NLL Insider

Inside the Numbers

The Money Ballers: Jr. A Edition Week 3

New Westminster Salmonbellies forward Tyler Digby

The two guys in the top two spots in The Money Ballers, again this week, are a combined 66 points outside of evening tying the nation’s top scorer.

Tyler Digby scored just one last night in New West’s dissapointing 8-5 loss to the Burnaby Lakers, but of course, as usual, it registered on The Money Ballers, giving him a half a point lead over the Toronto Beaches’ Carter Bender, in what is shaping up to be by far our closest ever edition of The Money Ballers over four editions.

Digby currently sits 30 points behind BC scoring leader Robert Church, while Bender is lagging even further in Ontario, 36 points behind Andrew Potter. READ MORE »

Inside the Numbers

The Money Ballers: Jr. A Edition Week 2

New Westminster Salmonbellies forward Tyler Digby

It appeared as if New Westminster Salmonbellies forward, Tyler Digby, would lose his grasp on The Money Ballers lead (tied for lead with Andrew Potter during Week 1) previous to last night’s game against the PoCo Saints, but then, well, that game happened.

The Bellies found themselves in a back-and-forth battle with the Saints on Tuesday night, the game ending in a 15-15 draw, Digby scoring a go ahead goal late in the third and then assisting on a tying goal in OT.

Digby has had a knack for getting his stick on goals that matter this year, even though the future Robert Morris two sport stud only sits third in team scoring and is tied for 16th in the entire province. READ MORE »

Inside the Numbers

National Lacrosse League Entry Draft: The Past Five Years & First Two Rounds

One of the few keepers taken in the first couple rounds, Matt Vinc (Photo: Dave Sanders)

Before we delve too deep into some of this year’s most wanted (and unknown) prospects available in the National Lacrosse League’s ‘09 Entry Draft, NLL Insider will also be taking a quick look at past drafts, trends and like last week, existing prospects already in the big leagues (East & West).

Today we’ll backtrack over the past five year’s worth of drafts, focusing on the first two rounds, the picks most consider to be as close to a “lock” as you’re gonna get in this league.

Who are the only four (and a half) keepers taken since 2004? What position do GM’s go heavy on when drafting high? And who is the only franchise that hasn’t had a single selection in the first round over the past five years? Find out after the jump. READ MORE »

Inside the Numbers

The Money Ballers: Jr. A Edition Week 1

New Westminster Salmonbellies forward Tyler Digby

We’ve crowned three Money Baller kings since NLL Insider went live just prior to the start of the ‘08 National Lacrosse League season.

Athan Iannucci (NLL ‘08), Cody Jamieson (Jr. A ‘09) and Mark Steenhuis (NLL ‘09) have all taken the honour, and this summer we’ll name the Jr. A game’s most clutch ball player again, looking at results from BC, Alberta and Ontario, all the way up to the Minto Cup (regular season and playoff edition).

With over 100 games in the books in those three provinces and 429 players tagged with a clutch point across the board, after the jump, check out who sits at the top of the clutch leaderboard (FYI, it’s the guy you’re looking at right now). READ MORE »

Inside the Numbers, NCAA

Final Check-In: Canadian and Iroquois Players in the NCAA

Jason Donville, a coach with the Edge Ontario program and one of the folks responsible for bringing an MLL franchise to Toronto for 2009, has been keeping track of the Canadian presence in the field game so far this season, and will be filing regular dispatches on how our friends from up north are doing in ‘09. READ MORE »

Inside the Numbers, NCAA, The Ballers

Canadian and Iroquios Players in the NCAA: Final Four Check-In

Jason Donville, a coach with the Edge Ontario program and one of the folks responsible for bringing an MLL franchise to Toronto for 2009, has been keeping track of the Canadian presence in the field game so far this season, and will be filing regular dispatches on how our friends from up north are doing in ‘09.

The next week will arguably be one of the most exciting of the year for fans of field lacrosse in Canada. This excitement stems from three factors. First, the NCAA Championships will be played next weekend in Boston and three of the four finalist teams have Canadian and Iroquois players in their line-ups. Second, the Toronto Nationals of the MLL which feature many former NCAA stars will play their first home game at BMO Field this Friday after opening with a win in Washington against the Bayhawks over the weekend. Finally, lacrosse fans in Southern Ontario will be trying to keep track of the NCAA and MLL action while attending a very busy provincial championships weekend in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). READ MORE »

Inside the Numbers

The Money Ballers: National Lacrosse League Playoff Edition

Jeff Shattler had three game winners this year. Will he strike again on Friday night? (Photo: Jill Prop)

Outside of Casey Powell and Brendan Mundorf teaming up to secure yet another New York Titans game winning goal, and Matt King flying out that jaw dropper, there were seriously no other clutch goals to speak of this past weekend after the Titans and Roughnecks dominated in almost record setting fashion.

So, if you wanna know who leads the post-season edition of The Money Ballers, check out last week’s rundown, cuz it’s virtually the same.

Today we’ll take a quick look at both New York and Calgary’s most clutch guys in 2009, and what to expect from them this coming Friday night. READ MORE »

Inside the Numbers

The Money Ballers: National Lacrosse League Playoff Edition

Even without running Casey Powell’s, or Mark Steenhuis‘ or even Brendan Mundorf’s numbers from their divisional semi openers over the weekend, you had to know guys like that would continue blowing it up in the clutch column now that the playoffs have kicked-off.

Better question, what player that was tied for 97th in regular season scoring is a playoff Money Baller chart topper after his first game in the ’second season’? Find out who he is, plus a number of other offensive ballers that stepped up their post-season game comin’ outta round one, right after the jump. READ MORE »

Inside the Numbers, NCAA

Canadian and Iroquois Players in the NCAA: April 29th Check-In

Jason Donville, a coach with the Edge Ontario program and one of the folks responsible for bringing an MLL franchise to Toronto for 2009, has been keeping track of the Canadian presence in the field game so far this season, and will be filing regular dispatches on how our friends from up north are doing in ‘09.

With the NCAA regular reason only a week and a half from season-end most teams are focusing on one of two issues. Many are trying to win their conference championships and therefore qualify for an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament while the rest are trying to earn their way into the final 16 with a strong later season surge. READ MORE »

Hardware, Inside the Numbers, NLL

National Lacrosse League Playoffs: Cup rings and vet leadership when it matters most

Will Ryan Powell, or bro Casey, win their first NLL title this year? (Photo: Matt J. Wiater)

Does past post-season success matter in the National Lacrosse League playoffs?

Do vets matter more during the playoffs than they do during the previous 16-games?

Can a ball player on his last legs still make a difference in this league either on or off the court?

After the jump, find out what team in this year’s playoffs has the most combined NLL or MILL rings, what vets are still searching for the ultimate pro glory, and whether either of these old timers will make a difference this year. READ MORE »