Below are some of the smaller items which made news in the National Lacrosse League in December 2001, including trades, rumors, odd facts and injury updates.

29 December 2001:
      The New Jersey Storm has placed Blake Miller on injured reserve. Forward Hanley Holcomb was promoted from the practice squad to take Miller's place.
      The NLL has suspended New York Saints forward Tom Naglieri two games and fined him an undisclosed amount for spitting on a member of the Albany Attack and verbally berating officials during the Saints-Attack game on 21 December. The suspension left Naglieri on the sidelines for last night's game at Columbus and will also bench him for the 12 January home game against the Philadelphia Wings. He can return for the Saints' trip to Philadelphia on 18 January.
      In other league jurisprudence, Vancouver Ravens defenseman Bruce Murray is appealing the fine and game misconduct assessed by the league for a hit on Mike Murray of the Toronto Rock on 1 December. Bruce Murray was whistled for only a minor penalty on the play, and was slapped with the misconduct after the league reviewed videotape footage days later.

 

19 December 2001:
      A preliminary hearing began yesterday to see if there is enough evidence to warrant a trial for former Buffalo Bandit Jason Luke, charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing death of his father, Robert Lewis, on 23 November 2000. A court order forbids the reporting of details from the hearing, which is expected to last the rest of the week.
      The Calgary Roughnecks have waived defenseman Bryan Kopec and goaltender Grant MacLeod, likely to reduce its roster after acquiring three players in Friday's Chris Prat trade. The Vancouver Ravens, who received Prat in the deal, made the parallel move of activating two players -- Kevin Brunsch returns from injured reserve and Al Truant has been promoted from the practice squad. In other NLL transactions, the New Jersey Storm has activated forward Grant Johnston from injured reserve and released defenseman Troy Bonterre.

 

17 December 2001:
      It's no surprise to read that the Washington Power is struggling to make ends meet. It's awfully hard to do so with the crowds that are announced at each Power home (assuming that those figures are even remotely accurate). Now, finally, comes acknowledgement of the sticky situation, straight from the top of the team that has put new meaning to the term transition game, living in four arenas in as many season. "We need fans in the seats," Power owner Steve Comiskey tells the Washington Post. "We need sponsors. We need new investors... This isn't a hobby for me. It has to pay its own way and I've got to be thinking about [moving] since it has not come anywhere close to paying its own way." The most disturbing part of the story is left unsaid -- that the Power may not last in Washington through the end of this season.

 

13 December 2001:
      Lacrosse is much different than other sports in that a substantial number of its fans have never played the game, and thus, learn the nuances by observation only. The Buffalo Bandits want to change that, and are offering clinics, teaching the fundamentals of the sport, the morning of each home game this season. The sessions will run about ninety minutes in length, taught by members of the Bandits on the HSBC Arena floor. The cost is $20, and includes a ticket to that night's game. For more information or to register, call Patti Buscaglia at 716.855.4472 or Vince Nicoletti at 716.855.4706.
      Speaking of the Buffalo Bandits, assistant coach Frank Neilson will handle the head coaching chores for Sunday's game at New York. Neilson is filling in for Ted Sawicki, who is in China with his wife, finalizing the adoption of an eleven-month-old girl. Neilson spends his summers as the head coach of the WLA's New Westminster Salmonbellies and also serves as coach of the Canadian National Field Lacrosse team.
      The Rochester Knighthawks are going retro this Saturday night against the Philadelphia Wings, donning the garish "diagonal Rochester" jerseys which, a month ago, had some fans afraid that the team's primary sweater design had changed. The one-night-only figures, perhaps, since the K'Hawks are paying homage to a decade that produced the ugliest clothes the world has ever known. It's all for a cause, though -- the Knighthawks have talked Santa Claus into dressing in retro clothes and manning a Partridge Family bus at the Blue Cross Arena. The bus will be a dropoff location for the Rochester's Open Door Mission clothing and food donation drive.
      In related news, the Knighthawks Krew has launched the web site areyoukrew.com. Featured item: a schedule of Krew road trips to such far-flung locales as Albany, Toronto, Philadelphia, and Columbus. Hey, they're even going to Niagara Falls in February, just to watch a game on TV.

 

8 December 2001:
      Box lacrosse moguls Brad Watters and Russ Cline could join forces to bring the NLL to Quebec City next season, according to Mike Koreen of the Toronto Sun. Supposedly, since the MILL was dissolved in 1997, Cline has been holding an option for a "dormant franchise," which must come to life in Quebec and do so by next season. "I think Quebec could be huge for us," Watters said. "There are a lot more fans there than you might think." In other expansion news, Koreen reports that former NBA superstar Julius Erving and current New Jersey Storm owner Jayson Williams are joining forces, too -- with the queen of TV talk, Oprah Winfrey, riding shotgun. They want to put a team in Chicago. Unlike the possible Watters/Cline partnership, the Chicago group has formally applied for an expansion franchise.
      NLL teams cleaned up on TV and radio deals this week, with four clubs securing coverage. The Albany Attack's six remaining home games this season will appear locally on Time Warner Cable (channel 9), although each will be delayed by several days. The New Jersey Storm have a four-game deal with Fox Sports New York, the first two games of which will be delayed by one day and the latter two will air live. On the radio side, the Attack's remaining home slate will air live on WROW 590 AM, while the Montreal Express' seven matches at Molson Centre can be heard on the The Team 990 AM. Both stations offer streaming audio coverage.
      The NLL has fined Vancouver Ravens defenseman Bruce Murray an undisclosed amount as a result of a high-sticking incident in a game against the Toronto Rock on last Saturday. Rock attacker Mike Murray received two deep wounds on the play, needing eleven stitches in all on the helmet-popping play. Rock coach Les Bartley asked the league to review this play because he felt it deserved an automatic major penalty.

 

5 December 2001:
      AOL Time Warner's basketball loss might the NLL's television gain. The National Basketball Association's TV contract negotiations with NBC and Turner (an AOL/TW company) have deteriorated to the point where bidding is now open to any interested network. Enter ESPN, which has been chomping at the bit for years to get into the NBA act. Although Disney, which owns ESPN and ABC (which could knock NBC off the over-the-air side) has not formally bid on the basketball contracts, company executives have met with NBA officials and a competitive offer for the TV rights, beginning next season, is expected from the Mickey Mouse outfit. If NBA games move from TBS and TNT to ESPN, Turner will suddenly find itself with eight to ten vacant prime-time hours per week, November through May. CNN/Sports Illustrated, NLL's current television partner in the U.S., is also part of the AOL Time Warner family, and recall that commissioner Jim Jennings said in August that a clause in the CNN/SI contract moves the games to TNT if ratings are sufficient. Could external forces trigger a move, too? We may soon find out.
      At the request of Toronto Rock coach Les Bartley, the NLL is reviewing a cross-check in Saturday's game at Vancouver which left the Rock's Mike Murray with two deep gashes, one on his forehead and one above his left eye, which required eleven stitches to sew up and left the first-year player with a headache for a day and a half. Murray had been attempting to split the defense when he was hit by two Raven defenders, including Bruce Murray, who was whistled for a two-minute cross-checking penalty. "I'm not looking for a pound of flesh," Bartley said of the play which knocked off his player's helmet and sent him sprawling to the turf, blood gushing. "I just want an interpretation of the rules because I thought any stick to the head was an automatic five-minute major. I don't care if a player is on the ground."

 

4 December 2001:
      Despite his team's 1-2 start and a woeful home-opener crowd at Continental Airlines Arena, don't think that Jayson Williams has lost his sense of humor. Speaking Sunday in the New Jersey Star-Ledger, Williams joked about having a team where the executive vice president, general manager, head coach, and director of player personnel are all named Jim (Lampariello, Rogers, Hinkson, and Brady, respectively) -- the crew the Outsider's Guide has dubbed "Roomful of Jims." "When something goes wrong, like when we lost the first game up in Albany, I got a chance to do my best George Steinbrenner stuff," Williams said. "We have seven guys in the front office named Jim, so I said, 'I want Jim fired.' Two days later, I got a call that said we had nobody in the front office. I said, "Why? They said, 'You wanted Jim fired. Everybody here was named Jim.' "

 

3 December 2001:
      When the Buffalo Bandits head to Long Island on 16 December, head coach Ted Sawicki won't be on the trip. He and his wife will be halfway around the world, in central China, to adopt an eleven-month-old orphan girl. Named Yang Xiao Shan by the orphanage, the Sawickis have decided to give her the first name Phoebe and keep the Chinese middle name. The Outsider's Guide congratulates the Sawickis on the addition to their family and wishes them a safe journey to Asia and back.
      How it happened is still unclear, but the Rochester fans on this site's message board are correct -- pending a physical, Rodney Tapp, former Washington Power and supposed New Jersey Storm, has signed a contract with the Rochester Knighthawks, according to a source with the Power. Tapp is expected to be in uniform for the Knighthawks' next game, Saturday, 15 December vs. Philadelphia, a game which will air nationally on CNN/Sports Illustrated (8:00 PM Eastern).