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That just about does it for Rory Smith, the talented Titans brawler, who really didn’t put up much of a fight against former Buffalo Bandits brawler Jamie Hackel. The old dude scored a 336-210 victory in the final tally. As bullish as Smith is, it apparently is no match for the experience of Hackel, who made quite a name for himself while in Buffalo. So now it’s on to the next round, where we have Calgary goalie Pat Campbell trading knuckle sandwiches with Edmonton Rush defender Ryan McNish. Who’s your pick?

The winner of this matchup will give us a complete field for the final four of fisticuffs. We’ve already got Tim O’Brien, Andy Ogilvie and Hackel locked up for the glory round, so who’s gonna join the fray? Campbell or McNish. It is kinda interesting to note that whichever one does advance will be the only active NLL baller remaining. The other three have hung up the gloves, so that’s definitely a testament to their legend.

Campbell’s rep is apparently no mystery. Voters here pushed him past well-known tough guy Troy Bonterre in a first-round matchup. Hard to believe a guy smiling so nicely could do so much damage in a toe-to-toe dance, but how could he do dancing with McNish? I wish we could find a better picture of the goalie to properly capture the rage of a brawler, but nary a one is to be found. At least on Google. And we all know that if teh Google ain’t got it, nobody does. Right? Hey, if anyone out there has a pic to share, send it my way and we’ll get it posted right-quick. But if you need some help trying to figure out the toughness of Campbell, click on the link at the start of this paragraph and you’ll find some words from colleague Paul Tutka that accurately describes the pugilist skills of the Calgary keeper.

As for McNish, his skills are no secret, either. We haven’t seen him dance too much lately because as we noted in his first-round matchup against Chris Kinnear, he’s too valuable to be locked up in a box. And especially right now, as the Rush fight for their playoff lives, the last place the team wants to see him is sitting behind the glass while his mates try to kill a penalty. Thing is, if the situation does happen to call for it, you know dude will drop in a heartbeat to protect a teammate or settle a score. Quick hands and a passion to win make for a great combination, or a bad one if you’re on the receiving end of that fire. He’s not the biggest, tallest or strongest guy on the NLL floor these days, but as we’ve said before it’s pretty much impossible to measure heart and grit, and McNish has a ton of both. May God have mercy on the grill that’s his target. ‘Cause McNish won’t.

So who is it, fans? Campbell or McNish? Cast your vote today and do your part in setting up our final four.

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