The National Lacrosse League announced Tuesday that Boston Blazers forward Dan Dawson has won the Sportsmanship Award for the 2009 season.

Dawson's leadership both on and off the floor played a significant role in the first-year success of the expansion Boston Blazers franchise.

The eight-year pro led the Blazers offense with 104 points on the season (30 goals, 74 assists), and scored the second-most points of any player in the league this season. He served as team captain, and his leadership skills were invaluable on a young team that surprised many by posting a 10-6 record and making the playoffs in its expansion season.

Dawson also became a recognizable face of the team in the Boston community. Back on the floor, he was only assessed a total of eight penalty minutes while playing in all 16 games of the regular season.

ARLOTTA NAMED EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR

John J. Arlotta, owner and president of the Minnesota Swarm, has been named the National Lacrosse League Executive of the Year, the league announced today.

In Arlotta's first season as owner, the Swarm set a franchise record for home attendance average, attracting an average of 12,308 fans per game at Xcel Energy Center. The attendance figure was the fourth highest average in the league, marking the first time the Swarm has finished among the top one-third of teams in attendance for a season.

The club also attracted a number of new sponsors, and brought the first-ever NCAA Division I college men's lacrosse game to the state, as Notre Dame played Army in October of last year.

"John's business background and passion for lacrosse have contributed to a strong Minnesota Swarm franchise today and a very promising future for the franchise and the league as a whole," NLL interim commissioner George Daniel said. "Even though this is only his first year as a team owner, he has shown great leadership on our Board, serving on the Executive and Corporate Governance Committees."

TUTKA NAMED AS RECIPIENT OF TOM BORRELLI AWARD

The National Lacrosse League announced Tuesday that Paul Tutka is the winner of the Tom Borrelli Award, given annually to the Writer of the Year.

Tutka, a senior writer for NLL Insider and Inside Lacrosse Magazine, covers the league extensively and in great detail for NLLInsider.com, a news and commentary website that is operated by Inside Lacrosse Magazine.

Tutka becomes the first writer to win the Tom Borrelli Award twice, having also won the award in 2008.

Previous winners of the Tom Borrelli Award include Ty Pilson (2007, Calgary Sun), Sal Maiorana (2006, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle) and Mike Koreen (2005, Toronto Sun).

The award is named in honor of the late Tom Borrelli, the longtime Buffalo Bandits beat writer for The Buffalo News. Borrelli passed away on 20 November 2008, following injuries from an accident that took place while covering a high school football game in Buffalo.

BANDITS OFFICIAL NAMED PUBLIC RELATIONS REP OF THE YEAR

The National Lacrosse League announced that Chris Ostrander of the Buffalo Bandits has been named the Team Public Relations Representative of the Year.

Ostrander, a native of Orchard Park, New York, grew up following the Bandits and all Buffalo area sports teams. A graduate of John Carroll University (near Cleveland, OH), Ostrander joined the organization in the summer of 2008.

"Chris did an excellent job keeping local media outlets up to date on what was going on with the team and organization through countless press releases and media advisories," said Scott Loffler, the team's director of lacrosse operations. "His post game press conferences and interviews were very organized and he made sure every reporter and writer had what they needed prior to leaving the arena."

Ostrander's previous experience includes a stint as a writer for the Buffalo Bills' website, covering training camp and mini-camp. He also worked for the Sports Information Department at John Carroll, and was a four year player on the school's club lacrosse and hockey teams.

UPCOMING AWARDS ANNOUNCEMENTS

Thursday, 7 May: Les Bartley Award (Head Coach of the Year), General Manager of the Year

Monday, 11 May: Defensive Player of the Year, Transition Player of the Year, Goaltender of the Year

Tuesday, 12 May: Rookie of the Year, All-Rookie Team

Wednesday, 13 May: All-Pro Teams

Thursday, 14 May: Most Valuable Player