MLL Draft

[Chowdah Head]

Just throwing this out there, but in my opinion I feel like the tradition of NCAA lacrosse has a lot to do with its appeal (at least to me). Watching a good Maryland/Hopkins or a Syracuse/Princeton game evokes a lot of history and tradition in the programs. The MLL has been around for less than a decade so no real significant rivalries have taken shape yet.

Also, not to downplay the MLL players' dedication, but for most of them, they all have second jobs and lacrosse is a secondary focus. From what I hear most of them work throughout the week at their primary job, and fly into their team's city on Thursday or Friday morning, have one practice, play the next day, then fly home (Alex, please correct me if I'm wrong). NCAA players fully dedicate themselves to their team and program 7 days a week for 4 years. There's something a little more rewarding about watching people whose lives focus around lacrosse than post collegiate players where lacrosse is on the back burner. I'm sure a lot of you disagree with me, but I figure I'd throw out my opinion.

Im sure many of them would focus on being pros more if they got paid more than 10,000 a year. They have to have second jobs unless you are kyle harrison or the powell's who get sponsor money.

I'm not faulting any of the players, it's just a reality that they don't focus purely on lacrosse. I had a long discussion about it several years ago with Paul Carcaterra who had to quit the league because he couldn't juggle the MLL with his normal career. I'm simply saying that if players did get paid enough to make a living solely on lacrosse, and dedicate themselves the way other pro athletes do, it may make the league more exciting

[left coast bias]

I have to say MLL games on this one. I understand why people like box: something will happen, there are some huge hits and usually a couple fights, the sticks are so narrow that guys can pull some moves in traffic while getting slashed like crazy, etc. But that's exactly why I don't like it. I think of lacrosse as a finesse game with good amount of contact, not a contact/meat-head sport with some finesse thrown in occasionally. I think its much more exciting to watch the ball move quickly around the field and through X so that people have room to dodge, hit the backside, and re-dodge in a motion offense with good team defense.

That said, I think the MLL is boring on TV. I've never been to a game so maybe that is much better but watching it on TV seems lame. Shot clock bothers me too (I wouldn't mind if it was say 2 minutes or 2:30) but not as much as not having the 4th pole. LSMs are exciting to watch. Who cares if it doesn't bring the scoring down drastically, I think it would definitely improve "team defense" though and I think slide packages would be a bit more interesting if dodgers knew a pole was sliding on the double. Face-offs might change a little if players knew a pole was going to be in their hands as soon as the picked it up instead of just picking it up and watching D-mids drop back to the 2pt arc (BORING!!).

I think scoring would stay high simply because the players are so talented but I would like to see some long possessions, dodging a few times, sliding multiple times and recovering...thats big time strategy for teams at the college level (Hopkins, UCSB for the MCLA). Run-and-Gun is exciting but thats not what I really see at the MLL level. I see teams take it down on a slow break or jog it down on a settled clear and give it to their best 1 on 1 dodger (i.e. Kyle Harrison, Mikey Powell, Chazz Woodson) watch them draw the double, make 1 or 2 passes, then shoot b/c of the shot-clock. I guess I'd just like to see teams play some more defense and with a longer shot clock, getting stops would be huge.

[keefebsc]

Wow all this MLL talk within a PCLL forum. Can't believe we havn't been asked to move this conversation elsewhere. Nice work guys.