NLL All Star game a success (original) (raw)

By PAUL BUKER

The question of whether or not Portland, Ore. would embrace the National Lacrosse League All-Star game was answered Saturday night at the Rose Garden.

NLL commissioner Jim Jennings admitted there was some skepticism when he awarded the 2007 game to Jax owner Angela Batinovich. "(Owners) asked me, 'do you really think Portland will welcome us?' " said Jennings. "But this was great...the crowd here was unbelievable."

Not so much in numbers - although 12,856 was impressive - but in terms of enthusiasm for a sport that only arrived on this town's doorstep last year.

"I got goosebumps when they announced our names at the start of the game," said Shawn Williams of the Rochester Knighthawks, who had three goals and two assists in the East' 20-16 victory over the West.

"The atmosphere was awesome," said Williams. "You come into these things, you don't know what's going to happen. I mean, there was even a big crowd here (earlier in the day) for the skills competition."

Mark Steenhuis of the Buffalo Bandits led the East with six goals, tying an All-Star record, and he was named Most Valuable Player. Teammates kidded Steenhuis - who wore garish orange shoes - about launching nine shots. Maybe they were just jealous that he walked off with a $2,500 VISA gift card, a significant amount of money for one of the working Joes that play professional indoor lacrosse.

"I got a few open shots," said Steenhuis, tongue-in-cheek, "and I took advantage of it."

Portland's Ryan Powell, a reserve forward for the West, had four goals and the other LumberJax players in the game also contributed - Richard Morgan and Bruce Alexander had assists and Pat Jones took three of the game's 119 shots.

"Obviously, scoring goals in front of your home fans is an amazing feeling," said Powell, whose older brother Casey played for the East and had two goals and two assists.

"I was pretty psyched to play with these guys," said Ryan Powell, who drew the loudest ovation during pre-game introductions.

"It's fun playing with players at this level, the way they move the ball. It's not hard to get pumped up when you see the best players in the world sitting on the bench next to you."

There were so many stick tricks in the freewheeling, back-and-forth game, the crowd hardly had time to react to a play on one end before something equally eye-opening would happen at the other end.

For the thousands of young lacrosse-playing fans watching the game, the overriding question in their minds had to be, 'how long do I have to practice to get that good?'

Said Jennings, "our guys put on a great show. You've watched NBA all-star games and baseball all-star games. The one thing about our all-star game is that these guys come to play no matter what."

The players' interaction with the fans was also memorable. John Tavares of the East, the NLL's all-time leading scorer, stopped to sign a jersey during pre-game warmups.

Steenhuis, whose hyperactivity made taking a team photo an adventure, lobbed souvenir balls into the 100 level.

During a timeout, when the Rose Garden's Kiss Cam was roving the arena, Williams and Buffalo tough guy Pat McCready pretended to buss each other through their face masks, breaking up everyone.

The West was down five goals at the start of the fourth quarter and sure enough, as if everything was scripted, the 'home' team came roaring back on goals by San Jose's Jeff Zywicki and Colorado's Gavin Prout and an unbelievable behind-the-back shot by San Jose's Colin Doyle.

Doyle was also blown away by the crowd response. "They weren't just cheering for the East or the West, they were cheering for the lacrosse itself," he said. "It was fantastic."

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The West rally fell short. With nine minutes left and the MVP money still up for grabs, Tavares whipped in a shot to restore order and give the East a 17-14 lead. Then Steenhuis blasted in his sixth goal to earn the $2,500 that represents at least a tenth of his salary for playing with the Bandits.

Notes: Jennings said Edmonton will host the 2008 game...Ryan Powell told the media that one of his brother's goals shouldn't count, and he may have a point. The West pulled goalie Rob Blasdell with seconds remaining in the first quarter and Casey Powell got a length-of-the-floor empty-netter at 14:58...the Powells didn't have much opportunity to engage in small talk, or exchange body checks. They joked before the game about dropping the gloves, but in reality neither Powell is a fighter. "Our last 'fight' was when we were rooming together a Syracuse," said Ryan. "He ran the clock out on me with a one-point lead in Playstation Madden Football. I was so mad - there's an unwritten rule that you don't do that."

Paul Buker: 503-221-8167; paulbuker@news.oregonian.com

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