The Stealth Dragon

[caption id="attachment_279" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Reebok
The only gear on the turf"] [/caption] In both the NLL and the NFL, Reebok is the official equipment sponsor.  Like the NLL the NFL requires players to wear Reebok gear, but in the NFL if a player has an endorsement deal with Nike then the player can wear Nike shoes.  Currently, the NLL players must use all Reebok gear all the time. I was thinking about Paul Rabil, as well as Ryan Powell.  They have endorsement contracts with Under Armour and Nike respectively, but they are required to go out on the floor wearing clunky Reebok shoes when they are paid to represent much better gear.  Heck, even Reebok socks are pitiful compared to the Nike and Under Armour offerings.  I don't know what you wear, but I love my Nike Dri-Fit socks. Does anyone know why the NFL players can wear their own endorsed gear but the NLL players cannot? I am guessing it comes down to dollars and cents in Reebok's contract with the NLL.  But I cannot believe anyone watching NLL players thinks the players are successful because of their Reebok *shoes*.  I guess the inverse argument to that is the players also are n0t successful because of their Nike or Under Armour shoes. I imagine that an exception for shoes would then lead to players wanting an exception for sticks and gloves.  This equipment does matter to the players, but also matters to Reebok as Reebok is getting into the sticks and gloves market and having all the NLL players using Reebok sticks and gloves showcases their products. For me, the real issue here is that this is an opportunity for the players to make a little extra money with some endorsement deals.  They make so little money actually playing lacrosse that it is a shame more endorsement opportunities do not exist for them while they are playing.  These are professional athletes, they can and should be getting endorsement deals!

The Stealth have a great weekend ahead with home and home series against the Portland Lumberjax. So we'll be cheering hard in SJ and PDX for the Stealth to win both games. But there's other action that is important to the Stealth this weekend and cheering in those games will help out too. Saturday at 4:30 Pacific Time the Colorado Mammoth play at the Philadelphia Wings. A Mammoth loss is good for the Stealth, so let's all do a  W! I! N! G! S! WINGS! Thirty minutes after that the red hot Calgary Roughnecks play at the Minnesota Swarm. The Swarm are in fourth place and the Stealth want to take that spot from them. A Roughnecks victory is needed on Saturday to help the Stealth out too. Go Stealth Go! Go Wings and Go Roughnecks! Yep, go Roughnecks. Wait until next week when I'm cheering for Stealth on Friday night and the Lumberjax on Saturday April 4th to beat the Woolies. I may even wear plaid, I'm putting it in the car just case. Finally, big CONGRATULATIONS to Paul Rabil on winning the NLL Tranny of the Week award for his effort against the Edmonton Rush. Paul's been very comfortable working out the back door lately. Makes me wonder if Kevin Huntley would have won any NLL Weekly awards this season if he'd come out to play.

While we were in Boston we were able to attend the Stealth practice on Friday night and I took some videos with my new mini camcorder. I'm not trying to go in reverse order, but the first two here are from the end of practice when Paul Rabil and Eric Martin took the time to do some extra shooting. It helped Rabil during the weekend but didn't appear to help Meat that much. So here they are.
And in case your interested in the camera I used, it's a Kodak Zi6. It's a little bigger than an iPod but shoots HD video at up to 60 frames per second which is helpful when trying to track a lacrosse shot. The video quality isn't like watching a movie and it has very little zoom, but it's easy to carry around and easier to use. If you're in the market for a camcorder check it out, it is only about $150.

Kodak Zi6 HD Pocket Video Camera

After what I said when Paul Rabil and Kevin Huntley were not signed to contracts I feel obligated to follow up on the situation and say "HEY HUNTLEY!  Please sign your contract and get your ass to practice!"  You get paid to pay lacrosse.  Where's the issue?  Do you know how much the average lax player like myself has shelled out over my life so that I could play?  Driving, flying, hotels, gear.  When was the last time you paid for a stick?  You're creating problems where there aren't any.  Please come to San Jose and kick start your indoor career. As for Paul Rabil, Mr. Inside Lacrosse Player of the Year, welcome welcome welcome!  The Stealth roster has you listed as a transition player and that's got me excited.  You're one big, fast dude.  I can't wait to see you clear the zone and bring the ball up the floor before the other team even has someone out the back door or the goalie realizes you snipe corners with either hand as you run at them.  If you grow in to a player like Mark Steenhuis it'll be good times in San Jose.  See you on the 9th!

Training Camp opens next weekend. You guys aren't Cosmo. Please sign your contracts and get your asses to practice. Sincerely, Someone who wants to be your fan

Stealth GM Johnny Mouradian doesn't even come up to Paul Rabil's chin. [caption id="attachment_91" align="alignleft" width="286" caption="Johnny Mouradian, Paul Rabil and Jim Jennings"] [/caption] Watch out everyone, the sky's the limit for Rabil. In other Stealth news a few players have signed their contracts for the year.  Second year goalie Tyler "The Ghost" Richards is coming back to San Jose this winter and rookie forward Rhys Duch has also signed his contract.  Since some airline opened up a direct flight from Victoria to SF this summer it should be a pretty easy commute for him to make his trips.

Wow, three of the first five picks belonged to the Stealth.  And we took two American field players and lost Luke Wiles.  Luke was a perfect compliment to Jeff Zywicki's game.  But, I think Peter Veltman can play that same role, especially since he knows he's not a rental player this year but on the team because the Stealth really want him.  We'll miss you Luke.  Good luck in Toronto, I'm glad you're not in the West. Here's what I see happening.  Paul Rabil plays outdoor for the Boston Cannons.  I believe the Stealth really wanted Daryl Veltman, Peter's brother, but couldn't get the #1 pick.  So maybe the Stealth picked up Rabil to package up to send to Boston to get the younger Veltman and unite the brothers.  The draft analysis on nllinsider.com made it sound like the New York Titans also had lots of interest in Rabil.  So maybe Rabil goes to New York and the Stealth can pick up Jarrett Park, I don't think Rabil is worth picking up a British Columbia player like Jordan Hall.  Either way I think it's 50/50 that Rabil actually belongs to the Stealth when the season starts. Now, this doesn't mean I don't want Rabil around at all.  He's a BEAST, having him in the Stealth line up would make the team more athletic.  It's just that Rabil wasn't on my radar because he's an American east coast player and they Stealth have committed to drafting guys that are willing to relocate to San Jose during the season.  So based on that, there is a either a trade already setup or Rabil is willing to relocate to SJ. The second Stealth pick was a young Canadian shooter named Rhys Duch.  His selection was not a surprise.  I was expecting Rhys and Curtis Manning to be the Stealth's picks at #2 and #3.  I don't know much about Rhys because he's been playing in BC and those games aren't shown on TV like the college or MLL games that Rabil's been playing in.  The only thing I've heard about Rhys since the draft is from the NLL forums on Wingszone.com where someone from BC is saying the Rhys is a whiny player who won't report to San Jose because he wasn't even willing to play for Langley in BC.  Rhys will hold out and only play with his boys in Calgary.  I think the guy who said that is an idiot.  If Langley and San Jose are too far away then how is Calgary not too far away?  I could totally be wrong, but I doubt GM Johnny Mouradian would draft a guy at #3 without even talking to him to see if he's willing to come play for your team. Rounding out the top 5 was Kevin Huntley of Johns Hopkins and the LA Riptide of the MLL.  Huntley is Canadian born and his father is the coach of the Philadelphia Wings.  Huntley is also a left sniper, so he's a good commodity to have around.  NLL Insider ranked Huntley as a top 10 prospect and figured he'd be around for Philly to select at #9 to unite father and son.  But it didn't work out that way, Huntley is now going to play all his pro ball in California.  OR he'll head out east to Philly in a trade.  Off the top of my head I can't think of anyone on the Philly roster the Stealth are interested in picking up.  The Wings did draft San Francisco Dragon Matt Lalli in the 4th or 5th round, which I think was a response to the Stealth picking Huntley in the 1st round.  But Lalli and Who from the Wings for Huntley (and maybe someone else in a package deal) is something I feel could happen, but I can't figure out any specifics. What has been constant this summer is that the Stealth are cleaning house to build a new roster for new coach Jeff Dowling.  From where I'm sitting it appears that there are some guys on the '08 Stealth roster that Dowling feels we don't need around to take the next step.  And the only step left to take is winning the NLL Championship.  The roster turn over is shocking.  A top 20 league scorer is gone.  The best goalie in the world is gone.  Two defenders who played in just about every game are gone.  Another lefty forward that's played his whole career and *lives in San Jose* is gone.  The amount of change the Stealth are making is scaring me.  I feel it'll take a year to work everything out and get the three rookies up to speed. My faith in the team isn't wavering, but I'm starting to lower my expectations until I see what the roster looks like on opening day.  I don't want a team that's being built to compete in 2010 when they already had the best record in the West in 2008. No matter what the Stealth end up doing with these picks, at least they're not the Colorado Mammoth who spent their one first round pick on an unproven field player Matt Danowski of Duke and New Jersey Pride.  (The Stealth did this with Ryan Boyle in '05 and it worked out well for one season, but then everyone figured him out and he has not been as stellar since).  I just love to bash the Mammoth.