Here is a link to my latest post on the Inside Lacrosse blogs.  It covers all of last week: From practice to game day against Hofstra.  I omitted things that I learned, because all of these are pretty much inside jokes that only the guys will get.  That, and I only learned two things.  So here goes, drum roll please:

Things I learned:

• Milton Lyles needs to use two hands.
• Shane Walterhoefer and Sean Burke are messing up my creativity and photography.

I updated my gallery of some of my favorite lacrosse photos.  This gallery is a work on progress and I’ve really neglected updating it.

I deleted a good number of the photos as well.  I was posting some photos because they contained some of the greats of lacrosse like Brodie Merrill, and less because the photos were good.  So I had a “Come to Jesus” meeting with myself, and hit the delete key a few times.  Here is my updated gallery of lacrosse favorites.

Shane Walterhoefer was masterful at faceoff.

Photos are now posted from when UNC played Ohio State at Boy’s Latin in Baltimore. Note that I only put around 15 photos in the gallery, but there are actually hunderd’s from the game. If you want to see everything, I put up a link that will probably expire in a month where you can view all the photos.

BTW, you are probably wondering why the heck make a gallery with only 15 photos when I have almost 300 to show? Well, it is standard industry practice. Making a gallery of every single photo is overkill. If you want to find a photo of a certain athlete, the best way is to go to the search page of my site, and search for the athletes last name. Or to see everything of UNC lacrosse you can search for “UNC Lacrosse” or “Duke Lacrosse” for the boys in Durham. (note, don’t use quotes.)

Vote for Fletch (photo by Jeff Camarati/UNC)

Show some love for the ACC or your favorite school by voting for seniors for the 2008 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. Below are the contestants, and where they stand as of 1pm ET on 4/16.  You get 3 votes and can vote once per day.  I obviously voted for Fletcher Gregory at UNC for my first pick.  I was showing some love for Brad Ross but now that he is ahead, I have to be a UNC partisan and not vote for Duke.  My 2nd pick was for the man, the legend, Paul Rabil at Hopkins.  After that, I was neutral for my third vote.

—>> VOTE HERE for Fletcher <<—

Coach Olmert gives Mike B. Burns a pep talk before heading out to the field.

Like cheetahs, they sat waiting, drooling.  The hunger gnawed at their senses, making them only more acutely aware of the next potential meal that could come their way. Then, finally, in the distance, they spot their prey.   They stare it down with a icy gaze, ready to pounce, looking away only to see if the others spot the same prey.  This is survival of the fittest.  Actually, its the support staff waiting for chicken to come out of the kitchen after the first batch was devoured by the players.

Coach Haus treated the players and staff to a great meal at a restaurant.  The food was great, but by the time the support staff (that includes me) got up to get our food, the chicken had been picked clean.  So we sat staring at the kitchen waiting for the waiter to bring out the latest batch of chicken.  When we saw him come out finally with the chicken, we pounced on him like cheetahs in the Sahara.

To serious matters, we lost a tough game to Ohio State 11-14 that was played at Boys Latin High School in Baltimore, Maryland, and which incidentally is the alma mater of faceoff man Shane Walterhoefer.  The Heels were up by one at halftime, but a strong 3rd quarter helped seal the win for the Buckeyes. Walterhoefer was able to conjure up good sprits from his old home field, winning 23 of 26 faceoffs.

Things I learned this weekend:

• The freshmen have bad tastes in movies (”Goonies” seriously?).  Chun-Man Fong (aka “C”) saved the day on the bus with “Transformers”.
• Mike Chires has “thunder thighs” (his words).
• Coach Lattimore has amazing balance and can make his way down the bus without touching the floor.
• The bathrooms is some buses are better ventilated in some than others.
• Milton needs an alarm clock.
• Sean Burke will walk half an hour for Chili’s.
• C is a tape-tearing master.
• Sean Delaney values his bubble baths.
• Kevin Piegare can’t match shoes.
• Coach Olmert shouldn’t be trusted with lemonade around electronics.  People with mustard shouldn’t be trusted around Coach Olmert
• Some security guards at apartment building in Maryland can be um, unfriendly (I can think of an anatomical term to describe them, but I’m trying to censor myself).
• I am the master at finding the light switches on our charter buses.  Like Emmit Kellar said, a career in bus driving may be in my future.
• Ryan Flanagan’s dad makes awesome brownies. (visit his bakery here)
• Most importantly, I learned to NOT TOUCH THE GATORADE’S that are under the bus.

Shamel Bratton

I forgot to link to the photos from UNC vs. UVA lacrosse.  Here they are for inquisitive minds.

North Carolina Lacrosse v. Virginia photos

UNC head football coach Butch Davis

I worked for the good folks at Inside Carolina for the Spring Football game.  The head photographer for Inside Carolina, Jim Hawkins, was stuck in San Antonio still after photographing the Final Four, so I got tried to be Jim for day (I didn’t have the bluetooth earpiece so I couldn’t pull it off.)

Linked are some photos from the game posted on Inside Carolina. [Gallery 1]  [Gallery 2]

Interesting note from after the game.  I had to photograph the post-game press conference in the football facility (which is amazing for those who have not been lucky enough to go in there).  When I left, I was only only the 2nd floor but had to go to 1st to get out.  I was lost and had no idea how to get to the first floor without taking the elevator.  So I hit the down button and prayed that no one would be on the elevator going doing, lest I feel like a lazy oaf.  I hear the elevator slow down to 2nd, the doors fly open, and no one is there but head UNC football coach Butch Davis himself.  ”Crap!” I thought, but he quickly said in a friendly tone “You going down?  Well come on man”.  So whew, embarassment avoided.  In the 10 seconds I was with him in the elevator, plus what I heard of him on the field and in the post-game press conference, I can see why this guy is so well respected.  He’s the kind of coach that players would run through walls for.  They love him, you can tell.

BTW, I’ve lately had close encounters with all three local football coaches in the last two months.  In February, I was in Duke football coach David Cutcliffe’s office photographing him and the Manning brothers.  Last month, I was at the residence of NC State head football coach Tom O’Brien, photographing him and his family for NC State.  Then this encounter with coach Davis.

I don’t care who you are (unless you are a Patriots fan) this is funny stuff. Watch both of them.

[via 850 the Buzz]

Matt Davie watches Matthias McCall try on his new elbow pads.

Wow, three days in a row I’ve been to practice. Much of this is because my basketball duties are effectively over which leaves me with much more time (Sadly, I don’t have enough seniority to go to San Antonio with the men’s basketball team.) Don’t get me wrong, I love photographing basketball, but it keeps you busy when its going on.

The team takes on UVA tomorrow, and typically before a game, the practices are a little lighter. However, before heading out for practice, “Santa Haus” payed a visit to the team in the form of new elbow pads for the short sticks.

I didn’t learn a whole lot today, except that the freshmen like to talk about their hair. Ha, only they will get that one. Speaking of the freshmen, I went to Franklin Street Pizza and Pasta with them after practice. Had a great time with them and I finally got some pics of them away from the field.

Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala upset for an offsides not being called.

The North Carolina Tar Heels beat Johns Hopkins on Hops’ home field, only after generations of Tar Heel teams have been dispatched by the Blue Jays with an “L” since 1994. The win was an important one to help the team build some confidence, and to break the Homewood hex that has vexed the Heels for so long.

Homewood Field is turf, and I have to say that for photography, it stinks. The field emits radiant heat, even when ambient temperature is relatively cool. These heat waves made so many of my photos look soft. I had to delete countless photos that were afflicted with this softness. I feel bad for my photography brethren who constantly work at that field. That said, being a lacrosse fan, I have always wanted to go to Johns Hopkins for a lacrosse game, so this was a great treat. I also wanted to get some photos of the man, the legend Paul Rabil before he graduates.

I guess you came here to see the photos right? Well, here they are: Johns Hopkins Lacrosse v. North Carolina photos.