Alert Your Admins

Like Paul Revere, G:TB is in the business of offering early warning to our community. Today, we give you distant early warning of a pair of events worth your consideration, in terms of attendance, and in one of the two cases, engaging your networks in support of a good cause.

On June 20-22, Robinson High School in Fairfax, VA hosts the first annual Tom Tufts Lacrosse Festival. The festival honors an All-American defenseman at the University of Massachusetts in the late 60s, and a member of Garber's Gorilla's, UMass' undefeated 1969 squad. Tufts later joined the U.S. Army and served with distinction before retiring to become the head coach of Robinson High School's boys lacrosse squad. At Robinson, he built a powerhouse, his teams compiling a record of 185-36-1 over his 14 seasons. He was named the Northern Region Coach of the Year in 1991 and 1992, after which he refused the award - allow me to suggest that he'd have won it nearly every year thereafter, until he retired in 2004. Lt. Col. Tufts passed away last August at the age of 65, far too young.

Tom Tufts is also the father and namesake of one of my best friends from high school, and the first lacrosse coach I ever had. I took up the game too late to be any good at it, but not too late to learn the fundamentals, and a whole lot about life, from Mr. Tufts. All of us have people in our lives that personify character, and what it means to us. Tom Tufts Sr., and his son, my friend, Tom Jr., are among those in my life that I hold as ideals. If you like lacrosse, or just like being around a big event for a great cause, make plans to be at Robinson in June.

After you're done digging some lax, head to RFK Stadium for a far less personal, but probably equally exciting event. Volkswagen Rallycross D.C., will turn the venerable stadium complex from Redskin to Red Bull (in here, somewhere, is a finely articulated anti-Snyder joke, but I'm a little bit tipsy and a lot lazy). Tiny cars driving fast over dirt, jumps, and marginal asphalt while people drink heavily and cheer for something they barely understand - is there anything more American? Focus on the last part of that sentence, and don't think too hard.

Now that your calendars are marked, I'll ask you to take lots of pictures. I'll be at the first day of the Tom Tufts Lax festival, but then I'm heading to Cape Cod. Because I'm an elitist bastard. Tell me how the Rallycross is, 'cause it looks like fun.