National Lacrosse League
Encyclopedia : N : NA : NAT : National Lacrosse League
- "NLL" redirects here. For , see .
The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is the professional league of men's indoor lacrosse in North America. It currently has 11 teams; 8 in the United States and 3 in Canada, with 2 new teams starting in 2007 in Chicago and New York. The differences between indoor lacrosse rules and the rules of box lacrosse, an older game on which indoor lacrosse is based, have decreased over the years; the chief difference now is that indoor lacrosse continues to allow only hollow sticks. 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.
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 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 2005/06 season marked the 20th season of play in the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League/MILL/NLL.
On February 15, 2005 the NLL announced that Activision would produce a NLL video game. The game will probably be released for the 2007 season.
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 has also been awarded a new franchise for the 2007 season. The new team, which has yet to be named, will play at least four of its eight home games at Madison Square Garden. Both the New York and Chicago expansion teams will play in the Eastern Division.
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.
Teams in the NLL
East Division
West Division
- Arizona Sting
- Calgary Roughnecks
- Colorado Mammoth
- Edmonton Rush
- Minnesota Swarm
- Portland Lumberjax
- San Jose Stealth
Current Arenas
- Arizona Sting: Glendale Arena
- Buffalo Bandits: HSBC Arena
- Calgary Roughnecks: Pengrowth Saddledome
- Chicago Shamrox: Sears Centre
- Colorado Mammoth: Pepsi Center
- Edmonton Rush: Rexall Place
- Minnesota Swarm: Xcel Energy Center
- New York Team: Madison Square Garden and, possibly, Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (4 home games each)
- Philadelphia Wings: Wachovia Center
- Portland LumberJax: Rose Garden Arena
- Rochester Knighthawks: Blue Cross Arena
- San Jose Stealth: HP Pavilion
- Toronto Rock: Air Canada Centre
Defunct teams
- Boston Blazers (1992-1997) (Ownership License Expired in 2000 following a prolonged period of inactivity, entity presumed defunct)
- Charlotte Cobras (1996)
- Detroit Turbos (1989-1994)
- Pittsburgh Bulls (1990-1993)
- Washington Wave (1987-1989)
Inactive teams
- Anaheim Storm (2003-2005)
- New York Saints (1989-2003)
- Vancouver Ravens (2001-2004)
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 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
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
NLL championship results
- 1997-98 Philadelphia Wings 2-0 Baltimore Thunder (Best of 3 Games Series)
- 1998-99 Toronto Rock 13-10 Rochester Knighthawks
- 1999-00 Toronto Rock 14-13 Rochester Knighthawks
- 2000-01 Philadelphia Wings 9-8 Toronto Rock
- 2001-02 Toronto Rock 13-12 Albany Attack
- 2002-03 Toronto Rock 8-6 Rochester Knighthawks
- 2003-04 Calgary Roughnecks 14-11 Buffalo Bandits
- 2004-05 Toronto Rock 19-13 Arizona Sting
- 2005-06 Colorado Mammoth 16-9 Buffalo Bandits
Commissioners
| Darrel Russell | 1987-1997 |
| John Livsey Jr | 1997-2000 |
| Jim Jennings | 2000- |
League offices
| Buffalo, NY | 1997-2000 |
| Lyndhurst, NJ | 2000-2001 |
| New York, NY | 2001- |
See also
- Lacrosse
- Indoor lacrosse
- National Lacrosse League All-Star Game
- NLL Hall of Fame
- List of National Lacrosse League MVPs
- Major League Lacrosse - the men's field lacrosse league of the United States
- Sports league attendances
- List of professional lacrosse players
External links
Team links
- [Arizona Sting]
- [Buffalo Bandits]
- [Calgary Roughnecks]
- [Chicago Shamrox]
- [Colorado Mammoth]
- [Edmonton Rush]
- [Minnesota Swarm]
- [New York]
- [Philadelphia Wings]
- [Portland Lumberjax]
- [Rochester Knighthawks]
- [San Jose Stealth]
- [Toronto Rock]
| National Lacrosse League | |
| East Division: Buffalo Bandits | Minnesota Swarm | Philadelphia Wings | Rochester Knighthawks | Toronto Rock | |
| West Division: Arizona Sting | Calgary Roughnecks | Colorado Mammoth | Edmonton Rush | Portland Lumberjax | San Jose Stealth | |
| 2007 Expansion Teams: Chicago Shamrox | New York | |
| NLL Articles: Champion's Cup | NLL All-Star Game | NLL Hall of Fame | List of NLL MVPs | |
| Related Articles: Box lacrosse | Indoor lacrosse | Lacrosse | Major League Lacrosse | |
| Current arenas in the National Lacrosse League |
| Air Canada Centre | Blue Cross Arena | Glendale Arena | HP Pavilion | HSBC Arena | Pengrowth Saddledome | Pepsi Center | Rexall Place | Rose Garden Arena | Sears Centre | Wachovia Center | Xcel Energy Center |
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