First Two SOLL Games

After our first two Summer Open Lacrosse League games, I have to say that the league is a hit!
On Thursday we had something like 10-12 guys show up. Only five of us were affiliated with Valley (Cam, Zach D, Van Dyke, Coach Zach, and me). A couple had participated in CILA Toss Arounds and the rest were all new - including two middle school kids. We divided into teams and played some half field shooting on the tarp. The session lasted about two hours.
Saturday saw a huge jump in attendance despite the NCAA semis being on ESPN2 (thanks again for ruining it for me Sugar Rush! Ever hear of TIVO?). We had about 15-16 guys come out to play and I was the only one connected to the Valley team. Most of the other guys from Thursday showed up and brought new people with them. We had another future freshman and a current high school student join us as well. Despite never playing before, both showed great promise and some natural ability (as did the two on Thursday); both will be valuable additions to the team next season. We also had guys that graduated from and played for Michigan Tech, Cornell College, and the University of Southern California.
Unlike Thursday, we got out both goals out. We played a short field with the tarp guarding one net and former CC laxer Darrell Aaron guarding the other. Teams were chosen at random with one face Darrell and the other shooting at the tarp. After the water break, the teams switched sides. We started around 11:30 and left around 2. Definitely not too shabby.
Thursdays will remain at 5:30 for the time being. Based on the temps, we will probably keep the Saturday start time at 11:30. However, of it starts getting too hot too quickly, we may consider moving it. This Saturday may see us short of people who want to play. Please contact me by tomorrow (Wednesday 5/27) to let me know if you plan on coming Saturday. An official announcement should be posted by Thursday.

The Importance of Major League Lacrosse -part 2

Unfortunately the economic downturn and eventual recession of 2008 and 2009 made an impact in the sporting world. For the MLL, this meant some drastic changes. With the league losing modest amounts of money owners no longer wanted to shoulder the burden. The league assumed control of the New Jersey Pride and the Philadelphia Barrage last year. Then the league turned the 2008 defending champion Barrage into a season-long away team to test expansion markets last year, resulting in their players' referring to the team as the "Garbage." Though the host cities provided promising attendance numbers...
Unfortunately the financial downturn continued as AEG decided it no longer had interest in the Los Angeles Riptide and the owners of the San Fransisco Dragons also walked away. Not long after the league announced that it did not intend to run four franchises itself and suspended the Pride, Barrage, Riptide, and Dragons for 2010. To add insult to injury, the 2009 champion Rochester Rattlers also shut their doors.
Fortunately there is some light at the end of the tunnel. An ownership group in Toronto purchased the Rochester franchise, including staff contracts. The Toronto Nationals are a pseudo expansion team; basically the league maintained the rights and history of the Rattlers for potential future use (click here for an explanation). With six teams in place, the league returned to a single table much like its days before the 2006 westward expansion; the key difference being that teams are spread out more rather than just on the east coast. Play started last weekend and the league's first televised game was on Thursday night (Bayhawks over Lizards in OT). Rosters are stronger with the reduced number of teams and everyone involved seems to be more appreciative of the opportunity.
Franchise reinstatement and relocation talks are still underway. The league is focusing on expanding areas with big/growing lacrosse populations and few competing major league sports teams (even though Boston and Denver lead the league in attendance). Soccer-specific stadiums used by Major League Soccer and United Soccer League teams seem to be ideal locations for MLL franchises (Toronto plays at BMO & Chicago at Toyota Park) which indicates hotbeds like Dallas and Columbus may be on the list. You might notice that many of the "expansion cities" mentioned already have or are planning SS stadiums...
Locating in stadiums with more intimate seating in areas where the fans will have less competition for their dollars should be a good idea. The strategy worked well for MLS; their growth in 13 years is phenomenal. Forming a relationship with that league would certainly help stabilize the MLL. It might even lead to a return to California. Both leagues operate under a single entity structure; both realize their status as a lower tier sport. Like the MLS, the MLL has the power to greatly spread the game.
One last thing to draw your attention to - check out the USL proposed stadiums. Anything catch your eye? Being a long time Menace fan, I already knew about LBS. Still, how cool would that be if the soccer team moved up to a higher level? How awesome would it be if we some one with the money bought a MLL franchise to play there as well? Think of the marketing - Iowa's only Major League sports team! Think of the lax explosion we'd see in the state! A pipe dream, I know...