NLL Insider

Refs? We don’t need no stinkin’ refs! That’s all I could think of during the first weekend of the National Lacrosse League playoffs because as I took a look around, I was reminded of why I love playoff lacrosse so much.

It’s the penalties, or lack of them.  The boys know when they hit the floor for playoff ball, it’s time to ball and nothing else. Emotions have gotta be in check because one stupid penalty can be the difference between moving on or moving out. Examples? Check it: The San Jose vs. Portland match featured a grand total of 2 penalties for 4 minutes on Sunday. The day before, the Calgary vs. Colorado tilt had 4 penalties for 8 minutes. On Friday, the Buffalo vs. Philadelphia game saw just 8 penalties for 16 minutes, but just 1 of those penalties came in the second half. There’s always an exception, of course, and that’d be the New York vs. Minnesota game, which had 14 penalties for 31 minutes. Still, that’s far below what we’d see in a regular season game and even then, 4 of the 14 penalties were called in the second half.

So what am I tryin’ to say? The boys are playing lacrosse and the zebras are lettin’ them ball without letting the games get outta control. The last thing any ref wants is to be a deciding factor, especially in a playoff game. So as we roll into the division finals this coming weekend, check out the action and enjoy the purity of the competition between lacrosse players who know when it’s time to pull in the fisticuffs and when it’s time to play lacrosse.

• NLL honors Carey, McElroy: NLL.com
• Green carpet treatment in Calgary: Calgary Sun
• OLA, CLA taking some heat: Peterborough Examiner
• Riggers are all jacked up: Calgary Herald

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