On July 15, the MLL announced the rosters for its 2019 All-Star Game, as well as Game of Thrones-inspired team names for Lyle Thompson and Rob Pannell’s squads.
The 2019 MLL All-Star teams are Team ICE, led by Lyle Thompson, and Team FIRE, led by Rob Pannell. Both team captains personally picked the rosters over the phone as you can see here:
⭐️The MLL All-Star Draft⭐️https://t.co/x6kye7lwPm pic.twitter.com/tTccYLkdCK
— Major League Lacrosse (@MLL_Lacrosse) July 16, 2019
2019 MLL All-Star Game rosters
*Craig Chick will be replacing Liam Byrnes. Byrnes will not be available for the 2019 MLL All-Star Game.
Biggest storylines heading into the game
On paper, the rosters are fairly evenly split (nice job Lyle and Rob) and the team names set the stage up for several interesting storylines:
- How will the usual dynamic duo of Shayne Jackson and Randy Staats perform on opposing teams? (We’re wondering if both will be rendered powerless without each other ala the Wonder Twins.)
- How will Atlanta Blaze players Randy Staats, Bryan Cole and Brendan Sunday fare on an ice-inspired team?
- Will the 44-year-old John Grant Jr. score 4 goals and 4 assists in honor of his age?
- Will the ESPN 2 announcers make ice and fire puns throughout the game? (If they don’t, Pro Lacrosse Talk certainly will.)
- Will the game be more satisfying than Game of Thrones Season 8?
- Will the MLL actually acknowledge that the team names are inspired by Game of Thrones?
- Lyle Thompson will score a behind-the-back goal. (Yes, this last one is a statement because it would be a dumb question to ask.)
You can watch the MLL All-Star Game on ESPN 2 on July 27 or see all the action in person at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md. Also, be sure to follow @prolacrossetalk on Twitter and Instagram for All-Star game coverage and plenty of fire and ice jokes.
