2008 NLL season
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The 2008 National Lacrosse League season, the 22nd in the history of the NLL, began on December 29, 2007 and will conclude with the championship game in May 2008.
On October 16, 2007 the league released a statement officially cancelling the season, after no agreement could be reached on a new collective bargaining agreement.[1] However, negotiations continued, and on October 25, the league announced that a new CBA has been agreed on, and that the season would proceed.[2] The new revised schedule was released on November 2, 2007, but only included 12 of the expected 14 teams. The expansion Boston Blazers and 2007 Western division champion Arizona Sting had decided for "a number of business reasons"[3] to opt out of the 2008 season and return in 2009.
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[edit] Team Movement
An expansion franchise for Boston, Massachusetts was announced on May 9, 2007. It was expected that the team would play at the TD Banknorth Garden, which is also home to the NBA's Boston Celtics and the NHL's Boston Bruins.[4] On October 3, 2007 the Boston franchise was officially named the Boston Blazers.[5]
When the revised schedule was released on November 2, 2007, it was announced that both the Arizona Sting and Boston Blazers were suspending operations for the 2008 season, returning in 2009.[3]
[edit] Milestones
[edit] Pre-season
- August 22, 2007: Colorado Mammoth head coach Gary Gait announced that he was stepping down to become the head coach of the women's lacrosse team at his alma mater, Syracuse University.[6] Former Arizona Sting assistant coach Bob McMahon was announced as Gait's replacement.[7]
- July 24, 2007: Less than three months after the end of the 2007 NLL season, the league announced one of the biggest blockbuster trades in NLL history. The trade involved three teams and six players, including a former Rookie of the Year and a former MVP and Goaltender of the Year. The trade saw the Calgary Roughnecks sending defenseman Taylor Wray to the Philadelphia Wings, and their first round pick in the 2007 entry draft and their second round pick in the 2008 entry draft to the Buffalo Bandits. The Wings sent Sean Greenhalgh to Buffalo and Ian Llord to Calgary, and the Bandits sent goaltender Steve Dietrich and Kyle Couling to Calgary and Jason Crosbie to Philadelphia.[8] During the entry draft in September, Llord was traded again, this time from Calgary to Buffalo for two draft picks.[9]
- October 16, 2007: The league announced that the 2008 season had been cancelled due to the failure of the owners and players to reach a CBA.[1]
- October 25, 2007: The league announced that a new agreement had been reached, and that the 2008 would indeed be played.[2]
- November 2, 2007: The revised schedule was released, and the league announced that the Arizona Sting and Boston Blazers would not play in 2008.[3]
- November 5, 2007: A dispersal draft was held for the remaining teams to choose players from the Arizona and Boston franchises.[10]
[edit] Regular season
[edit] Work Stoppage
In the off-season between the 2007 and 2008 seasons the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the National Lacrosse League and the Professional Lacrosse Players' Association expired. The owners announced that if there no deal was in place before midnight, October 15, 2007 the 2008 season would be cancelled [12]. On the morning of October 16, the league announced that no agreement had been reached, and that the season was cancelled.[1] The next day, commissioner Jim Jennings even said that the league would not change its mind about the cancellation, saying:
| “ | There's no hope due to the fact that we've released our dates. It's very difficult to get dates in places like (New York's) Madison Square Garden and (Toronto's) ACC Centre and places like that. To try to restart this thing up on a moment's notice is an impossibility.[13] | ” |
However, the negotiations continued, and on October 25, the league announced that a new seven-year agreement had been reached, and that the season would be played.
Before the initial cancellation of the season, the Versus network announced that it would not carry a game of the week, as they had in 2007, even if an agreement was reached before the deadline.[14]
[edit] Awards
[edit] Weekly awards
The NLL gives out awards weekly for the best overall player, best offensive player, best transition player, best defensive player, and best rookie.
| Month | Week | Overall | Offensive | Defensive | Transition | Rookie |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December | 1 | Jason Wulder | Jason Wulder | Gord Nash | Josh Sims | Dane Dobbie |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c 2008 Season Cancelled. NLL.com (October 16, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-16.
- ^ a b NLL, PLPA reach seven-year deal. NLL.com (October 25, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-25.
- ^ a b c League Releases New 2008 Schedule. NLL.com (November 2, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-11-02.
- ^ Expansion Team Awarded to Boston for 2008. NLL.com (May 9, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-05-09.
- ^ Boston Team Name: Blazers. NLL.com (October 3, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-03-10.
- ^ Gait Steps Down as Mammoth Coach. NLL.com (August 22, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-08-22.
- ^ Bob McMahon named Colorado Head Coach. NLL.com (September 26, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-09-26.
- ^ Three Team Blockbuster Trade Announced. NLL.com (July 24, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-07-24.
- ^ Draft day trade frenzy. NLL.com (September 2, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-09-28.
- ^ Dawson selected first overall by Portland. NLL.com (November 5, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-11-07.
- ^ Colorado edges Calgary in opener, 10-9. NLL.com (December 29, 2007). Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
- ^ NLL Season could be cancelled. Calgary Sun (October 12, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-14.
- ^ Report: NLL won't change mind. NLL.com (October 17, 2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-17.
- ^ Craig Johnson (October 11, 2007). NLL: Saturday night Game of the Week on VERSUS a no-go. InsideLacrosse.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-12.
[edit] External links
| National Lacrosse League | |
|---|---|
| East Division: Buffalo Bandits | Chicago Shamrox | Minnesota Swarm | New York Titans | Philadelphia Wings | Rochester Knighthawks | Toronto Rock | |
| West Division: Calgary Roughnecks | Colorado Mammoth | Edmonton Rush | Portland LumberJax | San Jose Stealth | |
| Returning in 2009: Arizona Sting | Boston Blazers | |
| NLL Awards: Champion's Cup | MVP | Rookie of the Year | Defensive Player of the Year | Transition Player of the Year | Goaltender of the Year | Sportsmanship Award | Les Bartley Award | GM of the Year | Executive of the Year | Tom Borrelli Award | Weekly Awards | Monthly Awards | |
| NLL Articles: All-Star Game | PLPA | Family relations | Hall of Fame | Seasons | Team Capsules | Former teams | |
| Related Articles: Box lacrosse | Lacrosse | Major League Lacrosse | |
