Unterstein brothers drafted in MLL

Kevin and Mike Unterstein, two of the best lacrosse players to come out of Shoreham-Wading River, were both drafted in Wednesday's Major League Lacrosse draft.
After finishing their senior seasons at Hofstra University, Kevin was selected by New Jersey with the 20th pick in the second round and Mike went to Long Island with the 35th pick in the fourth round.
Kevin led Hofstra in ground balls this year with 70. Mike was the fourth leading scorer for the Pride with 33 points -- 20 goals, 13 assists. Hofstra went 10-6 before losing in the postseason to Johns Hopkins.

Baseball, Softball brackets posted

I wasn't too far off in my predictions, but a few things were different.

Here's how the baseball Class A playoff shape up:

1. Islip

vs.

4. Sayville

2. Harborfields

vs.

3. Rocky Point

5. Miller Place

vs.

8. Mt. Sinai

6. SWR

vs.

7. John Glenn

I thought John Glenn would get a higher seed and I still think the Knights got a raw deal here. As I said before, League VII wasn't that bad this year. Glenn, Mattituck and Mt. Sinai were three formidable teams at the top. With a seven seed, that means Glenn basically would have needed to go undefeated to earn a respectable seed. Very tough break.

Everyone else falls into line about where expected. 

Miller Place with Dan Cavazzini will be a good matchup against Mt. Sinai's Jason Dierkes. The question for Mt. Sinai come playoff time is always can they field the ball? If the Mustangs make plays in the field, they can win. If not, it can get ugly.

SWR gets Glenn in the first round which can be a tricky matchup. The Knights will obviously be looking to show they deserved a higher seed and will come out firing.

I like Rocky Point's chances against Harborfields. I'm not sure why. Jim Frevola has had the Eagles' number the past two years and should get the ball in this game. I think the Eagles, though, can hang around long enough to pull that came out late. If they lose, though, they still move on to play the winner of Shoreham-Glenn. A win and they play the winner of Islip-Sayville.

Here's how the softball brackets look for Class A:

1. East Hampton

5. Islip

vs. 

4. Miller Place

3. Eastport-South Manor

vs. 

6. Westhampton

2. Mt. Sinai

I was real surprised to see Mt. Sinai, for the first time, earn a top seed. The Mustangs lost only one game this year, but their regular season success in League VII usually earned them a lower seed, just like Glenn in baseball. It's interesting how in the same year, one really good League VII baseball team gets a bad seed and a really good League VII softball team gets a top seed. Different committee, different results.

So anyway, the Mustangs now have a first round bye and await the winner of Eastport-Westhampton Saturday. 

Miller Place faces Islip, a familiar postseason foe. This year, though, the Panthers get Islip at home. The winner of that game advances to face Jessie Stavola and East Hampton.

Baseball games are 4 p.m. Wednesday. Softball starts 4 p.m. Thursday.

Tennis brackets posted

Boys tennis brackets are in and matches are set for Tuesday.

Two local teams qualified for the tournament.

No. 13 Longwood will travel to No. 4 Islip.

No. 15 Miller Place will travel to No. 2 Half Hollow Hills East.

Islip went 12-3 overall while playing in League III, the upper league of Division II. Hills East went 15-2 playing League I, the most competitive league in the county.

Matches are set for 4 p.m., although tennis usually starts earlier than the posted time, since they don't have to wait for officials.

Softball Predictions

Here's a look at how I see the softball brackets shaping up:

We're looking at a six-team bracket in Class A, so the top two seeds will get a bye.

1. East Hampton (18-1, League VI)

5. Islip (10-9, League V)

vs.

4. Mt. Sinai (16-1, League VII)

6. Westhampton (9-9, League VI)

vs.

3. Miller Place (16-5, League VI)

2. Eastport/South Manor (15-4, League V. The only team to beat East Hampton this year.)

If this holds up, Mt. Sinai is on pace to head to East Hampton in the second round, should the Mustangs win in the first round. The Mustangs will have the advantage of needing to beat Jessie Stavola only once. Miller Place, on the other hand, will have to face East Hampton, should the Panthers win their first two games, in the county championship — a best of three.

Coaches seem to prefer their luck in a best of three. But let's be honest. The longer a series is, the advantage leans toward the better team. So it's probably better to face East Hampton in one game, winner take all. Eastport-South Manor, though, will be an equally tough task in the second round for any team. Easport is the only team this season to defeat East Hampton. Those two teams would have to be the favorites to meet in the county championship. The Panthers, though, did beat Eastport, 1-0, this season.

SWR's Lax Out Cancer

From LaxVideos:

Eagles share League VI title with Harborfields

The Rocky Point baseball team defeated Shoreham-Wading River Thursday to clinch a share of its first league title. The Eagles finished 14-4 and should be in position for a top-four seed in the double elimination bracket.

Here's my prediction of how the seeding will look:

1. Islip (League V, 15-3)

vs.

4. John Glenn (League VII, 13-4, one game remaining)

2. Harborfields (League VI, 14-4)

vs.

3. Rocky Point (League VI, 14-4)

5. Sayville (League V, 13-5)

vs.

8. Mt. Sinai (League VII, 12-6)

6. Miller Place (League VI, 13-5)

vs.

7. Shoreham-Wading River (League VI, 11-7)

Now, a couple things that could change:

Does Sayville, as a League V school, get a higher nod simply because it's a League V school? It could happen, which could knock Glenn or Rocky Point potentially out of the top-4. I think it'd be grossly unfair to give either Harborfields or Rocky  Point a top-four seed and not the other school. So I'm saying they both have to be top four as of course Islip will be one. If Glenn ends up winning Saturday against Mattituck and taking the league title, then the Knights deserve a four seed. IF they lose Saturday, then I can see them falling to five, and Sayville jumping ahead of them.

You can also argue Mt. Sinai, with a better record, should be seeded higher than SWR, which has one more loss. Mt. Sinai played in League VII, yes, but League VII was pretty good this year. Mattituck and Glenn were both legit teams. So that could flip.

You also run into situations sometimes where the seeding committee tries to split up teams that are in the same league in the first round. If that factors in, the seedings can change as well.

We'll find out for sure in a few days.

John Starks and YouTube

John Starks visited Longwood Middle School Friday, which I wrote about in this week's Extra Point, available on newsstands everywhere Friday. (Well, maybe not everywhere, but most places in the Wading River to Mt. Sinai area).

Starks was always my favorite Knick growing up. I still have the poster of his dunk in Game 2 against the Bulls in '93 hanging on my wall. 

In the spirit of Starks' visit, I thought I'd link up some of my favorite YouTube Knick videos for you folks to enjoy.

If you were like me growing up in the '90s and a sports fan in New York, you loved those Knicks. Their battles with Chicago, Indiana and Miami were legendary. While the Knicks never won a title in those years, they truly gave everything they had each season. They always played hard and always battled to the end. If not for Jordan, they likely would have won a title or two, or three.

Looking at the debacle the Knicks have become now, it makes those years in the '90s all the more special and remarkable. Who knows, maybe one day in the next decade the Garden will rock again like it once did when No. 3, Jooooohn Starks!! roamed the hardwood.

The NBA hasn't been the same since the NBA on NBC days...Oh, I how miss those days...

The greatest team introductions! This kind of intensity at the Garden hasn't been around in about a decade.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCG1u3b2YcU&feature=related

Interesting fact...

I wish I would have had this before deadline, but it turns out the Longwood boys track team from 1970 until now has only lost six dual meets combined! The Lions lost at home Tuesday to Middle Country, which likely gives MC the League I title.

According to Tony Toro, in 1986 the Lions lost by one point to Half Hollow Hills. It's been domination ever since.

That's quite a stretch of success.

Busy Thursday in SunLand

Thursday's pose an inherent problem for us at the North Shore Sun. As a weekly paper that publishes on Friday, stories need to be written by Thursday morning. That means anything that happens Thursday afternoon or later doesn't make the cut in the following day's paper. We're not like Newsday, which goes to press around 11 p.m. to arrive at your doorstep at 5 a.m.

But anyway, Thursday is always a busy day in the sports scene, especially in the spring. So it's always a little tricky to try to look ahead to how Thursday will play out when putting together the paper. In this week's paper, our lead sports story is the Rocky Point boys lacrosse team, which has established itself as the top team in Suffolk Class B. But the story I wrote focused on the team's win against Shoreham-Wading River. The only problem there was, the Eagles played Thursday against Sayville, one of the top teams in D-II. So this was a case where I admit I was hoping to see the Eagles prevail against Sayville, just so when our paper comes out tomorrow, it doesn't look silly to have "Sky's the limit" as the headline. So this week it worked out well and tomorrow's paper makes sense.

Thursday was a very good day overall on the boys lacrosse scene. The Eagles' win inches them closer to the top seed in the playoffs. Shoreham-Wading River bounced back from a loss to Rocky Point Friday to win two straight, including a huge win against Comsewogue, 6-4. Sayville and Comsewogue both have three league losses, so Rocky Point and Shoreham are set to take the one and two seeds. That of course means they would each be one win away from the county championship game, most likely to face each other once again.

Mount Sinai beat Babylon 10-3, enacting small revenge on the team that ended its season last year in the first round of the Class C playoffs. The Mustangs are playing so well right now, I don't see any team in Suffolk Class C hanging with them. Suffolk Class C is Mount Sinai's to lose. Is it to early to start talking about a Mount Sinai-Manhasset Long Island Championship game? Perhaps ... We'll get a good gauge at how much Mount Sinai has improved from the beginning of the season when it faces Rocky Point Wednesday. This game doesn't mean much for Mount Sinai in terms of standings or playoff seeding. But if the Mustangs can limit the Eagles' offensive attack, that'll be another huge confidence boost heading into the playoffs. Even if the Mustangs don't win, I think if they can play even with Rocky Point — a higher class school that's currently ranked No. 1 in the state — for a long stretch, that'll serve it's purpose.

Enough for boys lacrosse now, let's shift gears to baseball.

Rocky Point won the rubber match against Miller Place Thursday afternoon, 8-7, to improve to 

12-3 in League VI. The good news for the Eagles was Shoreham-Wading River defeated Harborfields to salvage the third game of the series. So with three games to go, Rocky Point and Harborfields are tied at 12-3. Sound familiar? It came down to the same two teams last year.

The bad news for Rocky Point is Harborfields won the season series from the Eagles and ends the season against a weaker team, Westhampton. Rocky Point plays Shoreham. For the Eagles to win this outright, they'll likely need to sweep Shoreham. The Wildcats are a good team, so I don't see that happening. 

However it plays out, it's been a terrific season for Rocky Point. I have to admit, I didn't envision the Eagles sitting here with one week to go tied for first place. After losing most of their pitching from last year, the Eagles have picked up right where they left off and are good enough to reach the county championship again.

I thought Miller Place — with two stud pitchers and the best center fielder around — had the best stuff to win the league. But ever since losing two of three to Harborfields, the Panthers have struggled and are giving away games that they had locked up. Now it looks like the Panthers won't be in the double elimination format and the Eagles will.

It'll be interesting to see how these playoffs unfold with the new format. 

Stay tuned this week to see what team emerges as the League VI champ.

SWR's OT win against RP

The final minutes of SWR's overtime win against Rocky Point Thursday:

You got to love YouTube.

State Lax Rankings (through April 27)

BOYS
Class B

    Team Section Record Prev. Ranking
1. Garden City- 8 7-2 3.
2. Rocky Point- 11 9-1 4.
3. Lynbrook- 8 8-1 5.
4. John Jay Cross River- 1 8-2 6.
5. Jamesville-DeWitt- 3 8-2 8.
6. Carthage- 3 9-1 1.
7. S.Wading River- 11 7-3 2.
8. South Side- 8 6-3 12.
9. Chenango Forks- 4 9-1 11.
10. Hamburg- 6 7-0 13.
11. Comsewogue- 11 7-2 10.
12. Sayville- 11 6-2 9.
13. Jericho- 8 6-2 7.
14. Brewster- 1 7-3 NR
15. Geneva- 5 6-2 NR

Class C
===== ==================== ===== =====
1. LaFayette- 3 8-1 4.
2. Manhasset- 8 6-2 1.
3. Mount Sinai- 11 8-2 5.
4. Cold Spring Harbor- 8 7-2 6.
5. Corning East- 4 7-2 3.
6. Rye- 1 7-2 7.
7. Homer- 3 10-1 2.
8. John Glenn- 11 8-2 9.
9. Cazenovia- 3 7-1 10-T
10. Salmon River- 10 5-0 10-T
11. Syracuse- CBA 6-2 NR
12. Watertown Heart- 3 5-2 NR
13. Penn Yan- 5 5-4 8.
14. Canton- 10 4-2 NR
15. Byram Hills- 1 8-2 NR

GIRLS
Team Section Record Prev. Ranking
1. Garden City- 8 10-0  1.
2. Rocky Point- 11 6-1 2.
3. Brighton- 5 7-0 3.
4. Canandaigua- 5 8-1 5.
5. Irondequoit- 5 5-1 4.
6. Carthage- 3 4-3 7.
7. Wantagh- 8 4-3-1 9.
8. Yorktown- 1 6-2 6.
9. Eastport- 11 7-2 11.
10. Niskayuna- 2 6-4 10.
11. Watertown- 3 7-0 8.
12. Hauppauge- 11 3-5 12.
13. South Side- 8 5-3 13.
14. Sayville- 11 4-5 14.
15. Lynbrook- 8 4-3-1 19.
16. East Syracuse-Minoa- 3 3-4 NR
17. Lake Shore- 6 7-0 16.
18. Hamburg- 6 3-1-1 NR
19. Fulton- 3 5-2 18.
20. Averill Park- 2 7-2 20.

Class C
===== ==================== ===== =====
1. S.-Wading River- 11 9-0 1.
2. East Rochester- 5 8-0 2.
3. Manhasset- 8 7-1 5.
4. Westhill- 3 9-2 6.
5. North Shore- 8 9-2 7.
6. Skaneateles- 3 6-4 3.
7. Syracuse CBA- 3 3-3 4.
8. Marcellus- 3 7-2 10.
9. Cazenovia- 3 7-2 8.
10. Cortland- 3 7-1 9.
11. Honeoye Falls-Lima- 5 2-3 NR
12. Jamesville-DeWitt- 3 8-2 12.
13. Carle Place- 8 6-2-1 17.
14. Cold Spring Harrbor- 8 6-6 18.
15. Chittenango- 3 8-1 15.
16. Nanuet- 1 6-2 NR
17. Albany Academy- 2 5-0 13.
18. Bishop Ludden- 3 3-3 14.
19. Bayport- 11 7-2 20.
20. Sacred Heart- CHSAA 5-2-1 NR

SWR girls defeat Rocky Point

How else would it end? It was only fitting the Shoreham-Wading River-Rocky Point girls lacrosse game would end in double overtime.

The Wildcats won 11-10 on a goal by Kaitlyn Brosco, assisted by Kaitlin Rochler, with 45 seconds left in second overtime.

A real big win for the Wildcats and their first against Rocky Point since what was the small school championship in '05. This takes any pressure off the undefeated Wildcats heading into Saturday's game against defending state champion Garden City.

As for Rocky Point, well, this is the team's second loss of the season. Both have come by one goal. The Eagles also fell to Farmingdale.

That stat that really jumps out in this one is the saves. SWR's Michelle Verbeeck: 11. RP's Brianne LoManto: 6. Coach Bob Vlahakis has rotated goalies in all season, but in a tight contest against a very talented team, he stuck with Verbeeck throughout and she delivered. Verbeeck may not be as well-known as LoManto, especially since she rarely plays a full game, but in a big game, this girl seems to come through. We saw it last year in the state championship run and it looks like come playoff time, Verbeeck will be the goalie Vlahakis turns to.

We'll see now if Vlahakis sticks with her Saturday against Garden City. This is a test on a whole other level. Garden City is 3-0 lifetime against Shoreham, but every game has been close.

Rocky Point will need to rebound against Northport Saturday and prove it can beat a top-notch team. Northport is ranked third in the state on the laxpower.com rankings, below only West Genesee and Garden City. For the Eagles, though, maybe these few losses are a good thing. After all, they were 19-0 the past two years going into the LI title game. Maybe this year, with a couple losses, it'll be the year they can win it. Things work out funny that way sometimes.

If the Wildcats can in fact get past Garden City Saturday, the potential is there for them to run the table. If they're looking for a way to top last year's state title, well, that would be it. Of course, getting past Garden City is something no team the past few years has figured out how to do.