Hi everyone, let me first start off by introducing myself.  As you can see my name is Tim O'Branski and I am a senior co-captain of the #1 ranked Salisbury University Sea Gulls' Men's Lacrosse team.  Currently, I find myself in my third year at SU after transferring in from St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa.  I am majoring in Spanish with minors in Political Science and Athletic Coaching.  When I was approached to write this blog for the NCAA, I grew very eager to have the opportunity at attempting to create an insider's perspective of the college experience for a student-athlete.  Hopefully, I will succeed in this endeavor. 

        Some of you may be wondering about the title I have chosen for this entry.  Through the years, our lacrosse program has gained a reputation for constantly achieving the highest level of success in the NCAA (we currently have won 8 National Championships including 5 of the past 6).  It is for this reason that some have given us the identity of The Evil Empire, a name which we are very passionate about.  For example, we walk out before warm-ups on game day to The Imperial March composed by John Williams.

This past weekend was quite eventful in Salisbury.  Love was in the air on Saturday as restaurants and candy stores filled with those both looking to set the ideal romantic evening and those who hoped to forget about the significance of Valentine's day.  Around 11:30 AM about half of the team flocked to Sea Gull Stadium to tune up their lacrosse sticks and perfect the intricacies of their passing and shooting.  Pre-game practice was set for 12:00-1:00 PM.  After a productive practice in the beautiful weather (an abundance of sun and a 50 degree temperature which felt like 70), I stayed after for about an hour shooting.  Immediately following this session on the field I went to my co-captains' house in order to finalize the warm-up tape for the home opener set for the following day.  About three hours later, we finished our task.  Finally, after turning in the CD for our assistant coach's approval, I was able to meet up with my parents for dinner at The Greene Turtle.  By the time I got home from dinner, I was ready to go to sleep.

On Sunday morning, I sprang out of bed like a child on Christmas morning with great anticipation for the day.  This was the day of our season home opener against the University of Scranton Royals (yes, the same Scranton as The Office).  Aside from being our first game, I was excited to play against a couple of close friends from my hometown of Binghamton, New York.  I arrived in the locker room around 10:15 AM in order to make sure I was well-stretched, warmed up, and that my stick was tuned up.  I felt a wave of nostalgia as I watched the rookie players cherish the moment of putting on the "Maroon and Gold" for the first time.  Today's contest was slated for a 1:00 PM face-off in front of 729 fans.  Despite a very slow start to the game which saw us trailing 3-0 in the first quarter, we prevailed to win 24-6 via a 16-0 run.  At the tailgate after the game, Coach Berkman spoke and introduced his coaching staff as well as some of the dedicated parents who help coordinate and run our parent's association.  I have attached a couple of pictures of the tailgate.  After a goodbye with my parents, I relaxed for the rest of the night .