NLL Insider

Boy was I wrong with my picks this week. Going 0-2 is no shock. I really thought both of this weekend’s games (Calgary at Orlando and Boston at Edmonton) could go either way. But we ended up with two serious butt-kickings on the road as Calgary won 13-6 in Orlando and Boston defeated the Rush 12-5 in Edmonton. This was especially surprising given that Orlando and Edmonton had been two of the NLL’s hottest teams. Of course these results force some changes atop the Power Rankings. Chack it out. (Read More…)

Two potentially good matchups turned into a couple of blowouts Saturday night. Calgary toppled Orlando in a rematch of last year’s championship game final and Boston dismantled Edmonton in the first ever game played between the two teams. Check out the links after the jump.
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Steve Govett shares his thoughts on the season, Ilija Gajic and Gavin Prout. (Photo: Michael Martin)

Last weekend Edmonton Rush vet forward Gavin Prout walked into Denver’s Pepsi Center, and for the second time in as many tries this winter, left his old National Lacrosse League stomping ground with a W, this time a pretty heated contest that saw Prout and current Colorado Mammoth captain John Gallant getting a little hostile early in the game.

Prout was of course traded by the Mammoth to the Rochester Knighthawks in a move that saw the Mammoth score stud rookie Ilija Gajic, Prout moved again, this time to the Edmonton Rush while the K’Hawks continued to stockpile draft picks. (Read More…)

The Washington Stealth spent last weekend getting back on track, snapping a three games slide with a huge 12-11 win over the Calgary Roughnecks. Check out Stealth forward and MVP contender Jeff Zywicki above talking about the Stealth’s undefeated start to the season, what went wrong during their 0-3 slip, why he likes playing big on the road, and what Luke Wiles meant to last week’s huge win over the defending champs.

Garrett Billings leads the league with 11PPG, the Rock owning the best PP unit. (Larry Palumbo)

We’ve mentioned it countless times before on Insider, if you can score a man-up, more often than not, you’ll win the game. It’s that easy.

National Lacrosse League success is driven by power-play scoring, plain and simple, even though it’s probably the least exciting aspect of the game, watching five guys casually move the ball around while three or four try and hold their ground. Pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, pass, outside shot and then a gimmie goal. It’s no doubt a skill, one some teams have fine tuned to virtual perfection, just not an all that exciting one. (Read More…)

What are Calgary's chances of making the playoffs and defending their 2009 NLL title? (Photo: Larry Palumbo)

Got a big rematch Saturday night in this 11th week of National Lacrosse League action when the Orlando Titans host the Calgary Roughnecks. It’s a rematch of last year’s Champion’s Cup game, which Calgary won by a 12-10 mark. So as the second half of the 2010 season starts to make the turn toward the stretch, it kinda gets ya to wondering just who’s gonna be there for this year’s title game. There are so many variables that can’t be quantified, but one thing we can do is make a call based on recent history. So let’s take a look at each team’s remaining schedule, crunch some numbers and figure out who has the best chance, or no chance at all, of qualifying for this year’s postseason party. (Read More…)

And we’re back to a slow week in the NLL, which after the whirlwind that was last week, might be a nice change of pace and both of Saturday’s matchups have serious potential. Calgary and Orlando face off in a rematch of last year’s NLL championship game, the first time the two teams have met since Calgary took the 12-10 win and the title. Out west, Edmonton hosts Boston in the first ever meeting between the two teams. Check out the picks after the jump.
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The Edmonton Rush are just a win shy of setting a new single season franchise record, currently 6-3. (Photo: Doug Smith)

Jimmy Quinlan has been there for all the ups and downs since the Edmonton Rush’s inception.

The ups, of course, have equated to an escalator ride at the mall, while the downs were like a freefall decent off Mt. Everest.

Little melodramatic? Perhaps a bit. But you get the point.

Prior to this season, the Rush had never sported a record above .500. Going into this weekend’s matchup with the Boston Blazers — the first ever meeting between the two clubs — Edmonton is 6-3 and second in the West. (Read More…)

Jamie Floris was picked up by the Colorado Mammoth at the deadline yesterday.

Yesterday’s National Lacrosse League free agent deadline came and passed at 3PM EST and although this week’s trade deadline move that saw Mat Giles sent to the Boston Blazers was easily the biggest of this week’s double cut-offs, there were definitely a few interesting signings on Thursday afternoon.

The most notable and biggest impact free agent move saw the Colorado Mammoth sign ‘08 first round draft pick and recent back-to-back Mann Cup finalist Jamie Floris, who was released by the Edmonton Rush this past off-season, joining former Rush teammate Chris McKay with the Mammoth, as of yesterday. (Read More…)

Once again, we will take a look at some of the topics sweeping the land and this week is no different. Shootin from the hip will delve into the lacrosse world and come up with some water cooler topics for you all to enjoy. This week it was nearly impossible to avoid the efforts of a man named John. A common theme in the NLL is excentric jerseys but there is one team that out does every one. And the NLL trade deadline came and went and its not onto the free agent signing period, are there any fireworks to be made? Lets dive in and we will try to find out. (Read More…)