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NLL Girls

NLL Girl of the Week: Erin

And here we thought the only good thing about Buffalo is that the bars are open until 4 a.m.

Check out the newest installment of the NLL Girl of the Week. She’s a fifth-year member of the Buffalo Bandettes and she doesn’t just dance. She actually helps with the choreography. The thing is, she gets a lot of help from Ted Jenner on the routines and costumes that the Bandettes use, too. But Jenner being the humble guy that he is, he didn’t really want us to mention that in this week’s story. That’s why you won’t find it on the official NLL press release, but we can’t just let a good deed like this go unsaid.

Back to Erin; she’s a smarty, too. The Bandettes co-captain holds a degree in dance from SUNY Buffalo along with an associate’s degree in business administration. It’s a dream of hers to drop the knowledge from both to open her own dance studio. But when she’s not dancing, she spends time volunteering in the Buffalo community, which included time at the airport greeting visitors and answering questions.

Our question: Does she wear that Bandettes uniform at the airport to greet people? If so, book my flight.

Vote in our NLL Girl of the Week Tournament: NLLInsider.com

NLL Girls

NLL Girls: Natalie vs. Chantal

Three weeks into this NLL Girls of the Week matchup and we’d guess you guys had nothing better to do than gawk at photos and vote. Lucky for us, we’re right. Then again, we don’t really have better things to do either, especially during the week when we’re just waiting for the next game.

That said, San Jose’s Megan is the latest beneficiary of our wasted time and warped minds, moving on in the tournament after outpolling Colorado’s Angela by a solid margin, 87-68. We still think you can do a better job (do we sound like your old coach, or what?) and get your co-workers to vote. Better yet, don’t forget that after you vote at work, you can run home and vote again on your personal computer. Rest assured, we won’t be pulling any of that political stuff and calling for a recount or whining about hanging chads, whatever the hell those are. And knowing the minds of some of you freaks out there, it’s probably best that we don’t ask for your explanation.  

So move on to Week 4, where Minnesota’s Natalie, a former hockey-playing vegetable farmer, takes on Chantal of Toronto, who looks like she could star in an episode of Desperate Housewives.  Is that show still even on? Either way, vote now, vote again later but do it now, because this poll closes on Friday at midnight.

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NLL Girls

NLL Dance Team Pick’ems: Week 12

Crazy week for the NLL means a crazy week for our dance team pick’em participants in Week 11. Bad weather postponed the Toronto-Philadelphia game last weekend. All our dance team pick’em members had selected Philly, and if the Wings had won it wave given many of our participants a .500 record. Of course if you’re a glass half empty kinda person, many would have finished 1-3. Minnesota’s down off its early season perch, so picking them is no easy decision any more, and San Jose had Colorado’s number, and that unanimous pick hurt the pick’ems.

On the plus side our pick’em participant Caelee, a member of Edmonton Crush dance team, was selected the NLL Girl of the Week. Congratulations Caelee on the selection. Now, lets see how those picks do.

Lets put Week 11 behind us. On to Week 12:

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NLL Girls

NLL Girl of the Week: Caelee

The latest blonde bombshell christened with this weekly recognition from the league doesn’t say a word about herself on her NLL profile page. She doesn’t really have to, though. Just take a look at her pics and you’ll see.

What Caelee lacks in words of her own, the NLL makes up for by letting us know that this busy little bee from Alberta keeps herself busy on and off the floor with the Edmonton Rush. When she’s not dancing with the Crush, she’s working upstairs as an administrative assistant for the team. And with the All-Star Game coming up this weekend, she’s busy along with everyone else in the organization.

We don’t hold the fact that she’s a Hannah Montana fan against her. How do we determine that? The “one word” she uses to describe herself on the Crush Dance Team home page is: mischevious. Nice. We’ll take it!

• Cast your vote today for Megan or Angela: NLLInsider.com
• Take the NLL Offensive Challenge today: WingsZone.com

NLL Girls

Megan vs. Angela

So it’s on to our third matchup of this young season and while we kinda figured you guys take this stuff seriously (because it is, you know), it appears the participants are getting in on the act, too.

Last week’s matchup between Crystal and Leisel prompted Crystal to not only find herself being talked about in the NLL Forums, she even jumped into the conversation to defend herself. She also thanked the voters. Even cooler, she came up with the idea of a mud rasslin’ contest between the girls, which obviously does not suck.  Is it coincidence, then, that Crystal won? Maybe, maybe not. But the Titans dancer did manage to edge Leisel by the slimmest of margins, 116-112, and she advances to the next round.

So what’s up next? It’s Megan of San Jose and Angela of Denver.

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You know the drill by now. Read a bit more about each girl, then cast your vote. The poll closes Friday at midnight whether you’re done with your fantasy or not.

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NLL Girls

Dance Team Pick’ems: Week 11

An aside, but I believe this is the best pic I’ve posted yet for our dance team pics. This is the Chicago Shamrox Pro Dance team, led by Kim, one of our pick’em members. Good work Kim.

Week 10 was another tight week for our dance team members, with everybody going 3-2. Too much love for Philadelphia and Portland, who disappointed our dance team pick’em leaders. Four games this weekend, and Emily and Allison continue to fight for supremacy. Also, welcome back Lauren, who I mistakenly left out last week. We’ll get her up to date with our picks as well. Many tough contests to prognosticate, with Colorado and Philadelphia receiving unanimous love. On to the picks:

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NLL Girls

NLL Girl of the Week: Elizabeth

Elizabeth is a New Jersey native, so she had to do something to make up for it.

She became an Angel!

Just pickin’ on ya, Elizabeth. Jersey’s not so bad but we’re sure you’ve heard plenty of jokes about it. Truth is, this week’s NLL Girl of the Week is a first-year dancer with the Philadelphia Wings dance team, which calls itself the Angels Dance Team. It’s tough to picture a more heavenly way to pass the time during timeouts and if there’s any doubt to your dedication, all anyone needs to know is this: Elizabeth deferred enrollment in The University of the Arts to concentrate on dance competitions, lessons and teaching dance.

So welcome to the weekly club, Elizabeth. We’re sure you’re thrilled to be recognized, but even more thrilled to know that you’re now in the mix for our NLL Girl of the Week matchup. Who you’re up against and when you come up has yet to be determined, but it’ll be tough for anyone to vote against an Angel, right?

• Don’t forget to vote in the current matchup: NLLInsider.com
• Check out NLLInsider’s new contest: WingsZone.com

NLL Girls

Crystal vs. Leisel

Well, well, well.

As it turns out, you fellas pay just as much attention to the women as you do the players on the floor. You can’t deny it. We’ve got the numbers to prove it. Last week, we kicked off our weekly NLL Girls of the Week contest by pitting weekly winners against each other and judging by the number of votes cast in just 3 days of voting, there was plenty of gawking.

That’s not a bad thing, of course. But we can’t help but wonder that if more than 270 votes are cast in just 3 short days, what’s a full week gonna prove? We aim to find out as we set up matchup No. 2, which pits Crystal of the New York Titans against Leisel of the Portland LumberJax.  

Before we move on to this week’s matchup, the winner of our first week was Nikki of the Shamrox, who outpolled Alanna of the Knighthaws by a wide margin, 206-66 with 67 percent of the votes.

So it’s on to the East Coast vs. West Coast matchup. If we’re lucky, the girls will see this poll and change some photos on their site like one of ‘em did last week. Voting ends Friday at midnight.

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Click “read more” for more on Crystal and Leisel and when you’re done staring, er, reading, er … whatever. Just wipe up the drool and come back here to vote. 

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NLL Girls

NLL Dance Team Pick’ems: Week 10

Bandettes 2

Another tough week for our Dance Team Pick’em participants. Many of our ladies put their money behind Rochester in their matchup with New York last week, but a Titans’ upset put almost all our dancers at 3-3 or a 2-4 record for the week. One dance, Emily from the Philadelphia Angels, went with the Titans, and that has made her the overall percentage leader as well as the most wins picked leader. I don’t think Allison from the Minnesota Performance Team, who had been the leader up until this point, will be too happy. But, remember folks, this is a friendly competition here. Picks will start heat up and fluctuate as we round the halfway point of the season and head into a tough second half.

Here, now, are your Week 10 picks: READ MORE »

NLL Girls

Nikki vs. Alanna

There was a time in the world of sport when cheerleaders on the floor meant it was time for a break. Beer run, bathroom run, whatever. There was nothing to keep you in your seat.

My, how times have changed.

In our beloved National Lacrosse League, we don’t have cheerleaders, per se. We have dance teams, or performance teams. And we look. Yes, we do. We even think we’re the master of cover-up when we sneak peaks at the dancers while sitting next to our girlfriends at the games … because the last thing we want it to get caught looking, right? But as we all know, she knows. We don’t know how she knows, but she knows.

Well, here’s your chance to look and be helpful while looking. It’s the perfect setup to avoid that “Whatever!” look from your woman because you’re doing a service when you look and cast a vote for your favorite NLL Girls.

What we’re doing is taking each NLL Girl of the Week and putting them up against each other. We’ll list some of their interests (and pics), take some guesses (and post pics), critique their wardrobe (and post pics), and give you their phone numbers … kidding! (but we’re not kidding about posting pics). Get the picture?

Our first matchup puts Nikki of the Chicago Shamrox up against Alanna of the Rochester Knighthawks.

Cast your vote today, because this poll closes Friday at midnight.

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What you need to do is click on the “read more” tag, check out the credentials and cast your vote. It’s as simple as it sounds and you really have no excuse, unless she’s standing over your shoulder right now. But then again, we all know you’re reading this at work anyway.

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NLL Girls

NLL Girl of the Week: Anne

Ya know guys, it’s OK to admit you sneak peaks at the dance teams around the league when they’re on the floor. And you know damn well you’ve perfected the craft of balancing your beer to not spill a drop as you try to catch a t-shirt when these dancers are tossing them around the arena.

If any dance team member in the NLL is going to make you take a second look, it’s Anne in Calgary.

She’s a six-year veteran of the Crew Drill team and when she’s not preparing for home games, she’s a kindergarten teacher.

“The games are so much fun,” Anne tells NLL.com. “I love to dance and I love to perform.”

Check out Anne’s NLL profile page and while you’re at it, get yourself ready for a new tournament that’s coming to the site this week: The NLL Girl of the Week, where you get to gawk at pictures and vote for your faves. It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it, right?

NLL Girls

Dance Team Pick’ems: Week 9

Rock Dance

Well, finally, Minnesota failed our dance team pick’em members. The team fell to Buffalo, and every participant lost at least one game because of that. So the Swarm aren’t so lucky afterall then. Week 8 wasn’t a good week overall for most of the dancers, with 2-4 and 3-3 records abounding. Allison from the Swarm Performance Team and Emily from the Philadelphia Wings are tied at 24-12 records, but others are pressing including Dana from the Calgary Dance team. A big weekend is up with six games. The choice pick? Colorado with the win over Calgary Sunday Night. Now, one to the picks:

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NLL Girls

NLL Girl of the Week: Chantal

Chantal

Is there such an award? If there isn’t, there should be and Chantal of the Toronto Rock team should win it. Seriously. Check this out.

She was a dancer for the 2002 team, but decided to take some time off after that to pursue other interests. That journey has landed her a gig as a business development representitive for a natural gas company, but the pull to dance was too strong to resist. And so, she’s back.

Don’t think the Rock aren’t thrilled to have her back, either. In her last season, 2002, the Rock won it all. No pressure, Chantal, but the guess here is that the Rock just want you to keep on dancin’.

“Dance is my passion and to be able to perform in front of thousands of people makes all of the hard work worth it,” she told NLL.com.

Check out her NLL Profile Page.

• Get your NLL All-Star votes in today: NLL.com

NLL Girls

Learn to dance like the pros

Wings

The Philadelphia Wings and Rochester Knighthawks know how to win games and some say it’s because of the talent on the floor.

We all know that the real credit goes to the respective dance teams of each squad. Right?

Well, maybe not ALL the credit, but no matter what your opinion on the matter is, it’s a straight-up fact that both dance teams have scheduled open clinics to teach dancing skills. The Philadelphia Angels are hosting their clinic on March 8, just before the Wings welcome the Toronto Rock to the Wachovia Center floor. It’s open to dancers of all ages and cost is $30 ($15 if you’re a season ticket holder).

The Rochester Knightingales are holding their dance clinic on March 22. It’s the third annual instructional camp for dancers and for $60, participants aged 6 to 16 receive a uniform and instruction in a routine that’s to be peformed during halftime of the March 22 Knighthawks game against the Chicago Shamrox.

So if you’ve got an aspiring little dancer in your family, this looks like a great way to score some huge points with a unique birthday present that’ll not soon be forgotten.

NLL Girls

Dance Team Pick’ems: Week 7

Hazzah. Week 7 is upon us, and the our Dance Team Pick’em group is back with their hot selections for the weekend. Quick update: Allison from the Minnesota Performance team continues to carry the lead for the group thanks to sticking with her Minnesota Swarm for the early part of the season. Philly Angel Lauren has continued to impress with her selections, however, as is right behind Allison in race. Shrewd selections in Week 6 gave most Pick’em participants a leg up heading into this weekend.

Week 7 Picks:

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NLL Girls

Dance Team Pick’ems: Week 6

Hazzah. Dance team picks are back this wee as the members build on their impressive leads. Our ladies had an average of 5-3 last week, with Minnesota’s victory over Rochester the big monkey wrench of the week. Allison continues her impressive streak after sticking with her Swarm. She sit with the best average with a combined 14-6 record.

This weekend, there’s just a handful of game to choose from, including two involving San Jose. Lets see what our dance team members have to say.

And here’s what the Dance Team members said:

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NLL Girls

NLL Girl of the Week

megan

I spy a Spy Girl.

Megan, captain of the San Jose Stealth’s Spy Girls, admits she wasn’t very familiar with lacrosse when she tried out for the dance team, but is that really what’s important here? She’s the reason I’ll be humming “I wish they all could be California girls” for the rest of today.

All joking aside, Megan’s dancing abilities are just part of the reason she’s the NLL Girl of the Week this week. Besides cheering on the 1-2 Stealth, she’s a full-time student at San Jose State and works four jobs. Still, she finds time to volunteer for Make A Wish and a local shelter for women and children.

Be sure to check out her profile.

NLL Girls

Dance Team Pick’ems: Week 5

After a rough week three, our Dance Team pick’em members put together a solid week four, helping push many of their record close to or above the .500 mark. Minnesota Performance Team member Allison is leading the way at 9-3, but Colorado Wild Bunch’s Leah and Philadelphia Angel Lauren are both just a few picks behind. Some of our new members also did well for themselves last week as well.

This weekend, there’s a daunting collection of games, with eight contests starting tonight and going through Saturday. Here’s this week’s pick’em selections:

And here’s what the Dance Team members said:

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From the Stands, NLL Girls

Dance Team Pick’ems: Week 4

It’s Week 4 four our NLL dance team pick’ems, and our selection committee is ready to right the ship after a rough week. In the first full slate of games, dance team member favorites lost five of eight games. Blame the underachieving Toronto Rock, who lost two games to the Minnesota Swarm. New York’s victory over Portland also surprised voters. All those wins makes Allison from the Minnesota Swarm our current leader with a 7-2 record.

Heading into Week 4, we have a full lineup of dance team members ready to make their selections. And, for the first time, you can check out their picks in this easy to read chart. On to the picks:

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From the Stands, NLL Girls

Dance Team Pick’ems: Week 3

Chicago Dance Team

Here we are back for Week 3 of the NLL season, and our next session of the NLL Dance Team Pick’ems. Our dance team selections did quite well last week, with six picks going for eventual winner Toronto. It’s a full slate this weekend with games tonight and tomorrow. So, what do our Dance Team members think? READ MORE »