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

1. Tuesday was #PlayLaxDay, the annual late-summer social media celebration of lacrosse started by The Lacrosse Network in 2015. It includes 24 hours of Snapchat takeovers and improvised videos tweeted and shared from around the world of people picking up a stick to play in unconventional places. Some highlights:

I mean...how else do you wait for your train on #PlayLaxDay in NYC ? [: mythius_15/IG] pic.twitter.com/CZxEJas7wK

— TLN (@LacrosseNetwork) August 15, 2017

How about this casual 3-ball toss from some Blaze greats? #playlaxday pic.twitter.com/AXbkWcwVnw

— Atlanta Blaze (@AtlantaBlaze) August 15, 2017

HAPPY #PLAYLAXDAY! pic.twitter.com/ozfRmSouoE

— Paul Rabil (@PaulRabil) August 15, 2017

Beautiful #PlayLaxDay shot out of Clemson, South Carolina pic.twitter.com/GLc4wtHOUJ

— TLN (@LacrosseNetwork) August 15, 2017

 

Guam ---> NYC ---> Australia ! It's time you'd added LacrosseNetwork on Snap #PlayLaxDay [: @saw_alum035, @thrilla96, @australianlacrossenetwork]

A post shared by The Lacrosse Network (@lacrossenetwork) on Aug 15, 2017 at 12:38pm PDT

 

France knows what day it is! Shoutout to @steenmachine20 for the dope #PlayLaxDay edit!

A post shared by The Lacrosse Network (@lacrossenetwork) on Aug 15, 2017 at 12:17pm PDT

 

Get DUNKED, #PlayLaxDay style [: @sean_kelly2022 ]

A post shared by The Lacrosse Network (@lacrossenetwork) on Aug 15, 2017 at 11:51am PDT

2. The Ohio Machine are on the precipice of their first Major League Lacrosse championship thanks to an egoless locker room and a playing style that similarly encourages unselfishness.

3. MLL Defensive Player of the Year nominees are Tucker Durkin (Florida), Joel White (Rochester) and Matt McMahon (Ohio). Finalists for MLL Offensive Player of the Year and MLL MVP will be unveiled Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. Award winners and the All-MLL Team will be announced on Lax Sports Network on Friday at 8 p.m. ET.

Rookie of the Year | Most Improved Player
Coach of the Year | Goalie of the Year
Defensive Player of the Year

4. The National Lacrosse League offseason has seen several general managers pull off daring trades not only to win now, but also to build for the future.

5. Jamaica Lacrosse started as a grassroots movement, but it didn’t take long for lacrosse to latch on in the sport-rich nation. Look out for the Jamaicans in 2018.

What We’re Reading

• The Ringer reminds us that Patrick Kerney, the more realistic version of “Ballers” character Spencer Strasmore, was a “lacrosse convert” at Virginia.

• The Daily Record remembers Dick Rizk, a pillar of New Jersey lacrosse who died Tuesday at age 84.

• An incoming Baldwin Wallace women’s lacrosse player is in serious but stable condition after falling from a high ropes course at a retreat.

• We shared the emotional video Monday in “What We’re Watching.” Here’s the backstory behind Zach Turnere’s journey from Ohio State lacrosse player to Buckeyes football walk-on and now scholarship player — courtesy of the Columbus Dispatch and Cleveland Plain Dealer.

• A wrap-up of the East Africa Lacrosse 7s in Uganda.

What We’re Watching

Lacrosse Twitter can be a cacophonous chamber of hot takes and highlights. Here’s a refreshing, subdued exchange of words between a current Hall of Famer and potential future Hall of Famer.

I remember your first day in the MLL as rookie. True professional then. True professional now. #ageless https://t.co/Wn6NLOGsx8

— Jesse Hubbard (@jessehubbard16) August 15, 2017

Toughest season mentally & physically I've been through, but I wouldn't want it any other way, with any other group. Thankful. Let's get it. pic.twitter.com/Ft3Xz5gVvz

— Kyle Harrison (@KyleHarrison18) August 14, 2017

Despite a decorated post-collegiate career, Kyle Harrison has not hoisted a championship trophy since doing so as a senior at Johns Hopkins in 2005. He settled for silver medals on U.S. teams in 2006 and 2014. In MLL, he played for the New Jersey Pride (2005-07), Los Angeles Riptide (2008) and Denver Outlaws (2009) before taking a four-year hiatus as co-founder of the LXM Pro Tour. He reemerged with the Machine in 2014.

It’s safe to assume that the 34-year-old Harrison, who missed the first half of this season after undergoing ankle surgery, will be dialed in for Saturday’s MLL championship game in Frisco, Texas.

What’s On Tap

• MLL will reveal its Offensive Player of the Year candidates.

• While there’s a lot of talk this week about NCAA men’s lacrosse toying with a 60-second shot clock, on the women’s side, the big rule change on the horizon is free movement. Justin Feil canvasses coaches for their take on what’s new in 2018.

• North Carolina and Team USA midfielder Marie McCool is one of 10 team sport finalists for the 2017 Sportswoman of the Year Award. Voting starts today and will conclude Aug. 27.

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