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

1. Topps and the Premier Lacrosse League released their first edition of trading cards, which feature a collection from the 2020 Championship Series. The league also revealed its playoff bracket that starts on August 20 with the quarterfinals in Salt Lake City. Seven out of eight teams make the playoffs, and the No. 1 seed receives a bye to the semifinals.

Topps and @premierlacrosse strike deal.

First edition features a collection from the 2020 Championship Series. pic.twitter.com/4MwDWo4Q5M

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) July 28, 2021

All eyes are on the Road To D.C.

Here is your 2021 PLL Playoff Bracket. pic.twitter.com/7icvN1D63F

— Premier Lacrosse League (@PremierLacrosse) July 27, 2021

2. Waterdogs LC is defying its preseason odds and has the makings of a championship contender, writes Phil Shore.

“It’s the whole line about the cruise ships,” head coach Andy Copelan said of his club that joined the PLL in 2020. “It takes time for them to get going, but once they start, it’s hard to get them to stop. That’s my hope here with the Waterdogs.”

The team should get even more of a boost with Michael Sowers’ return to the lineup. The No. 2 overall draft pick had been on the injury report since he sustained an illegal hit to the head in the Week 1 matchup against the Cannons and is listed as questionable this week.

3. Waterdogs faceoff specialist and Ohio State alum Jake Withers signed a five-year deal with the Halifax Thunderbirds in the NLL. The fourth and fifth years of the contract designate Withers as the team’s franchised player.

Wiz is back for FIVE MORE!@jakewithers4 has signed a five-year deal to remain in Halifax through the 2025-26 @NLL season!

MORE: https://t.co/s16N01iTMf pic.twitter.com/Au4D01dtoE

— Halifax Thunderbirds (@HFXThunderbirds) July 28, 2021

4. After accruing the third most points in the inaugural Athletes Unlimited weekend, Boston College great, 2019 Tewaaraton finalist and former WPLL MVP Dempsey Arsenault joined the Pro Lacrosse Talk podcast.

5. Julie Myers announced Northwestern’s Megan Gordon will join the Virginia women’s lacrosse team as  graduate transfer. The defender from Wantagh (N.Y.) appeared in eight games for the Wildcats during her senior season and started 24 games over her four years in Evanston.

WHAT WE’RE READING

• Taylor’s  Takes are back. In her latest column, Taylor Cummings brings you inside the Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse bubble in Boyds (Md.) to get a closer look at the day-to-day ins and outs of the league.

• Boston College’s Belle Smith was named IL Women’s Rookie of the Year.

• In “Behind the Whistle,” Farleigh Dickinson head coach Evan Mager explains why culture and communication are the two biggest things he’s learned over the years the coaching.

• Newsday with a look at how Laxworx and T&M Fabrication helped weather the pandemic shutdown by shifting the company's focus from making fiberglass parts for vehicles to designing and producing the Laxworx Rebounder.  

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

A look back at highlights from the first ever Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse game. Don’t blink, or you might miss the first goal.

Game One was HIGHLY ENTERTAINING and FAST PACED

Relive the highlights of our FIRST EVER lacrosse game #BeUnlimited pic.twitter.com/Cya7q3JgYz

— Athletes Unlimited (@AUProSports) July 28, 2021

Loyola alum Kady Glynn’s save on a two-point shot was the first AU Defensive Play of the Week.

YOU GO GLYNN COCO @LoyolaWLax alum @GLYNN_Coco_44's save on a 2-point attempt is our first @GEICO Defensive Play of the Week #BeUnlimited pic.twitter.com/k42tpmU1JG

— Athletes Unlimited (@AUProSports) July 28, 2021

“DIALED IN” IS POSTED DAILY MONDAY-FRIDAY AT 8 A.M. EASTERN ON USALAXMAGAZINE.COM. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER FOR A WEEKLY DIGEST DELIVERED DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX.