Derek Keenan was named today as the head coach and general manager of the expansion Portland franchise, ending lengthy speculation about the former Anaheim Storm coach.

Keenan, who reportedly was hired several weeks ago, was formally introduced by team owner Angela Batinovitch at a press conference this afternoon at Rose Garden, where Portland will play its home games.

"We expect to be competitive from the start."

Keenan's first order of business is preparing for Wednesday's expansion draft, during with Portland and fellow expansion team Edmonton will each select nine players from the existing National Lacrosse League teams.

That will be followed some time this summer by a dispersal draft of players from the Storm, which suspended operations in early June. The annual entry draft follows in September.

Keenan will be joined on the bench by two familiar faces, as Jeff McComb and Jeremy Tallevi have been hired as assistant coaches, just as they had been in Anaheim.

While Keenan has only one year of NLL head coaching experience, he comes to Portland with a standout résumé. He won two championships as a player with the Buffalo Bandits (1992 and 1993), then returned to the turf six years later for a brief stint with the Toronto Rock.

Keenan joined the Rock's coaching staff upon retiring after the 1999 season, a move which put him under the wing of legendary head coach Les Bartley. Along with assistant coach Ed Comeau, the trio guided Toronto to championships in 2000, 2002 and 2003 and a title game appearance in 2001.

When Bartley took a medical leave of absence in November 2003 due to colon cancer, Keenan assumed the role of general manager while Comeau handled the coaching.

Unable to continue Bartley's winning ways, Keenan and Comeau were sacked in February 2004 with the Rock in the Eastern Division cellar at 2-4.

Keenan moved on to Anaheim for the 2005 season and promptly gutted the roster. The new-look Storm improved from 1-15 the year before to 5-11, the best improvement of any team this past season.

NOTES:

Portland will unveil its name and logo on Tuesday, one day before the expansion draft. Edmonton, the other member of the 2006 expansion class, announced last month that it will be known as the Rush, but has not yet revealed a logo.

Portland owns the first selection in the expansion draft and entry draft, as a result of winning two coin flips against Edmonton. The Rush will choose first in the dispersal draft.