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Casey Powell is back, so is Off the Crosse-Bar Podcast: Two great things all in one

Casey Powell hasn't been in the NLL for two season but now he's back hungrier than ever (Photo: Larry Palumbo)

For those fans there were around back in 1999, you’ll remember a brash, flashy and at times cocky, NCAA record holder coming straight out of Syracuse University with all the accolades anyone can imagine. Picked  by the Rochester Knighthawks, Casey Powell came in with the expectations that any first overall draft pick would have but this time, it was a little different.  Powell was tagged as the best American playing the game of lacrosse at that time, maybe ever, and he was going to come into the National Lacrosse League and revolutionize the game and prove once and for all that Americans can handle playing inside the box. READ MORE »

Buffalo Bandits, IL Indoor, National Lacrosse League

Bandits draftees hoping to make waves

Hayden Smith (left) is among the Bandits draft class hoping to make the team and an impact with Buffalo this year. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

Over the past few seasons, the Buffalo Bandits have been a team defined by their experience. One of the oldest teams in the league, this attribute has earned the team praise as well as ridicule. The rule changes last season made for a faster league, one in which youth thrived. With their four picks in the first two rounds of the 2012 National Lacrosse League Entry Draft, the franchise is trying to move towards the younger end of the spectrum as well.

Leading this year’s draft class is the team’s first round pick, Dhane Smith of the Kitchener-Waterloo Braves. He led all players in the junior circuit with 107 points in 19 games. Smith hopes to be a strong addition to the team’s offensive unit, one that had some issues with scoring depth last season. READ MORE »

IL Indoor, National Lacrosse League

Video: Roughnecks, Mammoth promo for exhibition game Dec. 8 in Langley, B.C.

The Colorado Mammoth and Calgary Roughnecks are playing a National Lacrosse League pre-season game Dec. 8 at the Langley Events Centre. Check out the promotion the LEC put together for the game and if you feel so led, we’re sure the organizers won’t mind it if you go ahead and buy your tickets for that game. Today.

Calgary Roughnecks, IL Indoor, National Lacrosse League

Challenges of Type 1 diabetes can’t keep Calgary’s Scott Ranger from thriving

Calgary forward Scott Ranger has plenty to deal with besides stingy defenders in lacrosse. (Photo: Larry Palumbo)

Over his nine-year professional career, Scott Ranger has risen to the upper echelon of pro lacrosse. He’s among the top scorers on the Calgary Roughnecks, where he won the Champion’s Cup in 2009 and was named to the Western All-Star team in 2011. In the Western Lacrosse Association, he was named league MVP in 2011 and this past summer he led the league in scoring (12 points ahead of second place and 22 ahead of third) for the second straight year while playing for his hometown Nanaimo Timbermen. But Ranger also is in another much more exclusive class, which none of his Roughnecks or Timbermen teammates can boast — that of professional athlete struggling with and excelling despite diabetes. READ MORE »

IL Indoor, Minnesota Swarm, National Lacrosse League

2012 Minnesota Swarm: What went wrong, what went right

The Swarm had a lot of pleasant rookie surprises in 2012, and goalie Evan Kirk, right, was one of them. (Photo: Dan Brodie)

The 2012 National Lacrosse League season didn’t start so well for the Minnesota Swarm. Then it got better. Then it wasn’t good again. Then better, then a slump, then much, much better. That’s about what you’d expect from a lacrosse team fielding 8, 9 and 10 rookies for each game and while it was apparent that this young group took some lumps along the way, what also was apparent that this young group discovered a chemistry that made it one of the NLL’s best, ending its season with a loss in the West Division final. Clearly, much more went right than went wrong for the Swarm. READ MORE »

IL Indoor, National Lacrosse League

ILIndoor Top 40: Dane Dobbie #26

Whether it's for Coquitlam in the WLA or Calgary in the NLL, Dane Dobbie's taking you to the crease. (Photo: Dan Brodie)

Once in a while we hear a coach talking about a player who plays bigger than he is, a player who will run through a wall to win a loose ball, much less a game. Dane Dobbie is one of those guys. Year in and year out, Dobbie’s crashing the crease with little regard for his physical well-being. It’s a reckless style of play, watching the 5-foot-8, 180-pounder paying the price. But it’s Dobbie’s style and when he’s putting up the stats the way he is, no one’s gonna get him to do it differently. And it’s not like he’d listen anyway. It’s how he rolls. READ MORE »

IL Indoor, National Lacrosse League

Ranking the NLL’s first-round draft classes: Class of 2002 defends anything at No. 8

Billy Dee Smith in Buffalo exemplifies the defensive heart that dominates the draft class of 2002. (Photo: Larry Palumbo)

There’s an old saying that offense wins games, but defense wins championships. And for the Class of 2002, there are a few fellas who know a thing or two about winning championships. This is a class that leans heavily to the defensive end and not just any defensive end. We’re talking perennial All-Stars and All-Pros, guys who have hoisted the Champion’s Cup and guys who bleed for the cause. They rarely get the glory, leaving that for the pretty boys on offense. Make no mistake, this class is not completely void of offensive talent. But if it’s a defensive example you want, it’s the Class of 2002 that will bring you what you want. Let’s break it down. READ MORE »

Colorado Mammoth, IL Indoor, National Lacrosse League

John Grant, Jr.: Broken records, broken bones and clean pee make for an eventful year

John Grant (right) is happy to have Richard Morgan on his side after a huge collision last year led to him missing a pair of games.

John Grant, Jr. has been through a lot over the past few years. The serious knee injury and subsequent life-threatening infection that cost him the 2009 National Lacrosse League season were a grim reminder of the fleeting nature of athletic greatness. Since then he has welcomed the challenge of working to prepare himself to play at a high level again for as long as he can. It’s turned out pretty well for him since: two Mann Cup championships, an NLL MVP and the pro league’s all-time single-season scoring record. So when drug testers showed up at his house in the middle of the Mann Cup this year, he welcomed them in. As ColoradoMammoth.com shares, he’s also welcoming the man who inflicted his latest physical trauma to Denver as well. See more after the jump. READ MORE »

IL Indoor, IL Indoor Fan Poll, National Lacrosse League

ILIndoor fan poll: Which team did the best upgrading to prepare for 2013 NLL season?

Shawn Williams, right, was with Edmonton last season but was traded to Buffalo in July. (Photo: Ward Laforme Jr.)

The Buffalo Bandits traded for Shawn Williams. Defenseman extraordinaire Chris White is with the Toronto Rock. Kyle Hartzell, Kevin Buchanan and Kevin Ross are Philadelphia Wings now. Paul Rabil is property of the Rochester Knighthawks, although the question remains unanswered as to whether he’ll don the teal. And Aaron Pascas was traded from Toronto to Calgary. Plenty of young legs were drafted on Oct. 1, and beyond the talent of top pick Mark Matthews, there are plenty of players who will have an immediate impact on their National Lacrosse League team this coming season. So the question: Which team upgraded most effectively to position itself for a run at the 2013 Champion’s Cup? Americans can vote for a president next week. But you can vote in this new ILIndoor fan poll today. READ MORE »

IL Indoor, National Lacrosse League, Rochester Knighthawks

Llord and Montour looking to land in Rochester

The Rochester Knighthawks have signed Ian Llord to a one-year contract and have also offered a deal to Tom Montour. The pair of veterans were recently released by the Buffalo Bandits. “We opened the door and it’s up to them how long they’re going to stay in there,” Knighthawks owner and general manager Curt Styres told IL Indoor, noting that the players will have to come to camp and earn spots on the roster. Llord took his first step by taking part in the KHawks open tryout camp, about which he talks in this video.