A quick heads up -- with The Washington Times' new website launch, the URL for our sports blogs are going to change. Instead of video1.washingtontimes.com/d1scourse, you can reach D1scourse at www.washingtontimes.com/weblogs/d1scourse.

We're still working out the kinks but the updates should be steady starting tomorrow.

The first major, non-scandal ridden opening among the elite in college lacrosse in quite some time has been made official.

John Haus is out after eight seasons at North Carolina.

The case can be made that this is the biggest prize available since the Maryland job opened in September 2001 with the retirement of Dick Edell and the Terrapins' ensuing hire of Dave Cottle from Loyola. The Greyhounds then plucked Bill Dirrigl from Rutgers, and that didn't work out too well.

The notable jobs open in recent years were Duke (after the rape accusations in 2006), Hofstra (because John Danowski left for Duke) and Army (after Jack Emmer retired).

Carolina could be better than all of them. There is tradition. There are facilities. There is Chapel Hill, which is alluring for young and old alike.

It's amazing the Tar Heels haven't won an ACC game since 2004, an ACC tournament game since 1996 and an NCAA quarterfinal since 1993.

Maybe someone can change the direction of the program. Haus, despite back--to-back tournament appearances, wasn't the one to do it.

CHAPEL HILL --- John Haus will not return for his ninth season as head coach of the University of North Carolina men's lacrosse team.

"John and I have had several discussions in the days since the season ended and the result of those talks is that we agree a change is in the best interest of reaching the goals we all have for Carolina Lacrosse," says Director of Athletics Dick Baddour. "John has spent the past eight years giving everything he had to our program. I have a great deal of respect for him as we arrive at this decision. John and his family love Chapel Hill and the University and it is regrettable a change had to happen. We are thankful to him for all he has given to his alma mater."

"I am disappointed to no longer be coaching at Carolina," says Haus. "We have built a solid foundation for future success, but this is the best way for the program to take that next step and I wish my successor the best in doing that. My family and I have really enjoyed the eight years we have spent in Chapel Hill. It was a great honor to coach here. I wish the young men who played for me nothing but the best."

Haus competes his tenure as Carolina's head coach with an overall record of 58-52. The Tar Heels went 8-6 and reached the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament.

--- Patrick Stevens

Got back from Foxboro(Ugh) last night after seeing an entertaining --- though not, in the final analysis, close --- title game. Congrats to Syracuse for winning the title everyone assumed would be going to Duke.

The Orange have a passel of great stories --- from rallying back from last year's 5-8 season to the myriad personal tragedies of those in the program to the dire need for the Syracuse athletic department to receive some good news.

It is a school, after all, that has a Hall of Fame basketball coach producing NIT berths and a football coach whose tenure in the Dome is, to date, remarkably bad. Bad enough he might be the best bet of any of the 120 major college coaches to not occupy his current station in another seven months.

Back to lacrosse. There are still some details to go over in the next week or so, and rankings are a start.

This will be one of two top 20s to be posted this week.

This is the final 2008 lacrosse top 20, at least from one voter. The next one will be the 2009 lookahead. After all, it's never too soon to do that --- and it would appear the first big change of the offseason will be the arrival of a new sheriff in Chapel Hill, since Inside Lacrosse reports John Haus has been ousted.

1. Syracuse (16-2)
2. Duke (18-2)
3. Johns Hopkins (11-6)
4. Virginia (14-4)
5. Maryland (10-6)
6. Notre Dame (14-3)
7. UMBC (12-4)
8. Ohio State (11-6)
9. Navy (10-6)
10. Colgate (11-6)
11. Cornell (11-4)
12. Georgetown (9-4)
13. North Carolina (8-6)
14. Hofstra (10-6)
15. Brown (11-3)
16. Drexel (13-4)
17. Denver (10-7)
18. Loyola (7-7)
19. Army (9-6)
20. Princeton (7-6)

--- Patrick Stevens

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. --- Let's keep this short and sweet.

A low-scoring affair favors Johns Hopkins.

A shootout portends a fine day for Syracuse.

Trouble for Syracuse is, the Hop has shown no inclination to play a shaky defensive game any time in the last seven weeks.

It was then the Blue Jays simplified their defense, clogging up the middle and pushing opponents off to the wings. It's made it easier for goalie Michael Gvozden to pick up the trajectory of shots, and a defense that does not have a bunch of groundball specialists isn't exposing its greatest weakness very often.

Syracuse has the goods to win its 10th national title. But the thought here is at around 3:15 p.m., the words "dynasty" and "Johns Hopkins" will be used in tandem once more. The Blue Jays escape with a 10-9 victory and celebrate their third championship in four years.

--- Patrick Stevens

Today's Syracuse-Hopkins final is the first title game between the teams since 1989, when the Orange rallied for a 13-12 victory.

Current Syracuse coach John Desko was an assistant coach back then. Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala was a star defenseman, and ESPN analyst and omnipresent voice of lacrosse Quint Kessenich was the Blue Jays' goalie.

Kessenich couldn't have drawn a much tougher assignment --- both Gary and Paul Gait, plus Tom Marechek --- and he came up with 17 saves.

Still, there's always a chance to tweak a former teammate, which the Washington Post's Christian Swezey saw an opening for when we were talking to Petro about the '89 game after yesterday's press conference.

"If you had a better goalie, you would have won," Swezey prodded.

"I can't say that," Petro said before breaking into a big smile. "I'd like to say that. I can't."

Maybe that can just be considered collateral for a comment or two Kessenich is sure to make that will irritate Hopkins fans this afternoon.

--- Patrick Stevens

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. --- Three things fifth-seeded Johns Hopkins (11-5) would be wise to do in this afternoon's title game.

* Keep up the goalie play. Michael Gvozden unleashed a remarkable Jesse Schwartzman imitation over the last month, and it turns out all the teeth-gnashing of the first half of the season was misplaced. The sophomore was remarkable against Duke on Saturday, and very well might need an encore against Syracuse. He seems up to the task with the help of defensemen Michael Evans, Matt Bocklet and Eric Zerrlaut.

* Tame the tempo. Sometimes conventional wisdom is right. Hopkins is built to win games 10-9 and 9-8. Syracuse, for all the talk of its improved defense, is still built to win shootouts. When Duke struggled to ignite its offense in the first quarter on Saturday, it was clear Hopkins had already secured a priceless in-game victory. Drawing things out again would exponentially improve the Blue Jays' title chances.

* Beware of Brooks. Hopkins doesn't need to be reminded of Syracuse midfielder Steven Brooks, who fired in the overtime game-winner in the teams' meeting earlier this season at Homewood. Mike Leveille will probably get his --- he had five goals despite a solid effort from Virginia's Ken Clausen on Saturday --- even with a great matchup, likely against Evans. Brooks, though, is a different sort of headache. If he is neutralized from outside, the Orange will lose a valuable option.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. --- Three things third-seeded Syracuse (15-2) would be wise to do in tomorrow's national final against Johns Hopkins:

* Create offense from everywhere. Johns Hopkins has demonstrated it can take a top player or two out of the flow of an offense. The Blue Jays were downright giddy to hold Matt Danowski and Zack Greer to a combined three goals and four assists, as well they should be. But Syracuse possesses far more options in the midfield than Duke --- Dan Hardy, Steven Brooks, Brendan Loftus, Matt Abbott, Pat Perritt. Those guys need to be in the mix, and the more they're heard from, the better off the 'Cuse will be.

* Win faceoffs cleanly. The Orange are accustomed to winning draws at a good clip, and Danny Brennan won nearly every faceoff against Virginia on which he wasn't called for a procedure violation. Stephen Peyser will be a much more difficult matchup, and the rotation of guys on the wings Hopkins can toss up are just as imposing. Sheer possessions will be more meaningful against a Hopkins team content to play a "first-to-10 goals, wins" style of play.

* Be wary of the attack. First of all, one of the most impressive performances from Saturday came from Syracuse defenseman Sid Smith, who did a superb job on Virginia's Ben Rubeor. The quiet day from the Cavaliers' star was far more the product of Smith's play than a bad day. However, the Hopkins attack has quietly improved throughout the season. Kevin Huntley is the reliable anchor, but Steven Boyle and Michael Doneger must be watched; those two could be the difference-makers for the Hop.

--- Patrick Stevens

Got the release late last night of the full All-America list, which is typically filled with a few head-scratching calls.

I'll follow up this up later with a little analysis, but feel free to offer some arguments for guys who were either overrated or snubbed in this process.

Here's the full list (courtesy of top-notch Navy SID Stacie Michaud; the USILA site doesn't even have them up yet), with the players from local teams in bold:

First Team

Attack - Matt Danowski (Duke), Zack Greer (Duke), Michael Leveille (Syracuse)

Midfield - Steven Brooks (Syracuse), Paul Rabil (Johns Hopkins), Max Seibald (Cornell), Nick O'Hara (Duke)

Defense - Jerry Lambe (Georgetown), Dan Cocoziello (Princeton), Ken Clausen (Virginia)

Goalkeeper - Joey Kemp (Notre Dame)

Second Team

Attack - Kevin Buchanan (Ohio State), Dan Glading (Virginia), Ben Rubeor (Virginia)

Midfield -Terry Kimener (UMBC), Jon Glynn (Cornell), Stephen Peyser (Johns Hopkins), Ned Crotty (Duke)

Defense - Joe Cinosky (Maryland), Jordan DiNola (Navy), Tony McDevitt (Duke)

Goalkeeper - Jordan Burke (Brown)

Third Team

Attack - Brandon Corp (Colgate), Kevin Huntley (Johns Hopkins), Max Quinzani (Duke)

Midfield - Matt Lalli (Colgate), Brad Ross (Duke), Ben Hunt (North Carolina), Matt Abbott (Syracuse), Brian Carroll (Virginia)

Defense - Matt Bocklet (Johns Hopkins), Michael Evans (Johns Hopkins), Sean Dougherty (Notre Dame)

Goalkeeper - Dan Loftus (Duke), Adam Fullerton (Army)

Honorable Mention

Attack - Joel Dalgarno (Ohio State), Nick Mirabito (Navy), Jordan McBride (Stony Brook), Ryan Smith (UMBC), Ryan Hurley (Cornell), Brendan Cannon (Georgetown), Ari Sussman (Dartmouth), Shane Koppens (Loyola), Garrett Billings (Virginia), Ryan Hoff (Notre Dame), Curtis Dickson (Delaware), Jamie Lincoln (Denver), Kenny Nims (Syracuse), Daryl Veltman (Hobart), Austin Winter (Bucknell)

Midfield - Justin Pennington (Rutgers), Mark Kovler (Princeton), Peter Lamade (Virginia), Mike Timms (Virginia), Mike Podgajny (Notre Dame), Dan Hardy (Syracuse), Dan Brennan (Syracuse), Adam Jones (Canisius), Jordan Levine (Albany), Peet Poillon (Ohio State), Jeff Reynolds (Maryland), Anthony Muscarella (Hofstra), Barney Ehrmann (Georgetown), Nick Tintle (North Carolina)

Defense - Bobby Atwell (UMBC), Matt Moyer (Cornell), Tim Kaiser (North Carolina), Sidney Smith (Syracuse), Kyle Guadagnolo (Syracuse), Ben Johnston (Providence), Parker McKee (Duke), Brian Farrell (Maryland)

Goalkeeper - Stefan Schroder (Ohio State), Andrew Adams (Penn State), Jeremy Blevins (UMBC), Bruce Bickford (Drexel), Grant Zimmerman (North Carolina), Alex Hewit (Princeton)

--- Patrick Stevens

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. --- It's been a while since I spent so much time in New England --- more than 20 years.

The most striking thing: The omnipresence of Dunkin' Donuts.

To wit: My hotel is 11 miles from Gillette Stadium. On the way in, I passed at least seven Dunkin' Donuts stores.

Starbucks, which is on pace to occupy every retail space by the year 2043, was spotted only twice.

All that means is there's a lot of people up here getting up early to make the donuts.

--- Patrick Stevens

A few quick notes on the series between two teams that have hauled away 18 of the 37 Division I national championships:

No. 3 Syracuse vs. No. 5 Johns Hopkins

* Johns Hopkins leads series 26-18-1.

* Syracuse won last meeting 14-13 in overtime on March 15 at Homewood Field.

* Syracuse leads the series in the NCAA tournament 7-4, including a 13-12 victory in the 2006 quarterfinals at Stony Brook.

* The teams have split four title games, with Syracuse winning in 1983 and 1989 and Hopkins winning in 1984 and 1985.

* Syracuse also won semifinals in 1992, 2000 and 2004 and a quarterfinal in 1991.

* Hopkins also won semifinals in 1980 and 1993.

--- Patrick Stevens