NLL Insider

The lacrosse world is so huge that you could walk down a street in Cape Town, South Africa, see somebody wearing a lacrosse t-shirt and be able to strike up an immediate conversation with them. You can show up to any lacrosse game and talk with any fan and immediately bond with that person over just sheer love of the game.

But the best part about the game of lacrosse is everyone that is involved has a true passion for the game that goes beyond competition and the scoreboard.

With the 2008 National Lacrosse League division finals right around the corner, all the talk has been about “will the Bad-Ass Bandits punish the slick Titans O” and can the “High Flying ‘Necks continue their hot streak while containing the most lethal Offensive weapon left in the playoffs -Dangerous Dan Dawson?” Highly discussed water cooler topics for sure but, the one topic that has gone under the radar a bit has to do with one of our own here at NLLInsider.com.

Now, to say Paul Tutka is a fan favourite with the readers would be like saying Geoff Snider is loved by every lacrosse fan. But what you can’t disagree with in terms of both Snider and Tutka is that they both have an unending passion for the game that defies explanation. Sure, Tuts may have never thrown the pads on for a grueling season of summer ball or had the chance to board a plane every weekend to play in front of 16,000 fans in Buffalo, but that doesn’t stop the guy from putting all his time and effort into bringing the game of lacrosse to the fans.

I read a blurb on WingsZone.com complaining about how there are no good writers and that the “bums” that do write for this site have no knowledge of the game and the only experience they have is their weekly viewings on B2.

Well, I can say that Paul Tutka is more than an uniformed computer geek. Paul devotes a lot of his time to the game of lacrosse and the Insider website.

Sure other fans out there, who I won’t call out, are able to watch games and take countless stats; come up with tables and charts; and provide their opinions. That’s great, we need more fans like that. But Tutka has been through the ups and downs along with the league. He has started his own sites devoted to the sport only to see them fall short due to failed partnerships and lack of interest. Well, when NLLInsider came along, he was one of the first people on board and has since devoted as much time as he can to bringing the fans as much content and information as possible.

I agree with Vin (one of my favourite posters on WingsZone), when he says “No denying the positive impact NLLInsider has had on my NLL experience this year.” This is due to the efforts of people like Bob Chavez, Lauren Ward, John Jiloty, Tom Ryan, Chris Hall, Steve Kojima, Titans CEO Tim Kelly and of course Paul Tutka and the rest of the Insider team. With their efforts, not only are the fans generally happy with the content but they actually enjoy reading what most of us have to say.

Especially when the players give their perspective! Another great point was made by Purplenurple when he said that it’s “unfortunate that more of the players are not interested in writing.” But here’s the thing: Take a look back at weeks 1 thru 5 of the NLL season and you will see players like Brodie Merrill, Lewis Ratcliff, Colin Doyle, Jim Moss, Jamie Taylor, Geoff Snider, Frank Resetarits and Brian Langtry all contributed to the site. Then they all just stopped. Is it because they don’t like to write? Or because they couldn’t handle getting 5 star votes from fans? Not at all! They just don’t have the time. Yes it’s too bad because their blogs were at times some of the best looks into the NLL that the fans can get.

Tutka has the time. That may be because he lives at home with his parents still, but he has a great rapport with a lot of the players in the league and is able to talk freely with them to get a look at what is going on behind the scenes. He spends every day striving to bring the most up to date information he can.

Does he make valid points? Of course! He’s not just going to spew out garbage for the sake of reading his own material. Does everyone agree with him all the time? Of course not! But the fact of the matter is, he is giving fans the inside dirt. He could turn it into a gossip site like www.wwtdd.com, but he would rather report valid info that accurately reflects the state of the game.

Paul Tutka has gotten more 1 star votes and been beaten up on the boards for his material from fans than the rest of us put together and he still pumps out great material every week. So to one of the most dedicated and tireless workers at NLLInsider, I thank you and congratulate you Paul. The 2008 Tom Borelli Award Winner!

Jenner is a two-time Mann Cup champion with six years of NLL experience. Email him at ted.jenner@nllinsider.com also follow the Coquitlam Jr. A Adanacs and the Intermediate A Adanacs live, as Teddy brings you color commentary with Brad Challoner for the Jr's and play by play with Brody Allen for the Intermediates -- http://www.junioradanacs.com/multimedia.php

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