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Friday, January 2, 2009

The Des Moines Demons

In order to keep things here a bit cleaner, I have decided that the time has come for the Des Moines Demons to have their own site. Right now the Demons site has a couple of articles which were posted from this site. Going forward, all of the news about the effort to bring a Great Plains Lacrosse League travel and tournament team will be posted on the Des Moines Demons site instead of on the Central Iowa Lacrosse Association's main site (a/k/a here). All future polls pertaining specifically to the Demons will also be on that site.
As updates are made to the Demons site, I will briefly mention them here with a link to the full story. Any other news pertaining to lacrosse in central Iowa will be posted here as usual. This includes news about the Valley club team, local college club teams, and the possible metro recreational men's league. Schedules for those teams will also be posted here as they become available. Of course I will continue posting artwork as I create or receive it as well.
My hope is that by breaking the Demons away from the main site, I will be able to reduce some of the clutter and excess polls. If this experiment turns out to be a failure, I will recombine the two sites into a single page. Let me know what you think by commenting below or sending me an email.

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Paul Rabil Signed by San Jose

Former Johns Hopkins standout Paul Rabil will officially begin his indoor lacrosse career this year. San Jose successfully signed Rabil, who was the second overall pick in the 2008 draft, before December 22, 2008. While Rabil will certainly have an impact on the development of the game, the San Jose Stealth and their fans are just as excited to have the 6'3", 225-pound Rabil joining forces with All-Stars Colin Doyle, Jeff Zywicki and Eric Martin, along with the rest of the Stealth roster.

Rabil won championships at Hopkins in 2005 and 2007. As a Bluejay, he received the McLaughlin Award given to the nation's most outstanding NCAA lacrosse midfielder in 2007 and was nominated for the Tewaaraton Trophy, awarded to the "Most Outstanding" collegiate lacrosse player in the United States, in 2007 and 2008.

The Boston Cannons took Rabil with the first overall pick in the 2008 Major League Lacrosse draft. He currently endorses Maverik sticks and pads and Under Armour shoes and apparel.

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Full 2009 National Lacrosse League Schedule

1 Philadelphia Buffalo Sat, Jan 037:30 pmHSBC Arena
2 Toronto New York Sat, Jan 037:30 pmBankAtlantic
3 Minnesota Portland Sat, Jan 0310:30 pmRose Garden
4 Colorado Portland Fri, Jan 0910:30 pmRose Garden
5 Calgary San Jose Fri, Jan 0910:30 pmHP Pavilion
6 Philadelphia Rochester Sat, Jan 108:05 pmBlue Cross
7 San Jose Minnesota Sat, Jan 108:00 pmXcel Energy
8 Buffalo Toronto Sat, Jan 107:00 pmAir Canada Ctr
9 Boston New York Sat, Jan 107:30 pmPrudential
10 Portland Colorado Sat, Jan 109:00 pmPepsi Center
11 Edmonton Calgary Sat, Jan 109:00 pmSaddledome
12 Rochester Buffalo Fri, Jan 167:30 pmHSBC Arena
13 Portland Edmonton Fri, Jan 169:30 pmRexall Place
14 Calgary Toronto Sat, Jan 177:00 pmAir Canada Ctr
15 New York Boston Sat, Jan 177:30 pmTD Garden
16 Rochester San Jose Sun, Jan 188:30 pmHP Pavilion
17 Boston Philadelphia Fri, Jan 238:00 pmWachovia Center
18 Edmonton Portland Fri, Jan 2310:30 pmRose Garden
19 Philadelphia Boston Sat, Jan 247:30 pmTD Garden
20 New York Rochester Sat, Jan 247:35 pmBlue Cross
21 Edmonton Colorado Sat, Jan 248:00 pmPepsi Center
22 Buffalo Minnesota Sat, Jan 248:00 pmXcel Energy
23 San Jose Calgary Sat, Jan 249:30 pmSaddledome
24 Buffalo Edmonton Thu, Jan 299:00 pmRexall Place
25 Edmonton San Jose Sat, Jan 313:30 pmHP Pavilion
26 Portland Boston Sat, Jan 317:30 pmTD Garden
27 Toronto Rochester Sat, Jan 317:35 pmBlue Cross
28 New York Colorado Sat, Jan 319:00 pmPepsi Center
29 Buffalo Philadelphia Fri, Feb 068:00 pmWachovia Center
30 Minnesota Calgary Fri, Feb 069:30 pmSaddledome
31 Edmonton Toronto Sat, Feb 073:30 pmAir Canada Ctr
32 New York Boston Sat, Feb 077:30 pmTD Garden
33 Colorado Minnesota Sat, Feb 078:00 pmXcel Energy
34 San Jose Portland Sat, Feb 0710:30 pmRose Garden
35 Philadelphia New York Sun, Feb 087:00 pmPrudential
36 Boston Philadelphia Fri, Feb 138:00 pmWachovia Center
37 Toronto Buffalo Sat, Feb 147:30 pmHSBC Arena
38 Calgary Colorado Sat, Feb 149:00 pmPepsi Center
39 Rochester New York Sun, Feb 158:00 pmMSG
40 Buffalo Toronto Fri, Feb 207:00 pmAir Canada Ctr
41 Boston Minnesota Fri, Feb 208:00 pmXcel Energy
42 Minnesota Philadelphia Sat, Feb 217:30 pmWachovia Center
43 New York Rochester Sat, Feb 217:35 pmBlue Cross
44 Colorado San Jose Sat, Feb 2110:30 pmHP Pavilion
45 Boston Calgary Sun, Feb 225:00 pmSaddledome
46 Colorado Edmonton Sun, Feb 228:00 pmRexall Place
47 Minnesota Toronto Fri, Feb 277:30 pmAir Canada Ctr
48 Philadelphia Edmonton Fri, Feb 279:30 pmRexall Place
49 Calgary New York Sat, Feb 2812:30 pmMSG
50 Minnesota Buffalo Sat, Feb 287:30 pmHSBC Arena
51 San Jose Boston Sat, Feb 287:30 pmTD Garden
52 Toronto Rochester Sat, Feb 287:35 pmBlue Cross
53 Philadelphia Portland Sat, Feb 2810:30 pmRose Garden
54 San Jose New York Sun, Mar 017:30 pmPrudential
55 Calgary Edmonton Fri, Mar 139:30 pmRexall Place
56 Colorado San Jose Sat, Mar 143:30 pmHP Pavilion
57 Toronto Boston Sat, Mar 147:30 pmTD Garden
58 Minnesota Philadelphia Sat, Mar 147:30 pmWachovia Center
59 Buffalo Rochester Sat, Mar 147:35 pmBlue Cross
60 Rochester Toronto Sat, Mar 217:00 pmAir Canada Ctr
61 Portland Buffalo Sat, Mar 217:30 pmHSBC Arena
62 Colorado Calgary Sat, Mar 219:30 pmSaddledome
63 Minnesota San Jose Sat, Mar 2110:30 pmHP Pavilion
64 Minnesota Colorado Sun, Mar 228:00 pmPepsi Center
65 Toronto Calgary Fri, Mar 279:00 pmSaddledome
66 Portland San Jose Sat, Mar 283:30 pmHP Pavilion
67 New York Buffalo Sat, Mar 287:30 pmHSBC Arena
68 Colorado Philadelphia Sat, Mar 287:30 pmWachovia Center
69 Boston Rochester Sat, Mar 287:35 pmBlue Cross
70 Calgary Minnesota Sat, Mar 288:00 pmXcel Energy
71 Toronto Edmonton Sat, Mar 289:00 pmRexall Place
72 San Jose Portland Sun, Mar 296:00 pmRose Garden
73 Boston Toronto Fri, Apr 037:30 pmAir Canada Ctr
74 Rochester Colorado Fri, Apr 039:00 pmPepsi Center
75 Calgary Edmonton Fri, Apr 039:00 pmRexall Place
76 Philadelphia New York Sat, Apr 047:30 pmPrudential
77 Buffalo Boston Sat, Apr 047:30 pmTD Garden
78 Edmonton Minnesota Sat, Apr 048:00 pmXcel Energy
79 Rochester Calgary Sat, Apr 049:00 pmSaddledome
80 Colorado Portland Sat, Apr 0410:30 pmRose Garden
81 New York Philadelphia Sun, Apr 052:30 pmWachovia Center
82 Rochester Buffalo Fri, Apr 107:30 pmHSBC Arena
83 Portland Calgary Fri, Apr 109:30 pmSaddledome
84 Edmonton San Jose Fri, Apr 1010:30 pmHP Pavilion
85 Toronto Philadelphia Sat, Apr 117:30 pmWachovia Center
86 Buffalo New York Sat, Apr 117:30 pmPrudential
87 Rochester Boston Sat, Apr 117:30 pmTD Garden
88 Portland Minnesota Sat, Apr 118:00 pmXcel Energy
89 San Jose Colorado Sat, Apr 119:00 pmPepsi Center
90 Edmonton Colorado Fri, Apr 179:00 pmPepsi Center
91 Calgary Portland Fri, Apr 1710:30 pmRose Garden
92 San Jose Toronto Sat, Apr 187:00 pmAir Canada Ctr
93 Boston Buffalo Sat, Apr 187:30 pmHSBC Arena
94 Philadelphia Rochester Sat, Apr 187:35 pmBlue Cross
95 New York Minnesota Sat, Apr 188:00 pmXcel Energy
96 Portland Edmonton Sat, Apr 189:30 pmRexall Place

Full Printable Copy Available Here.

Monday, December 29, 2008

NLL Rosters Announced

The National Lacrosse League announced its official 23 man rosters today. The indoor league begins on Saturday, January 3, 2009 with three games.

MINNESOTA SWARM
In: F Kevin Buchanan, F Andrew Watt, D Kevin Fines, D Joe Out: F Andy Secore (drafted), F Keith Cromwell (unsigned), D Ian Rubel (unsigned)
Minnesota returns 17 players from their 2008 squad, a team that went 10-6 and had a share of first-place in the East Division. The Swarm used a balanced attack in 2008, and the same is expected in 2009. All-Star Ryan Ward and 2008 Rookie of the Year Craig Point lead the charge, with 20 goal scorers Chad Culp and Sean Pollock returning as well. Back-to-back Defenseman of the Year Ryan Cousins, transition star Ryan Sharp, and pure defender Jon Sullivan are all returning in front of All-Star goalkeeper Nick Patterson. Not much has changed (besides the division, the Swarm will play in the West in 2009) in Minnesota, but the Swarm are hopeful that first-round rookies Kevin Buchanan, Andrew Watt and Joe Cinosky can contribute quickly. Travis Hill is expected to continue to take the majority of faceoffs for the Swarm.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

How I Got Started

As my profile states, I grew up in Des Moines, Iowa. As a young lad, my parents dressed me in Iowa Hawkeye garb because that was the thing to do. Everyone on both sides of my family was a Hawkeye fan except for my older brother. At a young age, he knew he wanted to be an engineer, specifically an aerospace engineer. He knew he wanted to go to Iowa State. I followed in his footsteps in my desire to be a Cyclone.

My mom was into sports, but rarely had time to sit and watch anything. My dad pretty much hated all athletics and encouraged the rigorous mathematics and science based lifestyle of my older brother. Needless to say, there were not many opportunities in my house to watch a ton of sports at a young age. Luckily games were always on at the relatives' homes.
I liked the big three (football, baseball, and basketball) from the start because they were readily available; one cousin was always watching the Hawkeyes and another always had the Cubs on WGN. Once I had my own TV (as opposed to the family's tube), I discovered hockey. So long basketball...I will say that soccer was instilled in me at an early age. The same Hawkeyes watching cousin played soccer and lived on the same side of town as me. My dad responded by putting me in soccer. Unfortunately I was a chubby kid and did not like to run. Plus my friends all played baseball. I begged him to let me switch. After the first couple of games, I realized how boring baseball really is.
Since ice hockey was extremely limited and expensive when I was younger, I played a lot of roller hockey. We created our own league and played at a few locations on the south side of Des Moines all the way through high school. I continued playing recreational ice hockey at Iowa State and still play to this day.I started getting back into soccer around the turn of the millennium. The Des Moines Menace were highly influential in that decision. For less money than an Iowa Cubs game, I could watch fairly decent soccer in a great atmosphere. I got to know several players over the years, including current Columbus Crew goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum. This also led me to getting an expanded cable package, which included Fox College Sports.

It was on FSC that I really discovered lacrosse. Of course I had seen lacrosse on TV before and knew of it from American Pie (like everyone else in the free world). But FSC featured many games every week and I got to witness Hopkins lacrosse on a regular basis, including a certain guy wearing number 18. This led to me to adopt the Blue Jays as my lax team since there would be no loyalty concerns with other schools (like Michigan, ISU, and Florida) in other sports. I watched them lose the NCAA championship in 2003 and win it all in 2005 and 2007 (only to be disappointed again this year).Those early games hooked me. Soon I discovered Major League Lacrosse and the Long Island Lizards. As the league expanded westward, I became a bigger lacrosse fan. I realized that lax is the closest thing, in terms of play and speed, to playing ice hockey on grass.

As I watched more and more lacrosse, I realized that I would very much like to try it. I bought some kiddie sticks to mess around with and discovered how much fun just throwing and catching could be. That led me to get some adult stuff and find a way to bring lax to Des Moines. I researched area leagues and teams before I began this blog. Now, after almost three months, I feel like I have really started something here. There seems to be consistently growing interest in lacrosse in Des Moines at the adult and teen levels. I am getting better responses to my polls and have a very strong feeling that there will be some sort of men's league this summer.

Thank you for your continued dedication and support. Together we will make lacrosse a permanent fixture in Des Moines and Central Iowa from this day forward. Have a Happy New Year.

Tribe 7