The sixteenth season of the National Lacrosse League -- the fifth year under that name -- opens tonight in Albany, where the Attack opens up against the expansion New Jersey Storm. If you believe the experts the Outsider's Guide has assembled, these are two teams in opposite directions.

Albany, as the pundits see it, is finally about to jump from pretender to contender, in great part due to a relatively easy schedule. New Jersey, on the other hand, may be lucky to win a game. The prognosticators identified the Storm as a winner nine times in ninety-six chances (sixteen games, six ballots), but couldn't agree enough to put New Jersey over the top in any one case.

When the dust settles, they say, look for three of the "usual suspects" in the semifinals, along with one entry that might surprise you. It shouldn't, though -- it's got a schedule even softer than Albany's.

The panelists who picked the results of every game and whose comments appear below included Outsider's Guide editor in chief R.A. Philly and game correspondents Chad Gambone, Deb McAllister, and Scott Neiss, plus Laxiter and WingsNut423566. Also assisting in picks and comments were Outsider's Guide game correspondents Bob Cochrane and George Bruck, as well as Canuck. Panelists' comments are not attributed in order to allow them to freely assess each team.

The following are capsule previews of the thirteen teams, in alphabetical order. Teams listed in gains and losses refers to 2001 NLL team and current team, respectively -- not necessarily the team from which the player was acquired or traded to.

To put the predicted win-loss records in standings format:

EASTERN DIVISION      CENTRAL DIVISION      NORTHERN DIVISION
Philadelphia  12- 4   Rochester     14- 2   Toronto       13- 3
Washington     9- 7   Albany         8- 8   Calgary       11- 5
New York       9- 7   Buffalo        7- 9   Vancouver      8- 8
New Jersey     0-16   Montreal       6-10   Ottawa         4-12
                      Columbus       3-13                      

From these standings, a playoff bracket was prepared and the panelists predicted the winner of each postseason game. Rochester, Toronto, and Philadelphia received the top three seeds by virtue of winning their divisions in the polling, while Calgary, Washington and New York picked up the wild card berths (the Power was given the number five seed because the panelists believe Washington will outscore the Saints in head-to-head meetings -- they foresee a split in the two-game series -- and that is the top tiebreaker).

Each half of the bracket had one narrow victory and one rout. In the upper half, Philadelphia blasted past New York and narrowly edged Toronto in the panelists' votes (the latter almost resulting in a deadlocked panel), while in the lower half, Calgary won a "Rough" quarterfinal encounter with Washington, then was unanimously bounced in the semifinals by Rochester.

Thus, the "experts'" picks brought about a rematch of the 1995 MILL championship game, when the Wings edged the Knighthawks in overtime at the Spectrum. Unfortunately for Philadelphia, the hypothetical final wouldn't have Gary Gait (who scored the game-winner in '95) or Steve Dietrich (the goalie who let Gait's shot past) in it, nor would it be played in Philadelphia -- and as such, there would be no narrow decision like seven years before.

The experts have spoken -- John Grant, Dewey Jacobs, Pat O'Toole, and their teammates will be hoisting the Champion's Cup in mid-April.