Earlier this week Mike Tobin sent us the pic below with this text:

I blame u @LaxAllStars for no fingernails left after this hot glue gun dye. http://tweetphoto.com/35331212 & its been in the freezer, alot.

Faulty glue perhaps? I couldn’t begin to tell you why he was having trouble. This is where I’ll just hope Connor Wilson drops in and spreads more knowledge on us.

A few fingernails later, it appears that Tobin is living large with his new Cadillac of dye job. Check it out:

Well done, Tobin. Well done!

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Do you dye heads, dye your head or let your heads get dyed??? Don’t just sit there.

I’ve decided to have a head dyed. Incredibly flamboyantly.

You may remember way back when, in my Summer Booty list, I had wanted a head dyed purple with gold glitter. Turns out, people actually read these posts of mine and someone stepped up to the plate on twitter and offered his services.

Editor’s note: Mariah had to make an appearance somewhere in this article. She demanded it.

Here are the excessively glittery photos.

Phase 1: test the glitter

Phase 2: add purple

Phase three is buying the head. I got myself a Warrior Spyne for about half off thanks to what is called the “Gelly Discount”

Phase 3: purple

Dyejob: complete

All that’s left is the string job. Since I don’t know how to string, this is also being done for me. Talk about full service!

It’s gonna be some hard mesh with around 3 or 4 shooters. The sidewall/top string will be done using something along these lines.

It’s so shiny

Stay tuned because once I get a final product I’ll make sure to take some picks of the full wand so you can bask in it’s glittery, radioactive bright glow.

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About the Author: The Lax picked up his first stick when he stepped on campus at MCLA D2 school UNC Charlotte. After taking a short break, he returned to the field for independent UNCG. The Lax enjoys flowers, pictures of unicorns, long walks on the beach, and above all else, beating people with his D-Pole.

Contact LaxAllStars at info@lacrosseallstars.com

Editor’s Note: Jordan West-Pratt is back with his sixth and final update from Team Germany in Manchester. While the games he’s referring to happened last week, the experience WP just got will last a lifetime. So, dive in and check it out. If you’re like us, you wish could have been there!

AT LAST!

After getting roughed up all week by everybody and their brother in Blue, it was time for a match against the best in Europe. The Netherlands team beat Germany badly two years ago in the European championships, final score 12-6. I was not in Germany’s lineup back then, but I am told there was a lot of trash talk, and had it not been for the stellar play of American Zimmermann in goal, it would have been closer.  Every member of the team who was in that game two years ago, has been following the results of the lower divisions, hoping for a chance to repay the loss. This is as close to a rivalry as it gets out here; I was really excited about being in a game that we could all take personally.

The Dutch played an intense game against Japan yesterday in the play in. and much like our match against the Blue and White, they were up, started to tire, fell behind, and were eventually overtaken. Final score 14-8, an almost identical game and score as our 15-9 loss. Unfortunately for the Dutch and for us, Zimmermann went down with what I am told is a hamstring injury, and would not be available for our game today.

We went with our usual game-day routine, with only one change. For the first time since we have arrived, we had a team breakfast, 8 am, al together. It was an important message about how to succeed at this level, and it helped us get our heads on straight right from the jump. After eggs and beans we headed to a team chalk talk where the hard work of Coach Bergersen would set us up mentally for the challenge ahead. After Xs and Os we hit the pitch for a hour of situational walk through. Back to the dorms, light lunch, pre-game music, then the two by two march to the playing surface.

During walk through this morning Coach Kaley said “we are not the kind of team that has two bad games in a row.” He was right, we came out today with our best effort of the tournament. After a minute we were up two goals, both outside rips from stud attacker Greg Lazarus, and the Dutch were using their first timeout. Bergersen may get the MVP nod for this one though as his scouting report on their O allowed our back end to hold the Orange without a goal for the first 60 minutes. A slick left had dodge and rip was their only goal of the game as veteran backstop Till Friedheim was unbeatable. Final score 14-1.

The question now is whether we have proven that we belong in Blue. This was not our goal when in training camp, and it didn’t become our objective until we had the opportunity dropped in our laps. The two teams who have finished ahead of us in the past are Ireland and the Dutch. Ireland failed to advance to the play-in round, and we had a convincing win over the Dutch. But I can hear the naysayers already.

We lost to every Blue division team in a big way. 24 goals for, 94 goals against. I have to assume that -70, over five games is one of the weaker performances in tournament history. Our only win, while convincing, came outside the Blue Division against a team that played yesterday, our day off, and did not have their starting keeper.

So Saturday is our chance to prove we belong, our last chance. Regardless of what happens, we will place higher than any German team in FIL World Championships history, and of that we can certainly be proud. Nonetheless, we do get to play England in a re-match for something far more valuable to us than placement.

They’re from Blue Division, they have a full roster, and they will be as rested as we are. Germany today is better than Germany last week; we are better than the team that lost 12-3 on opening night. We learned a little something from every team we played, and every time we stepped on the field we got better. Saturday we will show just how far a team can come in ten days. This Saturday our journey ends where it began, England v. Germany for fifth place, bragging rights, and respect.

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Want to send in photos or updates? Want to write for LAS? Drop us a line at info@lacrosseallstars.com!

Meet Bonjo, the Player of the Week at Lorne Smith‘s most recent overnight camp at St. Mary’s College. He’s got smooth dance moves, some serious Xbox skills and a few tricks in store for the ladies.

Interviewing Bonjo is 2010 Oregon grad Justin Blackmore.

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Got a player we should highlight on LaxAllStars.com? You know where to find us.

New Zealand’s players perform pre-game “Haka” during the 2010 FIL World Championships in Manchester, England.

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Let’s all go Tarp Surfing together.

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NEW & NOTES

- 412 contest ends at 4:12 this afternoon. Head to the FB page to see what’s up.

- Lacrosse makes a mark | Gulf Weekly

- Brine VIP Lacrosse Gloves Recalled for Lead Paint Violations | NewsInferno

- Powell Leads USA to Lacrosse Gold | WSJ.com

- NLL Players Reflect On World Championships | NLL.com

- Two Cornell grads named to All-World lacrosse team | IthacaJournal

- Lehigh’s Cassese helps U.S. to world lacrosse title | Morning Call

- Three Rutgers Signees Named US Lacrosse High School All-Americans | ScarletKnights.com

- The Duke Hoax, the New Black Panthers Story and Newsweek’s Boy Reporter, David A. Graham | Big Journalism

- NY: Jake Froccaro Wins Lacrosse Gold In Empire Games | PortWashingtonPatch

- FL: Jacksonville Head Coach Matt Kerwick Lays Foundation for Southeastern Lacrosse Success | IMG Academies
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LA Clippers center Chris Kaman’s $10K 4th of July…

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Got a question, something that deserves to be seen, or a hot tip?
Drop us a line at info@lacrosseallstars.com

While in Tahoe, our Woozley boy Spencer AKA “Skittles” of West Linn, OR fame (& a Ryan Craven protégé) was cooking up the sickest top string job we’ve seen in years. Daniel Shields would be proud.

He imported a whole bag of tricks to make sure it turned out just right:

Here’s the close-up:

Clean. Colorful… Woozley. What do you guys think?

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Do you string, dye heads and always look the filthiest on the field? You know where to find us.

Editor’s Note: You’ve seen the pictures of MLL All-Star Anthony Kelly’s stringing style and now the A-Train is back with some verbal advice that will help you string up a top notch spoon.  It’s always good to learn from the best of the best and Anthony certainly fits the bill.  Take it away, Train!

Thanks for the props, Connor!  Just to give all of the LAS readers an even better idea of how I do all of my sticks, I thought I would write in with some more details to help out the young bucks who are trying to learn the stringing game.

I always do my top string the same with the criss cross look – 1) it looks cool, but more importantly 2) it’s very functional.  It keeps things nice and tight, pulls the mesh all the way up to the plastic, and it doesn’t get loosened up much over time.  I will go through when I have it in place and use needle nose pliers to pull it as tight as possible.  If it’s loose all the time, it will change where the ball releases, which is a bad thing!

Top string

Now for the side wall – I always double up the sidewall when I string, and I always start at the bottom and work my way up.  With this one, I started on the 4th hole from the bottom and just sewed my way up to the top – its important to count out your holes first on the mesh to make sure the pocket will end up where you want it.  After I finish that, I work my way back down, looping the sidewall string back under the initial string that I went up with.

This does 2 things for me: 1 – the sidewall string rubs on itself and puts all the pressure back on itself, so when it rubs, it will rub against itself and not the mesh.  This keeps me from ever blowing out any mesh during a game.  2 – It gives me more material to grab the ball during face-offs.  Also, by using the sidewall material instead of more mesh (having a mesh mullet at the bbottom is no bueno!) it allows the pocket to grab when I clamp, but still release the ball when I pull it where I want it.

That's a lotta sideall Dimp!

People always ask why I start my sidewalls at the bottom.  By doing this, it also allows me to have a really high bagged out pocket which helps a ton for shooting hard, and it also gives me a nice pocket to grab the ball for pinch and pops when I push it in for facing-off.  Also, if you notice how I did the bottom sidewalls, this keeps the stick from becoming illegal when they go to roll the ball out – I eliminate all the material at the bottom.

Lastly, always anchor your shooting strings to the plastic!  Never tie them off to the mesh!  When you tie them to the plastic they will not move once it’s broken in.  If you tie shooterst to the mesh or sidewalls the whole pocket will move as one and it will be inconsistent especially in bad weather or extremely humid days when it bags out.

Attach the shooters to the sidewall... consistency!

Thanks for the support guys!  Hope this helps you guys all shoot and FO like me! (Editor’s Note: I’ll never break 100 with my shot so that’s unlikely but thanks anyway! ha)

Anthony Kelly #34

ATrain relaxing with another fresh new wand.

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If you think you’ve got what it takes to dispense stringing advice, contact us at info@lacrosseallstars.com!

Editor’s Note: LAS welcomes back Mark Fortunato of Team Italy.  The FIL World Championships may be over but a lot of stories are just beginning.  The events of the last 2 weeks will have a lasting effect on everyone involved and shape the future of our sport one way or another.  Let’s see how the Italians ended up, hmm?

- 11 days

- 8, 80 minute running time games with zero days off

- Being a part of the first International win for the Italian National Team

- 23 hours of travel

- Lost baggage

- Trip to Scotland

- “Great” weather combined with “great” food

- Dealing with some unheard of calls by our fellow Officials

- Interacting on and off the field with some of the most amazing people from all over the World

- Helping represent our country of descent— Italia

After a truly memorable experience in Manchester, we have finally made our return to the “States”. I could literally write a novel on our 11 day adventure however that’s just not in the cards tonight—-jet-lag is kicking in. That being said, La Nazionale Italiana Di Lacrosse completed the tournament with a record that surpassed all of our expectations, 5-3. We ended up beating Latvia on Friday to become named 17th in the World which we were all very pleased with.

To be honest, we went into the game a bit nervous due to Latvia being rumored as one of the more physical teams–pretty much the type of defense that all attackmen and middies hate, all body and no finesse. It’s a bit intimidating when all the Physios cringe when you tell them your playing Latvia—you man up until you walk out onto the field and see a group of 6′+ Eastern Europeans stretching to Slipknot—in short we ended up crushing them and proving that intimidation can only get you so far. (editor’s note: it didn’t hurt that Rob Fortunato had 16 saves and Mark dropped 4 goals in the win)

After learning that we were named 17th in the World, us Americans hopped on the next train to Scotland—we were determined to see something else besides Manchester and lacrosse. We arrived around 10 PM in Edinburgh thinking that it would be easy to find a hostel for the night—we were immediately proved wrong when we were laughed at by the Front Desk of several Hostels—reason being was due to the “Tattoo Festival” taking place in Scotland. No, it has nothing to do with passing the same needle around to get some new ink–it took us till the next day to realize this.

We ended up finding a hostel by midnight— now everyone that knows us are probably laughing right now when picturing Rob, Tim and I walking into a dark room with 20 bunk-beds filled with random backpackers from all over the place—without going into detail, it was quite the first hostel experience to say the least—once we got changed we headed out to explore the night life (yes we left our passports in the room unattended—not the smartest idea but nothing was taken so we lucked out) After having the famous Scotland Haggis.

We went to this club called Espionage—it seemed like an awesome place until we realized that there were a lot of dudes and they were dancing way too close—enough said…the following day we toured around Edinburgh seeing everything from the Castle to the cafe where Harry Potter was written.

Upon our return to good ol’ Manchester, our Coach, Pete deLisser, took the team out for a great dinner—obviously, an Italian Restaurant. We had an awesome time reminiscing with the team over some pasta and red wine followed by some Grappa to cap off a great night.

This morning, Tim Fuchs, my brother Rob and I flew home to JFK with the US Team which was really awesome—-laxers were definitely dominating the flight to say the least—the Captain even got on the loud speaker to congratulate the US players on the Gold Metal!!

As you can see, the FIL 2010 World Lacrosse Championships was an amazing experience for both us Italian Americans as well as the Native Italians—we ended up walking away from the Worlds with some great memories along with some great friends. More importantly, it was surreal to see how far the sport of lacrosse has come—to sit in the stands and watch the Japanese, as well as other more off the radar countries, give the best in the World a run for their money was astounding.

We look forward to The 2012 European Games in Amsterdam as well as the 2014 World Games in Denver.

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If you plan on playing in a tourney & want to contribute to LAS like Mark did, drop us a line at info@lacrosseallstars.com.

Mike Vitulano played NCAA Division 3 lacrosse at Wesleyan University and is now an assistant coach at the University of Tennessee in the MCLA.  Mike and a bunch of guys from Knoxville teamed up to play in the Blue Ridge Classic and he agreed to provide us with a quick post.  Since a picture is worth a thousand words, he decided to send in 7 pictures instead of an 7,000 word essay.  I think you’ll all approve!  Here’s a little glimpse of what summer lax in the South is like.  And if I’m not mistaken there might even be a Mikey Powell sighting and he’s actually playing some lax.

The Blue Ridge Classic is a tourney in Asheville and it just so happens to coincide with the Bele Chere Festival. Mike played for the Smokey Mountain Lacrosse Club from Knoxville, TN (who played it smart and just wore summer league jerseys). There were 12 teams in the Open Division, where Smokey Mountain played, and there was also a B Division.

The top teams were probably the Atlanta Ice (rocking Smirnoff style jerseys) and the Fusion Greys (featuring the aforementioned Mikey Powell, Casey Powell and Liam Banks).  There was a $500 free bar tap at a BBQ joint after the games and 5 stages of music playing downtown.  No word yet on whether MP performed.

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Want to contribute to the LAS Network? Drop us a line at info@lacrosseallstars.com

Well, Tahoe is over.  The Woozles have now spread back across the country to their various locales, counting down the 361 days until we get to do it all over again.  For some it took a full day of travel in each direction, but for all it was well worth the trip.  Guys hitched rides with strangers, drove down (or up) at the last minute, took red-eyes and shuttles while others arrived 4 days early to make sure everything was set.  From the play on the field to the entire weekend of fun, it was truly a team effort.

We’ll be dropping more posts on you with game photos and results (this was the Woozles most competitive finish yet) but for now we’ve got a photo gallery to get you synced up with the Tahoe Tourney vibe.

What time is it? Game time. Probably.

When getting back to Nature, always make sure you rent a car with sweet rims. Top Priority.

Guess what sport this guy plays? Yeti tore up the f/o square all weekend.

So you’ve started to get the feel for our team. Good. Obviously we needed audacious uniforms to match our bright and sunny dispositions. ProAthletics really hooked us up with some brilliant jerseys and they modified our Lax All Stars shorts to reflect the black and pink colorways of the Woozles.  Smashing Success.

Yeah, these uniforms are kind of preposterous.

Joe is pretty happy that LAS decided to sponsor the benches.

Craven gives the team mascot, Bear, a little pre-game attention. Bear loves lax.

Rainier/Kavu was looking pretty uniform wise but were upset in the group stage.

Lake Tahoe is a natural, national treasure. Truly breathtaking.

Pretty pristine (minus the motorboats) scene. Mountains, mountains everywhere.

The clouds rolled in later in the afternoon on Saturday and we were treated to a lightning show across the lake.

Obligatory partial team beach picture. The white Tahoe tourney tanks were a hot commodity.

Speaking of nature, we also tracked a neighborhood bear that was an actual bear, and not a dog.

In life, as in lacrosse, there are rules. If you pizza when you're supposed to french fry, you're gonna have a bad time.

Bigfoot LC sideline. Super serious sasquatch.

Team Bigfoot in action on Saturday.

Remember the numbers. These NESCAC-alum first timers will be back in 2011.

Team Picture. Maybe we'll photoshop the NESCAC guys in later.

If you played in the Tahoe tourney and would like to send photos or a recap in, hit us up at info@lacrosseallstars.com. We’ll make it happen!

Wooooozzzllleesssss!

Woozles shorts and killer jerseys made by ProAthletics.

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Want to contribute to the LAS Network? Drop us a line at info@lacrosseallstars.com