Superstitions, We're the Underdog, and Some Stats to Digest

Remember Me Jeff?!?!? (Wiater)

As you probably already know I've been laying low here for the last few days. I'm a very superstitious guy and to be completely honest I want to avoid jinxing my team at all costs, even if it means the blog posts take a hit. You'll get all my thoughts in the post game postage, no worries.

I do, however, feel the need to make one tiny observation. Very quietly the Jax have become the underdog in tonight's game. San Jose had the strong finish, Disher's knee is a question mark, Doyle is going to win the MVP, and the media in and around the NLL has marked the Jax for dead.

The Jax locker room has plenty of poster board material and I like it.

One last interesting thing to look at before the game tonight. Here is the stat breakdown from the three games these two teams played this winter.

SAN JOSE (1-2)
Colin Doyle -- 7G's, 15A's, 16 LB's (22 points)
Jeff Zywicki -- 5G's, 7A's, 18LB's (12 points)
Rhys Duch -- 6G's, 12A's, 24LB's (18 points)
Cam Sedgwick -- 4G's, 8A's, 11LB's (12 points)

Matt Roik -- 27GA, 79SOG, 52SV's (65% Saves)
Tyler Richards -- 7GA, 52SOG, 45SV's (86% Saves)

PORTLAND (2-1)
Ryan Powell -- 5G's, 9A's, 14LB's (14 points)
Peter Morgan -- 4G's, 6A's, 4LB's (2 games -- 10 points)
Cory Conway -- 4G's, 2A's, 10LB's (2 games -- 6 points)
Derek Malawsky -- 5G's, 8A's, 15LB's ( 13 points)
Brodie Merrill -- 4G's, 8A's, 37LB's (12 points)

Matt Disher -- 37GA, 150SOG, 113SV's (75% Saves)

Hopefully that's some yummy food for thought. Hopefully we get a big crowd and I'll see you tonight.

The Blog's 2009 NLL Post-Season Awards

I REALLY HATE TO SAY THIS. . . .(Wiater)

We're one week and one day away from the Jax home playoff game versus the San Jose Stealth and with the regular season wrapping up it's time for the Blog to get down with it's post-season awards.

Here we go. Back to front, building up to the BIG one.

General Manager of the Year -- Tom Ryan, Boston Blazers
The Jax homer in me wants to give this to Derek Keenan. DK selected Tim Campeau, Matt Yager, and Matt Flindell, signed Dan Stroup, and was able to turn his team around from the loss of Dan Dawson. A pretty great achievement.

Ryan's success involved A LOT of luck. He lucked into one of the NLL's premier scorers in Dawson, and lucked out even more in the Shamrox dispersal draft, acquiring Anthony Cosmo. And let us not forget he was able to select Daryl Veltman with the #1 selection in the '09 NLL entry-draft. Lets just say Ryan is no Kevin Pritchard. Without these three guys Boston isn't sniffing the post-season in 2009.

Ryan did find some diamonds in the rough. Brendan Thenhaus finally produced for Ryan after years of middling potential. Matt Lyons made a huge leap in his sophomore season, Gary Bining was a 20-goal scorer, and Jason Bloom turned in a very solid season in transition. Ryan combined unprecedented luck and some well informed scouting with his expansion picks to form a winner immediately in Beantown.

Coach of the Year -- Derek Keenan, Portland LumberJax
The Jax were the consensus pick to finish dead last in not only the Western Conference, but the entire NLL. Insider "expert" Brian Shanahan actually ranked Portland last in his power-rankings with the quote, "I won't be wrong about this team." Well Shanny, and a lot of others, have been proved dead wrong by DK's Jax. Portland, as we all know, secured a home playoff game, finishing 9-7.

DK was able to sell Portland on team offense coupled with great physical defense. When you look at all Dan Dawson meant to Portland in 2008 losing him could have been a cataclysmic event in the history of this franchise. Really what DK has done is nothing short of miraculous.

In looking how Keenan assembled this team you can see a clear vision from the get-go, starting last season in acquiring a franchise goaltender in Matt Disher. DK took a ton of heat at the time for making the move and dealing fan favorite defender Ian Crashley, but the move has more then worked out for Portland (Crashley only played 2 games for Edmonton). The signing of veteran righty forward Dan Stroup was met with a mixed-bag of reviews as well, but Swoop has been a solid and steadying presence on the O throughout 2009. Let's also not forget the trade this pre-season that brought in Luke Forget who was able to step in and help supplant the loss of the athletic Brad MacDonald.

Keenan also has an impeccable history in the draft. DK took Cory Conway, Pete Jacobs, Tyler Codron, and Joel Weber two years ago and then followed that up with Matt Flindell, Matt Yager, and Tim Campeau this year. That's a pretty dang impressive list.

Defender of the Year -- Chris White, Buffalo Bandits
Now I don't get to see White play a whole lot, but every time I have I've been shocked by his grit, athleticism and knowledge of the game. There isn't a better one-way D-man in the NLL and he's a big reason the Bandits are again the favorite to win the Cup in 2009.

Transition Player of the Year -- Brodie Merrill, Portland LumberJax
It's good to finally see people realizing what I've been saying for over a year now, MARK STEENHUIS ISN'T A TRANSITION PLAYER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Brodie has carried the Jax to their unbelievable '09 season and has been easily the team MVP in my opinion. Merill set a career high in loose balls with 216 and assists with 33. His ability to clear the ball out of the defensive zone and create odd-man rushes for Portland took a huge amount of pressure off of the offense to score and that relaxing factor had a huge effect on the entire squad. The Jax played looser because of it, they knew Brodie and Scott Stewart would create chances for goals throughout the game.

Let's also not forget that Merrill is still one of, if not the best, 1-on-1 defenders in the game today. I can't wait to see him locked up on Colin Doyle next weekend in Portland. It should be a battle for the ages.

Goaltender of the Year -- Matt Disher, Portland LumberJax
Dish has been the best netminder in the NLL in 2009 bar-none. This isn't even a question to me really. Oh what? You think Ken Montour? Let me tell you why you're stupid.

Montour played 651 minutes, Disher played 733. In those minutes Montour faced 555 shots on goal wheras Disher faced 634 almost 100 more shots. Their save percentages and goals against averages are comparable. Disher played with a worse offense and was expected to play every night, whereas Montour was given constant nights off sharing time with Mike Thompson.

Disher was hurt and still turned in the most impressive goaltending weekends in the NLL this year beating BOTH the Calgary RoughNecks and the Minnesota Swarm ON THE ROAD! ON ONE KNEE!!!!!! And did all of this with half the offense that the Bandits have.

Any questions? Ya, I didn't think so.

THE BIG ONE, MVP -- Colin Doyle, San Jose Stealth
38 goals, 73 assists, and his team would have SUUUUUUUUCCCCCKKKKEDDDDD!!!!! without him playing the way he did down the stretch. Doyle basically willed his club into the playoffs down the stretch.

Steenhuis has Tavares, Dawson has Cosmo, and Doyle had a rookie forward, crappy goaltending, and a struggling shell of his former self Jeff Zywicki.

It really pains me to say this but, when I think of the word 'Captain' in the NLL, Doyle is the first person I think of. He's a leader in every sense of the word. He is the pulse of the Stealth more then any other player is. Doyle was the best player in the NLL in 2009 and did so when his team needed him more then ever. What more can you ask of a guy?

The answer is NOTHING.

Well, those are my picks. Tell me what you think and leave a comment. Keep checking back for a playoff game breakdown and the continuing series of who I want to punch in the face! Thanks for reading.

And #4 On Our List of Top 5 NLL Players I Want to Punch in the Face With No Reprucussions or Consequences is!?!? CASEY POWELL!!!

There are a lot of different things I love about lacrosse and sports in general that I think are fairly unique to myself and a small group of friends.

For example.

I like to make characters out of certain players that might not even be close to their actual personality (I’ve given Colin Doyle an Italian accent when I make fun of him and I die laughing every time I do it). I also enjoy doing overblown caricatures of fans from opposing teams (Philly’s are the most fun to do – “After this cheesesteak I’ma head down to da’ Wings game and watch them kick the s*** outta dem’ retarded Bandits and then afta’ dat’ I’ma head ova’ to my girl’s house and score a goal myself IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!?!?!?”

Gary Gait is old jokes are solid as well. Do you think he has a rocking chair in front of his locker instead of the steel ones? I’m betting he does. He might even knit.

See? You enjoyed that didn’t you? Well one of the all-time best pastimes in my opinion is holding unreasonable grudges that have no real merit, but are fun to hold anyways. Which brings us to #4 on our list of TOP 5 NLL PLAYERS I WANT TO PUNCH IN THE FACE WITH NO REPRUCUSSIONS OR CONSEQUENCES OF ANY KIND!

#4 – Casey Powell, F, New York Titans

Now a lot of you probably don’t remember this but CP was actually property of the LumberJax after the Anaheim Storm folded. Powell sat out a year before being deal to the expansion Titans along with Greg Peyser for a conditional draft pick and Tyler Heavenor.

This left me sitting in my seat last season watching Dawson and only being able to imagine what it would have been like to have CP on the floor with him. The Jax would have won the Champion’s Cup. Ya, I said it and I’m not backing down from it either.

When I punched Casey I would quickly follow it up with a kick in the balls and say, “That’s for screwing me out of a title a-hole, and oh ya your radio show sucked.”

Actually I like Casey Powell. He seems like a pretty cool guy and a phenomenal lacrosse player. The way he’s adapted and learned the indoor game is the blueprint for all American field players hoping to cross over into box.

Nonetheless, he still screwed me out of a title and that’s unforgivable.

Your brother’s waaaaaaaay cooler then you anyways.

Live From my Front Yard -- An $8 Penalty Shot for the Ages

Conway is my Celebrations Coach (Wiater)

Big news today out of my front yard.

With an $8 bet on the line I converted a penalty shot on a miniature net my Freshman brother got for Christmas.

My brother was in goal. He was looking for my patented sweeping left-to-right fake far post go 5-hole shot, but was stunned when I faked far post and came back short-side for the winner. He never even saw it coming. My celebration was in the likes of Cory Conway, pure sweet emotion for the goal having been scored. I even threw in the double-fist pump. It was awesome.

I feel safe to say that it was a move that no one but me could have made happen. That's right I said it. Suck it Doyle, Steenhuis, Tavares, Dawson, Grant, Powell. . . . I could go on, but I won't.

You get the picture.

Part I -- The Top 5 Players in the NLL I want to Punch in the Face with no Reprecussions or Consequences of any kind

We've got some downtime now with the playoffs not until May, 1st plus the sun is out and we can't be entirely focused on the games all the time. Sometimes you need to take a break and think about the special things in life. . .

And sometimes we need to think about the guys in the NLL we'd like to go Brock Lesnar on.

So, with that in mind I'd like to introduce you all to a 5-part series that I'm going to call, The Top 5 Players in the NLL that I Want to Punch Square in the Face!

I think we all have those moments during games where we become annoyed to point where physical violence is pretty much the only reasonable course of action, but we do need to lay some ground rules before we get into my list

• RULE #1 -- The player must stand there and take my punch square in the face. No flinching. No blinking. No bracing for impact. It must be a clean punch to the face.
• RULE #2 -- The player cannot in any way retaliate to my action. I like to think of this one as the Josh Sanderson rule.
• RULE #3 -- The player must be effected by my punch, I cannot select a player that would be unphased. For example Eric Martin would be an easy selection to this year's list, but my punch would in no way effect him, so he's therefore disqualified. Think of him as if he's in the list's penalty box, like he is most the time anyways.
• RULE #4 -- The player must cry. I know this is irrelevant because this will never happen, but still you gotta admit part of you would like to see Eric Martin squirt a tear right? Right.

So now that we've layed the ground rules let's get into the list starting at #5 with. . . .

Drumroll please. . . .

#5 -- Gary Rosyski, Forward, Colorado Mammoth
The guy they call "Rosy" would've been much higher in years past, but since he's moved to Colorado and his game has diminished the little squirt has managed to slip all the way down to #5.

It's hard to explain my hatred for Rosyski with words that don't have four letters in them, but I'll try. This guy has been one of the most annoying and aggravating players to watch since I started going to Jax's games. "Rosy" not only has a nickname that makes him sound like a 5th grade girl that uses too much blush, he plays with the kind of behind-the-back toughness any sucker-puncher would love.

I just look at him and can't help but think, "Ya I totally want to punch him in the face right now."
And really that's what the list is all about.

(Blogger's Note: Sarcasm)

Who Cares and Game Stories

Forget and Jonesy Take Care of Business (Wiater)

I got to start off with an apology with the lack of posting lately, I've been swamped with student-teaching. Don't worry though I'll keep you busy with posts to read in the coming weeks leading up to the playoff game May 1st. I'll have a playoff breakdown, some predictions, maybe a little season review action, and a couple pieces I've wanted to write for a while now so be sure to check the blog out on a more frequent basis for sure.

A 12-9 loss that didn't really matter last night at the Lumberyard. The boys continue to be plagued by that one quarter that seems to slip away from them, you can't have those kinds of letdowns in the playoffs and the team knows that. It was a pretty tall order to ask for anything miraculous last night coming off what was arguably the biggest regular season weekend in the history of the franchise and playing a game that was irrelevant to the standings. There was going to be some emotional letdown and a lesser focus, evidenced by Scott Stewart spending some of warm-ups chillin' with the ball-boys.

Two weeks until May 1st. Time to rest up, get Disher healthy, read your scouting reports, and get ready to rock the Lumberyard baby!

Now some Game-Stories

My Boy Yags

Because last night's game meant so little I took the time to kind of observe the entire game a little more then I usually do. I found myself concentrating a lot on Matt Yager.

Yags is a rookie that has showed some flashes of being a really solid player. He's grown up playing box and has a great feel for the 2-man game. Locked up with Josh Sanderson last night, he still looked comfortable and collected, stayed in good position, and wasn't beat. He's a little on the smaller side and that diminishes his value slightly, because it's harder for him to get through screens. Overall though Yags is a really solid defender that understands the back-end and knows when to push the ball and when to get off rug, I like his future in the NLL.

Victoria has been VERY good the Jax.

Records Falling Harder then a Dane Dobbie Flop

On a team that stresses the "We before Me" attitude there were some guys that had exceptional individual years. Here's the records that fell.

Brodie Merill - Career high 216 loose balls, 33 assists.
Derek Malawsky - 10th straight year with 50+ points.
Ryan Powell - Career high 44 assists.
Scott Stewart - Career high 98 loose balls.
Cory Conway - Career high 57 points, 23 goals, 34 assists.
Pete Jacobs - Career high 20 goals.

I don't even care if you use Spray paint!

Matt Flindell and Joel Weber. Guys, seriously, paint your freakin' masks! When I have to watch Matt King (who I have a large amount of past animosity built up towards) have a mask that looks amazing and you two have plain white that says Reebok?

Step your game up!

Tough Guy Sanderson

After a RoughNecks goal there was some yapping going on back towards the Jax bench when Merrill took a wack at a Calgary player which quickly prompted Josh Sanderson to almost push Brodie down from behind.

Look dude, you're an amazing assist guy (8 vs. Portland Friday) and I understand you're protecting your teammate, but do it to his face and do it to someone who wouldn't re-arrange your face in 15 seconds flat. Why do these guys think they get a free pass because they're small and play offense?

Quit acting like Ovechkin and take issue with someone to their face.

No three stars this week, because honestly the game didn't matter so I'm not interested as much in the individual performances. Remember to keep hitting me back up and leave comments. I'll have more for you Monday or Tuesday.

We're Coming Home, Stories of the Game, and 3 Stars

Brodie's on a Different Level From the Rest (Wiater)

Clear your calenders for May 1-3 the LumberJax are coming home for the first round of the NLL playoffs.

Jax buried the Minnesota Swarm 19-14 behind a huge 2nd quarter in which they scored 8 goals. The win completed a back-to-back sweep in which Portland wasn't able to leave Calgary until 5 a.m. and lost an hour in the central time-zone. The Jax headed into this weekend knowing they needed a win in Minny to secure a home playoff game and the way in which they did it exudes a team that is peaking at the right time and plays together. Portland was backed behind team efforts this weekend, and entire season really, a stark contrast from the Dan Dawson show a year ago.

Offensive Outburst --

One night after playing a tightly contested defensive oriented battle with the RoughNecks, the Jax exploded for 19 goals. Every player tallied a point on the scorecard, including the goalies Matt Disher and Joel Weber.

I had talked about how important the young players stepping up would be on the second night of a back-to-back with such heavy implications. They more then delivered. Tim Campeau continued his hot streak of play with another hat-trick, Pete Jacobs scored his 3 goals on only 4 shots on net, and Cory Conway scored 2 and coupled it with 5 helpers. The young fresh legs really showed, they added most of the bounce to the Jax offense.

The vets weren't lost in the mix either. Peter Morgan has had a career year in the goal scoring department, with the 4 he tickled the twine with Saturday it gives Pete 27 on the year, a career high. Ryan Powell's 6 assists put him in position to set a new career-high in that category as well, 2 against the RoughNecks next Saturday will do it for him.

Scott Stewart and Brodie Merrill kept the transition game running on all cylinders over the weekend as well. Stewy scored 5 goals, while Merrill scored 1 goal, passed off 7 assists, and scooped 24 loosies over the two game stretch.

Disher's Health (or lack thereof) --

Disher left Saturday night's game after being shaken up with what looked to be a twisted knee, which we know isn't 100% healthy to begin with.

Because the Jax locked up their playoff position over the weekend it will give Dish a chance to rest his strained MCL over the next 3 weeks. It's the kind of injury that needs rest and rehab more then anything else so the time off will prove very valuable.

Look for either Matt Flindell or Joel Weber to start this weekend versus Calgary. I'd be surprised if Disher is even in Portland for the game.

Scooping Up the Slack --

Brodie Merrill, one night after scooping 20 loose balls in Calgary, only picked up 4 grounders in Minnesota. Jamison Koesterer and Pat "I carry a gun to work" Jones more then scooped up the slack.

Jonesy scooped 12 loosies while winning 11-19 draws and Koesterer picked up 11 while winning 8-17 draws.

Finally 3 stars

3. Brodie Merrill -- Brodie has turned his game up to a notch we haven't seen him play at maybe ever. He's on a completely different level then everyone else and it shows.

2. Peter Morgan -- Big Petey had a huge weekend and capped it off with 4 goals last night. I talked about in the preseason how he needed to step up big time and deliver more offense in the wake of losing Dawson. He's done that and then some, he might be one of the hottest lefty shooters in the NLL right now.

1. Ryan Powell -- This team needed a huge weekend from their offensive leader and they got it. After being blanked in the OT victory against Colorado, Powell delivered a 12 point weekend and helped the Jax seal their home playoff game.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy my thoughts and I love to read yours in the comments section. Hope to see you at the Lumberyard this Friday and everyone has a safe and happy Easter holiday!