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Oshawa, Ontario, Canada

Friday, August 28, 2009

Mann Cup 2009

The matchup for the 2009 Mann Cup has been set and it will be a rematch of the 2008 cup final, except this year it will be played on the west coast. Is the addition of Shawn Williams enough for the Brampton Excelsiors to defend their title or will the exceptional goaltending of Matt Roik and Tyler Richards of the New Westminster Salmonbellies exact some revenge from last year? I like Brampton's odds although I haven't seen the 'bellies play this year so my opinion is totally meaningless. All games will be available for viewing for $9.95 per game so head on over to the WLA website on September 4 for game 1.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Bad luck traveller

After an unwanted hiatus from the lacrosse arena's I was able to get to the Bunker in Brampton to see the MSL seim-final series game last night. Similar to the last visit to the Powerade Centre, I was rooting against the home team and for the second time in a row, the visiting team failed to show up (this time almost literally).

After a late arrival into Brampton, the St Regis Indians had less than fifteen minutes to warm up. A far cry from the usual double warmups they get. When the game began it was apparent the short warmup was not enough to shake out the bus legs. Thanks to some decent saves by the Indians netminder and some even better saves by the posts behind him, the game was kept close in the first period. In the second, the Excelsiors pounced and took an 8-2 lead into the second intermission. I had to leave before it was over since my son was rather tired (it was a couple hours past his bedtime) but it didn't get much better for the visitors. 13-3 was the final score.

The previous game I ended up at the Powerade Centre for, the Peterborough Lakers' offense failed to show up and dropped their second to last regular season game 7-6. I was hoping for a Peterborough win only because that would have put a St Regis / Brooklin first round matchup a little closer to happening. That would have meant I could have seen Tavares without the hour drive. The only other game I travelled for this year was the Green Gaels ugly 4-1 loss in Newmarket.

I am beginning to think that I bring bad luck to these teams. Good thing the season is almost over then. Maybe I should just start rooting for the Excelsiors when I go there...

NLL needs change in philosophy

With the National Lacrosse League’s third attempt at the Big Apple ending in failure, it is time for the league to come to terms with their position in the world of sports, that being a minor sports league. For those not yet in the know, the NLL announced yesterday that the Titans franchise will move from New York to Orlando, Florida for the upcoming 2010 season. This is the third announcement involving NLL franchises this off season after the Portland Lumberjax announced they were ceasing operations and the San Jose Stealth announced their relocation to Everett, WA.

Until the NLL has some franchise stability, this league will never gain the long sought after major league status. Sure it is a professional league but it is constantly compared to the Arena Football League and that league recently announced it is suspending operations indefinitely. The time has come (if it hasn’t been here for a few years already) for the NLL to focus on solidifying the current franchises and showing the media and the public that the league is sustainable. Once that happens then maybe, just maybe, ESPN2 and TSN2 (or Sportsnet) will pick up some games again. After the league gets some solid nationwide exposure throughout Canada and the US, then, and only then, should the league consider expanding. The league is currently on the path to joining the AFL in the land of invalid sports leagues and lacrosse is too good for that.