Good morning. Here’s the latest from around the lacrosse world:

1. Everything is coming up Albany.

The Great Danes, fresh off their highest-ever preseason ranking (No. 2 in the Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook Top 25) and already generating a ton of buzz with freshman sensation Tehoka Nanticoke joining Tewaaraton finalist Connor Fields on attack, will play their home games next season at Casey Stadium, the university’s football stadium.

Casey Stadium was the site of one of the most entertaining games of the 2017 season, Albany’s win over then-defending national champion North Carolina in a sold-out NCAA tournament first-round game played in torrential rain. Coach Scott Marr is not hiding from expectations. He told the Albany Times-Union he believes the Great Danes, who have advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals four times in the last 11 years but have yet to break through to the final four, are “capable of winning the whole thing.”

2. 2017 was Ohio’s year in lacrosse.

Between the NCAA finalist Buckeyes, the MLL champion Machine, the urban awakening in Cleveland, state sanctioning of the sport at the high school level and other developments, we’re witnessing the emergence of a new lacrosse hotbed.

3. Calgary defeated Vancouver 15-12 and Saskatchewan routed Toronto 17-9 in NLL Week 2 action Friday and Saturday, respectively.

Curtis Dickson, Holden Cattoni and Riley Loewen scored three goals apiece for the Roughnecks, who improved to 1-1 on the young season. Goalie Frank Scigliano made 51 saves.

The Rush very much looked the part of a team that has advanced to three straight Champion’s Cup finals. Ben McIntosh scored five goals and the duo of Ryan Keenan and Jeff Shattler combined for 15 points in the victory over the Rock, who are in an 0-2 hole to start the season.

In other NLL news, the Black Wolves inked Shawn Evans to a contract extension that will keep him in New England through the 2020 season. Evans, a two-time NLL MVP, is the only player in league history to record 100 points in five consecutive seasons.

WHAT WE’RE READING

• Casey Rogers, a one-time Syracuse lacrosse commit and the son of former Orange defensive coordinator Lelan Rogers, is getting some serious attention as a three-star college football prospect. In an interview with SEC Country, the 6-foot-5, 250-pound Rogers called Syracuse “the Alabama of lacrosse” and said that while he loves the sport, “football is in my heart.”

• Epoch Lacrosse is launching a platform that will allow individuals to customize their gloves and arm pads before buying them. Cool innovation, but the sobering part of this Forbes article illuminates just how expensive it is to play lacrosse today —with an annual average cost of nearly $8,000 per family, according to one study.

• You may have heard about lacrosse balls being used as tools for physical therapy. Here’s another function, courtesy of USA Luge, which holds a “Running of the Balls” benefit race in which more than 1,000 lacrosse balls make their way down a one-mile course.

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

Way of Life Athletic Company (WOLACO), an apparel brand that started with compression shorts with slots for phones and other valuables, released this fun video of Sergio Salcido taking his stick game to the streets of New York City.

Lacrosse in the snow in December is endearing. Had the Towson women’s lacrosse team posted this video in late January or early February, surely there would be some “spring sport” outcry to accompany it. For now, we’ll just enjoy the purity of this scene from Johnny Unitas Stadium.

A little white stuff falling from the sky isn't going to stop our Tigers!! Enjoy the snow Tianna, Sarah and Maddie!! pic.twitter.com/P75jLdV0ge

— TU Women's Lacrosse (@Towson_WLAX) December 15, 2017

WHAT’S ON TAP

• Neil Stevens checks in with notes and quotes from Week 2 of the NLL season, including Derek Keenan quietly becoming the winningest coach in league history.

• 2017 was a wild year of pro lacrosse developments and major rules changes. We’ll look back on it as our “Best of Lax” series continues.

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