Four weeks after making history in the Lacrosse-Network.com Experts Poll with the first-ever unanimous number-one selection, the Buffalo Bandits are at it again.

After barely getting by Minnesota and losing in overtime at Rochester, the Bandits have slipped to 83 points and have the first-place backing of only three experts.

The Toronto Rock, fresh off an 18-10 whipping of the Arizona Sting, earned four first-place votes -- but only gained only slightly over last week, to (you guessed it) 83 points.

Never before have two teams tied for first place in the Experts Poll.

They won't stay that way for long, though -- the Rock visits Buffalo this Saturday, with control of the Eastern Division race on the line.

They both ought to look out for Calgary, though, which is 8-1 in its last nine games and is threatening at 77 points. What's more, the Roughnecks snared two first-place votes this week, their first all season.

The Rochester Knighthawks, fresh off their overtime defeat of Buffalo, moved up a spot to fourth, earning 61 points. Colorado fell to fifth (53 points) after a 15-12 loss at Philadelphia.

The rest of the rankings held pretty much as they have for weeks, with Arizona (43 points) and Philadelphia (41 points) tightly bunched and San Jose (27 points), which hasn't won since January, sliding into oblivion.

What did change, though, is the cellar-dwellers' race. Minnesota's near-win in Buffalo earned the Swarm a promotion to ninth place, outpolling Anaheim 16-11.

Our panel of nine experts includes a wide range of top lacrosse minds, including Outsider's Guide writers, players, and coaches. Scoring is on a 10-9-8-etc. basis, so that the maximum score a team can earn is 90 points and the minimum is nine points.

The complete rankings from this week's Experts Poll, with comments (win-loss record through Sunday is in parentheses):

WEEK TWELVE                                     Pts  Prv
 1. Buffalo Bandits (8-4)                        83    1
    Missed chance to take charge in East
    Toronto Rock (7-3)                           83    2
    Toughest remaining schedule in NLL, by far
 3. Calgary Roughnecks (8-3)                     77    3
    First to clinch playoff spot
 4. Rochester Knighthawks (7-4)                  61    5
    Catching MIN at just the wrong time (again)
 5. Colorado Mammoth (7-5)                       53    4
    Better get into playoff form soon
 6. Arizona Sting (6-5)                          43    6
    Can't get caught up in rout at TOR
 7. Philadelphia Wings (6-6)                     41    7
    Still control their own playoff destiny
 8. San Jose Stealth (3-9)                       27    8
    'Underachieving' an understatement
 9. Minnesota Swarm (2-9)                        16   10
    Is this the week they finally win at home?
10. Anaheim Storm (2-8)                          11    9
    At last, facing a team on their own level