It’s finally here…the playoffs. We’ve waited all season for this weekend and it has been worth the wait after one of the most exciting seasons in history. The playoffs will take place in Harvard Stadium in Boston Massachusetts and will be the home of two great semifinal games and a final that decides it all. In the first semifinal there’s the Rochester Rattlers against the Philadelphia Barrage and on the Western side of things we’ve got the Denver Outlaws pitted against the Los Angeles Riptide. With that said, let’s get down to my predictions of who’s gonna win this thing!

Rochester Rattlers vs. Philadelphia Barrage: Winner-Rochester Rattlers

It’s simple really…John Grant Jr. I’ve been talking Grant up all season as the best in the game and on Thursday the MLL validated that talk by giving Grant the MLL MVP for the second season in a row. The Rattlers are the number one seeded team overall with their 9-3 record and haven’t shown many signs of letting up this entire season. As for the Philadelphia Barrage, they come in as the weak link in this Championship weekend as the fourth seed with a record of 7-5.

The focus will lie solely on John Grant Jr. for the Barrage and expect all-star Brodie Merrill to step up big time. The lingering problem for the Rattlers though is their goalie Mike Levin, who has looked very shaky in net for the last couple of weeks. The best opportunity for Jed Prossner and the Barrage to win is to actually get in a shootout with the Rattlers and hope that Brian Dougherty can get his act together and hold down this Rattler attack. I don’t think it’s possible for the Barrage to win as they are over-matched in every aspect, so expect a comfortable win for the Rattlers.

Denver Outlaws vs. Los Angeles Riptide: Winner- Los Angeles Riptide

The Riptide!?! Yes, I said it, the Riptide will win. The Riptide come into this weekend playing their best lacrosse of the season after winning 6 of their last 8. Winning streaks tend to carry over into the playoffs and I think the 7-5 Riptide have what it takes to take down the more powerful 8-4 Outlaws. The Riptide have the MLL Goalie of the Year in Mickey Jarboe who’s GAA is down to 12.75 which ranked first in the league.

With a solid guy in the net they also have three guys who seem unstoppable at times. Jesse Hubbard, Kyle Harrison, and Kevin Huntley are all completely different players but their style mix well together. Jesse Hubbard is the MLL’s all-time leading goal scorer so expect his veteran play to shine this weekend. As for the Outlaws, Brian Langtry is of course the key. But, in the one loss they had this season against L.A. Langtry was held to one assist. The Riptide know how to shut down Langtry and expect them to do it again this weekend.

Is it time? I think so. The Olympics includes pedestrian sports such as table tennis and badminton, so why not involve a real sport that actually takes physical skill? All I’m saying is that if you can win a gold medal in ping-pong, you should be able to do the same with lacrosse.

Whenever this argument arose, the main point people would bring up is that lacrosse isn’t played as much as it is in America and Canada. To that pathetic point I say how many countries play judo, water polo, and trampoline. Trampoline?!? That’s a sport in the Olympics folks, and that always becomes my most stellar argument.

So, what does lacrosse need to become an Olympic sport? It needs fans. Lacrosse needs people behind the sport that want to see lacrosse in the Olympics as much as the athletes do. It’s growing popularity with the development of Major League Lacrosse along with a huge youth movement in which a lot of young kids are picking up the sport earlier and earlier forcing their high schools to also pick up lacrosse programs.

It seems to me that most of the team sports played in the Olympics aren’t taken seriously. They aren’t because those players don’t get paid by their clubs to play for their country. So most players either voluntarily choose to sit out or are forced to not play. So in team sports like baseball, and soccer you never get to see the world’s best, which is what the Olympics are supposed to represent. If the Olympics give the opportunity to these lacrosse guys they will not disappoint. I’m positive that John Grant and Brian Langtry would have been on the first flight to Beijing if they had the chance, but sadly they didn’t but hopefully by either the 2012 Olympics(which is pretty doubtful to get a sport instated in 4 years) or the 2016 Olympics which could fittingly end up in America in Chicago, we will see Lacrosse as an Olympic sport.

With wins by the Barrage and Riptide the postseason has been sorted out putting an end to a fantastic regular season. The Philadelphia Barrage beat Boston last night to make it to their 3rd straight postseason. Los Angeles Riptide made it in last night by defeating the San Fransisco Dragons. But, quite frankly neither team stands a chance.

They’ve played well all season but the Riptide and Barrage are simply no match for the overly talented and powerful Denver Outlaws and Rochester Rattlers. The Rattlers and Outlaws seem to be destined for a match up in the final pitting Rochester’s John Grant against Denver’s Brian Langtry. The Western Conference Champion Outlaws have put up the most dominant numbers in the entire league and I’m afraid that only the Rattlers can stop them.

So, what are my predictions for the postseason? It’s simple really…The Outlaws destroy the Riptide, The Rattlers demolish the Barrage, and we’re set up with one of the best finals the MLL has ever produced between the Outlaws and Rattlers. Although I love how John Grant has been playing I think this is Brian Langtry’s year as he and the Outlaws will leave Boston with the championship.

It might sound lame but the definite winner of all this is the fan. Lacrosse has made a huge move this year with the college championships and this year’s MLL season. Finally lacrosse fans can unite and actually be able to watch their favorite sport on television, even if it is on ESPN2.

That’s what I’m talking about! Finally, the most exciting season in MLL history is now being supplemented with an outrageously exciting playoff race that encompasses several teams in both the West and East. Let’s take a look at the table right now…

Western Conference

Denver 7-3-0

Los Angeles 5-4-0

Chicago 3-7-0

San Fransisco 2-7-0

Eastern Conference

Philadelphia 6-3-0

Boston 6-3-0

Rochester 6-3-0

Long Island 5-4-0

New Jersey 3-6-0

Washington 3-6-0

How great is this? We have a three way tie in the East between the Philadelphia Barrage, Boston Cannons, and the Rochester Rattlers. Don’t count out Long Island either as they’re just one game behind. The West is clearer to say the least but Los Angeles has been playing well and could sneak up on Denver…but don’t count on it. Denver has just dominated this season and has shown the Lacrosse world that they are the team to beat.

I predicted earlier in the season that it would be a match up between Rochester and Denver in the finals, but this race might be taking a toll on Grant and the Rattlers. Denver has been rolling along smoothly and I think they’re too strong to be taken down.

No matter the result this season will go down as the MLL’s best. Whether it’s Denver, Rochester, or my personal dark horse, Long Island Lizards who takes the crown it’s gonna be an absolute pleasure to watch.

Lacrosse is slowly getting there. The thing is though, it’s slowly getting there. What should the MLL do to improve the league and expand itself? For me it all starts with marketing.

John Grant of the Rochester Rattlers

After Syracuse beat Johns Hopkins, lacrosse was on a high. The championship was widely televised on ESPN and garnered the biggest audience for a lacrosse match. I think right there was the MLL’s chance to shine. And personally, I don’t think they did enough. It was a real legit chance in which they had lacrosse on the proverbial sports pedestal and they failed to hit the nail on the head.

They need to start marketing the big names. In every league in America, big names draw big crowds which bring in big money. Every league has an untouchable hero in which like him or hate him, you have to appreciate him. One player who I think can easily take that role is John Grant of the Rochester Rattlers. He is easily the best player in lacrosse and has been around for a while, so every one appreciates what he’s done. He won last year’s MLL MVP in both the indoor and outdoor league showing his versatility. John Grant should be made the face of the league.

Rattlers’ Attack Man John Grant

Also to develop a league, great story lines need to be developed. Now I’m not saying the MLL should go on making up stories but they need to really drive home the really good ones. They need to make a hero out of John Grant and he needs an adversary. Since Grant plays for Rochester, an East Coast team, his opposite has to reside on the west coast to really develop a rivalry. I think Brian Langtry is the man for that job. He plays for a well rounded hard to beat Denver Outlaws team and would fit the role perfectly. If they can market these two as enemies of each other duking it out it will definitely garner interest.

Brian Langtry of the Denver Outlaws

The biggest chance the have though is coming up a week from today. The MLL All-Star game. It is being held in Denver at Mile High Stadium and is a real opportunity for the MLL to strut its stuff. People will tune in to an all-star game if they don’t follow the league. It happens all the time in American sports. When the MLB has their all-star game next week I guarantee many people will tune in who don’t normally watch baseball. The thing I’m most excited for is the Skills Challenge. John Grant is a participant and it’s going to be so much fun to see what he can do. The MLL needs to realize what is at stake on July 17th when the All-Star game is being played, because if they don’t this league could crumble in a matter of years.