Matt Conrad

I have a confession to make: I was never really all that into sports. Not at first, anyway. I casually followed baseball and hockey, but wasn't one of those guys who could recite stats or name 500 different players. And I was in the marching band in high school, but really couldn't care less about how our thoroughly mediocre football team did.

Their final game isn't for two weeks, but for the Quakers, tomorrow's matchup might as well be the last one. No. 8 Maryland visits Franklin Field tomorrow in a game that may be the Penn men's lacrosse team's last hope for a playoff bid. While the regular-season finale is on May 5 against Denver, a win against the ACC powerhouse could put Penn (6-5, 3-3 Ivy) squarely on the bubble.

With 51 seconds left in the third quarter of Friday's game, Ari Sussman scored a goal for Dartmouth, putting Penn in a 7-3 hole with just one quarter to play. I was covering the game for the DP, and wrote in my notepad ":51, Sussman. Last nail in the coffin?" Shows how much I know.

In a spectacular and emotional comeback, Penn managed to overcome a 7-3 deficit with five unanswered fourth-quarter goals, upending the Big Green 8-7.

Much has been said about the close of this past basketball season being the "end of an era" for Penn hoops. That may be true, but it may turn out to be something equally important: the beginning of another era for Ivy League basketball - one filled with greater balance and parity.

David Cornbrooks wants his ring back. It's the one he should have had last year. A little less than a month into its season, the Penn lacrosse team is off to a fast start, with an early leg up in the Ivy League standings and a weak Harvard team looming just ahead.

One hundred sixteen games, 79 wins and three Ivy League titles - that's a pretty impressive accomplishment for the senior class of Stephen Danley, Adam Franklin, Ibrahim Jaaber and Mark Zoller. But how do they stack up with the greats from Penn - and the rest of the League - who have graced Ivy gymnasiums over the past four years?

A preseason No. 13, the men's lacrosse team has since fallen from the rankings, despite a 10-6 win over Villanova Friday. But their home opener against Lehigh this evening will present a chance for the Quakers to break into the top 20 again. Although not ranked, Lehigh is coming off a big win, an 8-6 upset of No.

The Ivy League has always has somewhat of a masochistic side. Between disallowing athletic scholarships and prohibiting teams from participating in the football playoffs, the Ancient Eight has spent the better part of a century doing what it can to sabotage its athletic prowess.

2007 is a new year - and if Penn can overcome some key losses and Ivy League opposition that is among the best in the nation, this may be the Quakers' year to reach the top.