Some awesome footage from the UCONN 2010 Alumni Game. The geniuses in Storrs put a camera on a CPX and passed it around during the alumni game so that fans could get a first-hand taste of the astroturf. I've definitely never seen anything like this for a lax event before, and I think this is a great idea.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Laxers in the news
Joe Paterno credits lacrosse as the reason why Penn State running back Evan Royster excels on the football field, and is such a versatile player. Royster is from Virginia, so you know he laxes it up with the best of 'em. Check out the article from philly.com here...
Friday, August 28, 2009
Canada's finest
Hey laxers - sorry for the lack of updates, as I've been dealing with some personal stuff, and moving this past week. I didn't even get to watch the MLL championship game until Tuesday - thank you Tivo!
Quick thoughts from the championship game -
Toronto has some REALLY good goaltending. Queener was out there with a broken hand, and took over the second half of the game, making save after save. I thought Doc Schneider actually played better than Queener in his first half action.
John Grant, Jr. scored one of the all-time great goals I have seen on the behind the back shot from posting up 5 yards away from the goal pretty much on GLE.
here are some great video highlights courtesy of our good friends at LAX United...
Quick thoughts from the championship game -
Toronto has some REALLY good goaltending. Queener was out there with a broken hand, and took over the second half of the game, making save after save. I thought Doc Schneider actually played better than Queener in his first half action.
John Grant, Jr. scored one of the all-time great goals I have seen on the behind the back shot from posting up 5 yards away from the goal pretty much on GLE.
here are some great video highlights courtesy of our good friends at LAX United...
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Denver 11, Boston 10
Just some quick analysis -
The Hopkins boys were the main stars today as Denver overcame a halftime deficit to win and advance to the finals. Kyle Harrison outplayed fellow Blue Jay Paul Rabil in the second half scoring a couple HUGE goals for the Outlaws. Harrison has been having trouble with the hamstring for a while now so it was nice to see him play well.
Rabil was kept mostly in check and Schwartzman came up big after wearing one on the face midway through the second quarter.
Boston makes my prediction look OK as they covered the 2.5 goal spread, but the goal total was much lower than my 17-15 prediction.
Still calling a blowout for Toronto in the afternoon contest today.
Back with more later...
The Hopkins boys were the main stars today as Denver overcame a halftime deficit to win and advance to the finals. Kyle Harrison outplayed fellow Blue Jay Paul Rabil in the second half scoring a couple HUGE goals for the Outlaws. Harrison has been having trouble with the hamstring for a while now so it was nice to see him play well.
Rabil was kept mostly in check and Schwartzman came up big after wearing one on the face midway through the second quarter.
Boston makes my prediction look OK as they covered the 2.5 goal spread, but the goal total was much lower than my 17-15 prediction.
Still calling a blowout for Toronto in the afternoon contest today.
Back with more later...
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Semifinal 2 - Toronto Nationals vs. Long Island Lizards
#2 seed Toronto Nationals (-1.5) vs. #3 seed Long Island Lizards
This is a very intriguing matchup. At first look, the 1.5 goal spread seems a bit low. Toronto is playing really well and the Lizards are just too confusing for me to figure out. I think Toronto wins outright. The teams split their regular season matchups 1-1.
The Rochester Rattlers, er Toronto Nationals are the defending MLL champions, bringing back what is essentially the core of the stacked Rattlers team that won the Steinfeld Cup a year ago. They made 2 major additions to the team late in the season, as Gary Gait signed on to play attack and gun for one more championship, and John Grant Jr. returned from injury to provide a late-season spark for the Nationals.
Long Island is a tough team to get a read on. They have a veteran heavy team, save for Danowski and Greer, and rely on the stellar play of goalie Brian Dougherty to keep them in games. The defense is actually pretty imposing, despite their age. Polanco, Spallina and Gagliardi are names that probably can't be matched by any other team in the league, but these guys are getting old in a hurry.
The attack is among the best in MLL, with former Duke standouts Matt Danowski and Zack Greer playing alongside veteran Tim Goettlemann. Long Island's problem is that they don't have much at the midfield spots in what has become a very midfield dominated league.
Toronto is probably my favorite team to watch. Brett Queener is the most enjoyable player in the league to see play because it's so obvious how much fun the guy is having on the field. Queener has the personality type that makes me think he's going to show up HUGE in the important games like this one. Should Queener fail, his backup is no slouch either, as Doc Schneider of UMass was the first goalie taken in the '09 amateur draft, and has played solidly in his MLL action this season. Schneider figures to see action this weekend one way or the other due to how well he's fared in his rookie year, and the tendency of the Nationals' coaches to split time between their two great keepers.
What should really scare Toronto's opponents is the amount of sheer offensive firepower on that roster. Here's a quick rundown of the offensive stars who will be suiting up for the Nationals this weekend: Joe Walters, Gary Gait, Merrick Thomson, John Grant Jr., Geoff Snider, Jeff Zywicki, and Colin Doyle. That list doesn't even include MLL Defensive Player of the Year Brodie Merrill. Merrill is an absolute terror in the open field picking up loose balls and streaking downfield to get involved in the offense. Brodie checked in with a whopping 20 points this season - tying him for 6th on the team! Native Canadian Thomson had 44 goals in 11 games this season, coming close to earning league MVP honors.
Key Matchup: Toronto's goalies vs. Long Island's attack. If Queener and Schneider can keep Danowski and Greer from going crazy and hold them to maybe 5 or less combined goals, Toronto should walk all over this Lizards team. Should the former Blue Devils catch fire, we could be looking at an upset of the defending champs.
Prediction: Toronto 19, Long Island 10
This is a very intriguing matchup. At first look, the 1.5 goal spread seems a bit low. Toronto is playing really well and the Lizards are just too confusing for me to figure out. I think Toronto wins outright. The teams split their regular season matchups 1-1.
The Rochester Rattlers, er Toronto Nationals are the defending MLL champions, bringing back what is essentially the core of the stacked Rattlers team that won the Steinfeld Cup a year ago. They made 2 major additions to the team late in the season, as Gary Gait signed on to play attack and gun for one more championship, and John Grant Jr. returned from injury to provide a late-season spark for the Nationals.
Long Island is a tough team to get a read on. They have a veteran heavy team, save for Danowski and Greer, and rely on the stellar play of goalie Brian Dougherty to keep them in games. The defense is actually pretty imposing, despite their age. Polanco, Spallina and Gagliardi are names that probably can't be matched by any other team in the league, but these guys are getting old in a hurry.
The attack is among the best in MLL, with former Duke standouts Matt Danowski and Zack Greer playing alongside veteran Tim Goettlemann. Long Island's problem is that they don't have much at the midfield spots in what has become a very midfield dominated league.
Toronto is probably my favorite team to watch. Brett Queener is the most enjoyable player in the league to see play because it's so obvious how much fun the guy is having on the field. Queener has the personality type that makes me think he's going to show up HUGE in the important games like this one. Should Queener fail, his backup is no slouch either, as Doc Schneider of UMass was the first goalie taken in the '09 amateur draft, and has played solidly in his MLL action this season. Schneider figures to see action this weekend one way or the other due to how well he's fared in his rookie year, and the tendency of the Nationals' coaches to split time between their two great keepers.
What should really scare Toronto's opponents is the amount of sheer offensive firepower on that roster. Here's a quick rundown of the offensive stars who will be suiting up for the Nationals this weekend: Joe Walters, Gary Gait, Merrick Thomson, John Grant Jr., Geoff Snider, Jeff Zywicki, and Colin Doyle. That list doesn't even include MLL Defensive Player of the Year Brodie Merrill. Merrill is an absolute terror in the open field picking up loose balls and streaking downfield to get involved in the offense. Brodie checked in with a whopping 20 points this season - tying him for 6th on the team! Native Canadian Thomson had 44 goals in 11 games this season, coming close to earning league MVP honors.
Key Matchup: Toronto's goalies vs. Long Island's attack. If Queener and Schneider can keep Danowski and Greer from going crazy and hold them to maybe 5 or less combined goals, Toronto should walk all over this Lizards team. Should the former Blue Devils catch fire, we could be looking at an upset of the defending champs.
Prediction: Toronto 19, Long Island 10
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
MLL Playoff Preview
So now that I'm all done trashing the MLL, I figured I'd just preview the upcoming playoffs/championship weekend, and maybe just maybe pick a winner. Somehow, I was actually able to find betting odds on the games! Good thing I don't have a compulsive gambling problem. On to the games...
Semifinal 1 - #1 seed Denver Outlaws (-2.5) vs. #4 seed Boston Cannons
I like Denver to win this one, but I think Boston covers and is going to make a game of it. Boston is a deceptive 4 seed, with every one of their six losses in the regular season coming by one goal. The Cannons don't exactly have a shining history of playoff success though, going 1-6 combined in the franchise's playoff history. However, they do have the recently named Warrior MLL Offensive player of the year in Paul Rabil, and a more than capable attack led by Ryan Boyle and Sean Morris, not to mention a stud in Matt Alrich.
The outlaws just have too much firepower. With a very balanced offense led by the underrated attack duo of Drew Westervelt and Brendan Mundorf along with young stud Dan Hardy, not to mention the MLL goalkeeper of the year in Jesse Schwartzman, Denver gets it done in the semi's. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that two of the most dominant college players in recent memory in Kyle Harrison and Max Seibald are at midfield for Denver.
The one area of concern for me with the Outlaws would be the lack of a top-caliber defense to deal with the Boston attack, but Schwartzman and the high-powered offense should be enough for the Outlaws to get it done and return to the MLL championship game. Containing Paul Rabil is oxymoronic to even type out, but I think Mike Ward, Cittadino and the rest of the Outlaw short stick defenders can do an OK job of keeping Rabil in check and not let him completely take over the game. If rookie Shane Walterhoefer can win 50% of the faceoffs, the Outlaws should be able to keep the ball out of Rabil's stick well enough to control the flow of the game to their liking.
Key Matchup: Denver's short-stick defenders vs. Paul Rabil - Rabil is good enough to split double teams and still get to the cage, but Denver has some pretty solid defenders at midfield, and I think they contain him just enough to get the job done.
Prediction: Denver 17, Boston 15
Semifinal 1 - #1 seed Denver Outlaws (-2.5) vs. #4 seed Boston Cannons
I like Denver to win this one, but I think Boston covers and is going to make a game of it. Boston is a deceptive 4 seed, with every one of their six losses in the regular season coming by one goal. The Cannons don't exactly have a shining history of playoff success though, going 1-6 combined in the franchise's playoff history. However, they do have the recently named Warrior MLL Offensive player of the year in Paul Rabil, and a more than capable attack led by Ryan Boyle and Sean Morris, not to mention a stud in Matt Alrich.
The outlaws just have too much firepower. With a very balanced offense led by the underrated attack duo of Drew Westervelt and Brendan Mundorf along with young stud Dan Hardy, not to mention the MLL goalkeeper of the year in Jesse Schwartzman, Denver gets it done in the semi's. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that two of the most dominant college players in recent memory in Kyle Harrison and Max Seibald are at midfield for Denver.
The one area of concern for me with the Outlaws would be the lack of a top-caliber defense to deal with the Boston attack, but Schwartzman and the high-powered offense should be enough for the Outlaws to get it done and return to the MLL championship game. Containing Paul Rabil is oxymoronic to even type out, but I think Mike Ward, Cittadino and the rest of the Outlaw short stick defenders can do an OK job of keeping Rabil in check and not let him completely take over the game. If rookie Shane Walterhoefer can win 50% of the faceoffs, the Outlaws should be able to keep the ball out of Rabil's stick well enough to control the flow of the game to their liking.
Key Matchup: Denver's short-stick defenders vs. Paul Rabil - Rabil is good enough to split double teams and still get to the cage, but Denver has some pretty solid defenders at midfield, and I think they contain him just enough to get the job done.
Prediction: Denver 17, Boston 15
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Why is the MLL failing?
Don't get me wrong - I love lacrosse and I would watch a high school JV game if they showed it on TV. Unfortunately for the MLL though, I'm not the casual sports fan they're looking to attract with their product
As the 2009 MLL championship weekend is upon us, fans of outdoor pro lacrosse are preparing to watch 2 teams of allstars battle it out for the Steinfeld cup. Due to the recent contraction, only 6 teams are now competing in the MLL, and they are basically stacked full of college all-americans and canadian indoor superstars. Take a look at the rosters - it's not like it will take long with only 6 teams - and you'll find almost every team has an all-world player at nearly every position.
Even despite the stacked rosters, the league is having problems keeping the best players around, since they're unable to pay salaries high enough for their players to commit to professional lacrosse full-time (I've heard figures around sub 20k/year). Players fly in for games from wherever they live and the teams practice once a week and then play a game the next day. Simply put, the game just isn't as fun to watch when it's obvious to a fan that the team doesn't really practice together and fails to develop any chemistry. It just ends up being a glorified game of street ball.
A look at the league scoring leaders - something that proved pretty difficult to find for me - shows that the top players would seem to be the young guys, who to the league's credit, are thriving in the MLL. Paul Rabil came in and immediately was one of the league's top players. MLL can't count on a new Rabil every year, though.
I think that the league's biggest shortcoming is it's failure to build a strong base with real lacrosse fans. They tried to do a bit too much to make the sport more mainstream friendly from the time of their inception, adding a shot clock and 2-point line. Ask any lacrosse fan you know how they feel about these 2 additions, and you probably won't get a friendly response. There wasn't anything wrong or boring about how the game was being played at the NCAA level and below, yet the league failed to realize this and thought they had to appeal to the common sports fan for the game to thrive. What really needs to happen is for the league to build strong bases in cities or areas traditionally known for their college programs and fan bases (Baltimore, Syracuse, Philadelphia, Virginia, New Jersey) and embrace the college style of play, rather than shunning it. Play the games on the college teams' fields. Play the games immediately after a college game when there will already be fans in the stands.
Another issue is the television coverage. The games are shown at times like Wednesday at 1pm. Not too many people are going to be watching televised lacrosse on a weekday afternoon. Kudos to ESPN for agreeing to show the games at all, but come on guys - you can't seriously expect this sport to catch on mainstream if you're showing games at shady times like what's going on now. Not even the hardcore lacrosse fans can watch regularly at this time. Also, advertisers don't exactly jump at the chance to have their commercials shown during these hours, when homemakers and schoolkids are the only people at home with the TV on.
The league should probably explore having their games shown on Versus, since that network tends to embrace the "niche" sports, which fairly or unfairly, lacrosse fits into the category of right now. At least Versus would show the games at a time when people can actually watch. As of right now, ESPN seems to be more interested in promoting college lacrosse, anyway, so why not go with another network that could market the games better.
The marketing as a whole is just pretty awful with the MLL. They don't sell the name players well enough, as far as having them get their faces and personalities out there. These guys for the most part have very strong personalities and would have no trouble selling the game they love. Chazz Woodson is on some commercials and plays with a flair for the spectacular that not many players have, but he isn't really an elite player. Rabil is a beast the likes of which haven't been seen on a lacrosse field in a very long time. Get his face out there. Give the fans something to get excited about - highlight reels, commercials, Rabil signature sticks and gear, whatever.
It probably doesn't help the league either that the three Powell brothers are not playing this season. Mikey's pursuing his "music career," which apparently trumps his desire to do what he does best, which is basically be the best lacrosse player on the planet. I could write 5000 words about this guy not having a clue, but we'll save that for another day. Not sure why Casey and Ryan have chosen not to play, but it's all very puzzling. Clearly, having the three most recognizable and likely also most popular players among fans in the sport not suit up is not good for MLL. They need to find a way to get these guys playing and pushing the product.
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