MLL

Lizards Rebuilding Roster After Hyped Season Fizzles

November 19, 2013
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A lot went right in head coach Joe Spallina’s first year leading the (then) Long Island Lizards. A lot went wrong in his second year with the New York Lizards. Still, the roster (on paper) is littered with MLL All-Stars and difference makers. Another busy off-season of impactful moves saw management address questions at the midfield, bring in another threat on attack, and add some veteran leadership. Here is a…

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Lacrosse and Basketball

November 19, 2013
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Last week I mentioned that lacrosse is often inaccurately referred to as a cousin of hockey. Although the sticks may make for an easy comparison, the motion of the players is completely different. In fact, I’d argue that besides the sticks and their popularity in Canada, lacrosse and hockey have nothing to do with one another. Hockey players must make split-second decisions with the puck and move it before being…

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Where Do the Rattlers Stand?

November 18, 2013
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It sure has been a busy couple weeks in the MLL. There have been blockbuster trades and we’re still over a month away from the Collegiate Draft, with the Supplemental Draft just about two weeks out. Rochester was in the mix of humongous barters with the New York Lizards. Most recently, the Rattlers acquired the big man on attack, Mark Matthews, which sent Steve DeNapoli and a fourth round supplemental…

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What DeNapoli Adds to NY

November 17, 2013
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  The Rochester Rattlers have been making huge moves this off-season, most notably trading Max Striebel and Ned Crotty to the New York Lizards. The one that probably is of more importance than that trade, at least to the New York Lizards, is the trading away of Steve DeNapoli. The Lizards gave up Mark Mathews, the young Canadian and Denver grad, and a fourth round pick in the Supplemental draft….

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Mark Matthews Big Week in NLL, MLL

November 16, 2013
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Mark Matthews has had quite a week in both professional leagues. The second year player for the Edmonton Rush and third year player, now on the Rochester Rattlers, secured his long term future in the game at the pro level. First, Matthews signed a five year deal with the Rush. Matthews won the National Lacrosse League rookie of the year in 2013 and led the Rush with 38 goals, a…

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Lizards Trade Matthews for DeNapoli

November 15, 2013
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Closing out a busy week of trading for New York, the Lizards have acquired Long Island native Steve DeNapoli and a 4th round supplemental draft pick from the Rochester Rattlers in exchange for Mark Matthews. The 2011 Hofstra University graduate was drafted in the 5th round (30th overall) by the Chesapeake Bayhawks in 2011. DeNapoli played in five games with the Bayhawks in his rookie season before being traded to…

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Cannons Supplemental Draft Preview

November 15, 2013
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Anytime a team finishes 5-9, its fans will be demanding changes in the offseason. Local media outlets will blow rumors out of proportion. Expect the Boston Cannons to improve in 2014. Don’t expect to see much roster turnover though. Sure, they are flawed – but the Cannons are much closer to competing than the Ohio Machine or the Rochester Rattlers. There are very few holes on this roster; that’s the…

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Denver Protects Three Goalies

November 14, 2013
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Most of the time, teams in the MLL will send in their protected rosters with one or two goalies on it. This year, Denver went ahead and protected three goaltenders in Jesse Schwartzman, Adam Fullerton and Charlie Cipriano. One has to ask, why would a team protect three goalies? Well, here is just a few things these three keepers have done for the Outlaws: Schwartzman was selected in the 2007…

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Nationals Protected Roster Excludes Sid Smith

November 14, 2013
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There were not many surprises with the recently announced Hamilton Nationals 23 man protected roster.  The core group returns for the 2014 season.  The 2013 MLL MVP and Offensive Player of the Year and co leading scorer Kevin Crowley (38G, 3-2PTG & 14A) 55 points was named to the list.  Other notables were All Stars Tucker Durkin and Brodie Merrill.  The remaining core was named early this week with the…

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Is MLL in Florida a Good Thing?

November 13, 2013
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Lacrosse in the sunshine state, sign me up! Major League Lacrosse should be moving to Florida for the 2014 season. The Hamilton Nationals would be moving to south Florida where an All-Star game was played. I believe this would be a good move for the MLL. When word first came out of the MLL moving to either Georgia or Florida I highly questioned the Georgia proposition, I do believe that…

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