Rocktoberfest

The Toronto Rock are pretty good to their season ticket holders. There's often a little trinket in with the tickets each year, and lately they've hosted a season ticket holder party. I generally do everything I can to pass along these favours to people who will appreciate it the most - kids (like my nephews). Last year they started Rocktoberfest, a two week draw of prizes for everyone who renewed or purchased season seats before the deadline. Cool stuff, but it's not like I'd ever win anything ... except that trivia contest when I won an autographed Whipper ball and playing card.

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.

Toronto Rock Off-Season Updates

Since the Rock won the Championship in May a lot has happened in terms of the roster.

1. Watson retired as a first ballot hall of famer.
2. Trade with Colorado.
3. Trade with Washington.
4. Trade with Minnesota.

Toronto Wins the NLL Championship

The Rock won!!!

Bold Predictions

After Colorado beat Calgary last night, all eight playoff spots are locked up in the National Lacrosse League. Half of the teams already have their seeds locked in as well.

That's why I call them the Goondits

The Buffalo Goondits are in town on Friday night for the Rock's final home game of the season. Tickets, I'm told, are going fast and this one is not on TV.

Toes in the Crease

What a weekend in the National Lacrosse League.

It's Friday Night in Toronto and You're a Sports Fan ...

It's Friday April 1st and you're a sports fan in Toronto. What should you do this evening?

The Rock Can Clinch Home Playoff Game This Weekend

If the Rock win, and both Rochester and Boston lose a game this weekend, then the Rock are guaranteed of at least the second spot in the East and at least one home playoff game.

The Battle for First Overall in the National Lacrosse League

After a several week layoff, the Toronto Rock are back in action Friday night at 9:30pm real time (7:30pm Calgary time) against the Calgary Roughnecks. Those of you lucky enough to have TSN2 can catch the game live, the rest of us will have to watch on the NLL Network. The picture and feed quality on the NLL Network have been very good this season, so it's actually nothing to scoff at unless you have a restrictive usage meter or are using dial-up.

Rock Clinch 2011 Playoff Berth

With the Calgary thumping of Philadelphia on Saturday night, the Rock are guaranteed a playoff spot. I know, I'm sounding like a broken record, since I wrote about it here and here.

Rock can clinch a 2011 National Lacrosse League Playoff spot tonight

With a victory last night over Philadelphia, the Rock have lowered their magic number to guarantee a playoff spot to one. Be sure to check out the highlight videos with the TSN story, since two of the goals made the Sportscentre Highlight of the Night reel. The NLL version should have a video posted of the highlights in their story soon. If you want to watch repeats of any game this season go to Livestream.

Rock Midseason Update

Couple of notes about the Toronto Rock season.

Merrill's Back in Town

Time for some Toronto Rock updates!

Grading the Rock's Draft Class

NLL Insider gives the Rock a B+. I assume the B is for best, and the + is for even better.

By way of comparison, last year the Rock got an A (behind the Mammoth and Bandits). We all know how that worked out. Stephan Leblanc won Rookie of the Year, and Garrett Billings could just have easily have walked away with the hardware since the two were neck and neck in the rookie scoring race (and way ahead of the rest of the pack). Joel Dalgarno was part of the trade for Colin Doyle. Anthony Lackey contributed on defence, and undrafted rooks Drew Petkoff, Creighton Reid and Brendan Doran held their own out of the back gate.

I assume the step down from A to B+ means that we can only expect one rookie of the year candidate and two solid contributors. Either way, I'm excited. I'm probably more excited about lacrosse season starting than the NHL, and I'm waking up bright and early Saturday morning to get into the online queue to buy a ticket to the Habs game against the Devils on October 21st when I'll be in Montreal for the Canadian Science Policy Conference.

Also, while we're on the sports theme, I'm still riding a bit of a high from our big come from behind victory to keep our playoffs alive in slopitch last night. I don't even care that we should never have been behind in the game, or that we very nearly won our earlier game that would have made our playoff route much easier. Go Moruns Go!

The Rock picked a goalie (is it January yet, I want the lacrosse season to start)!

I am getting ridiculously excited for the start of the new Toronto Rock season!

Competitive Imbalances

So the completion of my post from the 24th is that Calgary declined to match the offer. Thank goodness NLL Insider has the wiretaps working. Hopefully this signing works out for the Rock. They still need a replacement goalie. Fingers and toes crossed that it's not this year, but it's inevitable in the next year or two.

Conspiracy Theory from the Centre of the Universe

I have to start with a disclaimer. Unlike the folks at NLL Insider I don't have a wiretap in the head offices of the National Lacrosse League. Unlike the kids who post on the NLL Forums I am not an owner or manager of a team, I'm not a player, nor can I call any of the above my friends or family or friends of family, and I'm certainly not a random troll. I've said 'hi' to a few of the guys at Toronto Rock season ticket holder events. That's it. I have no inside information at all!


I have noticed a pattern in some of the Rock's off-season moves. Let's go through them so we're all up to speed (compiled from NLL Transactions Page and NLL Insider transcripts of wiretaps).