NC Fusion Men's League Recap: Week 6

Pull up a chair. Grab a cold one. And somebody get Marty a contract.

Before we get into the games — and trust me, we're getting into the games — we need to address the elephant on the sideline. Marty was absent this week. No media. No sideline footage. No highlight reels. And before you panic, no, the man is not injured. He released a public memo. One line. And I quote: "Yesterday's price is not today's price."

That's it. That's the memo.

Some say Marty saw the buzz the platform and the men's league was generating — the social numbers, the PLL rumors, the Protect3D polls — and decided his services were being undervalued. He's holding out. New contract. Better terms. And honestly? The players are behind him. Reports are circulating that multiple guys across all four teams are planning to wear "Pay That Man" t-shirts during warmups next week. Solidarity. Unity. A labor movement born out of a men's recreational lacrosse league in Greensboro, North Carolina. This is the world we live in now.

All media this week is fan-provided. We're working with what we've got. Thank you to the fans with camera phones and questionable angles. You are the backbone of this operation.

PLL Watch: The Chaos Connection

Speaking of the PLL — they're still sniffing around. And let me ask you a question. Is it a coincidence that the PLL placed the Chaos in the Carolinas? Or does it make perfect sense, given that a proper synonym for Adult Men's Recreational League Lacrosse is, quite literally, the Chaos Developmental League? Think about it. Let that marinate.

Grant Ament and Players Academy are still reportedly heading down to run a clinic. And listen — when they get here, chirp up. Talk your talk. Show these guys what Sunday nights in Greensboro look like. But for the love of the game, do not suit up in a youth-medium to try and play in the clinic. I'm looking at you, Team Titans. You know who you are. Your shoulders do not fit in that jersey and everybody knows it. Show up. Be cool. Leave the youth gear at home.

Also, one last note before we dive in. Shout out to the Greensboro College boys for delivering a 30-piece McNuggets to the fellas visiting from Brevard on Tuesday night. We see you!

Protect3D Player of the Week

This week's Protect3D Player of the Week poll is live — go vote. After the games we just had, this one's going to be a dogfight. Cast your vote and make your voice heard. Unless you're voting for yourself. In which case, we've talked about this.

Titans 18 – Storm 17

Titans move to 6-0 (15-0 all-time) | Storm fall to 3-3

We told you this one was coming. We previewed it last week — Storm rolling, locked into the 2 seed, legitimate title contenders. The only team in the league with the talent and the depth to challenge the Titans' streak. And we were right. This was a barn burner.

The Storm came out hot. Not warm. Not ready. Hot. Rob "KeeperOfTheGatez" Innella has spent the last five weeks putting a target on his team's back the size of a billboard, and the Storm showed up with a staple gun. Aimery "Got That Dog In Me" Workman was working. Drew was getting it done on both ends. Quan was locking people down on defense. They were clicking on all cylinders, moving the ball like they'd been running sets all week instead of hydrating with domestic light beers.

The Storm's goalie was otherworldly in the first half — summoning shots to his stick like he had some kind of gravitational pull between the pipes. Meanwhile, Rob was doing what Rob does, which is follow a very specific and deeply unhinged three-act structure every single game: Act One — Open Door Policy. Shots are going in. It's fine. He's seen this before. Act Two — Darkness. Halftime. Rob is staring at a wall. Not talking to anyone. Not making eye contact. Processing something no one else can see. Act Three — Second half Rob emerges, fully operational, chirping at maximum volume. The cycle is complete.

At halftime, the Storm were up by one. I repeat: the Titans were losing at halftime. Mark it down. Write it in the history books. Photograph the scoreboard. It may never happen again.

But lacrosse is a game of momentum, and the waves kept shifting tide in the second half. Chase "Kayaking" Henderson woke up after a late arrival and his shots started to drop. Matt "The Doctor" Manning continued his surgical consistency, extending his consecutive-games-with-a-goal streak — the man doesn't have highlight reel nights because he has highlight reel seasons. Ryan "Behind The Scenes" Gehsmann was getting to the crease doing the dirty work nobody tweets about. And the combo of Andrew McLaughlin and AJ "Headband AJ" Girolamo buttoned up the Titans defense in the second half like they were closing a vault.

Now. The play that will haunt someone's dreams.

Rob makes a clutch save — big moment, big stop — and serves it hot down the field to a guy who appeared to be stuck in cement for a one-on-one with the Storm's goalie. Go-ahead goal opportunity. Wide open. Career-defining moment. And what does he do? He robs Rob of his glorious stat line and makes the "one more" pass. Unnecessary? Yes. Every coach's dream? Well, maybe — if they scored. Connor "The Freshman From Williams" catches the ball clean, but the Storm's goalie read the shot and stuffed the youngster. A shot that will stick with him for a while. The kind of save that replays in your head at 2 AM for the next six Tuesdays.

Now Rob is really chirping. He's yelling at his team. He's yelling at the other team. He's yelling at himself. At one point Rob jumps out of the crease to swat an opponent's pass down and it turns into a Titans fast break. The man was starting to show why he won Protect3D Player of the Week — again. This is not a goalie. This is a chaos agent with pads.

Under two minutes, the Titans go up one. Rob is calling for his boys to slow the pace. But come on, Rob — that's not what stallions step on the field for. They're there to run. It backfired. The Storm tied it up. The crowd starts buzzing. Game of momentum, and the Storm is brewing.

But in classic fashion — Bryce "Butter On The Top Shelf" Craig gets crease-side seats like a baddie at an NBA game and Rob hits him with the dime. Bryce just drops it off for the go-ahead goal. Titans win by one. 18-17. Fifteen straight. The streak lives.

The Storm fall back to .500 at 3-3. This wasn't a loss to be ashamed of. This was the best game the league has seen all season. But moral victories don't show up in the standings.

Grinders 20 – NightHawks 19

Grinders move to 1-5 | NightHawks fall to 2-3

A lot to unpack here. Pour another one.

THE GRINDERS HAVE WON A GAME.

Five weeks of fourth quarter collapses. Five weeks of one-goal losses. Five weeks of us in this very column questioning their defense, their accountability, and their general will to live. And in Week 6, they finally — FINALLY — locked in when it mattered. The monkey is off the back. The curse is broken. The Grinders are in the win column. Somebody call a priest because the exorcism worked.

But let's talk about the real headline first: Duncan "D-Murda" Glover is back.

If you remember last week, D-Murda was missing during the NightHawks' loss to the Titans. Rumors were swirling — a suspension for thumbing, a fine, community service in Florida. Whatever the case may be, Duncan showed up this week. He took no questions from the press. He laced up a new looksmaxxing pair of cleats with "MVP-Murda” written on the side to remind everyone of their place in the pecking order. Fine or no fine, the man was showing he can flex on and off the field.

And there's more — the stick that was tormenting the league is no more. It broke. The weapon is gone. More on that in a moment.

To start the game, Rob "KeeperOfTheGatez" Innella stepped into the cage for the NightHawks while the goalie from Forsyth Country Day School was on the way. So what does Duncan do? Drives down the left lane and throws an around-the-world with his right to sting top right. Vintage D-Murda. In a post-game presser, Rob said he swore Duncan was going five-hole and got made to look silly. Within five minutes Rob was out and the FCDS goalie was in. Even in a cameo, Rob finds a way to generate content.

The game went back and forth from there. For the NightHawks — Anthony "The Orange Guy" Kovarick was getting to his left, Griff "The Humble Goalie" Glover was standing tall making doorstop saves, and Ern "TBD" Smith was breezing by people on offense and locking them up on the other side of the field. The man needs a permanent nickname and he's auditioning every week. For the Grinders — Zach "Frohne" Frohne was flowing through the defense in his long sleeves as normal, because the man simply does not dress for the weather or the occasion. Henry "Holy Schnikes" Sloyan was slinging it. And Denis "Harry Potter" Radcliffe was a wizard out there until he went with the behind-the-back heat check and missed the cage entirely. You were a wizard, Denis. And then you were a wizard who got too confident with a spell he hadn't practiced.

Now. The moment. The stick. The legend. The death.

At one point in the first half, Anthony "The Orange Guy" Kovarick drives left and rolls, passing it back to Duncan "D-Murda" Glover, who catches it and starts to streak down the middle winding up his left. And just as he shoots, just as he follows through — his stick leaves his hand. Like when your parents walk in without knocking. The stick ejects the opposite direction of the shot. Gone. Some say the stick had so much whip and pinch that it imploded like a black hole. D-Murda says the sidewall busted. Watch the tape. You decide.

This leads to Frohne getting the opportunity every player dreams of — star rival drops his stick and the ball is still sitting in it. Wide open. Nobody between him and glory. What do you do? You launch it. Right? RIGHT??

No. He gently rolls it over, scoops the ground ball, and takes it to the house. Even Griff "The Humble Goalie" Glover was showing off too, taking it coast to coast at one point, and on the way back down could be heard saying "Do that, Rob!" The disrespect is generational.

Going into the fourth quarter, the Grinders are up four. It's looking like a Sloyan highlight reel. And like normal, we're expecting the Grinders' defense to start doing what it does best — disappear. But credit where credit is due. The boys heard the advice. They locked in. They locked down on defense. Whatever was said in the huddle after three quarters, whatever switch finally flipped, it worked. For the first time all season, the Grinders played a full fourth quarter of actual, accountable defense.

Now, some will say "Well, D-Murda was using Joe Schmoe's stick." And sure, that's fair. But I still watched the guy post up — looking like Chet Holmgren — and drop off a behind-the-back shot over the goalie's shoulder. With a borrowed stick. The man is a menace regardless of the equipment.

With under 30 seconds left and the Grinders up two, the NightHawks get the ball to D-Murda, who knows exactly what to do. The only problem is, so do the Grinders. As Duncan begins to drive, the ball pops out and up. D-Murda summons it back to his wand and continues, leading to a three-man gang tackle from the Grinders. What happens next? A flag? No. D-Murda arises like a Phoenix from the ashes and scores on the doorstep right before time expires. NightHawks lose by one.

But the Grinders win. And that's the story. 1-5. The first W. It's not pretty, it's not a dynasty, but it's theirs.

HOUSEKEEPING

• Games are at 9:30a.m. and 10:30a.m. next Sunday — check your schedule.
• Grant Ament and the Players Academy — can’t talk about this enough, get you boys signed up!