LAX Sports !

By Sean Connolly

In a recent interview, commissioner of the MLL Dave Gross, talked about expansion ideas in the MLL. A stir began when during the MLL All-Star game, announcers spoke about how there would in fact be an expansion team in Dallas and Raleigh. None of this was confirmed by the MLL.

But, in this interview Gross talks about how there will be an expansion team in both Dallas and Raleigh. He talked about how when teams played there the response was great and business would work there. He also began talking about the Portland and Salt Lake City markets which could be candidates in the future. Gross said that for now, St. Louis is out of the question.

The entire interview is pretty good, he talks about the expansion of the MLL and how it will work. Click here to listen to the interview and scroll down to “my multimedia” http://www.sportsgist.com/davidgross

By Sean Connolly

In front of his fans, on his turf, Ryan Powell put on an unforgettable performance yesterday as the West beat the East, 31-15, in this year’s MLL All-Star game. Powell scored a record 6 goals yesterday breaking the mark for goals scored in an all-star game and had 7 points which tied the record. Powell made this night what it was, entertaining and enjoyable.

What a perfect guy to put on such a perfect performance. The hometown performer in front the fans that come out every game and support him. Powell showed the utmost respect by putting on a memorable show that will stay with fans forever. Before this game I was looking for John Grant or Brian Langtry to step up and make the game enjoyable to watch, but as the game went on there was no doubt that Powell was the man to do it.

Another entertaining aspect of this game was the skills challenge that was held during half time. Chazz Woodson wowed the crowd with his jump over two kids while shooting and took home the trophy for the freestyle portion of the skills challenge. Los Angeles Riptide midfielder Anthony Kelly won the fastest shot event with a blistering speed of 109 mph. Jake Byrne of San Fransisco won the first ever two point shot contest as well. I really like how the skills challenge is during half time and not on a separate day, it doesn’t drag out the all-star festivities and even though the game was really entertaining, the magic during half time kept me seated.

Looking back at this game, the MLL has to consider this a success. They brought out over 10,000 fans to Invesco Field at Mile High. The game itself was entertaining and put several unknown players into the limelight. The skills competition showed these MLL players’ range and versatility and how fun the game truly is. This really is a big step forward for the MLL.