It's A Good Thing Healthcare In Canada Is Free Because Ankles Were Getting Snatched Up North In PLL Action This Weekend
Another week of some PLL action, another week of Connor Fields making defensemen look ridiculously silly. What else is new? I swear this man forces at least 2-3 defensemen into early retirement each time that he steps on a lacrosse field. It’s the rudest thing I’ve ever seen. And this week up in Hamilton, Ontario? It was borderline disrespectful. Fortunately they were in Canada and healthcare is free up there. So Jackson Place was able to get that ankle healed up on the free. But brutally placing a defender in the back of the net wasn’t even the dirtiest thing Connor Fields and the Chaos squad did to Archers that day. This BTB feed to Josh Byrne for the BTB finish was the type of goal that should get games called early.
If I’m in the brain trust of the PLL right now, I’m highly considering coming up with a new rule that just considers goals as dirty as this one to be game daggers. It’s over. There’s no need to keep playing after that point. I mean I know it ended up being a 1-goal game that was decided in overtime but still. That should have been game then and there. Luckily for the Chaos, Josh Byrne was there again when they needed him in OT to lock up a top-2 seed in the playoffs.
Just as a reminder for the way that the PLL playoff format works–the top 2 seeds will play each other in round 1 of the playoffs. The winner of that game then gets a bye to the championship game. The loser of that game is still alive, and they play the winner of the game between 3 and 4. So locking up a top 2 seed this week guarantees that the Chaos at least have 3 more games to play. And speaking of teams locking up a spot in the playoffs, the Whipsnakes finally got their drip back and clinched their spot with an absolute shit pumping over the Redwoods yesterday.
17-4. Seventeen. To. Four.
What a waxing. And the Whipsnakes weren’t even just bullying the Redwoods on the scoreboard, but they were just bullying them in general.
It was just a total dismantling. The kind of beatdown that makes you question every decision you’ve ever made in life. And to add insult to injury, that 17-4 beatdown could end up being the difference maker between the Redwoods getting into the playoffs or not. Because after this weekend, here’s how the standings look.
I said it on Friday’s episode of the podcast–you just never know what’s going to happen in this league. You always have to assume that Rabil has a trick waiting up his sleeve. Did I think that trick would end up being the Redwoods getting pumped by 13 goals and now having a worse score differential than the Atlai? No I did not, but that’s what makes this league so great. Because heading into this weekend, the Atlas had the lowest percentage chance of getting into the playoffs. Now after a win against the Chrome on Saturday and the Redwoods dropping their score differential to -13, they can lock it up next week in Albany.
THIS LEAGUE.
Speaking of that Atlas win over Chrome…
Paul Rabil is 33-years-old. That’s not old in real life, but when you consider that some of the kids out there are 22? Yeah, the man has been playing pro lacrosse probably longer than a few of these guys have been playing lacrosse in general. Also–he’s the co-founder of the league. So he’s been playing at the pro level for a decade, he’s currently running a new professional league, and he’s also still out there playing. And with the season on the line? It’s 99 scoring the game winner to keep the Atlas alive. Please tell me another athlete in any other sport who has done that. Go ahead. I’ll wait.
So now it comes down to Albany. Week 10. Still 2 more playoff spots up for grabs. Tough break for the Atlas considering they have to play against Chaos next week and their roster is full of Albany alums. But maybe since they already have a top 2 spot locked up, they’ll treat it like a bye week. Same goes for the Archers who finish out their season against the Whipsnakes. But the Whips have already lost 2 of their last 3 games so I can’t imagine they’ll want to head into the playoffs losing 3 of 4. And finally the regular season wraps up with the Redwoods and Chrome. Chrome are already eliminated so that’ll be a pride game for them. Pride games are always a little scary because the team has nothing left to lose. Guess we’ll see how it all wraps up next week.
Sidenotes:
– Mark Glicini is a goddamn animal, and I simply cannot for the life of me understand why he keeps blocking shots with his back. It’s a weekly occurrence at this point.
– I didn’t realize magic was allowed in the PLL. Only way to explain this Brodie Merrill GB.
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