NLL Insider

Inside the Numbers

Who is the NLL’s top power forward?

Way back at the start of last season, I tossed up an article on Christmas Day, wondering about what we might be in store for during the 2008 NLL season.

One thing I asked was, who would be able to score 40 goals, get nailed for 40 PIM, and scoop up 100 plus loosies?

It was kinda my shortcut formula for the guy I deemed the best power forward in the game. Someone who could score, hustle, and even throw-down when need be.

The results? Well, no one actually hit the trifecta I was hopin’ for, but a bunch of guys posted some solid numbers nonetheless. After the jump, take a look at who came the closest to the 40/40/100. READ MORE »

NLL

Roughnecks eye health, happiness

Give Brad Banister the choice and the National Lacrosse League season will start tonight.

“I think we’ve got a really stacked lineup,” says the owner and general manager of the Calgary Roughnecks. “The veterans are in for an eye-opener here. We’ve got some really good young guys ready to challenge for positions.” Happy with the recent entry draft and in direct control of the team he owns, Banister’s amped for a 2009 season to get started so it can make up for a 2008 team that was, to a degree, a disappointment while battling some key injuries and inconsistincies.

READ MORE »

NLL Top 50

NLL Insider Top 50: Jarett Park #46

He’s found himself on two tickets that don’t get the biggest crowds in the game, but after suiting up for both San Jose and New York, for those that have had the chance to see him, know that Titans transitional stud, Jarett Park, has one of the slickest two way games goin’ on in the sport today.

Park’s stock went through the roof this past winter, helping lead an explosive New York two-way game that snowed some of the best in the bizz in ‘08.

His speed is pretty blinding, as long as his hair is outta his face, which allowed Park to rank within the league’s top 10 in loosie pickups. Jarett’s first step is one of the best in the sport, already ten feet past the opposition’s O guys when they finally realize Park just picked their pocket. READ MORE »

From the Stands

Fan Poll: Who’ll Big it Up in ‘09

Right now at Inside Lacrosse, we’re already starting to do a bunch of prep work in anticipation of the ‘09 NLL season, with our preview issue in the works weeks, if not months ago.

And like every year, the staff is divided on where teams should be ranked from top to bottom. We keep having to tell Jenner to stop logging in votes for the Anaheim Storm, but that’s just the tip of the ol’ iceberg.

Whether you dig the rankings or not, it’s basically carved in stone that any sports preview mag has to have ‘em in there. That’s life, like it or not. Seriously, it’s written down somewhere. READ MORE »

The Beat

Curt Styres: man about town

It’s hard to instinctively like a man who lives in a 21,000 sq. foot mansion. Unless you’re trying to get invited over on Superbowl Sunday, since he does have that in-house theatre with ten reclining leather chairs. Even so, you’re a lot less likely to find yourself thinking “oh how nice for him” when you could be reminding yourself that he’s probably got a garage bigger than your entire house. But there’s a reason that today’s Democrat and Chronicle article on Mr. Curt Styres is nearly 3000 words long. READ MORE »

NLL Insider

The Roots of the NLL

Always a lotta talk about who dominates the pro game. What region across North America produces the most pro ball players?

Some of the crew at NLL Insider is actually working on a pretty cool long term project looking at what junior system produces the “best” lacrosse players, but today we’re just gonna take a quick look at the basics.

What region produced the most pro ballers in 2008?

We broke it down based on six regions/backgrounds looking at a player’s roots. So it’s gonna be; British Columbians, Albertans, Saskatchewanians (Philly’s David Mitchell and yes, if you’re from Saskatchewan you are apparently a Saskatchewanian), Ontarians (with two Montrealers thrown-in that made Orangeville home), Native Americans, and Americans.

No more Aussies, but Gordon Purdie, respect brother.

We looked at the 295 players that saw minutes last winter. So with that said, after the jump, check out how last year’s NLL roots broke down. READ MORE »

NLL Top 50

NLL Insider Top 50: Steve Toll #47

He may not of had as “big” a season as he did in ‘07 when he was named the league’s first ever transitional player of the year, but Steve Toll’s game is one that has created major problems for teams since he first burst onto the scene in a full-time role with the Toronto Rock in 2000.

Toll actually had a pretty impressive hockey career leading up to that choice of committing full-time to pro ball, having played college hockey with RIT and for teams like the Fayetteville Force and Indianapolis Ice of the CHL.

Since then, Toll’s filled up his fist with five pro rings and garnered a rep as one of the quickest Canucks to ever play the game. Hell, one of the quickest period to ever play at this level. READ MORE »

The Beat

What if Legein had spent summers playing lacrosse?

When Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Stefan Legein announced his retirement from hockey at the age of 19, before his first pro training camp had even begun, hockey parents everywhere began to panic. What if their snowflakes eventually grow tired of wearing skates to bed and playing hockey 398 days out of the year, walking away from million dollar salaries and the fame and endorsement deals that come along with a spot in the pros (yes, even occasionally in Columbus) to work at a pizza place in Oakville? Well, as long as they’re happy, right? Oh ho ho. Wayne Gretzky to the rescue. In today’s quote that I have taken out of context, the Great One recommends enrolling your children in indoor lacrosse. Maybe the next time an NHL prospect feels like walking away from the show in favour of a low-paying job, the NLL can be there to mouth the words call me.

• Indoor lacrosse coming to Sunrise, with bonus article comment predicting ‘epic fail’, possibly due to lack of shuffleboard: Business of Sports
• Knighthawks re-sign Scott Evans for three years: TSN
• Nick Cotter and his disbelief are blazing a trail to Boston: newsdurhamregion.com
• And you can go ahead and blame the Victoria Shamrocks for not being able to see the Mann Cup battled out on a dirt floor: Times Colonist

From the Stands

Fan Poll: JT and Junior go down to the wire

Well, the American Idolish style votes are in (and it’s a fan poll people, get a grip, your lives aren’t seriously that sad, are they???) and with close to 4,500 submitted, the results came back kinda like most probably thought they woulda.

John Tavares and John Grant went back and forth throughout the week, with the Buffalo Bandits’ legend just eeking out a 25 vote lead.

Bottom line though, think it’s pretty safe to say that “this” generations top dawgs are definitely between the two past Champion’s Cup winning snipers.

How do they stack up past those two Cups? Check it out after the jump. READ MORE »

NLL

Logo time: Which one’s the worst?

Today’s announcement of the Toronto Rock and the New York Titans playing a National Lacrosse League regular-season game down in the Sunshine State is pretty cool. Kinda gets ya to thinking of the expansion possibilities and while the league hasn’t come right out and said it outright, why else would there be a game there but to test the waters?

This is the kinda stuff that gets a man to thinking, especially an old man like myself, of all the expansion experiments the NLL has taken over the years. Some of these expansion teams have produced fantastic memories but one of the things everyone looks at first, and remembers the most, is the logo. And team colors. So let’s take a look at some of the teams past and figure out which extinct team had the worst logo. Go ahead and click on the “read more” tag to take a stroll down memory lane and then drop your vote for whichever team had the most god-awful logo.

 Loading ...

READ MORE »