The National Lacrosse League today announced a two-year contract with CNN/Sports Illustrated, making the young cable outlet the league's American national broadcast partner.

A Canadian television deal is expected to be announced in the next few days.

The deal with CNN/SI includes seventeen "Game of the Week" broadcasts, the NLL All Star Game, and the entire five-game postseason in each of the 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 seasons.

"This is an exciting announcement for the National Lacrosse League and for our thirteen member teams," NLL commissioner Jim Jennings said. "For sixteen years [sic] the NLL has provided its fans with one of the fastest and most exciting indoor sports in the world. CNN/SI is a terrific partner and we look forward to an exciting season. This agreement certainly brings our league to the next level."

The next level, indeed. Most of the games will air Saturday evenings, and, in a major coup for the NLL, all of them will air live.

"We are thrilled to add the NLL to our growing lineup of sports-event programming," Steve Robinson, executive vice president of CNN/Sports Illustrated, said. "The NLL is an exciting and competitive sports league and will make for compelling sports television."

Terms of the contract were not disclosed.