Rattlers up by one at the half

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Rochester leads Denver, 6-5 at the half of the MLL championship tilt at Harvard Stadium. John Grant, Jr., got it all started for the Rattlers with the sickest, over the shoulder goal you'll ever see....Outlaws narrowed a 6-3 gap with late first half tallies from Peter Striebel and Drew Westervelt....More to come....DPH9

Rattlers/Outlaws...it all ends here

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Writing from high atop Harvard Stadium...gorgeous view...and the promise of a superb MLL championship tilt between the Rochester Rattlers and the Denver Outlaws...two great semis yesterday...this is the fifth Championship series I've covered (they've had seven)....Not expecting a medal, though....One thing for sure, some one named Powell (Ryan for Denver or Casey for Roch) will walk off a winner...as will someone named Alex Smith (each team has one)...will check in at halftime.....DPH9

Rattlers reach MLL final

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The Rochester Rattlers have reached the MLL final for the first time in their history, after downing two-time defending champs, the Philadelphia Barrage, 16-15 in overtime in their semifinal clash at Harvard Stadium.

Casey Powell scored the clincher with just 45 seconds gone in the extra session.

The Rattlers will play the winner of the other semifinal between the LA Riptide and the Denver Outlaws, which is going on right now.....

Stay tooned...DPH9

Remembering Ronnie...he woulda been a hockey guy...

One can’t travel too far down the hockey causeways without coming to a musical intersection.
So it is that Boston’s own Dropkick Murphys, with their hard-hat, fists-a-flying persona have to come be widely regarded as a hockey band, much the same as another group from another era, the Dubliners, would have been, had they come from this side of the Atlantic instead of the other.
In their nearly five decades of existence, the Dubliners gave inspiration and succor to Irish musicians everywhere, from U2 to the Pogues to the Murphys, and were given life by the estimable Ronnie Drew, who passed away of throat cancer last Saturday.
Drew, 73, had a face as craggy as the rocky Irish coast, and a voice that has been described as "coal being crushed beneath a door”.

As Bono once said it, “the Dubliners made all the hardest bands, U2 included, sound like girls. And there was no more male voice than Ronnie Drew’s.”
And that was Ronnie’s rumbling on the Murphys’ track, “(F)lannigan’s Ball”, which turned out to be one of the very last recordings he ever made.
To me, it was in the same league as Johnny Cash’s cover of “Hurt” by 9 Inch Nails.
I became a fan in the late 60’s. I still am.
The Murphys, who are touring presently in Europe, issued this statement concerning “The King of Ireland”.
“Ronnie was an inspiration to us all and it was a huge honor to be able to work with him last year when we recorded “Flannigan’s Ball” together. He was the genuine article; a talented artist, a humble man and a wonderful spirit. He will be sadly missed and dearly remembered.”
It’s doubtful that Ronnie ever witnessed a hockey game, or encountered much ice save for that found in his “Parting Glass”. But just the same….
Game on, Ronnie. Game on.

Large Lars

PORTLAND, Maine -- It was a shot over the wall that was both majestic and lethal. And perhaps even transcendent.
The grand-slam home run blasted by Portland Sea Dogs first baseman Lars Anderson, highlighted their 11-3 romp over the Altoona Curve, Thursday afternoon, one of three balls that left Hadlock Field.
Ryan Khoury (a three-run shot) and Mickey Hall (solo) struck the other two, which helped the playoff hungry Dogs polish off a three game sweep from the Altoona.
But it was Anderson’s opposite field, Maine Monster scaling bomb off Curve reliever Blair Johnson that stole the show.
It was his fifth homer since being promoted from Single-A Lancaster a month ago, his second “granny” (tying a club record), and the second round tripper in three days against Altoona.

It’s safe to say that that the 6-foot-5 blond Californian has found his swing.
Then again, he’ll tell you that he’s never been without it. That the ball is simply jumping off his bat a little farther.
“I never hit home runs when I try to hit home runs,” said Anderson, who hit 12 off them in the first half of the season with Lancaster. “I think I have, like, twice in my whole life. Most hard hit balls are totally mindless swings. I‘m trying to keep it that way.”

Greenville Drive - Lars Anderson
vs Hickory Crawdads - 6/24/2007
Photo by John M. Setzler, Jr.

Even so, he’s given opposing managers and pitchers plenty to think about.
The fact he can push them out to left, or yank them out to right --as he did on Tuesday-- makes him a hard guy to pitch to. Especially since he’s still a stranger to most Eastern League teams.
“It’s the first time we’ve seen (him),” said Altoona manager Tim Leiper. “He looks real athletic. You look to find where to pitch him. You think you may find some holes in there. But he’s got real good hands, and a lot of looseness to him. We obviously made some mistakes against him, and he hurt us.”
Anderson, who upped his average to .333, and his OPS to a staggering 1.044, said with the help of Sea Dogs hitting coach Dave Joppie, he’s made a few tweaks to his swing while adjusting to Double-A pitching.
“We’ve worked on a mechanical thing,” he said. “You’d think that the adjustment would be more mental. But it was a physical adjustment with the swing, and the set up even before the swing. It gives me a chance to use my swing, and not work against myself.”