Into the Crystal Ball

November 8th, 2007 by Craig Johnson

If the New York Titans and Edmonton Rush somehow wind up playing for the NLL Champion’s Cup in 2008, we never had this conversation. The chances of that happening, I think I’m pretty safe in saying, are slim. (Note: Rush faithful, please don’t send Slush after me for saying that. And yes, this note was a blatant excuse to run another picture of hands-down the funniest mascot in the league).

But now that the new regular-season schedule has been released, and the players from the Boston and Arizona rosters have found new homes - if only potentially for a one-season loan, in Arizona’s case - it’s time to offer up some completely speculative, probably too-early championships picks. And who doesn’t love those? They can make you look like a genius, or in the case of Sports Illustrated’s NFL prognostications (a Saints-Chargers Super Bowl, huh?), leave you wiping yoke off your face for the rest of the season.

Based on their performance over the past two seasons, I’m not climbing too far out on a pretty sturdy limb in saying I like the Mammoth out of the West this year. San Jose showed some flashes of bigger things to come last season, the offensive dynamic in Portland should change significantly with the pickup of Dan Dawson, and Arizona would have been an obvious contender if it were active this year; but I like the way the schedule sets up for Colorado. Five out of the first six games at home for a team that rarely loses in the high altitude of Denver should allow the Mammoth to jump out to a quick lead in the division I don’t see them letting go of. And the additions of Bruce Murray and Matt Brown through the dispersal draft only make a deep team even deeper.

After a dominating run to the Cup last season, it’s hard to argue against Rochester making a return trip to championship weekend out of the East; so I won’t. As ESPN’s Sports Guy Bill Simmons said in a recent NBA preview article, when a championship team returns all of its key parts from the season before - a season in which those parts clicked perfectly together - and that team’s main contenders didn’t do anything significant to upgrade, betting against the champs under the logic that “they can’t win it this year because they won last season” doesn’t make any sense. And he’s right…to an extent.

I say to an extent, because I’m bucking that theory for the finals and picking Colorado to win it all. And if I’m wrong? Well, at least I’ll be in good company. Right SI?

Rate This Story: