NLL Insider

Quick history lesson before I breakdown this first (re) installment of The Fight Club rankings.

The Fight Club is actually something that myself and Shaydon Santos, current captain of the San Jose Stealth, first dropped like a good six years back that ended up taking on a life of its own.

Like a helluva lotta people in the game, we loved it when the guys went buckets and dropped their mitts. Shaydon started it up by posting a ton of fight vids from different decades, from different levels of the game and just had a crazy amount of people flooding the old RBL site. We had some insane stuff up there. Obviously the old Wings/Turbos massacre was on there, but we also had some wicked old school scraps from Mann Cup series that had guys like Darris Kilgour and Kevin Dance dropping dudes on their heads and then punking their lunch money off them too. It was killer stuff.

From there we ranked the best current fighters in the game and then all hell broke loose. Huge national papers were quoting us, guys were scrapping just to move up the ranking and everyone wanted a piece of the only guy that was ever ranked number one in The Fight Club… Tim “The Surgeon” O’Brien.

Over like six years, no one beat Timmy. Many tried, no one succeeded. Tim’s knuckles were sharper than Freddy Kruger’s blades and his technique set him apart from any heavy on the block. O’Brien made fighting in box an art. Dude was the Picasso of kicking ass in lacrosse.

But with the Toronto Rock cutting Timmy loose during training camp this past fall and a new kid on the block that took on all comers last year, this re-installment of the Fight Club will have a new king for the first time in six plus years. And who’ll be wearin’ the crown? None other than… drum roll please… Geoff Snider.

So we’re gonna hook you up with our pre-season Fight Club ranking heading into the pro year and since the top dawgs don’t dance every weekend (or a lotta times play every weekend either), we’ll only be shifting the rankings when something worthwhile happens. So like when Santos and Paul Dawson have a tickle fight before taking the floor for the Stealth, although one of them are usually crying afterwards, it’s not gonna shake up our rankings all that much.

Check em’ out below, cuz these are the dudes that have your asses outta your seat the same way JT, JR and any other superstar in the league does too.

Anyways, enjoy…

1. Geoff Snider, Philadelphia Wings
Snider took on anything that was thrown at him last year, or really anything that moved. After beating the one time undefeated Chris Kinnear of the Victoria Shamrocks, Snider has been on an absolute killing spree the last couple years. Last year was just insane though. He tooled up the likes of Scott Evans, Drew Candy, Pat McCready and of course that blood bath against Edmonton’s Daryl Welsh. No one, especially at the pro level, has been as active and handed out as much pain as Snider did in his rookie campaign. As soon as he peels that sweater off, it’s lights out for whoever’s across from him.

Checkout Snider’s classic tilt with long time Fight Club #1 contender, Chris Kinnear, who up till that point had an unblemished record knocking heads in the sport.

2. Tim O’Brien, Toronto Rock (released)
Not sure how much we’re gonna see of Timmy this year after the Rock released him. He danced once with Daryl Welsh last season and edged him out, but it’s tough to match what Snider did in 2007. Hopefully someone grabs Timmy at some point this year or he makes a return to pro ball next, but until he does, we have a new king on the pro courts.

3. Troy Bonterre, Buffalo (released)
Troy’s kidna in the same boat as Timmy. Recently released by the Bandits, it’s kinda unlikely we’ll see him throw down too much this year, if at all. But outta respect and his ability to pound the snot outta most, Troy is still a top dawg in The Fight Club.

4. Daryl Welsh, Edmonton (released)
Even though Welsh was released by Edmonton and likely isn’t gonna be playing much if at all this winter, with this being the pre-season ranking, we had to get this dude in here. Few can say they’ve danced with Snider, O’Brien and McNish in one season and lived to tell about it. Welsh is an absolute giant at 6′4″ and tipping the scales at almost 250 pounds. Hopefully he gets the call up to the big show this year if Edmonton has a score they need settled. Sure he’d like another shot at Snider for rearranging his face too.

5. Ryan McNish, Calgary Roughnecks
McNish has really turned out to be a pretty stellar ball player in his own end and although the Necks brass probably love it, fight fans aren’t as thrilled. Yeah, Ryan got beat-up by Daryl Welsh last pre-season, but for guys that fight a lot, losing once in a while is usually gonna happen, and Welsh is no punk. McNish is as strong as an ox and has the resume to prove he still belongs in the upper echelon of the Fight Club. O’Brien told us that he felt like McNish was gonna throw him outta his shoes when they danced back in 05.

6. Thomas Hajek, Philadelphia Wings
At around the 185 lbs. mark, most consider Hajek the lightweight champ in the league. He’s had some beauts and isn’t afraid to tear into anyone at any size. He’s got that clean cut, Jeffrey Dahmer look goin’ for him too.

7. Dan Ladouceur, Toronto Rock
It didn’t seem like Laddy was the same kinda fighter after getting dropped in devastating fashion by Matt Green a few years back, but truth-be-told, Dan’s been on a bit of a tear lately. He hasn’t really been fighting the game’s elite heavies, but after repeatedly bouncing Jesse Phillips‘ head off the glass and finishing both Evans boys in recent years, Laddy’s takin’ care of business these days, no questions asked. With O’Brien gone, Ladouceur will be the guy patrolling the floor, which he already started doing during this year’s pre-season. He’ll need to rip a “name” guy at some point this year if he’s gonna keep his Club membership though.

8. Scott Evans, Rochester Knighthawks
The most offensively skilled guy in the Fight Club, Scott’s win over Drew Candy and his incredibly even fight against Geoff Snider made a lot or people stand up and notice that his little bro isn’t the only one in the family with fast hands and a head as hard as cinder blocks. Seriously, Scott and Shawn Evans are probably immune to concussions or something, cuz to see what their dome’s have taken over the years and for them to not be drinking their meals outta a straw, really is one of science’s great mysteries.

9. Drew Candy, Chicago Shamrox
After a bit of a break from pro lacrosse, Drew Candy was back last year and wasn’t afraid to go if he had to. He might not be the fighter he once was while in Toronto and even during that year he won the Mann in Coquitlam, but Candy will fight anyone if given the opportunity. He’s the kinda guy that could get KO’ed ten times in a row by the same dude, but he’d be next in line for another shot He held his own, at least in the first 30 seconds, against Snider last year in one of 07’s best tilts.

10. Kyle Laverty, Buffalo Bandits
Laverty’s upset win over a tough as hell Mike Kilby throws one of the most hated guys in lacrosse into the top 10. It’s pretty unlikely we’ll see him and someone like Snider go at it this year, but Kyle had some pretty ballsy performances last year, including that Kilby dust up. Guys around the league are gonna hate to see his name here, but he basically took Kilby’s spot with that close win.

Anyways folks, that’s your top ten heading into 08. We’ll adjust as required depending on what happens each week, minus thoughs tickle fights. Make sure to check out Snider’s write-up on his views on fighting in lacrosse and what it means beyond just ripping some dude apart.

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