On Sat, 30 May 1998, Richard S. Tuthill wrote:
 
> and MD.   Although LAX is a very rapidly growing sport already as big as
> hockey,  it is amazing how regional it is still.   And,  there are plenty
> of web sites to browse if you care to explore that fact.    You might find
> a couple of surprises.   Did you know that Hobart is D-1 in lacrosse and
> went to the NCAA's this year as the tenth or twelfth seeded team?
 
Yes, Hobart moved up to D-I recently. They had been D-III, but the NC$$
started to impose restrictions on D-I vs D-III games.
 
>         Also,  despite the fact that lacrosse may be one of the Canadian national
> sports,  there don't seem to be any Canadians playing at US colleges.
 
There are some, but not a lot. I would be surprised you could field a
full lacrosse team (23 players) of only Canadian NC$$ players.
 
This is because lacrosse is as regional in Canada as it is in the States,
and that the type of lacrosse played most in Canada is not field lacrosse.
 
> Regarding the national tournaments,  the idea of holding the D-3 and D-2
> hockey finals at the same site as the D-1 has a certain appeal,  and the
> lacrosse experience bears examination.
 
While both sports are regional the key difference, in my mind, is that
hockey's region is much larger. The lacrosse "region" runs from Buffalo
to North Carolina. Anywhere in that area is about a day's drive.
 
The primary hockey "region" runs from Minnesota through to New England. The
distance a fan would potentially have to cover to attend the championship
is much larger, even if we forget about Anaheim. (I suspect that Anaheim
is a one-time only deal.)
 
> latitude it gives them.   Perhaps a best two out of three format for the
> D-3 final,  East vs. West,  would be best.   First game on Thursday night
> at the campus of the lower seed,  then a day of travel,  followed by the
> second game at the campus of the higher seed.   Third game to be played the
> next night if needed.   Or,  perhaps two days of travel and use a mini-game
> if needed after the second instead of a full third game the next night.
 
That's not a bad idea. I think I would play the final all at one site,
though. The host team would alternate between East and West. Getting from
Middlebury to River Falls might be a little difficult (and expensive) in a
day or two.
 
(To bring things full-circle, the two major lacrosse championships in
Canada are decided in a best-of-7 using this format..)
 
> In closing,  my apologies to John if I strayed into the woof zone about
> Todd Krygier.   I thought I was making a simple tongue in cheek come-back
> to a (perhaps unintentional) slam on the MAAC,  but if it didn't come out
> that way,  sorry.
 
No apology necessary. I expect that most of UConn's territory is a "woof
zone". (As is St. Cloud State, Michigan Tech, the University of Washington,
and the University of Saskatchewan.) :-P
 
See you later,
John
 
--
John Edwards - Carleton (Ont) '96, Manitoba '00 - [log in to unmask]
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