Michael Culver is a graduate of the University of Virginia-he majored in English.  He was a member of the 2006 National Champion Cavaliers and was then drafted to the MLL Chicago Machine with Sean Morris whom he shut out in the final against UMass.  Recently, after winning the Sportsman of the Year award in the MLL for donating half his salary to charity, he accepted the position of Assistant General Manager with the Machine after their 0-12 season.  Amidst his moving to Chicago, preparing for a game against Notre Dame and helping his girlfriend move to Chicago he took time out to answer some questions for Tillax about the college game, MLL, fine food in Chicago and some literature.

Coach Till:  What's it like going from the college game to the professional game?  How fast is the professional game?

Mike Culver:  The transition from the college game to the professional game can be a little intimidating at first because every player on the field is so talented but it happened so quickly for me- really in about four days- that it just felt like a natural progression within my lacrosse career.  The professional game is fast and the players are faster, it’s a fun challenge keeping up.   

CT:  What do you like about the pro game?

MC:  The speed, innovation, competition and overall caliber of talent particularly stick out in the MLL.  As a member of an expansion West Coast team- Chicago- it’s also very exciting to realize that you are helping spread the game we love. 

CT:  What do you miss about the college game?

MC:  Being able to practice everyday with my friends.  You develop a camaraderie in college, with your teammates and coaches, as result of spending every day with guys for four years.  You live with teammates, hang out together, eat together, take classes together.  It’s a big family.

CT:  What are some of your responsibilities now as assistant GM for the club? 

MC:  Grow lacrosse in Chicago!  I hope to expose as many people in the Chicago region to lacrosse as possible.  Chicago is a great sports city and I think there is truly great potential for people to embrace lacrosse here.

CT:  Are you going to continue to play or devote your time to front office work?

MC:  I will continue to play in addition to working as assistant GM.  The dual positions pose a challenge but I think it will be a fun job and it will certainly keep me involved in the sport.

CT:  Everybody talked about how great the Wahoo's offense was this past year.  I think the defense was underrated - how good was that group of defensemen w/Turner at goal?  Did you guys ever have friendly rivalries with the offensive unit?

MC:  It’s funny, but I almost consider our defensive group from last year part of the offense.  We played a very aggressive brand of defense last year and it sparked a ton of transition scoring.  Ricky “Biscuit” Smith (a fellow defenseman) probably spent as much time on the offensive end of the field as the defensive end.  We may have been a little underrated- most defenses are- but you don’t pick up a d-pole to pick up girls and see your name in the paper.  We win games at our end. 
There was a lot of competition that took place in practice, especially when it was first defense versus our first offense.  We realized that we were all helping to make the other squad better but I can guarantee you that no one enjoyed being on the losing end of a scrimmage.

CT:  How important was it for that group to work together as a team from week to week?

MC:  Practice, practice, practice.  That’s what my mom always said.  Playing together every week develops chemistry and timing, which are so crucial during the season.  We are starting to grow a nice core of Chicago Machine players in Chicago so hopefully we will be able to run off season practices in the future.

CT:  How did they contribute to you being a great shutdown defenseman?

MC:  Shutdown defenseman, I’m not sure if I have earned that title quite yet...playing lacrosse against the best players day in and day out obviously helps tremendously, especially when those players happen to be Tewaaraton award winners, All-Americans and All-World players.  But I also firmly believe that, especially on defense, it’s all about being the best athlete you can be.  I play basketball, soccer, tennis and squash to get in the best shape possible. I’m terrible at all of those sports but they help.  A lot of young kids are starting to specialize in just lacrosse, I would encourage them to play as many sports as possible until college.

CT:  Who are some players you like to emulate in your play? 

MC:  Dennis Sullivan, a Ridgewood High School alumn and Brown All-American.  Dennis coached me during high school and I had the chance to watch him when he was younger and then play with him during club tournaments.  He is an ultra competitive guy who always pushes the players around him to be better. 

CT:  Who do you consider to be some great defenseman and why?  Contemporary and old school? 

MC:  Right now, I think Brodie Merrill may be the best lacrosse player in the world, he has completely separated himself from other players at the position. Old school, Dave Petramala.  He was nasty and you have to love that.

CT:  What's more important: team defense or a great shutdown pole? 

MC:  If you play great team defense I think everyone in the unit has the potential to be a great shutdown pole.     

CT:  What kind of team concept did you have at UVA? 

MC:  The UVA coaching staff really lets the players manage the game, an unfortunately rare occurrence in the sport today.  We are always aggressive and always look to push the ball when possible.  I still think the most exciting game of the year was UVA vs. Syracuse because both teams play the game the way it was intended to be played. 

CT:  What kind of team concept do you think will help the Machine? 

MC:  If we keep things simple, work together as a team, communicate and only worry about ourselves then success will follow.

CT:  What kinds of things would you guys do to foster team chemistry at UVA? 

MC:  Bowling on Friday nights before games, Miyako dinners, holiday events, 10 k fundraiser for Special Olympics…Our team was really close last year and I think it was because we all hung out together. 

CT:  We hear so much how this particular team was a "family." Was it?

MC:  Ha, a very weird family, but a family all the same.  Mike Keegan from Inside Lacrosse captured it well when he spent time with us during the final four weekend.  We always rallied around Wizzy the Cat.  As you can tell there were some classic nicknames on the team- Snackpack, King Kong, Bratwerst, Jman, Goat- and I think they show how much we all enjoyed each other.

CT:  You've become a leader for the Chicago club - what kinds of things do you see the team doing to foster team chemistry? 

MC:  Recently we hosted a team dinner and awards banquet and in the future I hope to arrange some similar events in Chicago.  Cubs games, all of the music festivals, Lake Michigan excursions; Chicago is a great spot during the summer and I want to share that with all of the players, new and old.

CT:  What do you think the Machine need to work on to get better next year? 

MC:  From a player’s standpoint, I think we need to go back to playing team lacrosse, offensively and defensively.  Philadelphia played as a team last year and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they won the championship.

CT:  Who was the toughest person you ever covered in college?  In the MLL? 

MC:  In college it was probably Morris.  MLL, Ryan Powell.

CT:  So far, what's your favorite Chicago food? Dogs? Pizza? Gyros? 

MC:  I will admit to hitting up Weiner Circle twice this past weekend but I was entertaining friends and had to show them a local Chicago staple.

CT:  What's the talent level like in the MLL compared to college? 

MC:  I think players in the MLL have a better opportunity to display their talent because the game is so wide open.  The college game can probably boast to be a better team game but I think the MLL is evolving in that direction.  The athletes in the MLL are pretty amazing and only getting better.

CT:  Do you have a mantra?  If not, what would it be? 

MC:  To paraphrase a great Roosevelt quote: it’s not the critic who counts but the man of action.  

CT:  What places would you like to travel to? How's your Spanish? 

MC:  A good friend of mine, Charles Glazer, was recently named the ambassador to El Salvador so I think that may be number one on the list at the moment.  Argentina would be great as well.  My Spanish is pretty rusty at the moment but nothing some good old fashioned immersion couldn’t cure.

CT:  Name a few of your favorite writers and why?

MC:  Jim Harrison.  He wrote a series of poems entitled Letters to Yessenin that I read during one of my first English courses at UVA that really fascinated me.  It was that class that pushed me to become an English major.  William Carlos Williams, Hemingway, Shakespeare.  You can’t go wrong with the classics.     

CT:  Your birthday's just before mine - how do you like having it come just after Christmas and before New Years?  Did you ever get the b-day presents that were going to be returns or was it just me? (I remember one year I got 3 wallets). 

MC:  It can be a bummer but I never had to go to school on my birthday, which was great.  One time when I was little I had my birthday party on the 27^th- the day of my birthday- and everyone forgot to show up because they were so burnt out from Christmas, etc.  or at least that’s what they said…I was a pretty unruly little kid.

CT:  Ever been to the Grand Canyon?  Spring training/Cactus League baseball in AZ?  Want to?

MC:  Not yet…fly me out and I’m there!