Major League Lacrosse

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Major League Lacrosse is a professional field lacrosse league played in the United States. MLL began play in the summer of 2001. MLL was founded by Jake Steinfeld, Dave Morrow and Tim Robertson in 1999. Steinfeld is well-known for creating the "Body By Jake" line of exercise equipment and videos. Morrow is a former All-American lacrosse player and the president of Warrior Lacrosse.

Major League Lacrosse
File:MLL.gif
MLL logo
SportLacrosse
Founded1999
First season2001
No. of teams10
Country United States
Most recent
champion(s)
Philadelphia Barrage
Official websiteMajorLeagueLacrosse.com

The season runs from May to August. MLL rules that differ from traditional lacrosse rules include: a two-point goal line 15 yards from each goal, a 60-second shot clock, a limit of three long-stick defensemen per team, the elimination of the restraining box and the release of all players on the face-off. The 60-second shot clock was changed from a 45-second shot clock in 2005.

MLL announced on March 9, 2005, that the league would expand to Los Angeles for the 2006 season; the team will play its home games at The Home Depot Center and will be operated by AEG, Inc. The league announced on July 2 that Denver, Colorado would also be an expansion city with a team playing at INVESCO Field at Mile High. The league later added teams in Chicago, Illinois and San Francisco, California and created a western conference for these teams, which started in the 2006 season.

The league was divided into the American Division — Boston, Bridgeport (moved to Philadelphia in 2004) and Long Island — and the National Division — Baltimore (moved to Washington after the 2006 season), New Jersey and Rochester — from 2001 until 2005. The league played a 14-game regular season its first two years; in 2003, the schedule was cut to 12 games.

The MLL plans to add two more western expansion teams in 2008. Cities under consideration are Columbus, Cincinnati, Dallas, Portland, Salt Lake City, San Diego, Seattle, and St. Louis.[1][2][3]

Teams

 
Major League Lacrosse team locations

Eastern Conference

Team City/Area Field
Boston Cannons Boston, Massachusetts Harvard Stadium
Long Island Lizards Uniondale, New York Mitchel Athletic Complex
New Jersey Pride Piscataway, New Jersey Yurcak Field
Philadelphia Barrage Villanova, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia Area) Villanova Stadium
Rochester Rattlers Rochester, New York PAETEC Park
Washington Bayhawks Washington, D.C. TBA

Western Conference

Team City/Area Field
Chicago Machine Bridgeview, Illinois (Chicago Area) Toyota Park
Denver Outlaws Denver, Colorado INVESCO Field at Mile High
Los Angeles Riptide Carson, California (Los Angeles Area) The Home Depot Center
San Francisco Dragons San Francisco, California Kezar Stadium

Franchise movement

MLL Championship Games

Year Champion Score Runner-up Venue Location Game MVP
2001 Long Island Lizards 15-11 Baltimore Bayhawks Kennedy Stadium Bridgeport, Connecticut Paul Gait (Long Island)
2002 Baltimore Bayhawks 21-12 Long Island Lizards Columbus Crew Stadium Columbus, Ohio Mark Millon (Baltimore)
2003 Long Island Lizards 15-14 (OT) Baltimore Bayhawks Villanova Stadium Villanova, Pennsylvania Kevin Lowe (Long Island)
2004 Philadelphia Barrage 13-11 Boston Cannons Nickerson Field Boston, Massachusetts Greg Cattrano (Philadelphia)
2005 Baltimore Bayhawks 15-9 Long Island Lizards Nickerson Field Boston, Massachusetts Gary Gait (Baltimore)
2006 Philadelphia Barrage 23-12 Denver Outlaws The Home Depot Center Carson, California Roy Colsey (Philadelphia)

League Officials

  • 1999-2002 - Gabby Roe (Executive Director)
  • 2002-03 - Matthew Pace (Executive Director)
  • 2003-04 - David Gross (Chief Operating Officer)
  • 2004- - David Gross (Commissioner)

League Office

  • 1999-01 - East Rutherford, NJ
  • 2001-04 - Secaucus, NJ
  • 2004-present - Boston, MA

References

  1. ^ May, Shaun (2006), Slash Magazine, pp. 5
  2. ^ "MLL Expansion". Major League Lacrosse. Retrieved 2006-11-30.
  3. ^ "Overview". Major League Lacrosse. Retrieved 2006-12-02.

See also