NLL Insider

I’ve always been taught to be modest and gracious in winning – to act like you’ve been there before.

But how much fun would that be?

In playing fantasy lacrosse, you’re essentially matching intellectual wits with other people who, given almost the exact same conditions, are saying, ‘I could put together a better roster than you.’

So I say nuts to keeping a tight lip. I’m gonna’ let everyone I defeat on my way to the championship – and probably even those I don’t – know how much cooler, better and smarter I am than them.

And I certainly encourage you to do the same.

Let the boasting begin.

The Insiders League:

In Week 1, I’ll be completely honest, I probably got a little lucky. I faced the Grand Master himself, Inside Lacrosse NLL guru Brian Shanahan, and pulled out a squeaker, 15-14.

However, as motivational speaker Earl Nightingale once said, “Luck is when preparedness meets opportunity.” So what now big boy? You and your Autodraft aren’t so tough now at (0-1), are ya?

Anyway, mine and Shanny’s first week match-up wasn’t even the closest of the week – not by a long shot. Bob Chavez’s squad claimed a narrow victory over Ted Jenner in the first of their cyberspace meetings, 18.9-18.5.

But in what had to be the Game of the Week, after a 22.6 point tie at the end of regulation, Lauren Ward and John Jiloty took it to OT (decided by bench points) to call a winner. And even then, Lauren’s Check Republic won by only .2 points!

Wrapping it all up, Chris Hall’s Waterloo Wannabees fell decisively to Paul Tutka’s Van Buren Boys by a respectable 6, in what turned out to be our only “blowout.”

Week 2 in the Insider league will be a battle for first place in the both the Eastern and Western Divisions because of the way our schedule worked out. I’ll move to 2-0 against Lauren and the Check Republic in the West, and Chavez meets Tutka in the East.

Either way, it should be fun to watch it all unfold!

On to some things of more importance.

Studs:

Jeff Zywicki (SJS):
When you’re wrong, you’re wrong. And boy was I wrong. Zywicki must have read my column last week and decided to shove it down my throat, going (5, 4) against Calgary and being named the NLL’s Player of the Week. It’s safe to say that I’m on the bandwagon and will be there the rest of the year.

Craig Point (MIN):
Wow! Now that’s how you present yourself to the league. This rook blew the doors off of the barn in game 1 of their home-and-home with Toronto. On top of that, he easily garnered Rookie of the Week honors and quickly stamped his name on ballet for Rookie of the Year. In doing so, he has shown that he is the best rookie of the class so far.

Lewis Ratcliff (CGY):
The ‘Necks have suffered two tough one-goal losses, but absolutely none of that can be put on the shoulders of Ratcliff. He’s been nothing but consistent with an 8 points-per game average thus far – the highest in the league. (3, 4) on opening night against Colorado, and (3, 6) against San Jose, and I’m sure there’s more of that to come. If he’s in your lineup, congrats on drafting him. If he’s not, hope for good match-ups for your players the week that you do have to take him on because he’s lights out.

Mark Steenhuis (BUF):
11 points through two games, and the man known for his flash as much as his remarkable abilities is all of a sudden in a tie with Tavares for the team lead in points. In two games against the defending champion Knighthawks, he tallied (3, 2) with 14 LB’s, and followed that up with (3, 3). He’s definitely staking an early claim as the best transition man in the league.

Duds:

Dan Stroup (EDM):
It’s pretty much been all down hill for the 39-year-old since his 70-point 2003 with Vancouver. He had a resurgence with Edmonton last year (59 points), but his play has been a far cry from his days of ‘Stroup, there it is!’ Sorry, I just couldn’t help myself. Anyway, I’m not saying that he’s washed up, but don’t expect big things from him in 2008.

Tracey Kelusky (CGY):
I’m sure to take some heat for this one, but for a guy that scored 88 points last season, he’s barely shown up – literally. Kelusky, who scored (1, 1) in Week 1 against the Mammoth, didn’t even play in the OT loss to San Jose this past weekend, which isn’t helping justify him being drafted No. 8 overall in our league – sorry T-Jen. The least you can ask from someone is that they simply show up, and Kelusky is only at 50 percent attendance to this point. You of course have to start this guy week in, and week out, but until further notice, he’s on my list of disappointments so far this season.

Start ‘Em:

Merrick Thomson (PHI):
I don’t love his match-up against Rochester in Week 4, but he should be the benefactor of most of the Knighthawks defense keying in on Iannucci, Bergey and Jason Crosbie. He put up (4, 2) and got off 14 shots during the contest against Chicago. I see another big night in his future, and for your fantasy team.

Chad Culp (MIN):
Culp has produced some pretty solid numbers already through the team’s first two games, in helping lead the Swarm to a Toronto sweep. He goes into Jan. 26th’s (Week 5) battle at Rochester with (3, 5), and fourth on his team in scoring. If you lost in Week 1 and had a couple questions marks in your starting lineup, take a risk on Culp. I’m betting says he comes through.

Kevin Dostie (BUF):
Teams playing the Bandits are going to get wiser sooner than later and focus on shutting down Tavares and Steenhuis, and Dostie should start to put up even better numbers once that occurs. His (3, 3) through two games is nothing to sneeze at, but I’m still thinking that his numbers will continue to climb as the season persists, to the point that he surpasses his 62 point season of a year ago. Put him in your lineup against the Titans in Week 4 for sure.

Sit ‘Em:

Dan Marohl (PHI):
I was pretty high on this guy heading into the draft, and he did assist on 4 assists in the home opener, but that only equates to 2 points in fantasy. On top of that, his match-up against Rochester this week isn’t spectacular. Until he proves that he can get you more points per week, stash him away on your bench.

(D) Brodie Merrill (POR):
Merrill was a sexy late-round pick in many drafts, but aside from 14 LB’s and 1 shot in the Jax opening loss to the Titans, he didn’t do much else for an offense that seemed to stall out when Dawson and Malawsky weren’t out on the floor. So definitely tuck him away unless you’re hurting for production and are willing to take the chance that you pick the right night to have him as one of your starters.

(T) Jim Veltman (TOR):
Veltman’s production has actually been pretty good ((2, 1), 26 LB) but Toronto looked atrocious in the second game against Minnesota. As a transition man, you can depend on probably at least a point a game average from him for 10 LB’s, but only plan on infrequent scoring. Once Toronto’s offense gets back on track, I could see him jumping into your lineup occasionally based on the match-up. But don’t plan on the soon-to-be 42 year old reaching his 2007 total of 37 points.

Sleepers:

Andy Secore (MIN): 1/11 (2, 4); 1/12: (1, 4).
This guy didn’t even go drafted in our league, and now he’s tied for sixth in the league in scoring with 11 points. You’d better believe I sniped him up as soon as Free Agency opened up. If he’s still available in your league, I highly suggest you do the same. He looks like he could have quite a year.

(T) Steve Toll (ROC): 1/11 (0, 3), 13 LB; 1/12: 10 LB.
The agreed upon fastest guy in the league got off to a quick start, but then hit a wall in the second game against Buffalo. Still he’s a great buy low-sell high kind of player. He may be a little inconsistent, but should put up decent enough totals to warrant putting him in your lineup every so often, depending on the match-up.

(D) Cam Woods (TOR): 1/11 (1, 2).
His second game was noticeably quieter, but then again, the Rock only managed a measly 4 goals in that game. So they shouldn’t necessarily depend on Woods, a defenseman, to provide too much scoring when their offensive stars are being completely shut down. Woods is a stud defenseman though, and should provide nights of occasional brilliance if you need to add a consistent contributor to your lineup.

(D) Ian Llord (BUF): 1/11 (1, 2).
He didn’t do much in his second game, but in his first, the second-year player was perhaps the biggest benefactor of the injuries that knocked out Greenhalgh for the season and Bucktooth for reportedly six weeks. No points in game two shows a little inconsistency, but I say take the risk now and pick him up off of the free agent wire this week.

ROC Goaltenders (O’Toole/Wetherup): 1/11 (41 Saves, 9 GAA = 4.7 pts).
If your goaltending didn’t perform exceptionally in Week 1 and this unit is available in your league, like it is in ours, jump to your keys and get them. Not only is O’Toole a proven vet on a team that could win it all again, but he consistently puts up a great save percentage, as well as an astounding 23 assists in 2007.

Closing Notes:

That should cover just about everything for another week. As always best of luck to you all in Week 2 of fantasy (Weeks 4 and 5 of the NLL schedule), and if you have any fantasy questions, comments or general grumblings, send them to me at: nllfantasyinsider@nllinsider.com. Please include your name and location. The best e-mails will be published in next week’s Fantasy Insider column.

Rate This Story:

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...