in MLS they weren’t typical DP signings. They were given the contract because of past success in the league, not as high-profile transfers from teams around the world that have an uncertainty if they can adapt to MLS.



Robbie Keane had a nice run at the end of the season for the Galaxy, scoring four total goals in nine appearances across all competitions but he needs to play more games in MLS for us to be able to really determine his impact.

The real competition for best DP signing is between Henry, Juan Pablo Angel, Cuauhtemoc Blanco and the man the rule was created for, David Beckham.

Blanco was a huge success for the Chicago Fire. In all three seasons his team made the playoffs and in 2007 and 2008 Blanco was selected as a finalist for the MVP award. He was an exceptional talent with a fiery attitude to match.

There could be two slight downsides to his time in MLS—and it could just be nitpicking—but one was that the Fire never made it past the conference finals. In 2009, his last year with the team the Fire were upset by wild card (and eventual champion) Real Salt Lake.

He also played forward but only scored 16 goals in three seasons for the team. A player’s value is not measure in goals alone, but as a forward it is your main job and Blanco did not light up the stats sheet.

Angel was a lethal scorer for the Red Bulls. He owns the record for most goals scored for the franchise in all competitions with 62 and was a fan favorite.

Angel was eventually moved out in favor of Henry however, and the Frenchman hasn’t disappointed especially with Angel slowing down in past years. Angel spent a lot of time in New York with injuries, struggled mightily with the Galaxy only scoring three goals all year and now finishing with Chivas.

As for Beckham, the English-midfielder was the reason the DP rule was made. Off the field he has lived up to all the hype. Beckham-mania has hit the country with all the commercials, magazine covers and jersey sales.

He’s sold out MLS stadiums on the road and his presence has gotten the league more attention, more respectability and influenced others, like Henry, to come over and play in the league. It’s hard to imagine any player ever making the kind of commercial-impact Beckham has had on the league.

His play on the field however has been more tumultuous. Yes, he was on the league’s Best XI last year and was a major component in the Galaxy winning the MLS Cup. That being said there has been so much negativity associated with Beckham’s on-field performance.



For the first four years of Beckham’s MLS contract he spent time either on the bench injured or on loan in Italy. He openly talked about his desire to go back to Europe in order to continue to play for the English national team. He fought with teammates, most notably Landon Donovan. All in all, he didn’t look like he really wanted to be in or play in America or with the Galaxy.

It wasn’t until his final year in his first MLS contract that Beckham seemed engaged and committed to Los Angeles and MLS.

Since coming to MLS, Henry has fully committed to the Red Bulls. He has retired internationally and is giving his full attention to his club team. He’s sometimes cantankerous as a player, has high expectations for himself and his teammates and he has no problem unleashing his emotions.

What he has done however is score lots of goals and he is always the hardest working player on the pitch for the Red Bulls. He knows when to take charge himself or when to set up his teammates. He was also part of the MLS Best XI last season.

He still needs to score more goals in big games (like Angel), dominate the league and receive individual attention for his play (like Blanco) and win a championship to go along with his ability to bring in more fans to games (like Beckham) but Henry has only played in 42 games, just a bit more than one full season.

What he has done in a short amount of time has been incredible. He is absolutely one of the best DP signing in league history and still has a lot of time to do even more.



Video from YouTube.
Photo Credits.
Thierry Henry: AP Photo/Mel Evans
Cuauhtemoc Blanco: AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh
David Beckham: AP Photo/Jonathan Moore

When Will the Philadelphia Phillies Give Up On David Herndon?

The Philadelphia Phillies loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday—the team’s second in a row—does not mean it’s time for fans to panic. It’s one series very early in the season.

That doesn’t mean that players cannot be evaluated, especially those with a history with the team.

That being said, when does the David Herndon experiment end?

The 6-foot-5-inch right-handed relief pitcher came on in the ninth inning of a 4-4 game, gave up two hits and the game-winning run, earning the loss. It was his eighth loss with the Phillies since he made his debut in 2010.

Herndon was originally acquired by the Phillies as a Rule 5 Draft pick in 2009, like how they acquired Shane Victorino. In order for the Phillies to keep Herndon’s rights they needed to keep him on the 25-man roster for the entire season. So if the team wanted to give Herndon time to develop and a chance to be an invaluable member of the bullpen they needed to live with some of his growing pains.

He’s had two years plus one game now. The majority of the time Herndon has disappointed.

He is 2-8 overall with an ERA of 3.85. Opponents are hitting .292 against him. Coming into this season, lefties hit an exceptionally high .343 with a slugging-percentage of .594 against him and righties were hitting a respectable .262.

As stated above, he has eight losses for the Phillies. His four losses last season were tied for sixth-most on the team. As for relievers though only Kyle Kendrick—who started 15 games out of 34 total—had more losses than Herndon; Danys Baez had as many as Herndon. Even Vance Worley, who made 21 starts, lost fewer games than Herndon.

Herndon’s redeeming “skill” is his ability to get ground balls. Herndon’s go-to-pitch is a sinking fastball, followed by a slider and change-up combination. Getting ground balls is especially important for Phillies pitchers because Citizens Bank Park is known to be a hitter’s park.

The problem is that Herndon still gives up the long ball in abundance. Last season Herndon gave up nine home runs, the most by any relief pitcher (excluding Kendrick).
Herndon has difficulty getting players out, gets hit very hard and does not come up big when the team needs him.

It makes no sense for him to keep a roster spot if all he is “good” for is mop-up duty in blowouts.

More times than not when Herndon comes in he hurts the team. The question is how much longer will Phillies management allow him to do so?

Photo Credits.
AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

New York Red Bulls: Ryan Meara Solidifies the Goalie Position

It’s only been five games into the 2012 season but Ryan Meara has made an impact in goal that the New York Red Bulls were missing badly last season.

In the first five games last season the team had only allowed three goals, but they had to use three different goalies (and they only had two wins). As the season went on mistakes by the man in net were abundant and the team used five different players at the position.

Mistakes, inconsistencies and not having chemistry on defense doomed the Red Bulls, as they barely made the playoffs and made a second round exit.

It was a position that team desperately needed to upgrade in the off season. So it was a bit puzzling when a franchise that has had no issues spending money on players and recruiting mostly foreigners to join the squad put the team literally in the hands of an American rookie.

The 21-year-old out of Fordham University was selected by the Red Bulls with the 31st pick in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft. He was the first goalie taken in the draft and the only player the Red Bulls selected in the draft.

“We think he’s the best goalkeeper in the college system. He’s big, he’s strong, we need a goalie, and he’s from New York,” Red Bulls General Manager Erik Soler told the media after the draft. “Every factor that we looked at was there, and he was the player we wanted most from the draft simply because we needed a goalkeeper.”

Meara beat out another young American, Jeremy Vuolo, for the starting spot out of preseason and he has been quite the find. He has started the first five games and played every minute of them. He leads all of MLS in saves (21) and the Red Bulls have three victories.

The Red Bulls defense was bad last year and is still rather shaky. The loss of Tim Ream and his calmness on the ball is a big one. Markus Holgersson has failed to adjust to MLS thus far, Wilman Conde has not been healthy and the defensive bite in midfield has been absent due to the injuries of Teemu Tainio and the early suspension of Rafa Marquez.

Still, Meara has held strong in the back and has made a number of great saves to protect Red Bull leads or keep the team in the game.

“He’s looked very composed. He’s a low-key guy, but a hard worker,” head coach Hans Backe said in an interview with the New York Post. “Fingers crossed now, I think definitely he has a future.”

The 6-foot-4-inch goalie commands a strong presence and poise in net. He shows good athleticism and in the team’s poor opening to the season in Dallas, Meara was one of only a couple of bright spots.

He was born in Yonkers, New York and admits he grew up a MetroStars fan. The club, despite all its recent struggles finding a keeper, has had the luxury of playing some of the best goalies in league history such as Tim Howard, Tony Meola and Johnnie Walker.

“Going into this whole process, in the back of my mind I was thinking the Red Bulls. I was thinking how staying local would be great,” Meara said in an interview for the team’s website.

Meara is young and there still is room for improvement, as there should be. But he has looked like a good prospect early on and as the defense in front of him solidifies itself and he develops better chemistry with them he could develop into one of the best in the league.

For right now though, the responsibilities he has taken on have been huge and he has performed admirably. The consistency he has brought to the Red Bulls defense is just as important as the goals that Thierry Henry and Kenny Cooper have scored.

It looks like the name Ryan Meara will be one that actually sticks around for a while.



Photo Credits.
AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez