BY KEVIN FRIEDENBERG

In print | Published May 3, 2007

Since the semester is almost over and Swarthmore is almost ready to unleash us all back into the world, I figure I would leave with some things to look out for in the sporting world during those long summer days.

First thing’s first: my favorite sport, lacrosse. If you have never watched a lacrosse game in your life, there is no better time than May 28 and 29, when the national championship tournament is televised on the ESPN networks. This year promises just as much excitement as last season, which saw a Cinderella run to the Division I finals by the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and a dramatic acrobatic overtime goal by SUNY Cortland to wrestle the D-III national championship from perennial winner Salisbury University. This year, the teams to watch in D-I are Cornell University, Duke University and University of Albany, all of which are poised to make a deep run this year since the trophy is up for grabs. This year could be especially significant for Duke, since their season was cancelled and their coach fired after the rape scandal last year. New head coach John Danowski will be coaching his son Matt (arguably the best player in college lacrosse) for his final season at Duke before he moves on to bigger things. However, Cornell goalie Matt McMonagle is in a league of his own and could quite possibly be the reason that the undefeated Big Red goes deep into the postseason. This time last year, eventual champion University of Virginia was also undefeated, so things could be looking up in Ithaca.

One thing I’m sure I won’t be the only person waiting for is that quasi-religious day in August when Madden ‘08 will be released. If you don’t know what that is then you don’t deserve to know, but if you do, then you probably cherish this second Christmas. This year’s version will no doubt feature enhanced graphics and features to make your Madden experience more realistic and enjoyable. However, unless you are a Patriots fan, I recommend you skip this year’s version, because the Patriots are probably going to be the most ridiculous team ever assembled. With the addition of Randy Moss on the second day of the draft for a fourth-round pick, the Patriots have essentially created a championship-focused monster. If this off-season is any indication of the fall to come, then I want to apologize to Stelios Wilson ‘09 in advance for the beating the Eagles will take on Nov. 25 at the hands of the Patriots’ juggernaut. Also a word to the wise, Vince Young has been chosen to be on the cover of Madden ’08, and if the cover jinx holds true to form, then I would keep him off your fantasy team.

The NBA playoffs and the NHL playoffs are in full swing and will be winding down in the next month or so, but since this college does not bless me with cable in my room, then I would be lying if I told you that I knew what was going on in either of those realms. I do know that the Miami Heat were knocked out of the NBA playoffs, which is music to my ears since I don’t really fancy repeat winners, except for my teams. But since the Celtics and the Bruins were far and away from being in the playoffs, I suppose there really isn’t anything for me to brag about in that aspect.

Before I sign off, I just want to remind you all about some of the great activities that can only be associated with summer. Wiffleball, fishing, beach volleyball, swimming, tetherball, mini-golf, regular golf, disc golf (?!) and, of course, who can forget horseshoes? With this arsenal of fun, I can guarantee that you will have a relaxing and pleasurable summer, unless of course you live in Antarctica, since there is no fun to be had there.

Kevin is a first-year. You can reach him at kfriede1 [at] swarthmore [dot] edu.

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