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Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · FRIDAY, MAY 14, 2010 43 Rock owner hoping NLL title is in the cards Former World Series of Poker player Jamie Dawick has turned club around By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF NIKKI WESLEY / OAKVILLE BEAVER IN THE SWING OF THINGS: Loyola's Matthew Wood connects with a pitch during Wednesday's Halton boys' baseball game against White Oaks. Loyola won 10-0 to improve to 5-0 on the season. Baseball Hawks flying out of the gate The Loyola Hawks don't always agree and it has occasionally led to some disputes on the bench -- and their coach couldn't be happier about it. "They'll argue about baseball, things like who is the greatest shortstop ever," said Dave McNamara. "They have such a passion for the game." So while they may be divided when it comes to Derek Jeter or Cal Ripken Jr., there's one thing the Hawks can agree upon: they want to go one step further than they did last year. A young Loyola squad made it to the Halton baseball final last year, where it was edged 4-2 by a seasoned Notre Dame team. This year, the Hawks have charged out of the gate with five straight wins. Their 10-0 win over the White Oaks Wildcats Wednesday was their fourth consecutive shutout. The only run allowed by the Hawks this season was in a season-opening 17-1 victory over Bishop Reding. "We have a lot of pitching," said McNamara, who can send eight different players to the mound with confidence. "You have to to do well during the season. And then in the playoffs, it can become a war of attrition." With as many as five playoff games in eight days, an abundance of arms will be a major benefit for the Hawks. And there will be plenty of challengers to test them. Loyola, Christ the King and Holy Trinity all came into the week at 4-0, until CtK beat Trinity 6-1 this week. That sets up a showdown for first in the Volpe Division on Monday (3:30 p.m. at Glen Abbey) between Loyola and Christ the King. See Hawks page 45 For the past couple of seasons, Jamie Dawick sat in the stands with frustrated Toronto Rock fans. He watched as the one-time National Lacrosse League powerhouse -- winners of five championships in seven years between 1999 and 2005 -- missed the playoffs for the second straight season. Unlike his fellow fans who were resigned Jamie Dawick to playing armchair quarterback, Dawick had the means to do something about it. So when the team went up for sale last summer, Dawick bought it. "I got really involved (in lacrosse) the last five years through the Oakville Hawks because my kids were involved," said the local resident. "So when the opportunity presented itself, it was an absolute perfect fit. I know what the fan base is and I thought I'd like to turn this team around and get it back to where it needed to be." Ten months later, the Rock's rookie owner is making final preparations for his team's trip to Everett, Washington for the NLL championship game. Toronto, exceeding all expectations after three losing seasons, will play the Washington Stealth tomorrow (Saturday) night, looking to capture its first NLL title in five years. "Realistically, you don't go into any season without the goal of winning the championship, especially in a league like this," Dawick said. "Did we believe we would be in the championship game? Put it this way, nobody else thought we would be." Dawick set the turnaround in motion by revamping the front office, hiring Terry Sanderson to be the general manager. Sanderson then brought in Oakville's Troy Cordingley as coach. Cordingley will be going for his second straight Champions Cup after leading the Calgary Roughnecks to the title last season and earning NLL coach of the year honours in the process. Under Cordingley, the Rock improved from 6-10 and sixth place in the East Conference to 9See Rock page 45