🥍 Introducing the NEW Pro Lacrosse Talk Newsletter

Our “Quick Stick” newsletter is being revived and rebranded as the “Pro Lacrosse Talk Newsletter” and will be hitting your inbox weekly! The newsletter will feature our thoughts on the latest Athletes Unlimited, NLL and PLL news, promote the latest episodes of the Pro Lacrosse Talk and Bet On Lacrosse podcasts and spotlight the best pro lacrosse content on social media! We’ll also be releasing exclusive PLT content for newsletter subscribers to see first!

Here’s what we have on tap for today:

• PLL Goes Indoors: 5 takeaways from the PLL Championship Series

• NLL Goes Outdoors: What led to the NLL’s first outdoor game

• PLL Free Agency Approaches: 9 free agency moves we want to see next week

• NLL Week 13 was Wild: Underdogs came to play this past weekend

• Rob Pannell Interview: RP3 reflects on the 2022 season on the Pro Lacrosse Talk Podcast

✍️ 5 Takeaways from the PLL Championship Series

The PLL Championship Series saw the Chrome top Atlas in a thrilling one-goal game on Sunday. The week-long event was big success and I had the opportunity to attend the weekend games. After taking in the first-time event from both the sidelines and stands, I decided to share my five takeaways from the 2023 PLL Championship Series:

1. The PLL should bring back the PLL Championship Series next year.
   This is an obvious one. The event was a great way to give PLL fans a way to watch their favorite field-only players. Sure, it’s a bit disappointing not being able to see certain players participate due to their NLL commitments, but I actually enjoyed being able to see some fringe players like Alex Smith, Drake Porter, Roman Puglise and Ryan Aughavin make the most of their opportunity to play at the pro level. The week day TV windows also made for some great mid-week viewing.
   

2. Sixes should add a two-point arc… just maybe not 13 yards out.
   My pro biases will be showing for this one, but I’ve been a proponent for adding a two-point arc to college and I’ll make the case to do the same for the proposed Olympic format. Not only is the two-point arc exciting, it really opens up offenses and makes for a more exciting brand of lacrosse than the one we saw at the World Games.
   
   That being said, the 13-yard arc was a tad close.
   
   Now, I’m not as extreme in my opinion as Archers midfielder Jeff Trainor—who humorously suggested the arc be moved back in both Sixes and summer season to as far as 16 yards. Yet, I do think 15 yards is the ideal distance and would suit this format much better.
   

3. Offenses should retain possession on shots that hit the pipe and go out of bounds.
   This is a very specific takeaway, but one that would improve this version of the sport in a big way. There are no runouts in Sixes—if the offense misses the net on a shot and it doesn’t hit the other team, possession is giving to the opposition. Yet, this is even the case if a shot goes off the pipe. That doesn’t seem very fair considering that the pipe is an opposing goalie’s best friend.
   
   Ryan Boyle first suggested on the broadcast that the offense should retain possession if a shot hits the pipe and goes out of bounds. Archers head coach Chris Bates later suggested the same thing when asked about rule changes in a postgame press conference.
   
   So, if you don’t take my word for it, at least take the word of both a PLL coach and hall of famer.
   

4. Acting Atlas head coach Steven Brooks should lose the interim tag
   It’s been reported by Chris Jastrzembski and Dan Arestia that former Duke and Bryant head coach Mike Pressler is the favorite to be named the new head coach of Atlas LC—and I think he would be a great choice to helm a PLL team.

   
   Yet, I’m not so sure that he should take over this Atlas team that played at an incredibly high level under interim head coach Steven Brooks. Atlas was just two goals short of winning the PLL Championship Series and finishing the week undefeated. Their energy was at an all-time high and that was due in large part from the energy Brooks and assistant Spencer Ford displayed.
   
   The word is Pressler was already lined up to be the head coach prior to this week. Yet, I think Brooks proved he deserves the job or at the very least to remain on staff. Players spoke highly of Brooks throughout the week and you could get the sense they were playing as if his job was on the line. While the decision may have already been made, one thing is for certain: Brooks deserves to be a head coach in the PLL at some point. Hopefully, it’s sooner rather than later.
   

5. The PLL should keep “Bar Down” for every PLL weekend.
   The PLL Championship Series gave fans 21+ an opportunity to see the action up close while enjoying an open bar… and it was awesome.
   
   While the section could benefit from being on an elevated platform (being at field level behind a net made watching a bit difficult), the atmosphere was great and is another unique way to attract older fans.

🏝️ The NLL’s First Outdoor Game is Here… Finally!

The National Lacrosse League is headed outdoors this weekend! The San Diego Seals will host the Las Vegas Desert Dogs at Snapdragon Stadium on March 4 in the league’s first-ever outdoor game.

Yet, this wasn’t the league’s first attempt at an outdoor game!

In 2020, the NLL planned to have the San Diego Seals play the Vancouver Warriors in an outdoor game… on an aircraft carrier! Unfortunately, the “Rumble on the Runway” was cancelled due to the naval base at Miramar serving as a testing site for COVID-19 prior to mass shutdowns across the U.S.

The NLL’s 2019-20 season would eventually be cancelled all together, but it didn’t stop the league from planning another outdoor event for this season. When the Seals and Desert Dogs face off at 4:30pm ET on Saturday, we’ll finally get to witness the first professional box lacrosse game played outdoors!

🖊️ PLL Free Agency Moves We Want to See

Our first PLL free agency period is just a week away! On March 6, players whose contracts expired in 2022 will be able to sign with any of the eight teams in the league. A full list of this year’s free agents can be found on the PLL’s website.

While we don’t expect too many major moves, our staff put together a list of free agency moves that we hope to see next week!

• Mac O’Keefe reunites with Grant Ament on Archers LC (Hutton Jackson)

• Matt McMahon makes a move and signs with Atlas LC (Brian Andrews)

• Connor Fields reunites with Lyle Thompson on Cannons LC (Matt Brignati)

• Marcus Holman and Will Manny move the bunk bed to Redwoods LC (Hutton Jackson)

• Chaos LC adds another Canadian in Bryan Cole (Brandon Biagi)

• Daniel Bucaro signs with Chrome LC to add depth at attack/midfield (Hutton Jackson)

• Cannons LC add poles CJ Costabile and Jarrod Neumann (Brandon Biagi)

• Dominique Alexander signs with Waterdogs LC (Matt Brignati)

• Jake Carraway finds a new home with Whipsnakes LC (Brandon Biagi)

Read more on our rationale for these potential moves and then let us know on social media which free agency move you hope to see.

🐶 How WILD was NLL Week 13?!

The NLL underdogs were barking this weekend, with all five underdogs (as far as sportsbooks are concerned) covering the spread. League parity was on full display with four upsets and an overtime thriller between the New York Riptide and Rochester Knighthawks (that ended being the second-longest game in NLL history.)

To put how wild NLL Week 13 was into betting terms: if you placed a $100 bet on each underdog against the spread, you would have gone 5-0 and won $461. If you bet $100 on each underdog to win outright, you would have still gone 4-1 and netted $502.

How much would you have won if you bet the Colorado Mammoth, Las Vegas Desert Dogs, Georgia Swarm and Vancouver Warriors to win in a parlay?

That’s right, a whopping $3,136!

We definitely don’t recommend betting every underdog next week, but NLL Week 13 was a good reminder of the parity in the NLL and that betting heavy favorites in this league isn’t always the best idea.

📺 Watch or Listen to Our Interview with Rob Pannell

This past Fall, Redwoods LC attackman Rob Pannell joined the Pro Lacrosse Talk podcast to reflect on the past PLL season, discuss his new NFT collection and provide insight on the Redwoods’ offseason outlook.

🥍 Quick Sticks: Our Favorite Content from Around the Web

⚔️ Offenses had their way in the PLL Championship Series, but Phil Shore highlighted how goalie Sean Sconone—who nearly stopped more than half the shots he faced—was the difference-maker for Chrome during their title run.

🦣 Ryan Lee’s return to the lineup came at just the right time for the Colorado Mammoth. Adam Levi looked at Lee’s return from injury and four other storylines from NLL Week 13.

💬 Future hall of famer Greg Gurenlian asked #LaxTwitter who impressed them the most during the PLL Championship Series and there were a ton of great responses.

📺 The PLL Championship Series vlog dropped and managed to capture all the sights and sounds from the week (and Bet On Lacrosse’s very own Dan Alexander even made a brief appearance.)

🎞️ Playing goalie in Sixes was not fun… not even a little bit. Liam Murphy summed it up well with a clip from Remember the Titans.

🏷️ Shop the Latest NLL Gear