The Greatest PLL Game Ever?

Neil Barrett (00:01.24)
Ahem.

Neil Barrett (00:05.41)
Welcome, welcome, welcome to the run out. I am Neil Barrett. What an incredible weekend of lacrosse. We just had from top to bottom, every single game on the schedule delivered. We had come from behind wins. We had last second goals. We had an amazing, one of the best games of all time in an overtime thriller that we will get into later this weekend, truly had

everything that you would want as expected. The outlaws went one and one on the weekend, though not in the way we all assumed they would. The chaos are officially a playoff team and the cannons are really who we thought they are. But before we get into all of that,

For those of you watching on YouTube, you can see that it is just me. For those of you listening, you may have noticed that I did not introduce Brandon. Brandon had a family emergency and he is not with us this week. We hope and pray if that's your thing, that everything with Brandon and his family is going okay and that he will be able to join us again next weekend.

Neil Barrett (01:27.554)
that Brandon will be able to join us again next week and we can keep rolling along with the season. If you follow Brandon and you want to send him a little message, I'm sure that he would really appreciate that. But again, hopefully he is back next week. But with all of that being said, let's get into the games. We will start with the outlaws and the chaos.

The chaos had an incredible come from behind victory to win 12, 11. Before we get into the game itself, we have to mention that Denver played this game in their throwbacks and it is the first time we have ever seen a team wear their throwback uniforms outside of throwback weekend. So it was a pretty cool thing to see, even though not the biggest fan of those uniforms. Again, it was still pretty cool to see.

and kind of goes in line with some of the things that we've talked about this season with teams trying out different combinations or in the case of say the Atlas, they wore for their game this weekend, they wore a combo that they hadn't worn for like three years. I think since the champion deal, they had all always worn all white or all blue. And this weekend they wore, I believe it was blue, white, blue is what they wore.

It was a combination that they really have not worn since the Adidas deal ended and they moved into champion. So we've seen a lot of experimentation with with Jersey pieces and items and helmets and different combinations with uniform items. And as a as a gear head, as a uniform guy, I'm super stoked to see that. I love seeing the teams playing around with their uniforms and looking for different combos. It really

leads to some really, really great looking uniform matchups. And this one was amongst one of the best of the season. So let's get into the game itself. Get off of the uniform talk. This game was, was great. It looked like the outlaws were going to just coast to a victory against the chaos. Brendan O'Neill was clicking early.

Neil Barrett (03:49.986)
hitting a bunch of shots from all over the place. Wiz was looked incredible, looked way better than he's looked in most of this season. He had four assists in the first half and just an incredible display of being able to take over as Brandon and I have talked throughout the season. This is a team that

always has a guy that's going to step up. If you start keying in on Brendan O'Neill, Pac have will step up. If you start keying in on Pac having a whiz can step up. JB 10 can step up. So they always, always have someone on that roster that can step up and score the goals or provide the assists that the defense is keying on someone else to not make.

Neil Barrett (05:01.934)
As for the chaos in the first half, Ross Scott was kind of the lone bright spot. He scored a couple of really good goals to just keep the chaos kind of on the edge of being in the game. But it was a nine five halftime score with the outlaws leading. It looked like they were just going to cruise to victory, especially when the second half started and the chaos were without Jack Rowlett.

You just thought, okay, that's it. They are done. But the chaos went on a five, one run in the third quarter to tie it up 10, 10, combining that with the Denver outlaws going nearly 17 minutes scoreless in the second half from about the middle of the third quarter all the way until Jared Bernhardt finally broke the ice and scored with 11 seconds left in the game. But by then,

the chaos had stretched out their lead and took over. Obviously the big talking point for this game was Owen Hiltz with him all but locking up that rookie of the year award, finishing with four points on three goals and an assist that puts him in the top 10 in the league and points with 26 this season, despite missing the first three games because of his Canadian visa issues.

Jackson Eicher is, was the other, you know, real bright spot in this game. He had also had four points that puts him at 24 points and makes him now the fourth highest in terms of rookie scoring points, passing the idol Sam King. So the last weekend is going to be really incredible to watch these rookies as they kind of battle it out.

for that rookie of the year award. believe just about, think off the top of my head, I'm trying to do this math real quick, but off the top of my head, I believe all of the rookies that are kind of in the race right there are all playing. So that is going to be just an incredible thing to keep an eye on and see who can really kind of separate themselves and make that last push.

Neil Barrett (07:25.71)
for the rookie of the year award. But ultimately we got to come back to the chaos winning this game 12 and one, 12 to 11, excuse me. They are just absolutely the story of the season for me. And I don't really know what we can say about the chaos at this point that hasn't already been said. This roster should not be this good on paper anyway.

It's one of those situations where you look at that roster and as we all predicted at the beginning of the year, they were going to be towards the bottom of the standings in the league this year. And, you know, they just continue to step out and, and surprise us and

We talk about this with the archers, but at some point you got to start talking about it with the chaos. You know, how long does a team have to show you who they are before you believe them? And I think we all generally speaking, you know, maybe a few chaos fans, the red Legion, certainly aside, I think we all expected that at some point this team's roster makeup would catch up with them and they would turn out to be

kind of who we all expected them to be. And they just really haven't. In fact, they've arguably gotten better and better. Owen Hiltz has just been another level. Again, we talked about it a couple of weeks ago. I will throw up my hands. I was one of those guys that thought for sure this team was, was going to be better than I think a lot of people thought. thought,

I thought they'd be kind of what the Carolina red or the California redwoods have been this season where they are good. They are capable on their day. They can pop someone in the mouth and get a win, but ultimately would struggle to kind of put it all together and that they were going to be a few key additions away from, you know, really being the title.

Neil Barrett (09:43.833)
contenders playoff really playoff contenders. I thought they would comfortably be outside of the playoffs looking in at the end of this season and that next year or the year after that with a few more pieces, they could really make a lot of noise and make some moves in the playoffs. But the other player, again, that we have to talk about as good as Jackson Eicher was at Army,

there were questions about his availability and his ability to be all in during the season. But those questions have been completely unfounded. He has been incredible this season and if they can hold on to him full time for a couple more seasons, he will have absolutely been the steel of the draft class.

Not the draft obviously because he was not drafted But I think he could turn out to be the steal of the draft class kind of like Ethan Raul was a couple of years ago Where you know he went undrafted but came in and made such a name for himself and won the Was the first I believe he was the first LSM not named LSM of the year not named Michael Earhart. So

The big question is going to be what he looks like next year, whether he can, he can be all in, be that full-time player again, or if he's going to go the route of Brendan Nick turn and be kind of out for his second season and then kind of in and out in his third season to not, not playing at all. The roster just dropped for the California Redwoods this weekend. And he was once again on the protected roster, not in the actual 19 man roster. So

after trading for him in the off season. Brendan Nicktern has not played a single game in the PLL this season. Still could potentially play in the playoffs if the Redwoods do ultimately make it. But as of right now, he is a trade that is going to provide no dividends for the California Redwoods this season. And we'll see what happens with him in the future. But

Neil Barrett (12:11.458)
back to Jackson Eicher, they can, if they can get another couple of seasons even out of him before maybe the military service kind of kicks in and takes over, he will absolutely have been the steel of this draft class. Unfortunately for chaos fans, their success on the field means that they are probably going to miss out on Joey Spelina, who I think would have been the perfect compliment for Owen Hiltz.

But hopefully they can find someone to be that kind of QB role as good as as good as Hilt has been. I think that's still the piece that they are missing in this offense. Someone that can be the quarterback that can draw the attention of the defense and make some moves and be the guy to really kind of direct that offense and fill that role because it

Again, this, this team feels, talked about this team feeling like they were coming into the season that maybe they were a player or two in a few key positions from challenging for the playoffs. Now it feels like they are a player or two in a few key positions from challenging for the title. So, I think that is going to be the thing to keep an eye on.

this off season heading into next season, what kind of moves they make and how well those transition on the field. And hopefully they can kind of challenge, be one of those guys at the top of the standings next year and really pushing for a title because like I said earlier, they have absolutely been the story of the season for me this year.

Let's move on to the second game of the season of the weekend where the cannons took on the water dogs. The cannons pulled this out 13 to 10 coming into the game. It was announced that Kenny Brower was out. It was also announced that Matt DeLuca would be the starter in the cage for the water dogs. So of course they lost because they don't win when Matt DeLuca plays in cage. Like I talked about

Neil Barrett (14:29.43)
last week. And if you saw the stick sticks up episode, I was, I believe the only guy on sticks up to suggest that they play Dillon Ward. They did not. They went with Matt DeLuca, who again, if you miss it, Matt DeLuca has been great. I am not saying he doesn't deserve to be the starter. I just said that when he plays as good as he's been the water dogs lose and Dillon Ward has

a game this season where he made four saves and finished with 26 % and the water dog still won. And we talk a lot on this show about how being a goalie is about more than keeping the ball out of the back of the net. And sometimes it's about the leadership that you provide. It's about the structure and organization that you provide to the defense. And for whatever reason, Dillon Ward has done a better job at those things.

than Matt DeLuca has, even though Matt DeLuca is playing significantly better in terms of keeping the ball out of the back of the net. The water dogs are undefeated in games in which Dillon Ward plays the entire game. When Matt DeLuca is involved, I believe they are one and five now. So clearly as unfair as it is, because again, Matt DeLuca is playing out of his mind. The second I saw he was starting, I started

to have some doubts about their ability to win this game.

Neil Barrett (16:08.738)
This though was absolutely the CJ curse game. exploded for six points on five goals and an assist and people are

This was absolutely the CJ cursed game he finished.

This though was absolutely the CJ cursed game. He exploded for six points on five goals and an assist. Michael Sowers also kept his name in the MVP race, finishing with four points on three goals and an S and an assist. However, the point remains that, you know, at this season, at this point in the season, CJ seems to be more of a disruption than help. It's not CJ's fault

per se, as we said, he had six points. I'm not sure that he could have played much better of a game, but kind of like we were talking about the difference between Matt DeLuca and Dillon Ward, this offense had been clicking for seven games and was led by a sure fire MVP caliber player in Michael Sowers. And since they started trying to work CJ into this offense,

The wheels just feel like they have fell, fallen off of this offense. Again, it's not really CJ's fault. again, he's, he had six points. I can't imagine him having a better game, but it just seems to have disrupted everyone else in that offense so much in terms of where they're playing and spacing and just who needs to do what for who. And it's all over the place. And I just,

Neil Barrett (17:56.332)
I'm not really a fan of the way that this has been handled by Bill Tierney. Again, I understand that CJ was an attack man. He is one of the best college attack men in the last few years at least. And playing him in his natural position is ultimately what's best for the team. just feels like starting so late, trying to work him into an offense that was already clicking so well.

just isn't working as well. That being said, they were playing the cannons. And as I said in the intro, the cannons are who we thought they were on the other end of the field. We finally got Will Manny and Coulter Macacy on the field together and they looked absolutely incredible. They were working a two man game pretty much that whole time. And it really was

a feather in the cap for me. I've been one of the loudest voices claiming that these two both could be on the field for the cannons in whatever formation was deemed appropriate, whether that was maniatt attack and Colter Mackenzie running out of the box, flipping that there might have even been a way that they both run out of midfield or both play attack.

that one's probably a little bit harder to do considering that Asher and Marcus Holman are also in that attack. But I have to say as one of those loudest voices clam clamoring for this pairing to be on the field at the same time, even I was surprised at how well this worked out. And perhaps the best news for coach Holman and that cannons team is that those two being on the field together seemed

to spark Asher Nolting who had four points on three goals and an assist who in turn sparked Marcus Holman and Matt Campbell, both of which finished with three points. That was arguably the best that this cannons offense has looked all season, even in some of their other wins. I don't think anyone would argue with the fact that they looked better in this game than they did in those games. The offense finally looked like

Neil Barrett (20:23.66)
what we have come to expect this cannons offense to look like over the past few seasons. Combine all of that with Colin Kerr standing on his head with a 67 % save percentage. And I don't think that this is a team anyone wants to see rolling into the playoffs playing the way that they're playing right now. So

You know, I am really, really impressed with this cannons team and I really am looking forward to Boston this weekend. I will be at those games and the cannons have two games it being their home come weekend, homecoming weekend to close out their regular season. And it really feels like they might have just figured out.

things in this game about what they should be looking like moving in to the playoffs. And they could with those two games could technically steal first place from the Atlas, though they would need, they would need to win both games. The Atlas would need to lose their game this weekend. And the combination of gold difference in those three games would have to swing.

wildly in favor. Like I think it would have to swing. I think it's like 14 goals. So, you know, you're looking at you're looking at two pretty big cannons wins and a pretty big Atlas loss for that to happen. It is technically math, let mathematically still possible though. So it's worth mentioning though, clearly highly unlikely.

but second place is still very much a possibility for them. And I don't know that there's a huge difference between being second or third. Obviously they're going to care much more about making the playoffs than they are going to care about their seed. But I think it should be a really entertaining weekend and heading in to the Boston homecoming. I think that they should feel

Neil Barrett (22:42.36)
pretty good about the position that they're in, not only just to make the playoffs, but to maybe again, first place is probably out of reach, but you never know crazy, crazier things have probably happened. We did have an MLL season where all seven teams, not all seven teams in the league, but seven teams ended tied for the same playoff position. So on

I believe they were tied on wins and losses and on goal difference. I think there was, think whatever the third tiebreaker is in the MLL, they were like all tied on that. was this insane season. So all that to say we have seen crazier things and you never know with this. You never ever know. Never. Justin Bieber said, never say never. I'm going to not ever say never.

But probably probably not going to happen. Let's move on to the third game of the weekend, perhaps, perhaps the best game ever. That will be a debate, I'm sure. But the best ever PLL game with the outlaws and the Atlas, the outlaws had a crazy come from behind when 13 to 12 in overtime, the

Atlas led by Connor Shellenberger who finished the game with four points on three goals and an assist and Reed Bowering who had three first half points held a nine to four halftime lead. And much like the outlaws in the first game of the weekend, it really felt like they were just going to kind of cruise to a victory. And my discussion topic of last week of them flexing games and

almost always when they flex a game into one of the linear TV spots, they end up with a worse game, thought that was going to be true. And the Atlas kind of felt when they came out in that second half, like they were going to win just by coming out and being on the field in the second half. They looked to kind of have flipped that switch off and really seemed to struggle to turn it back on. Conversely, the outlaws,

Neil Barrett (25:03.266)
came out in that second half, they looked hungry. They were flying around. I have no idea how they were even still standing less than 17 hours after their game with the chaos. Maybe, maybe the thought was literally just, we win this game and we have a month off, leave it all out on the field. There's literally nothing to lose. They played free. They played

hungry and and really like they wanted to win that game where as Atlas didn't feel like they had as much to play for. They still have a game next weekend or this coming weekend that they can, you know, completely lock up that that first place. That was combined with Logan Wehrman being able to neutralize Trevor Baptiste. The outlaws also

peppered the Atlas goal forcing 18 saves out of Liam Intiman who finished with 60 % save percentage. Logan McNaney had another solid day between the pipes making 15 saves at 56%. He has fallen somewhat slightly in the goalie per save percentage rankings in the league, but it's still, I believe second or maybe, maybe just third, but everyone is so bunched up there.

when I say he's fallen, he's maybe fallen three tenths of a point and that has dropped him all the way down to, like I said, second or third. But really after the Outlaws scored six goals in the second half to tie up the game, the game got really fun. Reid Bowering scored a goal with about five minutes left to take the lead before Jake Piseno scored a two bomb to

retake the lead for the outlaws that set up Connor Shellenberger to score the game time goal with 15 seconds left and force overtime. If Atlas goes on to win that game, I think we might look at that moment as Connor Shellenberger's kind of MVP moment. if we look at it in sort of a similar lens to the Heisman trophy, we often talk about a Heisman moment, a play,

Neil Barrett (27:27.886)
a touchdown, usually a scoring play, but not necessarily always, but a play that you kind of point to and hang your hat on as like, This is what this guy's season kind of all boiled down into a single play was. I think Connor Shellenberger picking up that ball with 15 seconds left. He was at the top of the box, not behind the cage where we typically expect to find him and just kind of saying, everyone get out of my way.

dodging and scoring that goal, think could have been his MVP moment if the Atlas go on and win. Unfortunately for him, that will likely all be forgotten as just a few minutes later, Jared Barnhart dodged hard from X and scored the game winner, securing the victory and the first place first round by I should say.

for the outlaws and unfortunately that means that they the first round by in the playoffs and the fact that this weekend in boston is the outlaws weakened off from playing it means that the outlaws will not play a game for an entire month the atlas game was august 2nd and the semi-final games the the first round that the outlaws will play in

are start on September 1st. So they will literally have not played for a month. They will get to travel during the first round of the playoffs. will travel to, I'm totally blanking on where it is. I think it's Minneapolis. They will travel to Minneapolis and get to practice while other teams are playing games. So they won't be completely out of action for a month, but we all know we've all played, coached, been around those games. You know that there's

no way to fully replicate game speed and playing conditions. So we will have to see just how well they come back after an entire month out of action. But it's, it's one of those things. It's one of those long debates in sports about whether the rest is more important than the rust, the rest versus rust debate.

Neil Barrett (29:51.832)
I think sometimes the rest is really good. I think other times the rust is going to creep in. It's one thing when it's a week or two, a week or two, and you can kind of really get into rest versus Russ. think a month is, is almost entirely going to be rust. And I think the real thing for them is not, not, getting rusty that I think the rust is going to come. It's going to happen. They are going to be rusty. The question is,

how quickly can they overcome the Russ? How quickly can they get back into the rhythm of playing? If they really struggled to get back into that rhythm, they could find themselves having a very, very short stint in the playoffs. And unfortunately for them, I think it's more to do with the playoff schedule than perhaps, or maybe the PLL schedule as a whole, not specifically the playoff schedule, then it is necessarily about

their ability to play the game as a team. So definitely something that we're going to keep an eye on down the stretch. With that being said, let's move on to the final game of the weekend. The whips took on the Redwoods. This game was crazy. It felt like the whips were in total control, much like in most of the other games this weekend, and they were going to just cruise.

to a victory before they went completely scoreless in the fourth quarter, allowing the woods to score four unanswered goals and walk out with the one goal 14 to 13 victory. I guess we can officially after several weeks of calling them a hockey team, at least for this game, say that they are not a hockey team. I am not sure if that says more about the woods or the whips, but

We will give the woods the benefit of the doubt right now and say that they are not a hockey team again, at least this week. We'll see what happens in Boston this weekend. Though this game will undoubtedly be remembered as the Chris Kavanaugh game for his heroic seven points on three goals and four assists. It ultimately took a little bit from everyone to get across the line. That fourth quarter I think was more about

Neil Barrett (32:19.234)
that entire team than it was specifically about Chris Kavanaugh, though you cannot argue with his performance in the previous three quarters, keeping the California Redwoods within touching distance. Dillon Malloy also had five goals in this game. He has looked incredible. We will have to at some point sit down and really have a conversation about Dillon Malloy's season this year and

what it deserves in terms of accolades and attention. But back to this game, probably the most surprising part of this game is that after last week when we basically crowned Joe Nardella as the faceoff specialist of the year after he completely dispatched Trevor Baptiste for the second time this season.

TD Erlen pulled off the old Lee Corso, not so fast, my friend, beating Nards to the tune of 72 % and taking a full percentage point lead in a face-off percentage for the entire league for the season. It really feels like as much as we thought it was Joe Nardella's title to lose that now after this week.

It is completely TD Ireland's award to lose in the good news is that in one of the few ways the PLL schedule has played out in a good manner for us, both TD and Joe Nardella will take on Zach Tucci this weekend as both the woods and the whips are Boston's homecoming opponents this weekend. So we will get to see

very specifically where both stack up in the faceoff specialist of the year rankings when all is said and done after this weekend.

Neil Barrett (34:25.974)
Like their opponents in the championship game last year though, the Utah archers, the

Neil Barrett (34:41.816)
switching gears to the Maryland Whip Snakes like their opponents in the championship game last year, the Utah archers, the Whip Snakes, barring an insane final weekend, which is 100 % possible, are likely to be flying home to stay when they leave Boston at the end of this weekend, which is crazy because coming into the final weekend of the season, they are the

only team and not in first place in, each conference that have a positive goal differential. It's them and the outlaws and the Atlas. Those are the only three teams with a positive goal den differential. And yet the Maryland whip snakes are in last place and the outlaws and Atlas are in first place in their respective conferences. I think

A lot of us are wondering what could have been if they hadn't signed Rob Pennell. I, as you, as listeners of this podcast will know, I am one of the most vocal supporters of RP3. think he still has a place in this league. I think there is a team out there that could really use him. And, uh, I really thought that Carolina was the spot for him this year. I think.

his performances this year would back that up. I think they're missing a quarterback and I think he was the best available quarterback out there. So I really do think that he has a place in this league, but this was a bizarre marriage in the first place and the whips reluctance to hand the keys over to their young guys this season has really been an issue all year and has I think been kind of the

the key factor in this team plummeting down the standings. California on the other hand has been more or less what we expected. I think they were, they came into the season as a team with a lot of promise, but maybe a year or two away from being a true contender. That being said, they are dangerous and have weapons all over the field and

Neil Barrett (36:58.318)
could very easily make a lot of noise once the playoffs get started. I think they are, we talked earlier about the chaos. think the chaos and the Redwoods were coming into this season were kind of viewed as two teams that were a year or two. They were both in rebuilding situations and were a year or two away from being really like playoff kind of teams and potential title challengers. I think

the chaos have exceeded those expectations very clearly. I think the Redwoods, I wouldn't say they have disappointed. I would say that they are exactly kind of who we expected them to be. And they are playing at a level where on any given day they could get hot. Dillamolloy could go for five and Chris Kavanaugh could go for seven and they could, you know, manage to win a game. But

throughout the course of a season, they are kind of more or less one of the lower end teams that, you know, if the whips were any more consistent, you would expect them to be above California. If the archers were even remotely good on offense, you would expect them to be above California. And so again, they are kind of what we expected, but

That being said, I am not taking them lightly as a playoff team at all. think whoever they end up playing, if they do indeed make the playoffs, be, they will be someone that will push that team and challenge them and make that other team beat them. They are not just going to roll over. So.

That is where we were at the end of this past weekend in Denver. Now we are looking forward to the Boston homecoming weekend. As I said earlier, I will be at the games this weekend. I am looking forward to my first chance to view these teams in person and the good news about the good news about

Neil Barrett (39:15.724)
being somewhat late with this episode this week is that the rosters have already started to drop. So we do have some insight into at least how a few of these teams are going to be addressing their final games of the season. First up, we have the aforementioned California Redwoods taking on the Boston Canons.

Ultimately, I think the Boston cannons are going to come into this game.

Neil Barrett (39:48.746)
Ultimately, I think the Boston cannons are going to come into this game with something to prove before their win this past weekend. They had lost three straight. I think that they are going to be feeding off of that home Boston crowd and they are going to be looking to carry off of the momentum of last weekend's win and head in to the playoffs. I think that Boston ultimately wins this game again. Like I said, I think

California is going to make them work for it. And I'm not going to be wholly surprised to see the Redwoods walk away with a victory here, especially with Boston knowing that they have another game this weekend. But if I was a betting man and I am not, but if I was, I would probably put my money on Boston coming out of this game with the victory.

Moving on to the next game, the Carolina chaos will take on.

Moving on to the next game of the weekend, Friday night, the Carolina chaos will take on the Utah archers. Tom Schreiber has already been ruled out for the rest of the season. If that is this one game and done, or if somehow they manage to sneak into the playoffs on the last weekend of the season, he is done. He is out for the season. No one knows.

what the injury I shouldn't say no one somebody in the PLL knows what the injury is, but it was not publicly announced. So we'll leave that up to the dirt sheets. I guess. I don't know. Do we call them dirt sheets? I don't know what we call them in wrestling. They're called dirt sheets. I don't know what we call them in lacrosse. I like the name dirt sheets. So I'm running with it, but we will leave the speculation up to the dirt sheets. All I can say is that I hope

Neil Barrett (41:51.416)
that it's nothing too serious and that Tom is back on the floor for the Toronto Rock in time for hopefully training camp and get in with his guys and they can get prepared for the NLL season, but at least hopefully by the start of that season for sure. Additionally, there has been no real update on Grant Ament who missed the last game of the games in Utah.

because of concussion protocol. He was in concussion protocol, I should say. And while there hasn't been a specific update, he's listed as questionable on this. It was announced by, I want to say it was Chris Rosenthal. I saw it literally right before I sat down to record. I think it was Chris Rosenthal said that he is expected to at least give it a go this weekend against the chaos. So if

he can get on a field that will be big for the Utah archers. But like we said earlier, how long does a team have to tell you who they are before you believe them? And it may have taken until the final week of the season, but I think we can say that this archers team as many weapons as they have and as good as they should be on paper is for whatever reason.

just not very good this year. Maybe come next season that changes and without much of an overhaul, they are right back to where they have been the last few seasons. But in this season, right here, right now, they just aren't a very good team. And I say that with all due respect as a former archers fan, but I am going to have to

take the Carolina Chaos in this game. think they're going to do enough to get the job done. So we'll see barring some crazy, crazy comeback for the archers. I'm going with the chaos. Starting with the games on Saturday at one o'clock, the Philadelphia Water Dogs will take on the New York Atlas. It seems pretty easy. If Dillon Ward plays, the dogs will win, right? That's what we're saying.

Neil Barrett (44:15.15)
Uh, no, I, don't know, uh, who is going to start and goal for them. Uh, obviously both Dillon Ward and, um, totally just blanked on his name. Matt DeLuca are on the roster that was released, but no one was signified as the starter in that game as of yet anyway. So that will be something interesting to pay attention to coming into this game.

Another thing to think about is the fact that New York already has the number one seed locked up, so they don't really have quote unquote much to play for in this game. But all that being said, I think they are in arguably. All right, maybe there's a little bit of argument with the Denver Outlaws, but generally speaking, I think they are relatively widely regarded as the best team in the league.

I most people would look at last week as perhaps the Atlas kind of taking their foot off the gas, not being able to get it going. And even with all of that being said, it still went to overtime. They still had a few shots. They could have ended up winning that game. I think it's fairly close to a coin flip between those two, but me personally, I would probably have the Atlas just slightly above them.

If you go down the roster, think they're just a hair better, a hair deeper. And after last weekend's game with the Outlaws, I think they're going to want to make a statement heading into the playoffs. They're going to have a bye in the first round. They're going to want people to know that they mean business and that they are not a team

They're a team that you're going to need to plan for. And I think that they should overpower the water dogs with relative quote unquote ease. What that means in the PLL is not a ton. I think a three goal victory is kind of what I mean when I say relative ease. It's not going to be easy. They're going to work for it, but they'll do just enough to kind of kind of have a relatively safe

Neil Barrett (46:41.826)
buffer and walk away with the victory.

The final game of the weekend features the Maryland Whip Snakes taking on the home team Boston Canons. The Whips have been a roller coaster all season. They have been up and down. They have had some good wins. They've had some bad losses. It just, you never really know which Whips team is going to show up. That combined with the fact that Boston is at home.

with their fans, they are celebrating their 25th anniversary this weekend. They are, I don't know if it's gonna be both games or if it's just one game or the other. know, like we mentioned, Denver wore their throwbacks in game one of the weekend and then wore their regular uniforms in game two. So they have shown a blue version of the white throwback that they,

they wore during throwback weekend. That is another first in the PLL. We have never seen a team get an additional throwback jersey before. In fact, the only time we've ever seen a team get a jersey that was outside of one of their regular home and away uniforms, an indigenous home jersey, an indigenous heritage jersey, or a throwback jersey,

was when the Water Dogs got the black championship jersey. And if I remember correctly, they only wore that for one game. And then they did kind of bring it back during the championship series. It was slightly tweaked, but it was basically that same uniform for the championship series in, I believe that was 2023 off the top of my head. I could be wrong about that. It might've been 2024. Either way.

Neil Barrett (48:38.668)
Other than that, that's the only time we've ever seen a team get their own sort of specialty jersey. The Cannons are doing it for their 25th anniversary. I don't know if like the Outlaws, they're going to wear it in one game and not the other. If they're wearing it in both games, if they are wearing it in one game and not the other, are they gonna wear it the first game or the last game? We don't know. All we know is that they are at some point going to be wearing that blue 2001 throwback jersey.

So with all of that being said, and that was a lot, I am going to take the cannons in this game. Ultimately, the cannons might go one and one this weekend, but it feels like no matter what happens in game one, this is a game they are going to win. I think the whips are just kind of a mess right now. I don't think they know who their best.

10 or in terms of like a starting lineup I think that they have questions about who should be playing in which position this guy be playing attack should this guy be playing midfield who should be the leader who should be you know, we're not that far removed from them playing Matt Rambo and sitting Rob Pannell who lots of people thought was on a honeymoon, but He was in fact on the sidelines of that game. So even though he was not dressed in in the

19 man roster. He was on the sideline. So it was, it was a designed choice by coach Stagnita to intentionally play Matt Rambo and not Rob Pinnell. I think they are all over the place. Speaking of Matt Rambo, the roster for this game has come out and he is not in the lineup at all. Meaning that his final game

could have been that game that he started and his last weekend in the PLL very well could be this weekend, seeing him not play and not be on the roster, which even as not a Maryland guy and not a Matt Rambo guy feels a little crazy. I think it's crazy to see a guy who has been such a big star in this sport and

Neil Barrett (51:05.302)
especially during his time in the PLL, especially kind of in the establishing years of the PLL to see him not even take the field in what is likely, likely might be harsh. It's up to him to decide. He can decide. think if he wants to play, if he puts in the time and the effort in the off season, there could be a team that looks at him next year. But

at least as far as the whip snakes are concerned. I'm pretty sure this is the last year. This is the last weekend for Matt Rambo and it's really going to be up to, you know, him and another team as to whether we ever see him take a professional lacrosse field again. And that is kind of a strange little bummer. Again, I say that as someone who was not a

Matt Rambo fan or a Maryland University or Whipsnakes fan but as a fan of this game and for someone who has been such an integral part of the last five to ten years of this game it is a little strange to see. Back to the game at hand like I said though I see the cannons winning this game so

Let's leave it at that. Before we get out of here, this is a little bit of a shorter episode. It's just me, like we talked about earlier. It is just me and not having someone to bounce off of and talk to means that this is going to be a little bit shorter of an episode. But before we get out of here, I would be very remiss if I did not mention that the NLL

announced yesterday that the Seneca nation is purchasing the Rochester Nighthawks, keeping them in Rochester for the foreseeable future. is great news for fans in Rochester, for fans of the NLL in general, and even people like me who are on the fringes, but love and respect what Rochester and the Nighthawks have meant to the NLL.

Neil Barrett (53:27.462)
is pretty cool to see more indigenous heritage ownership of the in lacrosse period. And I am really looking forward to seeing what they do with the Nighthawks and how this

ownership, you know, group moves forward with the Nighthawks. The one thing I'll say, and this will be a little bit controversial. I know I will probably get some hate messages. A lot of people have been saying that now that the ownership has been sorted out, that they want to see the teal and purple comeback. I know I'm going to be alone on this, but my thought is not a chance. I love

The purple and teal, it is a great combo. The original Nighthawks uniforms and logos and everything are amongst some of the best that have ever existed in lacrosse. But for me, as long as Halifax, the team that stole your franchise is wearing purple and in their case, orange. I wouldn't touch the purple and teal with a 10 foot pole. We are

going to keep an established identity that we have created that is separate from Halifax. And I, I actually really like their black, and kind of olive, and tan/gold. whatever you want to call that color. I love the new logos. I think the colors are unique in sports. It's not something that you see a lot while you don't see a ton of teal and purple. It's also not like you don't see it at all.

So I'm, I personally am one for keeping the current branding again, as long as Halifax is wearing purple and orange. And like I said, they're the team that, that took your franchise. I wouldn't want to do anything that compares to them as great as the old Nighthawks colors and logos and stuff are. I, I just wouldn't do it. That's me personally. I

Neil Barrett (55:48.63)
will admit my, so I don't know if bias is the right word, but I, I tend to be a person that, that wants to look forward and not backwards. I'm not someone that wants to see more NLL logos return. I'm not someone that wants to see a lot of callbacks to unrelated teams. It's one thing when you're the Charlotte Hornets and the Hornets leave and you get a new team. And then that,

team drops the Hornets name and you can kind of bring the Hornets back. I think that's one thing I'm for that or in the case of, know, as much as I didn't love the MLL logos, putting a team in Boston and it being the cannons, like clearly that makes sense. But trying to bring back teams and logos that just aren't affiliated, you know, let's give an example. We're talking about Rochester. If

If the PLL wants to put a team in Rochester and they ultimately want to go with, with the Rattlers, I'm not going to complain too much about that. I get it. You know, we're carrying on that history. I, I personally, especially given the kind of bitterness between the PLL and the MLL, would love to move on from some of that, but I also understand it. But I know that there are all kinds of conversations about putting

legacy teams in other locations, you know that people want to bring the Bayhawks back. But since Maryland already has the Whipsnakes, they're like, well, Minnesota can be the Bayhawks and absolutely not. We're we are absolutely not doing that. So. Like I said, as long as Halifax is is wearing those colors, I would not go back to the old logos. But again, once like I said once again, I.

understand I'm probably alone if or maybe maybe there's one or two of you with me on that but it ain't many of us so with all that being said I am going to get out of here Brandon will hopefully be back next week and we will have plenty of things to discuss as the PLL season wraps up so with that I am going to get out of here actually

Neil Barrett (58:17.74)
So with that, I am going to get out of here. Like I said earlier, Brandon will hopefully be back next week. Like I said, hopefully everything is good with his family and he can rejoin us next week because we will have plenty of things to discuss as the PLL finishes out its regular season and we look forward to the playoffs. As always, you can find me at I am Neil Barrett on Instagram and Twitter with Twitter. I don't know why I said it like that.

But yeah, I did. And we're just gonna pretend like it was normal and move on. Brandon, as always, is at Hootsports Media again on both Instagram and Twitter. And the show can be found again on Instagram and Twitter at runoutpod. Please hit us up with thoughts, comments, questions, whatever you thought about the show. Give us.

anything to go on if you liked the show and enjoyed what you were hearing. Please give it a like, rate it, review it, share it with a friend. All of those things really do help. But I am going to get out of here. So as always, I'll catch you guys in the comments.