The National Lacrosse League Board of Governors yesterday gave Montreal Express ownership an additional three weeks to find a local buyer for the team, a Quebec television network is reporting.

In an article on its web site, French-language sports network RDS claims that the governors have given Brad Watters and his investment group until the middle of August to locate a buyer who would keep the Express in Montreal.

If Watters' group can not sell to local interests by then, the league will apparently force a sale, if possible, to out-of-town buyers who would move the Express to an American city, an option which only appeared publicly in the past few days. Barring that, the team would suspend operations for a year while Watters continued seeking a buyer.

If the Express suspends operations, the players it currently has under contract would be made available to the other twelve teams in a dispersal draft, with teams selecting in reverse order of finish last season -- Calgary drafting first, followed by Ottawa, Columbus, New York and New Jersey to round out the top five.

The reported extension would be the fifth for the Express owners this summer. A decision on whether to participate in the 2003 season was originally due on 1 June.