Just wanted to make a mention of the Virginia-Princeton game that will be simulcast on ESPN tomorrow afternoon. Yes, the mother ship is picking up a regular season lacrosse game --- and in the midst of basketball championship week, no less. In another three weeks, Virginia-Maryland will be carried live on ESPN2.

Will either of these be ratings blockbusters? Almost certainly not. But if you go back a little more than a decade, even a game of the week package on a Baltimore station was a huge deal. It probably doesn't need to be said, but the sport has come a long way.

Player to watch: Alex Hewit, Princeton. The Tigers goalie was lit up in the first half against Johns Hopkins last weekend and will be eager for a chance to rebound against No. 3 Virginia. Princeton came back to make it 14-9 after trailing 8-0, and Cavaliers coach Dom Starsia is wary of what awaits him in New Jersey.

"I would tell you the last time I saw Princeton get beat like that was in 1996 when we beat them like that and they went on to win the national championship," Starsia said. "For our younger players, I told them 'This is a very dangerous lacrosse team. It’s a little bit wounded right now emotionally."

In case anyone was wondering, "emotionally wounded" plus "Bill Tierney" equals a dicey proposition for Princeton's next opponent. The Tigers only have one final four trip in the last five years to their credit, but it would be no surprise if they upended Virginia tomorrow. (Virginia at Princeton, noon, ESPN, ESPNU)

Team to watch: Georgetown. The Hoyas bounced back nicely from an opening loss to trounce St. John's. Now comes a Sunday afternoon trip to the Dome. Syracuse very much looks like it is back, and the Hoyas might just be the sort of team to engage the Orange in an up-and-down affair on the turf. It's also an important game for Georgetown since its opportunities for top-10 victories are not remarkably high the rest of the way: Duke and maybe at Navy. Dave Urick's team could use a high-profile victory as a late-season fallback. (Georgetown at Syracuse, Sunday, 3:30 p.m.).

Game to watch: Notre Dame at North Carolina, Saturday, 3:30 p.m. The Fighting Irish have responded quite well to the suspension of attackman Will Yeatman. The Tar Heels have shown a fair bit of fortitude --- not always the trait associated with this program in the last decade --- while dismissing Denver and Cornell. Both teams are undefeated and should continue to be factors after their showdown at Fetzer Field. Carolina has plenty of chances for big victories in the coming weeks --- Duke, at Maryland, at Hopkins, Virginia --- and will have some wiggle room entering that stretch with a second straight quality win.

--- Patrick Stevens