Late last year I talked about not getting season tickets for the Buffalo Bandits this year only to reverse my decision shortly after. My biggest fear about not getting season tickets was that I would miss the excitement and entertainment Banditland offers. Well, I am learning this year that the fear may not exist any longer.
This season I bought season tickets, picked some games to go to and sold the tickets to the other games that I couldn't get to. As it turned out, I missed a game I was suppose to go to due to illness. Without going into details, both my wife and I were not well enough to spend over two hours in a car to get to Buffalo. We even had a babysitter scheduled for the game so we would have had a night out alone. Neither of us were too happy we missed a night out alone.
Anyhow, back to the point. Not having been to a Bandits game in almost two months has not been as bad as I would have thought. As it turns out, my kids are keeping me busy that not only do I enjoy doing nothing every chance I get, but I also have no energy to really follow anything too closely. Having the Rock on TSN2 has helped some I suppose; I'm still getting a lacrosse fix even though I have no invested interest in the game. I have paid attention to the standings enough to notice that Buffalo needs to win two more games (one against Rochester) and they secure at least one home game in the playoffs, regardless of the other games (among various other scenarios).
This season has turned into a test year for next year when I don't have season tickets. And this time I won't change my mind; two kids and a two hour drive with a potentially long wait at the border is more than I can take. With luck I will once again get season tickets for the Bandits but perhaps I will be content with just a couple game a season like in the years prior to being a Bandit season ticket holder. Time has a way of changing things though.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Monday, February 28, 2011
NLL All Star Game
There was a time, not too long ago, that I enjoyed the National Lacrosse League's all-star game. Back then the game s more reminiscent of a regular season game instead of being a typical all star game. The game would be competitive and players would hit each other, perhaps not as hard as in a season game, but hitting was nonetheless part of the all-star game. This fact not only set it aside from other sports all-star games but also made it very enjoyable to watch. One year (perhaps in 2005 when the game was in Toronto) the game was even advertised as not your typical all-star game.
Sadly that time has passed us by.
Yesterday's NLL all-star game was exactly like the traditional all-star game. Players avoided most body contact, there were hardly any battles for loose balls, players would hover around the opposing teams end waiting for the long pass and the defense took over a quarter to finally provide a little help to the goalies. An all-star game in lacrosse is not needed if the sole purpose is to highlight the offensive talents of players. For the most part, the offensive players didn't do anything different from what they would normally do in a season game. Colin Doyle frequently scores the ridiculous over the shoulder/behind the back goals; John Grant takes a dozen or so behind the back shots a game; there are several behind the back passes each game; Dan Dawson has patented the between the legs shot; John Tavares tries to score from behind the net every couple of games, many times with successful results; and Mark Steenhuis frequently cradles one handed and tries all sorts of 'trick' shots as he drives to the net.
To see the stars shine in the NLL all one needs to do is attend a game. With so few teams in the league each team has at least a couple stars who have adopted some special move as part of their regular plays. It is almost a necessity to beat the great keepers in the game. With the increased competition in the league and more players using special moves during regular games, the all-star game is really unnecessary. The NLL should get back to the more competitive all-star game or end the silly dress rehearsal.
Sadly that time has passed us by.
Yesterday's NLL all-star game was exactly like the traditional all-star game. Players avoided most body contact, there were hardly any battles for loose balls, players would hover around the opposing teams end waiting for the long pass and the defense took over a quarter to finally provide a little help to the goalies. An all-star game in lacrosse is not needed if the sole purpose is to highlight the offensive talents of players. For the most part, the offensive players didn't do anything different from what they would normally do in a season game. Colin Doyle frequently scores the ridiculous over the shoulder/behind the back goals; John Grant takes a dozen or so behind the back shots a game; there are several behind the back passes each game; Dan Dawson has patented the between the legs shot; John Tavares tries to score from behind the net every couple of games, many times with successful results; and Mark Steenhuis frequently cradles one handed and tries all sorts of 'trick' shots as he drives to the net.
To see the stars shine in the NLL all one needs to do is attend a game. With so few teams in the league each team has at least a couple stars who have adopted some special move as part of their regular plays. It is almost a necessity to beat the great keepers in the game. With the increased competition in the league and more players using special moves during regular games, the all-star game is really unnecessary. The NLL should get back to the more competitive all-star game or end the silly dress rehearsal.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Set NLL salaries based on years of service?
A few years ago I pondered the idea of salaries in the National Lacrosse League and wondered if a sports league could standardize base salaries. I had put this thought into the overly large nether region of my mind until this blog post brought the thought out of hiding.
My work experience is far from extensive given that I've worked at one place since graduating from college, but I am with the understanding that pay scales are used by companies in compensating employees for their work. This pay scale could be formally set out and known to those in the company or perhaps there are unspoken limits that are known only by the top management or owners of smaller companies. Perhaps some companies do not refer to their practice as pay scales but I don't doubt there is an upper limit for each position within a company, big or small.
The big question is why can't a sports league use this principle in determining base salaries. The basic premise, which is pretty much all I have, is to set a standard base salary for rookies and each additional year in the league adds a predetermined amount for each year of service. These increases would be used to create set amounts for each year of service so year one is $20,000, year 2 is $22,000, etc. This would keep all players at each year of service at the same base salary and prevent timing differences in when a player joins the league.
Without leaving the beloved player's union out of the equation, they can still cause havoc...er, help players with respect to negotiating different pay scale increases for different lengths of service instead of a constant increase each year. For example maybe year 2-5 the increase will be $2,000/year, years 6-15 base salaries increase by $3,000/year and for over 15 years of service base salaries increase by $6,000/year. Of course those figures are only relevant if the league's revenues increase but the idea is the same. In addition, the PLPA would still be able to bargain for higher annual cost of living increases, better pensions and other such items that management wants to take away or not provide to their employees.
This amount being only the base salary. Whether this is already applicable in the NLL or not, any performance bonuses will continue to be in addition to base salaries (no need to get rid of player agents now is there?...). I am not too familiar with how bonuses work but perhaps there can be a requirement for a minimum performance level to retain certain bonuses for the length of the CBA, or individual contract. Perhaps bonuses can be left out of the NLL altogether...
As I said earlier, this is only a basic thought with some areas that need some significant thought yet, like how to deal with the salary cap, how to keep the bonuses respectable and have some bonuses that are a challenge to reach. As the league revenues grow the base salaries could increase as well. This might be able to keep the league affordable as it grows as well and that is a key benefit for me and I'm sure most followers of the NLL would like the league to remain affordable. I don't see why this concept could not be applied to a sports league but it is my idea and I am often blinded to the practicality of my thoughts when I think I have a good one.
My work experience is far from extensive given that I've worked at one place since graduating from college, but I am with the understanding that pay scales are used by companies in compensating employees for their work. This pay scale could be formally set out and known to those in the company or perhaps there are unspoken limits that are known only by the top management or owners of smaller companies. Perhaps some companies do not refer to their practice as pay scales but I don't doubt there is an upper limit for each position within a company, big or small.
The big question is why can't a sports league use this principle in determining base salaries. The basic premise, which is pretty much all I have, is to set a standard base salary for rookies and each additional year in the league adds a predetermined amount for each year of service. These increases would be used to create set amounts for each year of service so year one is $20,000, year 2 is $22,000, etc. This would keep all players at each year of service at the same base salary and prevent timing differences in when a player joins the league.
Without leaving the beloved player's union out of the equation, they can still cause havoc...er, help players with respect to negotiating different pay scale increases for different lengths of service instead of a constant increase each year. For example maybe year 2-5 the increase will be $2,000/year, years 6-15 base salaries increase by $3,000/year and for over 15 years of service base salaries increase by $6,000/year. Of course those figures are only relevant if the league's revenues increase but the idea is the same. In addition, the PLPA would still be able to bargain for higher annual cost of living increases, better pensions and other such items that management wants to take away or not provide to their employees.
This amount being only the base salary. Whether this is already applicable in the NLL or not, any performance bonuses will continue to be in addition to base salaries (no need to get rid of player agents now is there?...). I am not too familiar with how bonuses work but perhaps there can be a requirement for a minimum performance level to retain certain bonuses for the length of the CBA, or individual contract. Perhaps bonuses can be left out of the NLL altogether...
As I said earlier, this is only a basic thought with some areas that need some significant thought yet, like how to deal with the salary cap, how to keep the bonuses respectable and have some bonuses that are a challenge to reach. As the league revenues grow the base salaries could increase as well. This might be able to keep the league affordable as it grows as well and that is a key benefit for me and I'm sure most followers of the NLL would like the league to remain affordable. I don't see why this concept could not be applied to a sports league but it is my idea and I am often blinded to the practicality of my thoughts when I think I have a good one.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Bandits 2011 home opener
An air of excitement filled the HSBC arena Saturday night, as the cross border rivals Toronto Rock were in town to help the Buffalo Bandits open their 2011 home schedule. As the 16,685 fans, mostly clad in orange or black, made their way to their seats the excitement grew and exploded on the first note from the bagpipes. As the image on the big screen of a solo bagpiper zoomed out to reveal several more bagpipers and a drummer leading the Bandits to the floor, the fans got even louder. From this point one could tell it was going to be an entertaining game.
After a slight delay waiting for the signal to start the game, it began. And what a beginning it was for the Bandits. In under two minutes the home side was up 3-0 on goals by John Tavares, Chad Culp and Brett Bucktooth. Almost a minute later the Rock got on the board with Blaine Manning’s first of two goals and before long the game was knotted at 3. The first quarter ended with Buffalo holding a 4-3 lead.
The second quarter was back and forth and by the end the Bandits held tight to their one goal lead despite Colin Doyle scoring three in the quarter for the Rock. The third quarter was all Buffalo. They held the Rock scoreless in the quarter while netting three themselves and chasing Bob Watson from Toronto’s net. Just over a minute into the third period Buffalo opened a five goal lead but, similar to Toronto the previous night, they couldn’t put the game away.
Whether it was Toronto’s defense picking up their game or Buffalo’s sudden inability to make a cross floor pass in the offensive end that was the cause, the Bandits couldn’t seem to get a quality shot on Campbell. On the other side of the floor, the Rock seemed unstoppable as Garrett Billings and Blaine Manning took over feeding passes that ended up in the back of the net. This quarter it was sophomore Stephen Leblanc as the beneficiary of the Billings-Manning passes more times than not as he scored a hat trick the saw the game tied at 14.
With ten seconds left the Bandits won their fourth face-off and immediately called a time out leaving just over 7 seconds on the clock. Tavares lead the charge down the field but his shot was deflected out of play. After some quality chances by the Rock in overtime it was Scott Self scoring on a breakaway just over four minutes into the extra frame to win the game for the home side.
The game overall was extremely entertaining, well, with the exception of the numerous and lengthy reviews, but was not necessarily a good one. Can a game be called good when both coaches were yelling at the refs throughout the game? I am not sure how coach Cordingly didn’t get tossed from the game; he was inches from stepping onto the floor at one point near the end of the fourth quarter. The refs missed many calls, and I’m talking about obvious penalties where a ref was clearly watching the play, and called some soft penalties that must have left the opposing team chuckling.
There were times when my mind flashed back to the preseason scrimmage between these two teams (I’m talking about the brawl not the actual “game” as unfortunately I wasn’t there) and was amazed that there was no fight nor any penalties called during these scrums. I’m not sure who gets credit for keeping the players in line but it definitely wasn’t the refs.
In the end it was a much needed victory for the Bandits in front of their home crowd. Not a pretty one but win nonetheless. Toronto suffered their first loss of the season but still remain atop the East division standings. The Bandits sit tied for second with their New York rival Knighthawks. Toronto hosts the Bandits next Saturday for their second of three meetings.
After a slight delay waiting for the signal to start the game, it began. And what a beginning it was for the Bandits. In under two minutes the home side was up 3-0 on goals by John Tavares, Chad Culp and Brett Bucktooth. Almost a minute later the Rock got on the board with Blaine Manning’s first of two goals and before long the game was knotted at 3. The first quarter ended with Buffalo holding a 4-3 lead.
The second quarter was back and forth and by the end the Bandits held tight to their one goal lead despite Colin Doyle scoring three in the quarter for the Rock. The third quarter was all Buffalo. They held the Rock scoreless in the quarter while netting three themselves and chasing Bob Watson from Toronto’s net. Just over a minute into the third period Buffalo opened a five goal lead but, similar to Toronto the previous night, they couldn’t put the game away.
Whether it was Toronto’s defense picking up their game or Buffalo’s sudden inability to make a cross floor pass in the offensive end that was the cause, the Bandits couldn’t seem to get a quality shot on Campbell. On the other side of the floor, the Rock seemed unstoppable as Garrett Billings and Blaine Manning took over feeding passes that ended up in the back of the net. This quarter it was sophomore Stephen Leblanc as the beneficiary of the Billings-Manning passes more times than not as he scored a hat trick the saw the game tied at 14.
With ten seconds left the Bandits won their fourth face-off and immediately called a time out leaving just over 7 seconds on the clock. Tavares lead the charge down the field but his shot was deflected out of play. After some quality chances by the Rock in overtime it was Scott Self scoring on a breakaway just over four minutes into the extra frame to win the game for the home side.
The game overall was extremely entertaining, well, with the exception of the numerous and lengthy reviews, but was not necessarily a good one. Can a game be called good when both coaches were yelling at the refs throughout the game? I am not sure how coach Cordingly didn’t get tossed from the game; he was inches from stepping onto the floor at one point near the end of the fourth quarter. The refs missed many calls, and I’m talking about obvious penalties where a ref was clearly watching the play, and called some soft penalties that must have left the opposing team chuckling.
There were times when my mind flashed back to the preseason scrimmage between these two teams (I’m talking about the brawl not the actual “game” as unfortunately I wasn’t there) and was amazed that there was no fight nor any penalties called during these scrums. I’m not sure who gets credit for keeping the players in line but it definitely wasn’t the refs.
In the end it was a much needed victory for the Bandits in front of their home crowd. Not a pretty one but win nonetheless. Toronto suffered their first loss of the season but still remain atop the East division standings. The Bandits sit tied for second with their New York rival Knighthawks. Toronto hosts the Bandits next Saturday for their second of three meetings.
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