Addicted to Lacrosse: Recent Episodes
Melissa Dafni, Tyler Fitch, & Graeme Perrow
Awesome: Callum Crawford, Georgia Swarm, comebacks, matinees, and Graeme.
Not awesome: Warriors, penalizing spraying glass with water, and Graeme.
Awesome: Rock win while depleted, Dane Dobbie, Mark Matthews, Rhys Duch, Black Wolves two-win weekend, Riptide's almost comeback
Not awesome: Missed calls, Calgary offense other than Dobbie, complaining fans
Awesome: Brodie Merrill, defense and attendance in Halifax, Dane Dobbie, Paul Day, and San Diego's comeback
Not awesome: Losing the feed of an exciting game in OT, catching the ball, and mouthing off to the ref
Awesome: Halifax's amazing comeback and that game in general, Rambo, Hellyer, parity, attendance, the Stripped podcast, and refs
Not awesome: Threatened penalties for celebrating, MLL loses another team, Shayne Jackson breaks his streak
Awesome: Mitch Jones, Rock D, kids in Rochester, and Baby Shark
Not awesome: Ref issues in Vancouver
Extra topic: NLL Hall of Fame. Who's worthy?
Awesome: Parity, underdogs, Jake Withers, Brodie Merrill, Mike Poulin, Austin Staats.
Not awesome: Our picks last week
Awesome: Halifax, Nick Damude, San Diego, Georgia, and Josh Byrne.
Not awesome: Parity, knowing the score in advance, and hot dogs vs. tacos
Awesome: So many exciting games! First franchise wins for NY and Roch, great defense all around, Stephen Keogh, and Jake Elliott
Not awesome: Rock offense, refs affecting game outcomes, and discipline lapses in Rochester
Awesome: Kevin Crowley's 300th goal, LaxCon, Trevor Baptiste, Rush D, Craig Wende
Not awesome: Vancouver, inconsistent refs, Colorado, unsportsmanlike conduct penalties
Awesome: Bell, Belisle, Merrill, Ward, Poulin, Ruest, Rambo, Georgia's PP, Riptide D
Not awesome: King's injury, BR Live app (better, but still has problems), Buque, Germy Thompson
Awesome: Mike Hasen, Colorado D and rookies, NLL Wired
Not awesome: Three stars selection in Calgary
Also: We completely solve the problems with replay and review in the NLL.
Awesome: Game of the Week, New England, Nick Rose, Zack Manns, Vancouver Warriors, and the Seals will play on a Marine base!
Not awesome: Rush, Philly offense, scheduling again
Awesome: Halifax: attendance, offense, and Withers; also New England D, Cloutier, Suitor, functioning technology!
Not awesome: Rock attendance and offense, Riptide offense, all games at the same time
Awesome: Goalies, exciting games to start the season, some rough stuff.
Not awesome: technical glitches continue, Bilic gets hurt, Rochester's offense
Here it is, our off-season summary. Lots of trades, free agent signings, retirements, a surprising number of un-retirements, coaching changes, and lots more. Plus a few things that are awesome (PLL) and some that are not (BR Live pricing).
Awesome: End of game two, Dobbie, Del Bianco, Duch, Malawsky
Not awesome: Dan Dobbie, what happens to Wes Berg?
Awesome: Del Bianco & Vinc, Dane Dobbie, O'Connor's goal, Fraser's goal
Not awesome: MacKay's hit on Wilde, Buffalo's offense, NLL website woes
Awesome: Ward, Del Bianco, Vinc, and Buffalo's compete level, defense, and power play
Not awesome: Homers, Nick Rose haters, Snider's enthusiasm
Awesome: Close games, the Mammoth, the hidden ball trick, Matt Vinc, Jordan Durston, Monday lacrosse, and the Thompsons on nike.com.
Not awesome: Rush's tying goal, Monday lacrosse, very long goal challenges.
Awesome: Dane Dobbie, Bandits balanced offense, Jeremy Noble, Dallas Wade and a goalie goal!
Not awesome: Black Wolves allowing Rochester's comeback, no Mark Steenhuis, no close games to end the season.
Awesome: Calgary attendance and D, Rochester again, Dan Dawson, Dane Dobbie, Christian Del Bianco.
Not awesome: Vancouver's effort, blowout games, Austin Staats's injury.
Awesome: Close games, parity, Jim Veltman, Jesse King, Dane Dobbie, Rochester.
Not awesome: No BR Live in Costa Rica, Mike Poulin hurt, nasty travel schedules.
Awesome: Lacrosse out Cancer, Rochester's heart, Adam Shute, comebacks.
Not awesome: San Diego's 0-2 weekend, Colorado's loss despite great D
Awesome: Vancouver's almost-comeback, San Diego's balanced offense, Garrett Billings's goal, Curtis Dickson's goal and milestone
Not awesome: Callum Crawford's thought process
Awesome: Swarm attendance, San Diego, that Killen kid, Vinc's goal, Vinc's goaltending (and Rose too).
Not awesome: Rock offense, Warriors, logistics of video review.
Awesome: Chris Boushy + the Knighthawks (sort of), pretty Georgia goal, exciting finishes, free weekend from BR Live, "Who won and why"
Not awesome: Philly's collapse, BR Live is free but many can't watch it, Calgary's inconsistency
Awesome: Bandits, Roughnecks, fancy goals, young forwards, Curtis Dickson
Not awesome: Announcers getting stuff wrong, no Jeremy Noble again
Awesome: Jake Withers, Tyler Digby, Cody Jamieson, Aaron Bold, the Seals, goalie hits, and going 4-0 in predictions!
Not awesome: Refs injuries, Logan Schuss, Colorado
Awesome: Black Wolves, Dillon Ward, Evan Kirk, Shawn Evans, Curtis Knight, and the PLL teams
Not awesome: Colorado, Callum Crawford
Awesome: Thunderbirds and Riptide, A2L shoutouts, Steve Priolo, Philly on Saturday, New England on Sunday, Rush offense
Not awesome: Benesch gets hurt (but is then OK), Logan Schuss, Philly on Sunday, Curtis Dickson's layoff, cancer sucks
Awesome: Live lacrosse! Vancouver and how they handled Austin Staats, 10-point games, Jules Heningburg, Kyle Killen, Tyson Geick
Not awesome: San Diego, Rush, Warriors management decisions
Awesome: Tucker out Lymphoma night, Brad Kri, Del Bianco and Penney, Curtis Dickson, Philly, and Georgia
Not awesome: Tor/Sask goaltending, announcers getting rules wrong, attendance in Toronto
Awesome: Lyle Thompson, comebacks, goalies (some), Ian Hawksbee, San Diego, BR Live (again)
Not awesome: BR Live (again), Bandits, Mammoth, goalies (some)
Awesome: New England, Vancouver, San Diego, Lyle Thompson, Jordan Durston's goal
Not awesome: Calgary, Georgia, BR Live, and the fact that Melissa wasn't available
Awesome: Dillon Ward, Rush defense, attendance, Georgia still undefeated
Not awesome: Dickson's return, Aaron Bold, Colorado's offense, racist comments
Awesome: Doug Buchan, Rhys Duch, Dillon vs. Christian, Matt Vinc, Tom Schreiber
Not awesome: Toronto offense other than the obvious, crowd at Scotiabank Arena, Seals 4th quarters
Awesome: Black Wolves, Frankie, Christian, Angus, Lyle, and LaFontaine.
Not awesome: B/R Live, NLL game scheduling, Corey Small being scratched, Jamieson's empty-ish net shot.
Awesome: Attendance in Vancouver, San Diego, Austin Staats, Rhys Duch, and the Toronto Rock
Not awesome: Crowd in Vancouver, Rhys Duch being ignored in Vancouver, Stephen Keogh, and the Buffalo Bandits
Both/neither: Philly embracing the city's lacrosse history, Vancouver completely ignoring their own.
In this episode, we discuss some team captain announcements, Dan Carey's departure from Colorado, a new franchise in New York, and Bleacher Report Live. Awesome: New England, Philly, Vancouver, and former Stealth players. Not awesome: Vinc, Koneczny, Dhane Smith's injury, and the Philly announcer's movie references.
This is it, our final episode before the season begins. We talked about many of the trades and free-agent signings that have happened over the past few weeks. We also made our predictions for various player awards, final standings, and of course the games of week one.
In our second pre-season episode, we cover the trades, free agent signings, and retirements that occurred over the off-season. We also discuss the weirdness of the expansion draft as well as what we know of the CBA negotiations.
We're back! Lots to talk about in this pre-season episode. We discussed the Warriors, coaching changes for the Mammoth, Wings, and Bandits, the league awards, changes at NLL Productions, the Halifax / Rochester move / expansion, the MLL finally listening to us and changing their schedule, and Paul Rabil bolting from the MLL to form his own league.
Awesome: Goaltending, Jeff Shattler, Rush defense, post-game f-bombs, and Les Bartley.
Not awesome: Begging for attention from TV networks, NLL TV not making game 3 available, and Rochester’s loosies.
Awesome: The Knighthawks in general and Matt Vinc specifically, Jeff Shattler, Ashley Docking, the Yale Bulldogs, and an Iannucci sighting!
Not awesome: Dan Dawson replacing Curtis Knight
Awesome: Defense and transition, Chris O’Dougherty’s team wins WA state championship, and the Rush: former laughing stock to four finals in a row.
Not awesome: Billy Dee, Knighthawks losing Sid Smith, the bye week, and the MLL’s player relations.
Awesome: Both division final games! All the goaltenders, Jake Withers, Toronto and Washington’s championships.
Not awesome: Lazy play and penalties at the end of each game, broadcasters using “secret” short forms.
NLL Awards picks plus:
Awesome: The NLL Cup, Matt Vinc, Rochester, Colorado’s first half, Colorado/Calgary’s 4th quarter.
Not awesome: Colorado’s third quarter, who should take a penalty shot, and should Colorado fire Pat Coyle?
Awesome: Joey Cupido, Vancouver, Lax AllStars, Mark Matthews
Not awesome: Rock and Mammoth goaltending, Rock power play, and the “proverlap”
Awesome: The crazy east division, Aaron Bold, Andrew Suitor, Tucker out Lymphoma night, Rock offense, Calgary offense
Not awesome: Stealth defense, Stealth defense, Stealth defense
Awesome: Rock first half, NLL comes together for Humboldt, new video feeds next year.
Not awesome: Rock second half, Bandits second half, missed dead ball foul calls.
Awesome: Dan Lintner, Randy Staats, Jesse King, and Dan Dawson' sister.
Not awesome: Loud music during broadcasts, volume changes, and Toronto's offense... again.
Awesome: Vaughn Harris, Joey Cupido, Todd Labranche.
Not awesome: Rock offense against Colorado, New England’s drop from first to last, and ignorant fans who hate goalies.
Awesome: Great defensive games, Suitor, Del Bianco, Ward, Cupido, DIckson, and the Swarm’s hard work.
Not awesome: Stealth, Rock offense in week 13 (though it got better in week 14), and St. Patty’s Day.
Who doesn't love trades?
Awesome: The two big trades, ReLax, Steve Fryer and the conspiracy around him, Mike Poulin and the Swarm, and Jake Elliot
Not awesome: Shawn Evans had a less-than-stellar Bandits debut, Stealth's lumps, Joey Cupid-o
Awesome: Vancouver (except for the losing part), Joe Resetarits, Kyle Jackson, Dan Dawson for not playing, Buffalo honors its alumni, and Rush/Roughnecks D.
Not awesome: Vancouver (the losing part), Twitter game of the week announcer is a newbie while Brad & Jumbo are in the building.
Awesome: Del Bianco, the Knighthawks, the Swarm, Stephen Keogh, and the crowd in Georgia.
Not awesome: Stealth, the crowd in Rochester, Hail Marys don’t count, and do the Swarm protect Johnny Powless?
Awesome: Del Bianco, Byrne, Hodgy, McIntosh, and the hidden ball trick.
Not awesome: Stealth, Swarm, Mammoth, and the crowd in Georgia.
Awesome: Del Bianco, Ward, Kirk, Schuss, Matthews, the Roughnecks, the Rush, and the Stealth… sorta.
Not awesome: Rock D, major penalties, and the Stealth… sorta.
Awesome: The Rock, the Stealth despite losing two, Shattler, Dobbie, McIntosh, del Bianco, and Roku.
Not awesome: Second half Rush, first half Roughnecks, Bold, Stealth accuracy, and the Edmonton Rush.
Awesome: The Bandits with the big comeback, Brett Manney + goaltending + crowd in New England, and the NLL embraces advanced metrics.
Not awesome: Announcers getting names wrong, Buffalo until their comeback, Rabil trade still haunts the Stealth (or at least Tyler). Network problems during podcast recording are also not awesome.
Awesome: The Rock win big again, the Stealth just win, Poulin and the Swarm.
Not awesome: Calgary loses it after they lose, no transaction news, NLL TV not made for mobile.
Awesome: The Rock dominated every aspect of their game; good broadcasters: Mitch Belisle, Jake Elliott, Brad Challoner; and good players: Callum Crawford, Alex Buque, and Tom Schreiber.
Not awesome: The Swarm aren’t the Swarm we expected, the Stealth were just terrible, and we shouldn’t still have to complain about the video streams.
Awesome: Colorado, Toronto offense, Ryan Benesch. Not awesome: Vancouver, Buffalo goalies, Rochester's delay of game
Awesome: Calgary’s offense, Saskatchewan’s offense, Zach Currier, Rush don’t quit, Tom Schreiber works hard.
Not awesome: Vancouver & Toronto both starting 0-2 and neither can score, attendance still down.
Awesome: Vinc & the Knighthawks, Buque & the Bandits. Not awesome: attendance, the Stealth offense, and the Calgary everything.
Our second pre-season episode! We talk about retirements, final rosters, injuries, two new teams, a new streaming service, and our predictions for the upcoming season!
It's been a busy off-season! Trades, free-agent signings, retirements, two new teams and possibly another one coming, the Mann Cup, the MLL, so much to talk about!
Congrats to the Georgia Swarm, 2017 NLL champs!
Awesome: The Swarm, game 2, the Thompson brothers and Lyle in particular.
Not awesome: Video production, twitter feed.
Also: was Keenan's decision a good one or should he be fired?
Awesome: Georgia’s offense, persistence, and momentum; Jeremy Thompson, and the Swarm social media people.
Not awesome: Kind of a sloppy game, questionable calls on Jordan MacIntosh (one in each direction?), Swarm seating assignments.
Awesome: Attendance in both Georgia (!) and Saskatchewan, great goals by Saskatchewan players with the initials MM, and the Swarm heading to their first championship.
Not awesome: Disorganized Mammoth, Georgia goal camera in the wrong place, and Stealth player Chris O’Dougherty beats Stealth fan Tyler.
Episode 4.20, man. Smoke ’em if you got ’em.
Awesome: Swarm D, Rock D, Rush in the 4th, and playing all four quarters.
Not awesome: Fans who throw stuff and boo injured players, Mammoth in the 4th, NLLTV.
Playoffs!
Awesome: Brandon Miller, Corey Small, Callum Crawford, Logan Schuss, Vancouver attendance.
Not awesome: Nick Rose, Evan Kirk, Rhys Duch, Toronto attendance, Mammoth underestimating the Stealth.
We talk about the playoff picture, the great games to end the season, our picks for the NLL awards, and our predictions for the first round.
Awesome: Almost every game! Graeme Hossack’s game winner, Mark Steenhuis’s 1000th point, and the strong outings by non-playoff teams.
Not awesome: Mammoth heading into the playoffs with a couple of weak outings and the Bandits in the 4th quarter.
Awesome: Stealth make the post-season, Tyler Carlson and Tye Belanger play a couple of great games, and (surprise) Georgia’s offense is excellent.
Not awesome: John Gurtler, Bandits and Mammoth in general, Roughnecks miss the playoffs, and is it the end of the line for Cosmo and Grant?
Awesome: Bandits & Stealth get it done when they need to, Black Wolves dominate only the last 90 seconds of the game but it’s enough to win, Mike Poulin’s saves in the dying seconds.
Not awesome: Rock second half, Rush tailed off in the 4th quarter, and refs missed an important call in OT.
Also: Does Cordingley keep his job if the Bandits miss the playoffs, and does Locker keep his if the Stealth do?
Awesome: Swarm offense, Rush defense, and Dave Thomas.
Not awesome: Bandits, Stealth offense, and no Rush/Stealth 4th quarter.
Awesome: Durston, Matthews, and the Stealth. Not awesome: Rose, Cosmo, and the Mammoth. Extra: Is Curt Malawsky done in Calgary?
Awesome: Rose, Ward, Poulin, Rochester, Greer, Saskatchewan’s D, Twitter numbers, and Calgary honours TK.
Not awesome: Buffalo, streaming problems continue, John Fraser leaving the Rush, and seeing a former member of your team playing against your team.
Graeme flies solo! Awesome: Callum Crawford, Stephen Keogh, Kedoh Hill. Not awesome: Calgary and Vancouver offense.
Colin Doyle honoured by the Rock, Rush win in OT, and Georgia loses again while Vancouver wins again. Wait, can that be right?
Another overtime game, the Stealth win at home, Rochester wins a wild one, and Georgia makes a blowout seem like not a blowout.
Awesome: an OT game and great goaltending. Not awesome: BAM!, Vancouver's offense, and lots of big name players getting hurt.
News featuring the Mammoth and Black Wolves, Nick Rose and the Swarm are both awesome, some close and exciting games, and an NLL expansion rumour.
Awesome: Georgia, Thompson brothers, Schreiber, Dickson, Billings, and Brent Adams. Not: Fowler, Calgary O, and boarding.
Awesome: Matt Vinc, attendance, and the Swarm. Not awesome: Nick Rose, Mammoth defense, Jammer injured again?
Awesome: Fowler, Poulin, Dobbie, NLLTV. Not awesome, Rochester, New England, also NLLTV.
Awesome: Toronto Rock, unless you're a Rush fan. Georgia Swarm, unless you're a Bandits fan. Not awesome: Vancouver Stealth, regardless of who you're a fan of.
Awesome: the Vancouver Stealth! Not awesome: NLL TV. Also not awesome, Graeme and Melissa's predictions for week 2.
We look at the off-season player movement, make some predictions for the new season, and discuss the games of week 1.
The Rush take a 1-0 series lead over the Bandits. Also, the Rock are the oldest team in the NLL - will we see big roster moves?
The finals are set, the NLL's new video service rocks, ref and fan biases, and should the NLL go back to one-and-done?
The division finals have begun, but no overtime this week. Plus the Rock have a job opening.
A couple of exciting games, and we're also pretty excited about the NLL's new video provider!
We make our picks for the annual player awards and predict the first round. Special appearance by Tyler's cat!
The Rock are so hurt they might need a rule change, the Stealth won again when they needed to, and the Swarm and Knighthawks both lost.
The Rock put up a good fight, but were eliminated from the playoffs. But the Swarm and Stealth kept their hopes alive!
Buffalo is in, New England may be in, but still nobody has been eliminated from the playoffs. Also, is Shawn Evans or Dhane Smith the MVP?