Duke players granted another year of eligibility

[adam]

A story that IL broke today:

http://www.insidelacrosse.com/page.cfm?pagerid=2&news=fdetail&storyid=166007

[hlj]

Wow. I am surprised by this and I think it is the wrong decision. The NCAA is bailing out Duke University. The SCHOOL made the decision to leave these young me blowing in the wind and abandon them. DUKE , not the NCAA, canceled the season. And not the whole season. The last half. And now the NCAA has decided to let them off the hook for their completely inappropriate handling of the situation. I am happy for the Duke players, but I don't think this is the right call.

[WinnytheSully]

I guess we're going to see yet another year of Greer and Danowski (0)

[DukeLax368]

Wow, I'm definitely extremely excited for next season, provided at least some decide to come back

[Vermont Laxer]

is this year optional? or can they go right to the MLL if there seniors?

[Torin]

Optional it is. That is why it will be weird to see who stays and goes, like the article says "Who has jobs already lined up and so forth". After seeing Matt Danowski cry after the championship I think he will come back to win the title, or atleast I hope he does.

[rhcp32291]

if they sign with the mll they can not come back, and this makes me very happy to hear they really dserved this because they were ripped off so bad

[scarsdalelax08]

i hope they all come back and just take one more chance at getting that trophy and ring

[hlj]

I understand the spirit of the decision and in that I am pleased and agree. The people this affected the most get a small bit of what was lost back. But I just think that the NCAA is fixing something that it shouldn't. They did not cost the Duke players their season. Duke did. This wasn't a hurricane, measles or something created by outside forces that canceled the season. Their own school imposed this punishment, by jumping to horrible conclusions. (Which I think is embarrassing.) But I think it is inappropriate that the NCAA fix this. The NCAA governs the schools. The school the players. Just because the school screwed up the NCAA should go in and fix it?! Again I am happy for the Duke players. I just am surprised the NCAA made this decision, as I think it is just not their duty/job. IMHO.

[jaw22]

They sure don't have a lot of time to decide if they wanna come back or not... MLL draft is tomorrow isn't it?

[wally085]

2008 national champs duke blue devils

[chuckdke]

my repost from another thread...i think this is a not a good decision:

one big problem with duke's argument here: it wasn't the NCAA that canceled their season or cost them a year of eligibility, it was the administrators of duke university. while i do think the school screwed up here, there doesn't seem to be a strong argument why the NCAA should grant an extra year. also, they played 8 games that season...would they get an entire year of eligibility or a season minus 8 games? furthermore, it's not just the seniors who lost a year... they would have an entire team of underclassman getting another year. which may be fine, but this decision will affect the college lacrosse field for the next 3 years. just things to consider.

it clearly sucks for the players. it just doesn't seem incumbent on the NCAA to step in and correct the mistakes of the university.

[laxkid891]

wow wow wow wow wow, i am sooooooo happy that this happened because all of their seniors fully deserve a national championship

[Mista Hollywood]

Stupid. duke chose to end the season and duke chose to fire pressler. Pressler couldnt have set the table better for danowski.

[RockfordAttack9]

Im glad to hear this news, and I hope that all of Duke's Seniors will return and take the Championship next year.

[fatmanlax]

I hope they come back and win the championship. But in the article they said that some had jobs lined up with the mll (Danowski). I think he will come back and be with his papa and go crazy.

[laxologist]

Okay we all been in college. We all had kegs and did our underage drinking? But now the NCAA is condoning underage drinking, hiring stripers and throwing keg parties during the season. I do feel bad for what my friend and his teammates endured for a year, but Duke and the public Media is to blame not NCAA. After the kids confessed to the party and drinking, which I am sure goes against NCAA rules and scholarship rules. Now it the kids threw the party around playoff time and the team tested postitive for beer in the urine would they be able to compete if under 21.
They just sent the whole under 21 age group a message saying it is okay to drink and pay for stripers. They should be banned from NCAA playoffs for 2 years.

[DJ Death]

this just screws over all the incoming freshmen recruits this fall...there has to be a better solution to this.

[jpstevens17]

I think the reason the NCAA gave the players another season is because they got completely ripped off in the whole case, the case ruined the lives of three players all three of those players will be remembered for the case and as dave evans said on sixty minutes when one the them dies it will be on the news saying ""one of the three duke lacrosse suspects died today"", before Dukes first game there own locker room at their home stadium had to be searched by a bomb detecting dog, the parents of the players received tremendous amounts of hate mail and despite being proved innocent, many will still categorize Duke Lacrosse with rapists. I think the NCAA granted this new season because they feel sorry for the players what they had to endure and what they had/have to overcome.

P.S. However I do believe that since they were granted this new season that the 2006 one should be formally nulled, erasing all games, points, everything. Because I am pretty sure that given 4.5 seasons Zack Greer or Matt Danowski can break the all time scoring record, when everyone else should only get 4 seasons to attempt it, since Greer had nearly 100 points this year and it would be his senior year in 08 and then hes second senior year in 09 it would almost be a sure thing that he would break it, however this is just an opinion and I doubt it will actually happen.

[chattlax2]

why punish the players because Duke University screwed up..it shows that the NCAA does have some heart..and to you guys that think that under aged drinking is against some NCAA rules, i'm almost 100% that it is solely the coach's decision on what to do..a Georgia football player got arrested(or whatever) for under aged drinking and Coach Richt was in charge of the discipline, he chose to suspend him for a few games, then he got caught again and he was kicked off the team, just an example

[Longpole5435]

Great, now we are going to have to hear the same rhetoric about their amazing story and ability to overcome adversity a year from now...

It's too overhyped and overcovered for me to even care anymore. Hopefully Danowski doesn't feel it is necessary to come back next year just to try to win a championship (which they won't win). He and Greer are so overrated its not even funny.

[DJ Death]

It's too overhyped and overcovered for me to even care anymore. Hopefully Danowski doesn't feel it is necessary to come back next year just to try to win a championship (which they won't win). He and Greer are so overrated its not even funny.
yeah, man, that's true. after every D1 coach has seen what hopkins did to shut down the greer-danowski tandem in the championship game, they're all starting to understand how those 2 aren't so invincible anymore, and all they have to do is implement the same defensive scheme that hopkins did, and boom, bye-bye big numbers for those 2.

[jpstevens17]

Great, now we are going to have to hear the same rhetoric about their amazing story and ability to overcome adversity a year from now...

It's too overhyped and overcovered for me to even care anymore. Hopefully Danowski doesn't feel it is necessary to come back next year just to try to win a championship (which they won't win). He and Greer are so overrated its not even funny.

im just saying that is probably why they were given the extra year, and I dont know how you can say someone is overrated when they get 95 points, numbers speak for themselves buddy.

[DJ Death]

im just saying that is probably why they were given the extra year, and I dont know how you can say someone is overrated when they get 95 points, numbers speak for themselves buddy.
he might have put up big numbers in the '07 season, but now after hopkins put him on lockdown for the entire championship game with every D1 coach watching, don't expect the same thing to happen in '08.

[jpstevens17]

he might have put up big numbers in the '07 season, but now after hopkins put him on lockdown for the entire championship game with every D1 coach watching, don't expect the same thing to happen in '08.

that is a good point, but im pretty sure coach danowski knows how to adjust his gameplan also, they will be effective somehow and besides nobody knows if danowski will return or not, it will be interesting to see.

[lax21goalie2008]

They probably did this because Duke lost in the National Championship. Plus, how is this fair? They have fifth year seniors, as well as a sick recruiting class. They're going undefeated next year.

[Mista Hollywood]

why is everybody feeling bad for duke i mean they were the ones who threw the sketchy party. Without the sketchy party none of this would happen. Ahh i hate duke

[Irishlax22]

why is everybody feeling bad for duke i mean they were the ones who threw the sketchy party. Without the sketchy party none of this would happen. Ahh i hate duke
I agree you on every thing except i dont hate Duke. I really dont think they should have gotten an extra year because it was there party. And the NCAA didnt cancel their season, the school did.

[St.PaulLAXER03]

Duke Deserves a second chance and think if they did that good this year think about next year when they will have a tn of new talent plus a ton of ore experienced talent :thumbsup: GO BLUE DEVILS

[homeskillet313]

why is everybody feeling bad for duke i mean they were the ones who threw the sketchy party. Without the sketchy party none of this would happen. Ahh i hate duke

no, without an attention hungry stripper and an overly anxious DA none of this would've happened. There are a lot of what ifs. This never would've happened if the player who started the stripper idea's parents would've been on birth control. And to all the people who think every team duke plays next year will be able to shut down danowski and greer like hopkins did then why are you mad that they get another year?

[Torin]

why is everybody feeling bad for duke i mean they were the ones who threw the sketchy party. Without the sketchy party none of this would happen. Ahh i hate duke


So your telling me that other colleges have never thrown a party? I agree as far as it was Duke's fault but the cancelling the season was not the lacrosse team's fault that was the College, and the NCAA is showing a they care for the Duke team.

[dugout]

The NCAA just made a terrible decision. Duke Univeristy cost the Duke Lacrosse team the 2006 season. It was not the NCAA or some un-natural cause. History can't be changed and you can't go back. This totally blows out the 4 year cycle of players and disrupts all of DIV 1 lacrosse.

[cjm3113]

Danowzki and Greer (if they return) will still be the best 1-2 combo in the NCAA, regardless of the fact every coach saw them get shut down once.

[KUjayhawks42]

I cant wait for their decisions and for next year. Duke will steam roll the competition if Danowski comes back, not to mention all of the great seniors Duke has on their team. If I was matt I would come back for the championship and also maybe the MLL salaries will increase by next year.

[zanderaruba]

There decisions have to be made within the next couple days because of the draft right? Unless the MLL changes the format. I am very surprised they gave them it back considering they played half a season and the school are the people who canceled it not the NCAA. Anyway.... next year is going to be very interesting.

[GoBucks]

If Danowski and most of Duke's senior class comes back, Duke will be loaded. The MLL draft and job opportunities may get in the way though. If anyone has a well-paying job right out of college, then they won't stay.

There's always the risk of injury, but players in the pros don't get payed that much anyway. Since the NLL and MLL players have jobs in the offseason, I think the seniors should stay. This is a good chance for Duke to win it all next year, we'll just have to see about their decisions.

[laxer07]

i doubt many of the seniors wil actually go on. as it says, many have jobs lined up. Im sure they want to move on past college and not hang around Duke all year to play lax. It seems like a further delay of their lives to do that. However, if they have nothing better to do..why not stick around and play.

[crusaderslax09]

why is everybody feeling bad for duke i mean they were the ones who threw the sketchy party. Without the sketchy party none of this would happen. Ahh i hate duke

Because the players on the team's reputation was tarnished by a psycho DA who broke numerous laws in the trial of the case. Not to mention how badly he made life for the 3 accused players. Heres an idea, lets wrongly accuse you of a serious crime which starts a media frenzy. Then we'll see how you feel about it.

[ALEX WIZ]

The TV reporter during the HOP v. DUKE game stated some very reasonable reasons why not to give them another year at duke, and I completley agree with him. He made so points like that they were already 8 games into the season ( when the season was cancelled), so its not like it was a whole season. Also that the NCAA didn't cancel the season the Duke athletic director did. Those are just the main points that he stated. Anyone who says that this was the right descion, clearly dosen't know that facts. I'm not against Duke or anything I just think it was a bad descion.

[laxn]

Seems a little unfair, but now Danowski and Greer have the chance to win a championship and rewrite the record books. Quick question, what about scholarship money and such?

[Mista Hollywood]

Because the players on the team's reputation was tarnished by a psycho DA who broke numerous laws in the trial of the case. Not to mention how badly he made life for the 3 accused players. Heres an idea, lets wrongly accuse you of a serious crime which starts a media frenzy. Then we'll see how you feel about it.

But how did it get to all of that. Something must have seriously happened for it to go to court? Hmm maybe a party with way to much booze and a crazy stripper.

[ALEX WIZ]

Seems a little unfair, but now Danowski and Greer have the chance to win a championship and rewrite the record books. Quick question, what about scholarship money and such?
I doubt danowski will ocme back since he has been so highly ranked in MLL draft, problay go there to avoid injury.

[DJ Death]

And to all the people who think every team duke plays next year will be able to shut down danowski and greer like hopkins did then why are you mad that they get another year?
that's not the reason why i'm mad. i'm mad that the incoming freshmen recruits are getting screwed out of a bigger chance to get some playing time. they still will have a chance to impress coach danowski, but instead of trying to find a replacement for matt danowski, the freshmen are battling with him and greer and quinzani for the spot, along with other attackmen like gibbs fogarty. same goes for every other position on the field if the seniors at those positions decide to stay.
Danowzki and Greer (if they return) will still be the best 1-2 combo in the NCAA, regardless of the fact every coach saw them get shut down once.
i wasn't saying they won't be, i was just saying that they won't put up such big numbers again. every opposing coach now has a general idea on how to deal with those 2 after watching the championship game, and it will be a lot harder for greer and danowski to put up 10 points each like they did against UNC in the quarterfinals.

[ALEX WIZ]

But how did it get to all of that. Something must have seriously happened for it to go to court? Hmm maybe a party with way to much booze and a crazy stripper.
Or a stripper not making money that wants quicker money than stripping, that worked out... NOT

[OldGoalie]

I don't understand the point some are making about the NCAA not cancelling the season but rather Duke doing it. What difference does that make as far as eligibility goes? Why punish the students' eligibility for Duke's bad decision to cancel the season? Who made the decision has no bearing on whether the students should be allowed to play another year.

Consider another example of a student being dismissed from a team by the university for some reason. It's a decision made by the university, but if the student hasn't dressed for any games, shouldn't he or she be able to maintain eligibility?

[dugout]

With all SOs, JRs and SRs getting a "re-do" from the NCAA, Duke would be hard pressed to hold their committed recruits. I would request a release, if it were me. The Freshman just lost a year as they get to play bench behind the same guys an extra year. This disrupts the entire cycle and creates a huge SO class of players, eligibility wise, at Duke.
The potential is far worse than the reality will be. There is more to life than Lacrosse; sorry, it's true. These players have lives and I would think they are ready to get on with it. As much as we would like to think it would, the MLL still can not put food on the table and pay the rent. Most will "go pro in something other than sports" as the commercial says.

[HRodLAX]

I agree that it's great for the players that they get their eligibility back. However, i cannot agree with this move because, as has previously been mentioned, the University canceled the season, not the NCAA.

I applaud the NCAA for setting it right for the students, BUT the president and the university has gotten away without even a slap on the wrist for the trauma they caused. Did anyone read the Sports Illustrated OP ED on the final page a few weeks back? Mike Pressler said the President called him into his office and told him he was going to have to let him(Pressler) go. Pressler was fired for all intensive purposes. When Mike asked "What about the truth, you said you'd stand by us" the president responded "Its not about the truth anymore, the ACLU, and other organizations are putting pressure on us." SHAME ON DUKE UNIVERSITY. That is despicable and Duke's Board and President have gotten away with an atrocity. In fact, they are reaping the rewards of John and Matt Danowski's on field success. The media has now shamed the woman and the DA but the real villain is the administration. They should be ashamed of themselves.

The wrongfully accused now have justice but the administration has yet to get its just deserts. Instead it is enjoying the rewards which has NO right to what so ever.

[hslax19]

I would be very surprised to see many seniors return for another year. Lacrosse can only take you so far even if you are drafted in the mll. They have there lives and carreers to think about now.

[roycegracie47]

my repost from another thread...i think this is a not a good decision:

one big problem with duke's argument here: it wasn't the NCAA that canceled their season or cost them a year of eligibility, it was the administrators of duke university. while i do think the school screwed up here, there doesn't seem to be a strong argument why the NCAA should grant an extra year. also, they played 8 games that season...would they get an entire year of eligibility or a season minus 8 games? furthermore, it's not just the seniors who lost a year... they would have an entire team of underclassman getting another year. which may be fine, but this decision will affect the college lacrosse field for the next 3 years. just things to consider.

it clearly sucks for the players. it just doesn't seem incumbent on the NCAA to step in and correct the mistakes of the university.

And my reposted response agreeing with you, plus more!

(My previous post)This was the point that both Lief and Quint made this weekend when they both agreed that they not be granted that extra year, and I agree. It was Duke University that pulled the plug in the season, not the NCAA, and by the NCAA's rule they were over the 50% mark of the season for anyone not already red-shirted to be able to make a claim for eligibility. Similarly the season was not ended via a legitmate emergency (as a opposed to an incident caused by poor off-field judgement) that would necessitate taking a look at restoring the eligibilty for that lost half of the season by the NCAA. And in order to save face, Duke University is essentially asking the NCAA to amend (they aren't necessarily amending their rule their rules per se, but they are making a special exception their rules may not have allowed either) not only to make up for their decision to terminate the season, but also in the face of Duke not enforcing anything prior to the two games played following the incident itself (a reason they cited as their justification for Pressler not taking action against any players). As much as I am glad to see the whole situation of the inditements and charges dropped, the NCAA should not grant this change of rules for Duke's mistake.


(The more)
When I look at this and I look at the many other programs that have canceled or suspended seasons due to off-field actions such as rowdy parties, Duke made the right decision albeit two games to late (look back at their claim to why Pressler was forced to resign, there was no accountability for poor off field judgement, and now, with eligibility being granted, he remains the lone fall guy, which also means he should have brought the hammer down when these incidents had occurred PRIOR to that fateful night in March). None of these boys deserve an extra year in my opinion (the exceptions being those who did not attend, being that there were several seniors out of town interviewing for jobs) and the reason is that as student athletes they tarnished the character of the school, the sport and the NCAA by hosting such a party in the first place. NOW, you can argue "boys will be boys" and "these parties happen on campus all the time" until the cows come home (because yes, sometimes boys will be boys and these parties do happen), but the fact remains, they put themselves in a situation they shouldn't have been in in the first place. Sure it's easy to play monday morning qb when you're not in their shoes, but, when you choose to become an NCAA student-athlete you are agreeing to represent your sport, your school and the NCAA with the type of character that embodies good sportsmanship that we come to expect out of our top athletes and role models. Looking at this report and looking back on my 4 years as an NCAA athlete, all the preseason seminars I sat through about situations like these and do everything that was expected of me as a student athlete, it makes me feel sick. Time and time again I've said it, when you choose to become an NCAA student-athlete, no matter what sport, no matter what gender, no matter what division, you have 3 options and 2 choices: 1)be a student, 2)be an athlete, and 3) have a social life, and this decision I see as the NCAAs failings to anyone whose made those right choices, anyone whose has been punished by the NCAA or School and served their bit, and anyone whose been on the receiving end of poor off-field judgement and it's many facets. Giving these guys the option of returning only fuels the enemies of lacrosse and college athletics in general as they are seeing them get back what they forfeited by holding such a party in the first place. It takes the myth that all lax players are privileged and feel entitled and beats to death much of what the community has sought to remove since this ugliness started last year. I am sorely disappointed that the NCAA made this move, especially when it was Duke that was looking to do everything they could to not come off as the bad guy for terminating the season, as far as the "trial" is concerned, they didn't want to stick by their guys and now they want to come off smelling like a rose, and the NCAA should have sorry, but the answer is no.

[somrandomguy]

Okay, I'm just going to chip something in really quick:

Do you really think other coaches have not been scheming on how to defeat the Danowki-Greer tandem all season? They didn't just come out of nowhere, everyone knew they were a threat all season.

[ReLAXation7]

I agree that it's great for the players that they get their eligibility back. However, i cannot agree with this move because, as has previously been mentioned, the University canceled the season, not the NCAA.

I applaud the NCAA for setting it right for the students, BUT the president and the university has gotten away without even a slap on the wrist for the trauma they caused. Did anyone read the Sports Illustrated OP ED on the final page a few weeks back? Mike Pressler said the President called him into his office and told him he was going to have to let him(Pressler) go. Pressler was fired for all intensive purposes. When Mike asked "What about the truth, you said you'd stand by us" the president responded "Its not about the truth anymore, the ACLU, and other organizations are putting pressure on us." SHAME ON DUKE UNIVERSITY. That is despicable and Duke's Board and President have gotten away with an atrocity. In fact, they are reaping the rewards of John and Matt Danowski's on field success. The media has now shamed the woman and the DA but the real villain is the administration. They should be ashamed of themselves.

The wrongfully accused now have justice but the administration has yet to get its just deserts. Instead it is enjoying the rewards which has NO right to what so ever.

I agree with you 100%. Duke University President Richard Brodhead left the Duke lacrosse team out to dry. There was absolutely no support from the school's administration.

On the issue of the extra year: As a Duke fan, I think it would be great to have such crucial team members such as Matt Danowski, Zack Greer, Casey Carroll, and Goalkeeper Dan Loftus back for another year. With a good recruiting class coming in, Duke would be poised to finally claim the National Title that has eluded their grasp for these many years.

On the other hand, the actual notoriety and bragging rights that is bundled with the NCAA Championship Title may not be present. Members of the lacrosse community, especially those in support of Duke's rival teams, would begin saying, "Well, they won a championship, but they only did it because of a 'loophole'", or "They wouldn't have done it if Danowski and Greer had left". I guess it just depends on if you believe that the players lost a complete year of their season.

[fsflaxer30]

Wow. I am surprised by this and I think it is the wrong decision. The NCAA is bailing out Duke University. The SCHOOL made the decision to leave these young me blowing in the wind and abandon them. DUKE , not the NCAA, canceled the season. And not the whole season. The last half. And now the NCAA has decided to let them off the hook for their completely inappropriate handling of the situation. I am happy for the Duke players, but I don't think this is the right call.
So true and besides, this NEVER happens in other sports, the point everyone forgets is that, these guys broke school, team, and NCAA rules. (Drinking party?) Not to mention the law, and got caught red handed...

[MJC1801]

This will get beat to death over the next few days, but I agree with previous posts that the NCAA bailed out the university. The incoming freshman also will be effected because of the scholarship $$ issues. Dino will have to do some creative financing to make it all work.

I will say this on the record right now.....

If everyone returns, Duke will NOT win the title next year for one simple reason. John Danowski. Remember I said it.

[Shock32]

The cool thing about the extra year of eligibility is that they can spend it at another school. I want to see of anyone goes to play for Coach Pressler at Bryant...they would be nasty(er) in DII.

[moondog]

Bryant already is pretty nasty--they had a poor record before, and Pressler has already had a huge impact on turning the program around.

Wonder if any top-level programs would want to give Pressler a second look after the great year he had coaching...

[laxordie14]

i think this whole situation is taking a lot of media attention away from who deserves it; THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONS. it seems like the lacrosse buzz is all about Duke in one way or another and the Jays are being swept under the rug.

[LymanLax28]

The NCAA just made a terrible decision. Duke Univeristy cost the Duke Lacrosse team the 2006 season. It was not the NCAA or some un-natural cause. History can't be changed and you can't go back. This totally blows out the 4 year cycle of players and disrupts all of DIV 1 lacrosse.
I agree completely. Plus, like somebody else said, what happens to the incoming recruits? They've already committed, and a lot of schools have already filled up their rosters for the upcoming season. If all (or most) of the seniors return, are these kids going to be left out in the cold?

As juch as I love Duke, I honestly think it would be better if none of the seniors came back.

[faceoff765]

If the NCAA had guts, they would have made the decision before the game, as to not so obviously offer this as compensation for the failure to win the championship.

If Duke had guts, it wouldn't ask the NCAA to rectify it's own hasty judgment.

The players were victims, up to a point. Some 1/3 of the team had already had a run-in with the law (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/.../ai_n16191893); if they were at Oklahoma or Miami, they'd be more widely known as a problem program. There's a certain toxicity that they wallowed in. It's not a toxicity that's absent from other programs, but there's a larger issue of how athletes interact with the college, academically and socially. The school gave many of these young men scholarships, and the players seem at many levels only interested in themselves and their teammates (a trait only heightened by false accusations.) If at some point they had said "We're really sorry for what we brought upon the university, even though the allegations are false," I would have a lot more respect for their position. Instead, the team's supporters played the martyr role to the hilt, cursing the university while continuing to accept the free education that many of them are offered, and the adulation of the many who see them as poster children for a variety of ills. This could be a great time to talk about what expectations we have of young men in terms of making their communities better places while engaging in a great sport. Instead, there's a wave of self-righteous fluff about the tragedies that have occurred. Firing Nifong seems perfectly reasonable to me, but every lacrosse coach--and every coach of young men--should realize that they can, should, and must set higher standards of behavior for their players, who will meet those standards in most cases if they know what's expected. We'll all come out of it better, too. So, enough with the martyrdom stories. The lads had a year taken away, but they also took a lot away from the University (with its general complicity) and many received educations worth well over 100K, which most Americans cannot afford. Not martyrs, by a long shot.

[teamfo.joe]

http://www.zazzle.com/Bball21791
i found this online, its tough to find a solid duke lacrosse shirt for not much money, but this is a good quality shirt that looks good for $15. im wearing it right now, its really nice.
http://www.zazzle.com/Bball21791

[homeskillet313]

The NCAA just made a terrible decision. Duke Univeristy cost the Duke Lacrosse team the 2006 season. It was not the NCAA or some un-natural cause. History can't be changed and you can't go back. This totally blows out the 4 year cycle of players and disrupts all of DIV 1 lacrosse.


Ok im sick of everyone blaming the NCAA for their extra year. the process went like this, the lacrosse team petitioned for an extra year, WHICH WAS APPROVED BY THE SCHOOL, then it had to be approved by a certain number of ACC schools, and then finally approved by the NCAA.

[laxr24]

So Duke will have 5 classes of recruits while everyone else has 4 due to their own university's mishandleing of the situation...that's really not right

[RichfromBoston]

Of all of the misguided and horrible rulings the NCAA has made over the years, this may be the all time worst. Why should these guys be given an extra year to play?

Lets get to the root cause of all of their problems. They hired strippers, binge drank and acted like fools. Granted a gang rape didn't occur, but lets be honest their behavior was less than stellar. Wasn't most of the team at said keg party?

The Duke administration pulled the plug on their season, not the NCAA. They played more than 50% of their games

How does UVa, Maryland and UNC feel about this? Duke should not have an unfair advantage over the competition. I was sick of the Duke story before this weekend, I sick because of it know.

If there is any justice they will choke next season, just like they did on Monday!

[mattlax43]

if we wanna start saying they were bad by having a keg party, lets get serious, every team at every level has had a drinking party with underage drinking going on.

[shiftylax]

Uhm...there goes my MLL draft preview.

Crap...

[czechinthepipes]

I like how everyone keeps saying "it wasn't the NCAA that canceled their season it was the school" ya your right, so who cares who canceled their season. All that matters is that some girl who wanted money and attention lied about getting raped, and also a stupid DA who wanted more money as well. Yes the duke players made a mistake about the party and the strippers etc.. they are only human, everyone makes mistakes. This never would have happened if that girl didn't lie about getting raped. Yes you can argue that well it wouldn't have happened in the first place if they didn't have the party, that is true, but duke isn't the only team that has had underage drinking and parties. It is unfair however that they had to go through all of this crap, so why don't they deserve another season? If anyone of you got screwed like they did in anyway you would be crying and wanting your season so give them a break.
This decision IMO is like or similar to a double edged sword, it is unfair for the incoming freshman and unfair in general because it messes up a lot of things. But on the other side or other point of view it would be unfair to not give the duke players back another year.
So even though I am happy cause I like duke I am also a little unhappy with this decision. I wouldn't worry to much about it since the NCAA made there decision and there isn't anything anyone can do, so don't worry about it.

[LymanLax28]

If the NCAA had guts, they would have made the decision before the game, as to not so obviously offer this as compensation for the failure to win the championship.

If Duke had guts, it wouldn't ask the NCAA to rectify it's own hasty judgment.

The players were victims, up to a point. Some 1/3 of the team had already had a run-in with the law (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/.../ai_n16191893); if they were at Oklahoma or Miami, they'd be more widely known as a problem program. There's a certain toxicity that they wallowed in. It's not a toxicity that's absent from other programs, but there's a larger issue of how athletes interact with the college, academically and socially. The school gave many of these young men scholarships, and the players seem at many levels only interested in themselves and their teammates (a trait only heightened by false accusations.) If at some point they had said "We're really sorry for what we brought upon the university, even though the allegations are false," I would have a lot more respect for their position. Instead, the team's supporters played the martyr role to the hilt, cursing the university while continuing to accept the free education that many of them are offered, and the adulation of the many who see them as poster children for a variety of ills. This could be a great time to talk about what expectations we have of young men in terms of making their communities better places while engaging in a great sport. Instead, there's a wave of self-righteous fluff about the tragedies that have occurred. Firing Nifong seems perfectly reasonable to me, but every lacrosse coach--and every coach of young men--should realize that they can, should, and must set higher standards of behavior for their players, who will meet those standards in most cases if they know what's expected. We'll all come out of it better, too. So, enough with the martyrdom stories. The lads had a year taken away, but they also took a lot away from the University (with its general complicity) and many received educations worth well over 100K, which most Americans cannot afford. Not martyrs, by a long shot.
While you made a decent point, you made one gross mistake. Most of these athletes are not getting a "free education". Although I don't know the exact percentage of the student body that receives a "full ride" to the school, I'm sure it is extremely low.

[Longpole5435]

im just saying that is probably why they were given the extra year, and I dont know how you can say someone is overrated when they get 95 points, numbers speak for themselves buddy.
If you separate them, they aren't going to approach the ridiculous numbers they had this year. Greer is a good crease man, that's about it. Hopkins neutralized him pretty easily. Danowski had a ton of points on assists to Greer, on some feeds that almost any other player in college lacrosse would not be able to convert. No Greer, less points, and Danowski is forced to be more of a dodger than feeder, which is something he cannot do against a quality opponent. Duke consistently initiated through their midfield, despite having two All-American attackmen. Why? Because their middies are better at creating slides than Danowski and Greer. Give the credit to Duke's middies who do the grunt work, not the attackmen who rack up the points.

[Farny]

Wikipedia tells me the all time points record in a season is 114. Anyone think Danowski can get up close to that if he stays next year? He had 96 this year.

[QBYattackmen15]

I guess we're going to see yet another year of Greer and Danowski (0)

you would deff see greer hes a junior. right? and Danowski should leave...hes gonna be the first pick in the MLL draft..he might as well go. but if he does another season and doesnt win hte championship, its almost like a waste cause thats the only reason he would come back.

[DukeBlue33]

okay i thought about reading all the posts here but i got the general feel for most of the ones that say this is a bad move. and yes this is my first post so i dont know how seriously anyone will really look at it. but think back to last year when the story first broke. basically everyone in durham and well throughout the country were fascinated with the case, and unfortunately in the early stages most came to conclusions that the players were guilty right? im just saying most because there were definitely those who said all along they were innocent... lets also remember that mike nifong was basically accusing the entire team before the 3 players were named. im sure the ncaa wasnt exactly heartbroken when duke decided to cancel the season. and you have to take into account the players' safety. the lax team had to keep a pretty low profile during the last part of the semester and to have games would have probably allowed some crazy people to do crazy things regardless of the security. there are valid arguments for both sides. i for one am happy that these guys have the decision to stay another year. many of them probably won't take the offer so who knows what will happen next season. but i think that the ncaa got this one right.

[DJ Death]

Okay, I'm just going to chip something in really quick:

Do you really think other coaches have not been scheming on how to defeat the Danowki-Greer tandem all season? They didn't just come out of nowhere, everyone knew they were a threat all season.
except the game against hopkins in the national championship was the first time that the 2 were held to a combined 1 goal. they didn't even come close to performing that low-key in duke's losses to cornell and loyola during the regular season.

[faceofflax15]

If you separate them, they aren't going to approach the ridiculous numbers they had this year. Greer is a good crease man, that's about it. Hopkins neutralized him pretty easily. Danowski had a ton of points on assists to Greer, on some feeds that almost any other player in college lacrosse would not be able to convert. No Greer, less points, and Danowski is forced to be more of a dodger than feeder, which is something he cannot do against a quality opponent. Duke consistently initiated through their midfield, despite having two All-American attackmen. Why? Because their middies are better at creating slides than Danowski and Greer. Give the credit to Duke's middies who do the grunt work, not the attackmen who rack up the points.
Uhh, No? Seperate them and they aren't as good? Watch any clips from the U-19 World Games? Danowski was awsome then as well. Dukes Middies FINALLY stepped up in the championship game, throughout the season they did, sub-par.

[popasmurf]

I'm not sure how enticing being drafted for MLL is compared to playing in front of 50,000 plus for an NCAA championship. I'm sure many college players would love to play one more year of college ball.

[wilsontopowell]

this is stupid. whats going to happen to the incoming class of recruits? no way is there room for everyone

[MAlax42]

I like how everyone keeps saying "it wasn't the NCAA that canceled their season it was the school" ya your right, so who cares who canceled their season. All that matters is that some girl who wanted money and attention lied about getting raped, and also a stupid DA who wanted more money as well. Yes the duke players made a mistake about the party and the strippers etc.. they are only human, everyone makes mistakes. This never would have happened if that girl didn't lie about getting raped. Yes you can argue that well it wouldn't have happened in the first place if they didn't have the party, that is true, but duke isn't the only team that has had underage drinking and parties. It is unfair however that they had to go through all of this crap, so why don't they deserve another season? If anyone of you got screwed like they did in anyway you would be crying and wanting your season so give them a break.
This decision IMO is like or similar to a double edged sword, it is unfair for the incoming freshman and unfair in general because it messes up a lot of things. But on the other side or other point of view it would be unfair to not give the duke players back another year.
So even though I am happy cause I like duke I am also a little unhappy with this decision. I wouldn't worry to much about it since the NCAA made there decision and there isn't anything anyone can do, so don't worry about it.
It's definitely not unfair. Does the fact that other schools have parties with strippers and underage drinking make it OK? No, it certainly does not. Hell, if I were the coach and I had more than half the team at a party with underage drinking and a stripper, regardless of any legal involvement that may or may not have occurred, I'd pull the plug on their season too.

[Gas Man]

I really don't understand this. You want to punish the Duke players for not having the support of their school? How is that fair? I could understand if you wanted some sort of punishment levied on Duke University itself (which will never happen), but this decision has partially restored what the players lost and I for one am pleasantly surprised that the NCAA decided to allow it.

Everyone feels badly for the horror the Duke palyers experienced thanks to a misguided and sensationalized media, and an unscrupulous district attorney. Those events do not change the fact that the entire issue was created when the Duke players decided to violate team and school policies by having a party where alcohol was served to under age kids and prostitutes were hired. The school made the decision to reprimand the team and cancelled the season. In my opinion the wounds the Duke team suffered were self inflicted. Now the NCAA, whose eligibility policies border on dictatorial, comes along and basically tells every student athlete and school under it's jurisdiction that it is OK to break the rules. Sorry but the wrongs commited by Duke don't make the NCAA decision right. The NCAA has set a dangerous precedent for every student-athlete who loses eligibilty for injury or other reasons to use this decision as a strong almost incontrovertible argumet for reinstatement.

[dugout]

Ok im sick of everyone blaming the NCAA for their extra year. the process went like this, the lacrosse team petitioned for an extra year, WHICH WAS APPROVED BY THE SCHOOL, then it had to be approved by a certain number of ACC schools, and then finally approved by the NCAA.

.....:WTF:.....

[i live 4 lax]

Wow. I am surprised by this and I think it is the wrong decision. The NCAA is bailing out Duke University. The SCHOOL made the decision to leave these young me blowing in the wind and abandon them. DUKE , not the NCAA, canceled the season. And not the whole season. The last half. And now the NCAA has decided to let them off the hook for their completely inappropriate handling of the situation. I am happy for the Duke players, but I don't think this is the right call.
thats is absolutely ridicoulus. you need to put your self in those players positions that worked SO hard to get into a top D1 school. how would you like it if one of your four years of your garunteed play time from a scholarship was knocked off because your school didnt believe in you and thought your team to be rowdy and rapists. every player on that team besides the freshmen and ed douglas deserves and extra year of play time. the NCAA isnt doing this as an apology, its doing this because its the fair, moral thing to do and it is also the right thing to do. The last half of there season was not cancelled either, it was fairly early that this incident happened, and its not fair for their season to get cancelled because some woman made up a flat out lie to get attention and money. these players have every right to another year of play, the stuff that these players went through last season is absurd. and it is absurd for you to think that this is not the right decision.

[Lax101]

Poll added. I really want to see what the TLFers think about this issue.

I am vehemently against this.

[jacedwards78]

wow I hope I can see another year of the greer danowski combo. just think of the destruction. I think matt will come back one more year.

[mullengoal141]

the NCAA isnt bailing duke out, as mentioned in

In the case of these Duke players, they played eight games—roughly half of their 2006 schedule. The NCAA Bylaws do include an Extenuating Circumstances (14.2.6.3) clause to grant an extra year of eligibility for different situations, including: “(c) The student-athlete’s institution dropped the sport (in which the student has practiced or competed) from its intercollegiate program.”

they arent bailing them out, end of story.

this is part of the bylaws, meaning...

you guessed it, they have the RIGHT, according to these bylaws, for the extra year.

hopefully no one else makes the argument that it wasnt the ncaa's fault, because it doesnt matter.



oh article can be read here: http://www.insidelacrosse.com/page.cfm?pagerid=2&news=fdetail&storyid=165441

[Texlax33]

I'm agree with the others who said oh great we gotta listen to this season long BS story about how great duke is with everything they have gone through. It is personally why i was super happy they lost to hopkins. not so upset that they got there year back but if those seniors come back i hope they just lose again. because i'm tired of hearing there sob story.

[faceoff765]

If anyone of you got screwed like they did in anyway you would be crying and wanting your season so give them a break.

Actually, not true at all. I'm not looking at it as a partisan issue at all. There's a far bigger issue about the way that athletes interact with the larger school (remember that these are schools, where education should be the main endeavor, and sports a complementary part.) I don't think that they deserve another year for the way that they comported themselves, regardless of school affiliation.

Duke had their shot to win a title; you can't really ask for more than that. If they make it back, they will always be known for the extra advantage that they have garnered, thanks to people that built them up to be victims of a situation that they got themselves into through not only one night of poor decisions, but a culture that alienated itself from the rest of the community. We should be far more interested in building a healthier athletic culture, one that plays kick-*** lacrosse on the field and leads in positive manners off of it. To expect anything less from an institution of Duke's merit is to set the bar pathetically low.

[faceoff765]

No slight to Danowski or Greer, but Crotty is a hell of a player, too. He had the best game of the offensive players all weekend, in my opinion.

[faceoff765]

Fair enough. I'm not sure what the exact percentage is. But essentially, it's a privilege to get to go to a school like Duke, and it's pretty likely that their lacrosse talents had a lot to do with them getting in (which is not a comment on their academic abilities, but a reality of how kids get into competitive colleges these days). I find myself continually surprised by the people who don't seem to see that they owe anything to the school for their behavior.

[faceoff765]

Respectfully disagree. The fact that the NCAA can do this by the by-laws doesn't say anything about whether they should do it. I think that they are bailing out the University's poor decision making and the student-athletes' poor decision-making.

[WHEELAX2]

I have been 100% behind the accused Duke players from the beginning, but i strongly disagree. Even though it turns out that they were innocent, they still made a decision to have a party and invite strippers over for that party. This behavior is strictly against school policy, and they should accept the consequences for their actions. There are hundreds of players every year who are in good standing with their respective schools, and are very well behaved; they have to apply for additional years of eligibility due to injury or other circumstances: most of these kids are denied due to the fact that they have already completed a large portion of their seasons...

Like I said, the consequence for their actions, though harsh, was to have their season suspended by their institution...

think about the kids at Butler who didn't even know their program was going to be cancelled... it sucks, but the institutions have the final say as to if they will field a team or not...

Duke University felt it best for their business to not field a team...

[WHEELAX2]

thats is absolutely ridicoulus. you need to put your self in those players positions that worked SO hard to get into a top D1 school. how would you like it if one of your four years of your garunteed play time from a scholarship was knocked off because your school didnt believe in you and thought your team to be rowdy and rapists. every player on that team besides the freshmen and ed douglas deserves and extra year of play time. the NCAA isnt doing this as an apology, its doing this because its the fair, moral thing to do and it is also the right thing to do. The last half of there season was not cancelled either, it was fairly early that this incident happened, and its not fair for their season to get cancelled because some woman made up a flat out lie to get attention and money. these players have every right to another year of play, the stuff that these players went through last season is absurd. and it is absurd for you to think that this is not the right decision.



that year was lost by their OWM poor decisions off the field... the school didn't think they were being represented very well by their lacrosse team, and they decided to suspend the program... when you are on a team, even though you don't participate in a behavior, you are still responsible... the team isn't just made up of 1 person... if one person on your team goes out into your community and screws up... you won't be hearing their name, you'd hear a ___________ lacrosse team member did such and such a behavior... even if it's only one guy, he is still associated with said team, and therefore your team image suffers...

and there is no guaranteed playing time at any level of sports... to play a sport is something you have to earn... when you earn something, you respect it, and hold it higher than yourself... the Duke team disrespected themselves, their teammates, their institution, and the sport which we play

if you worked for a fortune 500 company and represented them all over the nation and in the media, and you did something to hurt your image and the company's image, don't you think that you should be fired, or be disciplined, or lose some responsibility and perks?

[WHEELAX2]

if we wanna start saying they were bad by having a keg party, lets get serious, every team at every level has had a drinking party with underage drinking going on.


yes, and they know that there can be pretty severe consequences for that behavior... just because everyone does it, it doesn't mean that some members of the team who don't participate in these behaviors get unjustifiably screwed because they are a team member...

99% of schools have rules governing alcohol and team sports... though most are unwritten, such as 24 and 48 hour rules, student-athletes still know that if they are caught breaking the law or school policy, they will have to pay a price..

underage drinking is against the law... no matter how insignificant the behavior might seem, it is still very costly..

if i could stomach writing all the names of all my friends who have died due to the fact that they or their friends were intoxicated, it would only serve to further strengthen the severity of consequences involved with alcohol abuse..

[chuckdke]

Ok im sick of everyone blaming the NCAA for their extra year. the process went like this, the lacrosse team petitioned for an extra year, WHICH WAS APPROVED BY THE SCHOOL, then it had to be approved by a certain number of ACC schools, and then finally approved by the NCAA.

i think youre missing the point completely. yes, the petition was approved by the school. what's your point? how is that in any way material to this argument?

the point is, the duke administrators bailed on the whole team when they needed support. they played judge, jury and executioner to these guys. now that the air has been cleared, the school is looking for the NCAA to bail them out for their bad decisions. my opinion? tough luck. they made their bed.

[hattrick619]

especially since they lost this year... i live right near duke campus and the affect that it had on lacrosse in the area and mindset was huge. everyone in the area supports them and idolizes them for stickin through it

[stegmakk]

I am torn...
I am and have been a big Duke supporter (if anyone has read the LN articles/nations views)...
I, like everyone else feel the players got screwed...
I also think this is not the correct reparations...it sends the WRONG signals...

When Duke University cancelled the season, they made statements that it was not because of the charges against the players but for a long list of violations, with this party with underage drinking, and strippers, being the straw that broke the camel's back...we all could see through their smoke show, but this was the reason for canceling it..NOT the charges they said...
The University did not support its players...forget them being players...they are also students...the school did not stand by its students...it helped hange the aura of guilty on them before the real facts were out...
Then in the truth coming out, Duke University approved the petition the NCAA for a year back for all non-seniors at the time. Now the NCAA approved it and Duke says they are happy with this...
If it wasn't the charges against the players, why do they need an extra year elligibility? If it was for the other violations as duke originally claimed, then why the reversal?
What about the seniors it robbed? What about coach Pressler? What about an apology and an admittal that they F'ed up?
If there has ever been a time when the term "screwing the pooch" was appropriate, it is in how Duke University handled the whole situation. Or maybe it was the University bending over for Nifong...
Personally, if I were a Duke lacrosse player, during last summer, I would have transferred.
If I was a Danowski or any other seniors, I would not even dream about using one more year of elligibility at Duke...I'd get the hell out of dodge and move on with my life

[BamaMid]

So true and besides, this NEVER happens in other sports, the point everyone forgets is that, these guys broke school, team, and NCAA rules. (Drinking party?) Not to mention the law, and got caught red handed...


Yes it is bad, but I mean, that goes on all the time, and nothing happens but a night in jail, guys these guys missed half the season, in their prime, and the entire team suffered for 1 stupid girls idioticy

[Petem0ss]

The fair thing to do would be to grant the players another year...with the stipulation that they play at an institution other than Duke. Duke turned their back on all of those kids when things got rough, why should they get them for an unprecedented 4 1/2 years of eligibility?

The Duke administration gets the best of both worlds - they bail on the 2006 season on a whim, and then are rewarded for doing that by being loaded with some key 3 1/2-year players returning in 2008.

I'm happy that the kids (save last year's seniors) will get a chance to play another full season but it's a terrible precedent for the NCAA to set.

[laxlawyer]

BY GRANTING DUKE THE WAIVER THE UNIVERSITY REQUESTED THE NCAA HAS SET A DANGEROUS PRECEDENT - DUKE HAS BEEN PERMITTED TO BENEFIT BY ITS WRONGDOING WHEN DUKE DECIDED TO CANCEL THE SEASON. REMINDS ME OF THE CHILD WHO KILLED HIS PARENTS AND THEN PLEADED WITH THE COURT FOR MERCY BECAUSE HE WAS AN ORPHAN.

[SweetLou]

So what about Danowski? Does he stay and play? Or does he draft?

[pooponashingle]

I'm preatty sure that danowski didn't sign the waiver. On inside lacrosse it said that: "lets be honest, it was likely that Matt Danowski would have been the overall No. 1 pick. But because of the situation at Duke, that won't happen. So who does Chicago take first?" that is from 1 o'clock today, and they had to sign the waiver this morning, so most likely Matt Danowski will not be drafted tonight.

Here's the link http://www.insidelacrosse.com/page.cfm?pagerid=2&news=fdetail&storyid=166062

[laxattack76]

i strongly agree. the duke players did nothing wrong, yes there was underage drinking but come on, who doesnt do it, im not saying its right but lets face reality people and stop being so nieve all the time. btw, strippers arent illegal and there is nothing in the NCAA that says they are. besides, the legal age players on the team should not be penalized when they did nothing wrong.

[HeadHeartHustle]

the staff of the team cancled their season, not the NCAA. Bad decision by Duke isnt the NCAA's fault.

[sammyduelist]

But isn't Duke in a way trying to solve and make things better by having requested that they have an extra year? How else do you suppose Duke can fix things? Money? Give them a hallmark card and hope they forgive and forget?

[hvlacrosse311]

people say that they were caught drinking and having a stripper as if theyre the only team to ever do so. The stripper isnt bad because all of them are most likely 18 or older and thats legal. As for the drinking yeah its bad and illegal but people act like the Duke basketball team has never drank before. If it was the basketball team getting caught they would have received a slap on the wrist and their star player would have sat the first two minutes. ALMOST EVERY NCAA TEAM DRINKS!!! My highschool team has parties, so what makes people think that college kids wont. They were wrong, but deserved none of this. Im happy for them and i hope they all come back(except Douglas because he was already a 5th year senior).

[DJ Death]

yeah, you're right, a lot of college teams do drink and do other stupid stuff, but the duke team was one of the teams that was caught.

[MC Escher]

I can't believe how many people agree with this idiotic decision, it is soo unfair and the NCAA is very stupid for doing this. First, it hurts other teams and is unfair to them. Second, it gives all of Duke's freshman a "free-year" during which they received about 20 games of practice. That is incredibly unfair to other teams. Third, what are they going to do about records, if Greer were to stay and break some record, would it still count? Fourth, as was mentioned above, the NCAA didn't suspend the players, so they should not be able to grant them eligibility. It's also unfair to "money-sport" athletes who are treated so poorly. I am not sure if you follow NCAA Basketball, but recently Bob Huggins went to Kansas State and made a bunch of big signings and was really turning their program around, but he suddenly left, and if any of the recruits (who have already signed LOIs) want to follow him, they will have to sit out a year, how unfair. Terrible decision...

[SweetLou]

i think youre missing the point completely. yes, the petition was approved by the school. what's your point? how is that in any way material to this argument?

the point is, the duke administrators bailed on the whole team when they needed support. they played judge, jury and executioner to these guys. now that the air has been cleared, the school is looking for the NCAA to bail them out for their bad decisions. my opinion? tough luck. they made their bed.


QFT

Diplomacy at it's finest.

[Butters14]

I love how easily everyone forgets that this had to be approved by the other ACC schools. That gives the NCAA a message that if their direct competition feels they deserve the year, then they should be allowed it. If one of those institutions says they don't feel they deserve it, then fine, but no one did. Perhaps people should start blaming all of those universities for the games they may lose because of this decision, just like everyone's blaming Duke for a situation they were FORCED to make to save their image as a high class academic institution. If you want to blame anyone blame the media, because without them, I doubt the season gets cancelled in the first place.

[merrychristmas]

Hey, just an fyi most of the schools in the ACC do NOT play lacrosse. The vote was political and they did not consult with their coaches or AD.s before voting. Kind of castrating.. letting them know where they and their teams and their own students stand in the scheme of things. The NCAA competition committtee apparently did not get a voice in it either.

[Butters14]

Who cares whether all of them do or not. The 3 others that do, voted in favor of giving them another year of eligibility. How do you know they didn't consult with their coaches or AD's before they did anything? People on here are jumping to conclusions and blaming people, quite similar to that of what the media did to the players, way to spread the ignorance.

[merrychristmas]

Find one.

What people are doing is avoiding responsibility, looking for a handout and relief from their poor decision making.

The Dukies have gone from victims to victimizer.

[DukeBlue33]

poor decision making?
seriously regardless of what anyone says just think about the players' safety last season. lets be honest... durham is not duke's biggest fan. this was one of those things people who hated duke in durham were just waiting for. there are crazy people out there who could have / would have done stupid and harmful things at games. i mean as if the media vans everywhere, protesters on the quad, the black panther's group protesting on campus (trying to bring guns with them as well)... wasnt enough... IF there had been lacrosse games during that time, some situations could have gotten out of control regardless of the amount of security.

[sdub2007]

I think this whole saga has been disgraceful, with the underage drinking that was going on, and Duke's handling of the situation. It is in inexcusable to reward someone for canceling the season. These kids who are graduating need to go get jobs with that great Duke degree because I cant imagine any road trip for that team to be a pleasant experience. The 3 alleged kids in the case should have been allowed to pursue additional schooling, playing time. The rest of the team no way, the criminal records on 10 of them are you kidding.. So, kids who are college athletes feel free to drink and party because the Duke kids did it because that there mommy and daddy would take care of them. Duke is a disgrace to college athletics, the sympathy parade needs to stop

[merrychristmas]

Yes, poor decision making. You are not suggesting there was any good decision making are you? The Duke administration makes the decision to cancel the season and then goes to the NCAA and asks them for relief from the consequences. The Duke players made a bad decision, some of them quite a few, and found themselves involved in a nightmare no one should have to deal with. The Duke faculty? The less said the better. The students were not exactly shining stars either.

[Laxmann019]

Strongly disagree. Duke thought guilty before innocent. like chuckdke said the NCAA shouldn't have to clean up duke's mistake

[faceofflax15]

I think this whole saga has been disgraceful, with the underage drinking that was going on, and Duke's handling of the situation. It is in inexcusable to reward someone for canceling the season. These kids who are graduating need to go get jobs with that great Duke degree because I cant imagine any road trip for that team to be a pleasant experience. The 3 alleged kids in the case should have been allowed to pursue additional schooling, playing time. The rest of the team no way, the criminal records on 10 of them are you kidding.. So, kids who are college athletes feel free to drink and party because the Duke kids did it because that there mommy and daddy would take care of them. Duke is a disgrace to college athletics, the sympathy parade needs to stop
This is no-way condones college parties. If anything its a deterrant to under-age drinking and hiring strippers. It doesn't matter that they are allowed to play one more season, the entire team, especially the 3 players, are always going to be remembered as the "Accused Duke Rapists." They aren't going to be remembered as the kids who were given the 5th year of eligibility. I think this was completley deserved.

Duke was correct to cancel/do somthing so early. If they hadn't done somthing so early, it could have been safety factors, like John Hopkins for instance didn't want to play them that year after the allegations first came about. Duke needed to try and keep its prestige so it could still have applicants and recruits.

[merrychristmas]

Hopkins was ready to go to Duke to play. Duke gave warning the game might be cancelled and then cancelled just before Hopkins would have left for the game. The rest of that post is bogus.

[faceofflax15]

Hopkins was ready to go to Duke to play. Duke gave warning the game might be cancelled and then cancelled just before Hopkins would have left for the game. The rest of that post is bogus.
Watch one of the clips on either Inside Lacrosse TV or Lax.com TV, it says flat out, John Hopkins kept asking about security, and when Duke couldn't give them a firm answer, they cancelled it and formed a game against Mt. St. Marys.

[-HSKR-]

you would deff see greer hes a junior. right? and Danowski should leave...hes gonna be the first pick in the MLL draft..he might as well go. but if he does another season and doesnt win hte championship, its almost like a waste cause thats the only reason he would come back.

Why would Danowski want to leave to play MLL? They don't make hardly any money and he could spend another year with his team and father and get another shot at the title. And how is playing the sport you love a waste? If it's what he wants to do it's not a waste. If I were in this position I would definitely stick around to play another year.

[Mista Hollywood]

but still, you dont make any money from being in the ncaa

[wz3]

Though I don't believe it was the NCAA's job to grant something like this and relieve Duke of its own mistake, I definitely think that the students deserve just compensation. The students should not be punished for Duke's obviously poor judgment, but the school definitely should be. If it were my decision, I'd allow an extra year of eligibility for the students to play anywhere... but Duke. That should be suffice punishment for abandoning their own athletes.

[roycegracie47]

In today's news: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=2932698

Finnerty announces he will transfer to Loyola to finish his college career.

[naptownlax101]

yupp u guys see it, he is obviously beastly, wat are your predictions and opinions?