The Dark Knight Rises: What do we do now?

Before I get to anything, I shall warn you that this will be full of spoilers from the Dark Knight Rises. I was at the premiere last night and left with a lot of questions about where we go from here. Personally I have loved the Christopher Nolan Batman franchise. I am saddened with the series ending, but I am personally unsure of where I want the franchise to go.

At the center of my thoughts the past day has been the ending for Blake, when it is made clear that his name is Robin. Blake then goes on to discover the Batcave, which is where we are left at the conclusion of the film. This leaves us with many questions, and obviously hints at a future story line. The question is, will that storyline ever be explored?

Christian Bale has said that he would keep making Batman movies on two conditions. First of all Nolan would have to be the director. Second of all, they could not introduce Robin. With this most likely being the last time we see Bale as the caped crusader anyways, it would be a perfect time to include him if you really wanted to. However, what is the point if this is the end of the series entirely?

Warner Brothers has hinted that they wanted to continue the Batman franchise, with Nolan serving as a producer. I fully expect that at some point, but the real question is whether it is a reboot or a continuation of the previous Nolan story arch.

In Nolan's world, Bruce Wayne appears to be out of the picture in Gotham. We last see him seated with Selena Kyle in Florence, apparently enjoying life away from fighting crime. If the storyline was to be continued, what would that mean for Blake? If he is meant to become the embodiment of Robin, he apparently has no Batman to follow. This would lead many to believe one of two things; A) Wayne comes back at some point or B) Blake takes the mantle from Wayne and becomes the next Batman. The later of the two would leave many a comic fan up in arms to say the least. Gordon-Levitt isn't exactly built like a Batman either.

On the other hand the next Batman movie could be completely different. Warner Bros. could pull a Spiderman and just start all over despite the previous movies being quite recent. In that case none of this would mean anything and Nolan would just be leaving moviegoers with something to think about. It got lots of reactions from the attendees of my theater yesterday, so that wouldn't surprise me in the least.

DC is rumored to be very interested in a Justice League movie, not surprising with the success of The Avengers. Most would agree that the Justice League universe is a tad more cheesy than the Nolan universe and would require a change of pace. I've said for years that I expected the next series of Batman movies to be a tad more unrealistic, featuring some of the villains that couldn't be as easily explained (I'm looking at you Poison Ivy). In my eyes this is the most likely move. They are going to try and start over but give it a different feel than the Nolan movies. Will they be as successful? Probably not. That being said I thought the same thing would happen with The Amazing Spiderman and I loved it.

Whatever happens with the franchise, it may be a while until we know. What did you think of the DKR, and where do you think the Batman movies go from here? I've noticed a real lack of talk about this from many fans and thought it was needed. Tell me what you think in the comment section below!

NALL Profiles: Patrick Crosby

Welcome to today's NALL Profile, featuring Kentucky Stickhorses goaltender Patrick Crosby. If you have missed one the previous NALL Profiles have featured Brian Caufield, John Lade, Ricky Pages, and Dan Deckelbaum.

Patrick Crosby was drafted third overall in the NALL National Draft by the Kentucky Stickhorses. He's another one of those American goaltenders looking to prove himself. Crosby played college hockey at Temple, and has picked up goalie as time has gone along. Many players have transitioned well from hockey goalie to box lacrosse goalie The past four Summers Crosby has played in the Ontario Senior B League, having to fly up from Philadelphia.

Crosby has been around the US lacrosse community for a few years now. In 2008 Crosby participated in the USIL combine. He is a member of the US Development team, as so many of the best players in this league are. He also has some international experience, as he started for Slovakia in the World Indoor Tournament this past summer in Prague, Czech Republic. Unfortunately, Patrick and the Slovakian team finished 0-3 in their pool. Pat is not the only NALL player to have ties overseas. Both Peter Poupe and Jamie Plunkett (Both of the Hershey Haymakers) have played over in the Czech Republic.

One of the interesting NALL story lines will be quality of goaltending. At this point, I am optimistic about what these American goalies have to offer. The NALL has what many would say are the two top American goalies in Erik Miller (Jacksonville Bullies) and Ginny Capicchioni, as well as some young guys who need to prove themselves. The NALL gives some goalies a chance to develop that they never would have been given before. After a little bit maybe we'll see more Americans competing for NLL spots. As for now, we have a wealth of talent developing in the states in the NALL.

NALL Profiles: Dan Deckelbaum

Our next featured player in the NALL Profiles is Hershey Haymakers forward Dan Deckelbaum. Deckelbaum signed as one of Hershey's franchise players in November. He was the second franchise signing by Hershey, after they locked up fellow USA Development team member Ginny Capiccioni.

Dan played college lacrosse at Delaware, where he enjoyed much success. He was a four year letter winner at middie, where he totaled 98 points in 62 games played (76 g, 22 a). In 2006 he led the Blue Hens in goals, scoring 31. The Owings Mills, Maryland native was instrumental in his senior year for Delaware, where the Blue Hens were CAA Champions and made their way to the NCAA Final Four. Delaware beat number 2 ranked Virginia and UMBC on their way to losing to the eventual champions Johns Hopkins.

Deckelbaum graduated from Delaware in 2007, and since has played lacrosse professionally. He was selected by the Chicago Machine in the third round (28th overall) in the 2007 MLL Draft. Since, Deckelbaum has only played 9 games in the MLL. He played two seasons in Chicago, playing 7 games and scoring 4 goals. In 2009 he was on the Washington Bayhawks roster, but did not play any games. Last season for the expansion Rattlers Deckelbaum played two games. He scored no goals, had one loose ball and four shots on goal.

The past few years, Deckelbaum has been a member of the US Indoor Development team and a member of the US Bowhunter Cup team, so he does have some indoor lacrosse experience. Deckelbaum has more experience than most in the NALL, so he should be a valuable member of the Haymakers. When asked about signing in Hershey he said, "I'm honored to be one of Hershey's franchise players. After traveling to play all over Canada and the East Coast I'm looking forward to playing in front of the fans in Hershey and spreading the game of lacrosse at its highest level."

As for the Haymakers coach, Hunter Francis, he has this to say about their franchise signing. "Dan is a relentless competitor who keeps himself in a supreme level of physical condition, he literally plays the entire floor in the box game. After conducting our reviews and interviews, Dan was the clear choice. I am confident he will be a star in the sport of box lacrosse for years to come."

Do you think Deckelbaum will be a league leader? Who would you like to be the next feature player in the NALL Profiles series? Comment below! Remember to take a listen to Goods On Lacrosse on the Lacrosse Radio Network this Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. eastern to hear Steve Panarelli, the first overall pick in the NALL National draft by Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, talk about the NALL and MLL.

Minnesota Swarm Announce New Jerseys

Yesterday the Minnesota Swarm announced their new home uniforms, and boy are they interesting. The Swarm, whose jerseys have become more and more out there as time has gone along, somehow managed to go further out of the box then they did last time. The jerseys feature honeycomb decorated grey shoulders with blue and yellow stripes running down the arms. It features the same alternate logo that has appeared on the Swarm jersey for the past few years.

The Swarm's Director of Brand Management and Communication, Matt McCormack, said, "Incorporating the honeycomb look into the shoulders of the new uniforms really ties in a theme that has been prevalent in our branding over the last few years. I think Swarm fans will love the way these new uniforms look on the field and in the stands."

The jerseys incorporate a new material that improves player motion. If you see the jersey up close you can really tell the difference in material. More pictures of the jersey can be seen here on the Swarm's website.

Traditionalists will hate me for this, but the jersey is growing on me. Its way out there, I know. Who says trying something new has to be a bad thing? I find these jerseys very clean cut and sharp, as well as find them much better than their previous jerseys. This is a sport that needs to catch people's attention. Try and look at this jersey and tell me it wouldn't catch your attention. It may be the strangest jersey I've ever seen, but I still think its a really cool design.

NALL Previews: Kentucky Stickhorses

Welcome to the first of five in the NALL Team Previews feature. We start off with the furthest west team, the Kentucky Stickhorses. Kentucky got some interesting players in the rookie draft as well as the past weekend's National Draft. We will start with the Rookie Draft.

The first ever Stickhorse draftee was Brian Caufield out of Albany. I would talk about Brian, but I'm pretty sure that I've already talked enough about him in the Voices of Lacrosse feature on him as well at the NALL Profile I did on him. So if you want to learn more about Brian, you're covered. They also drafted Taylor Embery (Colorado School of Mines), Max Schmidt and Brain Farrell (Both from Maryland), Jovan Miller (Syracuse, but has already signed with Colorado), and Porter McKay (Denison). Schmidt has a very impressive list of honors, including 2011 USILA honorable mention All-American and 2010 Pre-Season honorable mention All-American. Brian Farrell was a 2011 USILA Second Team All-American as well as a Tewarraton Award nominee. Both should be important factors for the Stickhorses.

From there we move to the National Draft that took place this weekend. There are a few names that you should keep an eye out for with Kentucky. With their first pick in the draft, they got their starting goaltender. Pat Crosby (Pictured above, middle) is one of the strong young American goaltenders out there. He's tried out for the US Indoor team before and looks to improve his game in the NALL.

With their second pick, the Stickhorses drafted a player with some MLL experience with the pick of Long Island Lizards long-stick middie Ricky Pages. Just the other day I did an NALL Profile on him, so if you're interested in learning more about Ricky just click the link. He's a guy with a ton of potential in the indoor style of the game.

In the third round Kentucky picked up another guy with some MLL experience, even if its very minimal to this point. Joel Zalesky out of Seton Hill (Not to be confused with Seton Hall) went 15th overall to Kentucky. Zalesky has been in the MLL for three seasons, all with the Hamilton Nationals franchise. However, he has only played in one game. In his one game he has 1 assist and 4 shots. Zalesky had a very successful college career playing for D-II Seton Hill. He set a school record his senior year with 44 goals and 31 assists, a school leading 75 points. He was also named as a D-2 All-American and the Eastern Coast Conference player of the year.

In the 4th round Kentucky picked up a former member of the Boston Blazers practice squad, Ajemian (Pictured above, Right). Ajemian played no games in the NLL, but was on the Blazers roster for two seasons. He was also a member of the Boston Cannons of the MLL for one season, but only played in one game. At Fairfield in college Ajemian served as a captain his senior year and was named to the All-NEILA team as well as being chosen for the annual North/South NCAA All-Star game.

The rest of the draft went like this for Kentucky: (5) Emmitt Printup, Onondaga, (6) David Mitchell, Cornell, (7) Dave McCarty, Albany, (8) Ed Prevost, North Carolina, (9) Mike Unterstein, Hofstra, (10) Ryan Maciaszek, Nazareth, (11) Chase Williams, Bellarmine, (12) Corey Malampy, Widener U, (13) Joel Derechinski, Gordon College, (14) Julian Maliszewski, (15) Peter Mezzanotte, (Towson), and finally (16) Brandon Dube, Ednicott College.

Who do you think is the best player on Kentucky's roster? Anyone you're excited to see get a shot? Comment below! The next team featured will be the Charlotte Copperheads, next Saturday. Keep checking back on the site for the latest NALL news.

NALL: Where Do We Stand?

Today I thought I'd just make a general post about where we are on the NALL front at this point. I remember back when this was first announced, I read the forums. All you heard about was how this league wouldn't even get off the ground, it would fold before they ever played a game. But look how far the league has already come. The NALL has 5 teams set up for their first season with ownership groups that seem to be very interested in growing the sport of lacrosse. There are already rumored expansion teams for the league. They haven't even played yet! That's a really good sign.

We've seen the first ever college draft, with many big names joining the league. David Earl out of Notre Dame became the first player drafted into the league. Only a short time later, Josh Amidon became the first player to sign with their team when he signed with the Shamrocks. Since we have seen many of the rookies sign with their teams. Teams have started to sign franchise players, as Ryan Hotaling (Charlotte), Dan Deckelbaum (Hershey), and Ginny Capicchioni (Hershey) have all signed.

This weekend we witnessed the first National Draft, and we now know the makeup of the majority of the NALL rosters. Steve Panarelli went first overall to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Shamrocks, another player with some MLL experience. We saw a few guys who have been on NLL and MLL rosters before, which was a very good sign. I expect a few more players to sign as free agents as time goes along, especially guys that have been cut by their NLL teams.

We are a little more than a month away from the NALL Season. The question I have to ask you is this: How do you feel about the NALL so far? To me they have done just about everything right. As a NLL or MLL fan, will you be following the new league? You may see some really good young stars develop. I'd think it'd be good to give it a shot.

NALL Profiles: Ricky Pages

Hello everyone, and welcome to today's edition of NALL Profiles, featuring Kentucky Stickhorses draft pick Ricky Pages. In case you've missed it the past NALL Profiles have featured Shamrocks defenseman John Lade and Kentucky Stickhorses forward Brian Caufield. We continue with another Stickhorse (Insert Stickhorse Mania Joke Here).

Ricky Pages was drafted in the second round (9th pick overall) by the Kentucky Stickhorses in the past week's draft. Pages was one of the NALL draft picks with some prior professional lacrosse experience. Pages has played three seasons in the MLL with the Long Island Lizards as a long pole middie. He has played 23 games in the MLL totaling 5 goals. But the stats don't tell all the story. He has grabbed 59 loose balls in that span as well. Pages has developed into one of the best long pole middies in the MLL. In his first year in the league in 2008 Pages was named to the "Young Guns" All-star team in the MLL.

Pages had success in college at the Ohio State University. His senior year he was a preseason All-American honorable mention as well as a member of the pre-season All-GYLL team. He shared Ohio State's defensive MVP award in 2006 and 2007.

Pages will be interesting to watch in indoor lacrosse. He was on the Minnesota Swarm's roster at one point, but he never played for the team. He uses a D-pole in outdoors obviously, so it will be interesting to see him adapt to playing shorty again. One of the more interesting things to watch in the NALL is how defensemen adjust to playing with shorter sticks than they are used to.

Pages has said his favorite part about lacrosse is the aggression. At 6'2'', 175 pounds, Pages could be a physical menace in the NALL. Aggression is the name of the game when you translate to indoor, and I think Pages has that down already. What you'll need to watch out for is the possibility of a slight adjustment period, as I'm guessing he takes a more transition or forward role for the Stickhorses.

How do you feel about the possible success of a long pole middie or long pole defenseman adjusting to the Indoor game? Who would you like to see featured as the next NALL profile? Stickhorse fans, if you'd like to follow Ricky on Twitter his username is @RickyPages11. I'd like to welcome Ricky to the NALL, its really good to see some MLL players involved in the league. Remember I have my weekly show, Goods On Lacrosse, tonight at 6. My guests are both members of the Charlotte Copperheads. We start off with former Boston Blazer, defenseman Ryan Hotaling. Then we finish off the show with Copperhead and InLax writer Kevin Iwanusa talking about being drafted this past weekend. Hope you take a listen.