Below are some of the smaller items making news in the National Lacrosse League and beyond, including trades, rumors, odd facts and injury updates.

2 July 2008:
      The Minnesota Swarm yesterday traded newly-acquired defenseman Chris McKay to the Edmonton Rush for a second-round pick in this year's entry draft. McKay played for the Rush last season, scooping up 56 loose balls in seven games, but was selected by the Swarm in Monday's dispersal draft (for the permanent rights to former Arizona Sting players). McKay has eight goals, 49 assists and 253 loose ball recoveries in 49 career games.
      In another trade, this one announced today, the Edmonton Rush acquired defenseman Greg Hinman from the Buffalo Bandits for a 2008 third-round entry draft selection. Buffalo's lone selection in the Arizona dispersal draft (held Monday), Hinman tallied two goals, five assists, and 59 loose ball recoveries in eleven games for Calgary in 2008. For his three-year career, Hinman has scored three goals and dished out sixteen assists while collecting 159 loose balls.

 

1 June 2008:
      Curt Styres paid $5.575 million (US) to purchase a majority stake in the Rochester Knighthawks, the National Lacrosse League announced this week. It is a record price for an NLL franchise, the league says; we wouldn't know for sure, as this might be the first time the league has revealed the purchase price of an existing franchise. Expansion franchises, however, have long had public price tags, and they haven't always been so high -- less than ten years ago, for instance, the Albany Attack (now the San Jose Stealth) came into existence for a mere quarter million dollars.
      The Portland LumberJax have fired assistant coaches Jeremy Tallevi and Jeff McComb, although head coach Derek Keenan apparently will remain on board. No reason was given for the dual sackings, although it's easy to suspect the team's 10-22 record over the past two seasons was a factor (this year's run to the finals notwithstanding). Tallevi and McComb served as Keenan's assistants for all three years of the LumberJax's existence and previously held the same posts under Keenan with the 2005 Anaheim Storm.

 

17 April 2008:
      The Toronto Rock announced today that due to a scheduling conflict at Air Canada Centre (the NBA's Toronto Raptors), the regular season finale against the Philadelphia Wings has been postponed to Sunday, 27 April, at 1:00 PM (the game had been scheduled for the previous evening). Toronto-Philadelphia is now the league's regular season finale, as everyone else will be done by the previous evening. The Rock will still honor the retiring Jim Veltman at the game.

 

10 March 2008:
      The NLL announced today that Saturday's postponed game between the Toronto Rock and Philadelphia Wings will be played on Sunday, 6 April at 8:05 PM -- or, in terms of other events at the Wachovia Center, two hours after the completion of the Flyers' regular season finale. The hockey-lacrosse twinbill was caused by a winter storm last week which prevented the Rock from traveling from Ontario to Philadelphia. It will be the second game of the weekend for both teams, with Toronto hosting Rochester and Philadelphia at Chicago (both the night before).

 

29 February 2008:
      The National Lacrosse League is within 500 goals of the 30,000th goal in league history, and just as we did with the 15,000-goal plateau in 2002, Lacrosse-Network.com is commemorating the milestone with a Pick The Scorer contest. The winner will receive a replica NLL jersey of the team of his/her choice. For more details and to get in the game, click here. Good luck!
      Unable to squeeze him into their lineup, the Philadelphia Wings today traded forward Brendan Thenhaus to the Edmonton Rush for a 2008 second-round draft pick. The pick was originally the Wings'; they traded it to acquire a draft pick that became rookie forward David Mitchell. Thenhaus played three games for the Wings this season, totalling one goal and one assist. In related moves, the Wings activated forward Drew Westervelt from injured reserve and the Rush placed Ben Prepchuk on injured reserve.

 

19 February 2008:
      As if team owner Steve Donner wasn't staring at enough problems with his upstate New York sports empire, the state tax department has filed a warrant against the Rochester Knighthawks for nonpayment of sales tax collected between March and May of 2007, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle reports today. The US$27,078.53 warrant, essentially a lien against assets, was issued after the state and the Knighthawks failed to negotiate a settlement for repayment.

 

5 February 2008:
      The Chicago Shamrox have traded forwards Andrew Lazore and Rusty Kruger to the Buffalo Bandits for both of the Bandits' second-round picks in the 2008 NLL Entry Draft. Both players fell victim to the numbers game on Chicago's roster, as the Shamrox needed to make room for returning forward Cody Jacobs and defenseman Mike Hobbins. Lazore had an assist and three loose ball recoveries in two games this season, while Kruger (already released by Buffalo) had not played.

 

30 January 2008:
      The Edmonton Rush today traded transition player Chris Seller to the Calgary Roughnecks for a 2008 third-round entry draft selection. Seller, an eight-year veteran, has 53 goals, 61 assists and 549 loose balls in his career, but just one assist and three scoops this season with the Rush. "I'm really not sure what went wrong [for Chris in Edmonton]," Roughnecks GM Kurt Silcott said. "I guess he just didn't fit into their system and defensive philosophy... We anticipate that it will take a bit of time for him to adjust to our system but it really does suit his style of play." Edmonton filled the roster spot by signing former Buffalo defenseman Troy Bonterre.

 

15 January 2008:
      The troubles of Toronto Rock head coach Glenn Clark worsened yesterday with word from Toronto police the he has been charged him with simple assault, after all, and that he faces a 25 February court date. As reported earlier this week (see below), Clark and Minnesota Swarm forward Sean Pollock were involved in an altercation outside the Rock's locker room following Friday's game at Air Canada Centre. While there are questions as to why Pollock was anywhere near the Rock's locker room, he (by all accounts) did not fight back after allegedly being hit by Clark and does not appear to be facing any discipline by the league for the after-hours incident. (Pollock's ejection from the game for instigating a fight? Another story.) Clark, on the other hand, is awaiting word, perhaps as soon as Wednesday, on a suspension of his own, and it could be lengthy.

 

13 January 2008:
      Toronto Rock head coach Glenn Clark may be in a heap of trouble with the team and league after this weekend's bloody home-and-home series against the Minnesota Swarm, and not just for dropping both games. Following Friday's overtime loss at Air Canada Centre, Clark, upset over a hit by Sean Pollock during the game, reportedly went after Pollock outside the locker rooms. Details are sketchy, as would be expected right now, but the word is that police had to restore the peace (no charges were filed, we hear). Clark did not coach Saturday's game at Minnesota, replaced behind the bench by assistant coach Terry Bullen. Stay tuned.

 

31 December 2007:
      Scott Evans scored four goals, including the game-winner with a minute to play, giving the Rochester Knighthawks a 14-13 exhibition win over the Toronto Rock Friday night in Barrie, Ontario. Rochester led 13-8 in the fourth quarter but allowed the Rock to rally for a 13-13 tie, setting up Evans' dramatics. John Grant scored three goals for the K'Hawks and Shawn Evans added two goals and five assists. Aaron Wilson finished with four goals and two assists for the Rock.

 

26 December 2007:
      The Buffalo Bandits suffered the first significant injury of the 2008 season when forward Sean Greenhalgh, acquired this summer from Philadelphia, tore his anterior cruciate ligament during practice this past weekend. The injury almost certainly ends Greenhalgh's 2008 season, as recovery time for a torn ACL tends to be at least six months. With Brett Bucktooth recently placed on the Physically Unable to Perform List, the Bandits enter the 2008 season without two young guns, but they still have managed to retain almost all of their top scorers of a year ago, so the overall impact remains to be seen.

 

25 December 2007:
      Mike Thompson allowed just two first-half goals Saturday night, leading the Buffalo Bandits to an 11-6 exhibition win over the Chicago Shamrox at Six Nations, Ontario. Roger Vyse led the Bandits' offense with three goals, while Andrew Lazore and Callum Crawford had two goals each for the Shamrox.

 

19 December 2007:
      It might seem odd that a team named after oil workers would wear pink jerseys, but the Calgary Roughnecks will do just that for their home opener against San Jose on 12 January. The one-time uniform adjustment is part of a fundraiser for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, with all game-worn jerseys and an additional 75 authentic jerseys up for sale throughout the evening, via live and silent auctions. The jersey is identical to the Roughnecks' usual road jersey, except that the base color is pink instead of red. "If you had told me that one day I'd be playing professional lacrosse wearing a pink jersey, I'd have told you you are nuts," Roughnecks captain Tracey Kelusky said. "But this is a fantastic cause, and considering the circumstances I'm proud to wear it."
      The Philadelphia Wings have finally signed transition standout Geoff Snider, agreeing to terms on a one-year deal. Snider, who started for the East in the 2007 NLL All Star Game and went on to be selected to NLL's All-Rookie Team, was a force in many different areas for the Wings, leading the team in penalty minutes (62) and loose balls (180) and dominating the league in faceoffs (201 wins, 67 losses). To make room for Snider on the roster, rookie defenseman Brett Moyer was released, although he is expected to be signed to the practice squad later this week.

 

16 December 2007:
      Led by six goals from Ryan Benesch, the Toronto Rock defeated the Minnesota Swarm, 17-12, in exhibition play last night in Oshawa, Ontario. Craig Point and Andy Secore each scored four goals for the Swarm. From the "We Might Hear About This One Again" file: Toronto and Minnesota combined for 175 penalty minutes.
      Last night at Six Nations, Ontario, the Rochester Knighthawks edged the Chicago Shamrox, 15-13. John Grant scored five goals for the defending champs, now 2-0 in preseason play. Bill McGlone, Mat Giles and Tom Montour each scored two goals for Chicago.
      Jamie Shewchuk scored four goals in the Colorado Mammoth's 13-9 victory over the Calgary Roughnecks in a scrimmage last night in Richmond, British Columbia. Tracey Kelusky recorded a first-half hat trick, then sat out the second half.

 

10 December 2007:
      The Rochester Knighthawks overcame an 8-5 halftime deficit to defeat the Minnesota Swarm, 14-10, in preseason action yesterday at Six Nations, Ontario. First-round picks Matt McLeod and Matt Lyons each scored three goals for the Knighthawks. Craig Point had a hat trick for Minnesota, while Andy Secore added a pair.
      The Philadelphia Wings used a balanced attack to clobber the New York Titans, 12-5, in a Sunday morning scrimmage at Rahway, NJ. Dan Marohl, Taylor Wray, Thomas Hajek and Rob Van Beek each scored twice for the Wings, who got excellent goaltending from Rob Blasdell and Jay Preece. New York's goals, meanwhile, came from ex-Wing Jeff Ratcliffe, Pat Maddalena, Matt Poskay, Hunter Lochte and Greg Peyser.
      At HSBC Arena, Dan Teat scored three goals to pace the Buffalo Bandits to an 8-3 win over the visiting Toronto Rock in preseason action yesterday. Delby Powless added two goals for Buffalo, while Ryan Benesch paced the Rock with two of his own.

 

7 December 2007:
      Former Columbus Landsharks general manager and head coach Ron Roy passed away earlier this week after a year-long battle with leukemia. The St. Catharines, Ontario, native spent more than fifty years in lacrosse as a player and coach, including the first half of the 2002 season with the Landsharks, compiling a 4-5 record before resigning in a dispute with team ownership. Despite his brief tenure, Roy brought in many of the core players that went on to the NLL Finals with Arizona in 2005 and 2007. "I never had as much fun in my life," Roy said of his time with the 'Sharks. "We shared a lot of laughs during our trips from Whitby [Ontario, where the team practiced] to Columbus." Prior to joining Columbus, Roy was with the Buffalo Bandits, two years as a scout and three as assistant coach. He was 71.
      One year after their particularly physical preseason scrimmage, the Philadelphia Wings and New York Titans will do it again (the scrimmage, that is, not necessarily the gratuitous violence). They'll meet this Sunday at 9:00 AM Eastern, at the Center Circle in Rahway, New Jersey. The scrimmage is open to the public and admission is free.
      In perhaps related news (or perhaps not), the Philadelphia Wings will practice at the Wachovia Spectrum tomorrow, one day ahead of their scrimmage with New York (see previous item). Many of the Wings' greatest moments happened at the Spectrum, the team's home from 1987 to 1996, but it was also the scene of one of indoor lacrosse's most infamous games, the 1994 brawl between the Wings and Detroit Turbos. The practice is not open to the public.
      The Calgary Roughnecks reacquired Ryan Avery this week, sending a 2009 second-round entry draft pick to the Minnesota Swarm for the third-year netminder. Avery split time in goal for the Roughnecks in 2007, posting a 4-0 record and a 10.64 goals-against average in ten games. Since the end of last season, Avery has moved a couple times -- he was exposed in the expansion draft and quickly snapped up by the Boston Blazers, but when Boston later opted to sit out the 2008 season, Minnesota selected him in the dispersal draft.
      A familiar name in Big Apple lacrosse has arrived in New York Titans camp. Michael Gongas, whose father Mike owned the now-defunct New York Saints, was signed to a one-year contract earlier this week. The younger Gongas was an All-American at Adelphi University, ranking sixth in the country with 2.15 assists per game his senior season.

 

30 November 2007:
      The Rochester Knighthawks today signed forward Shawn Williams to a five-year contract, securing their alternate captain through the 2012 season. While the contract length might not seem noteworthy in today's sports market (Rick DiPietro, anyone?), the deal keeps Williams in Rochester until he is 38 years old -- and it is the longest contract in league history, surpassing a slew of three-year deals. Williams, who rang up 91 points for the Knighthawks in 2007, is the league's ninth-leading scorer with 299 career goals and is eighth alltime with 352 assists.
      The Toronto Rock will debut its new tenth anniversary jersey against the Minnesota Swarm in a preseason game on Saturday, 15 December (7:30 PM Eastern). Prior to the game, which will be held at General Motors Centre in Oshawa, Ontario, the Rock will host a player meet-and-greet. Tickets ($22.50 Canadian for adults, $15.00 for children and seniors) are available at the GM Centre box office, Durham Region Ticketmaster (905.433.9494 or 416.870.8000), and online at ticketmaster.ca.

 

27 November 2007:
      In separate trades today, the Edmonton Rush acquired defensemen Ian Hawksbee and Mike Grimes, both of whom could bolster the team's transition game. Hawksbee, who scooped up 124 loose balls in 2007, comes to Edmonton from the San Jose Stealth for a 2008 first-round entry draft pick. Grimes, acquired from the Minnesota Swarm for a 2008 fourth-round selection, was drafted sixth-overall by Arizona in the 2006 entry draft and appeared in eleven games last season.

 

12 October 2007:
      The New York Titans announced yesterday that their home game against the Boston Blazers on Saturday, 22 March will be held not at Madison Square Garden, but rather at the Hartford Civic Center in Connecticut. This marks the first time in the NLL era -- if not in Eagle/MILL/NLL history -- that a regular-season game will be contested at a neutral site. The announcement was not unexpected, with persistent rumors that the Titans planned to move this game to another arena within the greater New York City area.

 

3 October 2007:
      The Buffalo Bandits filled out their coaching staff yesterday by resigning Ron Henry and bringing Derek Graham and Jeff Dowling on as assistant coaches. Henry, in his second year as an assistant coach under Darris Kilgour, will be in charge of the Bandits' defense. Graham will run the team's offense, while Dowling, who coached Calgary into a playoff berth last season, handles the scouting.
      The Portland LumberJax have reacquired forward Scott Stewart, sending a 2008 second-round entry draft selection and a conditional fourth-round pick in 2009 to the Boston No-Names in exchange for the six-year veteran. Stewart played for the LumberJax during their inaugural 2006 season, appearing in four games before being traded to Minnesota. Boston then claimed Stewart in this summer's expansion draft. Stewart has 109 goals and 111 assists in an 83-game career which began with New Jersey in 2002.
      The Boston No-Names have acquired forward Ryan O'Connor from the Edmonton Rush for a conditional 2009 entry draft selection. O'Connor had seven goals and fifteen assists for the Rush last season, but missed the last seven games after suffering an ankle injury. O'Connor (72 goals and 111 assists in 85 career games) has also played for Toronto, Vancouver and Rochester since entering the league in 1999.

 

19 September 2007:
      The Calgary Roughnecks had two of their recent entry draft selections voided this week; 22nd-overall pick Jamie Lincoln is headed to the University of Denver, while 52nd-overall selection John McClure is returning to Dowling College for his sophomore year. That's not the interesting part, nor is Riggers GM Kurt Silcott's admission that he erred in selecting McClure. "I regret what happened with McClure because that was a mistake," Silcott told the Calgary Sun. "I would do what happened with Lincoln 100 times in a row. The kid is doing what's best for himself... We were worried somebody would put bad ideas in his head, so we stopped that from happening." Silcott didn't elaborate, but we will -- there was a persistent rumor that the Colorado Mammoth would draft Lincoln and offer him big bucks to skip college in favor of the crosstown Mammoth.
      In other Calgary Roughnecks news, GM Kurt Silcott went long -- real long -- for his latest free agent signing, Japanese forward Shinya Maruyama. Believed to the first player signed from Japan by an NLL team, the 32-year-old Maruyama has won four National Club Championships in Japan, was twice named the league's most valuable player, and has played for the Japanese national team in the last three ILF World Lacrosse Championships. "It was Shinya’s play at the world games in London (Ont.) a couple of years ago where he impressed me with his skills," Silcott said. "We’ve been working on this for approximately two years now and I’m really excited to have him at this year’s camp to see what he can do."

 

31 August 2007:
      Knee injuries have finally caught up with Calgary Roughnecks defenseman Andy Ogilvie, who retired earlier this week after being limited to just six games played this season. "We're going to miss him," Roughnecks GM Kurt Silcott said. "Andy was a tremendous player, a fierce competitior and a great leader. It's a shame that a player of his caliber never got to hoist the Champion's Cup during his tenure in the NLL." Ogilvie, 42, scored 14 goals, dished out 77 assists, and scopped up 545 loose balls during a nine-year career with Buffalo and Calgary.
      The recent trade between the Toronto Rock and Boston No-Names (News and Notes, 1 August) has been reversed by the NLL, due to a conditional consideration not being met. As a result, Brian Croswell returns to Boston and the Rock regains third- and fifth-round selections (35th and 64th overall) in tomorrow's NLL Entry Draft.

 

24 August 2007:
      After one year as president of the New York Titans, George Daniel has returned to his former job as the NLL's deputy commissioner. "I enjoyed my experience with the Titans and the challenge of bringing lacrosse to Madison Square Garden, but I am thrilled to return to the NLL office and serve all of the NLL franchises and Commissioner Jennings," Daniel said. With the Titans, Daniel oversaw all aspects of the team's business operations, including an impressive draw of over 13,000 fans for the team's season opener and success with local game telecasts, in one instance pulling a higher viewer rating than two local NHL telecasts airing at the same time.
      Arizona Sting forward Craig Conn has been placed on the Physically Unable to Perform List and is expected to miss the entire 2008 season after suffering a serious knee injury. Conn was the Sting's second-leading scorer in 2007, tallying 76 points on 21 goals and 55 assists and helping the team to its second NLL Championship Game in three years.
      Reacting to Conn's injury, Arizona Sting coach/GM Bob Hamley had some interesting comments about the state of affairs with players' contracts. "Sting ownership and management are very disappointed to hear of Craig's injury playing summer lacrosse," Hamley said. "In light of this incident, we are deeply concerned about the lack of restrictions in off-season activities in NLL player contracts. The league needs to work to restrict such activities as playing in summer leagues." Stay tuned.

 

15 August 2007:
      The NLL announced today that it will not realign for the 2008 season, making the two-division setup even more lopsided with the addition of expansion Boston to the Eastern Division, where it will join holdovers Buffalo, Chicago, Minnesota, New York, Philadelphia, Rochester and Toronto. The league, which had been considering a three-division alignment, further announced that each team will have at least two games against each divisional opponent. This means that the Eastern clubs will have no more than two games against the Western Division, which will continue to include Arizona, Calgary, Colorado, Edmonton, Portland and San Jose.
      The Edmonton Rush has signed free agent forward Kyle Goundrey from Calgary. Goundrey had played the last six seasons with the Roughnecks, serving as assistant captain. Last season, he had 11 goals and 28 assists, improving his career numbers to 89 goals plus 204 assists.

 

8 August 2007:
      It's official -- Portland LumberJax owner Angela Batinovich and transition player Adam Bysouth were married Saturday in California, marking very likely the first wedding in American team sports history of an owner and player. Defenseman Richard Morgan served as the best man, goaltender Dallas Eliuk was a groomsman and NLL commissioner Jim Jennings was among 100 guests in attendance.
      In another return-to-sender trade, the Boston No-Names have dealt Mike Grimes back to the Arizona Sting in exchange for forwards Andrew Lazore and Mark Tinning. Grimes, selected 11th in Boston's recent expansion draft, had a goal, three assists and 38 loose ball recoveries for the Sting in 2007. Lazore (4 goals and 3 assists in 4 games) and Tinning (2 goals and 2 assists in 3 games) had only bit roles with Arizona over the past few seasons.

 

1 August 2007:
      The Boston No-Names traded another expansion draft selection today, sending Brian Croswell to the Toronto Rock in exchange for third- and fifth-round picks (35th- and 64th-overall) in this year's entry draft plus conditional considerations. Boston claimed Croswell from Rochester, where he had appeared in eleven games (5 goals, 4 assists) over the past three seasons. Croswell broke in with the Rock in 2004, appearing in one game (1 goal).
      The Buffalo Bandits satisfied the "future considerations" part of their recent three-way trade by sending forward Joe Walters to the Philadelphia Wings today. Walters, the Bandits' second-round pick in last year's entry draft, is the University of Maryland's alltime leader in goals (153) and points (227) but has no NLL experience.

 

31 July 2007:
      The Edmonton Rush today traded forward Jason Wulder to the Colorado Mammoth for a second-round pick (20th overall) in this year's entry draft. Wulder scored ten goals and dished out 35 assists for the Rush in 2007, his only season playing for his hometown team. Wulder broke in with the New York Saints in 1995 and later played five seasons with Calgary. He has 200 goals and 294 assists for his career.

 

18 July 2007:
      The Calgary Roughnecks will back rookie head coach Troy Cordingley with one of the winningest coaches in NLL history, hiring Terry Sanderson as an assistant coach. Sanderson, who was an assistant with Philadelphia last season, was the head coach for four NLL teams - Albany (2000-2001), Montreal (2002), Ottawa (2003) and Toronto (2004-2006), compiling an overall record of 53-51 and winning the 2005 NLL Champion's Cup. "Terry has been a great coach in this game, and the NLL, for a long time," Roughnecks GM Kurt Silcott said. "He has a knack for getting the most out of his players, and has the resume to prove it... I feel that with Terry and Troy behind the bench we have a dynamic tandem that will lead our team to the Champion's Cup."
      In a trade everyone has been expecting for upwards of two years, the Colorado Mammoth today traded forward Ben Prepchuk to the Edmonton Rush, picking up a second-round pick in this year's entry draft in exchange for the Edmonton-area native. Prepchuk appeared in thirteen games for the Mammoth last season, scoring 15 goals and dishing out 16 assists. For his six-year career, spanning 84 regular-season games, Prepchuk has 120 goals and 121 assists. Prepchuk broke in with New York in 2001, played one season with Calgary, and spent the past four years with the Mammoth.
      Rochester Knighthawks minority owner Randall Latona has filed another lawsuit against his partners, this time attaching a dollar amount to his claims -- over $3.1 million (US). Last month, Latona sued to have Steve Donner removed from decision-making powers with the Knighthawks and the AHL's Rochester Americans, providing a laundry list of alleged mismanagement. In the latest legal action, Latona demands the return of $2.1 million in financing he and co-defendant Walter Turek helped arrange in 2006, when the Knighthawks and Americans were experiencing cash flow problems; repayment of a $145,000 loan made to the teams by Latona's T&L Funding Group; and an additional $898,000 from Donner, a figure which may represent the amount Latona paid in 2004 for his 20 percent stake in both teams plus damages.