Even the die-hardiest Denver lacrosse fans can be forgiven for any confusion this weekend when the Toronto Nationals visit the Denver Outlaws for the biggest game so far in the current Major League Lacrosse season.
Gary Gait. Geoff Snider. Gavin Prout. Jeff Zywicki.
All mainstays on the Colorado lacrosse scene in recent years . . . who now play for the Nationals.
A game program with rosters and numbers and biographies will be a must when the Nationals (4-1) and Outlaws (4-1) — the best two teams in the MLL — meet Saturday (7 p.m. faceoff) at Invesco Field at Mile High.
As if the stakes weren’t high enough with first place on the line, the game will also be a kind of rematch of last season’s MLL championship game. The Rochester Rattlers, who defeated the Outlaws 16-6 to win the MLL title, dissolved after the season. But many of their players moved to the newly formed Nationals.
Those players include Prout, who also plays for the Colorado Mammoth in the indoor National Lacrosse League; and Zywicki, a former Outlaws player.
Gait, of course, is the Hall of Fame ex-coach and player who led the Mammoth to an NLL title. And Snider, a former Outlaws standout, starred at the University of Denver.
The Outlaws, riding a four-game winning streak, got some good news and bad news this week from the MLL front office. After a fight-filled, 16-9 win over the Long Island Lizards on June 13, the league retorted with heavy fines. Denver’s Brian Langtry was fined and Tom Ethington, Josh Sims and coach Brian Reese were issued warnings about the game, which featured 15 penalties and a number of scuffles. The league also suspended two Long Island players.
The Outlaws will be at full strength and are led by Brendan Mundorf, whose 20 points rank third in the MLL this season. His 16 goals are best in the league.
Major League Lacrosse
Denver Outlaws vs. Toronto Nationals
A matchup of the league’s two best teams
At Invesco Field, Saturday, 7 p.m.
AROUND TOWN
Champions to be crowned.
Father’s Day and eve will double as a championship weekend Saturday and Sunday as titles will be doled out in rugby and tennis.
The Churchill Cup moves to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Sunday with three rugby games. The England Saxons and Ireland A will contest the championship game at 2:30 p.m., with England going for its third consecutive title and fifth overall. The Argentina Jaguars and Canada precede the championship game at noon, and the USA Eagles meet Georgia at 4:30 p.m.
In the Denver City Open tennis tournament, the men’s and women’s open singles brackets will be decided with Saturday’s semifinals (men 9 a.m., women 9:30 a.m.) and Sunday’s finals (men 10:30 a.m. and women 9 a.m.).
STAY ON THE COUCH
Trying to tame Bethpage.
Next time you hear someone around the office brag about having a 5-handicap, put it in perspective. The 109th U.S. Open, which teed off Thursday at Bethpage State Park’s Black Course on Long Island, plays at a hefty 7,426 yards — and par is 70!
A muni course 5-handicap wouldn’t get you off the driving range at the U.S. Open. So by the time the final round starts, the remaining golfers fighting for the top of the leaderboard will certainly have earned it.
For background, Tiger Woods is trying to repeat as Open champ — it’s the only major he hasn’t won consecutively. And Phil Mickelson has never finished worse than fourth at Opens hosted in New York.
The U.S. Open airs on ESPN and KUSA-9 today, then on KUSA-9 on Saturday and Sunday.
GET OFF THE COUCH
Feet, don’t fail me now.
Two Father’s Day runs up north will help end a busy weekend full of recreation events.
The Father’s Day 5K run and Walk in Old Town Fort Collins starts at 8 a.m. and finishes with root beer floats. And the third Kiwanis Father’s Day Family 5K in Windsor starts at 8 a.m. and runs around the lake in Boardwalk Park.
And the fun starts before Sunday, with some highlights:
• The Shake, Rattle and Stroll 5K and 1K runs around Washington Park in Denver on Saturday at 9 a.m., for the Parkinson Association of the Rockies (parkinsonrockies.org).
• The Kremmling Classic Trail Run on Saturday starts at the Town Square Park before hitting the trails at 8 a.m. (lakecity50.com).
• And the Journey to Justice 5K run and walk goes out from the Aurora Municipal Center on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. in remembrance of Javad Marshall-Fields and Vivian Wolfe (journeytojustice.org).
WHAT WE’D LIKE TO SEE
Stampede gaining strength.
Now in its 25th year — and still gaining popularity — the Stadium Stampede 5K is set for Sunday morning at Invesco Field at Mile High.
The 5K run, 5K walk, fun run and Huff ‘n’ Puff 1K start and finish at the Broncos’ home field. The races run up and down the South Platte River and around and through the stadium.
The race is a benefit for charity medical care at Saint Joseph Hospital.
The 5K is one of 16 legs in the Colorado Runner Racing Series.
Check for info.
