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NLL FANTASY CHALLENGE KEYS TO SUCCESS

Ryan Rosengrant's look at Week Ten values and pickups

03/09/2010

By Ryan Rosengrant for NLL.com

As we look at this weekend's slate of games, I sense a similar theme with my projections: I like the established veterans of the NLL this week. The other theme, which I have mentioned in the past, is avoid teams playing on back-to-back nights.

Without further wait, here are the picks.

We start the journey this week in Rochester, where the Knighthawks take on the Orlando Titans Saturday evening. The Titans also take on the Philadelphia Wings on Friday night. With that being said, I like the old legs of Gary Gait to get the best of the tired legs of the Titans.

Gait turns 43 years old next month and was a rookie way back in 1991. Despite the age, Gait is having a good year with 23 points through the first eight games of the year. He also had a solid performance against the Titans last season as he contributed three goals and two assists in the Feb. 15 matchup.

This week Gait has a value of $17 and he is worth every penny. His old legs will be working overtime for your Fantasy Challenge team.

Next, we make the trek north to Boston and pick up goalie Anthony Cosmo. Cosmo has been on fire as of late, not having allowed more than 12 goals in a game since the season opener against Toronto. He is allowing a league-best 9.39 goals per game this season; add that to the fact that they are playing a team that will have played a game the night before and Cosmo is prime for a dominant night against Buffalo. If you look at the fact that Buffalo is averaging just a bit more than ten goals a game (10.1), this pickup is a no-brainer. Cosmo's value is a little high at $21, but it will pay off in the end.

For my next and final pick, I am digging deep into the Fantasy Challenge sleeper vault. This player is a veteran, but has only played one game this entire year. Last year, this player recorded 45 points in just 13 games and when he gets the playing time, he makes the most of it. I am talking, of course, about Dan Marohl of the Minnesota Swarm.

Marohl was just added to the Swarm in time for their last game on Feb. 27 against Colorado and he contributed with one goal and two assists in his season debut. Marohl has also had success against the Wings in the past; in two games last season he tallied two goals and five assists. The game is in Philadelphia, although the Wings will have played the previous night at Orlando and this is set up for Marohl to be the Fantasy Challenge sleeper of the Week. His value is at a measly $5, so there isn't a good reason not to add him to your roster.

Let's recap: two paragraphs from now, you are going to add the veteran crew of Gary Gait, Anthony Cosmo and Dan Marohl. If you take my advice, you will be a happy trooper come Monday.

This weekend's games can be seen starting on Friday night with the Buffalo Bandits at Toronto Rock at 7:30pm EST. All seven games on Friday and Saturday can be seen live on The NLL Network at NLL.com.