boston cannons wat ya think

[amlax21]

i dunno how many of u watched the semi finals game on fri night, since u had to watch it on a 2x2 screen on the computer, but i ended up doin so. when i watched the cannons game. durin the game i notice tons of things wrong with the way they played, first-garrity couldnt stop a single shot, second-christmass bearly did anything (atleast int he first half), bill daye(coach)-shouldnt have lost the game previously to championship weekend and although i love there defense they need some new players.

i persoanlly think we should get rid of garrity, christmas, and billday, and try to get catrano or another goalie, then for our head coach bring in david evans who has been with the team from the start and can always get the crowd pumped(seen it from experience), and get rid of christmas cause hes a ball hog, the team has much faster players, and didnt do nothin for the team the other night, and try to get a player like Geffry Park back

yes?no? what do u guys all think

[shiftylax]

No. They do not need to get rid of Chris Garrity. What they need to do is get a good back up goalie to push him in trining camp for next year, though. He seemed a little complacent in his role towards the middle of the season, and frankly the world games took a toll on his keeping - as it did Tierney's. The world games really messed this MLL season up. Some teams were missing as many as 5 starters, and even thoguh there was a break, the grueling nature of international play takes a toll on even the most hardened athlete.

All that being said, I weas disappointed with the Cannons finish as well. I have been a Cannons fan since day one. All of the "problems" that you named are ill-placed. The cannons do not have a coaching problem. Johnny Christmas is not "barely doing anything" for the Cannons. Do not forget the Cannons lost their locker room leader Battista in the middle of the season to a concussion-forced retirement. He's been with the Cannons since day one, and say what you will about him, his impact on the team was tremendous. He was quite literally the face of the Cannons for many years.

The Cannons limped thorugh the last half of the season BECAUSE they had lost their identity for a bit. They need ot get it back, and they need to do that the way that Philly did it this year - hard work and holding on to a good nucleus of role players. They don't need to trade for a superstar, they need to draft players that will do anything. Be a wing middie, be a D midde, be a 6th Defenseman that pushes everyone in practice, be a good back up goalie that can challenge for the starting job someday. They need to develop as a team, not as a talented group of players.

[roycegracie47]

Johnny Christmas is really now just coming into his MLL identity. His first season was shrouded by the brief Millon-led attack, but with this year's expansion and Battista's sudden retirement, he's really stepped it up to re-establish what made him the player to watch at UVA. Even if the season ended on a down note, there is no reason to gut the players that will be needed next season to keep the program on track.

[Lax101]

The Cannons suffered the WORST losses after the expansion draft. Think of their starting lineup before: Millon, Leveille, Gill at attack, Fiore, Battista, Rotelli at middie, Inge at FO specialist, Passavia, Curtis, Staines at defense, and Garrity in net with KOB always riding behind him. Despite popular belief, the '05 Bayhawks attack line was NOT the most dangerous in the MLL-stat by stat, the Cannons' attack line was better.

So then, the Cannons lose 2/3 of their attack, 2/3 of their midfield (injury to Battista accounted for), 1/3 of their defense, their faceoff man, and their backup goalie (Obie was just as much of a locker room presence as Battista). As a result, they were a team this year who was still juggling around their team style and play. Some games, their midfield led the way. Other times, Gill carried the team. When neither happened, they usually lost. They weren't as consistent as a Denver, where the middies would carry the way and the attack would finish the job every game, or a San Francisco where frankly, Ryan Powell did everything.

In light of this, I expected a much worse Cannons team this year. Christmas was unproven, Evans was coming back from injury (and simply age), they had no legitimate FO guy, they didn't have a grinder anymore like Timmy Byrnes, and I didn't trust an aging Hanford and Glatzel. But at one point of the year, the Cannons looked like the best team in the MLL. They got the job done. I guess you can accredit that to Billy Daye, as this team really didn't have the talent or consistency as others.

So what do the Cannons need to do now? I'd like to say get a year older, but Hanford, Glatzel, and Evans can't afford that, necessarily. But for Poskay, Christmas, and Bucktooth, it's exactly what they need. Hopefully, Bucktooth will become the pure finisher that the Cannons need (notice how great guys like Mundorf, Brown, and Zwyicki are on Denver, or Prager and Springer on Baltimore? Yeah, Boston really doesn't have that on attack). They also need to have a draft (this year's lack of early picks hurt severely) and pick up possibly another pole, a legitimate FO guy (Jenkins is great on GB's but crap at the actual draws), and then they're golden.

Garrity IS the best goalie in the game when he's not overworked (6-8 or so games in 2 weeks? these guys are used to one a week). Imagine Doc Dougherty after the world championships-he'd retire to the lazy boy and cheetos by the medal round.

[FitzGoalie]

Cattrano is Helen Keller compared to Chris Garrity. I've said it before and i'll say it again, Garrity may not have a flshy style that appeals to the kids these days with their hippin' and a hoppin', but i'll be damned if he isn't the best goalie in the game right now.

[uvalax572]

i dunno how many of u watched the semi finals game on fri night, since u had to watch it on a 2x2 screen on the computer, but i ended up doin so. when i watched the cannons game. durin the game i notice tons of things wrong with the way they played, first-garrity couldnt stop a single shot, second-christmass bearly did anything (atleast int he first half), bill daye(coach)-shouldnt have lost the game previously to championship weekend and although i love there defense they need some new players.

i persoanlly think we should get rid of garrity, christmas, and billday, and try to get catrano or another goalie, then for our head coach bring in david evans who has been with the team from the start and can always get the crowd pumped(seen it from experience), and get rid of christmas cause hes a ball hog, the team has much faster players, and didnt do nothin for the team the other night, and try to get a player like Geffry Park back

yes?no? what do u guys all think


I love Christmas! what are you talking about?

[amlax21]

dont get me wrong garrity, when at his best, is the best goallie in the mll and has the awards to prove it, but iv went to all but 2 homes games this year and found the he isnt at his prime as some of the other goalies out there, look at the cannons int he play offs int he last 2 years, we have been bumped out by teams that we beat at almost each regular season game. i dunno bout u guys but if i could have an excellent goalie whos is inconsistanly at the top of his game, or a very good goalie who is constanlty good, i would choose the very good one


as for christmas, he is a crowd favorite, but look at him he tries to pull fancy Do Not Bypass The Swear Filter and costs us possesion, and i dont wanna loose the ball wen we are on the offensive, plus we have players lik woodsen who is faster, have better stik skills, and more a team player. (i kno this is kinda rattin on christmass but at battistas retirment, christmas was the only one who didnt hug or shake hands wit battista at the end of the ceromony, it probly means nuttin but litle details like that make me mad and give me the impression on a non team player)

bill day decent coach, but hes doin the whole thing wrong, im not sure if its him or the owner who puits players on the reserve list int he draft, BUT HE HAS A MAJOR SAY IN IT, and he gave away some of our best players not only on our team but also int he entire mll


for battista's retirment, it was a loss, but look for who else we got as 2 point scorers, evans poskay and fiore,

[Lax101]

dont get me wrong garrity, when at his best, is the best goallie in the mll and has the awards to prove it, but iv went to all but 2 homes games this year and found the he isnt at his prime as some of the other goalies out there, look at the cannons int he play offs int he last 2 years, we have been bumped out by teams that we beat at almost each regular season game. i dunno bout u guys but if i could have an excellent goalie whos is inconsistanly at the top of his game, or a very good goalie who is constanlty good, i would choose the very good one


as for christmas, he is a crowd favorite, but look at him he tries to pull fancy a$$ $hit and costs us possesion, and i dont wanna loose the ball wen we are on the offensive, plus we have players lik woodsen who is faster, have better stik skills, and more a team player. (i kno this is kinda rattin on christmass but at battistas retirment, christmas was the only one who didnt hug or shake hands wit battista at the end of the ceromony, it probly means nuttin but litle details like that make me mad and give me the impression on a non team player)

bill day decent coach, but hes doin the whole thing wrong, im not sure if its him or the owner who puits players on the reserve list int he draft, BUT HE HAS A MAJOR SAY IN IT, and he gave away some of our best players not only on our team but also int he entire mll


for battista's retirment, it was a loss, but look for who else we got as 2 point scorers, evans poskay and fiore,
Again, Garrity was gassed after the ILF Championships. Think about it-in a normal lacrosse season MLL players play 12 games over a span of 2-3 months. During the ILF Championships, Garrity played in 7 games in two weeks, plus warmup/exhibition games. It puts a toll on players' bodies, and Garrity isn't the only one. Ryan Powell was half the player he was after the ILF games, and so was Tierney.

And Cattrano? He's aging. He doesnt have many years left. Garrity is so young and such an explosive goalie. I can't believe you'd complain about a guy like Garrity. Kevin O'Brien, although I love the big guy, had no where near the skills that Garrity did.

And Christmas-you complain about fancy stuff but priase Woodson? Woodson was apart of the worst Cannons trade in their brief history. Woodson, a backup attackman who can't feed, doesn't shoot hard, and is purely a dive/highlight reel shooter, was traded for Timmy Byrnes, the Cannons 11th man, faceoff man, groundball machine, and defensive middie. Byrnes was arguably one of the most valuable players on the Cannons. What has Woodson done? Nothing so far. He'll have a few fancy shots, that's it.

Christmas is far more valuable on the Cannons. He can feed, he can finish, he can dodge, and he can run midfield. Yes, Christmas is a very flashy player, but he hasn't looked any stupider than a Mikey Powell, who's lost his stick on dozens of helicopter checks, and literally fell flat on his face for Team USA.

Daye is just a decent coach? Daye took an MLL team who lost the most players this year to expansion than any other MLL team and put them in the playoffs. He's played and coached at all levels of the game. Name one thing wrong in terms of coaching that he did.

You don't understand the MLL at this point. Many of the deals are done for the greater good of the league. Why do you think Denver had such a strong team this year? Denver was a sure thing for attendance, and thus they were given a strong team. The MLL doesn't want all expansion teams to absolutely suck like most expansion teams do. Then, you have a completely dead league. Talent has to be spread throughout the entire league.

No team has a stacked roster anymore. All teams have holes. Why do you think Baltimore lost its midfield core, goalie, and attack? Boston and Baltimore were the only two strong teams last year, and thus they lost the most. It's simply not fair for two teams to have 3 all-MLL players on attack apiece. It isn't like the NFL or NBA where teams compete at each other's throats. And Billy Daye is not the GM of the Cannons. He doesn't deal with personnel. That's Jason Chandler.

Did you read at all what Shiftylax said? Battista was the heart of the Cannons. He's more than a scorer. I can't believe you call yourself a Cannons fan and not appreciate Battista. He's a local boy who was the face of Boston. During player lineups for the last 4 years, who gets the biggest crowd reaction? Who do all players know? Whose jersey sells off the shelves? Battista. And Battista is more than a 2 point shooter. He was also an effective feeder and a competent defender (took him awhile, but it did).

[tribal803]

if we have to trade one of our best players for maybe two decent ones two fill in spots like Timmy Byrnes covered, then it should be christmas that goes. I don't want to get rid of him...i think hes an amazing player but if it comes to that, hes the one to go. Chazz Woodson, like many people new to any pro sports, is to flashy of a player and doesn't really pass (partialy because he was one of the stars at brown) but he can get around anyone (sometimes gettin himself in to trouble). If he can harnis his amazing speed, agility, and technique and learn when not to go for a shot and pass instead, then he will be amazing. This is one of the things batista mentioned when commentating the game that he retired at. I think next year he will be a huge accet to our team and even bigger the year after.

Christmas was once like that to and still is a little but over all he has improved tremendously and is a greaa player to match up with woodson...but woodson has the potential to be better then christmas if he follows in christmas' footsteps on the journey to becoming a team player

[tribal803]

Lax 101 "The Cannons suffered the WORST losses after the expansion draft. Think of their starting lineup before: Millon, Leveille, Gill at attack, Fiore, Battista, Rotelli at middie, Inge at FO specialist, Passavia, Curtis, Staines at defense, and Garrity in net with KOB always riding behind him."
we could keep 10 players right? i don't get why we didn't keep 10 of our starting players we would have dominated

[Lax101]

Lax 101 "The Cannons suffered the WORST losses after the expansion draft. Think of their starting lineup before: Millon, Leveille, Gill at attack, Fiore, Battista, Rotelli at middie, Inge at FO specialist, Passavia, Curtis, Staines at defense, and Garrity in net with KOB always riding behind him."
we could keep 10 players right? i don't get why we didn't keep 10 of our starting players we would have dominated
Did any MLL team keep even 70% of their starting lineup?

Again, read the middle of my post above-MLL teams couldn't give up their worst players to the expansion teams. Then, every west team would have absolutely sucked. You can't have the original six fighting it out and then the 4 expansion teams all playing extremely mediocre lacrosse. How do you expect the league to succeed if at least 40% of your league's teams have no talent? Most of these MLL teams (namely the Cannons and Bayhawks) had to give away top talent to spread the wealth around the league. If that didn't happen, then we'd have two east coast teams in the championship and all 4 expansions probably would have folded in a span of a few years. A lot of the MLL transactions at this point are done with the whole league in consideration. Local favorite players usually will play for their local team (ex. Battista on the Cannons, Cattrano on the Lizards), while each team is set to have a few legitimate big name players.

[groundballs1111]

Boston had their typical season (at least from 2003 to current). They come flying out of the gate, position themselves as the team to beat, then lose momentum at the end of the season. They have been one of the top teams in the league since 2003 yet have made the Championship Game only once. Boston is cursed for some reason. Now they are getting older and other teams are getting younger or developing their younger talent that they have been working with for the past couple of seasons. Denver will likely be even better next year, Baltimore could be a playoff team in 2007, New Jersey is ripe o make a serious run at dominance next season. Even San Francisco could be a formidable team next summer.

[amlax21]

the only thing i didnt like bout bill daye was loosing the game vs. rochester, evan though they were already in the finals they should be winning the game for moral cause you cant go into a game as important as the championship game with a loss. then again we have done that in the past.


Cannons shoulda have won the title tho, i think you might be right bout them bein cursed, cause look at the previous games this season, we defeated philli twice in a row, both on our turf and theirs.




By the way dose anyone know where the next mll championship will be, mll made a huge mistake hostin them this year, and coulda really have hurt the league, they should have been in either a east coast team or denver. or a team wit a massive fan base. Personally i think whover wins the championship should host the fallowing years weekend, so next year should be philly by goin off of my system.

[matses21]

i liked when christmass played midi, and was surprised to see him on attack this year. although hes great on both postions, hes fast and should be helpin out the d and gettin the ball out of our zone and sprintin up the field, he will blow by the other competition, give the ball to one of our 2 point scorers and if it is saved we have christmas or any of the other attackmen for the rebound :roll: