ESPN's Playoff Coverage Legitimizes Lacrosse

LaxMagazine.com's Matt DaSilva wrote an emotional (at least for me) piece about ESPN's lacrosse coverage this post-season. DaSilva weaves in-and-out of his piece detailing not only lacrosse's TV coverage progression, but also how far lacrosse announcing has come. Years ago, we only knew two names calling the game from the booth, Leif Elsmo and Quint Kessenich (drinking game). Today, we have younger men who aren't too far removed from the game. Even though we'd like to see Booker Corrigan get a shot, we appreciate new voices and new opinions from the booth.

DaSilva writes:

...Even the sport-specific clichés -- a dodger from behind needing to "take one more step to greatness" to get topside and score, for instance -- have worn out their welcome.

But on the whole, the ESPN talent provides proof in preparation. Kessenich does his homework, so we get to hear that St. Ignatius (Calif.) high school coach Chris Packard made the cross-country trip to see NorCal wonders Rob Emery of Virginia and Roy Lang of Cornell clash in an NCAA quarterfinal. Or that Virginia captain Bray Malphrus told his teammates that with respect to Yeardley Love, they must change the team's image and how players behave on and off campus. Or that Denver defensive coordinator Trevor Tierney, a psychology major who practices yoga, provides the yin to his dad's old-school yang.

McAnaney might have ruined that last reference with his awkward transition back to the game -- "Right now the downward dog is working for Coach Tierney and the Pioneers with 3:34 to play" made us all giggle -- but by and large these guys get it right.

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