In previous seasons, MILL/NLL champions were crowned after a one-game championship. This year, an expanded championship was created, a best-of-three series.

The longer championship, possibly extending over two weekends, means a second chance for a bad game by one of 1998's top two teams, the Baltimore Thunder and the Philadelphia Wings. And in a series like this, small mistakes could be the big difference.

How even are these two teams? In their two regular season games, each won once -- on the other team's home floor. In those games, the Thunder scooped up just eight more loose balls than the Wings, while Philadelphia won just one more face-off.

Not only has it been almost three months since their last meeting, Baltimore and Philadelphia have very little playoff history. The only postseason meeting between these clubs was a 1992 Divisional Semifinal, won by the Wings, 14-12, in Philadelphia.

These teams are even more intertwined than two games this season. No teams have existed as long in the same city as the Wings and Thunder, now twelve years, dating back to the beginning of the Eagle League in 1987.

The teams also claim a few common all-time greats in their respective histories. John Tucker, the Baltimore coach, was a team leader for the Wings in the late 1980s and early 1990s. And, of course, there is Gary Gait, the all-time leading Wings' scorer who was traded to Baltimore in December and quickly established himself as the franchise player there.

Here's a statistical look at the matchup:

                       Baltimore       Philadelphia
                       ------------    ------------
Goals Scored           184 (1)         166 (t-4)
Goals Allowed          160 (4)         148 (1)
Home Record            4-2             3-3
Road Record            4-2             6-0
Face-off Pct.          53.9% (2)       53.0% (3)
Loose balls recovered  867 (3)         692 (7)
Power Play Pct.        50.0% (6)       54.9% (4)
Penalty Killing Pct.   41.5% (6)       45.3% (5)
Players' postseason
   experience          15 games        137 games
Postseason record
   overall             2-3             11-6
   home                0-1             7-4
   road                2-2             4-2
Championship 
   record              1-1             4-3
   years won           1987            1989, 1990, 1994, 1995
   years lost          1991            1992, 1993, 1996

Game One is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at 2:00, at the CoreStates Center. Tickets are available by calling 215.336.2000, by visiting a Ticketmaster location, or at the CoreStates Center. Game Two will be Tuesday evening at 7:00 at Baltimore Arena. A third game, if necessary, will be at the CoreStates Center, at a time and date to be announced.

If one team sweeps the series, ESPN2 will air Game One on Thursday, 21 May at 3:00 p.m. Eastern time and Game Two the following day at the same time. If the series goes three games, Game One will air Friday, 8 May, at 3:00 p.m. Eastern, while Games Two and Three would be the 21st and 22nd.