NCAA All-American Assists Denver City Lax Program

(above) Former Hopkins lax All-American Kyle Harrison [center] flanked by DU star Terry Ellis [in Boone shirt]

Photos: Denver City Lax Camp

Kyle Harrison won the 2005 Tewaaraton Trophy [Lacrosse Heisman Trophy] and was the first overall pick in the 2005 Major League Lacrosse Draft.

These days he plays on the LMX Pro Lacrosse Tour, helps coach a small college program in Los Angeles and recently showed up in Denver to run a lacrosse camp for inner city kids.

NCAA Lacrosse Quarterfinals

Saturday, May 19 on ESPN2

10 AM MT: No. 2 Johns Hopkins vs. Lehigh/Maryland winner on ESPN2
12:30 PM MT: No. 1 Loyola vs. Denver on ESPN2

Sunday, May 20 on ESPNU

10 AM MT: No. 5 Virginia vs. 4 Notre Dame on ESPNU
12:30 PM MT: No. 3 Duke vs. Colgate on ESPNU

Baltimore Sun: DU Didn't Deserve To Win

(above) The Baltimore Sun blog notes that Hopkins lost to DU because their players weren't excited about playing Denver

From: Baltimore Sun Blog

By the numbers, Johns Hopkins, not Denver, should have advanced to the Final Four at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on Saturday.

As coach Dave Pietramala correctly noted, the Blue Jays were superiors in areas like shots (36-29), ground balls (31-23) and faceoffs (16-of-27). So why did #3 Johns Hopkins fall, 14-9, to the #6 Pioneers in an NCAA tournament quarterfinal at Hofstra University’s James M. Shuart Stadium in Hempstead, N.Y., on Saturday?

“I don’t think our team gave them the level of respect they deserved,” Pietramala said. “Why that is, I don’t know. I’ve seen us play other teams, and you come out of the locker room and you get a feel for your team. You watch your team practice, you watch your team warm up, and I just don’t think that we as a group gave them the respect that they deserved. And that’s a shame because we allowed an opportunity to slip by us.”

Asked to elaborate on that lack of respect, Pietramala began his answer by asking the reporter if he had any children.

“I can tell you from experience, kids understand certain things,” said Pietramala, the father of seven-year-old twin boys. “They understand Syracuse. They understand Virginia. They understand Carolina. They understand Maryland. Teams that have won championships. This was a new team for us. I’m telling you that when we got on the plane [after scouting Denver’s 13-10 victory over Villanova in the first round on May 15], we walked away like, ‘Wow.’ [Coach Bill Tierney] inherited a very talented team, but what I would say is, what a magnificent job they’ve done as a staff of actually making them a team. … Listen, I know my team. I know the feel of our locker room. There are no excuses. We got beat, and we should’ve prepared better. Shoot, if you want to blame anybody, blame me. I’m the head coach. That’s the way it goes. But I didn’t feel like we had that little extra something that we’ve had in some other games. I can’t attribute it to our guys not caring. They do care. If you know the things we’ve dealt with this year and the way they’ve done things, I can’t say they did not care. I just don’t think we played with the level of respect that maybe we should have, and that’s our fault.”

Chambers Blog: Baxter Getting Better By The Day

Mike Chambers Blog is reporting that DU senior attack Todd Baxter will go into Saturday’s NCAA Tournament quarterfinal game against Johns Hopkins in Hempstead, N.Y., with a chance to play. That’s better than his chances were to play in last Sunday’s NCAA Tournament opener against Villanova.

DU’s third-leading scorer and team captain watched the Pioneers rally to beat the Wildcats 13-10 on Sunday with a stiff leg boot. He is now only donning a knee brace [read entire article].

News & Notes From Around PioNation

SB Nation has a profile on DU star lacrosse player Mark Matthews.  There is also a YouTube video of his spectacular goal against Villanova.

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SB Nation also has a comprehensive breakdown of the Johns Hophins vs. DU quarterfinal match-up on Saturday.  Like most pundits, the author doesn't give DU much of a chance against Hopkins.

Belichick & Pietramala - More Than Friends?

(above) John Hopkins lacrosse coach Dave Pietramala enjoys spending time with Bill Belichick

When the University of Denver faces Johns Hopkins University on Saturday, coach Tierney may have to factor in the influence of an NFL coaching legend.

Turns out that New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick is a big lacrosse fan. A new story reveals how Belichick follows the game. The Baltimore-based site Press Box Online has a story detailing the "relationship" between Belichick and Johns Hopkins lacrosse coach Dave Pietramala. In it, Pietramala and Belichick talk like a couple of giddy schoolgirls about each other.

“The first time I ever spoke with him, we spoke on the phone, and our conversation lasted almost an hour,” Pietramala said brethlessly. “All I wanted to do was talk to him about his world, about the NFL, and about the draft, the season and preparations — how they do things. Interestingly enough for me, all he wanted to hear about was what we were doing — and lacrosse, our season, the challenges we were facing, games we played. I got off the phone, and I could not have been more taken aback at what a regular guy he was.”

They finally met in person in 2006. During one of their phone conversations before the initial face-to-face, Belichick asked Pietramala whether he was going to be at the lacrosse Final Four, and understood when the Hopkins coach was unable to go with his team sitting at home after a 9-5 season.

"So what about the All-American banquet?" Belichick asked. "You know, I'm the keynote speaker.

Why don't we catch up and maybe grab something to eat?"

When Pietramala saw Belichick at the banquet, the future Canton, Ohio, resident was obviously busy … "he had everybody wanting his time." But afterward, they hopped in Pietramala's truck and headed to a hotel restaurant -- and it was as if they had been friends for years. They talked for hours, to the point that some of the dining room servers tried to shoo the pair away to close up shop for the night. 

Belichick also discusses his "relationship" with the Johns Hopkins coach.

“We have a good appreciation for each other and what we’re going through,” Belichick said. “The ups and downs as a team — no matter what sport it’s in, you still go through the same things. We talk about a lot of those things.”

“He’s been great,” Belichick said of Pietramala. “I really have a lot of respect for what he does. Just being down there during the games with him, and watching him in the locker room … watching the way he handles and prepares a team, I’ve learned a lot from that. He enjoys the practices, the film sessions, the meetings just as much as the game itself. That’s why he does such a great job with his team.”

When Belichick was an assistant with the Broncos in 1978, he played for the Denver Lacrosse Club to stay in shape.