Comments on: MLL Championship Weekend: Boston Cannons Win Steinfeld Cup

By: Rabil Is With Warrior

Rabil Is With Warrior — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 20:35:22 +0000

[...] and rumors (led by 412), and mere days after Major League Lacrosse founder Jake Steinfeld let it slip during his in-game interview on Sunday, Warrior has announced that they have signed Paul Rabil. [...]

By: Chewy

Chewy — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 19:48:00 +0000

The Championship was this weekend?!?!? Freakin’ missed it..

Yeah right, DVR’d the semis and the Finals.

Your read was pretty spot on…

I did hold my breath every time Rabil got the ball thinking he would dodge and just fly past the D, but Hamilton kinda had his number. He did try a number of shots from the 2 Point area, but I really thought he could have taken it in a little closer and made the 1 pointer.

CP was the man… no questions asked, by far the GAME MVP in my opinion. This was the first time that I really got to watch him play… other than YouTube, and he seriously has game. Enough for me to say that he should have been on Paul Jones’ list for sure!

JWalters… Just as dangerous a Rabil… from the shooting aspect, but just like you said, Boston knew how to limit him. BUT he did have CP also drawing doubles so he should have had a chance or two to get some points.

Overall, AWESOME weekend.

I did read the Lacrosse Magazine recent article on the Brattons and though I love the LXMPRO… I sure would like to see them in the MLL… it would definitely change the landscape to the MLL and maybe force some more “innovation” like the lighted heads or whatever Jake was talking about.

By: ConnorWilsonLAS

ConnorWilsonLAS — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 16:29:00 +0000

you said it yourself… Kobe HAS to be the playmaker. That means he needs the ball to at least cycle through him at some point. While in lacrosse, players like Stanwick and Rabil can affect play greatly while being shut off. Shut off Kobe and the Lakers fall to pieces. KB, PR and SS all draw a lot of attention, but a 5 on 5 on a lax field is much more spread than 4 on 4 on a bball court IMO. And that’s where the big difference lies…
I can see the similarity, no question, but it’s just not that helpful of an analogy to me. The differences are more than they originally appear.

By: ConnorWilsonLAS

ConnorWilsonLAS — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 16:26:00 +0000

have to disagree with you there my friend!
Who is Misty May?
And what happens when Lance gets caught doping with EPO? I’d be hesitant to put all my eggs in one basket. Even a sport like snowboarding, with a star like White has other stars. And I’m not sure Rabil is as dominant an athlete as White is… OR Lance Armstrong.

The MLL should maybe just be what they are… a collection of awesome team players. And not try to emulate the NBA with superstars. Just a thought. Appreciate the feedback though! Awesome stuff!

By: Kevin Rowen

Kevin Rowen — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 16:03:00 +0000

I disagree with the comments about Kobe… while the Lakers do need him to be “the guy”, they didn’t win any championships with “just him,” the recent ones were just without Shaq. Kobe still has to be the playmaker, and he draws a lot of attention, freeing up Gasol, Odom, Bynum, etc. How is this different than what Rabil did? Or, for that matter, Stanwick in the NCAA championship, where Steele directed traffic and allowing everyone else to play while being essentially shut off. You said “The Cannons have talent, in lots of places, and sharing the ball should never be a concern for them.” Kobe has the same thing going for him with the Lakers. And like any team in any sport, when the other players aren’t clicking, things don’t work. Fortunately for the Cannons, the “other” players were great this weekend. Also, you are correct in saying that Brodie is not LeBron, because that comparison just does not make much sense.

By: bhsvideodad

bhsvideodad — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 16:02:00 +0000

I think a lot of the “Rabil not showing up” stems from all the marketing attempts to elevate him above the many other player in the MLL. As a total outsider to MLL, Rabil was largely invisible during the game and after watching some many Rabil hype videos and Rabil spreads in Inside Lacrosse, it was a disappointment. Maybe the marketing types need to rethink their strategy or maybe the defense on him was too good.

On the other hand, Casey Powell was really visible. Just outstanding work near the goal to keep the Nationals in the game.

The Rabil story line is” well they won”, so he was great. I wonder what it would have read if they had lost. I am not saying he isn’t outstanding, just he is not living up to the hype.

By: Sam E

Sam E — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 15:26:00 +0000

Because sports which are obscure to the mainstream need one person which people can associate the game with. a good example of this is misty may or even lance armstrong. My main point is that some people still have never seen a game of lacrosse. One person with whom they can associate lacrosse with is whats necessary. 5 people sharing the spot light is spreading it too thin (as much as i dont like to believe it).

By: ConnorWilsonLAS

ConnorWilsonLAS — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 15:12:00 +0000

See that’s the thing… I don’t think anyone is unstoppable in this day and age. Gait used to be, MP was in college, and some guys seem like they are from time to time. Maybe that’s just an overstatement when it comes to his marketing then.

He settled for a couple shots that weren’t great, but it didn’t ruin the flow of the Cannons offense and may have kept Hamilton more honest throughout the game. Overall, I thought Rabil played well, but it was clearly players like Boyle, Poskay, Sweeney and Burke who shone brightest.

By: 412 Lax

412 Lax — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:51:00 +0000

People (myself included) tend to jump on Rabil because he carries himself like he walks on water which is fine. You just have to be willing to walk on water when the game’s best defenseman is covering you on the biggest stage.

No one expects him to score 5 goals a game. But if he’s as athletic and as unstoppable as we are led to believe, shouldn’t we expect more than two helpers regardless of the slide package?

Side bar, how many on the run jump shots from 15 did he settle for yesterday?

By: ConnorWilsonLAS

ConnorWilsonLAS — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:41:00 +0000

re: your second point –
great thoughts. And very true. But I guess that begs the question, since lax is such a team game, should the MLL have A guy they go to? Or should the focus be spread out to more players? BBall has Kobe, Lebron, the Celtics, DWade, Durant… why can’t lax?

By: sam e

sam e — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:36:00 +0000

as far as quint and joe b’s comments on Rabil “not showing up”: from the team aspect, Rabil took Brodie Merrill out of the game because of the attention he requires, thats HUGE. with Brodie spending his time on Rabil the rest of the cannons were free to work, no reason to complain there.
i believe that Quint’s frustration comes from the lack of “Rabil moments” in the game. Quint is one of many who believe that for lacrosse to expand it will require someone to be the face of lacrosse. Rabil is obviously that guy, but he needs to perform on the biggest stage. The Championship game is one of the rare games on ESPN and that is where Rabil needs to draw attention.