The National Lacrosse League released a revised 2008 schedule today, bringing the league one step closer to the resurrection of a season it had killed off for a week last month.

As part of the owners' season cancellation after failing to reach a collective bargaining agreement with the players, teams released the dates they had reserved at their respective home arenas.

After the season was "uncancelled," teams discovered that some of their home dates had been claimed by other events, including arena football.

In addition, two teams decided not to participate in 2008 -- the Boston Blazers, whose problems apparently predated the original season cancellation, and the Arizona Sting, which blamed the labor strife for hindering its marketing abilities.

Boston's decision to delay returning from a decade-long hiatus was reported previously, while Arizona's suspension of operations was not official until today.

"The lack of negotiations between the NLL and the Professional Lacrosse Players Association this summer and subsequent uncertainty negatively impacted our planning for the 2008 season," Sting governor Doug Moss said. "After our review [of the team's financial prospects], we made a very difficult decision to declare inactive status for the 2008 season."

Players from Arizona and Boston will be subject to a dispersal draft, date to be announced.

In fact, there may be two separate drafts, because the Blazers and Sting are operating under different rules -- Arizona will take advantage of a one-time chance to recall its players when it reactivates; Boston instead will start from scratch.

The league's new-look schedule addresses all of the changes as best as possible -- there are no games on Mondays, Tuesdays or Wednesdays, as had been expected -- but it has a hole the size of a well-padded goaltender.

The New York Titans will only play six games at home instead of the usual eight.

In the juggling of dates and opponents, the league sidestepped New York's scheduling difficulties at Madison Square Garden by issuing a ninth home game to Buffalo and Toronto.

How that works, from ticket sales to tiebreakers, is anybody's guess.

Otherwise, those who didn't know better could be hard-pressed to tell that this schedule was made in November and not late summer, as usual.

The season, which had been slated to begin on 27 December in New York, will instead kick off two nights later in Denver, although Colorado's opponent has now changed from Portland to Calgary.

In a concession to teams that wanted extra time to prepare for the season, the first two weeks of the season will each have just one game, and the end of the regular season has been pushed back two weeks, to the final weekend in April.

The 2008 NLL All Star Game, meanwhile, will be held as originally scheduled, on Sunday 16 March, at Rexall Place in Edmonton.

The complete and revised 2008 schedule follows (all times Eastern):

WEEK 1

Saturday, 29 December
Calgary at Colorado - 9:00 PM


WEEK 2

Saturday, 5 January
Toronto at Chicago - 8:00 PM


WEEK 3

Friday, 11 January
Rochester at Buffalo - 7:30 PM
Minnesota at Toronto - 7:30 PM

Saturday, 12 January
Chicago at Philadelphia - 7:30 PM
Buffalo at Rochester - 7:35 PM
Toronto at Minnesota - 8:00 PM
Edmonton at Colorado - 9:00 PM
San Jose at Calgary - 9:30 PM
New York at Portland - 10:30 PM


WEEK 4

Friday, 18 January
Rochester at Philadelphia - 8:00 PM

Saturday, 19 January
New York at Buffalo - 7:30 PM
Toronto at Edmonton - 9:30 PM


WEEK 5

Thursday, 24 January
Colorado at Portland - 10:30 PM

Friday, 25 January
Calgary at San Jose - 10:30 PM

Saturday, 26 January
New York at Toronto - 7:00 PM
Buffalo at Philadelphia - 7:30 PM
Edmonton at Chicago - 8:00 PM
Minnesota at Rochester - 8:05 PM
San Jose at Colorado - 9:00 PM
Portland at Calgary - 9:30 PM


WEEK 6

Thursday, 31 January
San Jose at New York - 7:30 PM

Saturday, 2 February
Portland at Edmonton - 9:30 PM
Minnesota at San Jose - 10:30 PM


WEEK 7

Thursday, 7 February
Portland at Colorado - 9:00 PM

Friday, 8 February
New York at Minnesota - 8:00 PM
Buffalo at Calgary - 9:30 PM

Saturday, 9 February
Chicago at San Jose - 4:00 PM
Toronto at Rochester - 7:35 PM

Sunday, 10 February
Buffalo at New York - 12:30 PM
Portland at Minnesota - 4:00 PM


WEEK 8

Friday, 15 February
Buffalo at Toronto - 7:30 PM
Philadelphia at Colorado - 9:00 PM

Saturday, 16 February
Minnesota at Buffalo - 7:30 PM
Calgary at Rochester - 7:35 PM
New York at Chicago - 8:00 PM

Sunday, 17 February
Edmonton at Portland - 6:00 PM


WEEK 9

Friday, 22 February
Minnesota at Philadelphia - 8:00 PM
Calgary at Portland - 10:30 PM

Saturday, 23 February
New York at Rochester - 7:35 PM
San Jose at Edmonton - 9:30 PM

Sunday, 24 February
Buffalo at Chicago - 3:00 PM
Colorado at Calgary - 3:00 PM


WEEK 10

Friday, 29 February
New York at Philadelphia - 8:00 PM

Saturday, 1 March
Calgary at Toronto - 7:00 PM
Philadelphia at Buffalo - 7:30 PM
Rochester at Chicago - 8:00 PM
Edmonton at Portland - 10:30 PM


WEEK 11

Saturday, 8 March
Toronto at Philadelphia - 1:00 PM
Minnesota at Buffalo - 7:30 PM
San Jose at Colorado - 9:00 PM
Portland at Calgary - 9:30 PM


WEEK 12

Friday, 14 March
New York at Toronto - 7:30 PM
Chicago at Minnesota - 8:00 PM
San Jose at Philadelphia - 8:00 PM
Colorado at Calgary - 9:30 PM

Saturday, 15 March
Rochester at Edmonton - 9:30 PM

Sunday, 16 March
NLL All-Star Game at Edmonton


WEEK 13

Thursday, 20 March
Colorado at Portland - 10:30 PM

Friday, 21 March
Edmonton at Toronto - 7:30 PM

Saturday, 22 March
Calgary at San Jose - 3:00 PM
Toronto at Buffalo - 7:30 PM
Philadelphia at New York - 7:30 PM
Chicago at Rochester - 7:35 PM


WEEK 14

Saturday, 29 March
Minnesota at Chicago - 8:00 PM
Philadelphia at Rochester - 8:05 PM
San Jose at Edmonton - 9:30 PM


WEEK 15

Thursday, 3 April
Rochester at Colorado - 9:00 PM

Saturday, 5 April
Rochester at Toronto - 7:00 PM
Colorado at Buffalo - 7:30 PM
Philadelphia at Chicago - 8:00 PM
New York at Minnesota - 8:00 PM
Calgary at Edmonton - 9:30 PM
San Jose at Portland - 10:30 PM

Sunday, 6 April
Portland at San Jose - 7:00 PM


WEEK 16

Friday, 11 April
Philadelphia at Portland - 10:30 PM
Edmonton at San Jose - 10:30 PM

Saturday, 12 April
Chicago at Toronto - 7:00 PM
Buffalo at Rochester - 7:35 PM
Philadelphia at Minnesota - 8:00 PM
Colorado at New York - 8:00 PM
Edmonton at Calgary - 9:30 PM


WEEK 17

Friday, 18 April
Chicago at New York - 7:30 PM
Edmonton at Colorado - 9:00 PM
Portland at San Jose - 10:30 PM

Saturday, 19 April
Chicago at Buffalo - 7:30 PM
New York at Philadelphia - 7:30 PM
Rochester at Minnesota - 8:00 PM
Toronto at Calgary - 9:30 PM
Colorado at Edmonton - 9:30 PM


WEEK 18

Friday, 25 April
Chicago at Minnesota - 8:00 PM
Colorado at San Jose - 10:30 PM

Saturday, 26 April
Philadelphia at Toronto - 7:00 PM
Portland at Buffalo - 7:30 PM
Rochester at New York - 8:00 PM
Minnesota at Chicago - 8:00 PM
Calgary at Edmonton - 9:30 PM