Below are some of the smaller items which made news in the National Lacrosse League between June 2003 and August 2003, including trades, rumors, odd facts and injury updates.

27 August 2003:
      The Professional Lacrosse Players' Association is reporting that three more players have been set free from the Mike Gongas Empire. Ryan Cousins and Derek Suddons of the Columbus Landsharks, as well as Jeff Wills of the New York Saints, were recently declared unrestricted free agents. While PLPA had previously reported on grievances filed by Cousins (0 goals, 2 assists in 12 games) and Suddons (2 goals, 3 assists in 16 games), Wills' (3 goals, 3 assists in 7 games) involvement was not previously made public (and is curious anyway, since some published reports have stated that New York's players would all become unrestricted free agents anyway, now that the Saints have suspended operations). There are now eight unrestricted free agents coming out of the grievance system, following five contract terminations in mid-July.

 

24 August 2003:
      In the Major League Lacrosse championship game, held today at Villanova Stadium just outside Philadelphia, the Long Island Lizards defeated the Baltimore Bayhawks in overtime, 15-14. Three former NLLers factored in the game-winning goal, as Kevin Lowe (New York Saints) took a Jay Jalbert (Philadelphia Wings) pass and buried it behind Bayhawks goaltender Greg Cattrano (New York). Baltimore player-coach Gary Gait (Colorado Mammoth) struck for six goals and an assist, while Lowe led the Lizards with four goals and an assist. Other NLLers in the game included Philadelphia's Tom Marechek (one goal, three assist) and Mark Frye (two assists), and Colorado's Josh Sims (three goals). This was the third straight time the Lizards and Bayhawks met for the title (Long Island also won in 2001); no other clubs have ever reached the championship game.
      The San Jose No-Names have added Bobby Allan to their coaching staff, naming the longtime coach to the post of offensive coordinator. Last seen in NLL circles as a technical consultant for the Ottawa Rebel, Allan is a member of the Canadian and Ontario Lacrosse Halls of Fame for his playing and coaching careers. Allan won five Mann Cups (three as a player, one as a coach, and one as a player-coach), coached the Canadian national field lacrosse team for eight years (his biggest win being in the 1978 World Games final, the only time in tournament history the United States has lost a game) and skippered the Philadelphia Wings in 1974, in the original National Lacrosse League.

 

21 August 2003:
      It's shaping up to be a major week ahead for double-duty team owners Mike Gongas and Charlie Russo, and some of the activity isn't pleasant. While Gongas and Russo have sold a piece of the Columbus Landsharks to the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes and will officially move the team to Arizona on Tuesday, their desperation sale of the New York Saints has hit a brick wall and it's probably too late to reorganize the team in time for the 2004 season. A suspension of operations would be the second of the offseason and the third in a little over a year, but losing a seventeen-year member of the league (not to mention the team with the second-longest single-city stint in league history and the lone remaining team in the New York City metro area) would be a harder blow to the league's psyche than past contractions. Look for official word on the Saints' future by Monday or Tuesday.

 

13 August 2003:
      Fresh off the hiring of Ron Chatelain as scout-slash-video guru, the San Jose No-Names have named Dave Pirog as assistant coach in charge of defense. Pirog, a former assistant coach with Vancouver, won a Mann Cup as a co-coach of the Victoria Shamrocks (WLA) in 1997 and an NLL Champion's Cup as a scout for the Toronto Rock in 2002. Many NLL fans last saw Pirog in May, when he served as an assistant coach of Team Australia at the World Indoor Lacrosse Championship. "I believe that we definitely have the ability to build a championship organization," Pirog said. "I believe that we are one of the elite teams, and I will try and make this the best defensive team in the league. I look at our defensive lineup and I salivate."
      As Pirog re-enters the NLL, Rochester Knighthawks assistant coach Guy Van Arsdale is leaving for the college ranks. Van Arsdale, who also was the head coach of MLL's Rochester Rattlers, has elected to join Kevin Corrigan's coaching staff at Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish went 9-5 this past season, sharing the Great Western Lacrosse League championship, whereas the Rattlers underachieved to a 4-7 record in MLL this season (the season finale is tonight). The Knighthawks, however, had them both beat in 2003, posting an NLL-best 12-4 record and advancing to the Champion's Cup Final.

 

8 August 2003:
      The fire behind the Philadelphia Wings' bench is no more. Chris Flynn, the Wings' rather animated assistant coach the past two seasons and defenseman for ten years before that (all with Philadelphia), retired today, citing work commitments and personal reasons. "The enthusiasm and fire that Chris brought to the field as a player were the qualities that made him a good coach," Wings general manager Marty O'Neill said. On the turf, Flynn scored 66 goals, dished out 86 assists, and collected four championship rings (1990, 1994, 1995, and 1998) in a career spanning from 1990 to 1999.

 

6 August 2003:
      The still-unnamed San Jose franchise today named Ron Chatelain to the positions of Eastern Canadian Scout and Video Coach. Chatelain, who has coached just about every level from Peewee to Major in the Ontario Lacrosse Association, will be in charge of scouting the OLA for the former Albany Attack. Perhaps more importantly, since San Jose's lacrosse operations are already run by eastern Canadians, Chatelain will also break down game tapes. "I will bring support to the coaching staff’s technical plan in relation to our opponents strengths and weaknesses offensively and defensively," Chatelain said. "Our team will be able to take advantage of every situation up and down the floor."

 

3 August 2003:
      Buffalo Bandits assistant coach Troy Cordingley has signed a two-year contract extension with a team option for a third season, the Bandits recently announced. Last season, his first as a coach with the Bandits, Cordingley helped head coach Darris Kilgour guide the club to a 12-4 record and its first playoff berth since the 2000 season. A Bandit player from 1993 to 1999, Cordingley remains in the top five in team history in several offensive categories, including goals, game-winning goals, and hat tricks. Kilgour's other assistant, Randy Chrysler, will not return, however, due to other commitments.
      Once again, the Philadelphia Wings' home arena has a new name. The building which was referred to as Spectrum II when it was proposed, CoreStates Center when it opened in 1996, and First Union Center for the past five years in now called the Wachovia Center, following the completion of a merger between First Union and Wachovia Banks. It's time for a new nickname, since "FUC" is now passé, as Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Don McKee noted today. "Five years ago, we in the sports department were told we would not be calling the First Union Center by its initials," McKee writes. "There has been no memo asking us to stop calling the Wachovia Center the Wach-o."

22 July 2003:
      The Calgary Roughnecks' window for season-ticket renewals is closing at the end of next week. After 5:00 PM Mountain on Friday, 1 August, all available seat locations will be released to the general public. The club is enticing fans to renew soon by offering a trip to Vancouver, to watch the Roughnecks play the Ravens at General Motors Place, or the use of a Pengrowth Saddledome suite for an upcoming Roughnecks home game. Call 403.294.9244 for more information.
      With his team reportedly close to moving to Anaheim, New Jersey Storm general manager Jim Brady has his eye on some cross-river free agents. The Lacrosse Journal reported yesterday that Brady is closing in on former New York Saints Gavin Prout and Gord Nash, both of whom were declared unrestricted free agents last week. Prout, the alert reader will recall, was at the center of a major controversy two summers ago when he publicly stated he'd rather play for New Jersey than New York (which had the first-overall entry draft pick). Nash, meanwhile, is perhaps the best free agent goaltender since Bob Watson signed with the Ontario Raiders six years ago. Both Prout and Nash will receive lucrative offers from Jersey/Anaheim, Brady said.
      The still-unnamed San Jose team has named Doug Locker to the position of United States Professional Talent Scout. Locker, the athletic director at Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, California, is charged with finding local players for the team formerly known as the Albany Attack. From 1982 to 2002, Locker was the men's lacrosse coach at Whittier College in California, posting a 293-72 record and winning ten Western Collegiate Lacrosse League championships. He was a 2002 inductee of the Los Angeles Chapter/US Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

 

19 July 2003:
      The Vancouver Sun reported Friday that the Ottawa Rebel has submitted a proposal to relocate to London, Ontario, but the league has sent the proposal back to the team for more information. After using just about every conceivable method for drawing crowds in the Canadian capital city (and having failed at all of them), the Rebel has been considering London for over a month now. However, moving to the John Labatt Centre raises a new set of concerns, including the size of both the arena (a scant 9000 seats) and the greater London metropolitan area (330,000 or so). Stay tuned.

 

12 July 2003:
      The Philadelphia Wingnuts won the second-annual Fann Cup tournament today, defeating the Buffalo Bandits Brigade in the championship game, 5-4. Philadelphia and Buffalo reached the title round via shootout -- they and the Toronto Rock Roadies all tied with 2-1 records in round-robin play (the Rochester Knighthawks Krew lost all three of its games). The title round was a rather sportsmanlike rematch of an ugly game in the first round, when a Brigade player viciously slashed a Wingnut, touching off a brawl; the Brigade forfeited the game, the offending player was ejected from the tournament and escorted out of the building, and (fortunately) no one needed major medical attention. The second time around, everyone was on their best behavior and a few Krew players even drifted over to join the Wingnuts. The best part of all -- over $1000 (US) was raised for the American Heart Association.
      Complete Fann Cup results... Round Robin: Philadelphia Wingnuts 6, Rochester Knighthawks Krew 5; Buffalo Bandits Brigade 7, Toronto Rock Roadies 1; Roadies 5, Krew 3; Brigade 3, Krew 2; Wingnuts 3, Brigade 0; Roadies 7, Wingnuts 6. Tiebreaker Shootout: Wingnuts 4, Brigade 3, Roadies 1. Championship Game: Wingnuts 5, Brigade 4.
      This afternoon in Peterborough, Ontario, seventeen-year-old Shawn Evans recorded the longest throw in the Peterborough Lakers' world record challenge. Evans threw a ball 344 feet, 11 3/4 inches (105.15 meters), defeating 54 other competitors. A member of the Lakers' Junior A team, Evans is a candidate for OLA Junior A Rookie of the Year, finishing the regular season with 67 points (32 goals, 35 assists), the eight-best total in the league. He received a certificate for his accomplishment, which will be forwarded to the Guinness Book of World Records under the title "longest throw of a lacrosse ball using a box lacrosse stick," and will receive a plaque and a trophy at a future Major Lakers game.

 

11 July 2003:
      Tomorrow near Buffalo, NLL fan clubs from Buffalo, Philadelphia, Rochester, and Toronto will compete in the second annual Fann Cup tournament, a charity event to benefit the American Heart Association. (Sunday's golf tournament, though, has been called off due to scheduling issues) The first of six round-robin matches begins at 10:30 AM at SportsPlex in North Tonawanda, NY, with games continuing most of the day. Admission is free, although donations will be accepted at the door.
      Elsewhere in the world of special-event lacrosse, the OLA's Peterborough Lakers will host a community challenge to set the world record for the longest throw of a lacrosse ball. The action starts tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 PM at Morrow Park in Peterborough. Anyone can give it a try -- one ball for $5.00 (Canadian) or three for $10.00, with proceeds going to St. Joseph's of Fleming, a local senior care facility. Among the media figures expected to attend: Gary Dalliday of local television station CHEX, and reporters from the Peterborough Examiner and Peterborough This Week newspapers. Organizers plan to submit the results to Guinness for official world-record recognition.

 

8 July 2003:
      Toronto Rock forward Kevin Finneran says he is undecided about returning for a fourteenth NLL season, which would be his second in Toronto after brief stops with New England and Detroit and a decade with Philadelphia. Finneran, 38, scored 25 goals and dished out 40 assists for the Rock after requesting a trade out of Philly. He's playing in Major League Lacrosse this summer and will decide on his future after the MLL season. "I feel I can still contribute at a high level and I still feel there is more I could do to help Toronto should I return," he said, adding that if he comes back in 2004, it would only be to rejoin Toronto.

 

5 July 2003:
      The Arizona Republic reported yesterday that the New Jersey Storm's possible relocation to Phoenix will not happen, and that the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes -- who open a new arena in suburban Glendale later this year -- are looking elsewhere for an indoor lacrosse tenant. "[The Storm's] a dead issue," Coyotes president Doug Moss said. "We simply couldn't come to terms on an agreement with the folks in New Jersey that would be acceptable to us." More to the point, the Coyotes apparently didn't want to be associated with Storm owner Jayson Williams (scheduled to stand trial for manslaughter in January) and the NLL would rather have one of its more troubled franchises saved by the 'Yotes. After all, the Storm will survive regardless of whether it moves, but the Ottawa Rebel or Columbus Landsharks probably won't be so lucky.

 

25 June 2003:
      Paul Dal Monte's lengthy title was extended yesterday, as the Vancouver Ravens' head coach and director of lacrosse operations was named the team's deputy governor as well. He will serve under governor Tom Mayenknecht, who retook control of the Ravens in February when former partner Paul Reinhart walked away from the team. Dal Monte began his new role at this week's NLL Board of Governors meetings at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas. "Paul has been a principal architect of the Vancouver Ravens and the product we’ve put on the floor in our first two seasons in the National Lacrosse League," Mayenknecht said. "He’s participated fully in the development of the vision of the Ravens franchise and it’s only appropriate he participate at this level as the NLL makes its transition from a regional concern to a truly continental North American league." The Governors' meetings conclude tomorrow.

 

24 June 2003:
      Surf's up! Several NLL teams are making news (or not making news, as the case may be) with their web sites. While albanyattack.com still doesn't mention the team's move to San Jose, its replacement (sanjoselacrosse.com) continues to accept Name The Team entries (although that will end in a couple days). Back east, bandits.com has been finetuned a bit, making for a cleaner and more up-to-date site. Shifting to Canada, ottawarebel.com has been replaced with the seemingly ubiquitous "Under Construction" message, and with the Rebel's future in Ottawa in doubt, it might stay under construction permanently.

 

22 June 2003:
      The coming week is an important one for the NLL and its twelve teams, even if no franchise sales or relocations are announced. The league's Board of Governors Meetings will be held Tuesday through Thursday in Las Vegas. As part of the get-together, the league's Competition Committee will meet to formulate possible rules changes for the 2004 season (the Governors then make the final decision on each proposal). Rules will be only one part of the discussion, though, since (as usual) the summer meetings are shaping up to be a busy time on all of the usual fronts -- team relocations, realignment, scheduling the entry draft, scheduling a dispersal draft (if needed), television contracts, resurrecting the all-star game, and so on. Stay tuned during the week for a complete rundown of news from Vegas.

 

19 June 2003:
      After a year of researching, organizing, and planning an attack on Guinness (the world record-keeping side of the business, not the production of potent potables), the Peterborough Lakers (OLA Major) announced this evening that they will sponsor an event to establish the official world record for the longest throw of a lacrosse ball. The distance throwing will commence at 1:00 PM on Saturday, 12 July, at Morrow Park in Peterborough, with all comers invited to take a shot at the world record or a class award (top youth, etc.), or just to have some fun. Competitors can throw the ball any way they choose, but must use a box lacrosse stick. Balls can be purchased for $5.00 (Canadian), or three for $10.00. The proceeds will be split with St. Joseph's of Fleming, a state-of-the-art senior care facility in Peterborough.
      Just when you thought the NLL might get a chance to strike gold three times over in the western U.S. this upcoming season (along with moves into San Jose and Phoenix), it appears that the Columbus Landsharks' shift to St. Paul is dead. Gone, too, might be the franchise itself. Although Landsharks co-owner Mike Gongas has talked with the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets, the hockey team never made an offer to Gongas' liking, and there are no other potential buyers in sight. All indications are that Gongas will not own the Landsharks next season, whether or not he sells the team -- insert your own ominous music here.
      Speaking of the New Jersey Storm, Toronto Sun lacrosse writer Mike Koreen reported today that the pending relocation to Phoenix would likely not cost the NLL its most interesting owner, former NBA star (and accused killer) Jayson Williams. The Outsider's Guide has learned today that Williams indeed would remain the Storm's majority owner, continuing to own at least two-thirds of the team. The rest will belong to the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes, who, curiously enough, move to a new arena in suburban Glendale in late December -- just in time for the start of NLL season.
      Koreen also reported on a bid to relocate the Ottawa Rebel -- to London, Ontario. "We've talked to a lot of people about lacrosse," John Labatt Centre general manager Brian Ohl said. There are several problems with the effort, though. One is London's population, a frighteningly small 330,000 in the city proper and less than a half a million in the metropolitan area (as defined by Statistics Canada). Another concern is its size -- at only 9000 seats, it's smaller than the league's minimum capacity by one thousand. Rebel president Brad Watters is talking to almost a half-dozen groups, with rumored possible destinations spanning Canada, from Edmonton to Winnipeg and even back to Corel Centre, the Rebel's first home in Ottawa.

 

16 June 2003:
      The Albany Times-Union jumped on the "Where's Mike Regan?" bandwagon today, reporting that (as most already suspected) the Albany Attack forward probably won't follow the team to San Jose. Regan is a mortgage banker in New York City; he doesn't want to relocate and weekly cross-country flights for the games would be impractical. "I'm definitely going to have serious issues getting to San Jose on a red-eye [flight] or relocating," he said. "It's kind of crazy to start thinking, 'Well, I just relocated to Manhattan' and then uproot and move again." Regan is exploring his options, including a trade to a team closer to home. He won't name the team he's looking into, but signs are that it's the Philadelphia Wings.

 

13 June 2003:
      Yesterday's report that two New York Saints players have been granted unrestricted free agency have turned out to be a little premature. Forward Matt Shearer, barring a remarkable turn of events, will get his freedom, but Saints owner Michael Gongas is demanding that the matter be taken to arbitration. Shearer was given his back pay, but not until after the ten-day deadline to do so had expired. As for goaltender Gord Nash, his case is well behind Shearer's, and not quite so iron-clad. Nash filed one grievance for delinquent back pay, then another grievance a few days later. Gongas paid up on the first claim (apparently doing so by a single day), but, according to Nash, failed to make good within the allotted ten days on the second one. Nash v. Gongas is surely headed for arbitration, so stay tuned.

 

12 June 2003:
      New York Saints forward Matt Shearer and goaltender Gord Nash have been granted unrestricted free agency, The Professional Lacrosse Players Association is reporting on its web site, plpa.com. The issue apparently centered around some missing paychecks. Sources tell the Outsider's Guide that Shearer and Nash filed grievances to collect their pay, but Saints ownership failed to settle up in the alotted time. The sudden free agency of Shearer, the Saints' fourth-leading scorer last season (28 goals, 20 assists) after coming over from Colorado in a trade, and Nash, New York's starting netminder (14.71 goals-against average, 74.7 save percentage), could complicate efforts to sell the team.
      San Jose's Name The Team contest is off to a hot start, with almost 1,000 entries submitted in the first three days. Among the many names sent in by fans: Sting Fish, Cyborgs, Aftershocks, Hackers, Psychos, and Kangaroo Rats. Most of the entries have come from those living near San Jose, but some have been sent in from such far-flung locations as Adelaide, South Australia; Weybridge, Surrey, England; and Pardubice, Czech Republic. The winning entry is worth four season tickets for the team's inaugural season at HP Pavilion, an autographed jersey, and the chance to conduct the ceremonial opening faceoff on Opening Night. Visit bayarealacrosse.com to enter.

 

10 June 2003:
      Even if you can't sing, do stand-up comedy, or eat exotic insects, there might be a place for you in a promotion just launched by the Vancouver Ravens. Dubbing the contest "RavenIDOL 2004" and modeling it loosely on Fox's American Idol, the Ravens will select two applicants (one male, one female) to join the team as honorary players for the month of January 2004. The winners will practice with the team, "dress" for a home game, and travel to a road game, among other neat prizes. However, potbellied, 50-year-old lax junkies need not apply; the competition is open only to those born between 1986 and 1990 and who play for a member association of the British Columbia Lacrosse Association. Member associations can nominate players through the end of this month, with the first round of tryouts coming in July. Full details are available at bclacrosse.com.

 

9 June 2003:
      During this afternoon's media conference call to announce the Albany Attack's sale and move to San Jose, Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment VP Malcolm Bordelon noted the team's plan to hold a free exhibition game in the fall, immediately after a San Jose Sharks hockey game. If that sounds familiar, it should. The Colorado Mammoth did the same thing back in December, facing off against Philadelphia at close to midnight on a Friday night. Thousands of fans stuck around after a Colorado Avalanche game, several thousand more came by just for the lacrosse, and the Mammoth was well on its way to fantastic attendance all season.

 

4 June 2003:
      The Calgary Roughnecks are getting closer to a deal to remain at the Saddledome, the Calgary Herald reported today, but there's still plenty to sort out. "We had positive meetings [Tuesday], but we aren't close to a deal as far as terms go," Roughnecks vice president Bill Cragg said. "We're looking for a mutually beneficial agreement. This is aimed at keeping the franchise alive and well in Calgary." If team owner Brad Banister can not reach a lease agreement, he'll try for one at the Corral, an older, smaller arena in Calgary. One problem -- the Corral only seats 7500 spectators, well below the NLL's 10,000-seat minimum capacity for an arena. However, as Ottawa has been playing at the Civic Centre, an even smaller facility, expect an exemption.
      Meanwhile, the Vancouver Ravens know they'll be back at General Motors Place for the 2004 season, and have kicked off a season ticket drive in conjunction with the British Columbia Lacrosse Association. Looking to sell 5000 additional season ticket plans by 2005, the Ravens will hand back to minor lacrosse associations 15 percent of the money the associations raise selling tickets. The goal is especially lofty for the Ravens, who only had about 1500 season ticket holders last season.

 

3 June 2003:
      The Arizona Republic is the latest newspaper to pick up the New Jersey Storm-to-Phoenix story, reporting that the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes want to get into the lacrosse business, either through an equity partnership or as a landlord, and that talks have focused on the second-year club from the Meadowlands. An NLL team would play at the Coyotes' new 17,500-seat arena in suburban Glendale, Ariz., opening on 27 December. "We're in the sports and entertainment business," Coyotes executive vice president of business operations Brian Byrnes said. "We're no longer just the Phoenix Coyotes hockey team. We will operate the Glendale arena, and we want to put as many events in that building as possible to elevate the value to our corporate sponsors, our suite holders and season ticket holders."

 

2 June 2003:
      In today's Vancouver Sun, Gary Kingston wrote about the pending relocations in the NLL, including reports that the Phoenix Coyotes are interested in buying the New Jersey Storm and moving the team to a new arena in Glendale, Arizona. That's just one of a handful of moves in the works, forcing the league to push back its committal deadline from yesterday to Monday, 16 June. "We've got four teams currently working on deals to relocate their teams and we thought they were far enough along that we should give them the opportunity to get the deals done," commissioner Jim Jennings said. As reported in this column last week, the Albany Attack (San Jose) and Columbus Landsharks (St. Paul) are also looking to move, as could be the long-cursed Ottawa Rebel, possibly headed to Winnipeg. Jennings also said he was willing to allow Columbus and Ottawa to suspend operations for a year if needed.