IL Indoor

Shanny's Power Rankings

National Lacrosse League Power Rankings: Week 8

It is the unofficial half way point of the NLL as the league’s all-stars made their way to the beautiful Turning Stone Resort outside of Syracuse. Even though the All-star game was a high scoring (no-hitting) 30-26 shootout on Sunday, there was also a couple of “real” lacrosse games played on Saturday. The Rochester Knighthawks defeated the Edmonton Rush 13-9 and the Toronto Rock came out flying in Philadelphia and hung on for 16-13 victory. I won’t lie to you. These games did nothing to change the Power Rankings. However if you want a reminder of where your team stands and what is coming up, then check out the rankings after the jump.
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Inside the Numbers

Money Ballers: The NLL’s goal scoring leaders past the leaderboard

So far this year Culp has been one of the best even-strength and most accurate goal scorers in the NLL. (Ward Laforme Jr.)

It’s the second straight weekend where clutch scoring was at a bare minimum, the Toronto Rock taking an early lead againt the Philadelphia Wings and not looking back and the Rochester Knighthawks pushing past the Edmonton Rush in the second period and keeping them below a good compete level the rest of the way. They were Week 8’s lone two regular season games, plus the All-Star Game, which had goals, but describing any of those 56 as clutch would be, well, wrong. Casey Powell leads the Money Baller mainboard at around the season’s halfway mark, little movement on the leaderboard due to the above described contests. Today, we’ll take a quick look at the season’s top goal scoring stat leaders past just the regular scoring charts, all after the jump. READ MORE »

Calgary Roughnecks

Daniel “optimistic that we can come up with something” in Calgary, plus the links

George Daniel handed the Champion's Cup to Calgary in 2009 and is hopeful something will be done to keep the team in the city. (Photo: Larry Palumbo)

The National Lacrosse League’s All-Star Game took center stage on Sunday and while the topic was avoided completely during the game’s broadcast on Versus (and then tape delayed on TSN), the Buffalo News‘ Budd Bailey connected with league commissioner George Daniel in regards to the Calgary Roughnecks’ situation yesterday, Daniel telling the paper, “We’re working very hard. We hope we can find a solution over the next week to 10 days, to stabilize the franchise. That’s our goal. I’m optimistic that we can come up with something.” READ MORE »

IL Indoor Fan Poll, Toronto Rock

NLL fan poll: The greatest NLL champion … 2000 Toronto Rock vs. 2002 Toronto Rock

We’ve all heard that expression from an athlete after a poor effort by his team, claiming the other team didn’t beat us. We beat ourselves. That’s usually the opinion of a man who believes his team made too mistakes en route to a loss but today, it’s no mistake. The Toronto Rock are going to beat themselves in this matchup of our ongoing fan poll to determine the greatest National Lacrosse League champion in history. That’s the way it breaks down for this particular quarterfinal, which pits the 2000 Toronto Rock against the 2002 edition of the Rock. This can’t be easy if you’re a Rock fan ’cause no doubt you’ve got your favorite of the 5 the franchise has won, but today it’s time to pick just 1. READ MORE »

Inside the Numbers, Q&A

Around the Horn: Williams on the K’Hawks, Kyle Rubisch Q&A, bizarre stats

Shawn Williams and the Knighthawks might have been swept by the Rock, but they're in for the long haul. (Larry Palumbo)

While things are possibly coming apart at the seams in the West for the Calgary Roughnecks, it’s business as usual in the East, where Toronto and Boston are in the first and second place slots, respectively, but even the teams at the back of the pack are certainly competitors and only a few games back at the most. And this week’s Around the Horn serves as the perfect opportunity to check in with a couple of guys who are going to be essential to their team’s moving forward in Knighthawks captain and 14-year vet Shawn Williams and Kyle Rubisch, the rookie sensation who’s made a big name for himself with the Blazers. Check it out after the jump. READ MORE »

Buffalo Bandits

ILIndoor.com: Quotes from the 4 Bandits after the All-Star game

Offense, offense, and oh yeah, offense. This year’s NLL All-Star game saw 56 goals, 162 shots on goal, and 128 points. The Buffalo Bandits were well represented at the Turning Stone Casino and Resort’s Event Center in Verona, NY, as 4 members of the black and orange suited up to play. John Tavares, Mark Steenhuis, Brett Bucktooth, and Chris White were all selected. Below you’ll find some quotes from each of the Bandits’ representatives. READ MORE »

Uncategorized

NLL All Star Game Live Blog

We are here at the Turning Stone Events Center in Verona, NY for the 2011 NLL All Star Game. The crowd may be small in capacity but there are people from all around supporting their favorite players and favorite teams. As most all star competitions go, I am sure the competitive nature of the game will not be of the utmost importance, but with so much talent on the turf today, it is sure to be a spectacle nonetheless. I will be popping in periodically for some analysis, so follow along and get an idea of how your favorite All Star is performing against the top competition from around the NLL!

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Uncategorized

Week 8: Postgame Scores, Stats and Links

Toronto maintained its stranglehold on the Eastern Division with a 16-13 win over Philadelphia on Saturday night. Colin Doyle and Garrett Billings combined for five goals and 14 assists to lead the Rock. After building a 5-0 lead early on, Philadelphia started to mount a comeback but Toronto was able to pull away in what turned out to be a back and forth game.

Rochester snapped a two-game losing streak with improved offensive play. Mike Accursi led the way with four goals and an assist while Craig Point tallied a goal and four assists.

After the jump, full stats for each game as well as a few links.

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Pick 'Em, Staff Pick 'Em

National Lacrosse League Week 8 Picks

It’s a light week in the NLL with two games taking place Saturday before the All-Star festivities begin on Sunday. Both games were close in the fan voting with Philadelphia and Edmonton getting the consensus fan pick.

Toronto heads to Philadelphia at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday in a game everyone except the fans — who have been very Philly-friendly so far this season — have chosen the Rock to win. Edmonton and Rochester square off in the other game this weekend.

Jeff Dowling is leading the IL Indoor staff in picks with a 26-15 overall record. Brian Shanahan is close behind at 24-17. After the jump, see how the picks shook out this week.
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The Buzz

Dirty Dozen: Holding our breath, hoping for the best in Calgary with the Roughnecks

The Riggers celebrated an NLL title not long ago. Will there be more celebrations in the future? (Photo: Larry Palumbo)

Every Friday IL Indoor will track-back through the past seven days, looking at the stories that stole headlines and how they’ll affect the sport moving forward this weekend (and in some cases beyond).

The top story this week for the National Lacrosse League is not a pleasant one. Bottom line: The Calgary Roughnecks may not finish the season if they don’t get some financial help, although there is assurance they’ll play at least their March 5 game in Philadelphia. Owner Brad Banister says he needs $500,000 to keep the team running through this season and there’s been a lot of back-and-forth about whether or not the NHL’s Calgary Flames have shown interest in the lacrosse team. It’s a situation that brings a lot of questions and makes it difficult to choose a side, if there is one to choose. READ MORE »