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Sports View From the Couch - Kronum new sport deserving of attention

The previously planned excursion into alternate sports I would watch given a chance has been delayed until later in this column in favour of some rather amazing news.

The previously planned excursion into alternate sports I would watch given a chance has been delayed until later in this column in favour of some rather amazing news.

The Saskatchewan Rush have acquired forward Adam Jones from the Colorado Mammoth in exchange for forward Zack Greer.

The two teams also exchanged draft picks in the deal. Colorado gets Saskatchewan’s ninth overall selection in the 2016 NLL Entry Draft which takes place later this month, while the Rush receive the Mammoth’s second-round pick in the 2017 Entry Draft.

This is massive news in terms of the National Lacrosse League. The Rush, two-time defending champs have added one of the elite goal scorers in the league.

Jones set career-highs with 51 goals, 42 assists and 93 points during the 2015 season. He became just the fourth player in Mammoth history to reach the 50-goal plateau, and his 93 points put him tied for eighth in league scoring. Despite missing four games in 2016, Jones still struck for 42 goals.

“Adam is an outstanding player who will be an excellent catalyst for our offence,” said Rush GM/head coach Derek Keenan in an article posted at www.saskrush.com.

“It is not easy trading a player with the skills and character of Zack Greer, but he will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2017 season and we have to be mindful of the future. Adam is three years younger. He has already proven to be an elite offensive talent in the NLL and there is even more upside to come.”

Greer spent the past six seasons with the Rush and is coming off his second consecutive 40-goal campaign.

Jones has some familiarity with a number of Rush players and coach Keenan. He played with Kyle Rubisch and Mark Matthews on Canada’s gold medal-winning entry at the 2014 World Field Lacrosse Championship, and played for Keenan along with Rubisch, Matthews, Chris Corbeil, Brett Mydske, Ryan Dilks, and Aaron Bold on Team Canada which won its third straight World Indoor Lacrosse Championship in 2015.

Like Greer in 2009, Jones was a third overall pick in the NLL Entry Draft, and he immediately showcased his offensive flair during his first pro season in 2012. He was named the NLL’s Rookie of the Year and earned a spot on the All-Rookie Team as he scored 29 goals and added 47 assists for 76 points. The Owen Sound, Ontario, product was named to the NLL All-Pro Second Team in both 2014 and 2015, and through 75 career regular-season games, he has registered 194 goals and 180 assists for 374 points. He has twice scored seven goals in a game including one against the Rush in 2014.

Prior to turning pro, Jones won two Minto Cup championships with Orangeville (Ontario) and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player in 2009. He was also named Tournament MVP at the 2008 World U-19 Field Lacrosse Championship. Jones went on to play in the NCAA for Canisius College and earned All-American honours in his freshman season.

The potential of a Matthews and Jones combo for the new season is huge. This tandem should ensure the Rush are once more a serious threat to top the league. I can hardly wait until January for the NLL season to begin.

Now let me get to at least one sport I would love to see on television; Kronum.

Most of my readers will not have heard of the sport, but it is one which deserves far more recognition.

Kronum was invented in 2008 by Bill Gibson in Villanova, PA, so it is very much a fledgling creation. That alone means it will not be widely known. I would suspect most sports take decades to go from creation to widespread popularity.

In the sport’s creation Gibson included elements of different sports which are recognizable in the gameplay; soccer, basketball and handball.

Handball is clearly at the heart of Kronum, but in creating the new sport, Gibson modernized things. He created a modern game, with a freer flow of action.

To begin with the Kronum field is round. The circular play area (150-foot diameter) is broken into four quadrants containing zones and lines that dictate ball handling, scoring and what you can do on the field. The field consists of three concentric circles.

On the outer circle are the four Kronum goals which are shared by the two teams.

The sharing of the goal areas is what makes Kronum so dynamic. When a team has possession of the ball, the defending team has four goals to defend.

On a turnover the players switch, changing who is in goal.

The ebb and flow of the changing face of play is the greatest aspect of Kronum.

In front of every goal is a round Goal Zone and a rectilinear Wedge Zone. Bordering the Wedge Zone is the Flex Zone. The only difference between the two zones is that the use of hands in the Wedge Zone is restricted. Then is the Range, having the shape of a cross. In the middle of the field there is a ring called the Prime Ring, and inside that, the Pivot.

The second aspect of Kronum that I greatly appreciate is that there are varying score options, depending largely on two things, where on the floor the shot was taken, and what part of the goal it enters.

As a result some goals are with a single point, others two, four, six and even eight points.

The dynamic scoring means major comebacks are possible, and scoring is steady, think basketball.

The newness of the round court, rotating offence/defence in terms of goaltending, and variable options when it comes to scoring make Kronum modern and exciting. I can only hope that the game catches on. There have been regional ‘pro’ games out of Philadelphia, so search them out on www.YouTube.com. It is well worth a look to find a sport perfect for the future.