National Lacrosse League fans be warned: if you want to see the finals, be prepared to wait.

ESPN2, which signed on to air the championship series between Baltimore and Philadelphia, finalized its broadcast schedule recently, with the games set to air Thursday, 21 May and Friday, 22 May, each from 3:00 to 5:00 Eastern time.

The wait, excrutiating as it is, is designed to tap into the attention that will be given to the NCAA men's Division I field lacrosse tournament in the days following the NLL coverage. However, it's difficult to rationalize waiting 24 days to show a sporting event for the first time.

Looking for something to blame? Look no further than last fall's strike-turned-lockout that jeopardized the 1998 season. Because this threat ended only a month before the start of the season, NLL lost time and bargaining position in negotiating a television contract.

The league, formerly known as MILL, had a regionally televised game of the week on Prime, ESPN, or ESPN2 for several years, then a weekly highlights program and some playoff coverage in 1997. There was no regular season coverage by any national network this season.