The phrase “it’s just a game” has always pissed me off to no end. It’s so much more than that — this doesn’t change that, I’m sorry.
It’s our passion. Our livelihood. Our source of happiness. Our most meaningful relationships. It’s everything.
Taking it away hurts like hell.
Though writing has always helped, I’ve nervously been going back & forth the last few days about being public about my long bout with mental health.
I wasn’t going to post, then saw
@bbrooks_79
’s post today that inspired me to do so. Thank you for reading.
Made a mistake my first semester in college, got suspended and decided not to return to have a career in this game — paid my dues, worked hard to grow up. Bet you’ve made plenty of mistakes, I’ve seen you defend at GLE this past week... so that’s a few.
#PayUpKyle
#InsecureMuch
?
Three years ago, I flew out here to Montana after getting a call that my brother had been T-boned by a drunk driver on the way back from picking up an engagement ring. It wasn’t an easy road. Tomorrow, he’ll marry the love of his life on their land. Thankful is an understatement.
I’m fuming. It’s World Suicide Prevention Day. Folks like Skip that view anxiety & depression as a weakness — not the sickness that it is — are why a stigma still exists & don’t deserve to be paid a dime. God bless anybody else fighting this neverending battle with mental health.
I’d be lost without lacrosse... also been an emotional bastard my whole life. But damn, never thought I’d hold back tears in a postgame interview & had to today. Watching HS seniors walk off the field not knowing if it’d be their last time EVER playing... that was heartbreaking.
This is outrageous. Every single player deserves to be on the field. These kids sacrificed too much and worked too hard — their mental health has been tested more than ever before, and now this? No player at any level should ever have to watch their team from the bleachers.
A good friend of mine would have turned 30 today. Sadly, he never made it b/c of his buddy's decision to drive drunk in '16. You don't have to listen to much of what I say on here, but this is an exception. Call an Uber... take care of your friends... be smart. Life is precious.
Breaking: Princeton attackman Michael Sowers will head to
@DukeMLAX
(pending admission) as a grad student in 2021, according to multiple sources. The rich get richer, as the Blue Devils secure the nation’s top college player:
Here we go: Princeton's Michael Sowers had officially entered the NCAA's transfer portal as of just after 4:00 p.m. EST, according to multiple sources.
BREAKING: No. 1 junior Joey Spallina, A, Mount Sinai (N.Y.) /
@team91lacrosse
has made a verbal commitment to
@CuseMLAX
. It's a huge recruiting victory on Long Island for the Orange, who will hand Spallina the No. 22 jersey during his career:
I want to apologize to
@TyXanders
for my tweets yesterday. I lashed out with a personal attack & I feel awful about it. I did not represent myself well and I let my frustrations with the games spill over onto Twitter (1/2).
Every head coach in the Final Four played public school lacrosse in New York: Yale's Andy Shay (Cortland HS), Albany's Scott Marr (Yorktown HS), Maryland's John Tillman (Corning West HS) and Duke's John Danowski (East Meadow HS).
Unfortunately, I tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month. While it's been an unpleasant two weeks, I’m relieved to say that the worst symptoms finally subsided over the weekend, I'm almost at 100% and got cleared to end this 14-day isolation at week's end. Thankful.
Yeardley Love was a NCAA
#wlax
player at UVA. She was killed by her ex 10 yrs ago. There are abt 400 statues of women in the US, and none paying tribute to a victim of relationship abuse, until now. Yeardley’s statue is up at
@USLacrosse
@iChampionWomen
@Join1Love
#lovebetter
The Ivy League Presidents are announcing their unanimous decision to cancel all spring athletics practice and competition through the remainder of the academic year amid further developments in the outbreak of COVID-19.
📰 »
PSA: If you put your college commitment in your social media bio but not your HS (or club), think about the message you’re sending about what’s more important to you.
Your high school team should come first. Then club team. Then college.
Never forget where you came from...
A late April lacrosse game between the NESCAC and Ivy League?! Only in 2021.
In a rare D1 vs. D3 battle,
@DartmouthMLAX
will host
@TuftsLacrosse
on Sunday at 3 p.m., sources told IL earlier tonight:
Still triggered that out of all the absurd plays in lacrosse history, THIS has probably become the sport's most viewed video ever posted on ESPN/SC social.
Besides the 🎥 quality you can't convince me of any other positives of this being glorified a year later. Sorry 'bout it.
Breaking: Former
@LoyolaMLAX
All-American Chase Scanlan committed to
@CuseMLAX
earlier today. Posting 43 goals and 15 assists as a freshman, he’ll wear the famed No. 22 for the Orange. Story coming on
@Inside_Lacrosse
.
For a team in its 7th season as a Division I program to knock off two ACC’s in less than two weeks... that’s pretty incredible. Well done,
@HPUMensLax
.
Breaking: No. 1 recruit McCabe Millon '23, A, McDonogh (Md.) /
@91Maryland
has flipped to
@UVAMensLax
after decommitting from Duke. Quite a weekend for the Wahoos.
Awful take. All lacrosse fans are hurting for all of the players & coaches affected, on top of being bummed we can’t watch them play. These guys worked their entire lives to win a national championship and now, that opportunity might be gone for those seniors. That’s perspective.
As always: I’ve seen some excellent players commit to Division III programs in the last 48 hours. The week after July 1st is always telling in terms of how many D1-worthy players choose high D3 schools. This goes without saying, but it should never be purely a lacrosse decision.
Hot take:
I feel like we’re at the point where the
@Tewaaraton
shouldn’t have to keep being identified (including in its Twitter bio) as the Heisman of lacrosse.
We’re big enough with our own rich history & don’t need to compare ourselves to major sports for legitimacy.
Congratulations to all of the student-athletes signing to play college lacrosse. Can't imagine there are many better feelings than a dream you've worked tirelessly for finally becoming official.
Breaking: Tucker Dordevic, a three-time All-American A/M at
@CuseMLAX
, was accepted into a grad program at Georgetown today and will join
@HoyasMLacrosse
in the fall, confirming his decision this afternoon. Story coming on
@Inside_Lacrosse
.
Breaking: Former JHU head coach Dave Pietramala has verbally agreed to become
@CuseMLAX
's defensive coordinator as part of Gary Gait's staff, multiple sources have told
@Inside_Lacrosse
. I'm told an official announcement is expected soon:
Wow. Former
@LoyolaMLAX
and
@NUMensBball
standout Pat Spencer has confirmed his return to lacrosse...
Ecstatic to have the Tewaaraton winner and 4x AA working with attackmen & coaching a '22 team at next weekend's sold out
@Inside_Lacrosse
ID Experience!
Today, we are excited to share that Jack Allard has returned to his family and home.
Thank you, again, to those who supported Jack, his family, his teammates & loved ones these last few weeks.
We are forever grateful.
The NCAA D1 Council voted and extended the dead period another six weeks through May 31. That'll put it at 15 months since recruits could take campus visits/meet coaches in-person before ultimately making the biggest decision of their lives. I feel sick for so many '21s & '22s.
Brett Makar will wear the No. 1 jersey for
@TerpsMLAX
in 2023,
@CoachTillman1
tells
@Inside_Lacrosse
.
Makar, a highly respected fifth-year out of Yorktown (N.Y.), becomes the first defensive player to wear the number in a tradition that dates back to Andrew Whipple in the '90s.
Few better feelings as a lacrosse fan than packing up and leaving for wherever the Final Four is taking place that year. It’s an unmatched celebration of the sport. Missing it.
A long overdue shoutout
@nickossello
of
@PLLRedwoods
for beating
#81
today and helping raise over 10k for a great organization
@OWLSLAX
, link to follow. Won’t say much more about the dude who likes throwing checks at empty nets & refuses to pay a $1,000 bet he made.
#PayUpKyle
Breaking: three-time All-American midfielder Dox Aitken says he's back in Charlottesville and will rejoin
@UVAMensLax
next week, having spent the fall with
@NovaFootball
. Story coming on
@Inside_Lacrosse
.
James Madison (WD1), Yale (MD1), Merrimack (MD2) and Wesleyan (MD3) all won national championships for the first time this weekend. Great for the sport.
I feel pretty confident saying that televising more college lacrosse games during PM time slots (besides Saturday) could attract a lot of new fans to the sport. Happy with what we have, but would love to see that happen in the future.
There could be three 1st team All-American lacrosse players playing Division I football next fall. The 2019 Tewaaraton winner is thriving as a Big 10 basketball player.
Don't let anybody encourage you to specialize in lacrosse. Play multiple sports.
“Maybe tomorrow we’ll all wear 42. That way they won’t tell us apart.”
Chadwick Boseman passing away on Jackie Robinson Day brings out all the emotions. Just not fair. Rest in paradise, 👑.
Former No. 1 recruit and
@StanfordFball
linebacker
@RickyMiezan
is headed to
@UVAMensLax
for the 2023 season (and potentially '24), he confirmed to
@Inside_Lacrosse
. On Sunday, Lars Tiffany did an in-home visit with the 6'3, 235-pound middie, who finalized plans to stay in-state.
What a terrible look by
@PIAASports
ending a playoff game and a team's season early due to weather and non-sensical rules.
@PalmyraBLAX
was down 10-9 with 9:02 left (and on man-up) before the lightning... could have tied it in seconds. It's criminal not to let them finish today.
Some news: today is my last day at
@Inside_Lacrosse
. What a ride these last 15 years have been, and I'm forever grateful.
I'm thrilled for this new opportunity to cover HS lacrosse and recruiting — stay tuned for that announcement next week.
Sitting at my local bar and non-lacrosse fans were starting to ask to take basketball off TV’s to watch Pat Spencer and
@LoyolaMLAX
. That represents how transcendent of a talent he is.
Breaking:
@td_ierlan
tells me that he’ll be wearing a
@CornellLacrosse
hat at the D1 quarters today in support of his brother, Chayse. If ESPN’s cameras find TD, Twitter cannot make fun of him for repping yet another program. Those are the rules for Portal Boy, I don’t make them.
24 hours from now (tentatively, of course), we'll have a streamed Division I lacrosse game for the first time since March. And exactly a week from now, the return of
#HappyHourLacrosse
in the form of Duke-Denver. It's about damn time!
Fantastic news that lacrosse will be exempt from the NCAA’s new recruiting legislation. Early recruiting created a negative climate for the sport & the Sept. 1 junior year contact date has been one of the best things to happen to lacrosse. Relieved we won’t be going backwards.
I’ve seen a lot of wild opinions, overreactions, BS & divide during the last 24 to 48 hours, but hopefully we ALL agree on this:
It was surreal yesterday to have pro lacrosse shown to the world on NBC and ESPN & now we have B2B games on NBC Sports coming. That’s huge for growth.
Breaking: IL's No. 2 junior Dom Pietramala '22, A/M,
@BoysLatinLax
(Md.) has made his decision, having confirmed a top four of Syracuse, UNC, Penn State and Denver last week. He plays club for
@Hawks2022
,
@KoopersLacrosse
and Slainte:
Gotta love my dad. Called me from his car earlier and said 'college football isn't happening, is it?' and drove 30 minutes down to my house with a 6-pack of Rolling Rock and our two favorite subs (shoutout Wine Merchant) to hang out for a bit. There's nothing like family, man.
For all of the people that had the nerve to rip the kid, I hope you learn something about accountability by reading this. The comeback is almost always greater than the setback.
I know I’m a defensive & emotional S.O.B., but if you come at me — or anybody, for that matter — for their struggles with mental health, you can go to hell. At least don’t be so cowardly that you delete your account after getting called out. Back to doing my job...
It validates a lacrosse player's athleticism. More important to promote high-level multi-sport athletes now with the rise of specialization in lacrosse.
I'm gonna keep doing my job highlighting the best players & their accomplishments. Feel free to unfollow.
Back to vacation...
Nick Pietramala '22, LSM/D, Boys' Latin (Md.) has committed to
@UNCMensLacrosse
. Playing for Kooper's & Slainte over the years, the savvy 6'3 defender has been sidelined since the winter, but will join
@Hawks2022
:
That's a wrap, folks. My 11th summer on the recruiting circuit was a long, strange, makeshift tour. Still, it has provided a sense of normalcy, doing wonders for my mental health. As I look around my apartment — roster booklets scattered everywhere — I'm reminded how lucky I am.
Breaking:
@StanfordFball
captain Ricky Miezan, a former No. 1 lacrosse recruit in the '18 class, tells
@Inside_Lacrosse
that he's returning to the sport in 2023 and in the portal as a grad student. The 6'3, 245 lb. linebacker was recently named All PAC-12.
PSU’s
@GrantAment
has announced that he will not use his sixth year, per his Instagram. Ament gave a huge boost to
@PennStateMLAX
’s program as one of the most dominant players to come through D1 in recent years (and a class act, too). He’ll be a fun one to watch in the pro ranks.