SMS Text: Coach Cavanagh- FWD: Get Some scrub to do the blog, hasn't been a new one in over a month hahah---message from a alumni

Look at the pressure that comes with writing this blog, jeez these alumni sure do know how to stay on my tail huh. After reading this, you alums will sure be grateful.

Well how is everyone doing on this fine day? Today is exactly one month to the day since I have wrote the last post. In no way am I bragging about this, but I am sure that once I fill you in about our lives since the last blog, you will understand why. Currently I am home enjoying this much anticipated Thanksgiving break. There is no better feeling than being home with loved ones and friends spending time together knowing that the fall semester is almost at a closure.

Okay so right now I am looking over my brief draft that I wrote in an attempt to organize all my thoughts together, and I still don't know where to start. I last left you on October 22, after we earned a great over time win vs McGill University. So nothing more for the semester except lifting, study hall, and academic meetings right coach? Wrong. We shall start with Halloween, one of the more anticipated holidays in college life. Although we did have our fun during the weekend, that Monday the team gathered at the field house to walk around Plattsburgh collecting cans of food, or non-perishable items for the salvation army. Every since I was a freshman I have done things for the salvation army, and it undoubtedly always brings a good feeling to myself. I don't have exact numbers but I am sure we collected way over 200 cans easily, and let me not forget to mention we also managed to get some candy and empty bottles. Some households actually thought that a can drive meant throwing their empty recyclable soda bottles to us. Well that lasted most of the afternoon, and I concluded my Monday night by actually handing out candy at my house to local kids. I was very reluctant to hand away our candy.

I am going to make this very short, but after some brief mischief by a couple of players, the whole team was sentenced to a captain ran study hall 4x a week for the rest of the semester! Tuesday and Thursday at 8pm, not bad right, Ha, how about Saturday and Sunday 7am with workouts following it. No people that is not a typo. 4.0 GPA here I come (mom, don't hold me to those words).

So next up, the team participated in their second annual Polar Plunge. The Polar Plunge is one of the events organized in an effort to raise money for Special Olympics. Alright so let me briefly recap this morning for you. We all meet at memorial at 8:15 am, except big cheese #slacker, to go to Lake Champlain. Early morning forecasts called for a sunny warm day, so the thought of jumping in some cold water wasn't the worst of ideas. We head on over and are met with an empty parking lot and the brutal cross winds of the lake. We are then informed that we wont be jumping in till 12 o'clock. It is 8:32 tops! We spent a long 4 hours in our cars getting nice and warm while watching the parking lot fill up with locals, frat guys, sorority girls, and other sport teams. Alright so when I say I am not exaggerating, I mean it. We exit our cars at 11:55 to prepare ourselves to jump in. We are literally back in our cars at 12:03 wrapped in towels, shivering to death. I couldn't even turn the flip camera on before it was all over.

Next weekend the guys enjoyed Up Till Dawn, an event ran by the school to raise money for children's cancer. From 9pm-2am, we enjoyed an array of food while just hanging out playing play station, doing homework, listening to music, all in all just really enjoying ourselves. #sarcasm.

Anyone tired yet? Haha, next up is something that I have been planning to write a specific blog about a while ago, but things just took way longer. Since the first week of school, I myself took on the task of designing and figuring out gear us. In the past, the gear that we have worn has not been up to par with what it could be, and I aimed to change that. This year was a little different because under coach Cavanagh, it has been decided that we will be traveling in suit and tie, yup you heard it correct. Guys get ready for our 11 game away schedule, the first 6 of those being the first 6 games of the schedule. This year I intended on making the gear so not only was it possible to order what you wanted as a player, but also so alumni, fans, friends and parents could also walk around the same thing the we the team are wearing. Aren't I thoughtful? To boot, the gear is also Nike for a couple of items because quality is important, I will say with great assurance that there will be no letter fading on these hoodies. For more information about purchasing anything, contact myself or coach Cav.
Also some other exciting news is that we will be wearing new Nike jerseys this year. The time has come and coach Cavanagh, coach Pedrick, and myself worked on customizing new away jerseys. The decision was tough, and I know some of you older guys are going to have a sour taste in your mouth, especially those on the team who remember ripping Oneonta for wearing them, but what is done is done. Witness the 2012 Plattsburgh State mens jerseys. We will look awesome with our new CpX-R helmets.
Okay I promise I am finishing up, but don't say I didn't warn you this was going to happen. Lastly I want to mention that on top of all of this, besides being a student, working out, and finding time to breathe, I have also been working on two things. The highlight tape number one, and I cannot express to you my anger, because I am having some technical difficulties with the game films from a lot of the games. So I promise you, once I get moving on that it will be great. Second, I have created a new Twitter account strictly for Plattsburgh Lacrosse only. People I highly recommend joining Twitter, it is nothing like Facebook or Myspace or whatever else. This Twitter will be used for team updates, player and coaches quotes after games, scores, and what ever else you want me to put up on it. It is a private account so a request needs to be sent to me to follow. Already almost half of the team is following me, and I plan to have more. The name is @platts_lax, and like I said, it will be an awesome resource to have for games that might not be accessible for you.
Well thank you all for sitting through that, because as long as it was to read it was even longer to write. I really hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving with family, friends, and who ever else. I look forward to getting back and focusing on finals. I am sure you will here from me before then, so now before my hands and wrists show symptoms of carpel tunnel syndrome I will be leaving.
Enjoy- Mike #12

Cardinals Clip Away Again

Back again, how is everyone doing?

Oh, what a weekend it has been. I was planning on writing this Sunday but that didn't work out now did it. Alright so lets pick up the remote and rewind back. Thursday was our last practice of the fall season. (Last one ever for seniors Dan Caufield and Tucker Glass) Going through everything and preparing for a game which is a big indicator on how we will transition into our upcoming season. On Friday along with having no classes, I slept late, ate a good breakfast, and then headed over to coaches office to finally achieve something that most of the guys on the team know I have been attempting to complete since freshman year. If you didn't think of it already then you probably don't know the issue and I will explain.

Since freshman year I have been trying to make a successful, "our generation" oriented, warm up tape for pre-games. ( It would be so much cooler if our pre-games were packed with screaming fans, but hey we do what we can). I say "our generation oriented" because we have had warm up music before, but for those of you who have sat in those stands, or along that wall, or even on the field, know that 'Eye of the Tiger' by Survivor doesn't go well with 45 guys trying to get a little more pumped for a game, and does not fall into our generation of music preference. To make a long story short, Coach Pedrick and I spent 4 hours scanning our iTunes up and down, probably a total of 10,000 songs between our two computers, looking for good songs that would reach the approval of Coach Cavanagh. Please don't let me get any further into that. Basically try to think of all the songs that your sons listen too on their iPods, and then eliminate those that have or use profanity, and now think how many are left. My point... Nevertheless our persistence paid off and we created a 25 minute mix that is not half bad and did the job.

After that, I returned home and got ready to head over to Therapy to lose all my hair, awesome. It was interesting seeing a place usually populated by many of us at night, during the day. I guess you pick up on the 'finer things'. As a team I must say we did great with raising money, and I think we raised over $6,000 which is just awesome, seriously boys great job. I am confident to say that over the past three years, we as a group have raised over $15,000. The turnout at Therapy I think was the biggest I have seen in all three years having participated in it. I am going to have to say the best picture which is also in the video is that of Danny Caufield, who definitely had the longest hair on the team at that point, something we call 'Lax Bro Flow' or 'Rage'.

Alright so moving onto the game. The weather was not ideal as we battled through periods of substantial rain, which just causes slight imperfections in everyones game. McGill came out and put the first goal in the net but we responded and it was neck and neck for most of the game with no team taking more than a 3 point lead. 11-11, end of regulation time as the game will now go into overtime. Junior mid-fielder Nick Travers, scored a goal which was not only the game winner but it was his 5th goal of the night. Sick game Nick. Following the uproar of our sideline as we charged the field; Nick avoids all of us and takes a head first slide right across the face-off X to really rub it all in. Just Dirty Birds flying low protecting the nest, thats all! Following the game we all enjoyed another excellent tailgate provided by our awesome parents led by Veronica Kramer who really does such a great job following in the footsteps of Donna, Mike Glynn's mother. We thank you all so much.

Alright so finishing up, I must not forget about Saturday's Alumni Game. Oh it is just comical. So we show up, most of us soar from the night before, getting loose, as old faces filter in 1 by 1. Pre-game turned into greetings with handshakes, hugs, jokes, and laughs. Most of the freshman sat there getting the scouting report on guys to worry about. To give the old guys credit, I think they actually scored the first goal, and then it all went downhill for them from there. 20-4 was the final, and by the time the 3rd quarter was over, half of their team was fighting for a seat along the benches. How ironic how times change, 2 years ago these guys were sweating, bleeding, and fighting to keep away from that bench, and now its a battle for the same seat, on the same bench...

Alright well I think that is it for now. The blogs now will be about team news, sports, current events and such because we are in off season. We focus on lifting, school work, and enjoying college. I hope to get more followers going into the season, or at least comments on the blog, to my twitter, or on my videos. During the season I will be using Twitter to instantly report SUNYAC scores, as well as our team information like scores, stats, and things we might be doing. I will be uploading pictures of our gear soon that I am customizing, along with our new helmets that are in. Stay tuned to your emails for more information about that.

Cheers to the 2011 fall ball season!

- Mike

"Just Win, Baby!"-Al Davis/"You May Be Gone, But Your Legacy Will Live On Forever"-Steve Jobs

Well hello everyone! I understand that my absence has been quite a while, but I assure you I am alive, well, and still 100% committed to this blog. Currently I am home for this much needed Columbus Day break. School and fall ball have been nothing less of a hand full for all of us.
Just some current events...

I am sure everyone has heard by now about the passing of Apple's CEO and co-founder, Steve Jobs. I would like to pay my respects and honor this truly amazing innovator of my generation. I am a huge Apple product fan and I always will be, because of his brilliant ideas and visions.


Also I must pay respects to Al Davis, the general manger and owner of the NFL Oakland Raiders. Al Davis will always be the face of the Oakland Raiders, and has done so much for that franchise. With Davis in control, the Raiders became one of the most successful teams in all of professional sports. From 1967 to 1985 the team won 13 division championships, one AFL championship (1967), three Super Bowls (XL, XV, XVIII), and made 15 playoff appearances.

Alright so moving on, the guys have been working extremely hard in preparing for this weeks game vs McGill University. The coaches are working on putting all the the pieces together, while we are working on our condition, strength, stick skills, and camaraderie. So yeah, this week is the week. Our final evaluation and test to see if we can put it all together to get a strong win and put the right foot forward going into the season. The past two years in my career have conjured quite some battles with McGill. For those new to the program, my freshman year, they came here and really stuck it to us, no excuses. Last year we came out with a lot more emotion and fire and really stuck it to them, but as for as the 'no excuses' part, that was not the case. McGill claimed that they were not properly "equipped" with their full team. You know what they say, "excuses are like @$$h0le$, everyone has one and they all stink!" This year should be a real thriller, we really hope to get at them.

To give us an even greater incentive, prior to the game all the guys will be participating in our 3rd annual St. Baldrick's "Shaving Your Way to Conquer Kid's Cancer" event at Therapy Sports Lounge in downtown Plattsburgh. Yes that is correct, all the guys with their girlie locks will soon be rocking a bald-e. For the game we will be rocking awesome custom made St. Baldrick's jerseys that I will show you all in the next video coming up. The next video will also consist of highlights from the mountain, McGill game, and the alumni game. Okay, so while I am on the topic of videos... due to a minor unemployment hiatus, I am now back on track in finishing this highlight tape, I promise.

Ha, so the alumni game, yes yes. The time has come for the old alumni guys to come up and really try and mess our day up. I have already heard about them talking smack and that their attack unit, consisting of Norchi and Luke will be unstoppable. We shall see if they have an answer for our attack unit. It is always fun, and this weekend should really be a good time.

Alright well I hope you all enjoyed the update, and the blog will not go unattended for long times, I assure it. So now, some food for thought. I told you I am home for Columbus Day break, but who was Columbus, was he the glorified hero we all think he is? Some of you might not care or might know the real answer but, as an education major we debate if we should teach our kids the "truth" of our history. No need to go into further details, just a funny clip from one of my favorite shows on TV about the subject, The Office. Just stick it out to the end (2:00 mins).



Well I hope to see all the new parent faces Friday for a much anticipated tailgate and hope that we get a large showing for what should be a great weekend.

-Mike

-if any suggestions for songs please comment. I can say with much certainty that DeFran and I do not have the same likings of music, but I am open to much of anything.

Virtue is like a rich stone,-best plain set.

Well, first week of practice is over and what a past three days it has been. The team started Thursday bright and early, 6 AM to be exact. Coach Cavanagh and new assistant, Coach Pedrick, had us in the gym doing plyometrics, broad jumps, sprints, and just about everything that will make your legs feel like complete Jello. A huge difference from Sean T's Insanity! Later that night we had 8 pm practice, where all of us were trying to earn keep on the 45 man roster.

After Saturday's morning practice, and with some cuts haven been made, the team showed improvement in the hour long scrimmage. Chemistry, fundamentals, style of play, and tempo are still things being worked on, but this year feels different. It feels like the team is closer, everyone is committed, and there is a new feeling lurking around.

Sunday was the annual Buddy Walk. All the guys participated as we do every year, and it was great. The Buddy Walk, is a walk to raise money and awareness for the North Country Down Syndrome Association. Down Syndrome is really on a rise, and raising money for research is crucial.
Before I head out, I want to congratulate MIT football on their season opener win at Becker College. They need to bounce back this week after a disappointing loss at Massachusetts Maritime Academy, but lets keep it up boys.

I leave you with Saturday's HBO controversial knockout highlight from- Mayweather vs Ortiz - comment and tell me what you think!

"Protect yourself at all times!"

Enjoy, Mike. Follow me on Twitter and YouTube for updated news and videos on the team!

Its Plattsburgh! Not Pittsburgh! It might be in the middle of nowhere, but it exists!

Okay so I promise this blog wont drag a tear from your eye. I am sitting in my house with the guys after getting back from the library all day. Just caught the end of the Steelers - Ravens game, and whew what a physical game like always. Now I am on the verge of vomiting because the Giants and Redskins are playing and it makes me legitimately sick. Fellow readers, I am a huge Dallas Cowboys fan, OK. Say what you want about Tony Romo and all your other comments but I don't want to hear it. On a day filled with so many tears and emotions, I really hope the amazing sport of football can bring an up beat feeling to the people of New York. (I guess this is a win-win tonight)

(Rob Ryan Defensive, left, coordinator of the Cowboys--Rex Ryan, right, head coach of the NY Jets) -stick to coaching guys

Other than doing school work in the library, I was also working on a short video of this weekends 2nd annual bed race. We took 2nd again this year, loosing to the mens basketball team. It still really is an amazing event where so many people from the community come out to support. The Battle at Plattsburgh re-enactment was also yesterday, and boy do some these people know how to make a costume. Can I digress real quick on something that is really annoying me. So writing on this blog and as well as Microsoft Word. Bill Gates and the creator of this blog must not have ever heard of the city of Plattsburgh, because every time I write it, I get the red squiggly line underneath indicating a spelling error. When I go to check it, the only results for fixing it is 'Pittsburgh'. NO NO NO! So where was I?
Okay well please enjoy the short video. Like I said I think it is important showing the parents and followers some of the neat things we do up here. I also want to just say that the highlight tape is coming soon, I promise. It is deceiving how much time it takes to watch all the film. I do apologize but it will be worth it. Practice starts this Thursday and I think everyone is very excited. I probably will have a blog up sometime later this week. I am starving so I am going to end this. What's for dinner Mom?! -oh I have to cook :(

-Mike

Mrs. O'Connor's 5th Grade Class...

Hello Everyone, as you all know on this day 10 years ago, America and the beautiful city of New York were attacked. Attacked in a brutal and cower way that almost know one could have expected. A day that looked to be absolutely perfect, turned upside down, in moments. I was 10 years old at the time, sitting in my 5th grade classroom when the news struck. I guess it is one of those events that you will literally not forget one detail about. I remember the look on Mrs. O'Connor's face when the principal whispered it into her ear. Baffled, stunned, and alarmed, her reaction was speechless. I knew something was wrong. I remember the rest of the day at home, watching the news with my mom and brother, just being terrified. The smoke actually covering our town. In the late afternoon we gathered for a candle ceremony to pray for the men and women of our fire department whose lives were still unknown.

Terror attacks on the greatest city and country in the world. Could it be possible? Firefighters, policeman, and civilians all working endlessly to save the lives of anyone that could remain in the ashes, smoke, and metal. It was a true indication of the strength of our country. I praise all the heroes that this country truly does have. Starting from the men and women on board United Airlines Flight 93, who led a passenger revolt that disrupted plains the terrorist might of had. To all the firefighters, policeman, hospital workers, and civilians who either risked their life or lost their life, to protect, honor and defend this beautiful country. Among those civilians, Wells Crowther, a former Boston College lacrosse player was one of those true heroes. I am putting this video up, don't scan threw it, watch it. It is a beautiful story that is very emotional and will certainly bring tears to your eyes. This is to remember not just Wells, but everyone who has their own story on 9/11. This country knows how much of a hero you are!

-What would you do in the last hour of your life?


-this is a very emotional blog for me, and I apologize because it probably wasn't my best written one. It is tough when your body has chills and your eyes are filled with tears. I apologize.

-Mike


-present day New York City skyline. Still the greatest city in the world, and just as beautiful as ever!

Work Hard, Party Harder

How is it going everyone? First off, I want to thank Mrs. DeFran for complimenting my first blog. Thank You! So the end of summer has officially passed, Labor Day. (I know what you science majors are thinking, the end to summer is officially the September equinox or the 21st. Just bare with me!) With that said, the weather here couldn't have reflected that any better. It has been 60 degrees and raining on and off with a consistent bitter cold wind. The nights have been nothing but chilly and require one to wear a sweatshirt without option. Oh Plattsburgh, how you don't seem to amaze me! Classes are going well, and it just seems like the work never ends, but that's a good thing, right? We have been playing pickup games while hitting the gym and studying in the library. (I am currently writing this in our team mandatory study hall hour)

During my spare time I have been keeping up with the Quick Silver Pro Surf Tour in Long Beach, NY. For those of you that don't know and aren't really familiar with surfing, it is basically all of the best surfers in the world gathered in Long Beach competing for the biggest cash prize reward the sports ever seen. ($ 1,000,000) Oh wouldn't that be nice. It is an awesome event, not only for the sport but for Long Island as well. Surfing is definitely not well known in northern New York, I suppose its the equivalent to hunting up here.


Coach Cavanagh has been working extremely hard to tie together all of the lose ends that resulted from the coaching switch. With ongoing support from the captains,myself, and some other guys, we are currently working on setting up our annual St. Baldricks event. We are also designing equipment and gear that we will be wearing this year. With all of this on our plate, we find it mandatory to make time to give back to our community. Additionally, this Saturday is the 2nd annual Plattsburgh Rotary Bed Race which we will be participating in. For those who don't know, last year we lost to the hockey team taking 2nd and 3rd. We are certainly out for revenge!

Alright, I am going to head out now. I have to work ahead in my classes because this Monday I am traveling down with some guys to Albany to see Avicii perform at The Armory. I am very excited therefore I must get this work done so I can party hard, hence the title of this blog. I will catch up with you guys after this Saturday to tell you about the bed race and how it went and also talk about the start of the 2011-2012 NFL season! Lets go COWBOYS!

I leave you with the answer to the question I know some of you have... Who's Avicii?

-Enjoy, Mike Santi

Allow me to reintroduce myself, my name is...

Hello everyone, the time has come for a new editor/writer of the Cardinals Men's Lacrosse blog which as most of you know was originally started by alumni Dan DeFrancesco. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Mike Santisteban, and I have volunteered to take over with the intent of keeping this blog going strong.
Okay well I suppose this is the part where I tell you more about my self, sort of a brag session I guess? Like I said, my name is Mike and I am a junior now here at Plattsburgh State. I am majoring in elementary education with a concentration in fine arts. I am from Lawrence, Long Island, New York. I must specify because unlike Dan, I am a huge Long Island fan and I would not want to be mistaken for living anywhere else (just kidding people). I am the son of Joel and Linda Santisteban, both two wonderful parents that I love very much (feel like I am obligated to give them a shout out, so I did). I have an older sister, Lisa, who is also an education major and has just graduated from Queens College and has been employed in the fine Brooklyn area. I also have a younger brother Joel, who is a sophomore football and lacrosse player at M.I.T, some ask constantly if I am jealous, and I laugh and say, "No I am not, are you jealous?"
In high school I was typically not the best student but I aimed to change that aspect of myself, and I think I have certainly done so. I have been on the Student Dean's List (3.5 GPA or above) every semester here, as well as All SUNYAC Academic and the Commissioner's List 2 times as well. On the field I am a FOSHO, more commonly known as a FOGO (face-off-get-off), but here at Plattsburgh we do things a little unorthodox. I have worked under Coach Ryan Cavanagh as well as played and trained under alumni fosho Ryan Price. I have seen ups and downs on and off the field but I know my teammates have my back like I have theirs to get through anything. My 2 years so far at Plattsburgh have been awesome, I currently just moved off campus with 4 of probably the best guys I know, and who I have basically lived with for both 2 years in the dorms. (Tommy Kilderry aka Kildo, Kevin Pickering aka Pick, and Johnny VanWinkle aka Minnesota).
Moving things along as some of you guys may know, as a way to sort of expose and expand this program, I have created some videos on YouTube that I started last year (Dirty Bird Productions), sort of documenting this whole experience for fans and parents. I just guessed we wont have really much after we graduate but memories, so might as well make these memories viewable and lasting (maybe one day down the road show my kids, like my dad still insists on showing me his high school football tapes). My YouTube name is MJSLAX12, so you can just type that in on YouTube to see the list, or else just stay tuned here because any video I create will be posted on this blog as well. Please feel free to comment and critique anything that you would like to 1.see, 2.not see, 3. anything at all! My email is msant003@mail.plattsburgh.edu, if you would like to comment by writing an email I am open for that as well. I love constructive criticism, as an artist it has kind of been instilled in me, and I believe it will make things better for future films and what.

I am very excited to be writing and filming, as well as playing and studying. Please bare with me if I don't blog for some time, I promise it wont be very long at all, as I am sure my dad will be on my case. Without further ado I present the first video of this fall. I hope you all enjoy.

-Mike

Just a pop in

Hey boys a girls. Although I am not officially a member of the team anymore I am going to do a bit of shameful self advertising. I'm doing a blog for Inside Lacrosse about my exploits playing lacrosse overseas. Check it out here.

I'll be writing once a week and every so often I'll be doing photos and videos. Give it a look if you please.

I haven't passed on the blogging duties to anyone yet but I will take care of that soon. Despite being in another time zone I will still remain a strong supporter of the Cardinal red.

Cheers

-DeFran

After this it's just babies and memories.

I just had a bit of closing news to report on as the college lacrosse season has officially come to an end.

Kyle Norchi was named a USILA All-American, the first Cardinal in our program's history to earn such an honor. Couldn't think of a more deserving person to receive the award. Kyle finished his career with 282 points. His 198 career goals are the 13th most in NCAA D-III history.

As you also may remember Norchi earned a spot in the North/South Exceptional Senior game. Although his team did lose, he still managed to get a hat trick in the game. No assists though...go figure.

I know I gave Kyle a hard time on here throughout the season but he is the best player to come through this program, ever. When he told me he was coming back to Plattsburgh for his final year of eligibility I couldn't have been happier.

Well now I am officially an alumni. Can't wait to start receiving calls about how I should be donating to money to my Alma mater.

-DeFran

Christ. Seven years of college down the drain.

I know I said the previous blog was my last but I hope you won't mind if I write one more:

We are officially more educated than Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg.

I found it ironic that the day I was graduating from college was the supposed "Rapture" and Apocalypse. I woke up Saturday morning somewhat anticipating the roof to be blown off the field house and to be struck by lighting right before being handed my diploma.

And of course what movie was playing on TV the night before graduation...




Classic.

I'd just like to take this time to thank all the readers of the blog. It seems like after every game this year someone had something to say to me about it, especially the mother of a certain midfielder...Which was great! I loved hearing your guys feedback. Hopefully I kept you all entertained with my twisted views on current events, useless facts and Youtube videos. In the last month alone we clocked in over 2,200 views which is pretty impressive for a division 3 lacrosse team...or a persistent mother trying to up her sons blog views by hitting the refresh button. Either way it has been a great run.

I'm not good with goodbyes so I'll steal a line from one of the classics.



-DeFran

I saw the way your friend Mauricio looked at me; I thought he was going to shoot me with a tranquilizer gun and tag my ear.

I guess I've been dreading this one for awhile...

With our team awards done there is not much left for me to talk about. Come Saturday I won't even be a college student anymore. I feel old already.

First off lets announce the winners of our team awards:

Team Appreciation Award: Assistant Coach Ryan Cavanagh (He will be so pumped I used a photo of when he played back in 1986)

Coach Cavanagh was the brainchild behind St. Baldricks these past two seasons which raised over $15,000 for children's cancer research. His efforts to bring the foundation onto campus this year hopefully will be the beginning of an annual tradition not just for the lacrosse team but the entire campus. I've known coach since my freshman year and I don't just consider him a great coach but a good friend. Without him the defense could not have achieved what it did.

Rookie of the Year: LSM, Charlie Dullea

An All-SUNYAC honorable mention pick this year, Chuck did it all for us this year. Eleven points (7,4), 33 GBs, and 24 caused turnovers (second only to yours truly) are impressive numbers for a freshman.


Most Improved Player: Defense, Will Folgherait

The Bird to my Magic, Will came in this season more motivated than ever. He was in the best shape of his life and it showed on the field. In the battle for feeling relevant among the close defenseman Will led the unit with 43 GBs despite playing in two fewer games than me and Lind. It took every ounce of self control in my body to write that last sentence.


Coaches Award for Leadership: Defense, Dan DeFrancesco

I am a bo$$. Nuff said.


Defensive MVP: Goalie, Danny Caufield

He might not have won WPTZ's play of the week but he was pretty good in our book. He finished with a .580 save percentage and was a rock for us in the net during crunch time. If only he could get some better field swag.

Offensive MVP: Attack, Pete Morgan

The smooth operator. This kid always kept his cool during games. Finished with 52 points (26,26) and is probably the only crease attackman in the country that led his team in assists. Basically ran the man up and gives one of the best no look passes this side of the Mississippi.

MVP: Attack, Kyle Norchi

Was this really even up for debate? Kyle had another monster season with 69 points (51,18). A 1st team ALL-SUNYAC honoree, he was our most valuable player. Period.


Kyle was also invited to the annual North-South senior all-star game. The game will be played on the Friday of Memorial Day Weekend at Goucher College.

Well that about wraps it up folks. Keep tabs on the blog just in case anything of importance happens to the program. I just want to say I had a blast writing the past two years. It was a lot of fun and I hope all of you enjoyed it.

I'm not good at goodbyes so...yea.

-DeFran

Allow myself to introduce...myself

Today was the annual senior awards banquet. A couple of our guys took home some awards.

Tucker Glass was inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma which is a national student-athlete honor society. Tucker also received the Provost Academic Award for having one of the five highest GPA's of student athletes for the Fall 2010 semester. Tucker's a solid student and one day he is going to be a great history teacher.

He does not, however, agree with me that the best way to teach American history to high school students would be to base a curriculum around Forrest Gump and Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire". Everything of importance that has happened to America over the past 60 years is covered in those two pieces of media. We should make kids watch Forrest Gump while listening to Billy killing it on the keys. It'd be like watching The Wizard of Oz to Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon album. My head just exploded.

Kyle Norchi was nominated for SUNY Plattsburgh's male athlete of the year award. Unfortunately he didn't win it. Still an honor to be considered and we are all proud of him.

Finally it's time for me to toot my own horn a tad. I received the Dr. Richard D. Semmler Award. This is given annually to the male and female senior athlete with the highest cumulative GPA. I'm the first, and hopefully not last, lacrosse player to receive this award. I'd just like to thank...well actually no one. I was the one who had to do all the work and take all the tests. What did you do?

Just kidding.

Honestly just a quick thank you to my parents who drove into my skull that contrary to popular belief college was not a four year long party. Still to this day I remember what my father told me when he dropped me of at my dorm...

"You can have one semester of fun or four years of fun...it's your choice. See you at Thanksgiving"

Wise words from a wise man. Also quick thank you to my sister. She was the guinea pig who went through the system first and I had the advantages of seeing how it was done. I definitely look up to her for what she has accomplished.

Jesus, I should probably stop, it's not like I won an Oscar.

I will say this. The whole time I was walking up I could only think of one thing.



Our team awards got moved to Thursday so more awards to come.

Until then think about this:

According to some estimates, Americans are sitting on $30 billion worth of unredeemed gift cards.
-DeFran

Sanskrit. You're majoring in a 5,000 year old dead language?

The votes are in and three Cards took home post season honors.

Senior Kyle Norchi, Sophomore Nick Travers and Freshman Charlie Dullea all earned All-SUNYAC honors.

Huge congratulations to all the guys they definitely deserved it.

Travers was awesome for us at the midfield. He especially came up for us big this year in SUNYAC's. If I had to put my thumb on the point when I realized Travers really meant business it would have probably been the St.Lawrence game when he put up five goals. Not awarding him second-team would have been a TRAVESTY. <---See what I did there

Chuck is a beast of an LSM. It seemed like he scored a goal in every SUNYAC game (he did, except for Geneseo). He's got some nasty take away checks and is usually one of the fastest kids on the field at any given time. Every game he got the opposing teams top middie and did a great job shutting him down. I hope he doesn't miss me screaming "DON'T THROW STUPID CHECKS CHUCK!" next year during games.

Both these guys are new to the program and honestly the sky is the limit for them.

Finally there is Kyle Norchi, aka Mr.Goose. What can I say about this kid that I haven't in the past 50 posts. I'll be honest I was checking our website all day to find out who got picked, not for myself, but to see if Norchi got first team honors. The past couple of years Kyle has gotten second-team and honestly it's ridiculous. Although I know he would trade all his awards for a SUNYAC playoff berth, I'm glad Kyle finally got the recognition he deserved. He's the best attackman in the conference, period.

Our annual team BBQ is Wednesday so I'll have more awards to announce after that.

Also we have the senior banquet awards tomorrow where more awards will be announced. I think Kyle is up for something there too. Go figure.

Went to go food shopping today and found out that my beloved Powerade had dropped another 10 cents. Over the past two weeks it has dropped 20 cents. Normally I would be happy that my beverage of choice has gotten cheaper. One problem. Since I started food shopping my freshman year of college Powerade hasn't changed its price FOR FOUR YEARS. Now with 2 weeks remaining in my college career the good folks at Coca Cola decide to start slashing prices. Sweet life.

Now that we are well into May some of my best friends from high school that attend other schools have started graduating. It's kind of like a horror movie where one by one your friends get picked off. When someone graduates you all look around at each other, feel bad for them for a couple minutes, and than realize you could be next.

This one's for you Mike Williams...you had a good run.

-Dan DeFrancesco

Business is business. You use a gun, I use a fountain pen. What's the difference?

Happy mothers day!

I know technically it's not anymore but wanted to wish the best to all the moms out there. I know we have plenty on our team so it wouldn't be fair not mentioning them and all the hard work they do for us!

What a weekend! Only one more week of classes, finals and than that is all she wrote. It's amazing how quickly the semester seems to fly by once the season is over. Than again that could have something to do with only having classes two days a week...

Friday was a switch up game. Now I know all of us were already done with classes for the day but I had the boys put in some study hall hours because I was putting on a clinic. Four goals and an assist later I think we all know that a position change to attack for me wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. Might I add that I also had the game winner? I'm not trying to say I am better than any of our usual lefty attack men but lets just say Norchi is lucky we're both graduating this year or else I might have decided to take a crack at some of his records.


SUNYAC awards are decided tomorrow. As soon as I hear news from the boss upstairs I'll let you guys know who got what.

A little side note: The blog reached 10,000 views today. For those of you that have been following the blog regularly you might remember how this was something I set out to accomplish in the beginning of the season. I think we clocked in around 8,000 views over the past three months which is AWESOME. I hope you all have enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it.

-DeFran

Thats why no-one will remember your name.

Hope you all had a fun Cinco de Mayo, I know I did. I'll leave it at that.

Today is the switch up game. I'm looking forward to tooling kids down at attack. Trying out my best Kyle Norchi impression.

Nice article that highlights the seniors in Cardinal Points today.

Rain finally stopped in the Burgh. Supposed to have some nice weather this weekend which will be a welcome change.


Stay healthy, stay happy, stay thirsty my friends.
-DeFran

Get yourself some flowers, good clothes, good food, a car, and learn how to use words like 'non-committal', and you are a date and a half, Man.

So mother nature decided against us having out switch up game today. Even in the Spring time Plattsburgh just can't be pleasant. If this weather keeps up Lake Champlain is going to overtake Plattsburgh and Champy will eat us all. Somebody needs to call Jeremy Wade from River Monsters.

Still hasn't set in that my career at Plattsburgh is over, hence why I continue to blog about a team I am no longer a part of. I hope I don't turn out like that one guy at the concert that keeps screaming "ENCORE! ENCORE!"

We might be done playing lacrosse but we are not done winning awards up here in the Burgh. Both our team and our head coach, P.J. Kavanagh, received awards for their exceptional work as community service leaders. We are kind of a big deal.

Tomorrow is Cinco De Mayo! Who doesn't love that holiday? Nothing like celebrating like they do south of the border.



-DeFran

Well, all I'm saying is that I want to look back and say that I did I the best I could while I was stuck in this place.

Well that's it and that's all folks.

I apologize for not posting something sooner. Been a bit busy tying up some loose ends.

Senior speeches on Friday were great. Really some emotional stuff. I hope the younger guys listened to what us old bags had to say.

Saturday was tough. We played good lacrosse for 50 minutes against one of the top teams in the country. In the end they outplayed us in the fourth quarter. I will say this. Before the game I asked all my teammates to give me and the rest of the seniors 100% for the whole game. I have no doubt in my mind that every single one of my teammates left it all out there on the field for me and for that I am forever grateful.

All good things must come to an end and the PSU 2011 season is no exception. We definitely had a good run. I can't say I am completely happy with the way the season went, obviously, but I am definitely not completely disappointed. We had a good run and accomplished a lot of things. It's just too bad we fell short at the end of the year.

Even though the season is over we still have a couple more blogs left. Tomorrow is the annual switch up game when all players on the team play different positions than they are used to. Lookout for a killer attack of Me, Will Folgherait and Tucker Glass. I'm gonna do my best Kyle Norchi impression.

Post season awards are still to come as well so I will pass along that information as well as I hear about it.

Also we received the VISION awarded for community service. Ceremony is tomorrow so I'll let you know as soon as find more about it.

What else did you expect for this blog?




-DeFran

I wouldn't say I was the best manager in the country. But I'm in the top one.

I would love to see what that text message said.

So it all comes down to this.

One more day of practice left and then senior day and our final regular season game against Cortland.

Tomorrow the seniors make their speeches. It's a tradition on our team for all the old wise men to pass on the knowledge they gained from the four years they have spent at school. That sounded a lot more stoic and intelligent than it really is. All kidding, aside I've heard some great speeches in my four years hear and looking forward to making one of my own.

Funny side note: Kyle Norchi will be the first senior to have made two senior speeches....At this point do I even need to say anything? Are you really surprised he had to have one more than everyone else?

Not much else to say. Just trying to live to fight another day.

Awesome website that has video of every dunk made in every dunk contest from 1984 to present. Yeah it's legit.

Mel Kiper Jr said the Jets might have made the best pick of the draft so far. He's a good pass rusher which is what we need. Hopefully this isn't Gholston 2.0.

-DeFran

Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.

Surfing photos might be the best but basketball is a close second.

Big win for the Cardinals today!

Wasn't our best effort, especially on defense, but we got the W and that's all that matters. We played a lot of guys in crunch time and they came up big which showed that this was a team win. This is a 32 man team, every roster spot matters.

A lot of guys on the team seem to hate on my turf dogs. I don't know why. I think they are pretty styling. Here is a picture of them below:

Fresh I know.

Regardless of your feelings on my footwear those shoes are 2-0 at Oneonta. Hmmm...reminds me of a certain commercial:



I'm not saying the shoes won us the game but....I mean I did have an assist.

Couple of milestones were broken in today's game as well:

-Danny Caufield tied the record for the most wins by a goalie in a season
-Kyle Norchi became the leading points scorer in SUNYAC history



Huge game against Cortland on Saturday I hope you can all come to support us on Senior Day!


-DeFran

Invention, my dear friends, is 93% perspiration, 6% electricity, 4% evaporation, and 2% butterscotch ripple.

Surf photos are the coolest. I dare you to try and tell me otherwise.

Apparently Plattsburgh was relocated to the Amazon rain forest today. We got about, rough estimate here, 15 inches of rain over the span of 2 hours.

Practice was just getting started when a huge thunderstorm rolled in ending things early. Rumor has it that is the forecast for tomorrow in Oneonta. Hopefully we won't see any lighting to ruin our match up.

I had to do a little research on the effect the new bats specifications have had on college baseball's offensive numbers. Their impact is a bit ridiculous. Made me think about how last year the NCAA required lacrosse heads to be wider in an effort to cause more turnovers and make the game quicker. I wonder if it really worked? Inside Lacrosse, if you're out there, I'd love to see a story on that. Hell, I'd even write it for you ; )

I'm REALLY looking forward to this weeks Swamp People. For those of you that haven't seen the previews two brothers make their first appearance. I'm pretty sure I heard the shows narrator snicker as he was introducing them.

Hope to see you all out there tommorw. Bring your recycled ponchos from Disney World circa 1998...I know my mom will.

Classic...in my opinion.

-DeFran

If you have to ask you can't afford it

This picture makes me chuckle

Warm and somewhat sunny in Plattsburgh. What a surprise! One more day until another big SUNYAC showdown with Oneonta.


There is a bit of a mullet craze going around on our team. I'll leave it at that.

Nothing much else to say, just making sure Mrs. Alonge won't yell at me on Wednesday for not posting.

-DeFran

The older you get, the more rules they are going to try and get you to follow. You just gotta keep on livin', man. L-I-V-I-N.

It's tough times here in Cardinal Country so I'd figured I would keep it light to start:



This past week has been tough. Wednesday's performance was inexcusable and I apologize to all the parents for having to make the trip to see that game. I think this video sums up my thoughts:




Saturday was an absolute heart breaker. It seems like too many times I've had to say that on here. Losing a game is tough. Losing a SUNYAC game is terrible. Losing a SUNYAC game with 5.4 seconds left feels like you got your heart ripped out and stomped on.

As tough as it may seem, we need to bounce back. Wednesday is a chance for us to get a conference win against a team that beat us last year. All we can do is take it one game at a time.

As the season dwindles to a close it's all starting to set in that this will be my final year at Plattsburgh. I was thinking about it today and I've had a longer relationship with PSU lacrosse than all of my past relationships with girlfriends combined. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

72 degrees on Wednesday! It's almost like we don't go to school in Antarctica.

This made me chuckle.


My mind is fried. I'm at a loss for words at this point.



-DeFran

We get one day a year to prove we're not screw-ups and what do we do? We screw it up.

Hey there.

Not much to report here at the birds nest. Tomorrow is our big show down against Williams at 6 p.m. Hope all of you can make it. If not check out the live stats.

I've decided I'm going to take on the local eating challenge here at Plattsburgh. It's called the "Turtlezille" and it's a burger that weighs 2 lbs that is served at The Naked Turtle, a local restaurant down by the harbor. The turtle officially opens April 28th so I have some time to prepare. I'll let you know how my training goes.

I leave you with one of my favorite clips from one of my favorite shows:


Forgot how much I enjoyed this song.
-DeFran

Money isn't real, George. It doesn't matter. It only seems like it does.

Another great day here in lovely Plattsburgh. I was informed by my roommates that it snowed this morning. By the time I woke up and got outside, about noonish, there was no snow on the ground therefore I refuse to believe them. It's like that saying "If a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it does it really fall?", yeah I don't want to hear about snow on April 18.

Practice was business as usual for the boys in red and white as we prep for our rematch against Williams on Wednesday.

Interesting factoids about Williams College. Established in 1793, Williams was an all males school until 1970. Williams has won the NACDA Directors Cup 14 times, "presented to the institution within each NCAA division that has the greatest overall success in NCAA sanctioned-championships". The award has been around for 15 years. The school has also produced 37 Rhodes Scholars, the most of any liberal arts school.

However, my favorite fact about Williams is something that Norchi pointed out to me. Kyle had a little extra time on his hands and decided to do a comparison of Williams College and our fine state university Plattsburgh.

In 2009 Plattsburgh received $10.3 million in endowments, not bad for a small state school.

Williams? $1.41........billion.

They better have a nice visitors locker room...

-DeFran

Great White Buffalo

First of we have another addition to the ongoing video blog done by sophomore face-off specialist Mike Santisteban:



Great job as usual by Mike. That's sophomore midfielder Angus Rodriguez getting his groove on at the end of the video. He'll be appearing in next seasons "Dancing With the Stars".


There is no easy way to describe Saturday's loss. I'll be the first one to point the finger at myself. For the second time this year we allowed a team to score 10 or more goals. As one of the leaders on defense this year I made it my goal to keep opposing teams under 10 goals to give us a chance in every game. After an initial slip up against Farmingdale, we had a nice stretch going of 9 games in which we held to that goal. Against Brockport we failed to do our job as a defense and for that I apologize.


On a lighter note, all is not lost at Plattsburgh. Our hopes for a playoff berth are still very much alive. Fortunately for us our future lies solely in our hands. With three games remaining against Geneseo, Oneonta and Cortland we still have the chance to be the number one seed if we win the remainder of our conference games.

This week we get a slight break from SUNYAC competition as we head down to Massachusetts on Wednesday to take on Williams in a rematch of last years 17-15 thriller.

The Celtics ripped my heart out for the tenth time this year. Speaking of hearts, if you want to read a real tear jerker (yeah I said it, big whoop want to fight about it) of a story check this bad boy out. It's about a father and son team that run marathons together, literally. Real inspirational stuff.

The writer, Gary Smith, is an absolute genius. He was the one that first brought media attention to a mentally challenged man that worked with a high school football team in South Carolina. Maybe you've heard of him? They made a movie about his life. His name was Radio.

Saw this bad boy in VH1's top 40 one hit wonders of the 90's.

Keep on keeping on.
-DeFran

I'm not great at farewells, so uh... that'll do, pig.

Greetings from the Ra Cha Cha. Not much news here. Got into town at about 9:45. Just relaxing before the big game tomorrow.

Just a reminder, tomorrows game is at noon not 1 p.m.

In other news we got a bit of press for out pink and blue game. Laxallstars.com had a feature about our game including pictures. Shout out to PSU lax alumni Longstick33 for letting them know about our game.

Unfortunately Caufield did not win play of the week. =(

Not much else going on here. Hope to see you all at tomorrows game.


-DeFran

If I were a lion and you were a tuna, I would swim out in the middle of the ocean and freaking eat you

So I was going to put up a picture of a dead bear, due to our victory, but I would hate PETA to start looking into my blog. Instead I decided to put up a logo of The Grateful Dead which just so happens to be a bear....GET IT?

I also decided to put up a picture of this cardinal because it looks bo$$.


Big win for the boys in red and white. Every victory feels good but SUNYAC wins feel great. Pete and Timmy paced the team with four points a piece. Travers, Kramer and McClelland all had two points from the midfield. Caufield came up big with 10 saves.

Like I predicted the game was a battle for three quarters. Potsdam never gave up and drew even with us in the beginning of the third. The defense held strong, stopped the run and the offense stepped up going on to score six unanswered goals.

Glad to see the live stats work for those of you who couldn't make the game. I know Saturday is a far drive for many of you (apparently my parents might have to go through Pennsylvania to get there) but I hope you all can make it.

A trip out west means we get to stop at my favorite restaurant spot, The Brooklyn Pickle. The Pickle is located right in Syracuse and offers some of the best sandwiches known to man...believe it Long Island.

Also we have a bit of a celebrity on our hands. Danny Caufield's fantastic breakaway save is featured in local television stations WPTZ's "Top Plays". Vote for Caufield here and forever turn him into a celebrity...in Plattsburgh. Results will be announced Thursday night so I'll let you know how it goes.

We are looking into doing a guest blog in the upcoming weeks. That should be interesting.

Finally I have a very important announcement. Clarkson defeated St. Lawrence 11-4 today. Now normally this news would just greatly anger me due to the fact that we smoked Clarkson and lost to St. Lawrence in OT. Well as Kyle Norchi pointed it out to me due to that loss we are Kings of the North Country. Follow me here:

Platts, Clarkson and St. Lawrence are all 2-1 among North Country teams (Potsdam is 0-3 wah wah wah). The games are as follows:

Plattsburgh 11 Potsdam 6
Platsburgh 12 Clarkson 5
Plattsburgh 7 St Lawrence 8 (OT)
Clarkson 11 St Lawrence 4
Clarkson 8 Potsdam 7
Potsdam 2 St Lawrence 13

So if you look at all those scores and figure out the score differentials (the tie breaker in SUNYAC) it goes as follows
Clarkson: -7,7,1=1
St Lawrence: 1,-7,11=5
Plattsburgh: 5,7,-1=11

Winner winner chicken parm dinner.

-DeFran

That's somebodys daughter up there

Tomorrow's another big day here in the 'burgh. Potsdam is one of our biggest rivals and always a great game. Definitely looking forward to scrapping it out for 2 hours in what is gonna be an absolute battle.

The game is at 4 p.m. so if you're in the area I strongly encourage you to stop by the field house as we would love your support. I know week day games are tough, especially for those of you out there on the island, but SUNYAC games are definitely worth the trip.

Unfortunately the weather is supposed to be absolutely miserable up here. This doesn't surprise me considering last time we played Potsdam at Plattsburgh it started hailing the size of golf balls in the fourth quarter. T.I.P.-This is Plattsburgh.

So today after dinner we saw a commercial on TV for a very dumb movie, which I can't think of right now. It was at that point that I turned to Tucker and told him how I planned on becoming a millionaire when I wrote a screenplay for a movie about William Randolph Hearst's life, the crazed media tycoon who started the yellow journalism war with Joseph Pulitzer in the early 1900's. I had to read about Hearst in my Media and Journalism class last week and found him hilarious. The dude got kicked out of Harvard because he gave all his professors chamber pots with their faces at the bottom. Awesome.

Great idea right? Well apparently, according to Tucker, someone already beat me to the punch. Some chump named Orson Welles. The movie is called "Citizen Kane". It's considered one of the greatest films ever made.

At least it was a good idea...just 70 years too late.

-DeFran

I turned the whole world into a tabloid

Stop.

Before you say it, I already know.

Let's just move on and forget that it's been over a week since my last blog.

Big things have gone down in this past week. Last Wednesday we had a tough overtime loss to St. Lawrence. I have lost 4 overtime games in my entire lacrosse career and I remember each one vividly. This one definitely tops them all. Every year it seemed like we were getting closer to beating them. I really feel like I let the program down considering this is a team that we have never beaten. At this point I just hope the younger guys learn from the loss and can do what I couldn't do in my four years here.

On a lighter note congrats to Nick Travers who had a career day scoring 5 goals in the losing effort.

Friday was a bit of a different story. Great game, great cause, great turnout. Big shout outs to the Alonge and McClelland families who raised $275. That along with the money raised in the raffle totaled $522, which will be given to the Fitzpatrick Cancer Center in Plattsburgh. Not only were we able to help raise money for cancer research but we also got a nice W for the home fans. Although the game was a bit sloppy at times we still managed to pull out the victory. Oh yeah by the way...DID YOU NOTICE HOW GOD &^%$ GOOD WE LOOKED?

This week we round out our tour of the North Country when we take on Potsdam at home on Wednesday. The bears are tough squad that always gives us a good game.

Also like to say congratulations again to Travers who earned SUNYAC player of the week honors for his 5 point effort against St.Lawrence and 4 point game against Morrisville. Nice to see someone take home that honor that's last name doesn't end in "orchi".

This is it folks. Besides out trip down to Williams we are officially in SUNYAC season. Every game from here on out can basically be considered a playoff game with a loss to any team seriously damaging your chances of making the playoffs. While some people might look at this as a negative aspect of our conference, personally I love it.

The fact that, with every game, there is so much on the line is awesome. It makes the season that much more exciting. It reminds me a lot of college football. While I am definitely not a supporter of the BCS system I can appreciate it's fans who say that it makes the regular season that much more exciting.

I really feel like Swamp People is catching on among the team. At this point, if you're not watching I feel sorry for you.

I will say this about the show. I know I like to go one here and crack on them because, well, it's easy. However, I would be willing to bet that if camera crews came to Plattsburgh to film my life people in the south would definitely make fun of "the dumb yankee boy". How do I know this? They already did it and it's called "The Jersey Shore". Haha ok that was a joke (besides those people are WAY less intelligent than Troy and the Swamp People) but my point is just because it's funny and weird to us doesn't necessarily make them wrong. It is just two completely different lifestyles.

Ok, hopefully I don't break my leg as I get off my high horse.

I also was in a bit of predicament the other day. In case you didn't know I am a big fan of food. So the other day I decided to order myself some Applebee's Car-Side-To-Go. For those of you unfamiliar with this process it is basically like ordering take-out at Applebees. There is a catch though: They deliver it to your car without you having to get out. Fancy, I know. Now I had ordered from them a handful of times before but every time I did it was after the "car side" aspect of the program was closed because it was so late. Not a big deal as my obesity has not yet overcome me enough where I can't get out of my car. However on this particular evening I had placed my order early enough to enjoy the perk of sitting in my car while my food was brought to me. Here in lies my problem: Do I tip the food deliverer?

As the food neared my car I had a mini panic attack as I realized I would have to make this decision within the next 15 seconds. Lucky for me I paid with a debit card which gave me another minute as the deliverer returned inside to complete the transaction. As if this whole process wasn't stressful enough, after giving me back my card and receipt to sign the deliverer stood next to my car waiting for me to sign the receipt.

I decided to give her two bucks because she was cute. God I'm a sucker for blondes.

-DeFran

You go, We go.

Hey everybody.

Great win for the Cards on Saturday. SUNYAC's are what we have been preparing for all season so it's nice to see some results after all the hard work we have put in so far.

Also big thank you to all the Oswego parents for putting together our great pregame meal at Greene's. That was awesome and all the guys definitely appreciated it. Parents your hard work does not go unnoticed trust me.

The usual suspects put up 11 points. Brett McClelland had a big day in front of his home crowd with a 4 point day (3,1). Not to be outdone, his roommate and fellow middie Nick Travers had three points (1,2) and went 6 for 8 at the X. He also led the team with 7 GB's. Kramer had two goals and eleven Cardinals in total scored a goal, including freshman Connor DeNike who recorded his first college point. Congratulations Connor you did in 3 years quicker than it took me. CAUFIELD came up big with 15 saves.

Besides getting the W the big news of the day was Norchi breaking the schools career points record of 253 previously held by Luke Weidlein. After the game Mr.Norchi assured me that he is trying to teach Kyle how to share (Kyle went 3,0 on Saturday...the stats don't lie) and blames himself for Kyle's behavior.

Now I like to crack on Kyle a lot on here but the truth is the I'm extremely jealous of him. See not only is Kyle the leading points scorer in PSU history, he is also a Youtube sensation.

In 2006 Kyle was a senior at Hauppauge High School on Long Island. The team finished 11-5 during the regular season and was given a 7 seed in the sectional playoffs pitting them against cross town rival Smithtown East. The teams had faced each other in the final game of the regular season with Smithtown winning 15-14 in OT.

Well wouldn't you know that the underdog Eagles upset the heavily favored Bulls 14-10 to advance to the sectional semifinal. Kyle's team ended up losing in their next game to Comsewogue 9-8, ending Hauppauge's Cinderella run, but that doesn't matter.

See the real story is in one of the goals that was scored in that game. While on a man-up Hauppauge ran the ever elusive hidden ball trick and I think you can guess who pulled the trigger and scored the goal. Lucky for us the play was documented and put on Youtube, thoughtfully entitled "Sickest Lacrosse Play Ever". Believe it or not the video has gotten over 500,000 views, which, as a Youtube expert, I can say is a lot for video that doesn't feature cats or babies.

There are so many things I love about this video. I will simply just let judge for yourself.



Despite having been posted almost 5 years ago, it still gets comments, almost daily.

Funny side note: Joe Tansey, a LSM on our team who is red shirting this year due to an injury, was actually on the field as a downer for Smithtown. Tansey had been pulled up as a sophomore for sectionals. To this day he still gets angry when the goal is brought up. Also I believe rules have been passed since this game that would now make this play illegal. Kyle Norchi, changing lacrosse one play at a time.

Big week for us coming up. First up we begin our second tour of duty in the Battle for the North Country when we head to St.Lawrence on Wednesday night.

Then on Friday at 7p.m. we are playing in our first ever "Protect Your Equipment" game against Morrisville at home. The game is being played in order to raise money and awareness for Breast and Prostate Cancer. We will be wearing special jerseys for the game. It's gonna be awesome.

Sorry it took so long for the blog to be posted. I spent the night in Oswego. Always a great time there.

Apparently I have got at least one reader to start watching Swamp People (Middie Kevin Alonge's mom). I strongly urge you to take a gander. If you're still apprehensive take a look at swamp legend Troy explaining "One Eye"




People, it only gets better. Trust me.


-DeFran