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

30 October 2003:
      The San Jose Stealth, eager to build a fan base in the Bay Area, will host a "Mammoth Exhibition" next month at HP Pavilion. The Stealth, formerly the Albany Attack, will host the Anaheim Storm, freshly relocated from New Jersey, in a free exhibition on Saturday, 15 November, following a hockey game between the San Jose Sharks and Toronto Maple Leafs. Sharks-Leafs spectators will be invited to stay for the lacrosse, with others allowed into the arena at 10:00 PM Pacific (for an approximate 11:00 PM Pacific start time). Just like the Mammoth did a year ago in pioneering the NHL-NLL doubleheader, the Stealth will cut concession prices to a buck each for hot dogs, beer, and soda. The Storm and Mammoth, meanwhile, are still on for a similar exhibition at Arrowhead Pond in mid-December.

 

26 October 2003:
      Labor strife be damned -- the NLL will carry on! So says commissioner Jim Jennings, who tells the Vancouver Sun that the lack of a collective bargaining agreement will not prevent the season from starting as scheduled on Friday, 26 December in Phoenix. "We're planning on playing one way or another," Jennings said. "Whether it's with union or non-union players, we're going to play. We're not an old enough league that we can afford not to play." The league opened negotiations with an especially hardball offer a few weeks ago, but there's been no counteroffer yet from the Professional Lacrosse Players Association.
      Veteran forward Duane Jacobs has announced his retirement from the Buffalo Bandits, ending an eleven-year career. Jacobs broke into MILL with the Detroit Turbos in 1993, scoring 24 goals in fifteen games over two seasons. He moved on to the expansion Rochester Knighthawks in 1995, departing this past January as the franchise's alltime leader in goals (169), assists (185) and points (354); however, he has since been surpassed in all three categories. In limited action with the Bandits last season, Jacobs scored five goals and dished out seven assists.
      In other retirement news, Vancouver Ravens forward Kevin Brunsch has decided to hang up his stick. After a brief stint with Buffalo in 2000, Brunsch landed with the first-year Ravens in 2002, scoring ten goals in eleven games (including one goal in a quarterfinal loss). Last season, he tallied just two goals, along with thirteen assists, in twelve games.

 

22 October 2003:
      In a strange development which was not entirely explained, the league today returned to the Arizona No-Names three entry draft picks which were revoked last month -- sort of. When the selection order was released for Saturday's draft, to be held in Toronto, Arizona's first three selections (third, sixth and twentieth) were forfeited for unspecified rules violations. In their place are three compensatory picks, two at the end of the first round (eleventh and twelfth overall) and one at the end of the third round (33rd). This increases the number of selections to 83.
      Speaking of the entry draft, fans will be able to attend free of charge. The draft begins Saturday morning at 10:00 AM Eastern, in the Metro West Room of the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel in Toronto. Tickets are not necessary.

 

18 October 2003:
      The Anaheim Storm will take a page from the Colorado Mammoth's playbook later this year by hosting a free exhibition game immediately following an Anaheim Mighty Ducks hockey game (against, curiously enough, the Colorado Avalanche, a sister franchise to the Mammoth). The Storm and Mammoth will meet on Friday, 19 December, at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, at approximately 11:00 PM Pacific (2:00 AM Eastern). The Mammoth pioneered the NHL-NLL "welcome wagon" doubleheader a year ago, hosting the Philadelphia Wings and 12,000 curious Denverites after an Avalanche home game.
      Calgary Roughnecks assistant coach Walt Christianson resigned Thursday in order to pursue a head coaching job somewhere in the league -- but first to get some much-needed rest. "He's been coaching back-to-back, going summer to winter. He just felt he was burned out at this stage," Roughnecks head coach Chris Hall said. "But I also know he is interested in finding a head coaching job in our league." Christianson coached the WLA's Victoria Shamrocks to the Mann Cup championship this summer. Dave Bremner, who was the Roughnecks' director of player personnel last season, will return to the bench, joining goaltending advisor Angus Jenkins on Hall's staff.
      Eleven Rochester Knighthawks games, including three road games, will air locally this season on WRWB-16. The entire home schedule is slated for telecast (all but one of them live), as are both games at Toronto (Friday, 12 March and Friday, 9 April) and the first of two trips to Buffalo (Saturday, 3 January). In addition, WRWB will air an NLL Game of the Week (games to be determined).

 

15 October 2003:
      As of this writing (and presumably for good, since the deadline has passed), thirty-nine players have waived their remaining college eligibility and entered the upcoming NLL Entry Draft: Cam Bergman, David Brown, Andrew Buchanan, Justin Burton, Marc Burton, Craig Conn, Justin Davis, Kevin Eansor, Daniel Elliott, Scott Evans, Scott Gillingham, Richard Haan, Chris Hague, Kelly Hall, Justin Hawksbee, Taylor Johnston, Matthew Marchildon, Brad MacDonald, Glenn McDonald, Kyle McEwen, Robert McGowean, Ryan McMichael, Sterling Mitchell, Ryan Monaghan, Stew Monture, Cole Murray, Kyle Neufeld, Josh Neumann, Mark Paniccia, Jeff Pringle, Scott Ranger, Taylor Rohde, Adam Rivers, Nathan Russell, Stanley Shala, Ryan Shaw, Eric Smith, Buck Stobart, and Rayce Vyse. The draft will be held on Saturday, 25 October (10:00 AM Eastern), at the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel in Toronto.
      After conducting a popular series of youth lacrosse clinics last season, the Philadelphia Wings are back at it again this fall. Wings forwards Jeff Ratcliffe and Ryan Traynor and defenseman Jeff Spano will teach basic skills at three clinics -- Sunday, 2 November at Gold's Gym in King of Prussia, PA; and Saturday, 8 November and Saturday, 29 November, both at the Flyers Skatezone in Voorhees, NJ. Each clinic costs $55 to attend and all participants will receive an STX lacrosse stick, a Wings clinic t-shirt, and a ticket to a 2004 Wings home game. Call the Wings at 215.389.9743 to register or for more information.

 

13 October 2003:
      Eight months after taking back control of the Vancouver Ravens, owner Tom Mayenknecht has finally caught up on payroll, the Victoria Times Colonist reported today. As bad as that sounds, it's actually a significant accomplishment considering that the team was abandoned by former Paul Reinhart in February. When Mayenknecht, the Ravens' founder, reclaimed the team soon after, he asked the players for their patience as the money issues were settled. Unlike with other money-tight clubs (such as Columbus and New York), the players obliged, enabling management to keep the Ravens together until the end of the regular season and through the offseason (by filing grievances, the players almost certainly could've had their contracts terminated).

 

10 October 2003:
      Veteran NLL coaches Bob Hamley and Bob McMahon will share the role of Arizona Lacrosse head coach, The Lacrosse Journal reported today. Hamley follows the team west from Columbus, where he skippered the Landsharks to an 8-8 record in 2003. McMahon coached in Albany the past two seasons, compiling a 23-11 record and bringing the Attack within a goal of the 2002 NLL Champion's Cup, but was not retained by the club after it moved to San Jose this summer.

 

3 October 2003:
      The NLL has several gameday positions open in Anaheim, Arizona, and San Jose, including technical referee, shot clock operator, penalty box attendant, and goal judge. The technical referee is an on-field official hired by the league, principally responsible for faceoffs, backcourt violations and illegal substitutions. Applicants must have prior officiating experience in lacrosse, hockey or another contact sport. The other positions are handled by the individual teams. To apply or for more information, see nll.com.
      The Colorado Mammoth will hold "open" tryouts on Sunday, 19 October. "There are a number of local schools with strong lacrosse traditions and quite a few nationally known players living in this area," Mammoth general manager Steve Govett said. "Last year we had a terrific turnout and brought several players to training camp from the open tryouts." One of those players was University of Denver alumnus Geoff Bieging, who make the Mammoth roster. Interested players must submit an applications and a $50.00 (US) fee by this Monday, with invitations extended by Monday, 13 October. Players who make the team or practice squad will have the fee refunded.

 

2 October 2003:
      The Rochester Knighthawks will be one of three western New York teams profiled on a new weekly television program beginning this Saturday (the Buffalo Sabres (NHL) and Rochester Americans (AHL) are the other teams involved). "Face-Off," airing weekends on WB 16 in Rochester, will offer highlights and interviews involving the three teams. Knighthawks radio voice Craig Rybzynski will host the lacrosse segments. Through November, Face-Off airs at midnight on Saturdays and noon on Sundays; beginning in December, the times are noon and midnight on Saturdays.

 

1 October 2003:
      Former Major Indoor Lacrosse League standout Brian Lemon has been named the NLL's Vice President of Lacrosse Operations, the league announced today. Lemon played eight seasons in MILL (1989-1996), beginning with the Baltimore Thunder and moving on to the Detroit Turbos and Rochester Knighthawks. "Adding a former player like Brian to our staff is a real accomplishment and we look forward to working with him as we get set for the start of the [2004] season," NLL commissioner Jim Jennings said. Lemon's responsibilities include reviewing game tapes, evaluating game officials, helping to determine disciplinary action, and serving on the league's competition committee.
      A handful of players have renounced their college eligibility in order to enter this month's NLL Entry Draft, including Craig Conn, Scott Evans, Matthew Marchildon, Kyle McEwen, Trevor Meyerhoffer, Sterling Mitchell, Scott Ranger, Buck Stobart, Cole Murray, and Cam Bergman. The league increased the age of automatic draft eligibility from 20 to 21 for those not playing field lacrosse at an American college, ending the tradition of drafting Canadian players when they have one year of junior eligibility remaining. However, younger players may enter the draft anyway by waiving their remaining college eligibility. The deadline to file for early entry is 10 October; applications can be found at the league's official web site, nll.com.
      After a one-year hiatus, the Calgary Roughnecks and Vancouver Ravens have agreed to compete for the Northern Cup, in a preseason game on Friday, 5 December at the Prince George Multiplex in Prince George, BC. In November 2001, the Ravens snagged the Northern Cup in a 25-21 victory over the Roughnecks, the western Canadian clubs' first-ever meeting. They've split six previous games, including both preseason and regular-season matches, and will face off four more times this season.

 

27 September 2003:
      Tack one more name onto Arizona Lacrosse's list of unrestricted free agents, according to the Professional Lacrosse Players Association web site (plpa.com). Eric Pacey, an Ottawa Rebel defenseman this past season, was selected fourteenth-overall by Arizona in July's dispersal draft. However, someone -- presumably Arizona co-owner Mike Gongas, who has been at the center of just about every contract termination this offseason -- failed to rectify a breach of contract in the allotted time, and Pacey (three goals, five assists in 2003) now joins Arizona teammates Bill Greer, Peter Lough, Derek Suddons and others as 'mates no more.
      In related news, PLPA.com today confirmed an 22 August newspaper report that all New York Saints players are now unrestricted free agents. Although the union didn't say so at the time (and NLL still hasn't), Newsday reported on the day the Saints suspended operations that all of the team's players would be set free.
 

26 September 2003:
      The NLL's wandering coach, Terry Sanderson, will work behind the bench once again in 2004, named today as an assistant coach with the Buffalo Bandits. Sanderson, the only man to serve as head coach of three different NLL franchises (Albany 2000-01, Montreal 2002, Ottawa 2003), will handle the defense for Darris Kilgour's club. "This is like getting Bill Parcells to come in to coach your defense," Bandits general manager Kurt Silcott said. One difference, Kurt -- unlike Parcells, Sanderson won't stroll into any of his old stomping grounds on a Monday night and stun the home team. That's because none of those cities remain in the league. Bad omen?

 

21 September 2003:
      The free agent ranks swelled a little bit last week when Arizona No-Names (formerly Columbus Landsharks) defensemen Bill Greer and Peter Lough were set free by a league arbitrator. Both players, like about a dozen before them, gained their free agency due to a breach of contract (namely, failure to be paid in a proper and timely manner). Greer recorded ten goals and fourteen assists for Columbus last season, while Lough chipped in four goals and eleven assists.
      The Professional Lacrosse Players Association will hold its executive board meetings at the Delta Meadowvale Resort and Conference Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, from 2-5 October. The get-together includes the annual general meeting (Saturday, 4 October) in the resort's Featherstone Room. In a recent newsletter to the players, PLPA president Peter Schmitz is calling on members to attend, if possible. "We need to present a united front in the event that it is determined that a work stoppage is necessary," Schmitz wrote, referring to the possibility of a strike or lockout if owners and players can not come together on a new collective bargaining agreement.

 

17 September 2003:
      Former San Jose Sharks (NHL) captain and current Toronto Maple Leaf right wing Owen Nolan has joined the San Jose Stealth's ownership group, the Stealth announced today. "Owen, his wife and new baby daughter make their home here in the San Jose area as well as having other business interests here, and we are pleased to have him involved," Stealth co-owner Peter Wendell said. The size of Nolan's investment was not announced.
      Nothing is official yet, but look for the 2003 NLL Entry Draft to be held in October, at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester. The plan is for a Saturday night event (either the 18th or the 25th) like the draft at Buffalo's HSBC Arena two years ago (last year's draft was held on a Saturday afternoon in Toronto). Vancouver has the first-overall pick, followed by Calgary, Phoenix, Philadelphia and San Jose.

 

13 September 2003:
      One day after the name snuck out into the public domain, the San Jose Mercury News has confirmed that the Bay Area's lacrosse team will probably be called the San Jose Stealth (the name will officially be released at a Tuesday press conference at HP Pavilion). The paper, which points out that sanjosestealth.com points to the NHL San Jose Sharks' web site, even had a pretty nice quip: "The San Jose team's logo was not available Friday, but perhaps it will be invisible."
      In related news, the Anaheim team will be named exactly one day after the Stealth. The club has called a Wednesday press conference, 11:00 AM Pacific (2:00 PM Eastern) at Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim. NLL commissioner Jim Jennings will come down from San Jose, where he'll join team governor Chip Santye, general manager Jim Brady, head coach Peter Vipond, and players Marc Morley and Steve Sombrotto in unveiling the team's name and logo. No word yet on either, but stay tuned.

 

12 September 2003:
      Avenging a loss in the Mann Cup Final last year, the Victoria Shamrocks claimed the Canadian senior lacrosse championship Wednesday night by defeating the Brampton Excelsiors, 11-6, and taking the best-of-seven series, four games to one. Victoria, one of the perennial powerhouses of the Western Lacrosse Association, broke open a 4-4 third-period tie for the clincher, one night after the Excelsiors (champions of the Ontario Lacrosse Association's Major league) won an 11-10 sudden-death overtime thriller. Dwight Maetche, 42, handled the bulk of the goaltending chores for the Shamrocks, winning (remarkably) his first-ever Mann Cup.
      Earlier this week, the Buffalo Bandits announced the hiring of Brian Wheeler as their new public relations director. Wheeler, who replaces Michael Burke, began as a gameday intern with the Rochester Knighthawks in 2000 and spent the last two years working for the NFL's Buffalo Bills. He will also work for the Bandits' sister franchise, the Buffalo Sabres hockey team.
      On the team naming front, it looks like the former Albany Attack will be known as the San Jose Stealth. The name has been registered in the United States, with the NHL's San Jose Sharks (a Bay Area Lacrosse Club managing partner) as the owner. The team will formally be named at a press conference on Tuesday.

 

11 September 2003:
      It looks like San Jose will be first among the relocated teams to announce its new name. That's fitting, perhaps, since the former Albany Attack was the first to move, going west in June. Bay Area Lacrosse Club has called a press conference for 11:00 AM Pacific (2:00 PM Eastern) on Tuesday, 16 September, at which time the team's name, logo and colors will be unveiled. San Jose owner Peter Wendell, San Jose GM Johnny Mouradian, Silicon Valley Sports and Entertainment VP Malcolm Bordelon, and NLL commissioner Jim Jennings are expected to attend.

 

1 September 2003:
      It's beginning to look like media relations could be an interesting scene for Arizona Lacrosse this season. The state's top newspaper, the Phoenix-based Arizona Republic, published a few cracks at the former Columbus Landsharks in its less-serious sports columns this weekend. In a piece called the "Heat Index," one columnist wrote, "Staffers who rushed out to Glendale immediately upon hearing the Valley is getting a National Lacrosse League team were pleasantly surprised to find no one waiting for tickets just yet." The next day, another columnist wrote, "Don't blink [during the NLL's stay in Phoenix]. You might miss the going-out-of-business sale... [but] don't worry. The jai alai team is just around the corner."