BENESCH, CRAWFORD AND MACINTOSH WILL SUIT UP AS WEST RESERVES - The three will join team captain Andrew Suitor on Feb. 25 in Buffalo, New York

SAINT PAUL, Minn. – The National Lacrosse League (NLL) today announced that Minnesota Swarm forwards Ryan Benesch and Callum Crawford, along with Swarm rookie T Jordan MacIntosh have been selected as reserves for the West in the 2012 NLL All-Star game.

Benesch and Crawford will be making their second straight appearance to the All-Star Game in 2012. MacIntosh is the first player in Swarm history to be selected to an All-Star Game as a rookie.

For the second year in a row, four Swarm players will head to the All-Star Game. Transition player Andrew Suitor, the recently appointed team captain, was named a starter for the West earlier this week.

“It’s a true testament to everything that we have tried to put together here,” Associate General Manager and Assistant Coach Joe Sullivan said. “In Suitor and MacIntosh, they are real young players in this league, yet they have already created such an impact and they are noticed throughout the league for what they do on the floor. Crawford and Benesch work so hard to distribute their leadership on and off of the floor. I was really happy to see that they got noticed. I don’t think that anybody works harder than they do.”

Read more...

Eden Prairie, MN (February 4, 2012) - Former Vikings DE/LB Chris Doleman was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame today. Chosen by the Hall’s Board of Selectors, Doleman joins 10 former Vikings who have also earned the prestigious honor. He will be enshrined in Canton on Saturday, August 4, 2012.

“Having watched Chris enter the Vikings Ring of Honor this past season, we’re very excited that he has now been chosen as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2012,” said Vikings Owner/Chairman Zygi Wilf. “Chris was a very important part of the organization’s success for 10 years and his accomplishments on the field speak for themselves. He has earned this honor and we look forward to celebrating his enshrinement in Canton in August.”

Doleman was selected by the Vikings with the fourth overall pick in the 1985 draft as a LB out of Pittsburgh. He made the move to DE toward the end of his second NFL season and went on to lead the Vikings in sacks six times. Doleman had 10 or more sacks eight times in his career and his total of 150.5 sacks ranks fourth all-time in league history. In 1989, he led the NFL with 21.0 sacks, the fourth-most in a single season in NFL history. Doleman’s ability to strip the football was legendary, as he notched 45 career forced fumbles and recovered 24 fumbles.

Read more...

“I got home last night from recruiting and my oldest daughter said she had just heard. Fifteen minutes later, my youngest daughter at Murray State called. That's two girls from a coach's family reacting to it. That really sums up his impact. It hits home. He coached for 60 years with more than 100 players per year. Think about how many lives he touched, how many good things he has done.

“From my family to the Paterno family, our prayers go out to them. It's a sad day for football, but a good day for the man upstairs."

“I would tell people not to forget what that guy has done. To coach for 60 years in one place, that just won't ever happen again. I didn't get to coach against him. But I got to coach in the Big Ten, sit next to him at a meeting and have my picture taken with him. That's something I will never forget.”