Below are some of the smaller items which made news in the National Lacrosse League between April and November 2005, including trades, rumors, odd facts and injury updates.

28 November 2005:

Edmonton Rush jersey.

      On Saturday, the Edmonton Rush unveiled its uniform design, with (surprise, surprise), black, white and silver as the colors of the day. The more exciting design is the black version, which features the Rush logo on a black field, with silver and white stripes angled downward at the bottom of the torso. Black barbed wire appears in the white stripes on the torso and on the sleeves, and gray barbed wire on the shoulders. The white version (which looks much plainer) has the Rush logo on a white field, with black and silver stripes at the bottom of the torso and the aforementioned barbed wire design.
      Philadelphia Wings defenseman Thomas Hajek, who played both lacrosse and hockey at the University of Vermont, will join the Philadelphia Flyers Alumni team for a charity hockey game Thursday night (7:00 PM) at Sovereign Bank Flyers Skate Zone in Voorhees, NJ, benefitting the Robert Gagliardi Children's Fund. "This is a great opportunity for me to get back out on the ice while helping out a worthy cause at the same time," Hajek said. "It's an honor to get to play with Flyers greats such as Joe Watson and Bob Kelly." Gagliardi, who died last spring while playing in a hockey game, was a long-time supporter of the Flyers Youth Organization. Tickets are $10.00 and will be available at the door.

 

24 November 2005:
      Earlier this week, the Minnesota Swarm announced that Paul St. John has joined the bench staff as an assistant coach, leaving his position as the team's director of scouting. St. John is also the co-owner and head coach of the Ajax-Pickering Rock team in OLA's Senior B circuit. Paul Stewart takes over as the club's top scout.

 

17 November 2005:
      All-Pro forward Chris Gill has signed with the Colorado Mammoth, the team announced yesterday. Gill, 33, was a Second Team All-Pro in 2002, when he rang up 53 goals and 37 assists for Vancouver. Last season, with Calgary, Gill scored five goals and dished out nine assists in nine games. "Chris Gill is going to be a great addition to our team," Mammoth GM Steve Govett said. "We're excited about having a lefty in our offense that is a great leader and a natural goal-scorer." Gill also have played for Baltimore and Ontario/Toronto in a nine-year career.
      Despite having their exhibition game plans scuttled by a leaguewide decision not to have public preseason games, the Portland LumberJax are going ahead with an intrasquad scrimmage, open to the public, at Rose Garden on Thursday, 1 December. Admission is free with a coupon from portlandjax.com, as is parking. Soda and hot dogs will be $1.00 each, and there's talk that beer might be priced at a buck, too (if the state's booze cops allow it).

 

14 November 2005:

NLL 20th season logo.

      The National Lacrosse League has commissioned a special 20th season logo, with the familiar silhouette of an attacking forward between the digits '2' (in blue) and '0' (in red). Together with the years 1987 (the first season of the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League) and 2006, it's all thrown onto a triangular shield with crossed sticks in the background. "We’re pleased to unveil this special logo for our 20th season," commissioner Jim Jennings said. "As excited as we are about the future of this game, we always take time to reflect and honor all of the great teams and moments of the first nineteen seasons. We will be looking back and honoring the greatness of the past throughout the 2006 season."

 

10 November 2005:
      Jeremy Richardson, the Calgary Roughnecks' third-round draft pick in 2002, died earlier this week of cancer. A member of the Edmonton Miners Junior A team (Alberta Lacrosse Association) when drafted, Richardson was an assistant coach with the club the past two summers. "Jeremy was a wonderful lacrosse player with great potential," Roughnecks head coach Chris Hall said. "Even though he had been ill for some time, we retained his rights because we always hoped he'd get well and eventually make his way into the NLL." Richardson's cancer began in the lymph nodes and spread to his stomach and small intestine last spring. He was 23.
      In other Calgary Roughnecks news, the team traded defenseman Jordan Sundher to the Edmonton Rush for a conditional draft pick, marking the first trade ever made between the Alberta rivals. Sundher played eleven games for the Roughnecks in 2002, dishing out five assists and posting a 172-164 record on faceoffs. He then was out of the league until returning to the Riggers late in the 2005 season (no points, 61-49 on draws). "Jordan is a young player with experience in the league who has exceptional skills in faceoff situations," Rush GM/coach Paul Day said. "We are also looking at him to bring chemistry to our defense."

 

3 November 2005:
      Brock Robertson was certainly on the move today, traded twice on his way across North America. First, the Portland LumberJax dealt Robertson to the Minnesota Swarm for Andrew Martin, Ray Guze and Mike Leong. Minnesota then flipped the defenseman to the Philadelphia Wings for a 2006 second-round draft pick. In 23 career games with Albany, Rochester and Arizona, Robertson has one goal, one assist, 26 loose balls and 69 penalty minutes.
      The Arizona Sting have reached a deal with Cox Communications to broadcast four home games on Cox 7, a cable-only channel serving southern Arizona. Cox 7 will air games against Portland (13 January), Calgary (18 February), Colorado (18 March), and San Jose (14 April). The station has televised Sting games every season since the team relocated from Columbus in 2003.
      For the fourth straight year, the Rochester Knighthawks will appear locally on WRWB-TV, with at least four telecasts on tap. The Knighthawks' home games against Toronto (14 January, 15 April) and Buffalo (28 January, 18 March) will be shown, with all but the first Rock game airing live. Selected road games may also be shown.
      The Toronto Rock will return to The Fan 590 in 2006, with thirteen regular-season games (and, we assume, any postseason games) airing live on the all-sports station. In addition, the station will air the 2006 All Star Game, to be held at Air Canada Centre on 25 February. Dan Donleavy will call the action, as well as host a new weekly Rock program, "The Rock Hour," Thursdays at 9:00 PM on The Fan.
      In other Toronto Rock news, the team is offering a $66 (Canadian) "Season Pass," redeemable for a purple-level seat to all eight Rock home games and the aforementioned All Star Game. Pass holders will be able to collect their tickets up to three days ahead of the game at the Air Canada Centre box office. The catch: Passes are available one day only, this Saturday, at the Rock's season kickoff party at Yonge-Dundas Square or at torontorock.com between 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM Eastern.

 

27 October 2005:
      As expected, the International Lacrosse Federation yesterday officially selected Halifax, Nova Scotia to host the 2007 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship. The announcement was made at ILF's annual meeting, in Cardiff, Wales. "Halifax presents us with a unique opportunity to showcase the international game and the immense growth in the game in Canada and throughout the world," ILF president Peter Hobbs said. "The fans in Canada have shown great interest and passion for lacrosse and considerable success hosting other international ice hockey competitions in Halifax in the past." The Halifax Metro Centre, which seats 10,500 and once hosted a preseason game between Toronto and Montreal, will be the main venue for what organizers hope will be an eleven-team tournament. The previous WILC, held in southern Ontario in May 2003, had six participants: Canada, the United States, Australia, the Czech Republic, Scotland, and the Iroquois Nationals.
      Earlier this week, the Colorado Mammoth named Russ Heard and Dan Pratt as Gary Gait's assistant coaches for the 2006 season. Heard, a fifteen-year WLA veteran and two-time NLL champion with Toronto (1999 and 2000), will serve as offensive coordinator, while Pratt, Gait's teammate in both college (Syracuse) and the pros (Detroit Turbos), will handle the defense. In addition, the Mammoth named Bill Hall assistant general manager, Ward Sanderson special assistant to the head coach, and Greg Martinez video coach.
      In other Colorado Mammoth news, the team has signed 6-foot-11, 295pound defenseman Mike Piwerka to a one-year contract. Piwerka, a former professional basketball player in the Continental Basketball Association and in Europe, would be the tallest player in NLL history if he makes the team. "He is an exceptional athlete and he's got great feet, which means opposing forwards are going to have a tough time with him," Mammoth GM Steve Govett said. "Then you take into account his size and toughness and you realize the potential is there for him to become a top NLL defenseman."

 

21 October 2005:
      The Philadelphia Wings yesterday traded defenseman Andrew Guindon to the Arizona Sting for a 2006 first-round entry draft pick, ending Guindon's three-year stint with the club. Arizona also receives a 2007 second-round pick in the trade. Guindon scored ten goals and dished out nineteen assists since joining the Wings from Ottawa prior to the 2003 season.
      Eleven Edmonton Rush games this season will air on local radio station The Team 1260, the club recently announced. Jason Gregor, of the "Just a Game" program, will serve as play-by-play announcer; no color analyst was named.

 

19 October 2005:
      The Buffalo Bandits today finished the task of replacing former general manager Kurt Silcott by promoting head coach Darris Kilgour into the job. Shortly after Silcott resigned a month ago to become the GM in Calgary, the Bandits hired Dave Zygaj as director of lacrosse operations, a position created to handle some of the responsibilities which Silcott assumed during his eight-year stint as GM. Kilgour, who takes on the rest of Silcott's duties, will remain as head coach, a role in which he has compiled a 34-20 record in three seasons.
      Orange County Choppers, featured on the Discovery's Channel's American Chopper series, will create a custom motorcycle for the Edmonton Rush, to be used by the team for promotional purposes. "An Orange County Chopper is a statement. The chopper speaks to what this team and game are all about: speed, backbone and finesse," Rush owner Bruce Urban said. "Our chopper is for everyone -- the team, the fans and the City of Edmonton." The bike will be unveiled at the Rush's home opener on 6 January, with one lucky season ticket holder winning a trip to New York to meet the Orange County Chopper crew.
      The man with arguably the toughest job in the NLL, Philadelphia Wings backup goaltender (and heir apparent to Dallas Eliuk) Matt Roik, has been named by the team as its Grassroots Marketing Coordinator, putting him in charge of the team's public appearances, including school visits and TV/radio interviews. One of Roik's main assignments will be the creation of a school program to teach sportsmanship to children.

 

14 October 2005:
      After a season of exile in Arizona, Rob Kirkby is back with the Calgary Roughnecks following a trade with the Arizona Sting. Kirkby, who never dressed for Arizona due to a wrist injury, was dealt by the Sting earlier this week for Andy Secore and a 2006 first-round Entry Draft selection. Kirkby played two seasons in Calgary, winning the NLL Champion's Cup in 2004. Arizona now has three 2006 first-rounders, including its own and Toronto's (acquired in an earlier trade).
      The Portland LumberJax, fresh off signing forward Del Halladay and defensemen Matt Dwane and Damien Davis, added veteran firepower today with the addition of Ted Dowling, the fifth-leading goal scorer in NLL history (327 goals). The much-travelled Dowling joins his ninth franchise since entering the league in 1993, with the Detroit Turbos. He's coming off one of his worse losses, though, drawing less than fifteen percent of all votes in his bid earlier this month to become president of the Professional Lacrosse Players Association.

 

10 October 2005:
      Peter Schmitz has won another two-year term as Professional Lacrosse Players Association president, following the union's first-ever contested election for the position. Schmitz easily defeated Ted Dowling, 144-25, to retain the presidency, which he has held since PLPA's inception in 1992. "I would like to thank the player reps and players throughout the league who took the time to get informed and voted for me in this election," Schmitz said. "I believe the results of this election clearly indicate that the membership is happy with the direction the Executive Committee is leading them."

 

23 September 2005:
      The Buffalo Bandits today made the first of two moves to replace Kurt Silcott, naming Dave Zygaj as Director of Lacrosse Operations. The Bandits are separating Silcott's responsibilities into two jobs, with a general manager still to be named. As for Zygaj, formerly the vice president of the Columbus Landsharks and briefly NLL's legal counsel, he'll handle the team's business affairs. He is a 1989 graduate of SUNY-Buffalo's law school.

 

15 September 2005:
      As expected, the Calgary Roughnecks yesterday named Kurt Silcott as their new general manager, luring the 2003 NLL General Manager of the Year from the Buffalo Bandits. Silcott, who was the Bandits' GM since 1999, replaces Roughnecks owner Brad Banister, who felt that the added responsibilities of being the GM took away from his day job in the oil patch. "Kurt has one of the brightest minds in the NLL," Banister said. "It is imperative that clubs have a GM who is on top of player personnel and player-related matters all year round." As for the Bandits, no timetable on naming Silcott's successor.
      As if Philadelphia Wings fans needed more dining options at Wachovia Center, arena owner Comcast Spectacor announced yesterday that the construction of an 8,000-square-foot food court and entertainment center is underway and will be complete by early next month. Part of the addition, which will open two hours before all arena events and will remain open afterwards, is, according to the press release, the largest bar inside a sports arena in the country. How's this for a take on the new addition? "We take an amusement park approach to the arena," Comcast-Spectacor president Peter Luukko said. "Every so often, you want to add a new ride."

 

11 September 2005:
      Kurt Silcott will jump ship as the Buffalo Bandits' general manager in order to take the same position with the Calgary Roughnecks, Calgary Sun lacrosse scribe Ty Pilson reports. Silcott, who could join the Riggers as early as this week, worked for the Bandits for a decade, rising from ticket administrator to general manager. He takes over as GM for team owner Brad Banister, who decided that the responsibility of running the team was taking too much of his attention away from his oil business.
      The San Jose Stealth has named Art Webster as an assistant coach, extending a professional relationship with Stealth head coach Walt Christianson. The two also have coached the Victoria Shamrocks (WLA) the past four summers, with Christianson as the head coach and Webster as his defensive coordinator. "I'm very excited to be a part of the Stealth," Webster said. "I feel we have an awesome team with great personnel. They underachieved last season, but with the players we've got and a few tweaks here and there, there's no reason why we can't turn this into a winning team for years to come."

 

5 September 2005:
      Move over, Donald Trump. Out of the way, all you Survivors. The Edmonton Sun is reporting that three American television networks are considering whether to pick up a reality series based on Angela Batinovitch and her brand-new Portland LumberJax franchise, and that a pilot episode for the series has been filmed. "It won't do a thing for me selling more tickets locally," Batinovitch told the Sun's Scott Zerr, "but I'll put myself out there for the good of the league. I guess it's a good story, me being a chick owner." Batinovitch is NLL's first female owner and, at 24, is the youngest female owner in American sports history.

 

31 August 2005:
      The Edmonton Rush named its assistant coaches earlier this week, selecting Daren Fridge, Jim Milligan, and Ahmed (A.J.) Jomha to work under head coach Paul Day. Fridge is a veteran behind NLL benches, serving as an assistant in Colorado and Vancouver. Milligan and Jomha, the latter of whom is also the Rush's Director of Lacrosse Operations, have previously scouted in NLL and have coached and played in the Canadian summer leagues.
      It may or may not mean anything for the NLL's American television coverage, but with the league reportedly in discussions with OLN, it is interesting that the network has chosen Mike Emrick as lead play-by-play voice for its coverage of the National Hockey League this season. During the NHL's lockout last winter, Emrick moonlighted as the NLL's play-by-play voice for two games on NBC.

 

26 August 2005:
      The National Lacrosse League is close to an American television deal with OLN, The Lacrosse Journal reports. The deal would put a live Game of the Week on the network formerly known as the Outdoor Life Network, which made its name off megacoverage of the Tour de France bicycle race and which recently signed on as the home of the National Hockey League. The league is said to prefer OLN to the higher-profile ESPN, which can offer only tape-delayed coverage.

 

24 August 2005:
      The Minnesota Swarm today traded Bruce Murray to the Arizona Sting for Noah Talbot, in an exchange of defensemen. Murray, 28, appeared in sixteen games for Anaheim in 2005 (no goals, four assists) and was acquired by Minnesota with the fourth-overall pick in the Storm's dispersal draft last month. Talbot, 25, tallied six points last season (two goals, four assists) and added a goal and two assists in the playoffs. He, too, was a dispersal pick, coming over from Vancouver in December 2004.

 

21 August 2005:
      The Baltimore Bayhawks won the 2005 Major League Lacrosse championship game today in Boston, defeating the Long Island Lizards, 15-9. Player-coach Gary Gait (also of the Colorado Mammoth) led the way with six Baltimore goals, aided by three goals from Mike Powell (San Jose). The victory (punctuated by a six-goal run in the first half which put the Bayhawks ahead 7-1) marks Baltimore's second MLL championship. By the way, if it seems that the Bayhawks and Lizards always reach the final, it's not just you -- this was their fourth title tilt in MLL's five seasons.

 

18 August 2005:
      The Philadelphia Wings dug into their deep reserve of first-round draft picks today, trading the sixth-overall selection in this month's entry draft to the San Jose Stealth for goaltender Matt Roik. San Jose had selected Roik in last month's dispersal draft, presumably as trade bait (as the Stealth already has Anthony Cosmo and Brandon Miller on the roster). Roik -- a four-year veteran, all with the New Jersey/Anaheim Storm (13.82 goals-against average, 73.41 save percentage) -- takes over the unenviable role of "heir apparent" to the legendary Dallas Eliuk.
      Chris Panos, NLL's most-travelled player ever, has signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Calgary Roughnecks, marking his second stint with the team. Panos scored nine goals and dished out fifteen assists in 2005, splitting time between Colorado and Arizona. His nine-year career (160 goals, 145 assists) includes time with eight different organizations.

 

3 August 2005:
      The Philadelphia Wings today made the first big free agent signing of the summer, agreeing to terms with defenseman Glenn Clark on a one-year deal. Clark comes over from Toronto, where he was a defensive stalwart for the Rock and was one of a shrinking group of players who had been with the team for all five of its championship seasons. Clark, 35, tallied 31 goals and 31 assists in eight seasons for Toronto (including one year as the Ontario Raiders) as is fourth on the Rock's alltime loose ball list, with 444.
      In other free agency news, the Portland LumberJax have inked Richard Morgan, beating out the Colorado Mammoth for the young forward. The deal, terms undisclosed, reunites Morgan with former coach Derek Keenan and several of his old Anaheim teammates, after he had been declared an unrestricted free agent last month in a contract dispute. Morgan scored eighteen goals and dished out ten assists for the Storm in 2005.
      The Portland LumberJax also made a Storm Reunion trade today, acquiring Matt Dwane from the Edmonton Rush for a second-round pick in the 2007 Entry Draft. Dwane, who tallied eleven goals and fourteen assists for Anaheim last season, was selected tenth-overall by Arizona in last month's dispersal draft and was immediately traded to the Rush.

 

14 July 2005:
      Calgary Roughnecks defenseman Andy Ogilvie has decided to retire, the Calgary Sun reported today. Ogilvie, 39, joined the Roughnecks last December after the Vancouver Ravens suspended operations, but was lost midseason to a knee injury. After the resulting surgery, Ogilvie decided enough was enough. "He'll never play on the turf again, he said," Banister told the Sun. "We never really even got to see how good he could have been on our team. That's too bad." In six games with Calgary, Ogilvie scored two goals, assisted on seven others, and scooped up 39 loose balls. He also played for Buffalo in a pro career which began in 1999.

 

11 July 2005:
      It's all but official in Oregon -- Angela Batinovitch's club will be known as the Portland Lumberjax. The official announcement is scheduled for Tuesday at 5:30 PM Pacific (8:30 PM Eastern), at McFadden's Restaurant and Saloon at 107 NW Couch, Portland. Alert NLL fans stumbled on a handful of mock web pages on the portlandlumberjax.com web site, and there doesn't appear to be any similar action going on with domain names for the other two finalists, Shadow and Fear. Oh, and here's a shocker: The logo is a cartoonish stick-wielding lumberjack, although it's one of the more reasonable in the genre.

 

6 July 2005:
      An Ontario pub will hold a fundraiser on Saturday, 23 July (7:30 PM) to benefit ailing Rochester Knighthawks defenseman Casey Zaph, who suffered a brain injury a month ago and remains hospitalized. The event will be hosted by the Slug and Lettuce, at the Xerox Tower, 5650 Yonge St. in North York. Items will be raffled off, with proceeds going directly to the Casey Zaph Fund. Call Robert Lee (416.227.1969 ext. 225) for more information. Donations can be sent to: Eric Dean, Attn: Casey Zaph Fund, Royal Bank of Canada, 2 Bloor St. East, Toronto ON M4W 1A8.
      The Portland No-Names will introduce their head coach at a press conference Thursday afternoon (3:00 PM Pacific) at the Rose Garden. The team has been careful not to identify its first major hire, who will also be the general manager, but barring a sudden and dramatic change of course, it's Derek Keenan. The former Anaheim Storm coach reportedly has been out and about in league circles already, conducting team business. The team's assistant coach(es) will also be introduced. Their first major assignment will be to prepare for the upcoming expansion draft, to be held next Wednesday.

 

3 July 2005:
      Rochester Knighthawks defenseman Casey Zaph, recovering from a brain injury about a month ago, has been moved from Toronto Western Hospital to St. Joseph's Health Centre to reduce travel time for visiting family. Zaph collapsed on 7 June at his doctor's office, where he had gone for treatment of severe headaches. He was subsequently hospitalized with internal bleeding of the brain. He remains unconscious, but his family reports that there are signs of improvement.
      Buffalo Bandits forward John Tavares surpassed John "Shooter" Davis last night as the leading scorer in Canadian lacrosse history. Tavares, who hit three major NLL milestones earlier this year (500 assists, 1000 points, 500 goals), recorded his 2054th career point late in the second period of the game between Akwesasne and Six Nations (Major Series Lacrosse). Tavares tallied another point before the game was done, giving him a total of 965 goals and 1090 assists in Canadian summer league action. Tavares is 40 points shy of breaking Gary Gait's NLL record of 1091 points.

 

30 June 2005:
      Without warning, the San Jose Stealth released forward Curt Malawsky yesterday, ending his one-year stint on the West Coast. Malawsky played in fifteen games in 2005, tallying 21 goals and 26 assists for the Stealth; he was acquired in January in one of two trades the Stealth made that day; the other yielded his brother, Derek Malawsky, who remains with San Jose. No reason was given for the release.

 

28 June 2005:
      The Portland No-Names report that they are so overwhelmed by the quality and quantity of team name suggestions (3000 at last count), they will be posting "semifinalist" entries on nllportland.com in advance of an online poll to decide among the finalists. The first twelve semifinalists have been posted: Brawlers, Breakers, Cascades, Fury, Lumberjax, Mountaineers, Panthers, Pioneers, Pirates, Prowlers, Riverdawgs, and Steelheads. The team is still accepting nominations through its web site.

 

23 June 2005:
      Three months after trading two first-round draft picks (one each in 2006 and 2007) to the Minnesota Swarm for forward Craig Conn, the Arizona Sting has reacquired the picks. In the new trade, consummated today, the Sting sends forward Kasey Beirnes and defenseman Darryl Gibson to Minnesota. Beirnes played one game last season before a season-ending injury; he had 33 goals and 29 assists for the Sting in 2004. Gibson, acquired in a January trade with San Jose, scored three goals for Arizona this season, helping the Sting reach the NLL Champion's Cup Final.

 

20 June 2005:
      The unnamed Portland team has elected to draft first in this fall's Entry Draft, leaving the top pick in the Dispersal Draft to the Edmonton Rush; today was the deadline for the team to make its decision. Earlier this month, Portland won a coin flip for the right to choose which draft it wanted to select first in, with Edmonton getting the first turn in the other. Portland also won a coin flip for the right to select first in the Expansion Draft. Dates for all three drafts will be announced at a later time.
      Former Buffalo Bandits owner John Rigas was sentenced today to fifteen years in prison for conspiring to steal millions of dollars from Adelphia Communications and for covering it up on the company's books. Rigas, 80, was convicted last July of raiding the company he founded in the 1950s. Because of his age and poor health (he has bladder cancer and a heart condition), it is likely that Rigas will die behind bars, although the judge has agreed to reconsider the sentence if Rigas serves at least two years and is then diagnosed as terminally ill.

 

19 June 2005:
      Whatever suspense remained in the Colorado Mammoth's search for a new head coach ended today when the Denver Post reported that Gary Gait is indeed the Tusked Ones' choice to replace the outgoing Jamie Batley. Gait, who is moving his wife and children to Denver in August and then joining them when the Major League Lacrosse season ends about a month later, will be formally introduced at a press conference Tuesday.

 

18 June 2005:
      The Colorado Mammoth will introduce its next head coach Tuesday morning at Pepsi Center, the Rocky Mountain News reported today. Mammoth president/GM Steve Govett fanned the "Gary Gait for Coach" rumors by pointing out that former coach Jamie Batley, whose contract was officially not renewed yesterday, lives 2000 miles away from Colorado in Peterborough, Ontario. "Our goal is to get more of our [players] to live in Denver," Govett told the newspaper. "We need a coach who is going to be around here." Who better for that than Gait, who is moving to Denver after the current Major League Lacrosse season? Gait retired following the 2005 season as the league's alltime leading scorer.

 

22 May 2005:
      Eight years apparently was enough for Rochester Knighthawks head coach Paul Day, who has (or very soon will) resign from the job he's held since 1998, sources say. Day, who posted a 75-39 record as head coach, could not get the Knighthawks from perennial playoff qualifier to league champions, falling short in the title game three times and underachieving at the worst possible moments. There's not much buzz yet on a replacement in Rochester, but the rumor mill has already linked Day to the coaching job with both expansion teams (Portland and Edmonton). Whether he's interested, we'll have to see.

 

20 May 2005:
      Final Neilsen ratings are in for last weekend, and the NLL Champion's Cup Final officially drew a 0.5 rating, putting the overall viewership on NBC at about 550,000. That's down from an overnight rating of 0.8, not a surprise since overnights tend to be skewed in favor of large metropolitan areas (how does NLL play in small town America? Apparently not so well yet). NLL announced some rough local numbers, touting Minneapolis/St. Paul as having the best viewership among its nine U.S. markets, scoring a 1.2 rating. Louisville, KY, had the top rating (1.9), just head of Las Vegas and Knoxville, TN (1.8); Knoxville had the best marks for February's All Star Game, (2.0). Other well-performing markets included Detroit, Cincinnati, Milwaukee and San Antonio.

 

18 May 2005:
      From the "Not Exactly a Shocker" Department: The recently-retired Gary Gait might be coaching the Colorado Mammoth in 2006. The Denver Post reported earlier this week that Gait, NLL's alltime leading scorer, could replace Jamie Batley, who has been given permission to seek a job as a general manager elsewhere. The move, if it happens, would be a win for all parties -- Gait, who will be moving to Denver fulltime at the end of the summer, gets to work with longtime friend and Mammoth GM Steve Govett, and Batley gets a job upgrade, far away from a Mammoth team which struggled to come together this season and finished a disappointing 8-8.

 

12 May 2005:
      In a sad development, former Toronto Rock head coach Les Bartley is too sick to attend Saturday's NLL Champion's Cup Final between the Rock and the Arizona Sting. Bartley has been battling colon cancer since November 2003 and hopes to well enough to watch the game on television. His absence will leave a big hole at Air Canada Centre -- many of the current Rock players joined the team when Bartley was head coach (1998-2003) and undoubtedly will be playing with him in mind. A couple members of the Sting have also played for Bartley, including Darryl Gibson (Toronto, 2002-2003) and Mark Cochrane (Buffalo, 1994-1996).
      In other Toronto Rock news, team captain Jim Veltman has declared that, regardless of what happens on Saturday, he will return in 2006 for what will be his fourteenth season. Veltman, named yesterday to his twelfth career All-Pro team, finished this past season with 193 loose balls, continuing his streak of leading the league every year he has played.

 

9 May 2005:
      Online casino Sportsbook.com has posted the Toronto Rock as a 1-1/2 goal favorite to defeat the Arizona Sting in the Edge NLL Champion's Cup Final, to be held this Saturday at Air Canada Centre. Sportsbook, title sponsor of the NLL's Sportsbook.com Defensive Player of the Year award, has also posted an over-under of 26-1/2 combined goals. Sadly, no proposition bets, at least not yet -- we were soooo hoping to be able to bet $50 to win $75 that the Sting would lead after one quarter.

 

29 April 2005:
      Ty Pilson reports in today's Calgary Sun that the Edmonton expansion bid has cleared all but the final hurdle, approval by the league's Board of Governors. "Commissioner Jim Jennings has told me there should no problem getting this through," said Bruce Urban, president of Western RV Country and leader of the Edmonton bid. Urban's group would buy the dormant Ottawa Rebel for just under $2 million (Canadian), but shouldn't get too excited just yet -- Edmonton has had numerous misses in trying to bring an NLL franchise to town.
      In other news, Ty Pilson writes that the Anaheim Storm is expected to move to Portland, Oregon, for the 2006 season. The Storm has never drawn well in two years in southern California, following a just-as-dreadful stint in New Jersey.
      Former NLLer Randy Fraser is back in the United States and recovering well from a recent knife attack in the Czech Republic. Fraser, in Prague to compete in a box lacrosse tournament, was slashed on the wrists by a Ukrainian national during a postgame party at a local bar. "I may be dealing with a paralyzed hand and may never be able to play lacrosse again but my spirits are high," Fraser told e-lacrosse.com yesterday. "The cut is two inches down the wrist from my hand and reached all the tendons and all the nerves to the small muscles there. Atrophy may be an issue and tendons usually require follow-up surgeries during the long healing process." Fraser played in MILL and NLL for Boston, New York and Buffalo between 1992 and 2004.
      The NLL begins its annual parade of awards on Monday, with the announcement of the Sportsmanship Award, Tom Borelli Writer of the Year Award, and Team Executive Awards. Continuing through the work week, one award per day, are Defensive Player of the Year, Goaltender of the Year, Les Bartley Coach of the Year, and General Manager of the Year. The Executive of the Year Award follows on Monday, 9 May, followed by the Rookie of the Year and All-Rookie Team on the 10th, the All-Pro Teams on the 11th, and the Most Valuable Player Award on the 12th.

 

8 April 2005:
      Toronto Rock coach/GM Terry Sanderson signed a three-year contract extension today, keeping him at the helm through the 2008 season. "Terry has done a great job of retooling the Rock and has put the team in a position to make a run at a fifth Champion’s Cup," Rock president Brad Watters said. "We look forward to seeing what he can do with the team over the next three years." Sanderson, in his fourth NLL coaching gig, inherited a 2-4 Rock team last season and guided it to a 10-6 finish. Toronto is even better this season, having a 10-3 record with three games to go.
      In other Toronto Rock news, the team is expected to announce Sunday that it will host the 2006 NLL All Star Game on Saturday, 25 February. The Rock may play a home game the preceding night, possibly a Hall of Fame game. Mike Koreen reports in today's Toronto Sun that the NLL is exploring the creation of an NLL Hall of Fame and that the first inductions would be held during All Star Weekend.
      Philadelphia Wings forward Tom Marechek plays his final regular season home game Saturday night, and the team has plenty planned for "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" Night. A pregame ceremony will include tributes from fellow NLLers and other Philadelphia athletes, a ten-foot "exploding" replica of the Hollywood sign, and a presentation by NLL commissioner Jim Jennings. In addition, the first 5000 fans will receive a "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" t-shirt.
      Just in time for the annual late-spring expansion discussion comes the annual late-spring entry from Edmonton. Longtime readers are aware of the numerous groups which have tried (and, thus far, failed) to bring an NLL team to Edmonton, from local businessmen to the nearby Samson Cree Nation. This time around, according to the Calgary Sun, the interested party is Calgary businessman Bruce Urban, president of Western RV Country. Urban, 36, recently lost out on a bid to purchase the CFL's Calgary Stampeders. He would own the majority stake in an NLL expansion franchise, with Craig Anstead, GM of Urban's Edmonton-area stores, serving as managing partner.

 

4 April 2005:
      The lacrosse community is mourning the loss of veteran referee Scott Boyle, 55, who died Saturday of a heart attack while officiating a field lacrosse game between NCAA rivals Navy and Georgetown. Boyle had been officiating college games since the 1970s and was a Major Indoor Lacrosse League referee in the late 1980s and 1990s. Boyle, whose nephew Ryan plays for the San Jose Stealth, officiated the 1987, 1990 and 1992 MILL championship games. Retired NLL defenseman Paul Cantabene told Inside Lacrosse magazine, "[Boyle] always gave his all and refereed a fair game. Plus, he did it with a great sense of humor."
      The Toronto Rock is just one win away from clinching the top seed in the Eastern Division and a bye to the Eastern Final. Toronto is also on the cusp of clinching home-floor advantage throughout the playoffs, needing either (a) two wins or (b) one win and one Calgary Roughnecks loss. Calgary, meanwhile, is already guaranteed to host a playoff game and is one win away from earning the first-round bye.
      While the race for playoff seeding is just heating up, the field of six teams is just about set. In the East, the Rochester Knighthawks have just about sewn up the last spot, needing just one win or one Philadelphia Wings loss. Out West, the Arizona Sting is in the exact same position, looking to knock out the Anaheim Storm. Either way, the last Western berth is going to a team that has never before reached the postseason.

2 April 2005:
      Two playoff berths have already been clinched (Calgary and Colorado), with three more possibly coming by tomorrow. The Toronto Rock can secure a spot by defeating the Philadelphia Wings tonight -- and that would also clinch a spot for the Buffalo Bandits. Philadelphia remains very much alive in the playoff race, and would qualify for its first postseason since 2002 by winning out. In the West, the final spot is the Arizona Sting's for the taking. A win tomorrow afternoon at Calgary would put the Sting in the playoffs for the first time ever; a Colorado win tonight at home against Anaheim would also do the trick.
      Retiring legend Gary Gait plays his final regular season home game tonight, and the Colorado Mammoth has plenty in store to honor the NLL's alltime leading scorer. All Mammoth players will warm up in special jerseys with Gait's number 22 on the back (each player's own number will be sewn onto the sleeves); the jerseys will then be auctioned off on ColoradoMammoth.com to benefit Krienke Sports Charities. Also, a video retrospective of Gait's career will be shown prior to the 7:00 PM Mountain (9:00 PM Eastern) faceoff. Tonight also happens to be the last regular season home game for Gait's twin brother, Paul, who came out of retirement for the stretch drive and playoffs, so that he and Gary can exit together.