National Lacrosse League
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| National Lacrosse League | |
|---|---|
| |
| Sport | Indoor lacrosse |
| Founded | 1986 |
| Inaugural season | 1987 |
| No. of teams | 13 |
| Country | Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States Image:Flag of Canada.svg Canada |
| Current champions | Colorado Mammoth |
| Official website | NLL.com |
- "NLL" redirects here. For other uses, see NLL (disambiguation).
- For the National Lacrosse League of 1974-75, see National Lacrosse League (1974-75).
The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is the professional league of men's indoor lacrosse in North America. It currently has 13 teams; 10 in the United States and 3 in Canada, 2 of which are starting in 2007 in Chicago and New York. Unlike other lacrosse leagues, which play in the summer, the NLL plays its games in the winter. Each year, the playoff teams battle for the Champion's Cup.
Contents |
[edit] History
The NLL was formed in 1997 from the Major Indoor Lacrosse League (MILL), with the decision to move from league ownership of all teams to individual team ownership. The MILL was created in 1986 as the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League. The first season started in January 1987 as the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League. It changed its name to Major Indoor Lacrosse League in May 1988, and then to the National Lacrosse League in 1998. Five of the MILL teams played in the NLL in the 1998 season. The National Lacrosse League recognizes the MILL history as its own. The 2006 season marked the 20th season of play in the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League/MILL/NLL.
[edit] Expansion
On February 16, 2006, the NLL announced a new franchise, which will play in Chicago, Illinois starting in the 2007 season. The team will play in the new 11,000-seat Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. The team is owned by Kevin Loughery Jr., Don Sallee, the former NBA coach and player Kevin Loughery, and Concept Entertainment Group, LLC. On May 11, 2006, it was announced that the new team will be named the Chicago Shamrox.
On July 11, 2006, after months of speculation, the NLL announced that New York City had also been awarded a new franchise for the 2007 season. The new team will play at least four of its eight home games at Madison Square Garden. This will give New York State three entrants in the league, reflecting its status as one of lacrosse's primary bases (along with Maryland, which does not have an NLL team). Both the New York and Chicago expansion teams will play in the Eastern Division. The team name New York Titans was announced on September 13, 2006.
NLL commissioner Jim Jennings' master plan for expansion includes 24 teams and possibly a 20-game schedule within 5 years. He says that Montreal, Vancouver, and Winnipeg "are the front-runners for expansion in Canada." <ref>Stevens, Neil. "NLL boss eyes more expansion", Victoria Times-Colonist, 2006-10-04. Retrieved on 2006-10-30.</ref> A group of investors put down a deposit with the NLL in June 2006 to for a franchise to play in Seattle, Washington in 2008. The proposed arena for this possible team is KeyArena, which is the current home of the Seattle SuperSonics of the NBA. <ref>Andriesen, David. "Pro lacrosse on the horizon?", Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 2006-11-08. Retrieved on 2006-11-08.</ref> Ownership groups from St. Louis, Cleveland, Boston, Dallas and Florida have also expressed interest in an expansion team. <ref>Inside Lacrosse Staff. "NLL to announce expansion plans Friday", Inside Lacrosse, 2006-06-22. Retrieved on 2006-11-10.</ref>
[edit] Media
In May 2001, Blast Lacrosse, a video game based on the NLL, was released. It was the first lacrosse video game ever and included all nine teams of their 14th season, including mascots.
On February 15, 2005, the NLL announced that Activision would produce a new video game. The game will probably be released for the 2007 season. <ref>"Activision Value to create NLL video game", National Lacrosse League, 2005-02-15. Retrieved on 2006-11-27.</ref>
In 2007, the NLL will have a regularly scheduled "Game of the Week" on Versus, the network formerly known as OLN and home of the NHL, Tour De France, and PBR. Previously, the NLL has had its All-Star Games and Championship games on National TV, with NBC in 2005 and ESPN 2 in 2006.
[edit] Teams in the NLL
[edit] East Division
[edit] West Division
[edit] Defunct teams
| Team | Years |
|---|---|
| Boston Blazers | 1992–1997 |
| Charlotte Cobras | 1996 |
| Detroit Turbos | 1989–1994 |
| Pittsburgh Bulls | 1990–1993 |
| Washington Wave | 1987–1989 |
[edit] Inactive teams
| Team | Years |
|---|---|
| Anaheim Storm | 2002–2005 |
| Vancouver Ravens | 2001–2004 |
[edit] Franchise movement and name changes
- Baltimore Thunder (1987–1999) → Pittsburgh CrosseFire (2000) → Washington Power (2001–2002) → Colorado Mammoth (2002–current)
- New Jersey Saints (1987–1988) → New York Saints (1989–2003) → Inactive → New York Titans (2006-current)
- New England Blazers (1989–1991) → Boston Blazers (1992–1997)
- Ontario Raiders (1998) → Toronto Rock (1999–current)
- Syracuse Smash (1998–2000) → Ottawa Rebel (2000–2003) → Inactive → Edmonton Rush (2005–current)
- Albany Attack (1999–2003) → San Jose Stealth (2003–current)
- Columbus Landsharks (2001–2003) → Arizona Sting (2003–current)
- Montreal Express (2002) → Inactive → Minnesota Swarm (2004–current)
- New Jersey Storm (2002–2003) → Anaheim Storm (2003–2005) → Inactive
[edit] MILL championship results
- 1987 Baltimore Thunder 11–10 Washington Wave
- 1988 New Jersey Saints 17–16 Washington Wave
- 1989 Philadelphia Wings 11–10 New York Saints
- 1990 Philadelphia Wings 17–7 New England Blazers
- 1991 Detroit Turbos 14–12 Baltimore Thunder
- 1992 Buffalo Bandits 11–10 Philadelphia Wings (OT)
- 1993 Buffalo Bandits 13–12 Philadelphia Wings
- 1994 Philadelphia Wings 26–15 Buffalo Bandits
- 1995 Philadelphia Wings 15–14 Rochester Knighthawks (OT)
- 1996 Buffalo Bandits 13–12 Philadelphia Wings
- 1997 Rochester Knighthawks 15–12 Buffalo Bandits
[edit] NLL championship results
- See also: Champion's Cup
- 1998 Philadelphia Wings 2–0 Baltimore Thunder (Best of 3 Games Series)
- 1999 Toronto Rock 13–10 Rochester Knighthawks
- 2000 Toronto Rock 14–13 Rochester Knighthawks
- 2001 Philadelphia Wings 9–8 Toronto Rock
- 2002 Toronto Rock 13–12 Albany Attack
- 2003 Toronto Rock 8–6 Rochester Knighthawks
- 2004 Calgary Roughnecks 14–11 Buffalo Bandits
- 2005 Toronto Rock 19–13 Arizona Sting
- 2006 Colorado Mammoth 16–9 Buffalo Bandits
[edit] Awards
- MVP Award
- Rookie of the Year Award
- Les Bartley Award
- GM of the Year Award
- Executive of the Year Award
- Defenseman of the Year Award
- Goaltender of the Year Award
- Sportsmanship Award
[edit] Commissioners
| Darrel Russell | 1987–1997 |
| John Livsey Jr | 1997–2000 |
| Jim Jennings | 2000– |
[edit] League offices
| Prairie Village, Kansas | 1987–1997 |
| Buffalo, New York | 1997–2000 |
| Lyndhurst, New Jersey | 2000–2001 |
| New York, New York | 2001– |
[edit] References
<references/>
[edit] See also
- Lacrosse
- Box Lacrosse
- List of NLL seasons
- National Lacrosse League All-Star Game
- National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame
- Major League Lacrosse - the men's field lacrosse league of the United States
- Sports league attendances
- List of professional lacrosse players
- List of family relations in the National Lacrosse League
[edit] External links
[edit] Team links
- Arizona Sting
- Buffalo Bandits
- Calgary Roughnecks
- Chicago Shamrox
- Colorado Mammoth
- Edmonton Rush
- Minnesota Swarm
- New York Titans
- Philadelphia Wings
- Portland LumberJax
- Rochester Knighthawks
- San Jose Stealth
- Toronto Rock
</div>
| National Lacrosse League | |
| East Division: Buffalo Bandits | Chicago Shamrox | Minnesota Swarm | New York Titans | Philadelphia Wings | Rochester Knighthawks | Toronto Rock | |
| West Division: Arizona Sting | Calgary Roughnecks | Colorado Mammoth | Edmonton Rush | Portland LumberJax | San Jose Stealth | |
| NLL Awards: Champion's Cup | Most Valuable Player | Rookie of the Year | Defenseman of the Year | Goaltender of the Year | Sportsmanship Award | Les Bartley Award | GM of the Year | Executive of the Year | |
| NLL Articles: All-Star Game | Players' Association | Family relations | Hall of Fame | Season reviews | Former teams | |
| Related Articles: Box lacrosse | Lacrosse | Major League Lacrosse | |
| Current arenas in the National Lacrosse League | ||
| Eastern Division | Western Division | |
|---|---|---|
| Air Canada Centre | Blue Cross Arena | HSBC Arena | Madison Square Garden1 | Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum2 | Sears Centre | Wachovia Center | Xcel Energy Center | HP Pavilion | Jobing.com Arena | Pengrowth Saddledome | Pepsi Center | Rexall Place | Rose Garden Arena | |
| 1The New York Titans play four of their home games at Madison Square Garden. 2The New York Titans play four of their home games at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. | ||
