Originally Posted by Anonymous
Originally Posted by Anonymous
I was there and there are two sides to the story. For the record, I have no dog in the fight. I was there watching another team. Also for the record, the club owner you reference is one and the same. Both teams in the game were Team 91. One from MD and one from NY. Once club owner is ultimately responsible for both team's behavior. That said, I saw both games the two teams played. The brawl as you call it started with the referees and not keeping control of the game. One cross check to the head, ok, but two and three without blowing your whistle? That is how this escalated and blaming one team and not the other is silly. This is a fast moving, passionately played game. If officials do not control the kids, things are bound to go off the rails. First punch definitely thrown by #9 from MD, BUT only after he had been deliberately hit in the head multiple times, the last leading to his helmet flying off. At that point, the officials had lost control and it was every man/kid for themselves. The kid reacted as most would and cracked the guy. Then things were a mess. Sad for the game that so many love. Many, many things wrong with the game at this level. Coaches, parents, tournament directors, college coaches, etc. But don't put all of the blame for one incident on one coach and team. It was a group effort. Again, I was there and I heard plenty of chatter coming from both benches and both coaches, so signaling one out isn't fair. To be honest, one of the positives I saw come out of this incident was the following day. As luck would have it, these teams would meet again 24 hours later in the semifinals. The officials did set the tone early by calling a penalty right off the bat. He said I'm not gonna have it today. Not gonna happen. The game was physical and aggressive, but played within the rules. It was high level lacrosse played the way it should be. Again, no dog in the fight, but you have to give credit to the team from MD. They were on the road after an ugly incident, which did include a lopsided loss in which the better team won. They were composed, played their jerks off, were physical and made a statement WITHIN the rules. They dominated a team that had done the same to them just 24 hours earlier. Great show of courage by those boys. Smash took the defeat with class as well. So even though it was an ugly situation, there was some positivity that followed. I hope we don't see these incidents in the future, but chances are they will continue. It's an aggressive sport played by players and coaches that care. Passion sometimes leads to stupidity, but I believe inside the players and most coaches have good intentions.

Since you were there and have no dog in the fight, why did you leave out the part where Millon was calling kids on Smash scumbags and Long Island trash? That seems like it could be part of the story. Was this the first time the kid threw a punch or cheap shot in a game? How many times has Millon been thrown out of a game or tournament? I bet it is 5 or more in the last year alone. The lacrosse community is small. People talk. Sometimes people talk between games about their own coach because they are frustrated that he acts like a child.


Isn't Millon from Long Island? Somehow I don't think calling kids Long Island trash would be his go-to insult.

Granted - MM is terrible at coaching kids and doesn't see why you don't treat them like 20 year olds, but in this case, the reffing by all accounts sees horrendous - even by Long Island Summer Tournament standards.

Any kid getting repeated checks to the head will be forced to protect himself if the refs don't do it for him.