Coverage of the Buffalo Bandits, Rochester Knighthawks, Rochester Rattlers and New York Lizards and coverage of Syracuse, Albany, Manhatten and more.
Mission accomplished! That should be the motto for the 2015 New York Lizards. When the Paul Rabil trade went down in January, everyone with any tie to Major League Lacrosse dubbed the Lizards the overwhelming favorite to win the Steinfeld Cup. Moreover, many said it would be a disappointment if they did not win it all. That is a lot of pressure. It is very difficult to perform when the…
The Buffalo Bandits announced on August 10 that they have come to terms with unrestricted free agent forward Daryl Veltman. Veltman is a former first overall pick from the 2008 NLL Draft, where he was selected by the Boston Blazers. Veltman had the best time of his career there when he amassed 77 points (34 G, 43 A) in his rookie season, followed by a 65 point (23 G, 42…
The Rochester Knighthawks announced today that they have re-signed defenseman Ian Llord to a four-year deal. For the nine-year National Lacrosse League pro, the decision was an easy one to re-up with the Knighthawks. “A four-year contract shows me that (Owner) Curt (Styres) has faith in my abilities,” he said. “Now it’s up to me not to let him down. Curt wants to win and that’s all I can ask…
The Buffalo Bandits off season talk for the past few years has been dominated by speculation of the future of John Tavares. The 46 year old veteran is an unrestricted free agent once again, and this year the Bandits did not franchise him. There was talk once again during the 2015 season that Tavares may not return, and when speaking to the Buffalo News this week, he added fuel to…
You want to take a guess at who I think won the Paul Rabil trade? Let me think about this for a few minutes … I’ll go with the 2015 MLL champion New York Lizards. For the record, that was a joke. It’s an easy choice, at least as of now since the Lizards won the championship this year. LIZARDS RECEIVED: Paul Rabil (From Cannons) Mike Stone (From Cannons) CANNONS…
Buffalo Bandits General Manager Steve Dietrich today announced the team has agreed to terms on a one-year contract with defenseman Billy Dee Smith. Smith had five points (1+4) and 32 loose ball recoveries while playing a career-high 17 games during the 2015 season. He is fourth all-time in Bandits history with 163 games played, and also ranks first in team history with 526 penalty minutes and 10th with…
It’s the NLL’s version of Hot Stove season (to use a baseball term), and that means general managers are as active as ever. Leading up to the draft in September, we will be discussing the off season with as many general managers as possible. First up is Buffalo bandits general manager Steve Dietrich. Question: How did the Veltman signing come to fruition? We wanted to add an impact left handed scorer coming in…
After the Lizards beat the Rattlers on Saturday in the MLL Championship, Greg Gurenlian shared what made this Lizards team different. “When you go into a fourth quarter like that and you feel like if I don’t do my job, I’m going to let my brothers down, it changes everything,” Gurenlian said in a postgame interview. From the moment the Paul Rabil trade became official, New York was the league’s…
It seems like few things in the sports world rarely follow the script that appears to be written. Few champions are ever undefeated. “Teams of Destiny” always seem to be watching someone else celebrate at the end of a game. Underdogs pull off the unexpected upsets. For the 2015 MLL season, this will be one of the few times that the season long favorites finished with a championship. The New…
The Buffalo Bandits have been one of the most active teams in this year’s NLL free agency period. They’ve retained their top free agent in goalie Anthony Cosmo, and they’ve retained other role players such as Dave Brock and Mitch Wilde. The Bandits became the first team on Saturday to sign a major free agent from another team when they signed Daryl Veltman. Veltman, a left handed forward, was one…