Another big win for the Cards today. For those of you that couldn't catch the game live, we took home our sixth straight victory 12-5 at home against Clarkson. The usual suspects combined for 13 points with Norchi leading the pack going 4 and 2. McClelland and Kilderry each had two points a piece at the midfield. LSM Charlie Dullea chipped in an assist when we were man down.
Although we only led 7-5 at half the d buckled down in the second half, not allowing a goal for the remaining 30 minutes. Caufield had another solid day in net, making 13 saves in the W.
Great win overall. We won playing Plattsburgh Lacrosse, keeping them to under 10 goals while pushing tempo and scoring big. Simple.
Saturday starts SUNYAC play and who do we open against...the one and only Oswego Lakers. Oswego holds a special place in my heart as all four of my roommates are from there, three of which play lacrosse. Two of my best friends attend the school as well so I have a lot of ties there. Unfortunately, last time I played there, we gave up a game tying goal with basically nothing left on the clock and than lost in OT. Needless to say there is a lot of history between the two teams.
I have nothing left to say.
-DeFran
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Just when I thought you couldn't possibly be any dumber, you go and do something like this... and totally redeem yourself!
Press Republican lax beat writer Nick St Denis was kind enough to point out to me that I was wrong, shocking I know, in saying that the "Ten-Acious Defense" title in Mondays paper was in reference to our 10-8 win over St Mikes. It was, in fact, referring to our team's philosophy of holding teams to under 10 goals a game.
Insert foot into mouth.
-DeFran
Insert foot into mouth.
-DeFran
Monday, March 28, 2011
How'd a nitwit like you get so tasteful?
Another great day in the Burgh. Practice was practice. Not much to report to that extent. Did have three things I wanted to bring to everyone's attention.Junior goalie Danny Caufield and resident team lax guru was named SUNYAC Goalie of the week for the second week in a row. Here is the summary from SUNYAC's official website:
MEN’S LACROSSE GOALIE – Plattsburgh
Danny Caufield (Rochester, NY/McQuaid-Jesuit), junior
Danny Caufield (Rochester, NY/McQuaid-Jesuit), junior
Danny Caufield (Rochester, NY) recorded 14 saves in the Cardinals' win over Division II St. Michael's Wednesday to earn his second consecutive SUNYAC Goalie of the Week honor. Caufield stopped seven shots in the third quarter, when St. Michael's peppered the Cardinals with 15 shots, including 10 on goal. In the final quarter, Caulfield made two saves to secure the two-goal win.
And to that I have one thing to say: Your move Norchi.
Tucker Glass pointed out to me that although we are not in the official USILA national poll we did manage to receive some votes on the JustLacrosse.com poll. Who picks such a poll you ask? Oh some guy named...um....Casey Powell. Yeah when one of the godfathers of lacrosse is showing you love you must be doing something right.
Finally I'd just like to pass along the the article that appeared in the Press Republican featuring our defense. The online article doesn't do it justice as the headline read "Ten-Acious Defense", a play on words referring to our 10-8 win over St.Mikes. Pure genius.
Side Note- I'm pretty sure the guys at the Press probably got at least one phone call informing them the sports editor misspelled "tenacious". And that my friends is why I love America.
-DeFran
And to that I have one thing to say: Your move Norchi.
Tucker Glass pointed out to me that although we are not in the official USILA national poll we did manage to receive some votes on the JustLacrosse.com poll. Who picks such a poll you ask? Oh some guy named...um....Casey Powell. Yeah when one of the godfathers of lacrosse is showing you love you must be doing something right.
Finally I'd just like to pass along the the article that appeared in the Press Republican featuring our defense. The online article doesn't do it justice as the headline read "Ten-Acious Defense", a play on words referring to our 10-8 win over St.Mikes. Pure genius.
Side Note- I'm pretty sure the guys at the Press probably got at least one phone call informing them the sports editor misspelled "tenacious". And that my friends is why I love America.
-DeFran
Sunday, March 27, 2011
It's like "The Sopranos", it's over find a new show
So it's been awhile since I have posted on here and my apologies. Once again my family was quick to remind me that I was slacking on my duties:
From my sister: "Dear Dan, Update your blog. love, alex."
In an email from my mother: "BTW, did you forget you have a blog?"
So needless to say your concerns have been heard. In reconciliation of my errors I have provided one of my favorite comics: "Calvin and Hobbes"
Why do you think I always put a video at the end of my blog?
Presentation over product always.
So big week for the Cards. First off, on Monday Norchi and Caufield were named SUNYAC Player and Goalie of the week, respectively. In his typical selfish style, Norchi attempted to reign on Caufield's parade by being named ECAC Division III Upstate player of the week a mere 2 days later.
All kidding aside congrats to both guys. The awards are definitely well deserved.
On Wednesday we were once again victors in "The Battle for Champy". Guys played great in the win. Although 10-8 doesn't sound like a typical Plattsburgh lacrosse score that's not necessarily a bad thing. It shows that we can grind out a win even when we get out of our style of lacrosse. Great goal by Will Hockenjos who once again made the most of his minutes, on his birthday no less.
Also I would like to personally congratulate myself on spreading the legend of "The Battle of Champy". Both WPTZ, the local TV station, and the Press Republican referred to the game as "The Battle for Champy" at some point in their broadcast/article. Now all we need is a trophy...
The rest of the week was pretty uneventful as we had no game this weekend. We are back in action on Wednesday to take on a tough team in Clarkson. Looking forward to another challenging game to play in front of our home crowd. Hopefully with the gaming being at 4 p.m. as opposed to 7 p.m. everyone will not be gone after the first quarter due to the cold.
Today their was a marathon of Swamp People on the History Channel so my day was pretty much shot. For those of you that don't know what Swamp People is let me explain.
Imagine if their were a group of people that despite living in the continental United States still spoke a slang so strong subtitles needed to be used to understand what they were saying. For one month every year these people would travel out on boats essentially made of sheet metal deep into swamps for which they have no GPS for. Once inside they set up traps to catch alligators that range in size from 6-12 feet and upwards. The method for catching such creatures is by pulling on the rope they are hooked to with one bare hand while they shoot them in the head with a rifle in their other hand.
Oh yeah and this guy is one of the stars of the show...
From my sister: "Dear Dan, Update your blog. love, alex."
In an email from my mother: "BTW, did you forget you have a blog?"
So needless to say your concerns have been heard. In reconciliation of my errors I have provided one of my favorite comics: "Calvin and Hobbes"
Why do you think I always put a video at the end of my blog?Presentation over product always.
So big week for the Cards. First off, on Monday Norchi and Caufield were named SUNYAC Player and Goalie of the week, respectively. In his typical selfish style, Norchi attempted to reign on Caufield's parade by being named ECAC Division III Upstate player of the week a mere 2 days later.
All kidding aside congrats to both guys. The awards are definitely well deserved.
On Wednesday we were once again victors in "The Battle for Champy". Guys played great in the win. Although 10-8 doesn't sound like a typical Plattsburgh lacrosse score that's not necessarily a bad thing. It shows that we can grind out a win even when we get out of our style of lacrosse. Great goal by Will Hockenjos who once again made the most of his minutes, on his birthday no less.
Also I would like to personally congratulate myself on spreading the legend of "The Battle of Champy". Both WPTZ, the local TV station, and the Press Republican referred to the game as "The Battle for Champy" at some point in their broadcast/article. Now all we need is a trophy...
The rest of the week was pretty uneventful as we had no game this weekend. We are back in action on Wednesday to take on a tough team in Clarkson. Looking forward to another challenging game to play in front of our home crowd. Hopefully with the gaming being at 4 p.m. as opposed to 7 p.m. everyone will not be gone after the first quarter due to the cold.
Today their was a marathon of Swamp People on the History Channel so my day was pretty much shot. For those of you that don't know what Swamp People is let me explain.
Imagine if their were a group of people that despite living in the continental United States still spoke a slang so strong subtitles needed to be used to understand what they were saying. For one month every year these people would travel out on boats essentially made of sheet metal deep into swamps for which they have no GPS for. Once inside they set up traps to catch alligators that range in size from 6-12 feet and upwards. The method for catching such creatures is by pulling on the rope they are hooked to with one bare hand while they shoot them in the head with a rifle in their other hand.
Oh yeah and this guy is one of the stars of the show...
New season starts Thursday at 9 p.m. You're welcome.
Usually I'm not a fan of these types of shows. It seems like if you work any type of blue collar job A&E or the History channel will be more than willing to give you your own reality television show. Off the top of my head there are reality shows about: lumberjacks, gold miners, Alaskan state troopers, truck drivers, restaurant owners, coal miners, division III lacrosse players that write blogs (no but really imagine), ice road truckers and people that own hair salons.
Swamp People is a completely different breed though. Literally.
I spotted a high of 47 degrees in the 10 day for Plattsburgh. We'll see if that holds up. Most likely not and God is simply playing a cruel joke on me.
Britney Spears and Radiohead come out with new CD's on Tuesday. Is it bad that I am more surprised that Britney, as opposed to Radiohead, is still alive?
This beat is toxic
-DeFran
Usually I'm not a fan of these types of shows. It seems like if you work any type of blue collar job A&E or the History channel will be more than willing to give you your own reality television show. Off the top of my head there are reality shows about: lumberjacks, gold miners, Alaskan state troopers, truck drivers, restaurant owners, coal miners, division III lacrosse players that write blogs (no but really imagine), ice road truckers and people that own hair salons.
Swamp People is a completely different breed though. Literally.
I spotted a high of 47 degrees in the 10 day for Plattsburgh. We'll see if that holds up. Most likely not and God is simply playing a cruel joke on me.
Britney Spears and Radiohead come out with new CD's on Tuesday. Is it bad that I am more surprised that Britney, as opposed to Radiohead, is still alive?
This beat is toxic
-DeFran
Monday, March 21, 2011
You know something. I always thought dogs laid eggs, and I learned something today..
Today is the first day of spring and we practiced in a blizzard.
If that doesn't sum up my life in Plattsburgh these past four years I don't know what does.
So after four games in a week we are back to the daily grind. One more day of practice and then it is our home opener for the "Battle of Champy". I realized the other day that I keep mentioning Champy as if he is a household name. Unfortunately he is not so let me explain myself.
Champy, also known as Cryptozoology his scientific name (I'm not making this up), is the lake monster that lives in Lake Champlain. According to Wikipedia, which everyone knows is always right, there have been over 300 sightings of Champy since 1883 when Sheriff Nathan H. Mooney first reported seeing a “…gigantic water serpent about 50 yards away” that had “round white spots inside its mouth” and “appeared to be about 25 to 30 feet in length”. I know this might all strangely familiar to a certain lake monster that is located across the Atlantic Ocean but I assure you Mooney's sighting was 50 years before anyone even uttered "Nessie's" name.
So suck it Scotland.
Champy's legend grew so much that P.T. Barnum, as in the guy that started Ringling Brothers Barnum and Baily Circus, put a $50,000 bounty on Champy so he could put it in his World's Fair. Lucky for us, no one was successful and the legend lives on.
The only known photo of Champy was taken in 1977 by Sandra Mansi and is pictured above.
Today Champy can be found throughout the area, including Vermont's only minor league baseball team who are the "Lake Monsters".
And now on Wednesday night SUNY Plattsburgh will take on St.Mike's for the "Battle of Champy", although I'm not sure they are aware that's what we are calling it. We don't have a trophy which is a shame, but this isn't about hardware. This is about battling for the right to claim ownership over a mythological creature that most likely was discovered by an alcoholic sheriff who was half in the bag when he spotted a tree branch in the lake and thought it was a monster.
And for that, I thank god.
-DeFran
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Couscous - the food's so nice they named it twice.
Ladies and gentleman I am proud to present to you a video montage of our Spring Break trip:
The video was shot and edited by sophomore face off specialist Mike Santisteban.
-DeFran
The video was shot and edited by sophomore face off specialist Mike Santisteban.
-DeFran
There’s too much learning going on at that school.
What a great Spring Break!
For those of you that weren't able to make it to the game we closed out Spring Break with a nice 16-6 win against Montclair State, once again proving that New York is better than New Jersey. In the four years I have been on the team this is the first time we have gone 4-0 on break. It's a great accomplishment and an awesome turnaround from our loss two weeks ago against Farmingdale.
The game was a great display of what we want to do for the rest of the season: play great defense while not sacrificing our up-tempo style of play. The usual suspects accounted for 15 points. From the midfield Kilderry and McClelland had three goals a piece. Dullea had a big game up top for us causing 4 turnovers and getting 4 GB's. Santi had another great day at the X and scooped 6 GB's. Caufield was solid in the cage coming up with a HUGE 1 on 1 save in the second quarter.
Great job on the tailgate as usual. I know Mr. Santisteban was a little worried about keeping the food warm due to the fact that we were stuck outside but everything turned out great.
Couple days of practice and than back at it again when we play our neighbors across the pond for "The Battle for Champy" in our home opener. It might be a little chilly considering it's a 7 p.m. game but I think you guys can handle it.
-DeFran
For those of you that weren't able to make it to the game we closed out Spring Break with a nice 16-6 win against Montclair State, once again proving that New York is better than New Jersey. In the four years I have been on the team this is the first time we have gone 4-0 on break. It's a great accomplishment and an awesome turnaround from our loss two weeks ago against Farmingdale.
The game was a great display of what we want to do for the rest of the season: play great defense while not sacrificing our up-tempo style of play. The usual suspects accounted for 15 points. From the midfield Kilderry and McClelland had three goals a piece. Dullea had a big game up top for us causing 4 turnovers and getting 4 GB's. Santi had another great day at the X and scooped 6 GB's. Caufield was solid in the cage coming up with a HUGE 1 on 1 save in the second quarter.
Great job on the tailgate as usual. I know Mr. Santisteban was a little worried about keeping the food warm due to the fact that we were stuck outside but everything turned out great.
Couple days of practice and than back at it again when we play our neighbors across the pond for "The Battle for Champy" in our home opener. It might be a little chilly considering it's a 7 p.m. game but I think you guys can handle it.
-DeFran
Friday, March 18, 2011
I'm the one fighting. Ok. Not you, not you, not you and not you
Nice long bus ride back to Newburgh. Got to watch "The Fighter" which was great. It's times like these when my friends are vacationing in Mexico, Florida or the Bahamas for Spring Break that I really appreciate my decision to play college lacrosse.
All kidding aside though this trip has been great.
We got to check out UNC last night. Great campus, great game, great girls. Definitely a good time.
Some great photos were taken at our Guilford game and lucky for us both the photographers have made them available to view for FREE.
Jack Tarr is a Plattsburgh alumni and professional photographer that lives in the N.C. area. Thankfully for us Mr.Tarr decided to come out to the game and photograph us free of charge. You can see all of Jack photos here.
Mr.Tarr wasn't the only professional photographer at the game rooting us on. Laura Gingerich, Aunt to sophomore middie Tommy Kilderry, also was taking pictures at the game. Her photos can be viewed here. Personally I love Ms.Gingerich's description of the album.
A big thank you to both of them for coming out and photographing us. I know all the guys on the team appreciate them considering the fact that everyone has a new Facebook default photograph.
Big game tomorrow in Jersey against Montclair. Not much else to say.This has been dubbed the "Battle of Billy vs Bruce" in an ode to Billy Joel (LI native) and Bruce Springsteen (NJ native).
What else did you think I was gonna play?
-DeFran
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Our speakers go to eleven
HEY YALL!
That's how we talk down here now.
The dirty birds have been doing big things down in the south. After a shaky start to the season we have turned it around and currently stand at 3-1. I haven't posted in a couple days and I apologize for that so here are some game recaps.
Plattsburgh-19 Birmingham-Southern-9
First off, it was absolutely gorgeous outside. It was sunny and probably in the 70's. The first thing we noticed when we rolled up was the absolute behemoth of a stadium we got to play in. The game was played at Irmo High School, located in Columbia, SC, also home to the South Carolina Gamecocks. Let me say this, all those rumors about how high schools from the south pour money into their football program and their facilities, their not rumors. Their true. This thing was straight out of Friday Night Lights.
Even though we had a slow start we managed to turn it around and start playing Plattsburgh lacrosse. Big ups to sophomore Will Hockenjos who had a huge goal that killed their momentum in the third quarter. Pete, Kyle and Timmy once again had absurd numbers (5,6,7 points respectively). Danny Caufield came up huge in the net with 17 saves.
Plattsburgh-19 Guilford-8
Complete opposite of BSU game. We came out FLYING. I believe it was 8-1 after the first quarter. Had a bit of a let down in the second quarter but brought it back up in the third. Best part about this game was the fact that everyone on our team not only got into the game but got solid minutes. It's great to see guys that work their tails off in practice finally get on some PT. Also props to Mr. DeNike for sending out the email about the streaming video of the game. According to my mom it worked great so thanks for giving everyone the heads up.
The usual suspects (attackmen Pete Morgan, Kyle Norchi and Timmy Lawrence) had 5 points each. Sophomore Joey Kramer had a big day notching 4 goals. Sophomore Mike Santisteban had a big day at the X going 11 for 16 with 3 GB's.
I'd also like to thank the Kramer's, Glass's, Folgherait's, McClelland's, Norchi's and Jaquin's for all making the trip down south (or north for the Jaquin's) to come see us play. Great to see some familiar faces at the game and tailgate.
And now the moment you have all been waiting for...
The winner of the mascot tournament bracket is none other than...
The University of Alabama at Birmingham BlazersAlthough it was a tough battle no team could stand in the way of the Blazers. If only their had been a Knight in the tournament...
Headed to the UNC-Duke lacrosse game at UNC. Cannot WAIT to get myself a southern belle.
-DeFran
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Stay out of the long grass
Can I go on a rant?
I love this time of year.
Now I know what you're thinking: "He loves this time of year because it's lacrosse season."
No.
Wait, I got it. "He loves this time of year because it's Spring Break and that is when the team really gets to bond together."
No.
Ok,ok how bout, "He loves this time of year because he loves the weather getting warmer which means skirt season in Plattsburgh."
No. Well ok yes but that's not the point.
Don't get me wrong I love lacrosse season and Spring Break is always a fun time with the team.
But the real reason why this week is great.
MARCH MADNESS.
I love how when they release the brackets they put cameras on all the teams to show their reactions. I love how a little school like St. Peter's out of the MAAC has goes crazy when they see their seed, even though it's against Big Ten powerhouse Purdue. I love the bracket and how everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, fills one out. I love how your mom, your girlfriend, your boss, your coach, your priest/rabbi wants to talk about "Who ya got?". I love going big and trying to ride a Cinderella to the Final Four. I love how there is always the "tough" side of the bracket and the "easy" side bracket. I love how there's always the popular underdog pick and the "clearly overrated" team. I love how every "expert" picks a bracket.
I love when they're wrong.
I love the thought of a 16 beating a 1. I love how a 12 always beats a 5. I love the little boxes they put around the screen with all the other games scores. I love Gus Johnson. I love how the first thing almost everyone I talk to over the next three weeks will say to me is "How's your bracket looking?" I love how by the time Friday is over their will have been 36 college basketball games played, and we're just getting started. I love how people's brackets are "busted" or "ruined" after one day. I love how during half-time of our game against Utica last year they announced tournament scores. I love how someone from New York will be rooting for a team from Tennessee they have never heard of to upset a team from Wisconsin. I love how you can say "I still got all four" or "I only have two left" and people know exactly what you're talking about. I love the George Mason's and Davidson's of the world. I love the kid who gets the chance to beat the team that wouldn't recruit him. I love the underdog. I love the buzzer beater. I love how 99 out of a 100 times the other team would win but doesn't. I love Jimmer Fredette. I love to hate Duke.
But most of all...
I love how all 68 teams have a shot at winning a National Championship. The tournament is Social Darwinism at work before our very eyes: Only the strong survive. There are no mulligans or re-dos, no best of 7 series or round-robin play. Head to head, winner goes on, loser goes home.
There is nothing in sports like the NCAA tournament and I think that's what makes it so much more special.
As soon as we fill out our mascot bracket I will have it up here. For those of you that don't know, every year we fill out an NCAA bracket. The only difference with this one is that we pick winners not based on basketball teams but on if the mascots fought each other who would win. Suddenly the Syracuse Orange aren't looking so hot.
Big game tomorrow. I will try and have a blog up as soon as possible about it.
Until than...keep filling out those brackets. What else would you be doing?
-DeFran
I love this time of year.
Now I know what you're thinking: "He loves this time of year because it's lacrosse season."
No.
Wait, I got it. "He loves this time of year because it's Spring Break and that is when the team really gets to bond together."
No.
Ok,ok how bout, "He loves this time of year because he loves the weather getting warmer which means skirt season in Plattsburgh."
No. Well ok yes but that's not the point.
Don't get me wrong I love lacrosse season and Spring Break is always a fun time with the team.
But the real reason why this week is great.
MARCH MADNESS.
I love how when they release the brackets they put cameras on all the teams to show their reactions. I love how a little school like St. Peter's out of the MAAC has goes crazy when they see their seed, even though it's against Big Ten powerhouse Purdue. I love the bracket and how everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, fills one out. I love how your mom, your girlfriend, your boss, your coach, your priest/rabbi wants to talk about "Who ya got?". I love going big and trying to ride a Cinderella to the Final Four. I love how there is always the "tough" side of the bracket and the "easy" side bracket. I love how there's always the popular underdog pick and the "clearly overrated" team. I love how every "expert" picks a bracket.
I love when they're wrong.
I love the thought of a 16 beating a 1. I love how a 12 always beats a 5. I love the little boxes they put around the screen with all the other games scores. I love Gus Johnson. I love how the first thing almost everyone I talk to over the next three weeks will say to me is "How's your bracket looking?" I love how by the time Friday is over their will have been 36 college basketball games played, and we're just getting started. I love how people's brackets are "busted" or "ruined" after one day. I love how during half-time of our game against Utica last year they announced tournament scores. I love how someone from New York will be rooting for a team from Tennessee they have never heard of to upset a team from Wisconsin. I love how you can say "I still got all four" or "I only have two left" and people know exactly what you're talking about. I love the George Mason's and Davidson's of the world. I love the kid who gets the chance to beat the team that wouldn't recruit him. I love the underdog. I love the buzzer beater. I love how 99 out of a 100 times the other team would win but doesn't. I love Jimmer Fredette. I love to hate Duke.
But most of all...
I love how all 68 teams have a shot at winning a National Championship. The tournament is Social Darwinism at work before our very eyes: Only the strong survive. There are no mulligans or re-dos, no best of 7 series or round-robin play. Head to head, winner goes on, loser goes home.
There is nothing in sports like the NCAA tournament and I think that's what makes it so much more special.
As soon as we fill out our mascot bracket I will have it up here. For those of you that don't know, every year we fill out an NCAA bracket. The only difference with this one is that we pick winners not based on basketball teams but on if the mascots fought each other who would win. Suddenly the Syracuse Orange aren't looking so hot.
Big game tomorrow. I will try and have a blog up as soon as possible about it.
Until than...keep filling out those brackets. What else would you be doing?
-DeFran
I want Michael Irvin's number the big 8 8
We are finally down in sunny Greensboro, NC. It's a cool 68 degrees and it feels fantastic.
Yesterdays game was a great effort by the team. The whole team played well top to bottom. The game was a big turn around from last weeks. We still have a ways to go but it's good to get that first win out of the way.
Freshman Tim Lawrence had a 7 point game (4,3) followed by Pete Morgan (2,3) and Kyle Norchi (5,0) (selfish....). Sophomore transfer Brett McClelland and freshman Charlie Dullea had their first goals in Cardinal red.
After a nice long bus ride we arrived at our hotel at about 4:00 a.m. due to the fact that last night was daylight savings time. This confused me due to the fact my phone jumped forward but my watch didn't. The lack of sleep mixed with the warm southern air caused me great confusion eventually leading me to believe I had entered the twilight zone.
We just had a nice lunch of Bojangles and now we are relaxing until a Chicken-Fried-Chicken dinner.
-DeFran
Yesterdays game was a great effort by the team. The whole team played well top to bottom. The game was a big turn around from last weeks. We still have a ways to go but it's good to get that first win out of the way.
Freshman Tim Lawrence had a 7 point game (4,3) followed by Pete Morgan (2,3) and Kyle Norchi (5,0) (selfish....). Sophomore transfer Brett McClelland and freshman Charlie Dullea had their first goals in Cardinal red.
After a nice long bus ride we arrived at our hotel at about 4:00 a.m. due to the fact that last night was daylight savings time. This confused me due to the fact my phone jumped forward but my watch didn't. The lack of sleep mixed with the warm southern air caused me great confusion eventually leading me to believe I had entered the twilight zone.
We just had a nice lunch of Bojangles and now we are relaxing until a Chicken-Fried-Chicken dinner.
-DeFran
Friday, March 11, 2011
Now that's what I call a close encounter
Great start to Spring Break. Meatball parm was awesome if I do say so myself. The food was great. Big thank you to my mom and grandma. We took a bunch of pictures and will try to get them up as soon as possible.
Big game tomorrow against Maritime. Not much else to say.
Some quick news: Sophomore Mike Santisteban will be taking over video blogging duties. He'll be videotaping throughout the whole trip and uploading them to the blog as we go so look out for that.
Also Press-Republican reporter Nick St. Denis will be doing live twitter updates during home games this year.
Finally, our team individual photos are up on the site and boy do we have some winners:
First off I would like to congratulate Dan Fields, definitely most improved photo.
Before
After
Big game tomorrow against Maritime. Not much else to say.
Some quick news: Sophomore Mike Santisteban will be taking over video blogging duties. He'll be videotaping throughout the whole trip and uploading them to the blog as we go so look out for that.
Also Press-Republican reporter Nick St. Denis will be doing live twitter updates during home games this year.
Finally, our team individual photos are up on the site and boy do we have some winners:
First off I would like to congratulate Dan Fields, definitely most improved photo.
Before
After
Well done Dan.
Their were two big winners and ironically they are both named Pete:
Freshman midfielder Pete Knutson comes in strong with strangely gelled mullet.
But the best photo wasn't even close:
Red-Shirt Junior attackman Pete Morgan. Pete is not allowed within 300 feet of elementary schools or Chuck-e-Cheeses.
But the best photo wasn't even close:
Red-Shirt Junior attackman Pete Morgan. Pete is not allowed within 300 feet of elementary schools or Chuck-e-Cheeses.See y'all tomorrow.
-DeFran
-DeFran
Thursday, March 10, 2011
I'm telling secrets to the one guy you don't tell secrets to.
So big news out of Cardinal camp is the moving of the game. Not only did our fearless leader P.J. Kavanagh get the St. Mikes game rescheduled, he got us another home game! The Battle for Champy will be played on March 23 at Plattsburgh at night!
One more day of practice today and than it's down 87 for meatball parm at the DeFrancesco's.
Picture day was yesterday. Up top is our new team photo. We also all took individual photos which will be updated on our team site soon. Hopefully somebody can top last years winner:
Dan Field-Sophomore defenseman and professional stud
Great article in the Press-Republican previewing our season.
It's raining or sleeting or doing something really gross here. I don't even care anymore because tomorrow we move on to greener pastures and for that I thank god.
In honor of how ugly or team is, a song about pictures, by the ugliest Beatle.
-DeFran
It's raining or sleeting or doing something really gross here. I don't even care anymore because tomorrow we move on to greener pastures and for that I thank god.
In honor of how ugly or team is, a song about pictures, by the ugliest Beatle.
-DeFran
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Garth, marriage is punishment for shoplifting in some countries.
Well at least this season hasn't been hectic or anything...For those of you that have not heard, the game tomorrow against St. Mikes has been postponed for an undetermined amount of time. Although I don't know the details I believe it had something to do with the 20 or so inches of snow this area got over the past couple of days. All is not lost as the game most likely will be rescheduled and possibly as a home game.
As for now we can focus on SUNY Maritime which we will play Saturday afternoon to kick off our Spring Break road trip.
Hands down SUNY Maritime has the coolest field (besides of course our own Cardinal Birdnest). You are literally right underneath the Throgs Neck bridge. We used to make bets to see if we could actually hit the bridge with a shot. Yeah we never came close. Not even a little bit.
Before we even get to Maritime we have another little tradition the team gets to partake in...
During my freshman year I had the bright idea to volunteer my mother to cook her world famous meatball Parmesan sandwiches for my entire lacrosse team. What started out as a nice little pre-game meal has turned into a tradition that has lasted the four years I have been on the team. So with the help of my grandmother, my mother cooks an obscene amount of meatballs. Ever year on our way down to Spring Break we stop in good ole Poughquag, NY to devour as many meatball parm sandwiches as we can.
The tradition caught a bit of a snag when during my sophomore year meatball parm fell on a Friday. My grandmother, the devout Catholic she is, had a tough time making 100's of meat products to be consumed by 30 plus men on a Friday during Lent. Thankfully my Grandmother decided as long as she provided a non-meat alternative for those on the team wishing to not eat meat she would be absolved of all sins, and for that I thank God.
I really can't thank my mom and grandma enough for all they do when it comes to meatball parm. My mom started preparing this year before I had even left for school. All of the work is greatly appreciated as it means more to me and the rest of the team than they can ever realize.
Tomorrow is picture day! I haven't been growing out my hair for nothing. Hopefully they'll update our roster with photos and you can see for yourself how truly ugly some of the freshman on the team are. Joking....sort of.
Great explanation of why LI high school football doesn't play the rest of the state posted on yesterdays blog. Who ever did that thank you very much! The person did however miss one very famous NFL football player: Freeport's own D'Brickashaw Ferguson. Best left tackle in the game.
Coca-Cola would be green if coloring wasn’t added.
God I wish I could surf
-DeFran
Before we even get to Maritime we have another little tradition the team gets to partake in...
During my freshman year I had the bright idea to volunteer my mother to cook her world famous meatball Parmesan sandwiches for my entire lacrosse team. What started out as a nice little pre-game meal has turned into a tradition that has lasted the four years I have been on the team. So with the help of my grandmother, my mother cooks an obscene amount of meatballs. Ever year on our way down to Spring Break we stop in good ole Poughquag, NY to devour as many meatball parm sandwiches as we can.
The tradition caught a bit of a snag when during my sophomore year meatball parm fell on a Friday. My grandmother, the devout Catholic she is, had a tough time making 100's of meat products to be consumed by 30 plus men on a Friday during Lent. Thankfully my Grandmother decided as long as she provided a non-meat alternative for those on the team wishing to not eat meat she would be absolved of all sins, and for that I thank God.
I really can't thank my mom and grandma enough for all they do when it comes to meatball parm. My mom started preparing this year before I had even left for school. All of the work is greatly appreciated as it means more to me and the rest of the team than they can ever realize.
Tomorrow is picture day! I haven't been growing out my hair for nothing. Hopefully they'll update our roster with photos and you can see for yourself how truly ugly some of the freshman on the team are. Joking....sort of.
Great explanation of why LI high school football doesn't play the rest of the state posted on yesterdays blog. Who ever did that thank you very much! The person did however miss one very famous NFL football player: Freeport's own D'Brickashaw Ferguson. Best left tackle in the game.
Coca-Cola would be green if coloring wasn’t added.
God I wish I could surf
-DeFran
Monday, March 7, 2011
So say goodnight to the bad guy
So first off, sorry I couldn't get a blog up sooner. The past 36 hours have been a bit hectic. Here is a quick recap.
The game against Farmingdale was a disappointment. I think all 32 guys on the squad can agree that we didn't play up to the level we think we can perform at. That's why I think this loss hurt so much. Playing your best and losing is one thing, but to lose when you feel you didn't play your best is the worst feeling in the world. I'm not going to make excuses on here for the loss, just a promise that you can expect better play from us for the rest of the season.
I don't want to take anything away from Farmingdale. They are a talented team that earned the win.
As if losing wasn't enough of a punishment we had the pleasure of driving back up north in a BLIZZARD. Right around Poughkeepsie (HOLLA!) the rain turned to snow. By the time we hit Albany the roads were so bad that we had to drive around 30 mph the rest of the way back. The weather was so bad the bus driver had to stop every 20 minutes to knock the ice off his windshield wipers. Although their were talks of stopping in Lake George, our bus driver battled through the storm to get us home safely. What should have been a six hour drive instead took nine hours, but we made it in one piece.
As if that wasn't enough we came home to our cars entrenched in about a foot of snow. After pushing out several player's (and coaches) cars I quickly realized my two door Hyundai Accent wouldn't stand a chance on the roads and called Utah for a ride in his Jeep. All in all I wasn't in bed till about 2:45 a.m.
Fast forward about 8 hours to 11 a.m. I wake up to find out that all classes have been canceled. That would be great news...if I had class on Mondays. Instead of leisurely spending the day playing video games or watching movies I had to dig out our driveway which was covered in two feet of snow. So with five men and two shovels we proceeded to shovel our entire drive way. For the record not all landlords clean your driveways. Once we had sufficiently cleaned up the driveway it was time to go to practice.
But the fun did not stop there. For the first time in ten years of playing lacrosse I saw someone have their cup actually cracked. Unfortunately the person whose cup got cracked was mine. During our first drill I took a shot directly to the groin. I'm not going to go into to details but I was in some very severe pain for an extended period of time.
To add insult injury when I drove to Dick's to buy a new cup they were closing due to a declared "State of Emergency". I thought those were only in movies.
So yeah that's been my life these past two days.
On a positive note it was great seeing everyone at Saturdays dinner and Sundays tailgate. Once again the parents on this team have outdone themselves in what type of food they bring. At this point I wouldn't be surprised if Bobby Flay shows up to one of our tailgates. On Saturday we had sushi and Olive Garden salad and bread sticks among other things. For some of you this might not seem impressive, but I am a college student that consistently eats things that need to be microwaved before being ingested. Tailgates are high class living for me.
The tailgate was also a great opportunity to see some familiar faces and meet some new ones. It was a pleasure meeting all of you who I did speak to as a couple times I was identified as "The one who writes the blog!". I love the feedback though and your comments are greatly appreciated.
Big game coming up on Wednesday in the annual "Battle for Champy" against our cross lake rivals St. Mikes, than it's spring break.
Real World: Las Vegas starts on Wednesday and than SELECTION SUNDAY! God I love sports.
hahahahahhahahahahhahahahahhahahahahahahahahaha
Sick hair Tommy.
-DeFran
The game against Farmingdale was a disappointment. I think all 32 guys on the squad can agree that we didn't play up to the level we think we can perform at. That's why I think this loss hurt so much. Playing your best and losing is one thing, but to lose when you feel you didn't play your best is the worst feeling in the world. I'm not going to make excuses on here for the loss, just a promise that you can expect better play from us for the rest of the season.
I don't want to take anything away from Farmingdale. They are a talented team that earned the win.
As if losing wasn't enough of a punishment we had the pleasure of driving back up north in a BLIZZARD. Right around Poughkeepsie (HOLLA!) the rain turned to snow. By the time we hit Albany the roads were so bad that we had to drive around 30 mph the rest of the way back. The weather was so bad the bus driver had to stop every 20 minutes to knock the ice off his windshield wipers. Although their were talks of stopping in Lake George, our bus driver battled through the storm to get us home safely. What should have been a six hour drive instead took nine hours, but we made it in one piece.
As if that wasn't enough we came home to our cars entrenched in about a foot of snow. After pushing out several player's (and coaches) cars I quickly realized my two door Hyundai Accent wouldn't stand a chance on the roads and called Utah for a ride in his Jeep. All in all I wasn't in bed till about 2:45 a.m.
Fast forward about 8 hours to 11 a.m. I wake up to find out that all classes have been canceled. That would be great news...if I had class on Mondays. Instead of leisurely spending the day playing video games or watching movies I had to dig out our driveway which was covered in two feet of snow. So with five men and two shovels we proceeded to shovel our entire drive way. For the record not all landlords clean your driveways. Once we had sufficiently cleaned up the driveway it was time to go to practice.
But the fun did not stop there. For the first time in ten years of playing lacrosse I saw someone have their cup actually cracked. Unfortunately the person whose cup got cracked was mine. During our first drill I took a shot directly to the groin. I'm not going to go into to details but I was in some very severe pain for an extended period of time.
To add insult injury when I drove to Dick's to buy a new cup they were closing due to a declared "State of Emergency". I thought those were only in movies.
So yeah that's been my life these past two days.
On a positive note it was great seeing everyone at Saturdays dinner and Sundays tailgate. Once again the parents on this team have outdone themselves in what type of food they bring. At this point I wouldn't be surprised if Bobby Flay shows up to one of our tailgates. On Saturday we had sushi and Olive Garden salad and bread sticks among other things. For some of you this might not seem impressive, but I am a college student that consistently eats things that need to be microwaved before being ingested. Tailgates are high class living for me.
The tailgate was also a great opportunity to see some familiar faces and meet some new ones. It was a pleasure meeting all of you who I did speak to as a couple times I was identified as "The one who writes the blog!". I love the feedback though and your comments are greatly appreciated.
Big game coming up on Wednesday in the annual "Battle for Champy" against our cross lake rivals St. Mikes, than it's spring break.
Real World: Las Vegas starts on Wednesday and than SELECTION SUNDAY! God I love sports.
hahahahahhahahahahhahahahahhahahahahahahahahaha
Sick hair Tommy.
-DeFran
Sunday, March 6, 2011
it's not all monkeys dancing with toothbrushes
We lost 17-15.
We were on the bus from 4:30 p.m. until 1:45 a.m.
My car got stuck in the parking lot due to the snow.
I just got home now.
Yeah..it was one of those day.
More tomorrow...
-DeFran
We were on the bus from 4:30 p.m. until 1:45 a.m.
My car got stuck in the parking lot due to the snow.
I just got home now.
Yeah..it was one of those day.
More tomorrow...
-DeFran
Friday, March 4, 2011
It's not what you know it's what you can prove
So for those of you that haven't heard, Friday's game was completely scratched. Definitely a disappointment we couldn't get something going at all, but life goes on. Big game on the island on Sunday against Farmingdale.
Had a great little movie showing last night. Had the guys watch the documentary "The U" about the University of Miami football dynasty in the 80's and the swagger they had. If you haven't seen it I highly suggest it as it is a great film that is part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series.
Today we are once again going outside to take on mother nature. Then it is back inside for some film.
We leave tomorrow at around 10:30 to head south. I get to see what all the craze about Chipotle for lunch and than it is off to the Rainbow Room in Lindenhurst for the wonderful dinner organized by Mrs. Kramer.
Throughout the trip I will be tweeting and we will be video taping all the shenanigans that the team gets into.
Not much else to say except if you are anywhere on Long Island I strongly encourage you to come out to the game. Football is over, and may be for a long time, so what else are you gonna do on a Sunday? Come out and support the Red and White.
Anyone that says woman aren't tough look no further than Mrs. Amber Branson who coached her girls high school basketball team to a win, gave birth and than 15 hours later COACHED THEM TO ANOTHER WIN.
High of 53 in Farmingdale on Sunday?!?! Oh yesssssssssss.
-DeFran
Had a great little movie showing last night. Had the guys watch the documentary "The U" about the University of Miami football dynasty in the 80's and the swagger they had. If you haven't seen it I highly suggest it as it is a great film that is part of ESPN's 30 for 30 series.
Today we are once again going outside to take on mother nature. Then it is back inside for some film.
We leave tomorrow at around 10:30 to head south. I get to see what all the craze about Chipotle for lunch and than it is off to the Rainbow Room in Lindenhurst for the wonderful dinner organized by Mrs. Kramer.
Throughout the trip I will be tweeting and we will be video taping all the shenanigans that the team gets into.
Not much else to say except if you are anywhere on Long Island I strongly encourage you to come out to the game. Football is over, and may be for a long time, so what else are you gonna do on a Sunday? Come out and support the Red and White.
Anyone that says woman aren't tough look no further than Mrs. Amber Branson who coached her girls high school basketball team to a win, gave birth and than 15 hours later COACHED THEM TO ANOTHER WIN.
High of 53 in Farmingdale on Sunday?!?! Oh yesssssssssss.
-DeFran
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Let me tell you this, the older you do get the more rules they're gonna try to get you to follow. You just gotta keep livin' man, L-I-V-I-N.
So for those of you that haven't heard, our game Friday against Western Connecticut is canceled. They couldn't get their field cleaned in time. Currently the coaches are working on scheduling another game/scrimmage for Friday in the metro area. That is all the information I really know. I'm super disappointed that we couldn't play West Conn on Friday. We have played them the three years I have been here and every game has been a battle. It's a shame I couldn't get one last crack at them. At this point the only certainty I know for sure is that we have a game Sunday at Farmingdale...(Knock-on-wood).
Today we went outside in what may go down as one of the coldest practices of lacrosse I have ever had. When your boogers freeze before you're done stretching you know you're in for a long day.
High school playoffs are over so we are back inside our cozy little gym tomorrow. We should know what the plan for this weekend is by lunchtime so I'll try to keep you posted. If I can't write a blog check my twitter.
Knicks win! We have a winner for the most ridiculous headlines of the day.
I'm pretty sure Charlie Sheen passed Ron Artest on the "Crazy Celebrity List".
Quick side note: I was watching Swamp People, which is a great show that I could write its own post about easily, and I started wondering something: Why do people from the south call their wives "Momma"? I don't get that at all. Honestly I find it very, very weird. If I ever get married, and that is a very big if, I don't want to have my wife and mother morph into some weird super woman. I plan on investigating this phenomenon when we travel to North Carolina for Spring Break.
The French Kiss isn’t from France; it’s actually a slur against the nation. In the 1920s, the English derided the French as the kind of people who’d go around sticking their tongues where they didn’t belong.
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahaha...this screams Tyers
-DeFran
Today we went outside in what may go down as one of the coldest practices of lacrosse I have ever had. When your boogers freeze before you're done stretching you know you're in for a long day.
High school playoffs are over so we are back inside our cozy little gym tomorrow. We should know what the plan for this weekend is by lunchtime so I'll try to keep you posted. If I can't write a blog check my twitter.
Knicks win! We have a winner for the most ridiculous headlines of the day.
I'm pretty sure Charlie Sheen passed Ron Artest on the "Crazy Celebrity List".
Quick side note: I was watching Swamp People, which is a great show that I could write its own post about easily, and I started wondering something: Why do people from the south call their wives "Momma"? I don't get that at all. Honestly I find it very, very weird. If I ever get married, and that is a very big if, I don't want to have my wife and mother morph into some weird super woman. I plan on investigating this phenomenon when we travel to North Carolina for Spring Break.
The French Kiss isn’t from France; it’s actually a slur against the nation. In the 1920s, the English derided the French as the kind of people who’d go around sticking their tongues where they didn’t belong.
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahaha...this screams Tyers
-DeFran
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Franco is pretty smart, but Franco's a child, and when it comes to the day of the contest, I am his father.
Finally we have ventured outside.
After almost four weeks of playing lacrosse inside a tiny gym a lacrosse field sure looks big. It was great to get outside and running up and down an actual field. Big shout out to the Plattsburgh field house staff for plowing the field for us, greatly appreciated.
Things were a little rough at first, as one can imagine being outside since October. All in all though practice ended with a nice scrimmage and we looked good with still two practices to go before our season opener.
Everyone is really starting to dial it in for Friday's game. Personally I am about to go through the roof to start my senior season. I can't think of a better way than to do it 30 minutes outside of my hometown. Believe it or not, parts of New York are extremely close to the Connecticut border (a certain teammate that shall remain nameless had a hard time grasping this concept).
Jets made some big moves including releasing Vernon Gholston. Would you like to hear a disgusting statistic. I read an article that calculated that Gholston ending up getting paid about $600,000 a tackle. My head just exploded.
In other news Mike Tyson has his own reality show on Animal Planet. Yes you read that correctly. Mike "I'll eat your children" Tyson has his own reality show on Animal Planet. The show is based around Tyson's love for pigeons and racing them, apparently he has over 3,000. My head just exploded again.
I bowled a 167 tonight. That's pretty awesome if I do say so myself.
Two-digit Interstate numbers are designed to let drivers know the general direction of the highway. If the Interstate has an odd number, it runs north-south. Interstates with even numbers run east-west.
That's awesome I never knew that^
First time through watch the girls. Second time through read the story scrolling on the bottom.
-DeFran
After almost four weeks of playing lacrosse inside a tiny gym a lacrosse field sure looks big. It was great to get outside and running up and down an actual field. Big shout out to the Plattsburgh field house staff for plowing the field for us, greatly appreciated.
Things were a little rough at first, as one can imagine being outside since October. All in all though practice ended with a nice scrimmage and we looked good with still two practices to go before our season opener.
Everyone is really starting to dial it in for Friday's game. Personally I am about to go through the roof to start my senior season. I can't think of a better way than to do it 30 minutes outside of my hometown. Believe it or not, parts of New York are extremely close to the Connecticut border (a certain teammate that shall remain nameless had a hard time grasping this concept).
Jets made some big moves including releasing Vernon Gholston. Would you like to hear a disgusting statistic. I read an article that calculated that Gholston ending up getting paid about $600,000 a tackle. My head just exploded.
In other news Mike Tyson has his own reality show on Animal Planet. Yes you read that correctly. Mike "I'll eat your children" Tyson has his own reality show on Animal Planet. The show is based around Tyson's love for pigeons and racing them, apparently he has over 3,000. My head just exploded again.
I bowled a 167 tonight. That's pretty awesome if I do say so myself.
Two-digit Interstate numbers are designed to let drivers know the general direction of the highway. If the Interstate has an odd number, it runs north-south. Interstates with even numbers run east-west.
That's awesome I never knew that^
First time through watch the girls. Second time through read the story scrolling on the bottom.
-DeFran
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