The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Box lacrosse, also known as boxla, box, or indoor lacrosse, is an indoor version of lacrosse played mostly in North America. The game originated in the 1930s in Canada, where it is more popular than field lacrosse. Lacrosse is Canada's official national summer sport. Box lacrosse is played between two teams of five players and one goalie each, and is traditionally played on an ice hockey rink once the ice has been removed or covered. The playing area is called a box, in contrast to the open playing field of field lacrosse. The object of the game is to use a lacrosse stick to catch, carry, and pass the ball in an effort to score by shooting a solid rubber lacrosse ball into the opponent's goal. The highest level of box lacrosse is the National Lacrosse League.
The Colorado Mammoth are a professional box lacrosse team playing in the National Lacrosse League. The Mammoth have played at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, since the 2003 season. They are owned by Stan Kroenke, who is also the owner of the Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets, and the Colorado Rapids of MLS.
The Philadelphia Wings were a member of the National Lacrosse League, a professional box lacrosse league in North America starting in 1987. They played at the Spectrum (1987–96) and then at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The Buffalo Bandits are a professional box lacrosse team in the Eastern Conference of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). They play at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. The Bandits played in the Major Indoor Lacrosse League from 1992 to 1997, then in its successor the NLL since 1998.
The Detroit Turbos were a member of the Major Indoor Lacrosse League from 1989 to 1994. They were based in Detroit, Michigan. Led by Paul and Gary Gait in their first year in the NLL, the Turbos won the 1991 MILL Championship.
The National Lacrosse League All Star Game was a box lacrosse game played between two teams representing the two divisions of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The last game took place during the 2012 season.
Gary Charles Gait is a Canadian retired Hall of Fame professional lacrosse player and currently the head coach of the men’s lacrosse team at Syracuse University, where he played the sport collegiately. On January 24, 2017, he was named the Interim Commissioner of the United Women's Lacrosse League.
Paul Gait is widely regarded as one of the best lacrosse players of all time and is the current Vice President of the Rochester Knighthawks of the National Lacrosse League. Gait, along with his twin brother Gary Gait, had outstanding playing careers at Syracuse University, in the National Lacrosse League, Major League Lacrosse, the Western Lacrosse Association, and at the international level for Canada.
Michael "Mike" G. French is a former three-time All-American lacrosse player at Cornell University from 1974 to 1976, teaming with fellow lacrosse Hall of Fame members Eamon McEneaney, Dan Mackesey, Bill Marino, Tom Marino, Bob Hendrickson, Chris Kane, and Richie Moran to lead the Cornell Big Red to the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship in 1976. French was co-owner, along with Russ Cline and Chris Fritz, as well as Executive Vice-President of the NLL's Philadelphia Wings.
John Tavares is a Canadian former professional box lacrosse player and current head coach of the Buffalo Bandits of the National Lacrosse League (NLL) and Six Nations Chiefs of the Major Series Lacrosse League. He is the NLL's all-time leading scorer and also a mathematics teacher at Philip Pocock Catholic Secondary School in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. He attended D'Youville University in Buffalo, New York.
Ryan J. Boyle is a former lacrosse player who last played professional field lacrosse for the Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse (MLL). He most recently played professional box lacrosse for the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League (NLL) until his release in 2011. Boyle starred in both lacrosse and American football for Gilman School from 1996 to 2000. He starred as a member of the Princeton Tigers men's lacrosse team from 2001 through 2004. Boyle was also a member of the Men's Lacrosse Team USA for the 2002, 2006 and 2010 World Lacrosse Championships.
The 2006 National Lacrosse League season was the 20th season in the history of the league, which began as the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League in 1987. The season began on December 30, 2005 and concluded with the championship game on May 13, 2006.
Inside Lacrosse is a lacrosse media entity and ESPN affiliate. It includes many parts including a news website, an 11 times annual magazine, online video streaming, internet forums and an ESPN television show. The company is currently headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland.
John Tucker is a retired American professional lacrosse player, and former head coach of the Boston Cannons and Atlanta Blaze of the now defunct MLL. He was also the head coach of the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League. He was elected into the National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame in 2010 and into the National Lacrosse Hall of Famee in 2016.
The Philadelphia Wings were one of the original four franchises in the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League, joining the New Jersey Saints, Washington Wave, and Baltimore Thunder in 1987. While the Wings went only 3-4 that first season including a loss in the playoffs, they drew an average of almost 12,000 fans to their three 1987 regular season games.
The Rochester Knighthawks are a professional box lacrosse team in the Eastern Conference of the National Lacrosse League. They play in Rochester, New York at the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial.
The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league with teams in the United States and Canada. Games have been broadcast on television in some capacity since the league's first season in 1987.
