What the hell Matthews?

Here is a quote from the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, with author Bob Matthews providing this fun little tidbit.

"Philadelphia star Geoff Snider will be lucky if he escapes a suspension for his antics in Saturday night's loss to Rochester. He deliberately bowled over Knighthawks goaltender Pat O'Toole and then dropped his gloves and chased a Rochester player to instigate another incident while play was under way."

He failed to go on to mention that Shawn Evans crushed Philadelphia goalie Brandon Miller after the incident, an incident that was far more severe. Evans should be more lucky to escape suspension.

I'm not just saying this because Rochester is in Toronto after a game in Denver Thursday. I am saying this because Bob Matthews clearly ignored the Evans hit. He should have mentioned it, it was brutal. However, that doesn't excuse Snider. They should both be suspended. Bob Matthews should keep his bias a little more in check and mention both sides of the story.

You have to wonder what Thomas Hajek was saying to Shawn Evans during their firght.

Shanny on the Weekend

Before I write this, I have to make one thing perfectly clear. Brian Shanahan is a good guy. He does great things for the sport of lacrosse, has a good knowledge of the players in all levels of the game, and was great to listen to when the Rock televised their road games way the hell back when. But I have read his columns on NLL Insider this year, and a lot of them don't follow any logic, or have any structure. Here is his an example of some that in his latest column after this weekend's games.

"Wow. Again, another surprising weekend. Chicago beats Minnesota – not a huge surprise – but you have to like Chicago’s 10 goal run after a slow start."

This is Brian Shahahan, the guy is THE lacrosse analyst in North America. The guy that gets to analyze NLL championship games, Minto Cups, and just about every other major lacrosse game or tournament shown on TV. There are a few major flaws with this collection of sentences and sentence fragments. He first says that it was a surprising weekend. This is fair, because it was. The statistical data favoured San Jose and Minnesota in particular. They both lost, so yes, it was in fact surprising. However, following that he says that it wasn't a huge surprise that Chicago beat Minnesota. Didn't he say that it was surprising right before that? I guess he means it was surprising, but not hugely surprising. It was surprising Mr. Shanahan, you said that right before you said it wasn't huge surprise. Don't go back and forth.

"It doesn’t look like the Power Rankings have changed much but try to use your imagination to picture this. A month ago the distance between number 1 and 12 was huge – you would have to scroll down your computer a long way to go from Philadelphia to Chicago. Today the distance between 1 and 12 is much smaller. If we could we would squish them on your computer screen today."

Now this is great. Try to follow this. He says that the distance between the 1st and 12th team in the NLL was huge. It was in terms of their record, with Philadelphia being 6-0 and Edmonton being 0-6 or something similar. But then he says that the distance on my computer screen was longer back then than it is now. I am pretty damn sure it is the same distance. The exact same formula for how to format his rankings have been used every week. The teams are listed by his magical ranking system, with their logo and a small blip of information surrounding them. This hasn't changed since January. The distance today on my computer screen isn't smaller. The only thing that has changed is that the winning percentage differential is much smaller from first to last (or in Shanny's case, the weird, sometimes head scratching logic used to rank teams has somehow mysteriously pushed the teams closer together). But somehow, I need to scroll a smaller distance down my computer to get from 1 to 12. That is why the standings are much tighter. It is because my computer screen has tightened up. Good logic Shanny!

First Place in Sights

Thanks to another upset by the Chicago Shamrox last night against Minnesota (seriously, who thought they had it in them two weeks in a row?) and a loss by the Philadelphia Wings at Blue Cross, the Rock now have a chance at first place this coming weekend with Knighthawks in town Saturday, and the remake of the March 8th Philadelphia game. Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe this is the will be the first time this late in the season that the Rock would be in first place since 2005.

Of course with the Rock among the best teams in the NLL, what does the Toronto Star decide to put its attention on? An eliminated hockey team, a basketball team that got its asses handed to them tonight, and a soccer team that hasn't score since their first game or something. Absolutely embarrassing. You think that the team that has given Toronto its only championship caliber rosters since about 1994 would get some press, but no. I really don't give a shit about the Marlies either.

As many have noticed, the Rock gave Lewis Ratcliff the nickname "Sweet Lou". How the hell do they come up with these atrocious things? Sweet Lou sounds like a Birmingham, AB stripper's name, not the nickname for a guy who is supposed to lead the Rock to a championship. He doesn't need a nickname unless it is something that has meaning, or connects somehow to his name. Like Cam "Bam Bam" Woods. I suppose he has a strange fixation with the Flintstones or something. Let the guys who have developed cool, classy ones have them, otherwise don't force them down our throats at the ACC.

Ratcliff Stats

I posted some stats over on the NLL message board about Lewis Ratcliff. I will now cherry pick some of those to prove his value as an NLL scorer and particularly to the Rock.

Of his assists this season, only 37% have been second assists. As we all know, 1st assists are generally more important as they contribute directly to the goal. Not to say 2nd assists aren't important, but on average, it is safe to say 1st assists are the more important.

Since 2005 at the Air Canada Centre, Ratcliff has averaged over 5 PPG, scoring 13 goals and 13 assists in that span. This bodes well for the remainder of the season, with Ratcliff having 3 more home games.

Unfortunately, his points go down slightly against the Eastern Conference. This year in games against Rochester, Buffalo and Toronto, he has 1.7 goals and assists per game. This will have to get significantly better.

The stats support this trade. Ratcliff has also contributed to 22.0% of Calgary's goals this year, where as Josh Sanderson had only contributed to 19.2 % of Toronto's.

Trade Deadline: The Dust Has Settled

With the trade deadline yesterday now in our rear view mirror, lets take a look at some of the trades that happened yesterday

First, the Rush added the guy who is consistently the among the league leaders in dropped passes. Dan Teat joins the barbwire brigade (a great fucking nickname I know), a team that has virtually no offensive power after Chris Gill was traded to Colorado and Mike Accursi's production was exchanged for Teat ball dropping and some picks.

This is what new GM/Coach Bob Hamley had to say about the trade:

"He hasn't had the season he wanted. He's going to get a lot of playing time with us and he'll help our young guys mature. He doesn't need the ball in his stick until he's on top of the goalie and he's good at getting open. And he's a great guy."

OK there Bob. You did a great job in Arizona and really did well brining in Plunkett and Hominuck. But why bring in Teat? He is old (and not John Tavares good old, but just kind of old and bad). He wants to help the team's young forwards. I guess Brendan Thenhaus will get some playing time with Steve Hutchins. But essentially what Hammer wants Teat to do is to help Dan Stroup, Jim Quinlan, Plunkett, Hominuck and some other guys like Randy Daly who don't play anymore. Thats great, those guys are all really, really young. He also mentions that Teat doesn't need the ball in his stick until he is on top of the goalie. He doesn't need it in his stick because he loses the ball or passes it to the other team. I think Darris Kilgour figured this out finally. Usually once he gets the ball on top of the crease, he drops it too. That will be a big help for Edmonton.

The one thing I did like in this trade for the Rush (in addition to trading the great Matt Disher to Portland) is the draft picks acquired, because Paul Day seemed to think that trading what could have been Jeff Zywicki or Dan Carey for Andrew Turner was a great move:

"I worked the phones pretty hard," said Hamley. "We didn't have any draft picks the next two years when I arrived and we had to get some back."

Good for you Bob, just don't play up the Dan Teat part of this trade so much.

Now on to Jamie Batley, the guy who couldn't get anything for Scott Self because the asking price was too high in Chicago's end:

"Our defence and our goaltending are keeping us in games and giving us a chance to win,"

That is great Jamie. You are 2-7 and 3.5 games behind 4th place with 2 teams to leapfrog. Do you really want to go 4-12, or do you want to have a chance at Darryl Veltman or somebody good for your team. Have fun when Self is playing for Winnipeg or Dallas or wherever the Sting end up next year.

Finally, lets hear some statements of the big one yesterday.

First, Lewis "Sweet Lou" Ratcliff: "I just have to play my game when I get there. That's trying to put the ball in the net, being a threat on offence. I don't think they're bringing me in to change my style at all."

No shit Lewis. I don't think they are going to put Scott Campbell out on offence instead of you.

Now Sanderson: "After we won both our games last weekend I thought it was off so I was a little bit shocked when it happened,"

Why would you be shocked Josh? You don't play for the Barrie Lakeshores in the summer. Ask your old teammate who is now terrorizing defences on the west coast. Don't think he saw his coming either.

Beisel for MVP

I was waiting for some media outlet to pick up on the Brian Beisel signing. Unfortunately, it was NLL Inisder:

"The Philadelphia Wings ink veteran Brian Beisel and gain some valuable leadership from a dude who knows how to win championships".

Of course Beisel will lend his leadership to the Wings, the guy has been around for a while. But, just like David Eckstein in baseball, does Beisel actually know how to win championships? Does he have a game plan so superior to every other player in the league that it leads directly to a championship? Will he be instructing Dave Huntley on how to win a championship?

Was it him, or was it Colin Doyle, Blaine Manning, and Jim Veltman who were the main players on the 2005 championship team?

I love how these people think big Canadian defenceman, who possess all those intangibles-skills, grit, hustle, leadership, toughness, etc, think that Beisel will help the Wings win the championship because "he knows how to". In all likely hood, it will be a combination of Athan Iannucci, Taylor Wray, Kyle Sweeney and Jason Crosbie that will lead the Wings to the championship (should they get there). But I guess I can't argue with the logic that Beisel will know how to win it for them.

Lewis Ratcliff

I took a look at the NLL website yesterday and saw one thing I was hoping for. The Rock got a big power forward, which is one thing they desperately need. They also traded one of the best play-makers of all-time in a deal which made sense.

Here is a quotation from our favourite guy, the Director of Lacrosse Operations for the Rock, one Mike Kloepfer: "Kloepfer admitted that replacing the burly Doyle, one of the catalysts of the Rock's early decade dynasty, has been difficult, but felt that Ratcliff could solve the team's scoring woes."

OK. I have no problem with getting Ratcliff. The problem I have is that Kloepfer seems to think that there was some external force acting on him back in December of 2006. He believes that God spoke to him one night, saying that he needed to trade Colin Doyle for immortality. The owner of a local Tim Hortons franchise offered him free donuts for life if Doyle were traded, particularly if his favourite player, Chad Thompson came back in return. He may have also played that crossword lottery, and managed to put together a series of words saying "Trade Colin Doyle".

The point being that Kloepfer did not need to trade Doyle back then. He was still in his prime and still is. If replacing Doyle has been so difficult, then why do it in the first place? There was no need to trade for him. Had he not traded him, then there would no need to trade a premier playmaker like Sanderson for a power forward. Not to mention we lost a first round pick in the deal.

Lewis Ratcliff will solve a lot of the Rock's offensive needs. But where is the offence going to to run out of now? I'd expect to see a little more Jimmy Veltman out there as the quarterback in the last 5 games.

Doyle Update

A quick update on our favourite son: #7 Colin Doyle

10 GP, 20 G, 39 A, 59 PTS, .190 SHT%

The man he got traded for essentially: #21 Ryan Benesch

11 GP, 14 G, 25 A, 39 PTS, .133 SHT%

Who won that trade?

I know there were other parts, but thats what it boils down to. If we want to talk about other parts, how about Chad Thompson? He is having a solid year isn't he? Just running that transition game like he is the next Steve Toll.

*I know Thompson is injured, but he gets points for having played about 25 years of junior for the Orillia Kings.

Trade Deadline Preview

What will happen on Tuesday, in what can be considered a key day for NLL junkies to digest if their favourite team has what it takes to go to the big game in May? The trade deadline is on its way, and with an extremely tight east, and a western conference where every team has a chance to make the playoffs, it may be quieter than usual. With that in mind though, here are some guys who may be available:

Mat Giles, Chicago: Despite the win against Rochester last night, its pretty damn obvious the 'Rox aren't going to do anything this year. Giles is having another solid year, on pace for about 45-48 points. He is a big body with a ton of big game experience for the Peterborough Lakers, and could help any team in contention. If Jamie Batley is still under the illusion that Brad Self will show up and lead Chicago to glory, then Giles won't go anywhere. But it would be neat to see Giles attempt to go after his teammate Chris Panos' teams played for record.

Jonas Derks, Chicago: With the Windy City crew being the most mathematically unlikely to make the playoffs, they may be willing to part with another guy that has played in a ton of places, Jonas Derks. Derks had a huge game Saturday with 4 goals in the win over the big, bad Knighthawks, and could be a good secondary offensive addition for a contending team.

Also, Scott Self, one of the best shutdown defenceman in the game, could be had, but the Arizona situation keeps this cloudy. Chances are Batley would unload him if he knew that 'Zona was coming back sure, but who the hell knows anymore what Doug Moss is thinking.

Dan Stroup/Chris Gill, Edmonton: These guys basically follow each other around in the NLL (aside from Gill's brief journey to Cowtown in 2005) with stops in Toronto, Vancouver, Colorado and now Edmonton. They won't be going to an Eastern Conference team, but could be attractive to somebody in the West who wants to add depth and championship experience to its offence (Colorado again or San Jose) or somebody who wants some scorers to put them over the top (Portland). Bob Hamley could also hang on to these guys and try to track down Portland and Calgary himself. However, these guys don't have much left, and the Rush would likely face a quick playoff exit at the hands of San Jose or the Mammoth, so unloading them makes the most sense in the long run of the Rush.

Ken Millen, Rochester: The Knighthawks look to be in tough to make the playoffs, let alone repeat as champions. They won't trade John Grant, who still has at least 5 solid years left, nor will they trade Shawn Williams, who signed that big contract in the off-season. The Evans brothers are still both young and Chris Schiller is a local boy who is in the prime of his career. That leaves Millen, normally a solid offensive threat who is struggling this year, with a shooting percentage under 10%. He could probably be had for a 2nd or 3rd round pick, and could provide depth to someone's attack.

Brad MacDonald, Portland: The Lumberjax are unlikely to win the West this year, even with that beast of a power forward in Dan Dawson. It makes sense to try to get value and some future production in the form of a draft pick or prospect. With that in mind, MacDonald could be the guy to go. He is a solid defender, but will likely only go to a western team. San Jose and Colorado could both be interested.

Those are just some guys who could be traded. There are always some wacky trades (who the hell would have thought Craig Conn would have gone from Minnesota to Arizona in 2005) and other strange happenings (Paul Gait coming out of retirement to join his brother for one last hurrah). We shall see what will happen on the 25th.

As for the Rock, what will they do? It is hard to say under Kloepfer. Will he decide to trade the top 3 of his scorers, believing that securing more Barrie Lakeshores will bring glory back to the Rock? Will he do something smart, bringing in that big power forward that is desperately needed and try to ride an amazing goaltender one last time?

History suggests he will completely surprise us, doing something that leaves us scratching our heads and drinking a lot of beer to curve the pain.

Rock Beat Bandits!

No clever puns. You can think what you want, but yesterday's "What a Rush" header was a piece of blogging gold after the big win at the ACC on Friday night. The Rock simply came out what they had to do last night and held John Tavares and Mark Steinhuis to a combined 6 points, and only one goal.

With Buffalo fans raving about Ken Montour, it was Bob Watson relieving Mike Poulin early and delivering another sub 10 goal performance. Montour wasn't bad, but he wasn't Watson's equal, just by the sheer volume of goals he let in. But, I was listening on a choppy AM radio feed that wouldn't allow me to make out half the words that were being said, so if I am wrong, feel free to correct me. Glenn Clark deserves big praise for pulling Poulin after a weak start. Normally I feel coaches don't really control the game, that if the players do their job, their can be a certain predictability, but that was an important move.

The Rock's offence was clicking again, which surprised me somewhat, although there has been some success against a tough, but sometimes sloppy Buffalo defence. Josh Sanderson and Aaron Wilson both had 4 goals, and Blaine Manning had 5 assists. Ryan Benesch chipped in with what I heard was a quiet 6 points. That basically sums up Benesch's season right there.

Rob Marshall with another big game statistically (1/2/3 2 LB) and Jimmy Veltman had 10 loose balls in his last visit to Buffalo in the regular season. There is a decent chance that these teams could be playoff opponents.

Another note, Kasey Beirnes currently has his worst shooting percentage in 3 years. He is on pace for 32 big points, and really, really needs to justify trading a first rounder last year in the package to get him. If he makes more plays like he did on Friday, where he ran over an Edmonton defender, thus creating space for himself, and scoring a nice goal, he would be valuable. But those are two far and in between.

But again, goaltending was a huge reason for the win. The Rock need two big wins following an off week, when the struggling Knighthawks come to town, followed by a makeup game in Philadelphia.

Trade deadline on Tuesday too, I wonder what Mr. Kloepfer will do? Probably something to disrupt the results the Rock posted on the weekend.

What A Rush!

Well, the Rock listened to my prediction and beat the Rush last night (I know they didn't fucking listen to me specifically, I just used statistical analysis to determine that the Rock have a better chance at winning). Aaron Wilson, Josh Sanderson, Matt Taylor and to a lesser extent Blaine Manning all played great on offence. Ryan Benesch continues to struggle, as I believe most of his assists were 2nd ones last night (I am too lazy to pointstreak it right now, if any one can tell me, I'll get them a 2 dollar gift certificate at the Loose Moose). Rob Marshall is really turning into a solid transition player, and he isn't even from Barrie. Jimmy Veltman is so much more stabilizing for the team when he plays the crease on the PP, he just calms everybody down, which in turn, increases production.

I can't give anymore shoutouts without mentioning Bob Watson. The Whipper made some great saves with the game still close, and arguably, was the difference yet again.

The Rock are now probably in Buffalo, or struggling to get through customs at the Peace Bridge right now. Unfortunately, I will not be making the trip due to Easter commitments, but I will be pointstreaking and hope to have a recap tomorrow.

I really wish this game was on Sportsnet like the old days, but I guess they have too much CIS hockey to show. Without looking, I am guessing TSN has darts, pool, or a game where 2 bums square off in a battle to the death brawl over a piece of steak.

PS-How fucking awesome was it last night to see the Durham SWAT team come out of the rafters? Also, how fucking awesome was it to see a minor team other than Barrie before the Rock warmup?

Rock vs Edmonton

The Edmonton Rush invade the Air Canada Centre for a matchup tonight with the 4th place Toronto Rock. This game, despite a non-conference one, has big implications for both teams. The Rush need a win to keep pace with Portland, who won in what looked like a thriller last night against Colorado. The Rock need a win tonight, as they will have a tough game against Buffalo. With Rochester having Chicago this weekend too, it is imperative for the Rock to take the win tonight.

Having said that, it won't be quite as easy to beat the Rush as it was earlier in the season. Bob Hamley is a much better coach than Paul Day, having proven that in his time in Arizona. In addition to having Hamley behind the bench, he made some very, very astute trades to bring in Lindsay Plunkett, and Mike Hominuck: 2 30 goal and 60 point guys when they are both healthy.
Curtis Palidwor has also played much better in nets lately tonight, and will no doubt be excited to play against Bob Watson. The Rush also feature former Ontario Raider Mike Accursi, along with former Rock snipers and championship team members Chris Gill and Dan Stroup. I am hoping that the Rock front office will do something to acknowledge their past contributions to the team, similar to what they did for Pat Merrill and Kaleb Toth.


The Rock are coming off what I would call an embarrassing loss to New York last week, in a game in which nobody played particularly well. More finish and better shot selection is required tonight, otherwise Edmonton will take the win. Bob Watson is always the key for the Rock, and I am going to say there is a very good chance he will start tonight, although Mike Poulin is due soon too, perhaps in the April game against Chicago. Josh Sanderson has 6 points last week, but doesn't seem to make as many of those awe-inspired passes anymore, his production is also way down. Ryan Benesch and Aaron Wilson's shooting percentages have also been too low. Rob Marshall needs to capitalize on his transition chances a lot more now, and of course, captain Jimmy Veltman remains solid. I am surprised there is no effort, no production when one of the best in lacrosse history is winding down his career. I should hope that Veltman's efforts inspire at least something for the rest of the team.

I think the Rock will win, but it won't be a cake walk. Edmonton is not as bad as their record indicates, and Toronto is not as good.

Around the NLL:
-Brian Langtry had 9 goals on 20 shots last night, but the Mammoth still fell at the Rose Garden to the Portland Lumberjax. 9 goals is pretty damn amazing, but Langtry's lack of consistent production is obvious sometimes. Still one of the best Americans in the game.
-Rochester faces Chicago in a game they should win. Sounds very similar to last Saturday.
-San Jose will look to again move into a tie with the Mammoth for first place when they play at the Saddledome on Saturday vs Calgary.
-The New York Titans also have a home game in Trenton against the high octane Wings. I will say Wings in a romp.
-The Rock travel down the QEW for Veltman's last regular season game in Buffalo tomorrow. Hopefully I will have a game preview tomorrow.

Enjoy what should be an exciting weekend of lacrosse, and remember Rock fans: do whatever you can to get rid of Kloepfer.

Glossary

Some words used with regard to Mike Kloepfer:

Barrie Lakeshores: The best fucking lacrosse team ever. Look at all those Mann Cups. Every damn Lakeshore should play for the Toronto Rock at some point.

Good Player: According to Kloepfer, anybody who is small or slow or has poor stick skills or a combination of these things is a good player.

Smart Trade: Trading anybody who has played in an all-star game for a second round pick or less. Trading a perennial MVP candidate for guys that produce about a frigging fifth of what he does is an excellent trade.

Goals: A key stat according to Kloepfer. The team should have enough talent to score 5 a game. He cites a Barrie Tornado win in 2005 as a the reason why 5 goals a game is sufficient. Kloepfer thinks that a goal is taking at least 5 poor shots from in close, followed by hitting the back of mesh with the ball from at least 25 feet out. The 5 poor shots is a minimum, and if a player takes a good shot from in close or doesn't play for the Lakeshores he deserves to be punished. If Rob Blasdell is the opposing goalie, then only 10 shots may be taken a game, with 0 goals scored. If one does score against Blasdell, he must complain to the ref that it was illegal.

Shots Against: Again another key stat for Kloepfer. He believes that the team should allow the most shots against their goalie in order to "test" him and "keep him fresh". He believes that 55 shots against is a great game, and anybody who manages to shoot 70 against the Rock will get the players free appetizers at the Spruce Moose.

Loose balls: A stat that can show hustle, grit, and possession time. Simply put, the more loose balls picked up the better. The Rock have somebody, Jimmy Veltman, who is unreal at it, despite being about 7000 years old. They also have a lot of guys who seem to lose them consistently. Kloepfer invites anybody who loses a loose ball battle that leads to a Jarrett Park, Clay Hill, Ryan Cousins or Geoff Snider goal to join him for donuts after the game.

Conditioning: In the mind of Mike Kloepfer this area is especially important, and he has taken a new angle to this. While the New York Titans and Minnesota Swarm are running sprints and doing plyometrics, each off season, Kloepfer leads the Rock on a 10 day conditioning stint which includes his favourite exercises: TV Watching, excessive Beer Drinking, and Donut Eating. He feels that each of these exercises will mould them into quality athletes. After Blaine Manning broke away this year and hired a personal trainer, Kloepfer fined him 100 donuts.

Colin Doyle: One of the most overrated players in the game Kloepfer thinks. A guy that scores 30/60/90 on average doesn't deserve a spot on the team. His 3 championship MVPs, numerous all-star appearances, and deadly stick skills are not assets. He did not deserve to be a part of the Toronto Rock anymore Kloepfer believed.

Wins: The critical thing for judging team success at year end. Kloepfer believes that a team should win at least 6 games, but no more than 7. He thinks that middling results will allow them to keep away those very talented players at the top of the draft, and also keep them out of championship contention. He also thinks that having more goals scored against than you score will lead to great success.

Conversation

If you were to go into the Mike Kloepfer's office, and listen to his conversations for one day, I am sure a typical one would go something like this (taken from late December 2006):

Kloepfer: Hey is this Johnny Mouradian?

Mouradian: Yeah this is Johnny. Who is this?

Kloepfer: This is Mike Kloepfer, the new Director of Lacrosse Operations for the Toronto Rock.

Mouradian: Oh hey.

Kloepfer: So I got a proposition for you Johnny.

Mouradian: Yeah, and what would that be?

Kloepfer: What would you give me for Colin Doyle?

Mouradian: You are going to trade Colin Doyle?

Kloepfer: We feel that since he is not from Barrie and that he never played for the Kings or for any team in the great Barrie area that he is expendable. I know he averages about 90 points a season, can play through punishment among the best in the league, and has made the all-star team several times, but we are desperate to unload him.

Mouradian (still in shock): You want me to take Colin Doyle off your hands? You know the guy was second in league scoring last year.

Kloepfer: We are aware of that, he just isn't what we are looking for in our team. He brings far too much talent and the fact that he never played for Barrie really hurts him.

Mouradian: Well Mike, we'd love to have Doyle here in California. Who do you want for him? Zywicki, Rosyski, Sedgwick...a defenceman?

Kloepfer: Zywicki and Rosyski will both have a shot at 40 goals this year, that is far too talented for us. I know Zywicki played in Orillia, but he is an Ottawa kid, not what we are looking for. Sedgwick isn't my type of player How about Wiles, hes played for me for a long time.

Mouradian: No way we are trading Wiles. Didn't Fines play for you?

Kloepfer: Yeah, I'll take him.

Mouradian: Alright, and I assume you want another guy?

Kloepfer: Well one is good but we can take 2.

Mouradian (feeling bad for Kloepfer at this point): How about that first overall pick of ours, Benesch?

Kloepfer: Perfect! A small forward is just what we are looking for.

Mouradian: Alright, now we can iron this thing out.

Kloepfer: Are you sure you don't want Manning and Sanderson, two Excelsiors?

Mouradian (now just confused): Naw, we will be OK with just Doyle thanks.

The First Post

Well, what to talk about in the very first post ever in "Fire Mike Kloepfer"? Perhaps a general introduction would be in order. Mike Kloepfer is essentially the General Manager for probably the most successful lacrosse team of the past ten years, the Toronto Rock. Mr. Kloepfer was hired as Director of Lacrosse Operations after an 8-8 2006 season, and proceeded to dismantle a solid team. Just an example of some the guys he has gotten rid of since he took over: Phil Sanderson, Brian Beisel, Brad MacDonald, Rusty Kruger, Patrick Merrill, Darryl Gibson, Ian Rubel, and perhaps most importantly, Colin Doyle. Those guys were all solid if not spectacular players. Their replacements, well, just look at the Rock record since then (11-14).

With the trade deadline coming up after 2 big games this weekend, one can only wonder what Kloepfer will do? Perhaps he will deal Josh Sanderson, Blaine Manning and Aaron Wilson to Portland for Matt Holman and a 2nd round pick. One can only see.

My recommendations for the Rock at deadline time:
1. Acquire a power forward in order to create space for the Rock's smaller offensive players.
2. Acquire a guy with good speed who can create solid transition opportunities to alleviate the pressure from Rob Marshall and Chris Driscoll.
3. Don't trade for anybody from Barrie unless its Luke Wiles.