NLL Crystal Ball: Week 5

I went an impressive 4-2 last week (better than all the IL Indoor experts). I'm now 8-7 on the season (tied with Pilson and ahead of all the other experts). The know-it-all in me wishes I'd gone 6-0, but the Rock fan is happy about the two wrong predictions. Anytime Rochester and Buffalo lose, and look awful doing so, is good. This past weekend of lacrosse was so exciting that I wrote this post on Sunday. I figured that was a bit early to post, but I'm home sick today, so it seems as good a time as any. I go out on some tenuous limbs with my picks this week, which can be mocked after the break.

NLL Crystal Ball: Week 4

Time to check the crystal ball again. I went 2-2 last week, which is respectable, and I'm at 4-5 on the season. I've decided on a methodology for the weekly favouritism, which I think should give it some credibility and fun. Check out my picks and other prognostications / pontifications after the break.

Habs Thoughts

I have a question for Leafs fans about Tomas Kaberle. He looks completely and utterly lost on the ice since joining the Habs. This is saying something, because he's playing alongside the slowest man in the history of hockey (Hal Gill - who I can forgive, because he puts in an honest effort every game), two rookies (Emelin and Diaz) and two near-rookies (Subban and Weber). I remember there being a lot of hype about Kaberle in Toronto ... was this a case of him being the closest thing to a competent player on the Leafs (such that the Toronto-centred media deluded themselves into believing he was good)? Or has his skill set dropped off dramatically now that he's been infected with the "loser" mentality?

I'm sure you Leafs fans have a question you want to ask us Habs fans about an equally over-hyped player, the answer to which is after the break.

NLL Crystal Ball: Week 3

Maybe I should stay out of the business of making guesses on a game-by-game basis this National Lacrosse League season. I went 2-2 last week, so I'm 2-3 on the season. There are four games this week, and I'm not feeling very productive this afternoon, so I figured I'd get my picks done before I get swamped with other things later in the week. I was going to just throw my picks down, but Graeme insisted I provide insight and analysis. Check it out after the break.

NLL Crystal Ball: Week 2

It's the second week of the National Lacrosse League Season, and there's four games on the schedule tonight. Edmonton has another week off, but everyone else plays tonight. The Rock-Goondits game is going to be broadcast live on TSN in Canada, and all of the games are available through the NLL Livestream feeds. My picks are after the break.

Sid Dickens Spring 2012 Preview Review

The first picture of the first tile of the Spring 2012 collection appeared yesterday on the 10th of January. This means it's time for the return of the most popular biannual blog post (Fall 2011 / Spring 2011). I know most of you come for the pictures, but for the three of you who come to read what I think, I will once again be live-blogging each day's release(s). So check back daily for updates. The tiles and my thoughts are after the break.

Player Profile: Dan Carey

I can't tell you how excited I am to see one of the newest players on the Toronto Rock: Dan Carey.

Image stolen err I mean borrowed from IL Indoor.

Crystal Ball: 2012 NLL Season

I'm getting very excited for the start of the 2012 National Lacrosse League season. I just listened to the podcast of the first episode of Toronto Rock Total Access; I watched some of the guys on CP24 this morning, and last night I read Andrew McKay's piece on Matt Roik. I'm unbelievably excited, even more so because my oldest nephew is coming down for his first game on Sunday.

Since I nailed my playoff predictions last year (stupid Boston), I figure I might as well gaze into the crystal ball again before the season starts. This isn't rocket science, because only one team in the entire league will miss the playoffs. In fact, teams could start clinching playoff spots as early as the All Star Break at the end of February. What amuses me the most about the number of teams making the playoffs is that two (or more) teams could go winless this season, and one of them would still get into the playoffs using the goals for / against tiebreaker.  Check out my predictions after the break.