The road to the 16

everyone is waiting to find out  - how is Johns Hopkins doing.

Well, the Js are 2 - 0.  The Black and Blue held off a 18 th ranked Delaware Blue Hens team.  I watched the game last night on a cartoon website called GameTracker and an in-game blog from Laxpower.com.  I used to be able to listen to games from ESPN 1300 but somehow those broadcasts are no longer available here in Canada.

BTW - some history buffs clain that the team name comes from a match where JHU got beat up pretty bad.  The announcer said look at those " black and blue j
s - as in JHU " - aha the birth of a team name.

To be fair to Hop not many teams would want to start the season w/ games against Towson University and U. Delaware. Both teams are well schooled and not push overs.
However, every year, JHU plays a schedule pretty much the same as this year.  Hop plays 6 teams ranked in the top 20 this year.  As well, their schedule includes in-state rivals U.Maryland, Towson, Loyola University and the Naval Academy. these guys are not panty waists either.
So looking ahead which the team should not do, there is a short stretch w/ games against Syracuse, Virginia and North Carolina.
Each year, Hopkins pins its hopes of a place in the sweet 16 of Div 1 lacrosse w/ a Strength of Schedule rating and a winning record.  Hopkins is an independent team and has an enviable ( and to some a fortuitous and bias ) record of 42 straight appearances in the final 16. 
" Bias " b/c each year, there is a selection process overseen by D1 coaches. And each year questions are raised about who makes the cut and who doesn't and why. The most common outcry each year, is the "  bias " favouring teams w/ a long history of  participating and located in the East, specifically, the Baltimore - D.C. area.
Comically, some criticism, sees the bias as all of the East, east of the Mississippi. In fact , I sometimes think these critics include Ohio State and Notre Dame.
I really think that the teams from Upper NY state and Pennsylvania feel they get outed b/c they're not from the traditional base of lacrosse. And poor Duke and North Carolina feel they get rotted b/c they're too far south.  Look out Jacksonville.