Feenix talks about new expansion team in the NLL. Its Alex Renaud from Feenix bringing you some more exciting information about the greatest sport on earth. The Boston Blazers are an new indoor lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The Blazers are based in Boston, Massachusetts, and are scheduled to begin play in the 2009 NLL season.
The team is owned by Tim Armstrong, President of Advertising and Commerce for Google. NLL veteran Tom Ryan will serve as the team's first head coach. On April 7, 2008, the Blazers named veteran New England marketing executive Doug Reffue to the position of team president.
The team is not associated with the former Boston Blazers, who played in the MILL (predecessor to the NLL) from 1992 to 1997. However, the name was chosen "in part due to the popularity and nostalgia associated with the former Boston Blazers franchise
The Blazers were originally scheduled to begin play in the 2008 NLL season. On July 31, 2007 the league held an expansion draft and the Blazers selected a number of players. In preparation for the season, the team also made a number of trades. On October 16, 2007, the NLL announced that the 2008 season had been cancelled due to the failure of the league and the Professional Lacrosse Players' Association to reach a new collective bargaining agreement. 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.
A new schedule was announced on November 2, 2007, but only included 12 of the expected 14 teams; the Blazers and the Arizona Sting had been removed. The reasons that the Blazers and Sting opted out of the season were not given, just that it was "due to a number of business issues", and that both teams would return in 2009. A dispersal draft was held on November 5, 2007.
Good luck to the Blazers, hopefully this is a step forward for the NLL. Only time will tell.
Thank you to Boston Blazers and Wikipedia for providing this information.
Alex Renaud
www.feenixgear.com
