Major League Lacrosse Journal # 8 by Alex Smith is up!

by **Sonny** on Wed Jul 26, 2006 3:18 pm

LINK:
http://www.uslia.com/news.php?action=fullnews&id=751

Great job Alex. I was nervous for you and I'm 2000+ miles away from Denver. Can't wait to TiVo the game on Fox Sports Rocky Mtn tonight at 11:30pm!

**Sponsor**

by **Sonny** on Wed Jul 26, 2006 10:47 pm

Watching the first quarter now... Alex's first three saves were very nice! Two of which were pretty much point blank rejections.

by **Sonny** on Wed Jul 26, 2006 11:01 pm

The announcers are in love with Alex!

5 - 1 Outlaws at the end of the first quarter. Alex had 6 saves in the first qtr.

by **bste_lax** on Wed Jul 26, 2006 11:40 pm

Was looking at the stats on majorleaguelacrosse.com and the stat guru I was:

Lowest GAA (minimum 60 minutes played)

Greg Cattrano - 10.99
Jake Coon - 11.00
Alex Smith - 11.31

Not too shabby.

by **John Paul** on Thu Jul 27, 2006 9:03 am

Congratulations to Alex. His success and acceptance in the MLL is a great step forward for the MDIA. I hope this opens the door for more opportunities for MDIA players at the pro level. The NLL has always been very open to giving shots to club players (dating back to when it was the MILL as well), and their leadership continues to try to find ways to work with our organization on a regional and national level as well (as evidenced by events like the CSU/CU and Minn/Minn Duluth indoor games the past couple of years and a possible Oregon/OSU game this year, among others). The MLL has been a bit slower to invite MDIA participation, although in their defense they are much newer and until this year, much smaller with fewer opportunities. Alex's success will continue to open some eyes that there are athletes at our level who can flat out play the game, and as the league grows, especially in non-traditional areas where the MDIA is strongest, I think you'll see more guys get their shots.

Keep it up Alex. We're proud of you.

by **OAKS** on Thu Jul 27, 2006 10:47 am

I don't have any firsthand knowledge, but is the MLL really not giving MDIA players a shot in general? The only thing that's been floating around the boards was that Patton was allowed to tryout for the Riptide and didn't fare so well.

Granted we have some quality guys in the league, but have we produced that many MLL-caliber players? At only 10 MLL teams, there's very few spots in general for the D1 All-Americans, let alone the rest of us. Hopefully the league will be successful enough to warrant 25+ teams and then we'll see a few more names in there from our ranks.

by **John Paul** on Thu Jul 27, 2006 11:59 am

There haven't been many opportunities yet. Agreed, as I stated, it's partly due to the size and age of the league, but it's also partly due to a lack of understanding of the MDIA. You're right that there are not a lot of MDIA players with the talent/ability/drive to play at that level, but Will and Alex are not the only two elite MDIA players in the last few years. Hopefully a few more will get chances. Whether or not they make a roster is another story and will depend on a lot of factors. One advantage with the expansion of the MLL in the West is that teams may want a local guy who grew up in the region on the roster for PR/marketing reasons. We'll see.